Chapter 80. Can you fight better than this guy?
When we returned to the Second Base Camp, Fiksher was directing the Abiot mercenaries and preparing for something.
"...Hmm. You came back just in time. But, what's behind you...?"
Fiksher's eyes narrowed with suspicion.
I had gone to capture the culprit who had massacred the Second Base Camp, and now I had brought back an unknown figure, which made him wary.
Or, perhaps it was more than that.
The way he subtly puffed out his chest while looking at Shane was exactly like a male gorilla encountering another gorilla.
It was as if they were sizing each other up.
"Bring Obern and Riley over. Oh, and if possible, bring Flen too. I have something to say."
"...Hmm, alright. But, you're quite the sight."
"You're a bit scrawny, you know."
"Compared to my younger days, you're just a drop in the bucket."
"I used to be quite the hotshot too."
A two-hundred-year-old twenty-year-old and a fifty-year-old with a strong sense of pride.
'This is quite a rare treat.'
Soon, Fiksher gathered the people I had called.
"Senior, are you alright?"
Obern, who had heard the situation from Fiksher, asked.
He scanned me and then pulled out a robe from a subspace and handed it to me.
"For now... This is an extra robe I received from my master. At least..."
I had a robe from my senior as well, but more is always better.
I accepted the robe without refusing.
"...While everyone else is working their butts off, where have you been? I thought you had run away in the middle of the night..."
Riley, with a sullen expression, threw a verbal jab but then clamped his mouth shut, unable to get even.
Flen was silently observing the situation.
'Hmm... His eyes are quite... sharp.'
Indeed, he was a seasoned mercenary.
Despite seeing his comrades brutally massacred, he didn't show fear or panic; instead, his eyes shone brightly.
The reason I called Flen was simple.
'This guy deserves to know.'
What kind of creatures had killed his comrades and for what purpose they were used.
Furthermore, what those creatures were after.
I wouldn't reveal anything about Salvatium or the Golden Horse Guild, but I planned to share the general situation.
"Alright, the reason I was absent yesterday... Some of you might know, some might not."
The indifferent Riley and...
Flen, who was staring at me with sharp eyes.
"Yesterday, I went to deal with the rats who massacred the Second Base Camp. Now, I'll tell you what I learned from them."
As my story continued, a mix of emotions filled the hut.
When I finished the entire story.
"...So, that Death Knight... Could it be?"
Fiksher looked at Shane with trembling eyes.
Of course, I didn't reveal Shane's true identity. I only mentioned his rank.
Apart from his rank as a Master Knight, his existence was threatening enough.
While saying that, Shane von Remang obediently took off his robe.
It was a moment when the eyes of the group widened to their limits.
After Shane's identity was revealed.
There was a commotion among the group.
"A Death Knight...? As far as I know, a Death Knight is definitely..."
Fiksher was the first to speak.
"A remnant of black magic."
"...Hmm. I thought something was off, but I never imagined it was a Death Knight."
Perhaps because it was such an unexpected fact.
It seemed they couldn't find the right words to react.
Meanwhile, Riley's face turned pale, and he took a few steps back, which caught Shane's attention.
"Heh, you have a rather tasty soul."
"Just kidding, just kidding. I don't eat souls. You big guy, you have a heart as small as a pea."
Shane waved his hand dismissively, as if Riley was about to faint.
However, the most serious reaction came from Obern.
"Senior, how... how did this happen?"
"Death Knights... Death Knights are... cursed monsters, right?"
"Yes, cursed monsters. But, how can you...?"
I crossed my arms and looked at Obern.
"What do you want to say? That we should quickly cut off his head because he's a cursed monster?"
"Cutting his head won't kill him, though."
"By the way, I'm already dead, so I can't die again."
Shane's boastful words made Obern's face even more serious.
Yes, it was the reaction I expected.
'This uptight guy won't accept it easily.'
However, I revealed Shane's identity for a reason.
