017. Ambush 1
The knights around them gaped in shock at Bin's sudden attack.
"……!"
They couldn't even open their mouths, merely alternating stunned glances between Bin and the fallen Donka.
Bin still had the face of a boy, but that notion evaporated under his icy glare.
Staring at Donka's severed head, the knights were at a complete loss.
Young Master Bin killed Sir Donka…….
Sir Donka, a spy?
The fifty-man captain, a spy? No way. This has to be a mistake……!
The knights' minds reeled in confusion.
Donka's death—the man they'd fought alongside for so long. And the killer was none other than Bin, pure-blooded son of the Bascon house.
Part of them wanted to punish him right then and there. But the word "spy" rooted them in place.
In stark contrast to their hesitation, Bin's eyes burned with unwavering resolve.
You might not know, but I remember it clearly. Before my regression, on the day the Seventh Squad headed to the Royal Tomb. They were all wiped out.
Bin had felt an unshakable unease ever since joining this mission.
The annihilation of fifty men from the Seventh Squad.
How could there be zero survivors with a 4th Class knight fifty-man captain among them?
Bin had puzzled over the reason for their total wipeout.
Simplifying it, there were two possibilities: monsters or humans.
Given the complete annihilation, it made more sense that they'd been surrounded by enemy forces.
But there's one major flaw in that theory.
Assuming an enemy ambush, they'd need knowledge of the terrain and the squad's position. An impromptu strike would have clear limits.
So how had they known the Bascon Seventh Squad was heading to the Royal Tomb and set up an ambush?
After much deliberation, only one answer emerged: an internal spy.
And it would have to be someone with authority over the route—like the mission commander.
Bin had immediately suspected Donka.
And sure enough, the suspicious orders aligned perfectly with his hunch.
Choosing steep paths to drain stamina. Lighting fires and raising flags high to expose our position to the enemy.
Even if he'd noticed, he couldn't have acted on it. The knights' familiarity and trust in Donka ran too deep.
The frequent breaks, always considerate of their travel time and the men's conditions.
By the time Bin joined the Seventh Squad for the mission, it was too late to sway their loyalty.
So he'd bided his time for this exact moment—when Donka's group approached the Seventh Squad.
Bin glanced at Donka's head on the ground, then hurled his Bow Sword into the underbrush.
Empowered by his surging strength, the blade shot forward like an arrow.
Swish—
A cry of agony erupted from the bushes.
"Urk, mmph!"
A gurgling sound, like something caught in the throat.
Bin's Bow Sword had pierced an enemy's neck.
At the noise, the Seventh Squad knights raised their weapons, scanning the surroundings.
"Someone's nearby."
"So Donka really was a spy……."
Before they could finish, a massive figure burst from the underbrush.
"B-brother!"
Tears streaming down his face, he rushed to Donka's headless corpse.
"We just had to finish this one job, and you could've gone back to that hometown you've waited so long for……."
He caressed what remained of Donka's face, his eyes reddening.
Then he approached the body, lifted the iron mace from it, and glared at Bin.
"I'll smash your skull with this and appease my brother's wrath."
Even as he strode into the heart of the Seventh Squad, no one dared strike first.
He was fat, with an enormous mouth—and he bore an uncanny resemblance to the dead Donka.
Tenka.
A 4th Class knight like Donka, his red armor stood out starkly.
The Seventh Squad stared at Tenka in bewilderment.
"Red armor…… Grander's Red Squad!"
"So Donka really was…… with the Grander family!"
"No, that can't be……."
As the Seventh Squad struggled to process it, more red-armored knights poured from the bushes.
They swiftly targeted the black-armored Seventh Squad knights.
Blood sprayed like fountains in an instant.
Stab! Stab!
The rest break turned into a battlefield before they knew it.
Limbs and heads rolled across the ground, staining everything red.
Clang! Thud!
"Ngh……."
"Urgh……!"
The mountain path echoed with the Seventh Squad's screams.
Exploiting the chaos, Red Squad swords and spears hammered relentlessly.
When the Seventh Squad blocked a blade from the left on reflex, a spear thrust from the right exploited the gap.
Surrounded on all sides, they couldn't predict the attacks.
It was a desperate crisis.
As momentum swung toward the Red Squad, Bin drew Shabest.
I won't go down easy.
Scanning his surroundings, Bin slashed Shabest at the ground repeatedly.
A massive ice wall erupted from the earth.
Thud. Thud.
The Red Squad faltered before the transparent barrier blocking their path.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"What's this ice wall?"
As the Red Squad panicked, Bin shouted.
