How to Live as a Wandering Knight

The knights looked doubtful. They would have listened if it were someone else, but it was hard to accept when Stephen said it.

“Let’s watch the situation a bit more.”

“What if Johan dies in the meantime?”

“Sir Johan is not someone who dies easily. Besides, it seems they are fighting now. . .”

“Then how about we go support with the soldiers Stephen is leading?”

Hearing this, Suetlg offered a compromise. The knights couldn’t object to sending the mercenaries Stephen brought.

Returning to their camp, Suetlg spoke to Stephen with surprise in his expression.

“That’s a decent idea. In this situation, the enemy will be too confused to attack us easily.”

“Ah. . . yes, I thought so too. Of course.”

Of course, Stephen had not thought that way.

Just like when Johan returned from negotiating with Ulrike, Stephen didn’t quite trust Ulrike.

━𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐔𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞?

━𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬? 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐤 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐬𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫.

━𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐱 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬?

━𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝, 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬. 𝐒𝐡𝐞’𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐞𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫.

━𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐔𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞? 𝐒𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐲. . .

━𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧, 𝐔𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧.

‘𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦?’

It was surprising, but Johan seemed to have won Ulrike’s favor. It was evident from what was heard.

But Stephen still feared Ulrike. If Johan were to die, it wouldn’t be strange for Ulrike to break her promise.

‘𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘦!’

“Let’s go! Follow me!”

Fortunately, the mercenaries followed Stephen.

They went to aid their employer, Johan, without question, though their faces were filled with bewilderment.

“Did that knight know how to fight?”

“I don’t know. . . I heard he’s like a blind man with open eyes. . .”

Whispers from behind.

Normally, Stephen would have been furious, but now in a desperate situation, he couldn’t afford to lose his temper. Clenching his teeth, he led the soldiers close to the city walls, his body tense in anticipation of incoming arrows.

“The fog is too thick to shoot this far. Definitely. . .!”

He thought this in his head, but the fear did not subside. Moreover, the top of the wall was eerily quiet. That was even more terrifying.

As Stephen wondered what was happening and racked his brain, the mercenaries urged him on.

“You need to give an order!”

“Do we stick close to the secret gate to enter? Or do we climb the wall?”

“Keep it down! I’m thinking. . .”

Then, a disturbing noise echoed through the fog. It was the sound of the castle gate being lifted.

“???”

“W-What is that?”

The mercenaries grabbed their weapons first, but something felt off as they did.

Why would those inside open the gates and come out? It was a time when they should be hunkering down inside.

People emerged from the fog. The mercenaries looked only at Stephen, waiting for his command. They were waiting for an order, but Stephen was also at a loss for words.

“Hm? Have you come to help?”

“??!?!”

The one who came out of the opened gate was Johan. In Johan’s hand was an unfamiliar man, covered in blood.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

Johan’s party, Ulrike, and even the guards themselves were unaware that the situation inside the fortress was in chaos.

When it became known that someone had climbed over the wall in the thick fog, the guards, thinking the walls had been taken over, were terrified.

While Johan was busy clearing soldiers in the courtyard, fear spread even more on the walls.

In an already exhausted and starving situation, some quick-witted ones took advantage of the fog to climb down the walls and flee.

Still, the situation could have been managed up to that point.

But the situation worsened when the guard captain, who should have hurriedly come to calm the soldiers, was caught and killed by Johan.

With the guard captain’s communication cut off, the leaders of the soldiers, the ten-man captains, also panicked.

When one of the ten-man captains ran away, it was the end.

Like a dam bursting at its limit, the soldiers each looked for their own way to survive and fled.

At that time, Johan was searching the inner fortress for the castellan, unaware that the outside defense had collapsed.

“The castellan is on the third floor?”

“Yes! Yes!”

Apart from the main tower, the inner fortress was a narrow space with no empty areas. Normally, the first floor of a tower was used as a storehouse or kitchen, and living spaces were above it.

‘𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦.’

The castellan would know more about this fortress than Johan. It wouldn’t be strange if there were one or two secret passages. Johan had to rush to catch him before he was discovered.

“Is there a passage to escape outside?”

“We don’t know that much. . .”

The captured swordsmen said with anxious expressions. With the guard captain killed in one stroke, there was no one who could guarantee their lives here.

They had to show they were useful somehow!

“Where are you from?”

“From Aren, in the central Empire.”

“That’s quite far. How did you end up here?”

“We were conscripted by the guild. . . Sir Karamaf sent us here.”

“!”

Johan was surprised at the unexpected name. Karamaf sent them?

“Karamaf? Have you seen his face?”

“Of course not, we are not of the status to meet him directly. Besides, Sir Karamaf is. . . well, it’s a rumor, but there are rumors that he’s seriously ill. . .”