Chapter 13

The Genius Knight Who Devours Memories

Chapter 13

Clang clang clang clang-!

As on any other day, the sound of someone striking an empty pot rang out.

The sound announcing morning.

Everything was the same as usual.

The soldiers who had awakened from sleep sluggishly got up.

Some were grateful they had not been assassinated in their sleep.

Some were relieved the enemy had not launched a surprise attack overnight.

There were even soldiers offering morning prayers to unknown gods.

One by one, those soldiers gathered into a force of roughly eight hundred men.

That was what morning was like for the White Wolf Knights, the strongest knight order in the Karnia Empire.

As usual, the soldiers stretched and emerged from their tents.

The sun seemed unusually bright today.

The sky was so clear that even the mountain peaks of the Noxis Empire far in the distance could be seen.

The soldiers who stepped outside sensed an unfamiliar atmosphere different from usual.

All the soldiers who had come out earlier were staring in the same direction.

They were pointing somewhere and murmuring among themselves. Following their fingers, the others saw four long poles planted in the training ground.

“What are those?”

“Did we have things like that in the unit?”

“There’s something hanging on top.”

The poles had not been there even yesterday.

Something round like a lollipop was hanging from each one.

One soldier narrowed his eyes and stared carefully before shouting.

“H-heads! They’re heads!”

“Rainer? Meiwa?! That one’s from Third Company...”

The things hanging from the bamboo poles were the heads of Rainer, Meiwa, Number Three, and Number Four.

The moment the soldiers realized what was hanging above them, an uproar broke out.

Clang clang clang clang-!

The sound of the empty pot being struck echoed through the camp again.

Then someone’s voice rang out.

“All personnel, assemble on the training ground!”

“Assemble!!”

The restless soldiers received the order and immediately moved in perfect unison.

They had instinctively realized something serious had happened, so their movements were swift.

As well-trained soldiers, it took only moments for them to gather on the training ground.

Roughly eight hundred soldiers stood in neat ranks.

Behind them, the four heads were raised high,

and in front of them, Knight Commander Supern stood atop the platform.

After sweeping his gaze over the soldiers once, Supern spoke.

“Everyone, turn around and look at the severed heads.”

At his order, the soldiers turned around in unison.

Blood was still dripping from some heads that had not yet dried, while others had already blackened and attracted flies.

The sight caused several people to gag first thing in the morning.

Most of them were new recruits with little experience in war.

“The heads hanging behind you belong to Noxis spies.”

Murmur, murmur.

The atmosphere instantly became chaotic.

After all, those men had fought alongside them for at least several years.

When the soldiers became noisy in disbelief, Supern shouted loudly.

“Silence!”

Silence fell instantly.

Because his voice carried aura, the entire training ground seemed to hum.

Everyone waited for Supern’s next words.

“The men hanging behind you were your comrades. Men you spent at least several years with. I understand that this is difficult to believe, but we have secured sufficient evidence.”

Supern continued.

“There are matters I need to inform you of.”

Some soldiers straightened their backs as tension filled the air.

Whenever speeches like this were given, they were usually followed by orders to deploy.

“First, next week, we will begin a supply transport operation. During that process, combat with Noxis will be inevitable.”

The atmosphere froze instantly.

It had been a very long time since they had received orders for battle.

Because so much time had passed without combat, most of them instinctively understood that the coming battle would be a large one.

That was the experience of those who had survived.

“Second. Starting today, all movement into and out of the knight order will be completely restricted. Did you think I didn’t know you bastards crawl out every night like rats?”

Ahem, ahem.

At Supern’s words, several people lowered their gazes and cleared their throats.

“Now that spies have been discovered inside the unit, all contact with the outside will be strictly controlled. Anyone who violates this order will be executed on the spot.”

Now that they were entering an actual operation, it meant all movement in and out would be controlled in order to thoroughly protect operational secrecy.

“Third. Fourth Company, Fourth Platoon, Fourth Squad.”

