Episode 18
#18. enemy of the north (3)
My firepower and the sword energy of the knights warmed the cold gray earth..
Even though they were outnumbered, they balanced the balance with a magic sword that was 100 years ahead of them and a sword that would not be able to catch up even 100 years later..
Kwaaaaang!
Seogeogeukkeuk-! Paaaaat!
Kuoooooooo!
Kiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-
“Crazy monsters!”
“Didn't you say that you lost all your strength, from physical strength to weapons, for two months??!”
In the end, screams of astonishment that could not be tolerated were heard instead of screams..
The number of rampaging monsters has drastically decreased..
In proportion to this, the number of imperial agents, estimated at 20, and the warlocks of the Devil's Den, estimated at 10, was reduced by less than half..
Victory is tilted in our favor.
“Huh... … . Huh... … . after!”
Of course, Arina and the knights were not invincible either, so it was noticeable that they looked physically exhausted..
“Hey Arad Jin.”
It was then.
A knight belonging to Frosthan, whose name was Doyle or whose real name I don't know, suddenly called me..
“How many arrows are left? An arrow that unleashes magic every time it is shot..”
“five steps left.”
I answered his question without any doubt..
Then, he immediately fired one shot at a medium to large sized monster that was coming towards him..
Kkkkkkkkkkuk-!!
The arrow fired this time is a magic bullet that is a mixture of ice, wind, and water magic stones..
Kuoooooo…….
Ice instantly formed from the monster Hydra's waist to the middle of its neck..
It was difficult to completely freeze due to the hard skin, muscles, and bones, but it had the effect of temporarily rendering one incapable of combat..
“This is a piece of cake! Haaaaap!”
square-
Taking advantage of the opportunity, another high-ranking knight of Lancelet, a knight named Karot, lowered his sword and cut off the head of the slow-moving Hydra..
“There are now four steps left..”
After finishing shooting, I loaded the next magic bullet and spoke to Doyle..
“Is that so? I have to hurry..”
After hearing what I said, Doyle nodded and suddenly headed towards where Arina was..
“……?”
The back of Sir Doyle, who suddenly leaves while protecting me..
‘Is this place slowly quieting down and providing support??’
After catching a glimpse of Sir Doyle's back, I focused on the battle again..
So I fired one magic arrow, another shot, another shot, and another shot..
Before we knew it, the undead monsters had dried up along with the warlocks, and the number of knights and wizards belonging to the Empire's Sigma had also decreased significantly..
Now the number of enemies could be counted on one hand..
6 people presumed to be knights and 1 mage who appears to be the leader of this group..
In this way, seven people were surrounded by the knights of the High Castle..
“Lord Irina! Sir Dominic! I used all my arrows!”
I informed the Archduke and Balzac just in time that there would be no more fire support..
“i get it!”
“This was really helpful! It's true!”
Arina and Balzac smiled slightly and nodded at my shout..
Is it because I showed my true feelings by fighting together? Much of the suspicion and wariness from earlier had disappeared from her and the knights' faces..
‘But why do they look so calm??’
However, there was still an uneasy feeling that couldn't be expressed in words..
The final seven. The Empire's Sigma agents seemed strangely calm despite the complete failure of their mission..
“…….”
They silently stared at Archduke Arina's location with unknown eyes..
And at the same time.
Pooh wow-!
Something unbelievable happened right in front of me..
Knight Doyle, who had been quietly swinging his sword with his back to the Archduke, suddenly turned his body back and plunged his sword into Arina's lower abdomen..
“!!”
“!!”
The Archduke, Balzac, the other knights around, and me, who was watching from the carriage,.
I was so shocked by the unrealistic situation that I couldn't speak..
If Arina's condition had been normal, Doyle's surprise attack might have been prevented..
However, Arina has used up a lot of her physical and mental strength within the barrier..
No matter how much I cooked the stew and repaired the weapon, it could never be in normal condition..
And above all, I believed so much… … . To be exact, Arina's infinite trust in her subordinate, whom she did not want to doubt, allowed her to carry out a fatal surprise attack..
“Wow……!”
