The Art of Breaking Knights

Unlike soldiers—who could simply be dragged around and ordered to do this or that—knights, bound by honor and principle, were difficult creatures to handle.

Ugh... still, knights are better than soldiers.

If the enemy had been pirates or bandits, the sort who rarely used magic, Tae-hyun would have felt much more at ease bringing along a large force of soldiers.

He could've just overwhelmed them with numbers.

But this enemy was the Sadiq Church.

The church's holy knights could use divine magic.

And the priests would likely wield even stronger spells.

Against opponents like that, trying to crush them with sheer numbers was dangerous.

If a priest got them with the wrong spell, the soldiers were likely to tear each other apart while attacking their own allies.

Far better to bring a knight order—each individual far stronger, with higher magic resistance.

"A-a knight order?"

"Tae-san-nim, how did you get a knight order?"

"Borrowed them from the king."

It wasn't just the players who were startled when they saw the knights following behind Tae-hyun.

NPCs like Rufo and Pelmas were just as shocked.

Rufo approached Tae-hyun and spoke in a lowered voice.

"Tae-hyun-nim, how on earth did you manage to bring knights with you?"

"I said I was going to raid the Sadiq Church, and they lent them to me."

At Tae-hyun's answer, Rufo asked uneasily,

"You're sure you can handle them?"

"Huh?"

Could he handle them?

Tae-hyun tilted his head at the question.

What's that supposed to mean?

"I've got more than enough Fame and contribution points."

"That's not what I meant. I meant, are you sure you can handle those people? Your personality isn't exactly... easy either, Tae-hyun-nim."

"Were you just about to say my personality was trash?"

"A misunderstanding."

"What do you mean, can I handle them? Of course I can. I'll take some penalties since my command skill is low, but still."

"That's not what I meant either... Hmm. Well. I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"...?"

Tae-hyun had no idea what Rufo was talking about.

It didn't take him long to find out.

"We're moving quickly to the Valley of Despair and Sorrow. Only bring what you need and move fast. We have to get there before everyone else."

Tae-hyun addressed the knights lined up before him.

The Valley of Despair and Sorrow was where the Sadiq Church had once established itself.

The surrounding area swarmed with monsters, and once inside, the harsh terrain formed a natural fortress that shielded it from outside attack.

After this latest assault by the Sadiq Church, the kingdom army and the churches were planning to attack the place.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Naturally, the players' first objective was there as well.

"...!"

The message windows popped up in rapid succession.

And as if to explain those messages, the knights immediately began to complain.

"Only bring what we need and move quickly? Is that the dignity becoming of a knight?"

"That sounds like the sort of thing adventurers would do!"

"What matters most to a knight is bearing! Rushing along in a fluster is something rats do. We should advance with dignity! Under raised banners and sounding horns!"

"Hear, hear!"

The knights began shouting in unison.

The players watching turned pale.

They knew Tae-hyun's personality far too well already.

Is he going to teamkill them?!

No matter how expensive these royal knights were, with Tae-hyun's temperament, it felt entirely possible he'd just kill them and move on.

But what happened instead was astonishing.

Tae-hyun smiled warmly and accepted what the knights said.

"Now that you mention it, you're right."

"?!"

"That was foolish of me. Right. Knights have their own way of doing things, don't they?"

At Tae-hyun's words, the knights responded favorably.

"Hahaha! Exactly!"

"I was worried because you're an adventurer, but you seem to know a thing or two!"

"Then shall we move slowly, preserving a knight's honor?"

"Ohhh! Excellent!"

"Raise the banner!"

Tae-hyun turned around.

Woo Jeong-sik, standing nearby, let out a tiny squeak when he saw the look in Tae-hyun's eyes.

The smile from a moment ago had vanished, replaced by an icy, glacial stare.

Yeah. I was taking this too lightly.

Tae-hyun changed his plan.

Originally, he had intended to rush ahead and rack up contribution points as quickly as possible.

But if he forced these knights along as they were now, it looked like nothing but backlash would come of it.

Charge!

What? Retreat? There is no retreat! It isn't honorable!

Subordinates who wouldn't obey orders were worse than useless.

There was no telling what kind of lunacy they'd pull.

But Tae-hyun had no intention of abandoning them either.

He'd invested too much already. At the very least, he had to get his money's worth.

And even if I tell them to go back now, I doubt they'll actually return...

Tae-hyun made his decision.

Even if it meant arriving late, he would make these knights submit completely first.

"Tae-hyun-nim, Tae-hyun-nim."

"What?"

"This road... isn't it the wrong one?"

"Rufo, in this world, there is no such thing as a wrong answer. There are only slightly different ones."

"What kind of nonsense is that?"

"Be quiet and shut up."

"Yes, sir..."

Rufo had only tried to say, Aren't we going the wrong way?, and got cursed out for it.

The group was currently taking a bizarre route.

Tae-hyun unfolded the map and checked it.

Hmm. Yes. We are very diligently going the wrong way.

A wrong turn taken on purpose.

To get to the Valley of Despair and Sorrow, all they had to do was cross the plains straight through.

It wasn't even a particularly difficult road.

Compared to that, the road Tae-hyun was now taking led into the mountains.

