"You're the Lord, aren't you?"
Graham looked at the man who suddenly appeared and stared at him.
'A lunatic?'
His appearance seemed fitting for someone who might drool any moment.
The torn gambeson, old scabbard, and dented helmet gave that impression.
Outwardly, he just seemed like a deranged man, but Graham gripped his sword and shield, taking a stance.
The man, who appeared in shabby attire, exhaled deeply and blinked his bloodshot eyes several times before speaking.
"I'm busy. Let's finish this quickly."
His tone was casual, but the killing intent in it was anything but ordinary.
Before his words even fully left his mouth, a roar erupted from up ahead.
"Waaah!"
It was coming from the battlefield. Amidst the shouting, it sounded like someone's name was being called, but it was too distant to make out clearly.
Graham prepared for an all-out battle, intending to gather all the troops, including the rear units, for defense.
In times of war, having even one more person who could fight was the way to minimize casualties.
Suddenly, the man appeared from the bushes beside the camp, blocking his path.
There were barely any soldiers around. Everyone, supply troops included, was focused on the frontlines.
Srrrrrng.
The lunatic with bloodshot eyes drew his sword, cracking his neck from side to side. The tip of the drawn sword wobbled as well. Whatever he'd been through, both his mind and body were clearly not in their right state.
His stance was off, and his balance seemed oddly unstable.
And his muttering was a sight to behold.
"Killing the Lord would be the greatest honor, wouldn’t it?"
What nonsense.
Graham may have been the Lord of the Border Guard, but even the smallest child passing by knew who truly represented this land.
Encrid, the King's friend, the Demon Slayer.
In other words, his position was purely symbolic. Though Graham himself didn’t exactly see it that way.
Being by Encrid’s side and having time to observe and grow under him was a fortune the old warrior deeply understood.
Even though the man had stumbled while drawing his sword, it was clear he was no ordinary fighter.
If he were just a madman, he wouldn’t have made it this far.
And from Graham's seasoned eyes, it was clear that this man was no slouch, as even Frog, who had far better sight than most humans, whispered and affirmed Graham's judgment.
"It’s a Knight."
Those three words were enough.
Just before Frog spoke, one of the guards furrowed his brows, ready to intervene, but Graham stopped him.
"Stand down."
"What?"
"Retreat."
Graham was not a calculating man. But neither was he someone who ignored what was plainly in front of him.
If his guard interfered, he would die. Graham couldn’t just stand by and watch that happen.
What sort of Commander would sacrifice a soldier who had shared meals, training, and even names with him, just to assess an enemy's strength?
In Graham’s view, a Commander who did such a thing deserved to be beheaded.
He could not be that kind of Commander. So, he pushed his guard back.
'Is today the day I die?'
He didn’t know why this Knight had come here in such a pitiful state, but if he truly was a Knight feared as a calamity, even blocking a single strike would be a struggle.
If he was lucky, he might be able to block two.
Still, Graham gripped his sword.
A soldier must fulfill his duty, no matter who they were.
Standing here and calmly accepting death was not what a Lord should do.
"I am the Lord of the Border Guard."
Graham grasped his sword and looked straight ahead, but the enemy’s sword vanished with a whoosh.
Before he could even finish speaking, there was no time to shout a battle cry. What saved him was the simple, straightforward repetition of his training.
At the point when Graham thought he had reached his limit in terms of age and skill, he met Encrid, and after reminding himself that it wasn’t the end but a new beginning, he spared no effort.
That effort saved him.
Out of habit, he swung his sword diagonally, rooting himself by his legs, intending to deflect the blow.
This habit was born from sparring with Encrid, a desperate move to survive even a single strike.
In conclusion, he angled his sword diagonally and braced himself as an overwhelming force crashed down on him.
Clang! Screeeech!
It wasn’t a perfect deflection. Strictly speaking, he had only deflected half the strike.
Even so, he endured it.
Being a Lord, Graham naturally wielded an excellent sword, made of Valyrian steel. Even then, one side of the blade was half shredded, now looking like a saw.
Despite having deflected half the strike, Graham's hand, which gripped the sword, felt like it might burst.
It may have slightly torn.
But he held on.
Even if it was partly due to luck, the fact remained. He had withstood a Knight’s blow.
Of course, it was only possible because Corwin was far from being in his right mind.
The battlefield, the blood, and his escape had driven him mad. His sole, clear purpose now was to kill the Lord.
There was no meaning in it, only resentment.
