“Hey, so what exactly are we doing now?”

“We’re making wooden spears and pickets.”

A former mercenary responded to his colleague’s question while cutting off the excess of a long vine used to join together several wooden spears.

“Well, obviously. That’s not what I’m asking. Why are we sitting here doing something like this instead of heading into the ruin?”

“If you are curious, feel free to go ask Sir Eugene or Sir Galfredik.”

“No, I would rather not.”

The mercenary still trembled when he made eye contact with the knights. He could not bring himself to do something so daring.

“They said that they were going to kill the harpies and the wyvern. Let’s just do as we’re told.”

“Harpies, maybe. But do you really think we can kill a wyvern? I heard everyone flees into the buildings as soon as the wyvern appears.”

“Tsk, tsk. It seems y’all are still in the dark, hmm?”

Lavan sneakily joined the conversation. Although all of them were now colleagues, Lavan had been by Eugene’s side for a long time. The men showed interest in his words.

“Lavan, was it? Has Sir Eugene killed a wyvern before?”

“Not a wyvern, but he has killed two trolls by himself. Moreover, he pulled out one of their heads with his bare hands, along with its spine! Just like this!”

Lavan ripped the bark off of a branch, and the soldiers trembled with fear.

“I-is that really true? Two trolls? By himself?”

“Why would I lie to you all? It was in the Tywin territory. I saw it with my own eyes when we entered the dungeon. And was that all? No, there was even a time when he killed two orcs with a single javelin.”

“Wow…”

“It was even more amazing in person. So if Sir Eugene asks you to do something, you’d better just do it without complaining or asking any questions.”

“Says you. This guy almost got himself killed by picking a fight with Sir Eugene on the day they first met.” 

Glade chimed in as well, and Lavan responded with a blush.

“Hey, why are you bringing up things of the past?”

“It was just so funny listening to your words. Anyways, everything he said is true, so all of you should just do as you are told. Be honest, this is much better than going into the ruin without any preparations, right?”

“That’s true.”

The troops nodded while meeting each other’s eyes. There were knights who were crazy about glory and fame. Such knights would treat mercenaries as mere meat shields and almost always engaged in frontal battles without preparations. The troops much preferred Eugene, who seemed to have a plan of some sort. Moreover, Eugene possessed enormous power, so they had nothing to complain about.

“Are you still not finished? The sun is about to go down, you bastards.” Galfredik spoke in a husky voice, and the troops busily returned to their work. “We are almost finished! Let’s hurry up, everyone.”

“Right.”

The troops continued working diligently. After about twenty minutes, several wooden blocks made from 3-meter-long wooden spears were finally completed.

“It’s well made.” Galfredik carefully observed the creation before nodding with satisfaction. Then he turned his head towards Eugene.

“Good. Then we will set off.”

“Yes!”

The troops began descending the slope while carrying the wooden blocks at Eugene’s orders. After a while, the group arrived at the rubbles of a gate, the unofficial entrance to the Philia Ruins.

“I think over there would be good.” Galfredik spoke while pointing to the side. 

“Install them over there.” Eugene gave orders to the troops.

The wooden blocks were quickly placed in front of a naturally formed cliff. It would easily house forty to fifty people inside, and it looked solid in terms of defense as well.

“Sir Galfredik, may I ask why we are setting up wooden fences in this place?”

Partec asked in a low voice, and Galfredik grinned in response. The two of them had gotten fairly close over time. 

“You will know if you wait and see. And I think this will work no matter what.”

“Is that so?” 

Partec was still puzzled, but he had nothing left to say since Galfredik was so confident.

“We’re done!”

“Good. We will leave behind some men to defend our horses. The rest of you, let’s get going.”

All of the troops except two of Veron’s subordinates followed behind Eugene and Galfredik. As soon as the group passed through the half-collapsed gate of the city, Eugene immediately heightened his senses. However, the ruin was quite open and wide, unlike dungeons and labyrinths. It was rather difficult to detect any presence of monsters.

‘Hmm?’

After walking for about five minutes, Eugene caught a whiff of a monster’s unique scent.

Kiee, kiek.

