Surviving as a Knight in a Trash Game

Chapter 151

The Uruk attack dealt a significant blow to the Arthur Domain and the northern region, which had just entered a period of stability.

This attack, occurring amidst a sense of security that no one would easily touch the North, highlighted the need for a defense plan covering the entire northern region.

Of course, the Uruk attacks were not limited to the North; various parts of the West Continent had already been devastated or suffered immense damage due to the Uruks.

Unlike the North, which had managed to defend itself successfully, other regions were still struggling to properly fend off the Uruks.

“Count Karl seems more fitting than Sir Karl now. It's to the point where I wonder if I should use honorifics.”

“It's not important.”

“Hahahahahaha, always the same, I see. The battle at Elberum was splendid. To fend off so many Uruks with that number of personnel, truly the Knight of the Lighthouse.”

Karl didn't answer.

It was a battle where numerous soldiers had died.

Even if they had succeeded in a nearly impossible defensive siege, it didn't ultimately change the overall war situation.

“Since you've come after a long time, leave a few bottles of liquor. If there's anything to share, give some to our fallen soldiers.”

Watching Karl's back as he spoke curtly and turned away, Ellenhower thought Karl was strangely different from before, yet also the same.

“You are… truly an unfathomable person…”

The last words were Ellenhower's own murmur, unheard by Karl.

The next day, in the evening, all the people of Elberum and the stationed troops gathered.

In front of them were many coffins.

The lord of Elberum, Yanic Elberum, looked at the numerous people surrounding the square, then turned his gaze towards Karl, hoping he would offer a word of comfort to them.

“It is a sad day. A day to acknowledge that those who were someone's brother, sister, parent, or friend are no longer with us. But it is also a day of gratitude. Because their immeasurable, noble sacrifice ultimately saved us. Therefore, today is also a day to vow to them that we will survive and show them a better tomorrow.”

Karl's words were not lengthy.

He continued to speak calmly, as if someone next door was telling a story.

“Cry enough, drink enough, eat enough. Sleep well. And live on like that. There's no need to force yourselves to be strong, no need to force yourselves to act composed. That much is enough. You've all suffered greatly.”

Karl raised his cup and emptied it first.

Following him, people wiped their tears and shared their cups.

The coffins gathered in the center of the town were moved and buried in what served as a communal cemetery.

A large amount of wealth was provided to the families of the fallen warriors in Karl's name.

Thus, people learned to share their sorrow with those beside them and how to overcome it.

***

When Grant returned to the academy in the Arthur Domain, his peers flocked to him.

The appearance of the Uruks and the battle in the Elberum Domain were another chapter of a heroic tale for many knight aspirants.

“So, Grant, was Lord Karl really as amazing as the rumors say?”

“How was it? Your first mission? I heard your story was part of the rumors too. I'm jealous, man!”

His peers surrounded Grant, wanting to hear stories of his heroic deeds, but contrary to their expectations, Grant didn't have a very good expression.

Grant had to witness the sacrifices of two people: Team Leader Gary, who sacrificed himself protecting his comrades until the very end, and Senior Willow, who was a man of few words.

Fighting in Elberum, he had watched countless soldiers become bloodied messes lying on the ramparts, and he had seen his seniors raise their swords and advance even in the face of death.

“Grant. Grant? Grant!”

His peers shook Grant, who was lost in thought without a word.

Then, at some point, they realized Grant's mood was strange and stepped back a little.

“Many people died. The team leader of the group that went for practical training also died. The world in the stories, in the heroic tales, wasn't there.”

Grant's voice wasn't very loud.

Nevertheless, his peers gathered there, in a somehow solemn atmosphere, unknowingly bowed their heads slightly and listened to his story.

“The Knight's Oath. That oath we recite every morning. I didn't know the meaning of that oath at all. But now, I think I understand its weight a little. I'm sure I didn't see the heroes from the stories we know… but anyway, I think I now know a little about what a knight is.”

His peers felt that Grant had grown a lot, unlike them.

It was a growth in a different aspect than mere swordsmanship skill.

Something one couldn't know without experiencing it.

Thus, in the academy of the Arthur Domain, other knights began to grow well with a good sense of direction.

***

[Quest: Halt the Uruk Continent Invasion (Ongoing)]

Sitting at his office desk and looking at a system window, Karl was deep in thought.

A mission of a completely different scale than any before.

Unlike now, where missions were usually within a scope Karl could handle alone, this mission was not the kind that could be solved solely by his efforts.

And seeing the nature of such a mission, Karl was sensing that the system had changed once again.

Missions granted by voluntary choice had appeared, and missions that needed to be carried out not just by himself but across the entire continent had also emerged.

Usually, when one mission occurred, another mission was not given.

There also seemed to be a possibility of missions overlapping.

Karl decided to think positively.

Wasn't the present much better than the times when progress itself was impossible?

“What are you worrying about so much?”

“You're here.”

Anne, who entered the office with warm tea and a sweet cake, placed the dessert in front of Karl and went behind him, gently hugging him.

Karl, his body slightly warmed by Anne's touch, sank into the sofa with her.

“The Uruks will find it difficult to operate in the North anymore. It seems Blue Fang has also moved to the East, not here.”

In the North, there were the Holy Knights, the Arthur Domain, the Vito Domain, Duke Ellenhower, and the Alcantara Knights, so even if the Uruks' combat power was outstanding, it wasn't an easy structure for them to move recklessly.

Furthermore, unlike other regions where individual factions found it difficult to coexist, the factions in the North, centered around Karl, were already maintaining a cooperative relationship, making the sporadic battles with the Uruks much smoother.

