Sword Pilgrim

"Shit, damn it!!"

Kaaang!! Kwaang –!

"You bastard! Calm down! I don't want to fight you, fuck!"

"Качпаңыз!" 「Don't run away!」

"What are you even saying, you bastard!"

Aaron, a giant Knight wielding a greatsword, felt like he was about to die.

First, he was caught by a crazy old man, then he almost died fighting with some random guy, and he even lost his armour, then once he entered the forest and was wrestling with a beast, suddenly the Orcs attacked!

"Die! Die! Die damn it!"

Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!

The sword and the axe collided non-stop.

However, the situation was completely different compared to how it seemed from the outside.

Unlike the Orc, who was carefully blocking Aaron's attacks, he was very nervous because any of the other Orcs or beasts present could attack anytime and from anywhere.

Perhaps because of that –

Taeaeeng!

"Aaaaaaaaah!"

He lost his his sword, and the bastard's blue-edged axe ripped through his chest.

Although the wound was shallow, Aaron foresaw his own death.

Losing your sword in a life-and-death duel means your end is already determined.

That green monster won't wait for him to grab his sword.

‘Damn it…!'

Aaron, closing his eyes tightly, fell to the ground in an unsightly heap.

However, for some reason, that axe did not pierce into his body.

He wondered what was going on.

Gulululug.

He could hear the sound of blood pouring out.

When he opened his eyes in surprise, he saw a hideous sword bristling serrated teeth, pierced through the heart of the Orc.

Teoss. Behind the fallen Orc, jet-black hair and gray eyes were reflected in Aaron's eyes.

"Um? You…"

"You! Bastard, you ruined my armour!!"

Jervain.

The same Jervain he'd seen at the inn.

"Bastard?"

"Ah, I meant my lifesaver! Thank you! Thank you!! You're like an angel!!"

As Aaron lowered his head, Callius' cold eyes turned to another direction.

As he hurried on, he kept stabbing Orcs from behind who had been facing the other Knights.

No, he was just looking for the Knights.

Aaron tilted his head, but he couldn't afford to ponder on it.

Because living was more important right now.

"Bruns! This guy here is hurt!"

"Yep! Bruns is coming!

"Um? You… have I seen you somewhere?"

Aaron bowed his head quickly.

"I don't know… ugh, it hurts so much."

"Oh, I'll stop the bleeding."

Fortunately, Bruns didn't seem to remember the face of the one who'd punched him into unconsciousness.

Feeling lucky at that fact, Aaron asked about the Jervain who was relentlessly attacking the Orcs.

"Who is he?"

"He is a noble among nobles, a man among men, and not satisfied with just that, he became a Pilgrim! Although an iron-blooded swordsman, he still has warmth in his heart…"

"No, I mean his name!"

"If you ask that, he's Callius von Jervain!"

Callius von Jervain!

"I'm Emily von Jervain. You, your wounds are so shallow, so get up and grab your sword again. And fight alongside that bastard. He saved your life, so even if you die, don't let him die."

"…."

"If it weren't for Callius, you'd be dead! You had no chance to live!"

"That's true, but…"

"Even that bastard is saving others and killing the Orcs without caring about his own life! You're bigger than him! You're bigger!"

Aaron eventually bit the bullet[1], hauling up his aching body and chasing after that fluttering red cloak.

A smile spread across Emily's lips as she looked at his back.

The number of Knights following Callius was increasing.

When he first ran towards the Orcs, she thought he was really crazy, but he was saving lives by easily killing the Orcs fighting the Knights.

It must have been be difficult for him too.

He was looking for Knights to save, even though he never knew when and where the Orcs might appear to kill him.

"Thank God."

She didn't know what she was praying for, but that's how he felt.

"Nia."

"Yes, Lady."

"Do you think Callius will be alright?"

There were Knights by his side.

None of them were uninjured, but nonetheless, they followed Callius with their wounded bodies.

Most of them were idiots, but the fact that they survived the Orc's axes, even if only for a little while, was proof of their worth.

"He'll be fine. Despite all his rumours demeaning him, he's still a Jervain. And…"

The attendant named Nia looked at Emily with a bitter look.

"He's Lady's…"

"Enough. A scapegrace is just a scapegrace. I'm just worried about him not getting hurt, so we can survive. That's all."

Nia looked at Emily, who was trying to turn her face away, with sad eyes.

‘There really was no point in saving him.'

It was the guy who'd interrupted my meal at the inn. A rash Knight who believed only in his size and power.

