novelraw Chapter 95 : Chapter 95
Chapter 95 : Chapter 95
Chapter 95
How did things end up like this?
My only goal was to find the object Joshua had hidden to awaken my Neutral Attribute.
Somehow, I had ended up lighting the fuse to a situation on which the fate of the Mergan Kingdom hung.
The only fortunate thing was that this was much better than being blindsided and ending up in an irreparable situation.
In the skies above the port city of Monora, Unit 917’s airship was already maintaining a certain altitude, guarding the surroundings.
Whether our message had been properly received or not, Monora, which had been peaceful until just a few days ago, was now on a war footing.
The city gates, which had been wide open in all directions, were firmly shut, residents hesitated to go outside, and on the city walls, soldiers with tense faces were expressing strong hostility towards strangers.
When our old boat arrived at the dock, armed soldiers rushed over in a crowd.
Their attitude was full of caution.
“Halt! Please confirm your identities before disembarking. We have received a report that a monster in human form was sighted in the nearby Sursa Village, so we are only admitting those with confirmed identities into the city. We ask for your cooperation.”
“Seeing as the information has already been passed down to the soldiers, it seems the commander has been running around quite busy.”
Latia whispered.
From her perspective, it was probably an action taken without much thought, but it seemed to have heightened the soldiers’ vigilance.
To appease the soldiers, whose eyes had become even sharper, I detached my rank insignia and handed it over.
“Rian Kaltz, field commander of Unit 917. We are on our way back from Sursa Village, where we went to protect the residents from the zombies… that is, the monsters that appeared in Haram.”
Whether there had been prior information about us, the soldiers who confirmed the rank insignia showed visible relief.
“Sursa Village… You were lucky to make it back alive. Welcome to Monora.”
The soldiers who opened the way for us moved to their respective positions to maintain their guard.
We abandoned the precarious boat, which looked like it could sink at any moment, and set foot on land.
A great many people were milling about the port.
Most of them were loading supplies onto ships, and it seemed they were preparing to abandon the city and flee at any moment if the situation took a turn for the worse.
Not only sailors but also civilians were gathered at the port, anxiously trying to get on board the ships.
[Celina. Where are you? We’ve just arrived at the port in Monora.]
I contacted Celina through telepathy.
Latia, who was next to me, jumped in surprise and looked at me.
I had intended to send the message only to Celina, but it seemed the signal had been sent to Latia as well.
Since I too could not yet perfectly handle telepathy, it was an unavoidable mistake.
[Uh… Stay there!]
After a very short delay, Celina’s voice came through.
Other than me, Celina was the only one in Unit 917 who had succeeded in using telepathy, but her proficiency was still lacking, and the quality of the signal she sent was so poor that it was difficult to understand what she was saying without concentrating.
For now, I waited quietly as she instructed.
Before long, Celina joined us, accompanied by Byan.
“Rian. I’m glad you’re back safely.”
“How’s the situation?”
“Hmm… I’ll explain as we walk. To be honest, the situation we’re in isn’t very relaxed.”
Celina, looking thoroughly exhausted, yawned languidly and began to walk ahead.
Judging by the direction, it did not seem like we were returning to Unit 917’s airship.
Rather, it seemed we were heading towards the center of Monora.
“I thought you would be curious, Rian, so I’ll tell you first. We have successfully evacuated all the residents from the villages near Haram to Monora.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Yes. It really is a relief.”
As she said that, Celina smiled faintly.
Then and now, unlike me, who was always preoccupied with just saving my own skin, Celina was very satisfied with the fact that she had saved even one more citizen.
Perhaps if she had become the Margrave as the heir of the Verdin family, she would have been a great leader, and if she had been a royal with succession rights, she might have become a revered monarch.
Near the port, there were numerous barracks that appeared to have been hastily built; they were set up for the refugees from the surrounding villages.
The refugees, who were standing around blankly near the barracks, bowed their heads respectfully to show their respect and gratitude whenever they saw Celina.
It seemed that she had not only rescued them but had also shared the supplies of Unit 917.
“The lord of Monora is also aware of the seriousness of the current situation. Since the lord himself has requested aid from the royal family, reinforcements will arrive sequentially soon.”
“What’s the scale of the reinforcements?”
“Not enough. That’s why we need to write a report based on more accurate information and request additional support. But the lord of Monora… hmm… how should I put it…”
Celina’s eyes half-closed.
I could tell just by looking at her expression.
I could see that she held a strong dissatisfaction with the lord of Monora.
Should she express her honest feelings, or should she maintain a minimum of courtesy?
After hesitating for a long time, Celina finally chose the former.
“He lacks competence.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. I believe a lord who manages a city should, at the very least, prioritize the people living in his domain above all else in the world. But the lord of Monora is incapable of that. He is a typical corrupt noble, blinded by power and social climbing.”
“…That’s scathing.”
“Because that’s the reality.”
An undisguisable irritation was present in the voice she let out.
To be honest, the term ‘corrupt noble’ came as quite a fresh surprise.
This was because most of the nobles I had met so far were people who practiced noblesse oblige, exemplary figures who could be presented anywhere without shame.
But fresh was fresh.
The situation we were in could be called terrible.
I was not sure if we could protect Monora even if we received the maximum support from the government and poured everything we had into it, and the lord of Monora was a person unfit for his position.
My head ached at the thought that we had to start by persuading the lord of Monora when we were in a situation where it would not be enough even if we used all our strength to fight the enemy.
Even at this very moment, the zombies of Haram were probably advancing towards Monora.
In a situation where every minute and every second was precious, a hatred for the lord I had never even met welled up inside me.
