47
My Villains Chapter 47
13. The Army of Young Lions (2)
As I thrashed about wildly, the stunned bandits hesitated and backed away.
"Damn, he's no different from an ogre..."
"That sword - is it magic?"
"I thought I saw wrong...! That's blood manipulation!"
As they retreated, the bandits glanced behind them and suddenly brightened. The bandits who had fled into the forest were now running back towards us.
There seemed to be well over a hundred of them.
Ha, they're no different from a pack of dogs.
"Grania. Grania!"
Thanks to my desperate thrashing, the bound Grania had fallen at my feet. I nudged her a few times with my heel, but there was no response. Damn, she's not dead, is she?
Seeing my actions, the nearby bandits slowly approached on horseback, their eyes gleaming. They seemed to be forming an encirclement at a distance, apparently not intending to charge in directly.
Are they trying to buy time? This is the worst.
"Huff..."
As I steadied my breathing, preparing for a final charge-
Whoosh!
"Oh?"
I immediately hunched down to avoid the arrow. But-
"Huh?"
The arrow wasn't aimed at me in the first place.
"Gak!"
I looked up at the scream and saw an arrow with blue feathers lodged in a bandit's neck.
He clutched the arrow shaft as he fell from his horse like a rotten log.
The heavy sound of horse hooves, which had been masked by the commotion of the bandit horde until now, was crossing the plain.
I unconsciously turned around.
The bandits did the same. A trembling voice was heard.
"That, that-"
"Knights!"
Just as a bandit shouted in fear, a group of knights was indeed charging towards us.
The knights, their armor gleaming blue in the moonlight, were asserting their presence with the heavy sound of hooves rather than shouts.
I - that is, Kim Seung-soo - had never actually seen ‘knights’ in person. This was only natural for someone living in the 21st century.
But regardless of my lack of experience, those charging towards us were undoubtedly knights. I could tell at a glance.
There were only sixteen of them, but they were terrifyingly imposing.
Huge horses, plate armor without a visible gap, helmets with visors, lances over 3 meters long.
Some even had their horses armored.
To be able to gallop so easily while carrying a rider and wearing heavy armor... Though I'm not sure, they must be a good breed of warhorse.
The knights were gradually accelerating, but their formation spread out in a line showed no signs of breaking.
They were close enough to touch the knight next to them if they stretched out their arms, and no one was ahead or behind.
While I was mesmerized by the scene that looked like it came straight out of a movie, the bandits showed various reactions to the death approaching them.
"Retreat to the river!"
"What nonsense is that! If we let them go, the boss will kill us!"
"If we don't retreat, we'll die right now! And we've already let some go, what does it matter!"
"Cargill! Where's Captain Cargill?"
"Cargill's dead! Taken down by the mage!"
At that moment, another arrow flew and pierced a bandit's mouth.
Come to think of it, only one knight was holding a bow instead of a lance.
That knight in the center of the formation shot two more arrows in succession, killing two more bandits. He was clearly a skilled archer.
He then hung the bow on his saddle and drew the longsword at his waist. Then, extending the sword towards the bandits, he shouted a battle cry.
"Charge-!"
That resonant voice was surprisingly that of a young man.
At the young knight's shout as he drew his longsword, his companions responded by lowering their lances.
As the knights accelerated to full speed, a loud noise like hailstones falling erupted.
The bandits gathered around me were already in disarray at the knights' imposing presence.
In the end, the ragtag group that had burst out of the forest and ended up galloping across the plain had no choice but to receive the knights' charge.
No, perhaps ‘receive’ isn't quite the right expression.
‘Smashed’ might be more appropriate.
Crash!
"Kheuk!"
"Kkek."
One knight impaled both horse and it's rider with his lance.
As if that wasn't enough, the knight's warhorse continued to charge, ramming its chest into the staggering man and his horse.
Most of the knights drew their swords as soon as they thrust with their lances and began slaughtering the bandits.
War hammers and axes were occasionally seen, but the most impressive weapon was a huge two-handed sword.
"I am Ankir of Whitestone!"
A large knight who let out a thick roar wielded a sword that must have been at least 150 centimeters long with ease.
Every time his two-handed sword flashed in the moonlight, bandits' arms or necks flew high into the air.
Occasionally, bandits who got too close were struck down with the pommel or crossguard, or had their faces smashed by a fist. He was just like an agile bear rather than a human.
A knight wearing a blue cloak also caught my eye. After skewering two bandits with his lance, he drew a sword that looked like a rapier.
He wasn't as big as Ankir I had seen earlier, but he was quite large in build.
So I thought the light thin sword didn't quite suit him, but-
"Hup."
Shunk!
I had to revise my opinion when I saw the thin sword he thrust out while taking a breath. The sword, shot like a bullet, pierced through a shield and hand, reaching the Adam's apple.
It wasn't a nimble thrust aiming for vital points, but a tough thrust that smashed through obstacles to take the enemy's life.
Every time the blue cloak fluttered, a bandit with a hole in his body rolled on the ground.
It seemed that the skills of mere bandits would not be able to stop him.
