🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 8
Rian’s gaze turned toward them.
‘Were those the people Monclay prepared for a counterattack?’
If it was Sion, he was one of the O-mang Knights who defended the Azrion Kingdom.
Unlike the knights who formed orders to guard the borders, he was known to operate alone for the sake of internal security and public order.
They said he sometimes supported border knight orders, and it seemed Knight Sion had joined the battle at Twin Gorge.
He must have disciples, then.
He had a reputation so free-spirited that people called him the Wandering Light, the Knight of Freedom; rumor said he didn’t keep a knightly order.
“Hey! You black-haired one! Didn’t you hear me? I asked where Lord Monclay is.”
The person who had shouted a moment ago rode up close to Rian and dismounted. The tone of scolding someone like a child didn’t sit well with Rian, whether the man was Sion’s disciple or not.
‘Hm. A poorly tamed stray, perhaps?’
Dull blond hair, strong features, piercing eyes and red irises — a face that suggested a hot temper. Aside from that, chainmail covered by iron plates enveloped a solid build.
A blue cloak draped down to his waist, making him look like he belonged to a knightly order. A golden embroidered emblem symbolizing light on the cloak seemed to prove he was Sion’s disciple.
Thud—.
Even his approaching steps carried a sense of pressure. Still, would that intimidate Rian enough to step back?
“Captain of 3rd Company, 1st Platoon — Rian Cade. Revealing your exact affiliation should come first, don’t you think?”
“Huh—?”
The man scowled at Rian’s words and put his hand on the pommel of the sword strapped at his side as if to draw it at once.
Rian did the same.
In an instant, the air around them chilled and the intent to kill settled between them.
The tension swelled as if a touch would make everything explode. No one seemed likely to mediate.
The stable boy had already withdrawn far away, taking with him the words he had been about to say to Rian.
Clang!
In the end, the man who had been closing the distance moved his foot first.
Rian watched the man’s straight, attacking motion.
‘Fast.’
The blade he drew as he pushed off the ground was already falling from above. It was a speed that made it impossible to evade. It could well be compared to Gerard’s attack that had once pierced Rian’s heart. Perhaps it was even faster.
In the past, Rian would have been unable to respond and his neck would have been severed, naturally, but not this time.
Screech—.
Rian already had his drawn sword in hand, the tip aimed at where the man’s heart would be.
If he extended his hand, even if the neck were to be cut off, it was obvious the man’s heart would be pierced too.
Clang—! Clang!!
But that did not happen.
‘Hm?!’
Someone’s blade had intercepted the blades that aimed at each other’s lives.
“Dominic. Enough of this.”
Until a moment ago no one had shown intent to step in, then suddenly — where did that power and speed come from?
The man called Dominic wore the same armor and the same waist-length cloak.
But compared to his small frame, the force that had blocked the attack felt abnormal, and under his dark-blue bob stood a cold beauty that clearly showed she was a woman.
“Tch.”
Dominic sheathed his sword without a word at her rebuke. That alone suggested the dark-blue bobbed woman was leading them.
The woman’s gaze turned to Rian. A silent pressure to sheathe his sword was felt. He had intended to return his blade to its sheath anyway.
Swoosh—.
Only then did the woman put the sword she had been holding in both hands back into the scabbard at her belt.
“Please forgive Dominic’s rudeness. We are disciples of Knight Sion and not bound to the army, so we have no official affiliation — thus our discourtesy.”
“…….”
Hearing her say that much, Rian could only concede that they must indeed be Sion’s lesser-known disciples.
“My name is Rhea. By Sion’s order I lead these people.”
The dark-blue-bobbed woman named Rhea raised her right fist to her chest and bowed in a brief military salute to Rian.
Her gaze fell upon Dominic with a displeased expression, and he, reluctantly, returned the salute.
“Forgive the rudeness. He showed provocation and only reacted to it.”
“…….”
He didn’t seem to be asking for forgiveness so much as expecting people to understand him because he was naturally a stray-dog sort of character.
If anything, others were the ones who should be apologizing for Dominic’s behavior.
“My name is Verkhir. Please forgive Dominic’s rudeness.”
A man with a body almost as large as a bear and silver hair, wearing a gauntlet with a blunt chunk of metal attached to his hand, offered an apology.
“Dominic is the wild dog we keep. He’s the one who needs forgiveness. I’m Pine.”
The woman with long green hair named Pine teased Dominic instead of asking for forgiveness. She used a thin, triple-bladed sword suited to her lean build.
She looked like an elf at first glance, but the barely-visible ears between her hair proved she was human.
“Mm. Well… I’m Taryn. In my opinion Dominic’s the one at fault, so I think following Cade’s decision is right. Well, yeah.”
A freckled woman with short light-brown hair spoke more aggressively, seemingly mocking Dominic more than consoling him.
Dominic glowered at Pine and Taryn who teased him, but that was all. He even turned his head and ignored them.
‘They seem pretty close.’
