Chapter 8

The Story of the Second Son of the Baron's Family - Chapter 8 (8/123)

< The Story of the Second Son of the Baron's Family – Chapter 08 – >

"Alright. In three days, we will leave the Terra Wall and head north, into the land of the monsters."

I had my doubts, but as expected. I looked around, wondering if I had heard wrong, but it seemed I hadn't. In three days, I was included in the group that would leave the Terra Wall and head to the monsters' stronghold.

"If there are no questions, you can go about your business. Renil, you seem to have a lot of questions, so stay a bit longer."

"Come on, let's go do our work. We might not be able to come back, so we need to get our affairs in order."

"The newbies will be scared. Who said we won't come back?"

"Who's who? Is there anyone here who's sure they can come back?"

"At least I'm not, so let go of my hand. It's getting uncomfortable... "

They left the small conference room with laughter. At first glance, it was a hearty, confident laugh, but with a little more attention, it was easy to tell that it was a laugh trying to hide an undeniable fear.

'Why?'

Leaving the Terra Wall and walking into the land where human footsteps are not allowed, it was something I couldn't understand.

The Terra Wall.

What more can be said? It's the fence that protects the empire, the shield and armor that protects the soldiers' lives. An impenetrable shield that has never been breached. Yet today, the order from above was to discard that shield and armor, take up a weapon, and head to the monsters' main camp.

"You don't look like you want to go."

"I grew up on the empire's salary and matured in its embrace. I know that I must follow orders regardless of my thoughts. I just couldn't understand the necessity."

"I don't want to die a dog's death. Is that it?"

Ild's words, hitting the core of what I had been trying to say, made me hesitate for a moment. No matter how close Ild and I were, he was still my superior. It wouldn't be good to use the phrase "dog's death" in front of him regarding an order from above.

Nod-

"......Yes. The Terra Wall is the shield that protects the empire. It's an impenetrable shield that has never been breached. I don't understand why we have to throw away the shield and go outside."

But I took a chance, trusting Ild's character. Over the past two months, Ild wasn't the stubborn type who just ordered me to follow commands. Instead, he was the type who explained the reasons and made me understand and follow the orders on my own.

"It's not strange to think that way. Without the Terra Wall, such a trade would have been impossible. But before I explain the reason, I should mention that the autumn expedition has been an annual event. If the expedition was just a dog's death, it wouldn't have continued until now. Isn't that right?"

You're right. The commander of the Terra Wall is Viscount Zik, one of the three swords of the empire. It's unlikely that he was appointed to the Terra Wall, which is responsible for the empire's northern region, just because of his personal martial prowess. That's why I'm curious. What benefit is there that requires us to leave the wall? What situation would arise if we didn't, making it unavoidable for everyone to accept?

"You've become complacent."

"Excuse me?"

"Do you remember what I said about a month ago?"

A month ago, considering the current story,...... Ild's point must have been to not become complacent.

"Building experience and gaining confidence is good, but don't let it lead to overconfidence and complacency. Do you mean I'm being complacent?"

"I'm not blaming you. It's a matter of experience. Try to broaden your perspective. I could tell you the reason, but it would be better for you to realize it on your own for the future."

Broaden your perspective? That means my perspective is narrow. A narrow perspective means I can only see what's right in front of me. After thinking about Ild's words, I realized it was a matter of experience. A truly outstanding genius might be able to surpass experience, but unfortunately, I was far from being called a genius. Maybe a prodigy.

'Large monsters, winter, expedition......'

The timing is autumn before winter, the goal is to eliminate large monsters. Large monsters are very troublesome and problematic.

Their numbers are small, but the influence of a single individual cannot be measured by numbers alone. Reducing their numbers isn't strange, but is it enough to kick down the wall and go out? I would say no. As evidence, we've managed to hold them off so far.

"Do you know why beasts hibernate in winter?"

"Ah!"

At that moment, a small hint was thrown. That one sentence helped me find the thread in the tangled ball of yarn. The rest was just a matter of following the thread and unraveling it. Now I understood what Ild meant by broadening my perspective.

'This isn't something we're trying to do. It's something we have to do.'

We never had a choice. It's something we have to do, regardless of the losses. That's the true nature of the autumn expedition.

"Indeed, teaching you is rewarding. If I tell you one thing, you understand two or three, so it's bound to be rewarding."

"Only now do I understand what you meant by becoming complacent."

I had become complacent with victory. No matter how many dozens or hundreds of victories we achieved, we were always on the defensive, and the monsters were always on the offensive. It was a story that needed to be seen from the monsters' perspective, not the human perspective. I had mistakenly thought we had the initiative because we kept winning. The intensity of the attacks is determined by the monsters, not us.

