[WN] Emperor's Seventh Son : 16 - 4 Part 1

16-4 Part 1

The Village that Burned with Revenge

- Annihilation Battle -

Translator : PolterGlast

The journey that was supposed to take 8 days reached its destination on the 5th day. We unloaded the trade goods, rented two ballistae from the local guild, and attached them to the left and right of the carriage, turning it into a tank. Naturally, the canopy had to be removed.

Even a giant Abyss demon wouldn't get off lightly if shot squarely with a powerful ballista. It's a much more reliable and effective tactic than poorly choosing close-quarters combat.

Therefore, the role of me and Sigrun was to simply rampage flashily so the tank wouldn't be attacked. Let's expect that from the tank loaded with arrows, Kachua's surefire bow and a rain of powerful crossbow bolts will fly.

Thus, we had reached right before our destination, the town of Enes.

◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆

This is the frontier at the western edge of the Empire. You could say it is a territory within the Empire, yet beyond the reach of its order. This A-Zir Empire has taken the policy of granting ruined frontier lands to knights who have distinguished themselves, having them cultivate it over many generations.

Because of this, in the frontier, the power of the Knight Orders composed of the knight class is overwhelmingly stronger than the regular Imperial army belonging to the state. In terms of wealth, it probably falls far short of the center. Especially on this side, rumors say the land tends to be barren due to the arid climate, and knights sometimes fight each other fighting over arable land.

「Alright, here's the plan! Sigrun and Shinza, be careful not to get surrounded and rampage like crazy! We'll run around like mad, shoot like mad, and persistently kill those Abyss Ogres one by one! But! If we run out of arrows, it's a temporary retreat, don't go too deep!」

「That’s a bit rough, but hey, it’s simple and easy to understand. Ah, Shinza and Sigrun-sama, don't do anything reckless, okay... Especially you, Shinza... you're even crazier than Sigrun-sama...」

I had no idea. Did I seriously have less credibility than this female hero? True, looking back at everything that went down in Corin Village and Ratatosk, I suppose I did lead a lot of absolutely reckless, borderline-insane charges. But I’m still breathing, so no harm done.

「I'm glad we can share the line of death again, Shinza! Now let's go, to the ruined town overrun with demons!! I'm so fired up!!」

「Be quiet. You're the only one who rejoices at being surrounded.」

We passed through the shabby gates of Enes and entered the interior of the town. Then we immediately found our targets. The Abyss Ogres. Demons with horns standing around 3 meters tall were wandering the ghost town without doing anything in particular.

Their attention gathered on us. There are about 15 just from what I can see visually. Being overwhelmed in both physique and numbers inevitably sent a chill down my spine. But as long as I have my comrades and the boost brought by the Emperor of the Round skill, there's no way we'll lose.

「Kachua, I ask for covering fire if things get dangerous. Your bow is more reliable than anyone else's.」

「Let's go, Shinza! Charge!!」

Raising a loud voice that was unbelievable in a double sense, Sigrun charged right into the middle of the Abyss Ogres. Then, muscular demons with brown skin surrounded Sigrun.

「Uwa, she's surrounded right off the bat!? Shinza, follow up for her!」

Sigrun belongs to a race lacking the emotion of fear. If surrounded by such demons, normally one would cower and become unable to move. But the Black Horn Sigrun fears nothing. Letting her long hair flutter, she makes her twin swords shine silver. At this rate, I can't tell which one is the demon. To cover for her, I charged into the left flank of the ogre encirclement.

「You came, Shinza! Let's show these demons our power!!」

「Put yourself in the position of the one covering for you too...」

The Abyss Ogres' weapons are often giant barbaric swords, maces, and two-handed hammers. Fortunately, they are all metal weapons. Sigrun effortlessly dodged the attacks of such monsters and aimed for their legs with her specialty twin swords.

Taking even a single hit from an Abyss Ogre's attack means instant death. When fighting the Cherubim Armor in the maze of stakes, I finally understood how Zirant felt complaining to me for not retreating. Reliable, but on the other hand, unbearable to watch.

「Sorry, that doesn't work.」

Since the ogre right in front of me brought down its barbaric sword, I intercepted it with my ancestor's Shovel. With a small clack of recoil, the barbaric sword was easily severed by the iron-cutting Shovel and seemed to pierce the earth far behind me.

