Cory was flustered, and Graham chuckled lowly, realizing it was a joke.
"I was being rude, wasn't I?"
"Right. Then, may I ask you something too?"
"Yes."
"Why did you choose to serve without rank?"
"Hmm..."
He had a rough idea.
Graham was a knight who upheld principles. He would never submit to power and do something unjust.
It was probably that he refused an order he couldn't accept, or something along those lines.
Graham lowered his gaze.
"It's nothing. I just stopped something I believed was wrong."
Yuri asked more specifically.
"What was it about?"
"I can't tell you."
"There's nothing you can't tell me."
"..."
"You can't?"
"Yes."
"Fine. Then how about this—who sentenced you to serve without rank?"
"That too is..."
"Sir Graham."
Yuri tapped Cory's back and gave him a look.
"Our Cory..."
Cory, flustered, jumped in to defend Graham.
"Whoa, Your Highness. Sir Graham just came to ask about the orcs..."
"It's fine. Besides, if I really wanted to know who sentenced you, I could always find out somehow."
Even if he didn't know the full story, it wouldn't be hard to find out who had issued Graham's sentence.
Graham gave a bitter smile.
"Understood. I'll tell you."
He looked up at the sky and said,
"It was the Imperial Princess, Ekaterina Ibarra Granjay."
Yuri thought to himself.
Why is it always her again?
***
As they reached the hills, the stench of orcs hit them.
It wasn't a metaphor.
Everywhere the Allied Army passed, human corpses with slit stomachs were impaled on stakes.
Some were likely leftovers from the orcs' meals, hacked into pieces, intestines spilling out and swarming with maggots.
Ragna actually burst into laughter.
"Interesting. Is this how the orcs welcome us?"
Yuri stepped forward.
"Your Highness. I'll go and burn them."
"Do so."
Yuri led the knight order and disposed of the corpses in sight.
As he watched the bodies burn, Yuri stroked his horse's mane.
"Orcs leave the corpses they've devoured until they rot."
"Why?"
"Maybe it's like how humans decorate with animal hides."
That was orc culture.
They just did that.
From a human perspective, it was a disgusting act, but for them, it was a matter of pride.
As they neared the orc stronghold, the land grew increasingly barren. The earth cracked, and plants wilted.
"Feels like a desert."
"Why's it like this here?"
"They say orc waste pollutes the ground."
"Damn, these guys do all sorts of crap."
The knight order chattered while setting fire to the corpses. The smell of burning flesh hung thick in the air.
Farther along, they came upon a place where the bodies were especially dense.
A steep wall surrounded the mound of corpses, and the path the Allied Army had to take led into a canyon encircled by low cliffs.
Yuri halted there.
"Wait."
"Yes?"
"Stop."
He called back two knights who had been moving forward thoughtlessly.
"Dyke! Guinness!"
"Yes?"
"Get back!"
"Understoo—"
At that moment, an arrow flew.
They instinctively swung their swords, but it was too sudden to block properly.
An arrow pierced Guinness's arm.
"Damn it!"
They quickly retreated. Yuri pulled the entire knight order back.
Orcs stood atop the cliff overlooking the Allied Army, holding bows.
"You alright, Guinness?"
"Yes..."
"Don't lose focus on the battlefield."
"My apologies."
He lowered his gaze.
There was no need to reprimand him further—he was likely already consumed with shame.
"Stop making me worry."
Yuri said in a cold tone, but his words were warm.
Guinness lowered his head even more.
"I'm sorry..."
"Simon, Dyke."
"Yes."
"Protect Guinness."
"Understood."
Since they had repelled the night raid previously, the three young knights had become mutually supportive.
Yuri half-rose from his saddle and scanned the cliff above.
"Not good."
The route was vulnerable to attack. They could rain down fire from above at any moment.
Fortunately, the cliff top was narrow, so the number of orcs up there probably wasn't high.
"A canyon, huh..."
He had faced a similar battle in his past life.
The mercenaries' response had been simple—scale the cliff and eliminate the enemy. Yuri's unit, which always handled the riskiest tasks, had carried it out.
