CH 93

Blue King.

This horse was exceptionally special.

Speed so incredible that it was hailed to be the incarnation of the legendary Chollima, steel stamina that never got tired, and tough skin that would deflect most swords.

Indeed, it deserved to be called the best horse in Lavaltor—no, on the continent even.

There was no other reason why this horse was the essential key in this Northern Expedition.

‘The only horse that can withstand the cold of the north.’

And that wasn’t all.

Blue King was the only horse that could jump over the rugged mountain range that other horses could not overcome. They were still on the entrance to the frontier of Bahara, so the air was warm. However, things changed once they crossed several mountain ranges and got closer to Balrog.

The wind would get so cold it could even freeze breath. And now, Ian had to go over that atrocious mountain path.

It was something unthinkable to do merely with horses with decent stamina.

That was actually the case in the Northern Expedition of his past life.

The other successors had almost reached Balrog, but the horses had all frozen to death.

It was much colder than expected, so the warming supplies they had thoroughly prepared couldn’t keep up with it.

‘Because of that, the supply was greatly disrupted, and many died under Bahara’s counterattack.’

Other successors had no other choice but to mobilize donkeys.

However, mere donkeys were no match for Bahara’s mountain goat cavalry. Naturally, they had to face a bitter defeat due to the lack of cavalry power.

Thus, bringing a horse with decent stamina to the mountains to the north was out of the question.

But the Blue King was different.

‘No, only that breed can do it.’

That was why all countries, including Bahara, coveted it. The strongest horse breed that did not even suffer from heat, let alone extreme cold—that was the Blue King.

However, after a few years, all the Blue King eventually died, and a new breed that succeeded them came out, which would be the Blue Army.

However, it was about the level of a top-notch warhorse at best.

It could never hold a candle to the Blue King.

‘Actually, in the Lavaltor duchy, compared to the Blue King, the Blue Army is nothing more than a porter horse.’

In any case, the Blue King was like the treasure of this continent.

The fact that such a great Blue King could not come out of the territory was no different from a curse.

It was a source of great concern in both Lavaltor and Kaistein. However, Ian knew why the Blue King would die once they came out of the Lavaltor duchy.

And the secret to saving the Blue King was none other than this one thing.

Ian whispered to Fiosen.

“Is there any grass that only grows in the Lavaltor territory? The one with blue moss.”

“Ah, that one. That grass is all over the place. As far as I know, it doesn’t even have a name because it’s such a commonplace weed.”

“You can feed them that grass.”

“What?”

Fiosen couldn’t hide his puzzlement.

“Are you saying the curse will disappear just by feeding that kind of grass?”

“Yes. All you have to do is feed it.”

“…”

Fiosen was at a loss for words.

In fact, it was only natural for him to react as such. They had been searching for a way to lift the Blue King’s curse by pouring astronomical amounts of money.

Nevertheless, it was unbelievable how a simple grass could lift the curse.

But Ian didn’t think he was the only one to know this.

‘An unusual blue skin for a horse.’

That was the reason why its skin color was as unique as the characteristic blue hair of the Lavaltor family.

It didn’t even have a name now because it’s so insignificant, but it would be called this later:

Diamond verdure.

A kind of grass lined up with deep blue kernels. It made the horse’s skin blue and endowed it with special abilities. There was only one downside: the grass was like the fuel of the Blue King.

If they didn’t eat it continuously, they would die as if running out of fuel.

‘So, it’s not just that.’

Besides, it would have taken several years more than usual before they learned the secret. No, the diamond verdure was not spotted in Lavaltor for a while.

It was all gone, as if someone had deliberately taken it.

Due to this, numerous Blue Kings died, and Lavaltor learned the importance of the herb belatedly.

But it was already too late by then.

Because someone already preoccupied all the grass. No, it wasn’t just that; it disappeared as if the entire plant was dug out without leaving a single seed or root.

That was Garcia.

‘Come to think of it, it’s highly likely that Garcia knew the Blue King’s secret in the first place.’

At that time, it was said to have been collected as an antidote for the plague. No matter how much he thought about it, Garcia must have targeted the Blue King.

Well, in the end, everyone died and bad news piled up, and thus the Blue King was not to be seen anymore in Kaistein.

“Anyway, even if we just have to feed the grass, it’s not the end of the problem yet. It’s a common grass in Lavaltor, but it’s hard to spot it in other territories.”

“Ah! You mean the transportation problem?”

Transporting the grass without spoiling it was one thing, but supplying the required amount was also a problem.

It might be alright if it’s only for one or two horses, but if there were dozens or hundreds of them, the amount needed would increase.

It became too enormous an amount to supply one by one.

“As expected, the Blue King can’t be brought out of Lavaltor…”

But Ian smiled at his lament.

