CH 43

The glow of torches from a group of riders on horseback drew closer and closer. Once the distance was close enough, Galfredik roared into the night.

“Stop right there! I will fire if you come any closer!”

The horses came to a stop as the words rang loudly through the cold air of the night.

“Why are you chasing after us at night? Who are you? Reveal yourselves!”

“I am Marvel, knight of Evergrove! Are you Sir Galfredik?!”

“Ah, so it’s Sir Marvel. That’s right, it’s me, Galfredik. What’s going on?”

“I heard that you killed Sir Lugates under the pretext of a duel! Is that really something an honorable knight should do?”

“That’s right! And it was a secret duel as well, wasn’t it!? Did you intentionally make it as such as to kill Sir Lugates?” Another voice chimed in, and Galfredik shouted. 

“And this voice should belong to Sir McCullay. Hey! It’s true that I killed Lugates in a duel, but none of my actions were dishonorable.”

“I cannot trust your words! Why else would you leave the castle at night as if running away!”

“Because I knew you lot would come running. I would be at a loss to fight inside a lion’s den.”

“Hmph! Lies! It’s obvious that you were afraid. And why was Young Master Jevin so grief-stricken? Young Master Jevin is an honorable man! If there was a justifiable reason, he would have accepted the results of the duel, even if it did cause Sir Lugates’ death!”

“Obviously it’s because he thought Lugates would win. But unfortunately for him, it was the other way around. And I think he might become grief-stricken again very soon.”

“What are you… Sir! Are you trying to provoke us!?”

“I am only telling the truth. If it’s a one-on-one battle, none of you are capable of defeating me, sirs.”

“What nonsense!”

“If you think you’re so strong, I, Reedren McCullay, will face you in battle!”

With McCullay in the lead, the three knights rushed forward.

“Should I fire?”

“Leave ‘em be.”

Galfredik shook his head at Glade and Lavan, then shouted towards the three knights as they stormed forward.

“Let’s fight one by one! Don’t tell me you are going to rush in all at once like cowards? I have to tell you, our wizard might have to step forward if you plan to come all at once!”

The knights flinched and came to a stop. They were now close enough to identify the members of Eugene’s group. Their gaze quickly turned to Romari, who was staring blankly while standing in front of the carriage.

The knights had quickly rushed out of the castle after hearing that Eugene and Galfredik had escaped, but they had not expected the female wizard to be accompanying them.

“Master Romari! Are you planning to attack us?”

“I have nothing against you sirs, but I was hired by Sir Eugene. So I have to fulfill my responsibilities. I apologize.”

“Crud…”

The knights shared a gaze while gritting their teeth, then they spoke up.

“Fine! Let it be one-on-one matches. We aren’t shameless and honorless like you, sir.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m so glad all of you are honorable knights. Then let us write up a document and place our seals.”

“Good!”

“Romari.”

“Yes.”

Romari quickly drafted up two documents containing the same content at Eugene’s order. Among the knights of Evergrove, Marvel looked over its contents before placing his seal at the bottom.

“But if we win, who will become our prisoner? Sir Eugene, or you?”

“That’s…”

Galfredik started to respond, but Eugene interrupted.

“I think it will be better for you to discuss who will become our prisoner when you lose.”

“…..!”

Marvel became wide-eyed at Eugene’s remark, then soon burst into an outrage.

“If such a shameful thing happens, then all of us will become your prisoners! I swear it on the name of Fairtrek Marvel!”

After hearing Marvel’s response, Eugene winked at Galfredik before drawing his shortsword.

“It’s a relief that all of you sirs are such honorable knights.”

“You bastard!”

Eugene repeated Galfredik’s words, and Marvel stormed forward on his horse while wielding his longsword.

***

Shhhhk!

Marvel’s longsword left behind a trail of lights.

‘I can see it!’

Before, Eugene was able to avoid or deflect the attacks by relying on his instincts, but now, he could read the trajectory of the sword.

‘Block it.’

Clang!

‘And when it slides off, he will stab…’

Krrrrr! Shing!

‘...And I deflect!’

Kakang!

“Heugh!?”

Marvel’s eyes filled with a sense of urgency. The opponent’s swordsmanship was great, but the tremendous power contained behind the blows was even greater.

Suddenly, Eugene’s shortsword curved like a snake and shot towards Marvel’s helmet.

Clang!

“Keugh!”

Marvel fell off his saddle with a grunt after being struck on the head with a strong blow by Wolfslaughter.

‘Good. This should be enough to verify my swordsmanship.’

Eugene jumped off his own saddle, then charged towards Marvel, who was attempting to stand up with a stagger.

Boom!

The bodies of two men flew several meters before crashing to the floor.

Booom! Boom

Eugene pressed Marvel against the ground. His knees pressed against the knight’s elbows, and he drew back before pommeling the knight’s head with his gauntleted fists.

The heavy blows caused the helmet to dent, and the damage caused to the head resting inside the helmet was quite obvious.

“Keugh! Kuahk! Ahk!”

Marvel broke out into screams, then suddenly became silent.

‘Very useful for hand-to-hand combat.’

Eugene felt satisfied with the skills he absorbed from Galfredik. He stood up, then dragged Marvel’s unconscious body before throwing it into the cart.

The knights were even more surprised to see Eugene easily tossing Marvel’s giant body, which would easily weigh more than 100 kilograms with the armor.

“Are those soldiers from the Evergrove Territory?”

Eugene asked as a group of soldiers carrying torches approached the scene. The knights immediately came to their senses at Eugene’s words and stammered an answer.

“T-that’s right.”

“I think you might be the dishonorable ones then. You mobilized more than thirty troops and three knights to catch us. Were you so afraid of me and Sir Galfredik?”

