OBT 26

OBT

Posted by Vibes106, Released on August 19, 2025

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Chapter 26 Insight (1)

In one corner of the armory, crates covered in thick dust were piled up.

“Open it.”

The crate was pried open, and a torch illuminated its contents.

Inside were dozens of silver swords, stored without sheaths, carelessly heaped together.

Having gone untouched for ages, the blades had lost their sharp gleam, rust eating into the steel, and the leather wrappings around the hilts had frayed and tattered.

“They should’ve at least kept them maintained. How could they just leave them like this?”

Ian frowned as he examined the silver swords in the crate.

The Alberne family had once produced silver swords on a massive scale, back in the days when they fought a lord who had rebelled against the kingdom by weaponizing undead monsters.

But after that, silver swords had almost never been used again.

“They look rough, but they’re still serviceable, my lord,” Rondo replied as he inspected one of the blades. He then motioned to the men behind him.

At his signal, soldiers swiftly carried the crates of silver swords out of the armory.

Outside, nearly a hundred guards stood in formation.

“Arm yourselves with silver blades!”

At the command of Captain Harmond, the guards moved in perfect order, receiving their swords.

“Archers, check your arrows carefully! Many of the shafts have rotted and snap midway!”

“Yes, sir!”

About twenty archers inspected the condition of their shafts and arrowheads, making sure their quivers were filled with silver-tipped arrows.

“I suppose I should take one too.”

Ian pulled a silver sword from the crate. Rondo’s face instantly stiffened.

“My lord, surely you don’t mean to go there yourself?”

“This is important.”

Ian gripped the sword firmly, his blistered, swollen hands wrapped tightly around the hilt.

Rondo’s deep voice thundered in protest.

“My lord, no matter how precious Linda and Nekamo’s lives may be, you cannot be put at risk in their place. Leave this matter to the soldiers.”

“You misunderstand me. Of course their lives are important. But didn’t they say there could be great treasures in the dungeon?”

“Eh? Well, yes, but—”

“I love treasure.”

Ian’s eyes gleamed as he raised the silver sword to catch the sunlight.

Even through the rust, a faint bluish sheen shimmered along the blade.

“Let’s clear out the dungeon, repay our debts, and rescue Linda and Nekamo. Don’t worry about me.”

His determination to enter the dungeon made clear, Ian turned and surveyed the troops.

Nearly a hundred brave soldiers stood tall, a grand sight—but he still felt concern.

According to Josh, who had escaped alive, the underground dungeon was vast, crawling with dozens of undead monsters.

If they weren’t careful, his valuable men could pay a heavy price.

“I’ll take the lead! Together, we’ll conquer the dungeon!”

He wasn’t sure why he said it.

Perhaps it was the habit of addressing militiamen back on Earth, slipping out unconsciously.

For a moment, the soldiers standing before the armory let out awkward cheers.

To Ian’s ears, it sounded halfhearted.

Of course they don’t trust me. I’d think the same if I were them.

So Ian raised his voice again.

“If you don’t cheer loud enough to burst your throats, you’ll die by my hand before we even reach the dungeon!”

The young lord’s harsh warning oddly struck the men as familiar, even reassuring.

“Woooooaaahhh!”

“Louder!”

“WOOOOAAAHHH!”

“Conquer the dungeon!”

As Ian led the chant, marching past the soldiers, their voices followed in unison.

“Conquer the dungeon!”

“Smash the undead monsters!”

“Excellent! When the battle’s over, we’ll all drink together!”

“WOOOOAAAHHH!”

Rondo and Harmond exchanged glances from the rear as they watched their lord blend seamlessly with the troops.

His ability to rouse them was remarkable.

“I still can’t believe this is the same lord we knew,” Harmond muttered.

“I feel the same,” Rondo replied, smiling faintly. The young lord seemed to grow stronger by the day, and it filled him with quiet joy.

“Still… shouldn’t we try to stop him from entering the dungeon? It’s too dangerous.”

But Rondo shook his head.

“He’s already promised in front of the soldiers. How could he back out now? The only choice left is to protect him well.”

Not long after, Ian led the troops out of the castle, marching southwest toward Mount Hurst.

If it had been only him, he might have warped directly to the dungeon, but to fight hordes of undead, he needed the strength of his men.

They’re still alive… right?

As the mountains drew closer, Ian’s eyes grew sharp with resolve.

Josh, who guided the way, kept glancing back.

The young lord himself was leading the soldiers up the mountain.

Though a bit short in height and build, he looked far from frail or cowardly, contrary to the rumors.

“Are we there yet?” Harmond asked.

Josh snapped back to attention and pointed toward a ravine.

“Almost. Just beyond that gorge.”

Harmond clicked his tongue as he looked at Josh’s hoarse voice and bloodstained face.

“You should have reported your discovery to the lord and claimed a reward. Running in blind was reckless.”

