Chapter 22 -----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Ambush on the Reconnaissance
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Silberna's reconnaissance team consisted of exactly seven members.
The leader, Silberna Caldias.
The rest of the team included her aide, Anna.
Isaac, Sharen, and Jonathan—three from the Helmunt family.
Meladic Drakemoor, who had once sparred with Silberna and learned the sword from Isaac.
And finally, Pollu Blackhand.
"Wh-why am I even here? I don't get it."
Pollu Blackhand was on the younger side among the dispatched nobles.
Having just turned twenty, he anxiously wondered why he had been included.
'Silberna's playing a bold hand.'
Isaac was skeptical of Silberna's decision to include Pollu Blackhand on his reconnaissance team.
The Blackhand family had been branded as traitors to the kingdom.
Few people knew about it yet.
The royal family was secretly investigating the Blackhand family based on Uldiran's report.
Isaac thought it best to leave them alone until then.
But Silberna believed that precisely because he was a dangerous figure, he needed to be kept close.
Both sides had their reasonable arguments.
"Ah, uh, L-Lord Isaac! Th-that person over there...!"
While Silberna was gathering the members before departure, Jonathan approached Isaac.
Pointing at Pollu, who stood awkwardly beside Meladic Drakemoor, his words came out in a stutter.
'Oh, right.'
When Isaac had revealed information about the Transcendent Race and the Blackhand family.
Jonathan had been nearby.
"D-don't worry! I'll stake my life to protect Lord Isaac—!"
"Jonathan, don't talk to him. You'll give it all away."
"Y-yes, sir."
Jonathan looked relieved.
He seemed well aware that he had no talent for lying.
But something was off about Jonathan's condition.
His gait was a bit strange, and his posture was crooked.
"Take off your armor."
"Pardon?"
"Now."
Jonathan hesitated.
When he removed his armor, bruises and wounds were revealed underneath.
They had been cunningly placed only where the armor would hide them. Flames ignited in Isaac's eyes.
"You crazy son of a—!"
When the Helmunt family's second dispatch arrived, he'd seen their knights too.
But Isaac hadn't expected them to do this to Jonathan in just one day.
He was about to storm off in rage to confront them.
"L-Lord Isaac! It's fine! Really, no problem at all! The seniors were just disciplining me for being inadequate!"
"Discipline my ass! We're heading out beyond the wall soon—how the hell are you supposed to fight like this?!"
"I'm okay! I can manage! Don't worry!"
Jonathan acted like it was nothing.
That only made Isaac's chest tighten more.
But Jonathan clung to him, voice cracking.
"Please, I beg you. If you make a scene, it'll be even harder for me later!"
"Jonathan..."
Isaac bit his lip.
He was right.
Jonathan didn't know about the divorce, but Isaac himself would be leaving Helmunt in a month.
Even if he threatened them here, they'd likely brush it off since he was just the live-in son-in-law.
Many knights had seen Isaac get beaten by Helmunt direct descendants anyway.
They probably wouldn't care much.
"What."
Just then.
Sharen approached from behind Isaac, arms crossed, eyeing Jonathan.
"Is this kid one of our family knights? Never seen him before. And what's with his body?"
"L-Lady Sharen!"
Jonathan saluted.
Isaac sighed and gave a brief explanation.
"Hmm?"
Sharen raised a finger and spoke simply.
"All superiors, assemble."
"...Pardon?"
"Assemble, I said."
Jonathan looked dumbfounded.
Isaac grinned and gave him a light shove on the back.
"What are you waiting for? The direct descendant second daughter gave an order. If you're a Helmunt knight, obey."
They'd only arrived yesterday, so the Helmunt knights probably hadn't been assigned duties yet.
This was the perfect time to gather them all.
Ten minutes later.
Knights in armor lined up in the training grounds.
No matter that Sharen was only seventeen—she was still a direct descendant.
Especially since she'd never called them like this before, they all looked baffled.
"The ones who beat up that guy from yesterday, step forward."
With Jonathan at her side, Sharen spoke sharply.
The knights began glancing at each other.
