Chapter 179

Chapter 179: A Past Grudge

“Damn it...”

The moment the name Veritarun came up, Hardin’s expression turned terrifying.

His body began to tremble slightly, and I could feel mana close to killing intent seeping out around him.

At that moment, Malion asked with a puzzled look.

“Why, Brother? What is that Veritarun thing...?”

“You don’t know Veritarun? He’s the name of one of the high-ranking Demonkind from back in the day.”

“High... Demonkind?”

Everyone looked as if they were hearing it for the first time.

In response, Deputy Commander Lucilis nodded and answered.

“You know well. It seems the Young Master Hardin is quite interested in the history of the Demonkind.”

Forget him, even in my dreams? No way.

‘Among the Demonkind, that bastard was especially vile.’

Veritarun.

Unlike typical Demonkind, that bastard had originally been human.

When Shagrath was reigning supreme, countless people lost their minds and submitted to him.

But even among them, Veritarun had been special.

‘He was… someone once called the Sword Saint.’

Veritarun, the Wandering Knight.

A knight with no notable lineage had appeared like a comet, gaining fame across the Empire and becoming a hero to the common folk.

He even entered the knightly tournament, Dawn of Knights, and climbed quite high in the ranks.

How do I know all this?

— Varlach Daphne... as expected from your reputation... truly impressive skill.

— For all your bluster, you’re not much, are you?

Because I once crossed swords with him during the Dawn of Knights.

No—crossed swords doesn’t even begin to describe it.

With that bastard, it was...

Gulp.

Hardin swallowed dryly and asked Lucilis a question.

“Wasn’t Veritarun exterminated? I heard that the Demonkind had completely disappeared from the Fabian Empire.”

“Officially, yes. But being ‘eradicated’ and being ‘sealed’ are two different things.”

“So he was... sealed here?”

“Yes, that’s correct. I’m not entirely sure of the details myself, since it was long ago, but I’ve heard Veritarun was far too powerful to be destroyed.”

“If he was that strong, to what extent are we talking?”

“There are records that more than 30% of the Imperial Knights who tried to subjugate him died.”

Everyone’s faces hardened.

‘Thirty percent of the Imperial Knights?’

‘And a monster like that is sealed here?’

An unsettling energy lingered in the air.

And with the monsters that had already attacked us...

Realizing that all of this might be because of a high-ranking Demonkind from the past sent a chill down my spine.

Then, Lucilis continued.

“Even after Shagrath’s death, when the subjugation of Veritarun continued to fail, they changed strategies—from subjugation to sealing, borrowing the power of mages instead. The plan succeeded, and Veritarun and his followers have been unable to do anything in this canyon for nearly 70 years.”

“This one?”

Hardin pointed to the fallen monster on the ground.

“Well, small fry like those appear from time to time. But we’ve been managing things well to make sure they don’t escape.”

“But now the seal is about to break, and someone has to subjugate him—is that it?”

“That’s correct. The current Imperial Court lacks anyone strong enough to reseal him or the means to subjugate him alone.”

Hardin scratched his head with a baffled look and asked again.

“Why are you telling us this, instead of those oh-so-great Seven Houses?”

“The Emperor does not wish it.”

Lucilis answered calmly with a serious gaze.

To that, Hardin nodded in understanding.

‘Yeah, that makes sense.’

With the nobles already holding too much influence, if the subjugation of the monster were entrusted to one of them, the authority of the Imperial Court would drop even further—while the status of that noble house would soar.

The Fabian Empire’s royal lineage are the descendants of the Sun God Faeron, the one who long ago defeated the primordial monsters.

If such descendants were to hand over the duty of monster subjugation to others, it would be a disgraceful look for the Empire.

“…This is all happening so suddenly, I don’t even know how to process it.”

“Ugh…”

Cobalt kept pressing his fingers into his brow, and the rest of us could only let out sighs of frustration.

We had followed along thinking we might earn a countship… and now we were being asked to subjugate a high-ranking Demonkind from the past—someone whose face or even name we didn’t know.

It was like a bolt from the blue.

Seeing their expressions, Lucilis sighed and spoke.

“The choice is yours, Lords of Daphne.”

“I’d like to know a bit more about the situation. You must have some kind of plan if you're bringing this to us, right?”

Hardin asked with his arms crossed, and Lucilis nodded and explained.

“Based on our joint investigation with mages, we believe Veritarun has weakened considerably while sealed. We estimate that, with the aid of Imperial forces and external reinforcements, it should be possible to defeat him. Of course, even with all that, this remains a perilous mission.”

“…”

Hardin, still with his arms crossed, stared past the mist.

In the distance, a large cave entrance loomed in the fog.

That was probably where Veritarun had been sealed away.

Then, Viscount Cobalt spoke.

“…Hardin, no matter how you look at it, it’s better not to take this mission.”

“He’s right, Brother. Just being here is enough to make it hard to breathe. We don’t even know much about the Demonkind.”

“…”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Demonkind.

To the current generation of the Daphne household, they were nothing more than legendary, unknown monsters.

Facing something like that for the sake of a countship… felt like nothing short of suicide.

At that moment, Hardin looked straight at Lucilis and spoke in a resolute voice.

“I’ll do it.”

“B-Brother! Didn’t you hear what I just said?!”

“Hardin!”

Malion grabbed Hardin by the shoulder, and Viscount Cobalt stared at him with a flustered expression.

Hardin repeated, as if to emphasize it.

“I know a lot about the Demonkind.”

No—if he were being honest… there was probably no one who knew them better than he did.

Back when he was Varlach, he had cut down those creatures again and again, countless times.

Especially because there had been a time when he’d sought to wipe them from the face of this world—without leaving even a trace of their existence behind.

And if that opponent happened to be a former friend who had stabbed him in the back and vanished… then all the more, he wanted to end it with his own hands.

