Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 31

31.

Kang Kwang! Chaeng!

“Keuheok!”

“Die—!”

The forest at midday was disturbed by unexpected intruders. Two groups clashed swords frantically: those wearing black hoods and those in silver armor. They stood on opposite sides, exchanging fierce glares, each trying to kill the other. Their skills were almost evenly matched.

However, unlike those wearing hoods, the men in silver armor focused more on defense to protect someone rather than attack. A small figure huddled in the middle of them, wearing a hood. Knowing this, their opponents fiercely tried to exploit any opening.

After a round of sword fighting, the man at the forefront of those wearing hoods shouted loudly.

“There’s nowhere left for you to go! Surrender quietly!”

The sword he held was stained red with blood of unknown origin. The opposing man, looking at it resentfully, bit his lip.

“Don’t be ridiculous, you dog of the Grand Duke! We will never surrender meekly!”

Compared to those wearing black hoods, the people in silver armor looked relatively exhausted. Scratches were common, and most of their armor was damaged. However, their glares were as intense as their opponents’.

The man in the black hood shouted once more.

“Count Serik! Surrender! The army acknowledges and cherishes your skills and the abilities of the unit you command! If you hand him over, we will guarantee the honor and status you have enjoyed until now!”

It was a shout directed at Kay de Serik, the commander of those in silver armor. Kay scoffed and retorted.

“You’re wasting your breath. Shut up! Who would listen to such nonsense!”

“You should think carefully. This is a position you’ve barely climbed to through bone-grinding training, isn’t it? Are you planning to die a dog’s death in a place like this? For what?”

“For our honor and the lord we protect, of course! It may look like a dog’s death to you, but to us, it’s a noble death defending our beliefs! Don’t you dare denigrate the deaths of my comrades with your dirty mouth!”

“Hahahaha! Is the one you’re risking your lives to protect even worthy? If he had any conscience, he would offer his own life before more of his precious subordinates die!”

At those words, the hooded person hidden among the silver-armored men flinched. Seeing this, Kay quickly whispered to him in a low voice.

“Don’t pay attention to their words. They’re not worth listening to.”

“But…….”

“They’re just spouting nonsense to confuse us. I will protect you until the day I die. That is our belief and our wish.”

Kay swore with a determined expression. Only then did the trembling of the hooded person, which had been noticeably wavering, subside. Kay let out a sigh of relief and sent a fierce gaze back to the other side. Right now, his mind was filled with questions about the opponents.

‘Who are these men he was commanding!’ Each and every one of them was a member of the Imperial Guard, whose skills were considered outstanding. Against them, the opponents were not only fighting evenly but sometimes even pushing them back. He couldn’t figure out where such skilled people had been hiding until now.

Being chased, fighting, and being chased again—this kind of battle had been going on for over three days. His body and mind were already exhausted, but Kay sternly pulled himself together.

“I know you’re acting on the Grand Duke’s orders! Heaven will not forgive the sin of pointing a sword at the rightful bloodline of this land!”

“Heh heh, is your god stronger than ours? Now— get out of the way quietly!”

“You wicked fiends!”

Enraged, Kay immediately raised his sword. However, the man in front of him smirked and lightly confronted him.

Clang—! The sharp sound of metal clashing echoed between the two. The air, which had barely calmed down, surged hotly again because of the sound.

‘Don’t get excited, Kay. Just hold on a little longer. We’re almost at the rendezvous point with Peris. When he comes, we’ll definitely have the upper hand.’

Peris was an excellent wind spirit mage who was acting separately to disperse the pursuers. They were not far from the place they had promised to meet. If the group reunited, they would be able to defeat them and flee to a safe place. For now, that was their only hope.

“Hoo, you guys are really persistent. Judging by your expression, you must have something to believe in. But will that be the case even now?”

“What?”

“Come out!”

“……!”

At the hooded man’s gesture, new presences were felt from various places in the bushes. As men in black hoods and robes appeared one after another, the faces of Kay and the knights quickly hardened.

‘An ambush!’

Had they been lured here from the beginning! The number of newly appeared enemies was over a hundred at first glance. It was not a number that could be dealt with by a mere dozen or so people.

At that moment, the men in black robes began to chant something. Then, fireballs formed in various places around them. Seeing this, Kay’s face contorted with dismay.

“Mages!”

To think that mages would appear in a place like this! As everyone was in shock, the fireballs they launched shot in quickly. The target was precisely the hooded person among the knights. In desperation, Kay ran and hugged his body.

“My lord!”

Kwaaang!

At that moment, the fireballs that flew in simultaneously exploded on his back in succession. As Kay collapsed, spitting up red blood, the person in the hood screamed.

“Kay!”

“C, Captain!”

The knights were greatly shaken by the sight of their fallen captain. Taking advantage of the gap, the hooded men signaled an attack.

“Attack them all!”

“Waaaa!”

“D, defend! Protect the captain and the lord!”

The knights, who had been stiffened by the sight of the enemies rushing in like a flood, grabbed their swords and hurriedly built a defensive line. Soon, the surroundings began to fill with the sound of countless sword fights.

