Splash. Splash.
Low and rolling waves. .h.i.t the warships.
That was the only sound that was heard.
Everywhere was submerged in darkness and the world was silent.
Huff. Huff.
Soldiers with tense expressions breathed out heated breaths.
At the forecastle stood Roan. 1
Using the Kalian’s Tears, he was glaring at the surface of the lake covered in thick darkness.
‘Incredible.’
From a glance, it was a lake that looked truly peaceful.
But below the surface, more than hundreds of monsters were closing in.
Gulp.
Roan’s expression too was slightly tense.
Slowly, he raised his right hand.
Shuaaah.
The surface swayed greatly.
The monsters that had almost reached the ships had prepared to attack.
Roan, as if he had been waiting, shouted out aloud with a resounding voice.
“Light!”
The powerful voice shattered the silence.
As if it had been waiting, a light blasted out from above the center mast.
Paat!
At the end of the mast, a smooth metallic cylinder was attached.
Within the cylinder, a ball of light the size of a grown man’s head appeared.
The ball of light, following the mouth of the cylinder to the outside, poured out an incredible amount of light.
The light directly shone upon the lake’s surface.
Instantly, the surrounding darkness moved back.
Kieg?
The monsters that had been approaching in the darkness, when the surroundings suddenly became bright, showed greatly panicked looks.
Most of all, the ones who had led the attack this time were nocturnal monster, Kutiers.
These monsters had a weakness of having their skin burn up brightly and momentarily becoming blind when receiving light.
At the light that scathingly beat down as if to burn their flesh, the Kutiers exploded out pained screams.
Kkieeeg!
Paat! Paat!
Ships, numbering more than tens, all shot out light at once.
The Kutiers, which had floated up onto the lake’s surface, couldn’t endure it and raved in madness.
‘Good! There is an effect!’
Roan faintly smiled as he looked at that sight.
The cylinders equipped on the masts were Boat Light that the Engineering Department and the Reno Magic Tower had collaborated together and made.
A type of magic lamp made for ships, it had a function of shooting a light in one direction.
Although it was merely a light to brighten the dark to humans, it could become a lethal and deadly weapon to the Kutiers.
‘I should thank Clay and the Academy Bureau as well as the fief’s scholars.’
Thanks to them working day and night, they could perfectly grasp Poskein Lake’s monster’s habits and weaknesses.
“Fire the arrows!”
The moment the new order fell, a rain of arrows poured down onto the thrashing Kutiers.
Pubububuk!
Kkieek!
The Kutiers turned into porcupines and lost their lives.
A few tried to dive in order to hide themselves once more below the surface.
However, Roan and the Tale Legion had already planned even for that part.
“Pull the iron nets!”
A powerful voice spread from one end of the ships to another.
The Taemusas, who had been in ready, grabbed and turned the levers.
Ggiiig!
With a sound of wood twisting, the ships, which had been standing neatly to the left and right, swayed.
‘Knowing you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds will run, we have already connected the iron nets between the ships.’
Hanging hooks at the end of the nets, they had connected them to other warships.
Their plan was to lay the iron nets long beneath the surface and pull them up once the monsters dove.
Shwaaaak!
With a great spray of water, the iron nets floated up above the surface of the water.
Iron nets hanging between ships as if it were hammocks.
Above them, the Kutiers that dove and tried to run were tangled into one and squirming.
“Annihilate them!”
Roan, with a new order, kicked off the deck.
Drawing a beautiful arc, he landed on top of the nets.
Unless it was an unavoidable situation, it was better to save the arrows, which were consumable supplies.
Kkieeeg!
The Kutiers, caught in the nets and thrashing from being basked in the light, rushed towards Roan.
But perhaps because of momentarily having lost their eyesight, their movements were simply a mess.
Roan composedly swung the Travias Spear and turned his body.
Ssskuk!
The spearhead, cutting through the light and the dark, bisected the Kutiers at the same time.
Spat! Pabat!
Within Roan’s hands, the Travias Spear repeated to change truly freely.
