Chapter 44: The Hollow Lord’s Castle (1)

Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!

Raion’s carriage entered a mountain path as soon as the plains came to an end.

The castle of the Kanas Territory was, rather peculiarly, located in a place surrounded by mountains.

Because of that, it was called a naturally blessed fortress — though, in truth, the territory itself was hemmed in by dangerous mountain ranges and the sea, trapping itself in isolation.

“If we just cross this part, we’ll be there, right? Hm?”

Raion, who had leaned his head out of the carriage window, caught a faint sound.

“What is it, my lord?”

“It sounds like someone’s fighting nearby.”

At Raion’s words, Jade perked up his ears as well.

Indeed, there was the faint clashing sound of weapons echoing from the distance.

“Shall I go check it out?”

If there was a battle taking place not far from the lord’s castle, it could be a problem.

Jade, who also found it strange, waited for Raion’s order just in case.

“Go on. If anyone’s in danger, don’t hesitate to help. And since this is now within Kanas Territory, there’s no need to hide your strength.”

“Understood!”

Answering with a bright smile, Jade jumped down from his horse and sprinted toward the direction of the sound.

Sasasasak! Sasasak!

Running at full speed, Jade quickly reached the source of the noise.

“Orcs? Orcs appearing this close to the lord’s castle?”

Two men, who seemed to be adventurers, were fighting against a group of ten orcs.

Beside them, a man and a woman were already lying unconscious on the ground.

Lacking sufficient skill, two had been injured and surrounded.

Around them lay the corpses of three or four orcs.

It was clear the adventurers had struggled desperately to handle the situation.

“If I don’t step in, my master’s going to see blood before even arriving.”

Muttering to himself, Jade dashed into the midst of the orc horde.

Shaaak!

Drawing the Korean-style sword at his waist, he sliced through the necks of two orcs in an instant.

Krachachii―!

Karachii―! Karachii―!

Startled by the sudden fall of their kin, the orcs staggered back in alarm.

Of course, Jade had no intention of letting that opening go to waste.

Drawing a broad arc like a crescent moon with his sword, he pressed forward, diving into the smaller group of remaining orcs.

Shaaak! Shaaak!

The trajectory of the sword cut through the air, cleanly severing the orcs’ arms and legs.

Kaakchii! Kaakchii!

The remaining five orcs instinctively sensed the tide turning against them and attempted to flee.

Even as they turned their backs, Jade did not stop.

“Where do you think you’re going—!”

Twisting his body, Jade threw his sword — it struck one of the orcs squarely in the back.

He immediately followed up, closing the distance in a flash.

Using the True Martial Art’s Hand-to-Hand Combat technique, he twisted another orc’s arm, pulled out the embedded sword, and slashed once more.

In an instant, the surroundings were drenched in the orcs’ blood.

Once the situation was settled, Jade approached the dazed adventurers.

“It seems some of you are injured. Are you all right?”

The four adventurers stood blankly for a moment before regaining their senses.

“Ah! Th-thank you! But… how did you appear out of nowhere…?”

“We were passing nearby when we heard the sounds of battle. When I checked, it looked like you were in a tight spot.”

Unlike the incident with the Red Sand Mercenary Corps, Jade had properly loosened up this time, and he felt quite good.

Meanwhile, the adventurers were speechless at the display of skill they had just witnessed.

That level of power easily surpassed a B-rank adventurer.

For reference, adventurers and mercenaries were ranked from E up to S.

Most remained between E and C rank, while B rank was comparable to a nation’s or a territory’s knight commander.

From A rank upward, one was either nearing the level of a Sword Master or had already attained it.

For magicians, that meant at least the 4th Circle; for archers or other professions, they needed to be capable of channeling mana into their weapons or bodies.

To these D-rank adventurers, Jade’s skill was unquestionably beyond B-rank.

“Thank you again. But, do you perhaps have any herbs or healing potions?”

It was a necessary plea for their injured companions.

Even now, the female archer was bleeding heavily from her left arm and waist, while the male swordsman was losing blood from his abdomen.

“Ah… I don’t have any healing potions with me. But if I take you to my master, he’ll heal them.”

“Your master?”

That meant someone stood above Jade.

But Jade paid no mind to their suspicion and simply continued,

“He’s my lord. Let’s hurry. I’ll carry one of them. Follow me.”

After saying that, Jade lifted the female archer into his arms and sped off like an arrow.

The remaining adventurers quickly followed behind.

The carriage, which had stopped when Jade left for a moment, stood still.

While Raion was resting briefly, Jade suddenly appeared over the mountain slope and landed on the ground.

“Master!”

Everyone was startled when they saw a woman in his arms.

“What happened?”

“There were adventurers fighting a group of orcs. Two of them were seriously injured, so I brought them here.”

