Liberda was in chaos.
Three ogres were rampaging.
The city walls crumbled like flimsy wooden fences, and humans were crushed like ants.
Even the army sent by the lord was annihilated.
The nation was gripped by fear.
To break through this crisis, the King of Liberda, Elliot, played his strongest card.
Eto.
One of the knights often mentioned alongside Jose as the main figure in the eventual generational shift among the Ten Strong.
Eto, along with the Thornbush Knight Order under his command, four additional knight orders, and a full army, set out toward Einharn, where the three ogres were last seen.
And he found his target.
They were sleeping.
Looking at the three ogres sprawled out, Eto steadied his breath.
"..."
Eto, being of calm disposition, did not show any agitation.
"The ogres are sleeping."
The other knights grimaced.
The number of people massacred by Doncic and the two other ogres was beyond counting.
One entire city had collapsed, its citizens slaughtered, and the army was wiped out.
Lamentations and wailing echoed through the streets.
Yet those very monsters were now lying sprawled out, as if on a picnic, taking a nap.
That peaceful sight only enraged the knights further.
Eto restrained them.
"Hold your position, for now."
"Sir Eto, we must strike them down while they sleep!"
"They're already awake."
"Pardon?"
The moment he finished speaking, one ogre lifted its upper body.
Still drowsy, it looked around.
"Uh…"
The ogre rubbed its eyes and muttered.
"Again?"
Without rushing, Eto quietly activated his mana method. Perhaps sensing that energy, the ogre flinched slightly.
The ogre spoke.
"Now, nap time. Sleepy. Fight, later."
It seemed oddly clueless.
The soldiers in the back began to whisper.
"That's the ogre…?"
"Sounds like it was just a rumor."
"No way that fool destroyed a city, right?"
"Maybe the sleeping one is Doncic, and that one's just a lackey?"
The ogre, still indifferent, sat still and groped the ground.
Then, it threw a rock.
The soldiers who had been chatting were crushed by it.
Four died instantly, without even time to scream.
It happened so suddenly that no one could even begin to fight back.
Everyone stood frozen.
The ogre pointed at a group of the stunned knights and said,
"There. My spot."
With that one line, voices shouted from around.
"H-Hey. Just get out of the way."
"Stop staring and move already."
"You wanna get hit with a rock too?!"
The ogre rose. It was so massive that its shadow stretched long.
Then, facing Eto, whose face was now flushed red, it said,
"Quarreling, troublesome."
Leaving those words behind, the ogre went and sat in the spot the knights had cleared.
It was a sunny area.
The ogre swayed slightly with its eyes closed, enjoying the warm sunlight.
"This is good."
Just as the ogre was about to fall back asleep, Eto approached.
"A gift."
The ogre tilted its head and held out its hand.
It was a cylindrical object, far too small for the ogre's hand to grip properly.
A fuse at the end was lit.
Upon closer inspection, a small note was attached.
「Explosive. Handle with care. Throw immediately after lighting.」
The moment it read that, the bomb exploded.
"Guaaaah!"
The ogre flailed and screamed. With that, the other two sleeping ogres sprang up.
"Doncic, are you okay?"
"Eyes, hurt. Can't see."
"Doncic, poor."
"Dark. That's, the future."
Eto drew his sword. Luckily, the ogre he had just struck was Doncic, one of the Ten Strong.
"Now's the time! Don't give it a chance!"
Eto urged the troops forward.
An ogre's body was extremely tough. Even if its eyes were blinded temporarily by the bomb, it might recover quickly.
Eto charged straight at Doncic.
"These humans, strong."
"Safe battle, safe slaughter."
"Sleepy fighting, not good."
Ignoring the nonsensical ramblings of the other two ogres, Eto unleashed his sword aura. Sharp enough to cut through even the toughest ogre hide in a single stroke.
As he closed the distance, a single blood-filled eye on Doncic's face suddenly snapped open.
"Very, angry!"
Doncic swung its fists together.
A tremendous gust came rushing in.
Eto's spine turned cold. A mere graze would mean instant death.
It felt like walking a tightrope on the edge of a bottomless cliff.
His instincts screamed at him to retreat, but his will pushed him forward. The clash between the two created disharmony within him.
But he was a trained knight.
Suppressing the urge in his chest, he advanced.
By a hair's breadth, the fist missed, grazing only his hair.
A gap opened. Eto slashed at Doncic's neck.
Blood spurted out.
But something was wrong. Sensing the anomaly, he quickly retreated.
Doncic clutched his neck and screamed.
"My neck pain! Excessive bleeding!"
Doncic's thick hide, though cut by the sword aura, had still managed to protect his blood vessels from a fatal wound.
That he could still shout after having his neck slashed made no sense.
"A monster."
Eto stepped back and spun his sword in a full circle.
Blood splattered across the ground.
The ogre's blood reeked.
He looked around.
With soldiers surrounding to block retreat, the knights clung to the ogre's massive body like dwarves against a giant, engaging in fierce combat.
They tried to restrain its movements with nets and chains, but the ogres cleverly evaded them.
Eto had a realization.
Today, Doncic could not be killed.
They might be able to drive him away if they gave it their all, but actually killing a retreating Doncic would be nearly impossible.
He revised his objective.
He called three trusted knights.
"Help me!"
"Yes, sir!"