Yet, Corwin followed that urge.
He wasn’t armed with an engraved weapon, having hidden his old sword in a shabby scabbard, and stolen a gambeson. Unlike Knight Jamal, he didn’t have the fairy-tale ability to blend into his surroundings, so he crept through the bushes to get here.
He had only managed to sneak in because the Aspen army had created an opening by launching a frontal assault.
Otherwise, he would’ve been caught long ago.
"That little frog."
Corwin's bloodshot eyes gleamed with killing intent.
Another reason his previous strike hadn’t severed the enemy’s head was the whip wrapped around his ankle that had saved Graham's life. The whip's owner, Luagarne, watched the strike and thought to herself.
'Half-wit.'
Of course, there was no doubt he was a Knight. But not all Knights were the same.
Compared to those like Encrid, Rem, or Ragna, Corwin’s skill was embarrassingly low.
So she thought—
'I can hold out.'
Though all she could do was hold out. The end would not be a favorable one.
Luagarne was here as Graham's guard, at the request of Krais, who feared the enemy might send a flanking force to ambush them.
So, no one had expected a Knight to attack.
Help would be hard to come by.
Thus, the end would not be good. At best, they could hold out until death.
Should she give up?
She asked herself. The answer didn’t matter.
Gurgle.
Luagarne puffed out her cheeks.
There are moments when neither despair nor giving up are necessary. This was one of those times. She had to act now. She clenched her grip on the whip handle.
"I’ll kill you all."
Corwin said, tugging his leg.
Despite all her strength, Luagarne was dragged along.
Bang!
She raised the loop sword in her right hand to block just as Corwin’s sword slammed down onto it.
She hadn’t seen the sword's trajectory but blocked it through pure instinct.
Right beside her, Graham let out a sharp breath and slashed down with his sword.
Some soldiers had gathered beyond the guard, hearing the commotion, but Corwin was already lost to madness.
He believed that killing and escaping would still be possible, regardless of who stood in his way.
It was already a mad thought.
Though a Knight could cut through a hundred enemies, how could anyone survive in the middle of an army where arrows rained down and soldiers pressed in from all sides?
Even Knights tired eventually.
But Corwin wasn’t thinking like that. If he had, he wouldn’t have made it this far.
Corwin’s eyes grew even redder. His bloodshot eyes, now bleeding from burst vessels, made him look more like a beast or monster than a man.
The killing intent mixed with his sword as it savagely slashed through the air.
Wheeee!
A Knight, armed with insight, was now pushing forward with raw power and speed.
Under normal circumstances, Graham would’ve been cut down long ago, but despite his armor flying off and his arm being gashed, he endured.
Graham had trained relentlessly, watching Encrid all this time.
He had left all lordly duties to Krais to train.
As a result, he had risen to the level of a Junior-Knight.
Of course, even a Junior-Knight shouldn't have been able to block these consecutive blows. That much was true. But he did.
If one had to pinpoint why, it was partly because Corwin’s Will had shattered due to his botched escape, partly because Luagarne's whip continuously entangled his ankle, disrupting him, and partly because Corwin had abandoned his insight, relying on brute strength instead.
"Arrrgh!"
Corwin's voice, filled with negative emotions, echoed with a frustration that was unpleasant to hear.
Many of the nearby soldiers furrowed their brows at the sound.
Even so, none of them dared to step forward.
Whoosh.
Corwin’s sword once again sliced through the air. Though his Will was no longer as solid as before due to his earlier mistakes, a Knight was still a Knight.
In this strike, even if Graham’s head was severed, there would be no excuses.
Moreover, Graham had already pulled back his troops to prevent them from being killed while protecting him.
Thud!
But once again, Corwin failed to achieve what he wanted.
His sword had cut through something, but it wasn’t the Lord’s neck.
Flop flop.
Frog's severed arm twitched on the ground, spraying blood like a fish pulled from water.
“How many more times do you think you can block?”
Corwin spewed out his dark, malicious killing intent.
At this point, Corwin regained a slight semblance of clarity.
To him, it was more of a desperate hope, but if things continued like this, perhaps his twisted intent could transcend into Will, opening some new path for him.
Even if it was the path of a mad Knight stained with bloodshed.
That is, if he had survived.
Corwin shattered Graham's shield, broke his fingers, and even severed Luagarne's leg, but he hadn’t killed them.
The important thing was that time had passed, and the deranged Corwin hadn’t even realized it.
