CHAPTER 75

On a hill in the white desert, knights gathered and watched intently at one spot.

The biting cold of the northern winds made their eyes sting, but the knights paid no heed, only gazing into the distant horizon.

They were waiting.

For the torches bearing the cold breath.

"It's coming."

And the knights of iron holding torches fulfilled their duties to the best of their abilities.

A massive mass of coldness approached rapidly from afar.

And knights carrying torches, surrounded by mist-like coldness, ran towards it.

They were the knights of the Iron Duke Baranov.

"Prepare yourselves."

"Yes."

At the command of a man who looked like a captain, the knights who had been watching from the hill began to mount their horses one by one.

Each carried a magic torch to protect themselves from the cold, exhaling rough breaths as they watched for the remnants of the fallen dragon approaching through the cold.

"Now!"

With the signal from the adjutant, the knights began to charge down the hill.

"..."

As the knights rushed forward, the man with a ponytail pulled out one of the spears stuck in the ground and quietly closed his left eye.

The knight's sword was sharp, but it could only inflict wounds when it touched the opponent.

And the fallen dragon they were facing was too fast to reach easily.

That's why the Iron Duke sent the most suitable knight for this task.

Bolcorp of the Spear Throw.

The spear he held began to turn blue.

"Bresda!"

The white dragon, which had been roaring while watching the knights approaching, seemed to be disturbed as it opened its mouth and took in a deep breath.

Its chest swelled as its white scales twitched, warning of what would happen next.

The knights who sensed the impending doom quickly attempted evasive maneuvers.

"Huup!"

Bolcorp, pausing momentarily to gather his breath, thrust the spear towards the dragon.

The spear, now soaked in aura, began to fly through the air with elastic movements.

This should suffice.

At this distance, it wouldn't notice the flying spear.

However, Bolcorp's gaze met a pair of blue eyes staring directly at him from a distance in that instant.

"What?"

Remnants of the fallen dragon. Lindworm.

The dragon, who lived with the cold chill in its chest, quickly twisted its body with more agile movements than a wolf.

Crack!

Roar!

It was fast, but it was too late.

The spear that just passed by was dug deep into the ground.

Along with the scattering white scales.

"Damn it!"

Bolcorp couldn't help but emit a frustrated exclamation.

The dragon was known to be fast, but he hadn't anticipated it being this sensitive.

"Stop it in its tracks!"

"Surround it!"

The knights, realizing Bolcorp's failure, relentlessly spurred their horses around Lindworm, blocking its escape routes. But the fallen dragon sensed that it had already fallen into the trap set by humans.

Roar!

With an enraged roar, Lindworm swiftly tore through the knights' encirclement and darted into the mist.

Judging time and place was a fundamental stance a predator must take.

"Chase after it!"

"Cut off its path!"

Despite the knights' attempts to pursue Lindworm's retreat, keeping up with the accelerating dragon was harsh on their horses.

The horses, exhausted from herding the dragon, foamed at the mouth and began to stop one by one.

"Shit!"

Seeing the encirclement unraveling, Bolcorp let out a frustrated cry and hurled the spear he had been holding, but Lindworm had already vanished into the swirling white mist in the distance.

All that remained were echoes of Lindworm's enraged roars echoing from afar within the hazy mist.

※※※※

A stable set up in Rose's Smiles.

In that place, where Madam Marcella had paid special attention to, Vlad was looking at Gott with a vacant expression.

"Please, just once. Please!"

Gott pleaded with his hands clasped together, but the black horse showed no hesitation, merely snorting in response.

"Just saddle up once!"

Heeeying-

The black horse menacingly raised his front legs at Gott, who kept bothering him persistently.

Gott, seeing the horse's behavior, stepped back once again.

"What a temper tantrum. Seriously!"

Gott, who was now venting his anger towards the only one who seemed to listen to him, turned his head this time to look at where Vlad was.

There was another troublemaker here.

"Do something!"

Although Gott expressed his anger towards the one he could somewhat communicate with, the blond one was just as uncooperative.

"He doesn't listen to me either."

"Isn't he your horse, captain?"

Seeing Vlad shrug his shoulders as if wondering what to do, Gott raised his head and looked at the sky.

The black one, the blond one.

Quite a pair they made.

"...I want to get rid of them."

He had been prepared, but he hadn't expected it to be this difficult.

Even if it was a wild horse, he thought he could handle it somehow since it followed people, but it was a huge mistake.

However, Gott's frustration wasn't just because he couldn't saddle him up.

"Zemina did well. Why can't you? Is it just a lack of skill?"

"...!"

Gott gritted his teeth, hearing Vlad's muttered words beside him.

'Why does he listen to that girl's words so well...!'

That was the biggest problem.

Even though he was a fierce one, in front of the redhead girl, he appeared as innocent as a lamb, which was the problem.

There had obviously been someone who had tamed him quietly, so the current scene could only cast doubt on Gott's skill as a stableman.

"...Maybe it's because he doesn't have a name."

"What nonsense."

"It's because his wild nature hasn't died yet. You have to give him a name to establish his position!"

It was clearly an unreasonable argument, but unexpectedly, Vlad found himself nodding along to the seemingly plausible words of the former swindler.

Maybe that could be true.

Watching Vlad pondering over his words, Gott decided he needed a drink, smiling wryly, and entered Rose's Smiles.