“Do not worry. I have already dealt with that part.”

Fiosen looked at Ian suspiciously.

Ian would never say anything that would harm Lavaltor, so it wouldn’t be a lie, but…

‘It’s a secret that neither Lavaltor’s scholars nor stablemen have uncovered yet.’

As if reading his thoughts, Ian smiled.

“Someone told me.”

“Yes? Who?”

“You will find out soon.”

In fact, it was someone from his previous life who uncovered this secret. And in this life, he succeeded in making him come up with the solution.

‘Good thing I listened to Fiosen when we were hunting the dragon and gave him instructions in advance.’

Back then, Fiosen brought up the Blue King in front of the broken bridge. He said he’d be able to make it in time if it’s a new breed.

Ian refused to get them out at that time because he had yet to find the solution, but now it’s different.

‘Fortunately, I made it on time.’

Soon, Fiosen beamed into a bright smile.

“This is why you asked me to gather the Blue King.”

“That’s right.”

“Then we must hurry. It will take too much time for the Blue King to come here. I will go and see my father.”

The duke’s permission was required to use the Blue King. Thus, they should hurry up before the other forces made more merit.

But Ian stopped him.

“No, you don’t have to. Seems like we have a guest.”

“Pardon?”

It was then.

Du-du-du-du-du—

A tremendous vibration began to be felt inside the barrack they were in. It felt like the ground itself was shaking.

There was only one feeling like this.

Fiosen’s face immediately tensed up.

‘Enemy attack!’

Fiosen urgently grabbed his sword.

“They’re aiming for a time when the camp is empty!”

It wasn’t just one or two.

From how it sounded, it felt like dozens of cavalrymen were charging.

Fiosen hastily tried to invoke Oath.

“Your Highness, please hurry and evacuate to a safe place while I block them!”

“No. Didn’t I say you didn’t have to?”

“That… that is—!”

A pure blue wave was rolling their way.

It was the Blue King.

All fully armed, they were approaching like a giant waterfall.

It wasn’t just one or two—it was hundreds.

***

The river, the fifth route of the Northern Expedition.

There, large ships were advancing toward Bahara. On one side of the river, in particular, numerous cavalrymen were running as if escorting the ships.

They were the cavalry of Duke Lavaltor.

As Duke Lavaltor was watching the river impassively aboard his ship.

Hite, the leader of Blue Wolf, asked the duke.

“Your Excellency, isn’t this time a bit too much?”

“What is?”

“We’ve decided to hand over the Blue King to the Seventh Prince, but even so… isn’t the Blue King our secret weapon?”

His concern was reasonable.

It was possible to collect the Blue King by asking Fiosen, but to actually bring it out required the duke’s permission.

However, Duke Lavaltor handed over all of the currently available Blue King to Ian.

Even if it was his liege’s order, Hite couldn’t easily wrap his head around it.

Actually, despite whatever impression the duke had on him, many people in Lavaltor still couldn’t put their trust in the Seventh Prince.

“Even if he is the young lady’s fiancé, the equity with the other successors will…”

“The Third Prince will win big this time too. Even now, pushing him as the successor…”

Not just Hite of Blue Wolf, the other adjutants also spoke up to the duke.

In the first place, the Third Prince was the duke’s favorite pupil, and if it weren’t for the Second Prince, he would be the one the duke pushed to the succession.

However, Duke Lavaltor curled up his lips coldly as he replied.

“So, did they solve the Blue King’s curse?”

“That…”

“Or did even one of them lend a helping hand to Lavaltor?”

“However, Your Excellency, even if it wasn’t for the Seventh Prince, we alone would have been enough to thwart their schemes.”

In fact, there were many voices raised within Lavaltor.

“Even if the letter from the Seventh Prince did tell us it was hidden in the well, with just that much contribution…”

“There were many who were aiming for Lavaltor. This time, too, we would have overcome it.”

“Lavaltor has always been under threat. I wonder if he was too generous because the prince was the young lady’s fiancé…”

Of course, the plague might have spread had it not been for the letter.

But Hite shook his head.

“Our capabilities would have been enough to stop a plague of such a degree. We also have plenty of pharmacists and healers residing in the castle.”

“I suppose so.”

“Then why…”

Duke Lavaltor’s cold eyes turned to Hite.

“Would we have been able to stop the plague even when Bahara and Cantum were attacking our castle?”

“…!”

Of course, that was just an assumption.

However, the crown prince had set his eye on Lavaltor, and Cantum wouldn’t have sat around while Lavaltor was under attack.

Hite opened his mouth with a grim expression.

“Even if Cantum invaded, as long as Your Excellency is in the estate, they couldn’t have even stepped in.”

“I guess so. If I hadn’t returned at the request of the Seventh Prince, it would have been difficult to defend.”

