Chapter 15

Chapter 15: The Battle for the Porter - Imperial Capital (3)

I slung my bag to the side and ran. The East Gate was already packed with assembled knights, fully outfitted in heavy armor. Red plumes stood tall on their helmets.

My current getup was...... plain leather clothes. Hence the stares. But I hadn't received armor yet since I hadn't officially transferred.

"Who's that?"

"An attendant, maybe?"

"His clothes aren't even attendant-grade."

I could see why they'd think the attendant — I looked that shabby. I simply walked to the tail end of the Second Prince's unit where Kanna stood. God, this was embarrassing.

"Who are you?"

The knight at the very back turned and asked. Before I could answer, the knight in front of him answered for me.

"Captain Kanna mentioned a new recruit coming tomorrow, remember? Must be him."

"That's correct."

Nice of them to recognize me.

"Didn't realize he'd be from Yensi, though."

"Can you even fight?"

Yes. Far better than any of you. But I couldn't exactly say that.

"If Captain Kanna personally recruited him, he's gotta be decent."

One of the knights said. Thank goodness for Kanna Karamov.

I'd been worried about being ostracized, but it seemed like it wouldn't go that far. That was entirely thanks to the trust Kanna inspired in her unit. They were demonstrating her leadership without even trying.

"Still, shouldn't he at least pick up armor from the quartermaster?"

"It's an emergency assembly. Where's the time for that?"

The knights chattered about me. Meanwhile, Kanna appeared from a distance. In her hand was a large leather bag. What was that? Rations?

"You haven't even officially transferred yet. Why'd you come?"

Kanna asked upon reaching the unit. Well, that stung. She then tossed me the leather bag. A perfect throw. The moment I caught it, I felt the heft of iron.

Inside were gauntlets, breastplate, helmet, greaves — a full new-recruit kit.

"I figured you'd show up."

Kanna said casually. At the coolness of it, someone in the Second Prince's Guard let out a whistle.

"Quiet. This is an emergency."

"With you here, Captain, our unit won't take a single casualty."

"Don't get complacent."

The unit's morale was solid. Experience as a Hunter had taught me that parties with good energy produced good results, and parties with bad energy produced bad ones. That applied to everything, not just Hunter work.

"A Corrupted Tree has appeared near the Capital. Color: crimson. Stage 3."

"Crimson? That's manageable."

Someone murmured. Kanna must have heard, because she shot the man a glare. His mouth clamped shut instantly.

Corrupted Trees were trees that bore monsters as fruit. Stages were classified by color: Stage 1 blue, Stage 2 yellow, Stage 3 crimson, Stage 4 violet, Stage 5 red.

Stage 5 red trees were almost never seen. Those only appeared when a Black Tree was present — that was the lore. But since I'd seen the sprout with Airi, the whole country was about to go to hell soon.

As I'd said before, the Black Tree was this world's most dire omen. It was also called the Empire's bane. Each nation bore its own bane: Trafviche had the Black Tree's final fruit — Demons; the Zenon Kingdom had undying flames. And so on.

"Crimson is within our Guard's capability, but with a Black Tree sprout now confirmed, anything could happen. That's why I've requested cooperation from the First Prince's Guard."

"We can handle it ourselves!"

A knight bellowed with conviction, and everyone cheered. But the shout was so loud it carried all the way to the neighboring First Prince's Guard.

"They ask for backup because they're short-handed, and yet they shout louder than anyone."

"We'll handle it. You lot can head back to the barracks!"

The First and Second Prince's Guards didn't get along. Hardly surprising — their commanders were competing for the throne, so of course the rank and file would clash.

"Quiet. Don't take the bait."

"Captain Kanna! Just transfer to the First Guard already! We can offer you at least a deputy company commander position!"

Good grief. Outright poaching right in front of us. Kanna ignored the First Guard's provocations entirely. Only the Second Guard was bristling.

"Ignore them. We focus on our job. The First Guard has their own commander to handle their side."

