The Third Son of a Medieval Knight Family Chapter 54 - Tribal Conflict (19)

“Sir! There’s an arrow in your shoulder…!”

Viktor examined his own shoulder.

The arrow that had struck him during the earlier battle was still embedded in his shoulder.

“Well… now that I’m suddenly checking, it’s starting to hurt.”

Despite Viktor’s light joke, the others didn’t laugh at all.

What appeared on their faces was nothing but admiration and respect.

‘Truly a great knight… the rumors weren’t exaggerated after all.’

‘Two people handled all these numbers? And while wounded by an arrow…? Just what is this man…’

Having finally reunited with the knights, Viktor returned to the central square.

While the attendants hastily tended to the collapsed Yelchin and provided basic treatment, Viktor was hearing more detailed accounts from the knights.

During this, when one knight looked at Viktor’s shoulder in surprise, he too became aware of the wound he had forgotten about.

“For now, you should also receive emergency treatment. Hey! What are you all doing!”

“Yes, yes! Please wait just a moment!”

As the knights scolded with fierce expressions, the attendants’ movements became even more bustling.

Viktor calmly spoke up.

“There seem to be quite a few injured… I can wait, so treat yourselves first.”

However, they all shook their heads in unison.

“We’ve already taken care of our own treatment before coming here. Right now, you two are in the most danger. Please give me your arm.”

The attendants skillfully opened Viktor’s armor to the left and right, then examined the embedded arrow with tense expressions.

“Sir, we’ll remove the arrowhead and then stop the bleeding. It will hurt quite a bit, but…”

Viktor nodded.

He found it strange that he wasn’t particularly tense.

‘Why is that… it doesn’t hurt that much…’

At first he thought his senses were numbed from the excitement of battle, but even now that he had calmed down, the area where the arrow was embedded wasn’t that uncomfortable.

While Viktor was absent-mindedly caught up in this strange feeling, one attendant skillfully broke the arrow shaft.

Then, looking at Viktor who didn’t even flinch, he carefully spoke up.

“…Sir, do you perhaps need alcohol?”

“Alcohol? Ah, are you trying to disinfect?”

“…Disinfect? Are you perhaps referring to sulfur?”

Viktor sent a slightly surprised look and continued speaking.

“Sulfur? Do you disinfect with sulfur?”

“No. We don’t have any with us. We’ll just finish the emergency treatment for now, and if the wound festers or develops pus, you’ll need to receive treatment from the healers in the castle. Then sulfur could be used.”

When one attendant boastfully replied as if showing off his knowledge, Viktor’s face twisted strangely.

‘They disinfect with sulfur…? Can this really be trusted?’

“Sir, you don’t need to worry. Radovitz has skilled healers and priests dispatched from nearby monasteries. The alcohol is… in case it hurts a lot…”

“Ah, I see. Thank you.”

Viktor received a bottle of alcohol just in case.

Then he poured half of it on the wound area and cheerfully drank the other half.

The attendants looked at him with strange expressions, then firmly gripped his arm.

“Sir, we’ll pull it out in one go!”

Thud!

When the arrowhead was pulled out far more easily than expected, the expressions of those around brightened.

“Ah, fortunately it doesn’t seem to have been embedded deeply. It would have been serious if the bone had been damaged…”

The attendant who had pulled out the arrowhead examined Viktor’s face.

Surprisingly, he had only slightly frowned and didn’t seem to have any major problems.

“Thank you. Please stop the bleeding.”

The attendant began carefully wrapping clean cloth around it with a respectful expression.

‘Even those with considerable endurance would cry like little girls from this much pain…’

What a patient knight indeed!

“Sir, you’re truly remarkable…”

As the attendant finished the treatment and quietly bowed, someone spoke to him from behind.

“Of course, Lord Viktor is a knight sent by God.”

Viktor’s expression instantly brightened.

“Lukovich, are you safe!”

“Lord Viktor…!”

His attendant Lukovich, who was covered in dirt here and there but seemed to have no major injuries, was looking at him with a worried expression.

---

“…So, Sir Yelchin’s squire saved me.”

“I see…”

Viktor nodded.

He could see a young-looking squire in the distance bowing his head toward him.

Viktor gladly waved his hand.

“By the way, Lord Viktor, are you not in pain?”

Lukovich asked worriedly while examining the shoulder where blood was slowly seeping through, but Viktor shook his head.

“It’s bearable, so don’t worry. By the way, how is Sir Yelchin’s condition?”

Lukovich spoke with a dark expression.

“Honestly, it doesn’t look good. He’s lost too much blood…”

“Is that so… I understand.”

Viktor felt the need to return to the castle quickly, even for Yelchin’s sake.

“Where are the knights?”

“Sir, I was just looking for you.”

As if sensing that he was being talked about, one knight quietly approached from behind them.

“How is your wound?”

“The attendants are skilled. Thanks to them, it should be fine.”

The knight nodded with a grave expression.

“That’s fortunate… Those barbarian bastards, pulling such tricks…!”

The knight ground his teeth and spoke again.

“While it’s unforgivable that these scum dared to injure several knights of the principality… right now there are many who are tired and wounded. It would be difficult to continue fighting like this.”

For Viktor, who had been worried about what to do if the knights wanted to fight more, this was welcome news.

“I think the same. Sir, let’s go and speak together. I think it would be better to return to the castle for now.”

“Ah, let’s do that. Everyone will agree. But…”

When the knight suddenly trailed off, Viktor tilted his head.

“That barbarian tied up next to Sir Yelchin… why exactly did you capture him?”

“Ah, you mean that one.”

Viktor’s eyes gleamed coldly.

“I have some things to ask him.”

---

“Urgh…!”

The man frowned and barely opened his eyes.

