I Became a Mythical Knight King

Chapter 7: Interval (2)

It happened in the blink of an eye.

I consciously slow down, forcing my opponent to react, and then accelerate in an instant, plunging into my opponent’s arms.

I launched a sharp slash towards the nape of the neck, which was clearly exposed after the punch.

My stance, positioning, and the giant kobold’s thick neck made it impossible for me to blow its head off with my sword, but it was enough.

Yoo-seong sliced through the giant kobold’s neck, leaving a gaping wound, then Yoo-seong traveled diagonally, out of the giant kobold’s grasp, and the giant kobold turned to chase after him.

Blood poured from its neck like a waterfall.

“Kwak, kwak, kwak?”

He quickly raised his hand to cover the wound in his neck, but it didn’t work.

He lost a lot of blood in a short time and staggered forward, unable to get up.

“Whoa, whoa…….”

Yoo-seong looked at the creature and slowly caught his breath.

He’d been executing extremely precise movements since he’d first dodged his javelin, but despite his cool head, his entire body was hot, and his heart was beating wildly as if it would burst at any moment.

He did what was only done in Fantasy Monarch in real life.

In Fantasy Monarch, I’d done it for the thrill of it, but the real world was different.

One small mistake could cost me my life.

Maybe it was because of that, or maybe it was because it was real, but my senses were sharpened.

I could feel the distance between enemies, as well as the movements of my body, more precisely.

It was as if I was seeing my movements with a third eye.

And then it happened.

Boo-boo-!

A magnificent horn blast rang out, and Kate’s cheerful voice, banner held high, burst out among the kobolds.

“The Heir has defeated the enemy general!”

The giant kobold who led the kobold horde was dead.

Time on the battlefield, which had stopped at the clear declaration, began to flow again.

“Ooooooh!”

“Waaaaah!”

The serf troops shouted, and the kobolds who had witnessed the death of the giant kobold stumbled back.

Even those who hadn’t seen it in the heat of battle looked back, eyes wide with horror.

The kobolds’ morale plummeted, and it was almost tangible but Kate didn’t miss the change.

Raising the banner high again, she shouted at the top of her lungs, as a brilliant golden glow was radiating from her entire body.

“Glory to Camelot!”

It was no ordinary shout.

It had the power to energize allies and demoralize enemies, and it struck fear into the hearts of the kobolds, causing them to turn and flee, even though they still outnumbered their enemies.

“Ahhhh! Glory!”

“Glory!”

The serf troops shouted, each raising their weapons at Kate’s side.

There were only a little more than a dozen of them, but their shouts seemed to shake the entire village.

“Kiek!”

“Kaak!”

The kobolds scattered in all directions and began to flee.

Those near the serf army were killed the moment they turned their backs, their backs and heads impaled on spears, pickaxes, and axes, but more than a dozen kobolds, nearly twenty in all, had escaped.

But instead of chasing after them, Kate subdued only a couple of the nearest ones, and then took control of the serf army.

Yoo-seong, too, instead of issuing a chase order, walked slowly toward the temple entrance, as none of the kobolds fled in his direction.

“Hmph.”

Sheathing his sword, Yoo-seong paused and looked at the group in front of the temple.

Then Rene, who was in the back row, ran toward him with a wide grin.

“Heir, we won! We won! We won!”

It was strange, yet fitting, that she was smiling so brightly with her bewitching face.

Yoo-seong grinned back and nodded at Rene, who was now almost in front of him.

“Yes, we won, and your magic was very good, too, you did a good job of catching the enemy off guard.”

“Thank you.”

Rene’s cheeks flushed at Yoo-seong’s praise and she pursed her lips in embarrassment, but then she smiled bashfully again.

Pushing past Rene, Yoo-seong strode toward Kate and the serf army.

Rene, following closely behind, clamped her mouth shut and wiped the smile from her face.

It was an inevitable sight.

The serf army was not invincible.

One of the serfs was lying on the ground with a gaping wound in his chest, and Kate was holding his hand as she gave him a lap pillow.

“Kwak……kwak…….”

The serf gasped and looked at his own bloodied hands.

His tear-streaked face was a mixture of fear, horror, and other emotions.

The serf troops summoned with the light.

What would become of those who died in battle?

He couldn’t know right now.

But Yoo-seong could sense in his gut that this was his last moment with the serf troop in front of him.

Kate stared at him in silence, and he wordlessly approached and lowered his stance.

What to do?

This time, instead of thinking, he simply acted on his heart.

He took the bloodied hand of a serf trooper and looked into his face.

He was younger than he had expected.

Maybe even close to a boy’s age.

What to say to a dying man?

The words he’d spoken to Rene, the encouragement he’d given Robin, the shouts he’d given to boost morale.

Yoo-seong didn’t think about it this time.

He simply squeezed the serf’s hand and spoke from his heart.

“Thank you for fighting with me.”

A smile flashed across the serf’s face for a moment but it was short-lived.

He gulped down a mouthful of blood and looked off into the distance with empty eyes.

“Mom…….”

The light vanished from his eyes.

The serf’s body faded into a blur of light as he closed his eyes.

The first serf to be struck by the giant kobold’s javelin also faded into nothingness.

