“Ha ha ha! Got it!”
Dehor's laughter echoed through the mountains. His massive axe was embedded in the head of the Old White Tiger.
Once again, Leo had left the hunting of the Old White Tiger to the hunting team. Although his skills had slightly improved thanks to {Acceptance Technique}, he was still far from being able to take down this formidable beast on his own. He had to be content with observing the creature and hoping for a better future.
The war broke out inevitably before spring could arrive, and both Lena, now a warrior, and Leo joined the fray.
Noel Dexter, who had been vehently opposed the first ti and begrudgingly accepted the second ti, this ti allowed his son to join the war with ease.
A significant improvent.
He probably judged that at least Leo wouldn’t be helpless against soldiers and focused on teaching him how to fight knights.
Lena and Leo trained with Noel until the day of their departure, which ca swiftly.
The soldiers and warriors marched to the sound of drums and horns, forming ranks.
During the long journey, Leo bribed the snub-nosed centurion again. Since he had leftover {initial funds} with no other use, he gave them away generously. The centurion made an enticing offer: Lena could be classified as a patient and ride in a wagon.
Lena's feet had developed blisters again. No matter how many tis she was warned, her clumsy habits wouldn’t change until she suffered.
Although it was an unexpected benefit, Lena refused. She endured the pain and walked to the end.
Just like last ti, after two months of arduous marching, they arrived at the battlefield. The second battlefield was just as fierce as the first.
‘But why is the Astin Kingdom losing?’
From the perspective of a re soldier, it seed that the Astin Kingdom was superior in every way.
The Astin Kingdom had many warriors who had grown up in harsh environnts, thanks to the absorption of barbarians into their nation. These warriors had superior combat abilities compared to the soldiers conscripted from the prosperous Bellita Kingdom.
Reinforcents also arrived quickly. Warriors could be deployed to the battlefield imdiately after simple training. On the other hand, conscripting and training soldiers took much longer.
However, the Bellita Kingdom had a larger population, so when reinforcents arrived, they ca in large numbers.
The situation was slightly different for knights.
The northern kingdoms had a relatively large number of knights. Considering the small population in the north, this was a peculiar phenonon. Thus, the Astin & Aster Kingdoms were known as the lands of knights.
Overall, the Astin Kingdom was at a nurical disadvantage. However, they balanced this with superior individual combat ability and a higher number of elite combatants like knights.
But since the wars in this world were fought in small, scattered units rather than large-scale engagents, the Astin Kingdom's superior individual combat prowess gave them an edge.
The situation would only change if the war dragged on.
If the war continued, the conscripts from the Bellita Kingdom would gain experience and beco elite soldiers.
Our warriors would also improve, but the Bellita Kingdom, with its larger population, had a clear advantage in producing elite soldiers.
And the Bellita Kingdom was wealthier.
Due to the harsh environnt in the north and the aftermath of past civil wars, the poor Astin Kingdom lacked the resources to sustain a long war and had to aim for a quick victory.
‘But the war ended early… with the Astin Kingdom's defeat.’
It was an incomprehensible situation. If the war ended early, it should have been the Astin Kingdom's victory.
“Hey! Leo! Why are you daydreaming again!”
Lena shouted as she cut down the enemy in front of her.
Lena had quickly risen to the rank of ten-man leader.
Thanks to Leo hiding his skills and letting her take the credit, Lena had been promoted. If both of them were promoted to ten-man leaders, they might be separated into different units.
Then Lena might face Katrina alone.
Unaware of Leo’s intentions, Lena scolded him for not giving his all.
Now that she was his superior, she was giving him a hard ti.
"Ah! Lena! That’s too much!"
"If you feel wronged, get promoted. What? I can't hear you? Speak up."
Lena teased him mischievously. Even though he knew she was joking, it still irked him.
*
As sumr arrived, the battlefield turned green.
It was the ti for knights to go berserk. Knights from each kingdom, paired up in twos and threes, charged into the battlefield.
Now, the battles between ordinary soldiers beca a sideshow. In sumr, victory depended more on how well each side utilized their knights rather than on the general maneuvering of troops.
Lena's unit stayed on high alert, moving forward or retreating based on orders from the centurion.
Leo also remained vigilant.