His head was dizzy and he couldn’t see well ahead, making it impossible to easily regain his senses.

He couldn’t overcome the rising nausea and dry-heaved.

“Ugh, damn… what?!”

His vision spun around.

The man could instinctively realize, along with the feeling of his face being stretched like crazy, that he was hanging upside down.

“Th-this shit… urgh…”

As soon as he barely came to his senses, he couldn’t help but groan from the pain rushing from his face.

When he unconsciously swept his tongue around inside his mouth, the pain that rose was not ordinary.

He could finally recall why he had ended up in this situation.

‘That monster-like knight…!’

The utterly inhuman knight who had literally torn apart his subordinates with an axe and approached him in an instant.

He had definitely been knocked unconscious after taking that bastard’s punch.

‘Fucking bastard… if only that bastard hadn’t been there…!’

The man struggled, but since his entire body was tied up, he couldn’t move at all.

Rather, only the spinning sensation in his vision made the nausea rise even more.

That’s when it happened.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

Someone was approaching from behind.

“Wh-who is it!”

A shadow fell, and a knight revealed himself.

It was Viktor, the knight who had slaughtered his subordinates and beaten him up.

“You slept longer than I expected.”

Viktor was neither angry nor mocking.

He was simply greeting him with an indifferent expression.

That sight sent chills through the man, who shouted with a frightened expression.

“Put me down, you bastard!”

At the man’s shout, Viktor said nothing and simply punched the man’s stomach.

“Bleurgh!”

As the man vomited while hanging upside down, Viktor muttered in a leisurely tone.

“You’d better save the talking for later. I have many things to ask you.”

“Y-you shit…!”

Viktor reached out and untied the rope that had been suspending the man.

The man who fell directly onto his own vomit screamed.

‘Where is this… I need to find a chance to escape…!’

The man instinctively looked around.

However, the surroundings submerged in complete darkness made it difficult to distinguish what was there.

Viktor noticed his gaze and spoke up.

“There’s nothing here. We’re on our way back.”

“…Going back?”

“Radovitz. You should understand well enough without me saying more.”

“…Damn.”

It seemed the operation he had planned had ended in failure.

The man glared at Viktor with a frustrated expression, grinding his teeth.

“So, what do you want from me!”

“I want many things.”

Viktor knelt on one knee, sat down, and faced the man eye to eye before speaking again.

“What’s your name?”

“Fuck off!”

When the man thrust his face forward and shouted, Viktor showed no change in expression and simply reached out to grasp the man’s ankle.

Crunch!

With a horrible sound, the ankle was crushed, and the man screamed from unbearable pain.

“Aaaaaargh!!”

“Sorry, but I’ve never properly learned torture techniques.”

Not stopping there, Viktor grabbed the other ankle and applied pressure again.

“Aaaaaargh, what crazy talk is thisaaargh!”

“What that means is, it’s difficult to control the force. I don’t know methods to cause pain without killing you. If you don’t want to die, you’d better speak quickly. This isn’t a threat but sincere advice.”

The man was horrified by Viktor’s words while writhing in agony from both ankles being crushed.

‘Damn, is this bastard really insane!’

The statement that he might really kill him since he didn’t know how to torture sounded eerily more frightening.

He thought he might really die instantly if he made a mistake.

“Now, next are both wrists. If you don’t want to become a cripple, speak. Who are you?”

Viktor didn’t even wait for an answer and moved his hand toward the man’s wrist again.

The man struggled and desperately answered as if screaming.

“I-I’m Tumen! Tumen! I’ll talk, I’ll talk, so stop for a moment!”

Viktor kept his hand on the wrist and spoke again in an emotionless voice.

“Good, Tumen. Thank you for telling me your name. Who are you, and what were you doing there?”

‘Damn…’

When Tumen met Viktor’s eyes, he shuddered at the feeling of all strength draining from his body.

There was no emotion whatsoever in his eyes.

Even looking into those abyss-like deep pupils, he could only see his own face reflected, unable to read anything else.

In the end, Tumen was completely intimidated.

Soon his mouth slowly began to open again.

---

“So Tumen, you’re saying you’re the third son of the Grand Chief of the steppes?”

“…That’s right. My father is Grand Chief Yugrichi. Damn… if father saw me like this, he’d try to kill me…”

Tumen hung his head as if finding himself pathetic.

Not only had he failed in his operation and been defeated, but now he was captured by the enemy and even had his ankles smashed.

He was finished as a warrior now.

Viktor spoke with an indifferent expression.

“Tumen. Depending on how you behave, I might even treat your ankles. So answer me. Did you know in advance that we were coming?”

“Hmph… of course. Don’t underestimate the warriors of the steppes. We already knew you bastards were crawling out of the castle.”

“…Just like with Roshtov Castle?”

“Roshtov…? Ah, there… that’s right. We already have our eyes spread throughout the entire principality. We knew everything, even that your count entered Radovitz. We were watching it all!”

“Hmm…”

Thinking about it, it was natural.

If their surveillance was placed at each castle, they would naturally be checking in advance who was coming and going.

Probably the moment Count Yakobski’s army entered Radovitz, the barbarians had already noticed that movement.

‘So they’ve been preparing more thoroughly and for a longer period than expected…’

As Viktor scratched his chin, Tumen spoke again.

“The count was the main target, but… you were the same, you monster. I think I understand a bit why the warrior leader was so pathetically defeated.”

“Tumen, come to think of it, you seemed to know me.”

Tumen glared and shouted.

“Yes, I know. I know very well. The knight who single-handedly smashed the warrior leader’s army, Viktor Kobarov! I wanted to capture you!”

Upon hearing those words, Viktor’s eyes began to gleam coldly.