MTLNOVEL 67
The next day. At the break of dawn, we gathered at the entrance of the forest. As explained before, the rules were simple.
Hunt magical beasts in the forest for three days. The side that takes down more beasts and returns alive wins. And if the victorious side claims the throne, the defeated side must not oppose it.
“This year’s magical beasts are a bit special,” Lorenz said in a leisurely manner.
“As you all know, the princes of this generation are highly skilled swordsmen. Ordinary magical beasts wouldn’t even be a challenge, would they? Bringing back their corpses would be a hassle too…”
At his gesture, a man who had been standing silently like a shadow beside him stepped forward, presenting a small stone wrapped in black cloth.
“This is proof that the beasts are stronger. You must extract this ore from their corpses and bring it back. The side that collects more proves they’ve slain more beasts.”
It emitted a brilliant blue light, shimmering coolly as if carved from ice that would never melt. Within it, ghostly white strands floated eerily, difficult to describe in words.
A system notification quietly surfaced.
[Core of a Magical Beast. The cause of a frozen heart, the source of the ‘Heart of Winter.’ The core’s location varies with each individual, and the beast cannot die unless its core is destroyed.]
Grit. The sound of someone clenching their teeth echoed nearby.
It was Kyle.
He had seen these countless times in the North. The lawless magicians had sent them as ‘gifts,’ and their principle was likely the same.
“Fucking magicians, playing their damned games…”
Kyle wasn’t the only one radiating hostility. The knights from the Blake Order, who had volunteered to aid him, wore equally grim expressions.
‘There’s no way they could take this lightly.’
Their lands had been ravaged by enhanced magical beasts, their loved ones lost. To see Lorenz siding with magicians, using them to ensure his rivals’ demise—it was beyond ruthless.
“This is unfair.”
At that moment, Sen stepped forward with a composed expression.
“We assembled our party according to the expected scale of the hunt. But if the beasts have suddenly been enhanced, it puts us at a disadvantage, doesn’t it? Prince Lorenz, you were already aware of this and must have prepared accordingly.”
Lorenz responded with a smooth yet insidious smile.
“I understand your concern, but it’s not unfair.”
“And why is that?”
“First. The magical beast cores appear randomly. That means even I hold no advantage in terms of knowledge. I can’t tame the beasts either, so the danger is equal for both sides.”
“…”
“Second. While knowledge-wise, you may be at a disadvantage, the situation actually favors you. You have Grand Duke Kyle Blake on your side, don’t you? The people of Blake territory should be quite familiar with these creatures.”
Kyle clenched his fists, then took a slow, deep breath.
“…It is an honor to be regarded so highly by Your Highness.”
His voice was strained.
He looked like a wild beast with a muzzle forced onto its mouth, barely holding itself back. He knew that lashing out now would do no good.
“And third. Regardless of the difficulty of the magical beasts, this is a hunt where lives are on the line. Naturally, both sides would have assembled their finest. Isn’t that right?”
His final remark was an unmistakable provocation. Even more tellingly, his gaze wasn’t on Sen but on Belial.
“Fine.”
Belial curled his upper lip into a grin.
“I never knew my brother was such a man of action.”
Lorenz shot back without missing a beat.
“I’m just tired of sitting back and letting empty words dictate the game.”
“…”
A cold tension settled between them.
They were going to fight to the death soon anyway—why were they sharpening their blades with words already? I clicked my tongue and stepped back behind the knights.
Each team consisted of ten members.
Lorenz chose six knights from Duke Klein’s household and three individuals presumed to be magicians.
Meanwhile, Belial’s party included Sen, Kyle, myself, two of his personal knights, and two volunteers from the Blake Order.
Strictly speaking, Sen and I were not optimal choices for combat. Naturally, there were suggestions that Sen should be replaced with a more capable knight.
However, Belial firmly insisted on bringing her. Leaving his fiancée behind in the imperial city would only make her an easy target for assassination.
“You don’t have to go through with this.”
Kyle still seemed reluctant to have the Blake Order knights enter the forest with him. It was understandable—he was leading his men into a death trap, and he couldn’t feel at ease about it.
But the knights of the Blake Order answered him without hesitation.
“This is not merely Your Grace’s personal matter. The survival and peace of Blake Territory in the North depend on it.”
“Exactly. And beyond that, it is tied to the North’s deep-seated grudge. Those damned magicians will no doubt try their tricks, and if we turn our backs now, can we still call ourselves knights of Blake?”
“Your Grace. Allow us to proceed as planned.”
Their eyes gleamed with unwavering determination.
“The Blake family’s sworn enemy stands before us. Even feeding those magicians to the crows would not be enough.”
