Chapter 53

On the day of Rihelan's nightmare, Galdorat was waiting with his master, Nac Schwarkar, for the return of the expedition team.

"Considering the martial achievements, shouldn't you have joined the expedition team?"

Galdorat, who believed that martial achievements were the most important thing for his master, who was looked down upon as a commoner, asked Nac out of dissatisfaction.

Nac did not even look at Galdorat.

"Martial achievements come naturally. They are not to be sought after."

Galdorat wanted to point out that it was because of such thinking that Nac's position remained low. However, it was because of Nac's way of thinking that Galdorat, a slave, had become a squire, so he could not criticize.

Despite his dissatisfaction, Galdorat tried to focus on his mission and looked toward the forest when—

"What is it?"

People were running from deep within the forest. They were identified as the expedition team from their equipment, but their expressions were too desperate for a triumphant return.

Something was wrong.

The captain of the guard issued orders to everyone.

"Everyone, assume defensive positions! The central unit, split to the left and right, and let the expedition team through! The rear units, prepare to treat the wounded!"

The guard, which had been lined up in front of the defensive wall, followed the captain's orders and split to the left and right.

It seemed they had been waiting for this moment.

From deep within the forest, behind the fleeing expedition team, a large number of black beasts poured out.

These were four-legged beasts covered in fluffy black fur, with thick, short legs and a sturdy body. Their heads, similar to those of a chamois, had two sharp horns. The horns, black like the fur, had pieces of clothing and entrails caught on them.

They could easily shake off what was caught on their horns by shaking their heads, but the beasts seemed to be showing off as they charged after the expedition team with their horns raised.

However, their running seemed relaxed, as if they were gauging the exact moment to catch up with the expedition team.

"Could they be driving them?"

Understanding the beasts' intentions, Galdorat shuddered at their intelligence.

The survivors of the expedition team, driven by the Tereop herd, tried to flee into the center of the guard. However, one Tereop preemptively raised its horns to split the survivors to the left and right.

"Ah—"

With a strained scream, the panicked survivors split into two groups and ran into the guard, pressured by the pursuing Tereop herd.

The guard captain, sensing the danger, shouted in a hurry.

"Wait! Run to the center! Don't break the formation!"

It was useless, Galdorat thought, drawing his sword.

The survivors, completely panicked, could not see their surroundings. It was clear that the Tereops were driving the survivors to disrupt the guard's formation.

The guard's formation was disrupted by the survivors who had used Body Reinforcement to run in. The Tereops, with their fluffy black fur making them appear larger than bulls, charged in with their horns thrust forward.

The disrupted formation could not withstand the charge.

Knights and adventurers who tried to block the Tereops' charge were thrown back. Some were killed instantly by a single thrust from the horns.

The guard, thrown into chaos, was pursued by the Tereops that had broken through. Some tried to maintain the formation, but the command structure had completely collapsed. Galdorat alone heard the one absolute command.

"Galdorat, come!"

Nac stepped forward, effortlessly moving through the disrupted formation.

It was Nac's command. There was no room for doubt.

Nac, who was leading the way, lightly stepped towards one of the charging Tereops.

A slow horizontal slash with the longsword. However, the Tereop could not avoid it.

It was a precise strike, seeing through the exact moment when the Tereop's body could not react despite its thoughts.

Nac decapitated the Tereop and faced the herd still pouring out of the forest, protecting the guard behind him.

"Their body structure is similar to deer, but their legs are more developed. Be careful of sudden stops and direction changes."

Despite the situation, Nac remained extremely calm, simply trying to fulfill his duty.

Galdorat glanced back.

The Tereops had already entered the town. The guard needed to reorganize and deal with the Tereops that had entered, and someone had to stop any further invasion.

It would undoubtedly be a martial achievement.

Galdorat, determined, readied his sword.

"I will accompany you!"

※

Galdorat wielded his sword as Nac had taught him.

The Shirouz style was a school that emphasized individual techniques.

Due to the difficulty in gathering many practitioners with knowledge of medicine and anatomy, it naturally became a school of a few elite members.

Moreover, it was rare to find someone who could fully utilize the Shirouz style against beasts, especially unknown ones.

The Tereop charging at Galdorat thrust its horns forward.

The spiral horns seemed to be extendable, giving them a wider reach than they appeared. The Tereop's horns had a wider reach than Galdorat's sword.

Galdorat deflected the Tereop's horns with his longsword.

He placed the blade where the Tereop's eyes would be, using the momentum of the charge to strike.

The Tereop, its vision blocked, let out a low, rumbling growl and continued to charge with its horns thrust forward.

"——"

Thinking the Tereop would stop if its vision was blocked, Galdorat leaped onto its back and swung his sword from above.

The sensation of cutting through the flesh beneath the fluffy black fur. He then used his full weight to break the Tereop's spine, pulled out his sword, and turned to face the next target.

Galdorat gritted his teeth at the carnage around him.

The guard, thrown into chaos, could not reorganize. They were forced to face the approaching Tereop herd with individual skill.

The guard's numbers had been reduced by half. Most were volunteers from the town, but there were also dead knights and squires. The Tereop corpses were too numerous to count.

Screams continued to rise from the town, indicating that residents were being attacked by the Tereops that had entered.

Galdorat wanted to go help, but leaving this position would allow more Tereops to enter the town.

He looked at the forest.

A particularly large Tereop stood at the entrance. The individual, with white hair mixed in its black fur, occasionally let out short cries to control the herd.

"Why don't they retreat?"

Someone cried out.

