CH 28

“Kuak?!”

As the trainee knight stumbled, Azadine grabbed the head of the spear.

‘Got a hit in!’

The trainee knight looked at Azadine, grabbed onto his spear, and, flustered, pulled out the short sword he was wearing.

The trainee knight was trying to draw his short sword against Azadine. Just as the two were about to clash, something interrupted them.

Swish!

Another spear came from the knight’s side and attacked Azadine. Another trainee, who had discovered his colleague in danger, rushed at a frightening speed and stabbed his spear.

‘As expected, holy knights are formidable..’

Azadine had no choice but to give up the attack and retreat. However, it wasn’t without a result. He had hit a trainee knight with a stone and stole his weapon.

“Ah! Tasik! Step back!”

“Be careful! This guy is no joke!”

The trainee knight named Tasik stepped back and tried to calm down. Even though he had been wearing a helmet, the stone thrown by Azadine had terrifying power. His eyes were shaking from the shock.

“Are you fine? Why did you lose your weapon?”

“You try it. That one isn’t normal.”

“What are you saying? Is he a wanderer?”

The trainee knights, who had been busy massacring people all over the farm, began to flock in one after another.

The trainee knights of the King’s Church frowned at the sight. They hadn’t wanted to escalate things and were trying to finish things as quickly as possible. Yet suddenly, this powerful person appeared.

“Look, are you making a fuss about this, knowing that we are holy knights of the King’s Church?”

Sir Kazrek spoke to Azadine.

“Those who go around killing the people of Hubris are holy knights?”

“They are cult members!”

“You got proof?”

When Azadine asked this, the trainee knights fell silent. They actually had no intention of taking things this far. They had shot one stray arrow and tried to cover it by killing everyone. However, one of them had run off to warn the rest of the people. That was why they ended up massacring the entire farm.

‘Thinking about it, this is all so stupid.’

‘But it cannot be changed once you step into it.’

‘Damn it. I didn’t think it was even my arrow. We just needed to check who had shot the arrows and turn those people into penitent knights.’

As the trainee knights stood in shock, Sir Kazrek stepped forward.

“We are holy knights, and I am an expert in identifying cult members. You question our judgment? Are you a member of the cult too? You dare to try and question a holy knight’s decision?”

“You are forcing it. If you are accused of being a cult member without proof, then you become part of the cult? Are you really using that excuse?”

“Anyways, it seems like you are someone who doesn’t recognize the authority of the King’s Church.”

Sir Kazrek drew his sword.

“You are a cultist too?”

Azadine raised his spear to eye level.

“No. Just a normal pilgrim.”

The spear swayed like a blade of grass in Azadine’s hand, leaving afterimages in its wake.

“Hmm! You seem to be a little skilled!”

Sir Kazrek made the decision as he held his sword. A dazzling light shone from the sword and blinded everyone nearby. At the same time, he moved to the side and charged toward Azadine.

‘Is that a trick?’

Azadine had already experienced this once in the battle against Lord Kozel. It was a simple magic and sword combo attack used by holy knights to blind their opponents before attacking.

It was simple and very effective. However, it was completely useless against Azadine. His sight wasn’t a physical one but an abnormal ability.

Therefore, the light didn’t even bother him, but Azadine deliberately acted like he was in pain. This man seemed to be the leader of this group, this Sir Kazrek. He also seemed to aim to take him down in one go.

However, Sir Kazrek, who was charging in, suddenly backed away.

“Damn it.”

Two arrows flew in as the flash blinded Azadine. Both of them flew toward the weak spot on his armor. One was aimed at the inside of the thigh, and another was at the neck joint. It was an attack that couldn’t be expected unless the person was skilled.

Sir Kazrek, however, parried the arrow with the thick part of the armor and moved away.

“Are you fine?”

“All fine?”

Seeing that Azadine was surrounded by a large number of enemies, Ismail and Mediam joined in by using their arrows.

‘Shit. Stay still.’

Azadine regretted that Sir Kazrek managed to escape from the trap he had made, but he couldn’t lose his cool now when he was offered help.

“Be careful! These people are from the Messenger Clan!”

Kazrek seemed to have noticed Azadine’s party’s real identity.

“Why do you think so?”

“Why? Only the messengers have kids who shoot such bows with precision!”

Sir Kazrek declared this when he saw the arrows that had been shot by the two children. The trainees then hissed out.

“M-Messenger Clan?”

“Then we did nothing wrong!”

“Yes! Since the Messenger Clan is on this farm, they must be cultists!”

“Imperial Follower!”

Sir Kazrek ordered the trainee knights.

“You bastards! Stop talking shit and surround them!”

“Yes!”

The trainee knights, relieved by the weight of their conscience, began to move quickly, unlike when they regretted their actions. They split in half, with some helping their captain against Azadine while the others rushed for the children.

