Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Even a Treacherous Subject Has His Uses
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Six days later, evening. Callermain Territory border.
The territory of the Royen Viscountcy, the family of Lady Mayra, was about a two-day horse ride from Callermain Castle.
After sending word, it took a full six days—including time for the knights to coordinate their schedules, secure Viscount Royen's approval, and prepare—to finally reach the edge of Callermain Territory by evening.
"Tch! Tch! Good grief! Lady Mayra has been married for so long, yet she's still as willful as ever!"
"She's a Countess now, Sir Bent! How long will you keep calling her 'Lady'?"
Among the six mounted knights heading there, the two at the front urged their horses on while exchanging words.
A knight who looked over fifty was scolding a man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties, addressed as Sir Bent. The younger knight spoke in a tone far too flippant for a knight, grumbling complaints.
"No, well, she's still our lady, isn't she? Besides, summoning us out of the blue like this is utterly unreasonable. Where in the world does such a thing happen? This week was supposed to be my daughter's birthday!"
"What can we do? It wasn't just anyone; Sir Zed specifically requested 'one intermediate knight' to accompany him. You were the only intermediate knight off-duty, so it couldn't be helped. Still, he said the compensation would be proper, didn't he? Just bear with it."
"Yeah, yeah~ I'll have to buy a gift from Callermain Territory on my way back, I suppose."
As Sir Bent finished his grumbling, the six knights continued on their way.
They had hoped to arrive before dark, but time was tight. It was already getting dark. However, Callermain Castle was just a little further ahead. Perhaps none wanted to camp outdoors so close to their destination, so they all urged their horses onward.
"Hoo~ Just over this hill, and we'll be… Huh?"
Just as only one hill remained before reaching Callermain Castle, Sir Bent felt the horse he was riding suddenly trip and fall.
As a knight who had transcended human limits, he managed to leap off and land safely, but his beloved steed tumbled across the ground and collapsed.
"Damn it! What's going on?!"
"Sir Bent! Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine. But my 'Deadmoon'… Damn it! What in the world happened?"
Startled by the sudden incident, the knights halted briefly to survey their surroundings.
Sir Bent frowned as he saw his horse's leg bent at a grotesque angle from tripping and falling forward at full speed.
Already resentful about being dragged out on a mission during his off-duty time, seeing his precious steed rendered completely useless brought a wave of both sorrow and anger.
"Damn it all! Nothing ever goes right! Hell! I shouldn't have come! What in the…?!"
"Sir Bent! Look at this! There's a rope tied here! Someone must have set this up to target us!"
"What? Then…"
Fweeeeeee-yooooooo!
The moment he realized his horse's fall wasn't an accident but a trap set by someone, a high-pitched, piercing bird cry echoed from the distance.
Though the knights often went on monster subjugation missions, they had never ventured into the habitats of dangerous species like Griffins, so they merely found the cry strange.
But the horses instinctively sensed the presence of a predator that would devour them and began to panic.
"Whoa! Soul Wind! What's wrong? Calm down! It's just a bird's cry!"
"Why are they acting up all of a sudden?"
"Damn it! Why are you trying to run? Calm down!"
Hee-hihihihin! Puhihihin!
Perhaps lacking training to handle high-risk monster encounters, the horses thrashed in fear and terror, and the knights were in chaos trying to calm them.
Only Sir Bent, now horseless, sensed something was wrong. Drawing his sword, he warily scanned the surroundings. In that instant, a golden streak shot like the wind from a thicket beside them, targeting the knights trying to calm their mounts.
p>"That, what is that? Hey! Everyone, be careful!"
"Huh? Wha—?"
'Is that… Aura? A golden Aura?'
Hee-hihihihin!
But his warning was in vain. Two knights were unable to mount a proper defense before the golden Aura's afterimage passed by, and their heads flew off. The horses, following their instincts, fled immediately.
Sir Bent gritted his teeth and moved to intercept the wielder of that golden Aura.
Standing before it, he drew up his own blue Aura and shouted, trying to identify the enemy.
"Stop right there, you coward! Judging by the Aura, you seem to be a knight… How dare you launch such a sneak attack!"
"I have no honor to spare for those who come to do dirty work."
'What?'
"Gyaaaaaaah!"
Hihihihin!
The moment he shouted, blocking the golden figure's path, from behind him came the sound of an unfamiliar voice, another comrade's scream, and the sound of a terrified horse fleeing simultaneously.
But he couldn't turn his head.
Because he had to block the spear imbued with golden Aura flying toward him.
"Sir Karrall! Can you hear me? Sir Karrall! Are you alive? You old man, assess the situation for me!"
"Ah! I hear you! So… Mason, Sir Dural is dead; Marcus and Maxim are injured! It seems only you and I are unscathed. And I'm currently facing this bastard. What should we do now, Sir Bent?"
"No time for other thoughts! This guy is no joke!"
"…Same here."
Having heard the situation from Sir Karrall, Sir Bent, though regretful, focused his gaze on the enemy before him.
The opponent was a fully armored knight, much taller and larger in frame than himself, wielding a spear. The brilliantly shining golden Aura he emitted added an even more terrifying, oppressive aura.
He looked like the type with no affinity for speed, but remembering the blinding speed he had displayed earlier, Sir Bent wondered if he could win.
The only thing he could discern was that the opponent's solid, disciplined posture and movements placed him closer to the 'orthodox knight' type.
"…Hey, say something, will you? You clearly look like a knight… Shouldn't you at least exchange greetings?"
"……."
'Damn it! Does he think talking is unnecessary?'
The knight radiating golden Aura charged silently and swung his spear at Sir Bent.
