Surviving as a Knigh Chapter 61 : Chapter 61

Chapter 61

Even a rough count showed more than twenty fallen assassins scattered around.

Yet, it was impossible to tell how many more assassins remained.

‘Was it cut a bit deep…?’

The sensation in my left arm dulled slightly.

It seed the wound I received monts ago was quite deep.

‘Subspace pocket.’

I quickly took out a potion, sprinkled it hastily around my arm, and gulped down the rest.

Deeply thanking the Pope, who had given

several of these precious potions, I felt the sensation gradually returning to my left arm.

“Persistent.”

For the first ti, I heard the voice of the one who appeared to be the leader of the enemy assassins.

“You too.”

I also replied curtly, concluding the conversation.

There was no reason for a lengthy chat when we were both trying to kill each other.

While blocking an attack coming from the upper left, I simultaneously thrust the tip of my sword accurately into the enemy’s neck.

“Kurgk…!”

With a gurgling sound, another assassin collapsed.

Even amidst this, the assassins' leader remained motionless.

He seed to be waiting for a single, certain opportunity, not even frowning once despite the fall of many of his subordinates.

‘Vicious.’

I had heard that properly trained assassins treated others' lives lightly, even their own, but experiencing it firsthand was worse than I imagined.

Facing relentless attacks from all directions, I felt the need for a turnaround.

I moved defensively as much as possible until the assassins, attacking with tid intervals, surrounded

from all sides.

Minimizing my Aura usage to draw them in, at that very mont, a golden light flashed from my sword.

[Zen yer Sword Technique. 1st Form]

A swordsmanship technique requiring the scattering of Aura, an already difficult energy to handle, in all directions, revealed itself to the world again after a long ti.

Simultaneously, about ten assassins fell dead on the spot.

“….”

The assassins, too, seed shocked by the scene just witnessed, creating a very brief pause.

Seizing that gap, I launched myself towards their leader.

“A Master…!”

A startled voice escaped the leader’s lips for the first ti.

“Still half-baked, though.”

After my conversation with Harris at the training ground a while ago, I sensed a change in my Aura.

The Aura, once like a powerless worm, had gained a firmness, resembling proper Aura sowhat.

And now, I was applying the result in actual combat for the first ti.

‘Just one chance.’

I instinctively felt that if I couldn’t cut down that leader here, surviving against these assassins would beco difficult.

“How dare you…!”

A roar erupted from the leader’s mouth.

Simultaneously, a black light flowed from his sword.

‘Aura that isn’t Aura.’

I had felt sothing similar before.

I didn’t know how, but they seed to have a separate thod for creating that type of energy, which looked similar to Aura.

Even as the leader clashed with , assassins flew in from all directions, aiming for my back and sides.

[Aura Armor]

As I activated Aura Armor, a much clearer golden light than before enveloped my body.

My Aura had definitely grown stronger than before.

At the sa ti, my sword also emitted light, clashing directly with the leader’s sword, which was shrouded in black Aura.

Kwaaaang!

A shockwave swept outwards in all directions upon the collision of the two.

And piercing through that shockwave, the swords of several assassins approached perilously close to .

Sand swirled everywhere, montarily obscuring vision.

As the sand settled and visibility gradually returned, only I remained standing.

“Hoo….”

With a slight realization, the application of Aura beca more precise, and its power increased, but the consumption of Ki also grew larger.

“How about we take a little break?”

I muttered, watching the assassins chanically throwing their lives away even after their leader’s death.

“You guys have good stamina, really.”

I had hoped they would waver a bit once their leader died, but it seed like a futile wish.

After engaging in a bloody fight with the assassins for a long while, I planted my sword on the ground and knelt.

“Ha… Nothing cos easy.”

The surroundings were littered with the corpses of over 50 assassins.

Considering the number of assassins dealt with, I was in better shape than expected.

It seed to be thanks to the increased physical recovery speed from [Fate: Free Knight] and several growth processes.

Nevertheless, the lack of blood already lost and the depleted Ki made it difficult for

to move any further.

‘Need to… go… quickly….’

In the end, I couldn’t lift my heavy eyelids and passed out on the tree.

***

“Sir Karl seems to be contacting us more and more often these days.”

Godfrey, a team leader of the Holy Knights, muttered while reading the information relayed through Baron Mollio.

It detailed Count Calido’s atrocities in the area and his attack on Baron Vito.

“Vice-Commander, Count Calido’s atrocities have crossed the line. You are well aware, Vice-Commander, how many fellow knights who participated in the Holy War under the banner of our Holy Knights he has taken for his private use, aren't you? He is officially affiliated with the Holy Knights, whatever the case. We cannot simply stand by and watch.”

The Vice-Commander, present at the eting, let out a groan at Godfrey’s words.

He, too, was not unaware of Count Calido’s tyranny.

However, Calido was an influential figure within the knighthood and also a Margrave responsible for a region, making it difficult to intervene easily.

“If he acted solely on his own without using our na, it might be different, but if the na of the Holy Knights continues to be ntioned in connection with his actions, this is sothing our Holy Knights cannot overlook.”

Godfrey repeatedly advised.

Furthermore, based on the contents of the letter Karl sent this ti, Calido seed intent on expanding his power without even the slightest regard for appearances anymore.

