NOVEL NEXT Ch. 27
Chapter 27
“There are so damn many of them.”
Julian flicked the blood off his sword and moved forward.
He had cut down hundreds of Orcs in a week.
Yet, seeing them appear endlessly, they were truly a species that occupied a part of the mountain range along with Ogres, Trolls, and Lycanthropes.
‘At this rate, I can't defeat my brothers.’
Slice.
Julian, having cut down another Orc, looked back.
Killian, who could be considered the knight order's greatest asset, did not draw his sword unless it was to cut down a fleeing monster.
The reason was that he had to focus on detection, as he didn't know when the Knight Slayer would make its move.
‘Wasting his efforts on a creature that doesn't even show its face…’
His gaze turned towards the entrance of the mountain range.
Fifty elites of the Red Knight Order, led by Fred Perry. He could vividly feel the menacing aura they emitted.
‘For just one monster… Hmph, not a chance.’
With continued victories, the morale of the knight order was at its peak.
Julian was confident.
With the Red Knight Order, he could hunt the Knight Slayer.
‘I'd rather the bastard appeared on this side. Then that frustrating Killian would have no choice but to move.’
If he hunted the Knight Slayer, which might be the ruler of the mountains, the greatest achievement of the subjugation would be as good as his.
Julian frowned as he looked at the corpses of the fallen Orcs around him.
“Just how many more of these things do I have to cut down to wipe them out.”
Grumbling, he took out a potion from his pocket and drank it.
His tired muscles recovered quickly. As an item manufactured in Sephiroth and distributed by the Sepia Merchant Guild, its effect was certain.
‘I have plenty of potions. I can stay for another five hours.’
It was when he was scanning the resting knights.
Vice-commander Xenon approached.
“Commander, the White Knight Order will be descending the mountain in three hours.”
“Already? Damn it……”
Julian cursed and looked for Killian.
He wanted to remain with just the Blue Knight Order to continue the subjugation, but if even one of the three orders pulled out, the balance would be broken.
One wrong move and they could be surrounded and attacked by the monsters from the center and the right.
‘There's no way Killian would take such a risk…….’
His tactician was taking an overly conservative approach.
It was highly likely that he would force the Blue Knight Order to descend after three hours.
‘I need to ride this momentum.’
According to the map's markings, there were two strong Orc colonies adjacent to the central area.
His deliberation was not long.
“From now on, the Blue Knight Order will advance towards the center and drive out the monsters.”
“What? If we push further from here, the Orcs' resistance will intensify. The closer we get to the colony, the more casualties we'll have.”
“They're still just Orcs. We can't hunt small fry forever, can we.”
“…….”
“It's better to deal with the colonies quickly. If we give them time to prepare, we'll have a harder time later.”
“But……”
Julian frowned at Xenon's unconvinced reaction.
“Vice-commander Xenon, even if a high-level monster appears, we have Tactician Killian, so there's no need to worry.”
“Pardon?”
Julian, after a glance around, whispered secretly into Xenon's ear.
“I heard Killian single-handedly slayed a Grand Ogre.”
“……!!”
Xenon's mouth fell open. Slaying a 6-star monster single-handedly was proof that Killian was also a 6-star knight.
Julian patted Xenon's shoulder and smiled.
“Keep this between us.”
“…….”
Within the Blue Knight Order, Killian's name was absolute. He was the very person who had personally instructed and improved the skills of not only the Commander, Vice-commander, Centurions, and Decurions, but also the 1-star members.
Just as expected, the worry that had clouded Xenon's face vanished as if it had been a lie.
“Understood. I will relay the Commander's orders to the Centurions.”
“Good.”
The voice of the retreating Xenon echoed throughout the area.
Watching him, Julian felt a strange emotion.
‘Everyone loses their minds at the mere mention of Killian's name.’
It was unsettling.
He was not unaware that this anxiety stemmed from his own shortcomings.
A tactician who became a 6-star knight at twenty-one and a commander who became a 3-star knight at twenty-four.
He knew without being told whom the knights would follow more.
But.
‘Still, he's just a guy with no power base. He's nothing more than a tool I use.’
Forcibly rationalizing it that way.
Julian moved his feet.
***
“From now, we will occupy the Orc colony!!”
“Re-form the ranks with the Decurions at the center!!”
At the shouts of the Vice-commander and the Centurions, the knights moved busily.
‘Julian, he's overdoing it.’
The nearest Orc colony was located about an hour away from here.
Although they had occupied two colonies in a week, according to the map, there were still five more.
And now Julian was overexerting himself to deal with the third colony.
‘He can't let go of his greed even after I warned him so much.’
Forcing the issue in front of the knights and shaking his authority was not good for discipline.
Killian watched the members re-forming the ranks.
Just one month. In that short period, he had crossed swords with and taught all three hundred of them.
They were knights whose morale had reached its peak through arduous training and real combat.
‘Overdoing it a little might not be so bad.’
Although it was an order born from Julian's greed, it was true that the sooner the colony was subjugated, the better.
Ssssss.
As Killian secretly retrieved the Mana he had scattered, he detected the presence of monsters holding their breath at a distance invisible to the eye.
At best, they were 1-star to 2-star. Not enough to be a threat to the current knight order.
‘The Slayer, it's quite cautious.’
A week had passed since the knights ascended the mountain range.
Even with a limited range, it hadn't been detected once.
‘Is it because of the Red Knight Order waiting in the rear?’
It was when Killian was thinking about the knights led by Vice-commander Fred Perry.
“Orcs!!”
“There are many!! Push them back!!”
The Orcs that had been detected by his Mana clashed with the knights led by Hector.
This time too, a considerable number of Orc Warriors and Mages were mixed in.
