The allied forces pressed deeper into the heart of the grasslands.
They had repelled countless ambushes along the way and crushed every small orc settlement that crossed their path. The battles hadn’t been difficult.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly—until the feared happened.
Their supply lines were cut off.
The supply convoy that had been delivering provisions through Gid and Valshard never showed up.
The orcs had blocked their route.
Yuri muttered under his breath.
“That’s unfortunate.”
But it wasn’t a major problem.
The allied forces had stocked up on enough supplies.
“We’ve received orders to tighten security around the supply lines.”
“Of course.”
The allied army moved dangerously close to Okua.
Close enough that it wouldn’t be surprising if the orcs brought their entire force to attack at any moment.
A decisive battle was imminent.
“Raymond.”
“Yes?”
“What do you make of that?”
Yuri, marching at the front, pointed toward the horizon.
There, jutting out from the thickly overgrown land, was a massive rock-like formation. Its sharp angles made it seem unnatural—too precise to be a natural formation.
“Hmm, I’m not sure.”
Raymond tilted his head.
“That stone looks similar to what we saw in Valshard…”
“Right?”
“Could it be man-made?”
Before Yuri could answer, the ground trembled.
Horses reared in alarm, and the marching soldiers instinctively bent low to steady themselves. Weapons clattered to the ground with metallic clangs.
“Stay calm, everyone!”
Yuri leapt from his horse, steadying himself on the ground as he assessed the situation.
The tremors continued.
Fortunately, there was nothing nearby that could collapse.
Suddenly, the Briol banner planted by the standard-bearer began to tilt.
Yuri summoned his mana method and dashed over to steady the flagpole.
“S-sorry, Your Highness.”
“It’s alright.”
The soldier holding the banner staggered and fell, unable to keep his balance.
Yuri straightened the flag and glanced around.
The entire allied force was rattled and confused by the quake. A few flags from other nations toppled as well.
Yuri smiled wryly.
“A flag can’t fall. It’s a matter of pride, isn’t it?”
“Sorry!”
“I’m not scolding you.”
The tremors, which seemed like they would end quickly, continued for a while before finally subsiding.
Yuri handed the flagpole back to the standard-bearer and checked on the troops.
The knights were unharmed, and some soldiers had minor injuries from falling.
Yuri personally went through the ranks, calming the unsettled atmosphere.
Once the situation was mostly under control, Roland approached.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes?”
“Look over there.”
Roland pointed toward the horizon.
“Huh?”
The jagged stone formation they had noticed earlier had changed shape. The buried portion had risen above the surface, towering like a hill.
“What is that?”
Soil tumbled down from the raised area, gradually revealing the outline.
It was a stone structure.
Its style resembled what they had seen in Valshard.
It looked like an ancient ruin.
“Curious, isn’t it?”
“Shall we check it out?”
“Yes. It’s best to investigate.”
Yuri stared at the ruins.
“I suppose we’ll need permission first.”
He was gripped by a strong intuition that he had to see this place for himself.
The grasslands still held many secrets.
This ruin might even hold the key to facing Okua.
Yuri and Roland went to visit Ragna.
The empire’s response was relatively composed.
Not only the dark knights clad in black armor but even the soldiers maintained expressionless faces as they prepared their equipment.
“Quite the opposite of Bursen.”
The Bursen camp they had passed earlier was in chaos. The Proins were running around, claiming it was a sign of an impending catastrophe.
When Yuri appeared, the knights’ gazes seemed to fix on him.
“The stares are intense.”
“Indeed.”
“They must admire the prince’s valor.”
“Is that so…”
Soon, Ragna arrived after checking on his troops.
“Yuri. Everything alright?”
“Yes.”
“A sudden earthquake—quite unusual.”
“Indeed.”
“What’s going on?”
“Well…”
Yuri relayed what he had seen at the front.
Ragna stood up on his horse and peered toward the horizon through his telescope.
“There’s definitely something there.”
“If it’s alright, I’ll go check it out.”
Since the allied forces would have to pass by it eventually.
“The sun’s about to set. Spending the night near the ruins might be a good idea.”
“Understood.”
“I’ll assign some imperial knights to accompany you.”
“Huh?”
“You don’t mind?”
“Not at all.”
Ragna ordered three imperial knights to be assigned to Yuri.
They were taciturn.
Their black helmets concealed their faces.
“Good to meet you.”
“Yes.”
“Not uncomfortable traveling with us?”
“No.”
“No need to fuss over me, right?”
“Yes.”
“You can say more than just ‘yes,’ can’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Let’s all stay safe.”
“Yes.”
Yuri added ten Briol knights to the three imperial knights.
The fourteen of them rode toward the ruins.
While the Briol knights chatted noisily, the three imperial knights remained silent.
“Like death knights…”
Jared caught Yuri’s eye.
Yuri shrugged.
They had once encountered a skeleton warrior in Erich Briol’s dungeon.
Though that one had been quite talkative.
“This must be the entrance.”
They soon found a structure that looked like a door.
“Let’s see…”
They couldn’t figure out how to open it.
Jared ran his hands over the door.
“Do we need a key?”
“If so, there should be a keyhole.”
They circled the stone building, inspecting every surface.
The door they found was the only likely entrance.
Yuri led the knights back to the door.
“How do we open it? Do you know anything?”
“No idea.”
“Really?”
Yuri touched the door again, ready to summon mana and break it down if necessary.
There was a reaction.
“Huh?”
