I Became a Mythical Knight King

Chapter 67: Artois County (1)

There were four barons under Count Artois.

Among them, only Baron William attended the Lord’s meeting from the Artois County, while the other three barons were either protecting their territories or had already been called by Count Artois to join the battlefield.

As the group was racing toward Artois County along the shortest route, they prepared to camp in an appropriate spot as the sun set.

Rene, who had seated herself in front of the campfire, drew a map on the ground and spoke.

“This is the general layout of Artois County.”

Located to the southeast of Volano Barony, Artois County was, in broad terms, a long rectangular piece of land.

It was situated within a large delta created by the vast river surrounding Lushen, making it the most fertile land in the West. In fact, the entire territory was farmland.

“The main estate where Count Artois resides is here. It’s pretty much in the center.”

The main estate of Count Artois was positioned at the center of the rectangle, with two baron estates located above and below it.

“Where is Baron William’s territory?”

“This way.”

It was located to the southwest of the Count’s main estate. Considering that ratmen had attacked from the southwest, it was the farthest land out.

“Are we heading straight for the main estate?”

At Rene’s question, Yoo Seong shook his head.

Since there had been no solid information other than the fact that the enemy invaded two days ago—almost three—he thought it would be better to stop by a nearby baron’s estate, gather information, and then move on.

Rene nodded in agreement, understanding.

“Yes, the enemy numbers are large, but Artois County is no slouch either. There’s also Lord Charles.”

Lord Charles, who had recently won a decisive victory over a group of goblins, was a strong knight who had mastered the second stage of chivalry and wouldn’t easily fall.

“Alright, let’s head for Baron Robert territory first.”

“Yes, heir.”

After confirming the location of Baron Robert territory, located to the northeast of Count Artois’ main estate, Yoo Seong and Rene began preparing their meals. Jillian, who was half-exhausted from riding for several hours, simply collapsed and remained motionless.

Two days later, in the morning.

After passing through Volano Barony, the group arrived at Artois County—more precisely, Baron Robert territory. They couldn’t help but feel somewhat perplexed.

The village was completely empty.

“It seems that Baron Robert issued a call-up order.”

It wasn’t unusual for the villagers to be evacuated, considering the war and the need to protect civilians and recruit soldiers. But Yoo Seong furrowed his brows.

The evacuation was happening too early.

“We need to hurry.”

“Yes, heir.”

As Yoo Seong urged the horse forward, Rene quickly followed suit, while Jillian, feeling the pain in her thighs and hips, silently cried inside as she continued to ride.

After passing through the empty fields, the distant sight of Baron Robert castle came into view.

As expected from a wealthy estate, though not as grand as Lushen or Lothian, the castle had a proper stone wall surrounding the large village, making it recognizable from afar.

But the problem was that it wasn’t in a normal state.

“They’re under attack!”

Rene was right.

It was unmistakably ratmen—at least a thousand strong—attacking Baron Robert castle.

This was a completely incomprehensible situation.

Artois County had only been attacked four days ago, yet now Baron Robert estate, which was further back, was under siege.

At this speed, it was almost as if they had passed through the southern baronies and Artois’ main estate without a hitch.

Could it be that Artois County had fallen without resistance?

There was no time to think.

Yoo Seong focused on the immediate situation.

Though the enemy forces were still distant and unclear, with the enhanced vision of a superhuman knight, he was able to discern the troops of the attacking ratmen.

‘It’s different from Lushen.’

The ratmen attacking Lushen were mostly infantry and cavalry on wolf rats, but these ratmen had proper siege preparations.

There were no cavalry on wolf rats, but instead, there were infantry carrying spears and shields. Among them were giant rats, one of the signature units of the ratmen’s swarm tactics.

Unlike the typical rats that were barely larger than the size of a palm, these giant rats were, as their name suggested, huge, about the size of small dogs.

A swarm of these giant rats charging could actually be more difficult to stop than the typical ratmen.

Hundreds of giant rats gathered around ratmen holding flutes, waiting for the signal to charge.

Behind them were ratmen carrying siege ladders, and further behind, huge siege weapons lined up.

There were trebuchets that fired pestilence bags instead of rocks, and even a battering ram for breaking down the gates. Yoo Seong instinctively held his breath.

