The Immortal Knight Episode 5

‘Easy. Too easy.’

Thud! Slice! Swish!!

Gerard strolled leisurely across Trevor Bridge, Shortsword in hand.

His red hair fluttered as he severed the Azrion soldiers' lifelines with calm murderous intent in his indifferent eyes.

If he spotted soldiers desperately trying to survive and killing Imperial soldiers, he would approach them, behead them, and pierce their hearts.

It had been an impenetrable wall.

A bridge they couldn't easily advance across due to the soldiers' determination to defend it with their lives.

Even the shadows, known for their exceptional skill in killing, struggled against the wall of corpses.

Then, the preparing wizard's spell was unleashed.

The river froze, and the Loden Empire's soldiers marched forward in formation, grandly advancing across it.

That alone was enough to shatter the Azrion soldiers' resolve to defend the bridge.

"N-No way!"

"Loden soldiers are crossing the river!"

"W-We ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠can't hold out like this..."

Fear gnawed at the soldiers defending the bridge. It wasn't difficult to cut down soldiers whose will had been broken.

Cut, stab, and slash.

Gerard, along with the shadows who followed him, and the soldiers of the Loden Empire, did just that.

They pushed back the Azrion soldiers defending the bridge.

‘Did they say they'd give that water-crazed wizard the authority to control the rivers of this land as he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pleases?’

It was a wiser decision than offering a month's worth of the unit's pay.

It was a promise that would only be honored when Azrion was annexed into the Loden territory.

And since that wouldn't happen in a day or two, and the main objective of this battle was to capture Northheim and seize Philos Territory's fertile lands.

While slowly eroding the kingdom's territory, corrupting a single wizard was nothing.

In other words, the wizard, who thought he was above humans and acted arrogantly, would gain nothing from this war.

‘I'll at least let him preserve his life so he doesn't die.’

Gerard finished by mercilessly beheading the last Azrion soldier who was holding out at the end of the bridge.

He intended to lead his unit across the ice to help the Imperial army that was approaching.

But before he could even let out a hearty shout, a thunderous noise erupted from under the bridge.

Kugugugung-!!

At the same time, the screams of the Imperial soldiers pierced his eardrums.

"What is this?!"

Gerard immediately climbed onto the bridge railing and looked towards where the wizard had been stationed.

"Aaaaargh!!! Graul!!!"

Gerard roared, witnessing the wizard's death. In his eyes, it looked as if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Graul and his unit members had killed the wizard.

"Betrayal?!"

"Those crazy bastards!! I knew something was fishy about those talentless guys being in the unit!!"

"That's a disrespectful statement towards His Excellency. Watch your mouth! Didn't we all get in through His Excellency's thorough background checks?!"

"Tch. Background checks, my ass! Those losers guarding Norfin were from noble families, so they didn't have thorough screening procedures like us!"

"Everyone, quiet!"

Gerard silenced the confused unit members.

He turned and added,

"We retreat."

There was no time to dawdle.

As soon as the magic was dispelled, the royal army quickly gathered its forces and prepared to advance towards the bridge.

‘There's no chance of winning like this.’

He had to save the hundreds of surviving Imperial soldiers for now.

Clatter! Clatter!

Someone on horseback, with angry eyes, galloped towards Gerard, who was retreating.

"Gerard!!! What is the meaning of this?!!!"

It was Williams, the battalion commander in charge of this Northheim circumvention operation.

Heeheeheeing-!!

Williams, with a red eagle emblem on his full plate shoulder, stopped his horse, drew his sword, and pointed it at Gerard.

"Norfin is dead!! The soldiers have been annihilated!! What are you going to do about this!! What are you going to do!! Your unit will commit suicide on the spot!!!"

Gerard maintained his composure and said to the agitated Williams.

"Calm down. We don't have time for this if we don't want to be annihilated."

"You bastard!! Gerard!! Even if the Commander-in-Chief entrusted you with the command of the Shadow Unit! The operational control ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠here is my responsibility! How dare a lowly man like you!!"

Williams tried to suppress Gerard with his rank. But the resounding shouts of the royal army coming from across the bridge reached his ears.

This was no time to argue.

"There is a traitor among Norfin's guards. I will kill myself after the traitor is identified, so please direct the retreat, Battalion Commander Williams."

Gerard spoke firmly once more. His eyes were overflowing with murderous intent.

"Kuh... ! Fine! I'll deal with you under military law after we get through this crisis!"

Williams took a step back, suppressing his anger, as he imagined his neck being pierced.

Gerard saluted Williams and ran towards the scene of the wizard's murder with his unit members, only about a hundred of whom had survived.

Williams ordered the remaining troops on the bridge to pile up the corpses and completely block the path before retreating.

Walking a path of death.

The sensation of his entire body burning, along with a vision as if walking through the abyss, made him aware of the path of death.

To be aware.

Would that be possible if it were a complete death?

He couldn't know from the current situation.

His heart was torn.

The blood from his entire body gushed out.

He faced darkness with the feeling of being thrown into a living fire.

‘Fortunately, I saved my neck.’

Perhaps the enemies had cut off his head, but he wasn't in a state to feel such sensations.

