How to Live as a Wandering Knight

Contrary to Johan’s subordinates looking bewildered, the cultists were filled with confidence. There was faith and madness, but that was also because the situation was objectively advantageous for them right now.

The duke’s subordinates were scattered around, having just finished eating and drinking, and the main force’s soldiers were waiting on the other side of the village.

They could subdue the duke and take him prisoner before he could run over here.

If they captured the duke, that would recover all the damage they suffered from this punitive campaign. Considering the duke’s fame, none of the expedition’s nobles would dare ignore him or treat him recklessly.

“Get him! Get. . .”

Before he could even finish speaking, a cultist’s blood sprayed into the air as he collapsed backward. There was a dull sound as his skull shattered. The cultists looked forward in a panic, unable to figure out what had flown toward them and crushed their comrade’s skull.

“A. . . A drinking cup!”

“???”

Throwing a cheap, flimsy drinking cup made of metal and shattering the head inside a helmet with it.

These weren’t just cultists; they were men who had received proper training and knew how to fight while armed. And yet, they fell without even being able to react.

“What’s this?!”

But the surprising events had only just begun. Johan didn’t even draw his sword, instead just grabbing the cultist at the front and lifting him up. The cultist, who was quite large, struggled in vain as he was lifted into the air.

𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐝!

Along with a heavy sound, the cultists’ formation collapsed. The cultist who had been thrown didn’t even groan, immediately losing consciousness. Johan drew his sword and shouted.

“The ones we need to capture have shown themselves! Attack!”

He didn’t know why the ones who were supposed to be inside the castle had appeared in the village, but dealing with them was more important right now.

Johan knew that the cultists used more troublesome techniques than he had expected. Surprisingly, there were even some of them who could use magic.

Fortunately, the method to deal with wizards was simple: kill them before they could use magic.

“Ugh. . .”

Johan swung his sword with maddening speed. The heads of the three in front of him were split open. It didn’t matter if they blocked with a shield, a sword, or a helmet. The Seal Retriever cut through protective gear that wasn’t enchanted like it was mud.

“Oh, my god!”

Only then did the cultists begin to realize that the rumors about the duke might not have been exaggerated after all.

They had cut down the throats of many knights, and as such, they hadn’t really been afraid of the knights’ reputations. . .

But the aura that the young duke before them displayed had a different kind of ferocity from that.

“We can’t capture him!”

“Attack him, even if you have to wound him!”

The cultists didn’t just wield swords and shields. They took out throwing weapons with unique shapes. Johan frowned at the strange energy he felt coming from them.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭.’

Among outstanding wizards, there were many who were also skilled in alchemy. Just as Suetlg knew how to handle poisons, it wasn’t strange for cultists who made assassination their profession to handle poisons.

Johan didn’t know what kind of poison it was, but if he started getting poisoned while exchanging blows with the cultists, it would only be Johan who suffered. Johan put himself on guard.

‘𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴.’

The parts covered by armor would be hard for the enemies to penetrate no matter what they did. He just needed to be careful of his exposed skin.

“Your Highness, be careful!”

The throwing weapons flew toward him with a swishing sound. A transparent, sharp thread was attached to the end of the throwing weapons. Johan, who had better eyesight than others thanks to a blessing, could see what was at the end of the weapons, although he wouldn’t have been able to see it normally.

‘𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘵?!’

When he had first heard about it from his old assassin master, he had wondered how many times he would ever encounter assassins in his life, but he had surprisingly encountered them quite often. Johan swung his sword and cleanly severed the thread attached to the end of the throwing weapon.

“Shoot them down!”

While the cultists’ attention was focused on Johan, his subordinates picked up crossbows and bows. Some of them hurriedly blocked with their shields, but those who were a step too slow were hit in the limbs with arrows and fell to the ground.

“How dare you lowly b*stards be so arrogant!”

“Who are you planning on capturing? Say it again!”

Johan’s subordinates shouted fiercely at the cultists.

Mercenaries were generally loyal to the employers they had spent a long time with, but the loyalty that Johan’s subordinates showed was on a whole other level.

It couldn’t be explained away with just generous treatment. This was the loyalty that could only be earned by fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with someone for a long time.

As such, they showed even more hostility toward the cultists who had dared to ambush them. If Johan hadn’t stopped them, they would have left no survivors.

“Stop it. We’ll need one or two prisoners.”

Johan frowned as he spoke. Among the cultists who had collapsed to the ground, there were some who were strangely twitching.

‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴?’

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“Carry the wounded to the rear! Set fire to the corpses after we get away!”

“Don’t act on your own!”

