Between morning and midday.
In a clearing where faint dust rose, two men’s swords clashed.
It was a scene that had been unfolding for quite some time.
A faint aura shimmered along Nedian’s blade.
Yet, surprisingly, Glenn’s sword remained intact despite the contact.
Cha-ang—! Kam—!
As Glenn skillfully angled the blade they locked together on, Nedian gripped the sword with a half-sword hold and pressed down.
“Hgh!”
The blade, tracing that wicked angle, stopped just near Nedian’s shoulder and couldn’t advance any further.
From that moment on, the half-sword grip overwhelmingly gained the upper hand.
Pressing down, applying wrestling techniques, Nedian tightened his grip even more.
“Grr…”
Glenn’s expression twisted, and in an instant, he gambled by tripping one of his opponent’s feet.
As if anticipating this, Nedian pulled his trapped foot free and jabbed his forearm into Glenn’s sternum.
“Kuahk!”
It hit squarely, forcing Glenn to cough violently.
As his body naturally staggered backward, Glenn reflexively struck the pommel against the back of Nedian’s hand.
“Thuk!”
Nedian dropped his sword, and a brief standoff ensued between them.
“Choo… You’ve grown remarkably again.”
With that remark, the duel between the two came to an end.
Glenn glared at him with a displeased look.
“Cough, is that the sound of being pummeled again?”
“I’ve been hit a lot too…”
“If you count that as being pummeled, then I must be combat-inept. You intentionally limited your aura as well.”
As an advanced knight, Nedian could imbue his sword with aura.
Naturally, this puts Glenn at a significant disadvantage.
There’s a huge difference between enveloping the entire blade in aura and momentarily releasing it through Offense Parry.
Simply having aura at the contact surface isn’t enough to sustain a clash.
If repeated two or three times, the blade could break.
“Aura will naturally fade over time anyway. Our commander always says this too, that aura is just a tool—the most important thing is swordsmanship itself. In that regard, Instructor, you’re outstanding. Your adaptability is something I could sometimes learn from.”
Within the Lion Knights, swordsmanship and the knights’ “combat ability” are evaluated as a whole—excluding aura.
This includes sword handling, situational awareness, wrestling skills, adaptability, and even psychological warfare such as deception.
In other words, no matter the process, winning means being strong.
Compared to other knight orders, this is considered excessively pragmatic.
But for those who fight orcs daily, crossing the line between life and death, such teachings are not optional but essential.
You have to survive first, whether it’s swordsmanship or aura.
“That technique you mentioned—the Offense Parry—is honestly difficult.”
“True, I wouldn’t recommend it to just anyone. But someone like you should be able to manage.”
“How on earth does Instructor handle it so easily… it’s astonishing.”
If judged purely on swordsmanship, the deputy commander himself might be on par with—or even above—Glenn.
It was a truly remarkable talent.
“But—I think you’ve improved as well.”
“Following Instructor around, it naturally happened.”
“Hm, you’re really stuck on flattering me.”
Glenn joked, grinning, and Nedian chuckled in response.
“I’m not one to flatter the instructor.”
“Ha, alright—I didn’t realize that.”
“Are you feeling okay? You looked dead to the world yesterday.”
“… Seems like accumulated fatigue. But you seem much better now.”
Though feeling a warm sensation inside, Nedian left it at that.
One can’t simply blame the fact that Glenn drank a highly toxic and unfamiliar potion.
Last night, after drinking the blood-red liquid and barely overcoming the crisis, Glenn’s natural rhythm was broken.
Yet by morning, his body felt light, as if the potion’s effects had done something miraculous.
But no one in any past life had ever heard that blood magic potions were beneficial.
It was probably just a fluke.
“We should stop here for the morning exercise. This seems sufficient.”
Just as the two were gathering their training swords to return to the village—
“Master Glenn! Deputy Commander!”
A knight hurriedly called out as he approached.
Glenn furrowed his brow with an unidentifiable sense of unease.
“Why? Hopefully, it’s not another ambush?”
His tone was uneasy.
Unfortunately, his suspicion proved correct.
“How did you find out? Scouts nearby reported urgent news. A group, seemingly from the priesthood, is under attack!”
“Priesthood? Are you sure?”
Both Glenn and Nedian showed surprised expressions at the unexpected news.
Attacking a priesthood group was almost unheard of.
Even during territorial wars between lords, no one dared touch the shrines of each religious order.
Because the moment you attack, you become an enemy of one of the continent’s four great religions.
Such a risk is hard to bear.
It’s the same for any religious order.
Though the four great religions often clash, in cases like this, they unite.
Because of this, countless fanatics across the continent constantly evade the eyes of the law.
If captured and dragged to a shrine or church basement, one would rather die than experience the ‘cleansing ritual.’
That’s why even bandits or mercenaries avoid attacking religious followers recklessly.
“Two knights confirmed it several times.”
“What will you do?”
Nedian asked cautiously.
Glenn sighed and answered.
“Ugh… anyway, gather the knights as fast as possible. We leave immediately.”
These bastards never give a moment’s rest.
Soon after,
The Lion Knights disappeared in a cloud of dust from Remt Village.
***
“Latum (bow)—Hernesia, thank you for your assistance. It’s an honor to meet you.”
A female priest, clad in pure white vestments, folded her hands and bowed as if in prayer.
