How to Live as a Wandering Knight – Chapter 321

𝐂𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 (9)

“Your Highness, grant me the honor of accompanying you!”

The other knights from the north stepped forward without hesitation.

If the knight representing them was incompetent, the other knights might have backed down after seeing that, but that wasn’t the case when Duke Yeats stepped forward. It was an honor to fight alongside him.

As they argued fiercely over who would go, Johan chose five knights, including himself, to participate in the duel. The enemies also selected five knights in response to the request.

“I’ll go first.”

The other knights nodded without a second thought at Johan’s words. However, Johan’s entourage had their doubts.

‘𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?’

The knights present seemed to have agreed without much thought, but since this young duke was the first to step forward, it was possible that their turn might not come at all.

It seemed that the knights couldn’t even imagine such a possibility.

“. . .?”

The knights from the north looked puzzled at the gazes from the entourage.

What’s with them?

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The knight, Abzra, was one of the most renowned knights in Yeheyman’s camp.

After the shocking defeat at Vynashchtym, Yeheyman had summoned valiant knights from all over the Eastern Empire to deal with the demon-contracted duke.

Abzra was one of those knights. He was particularly skilled in shooting arrows while swiftly leaning his body down on his horse as if lying down. Knights who didn’t know any better would chase after Abzra, thinking he was running away, only to meet their demise.

Sagrat was also a knight who was not inferior to Abzra. Sagrat, who was originally a slave of the Sultan, relentlessly pursued his opponents, swinging his ridiculously heavy mace without taking a breath. Once caught in his attack, even a skilled swordsman would be unable to counterattack and would fall from their horse.

With such outstanding knights gathered, they were not willing to easily give up the chance to be the first to fight.

“I am the one who received Yeheyman-nim’s favor. I shall go first!”

“Do you think you have the right to command just because you won a joust, a child’s play? I cannot yield the honor of going first.”

“Everyone, calm down!”

As the right side was important, the sultan’s eunuchs were also present in the camp. The eunuch who came here on behalf of the sultan had the authority to mediate the knights’ disputes.

“More importantly, isn’t the duke’s flag still flying? What’s going on?”

At first, the eunuch thought it was just the pagans’ bluff. In fact, it wouldn’t have been strange for the soldiers under the duke’s command to fight while holding the duke’s flag even if the duke had fallen.

But something was a little strange. It was difficult to say specifically, but a very subtle sense of discomfort was touching the eunuch’s intuition.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘪𝘵! 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.’

If the duke had died, there should have been some confusion. The enemies would have been filled with anger, fear, or confusion.

However, the enemies were in surprisingly good order. From the flags flying everywhere to the movements of the various units, there seemed to be no gaps.

“Isn’t this already over? Even you agreed that they were bluffing.”

The knights looked at the eunuch, wondering what he was talking about. The knights didn’t know, but it was the eunuchs who had attempted the assassination in the first place, and it was also the eunuchs who had spread the rumor.

Therefore, it was also the eunuchs who had strongly insisted that the duke’s flag was a bluff when it was clearly visible.

And now, he was talking about the flag again.

“I’m not talking about the flags flying all over the camp, but the opposing knights. Look! They’re not holding the duke’s flag.”

“Are they the duke’s knights?”

“That armor looks like the one the duke used to wear. . .”

“He must have inherited the duke’s armor. Sir, why do you keep saying that?”

The knights asked seriously. No knight liked to hear useless chatter before a fight. To them, the eunuch’s words sounded like nonsense from a scribe who knew nothing about fighting.

Realizing their inner thoughts, the eunuch’s face turned red for a moment. No eunuch would not be angry at being treated like a naive child by rookie knights.

“Didn’t I tell you not to act recklessly. . .!”

“Worrying too much can become a heavy chain that weighs you down.”

Abzra said so and mounted his horse as if he didn’t want to listen anymore. The other knights looked taken aback that they were a step too late.

“I shall go first and show the glory of the two gods!”

