Ravana, the Slaughter Rabbit, was one of the most famous mercenaries in Pendia.

For starters, as her nickname suggested, she was an Altoan with rabbit ears. She was also a woman. In many ways, she had been born with terrible disadvantages for a mercenary.

Yet Ravana had overcome them all to establish herself as one of Pendia's finest mercenaries, thanks to a physique and monstrous strength that surpassed even most knights, and an almost supernatural mastery of the axe.

Once people saw monsters being sliced apart by that enormous axe of hers, named Rabbit's Foot, none dared dismiss her for being a woman or an Altoan.

“Hmm.”

“What's wrong, boss?”

A subordinate beside Ravana spoke up when her expression soured as she surveyed the enemy arrayed below the walls.

“See that one over there?”

“Huh? Who?”

“That knight way over there. The awkward-looking one, like he stole his big brother's armor.”

“Oh...”

Looking closer, there was indeed a knight who fit that description. He wasn't particularly big, but he rode a warhorse roughly half again as large as the other horses, making him stand out.

“What about him?”

“I reckon that's the commander that knight mentioned earlier. Shan Barendil, the one who killed an ogre by tearing its heart out while it was still alive.”

“Aha.”

A little earlier, the army that had arrived at Zerkan had demanded surrender, declaring that they served under the Green-Eyed Knight. They had said something about requisitioning strategic supplies in Princess Sherin's name to restore stability to the country.

Naturally, Ravana had refused. Defending this city was the only choice she had now.

“So, what's your impression? Still no match for you, right?”

Ravana could instinctively gauge an opponent's strength without fighting them. Nobody knew whether this came from her sensitive rabbit ears or simply keen instincts. What was certain was that this ability had saved her own life, and those of many of her subordinates.

What would her verdict on the famous Altoan knight be?

Ignoring her subordinate's usual eager question, Ravana clicked her tongue as she gazed down from the walls. She couldn't find the words to describe what she had felt when those green eyes met hers moments earlier.

It went beyond prickling skin. It was like plunging into a swamp filled with deadly poison, or feeling an icy liquid flow from her heart through every blood vessel in her body...

Every scrap of flesh seemed to scream that she would certainly die the moment she faced that thing.

After some thought, Ravana put her impressions into the most playful tone she could manage.

“Honestly, I thought the stories were exaggerated... But he really is an absurd monster. Even that basilisk I ran into didn't give me chills like this. At this rate, we're all going to die, eh?”

Silence hung over the battlements for a moment before her subordinate muttered,

“Wow. Now I really want to surrender.”

“Then get the hell out if you don't want to die. I won't stop you.”

“How could we leave you and Kiri behind, Captain?”

He rubbed his hands together with a sheepish chuckle.

* * *

“The Slaughter Rabbit? You mean Ravana?”

“Yes. Those ears, that build, that enormous axe... I doubt there are two women like her.”

Roden answered Shan's question respectfully.

Shan had heard her mentioned before as an example of an Altoan mercenary stronger than most knights, so he, too, had recognized her.

Hadn't Sherin once expressed regret that she had never managed to make contact? Having already appointed one Altoan knight, she had reasoned that a second could hardly hurt, and had taken an interest in Ravana.

“I'm sure I heard she'd been fighting in Libert's civil war since last year or so.”

“So did I. Never mind when she returned—why would she side with Viscount Zerkan, of all people? He's a follower of the Old Faith.”

Shan glanced back and noticed the uncomfortable expressions on the Altoan mercenaries' faces. Before Shan Barendil, the first Altoan knight, appeared, Ravana had been an idol to Pendia's Altoans. They were bound to feel some reluctance about fighting her.

Of course, that didn't mean they would dare refuse to fight. Whatever else they might be, they were soldiers who ate and slept on Shan's money and fought under his command.

A few minutes later, Yurk returned after a lengthy exchange with the enemy on the walls. Shaking his head, he said,

“The negotiations have failed, Sir Shan. I am ashamed.”

