Chapter 88: Blood Party

Time goes back a little.

The men gathered in the meeting room for nothing in particular. They were anxious about the future and felt uncomfortable unless they were in the presence of everyone.

Although it is called a meeting room, it is a cave with bare rock surfaces. The tables are made of random boards, and the chairs are made of sake barrels and wooden boxes.

While I was relaxing, Eil, the youngest member of the squad, came in and said.

“Captain, we’re under attack!”

“How many?”

The previously slack-jawed troopers’ expressions tightened, and several of them grabbed their weapons and stood up.

“Ah, no, just one….”

What the hell, the members sat down as if they were disappointed.

“The problem is that more than 10 members of the squad chased after him…”

The captain, Kilcord, wrinkled his eyebrows at the report, but Doros, a veteran soldier, burst into laughter.

“Whether it’s youth or physical strength, it’s like an impulse that springs up from within. It’s a translation that the girl also escaped.”

” We’re all supposed to be here because we agree with my philosophy, right?”

When Kilcord glared at him, Doros shrugged his shoulders.

“Of course, we all know that. So who would suggest that we go down to the village and kidnap a village girl?”

“…I’ll cut you if you.”

“They’re following the commander’s orders properly. So, you should at least allow them to hunt. Youthfulness is something that can’t be helped, so you have to let it go somewhere.”

“That’s all well and good, but ……”

Something is bothering me, Kilcord pondered, tracing his finger across his chin.

“… diversion?”

It is possible. It’s unnatural that there is only one decoy, but there’s nothing better than being cautious.

“We’re going to the princess’s prison, follow me.”

“What about the guys on the night shift?”

One of the men asked. Those who were on night guard should be sleeping now.

“Wake them up and bring them to the prison cell. No matter how many enemies you have, no matter what strategy you use, the ultimate goal is the princess.”

One of the men ran into the bedroom, and the remaining nine walked to the prison.

They were never in a hurry, and they looked around. It would have been terrible if they had been ambushed in their own hideout.

As I approached the prison room, I heard a noise. The shadows illuminated by the torch are swaying.

“They’re ahead of us. They may have taken the princess.”

Doros spoke to Kilcord in a low voice.

“Don’t worry, now they’re rats in the bag. Those who went hunting will come back soon.”

Kilcord considered the decoy a dead soldier. He thought that he was attracting them on the assumption that he would die from the beginning. Since he doesn’t know the existence of the demon sword “Tsubaki”, he can only think of it with common sense.

There were some miscalculations, such as the hunting group not returning and the night shift group not moving, but there was no change to the overwhelming advantage.

Thus, they stepped into the prison room and confronted Lutz and the others.

Gerhard stood in front of the prison. It was a foolish thing for him to plug the hole he had made himself, but it couldn’t be helped, since his original plan was to save the princess and sneak away.

Also, if the princess is taken hostage, there is nothing we can do. This is defeat. It was only natural for Gerhard, who was the most skilled of the three, to take a position here.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t help you.”

When Gerhard said that, Lutz fearlessly laughed.

“You said you would pass the credit on to the young man. You’ve been very kind to me today.”

“He’s out of his mind.”

Jocel, on the other hand, didn’t want to participate in the silly talk, but kept his breathing in check and fixed his eyes on the enemy’s captain. This is as dependable as it gets.

Doros smirks as he taps his shoulder with his hatchet peak.

“Captain, that brother wants to see you.”

“Yeah. Doros, take care of the young one over there. Others, secure the princess.”

Kilcord pulls out his rapier, signaling the start of the battle.

Jocel pointed the tip of the Knight killer at Kilcord and shouted.

“I’m Jocel, a high-ranking knight from the House of Count Zander. Let’s do it!”

Kilcord did not respond to his name and only gave him a dead fish-like look.

“I don’t have anything that I can proudly call myself.”

“Did you lose your pride as a knight!?”

“Pride, it was taken from me a long time ago.”

Not unlike the languid tone of his voice, the tip of his rapier was leaking out a tremendous amount of murderous rage and hatred.

Rapiers come in a variety of shapes and sizes.  From needle-thin to what would be quicker to call a club.

Kilcord’s rapier had a thick blade, and while it was mainly used for thrusting, it could also be used for slashing and striking at will.

A thrust would not get in the way indoors and would not cause the blade to hit the wall. Also, since it is one-handed and the body is half-held, there is less area to aim at.

Suddenly, a sword sharpness came right in front of Jocel’s eyes. He managed to twist and dodge it. He could not find an opening to counterattack.

The occurrences, or preliminary movements, are extremely few. A point attack, not a line attack, comes rushing through the shortest distance. If you take your eyes off the tip of the rapier, you will be skewered instantly.

……If you go on the defensive, you will lose!

Jocel swung down the knight killer, but Kilcord dodged it with a minimal backstep and immediately moved to counterattack.

The gap was completely cut off.

Thunderbolt-like stabs struck one after another. Jocel retreated, swinging his knight killer and desperately defending himself. This defense was possible only because the sword was easy to wield. If the blade had been three centimeters longer, he would have been killed long ago.

I have to admit, he’s a better fighter. He is beaten purely by skill. His timing is top-notch. His opponent is used to fighting in dimly lit caves, but Jocel is not.

…… is there any one thing, any one thing that I am winning.

A flash of light flies straight through. I was so busy trying to prevent it that I didn’t have time to think.

A pain ran through my cheek as if a hot iron had been applied to it. The tip of the rapier seems to have touched it.

Either fatigue has slowed his movements, or Kilcord has responded to Jocel’s movements. In any case, it is impossible to continue to endure even if we continue to fight defensively.

The pain cleared Jocel’s thoughts just a little. A glimpse of his mentor’s battle just now came to mind. There was one thing Jocel had won. Jocel put both feet firmly on the ground. There was no retreat now, no need to run.

A rapier strike aimed at the throat was repelled by a knight-killer. But Kilcord quickly regained his stance and unleashed a follow-up slash. The skin on Jocel’s arm was torn thin and blood dripped down.

…but not bad.

Jocel attacked boldly. The blade cannot reach the opponent’s body. But the rapier can.

He concentrated on repelling the enemy’s attacks. As forcefully as possible. Sparks flying in the darkness, metallic sounds echoing.

His consciousness was clouded by blood loss and shaken by pain. His physical strength had reached its limit, and he could barely stand.

This is the end, Kilcord said, unleashing a powerful blow. Jocel quickly shielded his face with his left arm. The tip of his rapier dropped and should have pierced his empty heart.

He was confident that he could pierce through at least an iron breastplate. The friend who had run through the battlefield with him had now betrayed Kilcord in the worst possible way.

The rapier snapped cleanly in the center. The image of Jocel, who had been pierced through the heart and fell to the ground coughing up blood, was clearly visible, but it all vanished as an illusion.

Why is it so? A void appeared in Kilcord’s mind.

I was at least aware that Jocel was trying to destroy the weapon. But the Kilcord reading should have been enough to withstand it.

The reading was off. My love sword and heart did not communicate, I was not able to know exactly what its condition was.

“I was the one who betrayed you…”

I was already no longer a proud warrior, that’s why.

Jocel’s night killer swung down. Kilcord’s right hand fell to the ground, still holding the hilt of his rapier.

Kilcord did not yell in pain, nor did he curse Jocel verbally, but simply looked sadly at his right hand, which had fallen off. Blood spurted vigorously from the severed surface, but Kilcord calmly tucked his left hand under his arm to stop the bleeding.

“I’m sorry……”

That’s all he muttered to the fallen rapier. I am no longer qualified to hold you, he said.

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