Chapter 2 – Savage Age (2)

“You mangy mercenary bastards, get out of the way this instant!”

Unfitting of her appearance, she kicked or scolded the mercenaries blocking the way in front of her. At times, she even brandished her sword. It was a highly combative method.

“What the hell? Who the fuck…! Gasp.”

A mercenary who was kicked in the butt frowned and turned around.

But he immediately freaked out and cleared the path.

Because he did not have the guts to defy the orders of a knight and squire who both exceeded 190 centimeters.

Aided by Adel’s active efforts, the two entered the castle gate smoothly.

The corpses of allies strewn all over the place came into view.

Among the corpses, wounded soldiers also lay face down, groaning.

Severed fingers, forearms, and brain matter pooled on the ground.

A terrible stench of blood pierced his nose.

“Urrgh. A monster.”

“When is our side’s knight arriving?”

The Roben mercenaries who had entered the outer castle were either turning back to go outside or trembling with their backs pressed tightly against the castle wall.

That was how much of a monster the opponent before them was.

“As expected of Sir Bourbon!”

“Hahaha! You filthy Roben bastards, who have nothing but gold!”

Seeing that, the Bates mercenaries raised their spirits. When the gate was breached, they thought everything was over.

But due to the intrusion of the knight named Bourbon, the enemy forces could not take a single step inside. Standing at the center of the cheering Bates mercenaries was a man of huge build.

“You cowards! I won’t let a single one of you in!”

Bourbon shouted while slamming the handle of his axe on the ground.

Perhaps because of the round helmet he was wearing, his voice vibrated with a hum.

Thick grey full plate armor wrapped around his body.

And the large axe held in his hand was covered in the flesh of his victims.

Even at a glance, he was a person who exuded an unusual aura.

“Hmph. A guy who looks like a kettle has quite the mouth!”

But Adel shouted loudly as she looked at Bourbon. Then, she boldly drew her sword and shield. There was not a trace of fear on her face.

Because competitiveness and combativeness were essential qualities that a knight’s squire had to possess.

At the high-pitched voice, Bourbon’s gaze shifted.

“Hmm?”

He saw a girl with short hair and a tall man. It was obvious at a glance from their fully armed state, which was different from the mercenaries.

They said there was a free knight on the opponent’s side, and has he finally appeared now?

Bourbon sneered.

“What is this? Now that I look, isn’t it a bitch? Kuhahaha. Does the Roben side even hire whores as soldiers?”

“Wahahaha.”

The enemy forces led by Bourbon laughed at them.

Insulted to her face, Adel’s face flushed red.

“That bastard…”

Adel gritted her teeth. But as a loyal subordinate, she sought her master’s permission first before running forward.

“Sir Veloc! Squire Adel will slice the neck of that arrogant kettle. Give me the command!”

Looking at her eyes filled with determination, Veloc stroked his chin.

‘It is a branch point.’

In the game, options would have popped up.

Whether to send her, or to step forward himself.

If he didn’t send her, her affinity would drop.

She would think that her master didn’t recognize her skill.

But this was a trap. If he sent her, she would die.

Adel certainly had outstanding skill for a squire. Still, she was not yet a match for Bourbon. Bourbon of the thirty-man-slaying, a monster said to tear iron plates with his bare hands.

Contrary to his vulgar mouth, he was a grand knight.

Since he had killed most of the Roben knights who participated in this war all by himself.

A matter that required no contemplation.

In this shitty world, a single trustworthy subordinate was an incredibly great asset.

Veloc looked into Adel’s round eyes.

“Sir Veloc?”

Despite being a woman, her face was covered in fine scars, and her hands were tough, proving her past efforts. Veloc chuckled. Then, he patted Adel’s round head.

“I will go. Adel, he is not your opponent.”

“Sir Veloc! But…”

Adel narrowed her eyes like a cat at her wounded pride.

Veloc ignored her on purpose.

“Watch my back.”

He did not want to watch his subordinate’s head get smashed and die again.

That sight beyond the monitor was enough.

The assimilation of memories and body was 100% complete. Veloc had confidence.

Bourbon was certainly a strongman, but this body was also a knight with the qualities to become a hero.

Bourbon tilted his head.

“I almost wore my neck out waiting.”

“Should I say sorry for being late?”

“No, I’ll praise your courage, wanderer.”

Wanderer.

A word mocking a free knight who wandered without a territory or a master to serve.

Laughing off Bourbon’s provocation, Veloc raised his broad shield patterned with a crane and his longsword.

“After killing you, I should sever the limbs of that bitch called your squire and throw her to my men.”

Inside the helmet, Bourbon’s eyes curved despicably.

Truly a foul-mouthed bastard. Veloc quickly rushed in.

Clatter!

The chainmail he wore clinked and made noise.

“Huuuph.”

Bourbon, who was prepared, raised his two-handed axe above his head.

And struck down fiercely.

Woosh!

It was merely a simple swing.

Yet, contained within it was a force so formidable that it could cleave three people at once.

Veloc raised the shield he was holding at an angle. Then, moving only his wrist slightly, he deflected the axe’s trajectory.

Screeech!

For a moment, sparks flew, and a brute force was felt in his grasp.

He had to concentrate.

One mistake, and he would be split in two along with his shield. That was how threatening the guy’s power was.