“Thank you for your efforts. From what I saw, they never intended to agree in the first place.”

Several people nearby looked puzzled at their exchange. Some had expected Shan to seize this opportunity to chastise Yurk severely and assert his dominance.

Shan, of course, already held the psychological upper hand without needing to do anything of the sort, so he could offer genuine consolation.

Yurk nodded at Shan's encouragement, then hesitated before speaking.

“This is only my personal impression, so feel free to disregard it, but they didn't seem particularly willing to fight, either.”

“Well, given the difference in our numbers, isn't that obvious?”

A knight serving Count Pales sounded incredulous, but Yurk shook his head.

“Not like that... More as though they were being forced into it. Even when they refused to surrender, they answered as if they wished they could.”

“Could it be their contract?”

“She's not from some mercenary village. I doubt she'd put her own life before her contract.”

Apart from certain groups like the Steel Lion Legion, which valued their employers' trust as dearly as their lives, most mercenaries saw no reason to persist in a hopeless fight. They weren't knights. What good was immortal glory once they were dead?

“In any case, since they've refused to surrender, we'll have to take the city by force. Shall we begin at once?”

“No, it's quite late. Let's rest today. Have everything ready, and we'll begin the siege tomorrow morning.”

At Shan's order, the army immediately began unpacking and assembling the equipment they had brought: a wheeled battering ram made from a huge log, long ladders that could reach the top of walls several meters high, and even siege towers that could create a path onto the battlements in moments.

They had no catapults to damage the walls themselves, however. Such weapons were rarely used in Pendia. So many stone walls had been built that large stones were harder to find than one might expect. Moreover, conquering a city only to leave its walls in ruins would expose it to incursions by monsters.

Naturally, the sight threw Zerkan into an uproar. Even from outside, they could see over two hundred soldiers hurrying along the walls, stockpiling arrows and stones.

Judging by their equipment, most were conscripts hastily recruited in the city, but unlike in a field battle, they would still pose a threat during a siege. Even someone who did nothing but drop stones from above could pull their weight.

It seemed they would have to accept some losses in tomorrow's siege.

While the preparations continued, Roden, who had slipped away at some point, returned. He addressed Shan with a grave expression.

“Sir Shan, I've learned something important.”

“What is it?”

“I caught and questioned a few residents who failed to get inside the city. They say Ravana is staying in Zerkan because her daughter is being held hostage.”

“Hostage?”

“Yes.”

According to his explanation, Ravana had been passing near Zerkan about a month earlier. After returning from the expedition to Libert, she had heard about Princess Sherin and hoped she might be able to join her.

Prince Conrad, currently leading the succession war, had gone so far as to expel the Altoans from his territory. Princess Sherin, who had reportedly formed an army of Altoans, including the first Altoan knight, Shan Barendil, was an appealing prospective employer.

But while Ravana and her companions were traveling toward Count Pales's domain, Zerkan's lord had kidnapped her daughter. She had been detained here ever since, abruptly reduced to a hound guarding the city.

“How would an ordinary resident know all that?”

“Apparently, it's already quite well known around here. The mercenaries following Ravana have been complaining in taverns and such.”

“I see...”

Now they understood why an Altoan mercenary would risk her life holding out for a lord of the Old Faith. With her daughter's life at stake, she had no choice.

The knights exchanged uneasy looks upon hearing the story.

“This makes fighting her rather distasteful.”

“Well, what choice do we have? It's not as though we can rescue her daughter.”

They couldn't refuse to fight simply because they pitied the enemy's circumstances. For that matter, how many of the soldiers over there actually wanted to fight to the death?

As the knights debated, Shan spoke, his eyes on Zerkan's walls.

“If they've imprisoned Ravana's daughter, where would they keep her?”

“Most likely somewhere like the citadel's dungeon. Keep her anywhere less secure, and they might take her and flee.”

Roden answered respectfully from beside him, and Shan asked another question.

“If we secured her daughter first, we could earn Ravana's gratitude and bring her over to our side, couldn't we?”

