The unnamed merchant of Rosrok had advised staying away from any flags depicting Black Dogs. It was perhaps a valid word of caution for any merchants. However, the mercenaries in question were only relatively famous in the region of Ruhr, which meant that they were nothing for Eugene to worry about.
What would he do if he chanced upon the flags in the distance during his journey? He probably wouldn’t go out of his way to avoid them. It wasn’t that he wanted to ignore the merchant’s advice, but he also couldn’t be bothered to avoid a group he did not fear.
“Hmm.”
Indeed, it just so happened that Eugene came across the flags of the Black Dog Mercenaries. However, the flag of the Black Dogs was cemented in the snow instead of flapping in the wind. It wasn’t just their flag, either. Debris from their carts and sleds was laden across the snow, and even frozen bodies were buried in the snow.
Eugene observed the scattered corpses and identified bodies of snow wolves, reindeer, horses, and other domesticated animals that would have pulled the carts and sleds, as well as the mercenaries themselves.
“It wasn’t a monster attack,” Cyan remarked after observing the mess from Eugene’s side.
A week had already passed since they departed from Rosrok, and Cyan was standing barefoot on the snowfield as if this was the most natural thing to do. That wasn’t all, either. A fierce snowstorm was raging on even at this moment, but the flurries never touched his body. He was manipulating fine mana that was almost invisible to the eye with extreme precision to push the snow away.
“They slaughtered them as if it were a joke,” Ciel commented.
She was more accustomed to inspecting such events compared to Cyan since the Black Lion Knights performed many different tasks for the Lionheart family, which included examining and handling corpses as basic fundamental knowledge.
“It looks like it was done by… a single person. Of course, there could have been more, but for this incident, only a single person was responsible for slaughtering the mercenaries here,” Ciel continued with her analysis after pondering for a moment. She didn’t appear unaffected. Nevertheless, Ciel continued to closely examine the bodies for wounds and other hints.
Eugene agreed with Ciel’s assessment. Just as she said, only one person was responsible for killing the mercenaries. But they had not been alone. Although the snow had wiped out most of the traces, it was possible to deduce the formation the assaulter’s group had taken in the beginning, as well as the patterns of the battle, from the locations and the conditions of the corpses, sleds, and carts.
“There was at least one other person who was keeping watch,” Eugene added while kicking over the corpse in front of him.
Ciel had also been correct in her initial statement; they had been killed in a nonchalant, joking manner as if the perpetrator had not been concerned at all. The one responsible had not swung their blade with the intent to kill. Instead, they had stayed faithful to their desire to cut their opponents. The wounds indicated that the one responsible had wielded their blade not because they wanted to kill the mercenaries but because they wanted to cut them. As such, the cuts on the bodies were promiscuous and shallow. The mercenaries had been hurt, allowed to run, then… cut down from behind.
In a field as open and wide as this, one could escape in any direction if one wanted to. However, all of the mercenaries had fallen while fleeing in a specific direction. In other words, their choice had been limited in their path of escape, indicating another presence besides the killer who had been blocking their retreat. But the one tasked with preventing their escape had not wielded their blade but only herded the mercenary.
“Who could it be?” muttered Cyan.
At first, he thought it could have been infighting between the mercenaries. Since they were said to be vile, it wouldn’t have come as a surprise if any internal strife immediately led to stabbings. But judging from the traces left behind, what had occurred here was neither a battle due to internal conflict nor an execution between the mercenaries. Instead, it was a playful game of slaughter and execution.
“I get that they’ve done bad things here and there, but this isn’t a result of resentment,” Cyan remarked grimly.
The Black Dog Mercenaries had been en route to Lehain to participate in the Knight March, but in their bad fortune, they had encountered a killer who slaughtered for pleasure.
The corpses weren’t old either. Although it was difficult to determine their exact time of death due to how frozen they were, it was always snowing in this field. It was snowing right now as well, and it had been snowing earlier too. It snowed in the morning, at dawn, and at night. Nevertheless, the bodies and the various debris weren’t completely buried.
“What will you do?” Kristina asked after standing up once she was done praying for the dead. She continued while looking back at Eugene with worried eyes, “I don’t know the identity of the attacker, but if they are targeting those who are participating in the Knight March…. Isn’t there the possibility that they will attack us as well?”
“Then I’ll just ask them,” said Eugene with a shrug before gesturing to Abel. Mer was pinching her nose with a frown while riding on Abel’s back.
She pouted while looking alternatingly at the corpses and the candy in her hand. “My candy is as red as blood. I lost my appetite; I don’t want to eat it anymore.”
“Then don’t. It’ll make your teeth rot anyways,” answered Eugene.
“My teeth will never rot, no matter how many candies I eat. And you telling me not to eat them made me want to eat them again, Sir Eugene.” Mer stuck out her tongue, which was red from eating the candy.
