Is This a Cursed Land?
The former supreme commander of Caylen Kingdom, now the slave instructor Rai Redford, had been sparring with a knight in black armor for several rounds. He was starting to recognize the man’s style.
Unknown name, but a systemized martial art, superb horsemanship that made man and horse as one, and a rich experience in defending and maneuvering numbers. This was no ordinary foe.
'This is the worst.'
Rai’s blade was already threatening to snap after clashing with the massive spear a few times. He leaped back to dodge the head-targeted thrust, planted the chipped sword on his shoulder, and faced the black-armored knight.
The absolute worst part was the knight’s horsemanship. It was terrifyingly refined.
Even when weakened, he had thought a rider like this could barely swing a sword. Yet the moment he mounted, the aura changed completely.
The heavy armor was still visible, but the presence was nothing like a regular knight. The black-armored rider emitted an aura that felt like the man himself.
'Has there ever been a knight who used horsemanship as a specialty in history?'
Rai frowned.
Horsemanship was essential, but it wasn’t something worth specializing in. With the rise of magic and mana-using warriors, the horse’s role had steadily diminished.
Mounted charges still boasted terrifying power, but in battles where warriors transcended humans, the horse’s position became ambiguous. Nowadays, riders usually dismounted after the charge to fight.
Yet this knight had stayed mounted, making him dozens of times stronger.
Looking further back in history, knights who specialized in horsemanship were common, but that was when mana belonged solely to mages. The black knight was using mana freely.
It wasn’t just a Death Knight reincarnated with corrupted mana. He was wielding it with systematic techniques.
“Can you understand me? What’s your name?”
If his horsemanship was this great, the name should have been recorded in history books. Since there was no information at all, Rai asked.
“…”
The silent black knight raised his spear high.
Recognizing the same technique as before, Rai stabbed the sword into the ground and placed both palms together. As his hands separated, a magic circle formed between them. The black knight’s spear descended like a meteor.
BOOM!
A tidal wave of shock exploded outward.
“…”
The black knight looked up at the sky. The wave that had just erupted was deflected at a right angle before it could reach Rai, soaring high into the heavens instead.
With the wave easily redirected skyward, Rai drew his sword.
“Releasing magic like that in front of a mage isn’t something you do casually. Once you see the pattern, it’s all over.”
The black knight absorbed mana into his spear as instructed. When he moved one step forward to launch a close-quarters attack, Rai retreated a step.
“Hey, what exactly are you trying to do?”
“…”
“Big techniques are only fired in empty spaces. You ignore anyone who doesn’t attack you. There’s almost no aggression here. So why show up in the city?”
Instead of answering, the black knight retreated and launched a mounted charge.
Rai dodged the full-powered strike powered by both his own strength and the horse’s kinetic force. The explosive impact sent shockwaves rippling outward.
While piercing through the shattered debris toward the black horse’s flank, Rai swung his sword—only for the cloak to flutter open. The spear tip thrust toward him, forcing Rai to twist his waist desperately and narrowly escape.
Seeing the razor-sharp blade pass just above his head, Rai slid forward at full speed into the black horse’s underside. But the knight’s reaction was even faster.
In the leap that seemed made for flight, Rai caught a glimpse of the black knight overlapping with the moon.
It was a downward stab, as if challenging him to dodge.
Rai lay on the ground with a sinister grin and placed his palms together once more.
The black knight swung his spear, unleashing another massive shockwave that engulfed Rai.
“…”
“Surprised? I told you it was food.”
The shockwave that should have roared like thunder vanished before it touched Rai, leaving no trace.
The black knight, hovering in the air, thrust his spear forward in laughter.
Rai rose urgently at the sight of another mounted charge.
Dodging a mounted charge from the ground was dangerous enough. Imagining the power added by gravity made his blood run cold.
As the spear came crashing down toward Rai’s desperate dodge, a massive explosion erupted around the black knight.
Debris scattered everywhere, the golden veil cracked under their feet, and dust swallowed the surroundings before settling.
“Cough, cough—”
The black knight, whose coughing had stopped the fight, turned his head.
Rai, covered in dust but otherwise unharmed, coughed once and waved his hand at the knight.
Red magic circles lit up beneath the black horse’s hooves.
Rai tried to escape quickly, but black chains erupted from the circles and bound them.
“To catch a knight, you catch the horse first. Old saying, but still true.”
The black horse thrashed as the magic circles kept producing more chains.
The black knight lowered the horse’s posture and launched it upward. The spear, swinging with the horse’s dynamic power, severed the chains and broke free from the magic’s influence.
Thinking it was his comeback move, Rai scowled when the knight easily escaped.
The situation was terrible.
Mages normally finished several spells before battle. The nickname “spell caster” wasn’t for nothing.
But while deploying the golden veil to protect the city, he had canceled every pre-cast spell. The massive magic had been an overexertion, leaving his mana control unstable.
No preparation, poor condition, and he could only fight on straight roads where horses had the advantage.
And the enemy specialized in mounted combat—he couldn’t even target the horse.
In such a disadvantageous position, Rai forced a grin.
“This is exactly how fighting should be. It’s fun.”
The black knight warned of Rai’s changed atmosphere.
Rai had been so excited he couldn’t remember the last time he felt this rush. He moved.
Every time Rai began preparing a spell, the black knight had attacked relentlessly to interfere.
