Episode 261: Reclamation (3)
“What on earth is that noise?”
“What are the guards doing?”
The dark knights rushed toward the castle gates, drawn by the eerie wails of the skeletons.
“What is this? S-skeletons?”
“Where did they come from… Wait a minute, those skeletons are using aura!”
The skeletons surged into the castle like a relentless tide.
The dark knights caught in their path were literally torn to shreds.
“Skeletons using aura…?”
“If you have time to be shocked, start swinging your sword!”
“Damn it, no matter how many we destroy, they just keep coming… Aaargh!”
The sudden attack left the dark knights unable to mount a proper defense.
A few managed to regain their composure and fight back, but it was futile.
Even when shattered, the skeletons quickly reassembled and resumed their assault on the dark knights.
While the skeletons kept the dark knights occupied, Damian moved further inside. His presence was soon noticed by the dark knights.
“That’s the dark sorcerer! He’s the one controlling the skeletons!”
“Kill him first! That will end this!”
The dark knights charged at Damian with deadly intent.
But they couldn’t get close to him.
A death knight appeared out of nowhere, swinging a massive sword.
The aura blade it unleashed sliced through the charging dark knights, cutting them in half.
“This can’t be… An aura blade… He’s commanding a master class…”
Even as they lay dying, the dark knights couldn’t accept the reality before them.
“Dominico.”
-Yes, my lord.
“Take charge of the skeletons. Clean up this place.”
-What will you do, my lord?
In response to Dominico’s question, Damian pointed toward the forge.
“I’m going to take the head of the blacksmith.”
“What is all this racket?”
Alexander, the weapon master’s apprentice, groaned as he sat up, clutching his head.
He was suffering from a severe hangover after drinking too much the night before. It felt like a swarm of bees was buzzing inside his skull.
“Why is it so noisy? What are those idiots outside doing?”
The noise outside only worsened his headache.
“Damn it, this is unbearable.”
Alexander was known for his drinking habits, but he usually didn’t drink this much.
His drinking had increased since he started guarding this forge.
“How long do I have to be stuck in this boring place?”
He was deeply dissatisfied with the task his master had given him.
He longed to roam freely like the other apprentices, to enjoy good drinks and meet beautiful women.
But since he couldn’t do that, he drowned his boredom in alcohol.
“I don’t understand why Master is so wary of the dwarves.”
It wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.
The dwarves of Hammerstrike City held ancient knowledge and skills.
If they set their minds to it, who knew what kind of weapon they could create?
But that was only if they had the right equipment and materials.
Unarmed dwarves were nothing to fear.
“Ugh, my head. I need another drink.”
Alexander grabbed a bottle from under his bed and took a long swig.
“Ah, that’s better.”
Just as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve, the door burst open. One of his subordinates stumbled in.
“Alexander, sir! We’re in big trouble!”
“Hey, you’re bleeding from your head.”
“That’s not important right now! We’re under attack!”
At those words, Alexander dropped the bottle he was holding.
The precious liquor spilled onto the floor, but he had no time to care.
“An attack?”
“Yes! We’re trying to hold them off, but we’re outmatched! Many knights have already fallen…”
Suddenly, the door shattered. A massive wolf leaped in and crushed the subordinate’s head under its paw.
The sound of something breaking was followed by a spray of blood and flesh.
“Wh-what?”
The suddenness of it all left Alexander momentarily blank.
-Grrr.
The black wolf growled, fixing its gaze on Alexander.
Then, a voice he didn’t recognize spoke.
“Good job, Munch.”
A man wearing a strange mask stepped through the gaping hole in the wall.
“Who are you?”
“Call me Victor the Woodcutter.”
Victor the Woodcutter.
It was a name Alexander had never heard, but he couldn’t dismiss the man.
There was an ominous aura about him that was impossible to ignore.
“Why are you attacking this place?”
“I have business with the weapon master. I heard I need the equipment here to enter the city.”
“So you’ve allied with the dwarves.”
“Something like that.”
“You fool. Do you really think you can stand against my master?”
Alexander reached out, and a large axe flew from the wall into his hand.
“Do you think I’ll let you get away with this? You’ll die here. My subordinates would want that.”
Alexander exuded a murderous intent.
He knew he was a poor leader, but he felt he owed his subordinates at least this much.
Then Victor spoke, his eyes on Alexander’s axe.
“You’ve killed many with that axe, haven’t you?”
“What, can you read the remnants of souls in it?”
The Demon Axe Cecilia.
It absorbed the souls of those it killed, growing stronger with each one.
Skilled dark sorcerers could read the remnants of souls Cecilia had absorbed.
“You didn’t just kill enemies. There are children, the elderly, and women among them. What were you thinking as you killed so many?”
“I don’t know. I just fed them to Cecilia as I saw them. Never really thought about it.”
The number of people Alexander had killed with Cecilia was in the thousands.
