The Chivalrous Blade That Cuts Through Dark Fantasy
Fortunately, finding the elves captured by humans was not particularly difficult. It was because Lina could sense their presence. I nodded at her words. Indeed, Lina was no ordinary elf. According to the hunter, they had even mobilized an entire knight order to capture her. There must have been a compelling reason for it.
However, I soon shook off those idle thoughts. A massive fortress shrouded in deep twilight now loomed directly before us.
“Is this where you sense them?”
“Yes, that’s correct. They are definitely here.”
“Then let us begin at once.”
“How do you intend to proceed? A stealthy infiltration? Or an assassination?”
“I have committed no crime. How could I possibly sneak in like a scurrying rat?”
In a single instant, a flash of light erupted from my waist and bisected the enormous gate before my eyes.
Crack!Boom!
The severed gate collapsed without resistance. From behind the roar that shook the surroundings came the clatter of armor.
“Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!”
“Everyone, prepare for battle!”
“Do you truly believe you can handle this alone?”
“Of course. I humbly ask that you trust me with this task.”
“If that is the case, then I shall buy us some time as well.”
I hurled myself toward the collapsed gate where dust still billowed upward. My form surged forward like a shooting star. Blue gleams rose from within the dust cloud. The moment I burst through it, I severed the necks of the two lead knights in the blink of an eye.
With two knights felled instantly, the armored warriors, though shaken, began to form ranks with disciplined calm.
“...What is that thing?”
“A goblin? Just a goblin?”
Good. An opening has appeared.
If this damned racial limitation had any advantage at all, it was that the enemy would openly look down on me and show contempt. Of course the feeling was unpleasant, yet I had no intention of discarding the benefits that came with it.
Look at them now. Unable to believe they had been bested by a single goblin, they all wore stupefied expressions. I was not foolish enough to miss that gap.
I kicked off the ground, slipped into their formation in an instant, and swung my sword like the wind.
“Graaaaagh!!”
“What—what is this?! How can a mere goblin cut through armor?!”
“Stop him, no matter what it takes!!”
The knights were mercilessly swept away like autumn leaves beneath the fierce swordsmanship that rushed in like a blade storm. A few tried to counter by drawing up their mana, but I had predicted such resistance from the beginning.
I had already learned the details from the hunter. The fortress’s primary fighting force had left to search for Lina. Having reached the first-class realm, opponents of this level could not possibly stop me.
At least, that was what I thought at first.
At that moment, a warning bell rang inside my head. The sound of something tearing through the air followed.
I instinctively raised my sword like a shield.
Crack!
“Ugh?!”
The sound of my right arm breaking. Even after wringing out every ounce of my internal energy as if squeezing my crude dantian, the strike carried this much force.
Still, I somehow steadied my ragged breathing. A broken arm was regrettable, but unavoidable. The real problem was the owner of that blow.
I glanced sideways. What had flown at me with killing intent was a thrown spear.
“To block my thrown spear. You are no ordinary goblin.”
“Vice-Commander Lokan!!”
Damn it. He appeared faster than expected.
Even if the main force was absent, they would not have left the fortress’s defense to mere dogs. Yet he had emerged far sooner than anticipated. Cursing the vice-commander’s damnable diligence inwardly, I assumed a stance.
Oddly, however, he simply observed my movements. In that instant I clearly read the conflicted emotion dwelling in his eyes.
“...Why have you attacked the fortress?”
“You asked why I have dyed the fortress with blood?”
“That is correct. We are the order responsible for maintaining peace in the eastern region...”
“Nonsense.”
My broken right arm had been screaming in pain for some time, but I had no leisure to mind it now. This man called Lokan was clearly tormented. He seemed to be one of those rare humans who possessed a conscience.
If so, I needed to buy as much time as possible. If running my mouth could accomplish that, so much the better.
“The sorrowful cries of the weak you have trampled upon have reached my ears. How then could I close my eyes and cover my ears?”
“......”
