Til was nervous. He saw the immense Pialu castle walls in front of him. The walls used to be a trustworthy existence that he could freely pass through at any time, but today, the walls looked like a monster that could swallow him in one gulp. Since Til’s name hadn’t been cleared yet, he would be captured as soon as he entered the city, and there was a high possibility that people wouldn’t listen to him even if he tried to explain the situation. No matter how much he thought about it, entering the city while yelling, ‘I am innocent!’ didn’t seem like the right answer.
If he had enough time, he might be able to clear up the misunderstanding, but time was something he lacked. Still, Til strengthened his resolve and walked toward Pialu. After all, he did have something to rely on, and he recalled what Zich had told him.
[My companion will be waiting for you at the castle walls.]
Zich had foreseen this happening and made the necessary preparations; through his companion, Zich told Til that his words would gain persuasiveness.
‘It would be best if Sir Zich came with me though…’ Til thought. Yet, Zich had already left the area to prepare for another possible incident.
There were some people wandering around Pialu’s castle walls. Most of them were people taking flight, while a couple of brave souls used this opportunity to make some money, and of course, there were those who were fully armored. Most of these armored folks were those who went out to patrol and check if monsters were coming. Til looked at these people carefully. His face was already well-known throughout the city, and with his large body, he couldn’t hide among crowds.
Soldiers should have captured Til as soon as they saw him, but they hesitated to approach. First, they couldn’t be completely certain that this man was Til by the way he brazenly walked near the city. Second, they were wary of Til’s formidable strength. Of course, they didn’t plan on leaving Til alone simply because of these reasons, and they quietly surrounded Til so that he couldn’t run away. Some ran inside the city to let the news of Til’s arrival be known.
“Captain?” Til heard a familiar voice, and when he turned to face it, he saw a welcoming face.
“Max!” Til hadn’t seen Max since he left Pialu because of Nick’s blackmail. “I didn’t think I would be so happy to see your face.” Til was so glad to see Max that Max’s rough, scarred face almost appeared handsome, and upon thinking this, the fact of his deep suffering truly dawned on Til. Max hurriedly ran toward him.
“What happened! There are wanted posters of you saying that you are most likely the betrayer!”
“I know. I will tell you what happened later. Right now, there’s something more urgent I have to take care of.”
“What urgent thing?” Unlike those who eyed Til warily from far away, Max walked close to Til’s side. Feeling Max’s trust in him, Til’s nervousness dropped a bit. However, Max didn’t completely trust Til, and his hands lingered in a position where he could pull out his axe at any time.
“What is more urgent than clearing your name!”
“There’s just something like that.”
“Damn it! I already have a headache because Vice-captain Nick took a whole bunch of our mercenaries and disappeared, and now you won’t even answer my questions!” Max grumbled, but his voice was bright. Since Til was returning to the city of his own will, Max thought there was a high possibility that what Til had been accused of might not be true. Yet, Til’s heart felt uncomfortable when the topic of Nick was brought up.
Eventually, the two reached the castle walls. There, a considerable number of soldiers were gathered and staring at Til warily. It appeared that all the soldiers they could gather near this area had been called.
“Are you the captain of Wolf’s Canine, Til?” the highest-ranked knight in the group asked.
“Yes.”
“You are under arrest. I am warning you. I advise you not to resist.” There was nervousness and fear in the knight’s voice. The knight knew of Til’s strength. The fact that he could talk so boldly to Til in his face displayed the knight’s bravery. Til thought the soldier was an interesting fellow, but he had no intention of following the knight’s words.
“I don’t have the time for that. Guide me to the city hall and take me to the commander-in-chief.”
“How ridiculous! You are an important suspect behind the monster invasions in Pialu! How could I take you to the city hall or the commander!”
‘Their response is as expected.’ Til sighed deeply and yelled in a mana-filled voice, “I came here because Sir Zich called for me! He told me he already talked about the matter!” Til yelled, surprising the people in his surroundings. Knights raised their swords and soldiers pulled out their spears. Max also pulled out his axe halfway and backed a couple of steps away. Yet, Til didn’t show any signs of attacking.
“What are you…!” the knight exclaimed.
“Excuse me.” An elegant voice sounded, and people’s eyes were naturally drawn toward it.
“…Ms. Lyla?” It was no exaggeration to say that Lyla was one of the most famous people in the city, and now Lyla walked past the knights and soldiers without hesitation and straight toward Til.
“Uh, uh! It’s dangerous,” the knight shouted, but he couldn’t stop her from moving. In the end, Lyla stood in front of Til.
“You came because Zich sent you?”
“Yes.”
“It seems like the situation involving you has been resolved.”
“Yes.”
Lyla nodded and looked at the knight. “I would like to guide Mr. Til to the commander. Will that be all right?”
If anyone else had asked such a question, the knights would have yelled what kind of nonsense they were uttering and chased them away. However, they were talking to one of the most revered heroes in this city.
