Fortress Commander of the 5th Fortress, Günter.

If you had to pick a personality that is the exact opposite of Erich’s, you could point precisely to Günter.

The difference between the two was apparent even in rather trivial matters.

For example, Erich likes possibilities. Sometimes, he even makes risky gambles.

But Günter saw such behavior as extremely dangerous.

‘All about stability and balance, or whatever.’

Maybe that’s why? Günter was also the one who most vehemently opposed Erich becoming the commander.

‘Stability and balance, huh.’

Of course, those two virtues weren’t bad in themselves.

However, Erich’s stance was that, if those virtues got in the way of progress, he would not hesitate to abandon them.

In contrast, Günter was conservative in every aspect. The fact that so many of his fortress’s personnel used bows reflected such inclinations.

In any case, thus—

Erich maneuvered his troops so as to avoid the 5th Fortress as much as possible.

While Günter probably didn’t know much about Erich yet, Erich knew him only too well.

That was why Erich predicted that, if they were to clash, there would be inevitable conflict, as always.

However—

Among those silently following along, a few seemed to question this decision.

Erich, who always preferred the shortest possible route—seeing him taking a detour was rare.

Yet, most seemed content to simply assume he had a plan.

Except for Mikhail.

“… Is there something you’re concerned about? This isn’t the sort of advance I’d expect from you,”

“Are you familiar with Commander Günter?”

Mikhail’s eyes narrowed. He rolled his eyes for a moment, then a wry smile spread across his face.

“So that’s what you were troubled about. Not a bad judgment. You and Günter probably wouldn’t get along.”

“From what I’ve heard, he’s an extremely stiff-necked fortress commander.”

“Well, frustratingly so. Though August is fond of him, saying such people are also necessary.”

Erich nodded. It was true that Günter had enjoyed August’s favor.

In fact, there had even been a time when Günter was predicted as a possible candidate for Commander.

Considering that, among the young fortress commanders, the only ones ever considered for the position were Erich and Günter, it was clear that Günter was highly regarded.

Yet, ultimately, August took a gamble by appointing Erich, not Günter, as Commander.

Perhaps it was because he judged that the Watch needed renewal.

‘Otherwise, there would have been no reason to select me, who wasn’t even a candidate.’

Furthermore, Erich had another reason to avoid Günter. As mentioned previously, the very reason for Günter’s enlistment was Albrecht.

Once, borrowing the words of Commander Richter, Günter had been called ‘Albrecht’s dog’.

However, in Erich’s memory, while Günter had caused many conflicts, in the end, he stood together with him and died fighting off the army of the dead.

And that gave Erich a degree of confusion.

‘He was Albrecht’s henchman, and yet he fought and died resisting the dead?’

Something about this didn’t add up.

‘But there’s no time to dwell on that now. If possible, it’s best to avoid him.’

Not only was there no telling how Günter would react, but the current Günter might not be the same as the future one—perhaps his loyalty had shifted from Albrecht to the Watch.

In any case, Erich’s top priority in this moment was to destroy Albrecht’s research facility and to capture him.

Just as he was thinking this,

Erich’s eyes narrowed. The first research facility was coming into view.

A smooth gray building with guards posted around it.

Not only that—looking at how the wandering dead nearby paid it no mind, it was clear such occurrences were a matter of routine.

Erich’s lips curled upward. It was time to shatter Albrecht’s plans.

*

It didn’t take long to neutralize the facility’s forces. Maybe because the number of dead was low, or simply because the guards themselves weren’t particularly skilled.

Moreover, as soon as they heard themselves branded as traitors—

“… We really didn’t know! Please, just spare us!”

They all lost their will to resist and hurried to surrender. A few tried to fight back, but their heads had long since been rolling across the snow.

Erich looked over his unit and spoke.

“From now on, we proceed with only a small force. Barnes, select fifty from among the troops.”

“Yes, sir.”

For the squad accompanying him inside the research facility, Erich chose Mikhail, Frederick, Alexander, and a few holy knights, as well as Ceres.

Thus, the group entered the research facility.

Inside, it was dark. Since it was built underground, not aboveground, it was not the kind of place one could send a large crowd.

Tension was high among all present—except for Ceres, who even seemed somewhat excited.

Gazing at the countless bookshelves inside, Erich asked,

“Any idea what this place might be for?”

“Not at all. But there’s no doubt there are valuable books here.”

“… Valuable?”

“Yes. Some of these books are already lost. Not even the Mage Tower has them.”

Erich scanned the shelves again. Even for someone as well-read as himself, he had no inkling of their content.

If only they had titles blaring “Magic Something-or-Other,” he’d at least have a clue.

But these books were not only written in an ancient language, but also had titles that revealed nothing of their content.

Loosely translated, the one he held read 〈Secrets in the Bloodline〉, but there was no telling what it contained.

