How to Live as a Wandering Knight – Chapter 248

𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦 (2)

The Seal Retriever that Johan was holding was one of the famous swords in the Empire where countless master swords roamed. Combined with Johan’s monstrous strength, even a thick slab of meat could have been cut in an instant.  

However, the sensation felt at Johan’s fingertips was not the feeling of cutting through the enemy’s muscles and bones, but the feeling of cutting through a wall that seemed not to exist in this world.

‘𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤!’

With a wooden thud, the armor torn from the opponent’s body flowed down. The disappearance of light and mystery at the same time seemed to be some armor blessed by the spirit. Seeing that it blocked Seal Retriever’s blow, it must have been a high-ranking armor.

“Die, old man!”

When Johan couldn’t finish it, Euclyia behind Johan swung her spear like lightning. However, the old man who had already taken a hit was in a fighting stance.  

As the centaur stomped down her spear, he grabbed it with both hands and stabbed it back, making Euclyia lose her balance and stagger.

“■■■!”

Euclyia was surprised and avoided the counterattack. An old man who would not be surprised if he dies of old age showed unexpected strength.

“This dirty Yeats b*stard dares to carry around the Seal Retriever?!”

The old man shouted in a voice that seemed to spit blood. Only then could Johan be sure of who his opponent was.

“Cardirian!”

━𝐏𝐮 𝐡𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐠!

“Show the proper courtesy in front of the rightful master of the Empire, you southern barbarian!”

“There is no courtesy to show to an unbeliever who arbitrarily executes nobles by himself. The nobles you killed want proper punishment!”

Johan’s voice echoed clearly amidst the chaotic ringing in his ears.

There was a reason why he bother to listen to his opponent’s words. Originally, he had no intention of listening to the emperor’s words, but now there were quite a few listening ears around.

No matter how loyal the soldiers and knights were, they didn’t like that their lord was evil and unjust. The more sensitive people of this era were to faith and superstition.

“Where is Karamaf’s corpse buried!”

The emperor growled and drew his weapon. It seemed to be a famous sword as well, as a creepy light flowed from it. Johan sneered and said,

“Dig it up and ask.”

“I will kill you!”

“You can’t, Your Majesty!”

Knights rushed in and desperately blocked the way. Johan shoved them aside aggressively, intent on not letting the emperor get away. A wolf jumped out from the side and bit the legs of the horses the knights were riding.

Still, the knights stood in his way at the risk of their lives.  

“Rugdon of the Coburin family!”

“Rolph of the Blowhorn family.”

“I am Frederic of the Partwich family!”

Knights who won tournaments in the Empire and defeated famous monsters.

However, they could not hide their nervous expressions in front of Johan. Johan sneered and shouted,

“Aren’t you ashamed to gang up on one person while reciting your family names?”

At Johan’s words, the knight in front suddenly flushed. From behind, the emperor shouted.

“Don’t be fooled, you *ssholes!”

“It’s pathetic to remain loyal after hearing such words!”

Johan swung his sword with his words. The knight collapsed, spewing blood, unable to withstand the unexpected sword strikes from strange angles.

The emperor rode his horse and shouted,  

“His strength is extraordinary. Since he defeated Karamaf, avoid a frontal fight and attack together!”

‘𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣*𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥. . .’

While the knights were hesitating to engage in one-on-one combat due to Johan’s remarks, the emperor poured cold water on them. Indeed, he immediately realized how to deal with Johan like a seasoned veteran who had rolled on the battlefield all his life.

But Johan was not flustered. The situation itself was not bad. 

‘𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘴. . .’

Even though the emperor’s soldiers were extremely loyal, they had limits. Without proper support or command in a situation where they were ambushed and bombarded, they would eventually collapse.

And in this kind of melee, the most powerful force was the knights. 

Knights, who had undergone grueling training since childhood and were clad in thick, sturdy armor, were difficult for soldiers to deal with easily. Even experienced and well-armed mercenaries were reluctant to face knights. 

Now all the knights had gathered to save the emperor, so hell must have broken loose on the other side.

‘𝘐𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. . .’

“You f*cking morons! Why did you all gather here instead of the ambush site! Not only did you allow the ambush but you’re making such stupid moves! You’re more stupid than trolls!”

“Y-Your Majesty! If you don’t escape first. . .”

“Get out of my way!”

The emperor pushed the knights aside and charged at Johan. The emperor also instinctively realized the situation was going very badly. 

He was dumbfounded by how the sentries allowed the ambush, but punishment could wait. The key now was to turn the situation around with Johan.

The atmosphere always changes when you take down the enemy commander. The emperor boldly aimed at Johan and stabbed with his spear.  

‘𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴!’

And Johan had been waiting for that. If the emperor escaped, there was no way to catch him, so Johan was anxious.  

With a roar, the two warriors collided.

The emperor’s skills were extraordinary. His spear swung around repeatedly, aiming for Johan’s vitals. It was as if he wasn’t giving Johan a chance to swing his sword.

But the emperor was overconfident in his own abilities, caught up in his momentum. He had warned the other knights about Johan’s freakish strength yet forgot about it himself.

As a knight who had no rivals on the battlefield and was confident in his strength, it was inevitable once the blood rushed to his head.

The spear glinted and grazed under Johan’s arm. Johan instinctively grabbed the spear shaft tightly. With his freakish strength, the emperor’s movement completely stopped. The emperor looked at Johan in bewilderment.

And the Seal Retriever flashed once more, tearing into the emperor’s body again.  

He felt the strange sensation of magic interfering again but the result was slightly different this time. Johan’s determined swing had ripped through the magic and inflicted a wound.

