Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Acquiring a Strategist and Armaments
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Whish! Bang!
Could a spear create such a sharp whoosh slicing through the air? Rat clearly didn't respond clumsily; he leaped back nimbly, dodging the attack.
His face grim, he declared,
"Red Rose Knights, hear your final command!"
Shring. Click!
Fifteen knights drew their swords in unison, pressing them to their chests in salute. They all knew what Deputy Captain Rat meant. A dog without a master couldn't just slink back home without consequence. They all understood they couldn't end up in such a humiliating state.
They had to capture him, even if it meant combining their strength with their subordinates. Even if they dragged back a corpse, they had to seize the murderer who killed Komora.
"Coming at me in a pack?"
So Gun-ak swallowed dryly in secret. Rat's resolute expression didn't waver. Right now, the mission of vengeance outweighed a knight's honor.
"Seize him! Drag him to the Diel family estate and hold him accountable. If you can't, take his life!"
At Rat's command, the fifteen knights sprang forward together, trying to form an encirclement. So Gun-ak also leaped back to evade. It wasn't fleeing; in this wide open space, facing them head-on would be disadvantageous.
Beneath the tree where So Gun-ak had originally hidden lay the mercenaries' corpses. Scattered around were the swords they had wielded. By the time So Gun-ak reached that spot, the fifteen knights had already surrounded him from all sides.
"Haaap!"
Rat didn't leave the preemptive strike to his men. He raised his sword high and charged in himself.
So Gun-ak didn't dodge Rat's attack.
'Take him down, and it'll be easy!'
When facing multiple enemies, the first rule was to avoid encirclement, and the second was to minimize simultaneous opponents for a divide-and-conquer approach.
And above all, the surest way to turn the fight in your favor was to behead the enemy leader and shatter their morale.
Rat wasn't just their commander; his swordsmanship was the finest among them. Eliminating him first would surely swing the battle.
Clang, clang!
So Gun-ak blocked Rat's sword with his spear shaft, disrupting his approach, but Rat wasn't the only foe. With his rear exposed, one knight rushed in to strike at his back.
It was a cowardly tactic he'd never stoop to under normal circumstances, but they weren't in a position to uphold chivalry now. Consumed by rage, they could be more underhanded than anyone.
"Hup."
So Gun-ak ducked low to evade, thrusting the spear shaft backward. The spear wave slammed into the knight's chest.
"Guhk!"
As the knight charging from behind tumbled away, Rat exploited the gap from So Gun-ak's shortened grip, diving in.
"Hah!"
So Gun-ak stomped his left foot hard into the ground and spun his crouched body like a top. The spear shaft whirled around with him, forcing the approaching Rat and knights to recoil in surprise.
'Now.'
The moment they showed an opening, So Gun-ak leaped into the air. It was perfect for concentrated attacks in an encirclement, but he didn't hesitate.
As So Gun-ak suddenly vaulted up, Rat and the knights hurriedly thrust their swords, pressing forward again. But by then, So Gun-ak's form was already plummeting back to earth.
Having jumped a zhang from the ground, So Gun-ak gripped the spear short like a sword, pointing the tip skyward. Then, as he fell, he added his full power to the momentum of gravity, slashing downward fiercely at the front.
Extreme Spear Ten Principles, Third Form. Meteor Flying Spear!
Whoooosh.
The spear tip plummeted with a terrifying roar. Accelerated by the Weighted Fall technique, it truly resembled a falling star.
"Urk!"
Boom!
Rat had no time to dodge and raised his sword to block, but it snapped in two instantly. It wasn't an attack a sword without infused energy could withstand.
"Argh!"
The broken blade dug into his shoulder. His sword hand twisted unnaturally. But thanks to that, the descending spear tip veered off, slamming into the ground.
Rat had miraculously survived. His wounds were severe, but nothing compared to death. Yet that fleeting moment of relief became his downfall.
So Gun-ak drew one of his two remaining darts and hurled it at the dazed Rat.
Pfshk!
The dart embedded in Rat's forehead. His eyes bulged as he toppled over.
Whirl. Clang.
So Gun-ak hurriedly deflected the swords of knights approaching from behind, then swung the spear tip repeatedly, sweeping the ground like a serpent threatening to strike any who drew near.
With Rat collapsing so pathetically, the knights' momentum faltered. Now they all hesitated to charge at So Gun-ak.
So Gun-ak inwardly cheered. He'd succeeded in shifting the rage-fueled atmosphere. He began whirling his single spear amid the demoralized knights.
8. Acquiring a Strategist and Armaments
Clang-clang.
Swords clashed against the spear tip, producing a continuous popping sound like frying beans. It would be ideal to slice off the wooden spear shaft, but none of the knights could manage it.
So Gun-ak wielded the spear like a ghost, freely attacking and defending with both the tip and the opposite end's wave. It took mere moments to send all fifteen knights rolling on the ground.