As Yuri summoned his mana method, a faint light flowed across the entire door, as if fuel had been poured in. The door vibrated.
Then, slowly, it slid open.
“It’s open.”
Everyone looked at Yuri.
“How did you do that?”
“I didn’t do anything.”
Beyond the door was pitch-black darkness. A musty smell seeped out, the stale air of a sealed chamber.
As the door fully opened, the stagnant darkness spilled out, gradually revealing the interior.
A long corridor stretched from the entrance.
The inner walls were made of the same stone as outside but polished smooth, almost like marble.
“Let’s go.”
Yuri took the lead.
The others tried to stop him, but he moved so quickly they had to scramble to keep up.
“It’s dangerous. Don’t lead the way, Your Highness.”
“I’m fine.”
Yuri quickened his pace to keep them from interfering.
“It’s dark.”
They hadn’t brought torches.
Though Yuri enhanced his vision through his mana method, allowing him to see faintly, it was still uncomfortable.
He glanced at the walls.
At regular intervals, there were fixtures resembling lamps, but they seemed long unused and had lost their light.
He thought back to when the door opened.
When mana was applied, it activated.
Yuri grasped a protruding handle on the wall.
“Your Highness?”
As he summoned mana, it flowed into the handle like a sponge absorbing water.
“No way…”
The lights turned on.
Not only that, but a mechanical sound of something rotating filled the air, and a breeze began circulating.
He could feel the air moving in and out, ventilating the interior.
“How did you do that?”
Roland asked.
“Well…”
Yuri glanced at the three imperial knights.
“I don’t know. It just worked.”
He lied.
Though he maintained good relations with Ragna, the empire was likely to become an enemy in the future.
He had no intention of sharing information with them.
“Maybe it recognized a visitor?”
“Could be.”
Roland nodded quickly, perceptive as ever. The three imperial knights remained silent behind them.
“Let’s go in.”
Yuri surveyed the interior.
At first, it was empty and bare, but gradually objects came into view.
They found a room with a bed and a table.
“Someone lived here.”
It was clearly a bedroom.
But there were no other traces.
“No clues.”
“Understandable, given how long it’s been buried.”
“Could this be a remnant of the old grassland kingdom?”
“Who knows.”
The interior wasn’t large. There were several similar rooms, but nothing that revealed the building’s origin.
“Everything’s been cleaned up.”
“Hmm…”
The floor they entered was just bedrooms. It felt like a simple inn.
“Well…”
Yuri looked up.
“Shall we go down?”
Everyone turned toward the end of the corridor.
There was an underground passage.
They could see stairs, but beyond that, it was unnervingly dark.
A foreboding feeling settled over them.
“Let’s hurry. We need to finish exploring before the main force arrives.”
Yuri said, shaking off his unease.
There was nothing here that seemed dangerous. Even if there was, they had enough knights to handle it.
Yuri led the way down the stairs.
The darkness clung to him like a tangible presence. The deeper they went, the more it felt like they were caught in a spider’s web.
Suddenly, something caught his foot.
He couldn’t see it in the dark.
Yuri groped along the wall until he found a lighting device like the ones upstairs and poured mana into it.
The lights came on.
“This is…”
Bones. Everywhere.
Countless skeletons lay piled up, bleached white, and among them, rusted old weapons were scattered haphazardly.
It looked like a battle had taken place here long ago.
Beyond the mound of bones stood a heavy iron gate, firmly shut. Beneath it, a single skeleton slumped against the doorframe.
This one looked different from the rest.
Yuri realized why.
“Human.”
All the other scattered bones belonged to orcs.
Had the war between humans and orcs been raging here for ages?
Yuri stepped forward and stood before the human skeleton.
Its bones were riddled with wounds.
He could easily imagine the brutal, desperate fight that had taken place here in life.
The skeleton seemed to be guarding the iron gate.
Yuri placed his hand on the door knocker above its head.
He pulled hard, but the gate didn’t budge. Even pouring mana into it yielded no response.
“It’s completely locked.”
The moment Yuri withdrew his hand, a light burst from the crack in the door.
“Your Highness!”
Yuri’s body was enveloped in a radiant glow.
The slumped skeleton began to glow white-hot as well.
Instinctively, Yuri grabbed Guilty’s hilt and stepped back—but he couldn’t move any further.
“Ah…”
The door swung open.
Beyond it lay an abyss of darkness.
Suddenly, the entire space around Yuri began to be sucked into the doorway.
He couldn’t resist and was pulled in by the current.
Yuri opened his eyes.
For a moment, he couldn’t grasp where he was. Sitting up, he recalled what had happened before he lost consciousness.
He had descended the passage leading underground, opened the iron gate, and was immediately thrown inside.
“Is this the inside…?”
A faint light hovered overhead, so it wasn’t completely dark.
Looking back, he saw the iron gate firmly closed behind him.
Yuri knocked on the door.
“Hey!”
But there was no response.
No sound came from beyond.
The place was completely sealed off—likely by some magical barrier.
“Where exactly is this…?”
Memories of being trapped in Erich Briol’s dungeon flashed through his mind.
Placing his hand on Guilty’s hilt, Yuri stepped further inside.
There were many people here, but he was the only one who had come through the iron gate. Why was he the only one able to enter?
The answer soon became clear.
“This is…”
Yuri felt something vibrating inside his pocket and pulled it out.
A red gem, glowing brightly, floated in the air—a jewel that drove orcs into a frenzy.