Chapter 155 - Seventh and Eighth (3)

"While passing the moonless, pitch-black night, blue rust clung to the sword."

SKRRRK.

The once-clear Sword Resonance changed uncomfortably, like scraping metal.

"With the pale crescent moon, the blue rust is shaken off, and with the dreary howl of wolves, the dulled blade is ground and sharpened."

The brilliant flash of the Aura Blade had also turned soft like moonlight.

That Eli bastard stared intently at me.

I quietly drew Dusk.

And gave him a small nod.

The bastard swung his sword fiercely.

SWISH.

A flash of sword light resembling a crescent moon rushed toward me.

I forcefully slashed my sword from top to bottom.

His sword light bit into my Aura Blade with a clash.

CRACKLE.

An uncomfortable noise, like chewing on a blade, rang out before quickly fading away.

"How is it? My Poem of Martial Deeds."

That Eli bastard asked as he sheathed his sword. His face was practically itching for a compliment.

Instead of answering, I looked down at my hand.

A bizarre chill was clamoring inside my palm.

I quietly closed my eyes and savored the energy of the Poem of Martial Deeds.

The sorrow harbored in his heart as a descendant of a fallen family, and his extraordinary will to overcome it, were transmitted intact.

"I tried to express the situation of our family, which had been declining due to the Mana of the ring, through the pitch-black night and the rusted sword. Mentioning the crescent moon after the pitch-black night was to signify that I saw light at the end of the deepest darkness. You could say it corresponds to the meaning that the night is deep and dawn has arrived."

If only that Eli bastard hadn't babbled on explaining the meaning of the lyrics when I hadn't even asked, I might have savored that energy a little more.

"Tsk."

I clicked my tongue once and tightly clenched my fist.

The chill lingering inside my palm scattered with a poof.

"The pale crescent moon is the moon I saw in the sea of trees, and shaking off the rust means that I finally broke through the wall of a Sword Master in the sea of trees. Also, grinding the blade to the sound of howling wolves means that I saw a new path through the battle with the beastmen."

That Eli bastard was still blabbering about his Poem of Martial Deeds.

It was my first time seeing a guy like this.

To explain his own Poem of Martial Deeds like this.

It was absurd.

As I stared at him, that Eli bastard got excited and kept babbling.

"You're asking how I created the Poem of Martial Deeds? While wandering the sea of trees, I suddenly looked at the sky. But even though it was a sky seen from a place far away from the kingdom, it was just as dark and bleak. So, old memories suddenly came to mind. As that happened, naturally..."

"Stop."

"As I remembered those difficult times, the life I've lived..."

"Stop!"

At this rate, it looked like he would blabber about his petty past all night long, so I yelled and shut him up.

That Eli bastard looked at me with a sullen face. His gaze was full of resentment.

"That's enough, just tell me the name of the poem."

Ignoring him, I asked for the name of the poem.

"I haven't named it yet."

The bastard answered brightly.

It was obvious without even looking. He must have come running straight here the moment he wove the Poem of Martial Deeds. And he must have made a fuss, waking up Gawain's trio and me in the middle of the night.

There was no way he had time to decide on a name for the poem.

"As for me. Um. Well."

The bastard who had been chattering like a bird seemed to hesitate for some reason, then suddenly made a proposal to me.

"I think it wouldn't be bad if Your Highness named it..."

It was unexpected.

I thought a swaggering bastard like him would immediately come up with some grandiose name.

I didn't refuse that proposal.

Among the Poems of Martial Deeds, there were those named by someone other than the creator. And most of them became a [Heroic Poem].

I hoped that that Eli bastard's poem would also reach such heights.

"Do you not want to?"

"No."

I happened to have a name in mind.

"Let's go with the Poem of the Full Moon."

Eli, who was now barely looking at a frail crescent moon after passing the empty and bleak pitch-black night.

I hoped and hoped again that the moon he harbored in his heart would shed its frailty and finally become a full moon.

"Ah..."

That Eli bastard let out an exclamation.

"The Poem of the Full Moon..."

