Chapter 105 – The Battle with the Assassins

I remembered Roglain’s face well. He was a general of the Imperial Army whom we had captured together with Barkdine during the battle on the Schleitocker Road, a man who possessed a knight’s pride and unwavering loyalty to Arloston.

Personally, I had felt a certain fondness toward him as well, so he had left a strong impression on me.

And then.

“Y-you… who on earth are you…!?”

The moment I saw that face, I immediately knew who the man was. My half-brother with whom I had once spent time together in the imperial palace… Arloston.

Even though it had been more than ten years since I had last seen him, I did not need even a single second to recognize that it was Arloston.

“………………”

“U-um…?”

“………………”

No words came to me right away. Countless emotions were swirling inside my chest.

Affection toward my younger brother. The man who had been the prime cause of the empire’s downfall. A key figure in the current empire, second only to Creyval. Simple nostalgia. And an even simpler anger that eclipsed all of that.

So this is what it means to be unable to sort out one’s feelings…

“You suddenly show yourself… what are you trying to do…?”

The woman, still wary of us, began to swing a knife attached to a chain in her right hand.

Lizua was already on horseback, an arrow nocked.

“No… this is strange. You’re telling me you fired such an accurate arrow under this dark sky…? One wrong step, and it would have hit that girl, wouldn’t it…?”

“Oh my. I wouldn’t make that kind of mistake.”

“How cheeky… judging by that second arrow you shot at me, I can tell you’re quite confident in your skill.”

She was clearly very wary of Lizua’s bow. Lizua had only fired twice, yet that alone had been enough for her to see that Lizua was a formidable opponent.

I tore my gaze away from Arloston and forced myself to switch gears. Dismounting my horse, I kept my eyes forward as I spoke to Arloston.

“And so… you looked like you were in trouble, so I decided to jump in, but… what kind of situation is this?”

“…The one lying over there is my daughter. My wife is inside the carriage. The woman in front of us is most likely a subordinate of the Mercenary Demon King.”

“…………!”

Unbelievable…Seazack had been carrying out kidnapping operations against the Empire…! And to think they would target Arloston’s wife and child…!

It seemed I would need to raise the threat level I assigned to Seazack by several notches. To be able to successfully carry out a kidnapping like this, they must have gathered extensive intelligence, and they even had operatives infiltrated into the imperial capital.

The reason Arloston deliberately said『the Mercenary Demon King』instead of Seazack was probably because he judged that I would understand more quickly that way.

A suspicious man clad in full armor, of unknown origin. He had rushed in to provide aid, so he was not an enemy, but that did not necessarily make him an ally either.

He might not even know the name Seazack, but the ill repute of the Mercenary Demon King was well known. He was a man whose epithet carried more weight than his actual name.

But considering the situation here.

“I see. You came out of the imperial capital to take back your wife and child, but in the first place, this was a trap meant to lure you out of the capital…”

No…Arloston was the Knight Commander-in-Chief. He was also the man in whom the greatest amount of military authority was concentrated.

Perhaps he had realized early on that his wife and child had been kidnapped and, in his impatience, rushed out of the capital.

Despite his extremely high position, he had only two escort knights with him. That, too, was far from normal.

But what concerned me even more was the woman in front of us. If she truly was a subordinate of Seazack… then she would be an invaluable source of information.

The woman curled the corners of her mouth upward and turned her gaze toward me.

“People like you weren’t invited. Rather than that, wouldn’t it be better to hurry up and use the antidote lying over there?”

“Lizua!”

That was an obvious attempt at diverting our attention. The instant our focus shifted toward the ground, she was probably planning to take Arloston’s daughter hostage.

To gain an overwhelming advantage in this situation, she needed to secure the daughter as a hostage once more. But I wasn’t about to fall for such a transparent ploy.

Lizua, having accurately grasped my intent, released an arrow toward the woman without hesitation.

“Ku!”

Faced with an arrow fired from extremely close range, fast and precise, the woman sprang into evasive action with swift movements.

At the same time, I dashed across the ground and moved to Arloston’s daughter’s side.

“Tch!”

A knife came slashing in from the side, but I knocked it away with the arm covered by my black gauntlet.

The two fallen knights were not bleeding heavily. And yet, judging by how they lay there with their complexions drained of color, that knife was most likely coated with poison.

In times like this, my engraving art is truly convenient. Since it covers my entire body without gaps, something like a thrown knife cannot injure my flesh.

