Chapter 110

Norvek only wanted Lucian’s life. However, Lucian, as commander-in-chief, was protected by layer upon layer of escorts.

Even if he suffered a crushing defeat in battle, it was normal for a commander-in-chief to survive and retreat.

Even if they provoked chaotic combat, it was doubtful they’d get close enough to reach him with a blade.

‘And even if they did, that wouldn’t be the end of the problem either. It’s not like his personal strength is pitiful; wasn’t he the one who defeated Harald head-on?’

He didn’t resort to trickery or make up for lesser strength with technique. He simply, in a direct clash of power, emerged victorious, throwing the axe and demonstrating overwhelming strength.

A mediocre knight wouldn’t even have time to think about cutting that guy’s neck; he’d first have to worry about his own.

And yet, that man, who was in such a difficult position to kill, had declared he would walk out on his own.

It was no surprise that Norvek’s eyes, half-crazed with hatred, were bloodshot.

‘But if this keeps up, aren’t we playing right into the enemy’s game?’

He didn’t know who the first knight to come out would be, but he certainly wouldn’t be an easy opponent.

If Count Calix’s side suffered consecutive defeats, it could trigger the worst-case scenario.

“My lord.”

“You’ll go?”

The moment Palmir opened his mouth to dissuade him, Norvek’s eyes gleamed coldly.

It was clear that if he said anything other than something about the duel, Norvek would send Palmir himself as the first sacrifice.

After hesitating for a long moment, Palmir swallowed the sigh rising in his throat and said,

“…I’ll send Sir Dain.”

“Do it.”

Norvek didn’t seem inclined to speak further.

As he had said before, it didn’t matter how many died as long as they could drag Lucian out.

Seeing that attitude, Palmir turned away, swallowing his bitterness.

It pained him deeply to think of his comrades, knights who wouldn’t die with honor, but would be discarded like mere consumables.

***

Bwooo.

Shortly after, the horn announcing the start of the duel echoed over Raven Hill. At the same time, a knight stepped out from Lucian’s side.

He wore full white armor, so pristine that his face couldn’t even be seen.

Then, from Calix’s side, the designated duelist appeared Dain.

“I am Dain Volkov, in service to the house of Count Calix! Who are you?!”

“Ha.”

From within the inscrutable helmet came a mocking laugh. The voice was youthful, but resonating inside the helmet, it was impossible to determine the exact age.

“A bunch of traitors playing at being knights? Cut the nonsense and stretch out your neck.”

“…!”

Dain’s face flushed with rage as he glared at the white-armored knight.

He didn’t deny that the cause of this war lay with Calix. But mixing the sins of the house he served with his personal honor as a knight was excessive.

He was only fulfilling his duty to the lord he had sworn loyalty to, and they treated him like a bandit.

“Let’s see if your sword is as sharp as your tongue!”

Dain drew his sword and charged at the white knight. The armor might be excellent, but if his swordsmanship was poor, it was nothing more than tough decoration.

All he had to do was deflect the weapon and drive his blade into the joints.

‘I’ll crush him with the opening charge!’

At the moment he unleashed his first strike with full force, determined not to let the opponent dodge—

Whoosh!

“…?”

At the same time the white knight’s sword flew out, there was a sound like reeds brushing against each other.

Dain blinked, wondering what that was, and then his field of vision tilted to the side.

With that final thought—“Why suddenly…?”—Dain Volkov met his death.

Thud. Splash.

The head hit the mud first, followed by the body, which splattered into the mire.

The white knight shook his sword, even though it wasn’t stained with blood, as if he had cut through something impure.

While everyone remained stunned, unable to grasp what had happened, the white knight spoke.

“Next.”

***

“…”

“…”

Both armies were left speechless at the shocking scene.

Dain wasn’t an extraordinary knight, but he was undoubtedly a veteran with countless experiences in real combat.

And yet, he had lost his head without even crossing swords once.

