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The two severed heads, spewing frothy blood, fell to the ground with a dull thud.

Boom!

Right after, the massive body of the Twin-Headed Ogre collapsed, sending a powerful tremor through the earth.

The Twin-Headed Ogre’s corpse was in utter disarray. Its body was riddled with deep slashes, torn apart and mangled. All of it bore traces of Kaor’s frenzied sword strikes while in a trance-like state.

Kaor had endured the Ogre’s ferocious assaults, dodging and blocking with his life on the line.

What he had cut through wasn’t just an opponent—it was a wall. A wall that had stood in his way for so long, embodied by the Twin-Headed Ogre’s heads.

Finally, Kaor had taken the first step to overcome that wall.

“I got it…”

A smile crept onto his face. He had defeated what once seemed impossible—a monster he thought he could never take down alone.

If this had been before, he would have recklessly thrown himself at it and lost his life. But this time, he had leveraged every ounce of skill and power he had to claim victory.

“Heh… I knew I was the strongest… Cough!”

Kaor spat blood as he collapsed onto the ground. Only then did he regain some clarity and examine his own body.

He was in shambles. One of his arms dangled uselessly, clearly broken, and his wrist—once gripping his sword—was swollen and likely damaged as well.

Every muscle in his body screamed in agony, as if they had been shredded. Though he had tried his best to evade, there were moments when he couldn’t dodge and had to block instead.

Each of the Ogre’s devastating blows had left a residual impact, accumulating damage throughout his body. His insides felt anything but fine.

“Damn it… I still won… Who’d have thought an Ogre would be this strong… Blegh!”

Kaor vomited more blood, forcing his eyes open as they instinctively tried to close. His gaze wandered over the battlefield.

“How long… How long has it been?”

While Kaor had been locked in combat with the Twin-Headed Ogre, the rest of the monsters had been nearly wiped out. The soldiers of Turian and a handful of hunters were finishing off the remaining creatures.

He hadn’t realized it in the heat of the fight, but a significant amount of time had passed. The surrounding battlefield bore the signs of others’ efforts—Ghislain and his comrades had cleared out most of the remaining monsters.

Those who had been handling the remaining horde now turned their attention toward Kaor, realizing that the fight with the Twin-Headed Ogre had concluded.

And then, an enormous cheer erupted.

“Wooaaaaaah! We won!”

“That red-haired guy is amazing!”n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

“He took down the Twin-Headed Ogre all by himself!”

The hunters were ecstatic. In the history of the fortress, there were only a handful of instances where someone had singlehandedly defeated a massive monster.

And this wasn’t just any monster. The Twin-Headed Ogre was considered among the strongest of land-based monsters. What’s more, during a Monster Wave, the leader of such creatures became even stronger.

Taking down such a beast alone was an achievement that filled everyone with awe and admiration for Kaor’s skill and determination.

“Redhead, you’re the best!”

“You’re the new King of Ironcliff from now on!”

“Not even Doncard would’ve stood a chance against you! Oh, wait, that bastard’s already dead, isn’t he?”

Even the hunters who had initially regretted joining Ghislain’s group now thought differently. Being with someone as strong as Kaor increased their odds of survival—a fact that spoke volumes about human nature.

People were fickle like that.

“Heh, heh-heh… Did you all see that? Even the old man’s no match for me. I’m the strongest… Heh, heh, cough!”

Kaor continued to laugh even as blood trickled from his lips. He felt as though he might actually die, but the cheers of the crowd made him feel exhilarated.

This was it—being revered and looked up to. That was what it meant to live as a man.

Step. Step. Thud.

A single figure approached Kaor, planting a massive greatsword into the ground beside him. The crowd fell silent.

“Hey, do you get it now?”

Ghislain smirked as he spoke. Kaor forced his bleary eyes to open and chuckled weakly.

“I nearly died, you know. Actually, I still think I’m dying.”

“You only truly find enlightenment when you’re on the verge of death. And if you die… well, that’s that.”

“Heh-heh, if I survive, I swear I’ll train like hell. When we go back, tell the old man he’d better stay sharp.”

“Not sure about that. Gillian’s probably crossed the line of death more times than you can imagine.”

“Tch, I’ll beat him in a fight any day.”

The two of them laughed. While the crowd continued to cheer for Kaor, they dared not direct the same energy toward Ghislain.

“That guy’s the real monster…”

“He’s from the Kingdom of Ritania, right? Could he actually be a Sword Master? Or maybe one of those infamous magic swordsmen?”

“He could probably wipe out this entire fortress on his own.”

Humans don’t cheer or feel camaraderie toward dragons. They revere them, bowing their heads in awe of their overwhelming might.

