A canyon stretched out not far from the forest, with a hidden entrance leading somewhere in between.
In the past, I never thought of coming here, but who would have thought there was an ogre fortress hidden in such a place.
Crackle.
I felt an invisible barrier. If I had come alone, I would have turned back due to the ominous aura.
I had no idea what lay ahead.
'So, this is where you were hiding.'
Following the wounded Giant Ogre inside, I saw large tents made of animal skins.
There were perhaps dozens, maybe up to a hundred, but not as many as I had expected.
This meant the number of ogres was quite low.
"Groar."
The wounded Giant Ogre groaned.
"Groar!"
An ordinary ogre with just one head came running.
Thump, thump, thump!
It was dressed as if wearing a human knight's armor. Unlike the monsters wandering the forest, it was fully armed.
"Welcome back, Captain. Thank you for your efforts on the reconnaissance mission.... Huh? A human?!"
The ogre guarding the village entrance was startled to see me. The Giant Ogre nervously stepped forward and blocked my path.
"This is not just any human. He is my savior."
"Savior?"
"It's a long story. No, it's not necessary to explain. He is my savior!"
"...Captain. Regardless of him being your savior, bringing a human into the village is forbidden."
"I-I know that."
"Then send him outside the fortress. Don't you remember what happened before?"
"I know, but...."
"If the Chief finds out, there will be serious consequences."
"N-No! I'll explain to the Chief myself. I'll tell him that my savior wants to meet him!"
"What? This human wants to meet the Chief?"
"Yes! This human wants to form an alliance with us."
I was sincere.
If this matter is resolved well, I have no intention of fighting the ogres.
After a moment of silence, the ordinary ogre let out a mocking laugh.
"Ha! A human forming an alliance with us?"
"Yes."
"That's ridiculous.... Captain, snap out of it. You can't trust humans!"
"It's not ridiculous! It's true!"
Unable to bear it, Siegfried grabbed his sword with an irritated voice.
"Disciple, how about we just kill these guys?"
I shook my head lightly.
My purpose here is to find the jar containing Brunhilde, not to exterminate the ogres.
'I have to handle this myself from here.'
I need to return before my nanny finds me.
"Move aside."
I walked, releasing the maximum mana I could muster.
Step, step, step.
The two ogres unknowingly moved aside, clearing a path.
As I walked into the ogre fortress, ogres began to appear one by one from the tents.
But none of them stepped forward to stop me.
They only tilted their heads with expressions that seemed to ask, 'Why is there a human here?'
Siegfried whispered as he quickly turned his head from left to right.
"Wow! My disciple is fearless. Aren't you scared of so many monsters?"
There's no reason to be scared.
I've fought countless times in my previous life. I already know all their weaknesses.
I could even take them down with a mere twig, exaggerating a bit.
I stood in the center of the ogre fortress, waiting for their leader.
Soon, dozens of ogres surrounded me, forming a circle.
Amidst them, a notable figure appeared.
Too small to be called an ogre, with a human-like physique and size—a female.
A half-human, half-ogre born between a human and Brunhilde's descendants.
The queen of the ogre village.
'Galasvind.'
Her physique and skeletal structure, with unyielding muscle tone, were remarkable, exuding beauty through her physical form rather than appearance—a masterpiece of divine creation.
It was no exaggeration to say she was born to be a warrior.
"How did a human find this place? I certainly placed a spell at the village entrance."
She looked at me with a puzzled expression.
"Are you Galasvind?"
"...How do you know my name?"
"It's not important how I know your name. I don't have time, so I'll be brief. Hand over Brunhilde to me."
Galasvind tilted her head in disbelief.
"What?"
Her reaction was understandable.
It was absurd for a human to suddenly appear and demand their treasure. But I had no time to consider the ogres.
I needed to finish everything and return before sunrise.
"I asked you to hand over Brunhilde. In return, I'll spare your lives."
"Our lives?"
"Yes."
"Ha."
It wasn't a negotiation; it was a warning.
I knew there was no other way.
Galasvind looked around.
She fixed her gaze on something in the distance and shouted.
"Did you bring this human here?"
The Giant Ogre who brought me lowered his head.
"Well, I was attacked by wizards in the forest... and this human saved me-"
"So you brought him."
"...Yes."
As soon as he finished speaking, Galasvind leapt. With lightning speed, she moved behind the Giant Ogre.
"I told you not to bring humans into the village!"
Thunk!