A low cry followed.

‘It’s about there.’

Eugene continued forward while glaring at a collapsed building, which was covered in vines and roots.

Kiekie! Kie…!

The monster’s cry gradually grew louder. Soon, Galfredik also noticed the sound and turned to Eugene. Eugene nodded lightly before giving orders.

“Everyone, prepare for battle.”

“…..?”

The eyes of the troops were filled with confusion, but as soon as Galfredik shot them a fierce look, everyone hurriedly arranged themselves into formation.

“Luke.”

“Yes, Master!”

Luke was now Eugene’s aide rather than a slave. He approached Eugene with a longbow and a quiver full of arrows. Eugene took a stance, and those around him formed a defensive formation with their shields.

Eugene nocked an arrow in one fluid motion. Although he was originally incapable of using the bow, his posture and grip were perfect after absorbing all of Galfredik’s skills.

“Here they come, sir!” Mirian cried out anxiously, and the strange cries grew even louder.

Kiyaaahk! Kieeek!

“Harpies!”

As soon as someone shouted…

Fwooosh! Pararak!

More than one hundred winged monsters shot into the air from a building covered with lush dark green.

“Fire!”

Tung! Tung! Tung!

The troops fired simultaneously, and about ten harpies immediately crashed into the ground. The soldiers quickly abandoned their long-ranged weapons and pulled out their shields and swords. The long-ranged weapons would take too long to reload, which would be inappropriate for the upcoming battle.

However, arrows continued to fly toward the monsters at a regular pace.

Eugene and Galfredik were using their longbows.

Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping!

Galfredik’s archery was relatively inferior compared to his swordsmanship, spearmanship, and horse riding. However, he was able to shoot faster and more accurately compared to before thanks to the improved vision and concentration he gained as a vampire.

The same was true with Eugene. The two knights continued to release arrows at a rapid pace as if competing with each other, and each of the projectiles found their mark in either the chest or the head of the harpies.

Kieeek! Kyahk!

Harpies were monsters. As such, their hides were tough, and they had many more protective feathers compared to ordinary birds. But they still could not resist the arrows of vampire knights shot within a distance of 100 meters.

Kyaaahk! Kyahk! Kyat!”

Their cries were similar to that of a crow’s. The sounds closely followed one another, and many harpies fell dead before they could even approach the soldiers.

But they were numerous and agile. When the harpies started to close in on the group, Eugene threw away his longbow without hesitation and unsheathed Wolfslaughter.

“Protect the wizard! Romari!”

“Yes! Please leave it to me!”

Eugene charged at the group of harpies, and Galfredik kept pace right behind him.

Kiyaahk! Kiyahk!

The harpies cried mockingly when they saw the charge of the two knights. They knew exactly how slow and sluggish human knights were in their metallic armor. Although it was difficult to slash through the front of the metal armor, if three or four of them rushed the knights at once, they could find gaps in the plates and…

Kyahk!?

However, the harpies were completely taken aback when they saw the movements of the two knights. The two knights weren’t slow or sluggish at all. Rather, they were almost as fast and agile as themselves.

Eugene flung himself forward just as the harpies came down to land.

Shuack!

Wolfslaughter slashed down vertically. Galfredik jumped at almost the same time and swung his longsword while shouting ferociously.

The piercing cries of the monsters reverberated as the world around them became dyed in blood and feathers. In an instant, five or six harpies fell from the sky. Some of them had their wings severed, while others were killed instantly as their thin waists were split.

Some of the other harpies swooped down with their big, sharp talons. They could easily grab hold of a calf or a dog with their large claws.

Crack!

Although it was impossible for them to break through the plate armor’s defense, one of the harpies was lucky enough to grab onto Eugene’s shoulder with its talons.

Kyaahk!

The harpy cried triumphantly before flapping vigorously. It would surely lift the human knight into the air before dropping him to his death. However, Eugene reacted immediately by thrusting his hand forward. He grabbed the harpy’s thick, solid leg and pummeled the creature into the ground.

Bang!

A strange sound similar to the bursting of a drum resounded, and the harpy’s body exploded as it crashed into the hard stone floor.

