284 – I’m Not Alone Here. (2)
Desmond’s pursuit team was taken aback. Just when they thought they were finally going to annihilate the troublesome ones, a new enemy suddenly appeared.
The fallen Knights of Penris were equally stunned.
“The Lord… has arrived?”
“Could the preparations already be complete?”
“Hahaha! The Lord is here! The Lord has come!”
They weren’t sure what exactly was going on, but they couldn’t help but laugh. They thought they were done for, and yet here came reinforcement right on cue!
As always, the Lord’s movements were entirely unpredictable.
It wasn’t just the Knights of Penris. Even the fallen soldiers began chuckling.
“We’re alive…”
“The Lord has come…”
“If it’s the Lord, then these guys here are toast…”
Unwavering trust in Ghislaine.
While Ghislaine was lacking in many areas, in war, he instilled such confidence in them.
“These guys…”
Desmond’s army glared at the fallen Penris forces with disdain.
They were flaunting themselves just because a little backup had arrived. They didn’t like the idea of soon-to-be-dead men acting so cocky.
“Before you all die, you lot will go first. And then that guy over there will also be finished.”
The soldiers of Desmond’s army mocked as they kicked away the helmets of the fallen Penris knights.
No need to stab anywhere else. They could just pierce straight through the faces.
As they removed the helmets, most of the knights continued to smile, their faces smeared with blood.
“Heh… you think your lot can kill our Lord?”
Desmond’s soldiers grimaced at the sight. They did not like hearing such arrogant words.
Before the reinforcements could arrive, they raised their spears high, eager to finish things off quickly.
Thwack!
“Urgh…”
Before they could stab, arrows flew and pierced a soldier’s throat.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The other soldiers, hastily trying to stab, also began falling one by one to arrows.
“W-what the heck!”
One soldier from Desmond’s army turned in shock. A swift group was rapidly approaching.
The very same figure the Penris army referred to as the Lord and around 300 individuals in black armor followed behind.
All of them were wielding bows.
“Damn it! Fall back! Form ranks!”
They were coming in too fast. With every blink, they were closing the distance at an alarming speed.
They wouldn’t have enough time to wipe out the fallen Penris forces. With new enemies suddenly appearing, they needed to regroup and establish formation.
As trained elites, Desmond’s army quickly aligned, but Baron Hutton didn’t retreat right away.
‘I’ll kill that guy first.’
If he could take down Ghislaine, the morale of the enemies would surely plummet. Pulling out the arrow lodged in his chest, he grabbed a sword lying on the ground.
“Die!”
Slash!
Clang!
Before he could reach Ghislaine, another arrow flew. This time, he was ready and managed to block it, but the sheer force made his hand tremble.
“Ugh, this arrow packs quite a punch…”
The power behind the arrow was no joke. If he hadn’t focused mana into his sword, the blade might have shattered.
Was there another strong one like Ghislaine among the Penris forces?
‘Could that be… Count Penris?’
The one who shot the arrow approached with a feral grin, radiating madness. The speed was terrifying. It was too late to kill Ghislaine now.
“Let’s check out the rumor’s ability.”
Boom!
Ghislaine, riding the Black Horse, charged past Gillian towards Baron Hutton.
In the blink of an eye, Ghislaine thrust his spear.
“Ugh!”
Baron Hutton ducked to avoid the spear and swung his sword at the horse’s legs. He was planning to drag Ghislaine down to the ground.
His attack was timed perfectly as the horse landed after leaping. There was no way to dodge it.
Boom!
But just as the hooves hit the ground, the Black King tensed his thigh muscles and jumped again. Baron Hutton looked utterly incredulous.
‘What, is this horse…?’
Did it just dodge my sword? No matter how skilled the rider, his timing was impeccable. It didn’t make any sense.
Realizing his attack had failed, Baron Hutton panicked but quickly rolled forward. However, Ghislaine didn’t miss the moment he hesitated and swung his spear.
Swoosh!
“Gah!”
Baron Hutton groaned as Ghislaine’s spear sliced into his back. He didn’t completely evade it, but thankfully, he wasn’t seriously wounded.
“Oh, impressive!”
Ghislaine turned the Black King’s head and looked at Baron Hutton.
He had managed to dodge the spear not once, but twice. That meant he was at least a skilled knight.
