# Serenia Castle, Eastern Gate.
The extermination date arrived. Meanwhile, Yuda met Jeanne, explained the changed plans, and asked her to join. She agreed willingly, visiting his home once her equipment repairs were done. Tia greeted Jeanne warmly but with a slightly uneasy glance, likely due to the news of leaving Serenia Castle with Yuda.
But that unease didn’t last long. Realizing her feelings were pointless, Tia asked Jeanne to look after Yuda and chatted with her. Waking early, they prepared for the expedition and waited for someone from the lord’s castle. Around 6:30, a knight arrived. It was Charles, the eastern gate guard captain. Fully armored as usual, he politely greeted Jeanne and Tia before escorting them to the eastern gate.
Outside the gate, 400 soldiers and 10 knights, totaling 410, stood in formation while porters carried food and cooking tools on their backs. A cart would’ve been ideal, but the forest’s rough, pathless terrain made manpower the only option.
Yuda noticed the soldiers’ armor and many wore gear made from the same material as his own. It seemed the castle had bought back much of the black wolf leather he had sold to the mage tower and clothing stores. Obviously, the knights were in their iconic plate armor.
The orderly formation of soldiers was an impressive sight. The soldiers themselves might have found the parade miserable, but to an observer, it was heartwarming.
Many residents were watching it from the castle walls, including families and lovers of the soldiers. Thanks to Yuda’s near-massacre of black wolves over two years, the townsfolk were optimistic about the expedition, joking with forced smiles that trained soldiers would return as if from a picnic.
‘Hm. With this level of armament, casualties should be minimal.’
Guided by Charles, Yuda moved behind the soldiers, and thought. He wasn’t certain, but Kaseun had once said the soldiers’ training was rigorous. With each equipped with a shield and longsword, it looked like they wouldn’t die easily. The lord ascended a small platform by the gate, delivering a brief morale-boosting speech.
It wasn’t like a principal’s bland school speech. The lord’s deep, powerful voice genuinely uplifted morale, though the content was unremarkable.
‘Kain and Riel are here too.’
Spotting an armed group separate from the soldiers like his own, Yuda squinted and recognized Kain’s party. They didn’t make eye contact. Because they were just too engrossed in the Spirit Sword Bearer, lord’s speech, staring at him like fools.
‘Looks like I won’t be able to use my longsword.’
Since they had seen Yuda with the martial knight Ea, using her longsword could raise suspicions. He could claim he found it, but after their deadly clash, they wouldn’t believe him easily. To avoid any doubt, he chose the repaired bastard sword instead.
“-That’s all. Return safely.”
The speech ended just then. A knight upfront shouted “Loyalty!” as the lord turned and descended cleanly, followed by soldiers stomping in unison. That must hurt, Yuda thought.
The 400 soldiers split into ten groups of 40. As if prearranged, Kaseun led Kain’s party, while the other ten groups entered the forest at regular intervals. As Yuda pondered which group to join, Guard Captain Charles approached, telling him to follow his unit.
“Yuda, you’re with us.”
The 40 soldiers all looked familiar and it turned out that they were the Eastern Gate guards. They greeted him warmly, but with other groups entering the forest, there was no time for chatter. Yuda joined Charles at the front, entering the forest.
The ten groups moved into the forest in a curved, crescent formation, with Charles’ unit positioned at the very bottom. To their left, another group advanced, keeping a consistent distance.
Perhaps due to Spirit Sword Bearer Kaseun Sabnak’s presence, the soldiers advancing in a wide encirclement seemed relaxed. Near the forest’s entrance, no black wolves appeared for hours. But soon, shouts from a distant group suggested they’d encountered some.
As the noise subsided, Yuda spotted a bloodied black wolf fleeing in the distance. Its eyes scanned the area, locking with Yuda’s. The wolf, charging forward, flinched, paused, then resumed running.
‘I shouldn’t let it escape.’
But it was too far, and even throwing a dagger seemed unlikely to hit. Some nearby soldiers with bows fired arrows, but they struck harmlessly. Dodging through trees and bushes, the wolf vanished from sight.
Three hours later, a break was called. The porters prepared a simple meal. The food wasn’t tasty, but hunger left no choice but to eat.
“It’s bad, isn’t it?”
Jeanne whispered so others wouldn’t hear. Her blunt honestly reminded him of Tia. Yuda chuckled and nodded. If no one was watching, he could’ve pulled ingredients from his 〈Inventory〉 to make something far tastier and nutritious than this slop. With a hint of disappointment, they resumed after eating.
As the sun dipped toward the horizon, the soldiers began setting up camp. With no clearing large enough for all ten groups, each settled in separate spots, creating a scattered layout. Still, the soldiers moved with practiced efficiency, clearing brush and lighting fires.
“Wolves! The wolves are here!”
Shouts rang out from ahead. The resting soldiers, aside from those on watch, grabbed their weapons and jumped to their feet. A distant boom followed, which was probably Riel’s magic. There was no need to worry about that side since Kaseun and Kain’s group were there. The real concern was here. Tia scanned the surroundings and quickly climbed a tree. Jeanne, seated on a cut stump, glanced back and said.
“Enemies.”
As she spoke, red eyes glinted in the darkening forest, launching a sudden ambush.
Graaawr!
A loud roar accompanied a sizable number of charging wolves. All ten groups seemed under attack, with shouts rising from the side.
