Chapter 8: The Knight Who Defied the Bolts

Anplus targeted the crossbow bolts that had been aimed at the officer-mages and sent them my way.

A glint of a deadly arrowhead flashed from the bushes far off.

“Sir Anplus, duck! That crossbow won’t be stopped by armor!”

the officer-mage who had been about to carry wine shouted in desperation.

He wore armor too, but an arrow was sticking out of his belly.

“Do not worry.”

If I dodged after hearing it, it would be too late; if I saw it and dodged, it would still be too late.

But in essence it was no different from a knight’s charge.

Sir Liam’s charge was as fast as that arrow.

Because I couldn’t read the shoulder direction or the line of sight it was harsher to deal with, but not impossible to avoid.

Just like this.

Ssssh!

I lightly turned my body and let it slide between my arm and my flank.

Because the timing and aim were clearer than I expected, there seemed no chance the bolt would hit where it had been dodged to.

Ssssh!

The crossbow bolt flying for my thigh I avoided by shifting half a step.

“W—we were lucky. Hurry and get down! Do you want to die?”

the officer-mage shouted, eyes rolling.

I smiled at that officer-mage and shouted back.

“Get your wound healed! I’ll draw the crossbowmen’s attention!”

“Do not entrust your life to luck!”

“This being only luck—must be the wine stealing my judgment.”

While answering, I missed one step.

It was late to dodge, but that was unnecessary.

Sir Dande had said I could parry Sir Liam’s sword.

If I could parry a sword, I could parry an arrow.

No, merely parrying would not be enough.

I had to show something remarkable.

I laid the blade flat in my hand, caught the rigid bolt point, and met it.

The blade and the tip collided with a Clang!, then Crrrk, and the bolt snapped in half from tip to shaft.

The two halves changed course and lodged into the necks of two thieves charging from the opposite side.

My wrist tingled pleasantly.

The officer-mage gaped.

“What are you staring at?”

“Was that—was that magic just now?”

“I wish it were magic.”

I looked around.

Enemies were everywhere.

“I will clean up the crossbowmen on the right. Then you pour your spells and sweep them away.

Handle the left yourselves.”

I wasn’t in a position to give orders to him now.

But for a moment both of us forgot that fact.

Soldiers had formed a shield wall on both sides of the carriage and held firm.

Yes. I had been right after all.

If it weren’t for those shields we’d have been dead long ago.

The band of thieves swarmed like insects and rammed and pushed the shield wall.

I leapt over their heads.

“What—what is this?”

“Who are you?”

“Don’t step on me!”

I kicked a bald-headed man hard.

I felt his jawbone crack beneath my toes.

A spear suddenly rose and aimed at my stomach.

“This is nothing!”

Compared to Sir Dande it was a sluggish attack.

I swung the sword in one breath.

Clang, a satisfying snap, and the sturdy spear shaft was cut off like a reed.

“What the—?”

The thief’s eyes went wide.

I grabbed the half of the spear floating in the air and threw it at the man who had tried to stab me.

After watching him fall skewered by his own spear, I walked forward over the heads of the thieves like stepping stones and reached the shield wall.

“Grab that one!”

“A knight! There’s a knight!”

“We must take him first!”

We ran toward the woods.

The thieves surged at me wielding spears, falchions, daggers, and hand axes.

I stared straight into the gleaming eyes that glinted in the darkness.

If a band this big was based in the region, it meant law and order had collapsed.

But the villages we had passed through on the way had reported decent security.

“Are you really thieves?”

“What does a man about to die know?”

“I’ll smash your skull!”

A thief in armor swung a two-handed axe.

The blow seemed fierce enough to split the sky.

Yet however I looked at it, I could not shake the sense he was a step below Sir Liam.

He charged like an animal, pushing off the ground.

I pressed the sword to my side and collided with his belly.

He tried to step forward and use his armor to ward off the thrust.

It was the technique Sir Dande had shown me.

The motion was clean.

“You learned properly, huh?”

But sure of victory, I did not stop and thrust the sword on.

At the precise time and place, point met surface.

Klang!

A fierce metallic ring sounded, and the knight’s blade sank a hand’s breadth into the man’s body.

“What the…?”

A look of shock and disbelief crossed his face.

