Chapter 50
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: The Port (3)
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Deeeeng!
At that moment, the bell from the grand temple tolled over the port, and everyone froze for an instant.
'Departure time.'
Blake turned his cold, sunken eyes toward the end of the pier.
'First, I need to dash to the end of the pier.'
"What do we do?"
"B-Blake, let's just give them what they want now. No need to make enemies..."
In that brief gap, Rubens and Lindelmann whispered in tense voices.
"Fine."
"Huh?"
Lindelmann looked up at Blake with eyes wide as saucers, stunned by the unexpected reply.
"Sir Zaroph, when the final bell tolls, shout out who I am and who owns the letter I carry. Like you did in Dunfries—no, even louder."
"W-What? You're serious?"
Blake gave a slight nod instead of answering, then continued.
"After that, I'll break through the rear. When I signal, run to the end of the pier with the mage. Mage, think you can manage it?"
"Yes. I can."
"A-Alright."
Rubens nodded vigorously, while Lindelmann did so with a reluctant expression.
Deeeeng!
Finally, the ninth and last bell rang out across the port.
'Screw it! Whatever!'
Lindelmann bellowed at the top of his lungs toward the two groups of soldiers closing in.
"Listen up, everyone! The man beside me is the envoy carrying a personal letter from His Highness Henrik Oscar Villand, Duke of Sorria and Commander of Northernrocks Fortress!"
"Huh?"
"Henrik? Henrik Villand?"
The sudden shout amid the tense standoff made the onlookers murmur, and even the approaching soldiers halted in their tracks.
'Perfect!'
Lindelmann hurriedly pressed on with his yell.
"That's right! This man is none other than a knight of Prince Henrik himself! Who dares threaten an envoy bearing royal correspondence? Has Elberra become a city that betrays the grace of the knight of heavenly stratagem, who alongside His Imperial Majesty drove the Rebel King beyond the twilight lands? This man right here! Blake is the knight of heavenly stratagem! The servant of Prince Henrik!"
With his quick wits, Lindelmann unleashed a barrage of provocative words.
"Ooh!"
His booming voice emphasized key phrases, startling not only the encircling soldiers but even the distant spectators.
The effect was tremendous—the entire port erupted in chaos almost immediately.
"Th-The knight of heavenly stratagem? That Prince Henrik?"
"For real? Is that guy really the knight of heavenly stratagem, Prince Henrik's knight?"
A commotion broke out.
The great cities had suffered the most during the Rebel King's reign, and Elberra had not escaped the brutal oppression and warfare.
Thus, the trust and admiration for the Emperor who saved the city from the Rebel King's grasp and the knight of heavenly stratagem who chased his remnants to the far southern deserts lingered in Elberra even after all these years.
"Th-That bastard...!"
Gilmore Grime's face twisted in fury.
That was when it happened.
"Get ready."
Paat!
Blake spoke lowly to Lindelmann and Rubens, then kicked off the ground.
Pababak!
His massive frame shot toward the Grime swordsmen like a bolt of lightning.
"Wha—?"
Gilmore Grime's eyes bulged at the attack with no warning or preparatory stance.
"B-Block him!"
As the panicked Gilmore Grime shouted, seven or eight swordsmen thrust their shields forward and advanced.
The rest circled to Blake's flanks, raising shields and aiming swords.
The moment cold light flashed in Blake's eyes at the sight...
Pak!
"Urk?"
His massive form vanished from the swordsmen's view.
But it was an illusion.
He hadn't vanished—he had instantly dropped into a low stance.
Shing!
The demon-slaying blade slashed vertically in that instant.
Kwaaaang!
The sword, whipping through the air with a sonic boom, smashed into the swordsmen's shields.
"Guh!"
"Kaaak!"
Plop!
Four swordsmen launched into the air before crashing into the river like severed kites.
Kwagagak!
The demon-slaying blade scraped low across the ground toward the flustered remaining swordsmen.
A strike loaded with insane speed and power!
Kwang! Kwajajak!
"Uwaaak!"
With each swing, two or three swordsmen spun through the air before slamming into the ground.
"Uuuheong!"
Swordsmen wailed with legs shattered, faces smeared in spit and tears.
Broken bones tore through flesh, turning the ground into a bloody mess.
"Huk!"
Gilmore Grime gasped at the sight of over ten men reduced to bloody pulp in seconds.
"Ugh...!"
Albert and Samuel Luthers were no different.
Before the horrific scene unfolding in mere breaths, they stood slack-jawed.
"Now!"
"Hya!"
At Blake's shout, Lindelmann and Rubens bolted.
"Huk? C-Catch them! Grab them!"
Gilmore Grime's frantic cry erupted.
"Red Wind Knights! Pursue them!"
Samuel Luthers belatedly came to his senses, shouting as he chased after Blake.
"Waaaa!"
At his command, the Red Wind knights hurriedly pursued Lindelmann and Rubens.
Sheeek! Kwang!
"Kaaak!"
Blake, having just severed the legs of two more Grime swordsmen, used a kneeling swordsman's shoulder as a springboard to launch himself.
Hwaak!
In an instant, his massive body vaulted over the heads of three swordsmen.
"Huk!"
