The Second Salvation Myth of a Retired Regressed Hero

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Doyun headed straight into a visible blacksmith’s shop on the street.

“Welcome, how may I…”

Before the blacksmith could finish, Doyun pulled out five gold coins from his pocket and placed them on the table.

“…!”

“Do you have any items capable of withstanding sword aura?”

The blacksmith, startled by the abruptly presented gold coins, quickly grasped the situation and changed his expression.

Casually handing over gold coins and inquiring about such an unusual item – this person was undoubtedly either a young noble learning swordsmanship or a high-ranking disciple from a guild.

The blacksmith bowed and answered,

“If you commission a sword capable of using sword aura, it can be prepared within a short period…”

“I need it immediately.”

“My apologies. Such a precious item cannot be premade, as the security situation here poses theft risks…”

“I understand.”

Doyun cut him off, taking back the gold coins as he left.

‘I had some expectations since this is a city profiting from monster hunting…’

As expected, swords capable of withstanding sword aura were not easily acquired.

With no choice, he headed directly towards the city wall bordering the demon realm.

The two guards standing beside the gate were leaning on their spears, passing the time just like before.

As Doyun approached, the guards looked at him questioningly.

“I need to meet the person in charge here, right now.”

“What?”

“Haah…”

They thought some madman had come upon them again.

‘Dammit, it’s almost shift change time…’

The two picked up the spears they had been leaning against. With his unkempt appearance covered in monster blood, he seemed to be just another mercenary or hunter.

As the guards prepared to threaten Doyun away with their spears,

“Wha, what!”

Something glinted as it flew towards their faces.

They instinctively caught the object, examining it in their palms.

“Wha, what?”

Gold coins.

“I have an urgent matter, so I must request your assistance.”

“Thi, this is…”

“Perhaps a drink after your shifts?”

After briefly losing their words in astonishment, they swiftly pocketed the coins. Hiding their spears behind their backs, they bowed reverentially to Doyun.

“Aigo, we failed to recognize your noble status…! Thank you, good sir!”

“Heheh! I’ll fetch the highest-ranking officer on site right away. Please wait just a moment!”

One guard rushed to call his superior while the other remained, fawning over Doyun with flattery. Doyun waited for the officer, tuning out the bootlicking.

‘I’m pressed for time…’

The ominous energy approaching from the north was rapidly advancing southward. In just a few minutes, they would arrive here.

But for now, the city remained utterly peaceful – the scouting parties had been annihilated, preventing any news of the enemy from reaching them.

‘Reinforcements will be too late.’

Under these circumstances, expecting reinforcement arrivals was futile. With that level of energy, the city would undoubtedly fall before they could reach it.

However, Doyun was unaware of Muspelheim’s might.

Reinforcement requests had already been sent to neighboring nations bordering Lockenmeyer. But this wasn’t at Lockenmeyer’s behest – it was Muspelheim’s.

Lockenmeyer’s patrol squad had been wiped out, and only the neighboring Muspelheim had detected the enemy’s advance through long-range observation.

Gazing northward, Doyun pondered,

‘The enemy is small in number. But the energy I sense… perhaps it could escalate into a large-scale invasion.’

Ordinarily, Doyun would have withdrawn. It wasn’t yet time for him to take the field.

For Doyun, prioritizing growth took far greater urgency than demonstrating prowess or slaying enemies at the moment.

But those approaching from the north weren’t composed of regular monster troops.

Doyun could sense it – the ominous energy beyond the walls.

An energy completely different from common monsters – the same he had slain ad nauseam a century ago.

‘Demons…’

Beyond the walls, the Demon Commander ‘Satan’s’ forces were advancing.

Of course, Satan himself wasn’t present. Only a fraction of his forces approached now.

But the energy felt disproportionately potent compared to their numbers. Doyun had to ascertain the reason here.

If the demons had transformed as much as the alliance over these 100 years, Doyun needed to make corresponding preparations.

As he pondered intently,

“Ah, there he comes!”

The guard who had rushed off returned, escorting someone.

