Not long after he had ordered Walter to check on Young Duke Maltein’s group, Walter returned with a grave expression.

A subtle light enveloped his body from using teleportation magic, then disappeared.

Medric, who had been surveying the surroundings, slowly approached Walter.

“Did you check?”

“About half of the knight order has already been attacked.”

The surroundings momentarily tensed at the terrible news.

“The situation?”

“By the time I arrived, about a quarter had already lost their lives to the Storeworm.”

“A Storeworm…!”

“A Storeworm is at least an A-rank magical beast…!”

The Storeworm, a snake-like magical beast, moved slowly enough that its attacks could be easily avoided, but if one was bitten, its teeth were strong enough to crush bones.

It was obvious that they had been ambushed for so many people to be helplessly defeated, with half of them taken down.

‘It must have hidden underground and attacked before they could even place barrier stones.’

Medric frowned at the unfavorable situation.

“But wasn’t the knight order under Young Duke Maltein quite large? Half of them…”

“There was even a magician there. Are we in danger too?”

The surroundings became chaotic with the news Walter had brought.

Other knights who had been sleeping gathered upon hearing the commotion, and soon a large crowd had formed.

The knight order led by Young Duke Maltein had been attacked. The news that a knight order with a magician had half its members slaughtered, regardless of their skill, led everyone to negative thoughts. Especially for knights belonging to smaller orders.

“This is absurd. If it had been us, we would all be dead…”

“Should I withdraw from the subjugation campaign now? I don’t want to die for nothing.”

“I joined because they said it would be safe with large knight orders joining! This is different from what was promised!”

Such news inevitably caused panic.

“So, did you take care of the Storeworm?”

“Yes.”

Walter answered Medric’s question briefly.

The priority now was to quell this uproar.

“Since the Storeworm has been dealt with, go and help with treating the injured… Is Young Duke Maltein safe?”

Medric asked Walter.

Young Duke Maltein was one of the leaders commanding a knight order. The response would differ depending on whether he was dead or alive.

“…He’s alive.”

Walter didn’t answer “yes” to the question of whether he was safe.

‘He’s alive but not unharmed, it seems.’

Medric felt a headache coming on from Walter’s answer.

Knights who had gathered the necessary materials for treatment finished their preparations and assembled before Medric.

“Let’s go.”

Without delay, Medric moved to the location where Young Duke Maltein and his knights had encountered the Storeworm.

Since it was dark, some knights carried torches as they moved. Using magic to illuminate the surroundings would make movement easier, but magical power stimulates magical beasts. They couldn’t afford to attract more magical beasts.

After leaving the flat plains for quite some time, a forest with tall trees and lush vegetation appeared.

Knights lay dead in horrific states. Though it was said to be half, the Maltein knight order had been quite large.

There were bodies with severed hands and feet, making it difficult to count how many there were, and in the center lay the torn carcass of a large Storeworm.

Some knights who had followed Medric from other orders were busy retching and vomiting.

David looked at them as if he understood, then said to Medric:

“Shall we begin?”

“Yes. We need to clear the magical beast’s carcass first to identify the people.”

Medric skillfully divided the knights into four teams.

A team to separate and clear the magical beast’s carcass and human bodies.

A team composed of those with medical expertise or experience to treat injured knights.

A team to swiftly send the injured to the medical team and provide them with necessary supplies.

A team to use barrier stones to monitor the surroundings and prevent other magical beasts from attacking.

After distributing tasks appropriate for each team, he turned and asked:

“Where is Young Duke Maltein?”

Walter led him to Kuzan’s location.

It would be better to return to the quarters they had established before sunset.

‘If that’s even possible.’

Medric stepped forward, hoping that luck would follow the subjugation force on their path ahead.
With each step, he sank knee-deep into the accumulated snow.

“Move out!”

Medric, standing at the front, announced the start of the subjugation campaign.

Countless people began moving at the departure signal.

The sky, which had only been cloudy until then, began pouring snow heavily as if it had been waiting for the subjugation force to start moving.

With unmelted snow and continuously accumulating snow, each step sank deep, making movement difficult.

***

As they reached Berenta, magical beasts began to appear.

The Berenta Mountain Range consisted of four peaks stretching in a line.

Today’s goal was to reach the middle of the first peak.