After glancing over at Mer, Eugene approached Abel and stroked his forehead. “Smell it and follow it.”
“Is that really necessary?” asked Mer.
“It’s better to find this unknown crazy killer than to be wary,” Eugene answered simply.
“But what if it’s someone really strong?” Mer questioned back.
“They’re not that strong. You can tell from how they used their sword. The person who was watching might be stronger, but that’s more the reason we should find them first,” responded Eugene.
Snow wolves possessed an excellent sense of smell, and the wolves, as well as monsters, could track their prey even during a powerful snowstorm. Moreover, Abel was quite intelligent, just as the Beast King had promised, so he understood exactly what Eugene wanted.
“Sniff sniff sniff….” Abel sniffed the ground while walking between the bodies, then gave a low cry. He then raised his head and turned back before glancing at Mer. Mer gave him a smile, then patted Abel’s rump. She had developed a good relationship with him during the week they spent together.
Abel charged forward, followed by Ciel and Cyan. Kristina also unfolded her Wings of Light and soared into the sky. Eugene took his place at the party’s rear to prepare for any unexpected situations. He expanded his senses to monitor the surrounding area and prepared himself to intervene immediately if something unexpected happened.
Not long after, they encountered more corpses belonging to the Black Dog Mercenaries. The bodies belonged to those who had escaped… or rather, had been let go. It was as if the killer had played a game of tag, allowing the mercenaries to run before chasing them down. It wasn’t one or two bodies either. These were less than the dozens of bodies they initially encountered, but there were still five or six corpses at each encounter.
The scent Abel pursued grew stronger as they saw more and more corpses. The distance between the killings grew further apart, but Abel dashed forward with even more confidence as he continued. The snow wolf traveled quite fast when it was locked onto its target, so fast that ordinary knights would have difficulty chasing after it. However, Ciel and Cyan managed to keep up with Abel while staying faithful to Eugene’s instructions from the first day.
Eugene felt rather proud of their growth. Hamel had never had any successors, and although Cyan and Ciel weren’t technically Hamel’s successors, it pleased him to see them following instructions and growing stronger. Although the habit he instilled in them of finely manipulating mana wouldn’t immediately push them to five Stars of the White Flame Formula, it would certainly serve as a cornerstone for their growth in the future.
The twins weren’t the only ones who were presented with the opportunity to grow through Eugene. After suffering because of Eugene’s constant visits to the Dark Room, Gilead and Gion were on the cusp of stepping into the Seventh Star of the White Flame Formula. Unfortunately, Carmen did not experience the same growth that pushed her to the boundary, but she was still satisfied with her achievements.
—Blood Lion, thanks to you, I was able to create a new technique besides Destiny Breaker. I call it… Gungnir. I think it will be a good match against your secret technique, Eclipse. Why don’t we have a go?
—How did you find out about Eclipse, Lady Carmen?
—Mer told me. Eclipse… that’s a nice name. Blood Lion, how did you manage to blacken the sun to create an eclipse?
The charming familiar had been hiding the fact that she had sneakily engaged with Eugene’s mind during the time he developed Eclipse. Then she had gone on to blabber the name, which Eugene didn’t want anyone to know, to none other than Carmen….
Eugene trembled as he reflected on the anger, shame, and self-loathing he had felt then. He had thought that the good smack he gave Mer on her head had been sufficient at the time, but he felt a rising desire to run forward and give her another smack as he recalled the memory.
After glaring at the back of Mer’s head for a moment, he suddenly spoke.
“Stop.”
His words reached all the way to the front, and Abel stopped even before Mer could give the order. It was a sudden command, but Ciel and Cyan immediately stopped in their tracks in an unusually neat motion as if someone had grabbed them from behind.
“What’s wrong?” asked Kristina as she approached Eugene, who felt pretty satisfied. Instead of answering, Eugene raised his right hand.
He formed signs with just one hand. Kristina’s eyes glimmered when she saw it, and Mer also gave a small burst of exclamation while riding on Abel’s back.
Fwoosh.
A small spark formed into existence in front of Eugene’s right hand. It was a purple flame created from Eugene’s White Flame Formula, and with a flick of his finger, the flame soared into the sky.
“What did you just do?” asked Cyan with a confused expression.
Mer burst out laughing as if she had been waiting. “Well, let me explain. That is something Sir Eugene has been working hard on in Aroth. His Signature….”
“Mer Mer, be quiet,” Eugene growled with a glare.
Mer grumbled while pouting, “You don’t even bother to finish the word Merdein anymore?”
Eugene ignored her. His view connected with the flame and expanded, even without having to close his eyes. There was a limit to how far a human could expand their mana to scout their surroundings. However, if you used mana to cast magic, the radius could be increased significantly depending on the level of the wizard.
