CH 92

Neighhhh!

The stallion immediately responded to its master’s order. Silion was named after the king of the wind spirits, and it lived up to its name.

“Let’s go, sirs! We shall knock those arrogant men down!” Eugene shouted in a loud voice.

Wuaaaaaah!

The knights responded to his shouts and rushed out of hiding in groups.

“What?”

“You said there were less than twenty!”

The noble knights faltered in their charge, and their expressions paled when they saw the numerous free knights banding under the flag of the black dragon.

“W-what should we do?”

“We’re going to lose at this rate! We cannot allow ourselves to be captured by those vermin! It would be a disgrace to my family!”

The noble knights stopped in their tracks and started to fall into confusion. But the free knights continued to charge in the meantime, and one of the noble knights threw away his wooden spear as if he could not overcome the pressure. 

“Sir Jeremy!”

“Are you trying to surrender?!” The other knights shouted.

“Of course not,” Baron Jeremy responded before taking his longsword from his saddle and unsheathing it.

“Now that things have turned out like this, we must fight for real. There’s no way we could lose if it’s a battle of true blades, right?” Baron Jeremy continued.

“...!” The eyes of the other noble knights widened when they saw the glint of Baron Jeremy’s silver longsword under the sun. Soon, they followed suit and started to discard their wooden spears and swords before unsheathing their real weapons.

“He’s right! There’s no way we could lose to those filthy vagrants!”

“Jan Eugene? Even if he is the owner of the twin crown, he shouldn’t have any experience battling against real knights like us.”

“The other sirs will be arriving soon anyway. We just need to hold on until then. Even if we end up killing some of them, we simply need to pay the ransom.”

“That’s right! A few casualties in a knight competition is unavoidable!”

“We just need to catch Jan Eugene! Sirs, let’s go!”

Uwaaaaahhh!

The noble knights and their aides were filled with confidence and their morale exploded as they once again rushed to the free knights with real weapons.

“T-those crazy hooligans!”

“Sir Eugene! What should we do?”

The free knights were visibly shaken. 

Eugene let out a response to calm them down. “They are the ones who started it! I will take care of it, so follow me!”

Tududududududu!

Silion sped up even further and galloped across the ground. It had already crossed dozens of meters at full speed, but as if to prove its pedigree, it continued to run energetically. Several seconds later, Eugene collided head-on with the noble knights.

***

“Do we still have a long way to go?”

“It’s just over that hill! Judging from what I heard from the scouts, it seemed that they were attempting to establish a formation.”

“Good,” The Lord of Lotvia, Baron Ishmael, responded with a satisfied look.

‘It’s a good thing I had mercenaries planted in advance.’

Strictly speaking, it was foul play, but it could be written off as an excellent strategy once he earned great merit in the mock battle and won. In fact, at least three or four others had employed similar strategies as himself. But he was the first one who discovered the target that would grant him the greatest achievement in the mock battle. This was evidence that God himself was helping him.

“Sir Ishmael, shouldn’t we take a short rest? I’m afraid the horses are a little exhausted from the rush,” one of the knights commented. 

Baron Ishmael thought for a short while before shaking his head. “The enemy may have sent out their scouts. We should not give them time to prepare. Let’s finish this as quickly as possible.”

“Hmm. Well, there are only about twenty of them, and most of them are equipped with shoddy armor. That sounds like a good idea,” the other knight responded.

Baron Ishmael and his knights were all armed with plate armor or plate mail. Similarly, the aides of the knights were also wearing high-quality plate coats or high-quality chain mail. Meanwhile, the richest of the free knights would only have chain mail since they were poor. There were even some among the free knights who could only afford to equip themselves with a hauberk.

The stark difference in equipment meant that even wooden weapons could cause substantial damage and pain to the free knights depending on how they were used, while wooden weapons would have little to no effect against plate mail. Of course, this was natural since even plate mail was strong enough to provide a good defense against heavy weapons like maces and real swords. Wooden weapons were simply a joke. As such, Baron Ishmael and his knights were fully convinced that they would win the upcoming battle.

‘Even if they number in the dozens, it will still be like taking candy from a baby.’

Even if Jan Eugene was strong, he should not be able to compete with five or six knights armed with plate armor, especially if he was limited to using a wooden sword and a wooden spear.

At least, that was what they thought until they came close to the hill. They could hear a loud commotion coming from the other side.

