Chapter 253: It’s an Absolutely Insane Place (3)
Kaor questioned again, doubting he had misheard the numbers.
“Ten thousand?”
Ghislaine slowly shook his head. Kaor responded with a tone full of disbelief.
“…Really, a hundred thousand?”
Nodding.
Kaor exploded in fury.
“No way, that doesn’t make sense! A hundred thousand?! How can you hunt that many monsters? Is there even a place where that happens? Come on! Stop kidding around and just tell me the truth!”
“Why not? It exists. A place where monsters keep coming out endlessly.”
“Where the heck is that…? Oh? Could it be…?”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what you’re thinking. The famous one.”
Kaor momentarily had a blank expression before asking again.
“There have been rumors that there are a lot of monsters there, but… are there really a hundred thousand?”
“Of course! That’s why there’s been chaos for so long. Even though not all come out at once, they keep coming consistently, so the numbers easily add up.”
“You mean I should live there until I die?”
“If you hunt a hundred a day, it won’t take long at all.”
“….”
“If you want to go faster, hunt a thousand at a time.”
“….”
Kaor had nothing to say.
He may be seen as a mad dog himself, but the lord in front of him was on a whole different level from him.
Seeing the silent Kaor, Ghislaine continued.
“Well, if you don’t have the guts to risk your life for that, you might as well go train in silence.”
It would be embarrassing to say he couldn’t do it. The manly Kaor raised his head arrogantly.
“I can do it!”
“No, actually, thinking it over, that might not work. It is a bit dangerous. You’re not good at fighting.”
That was Kaor’s least favorite statement. He immediately reacted.
“I fight well!”
“Can you beat Gillian?”
“…Maybe? I think I could win?”
“Well, if that’s the case… then let’s go together. We can also gather some leather while we’re at it.”
“Why is the lord going?”
Ghislaine couldn’t help but chuckle at Kaor’s sulky response.
“I thought you would die quickly if I sent you alone. It’s a pretty dangerous place, you know. You can’t fight.”
“…I can, though.”
“Right, but anyway, just help out with the adaptation and I’ll head back, so let’s move.”
Hearing that they would go together but the lord would return alone made Kaor feel slightly uneasy. In fact, he didn’t want to be alone in an unfamiliar place.
“Is it just the two of us going?”
“No, I have to bring along all the weak and lazy ones too.”
Ghislaine gave another meaningful smile.
*
Suddenly, fifty knights who were training and spitting blood in the territory were called up.
Ghislaine and Gillian reported the progress and training status, selecting those who would go to the Shadow Mountain Range.
These knights were the ones with the weakest skills or those who had been getting lazy and cutting corners.
Since the criteria were varied, the knights couldn’t quite figure out why they were chosen.
The knights had no idea why they had been chosen.
“Why are we the only ones picked?”
“Did they just pick based on who’s good-looking?”
“Looking at your face, I don’t think that’s the case.”
As the knights murmured among themselves, Ghislaine approached and said, “We’re going to hunt monsters.”
The knights looked at each other’s faces. They hadn’t really heard any details. They’d been abruptly dragged from training.
“Are we heading to the Forest of Monsters?”
A mercenary who had gone with them when they got the Runestone asked, looking a bit tense.
It had been a treacherous journey where more than half of the mercenaries who went with them had died. They had returned stronger, but that wretched and horrific memory still lingered in their minds.
Ghislaine shook his head and leisurely replied, “No, it’s not that place.”
“Then where are we going?”
“We’re heading to a place with a lot of monsters because our territory is short on leather. The Shadow Mountain Range of the Turian Kingdom. We’re just going for a quick trip, so don’t worry.”
For Ghislaine, it really was a light task. He had often gone there just for some exercise whenever he was bored in his previous life.
“Ah…….”
Seeing Ghislaine speak casually, the knights nodded in agreement.
They had heard of the Shadow Mountain Range. A dangerous place where monsters constantly emerged in alarming numbers.
But they weren’t too scared. They had only heard rumors, and they hadn’t actually experienced it themselves. Plus, they’d gained quite a bit of skill through war and had growing confidence from their victories.
They had heard that there were many hunters and fortresses there. Monsters? With a lord along, they could easily take down hundreds of them.