“Then do you have a better idea?”

“. . .Fine. I agree. But next time, tell me before you give orders.”

The monotheist knights were ragged, as were the pagan knights. Each of them had one or two large or small wounds, and their once-shining armor was covered in dust. The mercenaries who had followed the knights wore expressions of deep regret.

‘𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦.’

They had followed the knights in hopes of earning a bit more, only to suffer this misfortune. It was a terrible situation.

“How could there be so many damn traps?”

“Those crazy cultists. They don’t die easily no matter what we do.”

The mercenaries, who had thought the old, dilapidated castle would be a piece of cake, were terrified.

They had faced everything from vicious traps to the cultists holding out in narrow passageways, but the worst of all was the cultists who rose again like undead even after being stabbed and cut.

How many mercenaries had fallen because of those monstrosities. . .?

“I guess it’s a good thing the Sir Knights came with us.”

“You got that right.”

The mercenaries let out a sigh of relief. Knights were always the most reliable when it came to dealing with monsters or evil wizards. Since part of their job was to travel around on horseback and deal with such things, knights were skilled in dealing with various kinds of enemies.

. . .But now, the knights were in a difficult position.

“Are you sure it’s okay to burn it down like this?”

“What? Do you want to face them again? No matter how important honor is, I don’t think it’s worth fighting those monsters.”

The knights, who had been subduing the castle, encountered an unexpected enemy in the depths of the castle.

It was at least two heads taller than even the tallest knights, and its entire body was covered in chainmail and iron plates, so much so that its skin wasn’t even visible. This knight didn’t even seem to have learned how to speak properly, just growling constantly as it swung its weapon and blocked their path.

Of course, the knights weren’t scared of this creature just because of its appearance. Even if it was a bit big, it would fall if they stabbed it with a spear or sword, and if it covered its whole body like that, wouldn’t it just get tired and collapse first?

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It was natural for the knights, who had been competing with each other for功exploits, to step forward, each saying they would deal with it.

━𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.

━𝐒𝐢𝐫 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭! 𝐈’𝐦 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬’ 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬.

━𝐒𝐡. 𝐁𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐭?

The monotheist knight who had drawn the lucky straw, Valeon, swung his sword repeatedly and knocked down the pagan knight. The knight, stabbed in the gaps between the iron plates, rolled on the ground, coughing up blood.

━𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡. 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤!

━𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬.

━𝐇𝐮𝐡? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭?

━. . .𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.

But before the compliments were even finished, the enemy rose again. Valeon was startled and dodged the attack.

━𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥?!

━𝐈 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐤. . .?!

━𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜!

If it had risen after being stabbed in a vital spot, there was only one answer. The knights were furious at the cultists’ methods.

━𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 𝐖𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲. 𝐈𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐩, 𝐰𝐞’𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦!

━𝐆𝐫𝐫. . . 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐞! 𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.

━𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫??

━𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐈 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨?! 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐦 𝐈 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦? 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬?

The monotheist knights all wore expressions of having been caught in their weak spot.

It was true. Not only that, but there were some among them who had charged ahead on their own. If they couldn’t accomplish anything after doing that, it would be humiliating.

They had already wasted a lot of time at the entrance, and if they wasted any more time here, the enemy might actually get away.

━𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫!

The knights all charged together. The knights were the kind of people who could even defeat trolls if they attacked together. Spears and arrows flew toward the enemy’s vital spots, and heavy maces shattered the enemy’s knees.

However, the enemy was much stronger than they had expected. The knights were taken aback when the enemy rose again after being stabbed and crushed several times and swung its weapon once more. Some of them were beaten and barely managed to save their own lives.

In the end, the knights decided that it just wasn’t going to work.

“Set it on fire!”

“Burn it down!”

Just like trolls, there was no one who could live forever in fire. The knights believed that the power of fire would purify the evil magic.

Of course, they didn’t bother explaining the situation to the mercenaries behind them, since it was embarrassing.

“Why did you even set it on fire?”

“It’s an evil place.”

“No. Even if it’s an evil place, shouldn’t we at least recover anything we can?”

“You idiot. We’re setting it on fire because there’s nothing there. Do you think the Sir Knights would be telling us to set it on fire if there was something there?”

The mercenary looked impressed at his experienced comrade’s words. It was certainly true.

Behind them, the knights wore complicated expressions. Aside from the fact that it was embarrassing in front of the mercenaries, they were more concerned about the fact that they hadn’t been able to properly pursue the enemy. If they set it on fire and waited for it to burn out, it would mean they had pretty much lost the enemy.

‘𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺.’

‘𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘴?’

