Surviving as a Knight in a Trash Game

Chapter 141

Every situation was moving differently than I had anticipated.

Contrary to my initial thought of harassing them like guerrillas, I had ended up in a head-on collision while rescuing people who were about to be executed, and now I faced the worst-case scenario of leading 200 people with only 10 personnel.

Even if Condor reached Count Vito and reinforcements rushed here, it would take quite some time.

“Commander, this is impossible. We can't evade the enemy's pursuit while leading this many people. They are all civilians, so their movement speed is slow.”

“If we can just hold out for two days, troops from Collo will arrive.”

“Can we last for two days…?”

“You all keep moving. General Bastien and I will be the ones to hold them back.”

“Even if you and General Bastien are Masters… that’s impossible.”

“We won't know until we try.”

When I thought about it, Tarantula also had many skilled individuals.

Looking back at the Alcantara incident or the events at the Order, it meant they too had skilled people.

In any case, just the two of us would not be enough.

“Would it not be alright if I joined?”

“Sir Walter, you must lead them. We won’t be able to hold everyone off.”

It was a difficult situation.

Leading 200 civilians, who could become hostages at any moment, with only 10 personnel was not easy in itself.

“How about this?”

Just then, Kelvin clapped his hands once and quickly started talking.

“That’s good.”

I thought Kelvin’s idea was quite good, for a change.

“However, traveling down the river is easier said than done.”

“It will be possible if we make makeshift rafts. They don't need to ride them; it’s enough if they can just hold onto them. If we go down the waterway, as Kelvin said, we’ll reach the Order’s territory quickly. Besides, they are heavily armored, so they won’t be able to follow us along the waterway. If they abandon their armor to pursue us, that would be fine in its own way.”

Everyone agreed with Rogério’s calm explanation.

If we moved just a little further, the massive Liz River, which flowed all the way to the south, was there.

Traveling down the river would give us incomparable speed compared to walking.

Moreover, the river that extended to the south had no rapids or waterfalls.

Non-swimmers or elderly people with weakened stamina might pose some problems, but it was still much safer for them than the land route.

“In any case, returning directly to the north won’t be easy. If we go on like this, we’ll be caught from behind, one hundred percent. Marc, you know how to make makeshift rafts, right?”

Nod.

“Isn't it enough if they are large enough to hold onto and can simply float on the river? If it’s just that, I can make them quickly.”

I patted Marc’s shoulder twice and looked back at the rest of the group.

“The first line of defense will be General Bastien, Sir Walter, Kelvin, and myself. The four of us will buy time on all fronts until everyone gets into the river, and anyone who gets past us will have to be stopped by Rogério and the remaining personnel.”

I adjusted the positions of the four Master-grade knights and assigned their areas.

“Don’t overdo it. The core of your duty is to retreat immediately if your life is in danger.”

He sounded indifferent, but his concern for the party was embedded in his words.

“The rendezvous point is the Vatican headquarters. Let’s all see each other alive.”

I hadn’t thought it would become such a reckless expedition at first, but things had already happened.

All that remained was to escape this place alive, somehow.

***

“This is strange. Their direction of movement has changed. If they continue in this direction, they won't be able to head north.”

Patrick, who had been gradually tightening the encirclement around Karl and his party, fell into thought as he observed their sudden change in direction.

There should be nothing if they go that way.

When his gaze reached the end of the party’s line of movement, a clear line was visible there.

“The Liz River… Don’t tell me…!”

His eyes flashed open.

“Those bastards…! They intend to go down the river.”

“Are you saying they intend to move down the river with over 200 civilians?”

“They realize they have no chance if they continue as they are, so they plan to use the river. We must move quickly. They know full well that we cannot travel by river. Tell Six Stars to take 100 men and move here. The rest will advance in a straight line from all directions.”

“I’ll move immediately!”

Patrick sent the forces that had been pressing from all directions straight towards the riverside, while also maneuvering a Master-grade knight, who had previously changed his alias from Six-Legged Mask to Six Stars, on a detour to the riverside.

Thus, Postasia’s forces, having read our intentions faster than I had anticipated, began to move towards us in real time.

***

“Their movements are unusual.”

Bastien realized something was wrong as he watched the enemy forces suddenly maneuvering at high speed.

“It seems they’ve read our minds.”

I thought they would figure it out eventually, but it was faster than I expected.

I needed to buy a little more time, but their response was quicker than anticipated.

“For now, we have no choice but to cut off the approaching ones. It will still take time for the people to get into the river.”

I couldn't just push people into that large river bare-handed.

At the very least, makeshift rafts they could hold onto were necessary.

I slowly mapped out the terrain in my head.

The most dangerous spot was Kelvin’s position.

If they decided to directly strike the riverside, it would be best for them to detour and move towards Kelvin’s location.

‘I need to inflict maximum damage here and help Kelvin.’

As these thoughts continued, my and Bastien’s bodies had already risen into the air and were moving towards the rear of the advancing enemy.

Kwwaaaaaang!