“!?”

Hite was greatly taken aback.

He knew that the Seventh Prince had sent the letter about the plague and the enemy, but he never heard anything about asking for the duke’s return.

He simply thought the duke returned so suddenly because he was worried about the young lady.

And now, the duke revealed that he returned to this place because of the letter from the Seventh Prince.

Hite hurriedly turned to look at the duke.

“Are you saying that the Seventh Prince foresaw all of this? However, even if that’s the case, there are not many people who can handle the Blue King.”

The Blue King never gave anyone a ride.

Especially the leader who led the group had such a wild temper that even Duke Lavaltor could barely get its acknowledgment.

‘Not sure if it’s the Third Prince, though.’

The Seventh Prince could never deal with them.

Of course, Duke Lavaltor seemed to be of a similar mind.

“That’s something he has to figure out for himself. All I allowed was to lend the Blue King for a while. How to deal with it, his skill will tell.”

“All right, Your Excellency.”

Duke Lavaltor gazed across the river, his eyes filled with curiosity.

As if wondering how Ian would face it.

If it were truly the Seventh Prince who dealt with the Blue King and succeeded in the Northern Expedition of Bahara.

‘At that time, I don’t even know if I should really recognize him as someone I will serve.’

Duke Lavaltor, a knight among knights.

He served only one man, King Eloin. And he never cared about politics, only guarding the northern wall.

But if Ian succeeded in all of that.

The story might be a little different.

***

Whinny!

The giant horses raised their hooves. Their appearance was similar to that of a huge mountain lifting its body.

The Blue King was certainly unlike any other horse.

“These… these scoundrels. Stay still, can’t you!”

“Somebody please give me a hand! Hey! Hold it here!”

Those horses reduced the knights to such a sorry sight.

Even the stablemen, who had been dealing with horses for decades, did not know what to do with that violent spirit of theirs. This included Galon or Nathan, who were considered veterans when it came to handling horses.

“Whoa, whoa, calm down there. This is a safe place.”

“Seriously, these punks! Be still!”

They were at a loss to do with the Blue King.

Luckily, other nobles and factions had left. They almost showed an unsightly spectacle from the get-go.

The same was true for Fiosen, who was practically the owner of the Blue King.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. These fellows are so wild. Actually, if not with my father, we can’t handle them well either.”

To be more exact, one of the Blue Kings.

Controlling them was a lost cause to begin with unless the leader leading them bowed its head first. Not to mention, this was the first time they came out of the Lavaltor estate.

They were so excited that they were quite a handful to deal with.

But right at that moment.

“Your… Your Highness!”

Ian walked up to the leader of the Blue King without a word. Compared to the biggest among the giant horses, Ian was like a weed on the roadside.

“Your Highness! It’s dangerous!”

The excited horse lifted its legs.

Neigh!

It looked dangerous as if Ian would be trampled by the horse’s hooves at any second. Alarmed, Galon hurriedly drew his sword.

But Ian raised his hand to stop the others.

“Wait.”

“B… but, Your Highness—!”

“I told you to wait.”

All the knights stopped in their tracks at Ian’s firm gaze. Even the other soldiers gulped nervously.

But Ian smiled at the horse.

“You are the leader of the Blue King, so should I call you Blue Emperor? Or… since you will be my horse in the future, should I call you Blue?”

Fiosen winced at those words.

This was a horse that even his father had to wrestle with just so he could barely ride on.

“Your Highness, this one won’t do. It’s an aggressive punk who hates people…”

But it was then.

The leader of Blue King suddenly lowered its legs and stared at Ian with serious eyes. It was as if it understood what Ian was saying.

No, it definitely recognized Ian.

Seeing this, Ian smiled.

“Indeed. You seem to know that I am the one who lifted your curse.”

It was information that Ian also knew from his previous life.

The Blue King was not just any horse; it was smart and wise enough to be called the leader of horses.

Then an incredible thing happened.

Neigh!

The Blue King, no, the one called Blue Emperor slowly lowered its head.

It was like a knight saluting his lord.

It wasn’t just him.

Neigh!

All the Blue Kings began to bow their heads deeply toward Ian. Everyone dropped their jaws at the unbelievable sight, and Ian smiled at its courtesy.

“Thanks, bud.”

And then he climbed right on top of Blue Emperor.

The sight astonished the knights and Fiosen.

“On top of that violent bastard…!!”

“No, that’s strange? It’s not that kind of guy…?”

Ian immediately grabbed the reins and looked at them.

“What are you doing?”

“Y-yes?”

“You should hurry up and get on. Those who can’t ride will return their titles.”

“!!”

Ignoring the knights’ faces turning increasingly paler, Ian grinned and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“All troops forward! To the heart of Bahara, Balrog!”

Everyone cheered at the sight.