Becoming elongated and then shortened, turning thicker and then thinner……
Everything was to Roan’s will.
Kung!
The Travias Spear that had turned almost twice as thick as an arm crushed a Kutier.
Puuk!
The head imploded and the body was crushed and caved in.
“Die!”
“Kill them!”
From tens of ships, Soldiers with the Taemusas at the lead poured down onto the iron nets.
The ones leading them at the head were the commanders of thousand-man and higher.
As all ones who had accompanied Roan from long ago, their current skills were at an level equal to novice knights.
Although there still was a long way to go if looking at just the level of mana techniques and the martial arts, it wasn’t so for group combat.
In the case of the Tale Legion, through the future’s training methods, an advanced organization system, small-scale tactics and so on that Roan knew, they showed incredible strength in many on many combat.
Each and every individual soldier was showing a powerful martial strength above his own capability.
In short, the Tale Legion was strong.
And.
“You dare!”
Roan roared as he kicked off the iron nets and soar into the air.
When he put power into his wrists, the pole of the spear trembled and warped circularly, then split the air as if flicked.
It was a powerful strike.
Puuck!
Five Kutiers literally exploded.
Most of all, Roan’s martial strength now exceeded the level of a regular knight.
At that moment.
[Roan! Something is approaching from the water!]
He heard Kinis’ sharp voice.
Roan butched the kutiers pouncing near him then climbed up onto a ship’s deck.
Zzirit.
Goose b.u.mps rose through his skin.
A powerful killing intent that couldn’t be felt until now.
Using the Kalian’s Tears, he glared below the surface of the water.
Suddenly, Roan instinctively shouted.
“Retreat! Retreat! Untie the iron nets!”
An urgent shout rang out.
Instantly, a sound of a gong signalling retreat rang out.
Jiing! Jiing! Jiing!
With puzzled looks, the soldiers who had been ma.s.sacring the monsters above the nets retreated.
No, they tried to retreat.
At that instant.
Shwaaaaack!
The surface of the lake broke in a long line and a wave of water exploded.
The soldiers who were climbing back onto the ships unknowingly looked at the place the splash of water exploded and soared.
The faces stiffened solidly.
“Ah……”
A deep and despairing sigh drew and exploded out.
The entire bodies’ muscles completely froze.
Roan too was feeling a horrifying and atrocious nervousness.
“What is this……”
A face and voice that seemed to find it hard to believe.
His eyes were looking at the lake, where the blast of water fell.
*****
A sense of relaxation overflowed in Kali Owells’ steps.
A faint smile hung on his mouth.
‘Io Lancephil.’
Laughter kept popping out.
‘Without knowing just how the situation is turning, for him to send his forces that he at least had left to Tale Barony……’
A cold light hung at the edge of his eyes.
‘At least, I will be thankful that he did that. Kuk.’
A vicious smile rose up all the way to his throat.
He calmed his breath for a moment in front of Io Lancephil’s office.
The office he had visited more than tens, hundreds of times.
The feeling felt fresh today.
‘It’s nearing forty years already.’
Thirty seven years.
Those were the years that Kali had followed Io.
Originally, the House of Owells was a very loyal retainer that had served the Lancephil House for generations.
For a long time, it had named itself as Lancephil House’s right hand.
But in the war with the Byron Kingdom 50 years ago, the Owells House had sustained an enormous damage of a degree that was difficult to come back from.
The head of the house of that generation as well as the house’s core knights had all been killed.
Although the Lancephil House had sincerely and fully supported the Owells House that was like that, the house whose strength had waned once couldn’t stand back up easily.
During that time, Kali Owells was born.
From the time he was young, he had gritted his teeth and strived only in swordsmanship training.
His talent too was outstanding and he soon had obtained an outstanding skill in swordsmanship.
‘I had thought that the only method to raise the fallen house back up was swordsmanship.’
A bitter smile hung on Kali’s mouth.
He wished to reenact the house’s old glory with his own hands.
Kali during his youth was always covered in dirt.
He had repeated training upon training to such degree.