“Y-you broke through his defense and broke his armor with your sword?”

“Still got some life in you, I see.”

I pulled the sword out and stabbed once more into the inner thigh.

The man collapsed and convulsed on the ground.

My wrist throbbed unpleasantly.

Now I understood why Sir Dande had told me to aim for the thighs from the start.

Cut a thick vein and the blood loss would quickly incapacitate.

I ran up the incline, cutting through the band of thieves.

All the crossbow fire raining on the battlefield was now aimed at me.

Judging by the one-sided slaughter continuing, they must have thought I was the greatest threat.

A crossbow bolt whizzed past my forehead, grazing it by a hair.

Flesh tore and blue blood flowed.

But because of it I could be certain of the bolt’s direction.

They had said these bolts were strong enough to pierce armor.

Then they were at least medium heavy-duty crossbows.

That improved long-range weapon had, regrettably for its targets, a short reload time.

But I had enough leeway to run up to a clump of broad-leaved vines.

“Your cowardice will be rewarded in kind!”

I cried out like a hero from old epics and swung my sword.

When I cut the vines the shadow that had hung there lifted, and the thieves hiding in it were revealed.

One had a dagger; another aimed a large crossbow.

I kicked the dagger-wielder in the chest.

The crossbowman widened his eyes and pulled the trigger.

“Die! You monster!”

I saw the eyes staring at my chest and, without thinking, turned my torso to the right.

He had been aiming at my right breast.

I leaned hard to the left.

Ssssh!

The crossbow bolt skimmed past my shoulder and flew by.

“Wasn’t he a knight—no, a diviner mage!”

“You’re talking nonsense.”

If I had manifested that magic I wouldn’t have needed to grip a sword.

I cut off the head of the man who had shot the crossbow.

Of course I also cut off the dagger-wielder’s head.

Knights must be fair.

“Next.”

They had probably been lying in wait at similar distances.

No need to go further; following that line I could pick them off.

Sure enough, from a similar-distance thicket I severed the throats of more thieves.

“Next!”

I thus beheaded fifteen crossbowmen.

When I split the last head, the officer-mages who had been freed from danger began to show their true worth.

I backed dozens of paces into the deep forest for fear of being caught by their spells.

Blue mana light began to gather, the ground overturned, flesh froze, and balls of fire erupted.

Thieves charging the carriage were impaled on earthen spikes and became a fence of bodies.

Each time a blue flash lit up, dozens clutched their chests and fell.

A frost combat mage had frozen hearts.

An earth mage slammed his heel into the ground.

The earth trembled and buried the crossbowmen attacking from the left beneath the surface.

It was a sight that clearly showed why mages of blue-blooded lines had come to rule the world.

The band of thieves scattered in all directions and fled.

One of them, trying to escape the magic, bolted straight toward my position.

“Hello?”

I greeted the thief who ran at me with an amiable tone.

“Huh?”

Then I punched him in the face.

I did not kill him.

It wasn’t pity like that of a serf in the day.

Even if I sent his family and friends to the torture chamber, I needed to learn who was behind this raid.

Thieves? 

Not funny.

What stupid thief would run toward a glowing pool of mana?

“Milady. Are you all right?”

My half-sister nodded with a pale face.

She inhaled when she saw the red fluid flowing like rainy-season stream water, but did not vomit.

“Miss, don’t look — come inside.”

A maid dragged her into the carriage.

Her clothes were torn, yet there were no wounds.

It wasn’t my imagination earlier.

That was not a level of recovery a mere maid could have.

I stepped forward and made the captive’s presence known.

“I brought him back alive, not killed.”

This time issue a proper interrogation order.

My sister looked startled and glanced at the maid.

She was unconsciously checking her.

A crease formed between her brows.

Blue blood that should lead this house must not be left to be judged by a mere maid.

Father said to protect her in everything.

If I cut down that maid, would that be following his orders or not?

“Sir. I don’t think there’s any need for interrogation.”

She spoke, watching the maid beside her.

“Just tie him up. Put a gag on so he can’t bite his tongue.”

The maid flashed a victorious smile and cast a sidelong glance.

After all she was only a maid—how arrogant.

Should I punish her, or even execute her?

I considered it, but gave it up.

For some reason my sister was watching that maid.