“Hup.”

Veloc took a deep breath and swung his shield as if parrying it upward.

The guy’s axe tilted and went off course.

“What?”

His posture broken, Bourbon stumbled with a panicked voice.

Up until now, there were few who had properly withstood this blow. Most of the Roben knights had had their heads crushed by the very first strike.

But a wanderer like this?

The opportunity arrived.

Seeing this, Veloc instinctively thrust his sword.

The opponent was a heavily armed knight. The targets were limited. The seams connecting the armor plates. For instance, the armpit area.

Stab!

“Aaargh!”

Bourbon screamed and swung his axe. Veloc clicked his tongue and backed away. It was shallow. If it had been just a bit deeper, he could have disabled that arm.

“You bastard… I’ll chop you to pieces and throw you to the pigs!”

The enraged Bourbon rushed forward with thudding steps.

Despite his heavy build, he was incredibly fast.

The guy’s axe lashed out from all directions.

Veloc also fought back. His eyes and arms moved frantically.

Clang, clang, clang! The heavy sound of iron echoed everywhere. As the two weapons rubbed against each other, sparks flew here and there.

A few times he blocked with his shield and deflected with his longsword. A few others, he evaded.

His first time experiencing actual combat.

Though his entire body felt like it was screaming, he was somehow able to block them.

That was how much Veloc’s body belonged to a fully-fledged knight.

“He’s blocking Bourbon’s attacks not just once, but multiple times?!”

“Who on earth is that guy? His face still looks young.”

The mercenaries of both camps murmured.

Squire Adel was fixing her eyes on the fight between her master and the kettle-head, lest she miss even a single moment.

It was a monster-like fight. A combat of truly high-level knights.

If she had gotten caught in between them, she would have died instantly.

Adel gulped down dry spit.

“You rat-like bastard!”

Blocking the sword Veloc swung with his armor itself, Bourbon kicked out violently.

Veloc hastily blocked it with his shield.

Thud! The diamond-shaped shield rolled on the ground.

At that impact, Veloc held his trembling arm and clicked his tongue.

This was why heavy armor was cheat-like.

That thick iron plate was perfect in everything, both attack and defense.

If placed in front, it was a shield; if swung, it became a hammer. The filthy expensive price was its only drawback.

“Youngster! That was quite a decent skill.”

Veloc raised his head.

The axe, reflecting the sunlight, was shining blood-red. Shortly after, the axe, casting a shadow, fell like an arrow.

“It’s the end.”

Bourbon’s eyes curved pleasantly at the sound of tearing flesh that would be heard in a moment.

“Sir Veloc!”

Squire Adel’s voice rang out like a scream. Yet Veloc did not give up.

He gripped the longsword with both hands, instead of the shield.

A sword form that should be used in the current situation came to mind.

Bourbon snorted.

His axe was faster than the guy adjusting his posture. He would crush his head in one go.

At that moment, Veloc’s sword blurred and moved strangely.

“What?”

For an instant, Bourbon missed that movement.

Clang!

What was heard was not the sound of crushing flesh, but the clashing of iron against iron.

Through the eye slits of the helmet, which looked like knotholes, Bourbon widened his eyes.

Though the guy’s longsword snapped in two, Bourbon saw his own axe strike the bare ground. A cloud of dust shot up violently.

Through it, he also saw Veloc pulling out a mace from his waist with a beastly smile.

Bourbon babbled in a hurry.

“Wa… Wait! A truly grand sk…”

Bam!

At the blunt impact, Bourbon bit his tongue.

The kettle helmet dented flat. Veloc struck down without rest.

Thud, thud, thud!

“Aaargh.”

Bourbon screamed out loud at the sensation of his brain shaking around and his face tightening. But even that did not last long.

Before long, Steel Axe Bourbon died, his head crushed along with his helmet.

An eyeball popped out from the ruined helmet.

A moment of silence hovered over the chaotic battlefield.

The end of an illustrious knight was no different from the rest of the trivial mercenaries.

There was no honorable death in a gutter-like battlefield. Only minced meat remained.

Having accomplished this, Veloc panted heavily.

He threw the mace in his hand far away.

Clatter!

His heart pounded like crazy. His face turned red as if it would burst.

The pressure given by the guy’s axe was still vivid.

Also the feeling of the strong wind pressure brushing past his face.

An emotion that his self, who used to contemplate comfortably behind the monitor, had never experienced before.

A bizarre sensation, as if death were creeping up on him.

Veloc felt it deeply once again.

This was not a game.

How on earth should he explain this dreadful sense of reality?

At that moment, a bizarre power welled up inside Veloc.

[You have leveled up.]

When he closed his eyes and concentrated, some things like game stats appeared along with an odd message.

“Ha!”

Seeing this, Veloc let out a hollow laugh.

His trembling hands, the air touching his lungs, and the terrible smell of blood reminded him that this place was reality, but the internal system window made him feel that this was also inside a game.

It felt realistic, yet it didn’t.

It was a deeply contradictory situation.

‘I don’t know whose tune I should dance to.’

Veloc habitually wiped his face. A sticky red dye covered his face. The smell of metal vibrated.

“The enemy commander is dead! Move now, you goddamn parasites!”

What woke Veloc from his thoughts was squire Adel’s rough voice.