Arina, whose abdomen was pierced, collapsed on the spot, spitting out red blood from her mouth..
“No way!!”
Balzac was the first to scream loudly..
“why……?”
Arina sits down and looks back at her loyal knight with disbelief..
“Inooooom!!”
Balzac threw the hatchet from his belt at Doyle..
It was a throw from an old knight with a lot of stamina, but it was a throw that most average knights wouldn't dare avoid..
Kyaang-
However, the traitor Doyle stabbed Arina and struck down the ax with the retrieved sword..
taat taat taat
Then, it was as if the exhaustion he had shown until now was just an act..
Doyle quickly and triumphantly jumped high and moved towards the empire..
“betrayer!”
“The Knight of Frostmourne is a betrayer.!”
Three other high-ranking knights of Lancelet, Sir Eote, Karot, and Sir Rosie, glare at Doyle with hatred..
“Hehe.”
However, Doyle seemed to not even feel a sense of immorality and instead glared at us. Even spitting on the floor.
“You… … . It's really tough.”
Doyle's expression, glaring at us, contained refreshing, annoyed, and sad expressions at the same time..
“Until I first entered the barrier, I thought it would end quickly..”
Doyle said as he took out a magic tool in the form of a black bead the size of an eyeball, which did not suit him as a knight..
“But you guys were so persistent. No matter how high-ranking knights are made up of superhumans, they can survive for nearly two months without proper food.…….”
From the looks of it, it seems that his manipulation was done from the barrier position..
“Do you know how hard it was for me? I was forced to starve to deceive you! I can't even wash!”
What led them to wander through the barrier was also.
Killing special horses by poisoning them with plague.
It must have been done with that black bead in Doyle's hand..
“Still, I thought the end was finally in sight.…….”
His eyes scanned the golden carriage..
“A carriage filled with supplies in a magical world, and within a barrier! I'm so dumbfounded!”
Even now that I think about it, I thought it was absurd and absurd..
“They even shoot ridiculous magic arrows. Who would have thought that our Grand Duke was creating a secret weapon? Of course, it's all meaningless now..”
Doyle's gaze, which was full of absurdity, ended with the sight of the Northern Grand Duke, who had fallen down with blood pouring out of his eyes..
A sneer was drawn on the corner of his mouth as he looked at the Archduke..
“I could have poured a hundred days potion..”
Next to Arina, an old knight was kneeling and examining his master..
“please… … . please……!”
Balzac was preparing for the last moment, taking out all the potions he had and pouring them generously on Arina's gaping abdomen..
The situation is moving strangely again..
What was overwhelmingly advantageous to Lancelet became equalized or unfavorable..
A bloody and gloomy atmosphere emanated from Lancelet. On the other hand, on the other side, the atmosphere of joy and triumph shone like a star..
Two stark emotions are confronting each other on the gray magic landscape..
“What happened to the other Frostmourne I went scouting with? Was it a betrayal that they didn't come back??”
Another high-ranking knight, Eote, asked Doyle on behalf of Balzac, who was busy treating the archduke..
For reference, it appears that only Arina and Balzac were used as pseudonyms..
“You mean the Frostmourne who were in the same group as me? well? Where is it? Lord Eote.”
“I hope you don't mention my name out of your mouth. Because it's disgusting.”
“Wow~. Keep that in mind. All team members entered the monster's stomach. By now, you've probably become the bones and flesh of the monsters wandering around the demon world..”
“……Thank goodness. At least you did the betrayal alone..”
“Yes, I am very fortunate. Thanks to that, I got the reward all to myself..”
“Why did you betray me? Has Your Majesty made a decision that was disappointing for you??”
“North! I hate this whole damn North! I hate this damned cursed land where it's so cold, I'm always hungry, and there's nothing satisfying about it.!”
“If you didn’t like the North, couldn’t you just leave? Why did you do this?!”
“Will you just let me quietly leave, even though I am covered in frostbite? indeed? You even took an oath as a knight? Even if I can't do it, I'll either abolish the Danjeon or take one arm..”
“…….”
