The Reconnaissance team of Silverna consisted of exactly seven members.
The leader was Silverna Caldias.
The other members included her lieutenant, Anna.
Then there were three from Helmut: Isaac, Sharen, and Jonathan.
Additionally, there was Meladik Drakemoor, who had sparred with Silverna in the past and learned swordsmanship from Isaac.
Lastly, there was Polo Blackson.
"Wh-why am I even part of this?"
Polo Blackson was one of the younger members among the dispatched nobles. At just 20 years old, he was anxious, unable to understand why he had been included in the team.
Silverna sure made a bold move.
Isaac had a skeptical view of Silverna's decision to include Polo Blackson in the Reconnaissance team.
The Blackson family had been branded as traitors to the kingdom.
Not many people were aware of this yet.
The royal family was secretly investigating the Blackson family based on reports from Uldren.
Isaac believed it was better to leave them alone until the investigation was concluded.
However, Silverna's thought otherwise, believing that dangerous individuals should be kept close.
Both had their own reasonable arguments.
"S-Sir Isaac! Th-that person is…!"
While Silverna was gathering her team members before their departure, Jonathan approached Isaac nervously.
He trembled as he pointed at Polo, who was standing awkwardly beside Meladik Drakemoor.
Ah, right.
Isaac recalled that Jonathan had been nearby when the truth about the Transcendents and the Blackson family was revealed.
"D-don't worry about it. I, Jonathan, will risk my life to protect you, Sir Isaac!"
"Jonathan, don't talk to him. You'll give everything away."
"Ah, understood."
Jonathan seemed relieved, fully aware of his own lack of talent in deception.
But something seemed off about Jonathan.
His walk was slightly awkward, and his posture was crooked.
"Take off your armor."
"What?"
"Now."
Jonathan hesitated for a moment.
When he removed his armor, bruises and injuries were revealed underneath.
It was clear that someone had intentionally targeted areas that wouldn't be exposed while wearing armor. Isaac's eyes blazed with anger at the sight.
"This is insane—!"
Isaac had noticed Helmut's knights when the second Helmut delegation arrived.
He hadn't expected that they would do this to Jonathan in just a single day.
Fuming, he was about to storm off to confront them.
"Sir I-Isaac! It's fine! There's no problem at all! The senior knights were just disciplining me because I'm lacking!"
"Disciplining? How are you supposed to manage outside the wall in this condition?!"
"I'll be fine! I can handle it perfectly! Please don't worry about me!"
Jonathan pretended as though nothing was wrong, but that only made Isaac feel more frustrated.
Jonathan, on the verge of tears, grabbed Isaac's arm.
"Please, I beg you. If you take action, it'll make things even harder for me later!"
"Jonathan…"
Isaac gritted his teeth.
Jonathan was right.
Though Jonathan didn't know the full extent, Isaac himself was leaving Helmut in a month.
Even if he threatened the knights now, it wouldn't matter much since Isaac's position as a son-in-law wouldn't command serious attention.
The Helmut knights, who had seen Isaac being beaten by direct descendants of Helmut, likely wouldn't care either.
"What's going on?"
At that moment, Sharen spoke up from behind Isaac, her arms crossed, as she glanced at Jonathan.
"Is he a knight from our house? I don't recall seeing him. And what's with his condition?"
"L-Lady Sharen!"
Jonathan saluted her.
Isaac sighed and briefly explained the situation.
"Hmm."
Raising a single finger, Sharen made a simple declaration.
"Gather them all here. Now."
"…What?"
"Gather them."
Jonathan looked bewildered.
Isaac smirked and gave him a gentle push on the back.
"What are you doing? The second daughter of the main family has issued an order. If you're a knight of Helmut, you must obey."
The knights from Helmut had just arrived yesterday, and their duty assignments hadn't been finalized yet. In other words, now was the perfect time to gather everyone.
Ten minutes later.
Knights clad in armor stood lined up in the training ground.
Even though Sharen was only 17 years old, she was a member of the direct lineage.
Especially since Sharen had never summoned them in this manner before, the knights seemed bewildered.
"Step forward, the ones who beat him up yesterday."
Standing beside Jonathan, Sharen spoke sharply as she cast a piercing gaze.
The knights began glancing at one another nervously.
"You're not stepping forward? Should I go right now and report to Father? About how the knights of Helmut are bullying someone like a bunch of kids?"
"L-Lady Sharen."
One knight cautiously stepped forward.
He was a senior among the dispatched knights, slightly older, with a dignified beard.
"This is the Malidan Wall. Acting in this manner might tarnish Helmut's honor—"
Sharen hesitated momentarily at his words.
Really?