Rian thought so. Maybe that’s why Dominic’s strike looked like something they had all anticipated. From the moment he faced these people who claimed to be Sion’s disciples, Rian’s competitive spirit had flared — he wanted to test himself against them.
They were probably no different.
It seemed more likely they had deliberately let Dominic act out. So their teasing and banter while begging forgiveness didn’t particularly bother him.
He just wanted to spar with all of them to measure their abilities.
That said, this was no time to request a duel.
“You say you seek the battalion commander. I was about to move there, too. Come along.”
Rian also bowed with a salute and accepted their greetings.
Rudeness with rudeness. Courtesy with courtesy — treating Sion’s disciples as they had treated him, Rian steered his horse toward the Dandelion Plains.
‘Still, did Monclay really think that with just these people and even a hired mage he could stop the imperial army?’
Who could say.
Whoosh—.
Under a sky where darkness had fallen, torches flickered and swayed from the Green Wave Forest toward the Dandelion Plains.
From above, the banded lights would look like two lines. The smaller band of light had just entered the plains; the longer line was reaching past the forest mid-slope.
Each force fought bitterly, chasing, striking, then chasing again.
But now the imperial soldiers fleeing with the sole desire to survive moved faster.
“If you want to die, rest here!! Those who want to live should hurry across the plains and past the border!!”
Led by the commander’s harsh orders, the soldiers shuffled forward half-mad, barely moving their feet.
William had already used the plea for help as a pretext to slip out of the woods.
“Damn bastards!! Fuck!!” “Save your own neck, damn it!! If you want to die, say so — I’ll kill you myself!!” “Damn it! They said it was a winning fight — what the hell is this!!” “The land’s lost! Let’s return alive! Damn!!”
The imperial soldiers spat invective with no subject in their sentences.
“…….”
Gerard followed their rear in silence. He could have gone ahead, but doing so might make the remaining soldiers give up retreating and surrender to the kingdom army. He could not allow that.
Soldiers are tied to a nation’s strength. Even if thousands fell and only hundreds remained, they were imperial soldiers — Gerard believed they should remain as such until their last breath.
If they continued like this, there was no concern about being overtaken. The enemy no longer closed the gap in pursuit, and both sides were exhausted.
But should he return like this?
It had been a battle they’d already won. Pushing forward against a kingdom army that was far inferior in power and morale, he had shown no hesitation. And yet this had happened.
‘Unforgivable.’
Gerard wanted to cut his own throat in shame at the defeat. Even if not, he could not escape the fact that the reason for defeat lay with the unit that failed to protect the mage. No matter if a traitor in the unit had caused this, the responsibility fell to the commanding officer.
‘Will they tear my limbs apart as execution by dismemberment? Better they just order me to take responsibility and commit seppuku.’
Gerard foresaw his own death. No matter how favored he was by the commander-in-chief, he was not noble-born; he had no protector to shield him.
Even if the traitor were reported to be from a noble family, would that go as he wished?
‘Those lowly nobles will pin all the blame on me as a group.’
Thus he could not return as he was. At least he needed to take the enemy commander’s head to make it worth the risk.
Resolved that way, Gerard decided to plug the hole in his mistake with the enemy commander’s neck. Even if he died, he thought it was to repay the favor to Marquis Bueno Argen who had raised him.
“I’ll conscript twenty men willing to fight with the determination to risk their lives. I won’t force anyone.”
Gerard’s sudden proposal stopped the feet of the roughly a hundred remaining troops.
“What are you planning?”
When a soldier asked, Gerard answered with burning eyes.
“I’ll bring the Azrion commander’s head to the marquis. That will at least preserve your lives.”
Some in the unit thought such an idea during a retreat was foolish. Killing a commander while retreating is like jumping into the flames oneself.
So a soldier cautiously voiced his opinion.
“If we confiscate the traitors’ families’ assets….”
But Gerard had already shut his ears.
“That’s that. This is this.”
“…….”
The soldier who caught Gerard’s intent did not press further. But not everyone was prepared to follow him.
“We’ll handle getting the remaining troops home safely. As you said, we’ll do that, and the rest focus on retreating. Move out.”
The marquis’s shadow unit equated skill with power. So when one of the unit’s top fighters spoke, the troops couldn’t ignore him.
Moreover, even if they took the commander’s head, could they return to their fief?
Gerard might succeed — he was the unit’s strongest — but the others thought it impossible. In any case, responsibility for this debacle would be blamed on a traitor and ultimately on Gerard, the overall leader. Most in the unit judged they would not be harmed themselves.
Rustle—!!
So most followed the retreating allies. Only ten, including Gerard himself, stayed to follow him. They were all commoners or orphans with top-tier swordsmanship.
“I swear on my honor: I promise that even if you return to the homeland, I will ensure at least your lives are preserved.”
Gerard pledged and quickly bypassed the Green Wave Forest to get in front of the pursuing Azrion soldiers.
