novelraw Chapter 56 : Chivalry
Chapter 56 : Chivalry
Chapter 56: Chivalry
Relying on the moonlight, the horse ran.
Sweat seeped from Imelda’s hands as she sat behind him, holding onto his waist.
Because she pressed tightly against his back for fear of falling, he could feel her heart pounding wildly.
Serena, who was riding alongside them, glanced back and spoke.
“This way, we’ll be caught.”
“How close are they?”
“500 meters.”
Robin put more strength into both legs.
He was already running at top speed, but he wanted to flee even a little faster.
The horse was being driven so hard that its breath fogged the air, yet it failed to meet Robin’s expectations.
“400 meters.”
“Isn’t there anywhere we can hide nearby?”
“There’s a forest a little farther on, but we’ll be caught before we reach it.”
“Let’s go that way.”
“We’d have to go 3 km. Even if we make it, there’s no guarantee we can shake them off.”
“Then is there another way?”
At Robin’s shout, Serena fell silent.
Originally, as the escort, Serena bore responsibility for resolving the crisis, but she lacked confidence.
Because she had manifested a fire spirit the day before, she was short on remaining Ether.
‘At most, three times.’
She could command spirits about three times, but Robin had told her to conserve those chances.
Though she was a spirit mage who performed unbelievable feats, she was not all-powerful.
“They’re 300 meters behind.”
“Robin… that’s enough now. You can just hand me over. So…….”
“You said Roy, didn’t you, Melida.”
At Robin’s overbearing tone, Imelda flinched.
After a brief pause, she continued what she had to say.
“I have my pride too. You’ve done more than enough for me. No one can blame you for stopping here.”
“So you’ll just die? Without even trying to clear the stigma placed on the Tefir family?”
“…Then what do you want me to do.”
“You should at least struggle.”
Robin gradually moved closer to Serena’s side.
Even though a fast-running horse drawing near might have startled her, Serena did not dodge.
“Serena, take Melida and go to the forest first. You can do it if you use the wind spirit, right?”
“It’s possible, but we’ll still be caught all the same.”
“That won’t happen. I’ll draw them away.”
“So you’re saying you’ll be bait and die alone? You tell Melida to live, but you treat your own life so lightly.”
Serena said with a frown.
She disliked Robin’s excessive sense of loyalty.
If he were alone, he could definitely escape, so why go that far?
The surrounding spirits chattered away.
A spirit giggling that he was like a prince on a white horse.
A spirit clicking its tongue, calling him an idiot.
A spirit circling around with curious eyes.
‘If I overexert myself instead…….’
Serena snapped back to her senses.
They might get past the immediate danger, but there was no telling what would happen afterward.
She had no intention of overdoing it for people she had met only recently.
“Serena! Are you listening?”
“Huh? Ah, uh…….”
“There’s no time, so please do it right away.”
With one arm, Robin wrapped Imelda and seated her behind Serena.
As soon as Imelda sat down, she threw her arms around Serena, nearly falling off.
“What are you doing, hurry!”
“You… if you die, don’t blame me.”
Drrrdrdrdrk.
Earth clumped together in midair.
At the head was Nelson, leading six knights at a gallop.
With only 100 meters left to the target, Nelson shouted.
“Traitor who raised a hand against the Imperial Family, come here and receive your punishment!”
“Sir Nelson is impressive, tracking the target so precisely in the middle of the night.”
“They say his pursuit skills are among the best in the Third Knight Order.”
The apprentice knights maintained their speed, admiring Nelson’s ability.
They had heard of it before, but seeing it firsthand was different from hearing about it.
They had come following only Nelson’s lead, and now the target appeared right before their eyes.
Unlike the apprentice knights who looked on with admiration, Nelson’s eyebrows rose.
‘One horse has gone ahead. One stayed behind to act as bait? How laughable.’
Dudududududu!
The sound of six horses charging with knights astride them was intimidating in itself.
From a fugitive’s perspective, it was enough to drive one mad with anxiety.
50 meters, 40 meters, 30 meters…….
When the distance closed to 10 meters, the outline of the fugitive became visible.
‘Hm? There are two riding together. Are they trying to evacuate the traitor first and then buy as much time as possible.’