Thanks to this, Blue Fang in the North ultimately had no choice but to lose a thousand troops and move to the East with the remaining personnel.

Unlike the North, the situation on other continents was not good.

Not only were the Uruks more numerous than expected, but their combat power was so outstanding that human forces were crushed wherever they met.

In the midst of this, due to nobles prioritizing their own safety and greed, or because cooperation was not properly established, the assembled armies themselves were nothing but a motley crew.

“The North will continue to be stable. Though you don't seem to have any intention of staying still.”

“…Why do you think so?”

“There's no way the great Karl Meyer would stand idly by watching the continent's crisis, right?”

“That's not entirely true, but I can't just stand by and watch this.”

He wasn't meddlesome enough to help other places, but it seemed he would never be able to complete the mission if things continued this way.

The Uruks were rapidly expanding their forces based on their enlarged territory.

“Hoo… When are you going to spend some quality time with me in the lord's castle?”

“Aren't we doing that right now?”

“It's only been a month since you returned from Elberum, you know.”

“When I get back, I'll stay cooped up in the lord's castle for a while.”

Chuckles.

Even at Karl's empty words, which she knew were impossible, she felt better and smiled.

“Here you go.”

Then, a document popped out of Anne's hand.

“Here's the deployment map of the knight orders in the East, and also the areas where the Uruks are currently stationed. For reference, the predicted areas where the Blue Fire Tribe might settle are also marked. I've also marked places that can be used as safe houses. Informants will periodically go to Karl on their own. Send Condor here.”

At Anne's rapid-fire talk, Karl felt genuinely grateful to her and hugged her tightly.

If it weren't for this woman, Karl probably wouldn't have been able to find a proper direction.

“I'm always grateful.”

“Just with words?”

“I'll show you with actions too.”

Karl lifted Anne swiftly and headed to the bed with her.

***

Duke Yevgeny Volkov, the de facto ruler of the East, had three representative armed groups.

Among them, the Changong Knights were the knight order called his practical sword.

A large knight order composed of 300 members, they were a perfectly armed knight order based on the financial power derived from the rich resources of the East.

In the era of peace and chaos that followed the death of the Unification Emperor, they had dominated the eastern region with their own armed forces.

There were some minor conflicts in the process, but it had to be seen that they had not clashed with major powers.

“I never thought those Uruk bastards would be this strong…”

Marat Basharov, the commander of the Changong Knights, and Vice-Commander Boris frowned deeply.

When the 300 Changong Knights, said to be the East's strongest force, sortied, they thought they could quickly subjugate the Uruks.

The number of Uruks spread across the East was roughly 4,000.

The 300 Changong Knights initially gained the upper hand in their skirmishes with the Uruks.

Subjugating them as they moved in groups of less than 200 scattered here and there wasn't too difficult.

However, after a few clashes, the momentum of the Uruks, who began to gather, was beyond imagination.

When about 1,000 of them gathered, Uruk warriors enveloped in blue ghostly fire began to appear among them.

They killed Expert-grade Knights and blocked the swords of Superior-grade Knights.

And a few of their higher-ranking kin, called Uruk Hyra, even blocked the aura of Master-grade Knights.

“It will be different this time. Haven't the Water Buffalo fellows joined us?”

The Water Buffalo Knights, another knightly order of Yevgeny, was also a large knight order of 300 members.

It was an unimaginably large military force for a single ducal power to possess, but Duke Yevgeny, the wealthiest man on the continent, was fully capable of maintaining the knight order.

“Speaking of which, I heard that the Lighthouse Knights, led by the rumored Count Karl Meyer, are coming to help us this time?”

“Ah, I also heard that their Uruk tribe crossed over this way and they're coming as support.”

“Is he really as great as the rumors say?”

“He's only famous in the rural North; how can he compare to our historically profound Eastern knights? I even heard that those Lighthouse Knights are a mishmash formed by a motley crew of unknown origin.”

The knight orders of the East were all composed of true-bloods from noble families or knightly families.

The East itself had a large number of nobles compared to other regions, and they were steeped in the sense of privilege and authority that came with being a knight.

“Anyway, the story is that there aren't that many today, right?”

“Yes, according to the recon team, I heard the number is about 100 individuals.”

“Alright, let's clean this up quickly, return, and have dinner together. I've secured some good liquor.”

“Excellent, Commander.”

The two men, perfectly in sync, led 300 knights and rode towards the area where the Uruks had reportedly attacked.

A short while later, as they approached the area where the Uruks were, they noticed the sound of numerous hoofbeats echoing all around.

“Formation Three!”

“Formation Three, change!”

In the village where the Changong Knights arrived, a group of what appeared to be knights had already arrived and were subjugating the Uruks.

When a knight at the lead shouted a command, the knights at the rear repeated it so loudly it seemed to shake the surroundings, and suddenly the wedge formation spread out wide like a bird spreading its wings.

“Breakthrough!”

As he ordered a breakthrough in that state, the Uruks scattered in all directions, becoming corpses littering the ground.

“Fourth Formation!”

“Fourth Formation, transform!”

The wings that had spread out then suddenly formed a circle, and the Uruks were instantly surrounded within that circle.

The knights swiftly broke through, crisscrossing the Uruks in an X-pattern, annihilating all 100 or so of them.

“…”

“…”

Marat and Boris were momentarily shocked by the organic movements of the knights before their eyes, then quickly regained their composure.

They weren't wearing full plate armor like themselves, but rather white surcoats over chainmail, with a black diagonal cross drawn in the center of the surcoat.

“Lighthouse… Knights…”

When someone from the Changong Knights muttered their name, a knight from their lead rode his horse and approached them.