How to Live as a Wandering Knight

“I guess they’re trusting the satyr too much!”

“Shouldn’t we just attack?”

The other rogues stopped at Johan’s words. He was confident that they could slaughter the satyr and any soldiers if he called upon the elf knights and centaurs that were standing by.

But he couldn’t do that.

‘𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨’𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺.’

The captain was sharp and intelligent enough to realize that something was amiss if he saw the elves and centaurs and run away.

Even if he managed to kill the satyr, it would be pointless if the captain went into hiding in the fortress since he would be on high alert.

“We’ll stick to the plan. They’ll stop chasing us once we enter the forest.”

. . .But the enemy didn’t stop.

The satyr kept crying out and searching for their tracks, and the soldiers followed close behind, running through the forest. Johan realized that he had been wrong.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥.’

The soldiers in the fortress had great confidence in the satyr’s abilities. That was only natural since many of them had seen it with their own eyes.

The mysterious eyes that could detect lies, the sharp and large horns that could crush anything, the strong grip that could not be escaped once caught, the powerful legs that could crush rocks, and so on.

At the very least, he had to take care of the soldiers in order to stop this pursuit.

“Hey, isn’t that guy following us a little too well?”

Of course, not everyone was as calm as Johan. The rogues were visibly terrified by the satyr’s relentless pursuit.

“Maybe it’s following us because it knows I’m the leader. Monsters are sensitive to that kind of thing.”

Johan was well aware of how monsters behaved, having commanded Karamaf himself and having hunted all sorts of monsters.

However, the rogues seemed even more frightened by his words.

“D-Does that mean we can’t shake it off?”

The rogues’ eyes pleaded with him to call the elves or centaurs, even if it was just for a moment. Johan, however, gave a different order instead.

“Mohado. Even if the captain doesn’t personally pursue us into the forest, I don’t think he’ll leave until the satyr brings him his prey. Can you take some men and sneak out of the forest and circle around to the fortress?”

“What? Right now??”

“If we’re going to do it, we have to do it now.”

“I-I can disguise myself at any time but. . .”

Mohado couldn’t understand why the duke wanted to split his forces when the satyr was chasing them so fiercely.

Even if he was confident, wasn’t he being a little too reckless?

However, the duke continued, not paying him any mind.

“Disguise yourselves however you want, but find a way to get inside the fortress. I’ll lure the satyr deeper into the forest and then head to the fortress with my men.”

Johan intended to make the captain pay dearly for his arrogance in trusting the satyr.

Judging from what he had seen earlier, it was clear that the captain would be waiting leisurely in front of the forest, expecting the satyr to bring him his prey. There was no reason not to take advantage of this gap.

“Mohado-nim, even His Highness the Duke is telling you to do it!”

One of the frightened servants whined. He had wanted to speak up earlier, but he couldn’t because the duke had spoken first. He just wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

“Shut up, you fool! What difference does it make if you save your own life right now!”

However, Mohado snapped at him angrily. Being compared to the duke’s subordinate made him feel even more ashamed. To act so foolishly when he was in the middle of doing something important, just to save his own life.

“Move, now.”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

Mohado decided to lead his men north through the forest, then circle around the hill and approach the fortress. Since the captain was so far away, they would be able to enter the fortress if they disguised themselves as merchants.

‘𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬?’

Mohado glanced back at the young duke several times, worried that he might be making a mistake. As a human being, it was impossible to completely forget the kindness you had received. This was especially true for someone like Mohado.

The rogues, who didn’t understand his feelings, grumbled.

“Mohado-nim, I don’t know why you’re doing this. We should be running away as fast as we can.”

“You stupid, ignorant fools. . . How would you know what honor is!”

“???”

The rogues were even more bewildered when Mohado started talking like someone they didn’t recognize.

Did he go mad after meeting the duke?

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“Let’s fight together, right?”

“No. We’ll lie in ambush and surround them. It’ll be troublesome if the soldiers run away.”

The soldiers chasing after the satyr were some of the fastest and most experienced in the fortress.

If they missed them, they might not be able to catch them again due to the terrain of the forest.

Karamaf had also been left with the wizards. . .

The centaurs nodded. They were now deep in the forest. Even if the satyr were to die, it would take a long time for the captain, who was waiting outside the forest, to find out.