Among the siege weapons, there was one lone Magi Cannon.

The ratmen’s Magi Cannons, powered by magic rather than gunpowder, were capable of destroying walls with a single shot. However, each shot required sacrificing dozens of ratmen as fuel.

Thankfully, it seemed that the battle was still in its early stages.

“Rene! Attack immediately!”

“Yes!”

Yoo Seong rushed toward the ratmen, and Rene, with no hesitation, followed him closely.

The two were charging straight toward an army attacking a castle, but neither of them showed any fear or hesitation.

‘They must be crazy!’

No, I must be crazy!

Jillian screamed inside but followed behind the two, her heart filled with fear and hesitation.

As they closed in on the ratmen, the soldiers on the castle walls, as well as the ratmen, noticed them. But neither side reacted immediately.

The sight of three people charging toward the army was too bewildering but Yoo Seong didn’t care.

While running, he calculated the best approach, instinctively knowing where to strike.

“Celestial Cavalry! Heavy Cavalry! Form up!”

At Yoo Seong’s command, a strong light burst forth.

The ratmen, who had been watching Yoo Seong’s charge, suddenly winced from the golden light, momentarily losing their vision or huddling in pain and fear.

-Tsuwaah!

To the left and right of Yoo Seong, the heavy cavalry, led by Roland, appeared.

As soon as Roland confirmed the enemies ahead, he matched his speed with Yoo Seong and shouted.

“Form a wedge formation!”

A wedge-shaped formation, with Yoo Seong at the lead, was formed, and Yoo Seong shouted to the Celestial Cavalry behind them.

“Go high! Attack the siege weapons!”

“Ascending!”

Diana, who had immediately understood Yoo Seong’s command, shouted as she pulled the reins, and Enika, the winged horse, launched into the air.

“Oohh!”

The soldiers watching from the walls couldn’t help but gasp in awe as they saw the heavy cavalry charging below, followed by the Celestial Cavalry soaring into the sky like a mythical scene.

“Penetrate!”

Yoo Seong shouted as he charged into the panicking giant rats.

“Crush them!”

“Don’t stop! Keep charging!”

Kwa-gak-gak-gak!

The heavy cavalry trampled the giant rats and charged toward the ratmen infantry.

Meanwhile, above them, Diana and the Celestial Cavalry, led by her, swooped down, throwing spears at the ratmen, targeting the leader and his guards.

“Block them!”

“Raise your shields!”

The ratmen hurriedly raised their shields to block the falling spears, but these were not ordinary arrows—they were heavy, much stronger than regular arrows.

As the spears broke through the shields and rained down on the ratmen, the leader screamed, and the ratmen’s command structure briefly collapsed.

Yoo Seong did not waste any time.

He closed the gap created by the heavy cavalry and drove straight into the side of the ratmen infantry.

“Fire Wall!”

A wall of flames rose behind the heavy cavalry as Rene cast a spell, dividing the ratmen infantry.

Panicked ratmen began to scatter, and a path was cleared for the heavy cavalry to pick up speed once again.

In that moment, Diana, sensing what siege weapon Yoo Seong had intended to destroy, activated her chivalry.

Dragoon Dive—Diana’s Shock.

With a powerful shockwave, the Celestial Cavalry, led by Diana, dived toward the Magi Cannon, releasing an immense impact.

Kwa-ga-gang!

While the Magi Cannon wasn’t destroyed in one strike, the support structure collapsed, and most of the ratmen slaves tied to the cannon as fuel were blown away by the shockwave.

As it became clear the Magi Cannon was now useless, Diana led the Celestial Cavalry back into the air, and amidst the confusion, Yoo Seong, having passed through the ratmen infantry, glanced at the now-closer castle walls.

The soldiers on the walls, including what appeared to be their leader, stood frozen in shock, their eyes wide, unable to move.

Instead of blaming them, Yoo Seong continued to watch the walls and issued another command.

“Elf Archers! Form up!”

The walls of Baron Robert castle weren’t very tall.

It was possible to summon units at a certain range, and it was also possible to summon them atop the walls.

With a flash of golden light, Vanadain and the Elf Archers appeared atop the castle walls.