But he was certain that his head hadn't been severed.

The enemies' resentful voices flowed in as he was pierced by flying spears.

"All this for just one of these things."

"Seeing him die, it doesn't seem like his parents were Ghouls."

"Is this the time for jokes? We're all dead men?!"

"Should we at least take his head and frame Gerard as a spy?"

Rian was quite puzzled by the current situation where he could hear the shadows' voices.

It was different from before.

When his heart was attacked, all functions were lost. It felt like only a single point of consciousness was left in the dark world.

But now?

It felt like his consciousness was staying in place.

‘Was the attack that pierced my heart shallow?’

Even so, there was enough reason for his heart to stop. He felt it, and he also experienced the severing of consciousness.

But his consciousness returned as quickly as blinking an eye.

His faintly alive hearing picked up the surrounding sounds.

He felt the heat that had been scorching his body gradually subside and cool down.

He was aware that he was alive.

‘But what if my head is cut off?’

They were discussing separating his head. He hoped Mongclay would move his troops before that happened.

Unless he was an idiot, he wouldn't think of letting the remaining Imperial troops retreat like this.

Rian became anxious, fearing that his head would be cut off this time. He even thought that it might be better to be unconscious.

That's when it happened.

"We don't have to! Look! Gerard is coming!!"

"That... something about the atmosphere is ominous. What if he frames us as spies instead?"

"Do we have time for this here? Look over there. Azrion soldiers are gathering towards the bridge! No matter what, we can't stay here like this!"

The terrified voices of the shadows guarding the wizard reached Rian's ears.

First, he avoided the immediate danger of having his head cut off.

It seemed that the guards were at a disadvantage, and they probably lacked the ability to frame Gerard as a spy.

Nevertheless, they attempted a reversal.

"We caught Gerard's spy!! Gerard planted a spy among us and drove the wizard to his death!!"

Graul shouted with a cracking voice.

When that didn't work, he grabbed Rian Keide's hair, who was kneeling and facing death, and shouted once more.

"Look at this!! This bastard mocked us and killed the wizard!! Gerard over there colluded with Azrion!! This is the proof!!"

Gerard didn't react and arrived in front of them with his unit members.

Gerard's hundred or so subordinates surrounded Graul and his unit members, who numbered only twelve.

They were at a disadvantage in terms of numbers as well.

Nevertheless, Graul accused Gerard of being behind the wizard's murder and presented Rian Keide as evidence.

But the dead have no voice.

There was no guarantee that those who were with Gerard would be on his side, but Rian Keide, who could prove Graul's appeal, was still with his heart stopped.

"Arrest them."

Gerard's order was given.

"You are a jerk!"! That's not it! This bastard knew Gerard! He approached us disguised in an Imperial army uniform!!"

Graul resisted.

The others also had distorted expressions due to their resentment, but at the same time, they trembled with fear.

"......"

Gerard's gaze flicked towards Rian Keide.

‘He looks familiar?’

A face he seemed to have seen somewhere.

It was hard to distinguish properly because it was covered in blood, but such dark black hair wasn't common.

Gerard couldn't shake the feeling that he definitely knew this person.

But even so.

He couldn't say that he knew this black-haired corpse here. He was a person who was not in his memory, and a person who should not be in his memory.

"If you were born into a mediocre noble family, you should have made a bloody effort. You can't escape the price for failing to protect Norfin with thirty people."

"How dare a lowly thing like you talk about status in front of me!!!"

Graul's reason snapped.

He charged at Gerard with the determination to kill him. A nearby unit member tried to stop him.

"No time. I'll do it."

Gerard met Graul, who was charging at him. It was a clash of hot murderous intent and cold murderous intent.

But the intense sound was omitted.

Slice-

Graul's neck was cleanly severed.

Gerard shook off Graul's blood from his sword and began to speak.

"A pursuit will follow. We'll ask their families about the betrayal later, and the suspected traitors will be summarily judged as punishment for the mission failure."

Gerard's subordinates executed those who had been in charge of guarding the wizard according to his orders.

And, being conscious of the pursuit by the Azrion soldiers crossing the bridge, he ordered his unit members to retreat.

As he was following behind them, he felt an unknown sense of unease and looked back again.

"......"

His gaze reached Rian Keide. He met the eyes that were like black pearls, clouded by death.

It was definitely a look of death, but for some reason, it felt like they would come alive again.

"Ah!"

Gerard finally remembered Rian, who had resisted until the end in the Dandelion Plains.

But that was impossible.

He had definitely taken his life, so there was no reason for him to be here.

‘A twin?’

Gerard's thoughts turned to that. Otherwise, it would mean that this uncommon face had not died and had come back to life to kill his unit members and even the wizard.

That was absurd.

So, it was a twin.

It was reasonable to assume that he was an Azrion spy disguised as an Imperial soldier.

The operation had been leaked by a spy, and he judged that the families of the guards were likely behind it.

‘Good. It's a sufficient scenario for purging the trashy nobles.’

Haha!

Gerard organized his thoughts and quickly ran towards his unit members.

Creak-. Creak-.

Slither-.

Without realizing that Rian's body was undergoing active regeneration.