“Lay her down here.”

Even now, blood continued to flow from the woman’s wounds.

Seeing the severity of her condition, Raion immediately used his ability the moment she was laid down.

“Restoration!”

As Raion’s hand hovered over the wound on her waist, his power activated.

The bleeding area gradually returned to its original, uninjured state under the effect of Restoration.

Then he moved his hand to her left arm and healed that as well.

“That should do. Her condition doesn’t look too bad—she should regain consciousness soon.”

A short while later, the rest of the adventurers following behind Jade appeared over the slope.

They had taken time because they were supporting a heavily armored man.

That man, too, was losing a considerable amount of blood from his abdomen, his consciousness fading.

“What are you doing? If you’re here, you should lay him down right away.”

Raion scolded the men who were standing around blankly.

Only then did they snap out of it and lay their injured companion beside the woman.

“Other than the wound in his abdomen, the rest doesn’t look too bad. Restoration!”

As soon as he chanted the word, the blood flowing from the man’s stomach cleared up and reversed course.

It was the same as when Raion had healed the woman’s wound earlier.

The man’s injuries vanished, returning to their original, unharmed state.

The other adventurers who witnessed the scene stared blankly at Raion.

“Are you a priest? But that man called you ‘Master’ earlier…”

On the continent, priests capable of healing with holy power were treated on par with lower nobles.

Yet Raion wasn’t wearing a priest’s robe. On the contrary, he was dressed like a high-ranking noble, accompanied by people who looked like a butler and attendants.

Naturally, it was difficult to see him as a priest.

“He is indeed my master. And…”

Jade hesitated, unsure how much to reveal about Raion.

Seeing that, Raion spoke first.

“I am Raion Canel of the Canel Kingdom.”

“Canel?”

“If it’s Canel… then could it be…?”

The adventurers, stunned at the name, turned to look at Jade.

“He is indeed the prince you’re thinking of. And I am his escort knight, Jade.”

“I am Patrick, the butler.”

“I’m Monica, the maid!”

“Please call me Dike!”

“I am the mage, Caldein.”

Following Jade’s lead, each introduced themselves in turn.

The adventurers, still in disbelief, finally regained their composure.

Then two of them quickly dropped to one knee.

“I am Danilov, a warrior.”

“I am Klein, a swordsman. And our companions over there are our leader, Jen, and the archer, Edna.”

After introducing themselves, they looked toward Raion.

“There’s no need for such formalities. I find it uncomfortable.”

“But, how could we act so casually before a prince? And please, feel free to speak as you wish.”

Because Raion was royalty, Klein and Danilov couldn’t easily rise.

“You’re rather stubborn people. Hmph!”

At that moment, Raion infused his killing intent with mana and released it sharply.

Startled, the two men immediately stood and took defensive stances.

Of course, they weren’t the only ones surprised.

Jade, Patrick, Caldein, Monica, and Dike all turned wide-eyed toward Raion.

“I don’t wish to repeat myself—just stand up.”

He had merely done it to make them rise.

Still, Klein and Danilov felt chills running down their spines.

“Thank you for your leniency.”

“More importantly, you mentioned you were fighting a group of orcs?”

To that question, Jade replied,

“Yes, that’s correct. But it’s strange—this area shouldn’t be far from Kanas Castle. Is it possible for so many orcs to appear here?”

Klein answered Jade’s question.

“You don’t know the situation here? Kanas has difficulty dealing with monsters within its territory, so extermination requests are left to adventurers or mercenaries.”

Though Raion already knew that, he listened quietly.

‘Nothing has changed here from before.’

Klein’s explanation made everyone else’s expressions turn grim.

Orcs, by nature, lived in groups.

That meant there could be an orc habitat not far away.

If that location was close to Kanas Castle, the fortress could be in danger of a large-scale orc raid.

“Master, the situation in Kanas seems worse than we thought.”

“Indeed. For orc packs to appear near the castle where most of the residents live… there could be other dangerous monsters as well.”

Patrick nodded in agreement with Jade’s assessment.

Of course, Raion already knew all of this.

In the original future, Kanas Castle had truly suffered a massive orc invasion and barely survived.

He was already planning to annihilate the orc nest in one sweep soon.

“Let’s set that aside for now. What will you all do? We’re heading to the castle—will you come with us?”

“Would it be all right for us to accompany you?”

Traveling with nobles was burdensome enough, but accompanying royalty was even more so.

Honestly, Klein and Danilov secretly hoped Raion would refuse first.

“It would be impossible for you to carry the wounded all the way to the castle on foot. Let’s put them in the carriage.”

Once the two were placed in the carriage, there would be no seats left to sit.

Everyone looked troubled by that.

“Master, please take my horse.”

Caldein, noticing the situation, stepped forward and pointed to the horse he had ridden.

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