“What’s this sound? What?!” Baron Ishmael exclaimed in shock when he arrived at the top of the hill.

***

“Wow. There are even more of them. They really keep coming.”

“I know. They must have really considered us to be dogshit.” The free knights turned their heads and spoke while glaring at the new arrivals. They were pummeling the aides of the noble knights who had arrived earlier.

“Sirs. Don’t get carried away. We will be employing the same method once again.” Eugene said in a cold voice. 

The knights came to their senses. They had been rather apprehensive when Eugene charged in alone when the enemies first arrived. As such, they were prepared to face the rest of the noble knights once Eugene faced off one or two on his own.

But they were mistaken.

Eugene’s black spear shot through the air and pierced one of the noble knight’s shoulders before returning to Eugene’s hand like a living creature. Eugene handled two more knights in a similar fashion, then crushed the weapons of the remaining knights with his battleaxes and knocked them off their steeds.

The noble knights had paid a steep price for going against the rules and using real weapons in the mock battle. The free knights were filled with awe and admiration after seeing Eugene’s performance.

After Eugene finished off the knights in less than three minutes, the free knights were tasked with a simple clean-up—they would pummel the panicked aides of the noble knights. Now, a new batch of noble knights had arrived to become prey to both Eugene and Lanslo.

“Ah! It looks like they are trying to escape!” One of the free knights shouted.

Eugene and Lanslo quickly urged their horses forward.

Tudududu!

“Mirian!” Eugene shouted.

“Leave it to me! Kieeeeeek!” Mirian flew up the hill like the wind, then arrived in front of the noble knights who were about to turn tail and flee.

“Ptooey! Ptooey! Kuwaaahkk! Ptooey!” She let loose a barrage of spit through the narrow, long gaps in the helmets of the knights.

“Uagh!?”

“T-there’s water in my eye!”

The knights took off their helmets while shouting after being baptized with the invisible spirit’s phlegm.

“Master! What’s wrong?”

“Sir Rodel?!” The other knights and aides shouted in a flurry. Eugene and Lanslo started to draw their wooden weapons from their saddles as they neared the top of the hill.

Thuck!

Baron Ishmael fell from his steed after receiving a heavy blow, he couldn’t even scream. The outcome was clear since even wooden weapons could be lethal against an opponent who was without their helmet.

Thuck! Bam! Thwack!

“Kuagh!”

“Uagh!”

Lanslo and Eugene struck the heads of the noble knights one after the other. Eugene used a wooden sword while Lanslo utilized a wooden spear.

“You… Heuk!?” The aides attempted to retaliate, but their eyes filled with shock upon spotting something.

Uwaaaaaaah!

The free knights were belatedly charging toward them with loud shuts. The thrashing began once again.

Thuck! Thuck!

“Uagh!”

“Mercy! Mercy! Uagh!”

“Kuagh! Kuaaaaa!”

The free knights weren’t as strong as Eugene, but their strikes were fierce. They themselves had been trained harshly since childhood, so they knew exactly where to strike to inflict the most pain.

“You little rascals! Nice armor, hmm?!”

“But your skills are dogshit!”

The free knights rampaged while letting loose their fury and mocking the aides. Since the free knights were poor, they had more experience with wooden weapons than real blades. The beatings from the free knights who had already completely mastered the art of suffering and inflicting pain were truly ruthless. It was to the point where Lanslo had to step in to stop them, just in case they beat the aides to death.

After a few minutes of the brutal beating, Eugene spoke to the free knights, “Sirs, I believe there are more of them on their way here. This is the perfect time for all of you to consume it.”

“Ah! Of course!” The knights responded in a unified voice before taking something out of their pockets and swallowing it. The mysterious objects were mana stones, which Eugene bought and distributed before the battle. Although they were quite expensive, mana stones were extremely useful in battles. Rich knights capable of affording mana stones always had some prepared in real battles. Mana stones were unrivaled in restoring one’s energy.

Most of the free knights here were now consuming a mana stone for the first time in their lives.

“Ohh! I can feel energy flowing through my veins!”

“I can’t believe it! Could this be a superior-rank mana stone?!”

Unfortunately, they weren’t wasn’t superior-rank mana stones. In fact, they were low-rank mana stones with the lowest level of medicinal efficacy, but the effects were sufficient to amaze the free knights. Soon, their surprise quickly turned into something else.

