13 – 13. Transcendent Race

It was not yet past midnight.

Yet, the nobles, worn down from rigorous training and duty, had fallen asleep early, now roused from their rest, they stumbled out onto the training grounds.

Waiting for them was Silverna Caldias.

Her expression was not just dark due to the night, but truly bleak.

Her rigid posture seemed to be a premonition of the hardships to come.

Amidst the disheveled nobles dragged out by the sudden alarm,

Jonathan, bleary-eyed, rushed to Isaac.

“Sir Isaac, what in heavens is this commotion?”

“I don’t know. But it seems something serious has happened.”

“This kind of disturbance so close to the front is quite unsettling.”

A cold wind swept through, causing the murmuring nobles to fall silent, huddling against the chill.

Isaac felt relatively warm, thanks to the yeti-skin hat and gloves gifted to him by Silverna and Anna.

Silence descended, and Silverna finally spoke.

“Gentlemen, at approximately 23:20, or about fifteen minutes ago, an outsider arrived at the ramparts.”

The situation had unfolded a mere fifteen minutes past.

“He introduced himself as a merchant from Holstein, but upon investigation, he was identified as a grave robber.”

Holstein was a kingdom particularly advanced in magic.

The notoriety of grave robbers was infamous there, for those who plunder the tombs of former royalty or nobles using modern magic were commonplace.

“He had the audacity to rob a royal tomb in Holstein, and then, to come to our kingdom for a deal.”

Gasps of consternation rose from several nobles.

They immediately understood the potential for a diplomatic crisis.

“Now that we’ve apprehended him, shouldn’t we just return the grave goods?”

A noble raised his hand and asked.

Interrupting a commander during a situation briefing was unthinkable, but given their greenhorn status, Silverna opted to answer instead of reprimanding.

“The important part is, these b*stards stirred up a beast nest on their way to the Malidian Wall.”

The rest was obvious.

Their fellow grave robbers were all devoured by the beasts, and the treasure was lost.

The riled-up monsters were now rampaging and attacking the Malidian Wall, she was told.

“As a special task force, we must retrieve the artifacts those grave robbers pilfered. Luckily it’s not far… The problem is the beast nest.”

Distant roars and tremors.

A fierce battle was clearly raging at the Malidian Wall.

“If possible, no combat. If we have to fight, keep it minimal, then return. We depart immediately.”

At Silverna’s command, the nobles fell into formation and began to move.

Their respective guards, who had followed along, wore faces full of complaints, but they were left with no choice but to obey.

Jonathan, sticking by Isaac’s side, asked with a blank look.

“Lord Isaac, why is it that we must retrieve the artifacts?”

“Because we could get framed, diplomatically. Do you really think Holstein will just believe that some grave robbers got eaten by monsters and lost the treasure?”

“Um… isn’t that what actually happened?”

“It may be the truth, but accepting it is another thing entirely. Put bluntly, what if they suspect the grave robbers were secretly hired by us, faking the monster attack to steal artifacts from our kingdom?”

“But that’s not the truth, though?”

“True, but that doesn’t mean Holstein can’t use it as a pretext to cause a diplomatic incident. Especially since those guys were coming to our kingdom for a transaction.”

So, the target of that transaction must be someone with the financial power to purchase Holstein royal tomb artifacts.

The investigation net naturally narrowed down to high-ranking nobles.

A high-ranking noble coveting artifacts from the Holstein royal tomb?

That would immediately escalate into a diplomatic issue, potentially even war.

“Ah.”

Jonathan nodded, finally seeming to understand.

“It’s the Marchlord’s job to handle this kind of thing. He cleans up the mess before it gets too big.”

Uldiran Caldius was probably wielding his spear like a maniac atop the Malidian Wall right now.

As they were exiting through a gate on the wall that wasn’t overwhelmed by monsters,

Jonathan, looking like another question had popped up, asked Isaac.

“But why send dispatched nobles out? Isn’t that a dangerous assignment?”

“Waging war against monsters on the wall is far more dangerous.”

*KWA-A-AANG!*

Something shattered near the barrier, the sound punctuating Isaac’s response.

Startled nobles turned their heads, some shrinking in on themselves.

Jonathan glanced that way too, but Isaac continued speaking.

“It’s because of you lot, in the first place. Most of the dispatched nobles are up-and-comers here to gain some field experience, but the guards are different.”

“Ah!”

“Right? Caldius wants to use noble guards, not the nobles themselves. But strictly speaking, their duty is to protect the nobles who came to follow Caldius’s orders.”

They were deliberately pulling the nobles out to use the elite guards as a fighting force.

After all, defending the barrier was a job best left to the soldiers stationed within Malidian.

“Profound.”

Isaac knew Jonathan wasn’t good with this sort of thing, but it was worse than he expected.

Even after they passed through the gate, Jonathan still looked displeased.

