The Third Son of a Medieval Knight Family – Chapter 87 – Knight of Ascension (22)

Author: Dawn

The barbarian warriors looked at the principality cavalry approaching while galloping forward.

Though they looked fairly fierce, from the perspective of those who had lived their entire lives galloping on horseback, they were still pathetic.

“Idiots, want to clash with us head-on? Boys, let’s teach these arrogant principality bastards what real combat on horseback is!”

“Waaah!”

These barbarian warriors had grown up communicating with their horses throughout their lives to the point where rider and horse became one.

On top of that, even though they were from different tribes, they had received similar training, making them warriors trained enough to quickly coordinate with each other.

As several soldiers leading the charging formation blew their horns and scattered, the barbarian warriors began splitting into several groups in unison as if they were one body.

Watching the principality soldiers’ expressions harden at the sudden movement, one warrior shouted loudly.

“Outflank! Outflank! Let’s sweep away those crawling on the ground first!”

Like an ant colony splitting apart, the barbarian warriors’ movement as they scattered in perfect order showed not a hint of hesitation.

And finally, those who remained to face the principality cavalry that had approached right before them drew their bows.

Before their eyes, the monster-like knight who had brought down the great warrior Stenka with a single punch was approaching.

But they weren’t afraid.

They must not be afraid.

Along with one warrior’s growling cry, arrows began flying in unison.

“On horseback, we are invincible! Shoot!”

Swoosh swoosh swish-!

The arrows shot in unison concentrated on the knight charging at the enemy’s front.

Excitement formed on the warrior’s face.

And before he could even recognize it, his neck was flying through the air, severed.

“Trample them.”

Viktor had charged forward, taking arrows with his whole body, and blown away the warrior’s face.

Following the knight, the principality cavalry charged in unison.

“Sir, the enemies are scattering! Shall we pursue?”

At Krupin’s excited shout from behind, Viktor calmly replied.

“No, we break through like this.”

“As ordered!”

Krupin didn’t say anything more.

Once battle was joined, now they simply had to follow the commander’s orders.

If the commander had been someone worthless, Krupin wouldn’t have been so obedient.

After all, if there were aspects he disliked or that affected his honor, disobeying orders was a knight’s natural right.

But his opponent was that Viktor.

If the commander was a knight he had to acknowledge from the depths of his heart, then following orders even at the cost of his life was the proper thing to do.

The cavalry flinched as they watched the barbarian warriors passing right beside them, but they didn’t move carelessly.

The cavalry were only looking at one man’s back.

The knight galloping majestically at the front, his surcoat fluttering.

For these men who weren’t skilled cavalry, their only given order was to follow the knight’s trail without falling behind.

They steeled their increasingly fearful hearts and gripped their reins even tighter.

And finally, after what felt like an extremely long but short time of crossing paths.

Whistle-!

“Ugh…”

“Duck your heads! Lower your posture and charge!”

At the volley of arrows flying over the short remaining distance, the cavalry hunched their bodies.

“Gah!”

One unlucky cavalryman who took an arrow between the gaps of his neck fell from his horse.

But they couldn’t stop.

If they carelessly stopped during a charge, they would only tangle with the rear ranks and cause a terrible collision.

The cavalry only hoped to quickly clash with the enemies while trying to crouch their bodies even lower.

Perhaps understanding their hearts?

Viktor swung his battle axe wide.

He didn’t shrink back at all, nor was he afraid.

He knew well that such poorly tensioned mounted bows couldn’t pierce his armor.

Viktor lightly deflected an arrow flying toward a gap in his armor with his axe, then swung the axe in a sweeping motion toward the head of a barbarian warrior who seemed to have gone mad with battle fever and was grinning.

Thunk!

Passing by the flying head, Viktor muttered.

“Trample them.”

“Trample them!”

Perhaps having heard that sound, Mikhail, who had been following closely behind, echoed the cry, and the cavalry also repeated it in unison while drawing their weapons.

Viktor stopped paying attention to the rear ranks after that.

From now on, he would only concentrate all his attention on crossing forward.

He threw his body with all his might toward where the barbarian warriors with expressions of shock were gathered.

They each tried to dodge Viktor’s weapon with flashy techniques, but that was severely underestimating him.

Viktor, wearing armor and even horse armor, charged at a much faster speed than the warriors had anticipated, giving them no time to dodge as he delivered impact.

Neigh!

“Aaaaah!”

“Crazy…Gaaaah!”

As the axe raised with all his might struck down the enemy, horses collided with horses and barbarian riders flew through the air.

Podaga passed through, smashing enemies like a chariot as if this level of impact didn’t faze him at all.

And above it, the axe began exploding at tremendous speed like carpet bombing.

