An outpost in the rugged mountains.
Ferando of the Northern Winds Lions Knights on border duty let out a deep sigh.
Ugh… this was really boring.
It had been two years since Ferando joined the Northern Winds Lions Knights of the Volkanov family, but he still couldn’t adapt to border duty.
Initially, he had been delighted to think he could work while seeing this kind of scenery. Now, however, he felt nothing but disgust.
‘What was I thinking back then, to enjoy seeing this kind of scenery?’
Looking back, he had been quite naive. He used to marvel at the snow falling from the sky and had vowed to sacrifice himself for the Empire filled with patriotism.
‘Such nonsense.’
Of course, that was no longer possible. The harsh life within the strictly hierarchical knight order had numbed Ferando.
Even the breathtaking scenery failed to evoke any exhilaration in him anymore.
He simply wondered when this time would end.
‘This guy will probably end up like that too….’
Ferando glanced at his subordinate, Dove, who was standing awkwardly beside him.
“Dove, do you find this scenery beautiful?”
“Oh, it’s absolutely stunning! I wish I could show it to my mother back home.”
“Your mother’s got bad joints. How could you drag her here to these mountains? You’re such an unfilial son.”
“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t think about it!”
Ferando smirked as he looked at Dove shouting rigidly with eyes fixed ahead.
He knew he was being cruel… but what choice did he have? If he didn’t do such things, time would crawl by even slower.
Frankly speaking, engaging in meaningless conversations like this was better than sitting in silence with his unapproachable senior.
Using his sword as a support, Ferando lay back comfortably and addressed Dove.
“Dove, do you have any interesting stories?”
“I-interesting stories, sir?”
“Yeah. Just say anything. I’m dying of boredom.”
“Uh… Sir Ferando, who do you think would win if 100 grandmothers fought the Knight Commander?”
“What?!”
Surprised by Dove’s unexpected question, Ferando sat up straight and stared at him.
Who asks such a crazy question when he asked for an interesting story?
He wanted to throttle him on the spot, but Ferando held back. Dove probably didn’t know any better.
“Don’t ever say things like that again. And what’s with 100 grandmothers? The Knight Commander could kill them all with one strike.”
“Well, that may be true, but… what if the grandmothers were under a berserker buff? Imagine them charging like mad… like ghouls! Wouldn’t the Knight Commander be scared?”
“Then just call them ghouls from the start! And do you even know who the Knight Commander used to be? He’s the one who took down a ghoul and rose to his current position. Would someone like that be afraid of crazy grandmothers?”
“I apologize. It was my mistake.”
Feeling the tense atmosphere, Dove bowed his head deeply.
“…This guy is unbelievable.”
In situations like this, the correct response would be to scold him firmly and move on. But Ferando decided against it.
Firstly, being too strict would only crush the morale of this inexperienced recruit further. Besides, aren’t higher-ups considered enemies by the knights?
No one will hear him anyway. If they kept it a secret between the two of them nothing would happen.
‘Okay, just don’t do this to other people.’
After making his decision, he looked at Dove.
“Yeah, just let it go this time. Don’t do it again.”
“Understood. I’ll remember.”
“Good. Oh… by the way, who’s on duty today?”
“Duty, sir? It’s Commander Ulken.”
The name Ulken made Ferando’s head ache.
“Ulken? Ugh. Does that guy have no family? He’s already married and still pulling duty on days like this…”
“Still, isn’t Vice Commander Ulken admirable? He’s so disciplined…”
“Whatever. You’ll see soon enough. People like Commander Ulken are the most exhausted. Just when you want to rest, he’ll talk about sunstroke or something.”
“Well, before we entered the mountain borders, he did say he would bring out equipment from the kids’ storeroom.”
“See, that’s exactly what I’m talking about. Do you know why the guys on break hate Commander Ulken?”
Scratching his head, Ferando thought for a moment before smirking.
“Well, at least after our duty, the kids will have finished cleaning up. Isn’t that nice? Right, Dove?”
He waited, but Dove didn’t answer. What was he thinking, he wondered, as he turned his head.
“Do, Dove?”
He looked up to see his successor, who had just been smiling foolishly, lying dead with an arrow in his head.