‘He didn’t aim for the gap between the helmet and the breastplate. Even with the armor in the way, he cut through it like paper.’

Seeing the fragments of armor lying beside Dain’s severed head, Palmir swallowed hard.

It was true that knights enhanced their bodies to wield superhuman strength.

But an enhanced body only allowed one to swing a sword faster and with more precision; it didn’t make the blade itself sharper.

However, his opponent had not only reinforced their body but had also absurdly enhanced the cutting power of the sword itself.

‘Has he reached the level of materializing mana and coating his sword with it?’

It wasn’t just about increasing cutting power. If one could freely manipulate materialized magic during combat, the precision of their movements existed in another dimension.

Unless a knight of the same caliber stepped forward, they could sweep through any opponent like scarecrows.

“My lord.”

“Send the next one.”

“My lord!”

“No matter how many die. That’s what I said.”

“…”

“No matter how strong he is, he’s still only one. If needed, use poison or whatever. We’ve come too far. You know there’s no turning back now. So don’t cling to things like honor.”

With a hollow gaze, Palmir looked up at the sky. The fact they had hired a mage was already out, and the heir, Godfrey, had long been a corpse.

The downfall of House Calix had been set in stone for quite some time.

And still, he had come here to find a place to die fulfilling his oath as a knight.

‘Did I live all this time just to die like this?’

The crushing weight of deep regret tightened around Palmir’s chest. Even if he continued to follow a lord already in decline, no good ending awaited him.

“This time, I’ll go.”

“I leave it to you. I won’t forget your sacrifice.”

At his lord’s flat voice, Palmir only nodded silently.

There was no reason to pour heart and soul into empty courtesy. As he drew his sword in silence, the white-armored knight asked,

“You won’t say your name?”

“It’s meaningless.”

“I see.”

The white knight raised his sword, sensing Palmir’s despair.

“I won’t feel pity. No matter what happens, it was the lord you chose yourself.”

“I have no way to refute that.”

With a bitter smile, Palmir raised his sword. Even in a state of resignation, his body moved automatically along the optimal path.

Perhaps because he had discarded all useless thoughts, his strike was more perfect than ever before—surpassing the days when ambition clouded his form.

In the instant he realized he had broken through a barrier, the flash of the opponent’s blade lit up.

In a fraction of a second, seeing the arc of the blade flying toward him, Palmir felt admiration.

‘How beautiful.’

That was his final thought before Palmir’s head flew into the air.

***

Splat.

“Hmm.”

Another head sank into the mud. For the first time, the white knight let out a soft sound.

So many corpses had piled up that there was hardly any space left to stand. They didn’t deserve pity, but he still didn’t enjoy stepping on bodies unnecessarily.

“Better to move over a bit.”

“……”

“Should I go over there? Or is the next one coming here?”

Norvek clenched his fists, trembling. On the hill covered in knight corpses, the white knight didn’t show the slightest trace of fatigue.

He had expended an enormous amount of mana reinforcing his body throughout the duels. How could a human still be standing?

“…Who are you?”

For the first time, the eyes that had been fixed on Lucian turned fully toward the white knight.

“You don’t need to know.”

“No, I must know! I’m not going to sit here watching that brat flaunt someone who isn’t even his vassal!”

“An outsider?”

“Eisen Brightner! Doesn’t that so-called Swordmaster feel ashamed? Helping that brat just because he’s the son of his lord!”

“Ha.”

If it wasn’t a Swordmaster, none of this made sense. At Norvek’s assumption, the white knight let out a scornful laugh.

Without hesitation, the knight reached up to their helmet. As they removed it, long hair fell to their shoulders.

“Swordmaster? What kind of misunderstanding is that? I’m not my father.”

“…!”

“My name is Felicia Brightner. I am a knight in service of the duke. I am fighting for my lord; I don’t see what the problem is.”

Norvek bit his lip. At first, he had thought the knight girl was just a decoration the boy kept by his side.

