Chapter 93: Plague of Kalgos (2)

The presence of Richard brought a tremendous change to Riot Castle.

Starting with the visibly brightened Knights of the Union, even the Royal Army, who had yet to witness his true nature, openly displayed great relief.

Though he had declared, in an unprecedented move, that he left his house, the Noble Lineage he inherited was something every swordsman admired.

Richard knew this as well.

It had been three days since he arrived at Riot Castle, and everywhere he went, respectful gazes followed him in a steady stream.

Richard found it bothersome.

“I do stand out a bit here, I guess.”

He overheard a soldier mumbling that he was like a lantern in the midst of darkness.

Regrettably, that wasn’t what Richard wanted.

“Respect doesn’t stop the fangs of monsters.”

Avart responded to Richard’s words.

“I’ll push them hard.”

“Push them till they’re ragged.”

The influence Richard commanded, trusted by the Union, was powerful indeed.

Training, which had been suspended due to the rampant Demonic Energy, immediately resumed.

“Uh, uhh.”

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

Regardless of their elite status—knight or soldier—the noble scions of the Royal Army were all thrown out of the castle.

They barely had time to process what was happening when a Union Knight appeared before them.

“Run! Move it!”

Helga’s Division Commander, Avart.

With a demon-like contorted face, he shouted at them like a fiend.

His terrifying presence seemed almost inhuman, and those driven out had no choice but to train, weeping on the inside as they forced themselves through it.

“Dammit, aaah!”

With every foot pounding the ground, Demonic Energy clung to them in thick clumps.

Just like the saying, ‘Anyone can be brave behind castle walls,’ once outside the castle’s protection, the men were seized by fear.

Even the proud Royal Knights couldn’t help but clench their jaws tight, refusing to stop.

Everyone knew this wasn’t born out of malice or spite.

If they went into the coming battle in their current state, the outcome was clear.

Those with spears wouldn’t be able to hold them straight, those with swords couldn’t swing them properly.

However—

“Damn it all!”

For men who felt as if they might go mad at any moment, it was all they could do not to think about tomorrow.

During the days when training had been suspended, the Demonic Energy had grown even blacker, clinging tightly to their bodies.

At this point, it felt as though even breathing would rot their lungs.

Naturally, arrows of resentment were aimed at Richard.

It was obvious he was the one behind all this.

They complained inwardly, thinking he cloaked himself completely in light while being unduly harsh only to them, the men being driven to the brink by Demonic Energy.

All that remained of respect was gone, leaving only traces of resentment and fatigue.

“Why’re you all like this? He’s doing it all for our own good, isn’t he?”

All except for one—Hans.

Unlike the title of ‘worst soldier,’ Hans maintained steady, regulated breathing as he kept running.

***

“Mm, he’s pushing them well.”

I watched the training field from atop the castle walls.

They were made to sing hymns as they rolled on the ground, and even sent sprinting all the way to the distant hills.

He didn’t hesitate to shout or curse at those who fell behind.

He was even harsher to those who showed fear or exhaustion.

Those who endured well, however, received subtle praise.

It was a strict training regime that truly respected strength.

They’d said Avart had a knack for instruction, and it certainly wasn’t just empty talk.

“Oh! Isn’t that guy a soldier? Why’s he running so well?”

That’s when I noticed a scruffy young man mingling among the knights in their black training uniforms.

He was wearing the Beige Training Uniform of a soldier.

As expected of a soldier, he was quickly out of breath and reached his limit, but the fear of Demonic Energy did not seem to weigh heavily on his face.

“That one… that’s Hans. He’s a spearman. Shall I bring him over?”

“No, that’s fine.”

A low-ranking Union Knight beside me offered information on him.

From what I heard, before I arrived, Hans had been considered a complete washout.

His specialty was sapping his comrades’ morale with his nightly sobbing.

“We’d been seriously considering his reassignment.”

“Really?”

He didn’t look that way at all now.

“Let’s keep an eye on him.”

I decided to pay close attention to this soldier named Hans.

I was curious how he had overcome the Demonic Energy.

“Yes, Young Master.”

“I’m a Saint.”

Hmm—

The junior knight who’d provided Hans’s information let out a sigh.

Annoyed by his expression, I asked him what was wrong.

“Did you really leave Bartenberg?”

“I said I did, didn’t I? We’re Temple Knights now.”

I rapped my breastplate, saying I’d soon have the Sacred Emblem of Hor carved onto my empty chest.

Still, the knight looked unconvinced.

What was so hard to accept?

“Is it… is it because of us?”

Suddenly, all eyes turned to me at once.

The knights nearby tried to look nonchalant, but they were all glancing in my direction.

“You risked your family’s opposition… because you were concerned about us…”

The knight’s words dragged on, making others prick up their ears.

Click

I’d clearly stated we left the house for the Hor Church.

“Hmmm…”

They all seemed to interpret things in whatever way they wished, so it was hard to say anything for sure.