The bastard chewed over the name I had given him several times.

"It's a romantic name."

Then, after a long while, he looked at me and smiled.

He seemed to really like the name I had given him.

"Congratulations. Eli."

"Don't mention..."

"So let's get some sleep now."

That Eli bastard, who had been answering with a proud face, suddenly scowled.

* * *

That Eli bastard frequented the sea of trees to continue writing the verses of his poem.

Having reached the rank of a Sword Master, he showed no signs of hesitation anymore. I also left him alone to rummage through the sea of trees for a few days.

In the meantime, old man Burk came to visit and informed me of the war situation.

He said that the Imperial Army, which had been suffering from the monsters in the sea of trees, finally started to retreat, and the direction of their main offensive had shifted toward the southern sea.

In the process, I also heard a rather unbelievable story.

It was said that the Azure Sky Knights failed to stop the landing of the imperial fleet.

I couldn't understand it.

The warships floating on the open ocean were not difficult opponents for the Wyvern Riders to stop.

If the Wyvern Riders simply carried Mages and poured down magic from high up in the sky, the Imperial Army's fleet would have been helpless.

In reality, the Azure Sky Knights also reportedly attempted bombardments using Mages.

Yet they still failed.

"I heard the Imperial Army's Mage forces were immense."

Not only were their forces strong, but their response was terrifyingly organized. Old man Burk clicked his tongue.

"In the royal castle, they are speculating that the Imperial Army might have created a single unit made entirely of Mages. Otherwise, there's no way Mages could have responded so systematically, coordinating like knights."

It was unprecedented.

Mages weren't the type to be grouped into a unit just because you tried, and if they were formed into a single unit and exposed to concentrated enemy attacks, the loss of precious Mages would be unbearable.

Dispersing Mages was common sense in war.

"The figures on the southern front call them the Imperial Mage Corps, I heard."

But the Empire overturned that common sense.

It was only possible because the Empire possessed overwhelmingly massive forces of both Mages and knights.

"The Empire's fleet only lost 6 out of 200 warships, and now stopping them has fallen to the southern front."

Old man Burk stared at me intently.

His gaze seemed to say that since the flames of war had now shifted from the West to the south, I could leave with a light heart and no lingering regrets.

Certainly, my work in Dotrin was now finished.

The world had changed.

And in this changed world, the border between Dotrin and the Empire had also been redrawn.

The sea of trees had now become a land inhabited by the Full Moon Clan, evil spirit trees, and countless monsters. If the Imperial Army wanted to invade Dotrin by land, they had to cross them first.

It probably wouldn't be easy.

For Dotrin, it was as if the monsters were guarding the kingdom's borders.

That didn't mean the situation was purely advantageous for Dotrin, though.

Dotrin had lost the sea of trees and all the regions west of it. They had managed to fend off the Imperial Army, but it was a painful loss.

Just as the Imperial Army could only enter Dotrin through sea routes, Dotrin, too, could only access the continent via the sea.

But that was something for Dotrin's King and nobles to worry about; it was not a matter I needed to be concerned with.

I simply wished for the Dotrin army's good fortune in battle.

"It seems you are leaving right away."

"Because there's nothing more for me to do."

At my words, old man Burk turned serious and straightened his posture.

"I, Burk of House Berten, will never forget the dedication and sacrifice that the prince of the Royal House of Leonberk has shown to Dotrin. I sincerely hope that your kingdom is reborn once more as the Lion of the North."

"I, Adrian of Leonberk, also hope that Dotrin will finally emerge victorious and resolve its long-standing wish. And I wish for the good health of the former head of House Berten as well."

Old man Burk extended his hand to me.

As I took his hand, the old man sent me a deep gaze.

Looking at that deep gaze, I added one more thing.

"The payment should be something small in volume and high in value. Right. Jewels should do."

Since I had to collect the price for fighting for Dotrin all this time.

* * *

Old man Burk sent one of the old knights to fetch jewels and the like from his domain. While waiting for this, Dotrin's Mages arrived.

However, they did not stay in the military camp for long. They left only one Mage at the main camp and headed back to the south.

