As Yuri charged ahead in silence, Jared shouted from behind.
"Your Highness! Do you even know where you're going?"
Yuri shook his head.
"No!"
"Then why are you running?"
"We have to find the orcs, don't we?"
"You can't just find them like that! If they flee, we have to surround them..."
Yuri pulled something from his pocket and held it up.
It was a necklace adorned with a red gemstone.
Jared's eyes widened, then he let out a short laugh.
"Understood."
Riding at full speed, Yuri pulled out a scroll and checked the map.
Though the information wasn't very detailed, he could roughly sense which direction the orc settlement lay.
"I saw some riders on lizards nearby."
At times, orcs had watched the Allied Army's march from a distance.
They would observe the army's movements, and flee as soon as the knight orders pursued them.
"Your Highness."
"Hm?"
"I just saw them that way."
Laurent said.
"They were orc cavalry."
It wasn't common to encounter enemies in the vast grasslands. Once they were spotted, they couldn't be allowed to escape.
"Let's go!"
Yuri immediately changed direction. The knight order turned in unison.
They charged in the direction Laurent had pointed.
Yuri, riding at the front, scanned the ground. He was looking for footprints.
In his previous life, he had also learned the art of tracking. To survive as a mercenary who took on all kinds of jobs, one had to master a variety of skills.
"A group of Komodo dragons passed through here."
"Sorry?"
"Three or four of them. Judging by the tracks, they were tamed by orcs."
"Where did you learn tracking?"
"It's all in the books."
The tangled tracks of several Komodo dragons continued in a winding trail.
Following it, a small lake appeared beyond the horizon.
"There they are."
A group of orcs was resting by the lakeshore. It looked like they had come for water.
"Charge!"
Yuri shouted as he spurred his horse forward.
The entire knight order increased speed.
The orcs hurriedly mounted their Komodo dragons and tried to escape.
"Not so fast!"
Yuri immediately pulled out the red gemstone and activated the mana method.
The orc group froze.
"Prepare for battle. Don't overextend, we have the numbers."
"Yes, sir!"
A red gleam lit up in the orcs' eyes. They mounted their Komodo dragons and charged directly at the knights.
Yuri raised his hand and signaled.
"Spread out."
"Yes!"
The knight order split into several groups and began circling.
The orcs, driven mad, were confused about whom to attack and simply charged at whoever was nearby.
Yuri stepped forward.
"Hey!"
An orc with a halberd thrust his spear at Yuri.
Yuri dodged it and swung his sword. Blood burst from the orc's abdomen.
"Kuwaaaaagh!"
Ignoring the wound, the orc jumped off the Komodo dragon and lunged at Yuri.
His horse dodged nimbly, but the orc stretched out his arm and grabbed Yuri's shin.
"You bastard!"
Yuri twisted the reins, and the horse began to buck wildly. The orc was dragged across the ground, still refusing to let go.
"Let go!"
Yuri kicked the orc in the head. But the orc stubbornly clung on.
Yuri looked behind him.
The knight order had surrounded each orc.
Though the orcs, maddened by the gemstone's power, swung their weapons wildly, the knights didn't meet their attacks. They waited for an opening, struck, and retreated again.
They were now skilled at dealing with orcs.
"Good."
Yuri stopped infusing mana into the red gemstone.
The mana within it dissipated, and the gemstone lost its glow, returning to an ordinary stone.
The frenzy surrounding the orcs began to fade.
"Kuwaaagh..."
As the madness left, the orc holding onto Yuri lost strength in his limbs. He let go and tumbled to the ground, rolling until he lay face down, unmoving.
"This thing is really useful. I don't know how it works, but..."
Yuri looked down at the red gemstone necklace in his hand.
It was more powerful than he'd expected.
Even an orc rider couldn't resist the frenzy, so most orcs would likely be driven mad by it.
"Kill them all."
The knight order began cutting down the orcs one by one.
Yuri stood before the fallen orc.
The orc was breathing heavily through a hole where its nose should have been and looked up at Yuri.
It looked like it had given up, but Yuri wasn't fooled.
He kicked the ground, spraying dirt into its face. The orc flinched and flailed.
In that moment, Yuri stabbed its throat and ended it.
Only then did the orc release the stone it had been clutching tightly in its palm.
Yuri cut off the orc's ear and tossed it into a sack.
He mounted his horse again, muttering to himself.
"Do I really have to do all this...?"
With the fate of the Allied Army hanging by a thread, what use was this sort of event?
But for now, there was no choice.
Until he faced Okua, he had to earn Ragna's trust.
"Let's scout more around the lake. Orcs have to drink water too."
"Good idea."
As long as he had the red gemstone, he could force a battle whenever he encountered them.
Yuri rode off across the grasslands once more.
Every time he spotted orcs, he used the red gemstone. The orcs, caught in madness, charged like moths to a flame even as they were fleeing.
The sack filled with ears was becoming quite heavy.
Then, he encountered the knight order from Liberda.
Wolf Gane greeted Yuri.
"Your Highness, have you collected many ears?"
"Just a few. How about you, Sir Wolf?"
"Likewise, just a few."
"Is that so?"
"It is."
"I see."
The two of them looked at each other and burst into laughter.
It was obvious they were hiding the true number of ears they had collected.
But Yuri had a way to find out Liberda's results.
"Ah, there's Sven."
Sven Gane, son of Liberda's commander Wolf and a man whose weakness Yuri had exploited, was hiding behind the knight order but was caught by Yuri.
"Good to see you, Sven. Been well?"
"Ah, yes..."
As Yuri approached and greeted him, Sven awkwardly nodded.
While patting his shoulder as if in a friendly gesture, Yuri asked quietly,
"How many?"
"T-the number...?"
"I won't ask twice. How many?"
