I Became a Mythical Knight King

Chapter 11: Lothian (2)

A commander breaks away from his unit and goes into enemy territory alone.

It was a risky move but some victories are only won by taking risks.

‘Seven steps.’

Yoo-seong sized up the distance between him and the big kobold on a wolf, if you will.

Anyone could do basic range-finding, but Yoo-seong’s was special.

He did a very precise distance measurement.

How far between him and someone else.

The distance between him and an object.

How long or wide something is.

Just by looking at it, he could measure the distance almost exactly.

But that wasn’t the only thing Yoo-seong could do.

Fantasy Monarch allowed him to perceive more clearly.

Yoo-seong could measure the intervals between the attacks.

Or, more accurately, it was more of a feeling.

He could feel whether or not the lines he drew between his enemies and himself met in the ever-changing situation, and expressed this in steps.

One step and the attack reaches.

Two or more steps and it wouldn’t.

This was not an ability he had acquired through training.

Nor was it an ability that came with being born into this world, like chivalry.

It was a natural ability.

An inherent power he’d possessed since birth.

It was thanks to this ability that he was able to evade enemy attacks by the narrowest of margins, both in the Fantasy Monarch and in the real world.

‘Five steps.’

He was in the front line to attack Baron Latus.

He hadn’t expected to go deep into enemy territory.

Rather, the big kobold had spotted the Yoo-seong and leaped forward with his wolf in a show of strength.

‘Three steps.’

The gap narrowed further.

Their eyes locked, and in that instant, the one who had made the wolf leap swung his mace at Yoo-seong.

It was a thunderbolt of a strike.

It was a blow with enough force to knock a fully armed knight out of the air, and with the wolf’s leap, the pressure felt like a truck ramming into you.

If it hit, it was sure to shatter any part of him but Yoo-seong stared straight at the oncoming attack and didn’t flinch or duck.

‘Three steps.’

He stopped.

He doesn’t move forward, just stops and tilts his upper body.

The mace swings with terrifying force in front of Yoo-seong’s eyes but it doesn’t reach.

It passes in front of his nose, barely a finger’s breadth away, striking nothing but air.

And in that moment, the gap between him and Yoo-seong changed.

‘One step.’

The mace wielder panicked.

His stance collapsed as he swung with all his might, hitting nothing but air.

The wolf, having just landed, stiffened as it absorbed the shock of landing on all fours.

In the meantime, Yoo-seong reversed his grip on the sword.

He stabbed his sword diagonally into the flank of the giant kobold, which had half-rotated its body to swing its mace, exposing its entire back and side to Yoo-seong.

“Kwak!”

It let out a guttural shriek as the sword pierced its tautly drawn side, causing it to lose its grip on the mace.

Yoo-seong let go of his sword and pivoted.

He kicked off the ground and climbed onto the wolf’s back, taking in the sight of the giant kobold that missed its mace and the wolf startled by its master’s sudden scream, and pulled out a dagger from his inventory.

This time, he reversed the grip and plunged it into the giant kobold’s throat.

“Crack!”

The giant kobold let out a gasp and stiffened.

Yoo-seong twisted the dagger in its throat, opening the wound, and pulled it out in one swift motion.

“Ugh…….”

A groan, not a scream, came out of the mouth of the giant kobold as it began to spurt a fountain of blood from its neck.

Instead of attacking it again, Yoo-seong leapt off the wolf’s back, and the giant kobold let out several more grunts before sliding off the wolf and onto the ground.

-Thump!

Everyone could hear the sound despite the din of the battlefield.

Naturally, everyone’s attention was focused.

And then there was silence.

The kobolds were open-mouthed and stunned, as were Baron Latus’ soldiers.

Even the wolf that had lost its masters was confused and did not move, so the entire battlefield seemed to have stopped.

But even at this moment, there were those who moved.

“Fireball!”

Rene’s booming cry came from far away.

A ball of flame, larger than a man’s head, landed in the middle of the kobolds and exploded.

Kwagang!

“Kwahhhhh!”

“Kwah! Kwah!”

Screams erupted from the kobolds.

They were densely packed, so the damage was heavy.

It looked like at least a dozen kobolds had been caught in the blast.

The wolf carrying the giant kobold was also covered in flames and letting out a muffled scream.

And that was the moment.

“Glory to Camelot!”

A brilliant golden glow came from Yoo-seong’s back.

Instead of pulling his sword out from the flank of the fallen giant kobold, Yoo-seong turned around and reached out.

He saw Kate riding toward him on her steed.

As soon as she saw him, she reached out as well, though it hadn’t been prearranged, and he grabbed her hand, leaping up and mounting her steed.

“Kate, the sword!”

“Use it!”

Kate thrust out her left pelvis as if to flick her waist, and Yoo-sung grabbed the sword hanging from her belt and held it high, shouting.

“All troops, charge!”

The serf troops echoed the guttural cry.

“Woooooooooo!”

With a blast of horns, the serf army charged, and Yoo-seong saw not them, but Baron Latus’ soldiers.