Even the other knights were now gazing at me with hopeful eyes.

“Think whatever you want.”

Well, it wasn’t that important.

I waved a hand to the knight, who was now shedding tears on his own, and stepped down from the walls.

After that, I took a walk around the castle.

Just as my own circumstances had changed, so too had the appearance of Riot Castle become almost unrecognizable.

The construction was nearing completion, and unfamiliar faces were bustling everywhere.

Had it been about three months since I left here?

Though I’d occasionally looked in with my divine sense, seeing it with my own eyes was a refreshingly new feeling.

The Temple Knights were surprised by the changed Riot Castle,

Of course, the Union was even more shocked to see us.

Between the doctrines of the Hor Church and the situation in the Capital—

“Chor—vi.”

Swish—tick

I responded to a knight’s greeting—he seemed oddly quick to adapt—and entered the citadel.

Then, I immediately used my divine sense.

Though I and Riot Castle had both changed, the place with the most dramatic transformation was undoubtedly Polin Castle.

Creak, creak—

Even just looking at it made me feel the stench of plague.

Red flesh was tangled and soared toward the sky in grotesque shapes, like the arms of a giant.

Since leaving the Capital, I’d never once failed to watch Polin Castle every single day.

After the ‘mother’ was completed, it was to prepare for the outbreak of plague at any time.

And now.

For some reason, I felt an ominous premonition prickling at me today.

The reason soon revealed itself.

Crack—

The castle twisted.

From the swelling, bursting flesh, something pushed its head out.

The offspring and Plague Bearer that had inherited the will of the Red Plague Giant Kalgos.

At last, the era of those dread monsters had begun.

“Kyaeeek!”

Creatures with blood-red bodies and various forms clicked their jaws like hungry beasts as they stared at each other.

All that remained within them was the instinct to spread the plague.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen yet.”

Originally, the Legion Commander only showed himself when the war between the Northern and Southern continents reached its peak.

But now, one of the Legion Commanders, Kalgos’s Curse, had already borne fruit.

The Plague was even more persistent than the Undead, so no one knew how long this war would drag on.

After watching the advance of those horrific monsters, I released my divine sense.

***

I grabbed a knight nearby and sent out a summons.

When I took a seat in the conference room, people soon poured in.

“The plague has begun.”

“….!”

No one argued with my words.

No one even asked how I knew.

The gathered leaders simply nodded with determined faces.

“When dealing with them, keep in mind they’re similar to the Undead. Only, they’re even more horrifying.”

I shared all the information I could.

From the need to guard against infection, to the fact that this calamity would not end easily.

“We’ll deploy five scouting parties to prepare for monster attacks.”

“We still have some of the holy oil left from the last campaign. I’ll order all troops to be outfitted.”

“The expansion of the walls will be finished in a week.”

Unlike before, when everything dragged on endlessly, the meeting progressed quickly.

“Gunpowder and catapults should be deployed according to how the battle goes. We don’t have much to spare.”

“We don’t know how many will attack, so we must be ready to request reinforcements at any time.”

The capable commanders all quickly presented their opinions.

I stepped back and watched the meeting unfold.

Before, I had been the Deputy of Bartenberg, wielding full authority, but now I was merely the head of a religious order; there was no need for me to lead or interfere.

“Saint, can you supply light to the war material stocks?”

Their expectations for me were enormous.

Be it the Undead or the plague, the Union knew from experience that light was the only real countermeasure.

I promised to provide light wherever it was needed.

“What about training, then?”

“With the Saint here, we’ll keep to the schedule for now.”

I nodded at the words of Lord Ord, who was now the Lord of Riot Castle.

Polin Castle and Riot Castle were quite far apart.

Before the fighting began, the men had to grow accustomed to the Demonic Energy.

Whether our young, nervous cowards could manage it remained to be seen.

“The moment the Saint arrives, battle begins. You always bring incidents with you.”

“Haha—”

As the meeting was winding down, Avart grinned and joked.

“I just happened to arrive at the right time. I didn’t want to see you all cowering in fear.”

“We’re not scared at all. It’s the noble scions who are the problem. Especially the soldiers—they look like they’re marching to their deaths.”

Noble scions, huh.

I couldn’t help but nod.

From what I’d seen, those guys were still too soft.

They might sing praises to Hor with their mouths, but inside, all they had was despair and fear.

“Once they’ve fought in battle even once, they’ll change.”

I turned to gaze out the window.

Pitch-black darkness flicked its tongue, threatening to swallow the castle whole.

Before long, those horrific Plague Bearers would burst from that gloom and come charging.

Their filthy, blood-streaked bodies, savage teeth and claws, the breath that came in ragged gasps.

Everything about them was a vehicle for infection.

The most frightening thing was the spread among the living.

Once the Plague left its Bearers and ran rampant, the disaster that would follow was as clear as day.

“We’ll stop them this time, too.”

Yes. We must stop them.

There was no way I could let some damned plague terrify my precious followers and believers.