Chapter 90
“He seems to have conscripted the commoners. It looks like he made up for the troops lost in the civil war by scraping together every private soldier the nobles had.”
Gent said with an uncertain expression.
Everyone connected to him had been killed, so there was no way to find out now, even if they wanted to.
“He’s even crazier than I thought.”
“He’s the kind of man who kills envoys.”
Unlike the others, who were in full armor, Jade spoke. Like Arelia, he was dressed in his usual simple clothes.
The Fifth Prince had already proven he was not sane simply by killing an envoy.
After all, he was the one who had killed not only his parents but also his grandmother, without hesitation.
“I never imagined the youngest would turn out like this. He was always such a gentle, kind younger brother…….”
“He must have kept it hidden. His brothers would never have left him alone if he had revealed his murderous intent.”
Lloyd spoke, still unable to conceal his anger.
He spoke without taking his eyes off Solad Castle.
“For someone who’s insane, he has made thorough preparations against spirits. It seems he has gathered every spirit mage in the Arhan Kingdom, since spirits can’t enter the military camp. I suspect he’s using spirit stones as well.”
“It seems Jade’s reputation has reached even that place.”
Arelia grinned at Steven’s remark.
In other words, they considered Jade that much of a threat.
“How could he not know? You came here through the Arhan Kingdom as well.”
“That’s true.”
“I’ll be the one to finish the man who killed my maternal grandmother.”
Lloyd said in a murderous voice.
He spoke as though he could yield on anything else, but not on that man.
“Do you know who he is?”
“I heard he’s the one wearing a mask.”
“A mask?”
Arelia tilted her head.
Gent spoke up.
He did not know the details, but among those present, he knew the most about it.
“Unlike the other four, he never revealed his name, so he’s called Mask. He’s known to be the Fifth Prince’s closest aide. He’s also one of those who might be a Sword Master.”
“You mean he killed Clora?”
“That’s what I know.”
“If he’s driven spirit stones into every direction, intermediate spirits won’t be enough. But Jade might be different.”
“We probably don’t need to go that far. Couldn’t we capture him and force the information out of him?”
The area below grew noisy.
It was because a single knight was approaching on horseback.
He wore black armor, and without even a flag, he was slowly approaching them.
“What is that?”
“He’s probably one of the three Sword Masters. I heard all five of them wear identical blackish armor.”
Everyone’s eyes focused on the black knight on horseback.
Swish.
The black knight, who had been advancing at a leisurely pace, stopped.
He stopped at a distance just beyond the range of their arrows.
Then he drew his sword and shouted.
“Is there a knight willing to face me!”
Vrrrrr!
An aura blade surged from the drawn sword.
He was indeed one of the three Sword Masters who had appeared like comets, just as Gent had said.
“As expected, he’s here to challenge someone to single combat.”
“He must be very confident.”
As expected, Lloyd’s gaze grew heavy.
At the same time, Haines, who was guarding Lloyd, narrowed his eyes.
The black knight’s actions made clear how much he looked down on the Polstein Kingdom.
Murmurs spread.
Meanwhile, the soldiers inside the castle were thrown into considerable turmoil.
They were flustered because, as if openly assembling an army were not enough, the knight had come so brazenly to demand a duel.
But their confusion did not last long.
It soon turned into anger.
“Is there truly no one!”
The black knight’s voice rang out thunderously.
He shouted mockingly when no one came out despite all the commotion.
Naturally, the soldiers’ and nobles’ gazes turned toward the top of the walls.
To face a Sword Master alone, they had no choice but to send out a Master as well.
“So a bunch of cowards has gathered here! Bwahaha!”
“I’ll go.”
“Marquis Haines.”
Seeing the black knight provoke them without restraint, Haines spoke up.
There were three Master-level powerhouses among them, but he was the only one Lloyd could directly command.
Arelia was a War Elf, and Jade was not someone Lloyd could order around at will either.
In a sense, they were still merely allies, so Haines volunteered to go himself.
“I’ll capture him and bring him back.”
“……Don’t take any unnecessary risks.”
“I am Your Highness’s sword until the day I die. Even if I die, it will be before Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
With a confident smile, Haines bowed once in greeting, then turned around.
Of course, before doing so, he did not forget to exchange glances with Steven and the royal knights.
“I suppose the Polstein Kingdom has no knights! Or perhaps only a ratty little order…….”
Boom!
The black knight did not get to finish speaking.
Haines had leaped down from the wall and thrown a spare dagger he carried.
Despite the distance, the dagger, imbued with an aura blade, was aimed precisely at the heart, leaving the black knight no choice but to evade or block it.
The black knight chose to evade.
“The Crown Prince’s sword?”
“They call me that, too.”
Haines answered in a calm voice, having reached the black knight before he knew it.
Unlike the black knight, he was not wearing a helmet.
At the same time, a tremendous cheer erupted from the castle.
Everyone shouted at Haines’s appearance.
“You came looking for your grave. If you’d sent someone else, you might have lived another day or two.”
“Whose grave that is remains to be seen. Judging by your voice, though, you seem more likely to die too soon.”
“Heh-heh!”
A deep killing intent gathered in the pitch-black eyes visible through the helmet’s slit.
Yet Haines’s expression remained calm despite the fierce killing intent pouring from the black knight’s entire body.
He was far too familiar with killing intent of this level.
“I wonder whether you have the skill to match that mouth of yours.”