When facing an opponent like Doncic, it was better to rely on a small number of elite allies than to involve a large force.
"It seems we won't be able to kill this one today."
"Sir?"
"He's one of the Ten Strong."
"Understood."
"So we're changing the objective. While we block Doncic with the minimum force, we'll kill those other two ogres."
"Yes, sir!"
The three knights, well aware of Eto's calm nature, immediately followed his orders.
Eto turned around and shouted,
"Kill the other two! We'll stop Doncic!"
All forces, except for Eto and the three knights, were now locked in a fierce battle against the two ogres.
Suddenly, one soldier flew through the air, spraying blood.
Eto forced himself to look away.
Now was the time to focus on the battle.
"We'll stop Doncic."
As previously mentioned, Doncic was a clever ogre. He quickly understood Eto and the knights' plan and roared,
"Humans, cowardly! Weaklings, contemptible!"
"As if you ogres are any better."
Eto muttered, then stepped in front of Doncic and raised his sword. The three knights moved with him, surrounding Doncic from all sides.
Doncic spun in place, glaring at the four one by one.
He looked as if he were playing around.
"Humans, cowardly. Humans, cowardly."
As he repeated himself and acted foolishly, the knights momentarily lost focus.
"What the hell is that bastard doing...?"
One of the knights muttered, only to be suddenly struck by Doncic's attack and sent rolling across the ground. Though he barely managed to absorb the blow, blood dripped from his mouth.
"Don't let your guard down! He's a cunning one!"
Eto shouted.
Doncic, grinning, dug his hands into the ground, grabbed a handful of dirt, and scattered it around.
With his massive hands, he could dig up a large amount of soil.
Their vision was instantly clouded.
Eto shouted,
"Block it! It's an attack!"
But Doncic's intent wasn't to fight. He passed by Eto.
"Wrong answer, unfortunate!"
Doncic had broken through the four loosened knights to save the other two ogres.
Doncic was not only clever but also an ogre lord who cherished his kin.
Though he had become violent under the influence of black magic, his sense of camaraderie remained intact.
"My, friends! I, protect!"
"Very, moved!"
"Loyalty! Loyalty!"
The three ogres united.
Eto was not shaken. He led the three knights to try and stop Doncic once again.
Even if the process was difficult and exhausting, he would not be discouraged. He would simply continue the task given to him with composure.
"Sir Eto. Are you sure we can stop him?"
The moment Eto met Doncic, he had already sensed that it would be difficult to stop him completely.
If they clashed head-on, there might be a chance, but Doncic, with his intelligence, would not bother enduring an unfavorable fight. Instead, he would continue to flee and fight intermittently, leaving Liberda in ruins.
"We probably can't."
"Then…"
"His Majesty will call for aid. We just need to hold on until then."
"Aid, you mean…"
Eto looked up.
Aside from the Empire, there was only one nation that currently hosted members of the Ten Strong and knights of equivalent caliber.
"Briol will come."
***
Liberda requested aid.
But there was a problem.
The Empire declared Liberda an enemy for daring to persecute Doncic, a subject of the Emperor, and warned that any nation aiding Liberda would be treated the same.
It was blatant intimidation.
The Empire was already preparing its army as if it would go to war at any moment.
But Briol came up with a plan.
"I've stayed in Briol too long. It's time to leave."
It was none other than Moyong Chan.
Though he resided in the royal palace, he was merely a guest, with no formal ties to Briol.
If Moyong Chan took action, the Empire would have no grounds to blame Briol.
Moyong Chan accepted Fiore's request.
After all, he had come west to fight evil.
"I must leave as soon as possible. People will suffer."
Moyong Chan packed immediately.
Yuri was disappointed. Though he wanted to accompany him, he had to remain in Briol, not knowing what might happen next.
So, instead, he assigned people to assist Moyong Chan.
"Simon, Guinness. I trust you both."
"Leave it to us."
"We will assist Sir Moyong Chan to the best of our ability."
They seemed to welcome the chance to travel with Moyong Chan. Both had improved greatly under his guidance.
"I'll be going."
"Please return safely."
"Alrighty."
Moyong Chan departed for Liberda with Simon and Guinness.
According to the reports, the situation in Liberda was dire.
The two ogres that came with Doncic had been captured, but the most dangerous one—Doncic—was still wreaking havoc across the land, alternating between fleeing and fighting.
All they could do was hope that Liberda held out until Moyong Chan arrived.
Meanwhile, the Imperial army began to move.
By the time Moyong Chan reached Liberda, the army was already advancing toward it.
Every nation entered a state of alert.
The alliance centered around Briol—including the Holy Kingdom, Bursen, and Liberda—began full mobilization.
At this rate, it seemed the Empire and the entire continent were heading toward an all-out war.
Yuri, too, was preparing himself.
But then, an unexpected event occurred.
Upon hearing the news, Yuri cursed.
"Goddamn it…"
Since returning to the past, Yuri had never experienced a major failure. For the most part, he had achieved his goals, and preparations to oppose the Empire had been proceeding smoothly.
But this time was different.
It was something he hadn't anticipated at all.
"Why? How? For what possible reason?"
The continent was in shock.
The throne of the Holy Kingdom had passed to a new ruler, and that ruler immediately launched an attack on Bursen.
And the one who made that decision was not Larsson.
It was Sibylla.
She had become the queen of the Holy Kingdom.