Chapter 68: Monster Lord?

“Heave-ho…….”

Crack. Creak.

“……Good.”

“Young Master, are you going out again today?”

Esna asked with a worried expression as she watched Muno flexibly warming up while wearing heavy armor.

“What’s with all the fuss over something so small? It’s something that must be done, of course.”

“But they say the Lord is recovering now.”

“He has ‘begun’ to recover.

Until he’s fully recovered, I have to cover for him.

And if I take my armor off, it automatically shakes off the blood, so there’s nothing to wash, is there?”

“That’s not what I mean! I’m just worried...!”

“I know.”

Muno chuckled and turned his head.

Lately, he had been returning covered in blood at least once a day, so he was not unaware of Esna’s concern.

But the more he moved, the fewer casualties there were in the territory, and the wealthier the family became.

On top of that.

‘There aren't any particularly strong monsters.

That one back then was just strange.’

Behemoth.

The sense of pressure from that giant beast was still vivid enough to recall even now.

And his father’s explosive martial prowess that had torn it to shreds.

But strangely, the monsters that came down after that one died were, at best, only 3rd-stage monsters.

From a defensive standpoint, it was a good thing.

But some were worried for other reasons.

- A 6th-stage monster could have been a direct subordinate of a Monster Lord.

Just as it was three hundred years ago…….

The reply that came from Trian after conveying Lian’s opinion.

- If there is truly someone who has made off with a Monster Lord’s offspring, just like three hundred years ago, the Behemoth would have been serving as a search party to find it.

- And if the offspring does not return to its mother for a long time, a disaster could occur, just as it did three hundred years ago.

The Monster Lord…….

That reply, delivered with one assumption piled on another, gave goosebumps to those who heard it.

We don’t know what kind of monster the current ‘Lord’ is, the one who rules a part of that demonic realm in the depths of the northern mountain range where an ancient calamity had settled, but.

It is said that the Lord from three hundred years ago became a disaster that threatened the very existence of the Iron Kingdom.

It was even said to be so severe that the Iron Kingdom and the Deus Mage Empire had to cooperate to handle it.

‘If something like that really happens again…….’

But in the end, there was only one thing to do, one thing that could be done.

“As the shield of the kingdom's northernmost front, we block the southward advance of the monsters…….”

I repeated the words my father used to mutter, once again steeling my fighting spirit.

And.

- Don’t we not have to worry?

- Hm?

- If that’s really the case, don’t you think the one who took the egg now also knew about the past and tried it?

If it were me, I think I would have run as far away as possible.

All the way to the southern end, if possible.

Hehe. No, that’s just what I think.

- ……No. That makes sense.

- For your information, there are records that the monster at that time also passed Trian and headed straight for the capital.

My younger brother’s thoughtless remark also became a hopeful prediction for Drasen.

“I’m saying you don’t have to worry because it’s manageable.”

“Are you really okay?”

“Of course, Esna.

Do I look like I’m hurt or tired?”

“Not really, but……. I’m worried.”

“Don’t worry.

Because when it comes to dealing with a large number of monsters, I’m better than my father.”

Muno patted Esna’s head and left the room.

What he said to Esna was no exaggeration.

‘My condition is the best.’

In fact, he felt as light as if he were walking on clouds.

“Grand Prince!”

“It’s the Grand Prince!”

“Wooooah!”

It wasn't just because of the cheering domain residents and family members like now.

It was because he knew exactly what he was doing.

‘I am repaying the family’s grace.’

In a way that no one could deny.

That thought was greatly boosting his self-esteem.

Of course, his parents hated it when he even spoke of grace or anything of the sort.

‘But I’m not. I can’t be like that.’

What is received must be repaid.

Even more so if it is grace and not a grudge.

Because that is what Han Munho, no, Muno Drasen, considers the duty and romance of being human, and the way to elevate his own worth.

In the fictional works he saw in his past life, he could often see main characters spouting nonsense about having to repay grudges a hundredfold, even if they didn't repay grace, and it was even overflowing with losers who called it cool.

But you can’t live like that in reality. No, you shouldn't.

- The human mind has a direction, Munho.

If you live resenting the world, you’ll only become a monster.

- If you live focusing more on grudges than on grace, you’ll end up becoming human trash who sees those who show kindness as pushovers.

You know that well, don’t you? Gyeongho…….

How easily an underprivileged person with no one to help them, a dirt spoon, can be corrupted.

And regardless of right or wrong, how ugly that appearance is.

Muno knew it all too well.

Of course, depending on the case, there were grudges that could not be forgotten, that should not be forgotten.

‘Those evil cult bastards…….’

The ones who murdered his biological parents and turned his childhood into a hell.

It makes me grit my teeth just thinking about them now, but.

‘……Repaying grace always comes first. Don’t forget, Han Munho. No, Muno Drasen.’

Because I know that is the way to live with a clear conscience, more so than anyone else.

“Yo. Roider, Pelson. You on guard duty?”

“Ye-yes. Young Master.”

“Keep up the good work.”

“……Where are you going?”

“I’ve cleaned up the north a bit, so I was thinking of heading south this time.”

“You’re going over the wall again…….”

“Yeah. It makes it easier for you guys and the soldiers.”

“……You’re amazing.”

“What for. We’re all suffering together.”

I laughed off the small grudge I held against these knights with deformed limbs who used to look down on me and pass off their work to me during my awkward days.

- On a great mountain, there are many small bugs and much dust.

But the mountain simply embraces them all.