Johan stopped running and stood tall. Cardirian snorted and looked ahead. It seemed that he, as a fellow demon, knew that the satyr was coming.

“There it is!”

“Son of a b*tch! It’s so damn annoying!”

The soldiers behind the satyr seemed to think that Johan was a fallen knight. They didn’t mince their words as they ran through the forest, kicking up dust and dirt, and their arms and legs were covered in fatigue.

There was no surrender request, nor could there be. The satyr was not a monster that would gently capture its prey. Besides, its master, the captain, was outside, so all the soldiers could do was go and kill.

However, if the soldiers had been a little less tired, or if they had been a little more observant, they would have noticed that the satyr, who had made eye contact with Johan, had suddenly hesitated and started to falter.

“Kill it! Kill it!”

“You can even eat it!”

The satyr hesitated for a moment before charging forward with a roar at the urging of the soldiers.

Then, with a dull thud, the satyr’s head burst open.

“. . .???”

“????”

The soldiers couldn’t believe their eyes. The satyr had been a ferocious beast that would not flinch even when faced with a lion, and it had just been killed with a single blow without even making a sound.

‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭. . .??’

Whether the pursuing soldiers denied reality or not, Johan brushed the blood off his warhammer and said.

“Take care of the rest of them and erase all traces.”

His words were followed by a volley of arrows. The soldiers cried out in horror.

“M-Monster!”

𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐝!

The soldiers, who had been hit by arrows in the neck, were unable to finish their words. The centaurs said in surprise.

“Surely you don’t mean the monster duke, do you?”

“Nah, no way. . . It’s probably just ‘monster’.”

“I can hear you all. Stop talking nonsense and move.”

“Yes!”

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“This is f*cked up. . .!”

Mohado wondered if he should just stab himself in the neck with a dagger. His men were all in a panic as well.

The reason was simple.

. . . They still hadn’t been able to get into the fortress.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘥. . .!’

The captain’s adjutant was in charge of the remaining soldiers in the fortress. Mohado thought that anyone would open the gates if he bowed down a few times with a suitable bribe.

━ 𝐈’𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭.

━ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭. . .! 𝐖𝐞’𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐩𝐬𝐞. . . 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤? 𝐈𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭!

━ 𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐫. . . 𝐈𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧. 𝐈’𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲.

━ 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐛𝐮𝐭. . .

━ 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘣*𝘵𝘤𝘩.’

The adjutant shamelessly pocketed the bribe. He had promised to help them out once they got into the fortress, but as far as Mohado was concerned, it was a very immoral act.

“That captain bastard is really a cruel and heartless man. How much did he bully his subordinates that he wouldn’t even let a single one of them in?”

“Mohado-nim, shouldn’t we run away?”

“Run away, what. . .! Shut up. If we run away from here, what will happen to His Highness the Duke, who came here trusting us!”

‘𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.’

The rogues grumbled inwardly. Mohado’s sudden transformation into a loyal knight was very strange to them.

The sight of the fake escort waiting in front of the gate, shuffling their feet.

Johan realized this belatedly. It was only after he climbed up the hill that he saw the group of rogues hesitating in front of the gate.

The elf knights and centaurs who were behind him were also surprised when they heard this. They didn’t think that the rogues wouldn’t have been able to get inside.

“Those useless pieces of trash?!”

“What are we going to do?”

There was no time to think long. Johan left the judgment to his instincts.

“. . . Since it’s come to this, we’ll break through by force. There won’t be many soldiers left in the fortress anyway. Send the signal!”

“Yes!”

It was a declaration that they would attack the fortress, which was as good as a wooden castle, with their bare hands and without any siege equipment, but no one objected.

The elf knights were the ones who enjoyed this kind of recklessness the most, and the centaurs were the ones who would follow Johan even if he jumped into the sea, after a moment of hesitation.

“Blow the horn and send the signal!”

“Attack! Attack!”

As the dust rose from the hill and a horde of creatures charged fiercely towards the fortress, the soldiers stationed on the wooden wall did not react immediately.

It was all too sudden.

“W-What? What is it??”

“Who, here, how is attacking??”

“Shouldn’t we call the captain?”

“F-First we need to beat the drum and gather everyone. . .”

That moment of panic bought them precious time. Johan led his men and arrived near the moat.