‘What the…?’
Although he hadn’t been fully focused on guard duty, Ferando hadn’t been careless enough to miss a flying arrow.
There was no sign of anything. He hadn’t heard a sound.
He couldn’t figure anything out. Who had shot the arrow that took Dove’s life? And had someone deliberately aimed the arrow to avoid his senses?
But one thing was certain.
‘There’s a master beyond my league…’
There were enemies nearby against whom he couldn’t win even at the cost of his life.
Carefully placing Dove’s cold body on the ground, Ferando turned his head toward the window.
With trembling hands, he wiped away the frost on the window. Only then did he see.
Kwagwagwagwa!
Countless armies pouring down from afar… It almost looked like an avalanche. Ferando trusted his intuition.
“Enemies!”
This was the moment when Volkanov was in danger.
***
The Volkanov invasion was not a difficult task for the barbarians.
For them, the Kikollan land was as good as their own backyard.
Having lived off hunting for food, most warriors were adept at concealing their presence.
The techniques passed down since the ancestors’ time had evolved over a long period. Present-day Kikollan warriors had reached a level where cutting a person’s throat in the mountains was nothing.
Thanks to that.
“Stop them! Stop them at all costs!”
“Requesting reinforcements… Argh!”
“Kill them! Drink the blood of these feeble imperialists!”
The Northern Winds Lions Knights guarding the mountains crumbled without resistance.
The unexpected attack had thrown the knights into disarray. It was insufficient to stop the advancing barbarians quickly.
Watching the knights being killed by Kikollan warriors, the warlord K’oatl smiled.
‘We’ve reached the summit of the mountains now. The difficult part is over.’
Below his gaze lay a small village gathered at the foot of the mountains.
Before long, they would be able to occupy that place, offering the blood and skins of feeble empire folk to the sky.
A satisfying situation. However, K’oatl didn’t let his guard down.
‘Before the knights can replenish their numbers, it would be best to consume the village.’
Lucky to have reclaimed the mountaintop, the condition of the warriors was not good.
A recent epidemic in the village had made the warriors sick.
In such a situation, it would be right for the warriors’ condition to improve and engage in combat. But K’oatl couldn’t make that choice.
He remembered the words that had come from the lips of the tribe’s prophet, Katrina.
“Our God has commanded us. It’s time to make those who drove us out of Kikollan and spread the epidemic pay the price.”
The Great God promised prosperity to the Kikollan people if their blood and flesh were taken and sacrificed.
Offering their blood and flesh, K’oatl knew how noble it was to follow the commandments of heaven, so he had to bring down Volkanov by any means necessary.
That’s why.
Amidst the fierce snowstorm, he had gathered the warriors.
After organizing the knights, K’oatl gathered the warriors in the relatively flat area.
The gaze of the villagers surrounding him was directed at the human kneeling beside him.
Satisfied as he looked into the eyes filled with fear, K’oatl raised his axe and shouted.
“That man’s name is Ulken. He’s the vice commander of our sworn enemies, the Knights.”
“Aaaah!”
“Kill him! Cut his throat!”
A fierce scream engulfed the mountains. Was this the cry of a human burning in the fires of hell?
“Good.”
This was exactly what K’oatl wanted. Blind rage.
The sick villagers weren’t in perfect condition, and their morale was at rock bottom, so the rage against the empire folks would boost their enthusiasm.
Taking his eyes off Ulken, K’oatl looked at the warriors staring at him and shouted.
“The ones who drove us into this cold and rugged area are right here! I will slaughter them! With the blood and skin of these feeble empire folk, I will soothe the anguish of our ancestors!”
“Woooo!”
As he finished speaking, the warriors’ hearts began to burn.
Continuously nodding his head with satisfaction, K’oatl, with his axe raised, approached Ulken, who had become the scapegoat.
Looking at him covered in blood, K’oatl bared his teeth.
“Oh feeble knight of the empire. I’ll grant you mercy personally. If you hand over information about the knights, I’ll send you off without pain. Otherwise, you could bring someone named Ian here, just as that bastard Parendo did to you.”
K’oatl, speaking fluently in the imperial language, waved the severed hand in front of Ulken.