Yuri returned to his unit and informed Ragna of the situation.
"What should we do?"
"I'll go up and clear them out."
"Can you handle it?"
"Yes."
Since Yuri had already scouted the terrain, it was only natural he would take on the task.
The Allied Army stopped at a suitable distance and began shooting arrows upward. The orc group occupying the position scattered.
Yuri lightened his gear and stood in front of the cliff with the knight order.
"Follow me."
"Yes!"
Yuri took the lead again.
He activated his mana method and climbed the cliff. The terrain was firm, easy to grip.
Yuri ascended the wall without hesitation.
"Be careful!"
Suddenly, a shout came from below.
A large rock was falling from above.
The Allied Army fired arrows again.
Between falling boulders and arrows being launched upward, Yuri pressed himself as close to the cliff as possible.
A rock narrowly grazed past him. Without hesitation, Yuri resumed climbing.
The summit drew closer.
Just as his fingers touched the top edge,
He paused and, with his other hand, gripped Guilty, strapped to his back.
An orc's face suddenly popped up.
Yuri swung Guilty as if he'd been waiting. The orc's head rolled down the cliff.
Yuri was drenched in the blood that spurted from the orc.
"Pfft."
He spat out blood and saliva, then leapt forward.
Upon standing atop the cliff, he found more orcs than expected. The orcs' shields were stuck full of Allied arrows like porcupines.
They scowled fiercely when they spotted Yuri.
"Hurry up, you bastards."
The orcs threw down their shields and grabbed weapons. Yuri also raised Guilty forward.
"What's taking you so long?"
Yuri glanced down below.
"These bastards..."
The knight order was still far down. They hadn't climbed as fast as expected. It would take quite a while to wait.
He needed to buy time.
As he thought about adding climbing drills to their training, Yuri charged forward.
"Briol!"
"Akuaakkai! Akumetum!"
Several orcs charged at him simultaneously.
As the battle continued, Yuri's senses grew sharper.
He simultaneously perceived the blades flying toward him.
Dodging to the side, he swung Guilty.
The mana of Heart-soul Slash surged as if alive. The sword aura tore through not only the orc's leather armor, but its tough skin as well.
"Graaaah!"
The orc horde turned their eyes to Yuri, who had dodged sideways.
Yuri moved a few more steps.
The whole battlefield was vividly clear, as if he were looking down from above. It was easy to see how to move to avoid being surrounded.
Yuri slashed at an orc's leg turning toward him. The creature lost its balance. Its axe, missing its target, embedded into the ground.
He meant to finish it off, but the other orcs charged in. Yuri retreated without hesitation.
The fallen orc was trampled to death by its own kin.
Yuri shouted toward the cliff.
"How long are you going to take to get up here?!"
There was a limit to how long he could stall.
Realizing Yuri was buying time, some orcs turned back toward the cliff.
"We're coming!"
Just in time, two had arrived.
Laurent and Jared.
They encountered orcs the moment they reached the top and swung their swords at once.
The clash of weapons rang out.
More knights soon followed. A melee ensued.
"The ground's narrow! Use the terrain!"
Brute force alone couldn't overpower the orcs. Most knights found themselves pushed back after clashing weapons.
Yuri helped one knight in danger.
"Be careful."
"Thank you!"
"This is how you do it."
An enraged orc charged at Yuri. Yuri seemed to counter, but instead redirected the attack. The orc, carried by its own momentum, staggered near the cliff's edge.
Yuri struck its back with a flying kick.
The orc's scream echoed as it plummeted, then abruptly stopped with a crash.
"Orcs have big movements. Exploit their openings."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
Yuri looked up.
Briol was traditionally a nation of knights. Its knights were strong.
The knight order, having adapted to the orcs, gradually gained the upper hand, hurling orcs down the cliff one after another.
After wrapping up the battle, Yuri signaled by hand that they would continue forward.
Ragna gave his approval without hesitation.
"It's not over yet. Ready your weapons."
"Yes!"
There was no time to rest.
Yuri led the knight order forward.
The orcs atop the cliffs couldn't respond properly to the sudden assault.
