A long, narrow valley not far from the forest, with a hidden entrance leading somewhere concealed within.
I had never even considered coming here before, but to think an ogre fortress was hidden in a place like this.
Crackle.
An invisible barrier brushed against my senses. Had I come alone, I might have turned back at the ominous feeling it gave off.
After all, I had no way of knowing what lay ahead.
So this is where they were hiding.
Following the wounded Giant Ogre inside, I saw large tents made from animal hides.
There were at least several dozen, possibly over a hundred, though their numbers weren’t as large as I had expected.
Which meant there weren’t many ogres to begin with.
Grrroooar.
The wounded Giant Ogre let out a groan.
Grrroooar!
A regular ogre with a single head rushed over.
Thud, thud, thud!
Unlike the wandering monsters in the forest, this one was fully armored, dressed almost like a human knight.
“You’ve returned, Captain. Thank you for your efforts in reconnaissance… Huh? A human?!”
The ogre guarding the village entrance recoiled in shock upon noticing me. The Giant Ogre glanced around nervously before stepping forward to block my path.
“He’s not just any human. He saved my life.”
“Saviour?”
“It’s complicated to explain… No, I don’t even need to explain. He’s my saviour!”
“…Captain, saviour or not, bringing a human into the village is forbidden.”
“I—I know that.”
“Then send him outside the fortress. You remember what happened last time.”
“I do, but…”
“If the chieftain finds out about this, it will not end well.”
“Hah! It’s fine! I’ll tell the chieftain myself. I’ll say my savior wishes to meet him!”
“What? That human wants to meet the chieftain?”
“Yeah! He said he wants to form an alliance with us.”
I meant it.
If things could be resolved peacefully, I had no intention of fighting the ogres.
A brief silence followed.
Then the regular ogre scoffed.
“Hah! A human, allying with us?”
“That’s right.”
“That’s absurd… Captain, wake up! You can never trust humans!”
“It’s not absurd! I’m telling you, it’s true!”
Siegfried, watching in frustration, gripped the sword at his waist and spoke irritably.
“My disciple, why don’t we just kill them?”
I shook my head slightly.
I was here to find the jar containing Brunhilde, not to wipe out the ogres.
Looks like I’ll have to handle this myself.
I needed to return before my nanny came looking for me.
“Move.”
I walked forward, releasing as much mana as I could muster.
Step, step, step.
The two ogres unconsciously stepped aside, clearing the path for me.
As I walked deeper into the fortress, more ogres began to emerge from their tents.
But none of them moved to stop me.
They only tilted their heads, expressions questioning why a human was here.
Siegfried whispered as he quickly scanned our surroundings.
“Wow! You’ve got guts, disciple. Aren’t you scared with this many monsters around?”
Why would I be?
I had fought countless battles in my past life. I knew all their weaknesses.
If I exaggerated a little, I could probably take them down with a twig.
Standing at the heart of the ogre fortress, I waited for their leader.
It didn’t take long before dozens of ogres gathered, encircling me at a distance.
And then, from their midst, someone noticeable appeared.
A figure far too small to be an ogre—one with the build and size of a human woman.
The descendant of Brunhilde, born between a human and an ogre.
The queen of the ogre village.
Galsvint.
She was a woman in name only. Her unyielding physique and honed muscles radiated power, an undeniable masterpiece of nature.
She was born to be a warrior.
“…How did a human find this place? I placed a spell at the village entrance.”
She looked me with a puzzled expression.
“Are you Galsvint?”
“…How do you know my name?”
“That doesn’t matter. I don’t have time for long explanations. Hand over Brunhilde.”
Galsvint tilted her head, looking utterly baffled.
“What?”
Her reaction was natural.
An unknown human had suddenly appeared and was demanding their treasure.
Of course, she’d be dumbfounded.
But I had no time to concern myself with the ogres’ feelings.
I needed to finish this before sunrise and return.
“I said, hand over Brunhilde. If you do, I will spare your lives.”
“Our lives?”
“Yes.”
“Hah.”
I wasn’t negotiating.
I was warning them.
Because I knew there was no other way.
Galsvint glanced around.
Then, looking into the distance, she suddenly shouted.
“Did you bring this human here?”
The Giant Ogre who led me in lowered his head.
“W-Well… I was attacked by a mage in the forest, and… that human saved me, so—”
“So you brought him here?”
“…Yes.”
The moment he finished answering, Galsvint sprang into the air.
In a flash, she moved behind the Giant Ogre.
“I told you never to bring a human into the village!”
Thud!
She thrust her hand forward, stabbing his heart with a knife-hand strike.
“Guh…!”
It was over in an instant.