While I could hide it from other mercenaries, it was difficult to hide it from these guys.
'Fiksher is the leader of the mercenary group... Riley has the duty to assess the group's strength. And Flen...'
This guy deserves to know.
He needs to know how his comrades died and for what purpose they were sacrificed.
However, the shock was too great.
Flen, with wide eyes, couldn't continue speaking.
I looked at Flen for a moment and then turned my gaze away.
Obern, while answering, kept his eyes on Shane, with a deep sense of suspicion in his eyes.
I looked at Obern and said,
"Can you fight better than this guy?"
"Compare what needs to be compared. Of course, I'm better."
I smacked the back of Shane's head and continued.
"He was a Master Knight in his past life. Cursed monster? Do you know how many mercenaries this monster can replace?"
I didn't reveal Shane's true identity in his past life.
But, I had already revealed his rank.
Seeing Obern's visibly flustered face, I pressed on with my argument.
Since Obern was the one I was talking to, I added various justifications and flowery language, but the main point was this.
Just as I said at first...
'So, can you fight better than this guy?'
In other words, a strong guy with logic.
For a weak and logically weak Obern, it was a fight he couldn't handle.
Obern was cornered in less than five minutes, and it was around that time that Shane, who had been silently observing the situation, spoke.
Shane, who was uncharacteristically solemn.
However, the words he spoke were quite ridiculous.
"Originally, I was a loyal knight of the emperor. Although I became a cursed monster as you said, my loyalty remains unchanged."
"Do you know the pain that an undead soul endures?"
"I am still in pain. Even without a body, a fire that won't go out burns my body."
When one becomes an undead, they feel extreme pain in their soul, though in a different form.
Black mages don't use self-aware undead from the spirit realm but only corpses for this reason.
'Aside from the lack of ability... the souls of the undead can't endure it.'
The Golden Horse Guild, which turned Shane into a Death Knight, sealed his self-awareness for this reason.
It would be a pity if the carefully created Death Knight broke down due to pain.
This information was also obtained from the Golden Horse Guild.
Indeed, he must be a madman who would go down in history. Shane's mental strength is not ordinary.
Did Obern sense the truth in his words?
He looked at Shane with a slightly softened gaze.
"Why do I endure this pain? Didn't I say? I am the emperor's sword."
The greatsword at Shane's waist was drawn.
He skillfully assumed the stance of the royal knight corps and met Obern's eyes.
"Though I am dead, I am the emperor's sword. However, that black mage disgraced my loyalty."
"He awakened this dead body to wield the sword for filthy creatures, not for the emperor. Mage, do you know?"
"The pain of a knight whose loyalty is disgraced! The pain!"
A cold silence fell over the room.
"My lord is already dead, and I cannot seek forgiveness. This breath is already cut off, and I cannot atone through death. Then, what can I do!"
At that moment, Shane was a lion.
Not a dead person, but a lion. The king of the beasts, a feline.
"There is nothing I can do. But... there is one thing I can do."
The dead lion spoke to the young mage with a wounded heart.
"Revenge. Yes, revenge. Tearing apart the wretched being who disgraced my loyalty and my lord is the reason for my dead life. But..."
The greatsword, which had been deeply embedded in the ground, was pulled out at that moment.
Riley, who had been cowering, took a step back, and Shane swung the sword at Obern.
He had already grabbed the blade and was offering the hilt to Obern.
"If you don't trust me, cut me down with this sword. I swear, on my lord's honor, I will die by your hand."
Obern looked at the hilt with a dazed expression.
Trembling eyes. Shallow breathing. And finally—
A single tear streamed down his cheek.
Obern looked at Shane with moist eyes.
Obern approached Shane, passing the hilt.
His slender fingers gently brushed against the dark armor.
"I... I am so inadequate. I don't understand your pain, yet I am narrow-minded again... Ah, how painful it must be."
Obern, deeply empathizing with Shane's pain, shed tears.
