*****
NOVELASIUS
- TL: the guild
- Discord: https://discord.gg/GBKEa55867
- Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/topasius
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The Northern Wall (1)
Merkabah Academy closed its doors indefinitely, citing the reason that winter showed no sign of ending. It wasn’t just the unbearable cold that made it difficult to venture outside, but more importantly, it was to mobilize two individuals.
“Master. Professor Josephine.”
Master Erin and Lady Josephine—these two were the strongest forces within Merkabah Academy. However, due to their positions as the academy’s director and chief professor, they were rarely deployed to the front lines.
“Is it already time for a shift change?”
“Yes, Professor, you can go inside and rest. I’ll take over the reins. I also need to discuss something with Master.”
At my words, Lady Josephine nodded and vanished into thin air, teleporting to the mobile container of the Hræsvelgr we were currently commanding.
“You have something to discuss?”
Master handed me the reins of the Hræsvelgr and inquired.
“Yes, it’s about the North.”
“You mean beyond the Wall.”
“Yes, remnants of myths remain there.”
This was a conversation only Master could truly understand. I may have knowledge of the game and experiences from the future, but it’s all still limited to third-party, fragmented information.
Compared to Master Erin, who lived through that era, what I know is mostly related to game strategies.
“Let’s first confirm what you know.”
“Frost Giants, the Valkyries, and the Dwarves, mainly.”
“How many Valkyries were there in the future you experienced?”
The Northern Wall was in a state of ruin, and we had become enemies with them. Even then, their numbers were not great.
“Forty… More than half sided with Valtazar, and most of the remaining half perished with the Wall.”
“…That’s severe. Originally, there should have been 540.”
Master Erin bit her lip and spoke.
“The Valkyries were messengers of the divine army. They were the ones who, having read the great battle of destiny, were meant to stand alongside the legendary armies against the Giants and beasts.”
“That sounds similar to this world.”
“The end of the gods was prophesied in one form or another.”
Master’s expression turned bitter as she recalled those times.
“We had frequent exchanges with them. Although we were once adversaries with spears pointed at each other, we had a common enemy.”
“Giants?”
“Yes, the Immortals, closest to the primordial beings. The descendants of the great Sky Giants were formidable rivals to us, who were once called gods.”
Just as Balor and the Fomorians were the sworn enemies of Danu before the arrival of Goidel, the giants were the main adversaries of the gods in Norse mythology.
The Frost Giants led by Utgard.
The Fire Giants led by Surtur.
The result was mutual destruction. Whether it was Danu or Norse, the mythological age ended, ushering in the “Golden Age” of humans.
Regardless of the pantheon, the end of the mythological age and the dawn of human supremacy was a common theme.
“Given the frequent interactions due to proximity, was there no contact after the fall of the gods a thousand years ago?”
“Their numbers dwindled, but it seems that their gods did not survive. Although a few remaining gods did exist…”
“There were gods?”
I hadn’t heard of this in the original story or in the previous timeline.
“It seems that Ohad Bress, the former God-King three generations ago, slaughtered even those survivors.”
“…I see.”
That explains it.
It made sense that another deity like Tates Valtazar could have established a stronghold there over the past eighty years.
Someone should have opposed him, but Ohad must have killed them all before that.
“No wonder he wielded Mjolnir and the Sword of Victory.”
Among Ohad Bress’ many treasures were not only the treasures of Danu but also those of the Norse gods.
“Master, as far as I know, the Valkyries have the power to open ‘Gates.’”
This was the troublesome part about the Valkyries. Their “Gates” played a horrifying role in the final battle.
“So in the future, Tates Valtazar was… revered to that extent. That power can only be granted by two gods… Yes, I once encountered something like that 800 years ago.”
Master began recounting an old story from a distant past, about what she discovered beyond the Northern Wall in the Norse realms.
“Well, that’s unexpected.”
It might be a clue that could change the situation.
The Northern Wall.
A frontier defense line that held off the marauders of the North Kingdom and the monsters that grew bolder in the harsh environment.
In the past, it was revered as the final bastion of humanity and the protector of the kingdom. But internally, it was always plagued by shortages of food and manpower, and externally, it constantly had to fend off invaders. It was only a matter of time before it fell into disrepair.
With dwindling volunteers, insufficient recruits, and a constant lack of funding, the chronic issues of personnel, supply, and food shortages became a daily routine.
“Skari! Didn’t I tell you to keep those brats indoors!”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m on it!”
Even in this wretched place, there were still those who lived by their wits. Senior Guard Dirac cursed as he awaited the arrival of someone at the gate of the Wall.
“Ugh… it’s freezing. The weather should have eased up by now…”
It was already mid-March. The weather should have started warming up, but the damned cold showed no signs of relenting.
Thanks to that, the guards at the Wall were having a rough time. An extended winter meant that the barbarians beyond the Wall had fewer animals to hunt, which inevitably led to raids.
Naturally, for those raids to be successful, they would need to breach one of the Walls that separated the kingdom from the North Kingdom.
