The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 275

188. Frostpeak (2)

“Ugh…!! Ugh…!!!”

Anshelm was retching, face down in the snow, seemingly oblivious to the biting cold of the blizzard-swept highlands.

“Feeling better?”

“…Yes, thankfully I didn’t eat anything before we left. Otherwise, I would have shown you something unsightly up in the sky.”

Karyl chuckled at his words.

‘It’s been a while.’

Leaving Anshelm to recover, he gazed out at the vast, desolate highlands, a wave of nostalgia washing over him.

Far in the distance, two towering pillars stood tall.

The bizarre rock pillars, soaring upwards and intersecting like an inverted crescent moon, also resembled the fangs of a wolf.

‘The Bulwark of the Fang (Lang Ya [Wolf Fang]),’

It was the nest of Loewe Brokkr, the giant white wolf, one of the three great Divine Beasts of the past, now vanished, known as the Soul White Wolf.

Of course, Karyl hadn’t encountered the vanished Divine Beast in his previous life either. However, in another sense, this place was special to him.

‘I shed a lot of blood here.’

No, it would be more accurate to say he saw blood. The blood of corruption and monsters, not his own, had stained the highlands red.

The Three Ordeals.

It was the hardship the Ten of the Covenant had to endure.

The last relic was slumbering here. When they heard that the place of trial was Frostpeak, everyone was as surprised as Anshelm had been.

This place had been untouched by humans for a long time. But the reason for their surprise was different from Anshelm’s.

-I’ll take the lead.

After the covenant was given and the light faded, the group standing at the altar looked at a woman.

The one who volunteered to be the guide to the relic was none other than the Puppeteer, Kay Rothschild.

-It’s the first time I’ve heard your voice since we first met. We thought you had become mute all this time, you know.

Miliana said, surprised.

-Heh heh….

-What’s wrong? You’re not usually like this, are you?

-I know. Volunteering to be a guide. Amazing.

People around her laughed, amused by her reaction. Even though she could have been offended, Kay simply pulled the black robe covering her face further forward.

Because she knew.

That they weren’t making fun of her, but rather trying to shake off the nervousness about the final covenant.

-Do you know the way through Frostpeak? It’s not even on the map.

The moment Karyl’s voice was heard, tension filled the hall. But Kay Rothschild, true to her cold personality, didn’t say anything in response to his question.

Only Karyl remembered the one phrase she had muttered softly, as if filled with emotion, when the Ten arrived here and were making a fuss about the cold.

-I’m back….

Whish―――!!

“….”

Walking through the highlands in the fierce blizzard, Karyl replayed her words.

‘I’m back… I understand what that means now. The reason she knows the geography of this place, which isn’t even on the map, is because this is where her family is located.’

The Rothschild family.

Oliver had told him that it was one of the more influential families during the Magic Era.

That was all.

The Ten of the Covenant weren’t very interested in each other’s pasts. Karyl hadn’t paid much attention to her mutterings either.

But now it was different.

‘In my previous life, we searched all over Frostpeak to find the last relic of the Three Ordeals.’

Thanks to Kay’s guidance, they succeeded in finding the ruins, but they couldn’t find any traces of a mansion.

‘Then there’s only one possibility.’

It was something he hadn’t thought about back then, but Karyl could now come up with one more possibility.

That the ruins where the relic was located were the Rothschild family’s estate.

And that prediction turned into certainty the moment he confirmed the location written on the invitation Calypsson had given him.

“Wow….”

Anshelm Howard let out a soft exclamation, parting his lips that had been sealed shut for a long time.

How long had they walked?

Anshelm followed Karyl, who seemed familiar with the highlands that looked like they had nothing, and climbed up with all his might, trembling several times.

“It’s really amazing….”

Anshelm couldn’t take his eyes off the highlands, which had the latest sunrise on the continent but were filled with the most dazzling light, as if in awe.

“Right?”

“To think they built ruins even in a place like this, where it’s hard just to climb up.”

Karyl pointed somewhere, as if he wasn’t interested in the scenery. There was a single tombstone in the middle of nowhere.

“…Yes?”

But there was no trace of the ruins.

“Take a look.”

Karyl nodded towards the tombstone and said to Anshelm.

He hesitated for a moment, then walked through the blizzard towards the old tombstone.

“….”

It was densely covered with something written on it, and an unknown picture was drawn underneath.

But surprisingly, as soon as Anshelm Howard saw it, he walked through the snowfield as if possessed.

“This is….”

As if he had expected his reaction, Karyl watched with his arms crossed.

“Why is something like this here?”

“Do you think you know?”

“Hmm, it’s similar to the Eastern secret art called Celestial Alignment (Tenmon Shin [a method of divination and strategic planning based on astronomical observations]). The formulas and arrangements are a bit different, but….”

He frowned slightly as he examined the tombstone.

“Can you solve it?”

“Just a moment… I’ll try.”