"Uh..."
Sven finally muttered.
"None."
"Yeah?"
"They all ran away. We couldn't catch them."
Orcs were cunning. They wouldn't engage in a disadvantageous fight.
It seemed that, realizing they were outnumbered, they had fled from Liberda.
Judging by the situation, it wasn't just Liberda—most knight orders had likely failed to achieve results.
Yuri patted Sven on the shoulder and discreetly handed him a couple of ears.
"Take them."
Sven's eyes widened.
"T-this is..."
"You should at least save face. Just keep them."
"But..."
"You never know."
Before Sven could say anything else, Yuri stepped back.
"Sir Wolf. It was a pleasure. See you again in the Allied Army."
"Yes, Your Highness. Take care."
The two knight orders exchanged farewells and parted ways.
After that, the orcs were rarely seen.
Yuri looked around in all directions. Jared approached and spoke.
"Your Highness. No more in sight."
"Yeah? It'd be a shame to head back like this."
If another country had gotten lucky and encountered an orc unit, there would be no guarantee of superiority.
"I don't sense anything."
At Laurent's words, Yuri looked up.
"Your senses, huh..."
Mana Method drew out a knight's abilities in various ways.
Not only could it enhance strength and stamina, but also heighten the five senses.
Then, was it possible to sense orcs far off in the distance, those beyond the visible range?
Yuri got off his horse and pulled out a dagger.
It was the Earthquake Sword, one of the four blades of the Four Wheel Blades—a sword imbued with the power of the earth.
Just as he had used the Water Spirit Sword to dispel heat, he felt he could do something with this as well.
"Your Highness?"
"Shh."
Yuri stabbed the Earthquake Sword into the ground. Using it as a medium, he spread his senses.
He felt the earth's tremor.
The land pulsed rhythmically.
Through the Earthquake Sword, Yuri listened to that pulse. Thump, thump—each time the earth vibrated, Yuri's mana swelled.
The strange mana method, heart-soul slash, which could become anything depending on the wielder's will, soon became infused with the earth's power.
Then, various pulses began rushing in.
First, he sensed the hoofbeats beyond the invisible horizon.
As he increased his sensitivity, he felt beasts crawling along the earth, and even the wriggling of insects tunneling beneath it grazed his nerves.
He had to go further.
Yuri applied the perfect mana control he had achieved when clashing with Laurent.
His mental energy rapidly depleted. Too much information poured in at once.
He couldn't maintain it for long.
"Khk..."
Just before he let go of the Earthquake Sword, Yuri caught something.
Small but noisy footsteps.
Four legs pounding rapidly against the ground.
Large and heavy, yet swift. The beat was clearly distinct from hooves, even without seeing it. Komodo dragons.
There were quite a few of them.
Yuri opened his eyes.
"That direction."
"Sorry?"
"Ride!"
***
As the sun began to set, each knight order returned.
The sacks that had been distributed to the various knight orders were gathered before Ragna.
Smiling, he turned an empty sack upside down and shook it.
"Who does this one belong to?"
The nation that had failed to collect anything hung its head in shame.
But they weren't the only ones. As Ragna shook each sack, more and more of them turned out to be empty. He tossed them onto the ground.
Then, two ears fell out.
"Two."
Ragna picked them up.
"Not much, but still better than nothing."
He checked the sack.
"Liberda."
Ragna's gaze shifted. Wolf, standing in front of him, lowered his head.
"It's shameful."
"No, you did well. A result is a result."
With a nod of his chin, his adjutant took note.
The accumulated merits and demerits would be tallied once the Allied Army campaign was over.
Just then, Wolf and Yuri's eyes met.
Wolf gave a light nod. Yuri gave a slight shrug in return.
It seemed Sven had handed over the ears Yuri had given him after failing to catch any on his own.
"And next..."
A few ears dropped from Bursen's sack.
Jonathan spoke.
"We spotted a scouting party. We got lucky."
"Luck is skill too. How many men have died because of someone else's luck?"
Ragna counted the ears.
"Six. That's the best result so far."
The waiting knights of Bursen cheered. Their enthusiasm was still strong.
Ragna continued to open the remaining sacks. Most were nearly empty, or had just a few. There were no standout results.
Two sacks remained.
Even at a glance, they looked quite full.
"Two left, huh."
Ragna lifted one of them. The sack was red.
"We also sent a knight order from the Empire. Forgot to mention—they were sent an hour late."
All eyes turned to the Empire's knights clad in black armor. They stood still and silent.
Ragna shook the sack.
"I was worried they might be embarrassed, but they collected a fair amount."
Ears spilled out.
"Twelve."
Ragna smiled broadly.
"Well done."
The atmosphere sank.
No one doubted the Empire's strength, but the fact that they had departed an hour later and still gathered that many ears was a matter of pride.
To avoid becoming the Empire's shadow, one had to achieve results.
"Now, just one left..."
Ragna lifted the final sack.
"Hmm..."
He made a strange face.
Unlike before, he didn't turn the sack over right away. Instead, he opened the mouth and peeked inside.
He reached in and rummaged around. The sack shifted heavily.
It meant there was a lot inside.
"This is..."
With a dry chuckle, Ragna flipped the sack over. A torrent of severed ears spilled out.
Everyone stared blankly at the sight.
A murmur rose among the crowd.
"What the..."
"How many are there..."
Ragna knelt and dug through the pile of ears.
"Judging by the fresh blood, these were collected today..."
His gaze locked onto someone.
"What's your secret?"
Following Ragna's gaze, all eyes turned.
The Third Prince of Briol, the knight who had recklessly charged in the previous battle,
and now, the exceptional commander who had brought back dozens of orc ears—
Yuri Briol shrugged.
"I just worked hard, that's all."