“But isn’t that too much? At this rate, we’ll be taking down thousands!”
“I guess they really need a lot of leather?”
“Oh man, I should warm up a bit out there.”
The knights relaxed and laughed heartily.
With that monstrous lord, alongside them 50 knights would just wipe out the monsters.
Seeing the laughter and banter of the knights, Ghislaine smiled.
“I love that confidence. We should just hurry and hunt a lot, treating it like a picnic.”
The atmosphere among the knights became even more cheerful.
They had been stuck in heavy training at the fortress and were exhausted. Repeating the same old drills was boring, and it felt like they were losing their minds.
But going outside to hunt some monsters and even traveling sounds like a perfect stress relief.
‘Who knew such a sweet opportunity would come? People really need to get out and have fun more often.’
‘Hehehe, they must have picked me because I’m so skilled. I mean, without me, they wouldn’t be able to catch them quickly.’
‘Am I too hardworking that they’re giving me a break?’
Other knights felt quite envious of the selected ones.
‘I’m stronger than that guy!’
‘I worked harder than him!’
‘Lucky them! They’re going to have fun, catch some monsters, and travel! They’ll probably eat good stuff too!’
They wanted to throw a tantrum and ask to be taken along but were holding back, not wanting to end up in special training.
Of course, not everyone was envious. A few knights who had a grasp of Ghislaine’s personality wore skeptical expressions.
‘The lord is going personally? Maybe it’s better not to go with him.’
‘It’s better to just train here even if it’s tough.’
‘Going outside together could get us killed.’
As the knights gathered their armaments and prepared, Claude came over and said, “As you mentioned, I packed only some simple dry rations for quick movement. I’ll ensure supplies are sent in time for your arrival.”
“I’ll send the supplies right away.”
“Good. Make sure it goes smoothly. Don’t let your guard down with Desmond and Amelia either.”
“Understood.”
“Oh, and bring KONG with you. I’m going to ride that now.”
“…What’s KONG?”
“The black bean horse. My new mount.”
Claude looked like he was struggling to comprehend.
“Please, can’t you just change the name?”
“Why? It’s cute, right? Adorable?”
Everyone around them, including the retainers, looked equally bewildered. That tough-looking horse certainly didn’t fit such a cute name.
“You really need to change the name. People are going to laugh.”
“What kind of lord rides a horse called ‘KONG’? ‘Here comes the lord riding KONG!’ That just won’t do.”
“Lord, you can do whatever you want. But please, just don’t name it yourself.”
The retainers made sad faces. They were fine with his eccentricity, but this was just too much.
“Hmm…”
Even Ghislaine took a step back in the face of their passionate protests.
He was confident about the future, so he could push forward. It was the same for fights; he felt assured in those areas too.
But seeing everyone so united against him, he seriously began to doubt his ability to name anything.
In his past life, whenever he named something, the mercenaries would burst into fits of laughter. They were ignorant fools, and if he hit them a few times, they were just happy with it.
This time, he wasn’t going to hit his retainers. Unlike mercenaries, they weren’t mocking him but were earnestly pleading him to stop.
And most of them were weak, so if he hit them a few times, they’d probably just drop dead. Therefore, he decided to compromise this time.
Staring at the brought KONG, Ghislaine pondered. He needed to come up with a splendid name.
What had his title been in the past life? The continent’s Seven Greats and King of Mercenaries. So it would make sense to have ‘king’ in the horse’s name.
‘Horse King?’
That felt off. No matter how much he dismissed names out of annoyance, ‘Horse King’ just didn’t sit right.
“This guy is super fast. How about Speed King?”
Everyone shook their heads in unison. Ghislaine inspected the horse again.
The black, rippling muscles and mane were truly splendid.
The horse, perhaps aware of its own beauty, would occasionally flick its mane over its face and tilt its head, showing off.
“Alright, since you’re black, from now on you’re Black King.”
Claude, who had been watching silently, asked, “You’re really going to give that kind of title to a horse?”
“Yeah. I’m the one riding it, so it deserves at least that. Anyway, I’m done listening to objections. This is good enough. And the nickname still stays KONG. Got it?”
The retainers nodded with glum faces. Just getting this much compromise was a small victory.