Anshelm spread out his palm and focused his magic power, and a transparent glass-like window was created in the air from the bracelet on his wrist.

As he twisted the window as if rubbing it with both hands, the transparent window was replicated in multiple layers and divided in the air.

“Hmm.”

Karyl looked at him with interest.

It looked like a miniature version of the control panel in the Duchy’s fleet’s control room, and the hologram generated from the bracelet was one of the products of magical engineering.

Then, as if taking notes, he began to write down the combinations of the tombstone densely on the transparent window.

“The Eastern Celestial Alignment (Tenmon Shin) is a method of arranging the arrangements by substituting the arrangement and operation of celestial bodies into numbers. The 108 alignments (Shin) that come out of this are developed into tactics (Jin [military formations]), and the chief, Simon Coden, is the only one who can use the Serpent Formation (Ja-ton Jin [a specific tactical formation]).”

“I see.”

Karyl nodded at his words.

He also knew about the Serpent Formation (Ja-ton Jin). In his previous life, the Empire conquered the Duchy and then set out to conquer the East.

At that time, the Imperial Army had a hard time with the bizarre tactics of Simon Coden, the master of the East.

‘In the end, they failed to conquer the island.’

Even Suan Hazar’s special forces, who had easily climbed up the fierce rivers of Pona, could not overcome the waves of the East.

The moment the covenant was given, the war could have turned into a long-term war, and the Empire formed a temporary alliance with the East, ending the war.

‘I just thought the waves around the island were strange, but maybe even that was a secret art.’

But this time it’s different.

No matter how high the waves are, they can’t rise to the sky. Unlike the Empire, he has a Wyvern squad.

“Putting 9 at the top and 1 at the bottom, with 3 and 7 divided to the left and right, and in the center….”

Whether he knew Karyl’s thoughts or not, Anshelm was already lost in thought, as if fascinated, moving the windows he had created in the air here and there, combining various sums as if solving a puzzle.

Seeing Anshelm concentrating on solving the tombstone’s formation, forgetting the difficulty of climbing the highlands, Karyl skillfully made a place and started a fire.

Then, he took out the dried meat he had in his arms and began to cook it over the fire.

How much time had passed?

Perhaps more time had passed than it took to climb the highlands.

“Ah…!!!”

The sun, which had risen brilliantly, quickly set, and only the bonfire that Karyl had lit was shining. Only then did Anshelm let out a soft exclamation.

As if predicting that it would take a long time, Karyl tore off the dried meat he had in his mouth and looked at him.

“This… this is amazing.”

“Is it?”

“It’s presumptuous, but we may have to redefine the meaning of the word genius that has been used so far. The person who created this formation is truly a genius!”

Anshelm’s voice trembled with deep admiration rather than regret for giving up.

“That much?”

“Yes! It looks simple, but this formation contains hundreds, thousands of changes. It’s like… it seems like it was created by a sage who has mastered not only the changes of heaven and earth, but also the realm of magic and life.”

“If you were to use this in tactics, how would it be?”

“It would be a great help. So far, tactics and strategies have only changed the ranks and rows and divided the number of troops. Compared to the changes in this formation, those are all uniform. But….”

Anshelm shouted as if he was excited, but soon his voice became gloomy.

As if he understood his reaction, Karyl nodded.

“But it seems like you can’t solve it either.”

At Karyl’s words, Anshelm scanned his surroundings.

“…No matter who comes, they will never be able to solve it as it is. There is no center to be the wedge.”

“Center?”

“Yes. It would be nice to have something to use as an example… The core phrase of the formation is missing. At first, I thought it was similar to the Eastern secret art, so I applied the basic rules of the Celestial Alignment (Tenmon Shin), but it’s different from that. This is really the first time I’ve seen a formation like this. Who on earth created this?”

Anshelm answered in a low voice, as if disappointed.

But Karyl nodded as if he had expected even his appearance.

“I don’t know either. Well, if you’re curious, you can go in and ask.”

“…Yes?”

“It would be nice if you could learn a little this time. Then our strength will increase. That’s why I brought you here.”

“What does that….”

Anshelm looked at Karyl with questioning eyes, but he punched him with all his might without explanation.

Kwaaaang―――!!

Kwagagang―――!!

The tombstone, built with a barrier, was completely destroyed by Karyl’s fist.

“….”

Anshelm couldn’t close his mouth at the sight and just looked back and forth between Karyl and the tombstone that had turned to dust.

Clank… Drrrrr….

Keugagag―――!!!

A sound like a machine operating was heard from under the snow, and the floor where the tombstone had been a moment ago cracked and a huge underground door appeared.

“Huh….”

Anshelm looked down with a dumbfounded expression, never dreaming that he would open it in such a crude way. He could tell that the ruins Karyl was talking about were this underground area.

“I can’t solve it, but I can open the door. Step back.”

Then, he gestured for Anshelm to step back and said. Karyl began to loosen his fists with a familiar look.

“It’ll be over if I catch a few guys.”