Her reliable demeanor from moments ago disappeared as she tilted her head and pondered.
"It's quite the opposite."
Eventually, Isaac stepped forward.
"Engaging in such abusive behavior after coming all the way to the Malidan Wall is already disgraceful. But trying to cover it up? That's the real stain on Helmut's honor."
"Sir Isaac…"
"Furthermore, does this look like something that will simply stay confined to Helmut?"
As if waiting for her cue, Silverna approached.
Her cold gaze resembled the icy winds of the North, piercing through the seams of the knights' armor and stabbing at them.
"You've done this to someone assigned to a Reconnaissance team leaving today? Do you realize this could escalate to a military tribunal?"
"...!"
"We trusted Helmut to handle this internally because it involved their knights. But if you brush it under the rug, don't expect us to remain silent."
Standing next to Jonathan, Silverna boldly took his side.
With even Caldias stepping in, Sharen seemed to finally regain her bearings.
"Are you tarnishing Helmut's honor like this? Do you want me to go straight to Father and tell him everything?! I'm really curious what he'll say!"
As soon as Arandel's name was mentioned, the atmosphere shifted dramatically.
"We apologize!"
The senior knight bowed deeply in apology.
"Where did you sell off your chivalry?! Helmut's proud knights engaging in such disgraceful acts?!"
Riding the momentum, Sharen scolded them even more harshly.
"M-my apologies, Jonathan."
"We were in the wrong."
"Please, forgive us…"
The three knights who had beaten Jonathan stepped forward, deeply bowing as they apologized.
While the matter felt unresolved, Jonathan, the victim, didn't want to drag it out any further, so it was decided to let the issue go.
After receiving collective disciplinary action, the knights dispersed. Silverna looked at Jonathan with concern.
"Jonathan, you don't have to join if you're unwell."
"No, "I'm fine! I can manage!"
"Ugh, while we have a mage who can perform healing magic… we can't just use it recklessly."
It was practically wartime. Using valuable healing magic on something like this would be wasteful.
"It seems better for Jonathan to sit out today."
With Isaac's agreement, Jonathan had no choice but to relent.
He was sent to the infirmary for separate treatment and would take the day off, reducing the Reconnaissance team to six members.
"If this happens again, I swear, I'll go straight to Father regardless of the situation!"
The senior knight, still lingering alone, was being scolded by Sharen.
The sight of him apologizing and vowing to manage things better to a girl younger than himself was almost pitiable.
"May I ask something?"
Isaac stepped in.
Sharen, annoyed by the interruption, bit her lip but didn't say anything.
"Yes, Sir Isaac!"
Grateful that Sharen had stopped her lecture, the senior knight turned to Isaac. Lowering his voice, Isaac asked sincerely,
"Isn't upholding chivalry an important value for Helmut's knights?"
"Y-yes, it is. That's why this incident has given me much to reflect on—"
Even if the direct lineage was chaotic, knights wouldn't normally stoop to the level of petty thugs. Ignoring the knight's attempt to claim he was truly remorseful, Isaac pressed on with his questioning.
"So why Jonathan? Why specifically target him?"
The knight hesitated for a moment before glancing around. Ensuring no one else could overhear, he explained quietly to Sharen and Isaac alone.
After hearing the explanation, Sharen slowly turned her head to look at Jonathan. Watching his slumped figure shuffle toward the infirmary, she abruptly yelled out:
"Is that guy insane?!"
***
The Reconnaissance team moved beyond the Wall. Leading the group, Silverna strode forward calmly, spear in hand.
The time had passed noon and was nearing 2 PM. Because of the brief commotion caused by the Jonathan's incident, the team had arrived later than expected at the designated location.
"This place should keep us hidden. We call it 'Snowflower.'"
The location Silverna referred to as "Snowflower" was a dense forest.
It was near the entrance of a mountain range known to harbor beast colonies.
Being in the northern region, the trees were all covered with snow, appearing like white blossoms in full bloom. The sunlight barely reached the ground.
"In this area, if beast come near, the snow will give us warning. We can see their footprints, or deduce their location from the snow falling off the trees."
"A unique method of the North."
Isaac was impressed by the idea that nature itself served as a defense mechanism. Additionally, in emergencies, the snow could even be used to conceal their bodies.
"Especially with large colonies, there's a higher likelihood of intelligent beasts. That's why naming our outposts like this ensures they can't easily pinpoint specific locations."
"Alright, here you go."
As Silverna explained, Anna pulled out a water bottle from her bag.
"Everyone, put on this on the cloaks I handed out earlier. Be careful not to get this on your clothes—this is a strong deodorizer."