The hand that held the serf’s hand, the hand that was empty, was slowly clasped by the Yoo-seong, and Kate, who had been silent, spoke up.

“It’s a victory.”

“……Yes.”

It was certainly a victory, with only a dozen of them defeating more than three times their number of kobolds.

Swallowing hard, Yoo-seong turned to face Kate.

Her face was a mixture of calm joy and wistful sadness, and for a moment, he was speechless, but then he managed a small smile.

“You’ve done well.”

“You’ve done a good job, too.”

Kate smiled a benevolent smile, almost saintly, but then she composed herself and looked back at the two kobolds that the serf troopers had tied up with ropes.

Though she didn’t say anything, Yoo-seong could see why she had captured them alive.

“For the glory of Camelot.”

“For the glory of Camelot.”

Yoo-seong replied in kind, and Kate smiled again, then faded into a faint golden glow, and the rest of the serf army, each of them saluting Yoo-seong, faded into a blur of light.

At the sight of it-the dark knight bathed in light-Robin felt her breath catch in her throat.

It was like something out of a story- – no, a novel, a legend, a myth, or something of that kind.

“The……heir to the throne of the Holy King.”

Edgar nodded eagerly at Robin’s words, which came out like a bubble.

And Yoo-seong, who hadn’t seen the two knights’ exchanges, stood up and looked back at Rene, who was standing behind him.

“Rene.”

“Yes, Heir.”

Rene replied, her expression somber from what she had just seen.

Yoo-seong turned to face Rene.

“I want you to use your light bird to scan the area around the village. Make sure there are no new kobolds approaching, and that the survivors of the village……are alive, especially Sir Willy.”

“Understood.”

It was unlikely that there would be any further attacks, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

And Sir Willy was most likely dead, but if he was alive, we had to find him and bring him back.

“Robin.”

“What? Oh, yes!”

Robin, still gazing at the Yoo-seong in awe, snapped out of her reverie and answered hastily.

Yoo-seong smiled slightly as she regained her composure, then narrowed his eyes at Robin and Edgar before speaking.

“We’ll have to heal you both first. You’ve both done a really good job.”

“Oh, no!”

“Ugh.”

It was Robin who blushed shyly at the reminder, and Edgar’s eyes were red with tears of joy.

Whether it was because they were both still young, or because they were always immersed in chivalric literature, their reactions were more than expected.

‘Well……well, it can’t be all bad.’

It’s much better than being hostile or wary.

It’s also the kind of attitude and tone of voice that I was expecting.

‘Next up, the villagers.’

Yoo-seong narrowed his eyes as he stared at the tightly closed temple entrance.

How many survivors would there be, and what to do with them?

‘Evacuation, basically.’

But before they could begin the evacuation, there was something they needed to check.

Yoo-seong approached the kobolds, who were still chained up where the serf army had disappeared.

Their jaws clenched tightly, they stared at him in horror, and he drew his sword before asking them anything.

Then the terrified kobolds opened their mouths almost simultaneously.

“I’m telling you! I’m telling you everything!”

“We followed the chief. The chief said he would join the prince who came from far away!”

“The prince?”

Rene, who was in the middle of casting a new light spell, blinked.

The words were so unexpected.

A prince.

Was there such a thing as a kobold prince?

“I don’t like that…….”

As Robin muttered to herself, Yoo-seong took a step closer to the kobolds.

Then the one who mentioned the prince spoke again, this time quickly.

“The prince leads us. We all gather together and wipe out the humans! We’re looking for fire!”

The kobolds’ eyes lit up with joy as they shouted.

They seemed to have forgotten their situation as they spoke.

“What is the prince’s name?”

“I don’t know! The prince is the prince!”

“And the fire?”

“Fire is fire!”

The kobolds knew how to use fire, as evidenced by their crude tools.

And now they’re looking for fire in the middle of nowhere?

“What else do you know about fire?”

“No, I don’t. They said they were looking for fire!”

He didn’t seem to know anything more.

Then Edgar approached and signaled to Yoo-seong with a silent gesture, which Yoo-seong understood and nodded.

As Edgar stifled the kobolds, Yoo-seong narrowed his eyes and thought.

The Prince of Kobolds.

The kobolds rallying under him.

The fire they seek.

And the Era of the Ominous Star.

This was not the only village adjacent to the vast Lotto Forest.

Perhaps all of the neighboring villages were under attack at the same time.

‘If there are refugees, they’ll all gather in Lothian.’

The neighboring city Rene had mentioned.

Yoo-seong closed his eyes.

A million thoughts and emotions rushed through his mind at once, but he forced them down and tried to think rationally.

Find the best thing I can do now, and do it.

Collect the survivors and leave town with everyone.

‘And…….’

Last one.

[You have won the battle.]

[You earned 2 Commander skill points.]

[Saved the Village: Virtue value increased slightly.]

[You gained a level.]

[Your stats increased slightly.]

[New class was added.]

[You gained 5 Commander skill points.]

[Serf troops have increased in level.]

[Kate’s level has increased.]

[Achievement: ‘Defeating an Enemy General’]

Level up.

A faint smile appeared on Yoo-seong’s face.