‘A squire knight, it seems.’

Though dressed as a knight, his presence felt lacking. Apparently a squire learning under a full knight.

As Doyun had guessed, this person didn’t normally manage the site. He was merely a squire stuck in the barracks while the knight he served under was away.

“Um… I’m the officer in charge here, but you were looking for me?”

He looked Doyun over from head to toe.

‘…What? They said a noble, but he’s just some mercenary brat?’

With his unsightly appearance drenched in monster blood, he hardly seemed like nobility. And he lacked any armaments befitting a guild disciple.

The guards hadn’t mentioned the gold coins, lest they end up in this squire’s pockets instead of theirs.

Naturally then, just like the guards initially, the squire didn’t regard Doyun too favorably either.

“…What is your business?”

He asked Doyun with evident skepticism.

“The enemy will soon ambush this place.”

“Pardon?”

“Close the gates and prepare for siege warfare.”

“…Pardon?”

Now the squire openly frowned, raising his voice in a retort before glancing at the guards who had fetched Doyun.

Even the guards who had accepted Doyun’s gold coins seemed unaware he would utter such nonsense, perspiring heavily as they averted the squire’s gaze.

“Haah…”

The squire pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly exasperated, and said,

“…Hey, do you even know where this place is?”

“The allied frontlines border…”

“Listen, human. The frontlines are Muspelheim’s. This is a hunting ground for making money off monsters – a hunting ground. Where we pluck beast fangs, skin their hides, carve their meat to sell. Not a warzone.”

Doyun silently watched him.

“Haah… Shit, I’m swamped as is… Hey, you lot.”

“Yes, sir!”

The guards straightened their backs, replying loudly.

“Once my break ends, you’re all really dead…”

“Enemy ambush!!!”

The guards, squire, and all other stationed troops started in shock, looking up towards the city wall watchtowers.

Dong- Dong- Dong-

“Enemy ambush!! Enemy ambuuush!!!”

Though he had likely obtained his squire position through connections, he quickly issued orders despite his bewilderment.

“Close the gates and prepare for battle!”

Then he looked at Doyun with utter disbelief.

“You, how did you…”

“Let’s head up to the walls first.”

“Huh? Ah, yes…”

Still flustered, the squire nonetheless ascended the walls with Doyun.

One soldier approached and reported to him.

“Currently, the enemy is rapidly approaching from that direction.”

“Their numbers?”

“Um… well…”

“Out with it. You must have observed the enemy’s approach, no? Have their numbers not been ascertained yet?”

“No, we have yet to directly observe the enemy. However, the palace urgently relayed Muspelheim’s scouting report through emergency channels.”

“What? Why was it conveyed that way? What were we doing while Muspelheim detected them?”

The soldier briefly froze at the squire’s words, falling silent. Did this squire not even understand the situation in our city?

“Um… While we do operate patrols, in this case, our patrol squad is presumed annihilated…”

“What? Annihilated? Sheesh… We’ll address that later. Go on, continue.”

“Yes, yes… The enemy’s precise numbers haven’t been observed yet, and reinforcement requests have been sent to surrounding nations. Most demanded enemy force information before deploying, but Muspelheim and the Skeletonian World Tree Guild immediately dispatched elite forces…”

“The World Tree? Isn’t that Skeletonia’s number one guild?”

“Correct.”

“Whew… For a top guild to move so decisively, their pockets must be impressively deep. Quite unexpected. No, wait. You said enemy numbers are unknown? Did I mishear?”

“While the enemy’s exact numbers weren’t observed, the report suggests less than sixty…”

“Eighteen.”

Their gazes turned to Doyun.

“Pardon?”

“The enemy force numbers eighteen in total.”

The squire silently watched Doyun for a moment while the soldier gave him a ‘who is this guy?’ look.

The squire asked Doyun,

“…How do you know that? No, wait, who even are you? Are you a guild disciple?”

His eyes still didn’t fully trust Doyun.

“By any chance, which guild are you affiliated with?”

The squire and soldier looked at Doyun expectantly.