“What are you talking about? What do you know about the Demonkind?”

At Cobalt’s words, Hardin shook his head.

“I’m not just saying this. I’ll prepare more thoroughly than ever before, and I’ll do everything I can so no one dies… I’ll give it everything I’ve got, Father.”

Hardin took a deep breath and continued.

“And I’ll make sure I seize that countship, too.”

He was unlike the Hardin from before.

There wasn’t even a hint of playfulness—only a serious, heavy demeanor.

Cobalt’s hands trembled slightly as he asked,

“…Are you really serious about this?”

“Yes.”

“Can you take responsibility for those words?”

“I can take responsibility a hundred times over.”

There was not the slightest trace of hesitation in Hardin.

He was full of certainty—that he would absolutely succeed, that what he was saying was absolutely right.

He had done the impossible time and time again before, but this was the clearest and most determined he had ever been.

Cobalt let out a sigh and pressed a hand to his forehead.

‘Does he really have a plan this time too?’

‘Am I worrying for nothing again?’

As Cobalt sank deep into thought, Hardin spoke again.

“Please trust me, Father. I know I can do this.”

“…”

Cobalt’s eyes widened.

— Hardin, what the hell are you doing?!

— I’m telling you, I’ve got this!

Fragments of memories flashed through his mind.

Dueling Donfel.

Winning the war against the Calpion Viscounty.

Uncovering the Great Sage’s Record left by the previous generation… Constructing a trading port everyone had opposed, and even getting Princess Medeia to sail in the same boat as House Daphne.

All of them were things no one believed he could achieve—but Hardin had made them happen.

Maybe that’s why—

The tremble in Cobalt’s body slowly faded, and the heat clouding his head began to clear.

Cobalt slowly turned his head and spoke.

“Manton. What do you think of this matter?”

“I share your opinion, Lord.”

Manton replied with an oddly relieved expression.

Noticing this, Jerry furrowed his brow deeply, glancing around nervously.

‘What the hell are these people saying?’

Wait, don’t tell me… they’re actually serious about doing this?

At that moment, Viscount Cobalt clenched his fist tightly and looked Lucilis straight in the eye as he spoke.

“Deputy Commander Lucilis. Please allow our house to participate in this mission.”

“…Are you certain about this?”

“Someone has to do it, don’t they? In that case… I’d like for our family to be the one to see it through. For the honor of our house.”

Lucilis let out a long breath before giving a firm nod.

“If that’s truly your will, I’ll take it as such.”

“How much time do we have?”

“We estimate that the seal will break within six months. The Imperial Knights are also planning to finish their preparations before then.”

“Very well. We’ll make sure to be ready by then.”

“Yes. If you need anything or have any questions, don’t hesitate to send a letter or a messenger. I’ll assist you to the best of my ability.”

“Understood.”

Thud!

The two men clasped hands in a firm handshake.

At that moment, the decision for House Daphne to participate in the subjugation was made.

From behind the canyon’s mist, a small black figure peeked out.

A hunched, crooked-backed hunchback.

It was The Crow, an informant of Jubilen.

‘Hmm, I should report this to Lord Jubilen right away.’

A sly smile crept across his face.

---

Clop, clop.

The people of Daphne began their journey back to the territory.

“Phew… subjugating a monster, huh.”

“It’s not going to be easy.”

Everyone wore a grim look on their face.

Hardin, meanwhile, stroked his chin, deep in thought.

Veritarun…

Before leaving the canyon, he had been given a general outline of the operation from Deputy Commander Lucilis.

The most difficult part of the subjugation would undoubtedly be Veritarun, the Fallen Knight.

According to Imperial mages who had long studied the seal… both his body and mana were believed to have significantly weakened over the years.

The problem was…

‘Even weakened, he’s said to be at least early 5-star level.’

They say even a ruined noble family lasts for three generations—and in this case, even in a weakened state, Veritarun’s strength was no joke.

As things stood now, the strongest enemy Hardin could take on was roughly at a 4-star level.

But…

‘With six months, I can make it work.’

There was still time for more training, and the subjugation force wouldn’t consist of House Daphne alone—the Imperial Knights would be joining as well.

In other words, it wasn’t completely impossible.

If anything, the real problem was…

‘The regular knights.’

Most likely, not only Veritarun but also his followers would be sealed within the canyon.

If the knight order of House Daphne took heavy losses dealing with them…

‘Then accepting this mission would be completely meaningless.’

After all, the entire point of earning a countship was to strengthen the house.

Losing knights in the process… was simply out of the question.

In the end, the problems that needed solving narrowed down to two key points.

First, Hardin himself had to train until he was strong enough to defeat Veritarun.

And second, the knights of House Daphne needed to…

‘Learn Wave Swordsmanship.’

A secret technique of the Daphne Viscounty, and the very foundation of the Grand Blue Knights.

Hardin had yet to teach it or allow anyone else to learn it.

Because they hadn’t yet become vessels capable of receiving it.

Because they still lacked enough real combat experience.

Because teaching it half-baked would only backfire—that was the conclusion he had reached back then.

But now, the time had come to teach them.

And on top of that…

‘Wave Swordsmanship has gone through many refinements since then.’

If there was a silver lining in all this, it was the fact that the Wave Swordsmanship of the past was vastly different from what Hardin now knew.

Specifically—

‘The current Wave Swordsmanship is specialized for slaying monsters.’

Swordsmanship, by nature, evolves and transforms endlessly through real combat.

During the war against Shagrath, back when he was Varlach, Wave Swordsmanship had gone through relentless evolution to better handle monstrous foes.

If he could succeed in teaching that to his knights now…

‘The subjugation can be completed with minimal casualties.’

A subtle grin formed at the edge of Hardin’s lips.