A sticky, viscous swamp of blood clutching at his ankles.
The groans of the dying.
The sounds of slaughter and the rank stench of beasts.
And the sensation of slicing through tough hide, cutting into flesh and muscle.
Hot blood.
Moments when he was wrapped in pure survival instinct, consumed by nothing but killing gnolls.
Looking down over that hellish scene, Karl couldn’t believe how he had managed to fight with such ferocity.
If that landscape could be called hell, then Karl who had learned swordsmanship for barely two days yet carried out such efficient slaughter might as well be called a fine seed of a demon.
He sinks into a swamp of blood, struggling.
No matter how he tries to escape, he is endlessly submerged in the pouring blood.
The tower of corpses Karl will build will coil around the world, forming walls, and the vessel of blood will spill over to become a sea.
As he struggles to break free, the only thought in Karl’s mind is that he has to live.
He needs to pile up more corpses, fill this sea of blood, and create a foothold to climb out.
To put it plainly and honestly, in the face of the desire to live, nothing else really seems to matter.
Karl thought that was only natural and that was precisely why it felt so horrifying.
In the end, as long as we live and breathe, we are beings who cannot survive without killing something.
***
“Sir Karl, are you hurt anywhere?”
Even after opening his eyes, Karl couldn’t think for a moment, his mind still hazy.
Milton quietly watched him, then raised his hand and waved it in front of Karl’s eyes. His gaze followed it properly.
“…I’m fine.”
Karl spoke in a slightly rough voice and struggled to sit up.
“How long has it been?”
“It hasn’t even been a full day yet. It should be around noon soon.”
At Milton’s words, Karl checked his body and cleared his throat.
His whole body felt slack and drained, but otherwise fine. No injuries, and no trouble moving.
Only his throat felt a bit rough and uncomfortable.
“Milton, did you treat me?”
Karl asked.
It had only been half a day since he collapsed from complete exhaustion, yet he was in such good condition.
But it didn’t seem like something Milton alone could have managed.
With his eyes lowered, Milton replied in a quiet voice,
“No… I didn’t treat you, Sir Karl.”
“…What?”
Milton spoke gently to Karl, who tilted his head in confusion.
“As you instructed, I treated Lady Catherine, Bilford, and the imperial soldiers first. Then I examined your condition and determined that treatment was unnecessary, so I continued treating the others as my mana recovered.”
“…So you’re saying I healed on my own in just half a day?”
“If we must use the word ‘healed,’ then your collarbone wound did recover.”
At Milton’s words, Karl reached up and felt his collarbone.
A gnoll’s teeth had scraped through the gap between his breastplate and helmet, causing excruciating pain. But now, when he touched it, there was only a faint throbbing.
Sensing this, Milton took out a small mirror and showed him the wound.
“…What…?”
There was still a scab, but most of it had already fallen away, revealing pale new skin underneath. When Karl touched it with a trembling hand, the remaining scab flaked off easily.
When he scratched off a larger piece, a single drop of blood formed and that was it.
A wound… no, it would be more accurate to call it a scar.
Just last night, the gnoll’s filthy, rough teeth had torn into him and drawn blood.
“Did you use some kind of medicine?”
“No, I did nothing. There was no need to stop the bleeding or apply bandages.”
“Even when the battle ended?”
“Even when I examined you right after the battle.”
A chill ran down Karl’s spine, and he clenched his fist.
That meant the wound hadn’t become infected by the gnoll’s filthy teeth and had instead healed almost instantly.
Karl, who possessed the knowledge of someone who had lived in the modern world, couldn’t help but fear all kinds of diseases and infections.
Yet, despite being exposed to poisonous substances such as gnoll saliva and rotting blood, fresh and clean skin had grown over the wound.
From now on, unless it was a very unusual case, he wouldn’t have to worry about infections.
It also meant that Karl, who could never be sure when or where he might be poisoned, could eat without constantly fearing assassination.
“Keep this confidential.”
“Yes. With Lady Catherine’s help, we concealed your wound and moved you inside.”
“Well done.”
“Lady Catherine was very worried. Even after I explained that treatment was unnecessary, she kept insisting I treat you, so I had no choice but to invoke your order and send her away.”
Karl quietly looked at Milton.
There was no real need for Milton to say that. At least not within the purely formal relationship between a puppet fourth prince and the imperial physician assigned to him.
“I understand. I’m fine, so please take care of the others.”
“Yes, Sir Karl.”
At Karl’s words, Milton bowed respectfully, stepped back once, and silently left the room.
“……”
Karl tried to straighten his clothes before heading out. But aside from a few wrinkles from getting up after lying down, everything was immaculate.
His body, which had been a mess of blood, sweat, and mud, had been thoroughly cleaned, and he had been dressed in fresh clothes.