She struck with a hand blade to the heart.
"Gah!"
It was instant.
The powerful Giant Ogre fell in one blow.
Thud!
She had used neither aura nor mana. It was pure physical strength that subdued the ogre.
A level no human strength could ever reach, no matter how much they trained.
Galasvind turned her gaze to me.
"Human, I don't know how you know about Brunhilde, but now that you're here, you won't leave alive."
The blood dripping from her fingertips indicated she wasn't joking.
'Interesting.'
I knew words wouldn't work, but her reaction was more extreme than expected.
So, negotiations were out of the question.
I extended my arm and whispered.
"Master, please come in."
Siegfried turned into a red smoke that enveloped his entire body and began to absorb into me with an excited roar.
"Good!!!"
Ssshhh.
A powerful energy began to fill my body.
Shhh.
As the power of the Awakener awakened, changes started occurring in my body.
Flash!
My hair turned golden, and flame patterns appeared on my arms. It was clear to anyone that I had received the power of the Sword God Siegfried.
-Hooah!
I took a deep breath.
The time my body can withstand the descent is five minutes.
"My name is Verdin de Strange."
I'll finish everything within that time.
"I will take the jar containing the Second Guardian Spirit Brunhilde and the current ogre chief, Galasvind."
* * *
A small church on the eastern outskirts.
Two men, who could change the power dynamics of the continent in the future, met there.
Edward, the heir to the Glazer family, wearing a white cloak, and Gunter, a prominent successor of the Strange family, wearing yellow armor.
The two sat facing each other at a round table.
"I don't think you betrayed me."
Edward spoke first. Gunter hesitated for a moment before responding.
"If I had truly betrayed you, I would have told you to cut off my head, not my arm."
"Exactly. That's what I think too."
"...What did he look like?"
"A kid in a black cloak. Blond hair, just like yours."
"A kid? Blond?"
"Yes, at first I thought he was disguised as a child, but upon closer inspection, he really was a child."
"..."
"He had the same blond hair as you and your father."
Gunter's mind became complicated.
Among the direct descendants who inherited Royce's bloodline, he was the only one with blond hair. So, was the person behind this a collateral descendant? The more he thought about it, the farther he got from the answer.
No matter who he thought of, no one matched Edward's description.
Naturally, Gunter had never seen Verdin in his awakened form.
He had never witnessed him turning blond when receiving the power of the Sword God.
"I don't know. I really don't know."
"There have been no recently born blond children on our side."
"It might not be Royce's blood."
"Then?"
"He used mana. That means he might be a descendant of Strange raised out of sight."
"Mana.... Did he use magic?"
"No, instead, he used mana on his sword. He was so skilled that there was no chance to counterattack."
"A sword?"
"Yes, a sword."
Edward showed his right arm, which was missing below the elbow, by lifting his cloak.
"And that sword did this to me."
Gunter's mouth fell open in disbelief.
"?!!"
"That blond kid. Not only did he take my arm, but he also outsmarted all the wizards above the 5th circle who were there."
"...Was he alone?"
"I don't know if he came alone or if someone was nearby."
There was a brief silence.
After a few seconds, Edward let out a hollow laugh and continued.
"But one thing is certain. There aren't many people like him on the entire continent. Especially not someone his age capable of such a feat."
"Then it won't be difficult to find him."
"That's why I'm asking you. It's not difficult, and the area is Strange's territory."
Gunter clenched his fists tightly.
"I'll catch him and bring him to you within a week."
"Don't be careless."
"Do you think I'll lose to him?"
Edward shook his severed arm and replied.
Swoosh, swoosh.
"No one knows. I didn't expect to end up like this either. By the way, one of your brothers is causing a commotion in the east."
"Brother?"
"Yes, while you're at it, you might want to deal with him too. His name is Hysteria. It seems that crazy guy has started messing with our people."
Gunter muttered with a frightening look.
"Hysteria."
"He's been ravaging villages looking for some assassin."
"An assassin?"
"Yes, he supposedly wiped out Baron Leiden's troops single-handedly. The reason? Apparently, he didn't like their faces. He seems completely insane."
"...I understand. I'll hurry to meet him."
The conversation ended there.
After finishing their discussion, the two men left the church, heading in opposite directions.
Outside the left entrance, dozens of wizards formed a formation to protect Edward as he left.
Outside the right entrance, dozens of knights awaited Gunter with a disciplined stance.
"Knight Commander, summon Gernoa and Giselle."