“Nonsense! This was just a precautionary measure taken in case you refused to comply with our demands…”

“Well, having more witnesses will be better anyway, so it’s fine. Who’s next?”

The two remaining knights shared a glance without words, then the bigger of the two stepped up after a moment.

“I, Reedren of McCullay, will be your opponent. Sir Galfredik! If you have even an ounce of honor left in you…”

“What are you talking about? I will continue to be your opponent.”

“What?”

McCullay was surprised to hear Eugene’s words. Soon after, however, he dismounted his horse and raised his shortsword and shield. He was also equipped with plate mail and a helmet with a cross-shaped opening.

“Sir Marvel was caught off guard. I will be different.”

“I get it, so come on.”

Eugene sheathed Wolfslaughter, then took out a mace from behind SIlion’s saddle. He knew it was more effective to utilize a spear or a mace to deal with an opponent hiding behind a shield through Galfredik’s skills.

‘Plate mail.’

Compared to his own plate armor, it was rather feeble, but it was still a tough piece of metal to get through. Moreover, the opponent was carrying a shield. Depending on the situation, it could not only be used to block but could also double as a powerful blunt weapon as well. It meant that Eugene would be facing a tougher opponent who was well-equipped for hand-to-hand battles.

‘Of course, that only applies for regular knights.’

McCullay stood with his shield held high as he slowly moved at an angle towards Eugene. 

Eugene simply charged forward after finishing his thoughts.

Shuack!

McCullay’s sword slashed down along with a frightening sound. He was certainly a knight as formidable as Marvel.

‘Let it slide.’

Clang!

Eugene deflected the shortsword with his gauntlet, then swung his mace towards the opponent’s thigh. In an instant, the shield blocked Eugene’s path of attack and even attempted to push Eugene back.

‘As expected, he’s pretty good.’

The best plan of action to kill a knight with plate armor was to break their balance and knock them to the ground, similar to how Maverick launched his surprise attack in the past at the Tywin Territory’s dungeon.

However, McCullay was ignorant of Eugene’s incredible power, just as Maverick had been.

Boom!

Eugene struck the shield with his mace. The metal coating of the shield was crushed, and the wooden bits became splintered as well.

“Ugh!?”

McCullay was pushed back helplessly as the scattered pieces of wood shot into him. His left arm throbbed in pain after experiencing such a heavy blow, but more importantly, he had been taken off guard by the opponent’s sudden charge.

And as always, being caught off guard meant that it was already too late.

Eugene accurately grasped the small window of opportunity and tripped McCullay with his leg. A loud metallic sound resonated as the armor met with the ground.

“Ugh!”

McCullay struggled to retaliate with his own wrestling skills and ground techniques after being knocked to the ground. Since the two of them were similar in size and weight, he could surely…

“Keugh!?”

However, his hopes were crushed when his opponent didn’t budge an inch. It was as if he was being crushed by a heavy, immobile boulder.

Boom!

Eugene’s fist hammered down on McCullay’s face. The helmet was crumpled by the heavy blow, which caused his entire body to flop, and his nose’s bone and front teeth were crushed to bits.

Sirs… Sirs…..!

McCullay barely heard the distant shouts of the soldiers before he fell into darkness.

Shk. Shk.

Eugene once again grabbed McCullay by the leg and dragged him over before throwing him into the carriage, just as he had done with Marvel.

Galfredik and the rest of Eugene’s party were stunned speechless. Eugene was strong before, but his performance in these two fights had been a true display of overwhelming skills. Eugene dusted his hands before turning to the last knight.

“Come.”

***

“So, you accepted a knight and a wizard from the Sandstone School into your entourage, and, uh… took three knights of the Evergrove territory as your prisoners?”

“That’s right. It doesn’t violate the contract, so there should be no problems, right?”

“Ah, o-of course. Would you like me to… will the new members also be staying in the Heavenly Constellations as well?” Priscilla mumbled a response. 

Eugene brought up an idea he had before their meeting. “I think it might be better if you could find us a suitable house with a separate annex. It does not have to be very big.”

“Ah! Then what about a villa that’s owned by our association? It has seven bedrooms and a wonderful garden. I think it might be perfect for you to stay in for a while.” Priscilla quickly came up with a suggestion. She had been slightly worried about the cost of accommodation as the number of people staying at the top-of-the-line inn had increased.

“That sounds good. Will I be able to head there today?”

“Of course! I will let the staff know, so you can head there straight away. I will also provide you with a couple of people to cook and perform chores as well.” Priscilla’s expression brightened at the thought of saving dozens of silver coins every day.

“And one more thing. I want to present Sir Galfredik with new armor. Could you pass the word to the Betissark Armor Workshop? It will be plate armor.”

“P-plate armor from the… Betissark Workshop?” Priscilla stuttered for some reason. 

Eugene spoke with a frown. “Why? Is there a problem?”

If she put in the order, she would pay for it. Eugene wondered if something bad had happened to the workshop.

‘Even though we said we would pay for arming any of your hired men, plate armor is just too much!’

Priscilla tried her best to force a smile while hiding her thoughts, “No! Not at all! There are no problems. Then I will have the staff deliver the message.”

“Good. I already gave our share of mana stones and materials gained from the Evergrove County to Felid, so you can confirm it with him.”

“Alright,” Priscilla was a little disappointed because it was less than expected, but she tried convincing herself that it was not too bad for the first subjugation after the contract signing.

But then Eugene lowered his voice and stretched out his hand. “And this. I defeated two high-ranking monsters in the Mount Morrison Labyrinth, but due to circumstances, I kept it a secret from the Evergrove County.”

Priscilla’s eyes and mouth took on the same shape of the large mana stones – an ‘O’ – when she saw the two objects that Eugene had pulled out from his pocket. 

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