Bang! Bang! Crash!

Each time the axe swept through, warriors fell like autumn leaves with intense explosions.

When the axe occasionally missed and struck the ground, the impact was so intense that dust clouds rose in unison.

“Shit, dodge!”

“Aaaaah!”

Moreover, even in the midst of all this, his speed didn’t decrease at all – it was truly a fearsome charge.

Those who had thought lightly of buying time against the clumsy principality cavalry had to change their minds.

Now their goal became not buying time but somehow surviving and enduring.

But it wasn’t an easy task.

Toward the area Viktor had swept through with impossible momentum at the front, the cavalry who had been sharpening their blades began pouring in.

“Vermin! Die! Die! Die!”

Krupin, inconsistent with his cool appearance, shouted intensely while stabbing enemies indiscriminately.

It was a mad charge with no regard for his own body.

When one barbarian dodged Krupin’s weapon with fantastic skill and tried to swing a mace at his back, Tumen, who had been following behind the knight, lightly released his bow.

“Gah!”

As the arrow lodged in his throat as if being sucked in, the warrior dropped his mace and fell to the ground.

Tumen shouted with all his might to pierce through the battlefield noise, filled with complaint.

“Sir Krupin! Coordinate with the rear! Don’t get too far ahead!”

“Hmph, don’t give me orders, slave!”

While saying that, Krupin still made eye contact and slowed down.

It would have been quite dangerous without Tumen.

Krupin’s attendants around him also admired and praised Tumen.

‘It’s unpleasant, but…this is for the best.’

Glancing at the warrior’s corpse sprawled on the ground, seeming to look at him with resentful eyes, Tumen muttered inwardly.

For him, such acts were no longer cowardly betrayals of the steppes.

A sacred tribal conflict serving the one who would become the new king of the steppes!

‘Sorry, but I have to win here!’

Tumen’s eyes blazed toward the back of the man at the front in the distance.

He was moving forward without hesitation.

He was truly reliable beyond measure.

Tumen steadied his mind while deflecting a sword flying toward him.

Bloodshed in tribal conflicts was unavoidable.

He stabbed his blade into the throat of a warrior who was horrified at his appearance and shouted.

“Come at me, trash! I am a member of the great White Deer tribe and the third son of Grand Chief Yugrichi, Tumen!”

While the cavalry was overwhelmingly breaking through enemies following Viktor and the knights.

The mercenaries who had built a circular defensive line were watching the approaching barbarians with trembling eyes.

The barbarian warriors approaching from all directions with fluid movements, scattering like a single person naturally moving their arms and legs separately, radiated overwhelming momentum.

For the infantry, it was a nightmare-like wait.

“Sh-shit…can we hold out?”

“Shut up and look ahead! If you lose focus, you’re done for!”

What was fortunate was that unlike knights, the barbarian warriors were lightly armed, but instead, the enemies could handle bows relatively freely even on horseback.

Though better than the barbarians, since most mercenaries were also lightly armed, it wasn’t particularly reassuring.

Watching the warriors rapidly approaching in the blink of an eye, one mercenary switched his grip on his shield to wipe his sweaty hands.

At that very moment.

Whistle-!

“Gahhh…”

Starting with that mercenary falling, fierce arrow rain began flying.

“Raise shields!”

“Don’t stick your heads out! Hold on!”

“Gah! My leg! I got hit in the leg!”

At the arrow barrage flying from both sides with calculated timing, the mercenaries couldn’t keep their wits and got hit.

A group of mercenaries anxiously called out to their captain.

“Captain! This won’t work! Orders!”

“No good. Hold your positions!”

“…You want us to just keep getting hit like this?!”

“Don’t break the defensive formation and hold firm! We have to hold here!”

“Damn it, Captain! Since when have you followed orders so well! We’ll all die at this rate!”

At those words, the captain’s eyes blazed fiercely as he punched the face of the mercenary who dared speak impertinently.

“Gah!”

“You bastard, where do you get off glaring at me? Hey, do I look like an idiot because I’m staying calm?”

Thud! Thud!

“Ah, ahhh!”

Along with the beating, the captain’s angry rebuke fell.

“Stop whining! Just hold your positions, you morons! Those bastards haven’t even charged yet! If you understand, get this bastard out of here!”

“Y-yes…”

He wanted to just cut him down, but he couldn’t act like that in front of the barbarian bastards while fighting them.

And he didn’t completely fail to understand their feelings either.

The captain spoke with an anxious expression he would never show in front of his subordinate mercenaries.

“W-witch…how much longer will it take? The boys below are getting shaken…we can’t hold out long like this.”

“…It’s almost ready. Just a little, just a little bit longer, please hold on.”