That was exactly how people felt as they looked at Ghislain now.

He was so awe-inspiring that even words of admiration felt inadequate. It was as if they were gazing at an entirely different species.

By comparison, Kaor—still very much within the bounds of humanity—felt much more approachable.

Thus, they showered Kaor with praise but harbored an inexplicable fear toward Ghislain.

Of course, not everyone felt that way. The Fenris Knights, who had always regarded Ghislain as a monster, simply took it in stride.

– “No one’s ever fully grasped the Lord’s abilities, anyway.”

– “We were a bit surprised this time, but, well, that’s just the Lord being the Lord.”

– “If he used that technique in war, the soldiers would get wiped out in an instant.”

– “I should ask him to teach me that later.”

Ghislain, noticing the tension on everyone’s faces, chuckled and spoke.

“Hey, what’s everyone doing? Our hero who took down the Twin-Headed Ogre is dying here. Hurry up and get him treated.”

With that, Ghislain pulled out a potion and began pouring it over Kaor’s battered body.

While minor external injuries could be healed with a potion, it was merely a temporary measure. Having completely depleted his mana and wrecked his insides, Kaor was genuinely on the brink of death.

Only then did the knights rush forward to support Kaor.

“Captain! Are you okay? You’ve improved a lot!”

Thwack!

Someone, helping Kaor up, gave him a light punch to the side. It was a former member of the Mad Dogs who had often been on the receiving end of Kaor’s scoldings.

Kaor, barely conscious, couldn’t even tell who hit him.

“Ugh… Who’s… doing that?”

“Hey, careful with him! He looks really hurt.”

– “Man, this guy was such an ass back in the day.”

Thwack!

Another knight, harboring a grudge against Kaor, landed a sneaky punch while pretending to help.

“Argh! Which bastard…”

“Get Kaor inside now! He needs to rest! Move it, you bastards.”

Thwack!

“Guh…”

The knights surrounded Kaor and dragged him into the fortress. The hunters didn’t notice him getting pummeled.

A few hunters, dabbing at their noses, seemed moved by the display.

“Tch, I’m envious of that kind of camaraderie.”

“If it were us, we’d have killed him already and stolen his loot.”

“Having comrades like that is probably why he fought with his life on the line. He might have a foul temper, but he’s got a good heart.”

As the hunters were caught up in their emotions, Kaor—being dragged along while enduring a series of punches—lost consciousness and fainted.

“Thank you, Count.”

Grant, the fortress commander, met Ghislain privately and bowed deeply.

Titles like “Count” held no authority here. However, this time, it couldn’t be ignored.

In fact, even if Ghislain had been a mere slave, Grant would have bowed to him.

“Thanks to you, we suffered fewer losses than if we had fought with the fortress at our backs. I should’ve trusted you from the beginning and moved sooner…”

Grant trailed off. If they had prepared immediately when Ghislain suggested it, the losses could have been minimized further.

Though the damage was already less than expected, the commander couldn’t help but feel regret.

Ghislain patted Grant’s shoulder and said,

“It’s fine. You need to experience it at least once. Forget the rest—just remember one thing.”

“What would that be?”

“Most monsters lack intelligence. They focus solely on attacking the enemies in front of them. Especially the half-mad ones living in these mountains. If you use that to your advantage, you can minimize casualties with human tactics.”

“We’ve thought about that before. But monsters are physically superior to soldiers. Engaging them directly could lead to heavy losses. That’s why the kingdom built these fortresses to begin with.”

“You still think that way after seeing today’s battle?”

– ‘That’s because you’re a monster yourself…’

Grant couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Ghislain’s point was valid, and the battle had proven it was feasible. Yet, Grant also felt it would be impossible without someone as strong as Ghislain.

Sensing his hesitation, Ghislain clicked his tongue and continued.

“You don’t need someone as strong as me. Build pathways on both sides of the fortress for cavalry to move through.”

“Excuse me?”

“Exploit their tendency to chase the enemy in front of them. Skilled cavalry can split the monster forces.”

“Ah…”

“Use heavy weaponry for the first attack. Then, as the gap closes, have the cavalry scatter the monsters while organizing formations to strike. It’s much better than engaging in chaotic skirmishes on narrow fortress walls.”

“Hmm…”

The fortress had very few cavalry. However, the royal family would surely provide support if requested.

The Turian Kingdom’s policy was to offer full support to ensure the fortress did not fall.

“Of course, we’ll need to assess the situation depending on the monster influx. If there are few flying monsters and most are ground-based, it’s naturally better to fight while leveraging the fortress. That’s something you can judge, right?”

Grant nodded.

The monster wave varied depending on how the monsters in the mountains gathered.