But it was still too early for them to be surprised. A messenger came running toward them in a hurry.

“His Highness has been ambushed! Return to the main force immediately!”

“What the hell??!”

The knights were shocked to the point of nearly fainting. If they had known the exact situation, they wouldn’t have been so surprised, but since the messenger had set off as soon as the commotion started, the knights couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Get the freshest horses ready! Those without horses should follow as quickly as they can. We need to get there first!”

“You idiot! Now’s not the time to be packing! Leave the baggage behind! Make yourselves as light as possible!”

The panicked knights hurriedly made preparations to leave, urging their servants to hurry. They were in such a hurry to get ready that the mercenaries couldn’t even follow them.

“Let’s go! Let’s go!!”

“Run! We don’t have time to waste!”

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“Ah. So the skeletons that guy was carrying were tools imbued with magic power.”

“Yes. . . That’s what I heard.”

Johan nodded in understanding after hearing a detailed explanation from the people who had been taken hostage.

He had wondered what kind of magic they had used when some of the cultists kept rising again even after being stabbed and cut, but it turned out there was a secret like that. Putting the power of life into skeletons.

‘𝘊𝘢𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.’

As he was tidying up, he saw a group of knights galloping toward them in the distance.

“You heard the news? You didn’t need to rush here like this.”

“Are you alright??!”

“Do you think I would be defeated by cultists? Look at how many soldiers I have here.”

Johan spoke to the knights as if he was dumbfounded. The knights were relieved to see this. It seemed that the worst-case scenario hadn’t happened.

“Thank goodness.”

“There wasn’t any of those b*stards in here, I guess.”

The knight whispered this quietly, but it was clear to Johan’s ears. Johan asked, sounding interested.

“Oh? There was one holding out in the castle, too? Did you capture it? Or kill it?”

“W-We killed it.”

He couldn’t bring himself to say that he had captured it in front of the duke.

“Good job. How did you kill it?”

“. . . . . .”

The knights hesitated and avoided each other’s gazes. It was obvious that they wanted someone else to speak first. Unable to stand the atmosphere, one of the knights changed the topic with a question.

“Was there one of those things here, too?”

“There was.”

“Amazing! You must have had a hard time dealing with it since it’s such an open area that you couldn’t use fire. . .”

“We didn’t kill it with fire?”

,

Contrary to Johan’s subordinates looking bewildered, the cultists were filled with confidence. There was faith and madness, but that was also because the situation was objectively advantageous for them right now.

The duke’s subordinates were scattered around, having just finished eating and drinking, and the main force’s soldiers were waiting on the other side of the village.

They could subdue the duke and take him prisoner before he could run over here.

If they captured the duke, that would recover all the damage they suffered from this punitive campaign. Considering the duke’s fame, none of the expedition’s nobles would dare ignore him or treat him recklessly.

“Get him! Get. . .”

Before he could even finish speaking, a cultist’s blood sprayed into the air as he collapsed backward. There was a dull sound as his skull shattered. The cultists looked forward in a panic, unable to figure out what had flown toward them and crushed their comrade’s skull.

“A. . . A drinking cup!”

“???”

Throwing a cheap, flimsy drinking cup made of metal and shattering the head inside a helmet with it.

These weren’t just cultists; they were men who had received proper training and knew how to fight while armed. And yet, they fell without even being able to react.

“What’s this?!”

But the surprising events had only just begun. Johan didn’t even draw his sword, instead just grabbing the cultist at the front and lifting him up. The cultist, who was quite large, struggled in vain as he was lifted into the air.

𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐝!

Along with a heavy sound, the cultists’ formation collapsed. The cultist who had been thrown didn’t even groan, immediately losing consciousness. Johan drew his sword and shouted.

“The ones we need to capture have shown themselves! Attack!”

He didn’t know why the ones who were supposed to be inside the castle had appeared in the village, but dealing with them was more important right now.

Johan knew that the cultists used more troublesome techniques than he had expected. Surprisingly, there were even some of them who could use magic.

Fortunately, the method to deal with wizards was simple: kill them before they could use magic.

“Ugh. . .”

Johan swung his sword with maddening speed. The heads of the three in front of him were split open. It didn’t matter if they blocked with a shield, a sword, or a helmet. The Seal Retriever cut through protective gear that wasn’t enchanted like it was mud.

“Oh, my god!”

Only then did the cultists begin to realize that the rumors about the duke might not have been exaggerated after all.

They had cut down the throats of many knights, and as such, they hadn’t really been afraid of the knights’ reputations. . .

But the aura that the young duke before them displayed had a different kind of ferocity from that.