“The commander is dead by my hand. Surrender!!”

His voice boomed, strong enough to make even the nearby rogues cover their ears. Some of the soldiers, hearing his voice, couldn’t help but think that the commander might be dead.

“B-Bullsh*t! I’ll cut down anyone who acts rashly!”

The adjutant, who had taken Mohado’s bribe earlier, shouted urgently. He seemed to be quite strong-willed, as he didn’t waver even after Johan’s shout.

“I don’t know what those guys are up to, but don’t be scared. Look at this wall! Isn’t it high enough? Those guys can’t get over it. Look at that moat! It’s a deep moat that you dug! They won’t be able to cross it either!”

The moat that filled the field outside the fortress was the first line of defense. Once the drawbridge was lifted, there was no way to get in.

‘𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.’

They were panicking and floundering right now, but if the soldiers got into position and started attacking, Johan and his men under the walls would be in hell.

We have to break through quickly!

Johan said to Cardirian,

“If you can’t jump over it, I don’t know, but you’ll get hurt badly. Jump over it no matter what!”

━■■■!

Cardirian snorted in displeasure and jumped high. It was a jump several times higher than a normal horse. He cleared the deep and wide moat in one leap.

Next, Johan drew Giant Slayer. The blood of the satyr he had killed earlier was caked on it, and a red aura swirled around it. Johan gripped Giant Slayer in his hand and swung it with all his might.

There was a thunderous sound.

𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐦!!!

The soldiers inside were literally terrified. Some of them fell to the ground, wondering what had happened.

Another thunderous sound rang out. The thick gate, reinforced with iron and bronze, was being torn apart. One of the soldiers who made eye contact with Johan through the gap in the gate clutched his chest and collapsed.

Finally, there was another thunderous sound. The gate was completely torn apart. A few arrows flew weakly, but Johan deflected them with a flick of his arm. Then he shouted.

“Come on!”

“Yes!”

The rogues laid the planks they had prepared over the moat to make a makeshift bridge, and the elf knights and centaurs rushed into the gate. Achladda thought to himself as he ran powerfully.

‘𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦?’

If they were going to break it down by force anyway, why couldn’t they have done it from the beginning. . .?

,

“I guess they’re trusting the satyr too much!”

“Shouldn’t we just attack?”

The other rogues stopped at Johan’s words. He was confident that they could slaughter the satyr and any soldiers if he called upon the elf knights and centaurs that were standing by.

But he couldn’t do that.

‘𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨’𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺.’

The captain was sharp and intelligent enough to realize that something was amiss if he saw the elves and centaurs and run away.

Even if he managed to kill the satyr, it would be pointless if the captain went into hiding in the fortress since he would be on high alert.

“We’ll stick to the plan. They’ll stop chasing us once we enter the forest.”

. . .But the enemy didn’t stop.

The satyr kept crying out and searching for their tracks, and the soldiers followed close behind, running through the forest. Johan realized that he had been wrong.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥.’

The soldiers in the fortress had great confidence in the satyr’s abilities. That was only natural since many of them had seen it with their own eyes.

The mysterious eyes that could detect lies, the sharp and large horns that could crush anything, the strong grip that could not be escaped once caught, the powerful legs that could crush rocks, and so on.

At the very least, he had to take care of the soldiers in order to stop this pursuit.

“Hey, isn’t that guy following us a little too well?”

Of course, not everyone was as calm as Johan. The rogues were visibly terrified by the satyr’s relentless pursuit.

“Maybe it’s following us because it knows I’m the leader. Monsters are sensitive to that kind of thing.”

Johan was well aware of how monsters behaved, having commanded Karamaf himself and having hunted all sorts of monsters.

However, the rogues seemed even more frightened by his words.

“D-Does that mean we can’t shake it off?”

The rogues’ eyes pleaded with him to call the elves or centaurs, even if it was just for a moment. Johan, however, gave a different order instead.

“Mohado. Even if the captain doesn’t personally pursue us into the forest, I don’t think he’ll leave until the satyr brings him his prey. Can you take some men and sneak out of the forest and circle around to the fortress?”

“What? Right now??”

“If we’re going to do it, we have to do it now.”

“I-I can disguise myself at any time but. . .”

Mohado couldn’t understand why the duke wanted to split his forces when the satyr was chasing them so fiercely.