“…..!?”

Although they were not as intelligent as humans, monsters also possessed thoughts and emotions. The harpies were shocked into stillness when they saw their comrade’s body explode into bits and pieces. The human knight even stood there while holding the yellow leg of their friend.

It was the first time that they saw such a powerful and wild human.

Thud.

Eugene threw away the harpy’s leg before rushing toward the remaining monsters. The harpies started to scatter in fear.

The human wasn’t a knight hunting monsters. Rather, he was a beast hunting birds, and they were ordinary chickens trying to escape an inevitable slaughter.

The harpies eagerly flapped their wings and cried with panic, but it was useless. A few succeeded in leaping into the air, but they were quickly struck down with their large legs lacerated like rotten logs.

Kieeek!

There were still more than 30 of them left, but the harpies had completely lost their will to fight. Their souls were imprinted with a fear similar to when they were faced with the wyvern, the king of the ruin.

Another attack was launched in the midst of their fear and panic.

“… ….. … …..!”

Romari finished chanting a spell in an ancient language while being protected by the troops. She stretched out her stick, and a red light wrapped around some of the harpies who were trying to escape.

Kieeee…!

Five or six harpies responded immediately. They began attacking their own kind. The other harpies realized that something was wrong and they jumped back while flapping their wings.

They were capable of jumping dozens of meters with a single leap. As such, they mistakenly thought that they could easily escape the attacks of the two human knights. However, their assumption would have been true if they were faced with two ‘human’ knights.

In addition, the two ‘human’ knights weren’t their only enemies.

“Fire!”

Partec shouted, and the troops fired their reloaded crossbows. Then, they charged with a brave shout. Grounded, injured, and flightless harpies were no match for experienced mercenaries.

In the end, almost all of the 100 harpies were slaughtered even before ten minutes elapsed since the start of the fight. On the other hand, none of the troops were dead, and most had not suffered even the slightest of injuries.

It had been a literal slaughter.

***

“What? Are you saying we should retreat?” Partec and Veron questioned with dumbfounded expressions.

“That’s right,” Eugene responded nonchalantly.

“This isn’t a dungeon or a labyrinth. Is there a reason why we cannot retreat? It’s not like we will find the wyvern by simply walking around.”

“Y-yes, of course. I understand.”

Although they had many questions in their heads, they had no choice but to obey. Galfredik was the most experienced one among them in regard to subjugations, and even he was staying quiet. Moreover, the commands of a knight were absolute. 

In addition, since they were officially Eugene’s subordinates now, they couldn’t possibly disobey the commands of the knight they swore allegiance to, could they?

The troops and porters roughly disassembled the bodies of the harpies and packed the byproducts before returning. No one could guess what Eugene was thinking, but they weren’t overly worried. No one had been injured or killed in their slaughter of nearly 100 harpies, and it was due to the overwhelming performance of the knights.

When they passed the rubbles of the gate, Eugene issued an order. “Cut off their heads and bring them to me.”

“Ah… yes.”

Their confusion grew even more, but the troops obeyed Eugene’s orders. Soon, the heads of the harpies were gathered into a pile.

Harpies were humanoid monsters with human heads. It was quite a gruesome sight to see around a hundred decapitated heads gathered into a pile.

“Thread the heads with wooden spears and place them next to the barricade.”

Eugene had previously ordered them to create wooden spears as well as wooden blocks. They finally understood why they were tasked to make these wooden spears.

“This is a bit creepy. Do you think he is fond of these types of things?”

“I heard that some of the knights have a ‘hobby’ of preserving and keeping the heads of their enemies on their walls…”

“What? Are you saying that they masturbate to it?”

“Wow. I knew he wasn’t an ordinary knight in many ways, but…”

The troops whispered while stealing glances at Eugene. They naturally assumed that Eugene couldn’t hear their conversation, but it was impossible for a vampire to miss it.

“Those bastards…” Galfredik growled. 

Eugene dissuaded him. “Leave them. They will find out in a few days anyway.”

As if to prove Eugene’s prediction, the troops finally discovered the purpose of the heads the very next day.