“Group in fours! Porters, move inside to avoid getting bitten!”
Charles quickly took command of the troops. Since each soldier was already equipped with a shield for protection, and they had all armed themselves upon hearing the noise from above, the ambush wasn’t likely to cause significant damage.
Jeanne, seeing the charging wolves, summoned her armor with mana. As silver particles formed her gleaming plate, some soldiers gasped in awe. Ignoring them, she raised her shield, deflecting an oncoming wolf head-on
Yelp?
The wolf had clearly intended to slam its forehead into the shield, but with a tumbling sensation, it found itself flying backward, letting out a confused yelp. That was the end of it. From behind, Yuda gripped his bastard sword with both hands and swung it with full force, cutting the wolf down. With that first attacker down, a wave of black wolves came surging forward like a tide.
‘Wait, how many are there?’
With a startled expression, Yuda drew a dagger from his belt and hurled it at the oncoming wolves, questions swirling in his mind. The sharp blade flew straight toward the forehead of a charging wolf. At that moment, the black wolf casually swung its front paw, as if the attack were beneath it.
Clang!
“What the?!”
It knocked the dagger away. Stunned, Yuda reached for a second dagger but hesitated. It might’ve been a fluke, but testing with another throw didn’t seem wise.
“Close ranks! Block with shields!”
At Charles’s command, the soldiers grouped into squads of four and raised their shields. A black wolf, leaping through the underbrush and pounding across the ground, bared its gums in what looked like a mocking grin at the sight. Then, crouching slightly, it sprang with astonishing force, aiming to land behind the line of soldiers.
But Yuda wasn’t one to stand idle. He dashed toward the wolf mid-leap. As their eyes met, the wolf flinched, perhaps due to the 〈Slaughterer of Black Wolves〉 title’s effect. Missing its attack window, Yuda gripped his bastard sword with both hands and slashed upward as it landed, severing a foreleg and slicing its chest, spraying blood.
“Yuda! Nice one!”
A soldier shouted, watching. But there was no time to respond. The wolves had already closed in, slamming their heads against the shields.
Boom!
A sound like a blunt strike sent a wolf reeling, pushing shield-bearing soldiers back a few steps. But there was no chance to attack. As one wolf bounced off, another charged and rammed the shield. The soldiers kept being pushed back, with no chance to swing their swords. As they retreated, one soldier tripped over a rock and lost his balance, falling backward. A wolf seized the moment and pounced on the soldier’s body.
‘This isn’t good.’
Yuda quickly rushed over and snapped the neck of the wolf trying to bite the soldier’s nape. Ignoring the soldier’s thanks, he quickly scanned the surroundings. There were more wolves than he had expected. Just as he was about to move to help the others, a chilling presence washed over him.
Ka-ka-ka-kak!
About ten meters away, a sharp gust of wind swept through, tearing up the ground and slicing through every tree and bush in its path.
“What was that?”
Was it Kaseun? Only a Spirit Sword Bearer’s slash could explain this. Yuda wasn’t the only one stunned by the immense power. Even the wolves pressing the soldiers froze. Then, a long howl echoed from deep in the forest.
Awoooo!
Hearing it, the black wolves retreated, fleeing without looking back.
The wolves, despite their numerical advantage, would have caused significant damage if they had kept attacking. But after witnessing such a terrifying attack, it was understandable that they retreated. There was also another squad providing support from the side. Seeing the black wolves fully withdraw, the soldiers let out sighs of relief.
Though the ambush was sudden, it lasted only a short time, and with Jeanne, Tia, and Yuda saving soldiers who were close to death, the damage was relatively minor. Most injuries were just claw scratches or small cuts from falling. Yuda sheathed his sword and opened the quest window.
「The Lord’s Request 2」
[Black Wolf Leader – Requiem 0/1]
[Black Wolf Leaders 1/80]
[Black Wolves 38/800]
A quick scan showed only eight wolves killed here. But the quest window indicated that single strike had swept away 30 wolves, with a leader wolf as a bonus. Yuda watched soldiers recover bodies and resume camp preparations, then headed to the slash’s site. Guard Captain Charles and others were gawking. Jeanne, spotting Yuda, grabbed his hand excitedly and led him forward.
“Look, Yuda, isn’t it incredible? This is a Spirit Sword Bearer’s strike! I never imagined witnessing such a sight. I can’t help but think becoming your companion was heaven-sent!”
For a swordswoman like her, seeing a Spirit Sword Bearer’s strike was a great honor. Usually reserved, she was visibly moved now.
“Oh, by the way.”
Her gaze turned to Tia, who followed and averted her eyes under the intense stare.
“Tia, you were in Sir Kaseun’s mercenary band, right? I’m jealous. You must’ve seen such wondrous power often.”
“No, not that often. Just sometimes.”
“What were those times like? If it’s okay, could you tell me?”
“Umm.”
Tia shot Yuda a pleading look, but what excuse could divert Jeanne’s interest? Regretfully, he couldn’t help her.
Listening to their talk, Yuda stared at the upturned ground. Could a single sword swing really cause this much damage? His shadow swordsmanship and skills were already beyond reality, but a Spirit Sword Bearer’s power seemed far greater. Most fragment holders likely wielded such strength.
‘Collecting fragments won’t be easy.’
Yuda let out a small sigh.
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T/N: I will no longer include author’s notes that aren’t relevant to the novel. But for those who want it, they will be avaliable in my discord server.