Katrina would appear soon.
eting her was definitely an {Event}. As long as he was in the sa unit as Lena on the battlefield, encountering Katrina was inevitable.
His prediction was spot on. In the scorching midday heat, Katrina and a young knight erged from the bushes.
What was that young knight's na again?
“Knight!”
Our unit’s ssenger ran in the opposite direction.
It felt like déjà vu, but last ti we were on the right ridge of the battlefield. This ti, we were guarding the left forest, and yet Katrina appeared in the sa way.
The only difference was that Lena was now a ten-man leader.
Lena muttered.
“Should we take down that redhead?”
As the ten-man leader, she had to allocate her troops.
Leo shook his head.
"That knight looks stronger. Let's take out the weaker-looking one first and then help the others."
Lena didn't ask how he knew. There was no ti to question, and she trusted Leo’s judgnt.
“Everyone, hold off that female knight! Reinforcents will arrive soon!”
She rallied the soldiers. Coincidentally, this unit also had fifteen mbers, just like before. It was amazing.
During battles, units that had suffered heavy casualties often rged with other units, resulting in units with more than ten mbers. This ti was no different.
Excluding the ssenger, twelve soldiers charged at Katrina, while Lena and Leo faced the young knight alone.
“Did they underestimate ?”
“They probably think you look stupid, Deros. Hurry up and deal with them so you can help .”
“Ah! Senior, that's too harsh.”
“Haha.”
Katrina was relaxed even with twelve soldiers in front of her.
Leo shifted his focus away from Katrina. Sadly, those twelve soldiers were as good as dead.
He concentrated on the young knight.
Deros swung his sword lightly. It was too swift for a regular soldier to block, but Leo easily parried and countered.
“Huh?”
Lena's sword struck at Deros's leg. As he blocked her attack, Leo sidestepped and targeted his flank.
Deros deflected Lena's blow and turned to his right, naturally distancing himself from Leo and continuing to target Lena.
‘That won't work.’
Leo stuck to him relentlessly, disrupting his movents, while Lena pressed him hard.
“Hey! Idiot! There are only two of them! What are you doing? Are you insane? Do you want to die?”
“...Senior Katrina! These two are no joke!”
Katrina’s tone grew rougher.
She had already taken down six soldiers, but with so many clinging to her, it was dragging on.
Soon, the reinforcent unit arrived.
“There! Charge!”
“Target the female knight!”
Lena shouted to the reinforcents, who all rushed at Katrina.
“You bastard! We’ll see about this later!”
“......”
Deros couldn’t respond to Katrina’s furious outburst. He was too busy dealing with two unexpectedly skilled soldiers.
Lena and Leo weren’t exactly having an easy ti either.
Knights are not to be underestimated. Even facing an inexperienced rookie knight as a pair was a harrowing ordeal.
But finally, their swords found their mark on Deros. Once wounded, the inexperienced Deros visibly faltered and ultimately fell to Lena’s blade.
Breathing heavily, Lena and Leo turned their attention to Katrina.
"Now, let's deal with her…"
"Aaargh!"
The last remaining soldier scread and fell. Katrina, her red hair disheveled and wild, had single-handedly annihilated two entire units.
“Phew, two soldiers taking down Deros… You kids have so skill.”
Her eyes fixed sharply on the two soldiers. Katrina, shocked by Deros's absurd death, didn't even think to tie her hair back as she scrutinized them closely.
Leo gulped.
Previously, while facing Katrina, Lena had lost an arm. She had been an unbeatable foe, only bested by Lena’s quick thinking and a stroke of luck. This ti, they might not survive.
‘No. I still have {Acceptance Technique}. And she's more injured than before.’
Blood was pouring from several wounds on Katrina’s body.
She had been injured last ti, but now it was worse.
Steeling himself, Leo approached her, while Lena, wary of the monstrous killer, held her sword at the ready.
A tense standoff ensued, but Katrina skipped the psychological warfare and attacked first.
She had nothing to gain by dragging this out. Another unit could arrive to support them at any mont, and the blood loss was making her dizzy. She needed to finish these brats quickly and escape.
‘Look at this brat.’
The boy was annoying her. Every ti she tried to make a move, he would interfere, making her attacks clumsy.
‘His swordsmanship isn't much, but his coordination with the girl is too good.’
Katrina realized that the girl was the weaker of the two, but she couldn't recklessly charge at her because the boy would interfere.