"Not coming forward? Should I go straight to Father right now and tell him Helmunt knights are bullying some kid like playground brats?!"
"L-Lady Sharen."
One knight stepped forward cautiously.
The most senior among the dispatched knights, a bit older with a dignified beard.
"This is the Mallidan Wall. Doing this will only tarnish the Helmunt name—"
Sharen hesitated at his words.
Really?
Her head tilted in thought, and any reliability she'd shown vanished.
"Opposite."
Isaac stepped forward in the end.
"Coming all the way to the Mallidan Wall and committing abuse is already shameful enough. Covering it up? That's what stains Helmunt's honor."
"Lord Isaac..."
"And does this look like something that'll end quietly within Helmunt?"
As if waiting, Silberna approached.
Her icy gaze pierced the knights' armor joints like the north wind.
"Turning a member of today's recon team into this? You know this could go to military tribunal?"
"...!"
"We trusted Helmunt knights to handle their own. If you sweep it under the rug, we can't just stand by."
Silberna stood proudly beside Jonathan, taking his side.
With even Caldias stepping in, Sharen finally found her footing.
"You're letting Helmunt get humiliated like this?! Should I really tell Father everything?! I'm dying to know what he'd say!"
The mood shifted the moment Arandel was mentioned.
"We're sorry!"
The senior knight bowed his head in apology.
"Where'd you sell your knightly honor?! Proud Helmunt knights pulling filthy stunts like this?!"
Sharen gained momentum and berated them fiercely.
"S-sorry, Jonathan."
"Our fault."
"Please, forgive us..."
The three knights who had beaten Jonathan stepped forward, bowing deeply in remorse.
It seemed like it could end there, especially since the victim Jonathan didn't want to drag it out.
The knights dispersed after a group reprimand, and Silberna looked at Jonathan with concern.
"Jonathan, if you're not well, you can sit this out."
"No, ma'am. I'm fine!"
"Sigh, we have a mage who can do recovery magic... but we can't waste it on this."
It was essentially wartime.
Precious recovery magic couldn't be squandered on something like this.
"Jonathan, you should skip today."
With even Isaac joining in, Jonathan had no choice but to yield.
He headed to the infirmary for treatment and rest, leaving the recon team at six members.
"If anything like this happens again?! I'll run straight to Father, horde or no horde!"
The middle-aged knight was still getting an earful from Sharen alone.
He looked a bit pitiful, apologizing to a girl younger than him, promising better discipline.
"Mind if I ask something?"
Isaac cut in.
Sharen seemed annoyed at the interruption but held her tongue.
"Yes, Lord Isaac!"
Grateful for stopping Sharen's lecture, the knight looked at him.
Lowering his voice, Isaac asked frankly.
"Don't Helmunt knights value upholding knightly honor?"
"Y-yes. That's why this incident has made me reflect deeply—"
Direct descendants might be a mess, but knights didn't usually stoop to thug-like behavior.
Ignoring his sermon on remorse, Isaac added,
"Then why target Jonathan?"
Specifically.
Only Jonathan.
At the question why,
The knight hesitated, then explained quietly so only Sharen and Isaac could hear.
Right after hearing it all.
Sharen slowly turned her head, searching for Jonathan.
Watching his back as he trudged to the infirmary, she shouted,
"That crazy bastard?!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The reconnaissance team ventured beyond the wall.
Silberna led the way, spear in hand, advancing calmly.
Time had passed noon into 2 p.m.
The Jonathan incident had caused a brief commotion, delaying their arrival at the planned point.
"This spot should be safe from nearby detection. We call it 'Snowflower.'"
The place Silberna called 'Snowflower' was a dense forest clearing.
Near the mountain range entrance rumored to host a magic beast horde.
The northern trees were all blanketed in snow like blooming white flowers, blocking sunlight.
"Here, beasts won't sneak up unnoticed thanks to the snow. We can spot tracks, or infer positions from fallen snow on branches."
"A northern method, huh."
Impressive how nature itself served as a security measure.
In emergencies, they could even bury themselves in snow for cover.
"Especially with a great horde, high-intelligence beasts are likely. So naming outposts vaguely keeps them from pinpointing easily."