As expected, even the ogre seemed surprised by that. A perfect opening presented itself, so I tried striking its leg with the Shovel, but it didn't twitch a muscle. The enemy was terrifyingly sturdy.

「Now, fire a volley!」

So I changed tactics. Because of their giant bodies, they are careless about their footing, and it seems they easily fall into pitfalls. One after another, the ogres tripped on the gouged earth, and right when they became unable to move, they were hit by crossbow bolts and arrows, receiving the finishing blow from the ballistae and dying. Upon death, the ogres' bodies burst into black flames, disappearing from the world leaving only black soot.

「Wahahaha, you're doing great, Shinza!」

「How can you cut through these guys' physical bodies...」

「There's a knack to it, I'll teach you next time!」

「Sorry, but I don't feel like I can master it.」

Unlike humans, who are done for once you smash their weapons and armor, Sigrun is far better suited for handling this type of opponent. While I was toppling enemies or throwing clods of dirt to blind them, she had already taken down more than 10 of them single-handedly.

By the way, Kachua was shooting out the enemies' eyes from afar, and shooting through the knee joints of ogres charging at the tank, robbing them of their mobility. Crossbow bolts were fired all at once at them, piercing the ogres' entire bodies. This is nasty in its own way. Even so, they wouldn't die unless hit by the ballistae, meaning Abyss Ogres were troublesome opponents to deal with.

「We're advancing! Go, advance, advance!」

「U-Um, the demon with black horns is saying something, what should we do?」

Eventually, the Abyss Ogres disappeared from in front of us. We were torn between going deeper into the town or temporarily retreating.

「I (Ore) will leave it to Shinza.」

「Then we'll do the same!」

「Not bad, Shinza! You fight in a really tricky way, don'tcha!」

「Now what do we do, Shinza! The blood has rushed to our heads right now, we can't make a calm judgment!? Let's hear your opinion!」

Being relied on like this cools down my head too, prone to rushing in recklessly as I am. Advance or retreat. Depending on the remaining number of ogres, there is a possibility of being surrounded and the tank being targeted.

「Then Sigrun and I will search for enemies. While we do that, you guys recover the arrows. Then we'll observe the situation and advance.」

Sigrun and I took the left and right wings and waited for the arrows and bolts to be recovered. There is no presence of Abyss Ogres in the town. This means advance. Having restocked the ballista ammo, we advanced to the center of the town.

◇ ◆ ◇

However, when we arrived at the town square, a single white stake was towering from the earth in the center of it. It's about 4 meters tall, much larger than the one I saw underground previously.

「What the hell is this!?」

「Eh, isn't this the thing that was growing in that town of Ratatosk...!?」

「Mu... it repels the special steel refined by the Horned race, huh... Kukuku, interesting!!」

「Big Sister Sigrun, why are you just casually whacking it!?」

No, Sigrun is right. This thing needs to be destroyed. Though, it is quite a surprise that Sigrun's blade—which can down even an Abyss Ogre—isn't working against it. But, that just means there's still a part left for me to play.

「Wait a minute, I'll shoot a ballista at it right no—Hehhh?!!」

Readying my ancestor's Shovel, I pierced and snapped that white stake with a single blow. It would be troublesome if it resurrected like a green onion, so let's carefully pulverize it. I minced the fallen stake into pieces with cracking sounds.

「Why are you just casually breaking it, Shinzaaaaa?!!」

「Hahaha, with Sigrun-sama and Shinza here, there's nothing that can't be cut!」

「What are you saying, Kachua~, your bow was splendid too! Every time I witnessed you piercing an ogre's eyeball, I got so excited I almost wet myself!」

「E... Eeeeh...?」

「Stop with the incomprehensible metaphors, Sigrun...」

The mass outbreak of Abyss Ogres seems to have been caused by this stake. Now all that's left is to exterminate the remnants left in this town, and it's mission complete right after arriving.

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[WN] Emperor's Seventh Son : 16 - 3

16-3

To the Far Western Regions

Translator : PolterGlast

「Listen up, for a grand expedition like this, first is a carriage. Next is food, medicine, and daily necessities. Also, don't forget booze and your own dice.」

According to the details, it’s estimated to be an eight-day journey one way. Since there was a facilitator there who was well-versed in these matters, I focused on making preparations exactly as I was instructed.