Meanwhile, the hooded person, called the lord, hugged Kay’s limp body in his arms and pulled off the cloth covering his head. Surprisingly, the one who appeared inside was a young boy with a still-childish face.

“Kay! Wake up, Kay!”

With a pale face, he patted Kay’s blood-soaked cheek, who had fainted. Kay barely regained consciousness and spat out blood again, uttering a faint voice.

“R, run away…… Please. It’s…… dangerous…….”

“No! How can I leave you behind! I can’t!”

The boy shook his head strongly with a tearful face. At that moment, one of the knights who was building a defensive line around him shouted with a pale face.

“M, my lord! It’s no longer possible to hold out! You must leave this place immediately! We’ll hold them off, so escape in the meantime!”

“No! Kay is still alive! I can’t leave him behind!”

“My lord!”

It was then.

“Shuriel!”

Swaeeeeek—!

Along with someone’s faint cry, a fierce gale suddenly blew over those who were mixed up in the fight.

“Wh, what is it?”

In the fierce wind that made it impossible to open their eyes, people barely opened their eyes and looked around. And they were able to discover a strange creature that had come close to them.

Flapping…….

The creature with a long, straight body, four legs, an elegantly fluttering mane, and blinking silver-gray eyes was a very familiar sight to them.

“……A horse?”

The bewildered people immediately recognized the identity of the creature. However, unlike ordinary horses, the horse’s body was transparent overall, so the background behind it was almost entirely visible.

“What on earth is this…….”

Hiiiing!

At that moment, the transparent horse, raising its body and lifting its feet, let out a cry. At the same time, a strong whirlwind arose and began to swallow all the people nearby.

“Uwaaaaak!”

That desperate scream was the last sound they could utter. Those who were caught up in it were torn to pieces and fell to the floor as if they had been slashed by sharp swords. None of them were alive. Because the speed of the whirlwind was so fast, even the mages were useless. There was not even time to chant a spell. Horrified, people desperately began to run away to avoid being caught in the whirlwind.

However, surprisingly, the whirlwind was avoiding all the knights. No, it even seemed to be protecting them. As the situation reached this point, the leader of the hooded men, sensing the ominousness of the situation, shouted to his subordinates.

“It’s, it’s an enemy ambush! Retreat! Everyone, run away!”

The enemies who survived in the face of the fierce whirlwind quickly disappeared. In the face of the peace that had barely come, the knights were all standing with blank faces. They knew they had luckily saved their lives, but they couldn’t figure out what had caused this to happen.

The transparent horse from before slowly approached them. It was a gentle appearance that was quite different from its majestic appearance at the beginning. But the knights, who knew how that elegant appearance could change, did not dare to approach.

“Is everyone safe?”

“……!”

At that moment, breaking the quiet silence, a man appeared from among the bushes. He was a handsome young man with long, yellowish-brown hair and blue eyes. A sigh of relief erupted from among the knights who confirmed his appearance.

“Peris!”

* * *

The cave was very dark and damp. The knights, who hurriedly lit a fire with dry firewood, began to move the injured to the front of it one by one and lay them down.

The knights, who originally numbered about a hundred, had been reduced to less than twenty, including the injured, due to the battles that had taken place. Naturally, the knights’ expressions were dark.

“This is a disaster.”

“The losses were greater than expected.”

“Even Kay-nim [honorific suffix] is in such a state…….”

Their captain, Kay, had barely survived, but his injuries were quite serious. It seemed difficult for him to last more than a few days even if he was treated.

“We were lucky to have found a place like this. It won’t be easily discovered by the pursuers here.”

Peris tried hard to comfort them, but the shoulders of the already heartbroken knights did not lift easily. Thanks to Peris, they had avoided the crisis for now, but the future was more of a problem.

Through the battles of the past few days, they had bitterly realized the enemy’s strength. With the person to command them fallen, there were far too few people to fight against them.

Moreover, there was no food to eat or water to drink right now. They had no chance to prepare anything because they were running away in a hurry.

“Besides, this armor is too conspicuous. We need clothes to change into…….”

“We also need medicine and new bandages to wrap around the wounds.”

“There are many things we need in many ways.”

“I’m sorry, everyone. Because of me…….”

At that moment, the knights shook their heads with embarrassed faces at the boy’s thin voice.

“Ah, no, my lord! Above all, it is fortunate that you are safe.”

“That’s right. It’s just that we are incompetent and can’t properly assist you, which is the only regret of a lifetime.”

“No, you are already doing more than enough. I am ashamed that I am the one receiving such excessive protection. If your master was not me, or if I was not so small and insignificant…….”

“My lord! Why are you saying such things? You are our one and only lord.”

“You are a sufficiently great and grown-up lord to us! We have never even imagined serving anyone other than you!”

The knights all knelt down and swallowed their tears.

They were the ones who had watched everything about the young lord’s living environment and the situation he was in from the side without exception. It had been a time since birth that had not been smooth for a single day. At an age when he should have been cheerful and enjoying playing, he had to be subjected to painful truths and ugly conspiracies and be tossed around.

The child, who was more kind and lovely than anyone else, had grown up to become a doll who could not even laugh as she pleased. They only hoped that this young lord would be able to sincerely laugh again.