The armor split open and blood sprayed out. The emperor howled, suffering his first serious wound. The other knights who were anxiously watching screamed in agony and rushed over urgently.

“Fall back! Protect His Majesty!”

“Cardirian is dead!”

Johan did not try to break through the wall of knights. Instead, he held up his blood-stained sword and shouted. The centaurs relayed his words loudly.

“The emperor is dead! Surrender!”

Every time the shout spread, it felt like the burning camp trembled. Before the sun had even fully set, the emperor’s camp had completely collapsed, scattering in all directions. 

The support troops of feudal lords, who were already in an unfavorable situation, swarmed in as if to tighten a siege. 

The knights tried to organize the remaining soldiers to make a desperate bid to stop the pursuers but Johan sent out pursuing troops to crush them again and again.

As a result, only a handful of knights managed to escape from the battlefield. 

It was unbelievable that this was the army of the emperor who had terrified the surroundings just a while ago. It was a confusing and perplexing defeat.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“I have returned. Your excellency.”

“Good work, everyone.”  

Johan was waiting in the burned emperor’s military camp. He wanted to join the pursuit team, but there were quite a few troops left around here so he couldn’t.

“Your excellency. Who is that person?”

The returned centaurs were puzzled by the appearance of the noble they hadn’t seen before. Lying on the bed, covered in blood, he looked half dead.

“A noble who was being tortured in the emperor’s military camp. He must be one of the nobles from the south.”

“Ah. His ransom would be expensive.”  

“. . .That’s true but don’t say it so bluntly.”

Johan stopped their mouths. The eastern warriors were loyal and brave but lacked the skill for thoughtful words.

In the meantime, the identity of the noble lying among the captured nobles and mercenaries was revealed.

“It’s Olafsethan-gong.”

“. . .I’ve never heard of that family before. Who is he?”

“He’s not a southern feudal lord, he’s the emperor’s son.”

The centaurs were a little flustered and couldn’t continue. Johan was just as flustered.  

Why was the emperor’s son in this state? It would be misunderstood by anyone who saw him like this.

“The emperor tortured him himself. On suspicion of poisoning.”

“Huh. . .”

Johan wondered how to use this information but went over to Olafsethan. Seeing his condition, Suetlg opened his mouth.

“The wounds are severe but he won’t die.”

“Caenerna. . .”  

Hearing Olafsethan murmuring Caenerna’s name, Johan was puzzled. Murmuring Caenerna’s name.

“Could it be a lover?”

“With that wizard’s personality, I doubt she would be with someone like him. In the first place, it’s questionable if someone with that personality can have a lover at all.”

“Isn’t that too harsh?”

“No. I was originally going to say they don’t keep a group unless they buy slaves.”  

Suetlg’s voice was full of fatigue and sarcasm thanks to the great magic he had used. As Gerdolf supported him, Suetlg thanked him and sat down.

“Somehow it worked out well. I didn’t expect to encounter the emperor here. . .” 

“We were lucky.”

“Yes. Heaven helped us. I think it’s safe to say God loves you now.”

It was a fight that wouldn’t have been strange to take several more years, but to win by meeting like this. Suetlg thought luck was definitely following them. 

‘𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭.’

Most people didn’t know how to use luck even when they encountered it. Only the brave and daring knew how to seize and use that luck.  

“Did you attack because you were confident you could win? Did you get intelligence that discipline had collapsed? Or did you turn someone?”

“No, we just fought and if it didn’t work out we planned to retreat and spread rumors.”

“. . . . . .”

Suetlg was at a loss for words.  

He was a little embarrassed about the praise he had just given inwardly.

“Was that really it?”

“If not, why would I gamble like that? Because I was confident I could retreat if the situation was unfavorable.”

“When asked, say you received a revelation from God before the charge. I need to rest.”

Feeling empty, Suetlg got up. He was thinking of lying down for a bit in the tent.

“Ca. . .ener. . .na. . .”

As Olafsethan murmured Caenerna’s name again, Johan was puzzled. 

Suetlg had been blunt, but the truth was, having been in the emperor’s court for a long time, it wouldn’t have been strange for Caenerna to have a lover or two. Moreover, Olafsethan was of the emperor’s bloodline, so it wouldn’t have been surprising if Caenerna took a liking to him.

“I will kill you. . .”

“. . . . . .”

Johan made an uncomfortable expression. 

‘𝘋𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳.’

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

While the feudal lords around were spreading rumors and telling this joyful news to others who were elsewhere, Olafsethan regained his spirit.  

And Olafsethan wondered if he should be happy or angry that he was now in the camp of Count Yeats.

While he was fortunate enough to have his life saved, he couldn’t tell if being captured like this was a good thing.  

“I have to do what I can in this situation now.”

Olafsethan expressed his gratitude in an authoritative voice from his sickbed. Then he explained the situation as plausibly as possible.

“. . .And so I decided to prepare poison to end the tyranny.”  

“Oh. . .”

‘𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨!’

Indeed, this remark had an effect. The other feudal lords present also looked at Olafsethan with quite different eyes.

Olafsethan cried out in a grieving voice.  

“But who would have known that the wizard who helped me was a damned traitor?! Court wizard Caenerna betrayed me and reported me to the emperor! Curse that wizard!”

“Olafsethan-nim. I think. . . you should be careful what you say.”

“. . .Jyanina? No. Why are you here, Jyanina-gong?”

“Whatever happened, it may not have been Caenerna-gong’s fault, right?”

“What do you. . . Who else could have betrayed me if not that wizard. . .”  

As his eyes met Johan’s while he was about to get angry, Olafsethan inadvertently changed what he was saying.

“. . .Come to think of it, there could have been another informant.”

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