First, we headed to a merchant company that mediates carriages and rented the biggest one in their garage. It's a carriage drawn by three horses, equipped with a canopy to ward off the wind and rain. It comes with one exclusive coachman, and the fee is apparently 220 Crowns per day.

「Umu, next is grocery shopping!」

「Then leave the booze to me. My nephew runs a liquor store.」

「I see, I leave it to you! But if it wasn't my imagination, didn't you say niece before...?」

「Ah... Well, my nephew runs a liquor store too.」

「Sounds sketchy...」

Securing necessary supplies including food, we then packed the empty space in the carriage with trade goods from the east. When the 10 personnel and their respective equipment were added to that, not much leeway was left in the carriage bed. Well, we'll just have to endure that until the food and booze are consumed.

Now then, having finished preparations up to that point, we departed the Imperial Capital. Having immediately become free, the drunkards and Sigrun began gambling on the narrow carriage bed.

Kachua, the former village girl, became absorbed in the passing scenery from the window and chatting, while I read the books I brought, and since I was bored, I also got off the carriage and tried pushing it from behind. Thus, noisily and clamorously, the journey progressed, loud but a little boring. The carriage that departed the Imperial Capital passed through Erin, ignored Naglfar Port, and went straight west, ever west.

「Shinza, what kind of content is that book?」

「This...?」

A little while further on, perhaps bored with the unchanging forest road, Kachua seemed to become curious about my book. It is a romance novel from this world, and the title [The Knight and the Village Girl] was inscribed on the heavy leather cover.

Let me tell you, it's not my hobby. Zirant and the young lady Yumil were noisily insisting that I must read it, so I made it a companion for this journey. Unlike things from the other world, books in this world are all handwritten manuscripts. Therefore, the characteristics of handwriting come out strongly. With a certain frequency, there were outrageous typos, and sometimes I was troubled by eccentric handwriting.

The content is—I've read about half of it, but it's hard to say it has depth.

「It seems to be a romance novel.」

「Eh...?! Why is Shinza reading something like that!?」

「I wonder why... Perhaps because there were people so persistently telling me to read this and study...」

「Ah... Sorry, but I’ve gotta admit, that actually makes sense to me... I think you should read a bit more of that kind of stuff, Shinza...」

I'll be honest. This book is boring... There's a lot of conversational drama between the man and the woman, and depictions of their feelings passing each other by. Even though they love each other, they just won't get together, and the sluggish story continues endlessly. There are few combat scenes or depictions of food. They don't even go on adventures. There doesn't seem to be any passionate friendship or tricks to surprise the reader so far either...

「Hey, but if it's boring, why don't you stop reading?」

「No, it's not uninteresting. It's certainly boring, but tracing the letters allows me to immerse myself and calms me down.」

「Hmm... Weirdo.」

「A bibliophile is fine as long as they can read fresh text. To put it another way, it's like a drunkard downing cheap booze.」

Dropping my eyes to the novel, a man and woman of different social standings overlap their lips and embrace passionately. It's boring after all... I wonder if a bad dragon couldn't come and smash all this happiness and pre-established harmony to pieces...

『What are you saying, that is one of the top two famous scenes in the entire work!? A passionate development, as if I'd let it become a development like an adventure novel! Read more carefully, make your heart throb!』

It means that no matter how excellent a book is, it cannot please everyone, huh. Sorry, Zirant. It seems this kind of thing doesn't suit me after all. A story where a dragon burns down a town and kidnaps the heroine is just right for me...

◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇

Ever since starting this long journey, gazing at the bizarre book hidden from my comrades was one of my pleasures.

---

- Exploration - 【Walk 1,000 km around the Empire】 887 / 1000 km Completed

• Reward: Movement Speed LV 2 (Further all movement speeds +50%)
• 『Just a little more... Wagahai is looking forward to it too.』

---

When we left the Imperial Capital, it should have been around 360 / 1000 km. By the time we finished the third day of the journey and rested the horses at a post town, it had increased by 427 km worth.