“Go in and tear them to pieces to your heart’s content. I will not hold you accountable.”
Kyle let out a long sigh and answered,
“But if you die, I will never forgive you. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Your Grace!”
“We will keep that in mind!”
No further explanations or instructions were necessary.
It was only natural. Now, we would enter the forest. We would kill anything that stood in our way. And for three days, we would survive. Faced with this simple rule, everyone became utterly serious.
***
Puhk!
The sword that had been thrust forward like a streak of light returned even faster. The blood that had spilled from the blade couldn’t keep up, scattering in droplets midair.
The core of a magical beast.
It didn’t matter where that tiny stone was located—an arm, a leg, the torso. The task remained the same.
Block the attack and sever its lifeline. If it revives, cut it down again. No matter what, protect those behind you and survive to claim what you desire.
Indomitable will and relentless struggle—those were the words that best described Kyle Blake’s life.
“…Hmph.”
I lowered my bowstring and simply looked up at the sky, watching as if observing a passing bird. Shooting now wouldn’t even serve as interference—it would only get in the way.
Kyle had leaped into the sky, now ablaze in a brilliant blue.
With magic infused into his feet, he soared three times higher than an average person, flipping midair with effortless grace. He extended his sword-wielding arm straight ahead, forming a perfect line from his shoulder to the tip of his glowing blade.
In an unbelievable display of speed, he twisted his body and thrust forward.
The massive bear-like magical beast let out a hideous scream, its body contorting. It had failed to swat him down with its forepaw.
Even as the beast bared its yellowed fangs in murderous fury, Kyle’s crimson eyes shone with equal ferocity as he lunged once more.
Kkang!
A sharp and solid clash rang out. Again and again, the two forces struck, retreated, and collided once more.
Each impact sent pale sparks crackling through the air.
Then, finally, Kyle sliced the monstrous beast clean in half and reached into its corpse, yanking out its core.
“The first proof has been secured!”
“Good! Stay calm and return to formation!”
“Yes!”
The cheers lasted only for a moment before the knights quickly reassembled, standing guard around Kyle.
Their gazes were deadly serious.
Watching from a safe distance, I could once again feel the weight of the wars they had endured.
“We should move deeper into the forest, Your Highness.”
“Stay vigilant as we advance. My brother isn’t the type to leave an ambush unchecked.”
“Understood!”
We decided to ride on horseback until the terrain became too rough.
I swiftly mounted my horse, making sure not to lag behind. By now, holding the reins while seated in the saddle no longer felt entirely awkward. So long as I didn’t break into a full gallop, I probably wouldn’t make a fool of myself by falling off.
“You should just ride with me.”
But Kyle didn’t seem to think so.
Wiping the blood from his armor and sword, he cast me an uneasy look.
“You never know what might happen. A fall could lead straight to injury.”
“I can transform, so I’ll be fine.”
I had my own ways of handling things.
More than that, in this precarious situation where anything could happen, the last thing I wanted was to be a burden.
And my instincts proved to be correct.
“Your Highness! A flock of birds at seven o’clock overhead! Judging by the unfamiliar species, they appear to be magical beasts!”
“Raise your bows!”
I swiftly readied my bow once again, nocking an arrow.
The birds, visible only as small dark specks, were circling in wide arcs overhead.
Honestly, they were too far for me to hit.
But that wasn’t a reason to do nothing.
I pulled the bowstring back until my fingertips burned.
Exhaling slowly, I held my breath, staring unblinkingly at a single point in the sky.
Did I do this for Belial to become emperor?
No. That held no value for me.
He had promised not to impose northern suppression policies, but I didn’t fully trust those words.
Was it for Sen’s happiness?
That was part of it, but not the whole reason.
“Shu.”
I wanted that man to survive.
No—I wanted him to be happy.
I wanted him to stay by my side.
So instead of answering aloud, I locked onto that single black speck in the sky and loosed my arrow without hesitation.
Kyle, you don’t know.
You don’t know how many hundreds, thousands of times I’ve drawn this bow just for this one shot.
Whether it’s effort, luck, or a miracle—I don’t care.
I’ll take anything.
“There! One of them took a glancing hit on the wing and is falling out of formation!”
“Catch it! Support fire! Take it down before it descends!”
As my arrow barely grazed a magical beast’s wing and sent it spiraling down, I found myself smiling unconsciously.
Just wait and see.
We will survive.
And we will return to the North.
[Quest has arrived!]
[Witness a shared fate on the precipice of life and death.]
[Reward: Kyle Blake’s survival, a strengthened bond between two souls.]