The same mana flow that would create the spell now rushed toward Rai. The knight tried to attack, but Rai reached him first.
The black knight was momentarily stunned.
Spells were a mental battle. You had to maintain crystal-clear focus to cast them.
Normally, you distanced yourself during combat to complete them. Weak spells could be cast under pressure, but high-power ones required perfect concentration.
This madman was attacking like a maniac while building a spell.
Curious if the knight had two souls, Rai pressed the assault. The black knight calmly defended.
Charging from all sides at high speed while attempting to cast under chaotic melee was suicide.
The black knight waited for Rai to fail the spell.
After dozens of exchanges, he wondered what spell this human was building that took so long. The golden barrier he had created instantly showed this was no ordinary human.
“Mana Bullet.”
At the end of Rai’s words, the black knight quickly turned and dodged the incoming mana bullet from the side.
The basic magic everyone learned first. No need to spell it. The black knight, thinking it was a trick, prepared another attack—only to see hundreds of magic circles forming behind Rai.
“Don’t be scared. It’s just a mana bullet.”
Rai smiled faintly. The magic circles erupted with mana bullets.
Spinning his spear, the black knight retreated.
Weak mana bullets vanished harmlessly on the spear, but the endless barrage forced him backward again and again.
The magic circles keeping them intact cracked one after another until no more bullets flew.
The black knight had expected to create distance to cast his spell, but the mana flow wasn’t heading toward him.
“The magic is already complete.”
Small magic circles on the golden veil launched the mana bullets.
Hundreds, thousands of magic circles overlapped across the long golden veil blocking buildings and roads.
Now the veil was no longer gold—it was made of mana bullets. The black knight looked around in panic.
“The battlefield where you’re the only one advantaged? That’s harsh. Let me have some advantage too.”
Not just slight—overwhelmingly advantageous. But the black knight had no time to answer.
Even weak mana bullets unleashed in unison from hundreds of circles were impossible to dodge.
The black knight grabbed the horse’s mane. It leaped high into the air.
“As expected.”
Rai laughed mockingly, raising his finger toward the sky.
From every golden veil across the city, white mana bullets erupted and bent at right angles, heading straight for the black knight.
Thousands of bullets collided and twisted into one massive spear, carving a vast trajectory across the city.
The black knight swung his spear to block, but the massive spear shattered on impact. The bullets continued, piercing through his chest.
The black knight flew far away, tumbling through the air before falling.
Observing the distant figure, Rai exhaled deeply and canceled all magic.
“Hah… I’m exhausted.”
His mana control had failed, causing his body to heat up. Rai took deep breaths to fill his lungs with the cold night air.
“Your body must be pretty worn out too.”
“How do you know that? Grandma?”
Rai grinned while holding Philia in Clay’s arms.
She had been under strain from the start, and this was his first real combat in a long time. There were too many things he didn’t like.
Philia laughed along with Rai’s bitter grin, then looked in the direction the black knight had fallen.
“Is that a corpse?”
“Don’t know. I’ll have to check. Our horse might have come back to its senses. It’s so tired it probably doesn’t want to walk anymore.”
“How can a young one be so frail? You should ride it, my husband’s strong.”
Philia’s words made Clay and Rai speak at the same time.
“Absolutely not.”
After a long time without matching moods, Clay and Rai glared at each other before heading toward the black knight’s fall site together.
While listening to Clay and Rai’s endless arguing, Selma arrived and looked at the ruined building.
“No trace left.”
“It probably didn’t die, but I didn’t think it would have the spirit left to run away.”
Only rubble remained, with no mana or aura left.
Rai, exhausted and sitting on the steps, stared blankly at the rising sun as Leila approached.
“Oh… thanks.”
Seeing the warm tea cup, Rai glanced at her with unusual kindness, then accepted the cup and drank.
After the fragrant tea revived him slightly, Leila sat beside him.
“Thank you for protecting Legandia.”
“I still failed in the end.”
Rai grumbled. Leila shook her head slowly.
“It’s a relief no civilians were injured. More people got hurt trying to run away. I actually hurt more citizens than the Death Knight.”
Not sure if the joke was serious or not, Rai stared at her.
Leila, calmly sipping her tea, remained the same as usual.
“Joke. Laugh.”
“AHAHAHAHAHA! You’re so funny, Captain! Hahahaha!”
When Leila glared, Rai clutched his stomach and laughed wildly.
He hadn’t caught the Death Knight, but he had inflicted serious damage. And since it was confirmed he was stronger than a Death Knight, any future appearances wouldn’t be too dangerous.
While thinking he needed to create a new plan based on today’s events, someone approached them.
“Oh, Mr. Brown, what brings you here?”
Academy staff member Brown.
Not the type to run around from dawn, yet his face was drenched in sweat.
Seeing Brown here—someone not part of the patrol—Leila’s eyes narrowed.
Someone who should be guarding the academy was appearing.
Brown brushed back his sweat-matted purple hair and said,
“It would be tiring, but you should head back to the academy immediately.”
“Why?”
“…”
“An undead has appeared at the academy.”
At Brown’s words, Leila shot up in shock.
First the city, now the academy.
“Is this a cursed land? Did they kill the locals and even build Legandia?”
Rai grumbled, but nothing changed.
Both of them had to head to the academy while still exhausted from yesterday.