Chapter 64: As Expected, Home is the Best

It was worth running through the night after seeing a low-level monster appear in the south of Drasen.

Thanks to that, I was able to save my father, who was in a life-or-death crisis, and also witness an amazing sight.

'……To think I would see something like that.'

As soon as I drew out the demonic energy that was eroding his body, my father began to run rampant as if he had become a different person.

The sight of my father, emitting steam from his entire body, tearing apart a giant demonic beast while engulfed in the brilliant light of Slayer.

‘Even I would have been split in two with a single blow.’

It was a phenomenal strike that made my own martial power, which I thought had grown considerably, feel so insignificant.

But as a price, my father had lost consciousness in a more emaciated state than ever before.

A state of exhaustion that seemed serious.

Fortunately, there were two porters(?).

The two fearless knights who had madly charged at the terrifyingly large monster as soon as they saw their father being eaten by the tail snake.

“Sir Gunter, carry my father!”

“Yes? Yes, Young Master!”

“Rodney, escort us! We’re going straight to the territory!”

“……Ugh!”

Rodney’s attitude was still grating, but he did move according to my words.

On top of that, I had clearly seen him charge at the monster to save my father earlier, so my feelings about the bastard who hung out with Eli seemed to be diluted.

“Young Master, there are thousands of monsters in the direction of the territory! It would be better to take a detour……!”

“No problem! They’re already fighting amongst themselves!”

“Pardon?”

Swish, swish, swish.

I could feel the bewilderment of the two knights who were following behind, carrying my father and escorting me, just from their voices.

But in Muno's senses, the sight of a huge cluster of demonic energy clashing with each other far away was clearly being captured.

“Stop talking and follow me!”

In my haste, I spoke informally not only to Rodney but also to Sir Gunter, but he was not the type to make a fuss about such things in this situation.

“Let’s go!”

Swish, swish, swish.

Muno simply ran in a straight line toward the territory.

And soon, in front of his path, the figures of the monsters that had surrounded Drasen's elites and had started fighting amongst themselves began to appear.

“Kyaaaak!”

Crunch.

“Kruk.”

“Kuooooo!”

Thud.

Boom.

Although the majority of the at least 2,000 to 3,000 monsters were low-level individuals not even considered grade 1, there were also giant monsters that looked to be grade 3 or higher among them.

And those giant monsters had started to slaughter the surrounding monsters while drooling at the sight of the corpses of other fallen monsters.

Thanks to the low-level monsters scattering in all directions to escape the pandemonium, the Drasen forces were catching their breath.

Moreover.

- The injured, inside!

- Inside!!

- On guard!

- Form up again!

Even in the midst of that chaos, the sight of the troops forming a phalanx again, centered around the knights, was commendable.

‘But now is not the time for that.’

Muno entered the pandemonium where the monsters were rampaging and drew the sword slung on his back.

‘Acceleration.’

Thud.

Crrrack.

In the midst of the drastically slowing movements around him.

He swung his ‘Blade’ alone.

Whirl.

He sliced through the low-level monsters on all sides with his blade, which extended to a length of over 10 meters like a thin and sharp whip.

Rattle.

At the same time, he slaughtered monsters with the four chains that shot out from his hands and feet, opening a path for the group following behind him.

And then.

“Ha!”

He charged straight toward the monsters that did not fall from his light sword strike(?), especially the giant monster with an owl’s head and a bear’s body that looked particularly large and strong.

Whirl.

The moment the blade whip that was stirring up all sides changed back into the form of a sturdy two-handed sword.

Wind Slicer.

“Kuooooo!?”

Crack.

Muno seemed to duck his body for a moment, then swung his sword from bottom to top, splitting the giant enemy in half in a single blow.

As the movement of the knight in black armor lingered like an afterimage in the eyes of others and scattered.

Thud.

The body of the Owlbear, the size of a house, split in half and collapsed, drawing the attention of the battlefield.

“Kyaak!”

“Kruk!”

The low-level monsters that saw that sight scattered even faster in all directions.

Only then did surprised shouts erupt from among the Drasen forces.

“Don’t tell me!?”

“Young Master!?”