By the way, I finished reading that romance novel on the first day and handed it over to Kachua. Kachua seemed to get totally hooked on it. A girl who didn't have much of a habit of reading books, her reading speed was slow, but she kept her eyes solely on the book all day today as well. Her eyes getting moist, sniffing her nose, turning red or pale; Kachua's appearance was more amusing to me than the book. Every time we took a break, she would start secretly discussing the work with the manifested Zirant, shoving the difference in sensibilities in my face.

Well whatever, 113 km left. Tomorrow too, I'll be the only one getting off the carriage bed, pushing the carriage as we advance.

◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆

On the evening of the fourth day, the carriage suddenly accelerated.

「Wh-What the?! Oi coachman, that's speeding way too much no matter what!」

「No, it's not me, tell the horses! Somehow these guys suddenly got energetic... Hey stop, won't you slow down the pace!」

Sigrun and the others were making a fuss in the front. Sorry to the coachman, but the horses aren't exactly running wild. In fact, the horses' breathing is calm. Sigrun seemed to have noticed that quickly as well.

「Mu, by the way, where is Shovel Boy...?」

「Do you mean Shinza...? If it's Shinza, he's in the back... Uwa?!」

「Hii, a person, a person is glowiiiing?!」

It seems they finally noticed me. That's right. I achieved the quota of the bizarre book and became Mr. Firefly again this time. Seeing it for the first time, Sigrun slapped her knee saying delightful delightful, while the coachman raised a scream as if he had seen a ghost.

「Wahahaha, why are you glowing, Shinza~!?」

「Didn't you know, Sigrun, this guy is a firefly, gyahaha! As if there's a firefly like you, dahahahaha!」

「Yeah, sorry for keeping quiet. Actually, my true identity is a firefly.」

The blue light brought by the bizarre book gave me a new skill and accelerated the carriage's speed. 1.5 times became 2 times, so it seems the carriage became about 33% faster.

「What, if you were a firefly, it can't be helped!」

「Eeeh, you're convinced by that...」

「Big Sister Sigrun is as rough as a dried-up old man, after all... Oi Shinza, stay inside until we enter a town, you'll be thought of as a ghost or something.」

「That's true too.」

Returning to the carriage, I waited until my pale blue light subsided. Now, tomorrow we will arrive at our destination, the town of Enes. Let's rest our bodies while we can.

「A-A person glowing, s-s-s-something like that is strange, isn't it!? Hiee...!?」

「But since I've glowed, it can't be helped, can it.」

Since then, the coachman, who is a hired commoner, wouldn't meet my eyes anymore. But I have no complaints. Kachua, Sigrun, and the drunkards all accepted me just as I am.

---

- Exploration - 【Walk 1,000 km around the Empire】 1000 / 1000 km Completed

• Reward: Movement Speed LV 2 (Further all movement speeds +50%) Acquired
• 『With this, it's 2 times. If you combine this much mobility with that underground tunnel, it means you are an elusive Shovel Man.』

---

---

- Exploration - 【Walk 2,500 km around the Empire】 0 / 2500 km Completed

• Reward: Movement Speed LV 3 (All movement speeds +50%)
• 『The priority is low, but I'll accompany you on your food tours. I want to eat something unusual next time, find a shop.』

---

---

- Exploration - 【Reach the farthest end of the Coastal Provinces, Port Ake】

• Reward: None
• 『It is strange that there is no reward... But what you gain from going there would probably just be an adventurous spirit. Leave something like this alone.』

---

The Book of the Evil Dragon thrust an empty reward at me. Even if I go to the Coastal Provinces, I won't receive anything. It seems I won't gain anything even if I run away. However, being presented with it as a goal like this despite having no reward, makes me want to board Carral's ship all the more, which is troubling.

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[WN] A Hero From a Remote Village : Chapter 269

Chapter 269

Good Movements

Translator : PolterGlast

After deciding on the request, we immediately decided to head to the southern forest road where there were eyewitness reports of Marble Mages. Marble Mages are monsters that look like gargoyles and primarily use magic; they have a rough temperament and high durability, making them troublesome monsters. Contrary to their cute name, their appearance is viciousness itself. Although they are considerably feared monsters in Biodasdal... they are still just monsters that are given a C-Rank subjugation request. They are weak in close combat, and they have a clear weakness to water attribute magic, so as long as you have the information, they aren't all that scary. In my case, since I believe I can defeat them with any attack, I can declare that we won't fall into any danger during this request.