Shan didn't want to recruit Ravana because she was Altoan. Sherin wanted capable knights who would also be loyal. An exceptionally skilled mercenary who was Altoan and had nowhere else to turn would make an excellent gift.

“That's true, but we would have to breach the outer walls first...”

“That cliff.”

“Pardon?”

Shan pointed at the enormous cliff protecting the rear of the city like a natural wall. As they had discussed, part of its base lay within the citadel.

“I might be able to climb down it.”

Everyone stared at him in disbelief. He wasn't a spider or a lizard. How could that possibly make sense?

* * *

The plan Shan devised on the spot was simple.

First, after nightfall, the main force would launch a night siege. An actual attack would cause immense losses, of course, so they would merely shout and shoot arrows to draw attention, without truly charging.

The real attack would come from behind. A detached force would climb down the cliff, capture the citadel, isolate the troops on the outer walls, and induce them to surrender. Capturing the lord would be ideal, but even securing Ravana's daughter would deprive the enemy of an enormous portion of its fighting strength.

It sounded quite plausible, apart from the fact that the cliff they had to descend was roughly a hundred and fifty meters high, and that even with most troops deployed on the outer walls, they would still have to face dozens of soldiers.

“Sir Shan, this is simply too reckless...”

“If it succeeds, we can take the city without heavy losses. It's a risk worth taking.”

Shan used his authority to silence the knight who objected to the very end. He understood their concerns, but he had complete confidence in his physical abilities and fighting prowess. After all, he could readily scale not just cliffs but even castle walls, albeit much shorter ones.

“Be careful to avoid unnecessary casualties until we succeed on our end.”

“Understood. Though frankly, we are more concerned for your safety than our own, Sir Shan...”

“Are you certain you needn't take anyone with you?”

“Anyone who can climb down a hundred-and-fifty-meter cliff is welcome to join me, but I doubt there's anyone here who can.”

Some explorers honed their cliff-climbing skills, but it was hard to expect such expertise from knights or soldiers. Climbing down from that height in heavy armor rather than unencumbered was quite literally suicide.

Zerkan had good reason not to establish additional defenses along the cliff. Who in their right mind would expect anyone to climb down it? Even if one or two people miraculously succeeded, such a small number could hardly threaten the city.

Unless, of course, one of them was this monster.

“I will leave command of the main force to my chief squire, Roden. You other two will follow Roden's...”

“We'll go with you, Sir Shan!”

“Th-that's right! We can't send our lord off alone!”

The speakers were Shan's two young squires, Biko and Tavera. Fear was plain on both boys' faces, but their eyes blazed with determination.

“As I said, you can't come unless you know how to climb cliffs.”

“We can do it!”

“Really?”

“... Even if we fall to our deaths, we won't scream!”

The two squires shrank under Shan's gaze but refused to yield.

Then Yurk, standing nearby, spoke in their support.

“Take them with you, Sir Shan. I would never presume to doubt your abilities, but there are many things a man cannot do alone.”

If a group he was pursuing split into two, for example, one man couldn't catch them all unless he split himself in half. Even having just two people allowed them to protect each other's backs in a fight.

Shan hesitated briefly, then nodded. If all he needed to do was slaughter everyone, that would be one thing, but with rescue and capture also part of the mission, a few extra hands would certainly be useful.

“Very well. They're both still light enough that I should be able to manage them.”

Nobody present understood what he meant by managing the two of them.

Shan looked at Roden and gave his chest a light punch.

“I'll leave things here to you, Roden.”

“Don't worry, Sir Shan.”

Roden nodded with a broad grin. He wasn't worried, knowing that climbing down a cliff and fighting a few dozen soldiers hardly constituted danger for Shan.

That evening, several hours after the plan was devised, Shan climbed the mountain and reached the top of the cliff. He signaled toward the area outside the walls by switching his magical lamp off and on several times.

Before long, a commotion rose in the distance. It sounded faint up here, but with hundreds of men shouting and shooting arrows at once, the city's defenders would undoubtedly be wholly occupied with defending the walls.