Rumble.
The Black King grinned widely, as though mocking the two who had failed their attacks. But when Ghislaine clicked his tongue and pressed his stomach, the Black King immediately shut his mouth in pain.
Meanwhile, the knights following Ghislaine began to arrive one after another, immediately standing in front of the fallen allies. The rest of the troops followed suit.
Only then did Ghislaine turn around and ask with concern.
“Gillian! Are you okay? You’re okay, right?”
“My lord…”
Gillian’s expression was one of relief. He truly thought he was dead until Ghislaine showed up.
Suddenly remembering something, Gillian urgently exclaimed.
“My lord! You need to take cover first! Right now…”
“Let’s treat your wounds first! We can share the joy of reunion later!”
“No, that’s not…”
“Hey, what are you doing! Hurry and move Gillian and the injured ones!”
Ghislaine kept cutting him off, so Gillian couldn’t finish what he wanted to say. Just as he was about to speak again, ‘Muscle Gordon’ interrupted to assist him.
“Wow, look how much weight our instructor has lost. He must have gone through a lot. This could lead to muscle loss…”
“Gordon! Just a moment! My lord is…”
“I’ll make sure he gets plenty of chicken breast. Come on, hurry up!”
“You! Ugh!”
As Gillian was dragged along by Gordon’s rough hands, his wound opened up again, and he let out a pained groan.
Baron Hutton seized the chance while the Penris reinforcements were moving chaotically to transport the injured and withdrew quickly. His face clearly showed his fluster.
‘Fast!’
The reinforcements arrived much sooner than he expected. Their horsemanship was impressive.
After taking a few breaths to steady himself, Baron Hutton pulled out a potion from his waist and splashed it on his chest and back.
‘Not bad.’
Because Ghislaine’s mana was still rampaging inside him, the wounds weren’t healing easily.
After splashing two potions and suppressing Ghislaine’s mana with his own, he finally managed to close the outer wounds. However, the internal injuries were far from healed, indicating he would need at least a few days to recover.
The considerable effect of the mana suggested that his abilities were quite significant.
‘He’s definitely advanced. Is he at a similar level as Gillian? Tch, if I weren’t injured, a rookie like that would be…’
“Solid. Is he at a similar level as Gillian? Tch, if I weren’t injured, a punk like that wouldn’t stand a chance…”
Of course, Baron Hutton didn’t actually think he would lose. He was just thrown off by the sudden attack; if he focused, there was no way he would lose to a kid like that.
He and Gillian had at least one advantage over Ghislaine.
Baron Hutton glared at Ghislaine and asked, “Are you Count Penris?”
“Yes, I am Count Penris.”
When Ghislaine confidently replied, Baron Hutton twisted his lips into a crooked smile.
“I am Baron Hutton. By the way, you’ve done something foolish.”
“Foolish?”
“Hiding in the castle, what brings you out here?”
As he gained his composure during the conversation, Baron Hutton wore a faint smile.
“If I kill that guy, this war will be over.”
He truly believed so. If he could just eliminate Ghislaine in front of him, he would become a war hero who ended the conflict with minimal losses.
“Let’s attack right away… No, wait.”
As he was about to move his soldiers, Baron Hutton suddenly paused as if he had thought of something brilliant.
Then, with his sword extended forward and an arrogant expression, he said, “To reach such a level at such a young age is indeed impressive. But it seems the Count’s confidence is a bit excessive.”
“My confidence is excessive?”
“Indeed. I know you have skill, but for a lord to stand at the front without fear? That’s just asking to die. I wonder who your teacher is. Tsk tsk.”
Ghislaine made a face as if she couldn’t believe it. It was typical for noblemen and knights to give unsolicited advice as soon as they spotted someone.
And bringing up education was an insult, implying that he saw her not as a proper lord but as a child.
“If Belinda had heard that, she would’ve exploded with anger over someone meddling in her teaching methods. Am I lucky she’s not here?”
Ghislaine dismounted and drew her sword. “I think we should see who’s really fearless here.”
“You’re still full of confidence. That’s a privilege of youth. But with that confidence comes ample room for failure.”
“Me? What’s lacking about me?”
“Experience and maturity.”