Of course, if the Wall were breached, the central authorities, living in comfort, would come down hard on them. To avoid that, the guards had to be on full alert.
“Captain, when are they supposed to arrive?”
A subordinate grumbled, and Dirac glanced at him, rubbing his chilled cheeks with fur gloves.
“How should I know, you idiot. They said it was some kind of weather survey.”
“They’re coming all the way out to this forsaken frontier for a pointless survey?”
“How should I know?”
“Damn it. I hope they’re not here to nitpick. I saw the captain drinking earlier.”
“That old man drinks every day. But have we done any repairs on the southern gate recently?”
“We patched it up with a temporary wall three years ago. No one’s repaired it since. As long as it can keep out a few monsters, it should be fine.”
The wall city, which served as the gate, only maintained the northern gate connected to the North, while the southern gate leading to the capital was left in a state of disrepair.
Sometimes inspectors would come by and point it out, but since the budget was tight, they turned a blind eye.
-SKREEEEEEE!
Just then.
A faint screeching sound echoed from afar. The chilling sound of wings beating against the wind.
‘What the hell? Is that even possible?’
In this place, during winter, only special breeds of wyverns could fly. Even then, wyvern riders had to wear special cold-weather gear to survive the flight.
For the sound of wings to be felt against the skin, how many wyverns would have to be flying?
“Captain, look! Over there! Holy shit, look!”
A subordinate, pointing at the horizon in shock, made Dirac look in that direction with astonishment.
“What… What the hell is that?”
There were a lot of wyverns.
No, there were an insane number of them.
Fifty-six wyverns, flying in a formation as if they were escorting three enormous creatures.
-SKREEEEEEE!
-SKREEEEEEE!
-SKREEEEEEE!
Hræsvelgrs. The cost to feed just one of these creatures could sustain an entire gate city, and here were three of them.
“Are those… wild flying beasts?”
“No way… What would they be scavenging for in this place?”
“Alert! Activate the defense systems! Quickly!”
Dirac, the senior guard, swiftly activated the wall’s defense mechanisms.
Occasionally, tamers riding eagles would attempt to cross the wall, or half-giants would try to break through the gates, so despite the outdated and dilapidated state of most things here, the defense systems were relatively new.
“Uh, Captain? Those aren’t wild beasts.”
“What are you talking about… huh?”
Dirac pulled out his binoculars to get a closer look at the formation flying toward them.
“Riders?”
Hræsvelgrs and wyverns. Riders were mounted on them.
‘What’s going on? I heard some baron was coming for a weather survey?’
Three Hræsvelgrs and fifty-six wyverns. That scale would not be out of place for the king himself to personally lead.
They began to descend toward the open area in front of the gate. The gate city did have a wyvern landing pad, but there was no way it could accommodate such a large formation.
“W-Wow…”
Sixty flying beasts landed one by one… with three of them being massive passenger dragons. The gusts from their wings made the already cold air even more frigid.
“Oh no!”
By the time Dirac remembered the flimsy wall at the southern gate, the walls were already crumbling under the gusts from the Hræsvelgrs’ wings.
“…”
“…”
Witnessing this, a young man in the cockpit of the passenger dragon looked up at the guards atop the wall.
“This is worse than I imagined.”
The rider, who had clearly expected no better, jumped lightly down from his mount. He might have looked like just another rider, but one of the guards recognized him immediately.
“That’s… isn’t that Korin?”
“The famous one?”
“Famous doesn’t even begin to describe it! He’s the youngest ever to reach Grandmaster rank, and he’s said to be the strongest knight in the kingdom!”
That assessment was slightly off.
The Guardian Association had officially announced three Grandmasters.
Marie, Hua Ran, and finally, Korin. Even Alicia had been recognized for her exceptional swordsmanship and was announced as a Half-Grandmaster.
In any case, seeing such a bigshot in person was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“Wow…”
As people began to disembark from the passenger dragon’s cargo hold, it became clear that their numbers were not small.
With four people per wyvern, just having two hundred people was enough to stir the gate city. And the passenger dragons had brought three times that number.
“What… What’s going on?”
Moreover, those disembarking were all armed to the teeth or dressed in robes… they were ‘elites’ in every sense of the word.
“Look at that gear…”
The equipment they carried was nothing short of extraordinary. In this place, where old spears and arrows were the best they had, it was astonishing to see such state-of-the-art gear.
“Are those… mages?”
The final group to disembark was three hundred mages, pouring out like a flood.
In a place where seeing even a single mage was rare, the sight of hundreds of mages was almost beyond comprehension. Not even in the capital could one witness such a spectacle.
Eight hundred soldiers had swiftly organized into formation, standing in perfect order before the gate’s entrance.
The guards swallowed hard. It was unimaginable, but if these people wanted to, they could reduce this decrepit gate city to ashes in five minutes.
“I thought this was just a weather survey?”
“Right… So did I…”
The man leading the group, presumed to be the commander, looked up at Dirac atop the gate and grinned before leaping lightly into the air.
But the result was anything but light. In one bound, he cleared the 13-meter-high gate.
“Hooyah!”