“I can’t believe he would just give such precious treasures away! I cannot possibly fathom Sir Eugene’s generosity and…”

“Sir Eugene is the only knight who knows true honor! I, Caylor of Alamas, swear from this moment that I will act on anything Sir Eugene asks me to do!”

“As do I!”

“Sir Eugene!”

The free knights weren’t simply feeling an emotion of camaraderie anymore. Rather, they felt a sense of reverence and awe toward Eugene. Eugene took on a humble expression and responded to their praise. “Sirs. Let us focus on the battle for now. Not for just myself, Jan Eugene, but for all of us! Let us fight for our noble honor!”

Uwaaaaah!

The morale of the free knights burned brightly once again. The spirit said while shaking her head. “Just what I would expect from our sir. The king of fighting, and the king of deceit.”

***

After two more battles, Eugene and the free knights captured 21 additional enemies, composed of noble knights and their aides. Fortunately, no fatalities occurred as a result of the battles, but all of the noble knights who had abandoned their wooden weapons and drew their blades became seriously injured. If Eugene hadn’t shown mercy and given them mana stones, about a dozen of them would have died by now.

In any case, a total of more than sixty knights and aides, all disarmed and restrained, were handed over to Count Winslon after the mock battle.

“Amazing! This is truly amazing!”

“I thought he was only skilled with the blade, but it seems that he is a master of tactics as well!”

Count Winslon and the other observing nobles were seated in a tent located at the top of a mountain, where they could see the entirety of the vast hunting ground at a glance. They could not hide their astonishment after witnessing the results of the battle. At the same time, they denounced the noble knights for their foolish acts after being blinded by greed and merit.

“Both Sir Ishmael and Sir Rubran had been too conceited. I was looking forward to how they’ll perform because they are famous, but this has been a disappointment.”

“It’s all because they pursue fame and not honor. Would you not agree?”

“Exactly.”

It was common for knights with high status or titles to be obsessed with fame, since they did not need to be sworn in. Both Baron Ishmael and Sir Rubran fell into that category.

“Ugh!” The faces of both knights turned red when they overheard the conversation of the distinguished guests. However, they couldn’t deny the words and had no excuses. 

Their aides attempted to defend their masters.

“Sir Eugene acted cowardly.”

“That’s right. If he was truly an honorable, chivalrous knight, he would have…”

“Shut up!” Baron Ishmael shouted loudly while gritting his teeth. He continued, “To what degree do you intend to humiliate me? Who do you think was responsible for not killing the both of us?”

“I-I apologize, master,” the aide quickly stuttered before bowing. His face was covered in bloody bruises after being beaten by the free knights.

“I was complacent. Sir Eugene only responded accordingly after having expected my actions. I was defeated by an outstanding knight,” Baron Ishmael declared.

“I think so as well.”

“And I, I realized my flaws thanks to the way Sir Eugene commanded his army.” The other noble knights chimed in and started to praise Eugene as well.

“...?”

The aides could not understand the sudden shift in their masters’ attitude. Weren’t they mockingly laughing at Eugene and his army only a few hours ago and were calling them a group of beggars?

But their reactions were natural. Since they had already lost, praising and giving credit to their opponent was the only way to avoid losing face completely. Wasn’t it much preferable to be defeated in an unfortunate turn of events by an honorable knight and his competent army, rather than being beaten like a dog by wandering beggars? The unexpected attitudes of the captured knights started to lead to an unexpected outcome.

“Prepare the ransom,” said one of the noble knights.

“H-how much should we pay?” the aide asked.

“The armor and horses, and the worth of both you and me. Hmm. One thousand silver coins should do,” the noble knight responded.

“What?!” The aide could not hide his shock after hearing the answer. But the noble knight continued solemnly, looking as if he were engrossed in something. “Thus, honor cannot be valued or matched with money. However, even if it’s to reflect even a small piece of honor, paying that much is only natural. Moreover, if it’s a hero like Sir Eugene, I do not consider it a waste at all.”

After hearing the words of the knight, the other noble knights turned their heads toward their respective aides.

“Get our ransom prepared as well!”

“But master. We don’t have enough coins.”

“Then sell the horse! Are you trying to embarrass me?”

“Not at all!”

“Send someone back to the family! Tell them to bring back the silver we lack as soon as possible!”

A fierce competition to boast one’s wealth and honor ensued among the losers. Although it was an unexpected, rare event—a knight capable of defeating a holy knight in a single exchange was even rarer, and any noble had no choice but to covet Eugene.

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