“Well, well, look who’s made it this far. Why are you even here?”
A voice stopped the battle. Light and casual, but still, Corwin couldn’t finish his attempt to behead the Lord.
Something whooshed through the air, flying between Graham and Corwin.
Corwin instinctively retreated. Graham was slow to react, only flinching.
Whatever it was, it moved far faster than Corwin's sword had just moments before.
Bang!
With a loud noise, the object struck the ground, kicking up dust before settling.
It was a hand axe.
Even Graham, who was watching closely, barely saw it fly through the air. To the soldiers, it must have looked like a lightning strike.
The thrown axe stuck deep into the ground, with such force that it seemed to fracture light itself.
It was a throwing axe, with a slightly smaller blade, but the entire blade had sunk into the ground. The sheer force behind it was terrifying.
Corwin’s head snapped back, his eyes widening to the point of tearing.
Blood vessels in his eyes burst, and blood-tears flowed down his cheeks.
“Why are you here?”
Death had returned. A monster with gray hair.
Behind him was a man with black hair and blue eyes, and next to him stood a man with reddish-brown hair and a blank expression.
Beside them, a female soldier was panting heavily, her name was Finn.
Finn had reported back during her return, quickly bringing Encrid to the scene.
Later, Graham would surely owe her his thanks.
As Corwin instinctively tried to flee, something else whooshed past where he had intended to go.
Corwin twisted his body to dodge it, only to see a leaf-shaped sword.
The golden-haired Fairy holding the sword, with an unforgettable appearance, spoke up.
“You will not escape, shrunken one.”
What nonsense is this?
Corwin scanned the group surrounding him.
“Brother, it’s time to go meet your maker.”
The large man, resembling a bear, spoke from one side.
And his words came true.
“Arrrgghhh!”
Corwin let out a cry, part scream, part battle cry, as he tried every possible way to flee. His Knightly insight read the future.
And in all those futures, Corwin saw the inescapable strike that would severe his neck.
“No!”
That was his final word.
Thwack!
The head of Knight Corwin flew into the air.
Rem, who had swung the axe, considered splitting Corwin’s head again after it hit the ground but decided against it.
What use was there in splitting the head of a dead man?
“Crazy bastard.”
Rem spat on the ground.
The whole ordeal had been unsettling.
Finally, Graham and the limbless Luagarne let out sighs of relief.
Encrid helped both of them up.
“My limbs will grow back.”
Luagarne said, as soldiers rushed over to bind her severed limbs and wrap them in bandages.
“What’s the situation at the front?”
Graham asked.
“They’ve retreated.”
Encrid, who had always shown respect toward Graham, spoke words that greatly comforted him.
Thanks to him, there were no casualties in this battle.
Encrid spoke calmly, though only a few soldiers saw the Mad Company cutting down the Knight known as a disaster.
Though they watched the Aspen army retreat, Graham’s forces held their ground.
Despite the situation, some had witnessed what Encrid had done firsthand.
“Iron Wall.”
Someone muttered.
And so, Encrid’s most famous title was replaced. He was now known as the Sword of the Iron Wall.
“You’re late.”
Through the crowd of onlookers, Krais, with his big eyes, appeared, followed by Esther, in her panther form, who gazed at Encrid with her blue eyes.
If Aspen's defeat spoke of collapse and despair, Naurillia’s victory spoke of the birth of a hero.
With so many watching the battlefield, word would soon spread.
Later that evening, after saving Graham and treating the limbless Luagarne, they began the arduous task of cleaning up the battlefield.
There would be no celebrating, no toasts. They had to clean up the aftermath first.
There was no time to get drunk and relax, for they had to stay alert in case Aspen attempted another foolish attack.
After washing, eating, and maintaining their gear, the soldiers, still excited, chatted and passed the evening.
It was only then that Encrid felt a sense of emptiness, a void that appeared in the dead of night.
“Lucky to have found him.”
“He was headed toward Aspen, using a greatsword as a walking stick!”
The scouts and guards on watch brought in Ragna.
“Ah.”
Encrid let out a short sigh, having completely forgotten about him.
“Phew, found him just in time.”
With a mutter, Ragna entered the tent, his eyes rolling back as he fainted.
Naturally, he was taken to the infirmary.
Thanks for the Chapter Bro!!! :DD
Thanks for the Chapter.
Is it updated regularly? Also what is release schedule
Creo que he leído el manhwa, talvez lo esté confundiendo.. 🤔