The flame itself wasn’t Eugene’s Signature. Just as Jeneric Osman had gone through several stages while developing his Signature, Yggdrasil, this flame was just one of the steps Eugene had taken in creating his Signature.
He spotted the things that had been bothering his senses and saw the sight clearly through his flame. Two people were standing in front of three dead bodies. In addition, one person was kneeling on the snow as a sword carved his neck like a saw blade.
“This is crazy,” grumbled Eugene as he extinguished the flame. Although he had not bothered to guess who the attacker would be, the person he saw was someone truly unexpected, and in all honesty, he didn’t really want to proceed any further if it entailed meeting this person. No matter how he looked at it, they weren’t normal.
However, the two of them had met gazes right before Eugene extinguished the flame, and he didn’t know if the attacker would try to head toward his group. As far as Eugene could tell, the attacker was still unmoving. If they had not sensed Eugene’s presence, there would be no need for the two groups to meet. However, Eugene judged there was a need to take the initiative to meet them if they had sensed him and would try to target him and his group.
The opponent was someone in a position of power.
Eugene and the others were no longer in a rush to advance, and both Mer and Abel backed up as well. None of them wanted to provoke their opponents, regardless of the power disparity that might exist between them. Would they take the initiative? Or would they leave without caring? The latter was unlikely, and from the trail of blood they had left in their path, the former would probably come true, but… the attackers remained in their spot. The two of them remained unmoving from where Eugene had spotted them.
“…Ugh.” Ciel frowned. It was hardly snowing where they were, which meant that the ground was still vividly colored crimson with blood. The heat of the red liquid had already dissipated, but the unique, fishy smell of the expunged filth from the dead heavily stained the nearby area. There was more blood and odor than usual coming from a simple corpse because they had been killed in such a gruesome way.
Eugene spread his cloak without a word. Mer wasn’t afraid of the sight, but she still thought it was terrible. As such, she didn’t protest against Eugene’s invitation and unhesitatingly entered her haven. In the meantime, Kristina recited prayers for the dead after giving a small sigh.
“…Don’t tell me,” Cyan said after hesitating for a while. His hand remained on the pommel of the sword hanging from his waist. “…Princess Scalia Animus?”
The two people standing up ahead adorned armor emitting a pale purple light but forwent any sort of thick winter coats suitable for the freezing land. Although their armor looked to be made of metal, it did not stick to the flesh in the cold.
Mithril was famous for being capable of embracing mana on its own, but their armor was made of something even more valuable — oirhalcon. An armor made of this rare metal protected its owner’s body from all kinds of harm, even without a separate inscription or enchantment of magic. The armor was known as Exid, and it belonged to the Sea Kingdom of Shimuin. In particular, Exid, created using large amounts of oirhalcon, was the symbol of the kingdom’s royal knights. .
The bloodstained knight raised their head. It was the same knight who had been sawing the head off the body in front of them like a maniac. It was hard to tell their gender due to the Exid covering their chest, but they were rather petite, which indicated they were likely a girl. In addition, inscribed on their chest plate was a depiction of waves and a whirlpool, which was the symbol of the Violent Tide Knights, and the eagle soaring above it represented the royal family.
Clack.
The helmet flipped open, and once it reclined like a hood, red hair poured out like a waterfall.
“How impudent.” It was Princess Scalia, Vice Commander of the Violent Tide Knights, nicknamed the Princess Knight. “How is it that you don’t lower your heads, bend your backs, and kneel, knowing well who I am?”
Her orange eyes glimmered between her messy bangs. It was difficult to tell why her eyes had lost focus and why there were deep, dark bags under her eyes.
“Your vulgar actions have insulted me. Or are you the colleagues or family of the rascals I just punished? I thought I had disciplined everyone, but could it be that traces of the muddy filth still remained?” she continued.
“What?” Cyan asked, confused.
“Shut your mouth, you lowlife. I, Princess Scalia, have not given you permission to open your dirty mouth,” Scalia retorted immediately with a glare after hearing Cyan’s flustered question. She flicked away the blood staining her sword. “I mistakenly thought that I had killed enough, but clearly, this white land is still filled with filth. Fine. I, Princess Scalia, will act on behalf of the Barbarian King and grace your filth with enlightenment. Only a painful hell awaits those who are unscrupulous.”
“Wait, Princess Scalia…!” Cyan called out.
“Do not taint my name with that filthy, vulgar mouth of yours, you trash! The stench oozing from your maw makes me sick!” shouted Scalia, and Cyan quickly clasped his hand over his mouth in surprise.
A stench? That couldn’t be true…? Cyan’s eyes quivered with shock as Scalia strode toward them with heavy breaths.
“Hey, hey…. What do we do?” asked Ciel while looking back at Eugene in surprise.
