How to Live as a Wandering Knight – Chapter 319

𝐂𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 (7)

‘𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴.’

Johan quickly shrugged off the shock. It may have been a bit surprising, but things like this do happen, right?

This made him think that he should call Jyanina and reward her.

“May I ask if the rumors are true?”

“The rumors are true.”

Johan didn’t deny it. If the rumors were fake, that would’ve been one thing, but now that they were real and could be proven, what reason was there to hide it?

The fact that the pagan feudal lords came all the way here after hearing such absurd rumors was a bit unexpected, though. . .

Johan took out the restored crown, and as soon as it caught the light from the lamps inside the tent, it began to shine brilliantly.

The feudal lords present felt the crown was genuine without needing to be told. It was an emotion that only those who had seen it could feel, one that couldn’t be explained by logic or evidence.

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“It’s alright, isn’t it? He seems like a trustworthy person.”

After the banquet, the tribal chiefs’ responses were quite favorable. It was a much more satisfying meeting than he had expected.

Not only did they get to see the truth of the miracle they had only heard about in rumors with their own eyes, but they were also able to get a feel for what kind of person the duke was.

The way he treated the heterodox feudal lords with respect and seriousness made them believe that he wouldn’t betray them if they lent him their strength.

“So, what do you think?”

“. . .It doesn’t seem bad.”

It seemed like the troll hunter Marza was quite shocked after seeing the duke face to face, acting like a mouse in front of a cat. His expression still showed that he found it hard to believe.

“The oracle himself said it.”

“I know that. I was just taken aback because it was unexpected, that’s all.”

The army of the newly arrived sultan was demanding huge conscriptions and forced labor under various pretexts. They had been complying for now, but the resentment of the neighboring feudal lords was building up.

Given that resentment, this duke seemed like a rather appealing prospect.

“So. . . who’s going to tell the others?”

“. . . . . .”

The tribal chiefs fell silent.

Normally, it was less risky if multiple people were involved in a betrayal. If a small feudal lord acted on their own, they were likely to be made an example of and punished.

Since they all paid taxes, the other feudal lords in the vicinity were sure to be quite interested.

It would be good to persuade them and get them to act together, but. . .

It was a bit more dangerous to incite others than to simply betray them. If they were labeled as the ringleaders, they could end up facing brutal retaliation.

“I’ll do it.”

“Oh? Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

The other chiefs were puzzled when the tribal chief of the snake beastmen stepped forward. The chief had the least need to come forward out of everyone here. His fiefdom was quite far away, so there was no need for him to take on such a risk. . .

“There’s a fellow tribesman of mine who works as one of the wizards at the duke’s side. I saw her there. It shouldn’t be too difficult to do this much.”

Snake beastmen  weren’t a very popular race, whether in the west or the east. In that sense, it was quite surprising that someone like the duke would have a snake beastmen  wizard with him.

Of course, it was possible that she was a very skilled wizard, but at the very least, it showed that the duke didn’t persecute snake beastmen out of superstition or distrust.

Having seen such a rare sight, the chief was willing to do this much for the duke.

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“Alright, let’s all give Jyanina a round of applause.”

The nobles who remained, as well as the attendants and slaves, all gave Jyanina their applause. Jyanina, who had rushed over suddenly, suspected for a moment that the young duke was changing his method of torment.

‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰. . .?’

Was the duke changing his method of torment, just like nobles who were addicted to pleasure were never satisfied with their current methods and constantly sought more stimulating and intense pleasure?

Of course, that wasn’t the case. Johan personally handed Jyanina a pouch of gold coins. At first, Jyanina wondered what this was for, but after receiving the applause of the nobles, she began to feel good.

“Was she that great of a wizard. . .?”

Ulrike, who had been watching, muttered in surprise. Iselia kindly answered her.

“Yes. She is a skilled wizard.”

“Really?”

Ulrike knew of Caenerna at least. Since she was the emperor’s prophet and court wizard, she was known even in other regions of the empire. Suetlg was also a famous wizard who was sought after by many nobles in the vicinity. . .

But Jyanina was unfamiliar.

There were often cases of skilled wizards who were not well-known, but was that the case here?

‘𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳.’

As a feudal lord, it wasn’t a bad thing to be acquainted with a skilled wizard. Most wizards were honest, and they would usually return the favor for any gifts they received.

“Thank you. Thank you.”

No noble dared to go against the duke’s direct praise. Furthermore, all of the heterodox feudal lords had already left. Even though they didn’t know her well, they all gave Jyanina a round of applause.

Thanks to this, Jyanina became quite conceited. After finishing her greetings and returning to Johan’s seat, Jyanina said in a pleasant voice,

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“It’s nothing. It’s just a proper reward for your accomplishments.”

“It seems that Your Highness is finally starting to acknowledge my abilities. I heard that those pagan feudal lords came all the way here after hearing the rumors?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Johan had been talking quite a lot with the feudal lords just now, so he simply nodded and took a sip of his wine without saying much. Noticing his mood, Iselia handed him a glass of grape wine. Johan nodded in thanks.

“I was able to predict something that even the other wizards couldn’t this time. . .”

Jyanina, who hadn’t noticed Johan’s mood, was startled. Suddenly, Johan grabbed the sword at his waist and drew it. Jyanina screamed and fell to her knees.

“I’m sorry! I made a mistake!”

“Come here!”

Johan grabbed Jyanina by the scruff of her neck with one hand and lifted her up. The lightweight Jyanina was lifted up just like that.

Johan dragged Jyanina over and threw her inside the table. The crossbow bolt landed where Jyanina had been sitting just a moment ago with a thud.

“!”

“Who is it?!”

The nobles inside the tent were bewildered. This was the center of centers, even among the nearby monotheist feudal lords.

