Chapter 11: Felling the Holy Knight of Cardia
This time, the barbarians had invaded the Empire's small city of Cardia. But with only a few hundred of them, the city folk figured they'd all get wiped out at the walls.
Preeeeeeeee!!!!
"W-what is this?!"
"Heavens preserve us…."
It hadn't even been an hour since the emergency bells rang. Yet the magical whistle signaling the walls' fall echoed across the entire city. In this dire situation, even the nobles in the upscale districts began evacuating in a panic.
"L-Lady Carmen!! We must flee at once!!"
"………."
The holy knight who believed in the Heavenly God, Carmen, silently checked her gear. No matter how much her servant pleaded, she ignored him completely.
Frustrated to the point of bursting, the servant tried desperately to drag her away.
Thwack!!!
"Guh?!"
"How dare a mere servant order God's knight!!"
Instead, Carmen knocked him flat and finished her preparations. Her reason for acting this way was simple.
This is a trial. A trial from the Heavenly God that I must overcome.
These heretics and barbarians had breached the walls at an absurd speed. Where was their ultimate target? Carmen, who knew the answer, headed for the grand cathedral—unlike the fleeing priests.
Reaching the massive circular ring symbolizing the Heavenly God, she prayed.
"Heavenly God, I will keep these heretics from defiling this place…."
Determined to defend the cathedral from evil, she waited calmly no matter what noises came from outside.
And her patience was rewarded.
"What's this inside too…."
"Cracks in the chairs?!"
"Heh heh heh… Think those are real gold?"
"Probably just gold leaf."
As expected, the utterly vulgar barbarians entered the cathedral. With the stage set under the Heavenly God's watchful eye, Carmen stepped forward honorably to face them.
But all she got in return was mockery.
"Heh heh heh… Hypocrite like you shouldn't be talking."
"What do you─?!"
"How much did you exploit to get that hair and skin? And did those shiny armor and weapons grow from the ground?"
Furious beyond measure, she lunged to slay the thug at the front. But the hulking barbarian casually deflected her sword with his shield.
And then he hurled an insult no holy knight could endure.
"I'll wipe away all your sins!!"
"You blasphemer─!!"
Thus, Ulfrik and Carmen clashed.
Among knights, Carmen was blessed by the god himself. In that split second, she swung her sword ten times—a truly transcendent warrior.
But what was this thing in front of her?
Krrrrrrrack!!! Boom!!
He didn't just react to her attacks—he deflected them all with his shield. Then Ulfrik's axe came flying at Carmen.
Of course, she tried to parry it.
Kaboom!!
"Ugh?!"
It felt like a massive boulder crashing down on her. The sudden, overwhelming impact would topple even the most seasoned knight's stance.
Exposing her to Ulfrik's follow-up.
"Reariot!!!"
His shield-bearing arm smashed straight into Carmen. Rolling across the floor, breathless for a moment, she quickly regained her footing.
But Ulfrik held back on further attacks.
And dropped all his weapons.
"Cough… W-what are you…!"
"Lads, greatsword."
"Ha!"
The Vikings watching their honorable duel tossed a greatsword to Ulfrik.
Thud!!!
"Now we're equal, right?"
"W-what?!"
"Shields are cheating in a duel like this."
Infuriated by Ulfrik's patronizing tone, Carmen charged. But Ulfrik still dominated.
So she played her final card. Ripping off the Heavenly God's emblem from her neck, she slammed it into her heart.
A brilliant glow enveloped her body, a halo appearing above her head.
Empowered, Carmen moved on another level entirely. In the ensuing clash, she deeply gashed Ulfrik's abdomen.
Slash!!!
The thrill and sensation of murder seeped through her sword into her skin. This would dispatch the blasphemous heretic barbarian─
Chilling!
Her foe's murderous glare still pierced her vividly.
"Is that all you and your Heavenly God have got?!"
"H-how?!"
He should be collapsing, spilling his guts. Yet Ulfrik was the strongest among Berserkrs—he wouldn't die unless decapitated or instantly killed.
"To kill me, you'd need full-focus breathing or something!!"
This time, uncontrollable savage power erupted from Ulfrik's body. Carmen tried blocking his ferocious greatsword swings.
But his brute force and madness overwhelmed her bit by bit. Even the Heavenly God's blessing faltered, fading away.
