Surviving as a Knight in a Trash Game

Chapter 142

“Danger…!”

Just as Kelvin screamed, Kirk’s massive axe blocked the black light head-on.

Kwaaaaaang!

Even though Kirk was originally a monstrously strong individual and had become even stronger through Barbarian Axe Technique and Barbarian Qi Cultivation Method, he was pushed back several steps by the earlier blow.

“Keoeok…!”

Red blood trickled from the corner of Kirk's mouth as he barely regained his balance and stopped.

“Are you, are you alright?”

“…I’m not alright.”

Kirk, barely supporting himself with his axe on the ground, seemed to have suffered considerable internal injuries from the previous strike.

“Ho… You blocked it? That?”

At that moment, a woman with flowing red hair appeared from a distance.

In her hand, she held a spear as red as her hair, and its color was ominous, even without knowing how much human blood it had imbibed.

Despite her seemingly small frame, an indescribable fighting spirit emanated from the spear-wielding woman.

‘She’s a fully-fledged Master-grade.’

Kelvin immediately noticed that the opponent before him was a Master several levels higher than himself.

It was clear that he would lose if he fought her even in his best condition, but his current physical state was the worst.

Moreover, there were still many enemies left.

Kelvin bit his lower lip hard and scanned his surroundings.

“How far has the river entry progressed?”

“We need at least another hour.”

“….”

It wasn't a very long time, but considering the enemy before him, an hour was too long.

“Let’s hold out as long as we can. Once a battle with that woman begins, the remaining enemies will find it difficult to attack us anyway.”

It was a clash between a Master-grade knight and individuals who had reached the highest level of Superior-grade.

If an ordinary soldier got caught in the middle, it meant certain death.

“Torino, take the soldiers and head to the riverside. I will handle these individuals.”

“Yes… Lord Six Stars.”

The woman called Six Stars took her position, and the remaining personnel moved towards the riverside.

Kelvin and his party couldn't stop the moving enemies because of the woman in front of them.

If someone broke off to stop them, they would be instantly subdued by that woman.

“We have no choice but to trust the Vice-Commander and Sir Daniel….”

For now, he had to concentrate everything on stopping that woman.

At that moment, the body of the woman called Six Stars approached the three of them like an afterimage.

Just as a trail of red aura was drawn in the air, the aura flew towards the three, slashing them simultaneously.

“A direct hit to the front!”

Following Kelvin’s shout, Diogo’s sword and Kirk’s sword simultaneously aimed for the spear, and his sword, too, was imbued with white light as it clashed with the red aura.

Kwaaaang!

Kirk and Diogo, who had not yet reached Master-grade, felt their insides shake as if they would all come loose when they collided head-on with the aura.

Fortunately, Kelvin’s sword had halved the spear’s power before it reached them, so they were barely able to withstand it.

‘This is dangerous.’

Kelvin realized that if he had faltered even slightly from the previous blow, he could have been seriously injured.

But he couldn’t put Kirk or Diogo in front.

He, with his aura, had to block from the front.

“Well, let’s just give it a try.”

His lord and commander, Karl, was a man who had overcome hundreds of even greater crises of death.

Willpower didn't solve everything, but.

‘Sometimes, it creates miracles. That has to be now.’

Kelvin’s grip on his sword tightened, and at some point, the woman thrust her spear at them again.

The moment the storm of red aura was about to engulf the three, Kelvin’s white aura collided with the woman’s aura.

***

Karl and Bastien, who had been buying time in the center, realized that further resistance was difficult and were moving towards the river.

It seemed they had bought enough time for people to enter the water, but without a way to contact them, they couldn't know how far the process had progressed.

“General, please proceed to the riverside. I’ll go to the left flank and then join you.”

Having Bastien join the rear defensive line, Karl, no matter how much he thought about it, flew towards Kelvin’s location, which worried him.

‘….’

When Karl arrived, the place was already filled with traces of a fierce battle.

However, neither Kelvin nor any enemy could be seen anywhere.

‘Where are you.’

There were signs that a Master of considerable skill had joined the battle.

Kelvin, feeling outmatched by the opponent, had fought desperately, luring the enemy away from the riverside.

‘Diogo and Kirk joined too.’

As Karl quickly followed the traces, a shattered piece of Kelvin’s armor came into view.

And next to it, he also saw a fragment of Kirk’s axe and Diogo’s broken sword.

‘….’

Karl felt a sense of unease creep over him.

Perhaps not before, but the current Karl definitely feared the deaths of his cherished subordinates.

Gulp.

Karl, trying to ignore the sound of himself swallowing saliva, followed the traces with movements faster than before.

“Whew. You came quickly?”

At the end of the trail was a sheer cliff.

And there, a woman with red hair stood, gripping a spear.

Judging by her condition, the situation didn't look very positive.

“Where are my subordinates?”

“Ah, those guys? Well, where could they be?”

Karl’s expressionless face hardened unprecedentedly at the sight of the woman, who was smirking strangely and flicking her tongue.

“Oh my, how scary. People say you’re a hero. I guess that’s not true? Making such a scary face at a woman you’ve just met.”

“What ridiculous bullshit.”

Whether he found the word ‘hero’ funny or what she said funny, it was clear that his killing intent was raging as fiercely as his expression.