When Supern specifically called out a single squad, everyone’s gaze turned toward Fourth Company’s Fourth Platoon.

Only now did they notice that the four members looked terrible.

Their clothes, which they had not yet changed, were stained with dried blood, and their faces looked battered from a difficult battle.

“Forward.”

At Supern’s command, the four walked toward the platform.

After taking a breath, Supern looked over the soldiers and spoke.

“These are the men who distinguished themselves greatly during the operation against the Noxis spies.”

The area instantly became noisy.

That squad full of eccentrics had achieved something like that?

That was how most of them reacted.

“As recognition for their contribution, I hereby order every member of Fourth Squad who participated in the operation promoted by one rank.”

“Yes-!” Kaisen, standing in front of the platform, quietly celebrated.

A promotion in rank was not merely a matter of numbers for soldiers.

Once someone reached officer rank, they could receive a noble title, and if they climbed even higher, they could even be granted territory of their own.

Not only Kaisen, but smiles also appeared on Johanna and Creed’s faces.

‘Rising in rank means getting that much closer to Reinag.’

Rohan had little interest in territory or honor, but that one fact mattered.

And so.

Squad Leader Creed was promoted to Sergeant.

Corporal Kaisen was promoted to Sergeant First Class.

Corporal Johanna was promoted to Sergeant First Class.

Private Rohan was promoted to Private First Class.

Each of them received their new rank.

Starting from Sergeant, one could aim for the position of vice platoon leader, while a Sergeant First Class normally served as squad leader.

In other words, Fourth Squad alone now had three people of squad-leader rank or higher.

Given enough time, they might no longer operate merely on the squad level, but begin moving at the platoon level.

“And.”

Supern placed a hand on Rohan’s shoulder.

“I know very well that many of you avoid Rohan, calling him a murderer and worse.”

Rohan looked straight ahead at the roughly eight hundred soldiers.

Those who had insulted him lowered their gazes when their eyes met his.

“Rohan made the greatest contribution during this operation. From now on, anyone who criticizes Rohan without reason will be severely punished.”

The soldiers silently looked at Rohan.

It felt as though a new wind was beginning to blow through the knight order.

Rohan, however, was looking toward the sky.

Caw, caw.

There seemed to be an unusual number of crows today.

___________

Rohan opened his eyes the following day.

He had fallen asleep after hearing Supern’s speech and had only just awakened.

His body was covered in scars, but since he otherwise felt fine, it seemed he had been treated with potions.

He sat up on the bed, but even though it was daytime, no one could be seen inside the tent.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Rohan fell into thought.

‘There’s a lot to organize.’

First, Meiwa’s swordsmanship.

It had been the greatest gain from this battle.

The swordsmanship of the Nakandiya Tribe was fundamentally different from ordinary swordsmanship.

Rohan searched beneath the bed and pulled out Meiwa’s sword, which he had kept.

It was curved like a crescent moon, a sword specialized for close-range combat and agile movement.

Swish- Rohan gripped the handle and swung it through the air.

‘I’ll need to practice.’

It was a sword that could only truly shine when backed by agility.

In other words, even if he possessed the memories, they would be useless unless his body was capable of following the information.

Rohan already understood that his body had to support him if he wanted to fully assimilate the swordsmanship.

‘I should visit the Nakandiya Tribe too.’

It was a place where there was much to gain.

If the opportunity arose, he definitely intended to visit.

- Combat formation!

- Combat formation!!!

Rohan had only been lost in thought briefly when the sounds from outside the tent made him step out.

It seemed to be around noon, because the sun was high in the sky, and beneath it the soldiers were moving in perfect order.

Only one day had passed, but the atmosphere of the unit had changed.

Until now, they had never conducted training on such a large scale.

“Eek!”

As Rohan watched them, a huge figure emerged from the Third Squad tent, spotted him, and hurriedly hid.

Rohan lifted the flap of the Third Squad tent.

