Chapter 109

The swarm of wyverns was closing in moment by moment.

It was at least a relief that they knew how to deal with them, having heard the tale of the Spinelle tribe.

‘It would have been a disaster if Wilhelm hadn’t told me.’

If they had faced the wyvern swarm without knowing the cause, the damage would have become uncontrollably large.

Yet, even knowing they wouldn’t be helplessly defeated, and even trusting in Nine’s strength, the worry was something I couldn’t stop.

I had heard countless stories of Nine’s exploits, but the only time I had actually seen him fight was at Viscount Pellona’s estate. And even that wasn’t a proper viewing.

Everyone held their breath and stared only at the communication crystal.

“Ugh!”

A few younger retainers retched upon seeing the scene through the communication crystal.

The sight of red and blue blood splattering was vivid.

I spoke to the retainers whose faces had turned ghostly white.

“No need to force yourselves to watch.”

A few retainers who hadn’t reached adulthood rushed out at those words, but most stayed put, their faces pale white.

In truth, my feelings were not much different from theirs.

The sound was muted, so the pandemonium of the battlefield wasn’t heard, but war was dreadful just by looking at it.

However, I stood firm and watched every sight.

Because my husband was fighting out there.

For his sake, I couldn’t collapse either.

“The wyverns’ movements are strange!”

Then, the wyvern swarm, which had seemed to be recklessly charging, broke its formation.

Wyverns began to deploy on both flanks of the group directly confronting the knights.

Those monsters cooperated with each other, evading the knights and destroying the surroundings.

The strategic movements, unbelievable for monsters, plunged the grand conference room into silence.

Someone spoke in a trembling voice.

“I, I have never heard that wyverns have that level of intelligence…!”

“It’s certain they are being controlled by the Spinelle tribe.”

“It seems their objective is to inflict damage on the territory!”

It was as the last shout suggested.

It was evident just from the sight seen through the communication crystal. The damage caused by the wyverns was steadily growing.

Although the knights were trying to stop them, completely blocking the multitude of monsters was virtually impossible.

“Duchess! The direction the wyvern swarm is heading is…”

“The Duke’s main castle, I presume.”

Not stopping at destroying the territory, the wyverns continued to advance towards a specific destination.

Towards the Eclipse main castle, where I was.

I composed myself and commanded.

“Bring out the anti-monster aerial weapons and have the magicians within the castle switch to combat readiness. Focus on defending the buildings where residents have evacuated, rather than engaging in direct combat.”

“Yes!”

A resolute reply rang out.

True to their nature as Northerners who had long lived facing monsters, everyone quickly regained their composure and moved.

A knight tasked with conveying the orders to the Knights’ Division swiftly left the conference hall.

I secretly wiped the sweat from my hands on my skirt and kept a close watch on the situation inside the communication crystal.

Nine, who had been commanding the Knights from the rear, was seen drawing his sword, seemingly about to join the front lines in earnest.

Just before he rushed out, Roona arrived precisely at that moment.

Although their conversation wasn’t heard, Nine, upon hearing Roona’s words, dismounted his horse.

Lightly bouncing in place, Nine instantly took a leap and landed on the roof of a three-story building.

‘Wow…’

It was an incredible jump.

I had thought that as a Sword Master, his physical abilities would be extraordinary, but this much?

But the truly surprising thing was what followed.

Using the building’s roof as a stepping stone, Nine, who quickly ascended to the top of the town square’s clock tower, swung his sword horizontally once.

It was a very simple movement.

However, its power was not simple.

Something like a blue crescent moon flew from Nine’s sword with terrifying momentum, cleaving the wyvern swarm in two.

The wyverns fell to the ground in droves, like a swarm of flying insects hit by insecticide.

Gruesomely shredded pieces of flesh and bright blue blood stained the city streets.

The power was immense.

I and a few young retainers were the only ones aghast at this terrifying sight.

“A-as expected of the Duke!”

“Madam! Can a Sword Master normally do something like that?!”