The mighty Giant Ogre collapsed in a single blow.
Boom!
She hadn’t used aura or mana.
Only raw physical strength.
No matter how much a human trained, they could never reach this level.
Galsvint turned her gaze to me.
“Human, I don’t know how you learned of Lady Brunhilde… but now that you’ve come this far, you won’t be leaving alive.”
Blood dripped from her fingertips, proving she wasn’t joking.
Interesting.
I knew words wouldn’t be enough, but the reaction was more extreme than I expected.
So, negotiations really won’t work, huh?
I stretched one arm forward and whispered.
“Master, come forth.”
Siegfried transformed his entire body into crimson smoke and roared in excitement as he was absorbed into me.
“Yeaaaahhh!!!”
Hissss.
A powerful energy surged through my body.
Whoosh.
At the same time, the power of the Awakened surged, triggering changes in my body.
Flash!
My hair turned golden, and flame-like patterns spread across both arms. Anyone could tell at a glance—I was wielding the power of the Sword Saint, Siegfried.
Hooah!
I took a deep breath.
The time I could withstand this descent was five minutes.
“My name is Verdin de Strange.”
And within that time, I would finish everything.
“I shall take the vessel containing the spiritual guardian Brunhilde and ‘Galsvint,’ the current ogre chieftain.”
A small church on the eastern outskirts.
Two men, each capable of altering the fate of the continent, met.
Edward, heir to the Glazer family, clad in a white cloak, and Gunter, a prominent successor of the Strange family, wearing golden armor.
The two sat across from each other at a round table.
“I don’t think you betrayed us.”
Edward spoke first. Gunter hesitated briefly before answering.
“If I truly had, I wouldn’t have told you to cut my arm—I would’ve told you to take my head.”
“That’s what I thought, too.”
“…What did he look like?”
“A kid wrapped in a black cloak. He had the same blonde hair as you.”
“A kid? Blonde?”
“Yes. At first, I thought he was just disguised as a child, but when I looked closer, he really was just a kid.”
“……”
“He had the same golden hair as you and your father.”
Gunter’s mind became tangled with confusion.
Among the direct descendants of the Lois bloodline, he was the only one with blonde hair. That meant the mastermind behind this incident had to be from a branch family. But the deeper he thought, the more mysterious the answer became.
No matter who he imagined, no one matched Edward’s description.
And for good reason—Gunter had never seen Verdin in his awakened form.
He had never witnessed him wielding the Sword Saint’s power, turning his hair golden.
“I don’t know. I really don’t.”
“There hasn’t been any recently born child in our family with blonde hair.”
“It might not even be someone of Lois blood.”
“Then?”
“The kid used mana. That means he could be a Strange bloodline that grew up beyond our sight.”
“Mana, huh… Did he use magic?”
“No, he infused his sword with mana. He was so skilled, I didn’t even have time to counterattack.”
“A sword?”
“Yes, a sword.”
Edward pulled back his cloak, revealing his right arm—severed below the elbow.
“And that sword did this to me.”
Gunter’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“?!”
“That blonde brat didn’t just take my arm—he was skilled enough to evade an entire gathering of mages, all of whom were at least fifth-circle or higher.”
“…Was he alone?”
“No idea. I don’t know if he came alone or had someone nearby.”
Silence lingered for a few moments before Edward let out a dry chuckle and continued.
“But one thing is certain. Even if you scoured the entire continent, you wouldn’t find many like him. Especially not someone that young.”
“Then he won’t be hard to track down.”
“That’s why I’m asking you. It won’t be difficult, and besides, that area is Strange territory.”
Gunter clenched his fist tightly.
“I’ll find him within a week and bring him before you.”
“Don’t underestimate him.”
“You think I’d lose to a kid?”
Edward waved his severed arm.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
“No one knows for sure. I didn’t think I’d end up like this either. Ah, by the way, one of your younger brothers has been causing trouble in the east.”
“My brother?”
“Yes, since you’ll be there anyway, I’d appreciate it if you handled him too. He goes by the name Hysteria. That lunatic seems to have set his sights on our people.”
Gunter’s eyes turned cold.
“Hysteria.”
“He’s been razing villages, saying he’s searching for an assassin.”
“He’s looking for an assassin?”
“Yeah. I heard he annihilated Baron Raiden’s forces single-handedly. When asked why, he said their faces annoyed him. He’s a total madman.”
“…I see. I’ll deal with him quickly.”
That concluded their conversation.
They walked out of the church in opposite directions.
Dozens of mages awaited outside the left entrance, forming a protective formation around Edward as he departed.
On the right, a regiment of knights greeted Gunter with disciplined precision.
“Summon Gernot and Giselle.”