I could not step into that situation blindly and risk making things difficult for her.

If I wanted to punish, I needed to understand their relationship a bit more.

I sighed and sat on the carriage step.

Time to clean the bloodied blade.

Then the earth-controlling mage came up to me.

“Truly, thank you! Sir. That was an incredible feat.”

He bowed to me.

Startled, I stood and returned the bow.

“As expected, purebloods are different in everything. What’s so special about magic? If swordsmanship looks like magic, it is magic!”

The frost mage who had been about to carry wine took water from a soldier.

Blue light shimmered faintly and a spirit of life touched the water.

“Unfortunately I cannot offer you wine. But this cup, young master — no, Sir Knight, it’s for you.”

His face showed slight embarrassment and sincere gratitude.

At that moment I was certain.

A knight was a hundred times better than a ruined mage.

Good choice to hold the sword.

I drank greedily.

It was cooler than any water.

***

In every village we passed, serfs’ pleas continued.

“Pay your taxes—that is your duty.”

My half-sister repeated similar words and eventually passed by without meeting them.

A few times I saw her eyelids redden, but she never shed a tear.

We were attacked six more times by bands of thieves.

Of course, none of those who attacked later carried crossbows.

They were dealt with before I even stepped off the carriage by the soldiers in formation.

Who on earth had supplied the first thieves with crossbows and armor?

The mystery only deepened day by day.

A month passed like that.

We reached the border between the Intezeruto House and the Imperial domain.

Even though we rode hard every day with good horses and a carriage, it still took a month.

Since the founding, the Seven Elector Houses had conquered many countries by magical force and become very bloated.

Despite tax benefits encouraging large families and land reclamation, and an active population-movement policy, vast unexplored tracts remained within the domain.

This was the most recently reclaimed of those plots.

The Serenus Marsh.

A land that once held mystery and fear in its stillness had been dismantled and reassembled by human hands.

Looking at the vast plain the marsh had become, I felt an indescribable emotion.

A horizon unfurled endlessly—one I had not seen in my previous life.

“Is all this reclaimed land? How large was the marsh to begin with?”

“This is only the beginning. We haven’t even finished half of half yet.”

An administrator, pale in complexion and carrying a briefcase, spoke with excitement.

They planned to give debt relief and tax breaks and relocate 340,000 of the lowest-class poor drawn from various big cities.

“Middle class and smallholder farmers will increase. It should have a positive effect on the economy.”

“Yes. I think so too.”

He added an unexpected remark.

“I thought you only wielded a sword well, but you also take an interest in administration?”

“I had a few years of training as an heir.”

Being in the central political sphere, he seemed sharp.

It was a short comment, but he quickly bowed as if he had understood the situation.

“Excuse me.”

“No. By the way, do you know who will govern this city?”

Will a new branch family be founded here using this city as a stronghold?

Or will a governor be sent and it be ruled directly by the house head?

Of course it would change nothing even if I knew.

Still, it was something I’d once been taught, so I was curious.

“They plan to send a governor.”

“The main house’s strong blood will be inaugurated. Do you know who the candidate is?”

“Yes, I am familiar.”

The administrator looked at my sister.

“Part of her successor training, I assume.”

“Yes. It being a frontier region won’t be easy, but people like us will need to assist well.”

So she intended to steadily build capability where problems were manageable.

Good.

If she had the will and ability.

“Then exactly what will our role be—just a simple inspection before the resettlement?”

“No. We came because, if we’re not careful, the land could be taken before shovels even touch it.”

The administrator lowered his voice.

Before I could ask what he meant, my sister called me.

Of course that suspicious maid was beside her.

“Brother. Let’s go. The Imperial household has arrived.”

Large tents could be seen on the hill in the distance.

The Imperial flag—white with a golden cross—fluttered.

As we approached the tents hostile stares poured down.

Imperial maids, servants, soldiers, knights, and noble mages—none looked kindly upon us.

I followed one step behind my sister, somewhat tense.

She entered the largest tent.

I naturally followed, but the maid was restrained by an Imperial knight.

Rivelia sighed with relief.

She looked refreshed as if indigestion had passed.

Seeing that expression I was certain.

Whatever their relationship, the two of them had to be separated as much as possible.