An excited young retainer asked me.

‘I don’t know either!’

Avoiding the burdensome gaze, I looked at the communication crystal and saw Nine mouthing something.

Standing alone high up on the clock tower, it was a monologue.

Judging by the shape of his mouth, it seemed he was saying he could see something.

‘What is he looking at?’

Nine shot out from the clock tower like an arrow.

He was so fast that the magic communication crystal could barely keep up with him.

The communication crystal, belatedly pursuing him, could only capture his back.

And in the scene that followed, I finally realized why Nine was one of the strongest individuals on the continent.

When Nine landed somewhere, something tumbled behind him.

The communication crystal, having finally caught up with him, focused on the object.

Rolling on the ground were two human heads.

A man with pure white silver hair, like Iris’s, was staring into the communication crystal, his eyes wide with shock and not even closed.

I had no difficulty recognizing who he was.

‘It’s Count Laurel.’

And the other head belonged to a woman with the dark skin characteristic of the Spinelle tribe. Unlike Count Laurel, she had her eyes closed and a peaceful expression.

Count Laurel had belatedly recognized Nine approaching him, but he seemed to have had his head separated without feeling anything.

It was a hollow death.

‘Even in the original story, he died somewhat in vain for a final boss, and this point is no different.’

I felt sorry for Iris, who would have wanted to take revenge herself, but I hoped she would understand that our situation didn’t allow for such consideration.

“Oh, the monsters!”

The wyverns, which had been fiercely confronting the knights, abruptly stopped their actions. The uniform movements vanished, and their formation broke, becoming disorganized.

Then, pieces of flesh and blue blood suddenly rained down upon them from above. Nine had unleashed another blade aura.

The monsters gaped in terror, then took flight and scattered in various directions.

I worried they might cause additional damage by going elsewhere, but perhaps because they were pack animals, they gathered together and retreated.

As the wyvern swarm departed, the enemy’s morale instantly dropped. It was a natural consequence, as they had been relying on the monsters to fight.

‘It’s over.’

What completely crushed the enemy’s morale was Count Laurel’s death.

Realizing that Count Laurel was dead, the mercenaries no longer wished to fight. The mercenary band signaled their surrender by raising white flags.

However, Count Laurel’s private army was in a different position from the mercenaries. They couldn’t openly raise a flag of surrender like the mercenaries.

Ultimately, the private army retreated, incurring heavy losses.

“Victory! We have won!”

“Waaah!”

When the last soldier of the private army left Eclipse’s territory, everyone in the conference room cheered.

I restrained the urge to cheer along with them and calmly issued commands.

“The joy of victory can be savored shortly! Prepare to welcome the knights! Prioritize attending to the injured and assess the status of the destroyed city!”

“Yes!”

The voices answering were louder than ever.

I hurried my steps to go and meet Nine.

I tried to appear calm, but I couldn’t stop my pace from quickening.

“Chacha!”

“Lady Chacha!”

While passing through the hallway, I ran into Adel, Kate, and Iris, who had come out after hearing the news.

We all exchanged smiles of relief and approached the main gate of the castle.

Rumble.

The heavy castle gate opened.

The victorious Silver Wolf Knights were standing proudly before it.

A spectacle unfolded as family members or lovers rushed towards those they had been waiting for.

Iris was among them.

Perhaps because they were somewhat acquainted, or because Norman standing alone caught her eye, she approached him and offered him a handkerchief.

And…

“Nine!”

I ran towards Nine, who stood at the very front of them.

Seeing me, Nine opened his arms. As I leaped into his embrace, he buried his face in my neck and hugged me tightly.

“Me too! Me too!”

Adel jumped up and down watching the two of us.

“Let’s wait a moment, Adel.”

Kate gently reprimanded Adel and led him away.

Normally, I would have laughed at that sight, but strangely, tears flowed. They were tears of relief.

“Welcome back.”

Nine gently wiped away the tears streaming down my cheeks.

His forehead met mine.

“I’m back, Chacha.”