Chapter 101: Magic Knight (01)
The village was bustling with activity.
Since they had to deal with the traitorous Lizardmen following the Frost Hydra, a few powerful Lamias, including Kamang, decided to join the front lines from the Lamia village. Initially, the Lizardmen only planned to warn this village and hunt down as many traitors as possible from within, but they changed their minds and decided to join forces with the Lamias for a counterattack.
The swamp, even to those who had lived here for ages, was a complex terrain that was impossible to fully grasp. As the defenders, we planned to secure a position first and ambush them. If the Frost Hydra appeared, everyone was to retreat, leaving me to engage it and force it to withdraw.
'Taking down a giant monster with my current equipment is out of the question. I'll have to weaken it by cutting off a few of its heads and force it to retreat.'
The Hydra, a creature from ancient myths, was said to have once battled a demigod who ruled the land, ending in a mutual defeat. However, such tales were exaggerated in the myths passed down over time.
In reality, while the Hydra had multiple heads, combining their intelligence didn't make it any more cunning than a clever lizard or snake. It wasn't capable of using complex strategies.
'If it had intelligence to match its strength, humanity would have already considered it a major threat and driven it to extinction ages ago.'
That's why the kingdom regarded Hydras as merely powerful monsters, only dispatching knights and mage squads when necessary to hunt them down. Hydras didn't overlap much with human habitats, didn't actively attack humans, and if a confrontation occurred, knights and mages would simply handle the issue.
'But is taking down the Frost Hydra really going to solve everything?'
From Hayang and the Lizardman, Rolara, I learned about the swamp's unique geography, where underground magma and the cold air from the snowy mountains maintained a delicate balance.
But I couldn't help but worry. Would capturing or killing the Frost Hydra truly resolve the problem? Recent pollution from alchemist workshops and golem factories in the Saitorax Republic had already disrupted the environment, raising the continent's overall temperature. The Elves had even personally visited the royal capital to plead for restraint. The rising temperatures were forcing species to migrate, from the southern swamps all the way up here to the northern lands.
If this area were to deteriorate as well...
'But that's not something I can solve. I need to focus on what I can do right now.'
As a knight, my duty was to fight and defeat the Hydra threatening this swamp.
'If it has three heads, I can manage. Five will be tricky. Seven will be dangerous. And if it has nine... there's no hope.'
With no armor and facing the Hydra's widespread attacks, I had to keep the number of heads below five to have any chance of victory.
Luckily, the mana saber I wielded could cauterize the Hydra's neck after severing a head, preventing regeneration. If I could just cut off one head early on, the battle would become significantly easier.
When morning came and the heat from the earth began to rise, the Lizardmen and Lamias started to stir.
"Take care out there."
Hayang came to see me off, holding my hand and casting a small blessing. I felt my body grow lighter.
'A blessing?'
It wasn't as strong as one from a saintess, but it improved my condition, and there was no reason to refuse such a boost.
"And make sure to take this with you."
"I think that's unnecessary."
Hayang was tying a bell, which I had received from my superior knight, to my armor. However, it was useless; even if I rang it, reinforcements wouldn't arrive in time.
"If you infuse mana into it and shake it, it'll make a sound."
Jingle-jingle.
'It does make a sound when infused with mana, but still...'
I couldn't just leave it behind, as Shuru or Mollang would likely end up playing with it. I stuffed it into the bag where I kept my armor.
"When do you think they'll arrive?"
"Shaa... They're still near the Frost Hydra, so they'll be slower than us. They also can't fight intensely until their body temperatures rise, so they'll likely start moving now and aim for the midday heat."
"Shouldn't I go ahead and reduce their numbers first?"
"That would be dishonorable!"
"Ah... Yes, understood."
It was true. I couldn't take on the Hydra and the Lizardmen alone, so I gave up the idea of a preemptive strike.
As Rolara predicted, the temperature began to rise at midday, and the Lizardmen started appearing near the Lamia village.
'About thirty of them...'
This was four times the number of Lizardmen who had visited the Lamia village earlier. However, they seemed slower and less responsive than the well-rested Lizardmen on our side, likely due to the Frost Hydra's influence lowering their body temperatures and reducing their combat abilities.
"Shaaah! Traitors!"
Rolara immediately screamed in fury upon seeing them. Though this ruined any chance of a surprise attack, the Lizardmen's bulky frames made it difficult for them to hide in the first place. The Lamias were already assigned the task of ambushing them.
Seven Lizardmen charged forward with their weapons. Rolara was the first to strike, driving her bone spear into the neck of the nearest Lizardman.
Thud!
Although the thick neck skin of the Lizardman stretched and it let out a pained scream as it collapsed, it didn't die instantly.
Their natural durability made it difficult to deal fatal wounds, even in combat. However, the lack of severe casualties on our side meant we could eventually subdue and convert them. For now, the situation was manageable.
"Shaaaah!!"
Weapons flew back and forth, but they only managed to leave small scratches on the Lizardmen's thick hides. Eventually, they gave up on their weapons and resorted to throwing punches at each other. Despite the Lizardmen's immense physical strength, they couldn't easily knock each other out because of their thick skulls.
'If I could coat my fists with mana, I could break through their bones and shake their brains, but that's not possible right now...'