Perhaps thanks to such effort, he had appeared in the eyes of Io Lancephil, who was leading the Lancephil House at that time.
Io had personally selected Kali, who had tenacity and outstanding swordsmanship skill despite the young age, and a.s.signed him to the fief knight order.
‘Since then, I have roamed the battlefield as if mad.’
Io was a brave general that was hard to be seen amongst the n.o.bles.
Following him, Kali experienced tens, hundreds of battles.
The military merits continuously piled up.
His status and rank went up little by little, and he was granted even a status of a n.o.ble.
Soon, the house that had fallen regained its era of prosperity.
‘I wished to aid Io Lancephil and head out into a greater world.’
He wished to earn a greater fame and power, and a greater wealth and glory.
But the moment Io became a count, he moved his fief to a remote northeastern region on his own and focused only on border defense.
Kali, who was fully burning up fiercely at the time, couldn’t hold back his shock.
The dauntless spirit, which had tried to go beyond the kingdom and command the continent, lost its way and fell straight into the earth.
Furthermore.
‘Under the pretext of border defense, he didn’t even confer a fief.’
What kind of a n.o.ble house was a house without even a single palm-sized land?
The Owells House that was recovering its prosperity was stalled just like that.
Kali was enraged.
However, he did not heedlessly show such feeling or carelessly acted.
There was a chance.
‘Since Io Lancephil doesn’t have a family.’
He thought that if he continued to remain as the right hand and support him, the Lancephil County’s successor would naturally be him.
Of course, he didn’t lean only on a vague antic.i.p.ation like that.
Very slowly, carefully, Kali changed the core and chief executives of the knight order, the magic corp, and the fief troop to his own people.
Plainly, the current head of the magic corp Tairon Bess and the captain of the fief troop Perry Wilson were no different than his close subordinates.
‘At the same time, I even learned how to conceal myself.’
While filling the core forces with his own people, Kali himself leisurely spent a long time as the vice head of the knight order before becoming the head.
Thanks to that, there weren’t many people, including Io and within his subordinates, who were suspicious of Kali.
Of course, Kali didn’t plan to betray Io using his own faction as his base.
‘I merely tried to inherit the County through a just method.’
He planned to officially inherit the fief from Io, who had no son.
But recently, Io showed actions he had absolutely not expected.
Not only did he take off and gave a part of the fief to Roan, a fool who had abruptly appeared, he started treating him as if he was a son.
‘If this continues, the County’s successor will become Roan .’
The situation was such that anyone would have such thought.
Kali became enraged.
The rage of this time leaped over the rage of the old.
The time of tens of years he had supported him at the side could become a foam in an instant.
Thankfully, ones with dissatisfaction like Kali appeared even amongst Io’s close aides.
Kali persuaded them and strengthened his original faction.
‘Io Lancephil.’
The teeth gritted.
He glared coldly at the office’s door.
‘This is all something that happened because of you. This isn’t my fault.’
Kali thought that he was betrayed first.
“Huu.”
He forcefully spat out a long sigh and calmed his heart.
The cold light that hung at the edge of his eyes were already gone.
Kali carefully knocked on the door.
“It’s Kali Owells.”
He spoke in a soft and subdued voice.
“Come in.”
Soon, Io’s voice was heard.
Kali slowly opened the door.
“My lord.”
“Yes. What is it?”
Sending away Eik Lamus, who he had been chatting with, Io offered a seat on the opposite side to Kali.
“I heard that you are transferring the troops to Tale Barony.”
“Since there is a promise from the other day. It seems the Tale Legion had already began to subjugate the Poskein Lake.”
Kali slowly nodded at Io’s words.
‘Io Lancephil. It’s because of you pampering and coddling Roan like that, that it became this state.’
A curse flooded up.
However, Kali didn’t show his feelings and smiled.
“Yes. Since loyalty between n.o.bles is most important. I would like to transfer our fief’s elite troop as well as the knight order and the magic corps together if I could, but……”
His expression said that it was very difficult.