It was Ferando’s arm, cut off after urgent support was requested and Ferando lost his life.
“They said you would save them…”
Ulken gritted his teeth as he looked at the barbarian who smiled wickedly.
Killing his men and begging for his life from those who carried out the raid? That cannot happen.
It would be a betrayal of the Emperor’s benevolence, and surrendering to those less worthy who didn’t value life was not something his pride would allow.
“Would I beg from savages who know nothing about even the minimal respect for the dead? Just kill me! I’ll curse you in hell for the rest of your lives!”
“What? Is your head okay? Do my words sound like a joke to you?”
“That’s what I want to say. Do you think I’ll call Master Ian? Nonsense! Even if you kill me, things won’t go the way you want!”
“Haha… Very well. Let’s see if you can keep spouting that nonsense even without one arm.”
He was willing to send Ulken off without suffering if he provided the desired answers. But if Ulken resisted like this, there was no reason to show mercy.
If he could, he would send him off in the most painful way possible.
“Lie down.”
Thunk!
“Gah!”
As K’oatl raised the massive axe, the tribal warriors knocked Ulken to the ground and pulled one of his arms out.
“Ugh!”
The pale white arm exposed in the icy glare.
Now all that remained was to swing the axe down on the arm.
There was no hesitation. The moment he uttered the insult, any thought of leniency had long disappeared.
With eyes wide open, K’oatl swung the axe.
“Let’s start with the left first!”
Swish!
At an unbelievable speed for such a massive weapon, the axe descended, tearing through the air.
Now, the arm would be severed, and blood would spurt. It was the moment of exhilaration, surrendering to the thrill.
Thunk!
“Aaargh!”
“What the… agh!”
Slash!
A large gash began to appear on the bodies of the barbarians.
‘What is happening…’
It was definitely his own swing of the axe, so why were wounds appearing?
The dizzying pain furrowed his brow, but K’oatl barely managed to open his eyes and look forward.
Finally, he saw it.
“So, this is what it means to reflect an attack. Not bad.”
The man, who had formed a giant shield, was blocking the attack while revealing a familiar face.
K’oatl’s pupils trembled as if there was an earthquake.
“You!”
There was no mistake. It was Ian Volkanov, the sacrifice desired by God that Katrina had spoken of.
K’oatl found himself facing the very person he needed to kill to achieve his grand objective.
Despite staggering back, he swung his axe once more.
‘I don’t know what this is. Rather, it’s good.’
Wasn’t the reason he kept the knight he wanted to kill right in front of him to lure him out?
Though taken aback by the unexpected attack, the situation wasn’t all bad.
‘How foolish to wander into enemy territory like this…’
While determined to protect his subordinates, this was practically their home turf.
The man had made a grave mistake.
With his attack stance ready, K’oatl glared at Ian.
“I don’t know how you did that just now, but if you can stop it, stop it!”
As he finished speaking, K’oatl focused his magical power on the axe.
Kuoo!
A unique and unstoppable force, a whirlwind of magic and mana, enveloped the axe.
However, that power was no joke.
Kwagaga!
The whirlwind of magic and mana tore through everything, fiercely enveloping K’oatl.\
Regaining his stance, K’oatl took a deep breath and slammed the ground.
Thud!
“I’ll take your life!”
Squaack!
Leaping towards Ian, K’oatl swung his axe horizontally.
But sadly, his axe never reached Ian.
‘Slow.’
Just before the axe could strike, Ian dove between his arms.
‘What speed…’
Grasping the handle with both hands, K’oatl was unable to react to Ian’s attack.
“You’re pathetic.”
Kwaang!
Closing in with a weave, followed by a straight punch to the face.
It was an extraordinary attack, enough to shatter a person’s skull.
Thud!
Thunk!
K’oatl, now missing his head, collapsed powerless to the ground.
It was the moment when K’oatl, the champion of Kikollan, met his end.
“What… what just happened?”
“K’oatl is dead? T-That can’t be true!”
The astonished tribespeople shook their heads in disbelief. Ian looked at them and raised his fist once more.
With a sinister smile, Ian murmured.
“Now it’s my turn? Try to stop me if you can. If it’s possible.”