“I wonder whether an old man can withstand my sword. Your bones must be brittle with age by now.”
Whoosh!
A strangely unpleasant dark-brown aura blade slashed toward Haines’s neck.
The black knight had suddenly swung his sword as if ambushing him.
Yet Haines evaded the sword with extraordinary fluidity, as though he had anticipated it.
Swoosh!
Haines thrust his sword.
He attacked with only the minimum movement necessary.
“Hmph!”
The thrust was aimed precisely at the lower abdomen, but unfortunately, the tip of Haines’s sword failed to reach the black knight’s body.
He had timed the thrust for the instant before the black knight could recover his sword, but the knight’s shield blocked it.
Swish.
Haines’s sword did not stop.
He used the rebound off the shield to redirect it toward the horse the black knight was riding.
“Not so fast!”
The slash curved sharply downward, as though he had aimed at the horse from the beginning, and bewilderment flashed in the black knight’s eyes.
He had not expected Haines to continue his attack so naturally, like flowing water.
Nor had he expected him to target the horse, so the black knight hurriedly swung his sword.
Clang!
The black knight’s aura blade, bursting with fierce power, collided in midair with Haines’s aura blade, which contained only as much mana as necessary.
It was the first time their swords had clashed.
“Hmm!”
Wrinkles formed between Haines’s brows at the powerful recoil he felt through the blade.
The black knight’s aura blade was more formidable than he had expected.
He had thought its density would be low because so much aura was being wasted, but after clashing directly, that was clearly not the case.
‘I didn’t think he would be this strong.’
Unless one had mana to spare, one normally tried to minimize mana consumption as much as possible.
Fighting efficiently so as not to waste mana was both standard and fundamental.
But the black knight was different.
That was why Haines had thought his level was low, but after clashing with him, he found that the black knight was not far behind him after all.
‘A prolonged battle is out of the question. I have to finish this quickly.’
Haines’s gaze settled.
Though being a Sword Master had slowed the aging of his body, he was already seventy-one years old.
The black knight, by contrast, looked no older than thirty, so Haines could not hope to compete with him physically.
Kakakakang!
Since it was advantageous to use the experience he had accumulated over the years to settle the fight as quickly as possible, Haines drew up even more mana and launched a fierce assault.
As he had decided, he pressed the attack relentlessly from the outset.
“The old man’s strong. Should I call it the vigor of old age? You’re terrifying.”
The black knight spoke, seeming slightly surprised by the spectacle of aura blades whipping around like a storm.
Haines did not answer.
He had to pour even the strength needed to speak into his sword.
“But what is that armor made of? It’s incredibly tough. It isn’t iron armor, so it looks like it’s made from monster hide. How can it withstand an aura blade?”
Clang!
The black knight, who had dismounted and was fighting Haines, tilted his head.
The armor he wore was special as well, but it was inferior to Haines’s.
Even special armor processed with magic could not withstand an aura blade.
Yet Haines’s armor, of all things, was blocking his aura blade.
Ssshh!
Haines did not answer this time either.
Instead, he unleashed a sharp slash.
A concise yet threatening strike.
“You don’t seem inclined to tell me. Well, it doesn’t matter. I can kill the old man and take it.”
Greed appeared in the black knight’s eyes.
The armor he wore now boasted better defensive power than any magical armor in the Arhan Kingdom, but it was still inferior to Haines’s armor.
That was why the black knight grew covetous.
He decided to kill Haines and take the armor.
‘The color won’t be a problem. I can just dye it.’
Kwoooom!
The black knight’s aura blade suddenly grew enormous.
After a massive amount of mana was injected into it, it grew to nearly five meters long.
“Kugh!”
Haines was pushed back by the aura blade, which had grown enormous in an instant, carving a deep furrow in the ground.
The impact had grown proportionally with the aura blade.
“Let’s finish this now!”
Boom! Bang! Bang!
No sooner had he opened the distance than the black knight launched a barrage of attacks.
He brought the huge aura blade down on Haines like an axe.
Yet it was not the enlarged aura blade that was giving Haines trouble.
‘There’s something strange about this aura blade. It isn’t a normal aura blade. I could understand it being crude, but the fact that my aura blade is dispersing is another matter…….’
He could understand the inefficient use of mana.
If mana was overflowing, there was no need to minimize its consumption.
But what bewildered Haines was the black knight’s unusual aura blade.
At the moment of collision, it seemed to subtly scatter his aura blade, and Haines could not hide his bewilderment.
‘It leaves a disgusting feeling, too.’
He had met quite a few Sword Masters over the course of his life, but this was the first time he had encountered anything like it.
Moreover, the energy emanating from the black knight was strangely unsettling as well.
“Tsk! I wanted to finish this with my own hands.”
Haines’s eyes widened as he blocked the black knight’s slash.
Two black figures had drawn close, almost within arm’s reach, without him noticing.
They were two knights wearing the same armor as the black knight.
Moreover, the energy they gave off was astonishingly similar.
“That’s because you’re weak.”
“If you were going to finish him, you should have done it earlier—before we arrived.”
“Now that you’re here, just finish it quickly.”
At the black knight’s grumbling, the two newcomers immediately charged at Haines.
They closed in from either side, targeting his head and abdomen.
Crack!
Haines clenched his teeth as the two swords drove in like lightning.
He knew he had to evade, but the black knight’s sword was bearing down from above, leaving him unable to move even though he wanted to.
He had fallen into a trap.
“Cowards……!”