Even if he was confident, wasn’t he being a little too reckless?

However, the duke continued, not paying him any mind.

“Disguise yourselves however you want, but find a way to get inside the fortress. I’ll lure the satyr deeper into the forest and then head to the fortress with my men.”

Johan intended to make the captain pay dearly for his arrogance in trusting the satyr.

Judging from what he had seen earlier, it was clear that the captain would be waiting leisurely in front of the forest, expecting the satyr to bring him his prey. There was no reason not to take advantage of this gap.

“Mohado-nim, even His Highness the Duke is telling you to do it!”

One of the frightened servants whined. He had wanted to speak up earlier, but he couldn’t because the duke had spoken first. He just wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

“Shut up, you fool! What difference does it make if you save your own life right now!”

However, Mohado snapped at him angrily. Being compared to the duke’s subordinate made him feel even more ashamed. To act so foolishly when he was in the middle of doing something important, just to save his own life.

“Move, now.”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

Mohado decided to lead his men north through the forest, then circle around the hill and approach the fortress. Since the captain was so far away, they would be able to enter the fortress if they disguised themselves as merchants.

‘𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬?’

Mohado glanced back at the young duke several times, worried that he might be making a mistake. As a human being, it was impossible to completely forget the kindness you had received. This was especially true for someone like Mohado.

The rogues, who didn’t understand his feelings, grumbled.

“Mohado-nim, I don’t know why you’re doing this. We should be running away as fast as we can.”

“You stupid, ignorant fools. . . How would you know what honor is!”

“???”

The rogues were even more bewildered when Mohado started talking like someone they didn’t recognize.

Did he go mad after meeting the duke?

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“Let’s fight together, right?”

“No. We’ll lie in ambush and surround them. It’ll be troublesome if the soldiers run away.”

The soldiers chasing after the satyr were some of the fastest and most experienced in the fortress.

If they missed them, they might not be able to catch them again due to the terrain of the forest.

Karamaf had also been left with the wizards. . .

The centaurs nodded. They were now deep in the forest. Even if the satyr were to die, it would take a long time for the captain, who was waiting outside the forest, to find out.

Johan stopped running and stood tall. Cardirian snorted and looked ahead. It seemed that he, as a fellow demon, knew that the satyr was coming.

“There it is!”

“Son of a b*tch! It’s so damn annoying!”

The soldiers behind the satyr seemed to think that Johan was a fallen knight. They didn’t mince their words as they ran through the forest, kicking up dust and dirt, and their arms and legs were covered in fatigue.

There was no surrender request, nor could there be. The satyr was not a monster that would gently capture its prey. Besides, its master, the captain, was outside, so all the soldiers could do was go and kill.

However, if the soldiers had been a little less tired, or if they had been a little more observant, they would have noticed that the satyr, who had made eye contact with Johan, had suddenly hesitated and started to falter.

“Kill it! Kill it!”

“You can even eat it!”

The satyr hesitated for a moment before charging forward with a roar at the urging of the soldiers.

Then, with a dull thud, the satyr’s head burst open.

“. . .???”

“????”

The soldiers couldn’t believe their eyes. The satyr had been a ferocious beast that would not flinch even when faced with a lion, and it had just been killed with a single blow without even making a sound.

‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭. . .??’

Whether the pursuing soldiers denied reality or not, Johan brushed the blood off his warhammer and said.

“Take care of the rest of them and erase all traces.”

His words were followed by a volley of arrows. The soldiers cried out in horror.

“M-Monster!”

𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐝!

The soldiers, who had been hit by arrows in the neck, were unable to finish their words. The centaurs said in surprise.

“Surely you don’t mean the monster duke, do you?”

“Nah, no way. . . It’s probably just ‘monster’.”

“I can hear you all. Stop talking nonsense and move.”

“Yes!”

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“This is f*cked up. . .!”

Mohado wondered if he should just stab himself in the neck with a dagger. His men were all in a panic as well.

The reason was simple.

. . . They still hadn’t been able to get into the fortress.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘥. . .!’

The captain’s adjutant was in charge of the remaining soldiers in the fortress. Mohado thought that anyone would open the gates if he bowed down a few times with a suitable bribe.

━ 𝐈’𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭.

━ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭. . .! 𝐖𝐞’𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐩𝐬𝐞. . . 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤? 𝐈𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭!