He had to be stopped now, before his power grew any further.

“Does the Commander know?”

“…Not yet.”

“Why is that? The facts I have reported so far are not just one or two, so why on earth haven't they been relayed to the Commander!?”

“There’s no need for the Commander to know every single detail of matters like this!”

“Vice-Commander! It is precisely because it is this kind of matter that the Commander must know! Don’t tell !? Did you perhaps receive sothing from Count Calido?”

“Godfrey! Even for you, such remarks are unforgivable!”

Godfrey acknowledged he had beco too agitated and bowed his head.

However, the current situation was indeed too suspicious.

Why was the Vice-Commander shielding Calido when he was rampaging like a madman?

“Vice-Commander, you must understand that if we continue to stand by like this and beco unable to act later, the responsibility will fall on you too. Especially since the Commander is unaware of this fact!”

“This man! He’s too agitated to think straight! Stay out of the main headquarters for a while and confine yourself to your ho for a week!”

Hearing the Vice-Commander shout, Godfrey stood up abruptly and stord out of the Vice-Commander's office.

‘Since when did our knighthood beco so corrupt!’

The current Holy Knights were established solely to follow the sacred duty of knights and the teachings of God.

But now, it was no different from any other greedy knighthood.

‘Oh, Essus…!’

Faith was a secondary elent to them, but at this mont, there was nowhere else but God to vent his frustrated heart.

As Godfrey lanted towards the sky, a man with a scraggly white beard watched him from afar.

But lost in his frustration, gazing at the sky, he failed to notice the watching eyes.

***

“Father… Please wake up… Hurry…!”

In the Tennesse Domain castle, a woman of such beauty that anyone would be surprised, stood before the Baron, her eyes red.

“My lady… Please stop now and rise. You have been here for quite so ti already.”

“…Yes. That bastard Calido’s army is heading towards the domain, isn’t it?”

“…They will arrive within a few days.”

The woman who rose from her spot squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them.

Leaving Baron Vito’s side, Selena, who had donned armor by herself, slowly stood up.

“The soldiers?”

“All are prepared to face the enemy, resolved to die.”

“Yes….”

She, who once had a large fra, had fiercely decided and trained her body.

Now, she possessed a healthy body more than sufficient for battle.

When such a Selena donned her armor, she looked like a knight straight out of a painting.

“My lady, you must not go to the front. The battlefield is a place where dozens of stray swords and arrows fly wildly in an instant.”

“With Father bedridden now, I must be present so the soldiers do not waver.”

“…My lady’s noble heart will be rembered not only by the people of the domain but by the people of the world.”

Selena responded to old knight Albert’s words with a resolute smile.

A few days later, Count Calido’s soldiers arrived before Tennesse Castle, forming an army.

The Tennesse flag flying above the castle walls fluttered vigorously, as if imbued with the will of those who had defended the house for generations.

“Lord of Tennesse, listen! Count Calido has deferred your tax increase several tis in the past! You refuse the rightful demands of His Lordship Count Calido, your liege, and persist in repeating the sa words like a parrot. Is that all! Evidence has beco clear that you conspired with several vassals of neighboring domains to plot against the Count! Unable to forgive your tyranny any longer, Count Calido himself has ordered this subjugation!”

The one loudly proclaiming the justification, as is customary in wars between nobles, was Baron Machado, known as Count Calido’s right hand.

He was Calido’s most trusted knight, his de facto sword.

The soldiers standing on Tennesse’s walls flushed at his outrageous declaration.

The amount of tax Tennesse was already sending was by no ans small.

“I am Selena Tennesse, the young lord of Tennesse! The people of the domain are already stripped bare and starving due to the taxes Count Calido collects! Where do you run your filthy mouth! There isn’t a single coin to give to a thief who knows no honor!”

At Selena’s harsh words, the soldiers of Tennesse Castle roared fiercely.

“Hmph. I wonder if she can still act like that when kneeling before . Begin.”

Not intending to speak further to those unlikely to accept the call for surrender anyway, Machado’s forces began to advance towards the walls of the Tennesse House.

“Draw your bows! Do not draw the string until the enemy is within range!”

While the squad leaders shouted loudly, the enemy forces drew closer and closer.

“Now! Fire!”

As soon as the knight’s cry ended, arrows began to fly rapidly from the walls of Tennesse Castle.

Andrew, who had once fought as a soldier and now served as a proper knight’s squire, raised the sword in his hand and cut down an approaching enemy soldier.

“Co as many as you like! Do you think we will hand over this castle to you!”

Selena, wielding a sword thicker than a rapier but thinner than a longsword, pierced the necks of soldiers climbing the walls.

“My lady! Do not advance too far!”

Albert tried to hold Selena back, but she glared fiercely at the enemies from the wall.

The morale of their allies was high.

Just when they thought the initial defense would be possible at this rate.

Kwaaaaang!

“What…?!”

A section of the castle wall exploded.

It wasn’t a stone hurled by an ordinary catapult.

Experiencing the sound of an explosion for the first ti, they froze, startled by the trendous noise that sounded like the roar of a god.

Kwaaaaang!

Once again, another section of the wall was engulfed in flas, and simultaneously, a part of the wall blew away.

“Ah…! God…!”

As prayers leaked from soone’s lips, the siege battle began to enter a new phase.