While the group of Mages arrived at the camp and left again like that, the old knight whom old man Burk had sent to the domain returned.

"Here it is."

Old man Burk paid my compensation right away, and I handed it over to that Eli bastard again.

While the bastard examined the jewels with unnecessary meticulousness, I exchanged farewells with the old knights.

"I sincerely wish you good fortune in battle."

"It was an honor to be able to fight alongside you."

"May the day come when we can also repay your goodwill, just as you did."

"That is, if we don't die of old age before then."

While the old knights laughed heartily and offered their greetings, that Eli bastard finished checking the payment and gave me a nod.

I looked back at the military camp.

Although it wasn't my kingdom, it was my final moment in Dotrin, where I had stayed for nearly a year.

It felt deeply moving.

I engraved it all into my eyes and then climbed onto the waiting Wyvern.

"But are you really going to leave like this? Even without revealing your identity, a hero of the sea of trees could depart with a grand farewell ceremony."

"No need. I absolutely hate anything clingy."

At my words, old man Burk nodded, saying he knew I'd say that.

"Then, I'll be off."

When I gave a nod, the Wyvern Rider made the old knights and old man Burk step back.

"Please step back."

The Wyvern flapped its wings and swiftly took off.

The Azure Sky Knight piloted the Wyvern and, instead of leaving the area all at once, flew low and circled the camp once.

The soldiers and knights of Dotrin who spotted the Wyvern stopped what they were doing and waved their hands.

Among them, some seemed to think we were leaving on a mission somewhere and hollered for us to return quickly. There were also those who wished us luck in battle and bid us farewell.

"That's enough."

At my words, the Azure Sky Knight forcefully pulled the Wyvern's reins.

ROAAAAAAR!

The Wyvern let out a loud roar and soared upward.

Amidst the sound of powerful wingbeats, the shouts of the Dotrin knights could be faintly heard.

"May the fame of the Vale Mercenaries cover the continent...!"

"Good fortune in battle to Commander Ian of the Vale Mercenaries..."

There was no need to deliberately infuse mana into their shouts.

Like that, I left Dotrin's main camp.

* * *

Instead of heading straight for the kingdom, the Wyvern passed through Dotrin's royal castle.

There, I reunited with the King of Dotrin to discuss the changes in the world and agreed to closely cooperate.

The King of a nation and a mere prince.

Our statuses didn't match, but the King of Dotrin didn't mind.

He swore that whenever the day came for the kingdom to rise against the Empire, Dotrin would join us. In response, I also promised that I would help Dotrin with all my heart and soul in the impending Tribulation.

Neither signatures nor certificates were necessary.

A single word of an oath betting our respective statuses was enough.

The King of Dotrin and I thus promised to meet again later and parted ways.

I rode the Wyvern and headed for the kingdom.

North and further north, the Wyvern advanced.

The hot air had suddenly cooled down.

The unique chill of the North that pierced the lungs—I inhaled it deeply.

The kingdom's territory was spread out down below.

Unlike the verdant green lands of Dotrin, it was a desolate earth.

Only after seeing that snow-covered barren land did I truly realize I had returned.

When night fell, The Capital began to come into view in the distance.

"Bernardo of the Eli family has finally become a Sword Master and returned!"

That Eli bastard cried out his return several times in a deeply moved voice.

Normally, I would have scolded him for being noisy, but this time, I decided to let him keep shouting.

Meanwhile, the Wyvern arrived at its destination and began to descend.

It was a quiet clearing somewhat distant from The Capital.

"Are you heading straight to the southern front?"

"That is correct, Your Highness."

"I sincerely wish you good fortune in battle."

"I also hope that only glory will accompany Your Highness. You have worked very hard all this time."

Ending with a brief farewell, the Azure Sky Knight mounted the Wyvern and soared up again.

I watched the back of the Wyvern as it grew faint in the distance, then turned around.

"Let's go."

I took a step toward the gates of The Capital visible in the distance.

The kingdom's seventh Silver Lion and eighth Silver Lion followed behind me.