If I had known it was this bastard, I wouldn't have bothered saving him.

Callius clicked his tongue.

Number of Orcs killed: 12 Number of beasts Killed: 27 Number of people saved: 15

<Reward> [C]-???

However, the quest was proceeding smoothly. The last question mark had indicated saving the Knights being attacked by Orcs in the White Forest.

So, Callius specifically targeted the Orcs fighting the Knights.

It was a bit dirty, but you could easily kill the Orcs by a surprise attack from behind, or you could band together with the saved Knights to increase your survivability.

In order to raise the level of rewards, saving someone rather than killing an Orc gave a higher score.

And even if the saved Knights hunted the Orcs and beasts, they wouldn't add to his score, so it was efficient to move quickly before people died.

Chaaak!

Leaving behind the fallen Orc, spurting out blood, Callius turned and shouted at the fallen Knight.

"Don't just lie around, pick up your sword."

"Ah, I see! Yes, yes!"

Time was running out.

Combing the forest bit by bit to save the Knights was not as easy as one might think.

There was only one body, and there were many to save and many to kill.

Even ten bodies would not be enough.

‘I wish I had a flying sword skill[2].'

It would have been much more comfortable, even if it was something at a lower level than a true flying sword art.

What do you do with so many swords?

They don't have scabbards, and it's getting harder and harder to carry multiple swords around the waist.

‘It would be more convenient if I could make the swords hover in the air with a flying sword skill, or had an artifact or relic able to hold multiple swords at once.'

There will be more and more swords in the future.

The number of swords required varies depending on the unique abilities of the swords.

When I played the game, I had more than a dozen swords in my possession.

Even then, if you wanted to carry multiple swords, you had to have a related artifacts or holy relic.

Or, you needed a characteristic.

However, I don't have any such characteristic, and most of those skills are of an unreasonably high level to learn directly.

Artifacts and relics are not easy to obtain either, so for now, I have no choice but to grin and bear this inconvenience.

However, if the number of swords keeps gradually increasing from now on, I wouldn't be able to ignore it anymore.

‘I can't help it right now.'

Chwaaak!

After cutting down another Orc, Callius cried out to the bewildered Knights who were still breathing heavily.

"If you are getting overwhelmed with strength when alone, face the enemy in twos or threes. If your skills aren't enough, fill the gap with numbers! Your skills aren't any better than stones scattered by the road, but if you throw those stones, even they become weapons!"

"Yes! Ahhhhh!"

"Die, you monster!"

Not all of these guys were even proper Knights, so if they fought an Orc Warrior one-on-one, they'd lose a hundred times out of a hundred.

Wandering Knights who came for the position of a Knight of Jervain, a symbol of the North.

They had their own experiences and swordsmanship, true, but in the end they were swords yet unforged.

"Damn, I'm feeling so unsettled that the trash noble personality characteristic keeps popping up."

Seuk –!

‘Still, it's getting easier.'

As the number of Knights began to increase, they were becoming more and more used to the scenario.

No matter how many Orc Warriors there were, if the knights dealt with them calmly, and if Callius helped out during each crisis, they could be killed without much effort.

Number of Orcs killed: 32 Number of beasts killed: 54 Number of people saved: 21

<Reward> [B]-???

After killing them for a while, the reward went up to B.

Having defeated one more Orc, Callius saw one young Knight panting.

If it had been three years ago, he would have also been panting like that.

‘Right now, I'm able to cut all these Orcs down.'

It was proof that the last three years had not been wasted.

"Pilgrim! Everything has been sorted out here!"

Callius saw an unknown Knight reporting to him.

‘Why are you reporting that to me?'

Seeing his look, the Knight said ‘ah!', and introduced himself.

"My name is Allen!"

"I never asked your name."

"Apologies!"

The big battle was coming to an end.

After saving some of the scattered Knights and moving with them together, the situation became more comfortable.

But I can't release the tension.

The woods are still bustling with enemies.

I need to secure a path of retreat to slowly escape the forest, and take care of the bigger picture.

"I will take the wounded and leave the forest. If there are Orcs or beasts in the way, they have to be eliminated. If there are any Knights left still breathing, we have to take them along too."

So, the rewards can go up.

"Yes… I see!"

"I will follow you, Pilgrim!"

"Just give me orders!"

Callius' eyebrows furrowed. The eyes of the rescued Knights were twinkling needlessly.

Fuck, how embarrassing.

Orphin and the Knights rushed out of the forest with Rivan and Rinney.

