The Third Son of a Medieval Knight Family Chapter 23 - Knight of the Principality (9)

Their campsite was situated on a low hill slightly off the highway.

It was positioned at the edge of a forest, providing good cover so their situation wouldn’t be visible to others, while still allowing them to clearly see any enemies approaching—an excellent location.

A few mercenaries waved torches, trying to estimate the number of enemies.

However, it was already midnight, and the enemies seemed to have disguised themselves well, making it difficult to gauge their numbers.

One mercenary muttered nervously.

“Attacked twice in one day? This is some terrible luck…”

“Shit, did someone do something blasphemous?”

The advance of attackers, whose numbers were unknown in the darkness, approached like an unfathomable terror.

Moreover, these consecutive attacks were enough to seem like some kind of divine revelation to these men.

Even the most experienced veterans of the mercenary company began to grow increasingly anxious.

Maksim, who read the atmosphere before anyone else, hardened his face and shouted.

“You idiots! Eyes front! And you! Rookie, you dog!”

Maksim approached the novice mercenary who was trembling and making the sign of the cross, then kicked his shin with all his might.

“Argh!”

“You piece of shit! The enemy is right in front of us and you’re getting distracted? I’ll! Make! You! Take! Responsibility! If! There’s! A! Gap! In! Our! Formation!”

With each fragmented curse, he continued kicking the shin until the rookie mercenary collapsed, unable to bear the pain.

But Maksim paid no mind and grabbed the rookie’s hair, continuing to inflict merciless violence while growling.

“We’re under attack, you bastards! From now on, if anyone spouts nonsense, I’ll kill you myself before those guys get the chance. Understood?”

“Yes, Captain!”

“I’m sorry! Hey, enjoying the show? Eyes front.”

Maksim dusted off his hands and roughly shoved the rookie aside.

The veterans routinely picked up the disoriented rookie and retreated.

‘Whew… that was close.’

Though mercenaries were rough and violent beings, they were surprisingly easy to break.

Living constantly with their lives at stake, they easily fell into superstition, and while outwardly praising violence and pleasure, they inwardly feared God.

If discipline wasn’t maintained at times like this, the mercenaries would quickly fall into an uncontrollable state.

With attackers approaching right in front of them, that meant death.

Maksim drew his sword and shouted sharply toward the front.

“Who are you! We are the Birch Tree Mercenary Company serving Lord Bostov, a member of the veche. Surely you don’t intend to attack a city councilor?”

As long as the opponents weren’t barbarians, the name of a city councilor was quite an effective shield.

But today, luck didn’t seem to be on their side.

The attackers continued approaching as if unbothered, even making their footsteps louder.

‘Maybe I should have listened to the lord after all.’

These reckless attackers seemed determined to plunder regardless of who their targets were.

Maksim began to regret not following Bostov’s suggestion to force-march into the city.

But it was already too late.

The distance between them grew closer, and as their eyes adjusted to the darkness, the silhouettes of the attackers gradually became visible.

Enemies with gleaming eyes, their armor concealed under thick cloth, appeared to outnumber them at least twice over.

“So it’s a fight to the end? If you attack, we absolutely won’t back down! I hope you’re prepared!”

Despite Maksim’s final threats, they had no effect.

One of them with a quilted hood jumped out, pulled something out, and started drawing it back.

“Take cover, crossbow!”

Maksim felt something quickly passing over his head.

As his heart chilled, Maksim shouted.

“You bastards! Raise your shields, boys! They’ve got crossbows, so they’re not barbarians—don’t be scared!”

The mercenaries, who had worried that the fleeing barbarians might have called for reinforcements, brightened their expressions and raised their shields vigorously.

As long as it wasn’t those demon-like creatures, they could handle this!

The Birch Tree Mercenary Company’s reputation as an elite force in Permikoff was not unwarranted.

Though the attackers fired their crossbows repeatedly, they couldn’t easily penetrate the tight formation set up on the hill.

The enemies, seeming to realize the defense was quite solid, began to hesitate slightly.

Maksim lowered his stance and watched the enemies’ movements with hawk-like eyes.