The thick skin made it difficult to deal with them quickly, even though there was a difference in reaction speed. As a result, Rolara's group of Lizardmen began to fall behind in numbers.
But I never intended to let the Lizardmen handle this on their own.
Whooosh!
The Lamias leaped down from the trees, wrapping themselves around the Lizardmen's heads, or sprang out from the swamp to strangle the sluggish Lizardmen by the neck.
Crunch!
Even though their thick skin could block blades and their strong bones could absorb heavy blows, the Lamias began to constrict the Lizardmen with their powerful coils, choking them relentlessly.
"Gahh!"
"Shaaah!!"
The Lizardmen tried to strike the Lamias in anger, but their bodies, still stiff from the cold, couldn't prevent the Lamias from wrapping their tails around their arms. Thanks to this, the ten Lamias dispatched from the village managed to subdue ten Lizardmen completely, tightening their grips around their necks.
'Now there are less than twenty left!'
I could use my mana saber to slice through all the Lizardmen, but if I killed their kin in one strike, Rolara would undoubtedly resent me, and it would further sour her view of humans. So, even though it was more work for me, I charged into the fray, using mana-infused punches to strike the Lizardmen's heads and subdue them.
Bam!
Even Rolara, the leader of the Lizardmen, couldn't withstand more than a few of my punches.
Although the raw strength of Rolara and the other Lizardmen's punches was greater, their thick skin and skulls protected them from purely physical attacks. My mana-charged blows, however, penetrated deeply, causing concussions and paralysis in a single strike.
"Just hold them down!"
Bam!
With the Lamias restraining the Lizardmen, I knocked them unconscious. Rolara, who was wrestling another Lizardman, kneed its head upward, rendering it unconscious in one swift move. With the Lamias and Lizardmen working together, the tide of battle turned quickly in our favor.
"Shaaaah! You're stealing my kills!" Rolara shouted, her voice filled with frustration.
I ignored her and redirected the battle by having our allied Lizardmen capture those loyal to the Frost Hydra. Once I stepped in to finish them off, the balance of power completely shifted.
"Ugh!"
The concussed Lizardmen struggled to fight back, flailing desperately. Whenever they did, Rolara mercilessly grabbed their arms.
"Traitors!"
Crack!
Rolara twisted the limbs of a Lizardman she had grabbed, breaking them and subduing it instantly. She looked down at the fallen Lizardmen with a conflicted expression before shouting as if she had realized something.
"Shaaaah!! Kyaaah! Your... tails!"
Upon inspecting the subdued Lizardmen, it became clear that most of them had lost their tails. This explained their inability to balance properly or strike with their tails during combat. Combined with the temperature difference from traveling and resting in the sun, the loss of their tails had significantly weakened them.
"Did you offer them to the Hydra as food? Why would you go this far...?"
"We... won't die immediately... And if we lay eggs near the cold, maybe males will be born..."
"You fools! Why does it matter now?!"
Despite her anger, Rolara's eyes brimmed with tears. The morale of the tail-less, defeated Lizardmen plummeted rapidly.
"Kyaaah! Stop this and come back! We'll take you back!" Rolara cried.
"It doesn't matter... We can't win anyway."
At Rolara's plea, the Lizardmen hesitated, sadness etched on their faces, and they stopped fighting, retreating a few steps.
"We saw what happened to the village that resisted. It froze solid, never to rise again."
"Shaaaah! What's so terrifying about the Frost Hydra?!"
"And it will happen to everyone. You, me, even the snakes..."
A sudden chill ran through me, making my skin crawl.
"They're coming!" I yelled.
The Lamias tried to retreat to the village, but the rapidly falling temperature slowed their movements.
'Are they attacking even before securing their forces?'
Whoooosh!
Cold air crept up from the ground, and I quickly circulated mana through my body. The sudden drop in temperature froze the Lamias and Lizardmen where they stood, leaving them unable to even scream.
The Lizardmen who had given up resisting huddled together, forming a wall to shield us from the cold air blowing in our direction.
"Run, if you can... You'll end up like us, giving up," one of them said.
Watching the Lizardmen block the cold with their bodies, Rolara screamed in anguish, but in the face of the plummeting temperature, there was nothing anyone could do.
"Kyaaaah!!"
The Lamias began fleeing across the frozen swamp, leading the surviving Lizardmen. Those shielding them from the cold slowly closed their eyes, entering hibernation before freezing solid completely.
Crack!
I moved my feet to avoid getting stuck to the swamp, which had frozen over into ice sturdy enough to hold my weight. The ice thickened and solidified the closer the Frost Hydra drew.
Despite the biting cold that made movement difficult, the frozen swamp allowed me to prepare for full combat.
Boom!!
I heard the heavy footsteps of an enormous creature echoing across the ice. I opened my bag, donned the exoskeleton armor, and fitted the armored plates over it, initiating the final configuration.
"Registration number 02-001. Magic Knights Training Knight Ban. Initiating armor deployment."
Clank!
Freed from the mud, I could now wear the armor unhindered.
Whirrr!
[Authorized user confirmation complete]
[Current environment: Low temperature]
[Hostile lifeform detected approaching]
[Activating heat functions]
As the notifications flashed across my vision, I switched my view to wide-angle mode and drew my mana saber.
"From now on, this is my time."