Goto was trembling as he hid beside the entrance.

Thud, thud. Several potatoes fell from his body.

When Goto hurriedly bent down to pick them up, even more potatoes spilled from various parts of his clothes.

“N-no. It’s not like that... These are...”

“Goto. What are they doing?”

When Rohan did not question him about the potatoes, Goto cleared his throat and quickly answered.

“They’re training. We’ve got the supply transport operation coming up.”

“Then why are you here?”

“My stomach hurts, so I was excused...”

Rohan’s gaze moved toward the potatoes scattered across the floor.

“T-these potatoes were in bad condition...”

“Alright.”

Rohan cut Goto off.

Whether Goto stole potatoes or not was none of his concern.

Rohan left the Third Squad tent and looked toward the training ground.

It was Rohan’s first time seeing military tactics, but by tracing his memories and watching carefully, he began to understand their movements.

Under the commander’s orders, formations were being organized to escort the supplies, including scouts, the vanguard, the escort unit, and the rear guard.

‘A standard supply escort formation, I suppose.’

Supern still probably did not know that false information had been sent to the enemy.

Rohan and Creed had agreed that this was how they would report things.

Creed had probably followed Rohan’s instructions.

Otherwise, Rohan would not be walking around freely right now.

Rohan’s eyes narrowed.

‘I need to take the supplies.’

The true identity of the supplies was a phantom beast egg.

He did not know its exact effects, but it was said an immensely powerful phantom beast would hatch from it and grant tremendous strength.

If he wanted to steal the supplies...

‘I need to set up a more perfect situation.’

The Black Dawn Knights in his memories.

Among them, Myuria was not someone who could be taken lightly.

Rohan believed she could not be defeated through an ordinary operation.

‘But how?’

Rohan had never commanded an operation before.

Nor did he have detailed information about this particular operation.

It had already been more than three years since the spies had left the enemy camp.

Even they did not know how the current Black Dawn Knights were operating.

‘There must be a way.’

Rohan’s gaze slowly lifted toward the sky.

Caw, caw.

The crows seemed unusually active today.

____________

That night.

As always, Rohan left the tent.

“Rohan. Not tonight.”

The night guard who saw him shook his head.

Only a few days had passed since Supern issued the order forbidding anyone from leaving the camp.

However, the night guards’ tone was gentler than usual.

Rohan approached them and spoke.

“As long as I don’t leave the camp, it’s fine, isn’t it?”

“Aren’t you going hunting outside?”

“My body feels stiff.”

After speaking, Rohan pointed toward the sword at his waist.

“The training ground?”

Instead of answering, Rohan nodded.

The night guards looked at one another once, shrugged, and stepped aside.

“Practice quietly.”

“And absolutely don’t leave the camp.”

Was it because of Supern’s speech?

No one picked fights with Rohan for no reason, nor did anyone go out of their way to stop him.

Just as Rohan was about to turn away.

“Uh... congratulations on becoming a Private First Class.”

“And sorry for doubting you.”

Quiet voices came from behind him.

Rohan nodded and walked toward the training ground.

There was not even the shadow of an ant in the spacious training ground.

Rohan rummaged inside his clothes.

What he took out was Rainer’s eye.

‘Potions really are useful.’

It was still submerged in water mixed with potion, so it remained in good condition.

Rohan raised his gaze toward the sky.

Rainer’s iris reflected the moonlight and gleamed.

How much time passed?

Flap-!

A loud sound came from the nearby forest, and a crow began gliding through the air.

It was an enormous crow, large enough that the tree it had launched from swayed for a moment.

It was roughly two or three times the size of an ordinary crow.

After circling through the air a few times, the crow descended toward Rohan.

Just as the crow slowed down and flapped its wings in midair, trying to land on Rohan’s arm.

- Caw!

Rohan’s hand instantly seized the crow by the neck.

Crack.

Before it could even react, the crow’s neck was twisted.

Then the crow’s memories flowed into Rohan.