With a tremendous roar, a barrage of aura swept through the enemy forces, and the enemies, flustered by the sudden attack, lost their composure and began to panic.

“Snap out of it! There are only two enemies anyway!”

The moment the figure who appeared to be the commander quickly rallied the soldiers to surround Bastien and me, the two of us launched another powerful strike and retreated from our position.

***

While Bastien and I were waging an interception battle in the central area with the most enemy troops, Walter, positioned on the right flank, also ambushed the enemy’s rear.

[Body Fortification]

Walter’s body was enveloped in a white light, and the moment he leaped into the enemy ranks, white fire wreathed his greatsword.

[Holy Sword Style Greatsword. 2nd Form. Sacred Flame]

And a white flame, looking as if it would burn everything, engulfed the enemies, cutting them down and setting them ablaze.

The divine flame that burned away wicked darkness was anathema to Tarantula’s sinister energy.

Those touched by Walter’s greatsword were engulfed in inextinguishable flames and writhed on the ground.

“Capture that dog of Essus!”

As the figure who appeared to be the commander pointed at Walter, who was wreathed in white light, all the troops simultaneously surged towards him.

***

“Hah… Hah…!”

Watching the endlessly swarming enemies, Kelvin felt his mind going blank.

He, who had been confident of reaching a high level after becoming a Master, was now berating himself for not having trained more rigorously in his daily life.

‘There are too many….’

Kelvin was positioned to the left of our group, a spot relatively close to the riverside, so if it was breached, the people at the riverside would be in direct danger.

Despite my having placed him there after careful consideration, judging that the number of troops coming this way would be small, Kelvin alone was not enough to fend off the swarming enemies.

[Lumentia Sword Style Ultimate Technique. Holy Light]

The light of white aura formed a barrier, cutting down all the Postasian soldiers approaching from the front.

After using a major technique once, Kelvin, who had only recently become a Master-grade, became noticeably short of breath.

“Even a Master is human! That bastard is exhausted too! Now is our chance!”

The Postasian commander shouted upon seeing Kelvin, whose breathing had become ragged and movements had begun to slow.

At that moment, the white-robed enemies surrounding him all flew towards Kelvin at once.

“Uwaaaaaah”

Kelvin, who let out a kiai as he cut the throat of an enemy soldier who flew at him, slowly retreated backward, fending off the enemies one by one.

‘I can’t last much longer like this.’

He was holding them off well, but Kelvin knew very well that his limit would soon be reached.

[Lumentia Swordsmanship. Kelvin Style Ten-Strike Barrage]

With ten slashes that passed like afterimages, enemies once again fell like dominoes.

Just then, a fierce spear thrust flew from somewhere, and blood burst from Kelvin’s side.

“Heuk…!”

It wasn’t very deep, but in the current situation where he was absolutely outnumbered and had no replacement, a rather deep wound was fatal.

‘This isn’t good.’

Once a wound appeared, the rate at which injuries accumulated began to accelerate.

As small wounds piled up, Kelvin’s movements also became much slower than at the beginning.

“…That bastard doesn’t have much left either! Press the advantage and finish him!”

As the injured Kelvin’s situation became increasingly difficult, the Postasian commander was just as frustrated.

It was maddening that an enemy who seemed about to collapse just wouldn’t go down.

“He’s about to fall! Push harder!”

It was then, as he urged his subordinates on even more.

One of Kelvin’s knees buckled to the ground, and his movements stopped.

The Postasian commander was convinced that the time had finally come.

“It’s over! It’s over!”

Just as a soldier’s spear flew accurately towards Kelvin’s neck, a bright smile spread across the commander’s lips.

Puuk.

With the sound of a blade piercing a neck, the commander’s laughter shattered.

“Your big brother is here, Kelvin!”

Diogo, who had pierced the neck of the spear-wielding enemy soldier with a sword that shone with a bright light similar to Kelvin’s, tossed him a potion.

“That’s my last one. Pay me back later.”

Kelvin drank some of the potion Diogo threw and poured some on his wounds.

Kuuung!

“Kraaaaaak!”

Kuuuung!

Just as the two raised their swords against the enemies, a large number of pursuers from the side of the formation began an unwilling flight into the sky.

Peoeoeoeok!

A battleaxe, nearly 2 meters long, swung, and the torsos of many soldiers present were split open.

The one slaughtering the soldiers while emitting streams of dangerous energy was Kirk, who possessed a massive build.

“Huh… Heoeo….”

The two of them let out an involuntary, hollow laugh at that overwhelming power.

In battles like this, such brute force was definitely more threatening than the precision of aura.

“Rest at the back for a bit, weak friends.”

Kirk, speaking with a grin on his rugged face that matched his massive torso, was a terror to his opponents but an incredibly reassuring figure to his allies.

“I’ll catch my breath for a moment.”

While Kelvin took a short break, the other two began to fend off the surging enemies again.

Just when I thought the situation had somewhat stabilized.

From somewhere, a black light flashed like a meteor.