Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Phantom Thief Dauphin (19) - What the Thief Unleashed
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"The knights have lost their minds! The knights are trying to kill us all!!"
"Eileen! Max! Where are you!! Answer me!!"
"R-Run!! If you stay here, we're all dead!!"
After the declaration of war echoed throughout Levruk.
The terrified slum dwellers began fleeing in droves.
They were desperate to escape the district they lived in and head somewhere else.
However, those who reached the outskirts of the slums first had no choice but to feel dismayed.
"Th-The roads are blocked...?"
Debris, collapsed building rubble, even carriages.
All sorts of obstacles were blocking the slum residents from escaping outside.
If someone was determined to climb over the barricades, one or two might slip away, but it was utterly impossible for everyone in the slums to escape.
The main thoroughfares were lined with fully armed regular knights, squires, and support troops in formation. Their eyes burned with a bizarre excitement and fervor.
"Advance."
"Yes, sir!!"
Boom!
Each time the Sarnos Knight Order stepped forward in unison, the ground shook violently, sending heavy shockwaves rippling through the surroundings.
"Uh, ugh, uwaaaaaah!"
The panicked citizens fled in the opposite direction from the knights, but the order made no effort to chase them down.
The knights were currently arrayed in a formation that encircled the slums.
Unless they broke through the encirclement itself, the refugees had no choice but to gradually lose escape routes and bunch up in one spot.
Of course, that didn't mean the knights were just strolling along peacefully.
Krunch! Crunch! Crash!
They kicked over street stalls, smashed doors, trashed building interiors, or outright demolished entire structures.
The pretext was searching for Dauphin, who might be hiding inside, but anyone could see it was just an excuse.
A show of force.
A reminder to Dauphin and Levruk's citizens alike of what the knight order was—and the violence they wielded.
And it was effective. Citizens who had been hurling curses and glares at the knights just that morning had fallen deathly silent.
Not just those inside the slums, but the onlookers beyond the encirclement as well.
The sight of knights literally dismantling buildings with their bare bodies and turning them to rubble was more than enough to instinctively terrify ordinary folk.
As if sensing the mood, the knights grew even more savage and intense as time passed.
They had been under all sorts of stress lately, so smashing whatever was in reach felt incredibly refreshing.
Watching the citizens scream and flail in desperate attempts to flee, the knights grinned with madness gleaming in their eyes.
Yes.
This was the proper order of things.
It was the previous situation that had been abnormal—baseborn scum daring to hurl abuse and rage at the strong and noble knights!
"Waaah!"
"No, Max!!"
One fleeing boy tripped and burst into tears.
The man who seemed to be his father tried to help him up and run, but with another little girl cradled in one arm, his movements were sluggish.
A predatory gleam entered the knights' eyes.
Smashing buildings and furniture to terrorize people had been fun enough, but now it was time for some real blood.
The raised sword came swinging down.
"—I must admit to my mistake."
But before the blade could reach the family, a shadow shot in from somewhere and slammed into the knight with full force.
Wham!
One knight tumbled backward, while mannequin-like dolls scooped up the man and children to evacuate them.
The man who boldly positioned himself between the fleeing dolls and the knight order muttered in a voice laced with gloom.
"Even so, I never imagined those who dare call themselves 'knights' could stoop to such vile, brutish, shameless depths."
Wine-red suit. Wide-brimmed hat. Half-cloak draping from below his right shoulder.
His trademark roguish smile was gone, replaced by icy cold eyes. Spotting Dauphin, the Sarnos Knight Order went berserk.
"It's Dauphin! Dauphin's here!!"
"You filthy thief! Do you have any idea what humiliation you've put us through!?"
"We got caught off-guard last time, but it won't be the same now!!"
Boom!
Three knights kicked off the ground simultaneously, their bodies shooting forward like arrows.
Speeds and movements more akin to beasts than men.
Yet Dauphin effortlessly dodged their swinging blades while embedding several trump cards into their armor.
Crackle!
Intense lightning surged from the cards, forcibly halting the knights and forcing them to their knees.
It looked like a perfect takedown at a glance, but Dauphin, who had made the cards himself, knew better.
Enough to knock out commoners, sure—but against rank-4 knights, temporary paralysis was the limit.
As Dauphin moved in for the finishing blows, he was forced to halt.
The squires, witnessing the regular knights go down, unleashed a volley of crossbow bolts at him from the rear.
Thwip!
The evasion cost him only a moment, but in that instant, another knight appeared and swung at him.
Deal with that one, and the next appeared.
Deal with the next, and yet another.
The number of attackers targeting Dauphin only grew with time, and even for him, subduing them all at once was impossible.
"Don't be scared! He's only good at running—his firepower isn't that high!!"