Stung by the rebuke, Josh replied curtly.

“What reward? A handful of gold coins at most.”

“If you were that confident, you should have finished the task yourself. Not dragged the lord into it.”

“I wanted to.”

Josh lowered his eyes to his broken silver sword, the blade snapped in half.

While protecting Linda and Nekamo, he had stumbled and the weapon became wedged between rocks, snapping in two.

At that moment, it felt as though misfortune itself had consumed him.

That bitter feeling—that no matter what he did, life would always betray him.

Desperate to overcome it, he had run to the lord for help, straight to the castle.

Now, the young lord behind him was all he could rely on.

“There. That’s the place.”

Past the gorge lay the remains of a tree, struck by lightning and split in half, its trunk blackened with fire.

The dungeon entrance, surprisingly, was at its roots.

Josh brushed aside branches and foliage he had used to cover it, revealing stone steps descending underground.

“Down these stairs is a small chamber. I thought that was the whole dungeon at first. But when I pushed through a cracked wall, I found a ruined underground village beyond. Strangely, there was a moon overhead, so it wasn’t all dark.”

Dungeons formed in fractures between worlds, where strange phenomena occurred. A moon or sun underground was hardly surprising.

“You didn’t explore the whole place, did you?” Ian asked.

Josh shook his head.

“No, my lord. I only saw part of it. I was too busy fleeing with Linda and Nekamo. They must be hiding somewhere in that underground village, still alive.”

From the entrance seeped a foul, oppressive aura, creeping up like slime.

Peering down, Ian gave his order.

“We’ll rest a while before we descend.”

In the stone chamber littered with shattered glass beads and broken bottles, a skeletal soldier stood idly.

Sensing the approach of humans, its eyes flared red as it turned.

At that moment—

Thwip!

A silver arrow flew.

Clang!

The skeleton deflected it with its shield, then slowly lowered it.

From the passage leading into the chamber, torchlight spilled in as humans poured forth.

“It reacts fast, doesn’t it?”

Ian studied the skeleton wielding a shield and worn sword.

It was the first monster he had faced since coming to Kevania—an undead.

“Skeleton soldiers are said to possess greater combat prowess than ordinary troops,” Rondo noted.

Even as he spoke, the skeleton leapt with astonishing agility, sprinting along the ceiling before dropping straight down.

Whether by chance or intent, it seemed to target Ian.

“Protect the lord!”

Boom!

The skeleton crashed against the shield wall formed by the guards. As it tried to vault again, shields shifted and silver blades thrust out all at once.

Slashed from every side, the skeleton collapsed to the ground, writhing.

Kyaaaaaah!

Its shriek, echoing through the chamber, was far more chilling than any human scream.

Flames burst along its severed bones, cracks spreading until, with a flare of light, it crumbled to ash and vanished into the darkness.

“Noisy way to die.”

Ian’s eyes roamed the chamber by torchlight, spotting shards of glass bottles and bronze tubes of various sizes scattered across the floor.

An alchemy lab, perhaps?

It was said some hermits built their lairs inside dungeons, hiding within their secrecy.

Perhaps this chamber had been such a place.

Did they coexist with the monsters here?

Ian stepped past the ashes and moved toward the collapsed wall Josh had mentioned.

Beyond lay a broad passage connecting to the underground village.

There, more than twenty skeleton soldiers stood with swords planted in the ground, watching the intruders with glowing red eyes.

Fierce as wolves hunting prey.

“Oh? So that’s how it is? Break through.”

At Ian’s gesture, the hundred soldiers surged forward, filling the corridor.

Their lives consisted only of guarding the castle and training.

After enduring the merciless drills of their commander, they had become both mentally and physically hardened.

Now, their controlled breaths thundered as they charged the undead.

Even Ian, watching from behind, nearly felt swept away like by a storming wave.

Clang! Clash! Screech!

As blades locked and glared met across the line, the clash exploded into frenzy.

“Die, you bastards!”

“Go to hell!”

Swinging their silver swords with reckless fury, the soldiers pressed forward. The skeletons were driven back, skulls shattering, pelvises breaking, torsos splitting from legs.

Each strike of silver was followed by fire and a hideous scream.

One burning skeleton, unwilling to die alone, lunged toward Ian—

Only to be smashed mid-air by Rondo’s shield, bursting apart into flame and ash.

“Magnificent.”

Ian murmured as he watched the monster disintegrate. Then his eyes swept the corridor.

No skeletons remained.

They had been annihilated, too few to withstand the charge of silver-armed elites.

After checking on his soldiers’ wounds, Ian pressed them onward.

Soon, no more skeletons appeared. At last, they emerged from the tunnel into a world lit by moonlight.

An underground moon… it really does feel like another world.

Caw, caw.

Black crows flapped overhead, their cries chilling under the half-red moonlight. The eerie atmosphere prickled at their nerves.