‘Mutants again.’
It wasn't strange for one or two unusual individuals to be mixed among the monsters of the mountain range.
‘But there are too many.’
The Grand Ogre he had slayed while saving Lorenzo Bastoni before.
The Grand Orc Warrior he had faced at the beginning of the subjugation.
And even the Grand Orc Mage casting Fireballs in the distance.
Creatures that were hard to see more than a couple of in a normal colony were popping up quite frequently.
It was rare but not impossible for a monster influenced by the ruler of the mountains to grow beyond its limits.
‘It's beyond a level the Bastoni Family can control alone… If they hadn't asked Eurasia for help, a monster wave would have occurred.’
Unless Escardo came, it would be impossible to completely subjugate these monsters.
But he couldn't just keep watching the enemy's movements forever.
It was the moment Killian was about to draw his sword to help the knights.
“……!!”
A familiar creature was caught in his scattered Mana.
“Everyone, halt!!”
His voice, imbued with Mana, echoed in all directions.
“It's the Tactician's order!! Everyone, halt!!”
“Everyone, hold your positions!!”
At the Centurions' shouts, the knights stopped in their tracks and caught their breath.
Xenon, who had cut down the Grand Orc Mage in that short interval, approached.
“Tactician, what is the sudden reason for this?”
“A huge one is coming. Have the knights fall back and form a defensive line.”
There was no question.
“It's the Tactician's command!! Fall back and form a defensive line!!”
Nearly three hundred knights retreated while maintaining their formation and lowered their stances.
Ssssss.
The Mana blooming from their swords revealed their fighting spirit.
About 10 seconds passed like that.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The ground began to vibrate.
A pressure he had never felt when dealing with Orcs was transmitted.
“It's coming!!”
The knights shouted and tightened their grip on their swords.
[Uwoooooh.]
The giant that appeared from between the trees roared as it swung a club the size of its body.
“It's a Troll!!”
“Don't block it, evade!!”
Whooosh.
The club held in its thick hand sent three knights flying.
“All except the Decurions, fall back!!”
Hector, who was nearby, shouted and stepped forward, but.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
The vibration was not from just one.
What finally revealed themselves were monsters that should not have appeared here.
[Uwoooooh.]
The monster shouting loudly was a Troll.
[Grrrrrr.]
The one revealing its fighting spirit with a body as large as the Troll's was an Ogre.
[Wooooooooo.]
And the monster with a white mane letting out an ominous howl was a Lycanthrope.
The creatures known as 5-star monsters had appeared from three directions as if by appointment.
“Wh-what the……”
“Why are those things all together……!!”
The panicked knights hastily raised their Mana, but.
Crunch.
The Ogre mercilessly swung its fist, crushing their armor.
Slice.
The Lycanthrope's sharp claws instantly severed the knights' bodies, scattering blood everywhere.
Screams and shouts echoed from all corners. Confusion born of fear began to consume the battlefield.
“All except the Centurions and Decurions, fall back!!”
Xenon and Julian stepped forward and shouted.
Crunch.
Xenon, who had reached 4-star, barely blocked the Ogre's strike.
Clang.
Julian luckily deflected the Lycanthrope's claws.
“Ki-Killian……!! Help me!!”
Julian shouted urgently as he saw the approaching Lycanthrope.
But even in the midst of it all, Killian was lost in thought, quietly staring at the three monsters wreaking havoc among the knights.
‘It appeared as if it had been waiting for me to withdraw my detection.’
His detection was not so clumsy as to be caught by mere 5-star monsters.
Also, for creatures of that level to appear simultaneously was impossible unless they were under someone's command.
‘A being that can command 5-star monsters of different species.’
His thoughts were not long.
Shing.
Finally, Killian drew Cheonghwageom.
Fwoosh.
The sword, imbued with Mana, bloomed blue flames around it.
Fwoosh. Fwoooosh.
Not enough.
The blue flames, gradually expanding their range, completely dominated the area.
The knights were briefly flustered by the suddenly rising flames.
“It's Tactician Killian's Mana!!”
“Everyone, distance yourselves from the monsters!!”
Without exception, from Centurions, Vice-commander, to the Commander, all the knights left the monsters and created distance.
[Uwoooooh.]
[Grrrrrr.]
[Woooooo.]
Fwoooooosh.
The three monsters revealed their fighting spirit and resisted, but they were instantly buried in the blue flames and disappeared.
10 seconds.
That was the time it took for the three monsters to burn up without leaving a single bone fragment, along with a sound that could have been a howl or a scream.
A cheer erupted from among the knights who witnessed the scene.
“As expected of my tactician!”
It was the moment Julian, with a look of ecstasy, tried to approach Killian.
“Don't come closer, fall back!!”
The voice laden with Mana once again echoed throughout the area.
Killian, his gaze still fixed on the forest, quietly opened his mouth.
“Come out.”
It was when 10 seconds that felt like 10 minutes had passed.
Fwoooooosh.
A massive body comparable to a Grand Troll.
Muscles that overwhelmed a Grand Ogre.
Venomous claws like those of a Grand Lycanthrope.
A monster with a ferocious appearance that possessed all of these in one body, revealed itself from beyond the surging blue flames.
Overwhelmed by its presence, the knights could only stare blankly at the approaching monster's red eyes.
Gulp.
In the battlefield that had become so quiet that the sound of someone swallowing dryly could be heard.
Ssk.
Only Killian lowered his stance and raised his sword.
“I've been waiting for you, Knight Slayer.”
The rock-hard muscles of its entire body swelled with power.
And.
“First Flash.”
The sword of the 6-star knight, cloaked in blue flames, was thrust forward without delay.