It was an openly obvious detour.

And the road itself was far harsher.

There were several times more monsters here than in the plains.

And they were stronger, too.

"Hahaha. The wind feels wonderful today, doesn't it, my friend?"

"Indeed. It feels as though our expedition is being blessed!"

The knights chattered cheerfully.

The blacksmiths riding ahead of them glanced back with uneasy expressions.

"You don't think he'll snap and come at them with a sword, do you?"

"No... he might kill all their horses in the night and leave."

"He could poison their food."

They were busy speculating over how Tae-hyun might attack the knights.

No matter how they looked at it, he wasn't the type to let this slide.

But Tae-hyun kept up his kindly attitude.

Hmm. That horse looks tired. Should we stop and let it rest?

Before we fight, I'll sharpen your blade myself.

Your bow and quiver look heavy—want me to carry them for you?

Kindness so alarming that the players watching were on edge.

But the knights noticed nothing. They simply laughed in satisfaction and accepted his attentions.

"Kreeeek!"

"...!"

As they advanced, monsters appeared in the distance.

Winged bodies, hideous women's faces.

Harpies.

Rufo recognized them at once and shouted,

"Red-Feather Harpies! Be careful!"

The harpies wheeled through the air, beginning to target the people running below.

The knights saw them and shouted back.

"How dare some impudent monsters!"

"We'll teach them their place!"

Wooooong—

One of the knights seized a short spear hanging beside his horse and hurled it.

It was a magnificent javelin skill.

Whoosh—

Thunk!

"Kyaaaak!"

Struck dead-on by the spear, the harpy screamed and crashed to the ground.

"What a throw!"

"Hahaha! That was nothing!"

While the knights congratulated one another, the number of harpies kept increasing.

Tae-hyun calmly checked the map.

This map is fantastic.

Since Rufo and Ed-an had obtained it, it was incredibly detailed.

"Let's go."

"Pardon?"

For a moment, Rufo thought he'd misheard.

"Let's go."

"...? Go where?"

"Get past them and keep moving. If you don't like it, stay here."

Then he barked,

"Hey. Dead weight."

"We're not dead wei—!"

"Fine, got it. Blacksmiths, let's move."

Kim Ji-sahn still hadn't fully figured Tae-hyun out.

Tilting his head, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he asked,

"What about the knights?"

"Then you stay here too. I'm leaving."

Tae-hyun said no more and cracked the whip hard against his horse.

As befitting a horse borrowed from the royal palace, it surged forward at speed.

"We're coming too!"

Pelmas and Ed-an were the first to follow Tae-hyun.

Seeing that, the blacksmiths and Rufo finally understood the situation.

If they stood still, that man really would leave them behind.

"I-I'm coming too!"

"Me too!"

While the knights hunted down harpies one by one, Tae-hyun and the others accelerated and raced ahead.

"What?"

"Gentlemen! Where are you going?"

The knights shouted in confusion, but Tae-hyun and his group ignored them.

They only went faster.

"Hey!"

"W-wait! Where are you going?!"

The knights were flustered, but the harpies didn't wait for them.

The moment the party split up, they saw their chance and dove in.

Naturally, their target was the knights who had just attacked them.

Kakakak!

Kakakak!

"How dare these monsters!"

"Stand back!"

It wasn't as if the knights were going to die just because the harpies multiplied.

There was simply too great a difference in skill.

Boiling Courage!

Great Honor!

Returning Javelin Art!

The knights buffed themselves or knocked harpies out of the sky one after another with thrown spears.

But the harpies didn't care. They kept diving in, raking claws across the knights' armor and firing volleys of feathers.

Each hit left a sharp gouge or dent in the armor.

And the more that happened, the uglier the knights' expressions became.

Slash, slash, slash!

"Tch! Fall back!"

With a slash of his sword, one knight severed the head of a charging harpy and shouted loudly,

"Shouldn't we withdraw as well?"

"Turn our backs while the enemy still stands? What nonsense is that?"

"B-but..."

"We leave only after exterminating the enemy! That is our duty!"

The knights did not retreat.

They fought on bravely.

And from a distance, Tae-hyun watched it all.

"They're fighting well~"

"..."

Rufo could only stare at Tae-hyun with a look of total disgust.

"Shouldn't we help them?"

"Why? They're doing fine on their ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠own."

"Yeah, Yong-yong. Eat up."

Tae-hyun split the incoming experience with Yong-yong.

His own level would rise more slowly, but that couldn't be helped.

It was far too wasteful to just leave Yong-yong out of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it.

The knights really were strong.

Each one of them was individually skilled, and clustered together, they took virtually no real damage no matter how many harpies came at them.

But if they kept fighting, their armor would get scuffed, their blades and spearheads would dull.

And on top of that, fatigue and hunger would begin to drag them down.

Tae-hyun was waiting for exactly that.

"Looks like the fight's over."

Tattered harpy corpses had piled up all around the knights.

The knights, stained in blood, came trudging back on horseback.

The moment they arrived, Tae-hyun shouted,

"I told you to pull out! Why didn't you follow orders?!"

"?!"

The knights stared at Tae-hyun in shock.

He'd given an order like that?