“But the empire is different! He promised me a huge reward if I cooperated with this matter. On a land that is warm and abundant all year round and a family that can be inherited.!”
‘The Earth and the North are all similar when it comes to money..’
While listening to the conversation between the traitor Doyle and our knight Eote, I recalled memories from Silver Age 1..
‘By the way… … . I don't think there was any information about a person named Doyle.?’
No matter how much of a traitor he was, if he killed the Archduke and sold out the North, there should have been some record left, but nothing in particular came to mind..
Even assuming that he would have been given a new name and identity..
‘The empire's promise was probably a lie..’
I clicked my tongue and secretly entered the carriage..
Then I started taking care of things..
After completing preparations.
I got out of the carriage and approached the fallen Archduke and Balzac who was taking care of him..
“shit… … ! The potion……!”
Balzac was examining the Archduke with his white hair and beard scattered..
Even though I used all the potions I had, the Archduke's injuries were not fully healed..
It only extended life by a few hours..
“Huh... … . gagging…….”
Anyone could see that the condition of the Archduke, who was bleeding while lying down, was not good..
“Can I take a look??”
I carefully asked the Grand Duke and the old knight..
“……!”
When Balzac heard my voice, he stopped and slowly raised his head and looked at me..
“Even though I've been like this, I've learned some healing skills..”
Balzac looked blankly at me and the golden carriage behind me..
“Please! please! Please save your life!”
thud!
Finally, he put his head on the ground and asked,.
The voice of the old knight asking for a favor was filled with tears..
‘It looks like they don't even have any intention of hiding it anymore. Well, a person named Doyle has already announced the identity of the Archduke..’
It's funny, until just now I was in a situation where I had to not know the identity of the high-ranking knights and the Archduke here. Officially.
“As expected, you are His Highness the Archduke. So, is the old knight Sir Dominic's real identity Sir Balzac, the Frostblade of the North??”
“okay… … . I'm sorry for lying to you until now..”
“it's okay. Could you please step aside for a moment, as I have to check on your condition.?”
“Yeah, that's right!”
Since permission has been granted, it makes sense to check the status immediately..
‘very bad.’
Of course, Northern Grand Duchess Arina's condition was critical..
At least this is the extent of it because I poured in a lot of potions..
If I didn't have the potion, I would have died a long time ago..
‘I can't survive with the medicine and treatment tools I currently have..’
Diagnosis results are very pessimistic.
Even where we are now, in the middle of the abyss of the devil, where everything is weak..
“Can you save me??”
I heard Balzac's cautious voice next to me..
“Umm…….”
I groaned and opened my mouth..
“it's possible.”
The Archduke's condition is critical and the current situation is not good. But I didn't think it was impossible.
“Uh, how?!”
When the positive answer came out of my mouth, Balzac's eyes widened..
“Big... … . Black... … . fat… … number… … There is……?”
Arina, who had not yet lost consciousness, also asked in a breathless voice..
“Yes, you can take back your sword as well as your life..”
“……!”
At those words, small tears welled up in Arina's eyes..
I must have mentally prepared myself internally..
Danjeon is completely broken..
Even if he saved his life, he probably thought he wouldn't be able to wield the sword anymore..
“But you have to get what I'm talking about..”
“Just say it! I will sacrifice my life to bring it.”
Balzac swore to me with the eyes of a fanatic.
It seems like he firmly believes what I said just now that not only the Archduke's life but also his dantian can be restored..
From Arad salt to golden carriage and magic coal..
The words coming out of my mouth right now didn't seem like the bluff of a medicine seller..
“If you are a mage belonging to Sigma, you will have the highest quality potions used by the Imperial Knights of the Empire..”
I looked at the enemies confronting our knights and said,.
“Also, a warlock from the Devil's Den who would be mobilized for this level of work would likely possess all kinds of rare and inhumane medicinal herbs..”
“I see..”
Balzac immediately understood what I meant..
“Please bring everything, everything.!”
Taat-!
Before I could finish saying this, the old knight disappeared before my eyes..
Stand up and go-
Paaaaat-
A frosty wind blew from the gray snow field..
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