Nelson shouted to the apprentice knights.
“There are two together! Be careful, they may attack!”
“The one riding behind is holding a sword!”
“I’ll go first!”
After hearing Nelson’s warning, the apprentice knights approached steadily.
Behind the desperately running boy was someone in a robe, sword drawn.
It looked as though he was threatening to cut them down if they came closer.
Chaaang!
The knights all drew their swords at once.
Robin calmly waited for the timing.
‘It’s my first time fighting on horseback, so I’m tense.’
From here on out, it was a gamble.
Two knights who had closed in on both sides swung their swords simultaneously.
‘Now!’
Kaang!
In an instant, he drew his sword with his left hand and slowed the horse.
A heavy impact was transmitted to his back, but it failed to tear into Robin’s body.
“What the—…!”
“Did we catch one?”
Because of the darkness, the knights could not see what had happened to the one they struck.
A numbing sensation, as if striking a rock, traveled up their swords.
One of them nearly lost his grip.
“So, who’s it now?”
Occupying the rear of the knights, Robin immediately drove his sword into the rump of the horse positioned diagonally to the left.
With a pained cry, one horse collapsed.
‘I’m sorry. I can’t kill a knight.’
“…!”
Nelson, who was pursuing from behind, widened his eyes.
An apprentice knight rolling along the ground with his horse flashed past.
“You wretch!”
Without stopping, Robin hooked the sword of the one behind him and drove it into the rump of the horse diagonally to the right as well.
Another apprentice knight was knocked out.
‘Good. Now four left.’
“I wanted to capture him as intact as possible, but that won’t do. You may kill him! Catch him!”
At Nelson’s order to execute, three apprentice knights charged at once.
They tried to block his strange maneuver by taking the left, right, and rear, but Robin’s route went beyond their expectations.
The moment he shook off two knights, he made a sharp turn to the left.
The knights chasing Robin’s tail were forced to change direction as well.
Because they turned so hastily, the knights followed as if a diagonal line had been drawn behind Robin’s right side.
“I’ll take his head!”
‘Are knights’ horses different from ordinary horses? The speed difference is too great.’
Kagagagak!
An apprentice knight who closed in swiftly slashed at the neck of the robed figure.
“Keuk! You bastard! No, this isn’t a human!”
“Too late.”
Once again, just like earlier, he slowed down and drove his sword into the horse’s hindquarters, and another one fell away.
However, that attack exposed the identity of what was behind Robin.
It was a lump of earth shaped like a robed person.
“You dare mock us! Even if we catch you, you won’t die cleanly!”
Nelson shouted furiously from behind, but Robin let it go in one ear and out the other.
‘Now three. This is doable.’
As Robin slowed just like that, a sword brushed past over his head.
The expression of the apprentice knight whose eyes met his crumpled.
“Looks like you didn’t practice left-handed swordsmanship?”
“You little…!”
Once again, he stabbed the horse.
Hihihihing!
‘Two left.’
An apprentice knight and a knight were chasing him, one each.
Just this much already meant Robin’s plan had succeeded.
If the knight had swung an Aura-clad sword from the start, his body would have been cut in half on the spot.
‘The one giving orders must be the knight.’
“Hyah!”
Robin increased his speed.
He turned right again, but the remaining two knights did not rashly close in.
Trusting the dirt-made shield behind him, he shook off four apprentice knights using only deceleration and turning.
The pursuers realized through that last offensive just how cunning Robin was.
‘Good. Now the longer I drag this out, the more it favors me.’
Once Imelda and Serena joined up, the fight would become much easier.
He had told Serena to use the wind spirit to reach the forest as quickly as possible and then wait.
Once when making the human-shaped figure behind him, and once when fleeing toward the forest.
She had only one chance left to summon a spirit.
Imelda’s swordsmanship had also surpassed that of an ordinary person, so there was enough chance of victory.
‘If I hand the apprentice knight’s sword to the young lady, she’ll be able to stall for time… and if she uses that swordsmanship, she might even win.’
The night air swept over Robin’s sweat.
The harder the wind struck his cheeks, the greater his hope grew.
Maybe it was just his imagination, but it felt as if he could see the forest far in the distance.
