Chapter 68: Chapter 68

“Phew…”

Having broken through the defensive formation with three consecutive charges, Shan drew in a deep breath to replenish the stamina he had poured out in an instant.

The rapid exhaustion of physical stamina, the terror of death, and the thrill of single-handedly dominating the battlefield tangled together, making his head spin.

Yet even amidst all that, there was one thing visible to him.

Right up ahead, a bearded man who was staring at him as if spellbound even while being dragged away by others.

It was the enemy commander, Duke of Morayen.

The moment he recognized the opponent’s presence, Shan spurred his warhorse once more.

Arwin’s leg muscles, taut like ropes, contracted abruptly, drawing out an explosive burst of speed.

“You bastard!”

“Block him! Don’t let him get to His Highness!”

While Duke of Morayen hastily evacuated, nearby escort knights and squires spurred their horses to cut in between, barring Shan’s way.

Their number was about twenty.

Parrying a flying spear with the holy artifact shield left behind by Kamad, Shan launched a counterattack.

It was not the ‘Spear of Intense Flames’ used when breaking through the formation earlier, but ‘Heart Breaker’, which Cheryn had crafted for him in the past.

As he raised and thrust the spear, an opponent watching from the side shrieked in shock.

“Did it just… extend!?”

Over the past few months, even while extremely busy, Cheryn had not forgotten her experiment of transplanting the ability of ‘A Thousand Shapes’ into Shan’s magical implement.

Thanks to that, an extension and contraction function had been added to the spear, which previously possessed only durability and self-repair capabilities.

To achieve this required consuming the mana stone of the high vampire captured previously, and its speed was still slower compared to A Thousand Shapes, but even so, the spear expanding and contracting during battle brought an immense effect.

Simply extending upon thrusting and shortening upon retrieving made the relative speed of the spearhead nearly twice as fast.

“Argh!”

“Keugh…”

A situation of twenty to one against seasoned knights and squires… one that was not merely dangerous, but outright desperate.

However, Shan parried lethal attacks with his shield and deflected those difficult to block off the curved surfaces of his armor as he fought back.

Every time the spear in his right hand supplely extended and contracted like a snake, a cavalryman in front of him lost his life.

Arwin likewise stepped diagonally or backed away, doing everything possible to prevent herself and her master from being surrounded on all sides.

Even when stumbling from being rammed by another horse, the beast flared its temper yet did not lose control, following its master’s guidance.

Watching this scene, the knights and squires surrounding Shan could not help but harbor the exact same thought simultaneously.

‘Is this fellow… truly human?’

A single knight taking on twenty cavalrymen composed of equally seasoned knights and squires?

Even for those who had spent their entire lives polishing their martial arts, it was a realm difficult to even dare imagine.

To think such a knight existed in this world!

A slight opening created as they faltered, pushed back by the opponent’s intimidating pressure.

The ones who charged in without missing that opening were the cavalry unit that had forced their way through the infantry formation by wedging into the gap Shan had created.

“Assist Sir Shan!”

Baron Yurk of Rugen shouted at the top of his lungs as he led the charge, impaling one of the enemy knights and squires with a lance charge filled with Fighting Spirit.

The knights and squires following behind likewise surrounded the enemy cavalrymen in an instant, thrusting their lances forward.

Originally, in a clash between cavalry, common sense dictated that the side with momentum held the upper hand.

Moreover, with their numbers being roughly twice as large, the superiority between the two cavalry forces was decided in a flash.

“Keuheok…”

“M-My Lord!”

“At least you run! Ugh…”

In an instant, more than a dozen were impaled by lances and killed or knocked sprawling to the ground by sheer force, and only a fortunate few barely escaped with their lives.

Even seasoned knights of Libert had no way whatsoever to contend with such a situation.

Meanwhile, having broken out of the encirclement with the help of his comrades, Shan confirmed that Duke of Morayen had fled on horseback alongside his subordinates to where the infantry unit was stationed.

Since the cavalrymen scattered everywhere had also gathered around him, targeting him again seemed difficult.

‘If only he had dawdled for a few seconds longer, I would have caught him…’

Tsk, Shan clicked his tongue lightly and issued instructions once again toward the comrades who had crushed the enemy cavalry.

“Change of plans! We will detour and attack the enemy infantry unit as we pull back!”

“Yes!”

By nature, knights were a troop type that sacrificed endurance in exchange for overwhelming explosive power.

Though the squires who had yet to awaken their Fighting Spirit might still have strength to spare, the knights who had expended their Fighting Spirit to breach the infantry formation and ambush the enemy knights were surely quite exhausted.

At Shan’s command, the cavalry unit transformed once more into a single spear with him as its tip and charged.

The target this time was the defenselessly exposed enemy archer unit.

Because most of the spearmen and cavalrymen had moved to protect the duke, they were left without proper protection.

Shan’s cavalry unit succeeded in pinpointing and driving straight into that exact weakness.

“C-Captain! Cavalry from behind!”

“Everyone, run!”

“AAAAHHH!”

The archer unit, which had been diligently shooting arrows toward the top of the ramparts, collapsed completely under the assault of the cavalry crashing in from behind.

“Euhaha!”

“Kill them all!”

The knights and squires whose lances had broken during the lance charge earlier slaughtered the helpless archers using their respective swords, axes, and maces.

Armed at most with short swords or clubs, they could not even dare to offer resistance.

Shan, standing at the head, had even hung his shield to the side and shortened his spear, gripping it with both hands as he thrust left and right.

Those fortunate enough not to be thrust in a vital spot or who ducked to evade had their heads or chests crushed beneath Arwin’s hooves and died.

After quickly trampling nearly half of the archer unit, which had numbered over two hundred, the cavalry unit rode straight on and reached the ramparts.

Soldiers watching through the side gate quickly opened the gate and lowered the drawbridge, making a path for them to come up.

Naturally, in the meantime, the attack of the infantry unit scaling ladders near the main gate had already ceased.

For in a situation where the main force was threatened, they could not simply remain trying to capture the ramparts.

Silence settled over the battlefield that had been boisterous until just moments ago.

*

Shan and the cavalry unit, having succeeded in pulling back, received endless applause and cheers from the people waiting inside the ramparts.

The knights atop their weary, huffing horses wore pleased smiled even in their half-exhausted state.

For a single band of cavalry to stir up the enemy encampment and force the besieging foes to retreat… was that not the very definition of a heroic tale?

In Pendia, where it was difficult to earn military merit through war, they had accomplished a feat worthy of proudly boasting to their children in the future, so they could not help but be overjoyed.

However, the knight who had performed the greatest feat, Shan, instead of grinning and rejoicing at the praise, first checked the casualties of the cavalry unit that had fought alongside him.

Upon checking the total count, the cavalry unit had decreased by six, from forty-one to thirty-five.

There were almost no casualties when engaging the enemy cavalry or attacking the archer unit; rather, a few had failed to clear the enemy and tripped when initially breaking through the infantry encirclement.

“All the knights have returned safely. The only ones who failed to return are the squires…”

One knight carefully said that among them was included Tavera, Shan’s squire.

Vico, Tavera’s peer, lowered his head with a gloomy expression.

“I am sorry, Sir Shan. I saw Tavera fall from his horse. I should have helped him…”

“It is fine. It was an urgent situation, so it could not be helped.”

“Do not worry too much. As long as he is still breathing, he would have been taken prisoner, so we can pay a ransom to get him back.”

Seeing Shan comforting his squire with a darkened complexion, Yurk spoke in an encouraging manner.

Of course, that came with the proviso that he had not broken his neck and died upon falling from the horse or been killed by angry infantrymen, but Yurk did not bother to state that out loud.

“First, call the priests. Treat the wounded.”

“Are you alright, Sir Shan?”

“I am completely fine. My armor is just a bit damaged.”

The armor of Kamad that Shan was wearing was in a mess, scratched and pierced in places.

For no matter how great he was, fighting twenty cavalrymen containing several seasoned knights meant he could not avoid taking a single hit.

Yet even amidst all that, thanks to deflecting every attack with minimal damage, the only injuries Shan sustained were light grazes.

Of course, had he not been wearing the armor, he would have been struck by spears loaded with Fighting Spirit and torn to death.

“He broke through at the front, and yet that’s all?”

“Honestly, now I don’t even feel an inferiority complex…”

“Altoan though he may be, he is surely a knight bestowed by the Goddess. He is not someone for the likes of us to compete against.”

Having thus instilled awe and a touch of frustration in the other knights, Shan entrusted Arwin’s reins to Vico and stepped up onto the ramparts.

Though it had been a short time, the beast had engaged in intense activity, so it had to be well fed and rested to be able to run again.

‘Haa…’

Shan felt a strange sense of suffocation at the fact that his squire had been sacrificed during the charge.

Should he have watched over them from further back?

No, had he done so, they would not even have broken through the encirclement in the first place.

As much as they killed the enemy, they had no choice but to accept the deaths of their allies.

He now knew that such was war.

However, even knowing it was like a child’s tantrum, Shan did not want to lose anyone belonging to him.

He wanted to become stronger, so that even if he had to slaughter tens of thousands of enemies all by himself, he could protect everyone so no one would be hurt.

As he stepped onto the ramparts alongside his thoughts, he saw Roden hard at work dealing with the aftermath.

Sending wounded soldiers down the ramparts or replenishing depleted supplies… there were many tasks to handle when the battle reached a lull.

Seeing Shan come up, Roden hardened his face and apologized.

“I am sorry, Sir Shan.”

“Sorry for what?”

“I saw it from outside. That the enemy saw through my shallow scheme… Thank goodness Sir Shan broke through with your valor, but I almost put my master in danger with my clumsy attempt.”

Watching the cavalry get surrounded by the enemy infantry unit from atop the ramparts, Roden had felt as if his heart were stopping.

Even when a blade had rushed right before his eyes, he had not felt that desperate and fearful.

Had Shan not broken through quickly, at least a third or more of the knights who went into the charge would have been killed or wounded.

With bad luck, they might even have been completely wiped out.

“I wondered what you meant. Forget it. The one who made the decision was me… More importantly, how was the situation up on the ramparts?”

When Shan moved past the failure of the plan without pointing it out at all, Roden cleared his throat lightly with an ‘ahem’.

“To be honest with you, we were pushed back a bit more than expected. If Ravana and her subordinates had not taken the lead in commanding, the ramparts would probably have been captured.”

“To that extent?”

“Yes. A first war seems to carry even greater pressure than thought. Still, since they gained experience this time, I expect things will improve somewhat in the future.”

Originally, even when setting out for monster hunting for the first time, people often froze up and could do nothing.

Once assisted by someone nearby and succeeding once, from then on, a certain degree of experience naturally built up.

Fortunately, thanks to everyone being fairly thoroughly armed, while many were wounded, not many reached death.

Roughly thirty people died, and the number of those severely injured was about twice that.

And the enemy’s casualties were estimated to be more than double that.

In fact, beneath the ramparts, corpses of those who had failed to scale up and died were piled like mountains.

“For now, since their casualties are far greater, the possibility of engaging in a long-term war in the future…”

“A messenger is coming!”

Just as Roden was predicting the outlook, someone shouted from behind.

Just as said, a knight from Duke of Morayen’s camp was approaching with a white flag attached.

It was a different person from the knight under Conrad who had provoked them prior to the battle.

He shouted at the top of his lungs toward the ramparts.

“The Duke of Morayen and Regent of the King of Libert proposes a conference to Sir Shan Barendil!”

*

“Horrible.”

After Shan’s cavalry unit swept through, a vassal of the duke who had grasped the detailed damage situation murmured softly.

No one rebuked him by telling him not to make morale-lowering remarks.

For in truth, the damage was just that terrible.

“Casualties of seven knights, nine squires, twenty-one heavy infantry, and one hundred and fourteen archers…”

Of course, a significant portion among them were merely severely wounded, but either way, it was the same in that they could not function as combat forces right away.

About a seventh of the thousand-odd soldiers had been neutralized by a single cavalry charge.

Even more dumbfounding to them was the fact that they had suffered such damage despite anticipating this attack, and that had they not moved just a bit more nimbly, even their leader, Duke of Morayen, would have been taken down.

“On top of that, casualties from the siege battle are nearly two hundred as well. I don’t want to admit it, but this fight is already ruined.”

Of course, considering that the opponent’s main force consisted of inexperienced soldiers, they could attempt a siege battle again, but doing so would mean that monstrous knight coming at them once more.

With nearly half their forces already dead or wounded, receiving another such blow would truly be the end.

Duke of Morayen, who had been listening to his vassals’ discussion with an expressionless face, threw out a question nonchalantly.

“What of that baron fellow whom Conrad attached to us?”

“He died in the cavalry charge.”

“Good, then the bothersome ears are gone. Propose a conference to that side. I will go out in person.”

“It is dangerous, Your Highness.”

“Even New Faith believers of Pendia wouldn’t be ignorant of honor. Would they really attack during a conference? Above all, tell that knight to definitely show up. Shan Barendil. One like Baren… Whoever came up with it, it is truly a fitting surname. It was literally the second coming of the Great Emperor Baren.”

“Your Highness…”

At the words praising the enemy knight (and a clan of demons who betrayed the Goddess at that) the vassals wore awkward expressions.

However, paying them no mind, the duke demanded that they quickly propose the conference.

Knowing how stubborn as sinew their liege was, they ultimately sent the messenger.

Before long, a reply returned proposing to meet in front of the ramparts.

*

Before the ramparts, the leaders of each camp and five knights to escort them stood face-to-face.

The first to introduce himself was Duke of Morayen.

“I am Savante Lagos Ion Armando, son of King Lagos of Libert and Duke of Morayen.”

Just as Pendia had the Hasra Royal House, Libert possessed the Armando Royal House.

In truth, in the past they were called an Imperial House, not a Royal House.

Because they were direct descendants of Baren Armando, the founder of the Arman Empire, who inherited that surname.

Thanks to that, even now the Libert royalty implicitly acted as if they were beings one tier above the royalty of other countries.

Claiming that they were direct lines while others were merely collateral branches.

“I am Princess Cheryn’s knight, Shan Barendil, Your Grace Duke. It is an honor to meet you.”

Greeting politely with courtesy, Shan observed the enemy commander whom he was finally facing up close.

Duke of Morayen was a handsome man with an impressive well-groomed beard and strongly defined features.

He had black curly hair and double eyelids so deep they were somewhat burdensome.

In fact, even more burdensome than that appearance was that gaze staring deeply at Shan.

Not fear or hostility upon facing a formidable enemy, but a gaze filled with desire as if looking at a beautiful woman or a work of art…

Feeling a strangely chilling sensation, Shan turned his eyes away slightly without realizing it.

Rather than feeling overwhelmed by intimidation, it was closer to the feeling of encountering something repulsive.

“I have heard the tales, but it is truly hard to believe. For that beautiful knight to be such a young boy…”

The knights accompanying Shan looked at the duke with expressions as if questioning if they had misheard at the word ‘beautiful’.

Shan, hesitating for a moment, could not hold back and asked.

“Did you by any chance say that I was beautiful?”

“Indeed. I saw it. The way you swung your spear, held the reins, and maintained your balance… every single movement followed reason without a single hair’s breadth of error. Save for that ill-fitting armor, it was literally the ideal of all knights.”

At the duke’s words, Shan unwittingly widened his eyes in surprise.

Because excluding himself, this was the first person who understood the methodology of moving the body rationally, who understood how much another person’s movements conformed to reason.

Could it be that this duke was also born with the same aptitude as himself?

But for that to be true, his movements earlier were ordinary, no different from anyone else.

While Shan harbored doubts, Duke of Morayen abruptly reeled off his philosophy on beauty right then and there.

Stating that while people usually praise the beauty of humans, beasts, or landscapes, he himself pursued functional beauty instead.

“Well-crafted swords and armor, fast-running warhorses, an army that faithfully obeys orders and braves even death… I desire and admire all of those. But today, right here, I felt true beauty. Namely you, you were the most ideal and beautiful as a knight. If one of us had been a woman, I would have proposed on the spot.”

At that sticky gaze and tone of speech akin to a madman’s, Shan felt embarrassed and baffled.

Should he view this as expressing goodwill toward him?

Since those nearby also showed signs of bewilderment, such an impression did not seem to belong to him alone.

“So on that note, do you have any intention of becoming my knight? Once I return to Libert in the future and execute Count Balik, I shall promise you his title. It is not right for a knight as beautiful as you to lack even a single title.”

“Your Highness!”

“How could you speak such disastrous words to a mere Altoan!”

As the duke’s vassals shrieked in shock, Shan’s fellow knights wore sulky expressions.

For they were offended that the enemy side was blabbering amongst themselves about taking him or not when their side had no intention of giving him away in the first place.

Shan, who had been dazed for a moment, shook his head.

“I shall pretend I did not hear those words. So, is that all you have to propose?”

“…Ah, a refusal? Regrettable, but it cannot be helped. For obtaining a beauty is inherently difficult. As for another proposal, how about an exchange of prisoners? I understand that you captured quite a few of our troops who scaled the ramparts, so let us exchange them with those captured in the cavalry charge earlier.”

As he spoke, the duke snapped his fingers, and several people walked out from the back of the camp.

They were those who had participated in the cavalry charge and fallen behind.

Shan realized that Tavera was among them.

Though he limped slightly, his life did not appear to be in danger.

‘He was alive.’

While Shan let out a sigh of relief, Duke of Morayen continued speaking.

“Of course, since our side has far more prisoners, a simple exchange would be unfair. So I would like to discuss specific matters from here on… By any chance, how much authority do you possess?”

“Authority, you say?”

“Meaning how much your master, Princess Cheryn, treats a powerful knight like you. Will the words I deliver here be conveyed intact?”

“They will be.”

At the answer without any particular hesitation, the duke’s eyes widened.

As if he had never imagined such a relationship of trust had been built between the two.

“Indeed, to that extent… Regrettable. I understand you were originally born in Libert, so if only we had met a little sooner.”

“Did you know of my origin?”

Flustered that someone as high as a duke would know even such a thing, Shan asked, and the duke chuckled as he answered.

“You are quite famous even in Libert, more than you think. The Black Spear mentioned you before. That a boy with black hair and green eyes would become a warrior stronger than himself in about five years. But looking at you today, he was wrong. It has been only two or three years since he said that, yet you already look far stronger.”

It seemed Feonil Alten had been peddling his name around in Libert one way or another.

Should he be grateful for unexpectedly spreading his fame?

Meanwhile, the duke, who was muttering that had Shan only been there he would not have lost to the rebel Count Balik, yet also that an Altoan knight in Libert was impossible after all, brought up the main topic.

“Conrad promised me that he would fight alongside me against Count Balik in the future.”

“In exchange for what…?”

“Taking his side in this civil war. Coincidentally, he was taking Princess Cheryn’s army stirring up the northwestern region quite seriously. Since he was recently getting pushed back by the allied forces of Elvin and the Kingdom of Ruman, he desperately needed my help.”

For Conrad to be pushed back by Elvin was another piece of new information.

Clearly, until last time, he had heard that Conrad was unilaterally driving him back.

Apparently, being located in the northernmost tip of Pendia, a territory virtually no different from an island, they could not help but be slow regarding such news.

Seeing the knights of Palles bewildered, Duke of Morayen smirked as he spoke.

“My original plan was to win today’s battle, then ride the momentum to conquer Palles as well and build up strength using that place as a base. But seeing things today, it doesn’t look like that is possible at all. So on that note, how about we do this instead?”

The proposal of Duke of Morayen that followed was simple.

First, cleanly exchange hostages with each other to end the fight.

While the duke’s forces pulled back, Shan would return to Palles with all the harvests, and Duke of Morayen would rule this northwestern region where a power vacuum had formed.

In other words, he meant to act as a buffer zone between Conrad and Cheryn.

To put it nicely, that was what it meant; to speak plainly, it meant stabbing Conrad (who had taken him in) in the back.

Having sent him to attack a hostile force, only for him to abruptly swallow up his own territory that had been invaded and settle down there… in what other way could such an action be interpreted?

“It shouldn’t be a bad deal for you either. After all, isn’t it difficult for you to manage everything from Palles to this place anyway?”

In a way, Duke of Morayen was keeping Conrad in check on their behalf.

At any rate, if Princess Cheryn tried to rule this northwestern area, her legs would end up split wide.

For a fourth force was planting itself firm in a place that originally should have returned to Conrad’s rule.

Conversely, picking a fight to drive them back would actually be to the enemy’s benefit.

Of course, expecting such complex political foresight from Shan was still a bit difficult.

Pretending to think seriously, he casually turned his gaze to look at Roden, who was standing politely in the back.

And a moment later, receiving an answer through an eye signal, he nodded.

“Understood.”

“Good, the deal is struck! I look forward to being good neighbors in the future, Sir Shan!”

The duke patted Shan’s shoulder and laughed heartily.