Sometimes, there were hardly any flying monsters or ones capable of easily scaling the walls. Large monsters caused damage by hurling smaller monsters or rocks, but the destruction was significantly less compared to other times.

“As a commander, you must devise strategies and tactics suited to every situation. Relying solely on the fortress could backfire.”

In a past life, there were places that fell precisely because they trusted in the fortress alone. The vast diversity of monster species, combined with the inability to consider abandoning the fortress, had led to disaster.

It couldn’t be helped. Preconceptions and anxieties weren’t easily erased.

Since the fortress had been established only a few years ago, there hadn’t been enough time to develop diverse strategies.

Grant realized what he had to do starting today. Instead of solely relying on the fortress, he needed to prepare various strategies and tactics for different scenarios.

“Thank you. I’ll remember your advice and ensure our preparations are thorough.”

“Good. As long as you prepare well, you’ll manage, because the monster numbers never exceed a certain limit.”

“How do you know that…?”

“Curious?”

“Yes. Honestly, you seem to know more about this place than I do.”

Grant felt an odd sense of unease while speaking with Ghislain. It didn’t make sense, but it was as if Ghislain had experienced such events multiple times before.

Amused, Ghislain decided to speak the truth for once.

“Actually, I died and came back to life…”

“You must have a reason for not explaining further. I’ll just assume you have your reasons and leave it at that.”

“…Yeah, plenty of reasons.”

No one believed him anyway, and that made it even more entertaining.

After finishing his conversation with Ghislain, Grant opened the warehouse and distributed alcohol to the people in the fortress. It was a kind of reward given to those who endured the hardships of the monster wave.

In addition, he mediated the distribution of byproducts based on individual contributions during the battle, ensuring fairness.

“This time, there shouldn’t be much to worry about.”

Typically, this was the most exhausting and delicate task. Everyone would argue, claiming they deserved more credit and thus a larger share.

But not this time.

“I’ll take all the hides and sinews. The rest will be divided equally. Anyone have any complaints?”

Ghislain’s single statement silenced everyone. He had killed the most monsters, and Kaor had defeated the Twin-Headed Ogre.

Who would dare object when those who played the most crucial roles in the victory had spoken?

Even the equal distribution of the remaining materials was seen as a generous act.

Hunters gathered in small groups, drinking the alcohol Grant had provided and chatting.

“Well then, let’s drink and relax.”

“Ah, the booze is good, but there’s not much to eat. Monster meat again?”

“Still, compared to other places outside the fortress, we’re lucky to have anything at all. Famine’s hit hard elsewhere.”

Unlike other kingdoms, the Turian Kingdom wasn’t severely affected by food shortages. This was thanks to the endless wave of monsters.

After extracting any valuable parts, the remaining edible portions of the monsters were consumed. While most tasted terrible, it was better than starving.

The fortress’s staple meal was a stew made from monster meat and whatever edible greens could be found. As a result, strong spices had surprisingly developed around the fortress to mask the smell and taste.

“Ugh, no matter how many times I eat it, it’s disgusting.”

“I can’t even remember the last time I had proper meat or bread.”

“Food is so expensive here. A decent meal costs an entire day’s wages.”

Despite their complaints, people forced the food into their mouths. Drinking without anything to eat was worse.

The poor food quality affected Ghislain’s group as well. Having packed only basic dried rations, their meals weren’t much different from the hunters’.

“Man, our estate really did spoil us with good food.”

“If it weren’t for the spicy seasoning powder the steward gave us, I wouldn’t even be able to eat this. The stench is awful.”

“This is terrible, but I’m eating because I’m hungry.”

Having feasted on soft bread and chicken in the Fenris Estate, the knights found the monster-based dishes almost unbearable.

Since arriving at the fortress, they had been eating nothing but monster meat, and they were now on the verge of vomiting at the sight of it.

Unlike the knights who grumbled, Ghislain ate heartily.

“What? It tastes bad? Back in my day, people didn’t have food like this and would go hungry.”

‘What is he even talking about…?’

‘He’s great, but sometimes he sounds like an old man.’

‘Back in my day? Is this that infamous “young geezer” phase?’

With their lord happily eating, the knights had no choice but to follow suit, albeit reluctantly. According to the steward, Ghislain had been picky about food as a child, yet now he even ate monster meat with no complaints. It was impossible to figure him out.

While forcing food into their mouths after the monster wave, they were soon met with some good news.

“Wow, what’s that?”

“Look at all those wagons!”

“Did a large merchant guild arrive?”

The arrival of an enormous convoy of wagons took everyone by surprise. When they saw the goods being unloaded, their astonishment only grew.

The wagons stopped in front of the inn where Ghislain was staying and began unloading a massive amount of wheat and meat.