Since acquiring Cecilia, he had never known defeat.
At that moment, a chilling aura emanated from Victor.
“You’d better abandon any hope of dying peacefully.”
“That’s my line.”
Alexander twisted his lips into a grin and launched himself at Victor. Victor immediately cast a dark spell.
Explosions echoed through the forge.
While Damian and the undead fought the dark knights, the dwarves were busy rescuing their kin.
“Careful, lower them gently! Gently!”
Kilo shouted urgently. The dwarves followed his instructions, slowly lowering the poles.
“Hurry, cut them free! Quickly!”
The dwarves cut through the wires binding their kin.
Even after being freed from the poles, the rescued dwarves showed no reaction.
They were barely alive, their spirits so broken they couldn’t respond to external stimuli.
“We need to give them medicine…!”
Kilo hastily pulled out a pre-prepared ointment from a leather pouch.
Dwarves were not only skilled in metallurgy but also had deep knowledge of medicine.
As he removed the clothing to apply the ointment, Kilo’s eyes filled with tears at the sight of the wounds.
“Damn… those bastards…”
They were beyond words like “battered.”
They were torn and tattered like old, worn-out rags.
Even with the dwarves’ ointment, it was impossible to fully heal these wounds. They would have to accept becoming disabled.
“Damn… damn… damn.”
Kilo cursed continuously as he applied the ointment.
“Kilo… is that you…?”
At that moment, the dwarf Kilo was treating slowly spoke.
Kilo’s face lit up with recognition.
“Todal! I never imagined it would be you!”
The injuries were so severe that he hadn’t recognized the face.
Hearing his younger brother’s voice filled Kilo with emotion.
“Brother… you’re as loud as ever… with your unnecessary shouting…”
“Is that all you have to say after all this?”
“Haha… what about the enemies…? Are they dealt with?”
“Don’t worry. We’re handling it.”
“Is that so…? Impressive… it couldn’t have been easy.”
Todal paused, struggling to speak. After catching his breath, he asked Kilo again.
“Is the city… safe…?”
Kilo froze at the question.
How could he tell the truth?
That the city had already fallen into enemy hands and they needed to reclaim it.
How could he say that to his dying brother?
A myriad of conflicts flashed across Kilo’s face in that brief moment.
“You fool! Of course, the city is safe. If it weren’t, how could I have come to rescue you?”
In the end, Kilo had no choice but to lie.
“Haha… that’s a relief.”
A smile spread across Todal’s face. In contrast, Kilo’s expression grew more pained.
“And my wife? Is she alive too?”
”…Yes, she’s alive.”
“And Mother? Is she safe?”
“Of course!”
“Where’s that fool, Galleon?”
“Of course, he managed to escape safely!”
“That’s a relief… I was so… so worried…”
A satisfied smile appeared on his lips, but the words that should have followed never came.
”…Todahl.”
Kilo shook Todahl’s body.
“Why are you just sitting there?”
He shook him again and again, but the smiling lips remained sealed.
“Todahl… you fool… say something, anything…!”
Kilo kept shaking Todahl’s body until one of his subordinates intervened.
“Boss… please, stop. You know the truth.”
Reluctantly, Kilo’s hands fell still.
“Ah… ah…”
Kilo glanced around the forge.
The battle raged on. Skeletons were slaughtering the dark knights.
Rage boiled within him.
He wanted to rush out and kill the enemies himself.
He wanted to honor Todahl’s death, to help his soul find peace.
But reality was harsh.
If they joined the fray, they’d only get in the way.
Their skills weren’t enough to take down even a single dark knight.
“Please… I beg you…”
He had learned from a young age.
To uphold the pride of the dwarves of Hammerclaw City, to handle the tribe’s matters within the tribe.
“Please… these bastards…”
Kilo never forgot what he had been taught. He lived by it.
As the last tribe to carry on the ancestors’ will and skills, he maintained his pride.
“All of them… every last one…”
But in this moment, Kilo set aside pride and dignity. He accepted shame and humiliation.
He pressed his forehead to the ground, clawing at the earth with his fingers, and shouted.
“Kill all these wretches!”
At that moment, an explosion erupted.
The entrance to the forge shattered. Through the gaping hole, someone emerged.
A masked man.
Victor stepped out, dragging something behind him.
The moment Kilo saw the man’s face, he recognized him.
How could he forget? The day the city fell, he had appeared with the Weapon Master, his prized apprentice.
That day, Kilo thought the man looked like a demon crawling out of hell.
“Ugh… ugh…”
The once terrifying man now groaned in pain.
“You… you damned… son of a…”
The man who had once inspired such fear could now do nothing but curse weakly.
His limbs had rotted away, leaving only exposed bone.
Victor tossed Alexander aside. Alexander rolled helplessly on the ground.
“Alexander.”
Victor spoke, pressing his foot on Alexander’s head.
“I have a few questions. Answer truthfully, and I might spare your soul.”