The power was so immense that the ground didn't just crack—it split apart. Sir Bent was momentarily stunned.
However, after exchanging a few more blows, he quickly sensed that the attack patterns and trajectories were too monotonous.
'What? This guy… The Aura he's emitting, his strength and speed are no joke, but why is his fighting style at the level of a monster or beast? …I see. This guy… he's clearly inexperienced!'
Sir Bent was a veteran who had roamed battlefields since he was fifteen, a man seasoned in close combat.
Though caught completely off guard by this ambush, his over fifteen years of experience on the battlefield hadn't vanished. He found Heidi's offensive, who was just experiencing real combat for the first time, far too simplistic.
'Is this… real combat?'
Heidi, wrapped in golden Aura and fighting desperately, inwardly marveled at how different real combat was.
Thanks to the 'Forgotten Empire Imperial Knight Order's Spear Arts'—much like the 'Forgotten Empire Imperial Knight Order's Mana Breathing Method' taught by Beonald—she had grown to the point where she could feel her abilities rising. She had been quite confident that she could handle not just intermediate knights but even high knights.
'It's so different from what I expected… But I mustn't disappoint the Young Master!'
Moreover, this matter was a very important task entrusted to her by Beonald. Wanting to repay his many kindnesses and favors, as well as earn his praise, she had splendidly taken down enemies during the initial ambush. But now, facing Sir Bent, she couldn't gain the upper hand easily.
'Damn it! I'm fighting, but… I can't see any opening to strike through.'
Fortunately for Heidi, though Sir Bent's superior experience allowed him to read her attacks, that didn't mean he could subdue her.
The gap in Aura power and physical ability was insurmountable. Even when he swung his sword imbued with blue Aura, it was deflected by the golden Aura. Or when he clearly thrust his sword into a gap in her armor, it wouldn't penetrate? Things that made no sense in combat were happening.
'This is bad. Strictly speaking, it's a situation where I should flee.'
The cold, rational judgment of a knight who had fought in countless battlefields and skirmishes for over a decade. He wasn't losing, but there was nothing more foolish than fighting an enemy you couldn't defeat.
What was more infuriating was that the opponent's responses and skill noticeably improved with each exchange, as if feeding off his own strength, adding to the unpleasantness. Now, all he could think about was truly escaping.
"Alright, cleanup here is done. I'll handle the site. Finish that one off."
'Damn it! The old man lost? If it's come to this…'
Sir Bent realized his trusted comrade had been defeated. Now effectively surrounded, he blocked Heidi's onslaught while searching for an escape route in another direction.
As if fortune favored him, the other person he wasn't fighting was calmly retrieving belongings from corpses and was fully preoccupied with restraining the subdued knights.
The moment he saw that, there was nothing more to think about.
'Let's escape first and think later! Callermain Territory is right before our eyes, so soon… like this!'
Thud!
Spotting an opportunity in a momentary opening, he drew up his Aura to the maximum, kicked Heidi away to push her back, and began sprinting at full speed toward Beonald.
Sir Bent reasoned that Beonald, who had dealt with the low knights, must be weaker than the woman before him. His assumption had some logic, but unfortunately, Beonald was still a stronger swordsman than Heidi.
"Move aside if you don't want to die!"
'Hmm… Not stupid.'
'Good. He's not reacting at all…'
'Imperial Knight Order Derivative Neumel Seventh Form—Boomerang Slash'.
Swish!
Seeing Beonald standing still as if completely unaware of his charge, Sir Bent felt joy at the thought of slipping past. But then, pain—the familiar sensation of being cut by a blade—shot through his leg and flank, and he collapsed to the ground.
'Neumel Seventh Form—Boomerang Slash'. The hunter of speed, striking so fast it appears motionless.
As he fell, Sir Bent, who hadn't noticed at first, barely caught sight of a purple Aura trajectory scattering like dust and realized it was Beonald's doing.
"Wh-what is this…"
"…As expected of the Young Master!"
"Hmm~ I wanted to raise your skill a bit more… Well, there will be plenty of opportunities ahead, so shall we stop here? Restrain these guys. Remember, since they're knights, you need to bind them tighter than a normal human standard. For low knights, a restraint suitable for monsters might suffice, but for intermediate knights and above, you need to sever tendons like this to cause bleeding and drain their strength. Keep that in mind."
Beonald approached leisurely, looking down at the fallen Sir Bent as if presenting an educational specimen, continuing his explanation.
His nonchalant attitude left Sir Bent dumbfounded. He struggled to get up, but his legs truly wouldn't obey, and he became aware that the blood flowing from his flank was more than he'd imagined, leaving him in no condition to fight.
'Damn… If I lose consciousness even slightly, I'll really die.'
"Now, then, a message to the captured knights of the Royen Viscountcy. I intend to treat all four of you as prisoners for ransom, but any attempt to escape or break your restraints will result in immediate execution. Of course, you're all injured, so it won't be easy, but just in case. Anyway, due to such concerns, there will be no proper treatment until negotiations are complete. So, don't whine or pretend to be in pain. We know better than anyone that knights don't die easily."
"…Ohh…"
"The ransom will become a debt, but you're all high-value personnel. As long as you're alive, you can do anything. Some of you likely have wives and children. I hope none are foolish enough to choose a meaningless death here, with no honor to gain."
The subdual was one thing, but Beonald's flawless rhetoric completely broke the will of the Royen Viscountcy knights. They hung their heads low, their resistance utterly extinguished.
After confining the knights to a pre-prepared forest hideout and entrusting Heidi with their surveillance, Beonald immediately set off for the Royen Viscountcy—where Sein's mother resided—riding Alterio.