Chapter 274: The Rain Clears and the Sun Shines

He had rushed forward, but it would be reckless to face a giant orc with just a knife, as a matter of reality.

As Keith looked around, he found a knight lying face down in the mud, half-buried. There were traces suggesting he had crawled here in an attempt to escape.

“Hey, are you still alive?”

Hastily lifting him up, the knight managed to speak through trembling lips.

“That damned pig stepped on my foot…”

Glancing at the knight’s left leg, Keith saw that it was crushed beyond repair from the knee down. It seemed amputation was the only option.

“Forget about me… just leave me…”

Ignoring his weak plea, Keith hoisted the knight up.

“I’ll take you to safety.”

“I’m… done for…”

“Shut up. I won’t tolerate quitting here. I’ll keep pushing you until you die, so be prepared.”

Keith laid the knight down about thirty meters away from the battlefield and used his knife to cut his pants, tying them around the base of his leg like a makeshift tourniquet.

“It seems my days as a knight are over…”

With a resigned expression, the knight nodded in agreement.

“There’s plenty of paperwork to do. Knowing Victor-sama, there’s probably about ten years’ worth piled up that needs to be dealt with.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it.”

Despite enduring the pain, the knight managed to return a smile. It was a pitiful attempt, but Keith appreciated the effort.

“Since the master blacksmith is here, why don’t I get him to make me a prosthetic leg or something?”

“You’re really putting a lot of faith in him. You used to complain about how annoying us peasants were, running around like busybodies.”

“I take it all back. I want to scout those three for the Fourth Knights, including the blacksmith.”

“In that case, I can’t let you die.”

“Yeah.”

With a straightened posture, Keith stood up. His eyes said, “I’ll be back,” and the knight nodded in response.

“Oh, right. Can you lend me your sword? Mine’s stuck in the orc.”

“You’re quite the character. It should be around where I collapsed. Take it, and return it later if you survive.”

“Assuming I make it back alive.”

Keith ran off, leaving the knight behind with a disappointed sigh.

It hurts, it’s scary, it’s exhausting. But being eliminated from this festival halfway through was unacceptable.

—

Lutz searched for enemies.

He spotted Gerhardt engaged in a one-on-one battle with a giant orc but decided to leave him be. Gerhardt seemed fatigued, but more importantly, he seemed to be enjoying himself. Interrupting him might provoke his anger.

Next, he found Josel and five knights fighting another giant orc.

…Alright, let’s jump in here.

Defeating the orc and facing the next one alongside them would increase their numbers.

“Coming through!”

Lutz shouted as he drew his sword Kyouka Suigetsu, catching the orc’s attention. That sword was trouble; the orc sensed it instinctively. Despite this, his body moved forward on its own.

Taking his gaze off Josel proved to be the orc’s undoing. When Josel aimed his Night Killer with determination, a gust of wind struck the orc’s face.

While the wind from the Night Killer was powerful enough to knock a human off balance, against a giant orc, it only momentarily disoriented it. But that was enough.

The five knights leaped out simultaneously, slashing at the orc’s legs. Each inflicted wounds would be nullified by the orc’s rapid regeneration, but the relentless five-pronged attack caused the orc to lose balance and fall on its back.

Lutz leaped onto the orc’s chest and forcefully swung his sword down. It split the orc’s head from crown to nose in a V-shaped gash.

Due to the ability of kyouka suigetsu, the orc’s rapid regeneration was sealed, and blood continued to flow from its head until it died. If not for this sword, it might have stood up again, such was its terrifying vitality.

“Alright!”

“Take that, you giant pig!”

“It’s payback for our captain!”

The knights raised their swords high, shouting victory cries. With appreciative gazes directed at him, Lutz clenched his fist firmly and spoke.

“Let’s move on to the next one!”

“Yeah!”

Having gained confidence from defeating the giant orc, the knights forgot their fatigue and fear as they headed to support their comrades. They seemed like the type who would get stronger the more they got carried away.

“Lutz-dono, we too…”

“Yes.”

Lutz, who had been following Josel, suddenly stopped in his tracks, feeling uneasy that the orc’s corpse might come back to life.

It’s dead, no doubt about it. With its head split open and its brain spilled out, there’s no way it’s alive.

No matter how many times he looked, it remained motionless. Of course, that didn’t completely ease his mind.

…I’ll consult with Gerhardt about it later. For now, defeating the orcs takes precedence.

Shaking his head vigorously to dispel his distractions, Lutz followed behind Josef.

Gerhardt continued his battle with the giant orc. He caught a glimpse of but he ran past him.

…He’s truly heartless, but that’s fine.

Gerhardt felt a little pleased that Lutz understood his feelings.

Fighting against a formidable enemy was truly enjoyable.

The knights may have noble goals like avenging their leader or protecting the village, but none of that mattered to Gerhardt.

His spirit was now back in his adventurer days. If asked when his prime was, he wouldn’t hesitate to say it’s now.

“Grrroooar!”

The orc swung its log horizontally while letting out a roar. Its movements were noticeably slower than when the fight began.

Gerhardt had struck the orc several times already, each wound foaming and quickly healing. Despite the orc’s incredible regeneration, its stamina was finite, and its agility shouldn’t remain the same forever.

Dodging the sweeping attack proved to be quite challenging, but Gerhardt had completely read its movements.

“Copying Ricardo’s moves is annoying!”

Gerhardt leaped up, using the log as a foothold, then leaped again. Before him was the orc’s face, and his beloved sword, Ittetsu, sparkled like a shooting star.

Slashing its throat, shattering its bones, the tip of the sword protruded from the back of its neck. The giant orc fell backward, blood spurting as it struggled to stand up, but its body lacked any strength.

Gerhardt roughly withdrew his sword from the orc’s throat, swinging it sharply to fling the blood.

Sitting on the still-twitching orc’s body, Gerhardt checked the blade. He had used it quite recklessly, but there wasn’t a single chip. It was a sword imbued with magic by himself, and he was genuinely surprised by its durability.

“Borvis, are you watching? Our sacred swords are truly incredible. We wouldn’t have lost to those brutes if we had this at the time… Or is it pointless to think about?”

Gerhardt looked up at the sky, raising his sword. He realized that the rain had completely stopped.

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