Still, ‘Black King’ did sound somewhat imposing. It could be used in public and recorded as such.
‘Please only call it that when you’re alone.’
The Black King seemed to like its new name, showing its teeth and snorting happily.
Once the horse-naming dispute was over, Gillian came over and asked, “Are you sure I don’t need to go?”
“Yeah, the knights and soldiers need ongoing training too. I’ll be back soon, so it’s fine.”
“Understood. Safe travels.”
As Gillian bowed, Ghislaine turned to Arel beside him.
“Don’t slack on your basic training while I’m gone. I’ll teach you the Mana Circulation Method once your stamina is up. Until then, listen to Gillian well.”
“Understood!”
Arel nodded enthusiastically. For now, he was focusing on building his stamina while eating well in the territory.
His body was weak, so he needed to fortify his basic stamina first and get used to training.
Weakness was a problem; first, he needed to build basic stamina and get used to training.
Though he was suddenly picked up as a rural boy during the barbarian hunt, the people of the territory didn’t dare to treat Arel recklessly. They judged him to be Ghislaine’s disciple.
Moreover, since Belinda took care of Arel as if he were Ghislaine’s younger brother, everyone had no choice but to tread carefully around him.
“Young Master, have a safe trip. Oh dear, I’m so worried since I can’t go with you due to all the work. Don’t skip any meals, okay?”
“Yeah, don’t worry. I’ll be back soon.”
Belinda, having learned of Ghislaine’s skills, didn’t fuss over him as much as before. Of course, despite his skills, her worries due to his personality remained unchanged.
Once the greetings were suitably finished, Ghislaine and the knights set off. Kaor whispered as he passed Gillian.
“Remember my words clearly. When I come back, I’ll crush that inspiration of yours.”
“……”
Gillian chose to ignore him again, pretending not to hear. In the past, he might have thrown a fist at him, but out of respect for Ghislaine, he just brushed it off this time.
Perhaps Kaor instinctively knew that he always picked fights only when everyone was around. He had never started trouble when it was just the two of them.
Still, being ignored always triggered a boiling rage within him.
‘Tch, just wait! I’ll quickly gather 100,000 and definitely crush you!’
Fueled by anger, Kaor and the knights headed towards the Turian Kingdom.
Thanks to their uninterrupted movement under the pretense of horsemanship training, they arrived near the Shadow Mountain Range of the Turian Kingdom sooner than expected.
“Wow…”
“This is the Shadow Mountain Range we’ve only heard about…”
“It’s truly amazing.”
The towering mountain range cast deep, dark shadows around it, matching its name. The knights felt a complex mixture of wonder and fear. The mountains, covered endlessly with trees, seemed to have their outlines distorted by the thick darkness.
The heavy, dark atmosphere seemed to emphasize how dangerous this mountain range was.
Only after seeing the mountains with their own eyes did the knights realize they had to adjust their thoughts a bit.
‘This… doesn’t seem like a trip for fun.’
‘It doesn’t seem like I came here for my good looks either…’
‘This doesn’t feel right at all.’
In the Turian Kingdom, there were several fortresses built along the Shadow Mountain Range. These fortresses were erected in places where monsters gathered the most.
Therefore, behind the fortresses, walls were erected to protect the cities in case the fortresses were breached.
It wasn’t possible to surround the entire mountain range with walls, so the barriers only blocked a few paths leading to some cities.
If monsters entered areas without walls, hunters or the kingdom’s army would go out and handle the situation.
Since there were fewer monsters coming down to the main strongholds that had fortresses or barriers, it wasn’t a huge issue yet.
The destination of Ghislaine and the knights was one of the largest fortresses known as ‘Ironcliff.’
Many hunters gathered at the fortress, as it also served the role of a city.
As they looked at the fortress surrounded by a giant wall, the knights gaped in awe.
Indeed, it was as grand as a fortress that had fought countless monsters.
As soon as they arrived in front of the fortress, Kaor, filled with enthusiasm, exclaimed.
“Shall we unpack and go monster hunting as soon as we get in?”
Ghislaine shook his head and replied.
“When you arrive in a new town, there are proper things to do first. Especially in a lawless city like this one.”
“What’s that?”
Ghislaine raised his fist with a smirk.
“We’re going to beat people up.”
