“Uuuuugh.”

Erich stretched, reaching his arms far above his head. Next to him were Frederick, looking thoroughly haggard, and Barnes, rubbing his heavy eyes.

Frederick murmured, holding his forehead.

“… Sitting at a desk is going to kill me.”

“That’s what they call the weight of a crown, Frederick.”

“I think this is where my limit lies.”

Frederick wore a wry smile. Frederick, the perennial senior member—thanks to Erich’s recommendation, he had become the chief senior member, the most senior role in Erich’s unit.

If a senior member in a lower-level unit was responsible for managing standard members, the chief senior member managed entire units and even strongholds.

Of course, he wasn’t at the level of the chief members in the Watch like Mikhail or Konrad, but even so, chief senior member was the dream of every senior.

For Frederick, he’d attained a position far above what he ever imagined.

Additionally, Erich had appointed Barnes as watch captain.

Barnes stood out for his individual combat abilities.

While he was about even with Frederick, Erich judged that his potential for growth was exceptionally high.

After promoting the two, Erich assigned each of them 500 men. Normally, they’d need separate centurions, but Erich didn’t see the necessity.

‘After all, I can command everyone myself.’

There wasn’t a centurion alive who could follow Erich’s strategy and tempo. Since he’d end up commanding each move anyway, what use was the centurion?

He judged it better to entrust command, even if only for straightforward tactics, to Frederick and Barnes, who would faithfully carry out his orders.

Of course, there were countless other bothersome details, so organizing the unit took more time.

Unlike managing just a few hundred members, mustering over a thousand required a lot of consideration.

It wasn’t just a matter of organizing combat personnel; they also needed a group to handle supplies.

After laboring all night, Erich finally finished organizing the independent unit he was to command: about 1,500 members.

Half were reinforcements from the main force, but he’d also included the members under Sergeant Kurz from the Black Serpent outpost and elites from the 6th Fortress.

As noted, Erich had 500 under his direct command, and Frederick and Barnes each had 500.

He could have increased the size, but since this wasn’t a unit meant for total war, there was no need for now. It might grow in future.

With the most urgent tasks done, Erich put his hand in his pocket. He felt something round and solid. Pulling it out, he rolled it in his palm.

“That, isn’t that the one we pulled from the necromancer’s body?”

“Yeah, they call it a ‘core’. Unlike common undead, every commander-class being has one of these.”

“… Just hearing about it, it sounds damn dangerous. Are you sure it’s safe to handle it so casually?”

Erich silently curled the corner of his mouth. For Frederick, it was a sharp observation. Though it had lost its light after being pierced by Erich’s sword, the core was certainly a dangerous object.

Above all, it was a crystallized essence of their power. Still, Erich knew it could be put to good use.

‘If I can just refine it a bit.’

The power that the dead used, or a swordmaster’s aura, ultimately were both forms of energy, differing only in form and nature.

That meant, given a bit of refinement, it could be turned into pure energy and then absorbed as aura again.

Erich gazed at the core thoughtfully. It reminded him of when he’d first proposed this method and met with fierce opposition.

People had asked if he’d forgotten the disaster caused by the blood of the dead.

But in the case of the core, his subordinate’s proposal had been right. This core had advanced the level of many swordmasters without risk.

‘… If only that guy were here, things would be easier.’

Erich let out a soft sigh. Circumstances didn’t allow him to track down everyone who had once been with him.

In any case, the prerequisite for using the core was ‘refinement’. He couldn’t use it yet, but when he figured out how, it would prove its worth.

“Well, it depends on who uses it. Same bread—if I eat it, it turns to aura. If you eat it, it just comes out as shit, right?”

“Even your metaphors… I’m so fed up I’m tempted to become a swordmaster myself.”

—Screeeech.

Snow blew in through the crack in the door. Then Mikhail, chief watchman, stepped inside. Frederick, who had been slouching, instantly stiffened up.

Mikhail quietly sized up the scene before speaking.

“… You all look like wet, miserable dogs.”

“Isn’t that proof we’ve worked hard?”

“Not hard—well. You need to do things well.”

Mikhail smiled slightly as he removed his snow-laden black cloak and set it aside.

Erich, rubbing his tired eyes, addressed Mikhail.

“The organization is complete. Sir Mikhail, we’ll be ready to depart at dawn the day after tomorrow.”

“Did you include soldiers from your own domain?”

“No. They’re better off with the main force.”

“If you say so, it’s your judgment. Go ahead as planned. So—where will you head first?”

Erich’s gaze shifted to the map on the wall, where he’d drawn bold red arrows.

“As I mentioned before, we’ll head east. There, we’ll meet the wolf tribe and prepare to travel to the far east end.”

“… Are you planning to cross Haratakan?”