"...A name."

Vlad scratched his chin as he watched the black horse walking towards the stable on its own.

"Yeah, I guess I should give him one."

The creature that used to roam the meadow had followed the boy all the way here, even abandoning its duty.

In that case, it would be appropriate to give him a new name.

"Is Vlad here?"

As Vlad pondered over a name while looking at the black horse, he turned his head at the voice calling him from behind.

"Lord Josef is calling for you."

Upon hearing the man's voice, Vlad nodded.

"Let's go and see you later."

The black horse seemed to understand Vlad's words as it nodded its head.

Although it wasn't a name, Vlad took a step forward for the man who gave him a title that allowed him to be confident anywhere.

※※※※

Josef looked at the man who had suddenly come to see him with a subtle expression.

He wasn't someone who shouldn't have come, but he also wasn't someone Josef expected to visit him.

"As expected, your mother's insight is amazing. I've never tasted tea like this anywhere else."

Rutger made a humorous expression as he raised the teacup he was holding towards Josef.

As if to show that his words were not empty, Dorothea, who was holding the teacup, perked up her ears.

"Didn't you ask my mother to give it to you? It wouldn't have been too expensive."

"...It's not that easy."

Rutger shook his head with a bitter smile at Josef's words.

"It's something that's hard to explain in words. You know what I mean?"

Josef nodded at Rutger, who was subtly expressing himself.

Although Oksana wouldn't refuse to grant Rutger's small request, their relationship was awkward in many ways.

Since they had no choice but to compete for the same thing, Rutger couldn't expect Oksana to fulfill the role of a mother from a young age.

"... ."

Josef let out a small sigh as he watched Rutger confidently talk about sensitive things that he would not have dared to reveal.

The two brothers were truly different, and yet they were people who possessed what the other lacked.

"What brings you here?"

"Well, brothers don't always need a reason to come visit, do they?"

Looking at Josef with his arms crossed over the back of the chair, Rutger nodded as if he had expected his brother to react like that.

"Don't look at me like that. I came for a reason."

Even though Josef didn't entertain even the slightest joke before getting to the point, Rutger wasn't at all surprised.

It was a familiar sight he had seen all his life.

"Father received a report you sent and entrusted me with investigating the barbarians' territory. And there, I found some unusual trends."

Josef raised an eyebrow, waiting for Rutger's next words.

"Dragon is descending. It seems the words of the barbarian you brought with you were correct."

"...Lindworm."

Josef uttered just one word before resting his forehead on his hand.

In the end, Aage's words were correct.

Even in the bitter cold of the north wind, the dragon that lives in the coldest place was coming down.

"It will still be too early to come down... Besides, isn't it the kind of creature who always moves just because it's winter?"

"That's right."

While the western lands had Deathworms burrowing into the ground, the northern lands harbored Lindworms surviving amidst snowstorms.

The coldest and swiftest dragon.

Deathworms did not attack humans except for the damage caused by their huge size, but the dragon called Lindworm was different.

The Lindworms, which came down to human territory every few decades following the cold weather, were vicious creatures that would annihilate two or three villages each time.

The remnants of fallen dragon were like natural disasters to humans.

"In which direction is it descending?"

"I don't know. It's moving too fast, making it difficult to find any traces."

After finishing his drink, Rutger looked at his stepbrother with a serious expression, not his usual relaxed smile.

"So Father has tasked me with preparing for Lindworm's descent along with the defense."

"As the mayor of Shoara, I will spare no effort in support."

Josef responded with a composed posture.

His brother had come with the serious mandate of Count Bayezid, not just a simple request.

Although they were competing for the next lordship, in such a crisis, they needed to unite their strength.

They must not forget their purpose in using the means.

What the two brothers wanted was not just the title of lordship but the powerful Bayezid itself.

"What can I do to help?"

"I demand the dispatch of a knight along with a thorough reconnaissance of Shoara."

Josef nodded as if he understood what Rutger said.

Such a demand was reasonable and something he had already anticipated.

"How many knights...?"

"Just one will suffice."

Even Zayar, who stood beside them, looked slightly surprised at Rutger's response.

Dealing with a dragon required strong swords. 

Rutger, however, was only requesting one knight, even though all the knights in Shoara could be called upon.

"Would one suffice?"

"Lindworm is different from Deathworms. A skilled swordsman is more than enough."

Rutger's words were correct.

Unlike Deathworms, Lindworm wasn't a creature that burrowed into the ground, and there had been successful campaigns against it in the past.

So, it could be done this time too, as long as swords could reach Lindworm with its swift movements.

"Who should I assign?"

In response to Josef's question, Rutger smiled slightly and answered.

"Your favorite blonde brat."

"...You mean Vlad?"

Josef frowned for a moment as he looked at Rutger asking for Squire Vlad rather than Zayar or Gregory.

Vlad was a boy with unique strengths, but strictly speaking, he had only reached the beginning stages of becoming a knight.

"Yes. That brat."

Rutger remembered.

The boy who proudly shouted against the deathworm in the meadow on a summer day.

"He's the best dragon herder I know."

The boy that day with the pitch-black horse was shining brightly.

With that presence, Lindworm wouldn't be able to ignore him, just like how the Deathworm, which emerged unexpectedly from the ground.

Just as the Deathworm emerged to capture the shining boy.