And although it looks like armor, it is not actually armor. That means there is no need to worry about a knife slipping into the joints.

Unless it is a powerful bow with tremendous draw strength, mere knives thrown by this woman pose no threat.

I picked up Arloston’s daughter and placed her inside the nearby carriage. Inside was an unconscious woman as well, likely Arloston’s wife, but I simply closed the carriage door as it was.

“Lizua. Take Arl— that man, and move a little farther away.”

“Understood.”

“Wha—”

Lizua dismounted, grabbed Arloston by the arm, and pulled him back to create distance. Well then… shall we begin?

“Huh…?”

I drew my blade and let my fighting spirit surge forth. At that moment, the woman’s eyes widened in shock.

“Y-you… what… what are you…?”

“Exactly what you see. You have two choices. Be taken quietly by us like this… or be taken after every bone in your body has been shattered.”

“…………!”

This woman… she is quite skilled. She reacted instantly to my fighting spirit. By now, she must have a fairly good grasp of my ability.

And that chain-attached knife of hers… it is a one-of-a-kind custom-made piece. The woman herself has clearly undergone extensive training to master the handling of that specialized weapon.

“From the look of it, you’re one of Seazack’s operatives, aren’t you? There are quite a few things I want to ask you… If you let yourself be captured quietly, I won’t treat you badly.”

“Don’t underestimate me…! I don’t know if you feel safe just because you’re wearing armor, but I’ve taken down knights clad head to toe in full plate with this knife more times than I can count…!”

“Then… go ahead and try it!”

There was no need to bother gauging how she would move. Kicking off the ground, I closed the distance to her in an instant.

“Take this!”

Gripping the knife in her right hand in a reverse hold, the woman lowered her stance in a motion that blended offense and defense into one. Making sure not to kill her, I slashed at her with the flat of my blade.

“Hmph!”

With her short-bladed knife, she firmly blocked my strike.

Impressive… most likely a physical enhancement–type engraving art. And at a very high level, at that.

But unless she put a tremendous amount of power behind her attacks, a knife like that would never reach me. If this fight dragged on, victory would be mine.

“Ku…!”

The woman tried to pull away and create distance, but I did not allow it, swinging my blade while maintaining close range.

The woman skillfully deflected my sword strikes with her knife, but I was deliberately swinging so that she could block every one of them.

Each time she stopped one of my blows, her stamina and arm strength were steadily being worn down. Even if her physical abilities had been greatly enhanced, they were still nowhere near mine.

After all, I may be rotten to the core, but I am still of imperial blood with a strong lineage of Gnochein.

‘So, what will you do now…!? You understand perfectly well that if this keeps up, you will lose…!’

If the gap in our abilities had been greater, I would not have resorted to such a passive approach.

However, she might still be hiding other concealed weapons, and it would be troublesome if she slipped into the carriage the instant I showed an opening. There was also the risk that if I fought seriously, I might end up killing her.

That was why I fought in a way that gradually drained her stamina instead. She must have realized my intent as well. At this point, both mentally and physically, it was she who was being cornered.

And as time passed, she drew closer to her limit. With that, the options she could take became few.

“Fuh!”

Here, I stopped my consecutive attacks and deliberately let go of my blade. At the same time, I spread both arms wide, exposing my chest guard as well.

She reacted instantly, placing her left hand on the hilt of the knife she held in a reverse grip and charging forward with full force. But the look on her face clearly said,『Damn it』.

Yes, I had intentionally lured out this supposed comeback strike. Even if she understood on a conscious level that this was a trap, her body reacted reflexively.

I knew she was a highly skilled fighter. Precisely because of that, I believed that once she found an opening while at her limit, her body would move before her mind.

Because she was experienced, the moment she perceived a gap, she could not help but strike. In defiance of her own awareness, her body would gamble everything on a single decisive blow to seize victory.

Naturally, what awaited her there was a fleeting illusion of triumph… no, nothing but defeat.

“Gah!”

“Gi…!”

I instantly snapped my outstretched arms shut, clamping down on her arms. The tip of her knife struck my armor, but with its momentum stopped, it failed to pierce through.

The moment I forcibly halted her charge, I grabbed both of her shoulders, pulled her in, and drove my right knee upward.

“Ughoh!?”

As the devastating knee strike landed, her core wavered violently. I followed up by slamming my fist straight into her face.

“Bube!?”

Hooking my leg behind her, I sent her crashing to the ground, blood and teeth spilling from her mouth as she fell.