“We can’t capture him!”

“Attack him, even if you have to wound him!”

The cultists didn’t just wield swords and shields. They took out throwing weapons with unique shapes. Johan frowned at the strange energy he felt coming from them.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭.’

Among outstanding wizards, there were many who were also skilled in alchemy. Just as Suetlg knew how to handle poisons, it wasn’t strange for cultists who made assassination their profession to handle poisons.

Johan didn’t know what kind of poison it was, but if he started getting poisoned while exchanging blows with the cultists, it would only be Johan who suffered. Johan put himself on guard.

‘𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴.’

The parts covered by armor would be hard for the enemies to penetrate no matter what they did. He just needed to be careful of his exposed skin.

“Your Highness, be careful!”

The throwing weapons flew toward him with a swishing sound. A transparent, sharp thread was attached to the end of the throwing weapons. Johan, who had better eyesight than others thanks to a blessing, could see what was at the end of the weapons, although he wouldn’t have been able to see it normally.

‘𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘵?!’

When he had first heard about it from his old assassin master, he had wondered how many times he would ever encounter assassins in his life, but he had surprisingly encountered them quite often. Johan swung his sword and cleanly severed the thread attached to the end of the throwing weapon.

“Shoot them down!”

While the cultists’ attention was focused on Johan, his subordinates picked up crossbows and bows. Some of them hurriedly blocked with their shields, but those who were a step too slow were hit in the limbs with arrows and fell to the ground.

“How dare you lowly b*stards be so arrogant!”

“Who are you planning on capturing? Say it again!”

Johan’s subordinates shouted fiercely at the cultists.

Mercenaries were generally loyal to the employers they had spent a long time with, but the loyalty that Johan’s subordinates showed was on a whole other level.

It couldn’t be explained away with just generous treatment. This was the loyalty that could only be earned by fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with someone for a long time.

As such, they showed even more hostility toward the cultists who had dared to ambush them. If Johan hadn’t stopped them, they would have left no survivors.

“Stop it. We’ll need one or two prisoners.”

Johan frowned as he spoke. Among the cultists who had collapsed to the ground, there were some who were strangely twitching.

‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴?’

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“Carry the wounded to the rear! Set fire to the corpses after we get away!”

“Don’t act on your own!”

“Then do you have a better idea?”

“. . .Fine. I agree. But next time, tell me before you give orders.”

The monotheist knights were ragged, as were the pagan knights. Each of them had one or two large or small wounds, and their once-shining armor was covered in dust. The mercenaries who had followed the knights wore expressions of deep regret.

‘𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦.’

They had followed the knights in hopes of earning a bit more, only to suffer this misfortune. It was a terrible situation.

“How could there be so many damn traps?”

“Those crazy cultists. They don’t die easily no matter what we do.”

The mercenaries, who had thought the old, dilapidated castle would be a piece of cake, were terrified.

They had faced everything from vicious traps to the cultists holding out in narrow passageways, but the worst of all was the cultists who rose again like undead even after being stabbed and cut.

How many mercenaries had fallen because of those monstrosities. . .?

“I guess it’s a good thing the Sir Knights came with us.”

“You got that right.”

The mercenaries let out a sigh of relief. Knights were always the most reliable when it came to dealing with monsters or evil wizards. Since part of their job was to travel around on horseback and deal with such things, knights were skilled in dealing with various kinds of enemies.

. . .But now, the knights were in a difficult position.

“Are you sure it’s okay to burn it down like this?”

“What? Do you want to face them again? No matter how important honor is, I don’t think it’s worth fighting those monsters.”

The knights, who had been subduing the castle, encountered an unexpected enemy in the depths of the castle.

It was at least two heads taller than even the tallest knights, and its entire body was covered in chainmail and iron plates, so much so that its skin wasn’t even visible. This knight didn’t even seem to have learned how to speak properly, just growling constantly as it swung its weapon and blocked their path.

Of course, the knights weren’t scared of this creature just because of its appearance. Even if it was a bit big, it would fall if they stabbed it with a spear or sword, and if it covered its whole body like that, wouldn’t it just get tired and collapse first?

It was natural for the knights, who had been competing with each other for功exploits, to step forward, each saying they would deal with it.

━𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.

━𝐒𝐢𝐫 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭! 𝐈’𝐦 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬’ 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬.

━𝐒𝐡. 𝐁𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐭?

The monotheist knight who had drawn the lucky straw, Valeon, swung his sword repeatedly and knocked down the pagan knight. The knight, stabbed in the gaps between the iron plates, rolled on the ground, coughing up blood.

━𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡. 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤!

━𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬.

━𝐇𝐮𝐡? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭?

━. . .𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.

But before the compliments were even finished, the enemy rose again. Valeon was startled and dodged the attack.

━𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥?!

━𝐈 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐤. . .?!

━𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜!

If it had risen after being stabbed in a vital spot, there was only one answer. The knights were furious at the cultists’ methods.

━𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 𝐖𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲. 𝐈𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐩, 𝐰𝐞’𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦!

━𝐆𝐫𝐫. . . 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐞! 𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.

━𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫??

━𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐈 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨?! 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐦 𝐈 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦? 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬?

The monotheist knights all wore expressions of having been caught in their weak spot.

It was true. Not only that, but there were some among them who had charged ahead on their own. If they couldn’t accomplish anything after doing that, it would be humiliating.

They had already wasted a lot of time at the entrance, and if they wasted any more time here, the enemy might actually get away.

━𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫!

The knights all charged together. The knights were the kind of people who could even defeat trolls if they attacked together. Spears and arrows flew toward the enemy’s vital spots, and heavy maces shattered the enemy’s knees.

However, the enemy was much stronger than they had expected. The knights were taken aback when the enemy rose again after being stabbed and crushed several times and swung its weapon once more. Some of them were beaten and barely managed to save their own lives.

In the end, the knights decided that it just wasn’t going to work.

“Set it on fire!”

“Burn it down!”

Just like trolls, there was no one who could live forever in fire. The knights believed that the power of fire would purify the evil magic.

Of course, they didn’t bother explaining the situation to the mercenaries behind them, since it was embarrassing.

“Why did you even set it on fire?”

“It’s an evil place.”

“No. Even if it’s an evil place, shouldn’t we at least recover anything we can?”

“You idiot. We’re setting it on fire because there’s nothing there. Do you think the Sir Knights would be telling us to set it on fire if there was something there?”

The mercenary looked impressed at his experienced comrade’s words. It was certainly true.

Behind them, the knights wore complicated expressions. Aside from the fact that it was embarrassing in front of the mercenaries, they were more concerned about the fact that they hadn’t been able to properly pursue the enemy. If they set it on fire and waited for it to burn out, it would mean they had pretty much lost the enemy.

‘𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺.’

‘𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘴?’

But it was still too early for them to be surprised. A messenger came running toward them in a hurry.

“His Highness has been ambushed! Return to the main force immediately!”

“What the hell??!”

The knights were shocked to the point of nearly fainting. If they had known the exact situation, they wouldn’t have been so surprised, but since the messenger had set off as soon as the commotion started, the knights couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Get the freshest horses ready! Those without horses should follow as quickly as they can. We need to get there first!”

“You idiot! Now’s not the time to be packing! Leave the baggage behind! Make yourselves as light as possible!”

The panicked knights hurriedly made preparations to leave, urging their servants to hurry. They were in such a hurry to get ready that the mercenaries couldn’t even follow them.

“Let’s go! Let’s go!!”

“Run! We don’t have time to waste!”

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“Ah. So the skeletons that guy was carrying were tools imbued with magic power.”

“Yes. . . That’s what I heard.”

Johan nodded in understanding after hearing a detailed explanation from the people who had been taken hostage.

He had wondered what kind of magic they had used when some of the cultists kept rising again even after being stabbed and cut, but it turned out there was a secret like that. Putting the power of life into skeletons.

‘𝘊𝘢𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.’

As he was tidying up, he saw a group of knights galloping toward them in the distance.

“You heard the news? You didn’t need to rush here like this.”

“Are you alright??!”

“Do you think I would be defeated by cultists? Look at how many soldiers I have here.”

Johan spoke to the knights as if he was dumbfounded. The knights were relieved to see this. It seemed that the worst-case scenario hadn’t happened.

“Thank goodness.”

“There wasn’t any of those b*stards in here, I guess.”

The knight whispered this quietly, but it was clear to Johan’s ears. Johan asked, sounding interested.

“Oh? There was one holding out in the castle, too? Did you capture it? Or kill it?”

“W-We killed it.”

He couldn’t bring himself to say that he had captured it in front of the duke.

“Good job. How did you kill it?”

“. . . . . .”

The knights hesitated and avoided each other’s gazes. It was obvious that they wanted someone else to speak first. Unable to stand the atmosphere, one of the knights changed the topic with a question.

“Was there one of those things here, too?”

“There was.”

“Amazing! You must have had a hard time dealing with it since it’s such an open area that you couldn’t use fire. . .”

“We didn’t kill it with fire?”