When Jakus came out into the yard, he could not hide his surprise.
“How can this be……?”
Every last material he had named had been prepared without a single omission.
“How did you manage all this in such a short time……?”
Watching the astonished Jakus, Leo winked at Minatos, who was sitting on his shoulder.
Minatos had gathered a full 90% of the materials.
“The name Valantes isn’t something just anyone can bear.”
At Leo’s words, Jakus nodded.
“Yes…… Truly. I see.”
“You can begin the work immediately, right?”
“Of course. I will begin at once. Ah, and if you have nowhere to stay while I work, you may stay here.”
At Jakus’s words, Leo nodded.
“I was already planning to. I had a look earlier, and this place is far cleaner than the inn.”
At Leo’s answer, Jakus gave an awkward smile and scratched his head.
The condition of the inn in Ril Village was so appalling that it was not worth paying for.
And it was damn expensive to boot.
Rather than stay there, it was far better to stay in Jakus’s weapon shop.
It also fit perfectly with Leo’s plan to avoid running into people so he could conceal his identity as much as possible.
“Then I will get going.”
“Sure. I’d appreciate it if you did it as quickly as possible.”
At Leo’s words, Jakus bowed his head.
“Yes. I will approach the work with the thought that the sooner I finish, the more members of the Tantra Tribe I can save.”
“Right. That’s exactly it.”
Carrying the last of the materials, Jakus went inside and headed straight for the workshop.
Watching his retreating back, Leo immediately spoke to Minatos on his shoulder.
“It doesn’t look like I’ll have anything to do for the next three days. Go inside and get some rest.”
-Huhhh? Why? It’s more fun to play here with you, Leo.
“I’m going to rest today, and starting tomorrow, all I’ll do is practice swordsmanship and the Mana Cultivation Method, though?”
After hearing Leo’s plans, Minatos pouted and made a sound like air leaking out.
-Pffff. All right. You need to rest too, Leo. I’ll go, then. Bye.
With that, Minatos faded away, and Leo also turned around and went inside the house.
‘It’ll be fine to rest for a day.’
It seemed he had done nothing but race straight ahead since returning.
So he decided to simply relax and rest for the day.
‘I’ll start again tomorrow.’
Leo went to the sleeping spot prepared for him in one corner of the shop and flopped down.
Before long, the only sounds echoing through the shop were his soft, even breathing and the noise of work beyond the iron door.
***
It had been exactly three days since Leo brought back the materials.
In the meantime, Leo had completed his preparations to fight the Death Knight by practicing the Mana Cultivation Method and swordsmanship.
‘The House Valantes Swordsmanship is nearly perfect now.’
Leo was staying in a weapon shop.
Naturally, obtaining a shield was not difficult, and he practiced the House Valantes Swordsmanship with shields of various shapes and sizes.
As a result, he had now reached the point where he could execute the House Valantes Swordsmanship no matter what kind of shield he held.
His Mana Cultivation Method remained at 4-Star.
‘At least the Elven Leaf sped up my growth quite a bit.’
Increasing the amount of mana he possessed after reaching 4-Star was undeniably a slower and more difficult task.
However, through sparring with his father and growing stronger with medicinal herbs, Leo had been able to increase his mana far faster than in his previous life.
Perhaps that was why.
The amount his mana had increased over the past three days somehow felt disappointing.
And then.
“The finished product is ready.”
When the sun stood high in the sky, Jakus emerged from the workshop with a face so gaunt that it was little more than skin and bone.
“Is that so?”
At the news, Leo gave a satisfied smile.
“Yes. Would you like to come and see it?”
Leo nodded and accompanied Jakus into the workshop.
The work must have been quite intense, as the interior was still filled with heat.
“This is the Leather Armor with the power of the Gray Troll awakened.”
“Oh…….”
Leo let out an exclamation.
The Leather Armor, once dark gray, now displayed a texture like smoothly refined silver.
“Most weapons will not be able to leave so much as a scratch on it. I cannot say for certain against the Death Knight, however…….”
Leo patted the shoulder of Jakus, who had trailed off.
“You worked hard. I’ll wear this and make sure I slay the Death Knight.”
“Yes. I leave it in your hands. Ah, right…… And you said you were looking for a shield, did you not?”
When Leo silently nodded, Jakus immediately walked to a corner of the workshop.
Then he pulled away an enormous cloth cover sprawled in the corner.
‘Hm?’
Beneath it lay a shield covered in leather of an unfamiliar texture, its four corners tinged black.