‘A mercenary company of this size wandering around a battlefield… What? Huh?’

That’s when it happened.

A sound of something being smashed echoed from the rear of the enemies.

****

Viktor slowly backed away from the hill and began circling around.

He had left Lukovich behind as he would likely just get in the way.

Fortunately, the darkness provided cover not only for the enemy but for him as well.

While the two sides were in a standoff on the hill, Viktor quickly managed to reach the enemy’s rear.

He calmly observed the enemies and drew the mace attached to his waist.

The mace, which had briefly turned a barbarian warrior into a bird, was still intact.

‘This will be better in a tight space.’

Viktor charged.

His massive body, already enormous in build and now equipped with armor and various weapons, began accelerating at an unbelievable speed.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

One of the attackers turned his head at the strange sound coming from behind.

“What’s that noise… Wh-what?”

He gaped, as if witnessing something unbelievable, and waved his hands.

A man like a huge beast was rapidly closing in like a chariot.

When the attacker’s eyes met Viktor’s, he unwittingly let out a deflating sound.

And that was his last words.

Crack!

Hit by a charge with full body weight behind it, the enemy flew away with the sound of something breaking, crumpling inward.

“Wh-what’s happening!”

As their comrade from the rear flew toward them as a pulp, the enemies began to panic.

Viktor gave them no time to regain their composure.

Having charged without losing any speed despite crushing one person, Viktor mercilessly swung his mace.

Thwack! Crack!

As the mace struck their heads precisely, the enemies’ heads caved in with the sound of breaking pumpkins.

“You crazy monster!”

One enemy turned and lunged at Viktor, swinging a small dagger to target a gap in his armor.

Viktor grabbed the enemy’s hand with an expressionless face and applied pressure.

“Aaaaargh! Shit! Aaargh!”

As the opponent’s hand was instantly crushed, he let out a terrible scream.

“Noisy.”

Viktor calmly struck the man’s head with the hand holding the mace.

Clang!

With a sound too crisp to be a human hand and helmet colliding, the enemy collapsed, spouting blood from his nose.

All of this happened in less than 10 seconds after he charged.

The enemies were involuntarily backing away from this terrifying knight.

The two eyes, clearly visible without a helmet, seemed to flash with fire even in the middle of the night.

‘I can’t give them a chance.’

There were more enemies than expected.

Even Viktor’s clothing wasn’t made of steel.

If he let them surround him and stab through a gap, even he would be in danger.

He instinctively knew how to prevent this.

‘Instill fear.’

In the darkness, the knight opened his mouth ominously.

“If you want your head to fly off, come at me.”

“Th-this… this crazy…”

As the enemies hesitated, Viktor took a large step forward.

It was just one step, but his movement, seemingly appearing right in front of them instantly, froze the enemies in place.

Without missing that moment, Viktor swung his mace again.

The mace, deliberately targeting the face, struck one enemy’s facial area, leaving a terrible wound.

Splat!

As another enemy fell without even screaming, fear began to spread across the enemies’ faces.

“Hey! He’s just one man! Let’s all charge together!”

The one who seemed to be the enemy leader shouted in an enraged voice.

That’s when it happened.

“Kill them all, you bastards!”

Maksim, who had been stunned on the hill, hurriedly urged his subordinates down and joined the battlefield.

“Ugh!”

“Argh, shit!”

With all attention focused on the rear, the enemies collapsed helplessly as they were hit from behind again.

“Run, this is insane!”

“A knight! Why is a knight here, damn it!”

The enemies, scattering in all directions, were no longer a threat.

Viktor was alone, and the Birch Tree Mercenary Company’s men outnumbered them, but the enemies began desperately fleeing, avoiding Viktor’s side.

Watching the fleeing enemies briefly, he quickly rushed behind one who was relatively close and swung his mace.

The leg of the enemy hit in the thigh twisted grotesquely, and he collapsed with a scream.

‘This time I should capture a few.’

One might not be enough.

Viktor watched another fleeing enemy’s back and lightly threw his mace.

With a thud, the figure collapsed, and Viktor smiled with satisfaction.

