Early the next morning, the group set off once again—though this time, they had an extra companion: a dejected young knight, tied up and slouching along with a look of utter despair.
Compared to his bravado yesterday, the young knight now looked completely lifeless, as if the world were about to end.
"This road leads to Carcassonne, right?"
"Yes... milord..."
Faced with Duanmu Huai's question, the young knight no longer showed even the slightest resistance.
"Alright, lead the way."
"Yes, sir..."
Watching the listless knight trudging ahead, Alisa looked puzzled.
"That's strange. Why is he so obedient all of a sudden? I thought he'd still be arguing with Lord Black Knight."
"Hahaha, oh, that..."
Hearing Alisa's confusion, the elf scout, ever eager for gossip, jumped in gleefully to explain.
"When this guy woke up, he seemed really ashamed of having pissed himself and passed out from fear after being scared by the Black Knight. He kept mumbling about how he's no longer worthy of being a knight favored by the Lady, and then he swore himself to Lord Black Knight as a servant..."
"Eh? But didn't he think the Black Knight was a demon?"
"Exactly. That's why he said, 'I, who have lost the Lady's grace, have no right to pursue her light any longer—so let me fall into darkness and become a minion of the demon instead!'"
"...Haaah..."
Alisa stared blankly at the elf scout after hearing the explanation. She really couldn't wrap her head around that kind of logic. Back when she'd been kidnapped by the cultists of the Evil God, she had absolutely refused to become a sacrificial offering. Even if Duanmu Huai had ended her life, she wouldn't have let those cultists succeed. And yet this young knight—just because he pissed himself out of fear—actually felt so ashamed he wanted to become a servant of the "demon"?
"He was so brave just yesterday..."
"Yeah, well... three-minute enthusiasm, you know how it is."
The elf scout waved her hand dismissively.
"It's like us scouts—everyone thinks living in the forest and tracking prey is fun. But when you're actually hiding in the woods, getting bitten by bugs without making a sound, being stalked by wild beasts, and even possibly dying silently and ending up as food for those same beasts... it's a whole different story."
As she spoke, the elf scout curled her lips in disdain.
"That guy's probably the same. I bet he heard some fairytale about knights heroically slaying dragons, imagined himself defeating one and earning endless treasure, then marrying a beautiful princess. So he got a rush of blood to the head and just ran off to 'adventure.' People like that usually don't even get to see a dragon—more likely, they'll be killed by something like a Skaven before they even know what hit them."
"I see..."
After hearing the elf scout's explanation, Alisa looked dazed. She exchanged bewildered glances with Christine, unsure of what to say.
"Some young men really are like that."
At this point, old knight Cardo nodded in agreement.
"Back when I was training new recruits, there were plenty who thought knights looked cool in armor. In their minds, knights were these shining heroes, riding majestic steeds in gleaming plate, admired by all and loved by beautiful ladies."
"But... isn't that exactly what you are, Sir Cardo?"
Alisa looked curiously at the old knight. He chuckled and waved a hand.
"Hahaha, thank you for the compliment, milady, but that's just one side of being a knight. In truth, knights must undergo extremely harsh training. You don't just learn to ride and fight—you also have to master survival in the wild... A lot of them couldn't handle rolling around in the mud during drills. I've seen plenty of recruits break down crying, screaming 'This isn't the knight I wanted to become!' before running away."
"I see..."
To nobles like Alisa and Christine, that young knight might've been a rare case, but to the elf scout and old knight, they'd seen plenty just like him.
"Hm?"
Just then, the elf scout's ears twitched slightly. She looked up toward the front.
"Black Knight, did you hear that?"
"Yeah, sounds of battle. I heard it too."
In response to the elf scout's question, Duanmu Huai nodded. His [detector] had also picked up the sound of weapons clashing in the distance. He immediately activated the [holographic projection] and zoomed in. Soon, in the projected image, everyone could see a convoy of wagons under attack.
And attacking them was a group of tall, green-skinned monsters.
"Ugh, it's the orcs…"
Seeing this, the elf scout openly showed her disgust, and Duanmu Huai also nodded. He understood all too well why she reacted that way.
Greenskin Orcs were one of the most troublesome creatures, often even more destructive than Skaven. If the Skaven at least had a goal behind their actions, the orcs had just one: chaos.
Destruction, looting, killing—this endless loop defined them.
For orcs, the most important thing in the world was fun. And fun meant fighting. Whether fighting outsiders or fighting each other didn't matter—as long as there was fighting, they were happy. If there wasn't, they weren't. So they were either fighting, or on their way to a fight.
Worse still, it was almost impossible to completely wipe them out—because technically speaking, they weren't even animals, but a form of fungal plant life… That's right, the photosynthesizing kind.
This was how they reproduced: not through childbirth, but by literally growing out of the ground like plants.
As the saying went—plant one orc in spring, harvest a field of them by fall. Their reproductive ability could even rival that of the Tyranid Hive Fleets in space.
Greenskin Orcs weren't aligned with [Chaos], nor were they part of the [Order] factions. To put it plainly, they just wanted a good brawl. Anyone they saw was a potential opponent. If there were outsiders around, they fought them. If not, they fought each other. Honestly, for a small country like Bretonnia to hold off the orc threat from the north… that was honestly impressive.
"Should we help them?"
"Of course. Around here, the more friends you make, the easier your path."
As he spoke, Duanmu Huai gripped his [warhammer] and stared at the young knight beside him.
"Hey, kid."
"Eep! Wh-what is it?!"
"Come with me. We're going to fight orcs."
"W-wait? Orcs?! Why?!"
"Huh? Didn't you swear loyalty to me? Well, I'm a despicable demon, remember? Isn't it normal for me to send you to die first? Now move! Or I'll smash your skull in!"
"Eeeeeek—!!"
Terrified by Duanmu Huai's threat, the young knight teared up and obediently followed with his longsword in hand.
By the time Duanmu Huai and his reluctant companion arrived, the battle had already started turning against the convoy. The orcs were roaring and pushing hard, breaking the defenders' lines. The merchants looked like they couldn't hold out much longer.
"Go. Get in there!"
Duanmu Huai gave the young knight a hard kick and barked the order. The kid, pale as a ghost, gripped his sword and trembled as he looked at the nearby greenskins.
"N-no… I can't fight that many…"
"Useless. What good are you then?"
Annoyed, Duanmu Huai shot him a glare, then tightened his grip on the [warhammer], crouched, and launched himself forward. His [jetpack] roared to life, sending him hurtling straight into the horde of orcs!
BOOM!!
He landed like a meteor, crashing into the center of the orc ranks. The surprised greenskins turned in unison and stared at the towering warrior who dwarfed even them.
Now that—now that was a real fight!
"WAAAAAAAAAGH!!"
In the next instant, the orcs raised their weapons and charged toward Duanmu Huai, howling with glee!
(End of Chapter)