"Everyone, back against the ice wall! Guard front and flanks. Move!"
The Seventh Squad sprang into action at his command.
Some looked puzzled, but Bin's confident voice moved their bodies instinctively.
Incredible leadership—no one would believe he was only fifteen.
The Red Squad, still arrogant, pressed forward.
"Think a puny ice wall at your backs changes anything?"
The ice wall rising behind the Seventh Squad seemed insignificant, but it made all the difference.
It allowed them to reform their encircled formation, blocking rear attacks from their blind spots.
"Avenge our fallen brothers! We'll hold the front—you take the sides."
"You focus on yours. We'll hold the flanks with our lives."
With the massive ice wall at their backs, the Seventh Squad raised spears, swords, and clubs…… facing front and sides.
Unlike the omnidirectional assaults before, the ice blocked their rear—no need to glance back.
They now fought the Red Squad on even footing.
Clang! Clang!
Spears and blades clashed, but the Seventh Squad's line held firm.
Still, one Red Squad member smirked viciously and swung his massive axe with full force.
"Can you Black Wolf rabble really block this?"
The Seventh Squad knight crossed his swords in an X to meet the descending axe.
Clang!
Then he uncrossed one blade and thrust straight ahead.
Stab!
The sharp edge plunged into the axeman's heart.
Dazed by the agony, the Red Squad member vomited blood and collapsed.
Thud!
As the red-armored body hit the dirt, the dual-sword knight declared.
"This is a Bascon knight for you, Red Squad scum!"
Bin's single ice wall was shifting the tide.
Yet the Red Squad still held the advantage. Nearly twenty Black Wolves down, leaving thirty against their fifty.
Their commander's rank was higher too.
Undaunted, Bin plunged into the fray.
Slicing sounds followed soon after.
Swish— Swish—
Arms and heads flew into the air amid geysers of blood.
Stab. Stab.
Other Red Squad knights rushed to stop him.
"You bastard!"
"No more rampaging!"
Two long spears hurtled toward Bin.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
But by the time they struck, he'd already slipped past, severing both necks.
Their heads slowly parted from their bodies as the knights wore ghostly expressions of terror.
"When did he……."
"Damn it……."
More Red Squad joined, raining swords on Bin.
Relentless assault.
But Bin wasn't one to fall easily.
He pressed down the attacker's arm, deflecting the sword, then drove Shabest into his solar plexus.
Stab!
"Urgh…… ack!"
The man rolled his eyes in pain and dropped to his knees.
Seeing Bin's agile movements, the Red Squad's morale plummeted.
"F-fast."
"Is that the true blood of the Bascon house……?"
A speed leagues beyond a typical 5th Class knight.
To them, it was like a sleek predator tearing through their ranks.
Bin smirked at their dumbfounded faces. On his belt, Codic's cheekbone quivered ecstatically.
"Behold, this is my lord! Bow before him!"
Slash!
Ignoring Codic's nonsense, Bin kept moving—slashing, carving, stabbing through the Red Squad.
The tide turned in an instant.
Realizing Bin was beyond them, the Red Squad shot glances at Tenka—a plea for aid.
Tenka, too, stared at Bin with bulging eyes.
"Taking down a Red Squad member in one blow! To fall so pathetically……."
No ordinary 5th Class knight could do that.
Top ten among 5th Classers, at least. Or is it that weapon?
Tenka's gaze flicked to Shabest.
A blade exhaling white frost. He figured a well-forged superior weapon explained the prowess in a 5th Classer's hands.
To secure victory, Tenka waited.
He knew using a weapon beyond his level would backfire.
Despite his bulk, Tenka was remarkably calm.
Suppressing his rage over his brother's death, he watched for an opening.
Even a sudden strike wouldn't fell him easily. Don't underestimate a 5th Classer. Need to calm down more. Hoo.
Forcing deep breaths, he maintained composure.
To avoid rashness that would cost him his head.
Bin's momentum was that intimidating.
"Hoo."
Tenka inhaled deeply once more.
Yes, just a bit longer.
He was regaining his normal breathing rhythm.
Meanwhile, sweat beaded on Bin's forehead as he mowed down the Red Squad.
The moment Bin swung Shabest to decapitate another—
A black shadow loomed behind him.
Tenka.
Gooseflesh-inducing killing intent poured from him as he swung his frost-mana-clad iron mace, glowing white.
"You must be worn out swinging that superior weapon. Time to avenge my brother!"
As Tenka's strike closed in, Bin's extended left arm was too slow to recall.
Yet, despite it all, the corner of Bin's mouth curled upward.