How to Live as a Wandering Knight – Chapter 170

𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐎𝐥𝐝 𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐲 (4)

That was Johan. 

“What? Who is it?”

“■■■ ■■?”

When a group of western knights charged in like lightning, the warriors were not confused.  

Their morale was too high and ferocious to crumble from the ambush.

They immediately turned their horses and fought back. Combative shouts welcomed Johan.

Johan advanced, defeating those warriors.

Only warriors who would not shame their father god and mother goddess were gathered here.

The colorful banners standing out even among the dust showed evidence that these warriors were from noble families.

Warriors carrying those banners charged at Johan with spears. The wind blew fiercely with the smell of blood.  

Johan slaughtered those warriors as he advanced.

Garhatzha, who had defeated three Vynashchtym knights today and received silk and a necklace from Yeheyman, charged at Johan with a sharp glittering spear. Mobhrahim, who had defeated the sub-captain of the imperial guard and captured a small flag, also charged at Johan with a battle axe. Igar, who was said to have unparalleled swordsmanship as a slave guard of the sultan, also charged at Johan with a longsword.

Johan butchered those warriors as he advanced.

“■■■! ■■ ■■■ ■■■!”

“Send reinforcements! A mad ■■ b*stard has appeared!”

As the renowned warriors fell to the dagger and their decorated spears were broken, the warriors on the other side began to grasp the situation.

“What’s going on?”

“It seems an ambush has come from the left flank.”

“What are you saying? They are no more than a small group at best. However they obsessed about capturing the emperor, you mean to say they was ambushed by that? I will provide soldiers, go stop them!”

Yeheyman’s deputy nodded and rushed out. Yeheyman looked annoyed. No matter how blindly ambitious, to be ambushed like that. . .

The elite had gathered here at the center. To be shaken by such an ambush itself was shameful.

“. . .!!”

Yeheyman’s eyes grew wide as he watched the situation. He could not believe the scene before him.

The formation was crumbling before a single man.

As a western knight swung an abnormally massive warhammer, warriors around him tumbled like rotten trees.

Hit on the armor, bodies were smashed beyond recognition. Blocked by shields, shields were smashed along with the bodies.

The enthusiastic Eastern knights and warriors who had fought bravely soon lost morale and fled.

Centered on Johan’s charge, the formation collapsed like a broken dam. 

“A demon has appeared! The pagan b*stards of the West have brought a demon!”

“Dear gods! Banish that demon!”

Seeing each other’s backs as they screamed and fled, the formation collapsed even faster. Johan fiercely chased the enemy, spurring his bloodthirsty bicorn.

Yeheyman was so angry he saw red. The fierce elites of the center were scattering like diseased son of a b*tches.

Warriors who should have charged into the emperor’s camp were now struggling just to defend their own banners.

The emperor’s banner was seen retreating. The emperor’s imperial guard had barely reorganized their formation and were pulling the emperor back. It was hopeless to try capturing the emperor now.

“Ye. . . Yeheyman-nim.”

“Sound the retreat! Withdraw to camp and regroup!”

Like a veteran knight of many battles, Yeheyman grasped the situation. To leave things as they were would only deepen the wound.

That fearsome Western knight dastard leading the cavalry had torn up the formation with nightmarish fighting ability, but fortunately their numbers were small. 

Now was the time to retreat if they hoped to.

If the emperor’s imperial guard regained their senses and counterattacked, the damage could be far worse.

“Retreat! Retreat!”

At the unpleasant blare of horns, the warriors in the center began hastily falling back.

Though they might have felt wronged and resentful to retreat from the emperor’s tent, none remained to grumble.

They fled, grateful to escape from Johan raging around them.

The pagan warriors slipped away like an ebbing tide.

Fearing Johan’s pursuit, they glanced around nervously as they rode off. Those without horses discarded armor and weapons and sprinted away.

“What is this, is it over?”

“The enemy is retreating! My dear, shall we pursue?”

“With these numbers? Are you joking?”

Hearing Johan’s words after his mad rampage, Iselia was dumbfounded.

But it was certainly reckless to reengage with their current numbers.

Johan aside, the others were exhausted from the fight. Even Iselia’s steed looked weary.

If it was about glory, they had overflowed with it just now. Iselia did not know exactly how many foes they had struck down, but she felt they had properly ravaged this area.

She wiped the blood and sweat from Johan’s face. 

“Ah, thank you.”

“I can do this much anytime.”

Johan looked around. The right wing where Johan’s army was seemed to have no more fighting, and the enemy seemed to be retreating from the left wing as well.

‘𝘕𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵?’

Hitting the enemy’s backs as they retreated was basic tactics, but it depended on the situation. The enemy was not retreating in disorder but withdrawing in formation. If you lacked confidence, reckless pursuit was dangerous.

‘𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺?’

Johan sensed it. And his intuition was not wrong.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“Great victory, Your Excellency! A great victory!” 

“Isn’t calling it a great victory going too far?”

“If this isn’t a great victory, then all triumphs will feel worthless! Humility is a virtue, but going too far will embarrass others as well, Your Majesty.”

The mercenary captain Jusvan from the Republic shouted while wrapping bandages around himself. Despite being quite seriously injured, he looked full of joy.  

It was thanks to the victory in battle.  