When rumors of the Swordmaster spread, he learned she was the adopted daughter and direct disciple.

Even then, he hadn’t considered her a threat. No matter how much of a genius she was, she was still just a budding sprout without real experience.

He had assumed they wouldn’t bring her to the front lines until she matured further.

‘…She already had enough strength to massacre any average knight? Damn it!’

The veteran knights had all lost their heads to Felicia. The remaining three would die the moment they stepped out.

At this point, dragging Lucian out was nearly impossible.

“How unfair. Calix is wiped out, and that brat rules the north as the victor.”

“It’s all the result of your own actions. What’s unfair about that?”

“But if I take the Swordmaster’s disciple with me, at least I’ll see regret on his face.”

Ignoring Felicia, Norvek muttered to himself. Then he raised a hand, and the soldiers in front of him drew something from behind their thighs.

“Shortbows?”

Felicia murmured, putting her helmet back on.

In the north, where blizzards were frequent, large and powerful bows were preferred. However, these weren’t ordinary bows—they were so small they could be hidden at the waist.

They weren’t for harassment, but for stabbing a blow in the back during an event like this.

“Seriously, even now…”

“Fire!”

Before Felicia could finish, the arrows were loosed.

It wasn’t a simultaneous volley, but rather five staggered waves.

Even if she could deflect them all at once, continuous fire would be impossible to withstand. Just as Norvek smiled in confidence—

Thud thud thud thud thud

“…?”

As the arrows hit Felicia’s armor, a faint light flickered and the arrows lost momentum, falling to the ground. They didn’t break against the metal.

They bounced off without touching her, repelled by a subtly deployed runic barrier.

Seeing all five waves fail, Norvek cried out in horror.

“This is insane! What kind of armor is that…?!”

“As expected. It doesn’t disappoint.”

Lucian’s voice pierced Norvek’s ears. Looking up, he saw Lucian slowly approaching, separated from his troops.

Realizing he had entered shortbow range, Norvek’s eyes widened.

“What are you doing?! Fire! Kill him! Kill him now!”

“With what arrows?”

At Lucian’s taunt, Norvek clenched his teeth.

They hadn’t brought full quivers—those were hidden weapons meant not to draw attention.

Barely enough for a single shot.

“Enough! Drop the bows and grab your spears! Prepare to charge!”

“……”

“……”

Despite the order, the soldiers hesitated and didn’t move. At their unexpected disobedience, Norvek’s face twisted.

“What are you doing?! Prepare to charge!”

“No matter how loud you shout, they won’t obey.”

“What?”

“Did you really expect morale to stay intact after you used your knights like disposable pawns in front of your soldiers?”

Even as it was, soldiers were treated far worse than knights.

And on top of that, they had watched the knights be used so cruelly. Of course they were thinking they’d be next.

There was no way they’d follow an order to march toward death.

“If you still had knights left, maybe you could force them to move. But you crushed them with your own hands. There’s no one left to push the soldiers forward and kill them to set an example.”

There were still three left, but they were irrelevant. Even if their unit obeyed, the others wouldn’t move.

Without support from the rear, any charge would stall halfway.

“The shortbow squad moved by reflex—they were trained to respond to your signal. But the rest? No. The moment you stripped away their leadership and gave them time to think, everything was over.”

“You bastard…!”

“Thanks to such a foolish count, I came out ahead. With this many people, they’ll make a great workforce. And if they bring their families, the taxes won’t be small.”

Norvek froze. Had he deliberately reduced casualties to keep the population and collect taxes? Had he used the duel just to wipe out Calix’s loyal knights?

“It’s over, old man.”

As if confirming his suspicions, Lucian smiled. Driven mad by that expression, Norvek lunged at him.

“I’ll kill you—!”

Thud!

Before he could spit out all his curses, Lucian struck him on the head with the sword’s sheath. Looking down at the fallen lord of House Calix, Lucian gave the order.

“Bind him. We’ll execute him after transferring him to Asagrim.”