“……Hssss.”
“Oh.”
Splashhhhh-.
The stream of urine flowed down without reading the atmosphere. As I was in the middle of peeing, the orc who couldn’t hold it anymore screamed first.
“Graaaah-!”
Swish-! The orc that screamed immediately swung the axe he was holding. If I hadn’t ducked, my head would’ve been split in half, so I forgot about pulling up my pants and just dodged the axe.
Whoosh! Feeling the wind pressure pass over my head, I stood up at the same time and struck the orc’s jaw with my head.
Thud- With a satisfying crack sound, I tripped the staggering orc’s leg and made him fall.
“Hssss-!?”
Climbing on top of the orc who fell backward, the orc tried to throw me off by lifting his waist—but compared to me, he was too weak.
“Sorry about this.”
Aura – Thousand Pound Weight.
At this moment, my weight reached 1 ton.
Even if the orc had several times the strength of a human, it was impossible to simply overpower this kind of weight.
“Knights also learn wrestling.”
Thinking knights only study swordsmanship is a big mistake. Knights learn not only swordsmanship but also horseback riding, archery, tactics and strategy, mercenary skills, and even wrestling for close combat.
They learn almost everything needed for battle.
Bammm-!
My punch smashed straight into the orc’s face. An unpleasant sensation vividly passed through my fist, but I didn’t care and kept punching.
Boom, Bammm- Bammm-!
When my consecutive punches turned the orc’s blood into clots, I finally stopped my fists and exhaled.
“Phew…….”
I almost died there.
Next time, I’ll bring my sword even when going to the bathroom.
Pat pat, after brushing off the dust and dried blood from my body, I picked up the orc’s corpse and headed toward where the knights were.
The knights tidying up the tents widened their eyes when they saw me dragging the blood-soaked orc.
“M, Master Kail!?”
“Medic! Bring a potion!”
The knights started panicking as if the one covered in blood wasn’t the orc but me.
After shouting at the panicking knights, I tossed the orc’s corpse.
“It’s fine. I’m not hurt.”
“I, Is that so? Thank goodness.”
“More importantly—this was nearby.”
The knights, who had relaxed upon hearing I wasn’t injured, changed their expressions again when they heard an orc was nearby.
“…It seems the night watch didn’t guard properly.”
“Well, I went a little far.”
“Still.”
“It’s fine. Instead of scolding them, find their tracks.”
Sir Moar nodded cautiously after hearing those words. Yes, now wasn’t the time to punish those who failed to notice the approaching orcs.
It was time to punish the monsters who dared step foot into the Meyer Clan’s territory.
“—Please wait a moment.”
Sir Moar said that and set out to track with a few knights. It didn’t take long to discover the orc village.
* * *
“Thanks to Master Kail’s efforts, we’ve discovered the orc village. Everyone, make sure to wipe them out cleanly.”
─Nod. Amidst silent nods, the knights began riding toward the discovered orc village.
Beyond the forest, in a wide grassland area, the orcs’ habitat existed. There were only a few dozen orcs living there.
Three expert-level knights and dozens of cavalry were more than enough to completely annihilate them.
“We charge.”
Following Sir Leon’s command, the knights began charging on horseback. In the distance, the orcs, who belatedly noticed them, quickly began counterattacking.
Fweeeeeet-!
A sharp whistle echoed. As the whistling sound cut through the air, the knights raised their prepared shields.
“Archers! Archers!”
“Everyone, raise your shields!”
The knights who blocked the rain-like arrows quickly mounted their horses and charged toward the enemy before the next volley could come.
Of course, I was part of that formation. Two or three rows behind the front line, protected by the surrounding knights.
I thought this level of protection wasn’t necessary, but the knights never left my side.
“—Charge!”
The knights who had been galloping for a while soon spotted orcs thrusting spears and swords at them.
The most common monster. With good reproductive capabilities and stronger than trained soldiers. Unlike goblins, which farmers can hunt with preparation, these were monsters that couldn’t be faced without a properly trained army.
However, the moment the knight squadron’s lance charge hit the monsters, the orcs began scattering like bowling pins on a lane.
“Aaaaah-!”
“Hssss!”
“Grrroooorrr-!”
Though the orcs possessed brute strength surpassing humans, they were still biological beings.
Hundreds of kilograms of horse and all its kinetic energy converted into impact through the lance charge.
Not to mention, if the wielder of that lance charge was an awakened aura knight, this charge couldn’t be stopped midway.
“All units! Formation B!”
Following Sir Leon’s command, the knight squadron split into two groups. After circling around the orcs briefly, they charged again, wiping them out.