“Wait. . .”

However, Abzra galloped towards the enemy in an instant. It was too late to stop him now. The eunuch watched anxiously.

“Ooh!”

Cheers erupted from the pagan camp. Abzra had shown an amazing feat. He accurately aimed at the vital point of an opponent who was moving quickly at a distance of more than a hundred paces.

“What a pity! It was a perfect hit!”

“Was it really a perfect hit?”

Since the distance was so far, they could only guess the result from the opponent’s movements. It was even harder for the eunuch with poor eyesight to see.

“The arrow flew towards the neck. Luckily, it seems to have hit the chest.”

“Is that so?”

The heavily armored knights didn’t fall with just one attack. Since their whole body was covered with thick chunks of metal, they had to be hit hard or their weak points had to be pierced.

Although Abzra had excellent archery skills, it wasn’t surprising that he couldn’t pierce through in one shot from such a distance.

“Abzra is pressing on. He’ll finish it easily.”

“The opponent can’t even get close.”

The knights crossed their arms and watched the duel while sitting on their horses. Whenever their horses circled around and got close, Abzra shot an arrow, and the opponent barely managed to block it.

In the knights’ eyes, the opponent was still alive only because he was extremely lucky. If he had been hit a little higher, he would have fallen long ago.

However, unlike the knights’ assessment, Abzra himself was troubled by an unknown anxiety.

‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵?’

At first, Abzra thought that the arrow had indeed hit the armor. He rarely made such a mistake, but even Abzra was human and could miss the vital point once in a while.

However, after more than five attempts, Abzra began to realize that something was strange.

He couldn’t miss like this.

Ordinary soldiers might not know, but when one became a master archer, they developed a unique intuition. Once they shot an arrow, they had to be convinced that they had hit the target.

And yet, he had been wrong five times in a row.

Moreover, Abzra felt like he had seen something strange at the end. The opponent didn’t block the arrow with his armor, but caught it with one hand.

It would have been understandable if he had caught an arrow that had been shot poorly and lost its power, but there was no way he could catch an arrow shot from Abzra’s strong bow like that.

“Are you just going to keep shooting?”

“. . .!”

Abzra heard the opponent’s voice for the first time. It was a low, powerful voice. Abzra was reminded of the demon he had defeated before.

‘𝘓𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳.’

The opponent suddenly started running towards him. Abzra hurriedly aimed the next arrow. He clearly saw the opponent raising a spear with one hand. Anyone could tell that he was about to throw the spear.

It was ridiculous. It was ridiculous to try to throw a spear while he was aiming a bow from this distance, and it was also ridiculous to think that he would just take it head-on.

Abzra’s arrow flew powerfully with a whooshing sound.

“!”

Johan, who had gotten used to the arrows, managed to catch it with his hand once again. This time, Abzra’s eyes widened as he watched carefully.

At the same time, a spear flew from Johan’s hand. The spear flew violently like a rock thrown from a catapult. Abzra was so startled by the force of the spear tearing through the air that he threw himself to the side.

Originally, it would have been a distance he could easily avoid, but the spear flew at a speed that surpassed Abzra’s eye. It was humiliating, but he had no choice but to accept his fall from his horse.

𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐝!

“. . .!!!”

“T-That. . .!”

The pagan knights who were watching were shocked. Abzra, who had been relentlessly pressing on, had been killed by a single throwing spear. It was an unexpectedly shocking defeat.

𝐖𝐚𝐚𝐚𝐚𝐚𝐚𝐚𝐚𝐡!

Cheers erupted from the enemies who confirmed the victory. Sagrat gritted his teeth and said,

“I will take care of him!”

“Wai. . .”

The furious Sagrat charged forward with his mace. Sagrat shouted loudly, his eyes blazing like fire.

“I am Sagrat of the Cyanol family! State your name!”

“I am Johan of the Yeats family.”

“. . .What?”

Sagrat’s fate was decided with that. Johan’s sword pierced through Sagrat’s helmet.