She continued briefing the operation over the First Guard's constant heckling. During her briefing, the First Guard left first, mocking us as they went.

The briefing? Naturally, I understood none of it. Defensive formation, Formation 3, Situation 1 — how was I supposed to know any of that?

"New recruit Appari, just stay by my side. You won't know the formations yet."

"Ooh, lucky newbie."

"Captain Kanna! Let me guard you instead!"

"Quiet."

Kanna was practically an idol around here. Enduring the knights' envious stares, I moved to Kanna's side. She positioned herself at the very rear. For a Guard Captain, the rear was the front.

As she'd said, their primary role was defense, not offense. Made sense. What kind of commander charged in at the vanguard like some Three Kingdoms general? Commanders directed from the rear.

"Move out!"

The knights roared in response to Kanna's command and poured out through the East Gate. In the distance, the First Guard's formation was already visible, having left first.

***

"Is there only one crimson tree?"

"Only one confirmed so far."

Kanna checked her notebook while gripping the reins. Likely intel from the scouts.

We soon arrived at the crimson tree. The First Guard, having arrived first, was already arranging their formation. A wedge.

The ground near the Corrupted Tree was translucent, with a basin forming around it. Clearly not a natural occurrence. The Corrupted Tree seemed to be draining the earth's vitality. Faint crimson roots were visible through the semi-transparent soil.

"Fortunately, they haven't spread far yet."

Kanna murmured.

"Eagle Formation."

Kanna said quietly. On her word, the knights immediately fanned out to either side. Perfectly drilled movement. A formation like an eagle spreading its wings unfolded around Kanna.

"Once the First Guard charges, monsters will come pouring out. We sweep them up."

"Can't we be the ones to charge?"

"Realistically, the First Guard is stronger."

Kanna said. Right. They were under Prince Gatess, so of course they'd be formidable. Even the Second Prince's Guard was outmatched.

Everyone looked uncomfortable at the admission, but no one objected.

"Charge!"

A cry rang out from the distance. Just watching the horses run, seeing their manes fly, I could tell. The First Guard was stronger than the Second. Even their horses looked like a better breed.

They held the wedge formation without a single break and slaughtered the monsters clustered around the Corrupted Tree.

"SCREEEECH—!"

Monsters shrieked at the sudden assault.

Some fought back; others fled. We shifted the Eagle Formation and picked off the fleeing monsters one by one. Like fish caught in a weir placed across a stream.

There was nothing for me to do. The knights dispatched the monsters before any reached Kanna. These monsters were genuinely weak enough for the Second Guard to handle alone.

I simply watched the Corrupted Tree's underground. The roots were gradually extending. I looked deeper, using the skill I'd unlocked in the library just before encountering the youngest prince.

【Skill: Reconnaissance Lv. MAX — Active】

The underground became even clearer. I could see inside the roots themselves. They grew thinner the deeper they went.

But one root, though thin, was long. So long that even my Reconnaissance couldn't see the end. Alarm bells rang in my head.

"Captain Kanna."

"What?"

"Aren't Corrupted Trees assessed by root depth?"

That was as far as the lore I'd read went.

"Depth, thickness, spread — it's a comprehensive assessment."

"Then what does it mean when a thin root extends to the end of the earth?"

"...That's a dangerous situation."

Kanna's instincts seemed to fire at my words. She asked carefully.

"Do you have a skill that lets you see through the ground?"

"Even my skill can't see all of it."

At that instant, a strange energy rose from the crimson tree. Black energy.

"Wh-what the......?"

Panicked voices erupted from the First Guard. I focused deeper underground instead. The curved roots were straightening. And along the straightened roots, swelling growths — like boils — began forming one after another.

That was it. The same feeling as the growths that had covered the walls during the dungeon with Airi. If those burst...... they were bursting.

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK—!

The ground shook violently, as if struck by an earthquake. Panicked horses reared with cries, and several knights were thrown from their mounts.