The soldiers, already stunned and confused, froze completely when they saw the elves appear among them. Vanadain, upon seeing the humans—specifically the helmeted man who seemed to be their commander—clicked his tongue and turned his gaze toward the ratmen below.

“Start shooting! Fire in rapid succession!”

At the command, Vanadain shot the first arrow, and the Elf archers began to shoot arrows at an incredible speed.

-Pabababababahat!

Although there were only fifty Elf archers, the number of arrows that cut through the sky exceeded a hundred and neared two hundred.

The rain of arrows—no, the concentrated downpour—caused the ratmen near Yoo Seong and the heavy cavalry to either die or be injured and fall into an incapacitated state.

“Move again!”

The number of heavy cavalry was only about a dozen, so if they didn’t keep moving, there was a high possibility they would be surrounded in an instant.

And as Yoo Seong had thought, the ratmen, who had regained some composure, began to retaliate.

As the trainers played their pipes, hundreds of giant rats rushed toward Yoo Seong and the heavy cavalry.

“Wall of Omphalos!”

Jillian, praying desperately, caused three long horizontal barriers to rise at once, blocking the path of the giant rats.

In the meantime, the heavy cavalry kept moving, widening the distance between them and the ratmen, then turned around.

The Celestial Knight cavalry, led by Diana, threw their spears once more at the ratmen’s commander.

Vanadain and the Elf archers again unleashed a rain of arrows, and the commander of Baron Robert’s side, who had finally regained his senses, ordered the catapults and archers to shoot.

Yoo Seong, having quickly assessed the situation on the battlefield through sight and sound, charged once again toward the ratmen with the heavy cavalry.

Of course, this time was different.

The ratmen infantry, lowering their stances, placed their spears diagonally to brace for the charge of the heavy cavalry.

It was a tactic used by infantry to deal with cavalry.

Although the heavy cavalry could ignore the ratmen’s spears and charge through if they were willing to take some damage, that was only when there were no other options.

Yoo Seong, riding on his horse, tightened his grip on his sword.

The sword he unsheathed was the second sword of the Cross Sword.

After the Fire, it was the Gale.

Yoo Seong swung his sword forward.

Immediately, a sharp, enormous blade of wind, easily more than ten meters long, flew toward the ratmen infantry, striking them with force.

“Kraaaak!”

“Ggugh!”

The ratmen in the front lines fell, their chests or waists sliced open.

The spears that had been set up also broke or bent, creating an opening just like when they attacked from the side earlier.

Although the power of the Gale was weaker than the Fire or a typical Aura Blast, its cutting power and attack range were far superior.

“Charge!”

“Uoooaahh!”

Roland and the heavy cavalry trampled the ratmen infantry once more.

Even amidst this, arrows continued to rain down, and eventually, the ratmen commander, unable to endure, began to retreat with his forces.

“They’re retreating!”

Soldiers watching from the walls shouted.

The ratmen, seeing their retreating commander, instinctively dropped their weapons and began to flee, as if relieved.

“Uooahh! We won!”

“Wowaaah!”

The soldiers on the walls cheered, but Yoo Seong had no intention of stopping here.

After sending the heavy cavalry back, Yoo Seong summoned Kate’s elite infantry.

“For the glory of Camelot!”

Kate activated her chivalric aura, as if she had been waiting for this moment.

In terms of speed, the heavy cavalry was naturally superior, but what was needed now wasn’t speed—it was numbers.

Kate’s golden aura combined with Yoo Seong’s Gale Order to enhance the elite infantry’s mobility, making them closer to cavalry than infantry, and the retreating ratmen were quickly overtaken.

“Smash them!”

Leading the charge, Jimmy and the elite infantry swung their swords.

The Celestial Cavalry and the Elf archers also attacked aggressively, and the commander of Baron Robert’s forces finally took action.

“Open the gates! Pursue the enemy!”

“Waaaah!”

As the gates opened and Baron Robert’s army joined the battle, the ratmen suffered almost total annihilation.

[Victory in battle.]

[You have gained 150 commander points.]

[City saved: Your Virtue score has increased.]

Checking the system messages, Yoo Seong looked back.

Beyond René and Jillian, he saw the commander jumping up and down in place.

That was probably Baron Robert.

Exchanging glances with René, Yoo Seong dismissed the forces of light and, accompanied by René and Jillian, approached Baron Robert.