As he slowly clenched and unclenched his fists, looking himself over, Karl felt a strange sensation.
He tied back his long hair, which had been left loose for rest, then draped a neatly arranged cloak over his shoulders after placing a clean cloth on the nearby table. Only then did he begin to walk out.
The reason his previously slumped shoulders now stood straight and proud was likely not just because his stamina had recovered in that short time.
“Sir Karl.”
The moment Karl stepped outside, the soldier guarding the door moved aside sharply and made way for him.
There was no trace left of the man who had once muttered insults under his breath, barely concealing his contempt for the frail fourth prince.
“Where is Lady Catherine?”
“She has gone out for command and reconnaissance. She said she would return before noon, so it shouldn’t be long.”
“Is the officer in charge here? Take me to him.”
“Yes, Sir Karl.”
The soldier guided him respectfully.
Karl felt an urge to ask about their changed attitude, but there were more pressing matters for now, so he set it aside.
He was led to a fairly large log house. Judging by the busy movement of Hilpin’s soldiers, it didn’t seem to belong to the village chief, but rather to one of Hilpin’s knights or officers.
“Sir Corbin, Sir Karl has arrived.”
Noticing Karl’s red cloak, the guard at the entrance announced him.
Soon, a tall man with a scruffy beard stepped out, holding his helmet under one arm, and greeted Karl.
The man was extremely tall and slender, with especially long limbs. So much so that, to Karl, he almost looked like a human figure twisted out of wire.
With black hair, a black beard, and dark brown eyes, he too appeared to have blood from the Valturan people.
But what caught Karl’s attention more was that this man, who was clearly a knight given that he was addressed as “Sir Corbin”, was not wearing full plate armor.
Aside from his breastplate, helmet, gauntlets, and greaves, the rest of his body was protected by a gambeson and leather armor.
Since one never knew when battle might break out, one had to remain armed at all times. Seeing Corbin equipped like this, Karl realized that.
At the same time, he also realized something else. Though Corbin was a knight, he was a poor one who couldn’t even afford a full set of plate armor.
Even a fallen noble family would usually scrape together the money to provide at least a cheap set of full plate for a family member who had become a knight.
On top of that, Corbin’s breastplate bore nothing but a single emblem. A standing bear, the symbol of Hilpin.
Karl didn’t stop there; his thoughts continued to expand further.
The nobles of Hilpin tried to hide this matter, even if it meant deceiving Prince Karl.
Even though the entire territory could be destroyed by the massive onslaught of gnolls.
In such a situation, at Axeblade Village, the last stronghold meant to stop the gnolls, a knight who didn’t even have proper armor was fighting for his life without retreating.
Sending him there meant they had no issue with him dying, which in turn meant there was no one in Hilpin who would protect Corbin.
In other words, Corbin was a common-born knight.
Karl wondered whether he could make use of this pitifully abandoned knight of common birth. However, he couldn’t come to a conclusion easily.
Skill could be assessed over time, but there was no way to know what kind of person he was inside.
“My name is Corbin, a knight of Hilpin, my lord Karl.”
Even when he lowered his tall frame as much as possible, Corbin was still taller than Karl, so he ultimately dropped to one knee and bowed respectfully.
Unless it was a special circumstance, a knight would not kneel even before his lord.
They only knelt when being knighted or when they had committed a grave crime. Yet Corbin had knelt at their very first meeting.
He hasn’t been treated properly as a knight, and he hasn’t been educated either.
Karl realized that although Corbin had been knighted, he was in reality little more than a mere troop captain.
Would he be of any use?
“Please, rise, Sir Corbin.”
“…Yes, my lord Karl.”
Corbin seemed flustered by Karl’s polite attitude, but soon, as if proving his lack of training in etiquette, he brushed off his knee right in front of Karl, sending up a bit of dust as he stood.
“I would like to hear the details.”
“Yes, about a month ago, gnolls began appearing in large numbers all of a sudden.”
At Karl’s words, Corbin immediately began his explanation.
Karl had meant that they should go inside first and talk, but Corbin, who knew nothing of noble manners of speech, took it literally as a request to speak right away.
Karl did not point this out so as not to embarrass him and quietly listened.
“Under the baron’s orders, I led the soldiers here to subjugate the gnolls. Their numbers were already considerable at first, but not to this extent. Strangely, the gnolls kept trying to attack people, and they even began raiding villages. So I thought that by reinforcing the defenses of the villages near the forest and killing the ones that charged at us, we could reduce their numbers.”
Gnolls actively seeking out and attacking humans. This was clearly an abnormal situation.
Needless to say, gnolls were not complete fools. They knew well enough that provoking humans brought them no benefit.
And yet, they had come all the way to fortified villages, continuing their attacks even as they were being killed.