“Phew…damn, understood.”

The captain drew his bow one last time, then bit his lips until they bled while looking at the black wave of charging barbarians.

‘Hold on as much as you can. If you become a solid anvil and endure, I’ll definitely smash those bastards’ backs. Trust me and hold on just a little longer.’

‘Sir Viktor…damn! I believe in you. I have no choice but to believe here!’

Recalling the reliable knight’s voice, the captain drew his weapon.

Like the arrow barrage, the enemy charge rushing from multiple directions with appropriate timing was serious.

The formation was swaying as if about to collapse instantly from the precise strike that exactly targeted the loose links between the still independent mercenary companies.

“Hey, you bastards! Captain Sobol of the Steel Shield Mercenary Company is coming out! If you want your heads cracked, come at me! Hahaha!”

It was such a dangerous situation that even the captain who had been commanding from the center had to join in.

The barbarian warriors’ charge was that threatening.

If the mercenaries’ morale had been just a little lower, they would have collapsed, but the loyalty of the captain and others was higher than expected, and the monster hunt and duel victory right before battle became another factor that allowed the mercenaries to grit their teeth and endure.

As a result.

“…It’s done.”

With Alisa’s exhausted-sounding voice, enormous light suddenly began forming over the battlefield.

“…Hey, that thing…?”

“I’ve seen it somewhere…don’t tell me?!”

Some veteran warriors who had been smashing the heads of persistently enduring mercenaries while advancing opened their eyes wide in disbelief.

Something that absolutely should not appear here had appeared before their eyes.

“Ah, ahhhhh…! We have to run! We have to run!”

“We were wrong, we were wrong! Ancestor wolf, please spare our lives!”

As some personnel on both sides began having seizures, their suspicions became certain.

Sobol, captain of the Steel Shield Mercenary Company, shouted with a horrified face.

“Witch, doesn’t this affect our boys too?!”

“…That’s an unavoidable side effect…”

“Ah, damn woman, you call that talk!”

When Sobol was beating his chest saying he shouldn’t have relied on such a witch.

Whooom!

The completely condensed light cluster made an ominous sound while slowly moving, then rapidly accelerated.

Crash-crack-crack!

“Ahhhhh!”

“Dodge! It’s witch sorcery, dodge…ahhh!”

As the light cluster charged toward the barbarian warriors’ formation and began tearing through everything, the warriors screamed and retreated.

The fear of witches embedded in their minds slowly reared its head.

“A-a witch has cursed us…f-first we need to retreat…”

“Damn…that witch from that time for sure…this crazy bitch betrayed us?!”

As the barbarians’ momentum faltered, the mercenaries didn’t miss the opportunity and launched fierce counterattacks.

“Now! Push forward!”

“Leave the ones who lost their minds alone for now! That sorcery is on our side! Hey, don’t make the sign of the cross and fight quickly!”

“These principality trash…!”

As the mercenaries who had been annoyingly persistent began rampaging even more, the barbarians panicked.

Behind them, the witch’s sorcery was devastating the surroundings with terrible power, and as the mercenaries rushed in when their charge momentum decreased, it became difficult to utilize cavalry advantages any longer.

“This won’t work, let’s retreat for now! Scatter to avoid that light cluster! Retreat!”

“Where do you think you’re going? Did you think we’d let you go nicely!”

Finally, the warriors who couldn’t endure tried to scatter all at once, but the mercenaries wouldn’t let them go easily.

That’s when it happened.

“Huh…the sorcery…?”

As the light cluster suddenly began growing dimmer while sweeping enemies, the panicked mercenaries opened their mouths.

“Ah…insufficient sacrifices…big trouble…”

Alisa, who had concentrated too much in a short time and put excessive burden on herself by offering too many prayers to the spirit, was on the verge of losing consciousness.

She opened and closed her mouth with a regretful face while fumbling at the altar.

But now there was nothing she could do.

‘…’

Strangely, as the face of the knight she had decided to follow just to save her life came to mind, Alisa smiled blankly.

Rather than pride as a witch or fear when her life was in danger, shame at not properly completing the task the knight had entrusted to her came to mind first.

It was truly strange.

As she was about to collapse with a despairing face while hearing the mercenaries’ shouts and the fierce counterattack hoofbeats of the barbarians.

“…Waaaah!”

“…Look! Over there…look!”

‘…?’

Alisa barely raised her head.

And she saw.

A group charging madly from the distance, raising dust clouds.

And the knight with a large build noticeable anywhere on the battlefield, running at their front.

The mercenaries’ shouts weren’t sounds filled with fear and screams.

They were shouts of joy and happiness that he had finally come!

“It’s Sir Viktor!”