“Because the western border region has been unusual recently, we can’t disperse our forces.”
It was a contemptible excuse.
“The western border?”
Words asking despite fully knowing it.
Kali didn’t change his expression a single bit and laid out lies.
“Chase County’s movements are unusual. We will have to move the knight order, the magic corp, and a part of fief troop’s forces to the west.”
As if it was the truth, boldness rubbed off of his words.
Io wordlessly stared straight into Kali’s two eyes.
Within the soft outline of his eyes, the hard and incorruptible eyes flashed a light.
Those were the lights of the brave general Io that had roamed the battlefields in the past.
‘Hhm.’
Kali felt himself unknowingly sweating a cold sweat.
‘Did this old man perhaps……’
Despite him thinking that he had aged all the way, he still held the pressure of a tiger.
At the gaze that seemed to pierce through his heart, Kali’s heart loudly beat as if a thief ached his own leg. 2
He wanted to pull out and raise the sword at his waist at any second.
At that moment.
The shape of Io’s eyes curved softly and the tips of his mouth slantingly went up.
It was a bright smile.
“I see. Please take care of it well yourself.”
His voice was dripping with trust.
‘Huu.’
Kali felt his muscles that had completely tensed loosen up.
Inwardly calming his shocked heart, he lowered his head.
“Yes. Please don’t worry. I will personally go to the west.”
Kali gave a short salute and stood up from the seat.
The two people, for a moment and without a word, stared into each other’s eyes.
Complicated feelings went back and forth.
‘Kali.’
‘Io Lancephil.’
A master, servant, and a comrade that had spent tens of years together.
The hearts fell down heavily.
The one who broke the silence was Kali.
“Then I will now……”
Smiling awkwardly, he stepped back.
When Kali just reached in front of the office’s door.
“Commander Owells.”
Io called and stopped Kali.
Kali wordlessly turned his head and looked at Io.
“Commander Owells. No……”
Io, for some reason, made a sad smile.
“Muddy Kali.”
“Ah……!”
Instantly, Kali let out a quiet exclamation.
Muddy Kali.
That was his nickname during his youth.
Because Kali didn’t rest a single day and trained when he was young, his entire body was always muddy.
Io had called Kali, who was like that, Muddy Kali and coddled him.
“How many years has it been since we worked together?”
Even his style of speech changed.
At Io’s question, Kali answered without a delay.
“It’s the 37th year, sir.”
“It’s been quite a while.”
Io cheerfully smiled and nodded his head.
Kali too slowly nodded his head.
Io exhaled a short sigh.
“For some reason, these days, I miss those days.”
The days when they trusted their backs together and roamed the battlefield.
Kali wordlessly lowered his head and then opened the office’s door.
The tips of his fingers kept shaking and his heart beat rapidly.
On the other hand, his face calmed down ghostly pale.
‘Io Lancephil. No, Sir Count Lancephil.’
He gritted his teeth.
‘We have come much too far.’
As long as the days they spent together, they had instead fallen apart as much as that time.
Kali forcefully smiled and moved his steps.
‘Now, we cannot go back to that time.’
The face that had been pale returned back.
On the brightly flushed face, a cold killing intent hung.
The heart that momentarily shook returned to its place.
After Kali exited the office, Eik showed himself once again.
“What did he say?”
It was a voice that was spat out while forcefully pushing down on the rage that flew up.
Io wordlessly made a bitter smile.
He didn’t wish to have a long talk with his current feelings.
Seemingly understanding Io’s such desire, Eik, with a short sigh, spoke in a quiet voice.
“The troop that will be going to the Tale Barony will leave at dawn tomorrow. My lord, use seeing them off as an excuse and please travel until the plain north of the Pavor Castle on a carriage.”
When his words reached about that point, Io let out a long sigh.
“Eik. However I think about it, I don’t like this plan. How could I leave you and go alone by……”
When his words reached about that point.
“My lord.”
Eik, with a firm and harsh expression, shook his head.
“We need someone who will remain here and deceive the traitors’ eyes. I am merely honored to have undertook this heavy responsibility. Please don’t care too much.”