“It’s Young Master Muno!”

“But that appearance is……?”

There was no time to answer each and every one of those questions.

Muno singled out the three most conspicuous knights among the familiar faces and shouted.

“Larry! Roider! Pelson!”

One decent new knight who always hung around his younger brother.

And two mercenary-turned-knights who caught his eye first because of their abnormally thick limbs.

As he saw their gazes gather on him, he shouted.

“The Lord is in critical condition! Open a path!! Escort him!!”

Then he drew out his four chains again.

Rattle.

After leaping over the clustered Drasen elites, he began to swing his sword and chains from the air toward the monsters in the direction of the territory.

Slice, slice, slice.

“Kki, kruk?”

A razor-sharp blade whip slit the monsters’ throats.

Bang.

Crunch.

“Krawk!”

The chains that shot out from his limbs in unpredictable trajectories mercilessly burst the heads of the cumbersome low-level monsters.

And.

“Grrrrr!”

Slice.

Thud. Bang.

“Kieeek!?”

Any monster that was a little bigger and stronger was mercilessly split in two by the black two-handed sword.

“Kyaaaak!”

Crack.

No matter how much it was a one-man-show taking advantage of the chaos in the monster army, those who saw that sight couldn’t help but be momentarily dazed as if they were possessed by a ghost.

And then.

“What are you all staring at! Everyone, follow Young Master Muno!”

At Gunter’s shout, who was carrying the lord, the troops belatedly began to run after him.

And gradually, their faces began to light up.

A path home was being opened in an instant from the worst of battlefields, a siege where they had to prepare for death.

“Woooooah!”

The spirited shouts that naturally began to ring out made the approaching monsters flinch and retreat.

And so, the most dangerous decisive battle in the history of the Drasen Monster Wave came to an end.

* * *

“H-How is he?”

“He has expended a great deal of energy.

There are no external injuries, but his internal organs seem to have weakened, so he will have to recuperate on soup for a while.”

“Haaa……”

At the doctor’s words, sighs of relief erupted from all sides.

The knights who had fought with him were relieved, but of course, no one was happier than the family who had been pacing anxiously in front of the door.

“Mother!”

“*Sob*, thank goodness. Really, really……”

Elina Trian, who had been holding back her tears, finally burst out and hugged Lian.

“I told you he’d be fine.”

And Muno, who smiled at his mother and younger brother as if he were calm, was also secretly sighing in relief.

The only one who couldn't empathize with the situation was the young doctor who had made the diagnosis.

“Um, I was saying that he is in a serious condition……”

“Ah, you’re Wiscon’s disciple, right?

Didn’t you hear about our lord’s peculiarity from your master?”

“Pardon? Ah, by any chance……?”

“Yes. Our lord, you see, originally……”

Palmer, with a smiling face, put his arm around the doctor's shoulder and began to explain the situation.

“All knights, return to your positions!

Take care of the people of the territory who have evacuated to the inner castle!”

“Yes, sir!”

As Gunter took charge of the knights and left.

Elina, who had shed a torrent of tears, finally stood up again and hugged Muno.

“Thank you, Muno. Thank you……”

Muno, who had deactivated his armor for a moment in case the black and heavy armor would hurt his mother, accepted the hug with a smiling face.

“Not at all. It’s what I should do as a son.”

“Thank you, thank you.”

Even at those words, Elina just patted him repeatedly and repeated her thanks.

Lian, who had been smiling next to them, his eyes lit up with curiosity as he looked at Muno.

“Brother, don’t tell me those shackles turned into that armor……?”

“Yes. As my level rose, it changed like that. Cool, right?”

“Wow! Awesome! It can do that!? No, uh, wait? Level……?”

Lian, who had been jumping up and down, tilted his head.

His appearance was so cute that Muno couldn't help but chuckle.

“Yeah. I got a little stronger a little faster after going through some hardships after leaving home.”

At that simple explanation, Lian’s jaw dropped.

And then.

“Hul……. As expected, that from earlier, Brother is really……”

“Amazing, right?”

“Yes! Really. I’m really, really glad.”

“……Glad?”

At the strange choice of words, this time it was Muno’s turn to tilt his head.