Most of the magical beasts pouring out from the entrance were low-level. Since Medric was handling any abnormally large ones or mid-level beasts, the knights only had to deal with low-level creatures like ogres or goblins.

Nevertheless, knight orders other than the Anas knights lacked experience, so progress was slow.

Moreover, the number of magical beasts seemed endless.

‘At this rate, we won’t even get close to the middle of the mountain.’

With each step, the sounds of magical beasts piercing their ears gradually drained the knights’ strength. The added weight of snow mixed with magical beast blood soaking their pants under their armor didn’t help.

‘It’s fortunate there are no injuries yet.’

The pace of the subjugation force slowed as time passed.

Medric observed the Anas knights dealing with magical beasts right behind him.

Being accustomed to subjugating magical beasts, the Anas knights had no issues with speed.
The time they spent fighting each magical beast was significantly shorter compared to other knights.

They made swift progress, adding weight to their downward strikes and cutting through magical beasts in a single blow.

After observing them for a while, Medric called Winston and ordered the Anas knights to pause their assigned section and support other areas.

They needed to maintain similar progress across all sections to be able to return to their quarters.

After finishing some organization, Medric looked around.

And there was someone who caught his eye.

“Haah!”

It was Kuzan, slicing through goblins before him while letting out strange battle cries.
Perhaps because of his shouts, an unusually large number of magical beasts were drawn to Kuzan.

The more magical beasts that clung to him, the louder his battle cries became as he dispatched them.

Before long, a pile of magical beast corpses had accumulated behind him.

“Shouldn’t we stop him? If he fights with all his might from the beginning and collapses, wouldn’t that be a problem?”

David moved close to Medric and spoke quietly after cutting down a large ogre.

Medric continued to watch Kuzan as he replied.

“It’s fine. Enthusiastic knights are needed everywhere. There’s no need to dampen his spirits.”

“But such excessive battle cries…”

“Lord David! Please help!”

When one of the Anas knights called out, David responded with a “Heigh!” and went to assist.

“Anyway, keep an eye on him, Your Grace. I know you’re watching well without me saying so.”

Even in the midst of this, he managed to have the last word before leaving.

“Haaaah!!”

Kuzan’s battle cry echoed again. Somehow his voice had grown even louder than before.
A goblin was cut in half by Kuzan’s sword.

Though this must be his first time participating in magical beast subjugation, his swordsmanship appeared as sharp as that of the Anas knights.

It was clear that Kuzan was indeed from the Maltein family, known for their strong military prowess.

“Haaaaah!!”

If only it weren’t for those strange battle cries.

In any case, it was a positive situation that someone with his strength had become serious about the subjugation.

Medric looked at Kuzan once more before returning to the front and advancing.

Ahead, a gargoyle with the appearance of a human-bird hybrid was visible. It flapped its wings and leaped toward Medric with its sharp beak.

Medric drew out the long sword he had briefly sheathed at his waist.

When he forcefully thrust his sword into the gargoyle’s neck as it approached within reach, a strange scream echoed. As he applied pressure to the sword in his hand and sliced, the gargoyle’s head fell to the ground.

Medric shook off the thick blood of the magical beast from his sword.

Blood darker than human blood splattered drop by drop onto the pure white snow.

The seemingly endless subjugation at the entrance was finally over.

Medric divided the knight orders into east, west, northwest, and northeast positions. At his signal, the sound of a large horn was heard, and the various knight orders that had been clustered together separated and began moving to their assigned areas.

After cutting down countless magical beasts, Medric looked up at the sky while watching the magical beasts pouring in from the north.

The sun, faintly visible behind the clouds, had begun to set.

The subjugation that had started at dawn had continued until late afternoon.

Winston approached from behind Medric to report the situation.

“They say all magical beasts approaching from the west have been dealt with.”

“So the west and east are finished?”

“Yes. Only the northeast remains.”

The yield was good for the first day. Medric nodded and ordered Winston.

“Tell everyone that today’s subjugation ends here.”

“Yes!”

Winston moved quickly to the rear to relay Medric’s message.

Medric had to remain at the front, battling magical beasts until all personnel had returned to their quarters.

Nearby, a loud thud was heard as something large fell.

It was the sound of a mid-level magical beast’s head, cut off by David, hitting the ground.

Looking more energetic than when he was at the mansion, David was enthusiastically dispatching magical beasts beside Medric.

And next to him…

“Haaaaah!!!”