episode_0116

A match between knights ends with one side being unable to fight.

I had to drain a lot of my stamina to get the word “surrender” out of my mouth or knock my head unconscious.

For that, the knight had to be thrown off his horse.

If you’re lucky, that alone can render your opponent incapable of fighting. Even if that wasn’t the case, a knight who lost mobility became good prey.

The horrifying sound of metal scraping sounded several times.

We were still at the point where we were glaring at each other and circling to see if we could stab each other a few times.

“Knight Raven, I’ve heard that name a few times.”

“This is our first meeting, right? Something inside my skin.”

“Is that so? I’m a little confused, so can you lift your helmet so I can see your face?”

“The nonsense ends there.”

“Moore, that’s about it. I just wish you would burn that body for the glory of my lord.”

The enemies this time are not thieves or mercenaries.

Their armed status is incomparable to theirs, and their experience is overwhelmingly greater. Of course, he knew the weaknesses of humans like he knew them all. It was difficult to hit a vital point with one blow.

Therefore, in knight-on-knight battles, in most cases, the goal is not to kill.

Instead, it was common to capture them alive and take them as prisoners.

There were two main reasons.

One is money. It is no exaggeration to say that drivers are people with money wrapped around their bodies.

Therefore, most knights were wealthy. This means that it is the optimal target for extorting ransom.

Even if the knight himself wasted money, there were many cases where his lord or family gave it to him.

If there was no lord to serve or no family to serve, selling the equipment one had was enough to make a lot of money. It was as if the bottom line was the bottom line.

Another reason is that it is difficult to just kill them.

A knight is a being wrapped in armor that is difficult to pierce with a bow or sword. The best response is to knock it unconscious or drop it in the mud to incapacitate it.

The battlefield is a place where you never know when and where the sword will strike. You can’t afford to leisurely stab the gaps in your armor with a dagger.

Unless you harbor a personal grudge, there is absolutely no reason to go out of your way to kill him.

Since it was such an article, this thought was stuck in a corner of my mind.

‘Even if you lose the battle, you have a high chance of surviving.’

Of course, there was an exception in horseback assaults where half of one’s life had to be sacrificed.

However, in other cases, it wasn’t actually a wrong idea. Unless you unluckily fall off a horse head first.

Quick decision, go one step further and kill with one strike.

There was this reason why it became every knight’s dream and fantasy. By nature, people long for and crave more what they do not have.

But magic and arrows were powerless against armor. The situation was the same for maces and swords.

If you hit the catapult, you can kill it in one go. However, if there were a soldier who could do such a thing on his own will, he should be elevated to the rank of saint and be widely revered.

“Surround yourself! If he does that, he won’t be able to do anything.”

“According to rumors, he uses a sword that can cut through armor-”

“When faced with numbers, such advantages tend to fade. He has only one arm. So first, let’s deal with that lightsaber guy.”

It was that kind of world from the beginning.

This is a world where one superman cannot appear and demonstrate the ability to handle the front line alone.

It was impossible to put mysterious logic into each step and swing the sword with imagery in mind.

Of course, there was a time when he performed a trick of walking backwards while appearing to be moving forward, but this walking method, which was like walking on the moon while gliding, could not be used on the battlefield.

It’s literally a medieval fantasy world. So there was magic, and there were knights as well.

It was such a world, but swinging a sword had no value beyond that of just swinging it.

If a mountain were to split just by cutting it down with great concentration, people of this era would call it a miracle.

As a result, what could happen on the battlefield and what could not happen were clearly divided.

An enemy knight, who had been staring at me from the beginning, sped up and ran towards me.

The ax was struck sideways. The best answer here was to block with a shield to absorb the impact, or to counter it with my weapon.

I extended my sword horizontally, indicating that I would respond.

Nevertheless, the opponent had the same posture as before. It meant that even if they knew my name, they didn’t know what I could do.

It was ignorance that was willing to be exploited.

This was a fact that would become known once this battle was over anyway, so I had to make the most of it.

The ax, which is swung with all its might from behind, contains such power that it is difficult to end it without causing damage even when wearing armor.

If I made a mistake, Sancho could get hurt, so I carefully looked at the route.

Without taking your eyes off until the end, take a deep breath.

And just in time.

“-Now!”

-Slap!

“Uh… … ?”

When something that shouldn’t happen happens.

Human beings, who are only weak in unexpected situations, desperately look for someone who can answer this question for them.

Most often it was a god, sometimes a parent or lord.

The thing I leaned on this time was faith. The name came out of my mouth mixed with despair.

“God.”

The sack flew in the sky. Having prepared in advance, I slowly turned my body to avoid it.

However, the knight holding the remaining handle was unable to overcome the force he swung with all his might and stumbled.

He was probably planning to kill me with his sword. It wasn’t a wrong response.

Normally, a long, thin sword would not be very effective against a heavy ax wielded with all its might.

However, today was just not the usual case.

The idea of belittling the vagaries of the battlefield will certainly be cured in the face of sufficient force.

It was one of the truths of the world that does not change even today.

I stopped the F-Five held high and sent it back the way it came.

And I taught you the name of this great power that corrects even the stereotypes that are so difficult to change so that it is clearly engraved in your mind.

“Sa, Sal-”

“Fix with iron!!”

The handle that received the saint’s blessing is struck down on the face, and the helmet is slightly dented.

The driver lowered his head as the sound of boiling phlegm followed the death.

I circled around with Sancho and nudged him with my foot. Then, without any reaction, he fell off the saddle.

*****

Poets singing about chivalry tried to imbue the word honor with all kinds of noble values.