His voice became even smaller and furtive.
“Please bear in mind. Even if the entire Lancephil County fell into Count Chase’s hands, we can raise the House of Count again at any time as long as my lord is alive. My lord, please only think about the safety of lord.”
His voice dripped with loyalty.
Io spat out a long sigh and held Eik’s hands.
There was no need for words.
All the sincerity was pa.s.sed through the heat of the body and the light in the eyes.
Io resolved his determination to definitely remain alive, condemn the traitors, and raise the House of Count once again.
He planned to do his utmost for his loyal subjects, who didn’t leave his side and remained despite when the situation became difficult.
However, Io was at an age already pa.s.sed sixty.
Just where did the spirit and vigor from his youth went, he exhaled a sigh while looking at the back of his hand that had became wrinkled already.
The old Io’s heart was too soft.
*****
“Captain Wilson.”
“Yes. Commander Owells.”
Kali Owells, before heading to the western border, met the head of the magic corp Tairon Bess and the captain of the fief troop Perry Wilson.
“I am scheduled to soon head west with commander Bess. Captain Wilson will remain at the Pavor Castle and watch Io Lancephil well so that he doesn’t do anything unnecessary.”
“Please don’t worry, sir.”
Perry answered with an expression overflowing with confident.
But Kali’s expression was not satisfied.
‘Him being excessively conceited compared to his abilities hangs on my mind.’
Although Perry had abilities outstanding enough to undertake the role of the captain of the County House’s fief troop, his conceit was much stronger than that.
Because of that, there were times when he spoiled the work now and then.
‘Since the situation has already become like this after all, what kind of thing could even happen……’
Furthermore, Io’s close subordinates who were eyesores were scheduled to all leave to Tale Barony by tomorrow morning.
Now, the Lancephil County was no different than Kali’s world.
Kali forcefully pushed away the uneasy feeling.
“The moment the news that we attacked the Chase County is delivered, lock up Io Lancephil and execute the state of emergency.”
“Yes. Understood. But……”
Perry, who had been answering instantly, slightly creased his forehead and asked.
“Is there really any need for us to attack the Chase County first? It would be okay even if the Chase County Troops push and come in.”
At those words, Kali shook his head with a short sigh.
“It is to push the cause of the fief war’s outbreak onto Io Lancephil. Only then……”
His eyes flashed and shined a light.
“It becomes easier to fabricate the work at the capital’s side.”
“Ah……”
With a quiet exclamation, Perry nodded his head.
Kali inwardly shook his head at that sight and filled his wine cup.
“Although today it’s the toast for the declaration of war, let us drink a toast of victory the next time.”
At those words, Tairon and Perry brightly smiled and raised their cups.
The three people lightly tapped their cups and, in one breath, emptied their cups.
A slightly bitter wine wetted the throats.
‘Come to think of it, there is a good wine in Io Lancephil’s reception room……’
A faint smile hung on Kali’s mouth.
‘I should drink that once the work ends.’
Already, it felt as if the tip of his tongue became sweet.
Of course, although that aftertaste would be quite bitter.
‘I’ll leave that bitter taste as a memory of you. Io Lancephil.’
That day, Kali and Tairon led the knight order, the magic corp, and the fief elite troops and left towards the west.
Perry, who had remained at the Pavor Castle, drastically increased the number of guards on the grounds of strengthening public order.
Io went up to the spire and let out a long sigh as he looked at that sight.
‘It is no longer the Lancephil County that I knew of.’
It felt as if he had held it in his hands for much too long.
The light in his eyes darkly abated.
“Is now the time to let it go?”
Suddenly, the past years brushed by like a wind.
Exhaling a sigh mixed with regret, Io turned his head.
The gaze that was looking towards the west turned to south.
At the end of that place lied the Poskein Lake.
< Poskein Subjugation (3) > End.
1. “forecastle” – the front part of a ship
2. “thief ached his own leg” – Korean proverb describing the sense of nervousness from having done a crime”