Then Lian, with a slightly flustered expression, soon smiled bashfully and shook his head.

“Ah, no. I’m just jealous of that armor.”

That sight made Muno chuckle again.

“I’ll get you a similar artifact someday.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Promise!”

“Yay! Promise!”

The sight of his younger brother jumping up and down with joy made him feel that he was really home.

Even his worries about the unprecedented Monster Wave that had hit Drasen could be forgotten for this moment.

‘As expected…….’

Home is the best.

After going out once, the warmth of his family felt more welcome than the fantasy of travel.

At least for a while, no, at least for today, wouldn't it be okay to enjoy this atmosphere in peace?

Muno decided to empty his complicated mind and entrust himself to the warmth.

* * *

“A nickname like the Black Knight, and already a 2-Star?”

“But in reality, Young Master Muno is probably a 3-Star or higher.”

“Is he that good?”

“Probably……. No, definitely.”

As Larry nodded, recalling the memory of the battlefield, Lian’s expression brightened even more.

“Ha. Really, I’m so glad.”

“……Pardon?”

“At that age, with that kind of skill, he’s a real genius, right?

No matter who you compare him to.”

“That’s a matter of course.

A 3-Star at sixteen is a talent I’ve never heard of. Except for heroes in legends and stories.”

“Legends……. Right, I guess so.

At that level, my brother will be able to receive a title of succession wherever he goes, so I don't have to give up Drasen, do I.”

“You were even thinking about that?

No, then what were you planning to do, Young Master?”

“I was going to give Drasen to my brother and take Trian for myself.

Well, it doesn’t seem like I need to do that anymore, so I guess I can just take it all.”

“……Pardon?!”

What kind of absurd thing is he saying.

Larry was once again curious about what was going on in the head of this small boy to whom he had sworn his loyalty.

He had thought that this genius, who also hid his true self from his family, dreamed of foolish things like any other boy.

“It’s perfectly possible.

I may be from the maternal side, but I have Trian blood in me, and the only useful person in the direct Trian line is the Flower of the North.

And even she has gone to the royal family now.

Well, even if she had remained in the family, it would have been difficult for a woman to inherit the title due to Trian tradition.”

Seeing the boy's strange smile, for some reason, even his delusion didn't feel like a delusion.

“Anyway, this is a big problem.”

“……Pardon?”

“I went to the trouble of building an information organization, and now there’s a strange incident in the mountains where I can’t even reach.

This is unprecedented, right?”

“Ah, yes. That’s right. At least as far as I know.”

“But I can’t find out any more, can I?”

“……I have heard that the depths of the northern mountain range are a demonic realm where even a Seven-Star cannot come out alive.”

“Yes, I know. That’s the problem.

It would be better if it were a conspiracy caused by a person……”

“Pardon?”

“Then I could find out. And there would be a way to deal with it.”

“Ah……”

If it were caused by a person, he could definitely solve it?

He thought it was an absurd amount of confidence, but for some reason, it didn't seem like this two-faced boy would say something baseless.

“For now, I should try to find out if there’s a precedent, as a test for the information organization.

And I should also try to come up with a solution. And Larry.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“Step up your game.”

“Pardon?”

The moment Larry looked at his master with a puzzled expression.

Crunch.

He saw Lian bending a small piece of iron with his fingers and smiling.

When a person is too flustered, words don't come out.

As Larry stared blankly at that sight, Lian, who had dusted off his hands, patted his back.

“I’ve awakened too. I was about to rush out when I saw the elites were surrounded.”

“……”

Was it even possible to awaken for such an absurd reason?

“Given our family’s characteristics, if I start to learn gluttony in earnest, my family will probably find out too.”

“C-Congratulations, Young Master.”

“You can’t just congratulate me.”

“……Pardon?”

“The sword that is supposed to protect me can’t be weaker than me, right?”

“I-I will step up my game, Young Master!”

“Right. I’ll save you from everything I can save you from now.

Don’t lose that name, my first knight.”

“Of course.”

Larry realized anew.

That it was truly fortunate that he had sworn his loyalty to this young boy, Lian Drasen.