“H-He’s one of the suspects to have introduced great danger to Pialu! Bringing him to the commander without investigating more is a bit…”
“Mr. Til has been framed and there’s nothing more about it,” Lyla responded.
“Framed?” The knight was surprised. People murmured as they also listened.
“Yes, I will tell you the exact details later. We don’t have time. The fact that Mr. Til came alone without Zich accompanying him speaks to how urgent the situation is.”
“Yes, this is true.” Til couldn’t tell him that monsters might come ambushing Pialu at any moment; there were too many people here. If he carelessly said those words, he might increase the chaos and confusion among the people in this city. However, the knight was still hesitating.
Lyla reached out her hand towards Til. “Zich probably gave you something. Could you give it to me?”
Til nodded and gave the item that Zich had handed to him before they separated—it was the Karuwiman Honorary Knight broach. Lyla pushed that broach towards the holy knight. “This is the broach of a Karuwiman Honorary Knight. Since Zich gave this to Mr. Til, he’s willing to take responsibility for this situation as a Karuwiman Honorary Knight. Is this not enough?”
“…I understand. I’ll guide you there.” In the end, the knight had no choice but to back down.
* * *
“Ah!” The commander let out a sigh and looked at Til. It was already shocking that a wanted suspect had suddenly appeared in front of him, but the news that Til brought was even more shocking. According to Til, he had been blackmailed with his son’s kidnapping, and there was actually a different culprit for Pialu’s situation. Moreover, he said he had collaborated with Zich, saved the hostages and defeated some of the culprits. This was the basic summary of Til’s words.
The commander could at least accept this part of Til’s narrative somewhat. He would only know what happened after investigating more, but if this was true, then it was good news. However, the real problem was what Til had told him at the end.
“So you’re saying that the monsters might ambush Pialu?”
“Yes, sir.”
The reason why they had searched for Til with so much effort and time was because they thought Til might use the monsters to destroy Pialu. However, all their efforts were in vain as Til told him that the monsters would advance toward Pialu regardless of his presence.
“On the other hand, Mr. Zich didn’t seem to be very worried. He said he had a solution in mind. Even though there’s a high possibility that the monsters will ambush Pialu, it’s not definite.”
“That’s fortunate but…”
“He told me that the solution will take some time, so if monsters are really going to ambush Pialu, we have to buy time.”
The reason why Til went to Pialu first ahead of the monsters was to give a warning. If he had first gone to check the monsters and his return to Pialu matched the monsters’ speed, there wouldn’t be any time for Pialu to prepare for the monster attacks. Moreover, since they didn’t know how the monsters would react to two contrasting orders, they needed to set up a counterplan for both situations.
The commander tapped his fingers on the desk and became quiet for a while. However, he didn’t take long to make his decision. If Til’s words were true, there was no time for him to ponder long about this. “Are you completely sure that Mr. Zich said he had a solution?”
“Yes, I’m sure about that. But he didn’t tell me what the solution specifically was.”
“You’re telling me to blindly believe him without even knowing the solution…”
Til also understood the commander’s reaction. “Nonetheless, there hasn’t been a time when things went bad because I believed Mr. Zich. I personally trust him.”
“It isn’t a bad idea to trust him.”
The commander stared at Lyla who was also in the room with them. “I have an idea about what Zich has in mind. With that, he’ll be able to stop the monsters. As Zich said, we should focus on finding out how the monsters will move and minimize the damage to Pialu as much as possible.”
“And what is that method!” The commander was glad that Lyla knew what Zich’s plan was, but Lyla shook her head.
“I can’t tell you. The only thing I can tell you is to advise you to follow Zich’s words.”
Disappointment filled the commander’s face; he even looked slightly angry. However, he wasn’t able to get angry at Lyla and fell into thought again. “…I guess it can’t be helped.”
Thud! The commander slammed the desk and got up from his chair. “If the monsters really come down here, we won’t have any other methods anyway. I’ll believe you and Mr. Zich.”
“You’ve made a wise decision.” Lyla smiled.
* * *
Tap! Zich landed in an area in the Denest Mountain Range. The terrain in the mountain range was relatively flat, and a lot of grass used to grow in this section. However, it looked completely different compared to before. The dirt was dug up and the rocks were crushed. As if there was a conspiracy to make the whole area desolate and lifeless, the whole area was destroyed. The grass that was vibrant in color even at a high elevation was nowhere to be seen. Dried blood, flesh, and bones of unknown creatures lined the floor instead.
This was the location where the monsters from the One-Sided Pyramids gathered. Since so many monsters were in one place, it was understandable that the place was in such tatters. However, the monsters that had devastated this place like this were nowhere to be found. ‘They’ve moved.’
As expected, Glen seemed to be planning to annihilate Pialu by using the monsters.
‘I won’t let him do that.’ Zich wasn’t going to let Glen erase all the work and achievements he had made so far. He began running towards Pialu.