Sagrat’s helmet was a treasure among treasures that the Sultan himself had bestowed upon him. Johan could sense the powerful magical power from within, so it might have been a helmet made of Danus steel, just like the old empire’s armor he was wearing.

That’s why Johan decided to kill him for sure.

Seal Retriever stabbed the helmet repeatedly. Sagrat’s head shook uncontrollably due to the enormous force. The magical power contained in the helmet screamed and blocked the blade of Seal Retriever, but it couldn’t block the shock that the head inside received.

Sagrat fell helplessly to the side. Johan raised his sword as if declaring victory.

“. . .!!!”

“The duke is alive! The duke is alive!!”

One of the veterans screamed as if he was shouting. Fear began to spread like a contagious disease. The soldiers who were maintaining their formation in the back could be seen stirring.

The eunuch, even in his panic, managed to think and make the best choice.

“Send the attack signal! We must attack the duke!”

He didn’t know how the duke was still alive, but at this point, there was no honor or anything. They had to catch him before their side collapsed and before the opponent ran away.

It would be good if they could catch him, and even if they couldn’t, it would be better than having their morale hit rock bottom like this.

“Go!”

“Do they fight duels like this in the East?”

The knights who had charged at Johan’s words also blushed. In a duel, it was shameful to attack one person with many people, even on this side.

However, they couldn’t help it in this situation. The knights convinced themselves that the duel was over and spurred their horses. They had forgotten the most important thing because of their shame and because they had come out too hastily.

Who they were facing right now.

The knights who were said to have been blessed by the spirits of the desert and the warriors who were chosen as the best among the warriors of the seven tribes fell mercilessly to the ground.

The duke didn’t even wait for those who were running from behind to help him. He didn’t waste time dodging attacks. He clashed with the one who was running in front and cut them down one by one.

And then, the two armies clashed.

The eunuch checked the escape route behind him without realizing it. Even though there were countless soldiers in front of him.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

As the day wore on and it became harder to fight, both sides withdrew their troops. The eunuch wiped his face with a silk handkerchief. His heart felt heavy as lead.

Although they had attacked three times, all three times had been repelled, which was a minor part of what had happened today. There were so many shocking things.

Above all, the process of being repelled was too cruel. The attack itself could fail, and they could just try again.

However, the problem was that they were beaten up like a flock of sheep being slaughtered by a wolf. When the duke, who they thought was dead, came back to life and swung his sword, even the brave warriors turned into cowards.

‘𝘞𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦!’

Yeheyman’s side must have heard the shocking news since they had sent a messenger earlier. The eunuch couldn’t figure out how the duke had died and come back to life.

Did he really come back from the dead??

“Sir! It’s a surprise attack! The enemy is attacking!”

“!!”

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

It was a basic tactic that even apprentice knights knew not to attack at night.

With tens of thousands of people clashing on the battlefield, the darkness was deadly. No matter how thoroughly they sent signals and communicated with each other, they would end up fighting among themselves more often.

Of course, Johan knew that too.

The centaurs raised torches in both hands with a grin, as if they were remembering old memories.

“We’re the only ones who use tricks like this, I don’t think it’s something your Highness would do. . .”

“So, do you have any complaints?”

“How can I have any complaints when I’m with Your Highness?”

That’s why what Johan was doing now wasn’t an all-out war, but just a trick to harass the opponent. If a few hundred cavalrymen ran around with torches and shouted, the soldiers would never be able to rest easy.

As the centaurs said, it was a rather petty trick for a duke like Johan to do. . .

Johan was a man who could do such petty things silently.

“Hey. I think those guys are pissed. They’re burning the fire so fiercely.”

“Are they idiots? Even if they burn the fire over there, the light won’t reach here, will it?”

“. . .You guys are the idiots! That didn’t start a fire, it started a fire!”

“!!”

The soldiers following Johan were shocked. A fire suddenly started to rise in the enemy camp.

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