“……”
Baron Hutton smirked at the silent Ghislaine and continued, “Fighting isn’t just about strength. If the levels are similar, the outcome will ultimately depend on how much real battle experience you’ve had.”
“……”
“I’d like to teach my Count a thing or two, but… if you’re not confident, we can just match troops against troops.”
Ghislaine chuckled at Baron Hutton’s arrogant words. When someone talks too much on the battlefield, it usually means there’s a reason behind it.
Either the opponent was someone like Claude, who couldn’t shut up even in combat…
Or they were trying to prolong the engagement on purpose.
Or…
“He must want to minimize his losses and gain merit.”
Ultimately, a war for territory ends when the lord is captured. Now, a young punk lord stood right in front of him.
If he could kill him in a one-on-one duel, he could spare his troops from losses and earn fame for dealing with the troublesome lord from the North directly.
To Baron Hutton, it must have felt like a treasure just rolled into his lap. That’s why he was trying to provoke Ghislaine with all that talk.
Unaware that his intentions were being seen through, Baron Hutton displayed a blatant smirk at Ghislaine.
“I’ve heard you’re impulsive and have a whimsical personality. As a noble, I guess it would be hard to resist such provocation.”
He was thoroughly convinced that he would win.
I was confident I could win.
Even though I was injured, I had experience and wisdom that my opponent lacked.
No matter how skilled Count Penris was, he was still just a brash youth. That was clear from everything I had learned so far.
I prided myself on being the calmest in the North. If I could concentrate and fight without interference, I was sure I wouldn’t lose.
Pushing the opponent in a calm manner was a skill that took a long time to develop, regardless of the realm.
“What do you think? A knight’s duel is the romance of the battlefield, isn’t it? If you’re scared, you can back out,” said Ghislaine.
Gillian nodded in agreement and accepted Baron Hutton’s provocation.
“Sure, I’ll take that. You’re quite the entertaining one.”
As I watched him mumble strange things, it seemed he was trying to come up with some sort of taunt.
For the sake of reducing our allies’ damage and boosting morale, I was already planning to take down Baron Hutton anyway. There was no need to refuse when the opponent was stepping up to die.
“You don’t need to talk so much; if you want to fight, I’m always ready. Come at me.”
As Ghislaine brandished his sword, the Baron’s momentum began to shift.
The snobby, arrogant demeanor of the noble sharpened, almost like a finely honed blade.
“Oh?”
Ghislaine raised an eyebrow in mild admiration. It was clear that he was not just all talk.
‘Baron Hutton… He’s quite a famous character. Seems he’s been quite the trouble for Gillian.’
This was the first time I had seen him in person. Not just in this life but also in my previous life. In my last life, Baron Hutton had fallen victim to Amelia’s schemes to weaken Harold’s power and was labeled a traitor, leading to his demise.
Yet, his name was quite well-known in the North, so I had heard of him before.
Ghislaine smiled and took his stance. At the same time, both sides’ armies began to pull back slightly.
It was customary to increase the distance during duels between commanders.
Not only did this reduce the risk of becoming entangled in the battle, but it also ensured that allies couldn’t come to the rescue when one side found themselves in trouble.
The Baron took his position and looked at Ghislaine with sharp eyes.
“Count Penris… do you know about him?”
“What about him?”
“I have won five knight duels from my youth until now. And I’m still standing here.”
The outcome of a knight duel leads directly to the outcome of the war. In other words, the Baron had led five wars to victory by his own strength.
While the knight duel constituted a relatively small dispute, carrying the fate of a territory upon oneself in such a situation was a heavy burden.
“The young Count probably doesn’t understand how terrifying this position is.”
That was why he was confident. Regardless of skills, someone like young Count Penris must have never felt this heavy burden while fighting.
In the end, as the fight progressed, Count Penris would be increasingly crushed by his own sense of duty and lose his composure.
‘It’s not easy for a rookie lacking in experience to bear such a burden.’
With that thought, Baron Hutton smiled confidently.
However, Ghislaine chuckled and responded.
“I’ve done this over a hundred times.”
“What?”
As Baron Hutton was bewildered by the nonsensical answer, Ghislaine’s eyes glowed a fierce red.
“Let’s begin.”
Boom!
Ghislaine rushed forward with lightning speed, swinging his sword at Baron Hutton.
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