“But no matter how many we killed, their numbers kept increasing, and now the situation has become completely uncontrollable.”
“Even so, Duke Hilpin did not send reinforcements?”
At Karl’s narrowed gaze, Corbin hesitated for a moment.
But soon, a look of resignation spread across his face.
“There were reinforcements. However, many soldiers were killed, and some deserted. We requested additional support, but none came after that. The only thing we saw afterward were soldiers coming and going to transport silver.”
Desertion, even if deaths in battle were expected?
Karl raised an eyebrow at that thought but then froze at the next words.
He could hardly believe his ears.
“…Did you just say silver?”
“Yes, silver. There is silver mixed into the gnolls’ axes.”
Karl slowly drew in a breath, then exhaled deeply and pressed his fingers against his eyes.
“…Ha, haha. I see.”
Karl covered his eyes for a moment, then let out a quiet laugh.
Only now did he finally understand the situation.
“They were trying to hide it to avoid conflict and evade taxes?”
“…That is likely the case.”
“When was the silver first discovered?”
“The gnolls started making and wielding axes about ten days ago. They must have copied the woodcutters’ axes.”
There was no point in pressing Corbin further.
Karl grasped the full extent of this absurd situation at once.
A swarm of gnolls had appeared, triggering an emergency, and a report had been sent to the Empire asking for aid.
But with the gnolls’ crude metallurgy, they shouldn’t have been able to work iron. Yet somehow, they had begun producing metal axes.
Upon investigation, it turned out they were making axes from ore that contained silver.
How could anyone not lose their mind over that?
If the subjugation force fought the gnolls, they would inevitably discover it, so it had to be hidden at all costs.
The deaths of the territory’s people and common soldiers didn’t matter. They would scrape together as much silver as possible first.
And after that?
They were planning to run.
If things continued like this, even gathering silver would be meaningless once the gnolls overran everything. So they intended to flee elsewhere with the silver they had amassed, using that vast wealth to rise again on a larger scale.
And then Karl saw an even bigger picture.
“Madius… he must have known.”
Karl had thought it strange that the mission Emperor Madius gave to support Ilias in the original story, and now Karl was merely the subjugation of gnolls in a rural territory.
It wouldn’t make sense unless Madius already knew.
“The gnolls only started making axes from silver ore about ten days ago. I received the order eighteen days ago, and the gnolls first appeared a month ago.”
In other words, by the time the report about the gnolls was submitted, Madius had already used his covert agents to investigate ahead of Hilpin and learned about the silver.
It also meant there was nowhere in the Empire beyond the Emperor’s sight.
“Even at this very moment, there must be eyes on me, following in some way.”
Karl quickly sorted through the branching threads of his expanding thoughts and picked out what mattered.
“First, all of this is within Madius’s plan.”
That was the most important point.
Madius had subtly, yet in a way that could not be refused, offered Karl the chance to discover the existence of silver and use this overlooked rural territory as his base.
“Second, this never appeared in the original work.”
Next, it was significant that the original novel never mentioned the existence of silver at all.
“Ilias… so he knew and chose to ignore it.”
In the original story, Ilias was the one assigned to subjugate the gnolls.
He mounted his horse and rode out at once, finishing everything within a week of receiving the mission and returning to the imperial palace. Then he wrapped it up cleanly with a simple remark: “It was nothing.”
That meant Ilias had wiped them out before the gnolls ever began making axes.
However, since he must have ventured deep into the forest to subjugate them, it was hard to believe that Ilias knew nothing about the silver.
He must have buried its existence to refuse the Emperor’s proposal.
“Everything has changed because of me.”
A major shift occurred when Karl took on the mission instead of Ilias.
Ilias had headed straight for Hilpin the moment he received the order. He arrived in three days, slaughtered all the gnolls, and then rode back to the imperial palace in another three days.
Karl, on the other hand, had to spend a week preparing after receiving the mission and then traveled slowly by carriage with his soldiers, taking ten full days to arrive.
Between the original timeline and the present, there was a massive gap of fifteen days before the subjugation force reached Hilpin.
Karl’s presence had completely overturned the fate of this small territory.
“…I’ll hear the report on the situation. …Inside.”
“Yes, Sir Karl.”
Quickly organizing his thoughts, Karl spoke to Corbin.
As he followed behind him inside, Karl couldn’t help but worry.
In this situation, can Harmon really bring in proper reinforcements?
There were hardly any troops left in Hilpin, and the nobles were busy plotting their escape. In the midst of all this, could Harmon really fulfill his role?
Silver or not, they first had to survive and subjugate the gnolls if they wanted any kind of future.
And without additional support from Hilpin, subjugating the gnolls seemed impossible.
Suddenly finding himself in a position where the entire future rested on Harmon’s shoulders, Karl couldn’t help but sigh.
The world really was impossible to predict.
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