Chapter 38

Oh! My God (3) 

"What... is the meaning of this...?"

One week had passed since Young Lord Klein had been confined to the private chamber.

On the desk of Corax, captain of the defense knights overseeing both the garrison and training, lay a report containing utterly unbelievable information.

"The contents written here... are all completely true?"

At Corax's chilling voice, the knight before him flinched and nodded furiously.

"Y-Yes! Not only the frontline knights, but even some of the watchers already..."

Before the knight could even finish explaining, Corax rose from his seat.

"Young Lord Klein, to think you'd keep pulling these kinds of tricks to the very end—!"

"So~ what did you say your name was again?"

"R-Rilton, sir. My father's name is Galvor."

Hearing that, I deliberately furrowed my brows and let out a theatrical groan.

Then, after a moment—

"Your family crossed over from the central region during your grandfather's generation, right? Before that, you lived on the central-western plains."

A shocked voice immediately rang out.

"T-That's right! How did you...?!"

"Whoa...!"

Just from his name alone, I had identified his grandfather's birthplace and even their previous settlement.

As unexpected information continued spilling from my mouth, astonished gasps rose not only from the knight receiving the consultation, but from all around us.

"How does he know all that?"

"He's seriously amazing..."

By now, a crowd of knights had gathered in front of the cell where I was imprisoned.

I casually tossed another question toward the knight, who stood there wide-eyed in shock.

"What you're curious about is either why your swordsmanship isn't improving... or your family back home. Right?"

"Ah! Ooh! Uwaaaah?!"

At my words, the knight's face went completely pale as he babbled incoherently.

"He even knows things like that?"

"Do all the necromancers we used to beat up have abilities like this?"

"No, I heard only the young lord is special...."

The Black Crow knights exchanged guesses while looking back and forth at one another.

Watching them, my thoughts were simple.

'They're unbelievably naive.'

Honestly, I thought I'd get exposed pretty quickly.

Using ghosts to play tricks only worked a couple times.
After that, I was mostly just making things up as I went.

Knowing their family origins?
That was only because the knight's grandfather had a name commonly used in the Empire's south-central regions.

Knowing their worries?
The Black Crow knights had spent half their lives stuck at the barrier, so if it wasn't swordsmanship or family, what else would they be worried about?

"Th-Then, Young Lord... what should I do?"

"That part's easy."

As I spoke, I ripped a sheet from an empty parchment book and scribbled some random rune characters across it before handing it over.

"Stick this beside your pillow when you sleep. Burn it after four days."

A necromancer's confident assurance paired with parchment covered in mysterious-looking runes.

Perfect ingredients for deceiving people who knew nothing.

"Thank you very much, Young Lord Klein! If I ever get the chance later—!"

That was the moment the emotional knight began speaking to me.

"What exactly do you all think you're doing here?!"

At the thunderous roar, every knight's shoulders jerked violently.

'Oh, looks like the captain himself has arrived.'

Thinking that, I glanced toward the direction of the voice and saw Corax, captain of the Black Crow Knights, striding toward us.

"Wow, would you look at that expression."

His gaze was terrifying enough to look as though he could devour several people alive on the spot.

"C-Captain...!"

"Th-That is, w-we...!"

Even the knights who had been sitting around moments earlier seemed to realize they were utterly screwed, immediately jumping to attention.

"I told you to rest, and instead you gather in a place like this, obsessed with ridiculous superstitious nonsense?!"

"N-No, sir!"

"N-No, sir!"

Corax's anger was directed not at me first, but at the knights.

As the enraged captain roared at them, they shouted back desperately in unison.

"With the enemy invasion practically upon us, and you idiots are wasting time on absurd nonsense like this!"

As he shouted, Corax carefully scanned every knight present.

One by one, he burned their faces into memory, clearly planning to personally destroy them later.

"Bring me the vice-captain immediately! This time I'll properly restore discipline—!"

Corax's gaze suddenly stopped at one particular spot.

A familiar black-haired knight.

The moment he saw him, Corax looked utterly devastated.

"Boran... even you?"

Reflected in his eyes was the vice-captain Boran, clutching the fake talisman I had given him tightly in both hands.

"C-Captain, it's just..."

Boran desperately searched for words before his superior's betrayed fury.

Unable to bear watching any longer, I graciously decided to defend him.

"He barged in here saying the exact same thing you are now."

I deliberately began with a sly grin, causing Boran's face to instantly go pale.

"But after I convinced him three times or so, he completely fell for it."

"Y-Young Lord...!"

Startled by my internal betrayal, Boran shot me a desperate look.

What? Did I still hold a grudge from when we growled at each other during our first meeting?

Of course not!
Did Archimond, ruler of all beneath heaven, look like the kind of person who'd stay petty over something so trivial for days?

Correct!

"Enough!"

BOOM—!

Unable to endure any longer, Corax slammed his sword against the floor with a thunderous crash.

"Black Crow Knights! Full combat gear! Assemble at the training grounds immediately!"

The captain's voice echoed throughout the entire floor.

At that declaration-like command, the knights' faces turned gray.

"I'll tear apart your rotten mindsets and rebuild them from the beginning! Dismissed!"

"D-Dismissed!"

"DISMISSED—!"

With responses that sounded closer to screams, the knights filling the hallway vanished in an instant.