“All right, both of you. Tie these ropes around yourselves.”

Shan tied two ropes around his own body, then instructed the squires to tie the other ends around themselves. If any of them fell, they would end up dangling from someone else's body.

As Biko carefully tied the rope around his waist, he asked,

“Um, Sir Shan. Instead of doing this, couldn't we tie a rope up here and climb down it...?”

“I took a quick look earlier, and there are lots of sharp edges on the cliff. Flax rope snaps easily when it rubs against things like that.”

He had learned this firsthand while traveling through the Demonlands as an explorer. A very thick rope wouldn't snap, of course, but it would also be too heavy to carry up to the cliff top. Better to rely on the solid cliff itself.

Once the preparations were complete, Shan began climbing down first. The two boys swallowed hard and followed their lord.

Fortunately, Shan pointed out handholds and footholds as he descended, so they needed only to follow his route. But though they were strong and agile as aspiring knights, both were novices at cliff climbing. Before long, Tavera lost his footing.

“Agh—!”

Even as he fell, the boy clapped a hand over his mouth to suppress his scream. Then he realized he was dangling from a sturdy rope.

Below them both, Shan supported his squire's weight with his own body and said,

“Get your grip back, Tavera.”

“I-I'm sorry...!”

Despite having a boy of roughly his own weight dangling from him, Shan's hands and feet remained utterly motionless against the cliff.

Before long, Biko slipped, then Tavera again, and then both at once. Even then, Shan calmly continued down the cliff with the two hanging from him, almost as fast as an ordinary person walking slowly.

Only then did Biko and Tavera understand what Shan had meant by being able to “manage” them. He had been confident he could descend the cliff with two armored squires hanging from him.

'Just how...?'

What kind of absurd superhuman was the young knight they served, to be capable of such a feat? Their own legs trembled just from looking down into the darkness beneath the cliff. Could they ever hope even to follow in his footsteps?

Filled with awe, admiration, and a sense of their own inadequacy, the two boys began moving their limbs earnestly, determined to keep up with him even a little. Since they were tied together, any hesitation on their part forced Shan to stop descending as well.

Fortunately, the certainty that they would never fall lightened their hands and feet, and they made far fewer mistakes than before. By the time they neared the bottom, however, both had utterly exhausted their grip, leaving Shan to carry them down dangling from him.

Once on the ground, Shan untied the ropes and put on the metal gauntlets hanging from his waist.

“We made it...”

“Hah... Hah...”

While his exhausted squires sprawled on the ground to recover, Shan surveyed his surroundings, his green eyes gleaming.

They had landed at the edge of the citadel. A few scattered lights shone in the distance. Given that lighting required fuel, those were probably places containing important people or objects.

After about five minutes, Shan gave both squires a tap.

“You've had enough rest, haven't you? Get up. Time to work.”

“Y-yes, sir.”

“Yes...!”

Fortunately, tired as they were, they seemed to have enough strength left to move. Either that, or they were forcing themselves onward with every last ounce of willpower because their knight was watching.

The clank of three armored figures moving echoed through the darkness. Following the lights, they reached the largest mansion in the citadel, presumably the lord's residence.

“Wh-who are you?”

A soldier stood guard at the mansion's entrance. At the sight of the three approaching figures, he called out in a trembling voice. Instead of answering, Shan asked a question of his own.

“Is Viscount Zerkan inside?”

Seeing the green eyes shining inside the helmet, the soldier realized who stood before him and began shaking.

“A-are you the enemy...?”

“I won't ask twice.”

SHING

As the sword slid from Shan's waist, the soldier cried out in alarm.

“The enemy—!”

“So he is inside.”

Before the cry was finished, the loyal soldier's head fell with a wet thud and rolled away. The engraved magical patterns on Guardian of the East glowed faintly as the blade drank in blood.

Stepping past the corpse, Shan kicked the front door apart and entered. He ordered the two squires following him,

“Secure the viscount and his family. You may cut down anyone who resists capture.”