Ceres, having walked a little further, picked something from a shelf.

“May I take some of these books to the Mage Tower? This one is truly rare.”

“〈Secrets in the Bloodline〉? I can’t tell from the title alone.”

“In the past, the Church’s watch was much stricter. Lots of books have cryptic titles to hide their subject matter. This one is about genetics.”

“… Genetics? Are the other books similar?”

“Yes. Why?”

Erich’s eyes narrowed. To have ancient tomes gathered here implied a high probability that they were related to Albrecht’s research.

Ceres opened the book and her lips curled upwards.

“We mages once speculated that the Empire was once very technologically advanced. But when the Church gained power, the dark ages fell…”

At that, Ceres darted a look at the holy knights—but they simply continued their watchful watch, unconcerned.

Then, as Erich’s group advanced further inside, they came to a halt—all eyes fixed on the sight before them.

― Uuuuu…

Inside the lab, barbarians tied side by side lay groaning in pain. Some half-alive, others in a state worse than death.

Barbarians subjected to experimentation, their bodies pierced by devices—battle-hardened as they all were, even they had trouble looking this sight in the eye.

‘All of them are under the influence of some kind of hallucination. What was Albrecht trying to gain from all this?’

Erich’s gaze roved rapidly—for clues to the purpose of this laboratory. Soon, his eyes flashed crimson.

At last, Erich found what he sought.

“… Sir Mikhail, do you see that?”

“Yes, I see it too.”

The devices embedded in the barbarians were not for simple experiments.

Inside the bodies of these barbarians, a pure crystalline form of power was growing.

And those crystals grew by leeching life from the barbarians’ hearts. Perhaps parasitic would be a better word.

Even Erich was shocked to find that the energy radiating from those crystals felt familiar.

‘… It’s almost identical to aura.’

Ceres approached and examined them.

“… This is astonishing. Strikingly original—almost to the point of horror.”

“It looks to me as if something is… being cultivated?”

“You caught it at a glance. Barbarians have tremendous resistance across the board. If you tried this on a normal person, their body would have burned up in days. But…”

Ceres’ blue gaze scrutinized every part of each barbarian. She quickly gathered the journals neatly placed next to each of them.

“There have been constant efforts to artificially create an energy like aura. And right now, I’m looking at the only successful case I’ve ever seen.”

Though her tone was calm, Ceres seemed almost trembling with excitement, particularly as she flipped through the pages of the journal.

Erich replied to what Ceres had said.

“So… they made aura artificially?”

“If you refine the source of this power with magic, creating someone like you—a swordmaster—through artificial means may not be impossible at all.”

Erich’s eyes widened. Creating swordmasters artificially? He’d already heard rumors along those lines.

‘Ungrim… he claimed he could make Head Hunters. But his power wasn’t originally like that. … Don’t tell me?’

Suddenly it all started to make sense. Why Ungrim’s warriors included so many Head Hunters.

Even more so, how there were even ‘inferior’ Head Hunters among them.

And this realization led to another answer.

‘Albrecht was cooperating with ‘Mountain King’ Ungrim…’

The moment the supposition he’d had became certainty—the missing pieces of the puzzle, at last, snapped into place.

Ungrim’s objective had been to destroy the Great Wall.

But what kind of deal could he and Albrecht have struck to make such cooperation possible?

Until now, Erich had no idea.

But now, he understood.

‘Ungrim provided the barbarians and gained power in return.’

Yet there were questions remaining. Setting aside Ungrim’s motives, what did Albrecht stand to gain by granting such power to Ungrim?

Put more extremely, even if the black fortress fell to the barbarians, what would Albrecht get out of it?

This pointed to yet another fact.

‘If the collapse of the Great Wall itself was Albrecht’s objective… it all fits. He’s acting on behalf of the will of the dead.’

Just then, Hrung-ga approached and let out a deep breath.

[What a dreadful thing. I can see the vast power growing inside their bodies.]

[That appears to be the secret to creating Head Hunters, Hrung-ga.]

[I had my doubts the moment I saw it, and now it’s confirmed. So, Ungrim and Albrecht are partners in collaboration?]

[It would seem so.]

Erich allowed Ceres plenty of time to thoroughly investigate the research facility.

No one here could unravel the experiment’s secrets as well as she could.

At that moment, someone rushed in from outside—the non-commissioned officer Kurz, who had been organizing the troops rather than entering.

“Commander, you need to see this.”

“Dead? Or Günter? Which is it?”

“Can you see through the wall? … It’s the Commander of the 5th Fortress, Günter.”

Erich nodded slowly. Of course. The only one who would come here to interfere at this point was just about him.

‘Let’s hear what he wants, at least.’

After instructing Ceres to keep investigating, Erich walked outside—to discover what brought Günter here to interfere, and, more importantly, to learn whose side he stood on.

————-= Clacky’s Corner ————-=

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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