“It is a shield made from Wyvern Hide. It was the only one I brought with me when I fled.”
In other words, it was the finest piece among all the arms Jakus had crafted.
Of course, Jakus’s words were not the only indication of how extraordinary the shield was.
Its four corners were sheathed in Black Steel, known as ‘iron that shatters iron’.
Its presence meant that despite being a shield, the four corners could be used as weapons.
And there was one more thing.
‘Wyvern Hide.’
Wyverns were so rare that Leo had seen one only once in his previous life, during the final war.
And they possessed power to match their rarity.
Called lesser offshoots of dragons, they flew through the sky and spewed breath that massacred countless soldiers.
And since Leo himself had also slain a Wyvern before, he knew them well.
‘That hide was incredibly tough.’
It had taken two downward blows from a Mana Blade to sever its neck.
The piece of hide attached to the shield was small, but it was clear that it had not been used for anything else because it was difficult to cut into the desired shape.
“Can I really take this?”
He was truly grateful, but the shield appeared quite precious to Jakus as well.
That was why he asked.
Leo wanted not only to have the armor refined and purchase a weapon, but also to form a bond with him.
“Of course. I had always intended to hand it over to a warrior of the Tantra Tribe someday. Since you said you would protect us, Young Master, does that not make you much like a warrior of the Tantra Tribe?”
At Jakus’s answer, Leo nodded and lifted the shield.
The feel of it in his hand, its weight, its balance, and more…….
Every quality born of the blacksmith’s craftsmanship was undoubtedly superb.
“When do you intend to depart?”
At Jakus’s question, Leo slung the shield across his back and spoke.
“I’m leaving today.”
“Today? Right away?”
“I don’t have time to spare.”
“Ah…… I see.”
“The sooner I leave, the better it is for you too, right?”
At Leo’s words, Jakus gave a slight nod.
“Ah, before that, there’s something I want to ask.”
“Yes. Please ask me anything.”
“I heard there was a warrior of the Tantra Tribe who killed a Death Knight long ago.”
Despite his hulking physique, Jakus was also the equivalent of a sage in the kingdom.
He knew every detail about the Tantra Tribe, including its history, geography, environment, and culture.
“Yes. I know the story well.”
At Jakus’s answer, Leo gave a satisfied smile and spoke.
“Can you tell me how that warrior dealt with the Death Knight?”
“Of course.”
***
Meanwhile, on the first day Leo waited in Ril Village for the refining work to be completed.
An urgent dispatch arrived at Valantes Castle.
[Rutoa Fortress was attacked by the Death Knight.]
Upon receiving the dispatch, Magenta set everything else aside and immediately began preparing to march.
There were still five days left until his scheduled departure, but after learning that the fortress had come under direct attack, he decided it could not be delayed.
He arrived in Rutoa on the second day of Leo’s wait for Jakus to finish his work.
Five elite knights selected through sparring, and Magenta.
Their small, elite force of six, together with their urgent need to subdue the Death Knight as quickly as possible, allowed them to cover a two-day journey in a single day.
The state of Rutoa upon their arrival was dire.
It was a scene of devastation like the aftermath of facing an army of thousands of monsters.
The soldiers stared vacantly and babbled nonsense, while several adjutants had lost their lives fighting it directly.
It was hard to believe that a single being had caused all of this.
But after hearing the account of Rekton, the Fortress Commander and the only person who had kept his wits, Magenta had no choice but to accept it.
‘Our attacks have no effect. Any sword that is not a Mana Sword turns to powder and disappears the instant it strikes its sword…… Its swordsmanship is so exceptional, and the aura it exudes is so cold, that we cannot even bring ourselves to attack…….’
After hearing Rekton’s account, Magenta immediately took the five knights who had come with him and set out to find the Death Knight.
On the third day of wandering through the forest with the knights, he encountered the Death Knight.
HISSSSS-
That day, an eerie, ghostly wail echoed through the surroundings.
[One who…… has defied the will of Heaven…… I have come to take you.]
The outcome was disastrous from their very first encounter.
The moment they met it, four of the knights frothed at the mouth and fell unconscious from the Fear the bastard unleashed, collapsing along with their horses.
And then there was the final remaining knight.
“My Lord! I will stop it!”
Though his horse had fallen unconscious, Magnis Tylo drew his sword, stepped in front of Magenta, and shouted.
He was the knight who had been guarding Jamie’s room when Leo went there earlier.
“Move aside.”