I-it can't end like this!
Carmen couldn't surpass the trial. As death loomed, fear clouded her vision.
Missing Ulfrik's move cost her—a fist buried into her jaw.
Crack!!
As Carmen's body launched into the air, Ulfrik braced himself and swung his greatsword with every ounce of strength.
That devastating strike not only cleaved her but shattered the cathedral ceiling with the shockwave.
Man… Holy knights really are the elite of knights. Who'd have thought she'd slash my gut in that split-second opening!
If a young one like her is this good, I'm even more pumped for fights against veteran holy knights!
Anyway….
"Why are you lot standing around gawking?"
"N-no, Drengr! How did you do that just now?!"
"That massive something from the greatsword─!!"
When I cleaved the holy knight mid-air, some sword aura thing shot out and blew a hole in the ceiling. Guess even these warrior lads couldn't resist such a cool move.
I played it off casually since I didn't know how to explain it.
"In the end, spirit trumps all."
"Spirit, as expected!"
"Groooan… When will we get spirit like you, Drengr…."
"Enough. Let's loot this place quick."
"Uh… Ulfrik? What about that holy knight's corpse over there?"
"Her gear's all smashed anyway. Leave it. The hypocrites will clean it up when they come back."
With that, we thoroughly stripped the cathedral and raced to join the other warriors.
They were battling guards, so we finished them off and assessed the situation.
"Sorry, Drengr! We heard the explosion and tried rushing to the cathedral, but these guys─"
"Forget it. What's our force status?"
"Too many serious injuries."
"Uh… No deaths?"
"None!"
"Pfft, our ancestors are the best."
Unlike that stingy Heavenly God, our ancestors showered us with power. The loot from the cathedral turned all serious wounds into minor ones.
No horses to pull the wagons? No problem—we had manpower. Vikings stronger and faster than horses grabbed the wagons, and we were ready.
"Everyone!! Reverse charge!!!"
"Argh!!"
Before heading to the upscale district, we'd posted warriors at intervals. Just follow the pre-planned retreat route!!
Soon, the Vikings guarding the route came into view!
"Ulfrik!"
"Success?!"
"Obviously!! You too, let's go!!"
"Yes sir!"
Enemy corpses littering the ground showed they'd fought hard too!
We linked up with all warriors and reached the original wall area.
Naturally, guards were trying to retake it. We wiped them out before escaping the city.
Racing across the fields, we took in the scenery. Smoke from the burning city blanketed the area.
And the glorious sunset celebrated our victory.
"Hahaha! This is the Viking life!"
"We think so too, Drengr!!!"
"Look!! River and longships over there!"
"Then homeward!!"
"Woooooo!!"
Thus, our small-city geunbbae succeeded in a single day. Sure, reinforcements from nearby nobles appeared while loading the longships.
"Row!!!"
"Ha!"
Our oars outpace your moves!!!
While Ulfrik and the Bearclaw Tribe warriors shook off the reinforcements…
The Empire's small city, Cardia, had been plundered by a mere few hundred barbarians.
In just one day.
Boom!!
"What nonsense is this!!!"
"D-Duke, please calm down…."
"Steward!! Could you stay calm hearing this?!"
The head of the Erben ducal house in the northern Empire, Nebian Erben, flew into such a rage that vulgar words escaped him upon the report.
"A mere!! A mere day! And in that short time, hundreds of barbarians penetrated deep into the city and looted the cathedral!!"
"I-I don't understand it either…."
This incident was a catastrophe among catastrophes, one destined for the history books.
"How will our descendants view this…."
But the bad news wasn't over. Reading the report on casualties and injuries, Nebian spotted odd text.
[Enemy Casualties: Unconfirmed.]
"What's this?!"
"W-we'll explain."
"While securing the city after the raid, not a single barbarian corpse was found."
Erben's mind blanked for a moment.
Then, with a deep sigh, he pieced it together.
"So the city got trashed without capturing a single enemy… Is that it? What were the nearby houses doing?"
"Neighboring families sent reinforcements swiftly, but…."
"Enough."
A chill voice filled the study. Erben realized his rage had peaked into cold calm.
At last, he spoke icily.
"Summon all the vassals immediately."
The duke ordered them to assemble above and below.