And they, too, moved.

For a moment they paused, looking at each other, but then they charged, shouting.

“Go! Go! Go! Go!”

“Tear them apart!”

Baron Latus’ knights shouted back, charging as well.

The kobolds still outnumbered them but now that the momentum had completely shifted to their side, this was going to be a real fight.

As the kobolds in the front row died, the kobolds in the back turned and began to flee.

It was the beginning of a losing battle and whenever casualties explode in a turn, that’s when one side starts to lose.

The kobolds that turned their backs to escape were easy prey for the serf troops and soldiers.

-Pot, pot, pot!

Vanadain’s arrows pierced the backs of the fleeing kobolds, and Rene’s magic cut them down.

“Annihilate!”

Yoo-seong shouted, leaping from his steed and charging at the kobolds.

He was like a wolf in a flock of sheep as he weaved his way through the kobolds, swinging Kate’s sword.

“Kiaak!”

“Kak!”

With each swing of his sword, the kobolds fell.

The kobolds, already broken, struggled to get away from Yoo-seong, so much so that they couldn’t even make a good escape.

After a while as Yoo-seong sliced through the kobolds in front of him, he instinctively realized that the enemy was vanquished.

The last of the kobolds fell to Vanadain’s arrow as he fled.

Yoo-seong drew in a ragged breath and looked back.

The serf troops and Baron Latus’ soldiers stared back, their faces filled with recognition.

Kate was grinning broadly as she held the flag high, and far away, Rene was jumping up and down with delight.

Robin and Edgar were also smiling, watching Yoo-seong.

Yoo-seong knew what to do at a time like this.

He raised his sword high and declared victory with a gesture.

“Waaaaaaaah!”

The serf troops and Baron Latus’ soldiers cheered in unison.

Kate waved the banner of Camelot wildly, and Rene began to run toward Yoo-seong.

Seeing her, Yoo-seong hummed happily.

“Status window.”

Now that he won, he needed to check.

—

[You won the battle]

[You gained 5 commander skill points]

[Evil Extermination: Your Virtue value has increased slightly]

[Military Salvation: Your Virtue value has increased slightly]

[Level up]

[Kingdom Swordsmanship Lv2]

[Imperial Swordsmanship Lv2]

[The number of units you can command has increased]

[Gained 5 Commander Skill Points]

[Serf troops leveled up]

[Wizard: Rene’s level increased]

[Achievement: ‘Annihilate the Enemy’]

—

Yoo-seong smiled.

* * *

“Heir, we won, we won, we won!”

Rene, who was so excited that she ran over and hugged Yoo-seong, let out a cry of joy.

Yoo-seong returned the favor and hugged her tightly, but only for a moment.

For Rene had forgotten-no, almost everyone else on the battlefield had forgotten-but there was one important matter that needed to be confirmed.

“Rene, where is Baron Latus?”

“We won- huh?”

Rene blinked once, then opened her eyes wide again, and turned quickly to look at a spot.

Baron Latus had fallen from his horse after being struck by the giant kobold.

A mere fall is enough to send a man to his death, but being struck by a mace and sent flying could have been very dangerous.

Luckily, Baron Latus was not doomed.

A horseman on horseback-nay, one of Baron Latus’ knights-rode up to Yoo-seong and Rene, removed his helmet, and turned to face them.

“Sir Simone.”

Sir Simone-a middle-aged knight with graying hair whose name Rene recognized on reflex-gave Rene an eye salute, then looked back at Yoo-seong.

“Thank you for your assistance. You helped us win.”

Yoo-seong hesitated for a moment about what to say, then simply nodded.

He didn’t have to, for there was someone else who would.

“Lord Simone, what about Hugo, is he okay, huh?”

Rene asked with urgency, and Lord Simone smiled a smile of satisfaction.

“He’s injured, but fortunately, I don’t think his injuries will be life-threatening.”

“Hah, thank goodness.”

With a sweep of her hand across her chest, Rene cleared her throat a few times before speaking the words she needed to say now.

“Sir Simon, let me introduce you.”

Pausing for a moment, Rene puffed out her chest and pointed to Yoo-seong with a regal and cheerful expression.

“This is Yoo-seong, the Heir to the Light!”

Robin and Edgar would have gasped in surprise at Rene’s introduction, but not Sir Simone.

Unlike the first two, he was unaware of Rene’s revelation, nor did he know what the Heir to the Light was.

Because of this, he calmly spoke with a look that seemed to say, ‘So, despite the unusual name, he must be someone with an exceptionally grand title—well, judging by the remarkable chivalry he displays, he does seem quite skilled.’

“I am Simone, knight of Baron Latus.”

“My pleasure.”

Yoo-sung replied calmly, and Rene pouted her lips slightly in disappointment when the scene she was expecting didn’t happen.

Yoo-seong smiled slightly at Rene’s response, then looked past Baron Latus’ soldiers, who were surprised to see the legion disappear in a flash of light, and toward the Baron’s city of Lothian.