CH 136

Tututututututu!

“Kieeeeeek~! Go, sir, go!” Mirian shouted excitedly while sticking her head out of her pocket as Silion began to run through the wind.

Clack! Clack!

Eugene hung Madarazika on the spear thrower before deploying the magic shield. The enemy knights took an offensive posture when they saw Eugene charging toward them.

“Without any proper, customary introductions? I’ve never seen such an uncultured man!”

“He knows not of honor and chivalry. Is he truly from the continent?”

“That scoundrel’s head will be mine!”

The knights shouted with fury. However, they were inwardly overwhelmed with joy.

‘A member of the Dark Clan foregoing the use of his powers? I’m in luck today.’

‘I will be victorious. A weak continent knight who relies solely on his equipment is no match for me.’

Three knights charged forward with such thoughts. A loss was unimaginable. The vampire was said to have defeated Baron Riwad with the mysterious powers of his race. As such, they judged that they could win unconditionally if the vampire was restricting his unique powers.

“I will win! I will take all the glory!”

“What are you talking about!? His horse and armor are mine!”

“Stop your chattering and let me handle this!”

The knights competed to get ahead of each other while drawing their swords and spears. At that moment, Eugene drew himself back fully before whipping his arm like lightning. The Demon Spear tore through the air and shot forward.

Kwaaaaah!

The knight at the forefront held up his shield with shock. Although it was a wooden shield, it was durable and reliable. However, the knight didn’t know anything about Madarazika or how powerful its master truly was.

Boom!

The spear shattered the shield into a million pieces before piercing through the knight’s chest and exiting out his back. The knight’s body could not overcome the tremendous force of the spear. He was thrown off the saddle and thrown far away. Once he landed on the ground, he lay unmoving. He had been killed with one shot.

“…!”

Lorraine Fransil and the other knights at her side hardened like statues after witnessing the unbelievable scene. The two remaining knights were appalled as their comrade fell lifeless.

“Spear! He doesn’t have his spear anymore!”

“Take this!”

At their current pace, they would reach him in about 4 or 5 seconds. As such, they didn’t slow down or stop. His throwing technique was great, but if it came to fighting with swords and spears on horseback, surely they were…

Thuck!

However, Madarazika immediately returned to Eugene upon his call and pierced the head of one of the remaining knights. Although he had been wearing a helmet, Brantia’s knights didn’t use high-quality steel in their armor, which caused the spear to burst through his head without much effort.

“You bastard!” the last remaining knight shouted angrily before stabbing with his spear.

Kwararark! Clang!

However, Eugene’s shield wasn’t only effective against magic attacks. In fact, it provided overwhelming defense against regular, physical attacks as well. He deflected the knight’s attack without much effort.

In fact, the knight’s spearhead broke into two upon colliding with the shield. It was the result of an Origin’s power combined with Eugene’s superb technique, which he gained from Galfredik.

“What?!” the knight shouted in disbelief, and Madarazika whipped forward like a black snake.

Shuuack!

It wasn’t strictly a spear technique. It was closer to a simple slap on the opponent’s collarbone. The knight noticed the attack and attempted to defend using a small, round shield attached to his left gauntlet.

Boom!

“Kuaagh!”

However, Madarazika was tens of times heavier than a regular spear, and Eugene possessed enormous strength as an Origin. The impact caused the knight’s left arm to shatter—it was torn to pieces from the elbow down.

And that wasn’t the end…

The spear produced an unbelievably sharp shockwave and struck the knight’s chest, and the knight was thrown back like a kite with its strings broken.

Boom!

“Hiek?!” Lorraine moaned with shock, which caused the two knights at her side to come to their senses.

Tututututututu!

Silion started to storm toward them.

“Heuk?!”

The knights realized Eugene’s intentions when they saw him charge toward them like the devil.

“You coward!” They felt flustered, but they had no time to criticize their opponent.

“My lady! Hurry, you must fall back!”

“Attack! Everyone, attack!”

One of the knights hastily urged Lorraine to retreat, while the other shouted at the troops to advance. However, Eugene’s troops had been prepared to attack since he killed the last knight. They were even faster than Lorraine’s troops.

