Relic Convoy (1)

It was the 96th year of Leon's reign.

"Your Majesty, it is said that a holy relic has been found in a savage land that worships a beast god!"

A holy relic is an object imbued with divine power that can only be used by a Holy Knight or a priest of the highest rank.

Since the dawn of the Lionheart Kingdom, there have been countless holy objects, but not all of them have made it to the Lionheart Kingdom.

The Lionheart Kingdom has battled the evils of the world, winning some battles and losing others.

The holy relic found was lost 900 years ago, when the 12th Lionheart King died in a barbarian war in the north.

It was found by the Relic Seekers, a group that searches for lost relics.

Leon immediately organized a convoy to take the relic from the barbarian lands but there was a major catch: to reach the barbarian lands, the convoy would have to cross the Empire's borders.

The Empire also became an uncomfortable neighbor in Leon's time, thanks to the Archdemon Summoning Incident.

Leon, the youngest Holy Knight and War Knight at 35, defeated the Archdemon that killed the 14th Lionheart King, Argent Majesty Lionheart.

It took place on the fringes of the Empire, at the hands of warlocks backed by one of the Empire's 13 Overlords, and although the Archdemon was defeated, a great grudge remained with the Empire.

Partly because the Lionheart Kingdom had crossed the border as soon as the demon summons was detected, but also because they had burned the man responsible for the whole thing at the stake.

The Empire was outraged, and even the Emperor condemned them, but the Lionheart Kingdom ignored them.

"There can be no leniency when it comes to demons! You should be ashamed of yourself for not being able to handle it yourself!"

From then on, relations with the Empire remained difficult, with Imperial troops lining their borders to this day.

As a result, the Empire still held a grudge sixty years later, refusing to allow a large convoy of holy relics, and eventually they had to send a smaller convoy of 500 seekers, who eventually succeeded in their quest.

Two thousand orcs and seven barbarian tribes were burned to death in the process, but the search for the Relic seemed to be coming to a successful conclusion.

'But Lord Jerea did not return.'

The exact process was unknown since no one else in the holy relic's convoy made it back alive.

Leon had met Sir Jerea in Paradise, when the gods had taken refuge in the Lionheart during the final battle with the demons, but he too said nothing.

He would only say that he had been slain by a mighty orc, but he knew nothing of what happened after death.

The holy relic's whereabouts were unknown until two years later, when the Emperor summoned the Demon Lord of Chaos to sacrifice three million Imperial citizens.

'If I'd known I'd be here, I could have gone to Paradise and gathered the testimonies of the soldiers who fought.'

No, what can I do about what had already happened?

There is only so long the living Leon can spend in the world of the dead.

He had been able to see Sir Jerea face once on his way, but he hadn't been able to see each of his soldiers.

'Where are the others?'

When Leon opened his eyes, there were only soldiers and knights around him. His companions were nowhere to be seen.

They must have split up when they entered.

'That means they can't even cover the gate.'

That, too, could be adjusted with experience and data.

Leon turned to the front, where there was still commotion.

"Fight back!"

"We can't let the orcs get behind this!"

The Baltaric Legion.

The Baltaric Orc Crushers.

They are the masters of orc hunting, even making jewelry from the bones of orcs.

""whaaaaaaaaa──!!"

Green beasts, probably twice the size of the sturdy Orc Crushers, charged at them, wielding axes and clubs.

But the Orc Crushers parried the attacks with their shields and calmly stabbed the orcs to death.

There were only a few hundred Orc Crushers, but one of them could handle four orcs.

And there was another force protecting them.

-Siaaaaah…!

Black smoke emanated from the center of the Orc Crushers. The orcs that breathed it in fell with a thud.

"Lord Jerea's Reverie Zone has formed, retreat back!"

"Retreat twenty paces and regroup!"

The Orc Crushers retreat in unison from the black smoke, and in front of them is the Knight of the Three Swords, skewering Orc heads with his handsome beard.

"Hmph… The orcs have momentum."

"Ser Jerea!"

"Captain Beverick."

Captain Beverick faked a bow and dropped to one knee.

"His Majesty Lionheart, King Leon Dragonia Lionheart, is here!"

"What? That can't be right, why would he...."

Jerea was stunned to see the familiar blond Lionheart behind Beverick's back then willingly knelt down and bowed to him.

"I greet the first Knight of Arianna!"

Leon looked down at the aging Holy Knight who bowed before him.

The moment a Holy Knight drinks the holy water of the Grail and awakens, he is reconstituted into the body of his prime.

While Leon's case was unusual in that he became a Holy Knight at such a young age, the Holy Knight in front of him was unusual in the opposite sense.

Jerea, the Elder Holy Knight, the oldest Acolyte and the oldest Holy Knight.

His body was not reconstituted the moment he drank the holy water. In other words, this old, decrepit body was his prime.

"Still the same…you."

"...?"

The knight with the handsome mustache and refined style was dumbfounded, but he did not raise his head, maintaining courtesy.

"Rise."

The descending voice made Jerea awkwardly rise to his feet. He looked up to see before him and it was unmistakably, King Lionheart.

The youngest War Knight, the youngest to become a Holy Knight, the legendary one who had broken through an army of demons to defeat an Archdemon.

How could he be here when he was supposed to be in the royal castle? Despite his many questions, Jerea did not doubt the divinity before him.

"I will explain later. Ser Jerea, explain the situation."

Leon wanted to first compare what he knew with the situation of the holy convoy.

"Yes, Your Majesty, we were on our way to the Imperial border to retrieve the holy relics as scheduled!"

After retrieving the holy relics from the barbarian lands, the convoy headed straight for the Imperial border. The Empire and the Kingdom were longtime allies, albeit frosty ones.