“We’re the victims, yet we’re the only ones suffering.”

“Hm?”

“Isn’t it true? We’re just sitting here, and suddenly we’re grave robbers, dealing with artifacts, diplomacy. It’s like we’re way too worried about what Holstein thinks.”

Jonathan pouted, lips sticking out.

“If they’re trying to pin a false accusation on us, shouldn’t our kingdom respond strongly?”

Looking at him, Isaac asked with a wry smile.

“How old are you this year?”

“Twenty-two!”

“Alright, Jonathan. I might only be two years older than you, but I know this much.”

“……”

“If we can avoid war by bowing our heads a little, by enduring a little trouble, then it’s a light burden.”

Jonathan’s brow furrowed slightly.

He understood Jonathan’s desire as a knight to have a place to swing his sword.

“Wars break out over trivial diplomatic issues more often than you’d think. We need to snuff out those sparks beforehand.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure I understand.”

Despite suffering a lot of torment, his desire to stay in Helmont was likely based on a kind of longing and heroism.

Patting him on the shoulder, Isaac offered sincere advice.

“You’re seeing it firsthand here. The peace of the kingdom is built upon the sacrifices and the hard work of these people.”

“Is that so?”

“The way to keep peace ain’t always pullin’ a sword, Jonathan.”

“…Those words don’t seem right comin’ from Helmund’s lips.”

“Guess that’s why me and Helmund don’t see eye to eye then.”

Isaac stopped talkin’, and Jonathan, he just followed behind quiet.

Looked like he had a bone to pick, but he wasn’t about to slack on his job of guardin’ Isaac.

They’d already made it out past the wall.

Just the soft crunch of their boots on the snow and the pale moonlight meant they could move all sneaky like.

*’Silberna sure does have good night vision.’*

Just followin’ her, they reached the spot where the accident happened, no fightin’ needed.

A cart, not a carriage, lay smashed to pieces.

Looked like they were plannin’ to detour around the Malridian wall and go through the mountains.

Horse-drawn carriages can’t handle the mountains, so seems they came this far pullin’ a rural cart by hand.

“Went to a lot of trouble, didn’t they.”

“Holy hell, what a mess.”

“Look at the blood.”

The scattered snow was stained with blood, but no bodies lay around.

Probably the magic beasts devoured ’em all.

More like a feast than a fight, that much was clear.

On top of the broken cart sat a lone case, lookin’ like it once held some kind of valuables.

And.

Standin’ in front of it, someone.

“Shhh.”

Silberna, in the lead, gulped and tensed up.

She grabbed her spear, on guard, and asked,

“Who’s there?”

The man, only realizing the spear was aimed at him, tilted his head.

“Ah.”

His form, hidden under the thick trees, avoiding the moonlight, came to light.

A body standin’ at about two meters.

Shoulders broad as a shelf, a thick vest slung across them.

A whole body draped in a shaggy, white fur.

It walked upright, yet its face was that of a tiger, a tail flicking softly and teeth, gruesome, that screamed it wasn’t human.

Finally, a colossal greatsword strapped to its back.

“A fiend?”

“What in hell is *that*?”

“Doesn’t look like a Yeti… Is that a tiger… in a man’s shape?”

Dismayed murmurs rippled through the nobles.

They all looked to Silverna, hoping she, a Northerner, might recognize it.

“……”

She gripped her spear with both hands, biting her lip, settling into a stance.

Instinct told her: one moment of weakness, and it would be upon them.

Of them all.

Only one knew what it was.

Isaac.

*Transcendents!*

The monsters who’d shattered mankind.

Sentient fiends, driven by pure hatred for humans.

He’d thought they had more time before their emergence.

*Were they already active in the North?*

Could they be tied to this relic business as well?

Whatever the truth.

It was dangerous.

Very, very dangerous.

*Not an ordinary beast. Silverna can’t handle this.*

Even with the noble’s guards, victory wasn’t guaranteed.

Transcendents were such beings.

The Transcendent’s blue eyes settled on the nobles, a low growl rumbling in its chest.

“Your luck has run out.”

Mercy, bargain, dialogue – none of these things resided within it.

Just kicking off the ground with those thick feet, it swung its greatsword wide.

*Kaaaraaang!*

“Krr-eeuuk!”

Silberna, who’d taken the blow head-on, was forced to a knee, crushed under the monster’s overwhelming strength.

“My Lady!”

Anna, her attendant, urgently thrust with her spear.

But the beast paid no heed to the spear aiming for its flank.

Because the blade merely slid off, unable to pierce its thick hide.

*Kwaduk!*

A fist slammed into Anna’s spear shaft, splintering it in two.

Then, as if shooing away a bug, it backhanded her, sending Anna flying, her body tumbling across the snow.

“Worthless humans.”

Its blue eyes turned again to the nobles.

“I will slaughter you all.”

With that growling threat, the hunt began.