“Let’s go!” Galfredik shouted.

Kwuooooooo!!

The beowulfs were the first to kick off the earth with deafening roars. Their blood was boiling violently from having watched Eugene’s battles. Their eyes burned brilliantly with the flames of fighting spirit and fear. The beowulf warriors charged toward the enemy along with the Origin’s vassal.

Tutututututututu!

Eugene continued toward Lorraine and the escaping knight as the earth started to tremble behind him.

“You bastard!”

The remaining knight threw his flagged spear towards Eugene. However, Eugene maintained his speed and simply willed his magic shield to grow bigger.

Clang!

The spear bounced off the shield and fell to the ground.

“N-no!” the knight shouted.

“No, my ass, you punk!” Galfredik roared before throwing a javelin at the knight, who was attempting to chase after Eugene.

Thuck!

“Argh!” The knight fell off his saddle with a scream as the projectile pierced through his shoulder.

Tututututututu!

Galfredik and the beowulf warriors ignored the sprawled knight and continued forward.

“Keugh!” The knight managed to raise his body and hurriedly turned toward his soldiers.

“Ugh?!” His eyes were immediately filled with despair. Lorraine had been captured by the black knight, and the beowulfs were clawing their way through the army like a herd of demons.

***

As expected, the battle ended in less than ten minutes. This was rather normal in a battle between armies of such sizes. It wasn’t easy to turn the tides of a battle involving hundreds of soldiers once the momentum was lost. In addition, the Fransil family’s army had lost four knights and even their commander, Lorraine, before the actual battle began.

Around thirty cavalries under Lorraine fought hard, but in the end, they weren’t as strong as knights. In the first place, the cavalrymen were only armed with simple chainmail and their horses were unarmed. They never stood a chance against the charge of beowulfs armed in solid armor, which was even sturdier than plate mail. And once the cavalry was swept away in a single collision, most of the foot soldiers gave up on the battle.

Although the mercenaries were following Lorraine Fransil out of vain expectations and greed, they weren’t cowards without courage. However, they weren’t idiots either. They would fight if they saw a chance, but there was nothing for them to do since their allied knights fell like autumn leaves during the first clash and the cavalry was completely smashed apart. In addition, Eugene’s army wasn’t much smaller than their own, and most importantly, Eugene had engaged in the duel as a ‘knight.’ He had battled against Fransil’s knights as an honorable knight. However, no one was naïve enough to believe that the same kind of respect would be shown toward the mercenaries as well.

In fact, although most knights practiced chivalry against their fellow knights, they did not show the same kind of tolerance and mercy to mercenaries and conscripted soldiers. Therefore, it was better to flee as quickly as possible in a losing battle or beg for their lives, even if they would become slaves. If they were really lucky, perhaps they would be taken in. As it turned out, the mercenaries made the right choice when they surrendered amidst their vain expectations and desperation.

“Tell them. Same terms as you. One year of unpaid work. Loot and spoils will be divided fairly. One year later, I will give the choice to stay or fight,” Eugene said.

“Yes, sir!” the mercenary captains responded before rushing over to the prisoners. They were the first ones to have sworn allegiance to Eugene. Eugene was quite satisfied that they had fulfilled their roles during the battle. Of course, he was most satisfied that he had captured several very valuable figures who were worth a lot of money.

“Hieek!” Lorraine faltered back with a stifled scream when she met Eugene’s gaze.

“Sniff! This lady has pissed herself...”

“She was hissin’~ but now she be pissin’~”

“Oh? How did you come up with that, peabrain?”

The beowulfs started to giggle, and Lorraine’s face dyed with shame and humiliation.

“Stop it. She’s still the direct descendant of a duke,” Eugene said.

“Yes, yes.” The beowulfs awkwardly scratched their heads.

Eugene had been like the devil in battle, but it seemed like he was taking Lorraine’s side. She mustered up the courage and spoke, “Excuse me, sir, but are you really going to make me crawl beneath your crotch? I beg of you, please treat me honorably.”

“Crazy bastard,” Eugene muttered.

“What?”

“Dishonorable savage. Madman. That’s what you and your knights referred to me as.” Eugene continued.