- A great person is also like that. Broaden your mind and embrace everything, Muno.

That will ultimately make you greater.

Strangely, the advice from the two adults who had the greatest influence on me in my past and present lives connected in a single context.

‘Yes. I will live coolly like that, like a human being.’

And for that very reason.

“Seeing that we’re heading in the same direction, you must be on duty at the southern wall, huh?

I’m going there too.

You guys are going to have it really easy today, huh?”

I just embrace the small, forgivable grudges.

“Th-thank you.”

“W-we will also work hard…….”

But why are these guys so scared?

I just said it as a joke, but it’s as if someone had threatened them.

‘Well, I have shown some rather extreme performances lately.’

I thought they might be scared because of that and have misunderstood my words.

“I’m not being sarcastic.

I’m just saying you should take turns helping out at the other walls too.

You can do that much, can’t you?

The more the knights move, the more comfortable the soldiers will be……”

“Yes, yes. Of course!”

“We will faithfully carry out! The order!”

……They suddenly became too obedient.

I guess a knight has to be strong after all.

‘No, but I was stronger than these guys before, too?’

I kept tilting my head in confusion.

But what's good is good, and there was no need to find fault when they were responding so enthusiastically.

“Alright. Keep up the good work.”

“Sir!”

……What’s with the salute.

‘I’m not my father…….’

Tilting his head repeatedly, Muno slowly picked up speed again and headed towards the south gate, no, the southern wall.

* * *

A knight in visibly heavy black armor fell, no, landed in front of Drasen’s south gate.

Kooong.

“Grand Prince! Please be careful!”

“Don’t overdo it!”

“Don’t let your guard down just because it’s the south!”

I waved at the familiar soldiers on the wall, then pulled my legs out of the ground they were deeply embedded in and stood up.

“Let my guard down…….”

Shuk.

“……As if I would.”

Kung.

Admiring the evening scenery as the sunset began to descend, Muno began to scan for all the demonic energy in the surroundings that his senses could reach.

‘As expected, only small fry. Tsk.’

In the northern mountain range, there is a gorge that juts out unusually to the south.

That’s why when the winter monster wave began, many monsters would come down from the mountain along that convenient path, and the origin of Drasen Castle was to build a fortress at that very chokepoint to block them.

In terms of proportion, about 50% of the monsters that pour into the entire Trian territory flock to Drasen.

And when weak monsters come down from the mountain, stronger monsters that prey on them also follow, so if you consider that ratio, practically 70% of the winter monster wave is concentrated on Drasen.

Even in an anomaly like the present, that ratio would be about the same, but there was another variable.

The skinned corpses piled up in front of the north gate were, in themselves, becoming a barrier that prevented most monsters from even targeting Drasen Castle.

- Since monster corpses are strewn about in the north, many are bypassing the castle and heading south.

‘So, I’ll find them all.’

Of course, given Drasen’s current situation, there was no need to take responsibility for the monsters that were going around the castle.

But both my father and Palmer were worried about what would happen after this period passed.

- There are many of our domain residents’ villages in the south.

Right now, they were living difficult lives, crowded inside the cramped castle to avoid the monster wave, but when winter ends, they must return to their original homes.

That is why Muno was thinking of taking this opportunity to wipe out the monsters near the villages in the southern Drasen territory.

- To fulfill our duty as the shield of Trian as well. Go and have a look around.

- I am sorry. For entrusting you with such a heavy task.

The fewer monsters that went south, the fewer people would be harmed.

It was his father’s idea that he should look around the south while he had even a little bit of leeway.

And Muno agreed.

‘It wasn't like there would be any 2nd-stage or higher monsters among those that would detour after seeing the corpses anyway.’

But with only small fry actually being sensed like this, it somehow felt anticlimactic.

At this rate.

“I want to not let my guard down, but, tsk…….”

Still, I was prepared for it.

‘When it gets dark, stronger ones will probably pop out.’

And so, Muno began to run towards the clusters of faint demonic energy he felt closest.

* * *

Kwajik.

“Kkeu…….”

A chain weight flew silently out of the darkness and smashed the head of a goblin that was hiding under the eaves of an empty farmhouse, hunting a rat.

It was a truly perfect assassination, but the assassin who threw the iron chain from afar could not be satisfied.

“What is this, am I a goblin hunter or something?”

He came thinking that monsters, whose ferocity is further stimulated at night, would frequent the private houses where human traces remained.

But from sunset until past midnight, the monsters he hunted while roaming through a dozen or so villages under Drasen’s jurisdiction were only over a hundred goblins.

‘Well, they’re things that need to be dealt with anyway.’

Hiding his uneasy feelings, he extended the iron chain towards the goblin’s corpse again.

The same movement he had performed over a hundred times tonight.

Chwareureuk.

And after absorbing all the demonic energy that was faintly trying to pollute the world, he threw the corpse far into the forest beyond the private house’s fence.

Paaaaaaang.

An iron chain that could constantly exert the same strength as his arm, which was among the best of the 3-Star knights.

He had swung the long chain to add centrifugal force before throwing it, so it wasn't strange for the corpse of the child-sized goblin to fly hundreds of meters into the air.

Kung.

No trace of a monster reacting to the dull thud that echoed through the quiet forest at night could be felt.

Even when he strained his senses as far as possible.

‘Tsk……. I guess it’s really just goblins.’

Just as he was thinking that he should be satisfied with cleaning the villages where the domain residents would return for today.

‘Hm?’

From within the forest where the goblin’s corpse was thrown, a strange pulsation was felt.