Erich nodded. Beyond the Great Wall here, the northern end couldn’t be pushed farther north.

Because the endless frozen wilderness held nothing and no one. To the far east, however, lay the stronghold of Ungrim—Erich’s final objective.

But there were several problems with reaching Ungrim’s stronghold in the far east. There were only two routes.

One required crossing the vast frozen lake ‘Kundun’—as wide as the sea, a gamble too dangerous to risk.

Not only was it teeming with hostile forces, but unless you were a local, you’d be lucky to ferry even a hundred men—let alone an army. It wasn’t called ‘ice lake’ for nothing.

Therefore, Erich had only one route: the great snowy mountains of ‘Haratakan’.

That immense range divided east from west. Crossing it was their best option.

While agreeing with Erich, Mikhail couldn’t help but worry.

“But in the history of the Watch, not a single person has crossed Haratakan. Being the first is an achievement, but you mustn’t forget the risk.”

“I’m aware. But precisely because of that, the enemy won’t suspect it.”

“So, you plan to borrow the strength of those damned barbarians to cross Haratakan.”

“Exactly.”

Even Erich himself had never crossed Haratakan. Before his return, if someone had suggested it, he’d have dismissed them as crazy.

‘But now, it’s the best course.’

Ungrim would only emerge from beyond Haratakan after uniting the barbarians and becoming the Mountain King.

By then, Erich’s troops would have to fight Ungrim’s horde to the death, not even conserving strength for the dead.

Therefore, Erich intended to eliminate all threats and prepare before the undead army could arise.

To put a stop to it in advance, Erich had to cross first and shatter their ambitions.

Thus, he needed to cross Haratakan—and had to be led by those best acquainted with the way.

‘Namely, Hrung-ga and the other barbarians.’

If he could form bonds with their tribe, he could not only get assistance while climbing Haratakan, but possibly use the area as a base.

There was no guarantee they’d cooperate—but Erich intended to make it so.

“By the way, I hear those half-wits followe Incensus have been begging August to let them join us.”

“You mean the holy knights?”

“Who else would I mean? I’d recommend you don’t take them. But the decision is yours.”

“I absolutely refuse. They can’t be controlled.”

“So we’re on the same page. But apparently August is in a bind—they keep pestering him.”

Erich blinked. Letting those lunatics into the unit? Still, an excuse quickly came to mind.

“Tell them that there’s a special plan Incensus had prepared for the holy knights. They’ll understand.”

“You think they’ll back down so easily?”

“I tried thinking like a madman. They probably will.”

Mikhail grinned. He apparently thought the ploy would work.

The holy knights were skilled, but even Erich couldn’t control them; who knew what they might do.

There’s a saying that one scripture leads to a hundred interpretations. That was the Church’s lot: interpreting everything as they liked, acting as they pleased.

They were fundamentally incompatible with Erich.

‘Still, there might be a use for them someday.’

They were fanatics, so they might be of use once. Hopefully that day would never come.

Mikhail seemed ready to speak again, but Erich cut in.

“Don’t tell me we’ve got an even more troublesome problem?”

“Giving you headaches is my job. Didn’t you know?”

“What is it this time?”

“This one’s impossible to solve—August just told me to keep it in mind. The mage tower has already learned about the dead.”

Erich’s eyes narrowed. The mage tower—those lunatics already knew about the dead? This was an unexpected situation even for him.

“That’s not good. Have they sent any word?”

“Since when do they ever ask permission? They blew up three outposts recently with their ‘experiments.’ This time, they’ll start on their own again.”

“They’ll be especially interested in me.”

“Right—and you’re the one who’ll have trouble. With you being an apostle of Incensus and now the dead emerging, the mage tower is all riled up.”

The ‘mage tower’. In the Empire, there were recognized mages. They rarely meddled in worldly affairs—but if something caught their interest, they’d walk into hell itself.

The problem was, they wielded virtually unchecked power. Their backer was the Imperial family. Mages only intervened when the Imperial family was threatened.

The Imperial family was happy to have their aid in suppressing rebellions, and in return, mages had enjoyed autonomy for centuries.

Erich pursed his lips.

“To keep the mage tower in check, I’ll have to use the church. They’re about the only ones who can restrain them.”

“Well, that’s your business. Swordsmen like me just pass on information. Anyway, that’s all, so I’ll be off.”

“Thank you, sir Mikhail.”

“No need… So, when did you say you’d depart?”

Erich pondered briefly, then answered Mikhail.

“The day after tomorrow. At dawn, we march east.”

Mikhail nodded slowly. Now they would march for the wolf tribe of the barbarian Hrung-ga.

For the first time in the history of the Watch, an alliance with the barbarians.

————-= Clacky’s Corner ————-=

It should be said that, for the first time in the known history, since you know, there were Barbarian watchmen before…

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