“Ah…” Lorraine’s expression turned pale.

Eugene spoke with a frigid expression, “It’s all true. I don’t know any honor. I am wicked.”

“T-that’s…”

“Crawl.”

“…!”

Her face turned red, then a shade of brown then finally bleached white. Eugene glared at Lorraine before speaking again. “If you won’t crawl, I will strip you naked. I will take you back to Brighton naked.”

“Uah…” Lorraine’s eyes trembled and soon became damp.

“Uah…. Waaaahh!” The mature lady finally burst into tears.

“L-lady Lorraine!”

“Sir! Show mercy! Show us your honor!”

“I will! I will crawl in her stead!”

The knights of Fransil begged Eugene. They were being kept alive for ransom.

Eugene responded coldly, “I don’t need it. You, crawl right now.”

He turned his gaze slightly. Noticing Eugene’s gaze, Lanslo quickly wiped the smile off his face and stepped out with a mournful look. “Sir! Please give me face and show them mercy.”

“What did you say?” Eugene responded.

“I beg of you! I am Lanslo Drak! I’m afraid that this will damage your reputation, Sir Eugene! Please reconsider!” Lanslo shouted.

“D-drak?”

“A-a knight of the lake? What is he doing here?”

Fransil’s knights were startled. As expected, the Drak family’s reputation in Brantia was great. Even Lorraine looked surprised.

“Sir Drak. I keep my word. That’s my honor,” Eugene stated.

“Yes, I know! But please, just this once, show me some face, and please reconsider!” Lanslo shouted.

“Hmm…” Eugene frowned and fell into contemplation.

Soon, he uttered coldly before turning away, “Just this once.”

“Thank you, Sir Eugene!” Lanslo shouted in a desperate, pleading voice before turning to face Lorraine and her knights.

They rushed to express their gratitude. “T-thank you, Sir Drak.”

“What a merciful knight…”

“I have witnessed the true honor of the Drak family today!”

The knights looked as if they would burst into tears as they shouted. Lanslo spoke with a mournful expression, “Now that you’ve all seen it, you understand, right?”

“...What?”

“Sir Eugene has no mercy on those who stand against him. However, he will always listen to the words of those who follow him. Please don’t get on his nerves before the negotiations. In particular, Lady Lorraine,” Lanslo said.

“Y-yes?” she stuttered.

“Please remember. After Sir Eugene arrived in Brantia, you are the only survivor among the nobles who fought him. Both the previous Count of Crawlmarine and Baron Riwad lost their lives under his blade.” Lanslo continued.

“…!” Lorraine trembled. 

Lanslo sighed deeply before slowly turning around. “Phew! If negotiations don’t take place as soon as possible, I’m sure Sir Eugene will become furious again. What should I do about this?” Although Lanslo was muttering under his breath, everyone could hear his words.

‘E-even a knight of the lake can’t do anything about it?’

‘Is he the devil?’

‘T-that man is the devil. He is a great demon.’

‘I should have believed it when they said that he had mercilessly slaughtered the Half-Orc Baron without accepting his surrender…’

It was at this moment that the viciousness of the knight Jan Eugene was deeply imprinted in the minds and hearts of those who would soon be returned to their families for ransom.

“Ki-ki-hehehehehe! Even Sir Elf is being tainted by Sir Eugene. How insidious. Kukekekekeke!” Mirian gave an evil laugh.

“It’s called ‘good knight, bad knight.’ It’s working better than I thought. But it’s a shame. I was hoping to play the role of the good knight,” Galfredik explained.

“Gal, have you ever looked in the mirror? I admit, maybe that might work if the plan is ‘bad knight, vicious knight.’ If a completely vicious knight shows up after the bad knight, everyone might get scared and become obedient,” Mirian responded.

“Hooh. You’re pretty insidious as well, aren’t you? Well, I guess that’s what I should expect from my master’s spirit. Hehe.” Galfredik chuckled.

“Do you finally see it? Sir Eugene and I are perfect for each other. Kehehehe,” Mirian responded with the same cackle.

The frivolous spirit and the Origin’s vassal conversed and laughed together while watching the scene play out from beginning to end.