The captain himself was injured in the fierce battle. The center almost saw the Emperor captured, and the left flank nearly collapsed from the enemy’s charge.

The enemies were much stronger than expected.

However, they were victorious in the end. The enemies retreated first, abandoned their camp in front of the fortress, and withdrew elsewhere.

Johan thought capturing the supreme commander was necessary for a decisive victory, but others did not think the same.  

If they somehow drove back and defeated the enemies, couldn’t that be called a great victory?

“I’ve heard of Your Excellency’s valor. They say you came alone on a warhorse to save the center. . .”  

“That’s quite an exaggeration. I charged with other knights and cavalry.”

“Even just that is tremendously impressive, Your Excellency. Without your charge, the center would have collapsed.”

To calm his excitement, Jusvan downed a shot of strong liquor.   

He didn’t see it himself as he commanded the left flank, but he heard the story from imperial guards and other soldiers after the battle ended.

━𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐛*𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬. 𝐒𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬. 𝐈’𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐨. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐝.

━𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐝, 𝐬𝐨 𝐈 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬.

It wasn’t just the soldiers’ testimonies. The broken poles and flags of the enemies evidenced the fierce battle.  

The flag symbolized the honor of a noble house and would never be abandoned even in a hasty retreat. They would rather die than lose their flag.

Yet the battlefield at the center was littered with flags and corpses of nobles.  

They were annihilated by Johan’s charge without even a chance to flee.

“It was an honor to fight alongside you, Captain. Now I realize there was no exaggeration in your report at all.”

Jusvan expressed his gratitude to Giada. He had received reports about Johan’s might a few times but didn’t know it was to this extent.

‘𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵. . .’  

Giada felt slightly embarrassed. Since he wouldn’t be held responsible anyway, he had passed on only good words about Johan, so the high praise made him feel awkward.

“Are you planning to pursue the retreating enemies?”

“Well. . . I’m not sure. Wouldn’t His Excellency make that decision? Many of my men have died or were injured as well. . .”

Jusvan hesitated as he scratched his wound.

Although not as much as the center, the left flank led by Jusvan also suffered considerable damage. The enemies were just too numerous.

They had forced a retreat, but the enemies still had remaining forces. He didn’t want to attack their camp first.

The tent curtains parted and the eunuchs came out, followed by the Emperor revealing himself. Johan and Jusvan got up from their seats and briefly paid their respects.

“You all fought very well. Victory would have been uncertain without everyone’s dedication. I thank Count Yeats once again in particular.”

This overt display of gratitude, not just a simple thank you, was highly unusual, yet no one present found it odd.

Considering Johan’s exploits, it was still a very modest remark.

“Will you continue attacking the enemies?”

“The soldiers are tired and injured. I don’t want to make mistakes by forcing things. And. . .”

There was a chamberlain inside the fortress that he didn’t want to risk danger for. But the Emperor left his trailing words unsaid. There was no need to reveal his intentions in front of others yet. 

“And?”

“The enemies have sent an envoy. They offer gold if we let them withdraw.”

Jusvan’s face brightened. Representing the Republic, he had no thoughts of fighting to the death against the pagans. Didn’t the Republic also trade with Eastern Empire’s merchants to begin with? 

As long as they stayed away from here, he was happy to turn a blind eye.

“What will you do?” 

“I want to hear both of your opinions.”

“I agree, Your Majesty. The enemies still have significant numbers left. Attacking their entrenched position is dangerous. And if they move elsewhere to pillage, how will we handle that damage? Accepting their offer to save face shows mercy and authority.”

“That will be all, I think.”  

When Jusvan finished speaking, Johan raised his hand. The Emperor nodded as if to say speak.

“Couldn’t the enemies have set a trap?”

“I don’t think they would do something so dishonorable. . .?”

Basic respect for honor did not change even for pagans. No matter how pagan, oaths and promises made between each other were sacred. Those who broke them were effectively throwing their own honor into the gutter.  

But Johan was the type to suspect first regardless of honor or anything else.

“We should be vigilant until they leave, just in case.”

“If that’s what you wish, make it so.”

Surprisingly, the Emperor readily accepted Johan’s request. Even though it required not just Johan’s troops but also the Emperor’s and the Republic’s mercenaries to carry out.

‘𝘏𝘶𝘩. 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵.’

Johan wondered if this was the Emperor returning the favor for coming to the center’s aid. If so, he deserved at least this much in return.

However, the Emperor was not doing this out of mere goodwill. He valued Johan much higher than Johan realized. Because of yesterday’s battle. 

‘𝘔𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥!!’

Gaïaros had witnessed Johan’s charge from afar. The shock still hadn’t worn off.

That lightning strike of a charge in the middle of disadvantageous terrain swarming with enemies!

After the charge ended, the Emperor realized the mercenary captain’s account was actually closer to understatement. 

With that kind of battle behind them, Johan’s words carried undeniable authority. If Johan had strongly advocated attacking, the Emperor would have seriously considered it.

‘𝘚𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦.’

“Anything else to suggest?”

“Not particularly. . .?”

Johan felt the Emperor’s question was slightly uncomfortable. The nominal supreme commander was the Emperor, and the Republic’s mercenary captain was next to them as well, so why keep asking him?

‘𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦. . .’