28

“We received information that Baron Kozlov has escaped on a carriage through the castle’s north gate about thirty minutes ago.”

Sergey, who received the report from a Knight, said, looking at Daniel.

“Kozlov could not have gone to the Forest of Evil Spirits. He must have gone to Nordburg. I’ll catch him. Please continue to search the castle while I chase him down.”

As Daniel nodded, Sergey and four Knights set off and raced at high speed to the north gate of the Lord’s Castle.

After Daniel had left, Aleksey attacked Viscount Koroylov’s main camp with his own ploy. Only eighteen Knights remained by Viscount Korolyov`s side, with all of Kozlov’s remaining strength, twenty-nine Knights and fifty light cavalries hoping to set an end to the war. As for Aleksey, he did the best he could do. When his troops were trying to force their way to where Viscount Korolyov was, more than a hundred of Korolyov’s heavy cavalries rushed to meet them. Though the Kozlov Order had more Knights than Korolyov’s in this battle, the latter’s Cavalry outmatched the former’s. Moreover, there was a significant difference in the Knights' quality rendering the Kozlov Order's numerical advantage practically meaningless. The balance between the two sides had drastically collapsed as Aleksey was besieged by two of Korolyov’s high-class Knights, and soon his head fell. Though in feudal battles, the defeated side usually preserved their core strength and surrendered, the entirety of the Knights and Cavalry of the Kozlov family were destroyed in that battle. It was the complete downfall of the Kozlov Barony.

Id and Sasha were hiding inside the entrance to the dungeon and looking for a chance to escape the Lord’s Castle. However, less than ten minutes after Sergey left to pursue Kozlov, the Centuria in charge of Korolyov’s eastern front arrived at the Kozlov Castle and searched it without leaving a single stone unturned following Daniel's instructions. Most of Kozlov's conscripts fled when the chain of command had crumbled, and most of the regular soldiers surrendered to Korolyov’s force. They could not escape the soldiers' eyes. The dungeon, where Id and Sasha were hiding was also swept by the search unit. Id made up his mind and came out of the dungeon, shouting to Daniel.

“We don’t belong to the Kozlov Barony. I need to talk to the Knight Commander.”

As a man approached, in a full suit of armor with the crest of the Kozlov family, a Korolyov’s Knight stood in his way and said.

“It is funny that you say you don’t belong to the Kozlov’s estate while wearing such high quality armor with their crest on it. Take off your helmet and identify yourself.”

Id took off his helmet and held it by his side.

“I was forced to accept the request of the Kozlov’s Knight Commander Aleksey to fight with the heir to the Korolyov Viscounty while wearing the armor of Baron Kozlov’s son since he had captured my friend as a hostage and threatened his life. Now that I’ve rescued my friend, I want to leave this place. I expect you to let us go.”

Listening to what Id short to-the-point explanation, Daniel asked, approaching him.

“Did you defeat Sergey Korolyov? How dare you fight a duel disguised as the heir to the hostile territory during the feudal war? It is an unforgivable intervention. Drop your weapon and surrender. I’ll make a decision to decide your fate after a thorough investigation of your history.”

“You are no different from Aleksey. I don’t see any difference between Aleksey, who had many Knights ambush my friend and subdue him after challenging me to a duel, disregarding the chivalry of a knight, and you, who persecutes the innocent at your own convenience.”

Smiling coldly at Id’s provocation, Daniel said.

“You mean Aleksey’s Knights overpowered your friend with the power of numbers? Identify yourselves.”

Sasha came forward to answer Daniel’s question.

“I was watching the one-on-one confrontation between Aleksey and my friend, Id, when Knight Denis, together with three other Knights, attacked and overpowered me. They were cowards with no sense of chivalry. We are Id and Sasha, apprentices to Knight Andrew Adelian from the Marquis Adelian family of the Icarus Empire. Now that our master has passed away, we are on our way to the Empire to deliver his will and become Knights of the Marquis Adelian family.”

Daniel was intrigued that one of the four Knights who attacked the young apprentice was Denis. He was the only knight excluding Aleksey among the Kozlov Knights that Daniel remembered the name of. He once had a duel with a Knight under Daniel’s, and Daniel, who had watched the fight had considered Denis’ swordsmanship to not be too bad, at least he should be more than enough to single-handedly overpower these young apprentice knights in front of him. As Daniel contemplated the matter, Id spoke up once again.

“I’d like to request a one-on-one confrontation with the Knight Commander. If I win, just let us go. If I lose, we will follow you to have this matter settled officially.”

As Daniel hesitated for a moment looking at Id, Sasha said.

“Before your duel, I want to have a one-on-one match first. Anyone but you would be fine.”

A knight, who heard Sasha’s request, approached Daniel. He was Knight Fyodor, whose sword technique was estimated to be at the same level as Denis. As he heard that Denis had ambushed a young apprentice along with other Knights, he stepped up, feeling as though the honor of knights had been tainted.

“Commander, let me show this apprentice the swordsmanship of a true Knight.”

As Daniel nodded, Fyodor grumbled to Sasha, drawing his longsword.

“It seems that you look down on Kozlov’s Knights. I’ll show you that Knights of the Korolyov Order are entirely different from them.”

Having untied the mace and battle-axe from his back, Sasha unsheathed his longsword and approached Fyodor. The two men, who stepped up confidently at first, carefully took a long pause to gauge the other’s skill. Sasha was cautious because he did not want to be a burden to Id anymore, and Fyodor was careful because of Denis’ strange behavior and reaction to Id’s words. It was Sasha who initiated the fight first. He parried Fyodor’s sword at an angle with the shield, then stretched out his right arm to stab his opponent’s neck. As Fyodor tried to stop the blade with his shield, Sasha pulled back his sword and spun his body. Fyodor’s shield and Sasha’s chainmail scraped by each other, and Sasha struck his opponent’s left side with his sword, having rotated his body four hundred and fifty degrees. Fyodor, who was struck by an unexpected blow, staggered back with a few shaky steps. Sasha’s strike was so strong that Fyodor’s platemail was partially crushed.

As the furious Fyodor rushed in and brandished his sword, Sasha leaned back with his left shoulder, dodging the opponent’s sword and smashed his sword into the left thigh of his opponent. Fyodor regained his lost balance by grounding his left knee and lowering the edge of his shield. The tip of his blade grazed Sasha’s chainmail, but there was only a shallow scratch on the armor. The chainmail, which Andrew had worn almost all throughout his lifetime, was made of special alloy by the dwarf master Grayhammer who had his workshop in Icarus City, the Empire's capital. It was thin and lightweight but much more durable than standard chainmail. The next moment, by bashing his opponent’s right hand with his shield, Sasha created a gap and held the tip of his sword to Fyodor’s neck. After a glimpse at Daniel, Sasha returned to Id, sheathing his sword. Id whispered to Sasha.

“If I confront the Knight Commander, don’t stay too far away from me and be prepared for a surprise attack. If things go wrong, break through the siege and escape. When you start to escape, I’ll stop fighting and follow after you.”

Sasha nodded slightly, and Id challenged Daniel once again.

“Will you accept my request for a duel?”

Daniel’s expression had become quite serious. Judging from the apprentice’s skills against Fyodor which he had displayed just moments ago, he seemed to have mastered the orthodox swordsmanship of a prominent family. No longer able to belittle Id, who was most likely to be even stronger than Sasha, Daniel left his sword and shield to his servant and held his halbert. The halbert was the weapon he was most confident in wiedling, with an axe blade on one side and a hook on the other. As Daniel approached Id, the latter took a few steps forward to meet the Knight Commander, unsheathing his ‘Middlesword’.

“Your friend’s swordcraft was excellent. Do you use the same skills as him?”

“While my friend has learned the orthodox swordsmanship passed down by our late master, my skills have been modified a lot. Therefore, you won’t be facing the same swordsmanship when fighting against me.”

Intrigued by Id’s words, Daniel lifted the halbert, and its blade was wrapped by a bluish aura. Id’s blade, which he extended forward parallelly from his chest level, was also surrounded by a blue aura. Id, who had never faced an opponent wielding a halberd before, decided to wait to let his opponent make the first move. His intent was to observe the movements of the weapon completely unfamiliar to him. Recognizing Id’s intention, Daniel charged and swung his halbert rapidly and attacked him a dozen times from different angles, not lacking in fluidity when chaining the moves together.