Chapter 106 – The Battle with the Assassin

I clearly remember Roglain’s face. 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 both a knight’s pride and unwavering loyalty to Arloston.

I had personally felt a favorable impression toward him as well, which is why he remained in my memory.

And then.

“Y… you people, just who in the world are you…!?”

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

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

“………………”

“U-um…?”

“………………”

The words would not come out at once. Inside my chest, various emotions swirled in a vortex.

Affection toward my younger brother. The very source of ruin that destroyed the Imperial Nation. In the current Empire, an important figure second only to Creyval. Simple nostalgia. And an even simpler anger beyond that.

Is this… what it means to be unable to sort out one’s feelings…?

“What’s the meaning of suddenly showing up like this…?”

The woman remained wary of us, yet began swinging the knife attached to a chain in her right hand, whirling it around with a swish.

Lizua was already on horseback, her arrow nocked and ready.

“No… this is strange. In this darkness, under a sky like this, you fired such a precise arrow…? One wrong step and it would have struck that girl, you know…?”

“Araa. I don’t make mistakes like that.”

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

She’s extremely wary of Lizua’s bow. Lizua only released two arrows, yet that alone was enough for the woman to recognize that she was a fighter of considerable ability.

I cut my gaze away from Arloston and reset my emotions. Dismounting my horse, I kept my eyes forward and spoke to Arloston.

“So… you seemed to be in trouble, so I barged in. What’s the situation?”

“…The one collapsed over there is my daughter. My wife is inside the carriage as well. The woman before us is most likely a subordinate of the Mercenary Demon King.”

“…………!”

What…Seazack had been conducting kidnapping operations against the Empire…!? And to target Arloston’s wife and child…!

It seems I’ll have to raise my assessment of Seazack’s threat level by several tiers. They’ve gathered enough intelligence to pull off a kidnapping like this, and they’ve even planted operatives within the imperial capital.

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

A suspicious man clad in full-body armor, someone whose identity and origins are impossible to discern. Since he rushed in as reinforcement, he is not an enemy, but that does not necessarily make him an ally either.

He may not even know the name Seazack, but the infamy of the Mercenary Demon King is well known. He is a man whose epithet carries more weight than his actual name.

But considering the situation here—

“I see. You left the imperial capital to retrieve your wife and child, only to realize that it was a trap meant to lure you out of the capital in the first place…”

No… Arloston is the Knight Commander. 

He is also the man in whom the authority of the military is most concentrated.

Perhaps he sensed that his wife and child had been abducted at the earliest moment, panicked, and rushed out of the capital.

Despite holding such a high rank, he only has two escort knights with him. That in itself is unusual.

But more concerning than that is the woman standing before us. If she truly is a subordinate of Seazack… then she would be an invaluable source of information.

The woman raises the corner of her lips and turns her gaze toward me.

“People like you weren’t invited. More importantly, shouldn’t you hurry up and use the antidote lying over there?”

“Lizua!”

That was an obvious attempt at diverting our attention. The moment our eyes dropped to the ground, she would most likely take Arloston’s daughter hostage again.

To gain an overwhelming advantage in this situation, she needs to secure the daughter as a hostage once more. But I’m not foolish enough to fall for such a transparent trick.

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

“Ku!”

Faced with an arrow fired at high speed and with deadly precision from close range, the woman swiftly moved to evade it.

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

“Take this!”

A knife came at me from the side, but I knocked it aside with the arm covered in my black gauntlet.

The two fallen knights were not bleeding heavily. Even so, judging by the way their faces had changed color as they lay collapsed, that knife was likely coated with poison.

At times like this, my engraved technique is truly convenient. Since it covers my entire body without a single gap, a mere thrown knife cannot wound my flesh.

Though it appears to be armor, it is not armor in reality. Therefore, there is no need to worry about a knife piercing through the joints.

Unless it were a powerful longbow with tremendous draw strength, a mere knife thrown by a woman like this poses no real threat.

Lifting Arloston’s daughter into my arms, I carried her into the carriage beside us. Inside lay an unconscious woman… most likely Arloston’s wife. Without another word, I closed the carriage door.