Although they tried to be quick, the Orcs attacked unexpectedly, so two out of the five knights were killed, and now there were only three Knights in total escorting the young Jervain children.

"We must avoid them."

"The Orcs are the enemies of the North. Why don't we fight, Orphin? I can fight too! My sword is broken… But even so, I'm not worse than most swordsmen of the North!"

"This is an order by the name of the Patriarch's successor, Master Callavan."

"Father…"

Rivan's mouth shut tightly when she said that it was Callavan's order.

He didn't understand why.

If you are born a Jervain, it is natural that you are one with the mission and pride of protecting the North.

Orphin didn't inherit the bloodline of Jervain, but as a veteran Knight of the North, she also wanted to run to the forest and behead the Orcs right now.

"It's too early."

But she was a Knight.

A Knight, before a swordsman.

For now, the first thing she had to do was to execute the command she had been given.

"Brother, what do you think happened to that fork guy?"

It was Rinney who asked.

Unlike the militant Rivan, Rinney had a more abstruse character.

Both were children, but Rinney wasn't as simple-minded as Rivan.

"Heh, he stupidly headed to the depths of the forest, so he must have already been killed by the Orcs. Even if he had some skills, he wouldn't be able to run away from the Greenskins swarming the White Forest."

"Did he fight them with a fork too?"

"… No one in this world fights with a fork."

"But didn't he fight you with a fork, brother? So, maybe he did that even with the Orcs. I'm really curious. Maybe someday I'll be able to fight like that with a fork too!"

Rivan's face turned red.

Rinney continued to chirp in a way that he couldn't tell if she was teasing him or not.

Well, Rivan couldn't tell, but mostly she was indeed making fun of him.

"Let us rest here for a while."

It was a small cave located a little out of the White Forest.

Callavan ordered them to wait here with the children, and Orphin was obliged to stay here and protect the young Jervains until he came back.

"Orphin, Orphin! There are Knights coming out."

"Is that so. I'm glad…"

She couldn't see.

She could only see a few huge trees of the White Forest. Her sight couldn't reach so far away to notice the details.

Is this Jervain's bloodline?

Her gray eyes looked like that of a clairvoyant, observing things happening far away.

"Yes. There are quite a few surviving Knights …."

"Uh! It's the fork!"

Orphin's ears perked up at the mention of a fork.

‘Him too…'

He was alive.

Well, with that skill, survival wasn't anything unexpected.

No matter how strong the Orcs' axes were, it was not some swordsmanship that could be so easily defeated.

"No way!"

"No, brother. That's his red cloak. Huh? But he looks just like us."

Looks just like them.

Rivan's eyes widened in surprise at those words.

He then rubbed his eyes as if to look more carefully, but he didn't seem to be able to see that much.

"I can't see them that well… Are you sure?!"

"There. Can't you see?"

Rivan shook his head.

Rinney's eyes were more special than his.

"Then who… Was he a Jervain? Who is he? One of our uncles?"

But for somebody like that, a fork is too… Wasn't it too cruel?

"No, it's the first time I've seen a face like that. Wow… so handsome. I've never seen a face like that."

"That's all?"

"Ah! I know who he is! The scapegrace!"

"Scapegrace?"

Jervain's scapegrace.

Even a young Jervain couldn't not know the famous story.

One of the greatest trashes in the history of the Jervain family bloodline spanning centuries.

One of the greatest shames among all aristocrats.

Even after he was kicked out of the family, he became a scum known as the prodigal son of the Church.

Callius von Jervain!

"Then you mean I lost to the biggest idiot in Jervain's history!?"

"Do you see that?"

Rivan was ripping his hair out, but Rinney kept looking at the distant scenery as if possessed by something.

"Leading a large group of Knights… being chased by the Orcs. They're fighting well. The other Knights look a bit stupid, but the scapegrace, no, Callius. He fights really well."

But nevertheless –

"There are too many Orcs."

Knights coming out of the White Forest.

And the black and green forms chasing them. The horde of Orcs, looking like swarms of ants, were too many for the young woman to count.

And soon –

"The border…"

"It, it's broken! The border is…!!"

The northern border had been dyed green.

Editor's Notes:

[1] 울며 겨자 먹기로 (lit. crying while eating mustard) means to grin and bear an unpleasant situation.

[2] 이기어검 in Korean martial arts/fantasy means sword that is driven not with the hands but with inner energy/skill. Can sometimes be associated with the concept of heart-sword. Doesn't necessarily have to be a sword the user rides.