"Urgh... Even in death, I curse you!"
So Gun-ak smirked at the knight uttering his last breath with a spear through his chest.
He'd heard it so often his ears had calluses.
"Go to hell. Plenty of scum like you there."
So Gun-ak indifferently kicked the already-dead knight's shoulder, yanking out the spear. It emerged covered in gore with a gruesome sound.
At So Gun-ak's feet lay a mess of mercenaries' and knights' corpses.
Today alone, he'd taken over twenty lives.
He could have avoided this bloodshed, but evasion would mean running forever. Killing them now was the best way to prevent greater carnage later.
If he'd only eliminated Sophia earlier, today's horrific scene wouldn't have happened.
Looking toward where the knights had come from, the man who had guided and watched Sophia and him had already fled during the fight.
The funny part was that only Jake, bound hand and foot, trembled in terror, staring at So Gun-ak with frightened eyes. It had been a tough fight even for So Gun-ak, leaving him fatigued, but he still had strength to pursue them.
Leaving loose ends out of misplaced mercy was a mistake he'd make only once. Killing the Diel family's young lord would bring trouble ahead.
Better to eliminate all witnesses and leave no aftermath. Jake, seeing So Gun-ak approach slowly with the dripping spear, slammed his head to the ground in fear, shaking uncontrollably.
He was too terrified even to beg for his life.
It felt like that horrific blade would pierce his heart if he so much as opened his mouth.
"You, wait there."
"Y-Yes?"
So Gun-ak extended his hand toward Jake, who peeked up cautiously. Jake flailed in panic, but So Gun-ak easily sealed his pressure points.
His body stiffened, immobile. Jake's head spun. Meanwhile, So Gun-ak dashed toward the base of the mountain where Sophia had fled.
"Th-this is a dream."
No matter how hard he strained, his body felt paralyzed. Only his mouth and tongue could move. At least he could speak; he was grateful for that.
Unable to turn his head, Jake could only blink at the rolling corpses around him.
Komora was unlucky but a formally knighted knight. Defeating a Magic Suit-wearing knight was impressive enough, but massacring fifteen Red Rose Knights?
He was too strong. Jake swore he'd never seen a spearman as relentless as So Gun-ak.
Even Roderick the Human Butcher, infamous far and wide, seemed less ferocious.
Whish.
A man and a woman were tossed before Jake's eyes.
It was the rat-faced soldier who'd been monitoring So Gun-ak in Toudun City and Sophia.
Both had their pressure points sealed; rigid and rolling painfully on the ground, they shed tears but couldn't scream.
So Gun-ak strode over and released the rat-faced man's mute point.
Finally able to speak, the man begged for his life.
"P-please spare me."
He pleaded desperately, seizing the moment, but So Gun-ak asked indifferently,
"Are there more in Toudun City watching me?"
"N-no. There were three, but two just relay messages coming and going. Only I stayed in Toudun to watch."
So Gun-ak nodded.
"I see."
With that nonchalant word, his palm struck the man's crown.
"Hng."
The rat-faced man convulsed, foam bubbling from his mouth as he collapsed. Dead in one blow. Sophia wept endlessly with terrified eyes.
So Gun-ak released her mute point.
"Didn't I tell you not to make trouble?"
"I-I'm sorry. I was short-sighted. Please."
"Please what?"
Sophia wept ceaselessly. The Komora she'd trusted was dead, and she was captured. Worse, the man before her clearly disliked her.
She'd already ignored his warning. She couldn't fathom escaping this situation.
"I-I'll give you whatever you want. Please spare me."
"I doubt you can give me what I want."
She lacked the skill for martial arts training or dismantling mysterious crystals and ores. There was nothing to expect from a half-decent noblewoman with a tolerable face.
"If you want my body, take it. Please..."
So Gun-ak bitterly shook his head at her pleading.
"What a whore. Jamie must be blind."
"Y-yes! I'm Jamie's woman. You're going to kill me?"
Now she screamed like a threat.
Her father had said this black knight was surely Jamie's twin brother. Emphasizing she was the brother's woman would save her, she thought.
So she shrieked threateningly.
So Gun-ak smiled bitterly at her display.
"You're the last one I should spare."
"Please..."
Her tear-streaked face could evoke pity.
But such people repaid kindness with vengeance. Woman or not, sparing her now could breed major trouble later.
"Your chance to live isn't now."
"I'll curse you. I curse you!"
If she'd wanted to live, she should have heeded his warning sincerely before.
Too late now.
So Gun-ak's hand blade struck Sophia's crown.
"Aaak!"
No hesitation whatsoever, and that was the end. Sophia would never open her eyes again.
Seeing So Gun-ak's ruthless hand, Jake swallowed hard.
He hadn't imagined he'd kill a woman too.
'I-I'm done for.'
Jake gave up on life. Then, a thought flashed through his mind.