Thanks to the Briol knights opening the path, the Allied Army advanced more quickly.
Soon, Yuri reached the end of the cliff—there was nowhere left to go.
They had completely taken the high ground.
"Haa…"
With his view now unobstructed, he saw the orc stronghold in the distance.
It was the fortress of Kurui, the one they would need to conquer.
Perhaps already prepared, sharp wooden stakes were densely erected between barricades.
"It's huge. Not inferior to the Allied Army."
"What do you think? Can you take on that many orcs?"
"I'm not fighting alone."
"That's true."
The knights of Briol tied ropes to the rocks and descended using them. As they reached the bottom, the troops turned to look.
It happened just as the Holy Kingdom passed by.
"Aren't you hogging all the glory?"
Sibylla approached and spoke.
"Any injured knights? I'll send a priest."
"Hmm…"
Yuri turned to look back. No one had died, but a few knights were limping.
"Alright. Thanks."
Though Ernando and Jermain were around, it wouldn't hurt to build rapport with the priests of the Holy Kingdom. They were a valuable asset.
Once they had completely exited the canyon, the Allied Army began constructing their camp.
"See you later."
"Good job."
Yuri returned to the Briol camp, where they were setting up tents.
The sun was setting.
Yuri entered the tent that had already been prepared for him. A messenger followed and reported,
"There will be a commanders' meeting tonight. The location is the Commander-in-Chief's tent."
"Got it. Also, they said the Holy Kingdom will send priests later, so get treated and treat them well."
"Understood. Shall we bring your meal here?"
"No, I'll go myself."
"Yes, sir."
Yuri sat at the edge of his bed.
The real battle would begin tomorrow. He stroked the hilt of Guilty, resting nearby.
"Hm…"
The lantern inside the tent flickered slightly.
"That's strange."
Yuri muttered. Then, the lantern trembled once more, and the shadows around it wavered.
"Why are you here again?"
Yuri looked up. Suddenly, Asana had appeared.
She sat on the edge of the table, gazing at him.
"I was tracking the Outsider."
"And?"
"They're over there."
Asana pointed at the wall—in the direction of the orc army.
"The Outsider's an orc?"
"They're not an orc, but they're with them."
"You mean cooperating with the orcs?"
"The opposite."
Asana spoke calmly.
"They're a prisoner."
"A prisoner?"
Yuri tilted his head.
Unless Okua stepped in, there was no way an Outsider—one of the Ten Strongest—would be taken prisoner.
"They probably want something."
"What could they be scheming?"
"I tried to sneak in, but with the Allied Army approaching, their defenses tightened. I can still try again. What should I do?"
"Stand by."
Yuri shook his head.
"This is perfect. I'll just go talk to them myself."
"It seems like they're pretending to be a prisoner for a reason. If their plan is ruined because of the Allied Army, they might get angry. Be careful."
"Can't be helped…"
Yuri scratched the back of his head.
Dealing with someone at the level of the Ten Strongest meant accepting some risk.
"Anyway, what the Outsider wants is Okua."
Even being captured seemed to be part of that plan.
So all he had to do was assist the Outsider from the Allied Army's side.
The enemy of my enemy is a friend.
"Just in case, if a battle breaks out tomorrow, get inside and confirm the Outsider's presence."
Asana stared silently instead of answering.
"What?"
"I'd rather protect you, Your Highness."
"I didn't hire you as a bodyguard. I'll protect myself."
Asana blinked, then nodded.
"Understood."
"Good."
Yuri stood up.
"While you're here, want to grab a bite? The cooks here are pretty good."
"I'm fine."
"Today's menu is…"
He reached for Guilty at his waist and looked up again—Asana was already gone.
Yuri glanced around the tent, then let out a quiet laugh.
"Impressive."
Then he stepped outside.
The moon had risen in the sky.
Not far away, food distribution was underway. Yuri headed in that direction.
"Huh?"
He stopped in his tracks.
Something was standing there.
Yuri looked up.
"You…"
It made no sense.
"What… are you?"
A pitch-black orc was standing before him.