As night fell, both sides rested. However, while one side rested comfortably, the other trembled with anxiety.
Johan approached the enemy camp with about a dozen men. The watchmen’s screams were visible in the light of their torches.
“You sons of b*tches! Better to attack!”
“If you’re going to come, do it like a knight, what are you doing!”
The weary mercenaries struggled, but Johan ignored them.
To torment the opponent without fighting.
Johan could do such things as much as he wanted. The knights admired him for this.
If Johan had been a dishonorable mercenary, they would have scorned such tricks as petty. But Johan was already a knight who had proven his honor. This was an amazing stratagem.
━𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐥.
“. . .?”
Johan, harassing the enemy with Karamaf, sensed something odd.
Having done this for days, he felt a sense of unease. Torches and people moving in the darkness.
What’s changed?
━𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐥!
“Could it be. . .”
Johan shuddered at the thought that came to mind. But it seemed highly probable.
Lebuten wasn’t far. The Marquis could have just slipped away.
“Prepare to charge!”
“!”
“Ready, sir!”
Though only about a dozen, they charged towards a camp of nearly a thousand, but the knights stood unfazed behind Johan.
“Charge!”
Johan realized it was time again to surrender to instinct rather than reason. His instinct now was to ransack the enemy camp with his knights.
Right now!
Charge!
“It’s an attack!!! Attack!!”
Soldiers screamed and scattered in all directions. The days of harassment had paid off. Their formation was barely in place.
𝐃𝐨𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐨━
Thudding hooves echoed through the camp, and the knights’ shouts rattled eardrums. They relentlessly struck down mercenaries clad only in light garments.
“Don’t scatter, to the center! Find the Marquis!”
Johan was cautious, but no organized counterattack came. Instead, soldiers scattered like frightened rabbits.
No one thought this assault was just a dozen men. They believed it was a total attack by those who had been pursuing them for days.
“Sir! Found it!”
The Marquis’ tent was easy to spot even in the dark. It was the largest and had many torches.
Arriving at it without counterattack left Johan feeling empty. Clearly, the adversary had fled. Instead, another figure on horseback appeared.
“I am Senephus of the Leseji family! State your name, adversary!”
“Johan of the Yeats family. Where did the Marquis go?”
“Think I’d reveal that? Don’t underestimate me just because I’m alone. I can take on hundreds by myself!”
Johan gripped his weapon tightly.
There was no point in detaining a knight for questioning in such a critical situation. The opponent wouldn’t know the exact way either.
‘𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳?’
They were about a dozen, excluding the main force behind.
It was fortunate the enemy didn’t know. Otherwise, who knows what chaos would have ensued.
“I’ve heard of your exploits among the mercenaries. Let’s see if you can show the same skill in front of a real knight!”
Senephus charged. In the darkness, his spear tip, faintly glimmering, aimed for Johan’s vital spot.
𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐝!
With a heavy sound, Senephus fell off his horse. Johan shouted without even looking back.
“The Marquis has fled! Head to the main force and order a full attack. We will pursue the Marquis!”
“Yes!!”
While the cavalry behind them completely crushed the remaining enemies, Johan and his knights raced forward.
“Karamaf. You must play a key role!”
━𝐑𝐚𝐚!
Karamaf, seemingly able to see the path even in the darkness, ran without hesitation. Johan followed, eyeing the front intently.
Although the enemy had started first, the gap wasn’t too wide. Moreover, the enemy had to be slower than them. Nobles move with their servants and slaves in tow, after all. . .
🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
Johan’s pursuit had also reached the ears of his target. The sound spread far in the darkness.
“Did you not hear the sound of a horse neighing just now?”
“What sound? Are you tired, sir?”
“No. Just now. . .”
“!”
The other knights had clearly heard it too. The sound of a horse’s neigh coming from a distance.
The pursuit team is coming!
“H-How so soon! Could the mercenaries have betrayed us?”
“Otherwise, how could they be here so quickly. . .!”
“Let’s fight back!”
“The numbers are too uneven! We must create confusion. Take the Marquis away! The rest of us will scatter and deceive them!”
Marquis Crucho did not hesitate for long. Having already retreated, there was no turning back.
“I express my respect for the knights’ loyalty. Let’s meet in Lebuten!”
“Not so, Marquis!”
Marquis left immediately. The knights dispersed and began to change direction one after another. The servants and slaves remained in place. They had no horses to escape on.
The knights’ division was soon known to Johan’s group.
Servants and slaves trembling in surrender, and horse hooves scattering in all directions.
Karamaf also growled and tilted its head in confusion.
“. . .Damn. Do we have to leave it to luck here?”
“God will take care of us, sir.”
The knights, although not entirely believing, seemed intoxicated with victory.
How could they have shattered the enemy camp and chased after Marquis without divine care?
“Alright. Let’s go! If God is watching over us, we might catch Marquis!”
Of course, that was not the case.
Johan found only five knights in the direction he chased. None looked like Marquis.
“Tsk.”
Those around Johan also showed disappointment. Knights had value, but they were mere substitutes for the real target.
Unaware of such materialistic thoughts, Marquis’ knights steeled their resolve.
“I am Marco of the Algaro family. Reveal your identity!”
Johan casually wielded his weapon, ready to knock down anyone. They had the numerical advantage.
“Sir!”
“Why? Do you want to confront him?”
“That man is the son of the Marquis!”
Johan was puzzled by the knight’s words.
“Isn’t he from the Algaro family?”
“He’s a b*stard son.”
In cases of noble b*stards, it was common to send them to other families. It was the best scenario for b*stards to still receive noble treatment.
“Is he a favored one like Stephen?”
“Not really.”
“I see.”
Johan was disappointed. If that were the case, he wouldn’t have been brought to the battlefield like this.
As Johan and the knight murmured, Marco shouted out.
“Reveal your identity!”
“Johan of the Yeats family.”
With those words, Johan charged. He intended to capture these knights since Marquis seemed to have escaped.