「...They should be somewhere on this forest road. Are you going to fight, Graham?」

「I intend to fight in an emergency, but basically I'll just be observing.」

「If you were to fight, Graham-san, it would be over immediately, after all.」

「...Heh. You're that strong even though you're B-Rank, Graham?」

「He's incredibly strong! I've never seen anyone stronger than Graham-san.」

「...Heh.」

Lucas spoke slightly excitedly, but the conversation ended with Dorothy's noncommittal reply. Because it instantly turned into an awkward atmosphere, I decided to expand the conversation.

「Can I ask you various questions, Dorothy? Did your previous party end up disbanding solely for the reason that there were few days you could be active?」

「...Yeah. Because there were many sudden cancellations, they got seriously mad and I ended up leaving.」

「Is it okay if I ask the reason for that?」

「............Mm. I simply don't feel like it. Because I'm moody.」

Although it was a trivial pause, her reply was delayed by a beat compared to before. There's no mistake she is hiding something, but I have no intention of pressing the issue.

「I see. Since teaming up with Norman, have there been any sudden cancellations?」

「There was only one time. However, she properly came to the meeting place, and I didn't particularly mind it.」

「Well, in Norman's case, helping out at the house is also part of his job, after all.」

「...It helps that he doesn't complain even if our activity days are few. Though he's weaker than I thought.」

Stung by those words, Norman made a slightly complicated expression. She doesn't talk much, but it seems it's in Dorothy's nature to say exactly what she's thinking.

「Even so, we can't find any Marble Mages, can we. I heard they were belligerent, so I thought they would attack immediately if they were here...」

「Oh, it looks like they've arrived just in time. Both Norman and Dorothy better get ready.」

Sensing presences approaching at high speed, I barked out instructions to get ready. Although half in doubt, Dorothy also drew her weapon.

「...Are they really there? I can't feel their presences, though.」

「There's no mistaking what Graham-san says. They'll be here right away.」

Norman, who trusts me completely, is already heightening his concentration. Although he still has room to grow, he's steadily getting stronger through his daily training, after all. If he can concentrate properly, it should work even against higher-ranked Marble Mages. While I was thinking about such things, a Marble Mage revealed itself, as if pushing its way through the vegetation.

「...They really came.」

「A total of three, huh. Being at a numerical disadvantage is troublesome, so it's better to focus solely on defeating one first.」

「Understood! Dorothy-san, let's take down the Marble Mage at the very front with all our might.」

「...Mm.」

Norman took the vanguard and, while throwing detailed instructions to Dorothy, slashed at the enemy. Partly because he was prepared, his movements were outstandingly good. Immediately bringing it into close combat, which Marble Mages are weak at, was also perfect. His instructions to Dorothy were precise, setting up a formation that would be fine even if magic was chanted.

「...Are his movements better than usual? No, they're almost too good.」

「Here I go! Urya! Hah!」

While seeing through the Marble Mage's slashing attacks, he accurately landed strikes with his sword. It's Norman's usual movements, and being able to demonstrate his true ability even in real combat can be called a strength.

「Dorothy-san, switch!」

「...Mm.」

Timing the exact moment the Marble Mage's attention was directed solely at Norman, he swapped with Dorothy, who had been waiting in the rear. Due to the consecutive attacks from the leaping Dorothy, the Marble Mage easily fell to the ground.

「Graham-san, we did it!」

「I'd like to say 'well done,' but don't let your guard down yet. There are still two more in the back, after all.」

「...It's easy to fight today.」

I tightened up the floating Norman's focus, making him direct his attention to the Marble Mages in the back. Meanwhile, contrary to Norman, who was demonstrating peak concentration, Dorothy seemed unable to concentrate as she'd like. She cast fleeting glances my way, and also seemed curious about Norman, who was showing good movements in the front. I'd like to answer her if she has questions, but right now the top priority is defeating the Marble Mages. Without daring to touch on it, I just watched over the two of them for the time being. With the current Norman, even together with an unfocused Dorothy, there's practically no way they would lose.

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