"Deodorizer? I don't want to use that." Sharen grumbled.
"Beasts are very sensitive to the smell of humans. You must use it."
Despite Sharen's grumbling, Anna opened the deodorizer's cap.
To avoid detection by scent-sensitive beasts, the deodorizer was sprayed onto brown cloaks lined with fur.
With their hoods pulled up, the team disguised themselves to make it harder for the beasts to detect them.
"Ha… Haaah… Haaah!"
Polo Blackson, more nervous than expected, was already panting.
Nearby, both Meladik Drakemoor and Sharen began to scolded him.
"Hey, don't be so tense. This is just a reconnaissance mission."
"Did we bring a kid along? Will he even fulfill his noble duty properly?"
For reference, Sharen was three years younger than Polo Blackson.
Even Silverna seemed surprised by how tense Polo was.
It was almost embarrassing to keep close watch on him due to his family's betrayal.
"Polo, if you're too nervous, just stay back and wait here. We need at least one person to remain at the outpost-"
A sharp gust of wind interrupted her.
Without a sound, something flew through the wind: it was a bone.
"Ughhhhh!"
Blood stained the snow as Polo fell to his knees, coughing up dark red blood. His trembling eyes stared down at the bone, shaped like a spear, embedded in his chest.
"Guh… Ahhh… Aaack!"
"Polo!"
Anna rushed to check on him in panic.
Meanwhile, Silverna and Sharen immediately drew their weapons, fixing their gazes in the direction the bone had come from.
"Sniff… sniff…"
Thick fur, white as snow.
A massive frame with bulging muscles.
"Sniff… sniff…"
The creature carried various crude weapons made from beasts and animals strapped to its back.
"Sniff… sniff…"
It was a yeti, one of the North's most infamous beasts. But its behavior made it clear this wasn't an ordinary yeti.
"Sniff… sniff…"
It tapped its nose, grinning widely to reveal sharp teeth.
"Human smell. Sniff, sniff."
"It recognized the scent of the deodorizer."
Isaac muttered grimly, his expression sour. Anna's eyes widened in shock at his words.
"W-what? It remembers the deodorizer's scent?" Anna gasped.
"It must've encountered it during another reconnaissance mission, not us."
"What? Why didn't they report something so important-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Crack!
Like a rock, the skull the creature hurled was shattered by Silverna's spear.
"Was there a Reconnaissance team that hasn't returned yet?"
At Silverna's question, Anna replied urgently.
"Team 3! They were supposed to switch shifts with us-"
Silverna's eyes burned with fury as she assumed a combat stance.
"Proxa, Torvik, Calden, Irkasyr?"
"Y-Yes!"
"I see. This is starting to feel like a real mess."
The yeti picked up another skull. There were three in total. Since Silverna had already blocked one, it meant there were four initially.
"What's Polo's condition?"
"He's in critical condition. The bone didn't pierce through completely, so he's not losing too much blood, but he needs a healer immediately."
"Sharen, if you carry Polo and run, how fast can you reach the wall?"
"If I drop everything? Fifteen minutes."
Sharen was already discarding her greatsword and other equipment onto the ground.
Gone was the innocent, carefree child from earlier.
She now stood as a warrior worthy of Helmut, prepared to run at a moment's notice.
"Sharen, carry Polo and head back first. The rest of us will follow and cover your retreat."
Grinding her teeth at the failure of their first mission, Silverna gave a bitter nod. Isaac drew his longsword and stood beside her.
"We've learned about Team 3's annihilation and the presence of a named beast. That's enough of a result for a reconnaissance mission."
"…Isaac."
"If the fight drags on, the beasts in the mountains will swarm us. Retreating is the right call here, Silverna. We'll get revenge later."
Though she could not suppress the bitterness in her heart, she knew Isaac was right.
Silverna took a deep breath and nodded, and as Meladik and Anna began to retreat,
"Aaaahhhhh!"
Sharen's scream made everyone turn.
From Polo's body, instead of blood, a viscous black liquid began pouring out, wrapping itself around Sharen.
"W-What is this?! What's happening?!"
Panicked, Sharen dropped Polo.
The unconscious Polo's body continued to ooze the black liquid, which tried to engulf Sharen.
"It's sorcery!"
Humans have magic, but transcendent beings possess sorcery.
Naturally, it wasn't common, just like magic.
Isaac realized immediately that Polo had been tampered with by Transcendent beings. He moved to help Sharen —but then—
Smash!
"Ugh?!"
A skull struck Silverna's shoulder, shattering on impact. The force made her stagger back, her expression twisting in pain.
"Sniff, sniff."
The yeti's heavy footsteps grew louder as it approached.