“….”

Six Stars Amanov, who had felt no momentum from him at all, suddenly felt something like fear at Karl’s instantly surging momentum.

‘Me…? Am I afraid?’

If she hadn’t thoroughly controlled her body, she might have been disgracefully trembling her legs.

“Unfortunately, I have no intention of playing with you today.”

She made a strange expression and tried to quickly withdraw.

“Where do you think you’re going.”

At that moment, as if space had folded and reconnected, Karl instantly appeared in front of her, and his sword, wreathed in golden aura, flew towards Amanov’s neck.

Kwaaaaaang!

“Keoeok…!”

Barely blocking the blow Karl had thrown, she rolled several times from the single strike, crashed into one side, and vomited blood onto the floor repeatedly.

‘Monster…!’

That was the thought that instantly flashed through her mind.

At that moment, she instinctively thought that she would die if she stayed in this place any longer.

Thud. Degurururu.

Following that brief, instinctive urge, Amanov threw a bead from her bosom onto the floor and flung herself with all her might in the opposite direction of Karl.

“What an annoying item.”

Karl instantly recognized the function of the object dropped on the floor.

[Karl Meyer Style Defensive Technique, Iron Wall]

The golden aura that rose from his body in the form of armor blocked the front like a wall, and just as it seemed to do so, a black light flashed, and a huge explosion occurred.

Kwaaaaaang!

Despite the powerful explosion that was strong enough to blow off a part of the cliff, Karl was able to safely retreat backward from the aura’s barrier.

When the explosion cleared, Karl, knowing it would be difficult to catch up to the woman, scanned the area around the cliff.

Unable to find any trace of Kelvin or the others near the cliff, Karl prayed that they had survived by taking the river below the cliff and quickly moved towards the riverside.

‘Please, just don’t die.’

Karl clenched his teeth tightly as he recalled Kelvin constantly chattering, Diogo chiming in, and Kirk, who had somehow become a steadfast pillar of the knight order.

***

When Karl arrived at the riverside, everyone had completed their entry into the water.

Watching them move, leaning against the rafts, Karl let out a small sigh of relief.

Tuduk.

Someone slowly walked out behind Karl, who had stepped onto the riverside.

Golden aura instantly formed on Karl’s sword.

“Calm down. Even though I know that I can’t do anything to you here and now.”

The person who walked out was none other than the 3rd Prince, Patrick.

“What is it?”

“I just wanted to talk a bit. I was curious about what kind of person you are.”

Patrick’s eyes turned to Karl.

His eyes, when met directly, were excessively clear.

It was so different from the sinister darkness emanating from his body that the sense of incongruity was even greater.

“You know, I think you might be the same kind of person as me. Count Karl Reitz Arthur Meyer. The third son of an insignificant family. Someone who doesn’t particularly try to gain fame on the continent. Someone who doesn’t particularly distinguish between those above and below. Someone who tries to save the world.”

Patrick continued to speak, regardless of whether Karl answered or not.

“I was born into this world as the third son of a great emperor. The world was not an easy place for the 3rd Prince. It became even more so after His Majesty the Emperor passed away. So I changed my mind. I decided to leave the imperial palace. Once I left, I could see how absurd this world is. People were starving, naked, and suffering. So I thought. Let’s overturn this world, just as they want.”

Patrick, holding a liquor bottle that appeared in his hand at some unknown point, took a swig.

Then he offered the bottle to Karl.

“It’s Tervolic. I don’t know what it’s really like, but nominally, it’s a liquor only permitted to the imperial family.”

Karl did not accept the bottle he offered and simply looked at him with an indifferent face.

“It’s a precious liquor, unfortunate. Anyway. So I started to gather forces. Those who oppose this world. Those who oppose the idea of a sole god. But you know… even when they gathered and gathered, the world didn’t change. No, rather, I only felt more absurdity. Because….”

Madness glinted in his eyes.

Even so, his eyes remained perfectly clear.

“We lacked power. We didn’t have the power to change the world. So I wandered around looking for a way to gain power, and eventually, I found a way.”

“You mean by devouring people to increase your strength.”

“…Heh heh, scathing, aren’t you.”

He let out a strange laugh.

Yet, his eyes were still clear.

“I’m not unaware of what you’re thinking, but I am pure. My power is solely directed at smashing this irrational and absurd world. I have no particular desire to become a powerful figure or an emperor. I just… want to destroy everything and create anew.”

There was a reason his madness was pure and clear.

And that was a far more dangerous thought than that of those who were corrupt and greedy.

“The ramblings of a madman.”

“Can’t you understand? You, who were born as the third son, treated like a ghost, and survived abandoned by the world.”

“I decline to be treated the same.”

Watching Karl firmly draw the line, Patrick showed a sneering smile.

“Have you no thought of changing the world with me?”

“You’re stating the obvious.”

“The next time we meet, I won’t be taken down like this. And I will definitely kill you.”

“As you wish.”

Karl turned his back indifferently.

Watching him turn his back so casually, Patrick felt an even greater urge to kill.

Thus, as the sun set by the riverside, the two men moved away from each other.

[Quest: Postasia’s Obstructor. Completed.]

[A Star Necklace is given as a reward.]