“No. I will deal with it.”
Magenta stared at his violently trembling back.
“What do you intend to do while trembling like that?”
“I-I can do it!”
The Death Knight, which had been watching the two of them, spoke in a voice so full of cold that it sent chills over their entire bodies.
[One who has defied the will of Heaven…….]
“I will kill you and become one who has defied the will of Heaven.”
Magenta drew his sword, blue mana rippling along its blade, and urged his horse forward.
“If you do not wish to die, you will have to kill me first.”
After uttering those final words almost as if reciting them, Magenta held his sword upright and swiftly spurred his horse onward.
“M-My Lord!”
Magnis cried out in desperation, but his feet would not move, as though they had fused to the ground.
“Why?! Why?!”
Magnis’s eyes reddened as he pounded his own legs with his fists as though he resented them.
Then.
CLAAAAANG!
With the violent screech of metal grinding against metal, an enormous storm swept through the area.
Magnis and the unconscious knights were caught in the gale, swept away, and sent crashing into scattered corners of the forest.
In the space where only the two of them remained, Magenta and the Death Knight locked blades and began a contest of strength.
HISSSSS-
Magenta furrowed his brow at the Death Knight’s frigid breathing.
‘Damn it…….’
He had thought he was fully prepared, but the bastard was unlike anything he had ever fought before.
The ceaseless cold pouring from it made breathing difficult, and its vicious killing intent left his entire body tingling.
Moreover, the mere presence of the black aura flowing around the bastard weighed heavily upon his entire body.
And that was not all.
NEEEEIGH-
The aura emanating from the horse ridden by the Death Knight was also driving Magenta’s horse out of its senses.
[……Die.]
Magenta quickly pushed its sword away and launched another attack.
SWOOOSH! CLAAAAANG!
The instant his swinging sword was blocked, Magenta slammed the bastard back with his shield.
Then his sword began to dance fiercely.
SWISH! CLANG!
CLANG! CLANG!
Magenta’s sword moved flamboyantly, at times elegantly, as it swept toward the Death Knight’s vital points.
The Death Knight’s counterattacks, meant to steal Magenta’s timing, were being mercilessly stopped by his shield.
‘If I lose here, everything is over.’
Magenta gritted his teeth and swung his sword.
If he, the finest knight in the kingdom, fell, the kingdom was finished.
He could not lose.
“Haaah!”
SWOOOSH! CLANG! CLANG!
Magenta’s chain of attacks was blocked by the Death Knight with disheartening ease.
Ordinarily, anyone facing such overpowering attacks would be driven backward by their force, but the Death Knight did not retreat and received Magenta’s attacks with ease.
Hundreds of sword exchanges followed.
‘Damn it…….’
Then, at a certain point, the difference between the two began to reveal itself.
While Magenta was growing exhausted, the Death Knight remained no different from when the battle began.
HISSSSS-
[I will take your life, bastard.]
NEEEEIGH-
The moment the Death Knight unleashed its vicious killing intent upon the exhausted Magenta, the eyes of its horse also turned bright crimson.
At the same time, Magenta’s horse reared high and convulsed, causing Magenta to lose his balance and crash to the ground.
“Ghk…….”
For the first time in his life, he felt the fear of death.
But his humiliation was even greater than his fear.
“Do you think I would fall to a mere monster like you?!”
His normally cool gaze gradually lost all reason.
HUMMMMM!
At the same time, Magenta’s sword resonated loudly and took on an even deeper blue hue.
Upon seeing it, the Death Knight began to approach slowly.
“Haaah!”
Just as their swords were about to collide, Magenta quickly ducked and avoided its blade.
The instant he swung his sword at the bastard, an immense force erupted from the Death Knight.
CRAAAAASH—!
The tremendous force sent Magenta flying and slammed him into the trunk of a massive tree.
“Ghk.”
Blood burst from his mouth.
The Death Knight looked at him where he lay fallen, then slowly urged its horse forward.
HISSSSS-
At the sound of the Death Knight’s breathing, Magenta clutched his throat as though his breath had caught.
“Ghk…….”
Then his body went limp.
[Insolent bastard…… Not just anyone can defy the will of Heaven…….]
The Death Knight, which had now reached him, slowly raised its sword.
All five knights had lost consciousness, and there was no one left to help him.
[Die…….]
Just as the bastard was about to bring its sword down.
“Are you going to move that sword or not, you son of a bitch?!”
Supporting Magnis, Leo appeared as he pushed through the undergrowth.