"Here."
Mid-explanation, Anna pulled a water bottle from her bag.
"Put on the robes I gave you earlier. It's strong deodorant—be careful not to get it on your clothes."
"Deodorant? Pass."
"Magic beasts sniff out human scent pinpoint. You have to use it."
Despite Sharen's grumbling, Anna opened the deodorant.
They sprayed the deodorant on fur-lined brown robes to mask against scent-sensitive beasts.
Hoods up, the team concealed their identities.
"H-haah! Haah!"
Pollu Blackhand was more tense than expected.
Meladic Drakemoor and Sharen nearby scolded him.
"Hey, relax. It's just recon."
"Aren't we bringing a kid? Hope he can handle noble duty."
For the record, Sharen was three years younger than Pollu.
Silberna hadn't expected Pollu to be this nervous.
She even felt embarrassed for wanting to monitor the traitor's bloodline up close.
"Pollu, if you're too tense, stay here as outpost guard. We need one anyway—"
The wind split.
It flew in silently—a 'bone.'
"Uwaaaack!"
The snowfield stained red.
Pollu knelt, spewing dark blood from his mouth.
His trembling eyes stared at the 'bone' lodged in his chest, shaped like a spear.
"G-guh! Heuk! Euk!"
"Lord Pollu!"
Startled Anna rushed to check him.
Silberna and Sharen drew weapons, glaring the direction the bone came from.
"Sniff sniff."
Thick hide and white fur.
Massive build and bulging muscles.
"Sniff sniff."
Strapped to its back were crude weapons made from magic beasts and animals.
"Sniff sniff."
It was a Yeti, the most infamous northern magic beast. But this one wasn't ordinary—its behavior showed it.
"Sniff sniff."
Knocking its nose, grinning to reveal teeth.
"Human scent. Sniff sniff."
"It remembers the deodorant smell."
Isaac muttered bitterly, and Anna looked shocked.
"Pardon? The deodorant's scent?"
"Probably caught another recon team—not us."
"But they should've reported something that impor—!"
The moment she spoke.
Crack!
A skull hurled like a stone shattered against Silberna's spear.
"A recon team that hasn't returned?"
To Silberna's question, Anna answered urgently.
"T-team 3. They were supposed to rotate with us—"
Hatred filled Silberna's eyes as she took stance.
"Proxus, Torbik, Kalden, Irkasr?"
"Y-yes!"
"Great. Just ruins my mood."
The Yeti gripped another skull. Human-shaped ones—exactly three.
Since Silberna blocked one, that meant four total.
"Pollu's condition?"
"C-critical. It's pierced but not bleeding heavily—needs a mage's treatment back now."
"Sharen, if you carry Pollu and run, how long to the wall?"
"Ditch everything? Fifteen minutes."
Sharen had already dropped her greatsword and gear.
Gone was the innocent child from before.
She was now a warrior worthy of Helmunt, ready to sprint.
"Sharen, take Pollu and go first. We'll cover and follow."
Silberna gritted her teeth at the mission's failure on day one.
Isaac drew Peulseon and stood beside her.
"We learned of Team 3's wipeout and a named one's presence. Solid recon results."
"Isaac..."
"Long fight draws mountain beasts. Retreat's the call, Silberna. Payback later."
She couldn't argue; he was right, bitter as it tasted.
Silberna nodded deeply, and as Meladic and Anna backpedaled to retreat.
"Kyaaaaack!"
Sharen's scream drew all eyes.
From Pollu's body flowed not blood, but viscous black liquid, enveloping Sharen.
"Wh-what is this?! What the hell!"
Panicking, Sharen dropped him.
The black ooze leaking from unconscious Pollu tried to swallow her.
'Shamanism!'
If humans had magic.
The Transcendent Race had shamanism.
Like magic, it wasn't common.
The moment Isaac realized Pollu had been tampered with by Transcendents, he moved to help Sharen.
Crack!
This time, a strike from the side.
"Kuh?!"
A skull hit Silberna's shoulder and shattered.
She recoiled, frowning.
"Sniff sniff."
With thudding steps, the Yeti approached.
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