And yet, someone dared to launch an ambush here??

“It’s an ambush. Everyone, be careful!”

“My dear, I will. . .”

“Iselia, be careful with your actions before you put on your armor!”

Johan’s body, which had been exhausted from talking at length just now, suddenly regained its vitality. He could feel the blood rushing through his veins as he took in the surrounding situation with sharp senses.

‘𝘚𝘮𝘰𝘬𝘦. . .’

Johan, who had poked his head out of the tent, realized that smoke was rising from various places in the camp. The terrified attendants and slaves were running away in panic between the haphazardly placed tents.

People tended to become weak when they were shocked by something unexpected. It wasn’t strange for them to be unable to assess the situation and run away when they were ambushed while defenseless.

‘𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘺.’

However, Johan wasn’t fooled by such tricks. The current situation wasn’t one where the enemy had invaded the heart of the camp. Rather. . .

‘𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.’

When he learned assassination techniques from Kaegal, he didn’t just learn how to quietly infiltrate a place. He also learned how to create a path by causing a commotion when there was no other way.

If he started fires in various places, fired crossbow bolts randomly, and then shouted as if he was being ambushed, the confusion would last for quite a while.

“Don’t run away! Anyone who runs away will be executed. Don’t leave your positions! The enemy is already fleeing!”

In the midst of the chaos, Johan’s voice, imbued with magical power, echoed loudly. The soldiers who were trying to escape stopped in their tracks and looked around.

“Stay close to the master and don’t move! Anyone who moves unnecessarily and causes confusion will be executed.”

The smoke was still thick, but the loud noises began to die down quickly. Johan’s measures were taking effect.

‘𝘉𝘶𝘵. . .’

Johan wondered.

For them to go through all this trouble to cause a commotion, their target had to be worth it. And the only person in this camp who fit that description was. . .

‘𝘔𝘦, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?’

He couldn’t think of anyone other than himself. However, surprisingly, there was no sign of an ambush nearby.

He wondered if there was an assassin hiding somewhere, but Karamaf was lying still and growling, so that didn’t seem to be the case.

The crossbow bolt that had flown in just now must have been shot randomly and just happened to land here. . .

“Your Highness, it might be better to evacuate for now. . .”

Ulrike said, looking worried. Ulrike, who had already put on her armor, was being escorted by knights.

“I don’t understand. What is the purpose of this ambush?”

“Well. . .”

The answer came right away. Iselia shouted in an urgent voice,

“My dear, Duke Bronquia’s residence is under attack!”

“!”

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

Monotheists and heterodoxes alike were intolerant of other religions. Indigenous religions or pagan faiths that worshipped old gods were subject to suppression.

The suppressed faiths either faded away and were forgotten, or they hid deep underground and transformed into something even more sinister and wicked.

The assassins who had appeared this time were a typical example of the latter. They were cultists who worshipped three skeletal gods. These people, who would mercilessly strike down monotheists or heterodoxes alike if they were paid a large amount of gold in advance, were feared by the neighboring feudal lords.

“Over there. Kill the duke!”

The assassins, speaking in an ancient desert tongue, charged forward. When these men, who had infiltrated the camp disguised as servants and slaves, rushed in, the duke’s knights hurriedly drew their weapons.

𝘚𝘞𝘐𝘚𝘏!

The knights fell to their knees with short screams. It wasn’t because the assassins’ swordsmanship was unexpectedly good.

“Crazy b*stards. . .!”

The assassins were trying to die together with their targets by using their own bodies as shields.

The knights flinched at the horrifying sight of the assassins stopping their movements by impaling the knights’ weapons into their own bodies and then slitting their throats with well-sharpened daggers.

Even experienced knights couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by such madness.

“They’re hopped up on drugs. Be careful when fighting them!”

“Clear a path! Find Duke Yeats!”

The assassins were speaking in a language that the knights didn’t understand, but one of the knights managed to make out the word ‘Yeats.’ He thought to himself,

“Duke Yeats. . .? Are they after Duke Yeats?”

He tried to communicate with them, but the assassins, who were already intoxicated, didn’t listen to the knight’s words.

“Charge!”

Just as the knights were being cut down one by one and the assassins were about to cross the tent, reinforcements arrived from behind.

It was Johan, who had gathered the knights after calming the chaos.

‘𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘋𝘶𝘬𝘦 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘢?’

Johan wondered. He wondered if one of the monotheist feudal lords had tried to assassinate Duke Bronquia. That was how suspicious their target was.

“■■■!”

The assassin shouted savagely and lunged at him. Johan cut off the man’s arm with his sword and smashed his fist into the man’s jaw. The assassin, who had been charging forward without feeling any pain, rolled his eyes and collapsed.

As soon as three assassins fell to the ground, the expressions of the others changed.

“■■■ ■■■, ■■ ■■!”

The assassin who seemed to be the most sane of the bunch shouted and gave orders. He was clearly wary of Johan.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦!’

Those who didn’t care about their own lives and were only intent on inflicting harm on their opponents were difficult to deal with. If they even grazed him, Johan would be the one who suffered.

From the looks of it, their intention to block his way by sacrificing their lives was clear. The problem was. . .

‘𝘋𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐’𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?’

Johan had no intention of risking his life for Duke Bronquia. Why would he bother doing something like that when he was only wearing light armor?

A duke should be able to protect his own life. . .

If the other party misunderstood his intentions and threw their bodies at him, that would be convenient for Johan. Johan slashed, crushed, and trampled the assassins who rushed at him.

“■■■!”

A triumphant cry rang out from inside the tent, and one of the assassins quickly fired an arrow into the air. It was a signal to their comrades outside, informing them of their success.

The fallen assassin chuckled at Johan. Johan didn’t even blink as he slit the man’s throat.

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