The accuracy was much higher than expected.

With this level of precision, he could use throwing the mace as a finishing move in future fights if necessary.

As Viktor smiled, the mercenaries approaching him flinched.

‘Indeed, they say all knights are war machines… He seems to enjoy killing enemies.’

‘I should never mess with him. He’s truly terrifying.’

****

Once the situation had settled somewhat, Maksim came running up, bowing deeply.

“Oh my, Sir Knight! Thank you so much. We’ve survived once more thanks to you!”

Maksim couldn’t believe his eyes at first.

Without even being asked, the knight had circled around to strike the rear.

All the knights he had seen before were arrogant and obsessively fixated on glory.

Despite their words about chivalry, they were the kind of people who would kill everyone if things went wrong—people who were bad for your heart if kept close.

Though he expected the knight to join the battle since knights love combat, if Viktor were like the others Maksim had seen, he would naturally charge through the front on horseback.

So, he thought that if Viktor opened the front line, they would break formation and charge together…

‘Thanks to his surprise attack from behind, we won more easily than expected.’

Of course, if they had clashed head-on, even after the knight’s charge swept through, there would inevitably have been casualties.

But because of Viktor’s surprise attack from behind, the enemies’ attention shifted to the rear, and Maksim and his mercenaries could cut through them like cheese.

No one had died, and at most there were just a few injuries.

For mercenaries whose bodies were their assets, they couldn’t help but be incredibly grateful.

Viktor calmly shook his head.

“It’s nothing. We’re traveling together after all. This much is only natural.”

“Ah…!”

Viktor didn’t even boast, but rather seemed indifferent, as if he had done something obvious.

His attitude left a deep impression on Maksim.

‘If there’s anyone in this principality worthy of being called a true knight, it must be this Sir Knight!’

While he was moved, the mercenaries dragged over the surviving enemies.

“Sir Knight! Here they are.”

“Oh, good work.”

One with a shattered leg, and another who was knocked unconscious after being hit in the back with a mace.

They were all captured by Viktor.

Bostov, who had been standing at a distance, came running over with an angry expression and shouted.

“You cursed wretches! How dare you try to rob right in front of the city?”

He spat skillfully and began unleashing curses with eloquence.

It was quite a quick change of attitude for someone who had been trembling and losing his mind during the battle.

‘In some ways, he’s quite the merchant…’

As Viktor looked at him with an incredulous expression, Maksim cleared his throat and began to restrain his employer.

“Now, now. Lord Bostov. Please calm down. These men were captured by the knight.”

“Ah, of course! Excellent, Sir Viktor. Truly, if you hadn’t been here today, who knows what would have happened…!”

Bostov now began praising him extravagantly.

Viktor waved his hand to stop him.

There were more important matters now than hearing such courtesies.

Maksim perceptively approached and said.

“Are you planning to interrogate them?”

“Yes, I need to know who they are and why they’re lurking near the city.”

“If that’s the case, please leave it to us. We’re all quite skilled at it.”

Viktor looked at him for a moment, then nodded.

Even if it was an interrogation, he didn’t particularly know much about torture methods.

He had only thought of beating them up.

‘It’s better to leave it to the professionals.’

Maksim smiled cruelly.

“Thank you. I won’t disappoint you.”

One of the prisoners, lying face down as he heard this, screamed.

“Sir Knight! Sir Knight! Please! I’ll tell you anything! Just not torture! Mmph! Mmph!”

“Quiet them down. Pretty ones. Let’s play rough tonight.”

The mercenaries, already on edge from the night attack, grinned, showing their teeth as if they had found good toys.

Viktor watched the prisoners being dragged away with their mouths gagged, then turned away dispassionately.

Bostov was waiting for him, wiping his forehead.

“Well, let’s leave the rough business to them. If it’s alright with you, would you like to have a drink? My heart just won’t calm down.”

“Oh, sounds good.”

Viktor wasn’t soft enough to show mercy even to those who planned a night attack.

He was already a fully formed, hardened warrior.

Behind the two men as they turned away, muffled screams began to echo.