But is fame a big deal? In the end, the more merit you made, and the more famous the opponent was, the more you would automatically follow suit.

In that sense, a knight named Raven was a good opponent.

In the south beyond the Alpine Mountains, the story of cutting down barbarians as a pastime was bound to become popular during this period. In short, it meant that there was a lot of honor to be ripped off.

But that’s all you know. I wasn’t interested in further details.

There was no need to look into it since it seemed like they were not involved in a civil war anyway.

“They say you have excellent skills, but be careful.”

“Did you say it was a lightsaber? If the name is known, it must be so. I was worried because it wasn’t the first time I had met someone like this as an enemy, and I would have to be careful. After all, he is just a human being.”

“If the name alone makes you feel scared, stay back. So, who will be the first to challenge that honor? If not, let me take the first step.”

It was not the arrogance that beginner knights usually have.

It was simply an idea to alleviate the primal fear of death by remembering that the other person was also a human being with a body made of flesh and blood.

However, I needed to check his skills, so I wasn’t the first to step forward.

An impatient knight ran ahead and challenged Raven to a duel.

And then something happened and he quickly collapsed and fell off his horse. At that moment, it felt like the blade had broken, but the first thought occurred to me that it couldn’t be possible.

‘I must have seen it wrong.’

There’s no way something like that would be possible.

However, it was true that he easily defeated a knight. So, of course, the attack that followed was a violence of numbers.

He nodded to the two knights surrounding him, then rushed towards him and thrust his sword.

After the strong collision, a struggle of strength followed, and the plan was to use any means possible, whether it was twisting the blade to look for an opening or snatching the opponent’s wrist.

“Inhale!”

“… … !”

And, Deng Geng.

The black piece was cut in half, and half of it fell to the ground.

If the cause is negligence in maintaining weapons, there is no need to feel resentful since they risked their necks in the first place.

But what does this clean cross section and cutting power without foreign matter mean? Even though it is a place where unreasonable things happen like eating, there is a right line.

However, even in the midst of this absurdity, I suddenly realize one thing.

He wasn’t alone. It wasn’t a one-on-one duel, so of course my allies were lined up around me.

Behind him, a knight was seen approaching quickly and drawing his sword. So, what you need to do now.

“-Huh?!”

“Where, I can’t go anywhere!”

Blocks the path, preventing the next attack from being blocked with the sword.

The horse that was close to me barked dissatisfiedly, but faithfully followed its owner’s orders.

The sword penetrated into the area where defense was weak. And then, of course, fresh blood.

-visor!

“Wait.”

Fresh blood should burst out.

That thing that stopped with a refreshing metallic sound, that is.

“Is there anything you can block with your hand?”

“Here it is.”

The reason he blocked it with his hand, which would cause more damage than his arm, was to pull off some kind of trick.

His grip tightens. And as if the cutting of the blade doesn’t hurt, I calmly pull it toward my body.

At the same time, a kick came and I momentarily lost my right hand holding the sword.

Instead of swinging wide, the sword held to the side of the waist as if stabbing passes through the attacking knight. As if he wasn’t wearing any armor.

And, as if he was not afraid of the knights surrounding him on all sides, he swung his sword sharply.

The next thing I heard wasn’t even the clear sound of a sword being thrown. It was the unpleasant sound of the sword digging deep and scraping the armor.

*****

Majestic and wonderful.

Ironically, the first thing the soldiers felt on the battlefield was a feeling that stood in direct opposition to that cruelty.

Something that moves in a group is intimidating.

Birds flying in unison, a pack of wolves running across a snowy mountain, and fish swimming as one.

And now, in front of my eyes, the cavalry formed into formation and galloped down the gently sloping field.

The sound of metal clanking and clashing with the vibration of the ground forms a harmony.

In clear weather, the sunlight hits the armor and makes it sparkle. They shine in silver light and are like silver waves reflected in the sea.

I feel the urge to forget their usual behavior for a moment and run with them.

However, in the ensuing collision, the ecstasy is broken and reality comes to light. It is as cruel and scary as the fall.

Ah, we’re next.

A future that looks like a painting unfolds before your eyes.

Imagine dozens or hundreds of horses and their riders running straight at you.

As the figure gets closer, the ground rumbles louder and louder, and the spear slowly tilts towards the head.

The horse, which was walking lightly, runs at full speed as the figure approaches.

Instinctively, he picked up a weapon that was sure to bend and break, but he eventually realized that the target of the charge was himself. Even at this time, there are not many people who have the mental strength to stand still.

If you try to avoid it, you will be late, and if you try to stop it, you will only get trampled.

I look for God in the face of an irresistible force, but perhaps my request was too selfish, so he does not respond.

“Bishop?”

“… … .”

“Please give the command.”

There was a military unit that watched the entire process from afar.

And beyond that, there were several bishops who were constantly wondering when to retreat.

As I pondered over that scene, the words that came out of my mouth were a decision that had been going through my mind several times.

“-Retreat.”

“… Is it true that what you just said is to retreat?”

“I understood well. We are leaving this place!”

How can you retreat without fighting?

The aide imagined saying such a thing to the bishop’s face, but in the end, the middle manager had no choice but to follow his wishes.

It was a clever move to preserve one’s strength while others were fighting wasteful battles.

However, there must have been fear in it as well. The fear of death, of not knowing when and from what cause one might die on the battlefield.

It was not only dishonorable, it was downright ugly.

However, when he suddenly discovered the selfishness of being relieved by his situation, the hesitation inside the aide disappeared.

A flag with a diagonal red line fluttered high in the sky. It was a signal to retreat.