“This.”

As Azadine panicked, Sir Kazrek drew his sword.

“Now, let’s see the power of the Emperor’s Messenger!”

He rushed in with his sword, moving as fast as lightning. At the same time, the trainee knights who had surrounded him threw their spears. Azadine broke away and then attempted to escape.

“No!”

“Catch him!”

The knights began chasing after Azadine. At that moment, he approached the trainee knights who had half-surrounded him and attacked the knight at the end. Azadine’s short spear touched the knight’s spear, making fun of him.

“This bastard!”

The trainee knight lost control and tried to strike down Azadine’s spear. At that moment, Azadine’s spear wrapped itself around the knight’s spear and pushed it into the ground, turning it into a stab.

Surprised by the counter-attack, the trainee knight lifted the spear and tried to attack again.

But that, too, was also caught by Azadine. He had expected up to three moves ahead.

Tak!

He slashed the trainee knight’s spear to the side.

“Euk!”

The trainee knight lost his balance and moved a step back to regain it, blocking the path of his comrades. The trainee knights surrounding Azadine could not launch an effective attack as their ally stood in their path.

Then Azadine turned around and began to run.

Was he running away?

“Where are you going!”

The trainee knights tried to chase him. At that moment, however, Azadine threw a spear.

“Uh?”

Surprisingly, the spear that Azadine threw wasn’t intended for the knights surrounding him. It was thrown over them and flew towards the other trainees who had been aiming for the children.

Puak!

The spear was thrown cleanly enough that it pierced through a trainee knight’s thigh. The spear’s power was so powerful that it tore through the thigh, the hamstring, and the bone.

“Kwaakkk!”

The trainee knight hit by the spear fell, screaming from the excruciating pain. When the spear that had pierced his leg touched the ground, the wound was opened to the outside, causing him to panic.

“You bastard!”

“What do you take us for!”

The trainee knights were furious at Azadine, who had ignored them and had thrown his spear at another target instead. Everyone attacked Azadine simultaneously, but he started running again.

“Euk?”

“So fast.”

Azadine quickly distanced himself from them. His pursuers wore armor and carried spears, making them unable to keep a close range with the lightly-armored Azadine.

“This makes no sense!”

They also couldn’t risk throwing their spears at Azadine. There were no guarantees that it would land. They also hadn’t practiced spear-throwing before, so they weren’t confident.

It would be like giving a weapon to someone who could throw it back and leave them empty-handed.

“No! Does this make sense?”

The trainee knights who were approaching Mediam and Ismail were shocked. They were obviously outnumbering their opponents, but it now felt like they were the ones outnumbered.

In front of them were children of the Messenger Clan, clearly a young boy and girl, but they were excellent archers. The adult Messenger Clan person behind them had defeated one of their allies and was rushing in, surrounding them from both sides. The comrades who were supposed to help them were struggling to catch the quick-moving messenger.

In their confusion, Azadine rushed in. Surprisingly for one of the trainees, Azadine’s target wasn’t him, but his comrade beside him.

“Kwaaaak!”

Azadine pulled the dagger from his waist as he approached the trainee knight whom he had pierced through the leg. He, who did not need to be flashy, immediately charged for a trainee knight in good shape.

“D-Do not come!”

That trainee knight tried to stab Azadine with his spear, but his mind was no longer calm. It was a natural reaction when one didn’t know when an arrow would fly in.

Azadine raised his dagger and took the sheath, parting them like a cross on the spear. Using the hilt of the dagger at the top, he received the trainee knight’s spear.

The spear was then caught between the handle and the sheath, allowing Azadine to slide and push the spear into the ground.

Puak!

The trainee knight’s spear pierced the ground.

“Damn it!”

It was too late for him to pull back now. The trainee knight made a quick decision and pulled out his short sword. In the meantime, however, Azadine had reached him.

-Tuk!

Azadine held his dagger upside down and swung it like a mace, striking the trainee on his head.

The helmet became distorted, and the trainee collapsed to the ground. A single blow had knocked out a holy knight.

There were apparently a lot of holy knights, but…

When they came to their senses, they were all being defeated individually.

“Shit. He is very good at fighting. I guess that is inevitable since he is an Emperor’s Messenger.”

Sir Kazrek realized that he had made a mistake. The opponent was untouched, but their own strengths were exposed.

Azadine’s tactics also showed why armored knights shouldn’t use spears.

Knights wearing armor and using spears moved too slowly. It would be easy to outrun them by running lightly. Azadine was so mobile that he could defeat them individually.

‘The reputation of the Heavenly King Slayer wasn’t for nothing. Yet there are more of us…’

For the first time, Sir Kazrek thought he might just die there.