"It's a simple matter from the monsters' perspective. When winter comes, food will be scarce, so more monsters will come down."

Survival of the fittest. Isn't that the most appropriate way to describe monsters in one word? However, even monsters struggle in winter.

Weak monsters will reduce breeding to conserve food and move further in to avoid being eaten, while large monsters will find it difficult to find the massive amount of food needed to maintain their huge bodies. However, there is a place nearby with abundant food.

Monsters of similar strength don't usually fight each other. Victory is uncertain, and even if you win, you might become prey for other monsters if you sustain serious injuries. It would be more beneficial for them to temporarily join forces and break down the fence blocking their path. Monsters have that level of intelligence.

"An eighty-point answer."

"Twenty points are missing."

However, I couldn't get a perfect score. After much deliberation, I looked at Ild, and he told me the remaining twenty points, as if to say I had done well enough.

"After a battle, have you ever seen the bodies of the monsters?"

"Of course. You can't help but see the bodies of monsters as long as you keep your eyes open."

"How many of them were large monsters?"

The number of large monsters is very small. While monsters like orcs and lizardmen have terrifying breeding capabilities, they don't even make up 1% of the total. However, upon careful consideration, the proportion of dead monsters was even smaller.

"Even knights find it burdensome to break through the thick wall of monsters and face large monsters."

"That's right. For the most part, large monsters return unharmed unless they get close enough. If they accumulate and come down all at once in winter?"

Just imagining it is terrifying. Defense is......possible. However, it would require sacrificing most of our forces, and if that happens, we would be attacked again before additional support arrives. Ultimately, the Terra Wall, which boasted an unbeaten record, would crumble like a sandcastle in a strong wave.

"Do you understand now? Why we have to go outside, even if it means discarding the shield."

I had forgotten, in the midst of continuous victories. No shield can defend against all attacks. A shield that can block everything doesn't exist.

#

After finishing my conversation with Ild and returning to my room, I pushed forward with the work I had been doing. The autumn expedition is said to be scattered to search for large monsters to avoid attracting the attention of the monsters. Therefore, it would be problematic for a new recruit to be a burden. If ten people each carry one, it's a loss of ten, but if two people each carry five, it's a loss of ten.

Of course, there were only two days left. There was no secret to making significant progress in that time. If there was, I would have used it already. So, the only option was to make better use of what I had.

"If only I had more money, I could have experimented with more things."

Two days passed in the blink of an eye. During that time, a yellow alert sounded once, but as planned, I focused on my work for tomorrow. Now it was time for the final inspection. In my hand was a G-shaped iron weapon, a trigger that could be hooked by the index finger. What I held was a gun, and in front of it were a few bullets.

Of course, they weren't real guns or bullets. The trigger only clicked, and the inside only had a space for the bullet, with no other parts. The bullets were also just iron lumps shaped like bullets.

However, the gun had various engravings such as "射" (shoot), and the bullets had engravings like "氷" (ice), "閃" (flash), and "炎" (flame). Stones weren't good materials for accepting mana, but proper minerals were too expensive for me, so I had to settle for iron, which was average.

Swish-

The bullet was sucked into the barrel. All that was left was to aim at the target and pull the trigger. When I pulled the trigger, a little mana was sucked in, and the engravings on the gun began to glow.

The bullet was fired simultaneously. There was no "bang" sound because it wasn't a real gun or bullet. Instead, the result was more surprising than a bullet. Rapid freezing began from the target point, creating a block of ice large enough to trap a person.

"Done!"

The remaining types of bullets also displayed their effects without any issues. They flashed and burned. Since I had been pouring mana into the bullets whenever I had free time, even a single character engraving had decent power. If I could engrave a word or two characters, how useful would it be?

I must be a magician, given my memories from my previous life. The fact that I'm so eager to research is proof. To do that, I had to survive. Although I had an additional reason to live, it wasn't a bad thing. The more motivations I had, the more my will would burn.

#

"Alright, everyone gathered?"

"Yes!"

"Then let's go! Everyone, let's meet again alive!"

The gates of the Terra Wall, which had never allowed an invasion in the history of the empire, began to open. People quickly passed through the gates and sped towards the land forbidden to humans. On a smaller scale, the Terra Wall and tens of thousands of soldiers, and on a larger scale, the survival of all the citizens living in the northern part of the empire, depended on the autumn expedition. People who valued their lives began to stake their lives without a moment's hesitation.

< The Story of the Second Son of the Baron's Family – Chapter 08 – > End