As I caught my breath and observed the flow of the battle, a knight approached me. It was the very knight who had been shooting arrows from the center of the charge formation.
I couldn't tell from afar, but up close, I could see he was wearing beautiful plate armor with gold decorations on the shoulders and chest.
Moreover, his helmet was shaped like a lion's face.
Somehow, this armor looks familiar...
Just as I was thinking that, the knight looked down at me and asked in a confident tone.
"Did you come from South Harbor too?"
'You too'... He must have already met Ellen and Mr. Luke.
Although I felt somewhat uncomfortable with his casual way of speaking, I carefully nodded.
"...Yes, I did."
"Get on behind me. I'll make room for you."
As the knight said this and reached out his hand, I shook my head and pointed to Grania.
"Please, my companion here first."
"Is she alive?"
"Ah,"
Suddenly alert, I quickly knelt down and put my ear to Grania's mouth.
A muffled breathing sound - Phew.
"Whew, she's alive."
"I see. Load her on the back."
As I lifted Grania in one go and loaded her onto the saddle, the knight shouted, “Randel!”.
At that call, another knight came running, and I was able to climb up behind him.
"Gather!"
At the order of the knight with gold decorations, the knights who had been rampaging wildly gathered in one place.
Except for one who was slumped over his horse and had handed the reins to a comrade, everyone else seemed fine.
On the other hand, of the approximately 150 bandits, nearly half had been killed in that short time, and the rest were fleeing. It was an unbelievable exchange ratio.
The blue-cloaked knight who had joined his comrades shouted.
"Look at the forest! They're coming in droves!"
As he said, the forest was full of torches emitting light. Perhaps the bandit leader or core executives were coming with their henchmen.
The large knight, Ankir, who had been calming his restless horse, suggested in a booming voice.
"How about we wipe them all out while we have the chance! It's rare to have an opportunity to face them on the plains!"
Some knights agreed with this opinion, but the gold-decorated knight firmly shook his head.
"No! Rescuing these mercenaries is our priority! Everyone, return to the camp!"
"Yes, sir!"
There were no objections. The knights immediately formed a diamond-shaped formation and began galloping north.
Ankir, the blue-cloaked knight, and the knights with horse armor took the rear, while the gold-decorated knight took the lead.
The pursuing bandits shot arrows, but their shabby composite bows couldn't pierce the thick plate armor.
Occasionally, when some got too close, a couple of knights would dash out, cut them down, and return.
This series of actions happened naturally without any special orders. These knights must have been working together for a long time.
I must have come to the right place.
Just as I was thinking that, a strangely familiar place came into view.
It was an encampment using overturned wagons and sharpened wooden stakes as walls.
In the center, a huge flag fluttered, embroidered with the profile of a golden lion standing on its hind legs.
The scene I had seen on a 2D screen now realized in reality was still novel.
My contemplation ended with a large shout erupting from inside the encampment.
Dozens of arrows followed, slicing through the night sky. Some flew low enough to graze a knight's helmet pummel, felling many of the pursuing bandits.
Having shaken off some of the bandits this way, the knights entered the camp through the passage.
"Now! Pull!"
At a sergeant's shout, about seven soldiers pulled on ropes.
Then, the wooden stakes lying low on the ground rose at an angle.
Crack!
"Gak!"
"Damn-!"
Four horses and riders were skewered like kebabs on the sharp wooden stakes.
Before the horses' sad neighing ended, soldiers waiting nearby rushed in all at once, thrusting their long spears.
Three or four bandits who had barely managed to stop their horses lost their lives to the spear tips.
"Re-retreat!"
"Fall back, fall back!"
Arrows rained down on the retreating bandits.
Looking back, I saw crossbowmen on overturned wagons and archers behind them continuously shooting arrows.
The bandit horde, having suffered great losses in an instant, retreated while cursing.
"Counterattack!"
"Burn it all down!"
The enraged bandits circled the camp, shooting arrows and throwing torches.
Most of the arrows were blocked by the shields raised by the soldiers, but the torches quickly grew in size as they burned the wagons and dry grass.
"Damn, water! Bring the water barrels!"
"But we don't have much drinking water..."
"Shut up with that nonsense!"
The panicked soldiers shouted busily, and even the dogs in cages barked loudly in response.
Seeing this, the gold-decorated knight also raised his voice, showcasing his uniquely clear tone.
"Rimond! Where is Master Rimond!"
As if in response to that shout, a blue figure appeared from somewhere.
That's - a water spirit, isn't it?
The spirit, made entirely of transparent water, took the form of a naked boy. Instead of a lower body, it had a swirling stream of water, flying freely through the air as if surfing.
The spirit circled the camp putting out fires, then rose high into the sky and slowly rotated. The swirling water stream spread out widely like a voluminous dress.
The sight of the faint moonlight scattering chaotically on the water curtain was incredibly mystical.
Perhaps intimidated by this spectacle?
The bandits circled the camp a few times before disappearing into the forest.
"Haah."
With the tension released, I sat down with a long sigh.