“Lizua. Take Ar— …that man and move a little farther away.”

“Understood.”

“Wha…?”

Dismounting from her horse, Lizua pulled Arloston by the arm and put distance between them and us. Now then… shall we begin?

“Ha…?”

I drew my blade, battle spirit surging through me. In that instant, the woman’s eyes widened in shock.

“You… wh-who are you…?”

“As you can see. You have two choices. Either surrender quietly and allow us to capture you… or be captured after every bone in your body has been shattered.”

“…………!”

This woman… she’s highly skilled. She reacted instantly to my killing intent. By now, she has likely gauged a fair measure of my strength.

And that knife with the chain… it’s a one-of-a-kind custom piece. She herself must have trained extensively to master such a specialized weapon.

“If I were to guess, you’re one of the operatives Seazack employs, aren’t you? There’s quite a lot I’d like to ask you… If you surrender peacefully, I won’t treat you poorly.”

“You lookin’ down on me…!? I don’t know if that armor makes you feel safe, but I’ve taken down plenty of fully armored knights with this knife in the past…!”

“Then… try it!”

There was no need to bother probing how she would respond. I kicked off the ground and closed the distance to her in a single burst.

“Take this!”

Gripping the knife in her right hand in a reverse hold, the woman lowered her stance in a movement that combined both offense and defense. I struck at her with the back of my blade so as not to kill her.

“Hmph!”

With the short blade of her knife, she firmly received my blow.

Not bad… Most likely an engraved technique of the physical enhancement type. And at that, one of considerable level.

However, unless she poured a tremendous amount of strength into her strike, a mere knife like that would never reach me. If this fight continues as it is, the one who will win is me.

“Ku…!”

The woman tried to create distance, but I did not allow it, maintaining close range as I swung my blade.

She skillfully deflected my sword strikes with her knife, but I deliberately swung in a way that allowed her to parry every blow.

Each time she received one of my strikes, she consumed stamina and strength in her arms. Even if her physical abilities were greatly enhanced, they were not on my level.

After all, rotten as it may be, I am of imperial lineage with the strong blood of Gnochein running through me.

‘Come on, what will you do…!? You understand perfectly well that if this continues, you’ll lose…!’

If the difference in our abilities had been greater, I wouldn’t have resorted to such a passive approach.

However, there was the possibility that she had other concealed weapons hidden away, and it would be troublesome if she slipped into the carriage the instant I showed an opening. There was also the risk of fighting seriously and accidentally killing her.

That is why I fought in a way that gradually wore down her stamina. The woman must have realized my aim as well. Right now, the one being cornered both mentally and physically was her.

And as time passed, her limit drew near. If that was the case, then the course she would take was limited.

“Fuh!”

At that moment, I stopped my flurry of strikes and deliberately released my sword. At the same time, I spread both arms wide and dropped the guard on my chest.

She reacted instantly. Gripping the knife in reverse with her right hand, she added her left hand to the hilt and charged forward with force. But her expression clearly read, 『I’ve been had』.

That’s right, I intentionally lured out this decisive counterattack. She must have understood in her mind that this was a trap, but her body responded like a reflex.

I knew she was highly skilled. Precisely because of that, I believed that once she spotted an opening at the brink of her limits, her body would move before her thoughts could stop it.

Precisely because she is a seasoned fighter, the moment she perceives an opening, she cannot help but strike. Even against her own better judgment, her body gambles on a single decisive blow to seize victory.

Naturally, what lies there is nothing but an illusory triumph… no, in truth, only defeat awaits.

“Kah!”

“Gi…!”

I immediately snapped my spread arms shut, trapping her arms between them. The tip of the knife had struck my armor, but with its momentum halted, it could not pierce through.

The instant I forcefully stopped her charge, I seized both her shoulders, pulled her in, and drove my right knee upward.

“Ughoh!?”

The crushing knee strike connected, and her core wavered violently. Without pause, I slammed my fist into her face.

“Bube!?”

Then I hooked her leg, and she collapsed onto the ground, spitting blood and teeth from her mouth.