“If I had my way, I wouldn’t want to help the lord of Monora, but what crime have the people under him committed? We must fight, if only for them.”
“Celina. What’s the lord’s rank?”
“A count.”
“Then shall we use the name of the Verdin family and the Margrave’s authority to suppress him with force? I feel like if we beat him up a bit, he might listen to our demands well.”
Whether she thought my words were a joke thrown to lighten the stiff atmosphere, Celina just laughed lightly and let it pass.
I was about ninety percent serious, though.
“Anyway, we first need to make the lord realize the seriousness of the situation. So, Rian. Could you explain why a person of your caliber couldn’t even handle the zombies in Sursa Village and had to run away?”
“I told you before that there are individuals with special powers mixed in among the zombies, right?”
“Yes.”
“There was a special individual in Sursa Village as well. To be precise, all the zombies there were special. Leaving aside the power they possessed, their appearance was completely indistinguishable from humans.”
It was nothing more than speculation, but there might be a zombie mixed in somewhere in Monora, pretending to be human.
As long as there was no clear way to distinguish them, there was no need to cause confusion with unnecessary words.
This too, it would be the right judgment to report separately to the lord and have a special unit formed to handle it.
“Is that all?”
“There was one special individual. His appearance was like that of a normal human, but he was ridiculously strong.”
Damond.
Just thinking of him makes me feel like every hair on my body is standing on end.
None of the heroes I had faced so far had shown the same level of power and presence as Damond.
“His strength was so great that he could wield a greatsword with one hand. His age was around his late 30s? He seemed to be at least two stages stronger than me…”
“Wielding a greatsword with one hand…”
Celina’s expression darkened for a moment as she listened to the story.
She too, being a swordswoman before being a mage, would know how difficult it is to wield a greatsword with one hand.
It is an impossible feat for an ordinary person, and even for a hero, it is a feat possible only at a considerably high level.
“Did you check with the Dragon’s Eye?”
“I couldn’t. The situation was so urgent that my mind didn’t even go that far… I just thought he was an ordinary zombie. I haven’t confirmed it, but I think he might be around level 5.”
“Could there be other individuals with the same or greater power as the one you faced?”
“Hmm… There were other zombies who used greatswords, but they weren’t as strong as Damond. They weren’t to be ignored, but it was to the extent that I could win if I were in perfect condition?”
“……”
Suddenly, Celina stopped walking.
Her eyes, wide open as if she had received a great shock, trembled violently as she stared blankly at me.
Seeing her just moving her mouth without being able to speak, it seemed that there was a word among what I had said that had bothered her.
What could have been so shocking?
As I mulled over the words I had spoken, I was able to deduce a plausible answer.
“Could it be… Damond. Is that a name you know?”
“Rather, the question is why you know that name, Rian.”
“I told you just now. The ridiculously strong individual with the greatsword. He introduced himself as Damond when he was pretending to be human.”
“……”
Celina staggered from the shock.
Her mouth just kept repeating the words ‘no way,’ or ‘that can’t be.’
Eventually, whether the strength had drained from her legs, Celina completely collapsed.
Byan and Latia, who had been blinking, not knowing what was going on, also ran to support her.
It seemed we would not be able to report to the lord until she calmed down.
As there happened to be a fountain plaza and benches nearby, I took Celina there.
“Byan. Go to the lord and tell him the report will be delayed. Latia, check the city walls. Contact me immediately if you see any zombies.”
“Yes!”
“Understood, Senior.”
The two, who nodded, left.
I tried to calm Celina down.
Having rarely comforted anyone, my efforts amounted to nothing more than sitting quietly beside her.
After a long time, whether she had come to her senses, Celina straightened her hunched back.
“I’m sorry.”
“Is there anything to be sorry about? But why did you suddenly do that?”
“…I told you before. Do you remember? Ten years ago, the Alliance also had a legendary unit, like Odin.”
“Uh… Hmm… Ah, I just remembered.”
The legendary unit of the Alliance.
I did not know the details, but I barely managed to recall that she had said it right after she was appointed commander of Unit 917 and was trying to recruit me into her unit.
I had not paid much attention to it at the time, but now that the name had been mentioned twice, I could not help but be interested.
“Ten years ago was right after the war with Purity began. At that time, the Alliance was lacking in too many things. We were pushed around by the advanced technology that Purity showcased, and since it was the first time we had introduced airships into battle, we couldn’t use them efficiently… It was a series of one-sided defeats. Although the Black Dragon himself descended and resolved the issue, we gave up half the continent to the Queen of Purity. But there was one unit that was the only one to bring back news of victory. The Mergan Kingdom’s 4th Unit. The Seirn Unit.”
“……”
I kept my mouth shut.
To be honest, I had no idea what she was talking about.
I liked D&K, but I had not delved into the history that served as its background.
But since Celina was wearing a proud expression, I thought that if I carelessly said the wrong thing, I might unintentionally get on her bad side.
“But that’s how war is. The height of absurdity, where you can win a hundred times, but if you lose once, you lose everything. It was a really foolish mistake. Because of one stupid brat, the 4th Unit had to charge deep into enemy territory knowing they would lose, and they were defeated. The result was annihilation. The only survivors were a low-ranking soldier and that stupid brat.”
“……”
“The battlefield where the 4th Unit was defeated was Haram. And the name of the commander who led the undefeated 4th Unit… you can probably guess without me telling you, right?”
Celina said with a bitter smile.
With this much information gathered, not knowing the answer would mean one was not even human.
“It was Damond…”
“That’s right. Damond Verdin was the commander of the 4th Unit.”
“……”
Huh?
Wait a minute.
What did she just say?
Damond, Verdin…?