"Don't skimp on mana! Keep your enhancements maxed out! Tank the small stuff!!"
If Dauphin had chipped away at the order with his specialties—ambush, deception, hit-and-run—he might have had a chance.
No need to look far; he'd already toyed with the assembled knights at the mansion before.
Which meant facing them head-on in open battle was reckless, even for Dauphin.
Yet in this situation, he couldn't flee.
The moment he vanished again, the Sarnos Knight Order would slaughter the citizens without hesitation.
And still, Dauphin didn't give up.
Even as his stock of magic tools dwindled rapidly.
Even as his pristine suit grew filthy with blood and dust.
Even as wounds covered his body, leaving barely a patch of intact skin.
He fought on, toppling one more knight, buying just a little more time for people to escape.
"Took you long enough. Finally face-to-face with that mug of yours."
As if mocking Dauphin's struggles, the knight captain's sword severed his right arm.
Slash!
Blood sprayed like a fountain, and the half-cloak that had draped his upper body hit the dirt.
The cloak that blocked sword auras, the custom suit that enhanced his body—none of it meant a thing against rank-5 sword force slicing through like tofu.
Clutching the stump of his lost arm, Dauphin spoke.
"I get it—you wanted to draw me out. But if that's the case, wasn't the threat alone enough? You could've just kept demanding I show up, and I would've appeared gladly without you ever pointing swords at these people!"
"Maybe. But why should I?"
"What?"
The knight captain glared at Dauphin with rage-filled eyes and continued.
"This city needs a warning. A warning against treating the Sarnos Knight Order with contempt, daring to show discontent with our actions. We can't kill every citizen, but an example or two is necessary."
His voice held no tremor—pure conviction.
The name Sarnos Knight Order carried too much weight.
If killing a few slum rats could restore the awe they deserved, he wouldn't hesitate for a second. He truly believed it.
"—You think I'll let that happen?"
And in this city was someone who could never accept the knight captain's logic.
Vmmm!
Dalia's spear hurtled toward the knight captain.
He twisted his body just enough to evade, then twitched an eyebrow upon seeing the intruder.
"Escaped prisoner. Assault on a superior. Aiding a heinous criminal. Where do I even start? Have you finally lost your mind? Or are you here to confess you're Dauphin's accomplice? Speak. Eighth Squad Leader."
"Neither. I'm here as this city's guard, stopping 'thieves' who threaten citizens' lives."
"That makes even less sense. Isn't the thief right behind you?"
"No, this man's a criminal, sure—but he's not the thief I need to catch right now."
Step.
In everyday clothes, no armor.
No face mask like usual, just gripping her spear.
Dalia declared it without hesitation or doubt.
"—Knight Captain. No, Sarnos Knight Order. You are the thieves masquerading as knights."
Someone gulped.
A mere provincial guard calling the family-renowned knight order a 'band of thieves'—no one could believe their eyes.
And the targets themselves?
"...Don't think you'll die easy, wench."
Fury.
No—seething rage was more apt.
The captain, vice-captain, every knight—they all bristled at Dalia's words, radiating murderous intent.
Yet Dalia showed no fear.
Irked by her composure, one regular knight stepped forward.
"Captain! No need for you to get your hands dirty! Leave the wench to me!"
The captain eyed him briefly, then grunted.
"Permission granted. But don't take too long."
"Thank you!"
The authorized knight glared at Dalia with blazing eyes.
Humiliated when she'd overpowered him during her arrest, he burned to repay that shame now.
Whoosh!
No matter Dalia's raw strength, it meant nothing if he didn't let her land a hit.
The knight zigzagged toward her in a rush.
Dalia stood frozen, seemingly unable to track his erratic path. A smug grin curled his lips.
'Stupid bitch. You'll regret charging into battle without even armor!'
A supreme longsword gifted by Count Sarnos, further empowered by mana, swung in a cleaving strike.
A blow that could slice a massive log like butter—it struck Dalia's shoulder and—
Stopped.
"?"
A question mark filled the knight's mind.
But before he could process it, Dalia's spear whipped into his side.
No exaggeration—it looked preferable to getting hit by a carriage.
The knight order's prized armor crumpled like flimsy tin, flesh, bone, and organs crushed to match.
Unable to fully absorb the impact, the knight's body skipped across the ground like a stone, limbs twisting grotesquely with each bounce.
BOOM! Crash!
A wooden building that had taken knights multiple practiced strikes to dismantle collapsed in one hit.
As everyone gaped in stunned silence at the absurdity.
Dalia stated flatly.
"When subduing criminals within city limits, live capture is preferred. However, if the guard's life or other citizens' are at risk, lethal force is permitted without issue."
A natural-born powerhouse who had always restrained her violence with order and discipline declared it to those drunk on brutality.
"Got it? Come at me, you thieving scum."