“Though this body of mine is humble, to witness injustice and fail to act is not the way of chivalry. Therefore I stand here.”
That is my sword.
In a shabby old office, the middle-aged man who had been scribbling on parchment let out a deep sigh and set down his pen. He had become a knight to protect the kingdom’s justice, yet lately even that conviction seemed on the verge of breaking.
No matter that they were other races. Was it truly right to oppress the freedom of intelligent, emotional beings?
This is disloyalty. It is clearly an order from His Majesty. All I need to do is carry out my duty with loyalty. But......
He could not forget it no matter what. The burning forest. The screams laced with pain and resentment. In the end, Lokan could no longer endure it and reached for the liquor bottle again.
Liquor. Only liquor allowed him to forget that horrific scene.
Yet the small comfort brought by the drink did not last long.
Boom!!
At the tremendous roar, Lokan started and looked out the window. The gate was collapsing.
“Vice-Commander!!”
“What in the world is happening?!”
“There is an intruder!”
“How many are there?!”
“W-well... it’s one.”
“...What?”
At first he did not understand. But when he went out to the gate himself, he immediately grasped the meaning behind his subordinate’s vague report.
A short monster wearing green skin and a shabby triangular hat was tracing blue trajectories. The moment he saw his subordinates losing their lives to that beautiful and merciless sword, Lokan realized what he had to do.
He poured every ounce of his mana into the spear and hurled it at the goblin with all his strength. The spear of light tore through the air.
Boom!!
Yet something astonishing happened. The goblin he had expected to die in a single strike had somehow blocked even his thrown spear.
“To block my thrown spear. You are no ordinary goblin.”
“Vice-Commander Lokan!!”
“...Why have you attacked the fortress?”
He had thought it merely an unusual goblin. But the moment he saw its sword, Lokan had to change his mind. The trajectories were as lofty and clean as the vast blue sky. No insignificant goblin could wield such swordsmanship.
That was why he had asked the intruder for his reason—like a thief whose feet had grown restless.
“You asked why I have dyed the fortress with blood?”
“That is correct. We are the order responsible for maintaining peace in the eastern...”
“Nonsense.”
The cold reply was closer to a rebuke. Even though the opponent was nothing more than a trivial goblin, for some reason Lokan could not lift his head.
“The sorrowful cries of the weak you have trampled upon have reached my ears. How then could I close my eyes and cover my ears?”
“......”
“Though this body of mine is humble, to witness injustice and fail to act is not the way of chivalry. Therefore I stand here.”
That is my sword.
In that moment he felt a shock like a thunderbolt. Indeed, no matter how he considered it, what they were doing now was utterly wrong. Yet Lokan had gritted his teeth and looked away, believing it to be loyalty.
But was such loyalty truly right? If he were a genuine loyal subject, should he not risk his life to guide his lord onto the righteous path?
“...May I ask your name, sir?”
“I have no name to give the likes of you.”
“I am painfully aware that my deeds have not been honorable. Even so, I have tried to close my eyes and cover my ears.”
“......”
“But thanks to you, I have finally realized the truth. What I have done was not the loyalty of a faithful knight, but the negligence of a sycophant.”
Therefore, please tell me. I wish to know the name of the benefactor who granted me this enlightenment.
Perhaps those words stirred something in him. The goblin, who had been pondering silently for a moment, finally spoke.
“Dokgo Ryong.”
“A fine name. I am Lokan, Vice-Commander of the Bronze Knights.”
“What do you intend to do now?”
“First, should I not exert my full strength to stop the intruder who has invaded this fortress?”
Lokan lightly swung his one remaining spear and took a stance. No hesitation remained in his movements. Seeing this, Dokgo Ryong gripped his sword with both hands as well.
Everyone held their breath and watched the scene. They knew this fight was far beyond their ability to intervene.
At last, without any signal, Lokan and Dokgo Ryong charged toward each other with all their might.
Boom!!
A tremendous roar echoed throughout the fortress.