"First Guard, fall back! It's a Mother Tree!"

"A Mother Tree?"

Someone's voice cracked with alarm. This wasn't in the lore I knew. Marina didn't deal with stuff this dangerous. Or maybe Marina was so overwhelmingly powerful she never needed to learn about it.

"A Mother Tree grows underground. It extends roots in multiple directions and births offspring trees."

Then this was bad.

"This is the Mother Tree's trap."

Kanna's conclusion. At that moment, trees erupted from the ground where both Guards stood, punching through the soil. They glowed a shade darker than crimson — deep crimson.

"First Guard! Converge on the Second Guard!"

"Merge formations!"

The First Guard understood the situation well enough. Their commander immediately moved toward the Second Guard's position. Despite their rivalry, they'd apparently trained together extensively — a new formation materialized almost instantly.

A formation shaped like a cartwheel. At the hub stood the 1st Guard Commander, Kanna, and me.

"We need to send a message and call in the reserve knights from the Capital."

"The reserves probably went to deal with the tree at the North Gate."

"Surely that one isn't a Mother Tree too?"

Kanna and the 1st Guard Commander conferred. The commander outranked her — Kanna was using formal speech. The shoulder insignia confirmed it: three grass blades on Kanna's epaulettes, one flower petal on the commander's. A major, then.

Across the plain that had become a forest in an instant, the trees began to sway. Black miasma scattered through the air, and from the Corrupted Trees' branches, sinew-covered fruit-like masses dropped.

SPLAT—!

The heavy fruit hit the ground, and with a gush of viscous sap, monsters poured out. At a rough count, over twenty trees. Monsters falling from every one of them — we were surrounded in seconds.

"Holding a static defense won't solve anything. We need to roll the wheel."

"One gap in the formation and it's total annihilation."

"Sitting still will get us killed just the same."

The 1st Guard Commander and Kanna clashed. Kanna shook her head.

"Staying put guarantees annihilation regardless. This is a Mother Tree — Emergency Situation Two. I'm going with Resolution Four."

"What? Four?"

What was Resolution Four? Kanna's expression turned grave.

"I'll assemble a strike team from the Second Guard to destroy the Mother Tree."

"You could die."

"Better than total annihilation."

"...Can it be done? This decision stakes the fate of the entire force, not just the strike team."

"It can be done."

Kanna stated with absolute certainty.

"If the strike team doesn't return within fifteen minutes, roll the wheel. I'll have it done in fifteen."

"...Ten minutes. The situation isn't that forgiving."

"Understood."

Along the spokes of the Wheel Formation, every knight of the Second Guard locked eyes with Kanna even as they held the monsters at bay. I could see it.

Every single one — eyes begging to be chosen. So this was medieval chivalry. Nothing like the self-serving Hunters I'd known. I'd once run my own commission office, and the Hunters attached to it would loaf around the office just to avoid taking jobs.

Myself included. I had a catchphrase back then: "If you think you've got what it takes, step forward."

"Appari."

"Yes."

Kanna called my name.

"You and I are the strike team."

"Captain!"

Every knight of the Second Guard erupted in protest. The First Guard and their commander looked stunned as well.

"You'd entrust something this critical to a new recruit?"

"Captain Kanna, that seems reckless."

"No. Appari is strong. I vouch for him."

Kanna said.

"And Appari hasn't trained in our formations. He'd be useless here. Furthermore — he's stronger than me."

"What?"

All eyes turned to me at Kanna's words.

"During his exam, I showed my full power at the end. Appari blocked it without effort."

"What? Is that even possible?"

"An army that doesn't trust itself is an army that crumbles."

Kanna's gaze shifted to the 1st Guard Commander. The commander looked back and forth between Kanna and me. Still skeptical.

"Granted. I respect your judgment."

"Thank you."

"Captain! We can't believe this!"

The Second Guard knights were still shouting in disbelief, but Kanna ignored them and slipped out of the Wheel Formation.

And so did I.