All who witnessed the graceful, ferocious movement—like a giant black panther—gaped in awe.
Pak!
Landing on the ground, Blake hurtled unstoppably toward his target.
"Ah!"
Only then did the target and her guard react to Blake's intent.
"Miss!"
Shwaaak!
Baran, knight of the Baniard family, desperately thrust his sword at Blake charging like a beast toward Anne Rose.
Blake kept his cold gaze fixed on Anne Rose, casually swinging his hand at the incoming sword without even looking.
Teng!
"Kuk?"
Baran flinched in disbelief as his sword bounced away from the immense rebound.
Shiiik!
Blake struck Baran's blade with the steel bracer on his wrist, seizing the opening to reach for Anne Rose's slender waist.
"Ah!"
The moment she saw the towering frame crashing like a tidal wave and those emotionless eyes, Anne Rose squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the pain.
Pak!
"...?"
But the sensation was utterly unlike what she'd expected, so she cautiously opened her eyes. She'd braced for agony, yet it barely hurt.
She regretted opening them immediately.
"Ah?"
The world lurched, everything around her blurring past at terrifying speed.
"Kyaaak!"
"Miss! Miss Anne Rose!"
Baran screamed.
"Ugh!"
Mortified at her unladylike shriek, Anne Rose gritted her teeth and tried to lift her head.
Baran and Gilmore Grime, along with a group of swordsmen, were charging from that direction.
Only then did she grasp the situation.
The man named Blake had hoisted her over his shoulder and was running.
"Y-You brute! Put me down! Put me down right now!"
She thrashed with all her might, but the thick arm clamped around her waist didn't budge.
"How dare you! How dare you treat me like this!"
Pounding her fists on his broad back yielded the same result.
Her hands just hurt.
"Stay still, and I won't hurt you, woman."
A low growl of a voice.
More startling than the fact he wasn't even winded while carrying her was the utter lack of emotion in his tone. Anne Rose flinched.
No man had ever spoken to her like that before.
But that indifference only fueled her rage further.
"Is this how a knight behaves? Taking a defenseless woman hostage? Even if you escape this place with me as your shield, the blame will fall on Kyak! Prince Henrik himse—kyaat!"
She spat out her piece amid her screams.
"Talkative and full of misconceptions. I have no intention of taking you hostage."
"Wh-What? What do you mea—kyaaak!"
"Knight, sir! Over here!"
Someone shouted from afar, and Blake narrowed his eyes.
At the pier's end, shiphand Benil was jumping and waving before leaping onto a nearby boat.
Lindelmann and Rubens, who had arrived first, scrambled aboard as well.
Seeing this, Blake bellowed.
"Sir Zaroph, cast off the gangplank and push the boat!"
"G-Got it!"
Though Blake hadn't boarded yet, Lindelmann quickly removed the gangplank and shoved the boat from the pier with a long pole.
Glorista slowly drifted away from the pier.
"Huff huff! H-Huh? Th-The bastards are on the boat! Hurry! Catch them!"
Gilmore Grime, whose stamina matched his protruding gut, shouted upon seeing Blake about to board.
Then, Blake—who had been sprinting as if he'd leap aboard any second—halted, spun around, and abruptly set Anne Rose down on the ground.
"Ehuk?"
The pursuers skidded to a stunned halt at Blake's unforeseen action.
The pier's end instantly filled with dozens of armed soldiers.
"Ah?"
Anne Rose, who had steeled herself for rough treatment as a hostage, was equally baffled.
"Stay put. Do as I say, and you won't get hurt."
Blake murmured lowly, pressed close behind her.
"Eut!"
Feeling the rough man's breath on her neck, Anne Rose whipped around, face flushing at the thought he was toying with her.
"Ah?"
But she couldn't even get angry.
The brute's gaze wasn't on her at all.
As if she were beneath notice, he only stared down the soldiers crowding the pier's end.
'What kind of man...'
His voice, his eyes—despite holding her hostage, Blake's demeanor ignored her completely. Anne Rose unwittingly bit her lip.
"Miss, are you alright? You! Send the miss over here now!"
Baran cried out in fury.
"......"
Blake made no reply, scanning ahead.
Gilmore Grime and Albert led the Grime and Baniard swordsmen on one side, while Samuel Luthers and the Red Wind knights formed another encirclement beside them.
It had gone almost too smoothly, leaving him a bit absurd.
"......"
But he coldly swept his gaze over them and flicked his eyes aside.
Glorista was now about five meters from the pier.
Blake gave Anne Rose's waist a slight push.
"Walk forward, woman."
"Eek!"
Her face reddened briefly at his touch.
Biting her lip at his utter lack of courtesy, Anne Rose took a step.
Blake stuck close behind her as they moved.
"F-Father!"
Anyone could see it looked like he was threatening Anne Rose. Albert urgently called to Gilmore Grime.
"Back off! Everyone, back off!"
Gilmore Grime scowled and shouted.
In the end, as Blake and Anne Rose advanced, their pursuers had no choice but to retreat.
"You scum! Release the miss at once!"
Baran bellowed, eyes blazing with fire.
Surprisingly, Blake nodded lightly.
"Fine."
With that short reply, he shoved Anne Rose forward.
(To be continued)