A faint blue light shimmered from her silver hair.
Glenn respectfully bowed his head in return.
“Latum—Hernesia, it’s only natural to help.”
As the urgent knight had said, it was true—the priesthood group was under attack.
The targets were the devotees of Hernesia, also called the Spring Goddess.
Fortunately, the order’s paladins held firm despite being outnumbered, buying enough time for Glenn’s group to arrive.
As mounted knights charged in, the enemy was literally swept away.
With one side of the encirclement broken, the rest fled without hesitation.
“Excuse me, may I ask to open the city gates?”
“I am Ron Glenn Lepent of House Lepent.”
“Ah, a famous name from the capital vicinity. I’ve heard you always help the weak. May the goddess’s blessing be with you…”
“It’s nothing. But this is unusual. No matter how foolish the enemy, they wouldn’t dare attack a priesthood group.”
“With the times in turmoil, perhaps lost souls have increased. Still, the goddess has also granted us this grace, so we must be thankful.”
Was being attacked something to be thankful for?
Religious people, past and present, are hard to understand.
Glenn thought this silently but smiled politely outwardly.
He had experienced this in a past life—nothing good ever came from religious wars.
“Then I must also thank the goddess for giving me the opportunity to aid her children. Plesha (praise)—Hernesia.”
The female priest’s pupils widened slightly.
“… Truly a sincere mindset. I too learn from you. I am Monica, a devotee serving the Spring that Endures Winter.”
“Nice to meet you, Priest Monica. May I ask your destination?”
The Spring that Endures Winter—the Hernesia Order—is mostly maintained in the northern regions.
This ‘north’ refers to House Lepent and the Duchy of Lebanov.
While the Arian Kingdom also has some followers, they’re more akin to indigenous faith.
So, it’s rare to find Hernesia priests here.
“We were traveling at the request of House Panario to conduct a religious conversion ceremony.”
“Eh? House Panario? That’s a noble family in the Empire, isn’t it?”
“No. You must be mistaken. Panario is a marquis family located in the Arian Kingdom. They requested this directly through divine revelation.”
Glenn’s brow furrowed slightly.
That couldn’t be right. Panario was definitely a family from the Empire.
As he recalled this, Nedian approached.
“Master.”
“Ah, Sir Nedian. This is Monica, a priest of the Hernesia Order. And Priest, this is Sir Nedian of the Lion Knights.”
Glenn introduced them briefly, and they exchanged short greetings.
Nedian immediately began signaling with his eyes; Glenn nodded in response.
“Priest, please excuse us for a moment.”
“Of course.”
Meanwhile, Nedian’s expression grew serious as he spoke.
“We tried to track as far as possible, but unfortunately, no one was captured. So we inspected the bodies… and something is strange.”
“What do you mean?”
“The equipment of these enemies differs greatly from those we’ve dealt with before. Although the colors and weapon types vary, the problem lies in the quality.”
“They carry gear that’s too good for mere bandits?”
“Exactly. At this level, I suspect they are professional mercenaries. And from what I sensed earlier, they seemed quite experienced in combat. They retreated strategically without breaking formation.”
“Hm, I noticed that too. Still, the motive for attacking the priesthood is obvious, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Although the paladins survived, two were seriously wounded. If we’d been a bit slower, it would have been very dangerous.”
That made the situation even more perplexing.
Would a professional mercenary group really dare attack a priesthood for money?
Both the client and the mercenaries would be taking enormous risks.
If exposed, they’d be disgraced, and the knights of the family would immediately retaliate.
“I can’t understand it. It’s definitely strange. You said this priesthood was heading to House Panario? Have you heard of this before?”
“I vaguely recall seeing it in the west. I believe it’s a family opposing the Arian royal family.”
“Is there a family with the same name in the Empire?”
“As far as I know, no. House Panario exists only in the Arian Kingdom.”
This too was strange.
One strange thing might be mere intuition, but several? That’s different.
The problem was that none of it connected logically.
Was this just a string of incomprehensible events?
… No, there’s definitely something here.
Glenn pondered, folding his arms before drawing a long comb and speaking.
“Investigate the bodies further. Also, check if any other groups are nearby. Something feels off.”
“Yes, sir.”
Nedian nodded and disappeared, while Glenn turned back to the priest.
“Sorry, my knights found something suspicious.”
“Suspicious?”
Glenn swallowed dryly before continuing.
“The equipment they used is too good for ordinary enemies—like a hired professional mercenary group.”
He carefully observed the priest’s expression, keeping a faint, discreet smile.
“Are you saying… someone paid for an attack on our priesthood?”
Her eyes darkened with surprise or anger.
… Not certain yet. He needed to probe further.
“Write it down. Who on earth would commit such a cursed act? Do you have any leads?”
“Leads…? Hmm.”
The priest’s gaze shifted down and left, then moved back right.
Recalling and deducing.
“I haven’t done anything to warrant hatred. As a devotee of the goddess, that’s impossible.”
She returned to her usual neutral expression.
Glenn was still unsure.
“Could it be from the Sailharun family…”
“Master.”
Glenn’s question was cut off by Nedian’s urgent shout.
Startled, Glenn turned to him.
“Unknown knights are approaching this way.”
What was this now?
Glenn’s expression darkened.