━ 𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐫. . . 𝐈𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧. 𝐈’𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲.

━ 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐛𝐮𝐭. . .

━ 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘣*𝘵𝘤𝘩.’

The adjutant shamelessly pocketed the bribe. He had promised to help them out once they got into the fortress, but as far as Mohado was concerned, it was a very immoral act.

“That captain bastard is really a cruel and heartless man. How much did he bully his subordinates that he wouldn’t even let a single one of them in?”

“Mohado-nim, shouldn’t we run away?”

“Run away, what. . .! Shut up. If we run away from here, what will happen to His Highness the Duke, who came here trusting us!”

‘𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.’

The rogues grumbled inwardly. Mohado’s sudden transformation into a loyal knight was very strange to them.

The sight of the fake escort waiting in front of the gate, shuffling their feet.

Johan realized this belatedly. It was only after he climbed up the hill that he saw the group of rogues hesitating in front of the gate.

The elf knights and centaurs who were behind him were also surprised when they heard this. They didn’t think that the rogues wouldn’t have been able to get inside.

“Those useless pieces of trash?!”

“What are we going to do?”

There was no time to think long. Johan left the judgment to his instincts.

“. . . Since it’s come to this, we’ll break through by force. There won’t be many soldiers left in the fortress anyway. Send the signal!”

“Yes!”

It was a declaration that they would attack the fortress, which was as good as a wooden castle, with their bare hands and without any siege equipment, but no one objected.

The elf knights were the ones who enjoyed this kind of recklessness the most, and the centaurs were the ones who would follow Johan even if he jumped into the sea, after a moment of hesitation.

“Blow the horn and send the signal!”

“Attack! Attack!”

As the dust rose from the hill and a horde of creatures charged fiercely towards the fortress, the soldiers stationed on the wooden wall did not react immediately.

It was all too sudden.

“W-What? What is it??”

“Who, here, how is attacking??”

“Shouldn’t we call the captain?”

“F-First we need to beat the drum and gather everyone. . .”

That moment of panic bought them precious time. Johan led his men and arrived near the moat.

“The commander is dead by my hand. Surrender!!”

His voice boomed, strong enough to make even the nearby rogues cover their ears. Some of the soldiers, hearing his voice, couldn’t help but think that the commander might be dead.

“B-Bullsh*t! I’ll cut down anyone who acts rashly!”

The adjutant, who had taken Mohado’s bribe earlier, shouted urgently. He seemed to be quite strong-willed, as he didn’t waver even after Johan’s shout.

“I don’t know what those guys are up to, but don’t be scared. Look at this wall! Isn’t it high enough? Those guys can’t get over it. Look at that moat! It’s a deep moat that you dug! They won’t be able to cross it either!”

The moat that filled the field outside the fortress was the first line of defense. Once the drawbridge was lifted, there was no way to get in.

‘𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.’

They were panicking and floundering right now, but if the soldiers got into position and started attacking, Johan and his men under the walls would be in hell.

We have to break through quickly!

Johan said to Cardirian,

“If you can’t jump over it, I don’t know, but you’ll get hurt badly. Jump over it no matter what!”

━■■■!

Cardirian snorted in displeasure and jumped high. It was a jump several times higher than a normal horse. He cleared the deep and wide moat in one leap.

Next, Johan drew Giant Slayer. The blood of the satyr he had killed earlier was caked on it, and a red aura swirled around it. Johan gripped Giant Slayer in his hand and swung it with all his might.

There was a thunderous sound.

𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐦!!!

The soldiers inside were literally terrified. Some of them fell to the ground, wondering what had happened.

Another thunderous sound rang out. The thick gate, reinforced with iron and bronze, was being torn apart. One of the soldiers who made eye contact with Johan through the gap in the gate clutched his chest and collapsed.

Finally, there was another thunderous sound. The gate was completely torn apart. A few arrows flew weakly, but Johan deflected them with a flick of his arm. Then he shouted.

“Come on!”

“Yes!”

The rogues laid the planks they had prepared over the moat to make a makeshift bridge, and the elf knights and centaurs rushed into the gate. Achladda thought to himself as he ran powerfully.

‘𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦?’

If they were going to break it down by force anyway, why couldn’t they have done it from the beginning. . .?