"Hoo....!"

Silence now filled the corridor.

All that remained were Corax and me separated by the iron door.

And old man Ian, passed out drunk in the corner.

"What exactly do you think you're doing, Young Lord Klein?"

"What do you mean? I've been quietly staying locked inside the room exactly like I was told."

The moment Corax saw me spreading both hands while saying that, his expression grew even darker.

"Quietly? You've bewitched every off-duty knight here, and you call that behaving quietly?"

"Bewitched? It was just counseling sessions."

Corax tried to overwhelm me with his characteristic pressure, but from the perspective of a necromancer who had lived for two hundred years, it was laughable at best.

As I continued brushing aside his interrogation with a grin, Corax spoke again.

"When a necromancer invasion is imminent, how could you possibly unsettle the knights with necromancy of all things?!"

"If they can be shaken just because someone like me talked to them, were your knights really that dependable to begin with?"

"...!"

As I said that, the smile directed at Corax deepened further.

How much time passed like that?

"...I will discipline the knights thoroughly. So."

"So?"

Corax turned away unhappily before speaking toward me.

"So please ensure this never happens again."

"Feels like every time you come back, the restrictions get stricter."

Leaving my mocking voice behind him, Corax began walking away.

"Ah, but you know."

"What is it?"

As though I had only just remembered, I casually spoke up again, and Corax turned his eyes toward me.

"Since you're already here, why don't you get a reading too?"

The instant I said that, Corax's face twisted harder than ever before.

"There's no need. And there never will be."

With those final words, Corax completely turned his back and left.

"Then again, judging by the company attached to you, I suppose that makes sense."

I muttered that while watching his retreating back.

On his shoulders, visible only to me, were the figures of two people embracing him.

Ding—! Ding—! Ding—!

At the urgent ringing of bells, I immediately rose from my seat.

It was still before sunrise, deep in the early dawn.

Starting with me waking up, lights began illuminating the watch posts and barracks throughout the barrier.

"The undead! The undead are attacking!"

The frantic shout of a guard echoed out, and at the same time I activated the surveillance formula floating across the floor.

Wooooong—!

"So today was the day after all."

Countless red dots had formed ranks before the walls.

Clicking my tongue, I stared at the massive number of undead gathered there—numbers large enough to resemble a full-scale war.

"Watchers to the outer posts! Knights, gather in your assigned sectors!"

"First Guard Company, evacuate all noncombatants! Every nearby villager too!"

Orders rang out from every direction as soldiers moved in perfect coordination.

The barrier, once sluggish and lethargic, had transformed into an immaculate fortress without the slightest disorder.

"See? You can't underestimate these knight bastards either."

Ian commented with satisfaction while observing the surveillance spell I had displayed.

Despite less than five minutes having passed, the knights, watchers, and guards had already assembled at their assigned positions.

And at the same time—

KRAAAAAAAAH—!

The twisted roar of beasts echoed throughout the barrier.

"Kyaaaak?!"

"Wh-What is this?!"

Terrified screams rose from below the room where I stood.

Probably civilians who had evacuated inside the barrier to avoid the fighting.

Which meant this place—where I currently stood—was the safest location in the entire barrier.

"It's fine to treasure them like gold and jade, but...."

Muttering that, I examined the enemy deployment map.

Unlike the barrier's systematically arranged forces, the undead formations were sloppy and completely lacking in discipline.

"So they've never experienced combat on this scale before. But...."

The enemy clearly knew nothing about tactics.

That was the conclusion I reached after observing the undead formations, yet despite that, my expression remained grim.

"What are these bastards?"

Unlike the irregularly scattered undead, there was one group advancing in a concentrated cluster.

And unlike the rest of the battlefield, which was entirely red, white lights were mixed among them.

"A mixture of living souls. Which means necromancers."

I reached that conclusion, but something still bothered me.

If they planned to assault the barrier, every soldier should matter—so why was a separate detachment moving independently?

"And that route.... don't tell me?"

The moment one particular thought crossed my mind, I immediately sent my will toward the Banshee.

Hovering above the battlefield, the Banshee descended at my command and carefully captured the area I pointed out.

And the moment she confirmed the enemy necromancers' location—

"You fucking bastards!"

I immediately spat out a curse and shot to my feet.

"What? What happened?!"

Unlike before, I now wore a deadly serious expression, prompting Ian to question me, but I wasn't in a situation where I could answer.

'How did I not realize it? The routes I created myself...!'

The necromancers were advancing straight toward the barrier, unhindered by terrain or obstacles.

The passage they were using.

The moment I realized what lay at the end of it, I could no longer waste time.

"Hey! You there! Open this door right now!"

I shouted toward the knights guarding the corridor, and one of them poked his face through the bars.

"My apologies, but that is impossible. The captain's orders—"

"To hell with his orders! That's not the issue right now!"

I roared at them with raw fury in my voice.

"Listen carefully. The undead attacking the barrier right now are just a smokescreen!"

"What... do you mean?"

I suppressed my frustration while looking at the knights who still couldn't grasp the situation.

Because right now, I was the only one who understood how serious this was.

"Tell Captain Corax immediately! The real objective isn't the undead attacking the barrier!"

Then I looked directly into their faces and shouted as though driving in a final nail.

"Their true target is the civilians evacuating to the rear!"