Galdorat felt the same.

This situation was too unnatural.

There was no reason for beings with such organized intelligence to force their companions to sacrifice themselves to attack the town.

The purpose was unclear. However, the eyes of the Tereop leader, with its white hair, held a faint glimmer of hatred.

Feeling their eyes meet, Galdorat gritted his teeth.

"Damn it!"

He cursed.

Born into his circumstances, hating his fate, cursing the closed life he was given.

Those eyes were the same as his, a slave.

Feeling a revolting sense of empathy, Galdorat's sword did not waver. The life that had been closed off would be opened by this sword. His master, who had taught him this, was still wielding his sword on the front lines.

The Shirouz style, originally a school that emphasized counterattacks, was exceptionally strong in this situation where the enemy was charging.

Nac, like a dam holding back a river, continued to cut down the Tereop herd. His precise strikes, severing joints and arteries, were even sharper in this dire situation.

Without Nac, the guard would have been annihilated long ago. Nac was suppressing the Tereop's momentum on the front lines, while Galdorat dealt with the remaining enemies, allowing the guard to barely maintain their morale.

That was why the Tereop leader, who understood tactics, could not leave them alone.

Nac suddenly jumped back and stood beside Galdorat.

Galdorat, sensing something was wrong, checked Nac's condition.

Nac was looking down at his sword with a look of shock.

"Master?"

Feeling an ominous presence, Galdorat called out.

Nac took a deep breath and looked at the Tereop herd.

The Tereop charge had stopped at the same moment Nac retreated.

The guard, relieved that the damage had finally become too much, was soon interrupted by a sound breaking the silence.

The sound of armored humans collapsing made Galdorat instinctively turn to the guard.

He saw adventurers and squires falling one by one.

"…What?"

As he asked in confusion, his knees suddenly went weak. He managed to avoid collapsing by thrusting his sword into the ground, but he couldn't understand what was happening to his body.

His knees were shaking, and the tremors spread to his calves and thighs, reaching the arm holding the sword.

The sound of collapsing stopped. Galdorat understood that the guard had been annihilated, but he couldn't understand the cause.

Confused, Galdorat gritted his teeth and maintained his stance, using his sword for support.

Footsteps approached.

The person, walking slowly but with a firm step, stopped in front of Galdorat and swung the longsword, now showing signs of wear from the intense battle, to clear the blood.

"Is this the unique magic of the evil beasts? We've been tricked."

"Master?"

Nac Schwarkar, standing alone with the destroyed guard and the town behind him, readied his sword.

Why could he still move? The tremors had spread to Galdorat's throat and mouth, preventing him from speaking, but Nac, knowingly or not, answered his unspoken question.

"A knight who is ordered to protect—cannot fall."

Nac took a stance Galdorat had never seen before and fought alone.

Galdorat, who still remembers the scene of Nac, literally fighting for his life, and the Tereop leader, his enemy.

As if Nac himself had become a fortress, the Tereops that entered his range were bisected.

His range completely blocked the town's gate, and his sword skills, indistinguishable from magic, kept the Tereops at bay.

Galdorat understood the abnormality of Nac's sword.

Tereops attacking simultaneously in twos and threes were all cut down at once. A physically impossible phenomenon was occurring around Nac.

"…Sainthood?"

There are rare reports of humans becoming divine beasts. These saints are said to gain unique magic that cannot be replicated by regular magic.

Nac's sword skills looked like that unique magic.

His master, who had shown him the path to knighthood when he was a slave with a closed future, was advancing beyond knighthood.

He was showing Galdorat the ideal form.

Excitement and admiration filled Galdorat's heart as he struggled to stand, determined not to fall and show such a disgraceful sight.

—How much time had passed?

The Tereop leader, as if the purpose was to reduce the population, easily withdrew the herd.

The battlefield was left with countless corpses.

Nac, still standing with his sword, turned to Galdorat, who was still standing, supported by his sword despite being paralyzed.

"Leave the rest to you…"

Nac, entrusting the task to Galdorat, finally collapsed from exhaustion.

※

Upon receiving the news of the annihilation of the dispatched knights, the Ors family immediately sent reinforcements.

Toban Ors, the eldest son of the Ors family, leading the reinforcements, was shaken by the damage.

All the knights were dead, and the few surviving squires were severely injured. The only one in a condition to fight was the slave, Galdorat.

Toban Ors, determined not to let the town, which the knights had risked their lives to protect, fall to the beasts, decided to invest his own funds to strengthen the defenses.

While arranging for the knights' bodies to be transported back to their hometowns, Toban investigated the events of the battle and found out about Nac Schwarkar and Galdorat's efforts, leading him to visit Galdorat.

"I intend to reward your service by freeing you from slavery and making you a knight."

Toban said this, but his expression darkened.

"It seems you don't want it. Can you not become a knight in your current state?"

Galdorat was glaring at the Rihelan forest from the town's gate. His expression was that of a fierce wolf ready to devour its prey or a loyal dog burning with a desire for revenge.

Toban stood beside Galdorat and looked at the forest, where the Tereop herd, led by the evil beasts, still resided.

"Galdorat, what do you desire?"

"…My master's grave, in this town."

"Your master…?"

Toban sighed at the slave-like response, patted Galdorat's shoulder, and turned away.

"I will leave enough money for you to buy your freedom. However, I cannot allow you to die in vain out of revenge. Therefore, I will entrust you to the Adventurer's Guild. …Nac Schwarkar was a true knight. Do not disgrace his name, loyal dog."