30 Years After Reincarnating, It Turns Out This World Was A Rofan?!-Chapter 278: What Justifies a Knight’s Battle? (1)

Splash!

A trout leapt from the river.

Perhaps it, too, rejoiced at the rare sunlight breaking through the mist.

But the trout—no, to be more precise—

Splash! Splash!

The trout began to jump frantically the moment he stepped into the water.

Was this some kind of instinctual survival response?

The fish were desperately flailing, trying to escape, and he could only tilt his head in confusion.

"What’s wrong with these things?"

He had no intention of harming them, yet their panicked behavior was incomprehensible to him.

For a moment, he wondered if someone had drugged the entire school of fish.

But soon—

Rumble!

"Ah... so that’s why."

He realized the cause.

The battle in the distance.

Even though the battlefield was far from here, the tremors were enough to send the fish into a frenzy.

It was proof that an enormous clash was unfolding.

However, despite knowing this—

"Should I just catch one and make sashimi?"

He remained at ease.

It wasn’t that he failed to grasp the gravity of the battle.

He simply trusted them.

He had clashed swords and shields with them, had trained them firsthand.

"There’s no need to worry."

They were strong.

Individually, they were powerful, and together, they became dozens of times stronger.

He rarely acknowledged others this highly, so his trust was absolute.

If anything, the only thing he regretted was not dealing with that damn pervert himself.

Still—one must move forward.

"I’ll focus on what I need to do."

Sssshhh—!

By the time he realized it, he had waded too deep into the river and was now swimming toward the waterfall ahead.

Even from afar, the waterfall had looked majestic, but standing right before it, its sheer power was overwhelming.

Though compared to giant falls that discharged hundreds of tons of water, this one was relatively tame.

Still, if he let his guard down, he could easily be dragged in and swallowed whole.

"Not bad."

However—

To a man who bench-pressed over a thousand kilograms daily, and had withstood far greater pressures, it was hardly impressive.

If anything, his {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} only concern was—

"Free diving isn’t exactly my specialty."

With a small smirk, Ihan took a deep breath—

And dove into the base of the waterfall.

For a moment, the world was bright, illuminated by sunlight.

Then—

Darkness.

A total, suffocating void swallowed him whole.

For most, such absolute blackness would trigger an instinctual fear, sending shivers down their spine.

But Ihan simply kept swimming.

Even in the dark, his eyes shimmered like starlight.

And so, he pressed forward—

Until—

"Pwaah!!"

Cough! Cough!!

***

Drip, drip...

"...Took me four tries, but I finally did it."

Ihan had successfully made the dive.

About 350 meters deep.

Considering that the world record for free diving was around 130 meters, this feat should have been impossible for a human.

But his body—

With lungs capable of absurd oxygen retention, and skin and bones harder than metal—made it possible.

Even so, it had taken him four attempts—a result of his inexperience with deep diving.

Yet, he had succeeded—and that was what mattered.

As he stood, shaking off the water—

"So it really was here."

The bomb-obsessed lunatic had seemed too confident, but Ihan hadn’t expected the hidden chamber to be in such an obvious place.

Or—

"...Wait, maybe it wasn’t that obvious?"

Even if someone knew about the Mordred Vault beneath the waterfall—

Diving 350 meters to reach it was far from normal.

Again, Ihan’s body was not just physically tough—even his internal organs were incredibly resilient.

For anyone else, even with the best equipment, reaching this depth would be near-impossible.

Not to mention enduring the violent currents and immense pressure of the waterfall itself.

It was only because he was Ihan that he had made it.

Still—

"...How the hell did they build this place?"

Even he found it impressive.

The hidden chamber beneath the waterfall—

And the fact that it had oxygen inside.

"Not sure how the structure works, but this is... interesting."

There was even a faint breeze.

Which meant—there had to be an entrance from the surface.

Which also meant—

"Did I just take the hardest possible route like an idiot?"

Just as a sense of self-loathing began to creep in—

Growl.

Grrrrr...!

"...Do high-ranking nobles really keep these things in their vaults?"

Appearing before him—

Werewolves.

Or at least—something close.

They looked like Dobermans but were twice as large, and void of any cuteness or elegance—only pure savagery remained.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

At a glance, it was obvious these weren’t just beasts.

They were monstrous.

"Hellhounds?"

More commonly known as—

Snap!

"KAHHH!!"

Hellhounds.

A pack of at least thirty.

The moment they saw Ihan, they lunged at him.