It takes less than three days on horseback to cross their border into the Kingdom.

Once they reached the Imperial border, the mission to escort the holy relics would be over but then something happened.

"Orcs attacked with the Beast God's cultists. Orcs from the northeast, presumably."

Orcs often cross the country in wars, so it's not surprising that they'd come this far. What is strange is their behavior.

"Orcs are not known to be sociable, but they have joined hands with humans. That's unusual."

Leon doesn't distinguish between orcs and cultists, but they do ostracize and categorize each other in their own way.

"At first, the orcs would beat up anything that wasn't one of their colonized races, the goblins or trolls.

But cultists and orcs holding hands?

It was unusual and alarming, but....

'It was commonplace in the Last War.'

Leon remembered the fall of the empire and the alignment of the beasts that had begun in the ninety-eighth year of his reign.

Orcs enjoyed warring with demons and cultists, but sometimes they cooperated. It was a wonder their stupid animal brains knew the word cooperation, but──

'What happens, happens.'

Leon figured it had happened long before '98. Only two years later, the Emperor of the Empire would summon the Lord of Chaos.

"So, Lord Jerea, what did you do with the holy object?"

"Yes, we left only infantry and a handful of knights to hold the orcs at bay here, and we tore the holy relic into five pieces and escorted it away. We had to tear it as much as we could, since the Black Eagle God's cronies were tracking us by air."

It was a reasonable conclusion.

"Then… where is the convoy containing the 'real holy relic'?"

Jerea said without hesitation.

"Convoy five, southwest. It's being led by my 'past'."

* * * *

"Mmmm...."

Beatrice drooled, her normally laid-back and bewitching voice sounding out of place.

She opened her eyes upon entering the gate, only to find a desolate canyon in front of her, with her companions nowhere to be seen.

"I must have… miscalculated."

Gate magic is a type of magic she's never used before.

She was able to identify the coordinates and open the gate, but the arrival coordinates were scattered.

'A miscalculation? That's a bit bizarre.'

Even though it was her first time casting this spell, would she who was called the Magician Queen of the Spero Kingdom make such a mistake?

Before that, Beatrice was at a loss as to what to do in this wide canyon. It's a place she's never seen before, and she's never seen anything that has anything to do with Leon.

Just as she was about to mount the horse she had brought with her, a commotion reached her ears.

-Kiie-e-e!

-Keep running, we can't let them catch up!

It was the beasts pursuing the cavalry.

A few knights, presumably knights, and a few soldiers, armed with light armor rather than heavy armor that appeared to be commoner cavalry.

Their identities were unknown, but their pursuers were known.

"Servants of the Beast Gods."

The cavalry may be allies, but they are certainly enemies. Beatrice stretched out her beautiful fingers and worked her magic.

-Quang! Quack!

A beam of light cut through the sky, and the thunder crackled.

Boars were struck by lightning and roasted, and black eagles were pierced by beams.

The magician queen unleashed an endless stream of magic, each one a deadly blast of violence that swept through the beasts.

She must have looked like the absolute queen of death to the beasts and it was the same for the cavalry.

"Who, who are you!"

"An Imperial mage!"

The knights stepped forward and stood before the queen, wary of her face covered by the veil, but not hiding their favor for being saved.

"How will you prove your identity?"

Beatrice raised her powers to prove her identity, and to make herself easily recognizable to the knights.

The power of Fle, the goddess of dreams and death, was a dark purple color.

"You're the same… as Sir Jerea…! You're the goddess of Fle?!"

"No, a holy power as clear as her is only possible for a priestess of the highest rank...."

Beatrice smirked as the knights looked on in confusion.

"More importantly, knights, can you explain the situation we're in for a moment?"

It was crucial to gather information first.

* * * *

"Ugh…."

My bones ache.

Koo Dae-sung realized that he had been hit with something blunt.

He never thought he'd get hit as soon as he entered the gate. Was everyone else okay?

"Hey, hey, hey!"

A voice patted his cheek. When Koo Dae-sung opened his eyes, there was an old man with an impressive mustache in front of him.

"Hehe, this fellow has opened his eyes. If you're in such a hurry, why do you throw yourself in front of it?"

"Ugh...."

Koo Dae-sung was stunned to see a large bear carcass in front of him, its fur as stiff as steel.

"Whoa…!"

He stumbled backwards and looked around. The area around him was littered with corpses that had been attacked by beasts in the middle of the night, and in the distance, a familiar girl was pulling a horse with a horseman.

"Ah, old Hunter…you're awake, aren't you?"

The red-haired girl clapped her hands in concern and checked Koo Dae-sung's condition.

"Deputy Han…what about him?"

The trooper leading the horse felt the gaze and replied.

"Ah, I'm sorry I'm late in introducing myself, I'm Vion of the scout cavalry. Knight, please keep your voice down."

Why would he call him a knight? That question was answered by the older man, who called himself Sir Jerea.

"And how did the knight of the earth and abundance come to this land, anyway? I thought I was the only one who did such crazy things."

Knight? Apparently, they mistook him for a knight.

Koo Dae-Sung opened his mouth to correct the error, but a system message flashed before his eyes.

[Assist Lord Jerea of Twilight in escorting the holy relic to the Lionheart border]

"Convoy…the holy relic?"

"That's right. We are currently retrieving the holy relics from the Savage Lands and escorting them."

"Is that so?"

"I'm a little late in hearing from you, but that's to be expected from a knight who sought honor even in this land."

"I beg your pardon, Twilight… Lord Jerea?"

Jerea chuckled and shook his head at being addressed as the system prompted him.

"That is an honor earned by the future me. For now, I am simply a Quest Knight on a quest."

"What?"

Koo Dae-sung tilted his head.