Shane looked down at him solemnly.
I met his eyes at that moment.
As if to say it was as if he was speaking himself, he puffed out his chest.
'I'm impressed. I'm really impressed.'
The core's mana felt grand.
Yes, Shane was the emperor's sword.
The problem was that he was the sword that had cut the emperor's neck.
Not just a member of the royal knight corps, but a notorious traitor who had beheaded the royal knight corps and the emperor himself!
But, what about such a guy?
'...Is this the level needed to cut the emperor's neck?'
That's how the commotion settled down.
Fiksher glanced at Shane and then moved.
Even if we only considered the Deathrow, the schedule wasn't easy, but now that we knew about the new enemy.
In fact, our minor reactions to the Death Knight Shane were a good thing for us.
Of course, there was someone for whom Shane's existence was not minor.
However, his reaction was...
Quite different from what I expected.
- Is it true that the blood of my comrades might be on your hands?
- Well, that's what they say. I don't remember, but it's not impossible.
Flen, who had barely suppressed his anger, let out a heavy breath.
However, something seemed to block him inside, and he clutched his chest as if tearing out his heart, breathing heavily a few times.
When he lifted his head again, his eyes were cold.
- I will think rationally.
- It's not good to hold back. Do whatever you want. I'll accept it until you feel better.
- Someone said that anger is also energy.
- Yes, you're wiser than my younger self.
He was more composed than I expected.
Instead of letting his emotions run wild, he aimed to target the right person.
'Looking at this, Fiksher has good reason to be interested.'
He showed the demeanor of a cool-headed commander rather than a mercenary.
Of course, we'd have to see his actual abilities.
That's how we pushed through the Hameln Great Forest.
With the addition of a former Master Knight, our journey was smooth.
- ...Wow. A single blow to a hybrid tiger...
- Well, in my younger days, these things would crumble at a glance, huh?
It seemed Shane, the Death Knight, had decided to warm up and took the lead in dealing with the monsters.
Even though he had lost most of his past life's power, he was still formidable.
However, what was disappointing was...
'The method the Golden Horse Guild used is completely out of reach.'
The stage the Golden Horse Guild set to capture me.
They cleared the surrounding monsters and created a comfortable battle environment.
This method required forbidden magic, which I couldn't use...
'Even if I learn forbidden magic, there are limitations.'
Anyway, we advanced rapidly.
We soon arrived at the Third Base Camp.
"This is the Third Base Camp. It's been a long time since I came here. But..."
Fiksher led the way into the base camp.
The scene of the Third Base Camp was... how should I put it?
Unlike the First Base Camp, the facilities weren't dismantled. It wasn't a massacre scene like the Second Base Camp.
The facilities were mostly intact, and it seemed they had prepared for a war, with various defenses around the walls.
They had even dug a moat around the walls.
It seemed they had diverted water from a nearby river...
'They even set up a barrier.'
They had set up a barrier to prevent monster invasions.
It was as if... Yes. It was as if they had prepared to return at any time, rather than completely abandoning the place.
A mercenary searching the base camp approached with something in hand at that moment.
"Chief, you should see this."
Fiksher, who had been looking around the camp with me, looked at the item the mercenary handed over.
It was a piece of parchment.
Fiksher read the parchment for a moment and then nodded.
"A letter left for me. It says he'll go ahead and to join as soon as possible."
"Yes. Halig, the chief of the Second Base Camp, wasn't someone to join."
Naturally, he left a message excluding Halig.
Flen stepped forward at that moment.
"...Our chief also decided to join in the end. In fact, I was the one who opposed it."
"Hmm, is that so? I'm sorry. I spoke ill of the deceased."
"It's fine. Given his usual behavior, he deserved it."
Flen, who had been composing himself over the past few days, added a joke.
Of course, his face was quite dry.
Fiksher looked at me and asked.
"It's still noon. We could move on. Or we could rest and then go."
"We should move on, obviously."
We still had a long way to go.