They were up against the Princess of Shimuin. No matter what she said, they couldn’t simply retort in kind. Moreover, Scalia’s current condition was bizarre. Eugene, Ciel, and Cyan were all wearing uniforms engraved with the symbol of the Lionhearts. But instead of showing any sign of recognition, Scalia was openly expressing anger and disgust toward them, mistaking them as the colleagues or family of the dead mercenaries.
“…Princess.” The other knight spoke up when they saw Scalia striding forward. He was also armed in Exid, and his face was covered with a helmet. However, it was clear from his voice that the knight was a young man. “They are neither colleagues nor family of the mercenaries you punished, Princess.”
“Then why are they acting so impudent towards my royal self? Why are they still not showing respect to me?” asked Scalia.
“This is not Shimuin, and they aren’t ones with status low enough to kneel unconditionally out of respect for you, Princess,” the knight answered.
“Dior! It is difficult for my royal self to understand what you are saying. I… feel very dizzy. I can’t see very well, either. Who in the world are they?” asked Scalia.
“They are the young lions of the Lionhearts, the descendants of the Great Vermouth,” answered Dior.
“What?” exclaimed Scalia before coming to a stop. She looked straight ahead, then down at the sword in her hand before shaking her head vigorously. “…That cannot be. I do not see them as the lions of Lionhearts….”
“It must be because you are so tired, Princess. Please listen to me….”
“Stop! I will not listen! How…! How could I, Scalia Animus, not attend the gathering of famous knights from all over the world!?” shouted Scalia before collapsing on the spot. “If it’s because of fatigue, I can just rest right away. Dior, prepare to rest immediately.”
“Yes.” The man, Dior, bowed his head. His helmet was still obscuring his face, and when he raised his head again, his gaze remained on Eugene for a moment.
“All of you. Come over here and sit,” said Scalia. “Come and speak. Why were you lot wandering in the snowy field, and why did you stand in the way of my royal self?”
“We were on our way to the Knight March as members of the Lionheart family,” answered Cyan, his hand still clasped over his mouth.
Scalia snorted before shaking her head. “Do not lie, you lowly peasant. If you really are members of the Lionheart family, then why are your manners so shabby? Where are the brave knights of Lionheart?”
“That’s….”
“I have seen straight through your lies! How dare you try to deceive me. I will have you executed immediately and—” shouted Scalia.
“Then why were you wandering the snowy fields with only a single knight accompanying you, Princess?” Eugene asked after quietly listening to the conversation for a while. “I saw the people you killed, Princess. The Black Dog Mercenaries. I’ve heard that they were a rotten bunch, but the method of their execution was excessive for the nature of the crimes they—”
“How dare you try to judge the nature of their crime? You are not qualified!” roared Scalia, interrupting Eugene.
“Then what qualifications do you possess to judge them, Princess?” asked Eugene.
“My royal self has only responded to the cries of the poor, asking for their punishment. You ask why I was wandering the snowfields with only one knight? It was one week ago. My royal self and the Violent Tide Knights stopped by a village of the natives to rest. However, the village had already been looted to the point of starvation! To the extent that they couldn’t find the means to survive the immediate cold!” thundered Scalia.
“It was a terrible crime committed by those scum mercenaries who looted the village before the before the Violent Tide Knights stopped by. My royal self found the people of the village pitiful and released the supplies of the Violent Tide Knights and distributed them to the village. Then I decided to punish the scum myself since it was the right thing to do. However, it was clearly too much to mobilize all the knights just to punish a simple group of mercenaries.”
While Scalia talked, Dior finished setting up camp. He set up a tent against the snowstorm and laid a wide cloth over the ground. Once he rolled a small sphere in the middle, the object swelled up greatly and started emitting heat and light.
Princess Scalia continued. “So I decided to chase and punish them alone, and the commander of the Violent Tide Knights willingly allowed me to carry out this righteous task. That is why my royal self was wandering around with Dior, my aide, to clean up the trash. So, did you say that my method of execution was excessive? They were sinners who deserved to die writhing in pain! The villagers might have died in the freezing cold if I had not taken care of them. Isn’t it only right for the sinners who caused such pain and suffering to suffer before they die?”
While she continued, Dior climbed into the tent and sat down. Instead of taking off her Exid, Scalia grabbed and embraced the warm sphere with both hands. “So I…. They….”
“Princess.”
“No, no. Dior. I am fine…. I do not need to rest.” Scalia felt her tired eyes threatening to close. After grinding her teeth while staying still, she threw the sphere out of the tent. “I don’t need this. I don’t need anything like this. My sword…. No, no…. I need to rest a little….”
She was contradicting herself over and over. Indeed, Scalia’s condition was beyond understanding.
“…Please come and sit down,” said Dior. Scalia said no more and sat before embracing her knees while chewing on her lips.
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