The orcs tried to resist with rusty iron swords or spears made from chopped wood… but if such wooden spears could stop cavalry, the existence of knights would have gone extinct long ago.
After relentless strikes—having wiped out nearly all the orcs, Sir Leon, confident there was no major threat left, called for me.
“Master Kail, would you like to finish them yourself?”
“Myself?”
“Yes, using your own sword.”
Following Sir Leon’s words, I dismounted my horse, drew my sword, and approached the orcs. Though the orcs that survived the cavalry charge had already lost their will to fight, they pointed their weapons at me, unwilling to give up their lives easily.
I stared at the orc quietly, then swung my sword—Whish-. There was absolutely no tension of real combat.
What was in front of me was just a frightened beast, and the swordsmanship I had honed wasn’t something such a beast could block.
Slash- Without any resistance, I cut off the orc’s neck. Afterward, Sir Moar, who had been watching my performance, began clapping as he approached.
Clap clap clap-.
“As expected of Master Kail. How about hunting one more?”
“…No.”
Hearing my response, Sir Moar muttered something like “I knew it” and then ordered his subordinates to clean up the remaining orcs.
He probably thought I was frozen in shock from cutting something for the first time… but that wasn’t it.
‘This… is real combat?’
I instinctively knew. This kind of hunting wouldn’t allow me to grow.
The real combat I desired was the clash of swords against swords. A life-or-death battle where either side could die.
Not this one-sided slaughter.
“—Master Kail, are you alright?”
When Sir Leon, sensing something was off, approached me, I quietly nodded while thinking about ways to experience real combat.
At least, I was certain I’d never experience it with the knights the viscount assigned to me.
* * *
The knight squadron, returning to the territory after finishing their patrol outside the domain, received quite a grand welcome despite not doing anything particularly noteworthy.
I gave a bitter smile as I looked at the viscount welcoming me.
“Hahaha-! Well, son. How was your first real battle?”
“…It was just okay.”
“The first time always feels unreal. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”
“Yes, I’d like to rest a bit now.”
“Alright, you must be tired. Go ahead and rest.”
I bowed to the viscount and unpacked my belongings in my room, then immediately began re-equipping myself.
I donned the armor and sword polished by the squires and wrapped a cloak around myself for camouflage.
I left a letter in the room so the maids wouldn’t panic when they realized I was gone.
‘Dad, I’m sorry.’
If the viscount was truly a knight, I believed he’d understand. Leaving the letter, I headed straight for the stables.
I led out a horse full of vigor since it hadn’t gone on any expeditions. Hearing the horse’s snorting, the stable boy rushed out.
“Master Kail? Why are you taking a horse at this hour…?”
“I felt like going for a ride.”
“Ah, yes. Understood. Then I’ll assume that…”
As the only son of the lord, there was no way the stable boy could refuse me, so he tactfully lent me the horse.
Mounting the horse, I grabbed the reins and began leaving the territory. Normally, the gatekeepers should’ve blocked the entrance, but when I casually approached and said I was going for a short walk, they opened the gate as if they couldn’t do anything about it.
‘The guards here are the same.’
How could a mere soldier stop the son of a general from going for a walk? Especially when that son wasn’t some ignorant brat but an expert-level knight.
Without any issues, I exited the territory and turned north.
‘If I go there… I’ll surely experience it.’
The most dangerous region in the empire.
The land of frost where barbarian tribes invade daily.
If the north, where only warriors who survive today live, couldn’t provide the real combat I sought, nothing else could.
‘I’ll think of it as visiting my in-laws after a long time.’
With just a compass, a cloak, and a single sword, I headed north.
By the time I arrived at the freezing north, no pursuers from my clan had caught up.
* * *
Early morning. The viscount realized the house was unusually noisy.
Quietly stepping out of his room into the hallway, he saw the maids bustling about.
‘What’s going on?’
This wasn’t the usual behavior of the maids, so the viscount stopped one passing by.
The maid he stopped looked as if the world had ended and began trembling.
“What’s all this commotion so early in the morning?”
“M, My Lord. Th, That…”
“That?”
“K, Kail, Young Master Kail…”
The moment his son’s name came up, the viscount felt his eyes widen in alarm.
Grabbing the maid’s shoulders tightly and yanking her closer, she screamed in pain and was dragged along.
“—What about Kail?”
“He, He ran away.”
“…What?”
The viscount thought he misheard the maid. However, she repeated herself, confirming he hadn’t.
“He left a letter in his room and ran away—M, My Lord!? My Lord!”
“Ughhh—!”
Upon hearing his son had run away, the viscount collapsed, clutching the back of his neck.
The maid shrieked as she supported the fallen viscount.