Their jagged fangs gleamed like saw blades, ready to tear into him—

Crunch!

"Kiieeee!?"

—Only for their teeth to shatter upon impact.

Every single one of them.

"What a waste of a good body."

Ihan clicked his tongue.

These beasts looked the part—

But could they even bite through stone?

The hellhounds kept snapping at him, desperately trying to tear through his flesh—

But all they managed to do was hang on uselessly.

Their eyes met his.

Fierce as they were, they were still dogs—their eyes were wet, filled with a flicker of pleading.

As if begging for mercy.

But Ihan—

"You can’t look all murderous and then play innocent."

CRACK.

Snapped their necks—

And tore their bodies apart.

***

The Mordred Vault was, surprisingly, a fully functional ecosystem.

There were no trees or grass, but glowing moss and mushrooms dotted the cavern.

And, of course—

Scattered around, with heads and bodies violently separated, lay the hellhounds Ihan had just slaughtered.

These monsters had most likely been summoned by the malignant energy lingering within the vault.

Not an uncommon phenomenon.

Just as undead could be born from lingering resentment, any corpse that entered this environment could potentially turn into a monster.

...Sounded like a virus or fungus, didn’t it?

Correct.

"If you think about it, they’re just a type of fungus."

The only difference was that these "fungi" grew stronger the more they multiplied, eventually giving birth to even more terrifying creatures.

Like—

[Grrrrrrr...!]

[Kaaaaah—!]

—this thing.

A two-headed beast let out a low, menacing growl.

It was far stronger than the hellhounds Ihan had just dispatched.

For a moment, he thought back—

"Orthus, was it?"

As an instructor, he usually let assistants handle theoretical lessons.

But some things he had no choice but to study himself.

He vaguely remembered reading about it in the Monster Compendium.

A high-ranking canine monster, just below Cerberus.

...But why was it classified as a high-ranking monster again?

"I should’ve read more carefully."

Ihan scolded himself for only skimming through it in the past.

Would’ve been useful right about now.

Still—

"Regret is always too late, huh?"

[KRAAAAAAH!]

BOOM!

Orthus’ roar shook the entire cavern.

A predator’s howl, filled with killing intent, reverberated through the vault.

Ihan narrowed his eyes.

[Grrrr...]

[Hssss...]

Orthus seemed amused, as if mistaking Ihan’s silence for fear.

Its two heads and serpent-like tail gleamed ominously, fixating on its prey.

Within its blood-red eyes—

Was hunger.

It saw Ihan as food.

And Ihan, seeing the monster’s gaze, thought—

"Wow. I can’t believe this idiot is serious."

It was almost laughable.

This thing was actually confident?

A roar?

Pathetic.

Did it actually think that was enough to instill fear in its prey?

"If you’re gonna call that a roar—"

"-Hey, you mongrel. Watch closely. This is how you actually do it."

[Grhh?]

"Deep breath—"

It had been a long time since he had last done this.

Not just any shout—

But—

[[AAAAAAAAAHHHH!]]

RUMBLE—!

A Lion’s Roar.

A thunderous voice, far louder and far stronger than even a high-tier monster’s battle cry.

The cavern shook violently.

***

RUMBLE—!

The shockwaves weren’t limited to just one area.

The entire ecosystem of the vault trembled.

And—

"What was that sound?"

Even those who had been surviving in the cavern for a long time felt its impact.

"It seems a new high-tier monster has emerged, my lord."

"Hah... As if dealing with Orthus wasn’t enough of a headache."

"But if the two fight each other, won’t that be good for us?"

"...Only if one doesn’t eat the other and evolve into something worse."

"......"

His insight was accurate.

High-tier monsters had a habit of devouring their equals—or superiors—to grow even stronger.

If Orthus evolved further, eliminating it would become a massive problem.

Which meant—

"Felix."

"Yes, my lord?"

"You’ll have to put in some work. No matter which side wins, find an opportunity and finish off the wounded monster."

A dishonorable order.

It wasn’t a fair fight.

It was an ambush.

Most knights would have objected to such a command.

However—

THUD!

"Sir Felix de Mordred shall obey his lord's command!"

For the man named Felix, there was no hesitation.

"Hmm... Do you truly understand what I’m asking?"

"Yes, sir!!!"

"...You don’t have to shout."

"Understood—!!!"

"Haa..."

The family head sighed, staring at his knight’s bright-eyed enthusiasm.

His skills were trustworthy—but his mind was another matter.