This boy, despite his young age, seed close to being an expert, as his sword carried considerable weight.
She was unaware that Leo’s achievent was activated.
[ Achievent: One Knight - Stronger when facing a knight. ]
‘Damn, if not for his interference, I could just destroy the girl and deal with him later. But if I focus on the girl, I’ll get hit.’
Targeting the boy was also tricky.
He was focusing on defense.
‘If only my body were in better shape!’
Facing over twenty soldiers at once had been too much.
A knight’s role was to hunt soldiers without incurring losses, but having abnormal soldiers among her prey had been unlucky for both her and Deros.
Katrina had tried several reckless attacks, inflicting small wounds on the brats, but she had received similar injuries in return.
‘...This is the end for .’
Katrina resigned herself to death.
In a fair fight, there was no way to win, so now she had to gamble, even if it wasn’t fitting for a knight. Any further delay would bring reinforcents.
‘Ellen, I’m sorry. It seems I won't be able to return.’
Resolved, Katrina adjusted her stance and radiated a nacing killing intent.
She could take at least one of them with her. Though she might get counterattacked and killed, she was already as good as dead.
Katrina put her weight into her sword and charged at Lena. Her fierce strike threw Lena off balance in an instant.
Leo tried to help against the continuous attacks from Katrina, but {Acceptance Technique}’s advice wasn’t what he wanted to hear.
‘This... I can't stop her. The only option is to counter.’
Against an enemy who had forsaken defense, pressure or interference ant nothing.
Reluctantly, Leo put all his strength into stabbing Katrina’s shoulder. Her eyes glead, as if she had trapped him perfectly. Katrina forcefully moved her injured shoulder, raising her sword to slash at him.
Leo's leather armor tore as blood poured from his chest.
“Leo!”
The fallen Lena kicked Katrina’s leg.
Katrina rolled backward, creating so distance, and readied her sword again. Despite the deep wound in her shoulder, she seed unfazed.
“Wait!”
Leo shouted.
She was intent on a mutual kill. At this rate, one of them would definitely die.
“Let’s stop fighting.”
“...Why?”
“If we continue, you’ll definitely die.”
“I can take one of you with .”
“I know. That’s why we should stop here. I won't pursue you.”
Katrina’s mouth twisted into a crooked smile.
“You’re asking to run away?”
“No. I’m asking you not to kill us.”
“Leo! What are you talking about!”
“Lena, I’m sorry. At this rate, one of us will die. Let’s just end it here.”
“But…”
Lena hesitated.
She didn’t care if she died. A warrior doesn’t show their back to the enemy, and she was a warrior. But if it wasn’t her and Leo died…
The blood pouring from Leo’s chest softened her resolve. Lena couldn’t decide and was torn.
Katrina watched their antics with a bemused expression.
‘Are they a couple?’
The unusual atmosphere was rare on the battlefield, making her think of Ellen.
‘...Should I just go back?’
A knight fleeing with a soldier’s goodwill was disgraceful.
But... Ellen had begged her to co back alive.
Before going to war, he had nervously bought a bunch of herbs, not knowing that knights were provided with dical supplies.
Seeing Ellen pleading with her, she wanted to see him again.
After hesitating, Katrina sheathed her sword.
“Fine. I’ll run away as you said. This favor…”
She trailed off and turned around abruptly. Embarrassed.
Her sha doubled when she saw Deros’s body.
She felt sorry for berating him when he struggled against abnormal soldiers.
Katrina wanted to retrieve his body but could barely take care of her own. She picked up Deros’s sword and a few personal items and left.
[ Achievent: Spared Katrina - Katrina will rember this favor. ]
As Katrina disappeared, Leo slumped to the ground. His clothes were soaked in blood from his chest.
Lena rushed over and started bandaging his wound. As her short hair tickled his nose, Leo apologized.
“I’m sorry.”
“...No. We couldn't have beaten her anyway. If that knight had been in perfect condition, we’d be dead.”
She tied the bandage and continued.
“And we did our job by taking down one knight.”
With the ergency treatnt done, Lena sat down in front of him, relieved.
Leo looked at his chest and chuckled.
It was a ss. She had tied the bandage knot over the wound.
Still, the swordsmanship-focused Lena had kept her arm intact.
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