‘Shall I take out the smoke bomb now.’
The moment he put his hand into his pocket to disrupt the pursuers one last time.
A flash of light burst from behind.
He quickly lowered his body and changed direction, but he couldn’t escape the range of the blue light.
Skrrk.
Hihihihing!
The hind legs of the horse Robin was riding were cleanly severed.
He reflexively leaped off and avoided being crushed by the horse, but there was no avoiding rolling across the ground.
“Khup….”
He rolled for quite a while and scraped his skin, but there was no time to complain.
The moment he sprang to his feet, what greeted Robin was a sword.
He quickly raised his own sword and blocked it.
Kang!
The force of the horse’s speed slammed straight into Robin and pushed him back.
Even as he was being pushed away, Robin used the opponent’s strength to widen the distance.
“You fight quite well. But this is the end. It would be best if you surrendered quietly.”
“If I surrender, will you spare my life.”
“That won’t be possible. We’ve seen the blood of our comrades. Still, I promise to send you off without pain.”
“Then I refuse.”
The apprentice knight who had pushed Robin back dismounted.
A knight on horseback had the advantage in mobility, so why give that up.
The question arose, but he did not bother voicing it.
“Sir Nelson, though he is an enemy, I wish to honor his spirit and face him one-on-one. Would that be acceptable?”
“I permit it. Your chivalry, I, Nelson, will guarantee.”
‘Chivalry, huh.’
Behind Robin, Nelson watched while still mounted.
If they had rushed him two-on-one, it would have become troublesome, so this was good.
Robin spun the sword in each hand round and round in place.
“My name is Eric! Before this sacred duel overseen by Sir Nelson, I would like to hear your name—”
Kang! Kaang!
Before Apprentice Knight Eric could even finish speaking, Robin charged straight forward.
Eric was angered at having his words cut off, but he focused on the enemy before his eyes.
The black-haired boy’s sword was fast, but that was all.
‘Fool. If you hold one sword in each hand, of course your strength weakens.’
Eric’s sword, gripped with both hands, was solid.
The sword of an Imperial knight who pursued unity of offense and defense would not be broken through so easily.
“It’s a sword that’s only flashy, with no substance.”
“…….”
When all of Robin’s attacks were blocked, Eric’s eyes flashed.
After dodging the attack from the right hand, he wore the smile of a victor.
“Your lower body is open.”
Shiiing!
Eric’s sword headed for Robin’s thigh.
All he had to do was cut his leg and bring victory back to Sir Nelson.
That should have been it, but….
‘Why does he look so relaxed.’
Rather than dodging the sword, Robin instead extended his leg toward Eric’s blade.
Tuk.
When the top of his foot touched the flat of the sword, Eric’s blade veered off in an unexpected direction.
At the same time, the hilt of Robin’s sword closed in beside Eric’s temple.
Cold sweat beaded on Eric’s forehead.
‘Danger….’
Paaat.
A blue light flashed and grazed past Eric’s head.
By the time Eric came to his senses, Robin had already lightly widened the distance to the side.
Robin opened his mouth toward Nelson.
“I heard it was one-on-one. Is it acceptable to interfere?”
“Eric, don’t misunderstand. It’s not that I doubted your chivalry. It’s simply that the opponent was strong.”
Eric realized belatedly what had just happened.
The black-haired boy had been hiding his skill.
At first he had been testing him, and once he was sure Eric couldn’t use Aura, he had tried to knock him out.
Eric ground his teeth.
“Again… please give me another chance.”
“I’m sorry, but that won’t do. Wouldn’t it be better to finish this quickly so we can recover our comrades.”
Nelson, still on horseback, approached behind Robin.
“So you’re going to gang up on me like that?”
“And is there a problem with that?”
“You’re Sir Nelson, right. How about showing some chivalry?”
At Robin’s suggestion, Nelson burst into loud laughter.
After five seconds of laughter faded, he opened his mouth.
“Very well. I’ll show chivalry.”
“It’s an honor.”
“By swiftly carrying out my superior’s orders.”
Robin’s expression hardened.
Eric in front, a mounted knight behind.
Sandwiched between them, Robin took a deep breath and poured strength into his legs.