“Whoa…!?”
So this was the monstrous physical prowess of a knight. Dirac was astonished by the Grandmaster’s abilities and couldn’t tear his gaze away from the man’s friendly smile.
“Greetings. I’m Korin Lork. I’ve brought an official document for you to check.”
“Oh… Ah, yes!”
Dirac hurriedly read the document handed to him by Korin.
[ Decree ]
A survey team is dispatched to investigate the abnormal weather beyond the Northern Wall.
All officials of this city are to fully cooperate with ‘Survey Leader Korin Lork.’
──Signed by King David Yoseph El Rath.
In short, it was an order to follow his commands. Dirac, holding the first royal decree he had ever seen in his life, clutched it tightly and bowed his head.
“W-Welcome to the Northern Wall city of Bifrost.”
For the time being, Korin Lork was the lord of this city.
“This is worse than I thought.”
“Yes… it is.”
Master Erin did not deny my assessment.
The gate city of Bifrost was in worse condition than I had imagined.
It wasn’t just that the walls collapsed from the gusts of the Hræsvelgr’s wings.
The most critical issue was the state of the northern wall of the city, and the guards were a mess.
“Five hundred minimally armed guards are supposed to defend a 400-kilometer-long wall? This is a disaster.”
The only knight in command was the captain, and there wasn’t a single mage.
The Northern Wall, when compared, was akin to China’s Great Wall or Goguryeo’s Cheolli Jangseong. The only difference being that this wall had just one gate, with the rest being an unbroken stretch of towering barriers.
It was a great wall that made one wonder how it was even built.
The problem was that this enormous wall was guarded by just five hundred men. With such a small number, even guarding the gate properly would be impossible.
“What was it like in the future?”
“It collapsed before we even had a chance to do anything, leaving us no time to prepare. But looking at the state of things, it’s not hard to see why.”
The usual small-scale barbarian raids or monster incursions might have been manageable.
The long wall was connected to steep mountain ranges, and a sturdy gate was built in the most vulnerable flatland area.
But in a large-scale war… especially if knights or mages were involved, breaches would only be a matter of time.
Even though this city had a population of about ten thousand, the state it was in was due… well, mostly to poor leadership.
The gate city had no mayor due to its nature, with only the guard captain and a few administrative officials, or so I’d heard.
“We’ve inspected the entire city, and the captain is still nowhere to be seen.”
At my glance, the senior guard, Dirac, bowed his head, clearly flustered.
“Where’s your captain?”
“I-I’m sorry!”
“No, don’t apologize. Where is your captain?”
“Th-The Fairy Garden! At the pub! He’s probably at the pub!”
“Unbelievable.”
Drinking in broad daylight? I’ll definitely deal with this bastard.
…
…
…
In this frontier, the most popular establishment was, unsurprisingly, the tavern.
In cold regions, strong drinking cultures prevail, and alcohol is often recommended to keep warm.
Bifrost’s guard captain and 1st-class knight, Bion, had surpassed that recommended limit by a wide margin.
“More! More booze!”
Ever since he was stationed in this city, he’d been drowning in alcohol.
Due to the nature of the gate city, with its small population and scarce resources, and with only a handful of administrative officials, the captain was practically the city’s mayor.
In this isolated frontier, he wielded near-absolute power, but he used that power only for idleness and drinking.
“Do you know who I am? I’m the knight who fought that massive Drake!”
“Don’t you mean, Drak?”
“Yes! That thing! It breathed fire! And now I… I’m stuck in this godforsaken hole!”
The townsfolk who were forced to listen to the captain’s drunken rants seemed to sympathize with him to some extent.
Despite being perpetually drunk, the man was a skilled swordsman.
When a half-giant attempted to break through the gate last year, it was this man who leaped from the wall and cut the giant in two with a single strike.
Seeing him split a half-giant, several heads taller than himself, even the townsfolk who had lost faith in him due to his severe alcoholism had to admit that a knight was still a knight.
“But are you sure it’s okay? I heard some folks from the capital are coming to conduct a survey today.”
“It’s fine! They’re just bookworms who read stars or something! I don’t have to go!”
-Bang!
Suddenly, the door to the tavern was violently kicked open, and someone stormed in.
A young man with a distinctly wild appearance… followed by Senior Guard Dirac, whose face had turned pale.
“Oh, Dirac. Are you off duty alrea—”
“Where is that bastard?”
“The… the bald one… right there.”
The young man walked briskly towards the direction indicated by Dirac’s trembling finger, stopping in front of the captain.
“Bion?”
The expression that had been ready to kill softened slightly into confusion. But it was only for a moment before the young man’s face hardened again as he spoke.
“Are you the captain of this city?”
“What the… You’re just a greenhorn…! How rude!”
“A summary trial for Captain Bion Solberg of Bifrost begins now.”
“A trial? A trial? Who do you think you are?”
The young man… Korin Lork answered with a cold gaze.
“Chief Justice.”
*****
NOVELASIUS
- TL: the guild
- Discord: https://discord.gg/GBKEa55867
- Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/topasius
*****
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