Chapter 124: Subjugating The Salgarez Mercenary [5]
The left foot, which had dug into the ground, turned outward, breaking the solid ground as if it was clearing away the softly piled up snow.
Death flew in amid the shattered rocks and dirt flying in all directions from the impact.
Wedge!
Pubberbuck!
Catherine threw her spear with all her might, and it flew like a ray of light, shattering the head of the horse in the lead and turning it into pieces.
As if that weren\'t enough, the spear pierced the abdomen of the heavily armored mercenary, pierced the head of the horse running behind him, and lodged itself in the rider\'s stomach.
She killed two horses and two armored men with a single javelin throw.
Meanwhile, Philaine\'s spear flew in just in time to cut through the gap, piercing right next to where Catherine\'s spear had passed. Unlike Catherine\'s, Philaine\'s spear went into the chest of the lead horse, and that was the end of it.
"Kkaaaah!"
But that was enough. In this narrow ravine, three of the leading cavalrymen fell, blocking the road. The horses behind them, galloping powerfully, tried to stop but couldn\'t because of the cavalry from the rear pushing forward.
Eventually, the mercenaries tripped over the corpses and fell one after another, with bodies floating up and the fallen mercenaries rolling around.
Some horses instinctively moved and jumped over the corpses, but there were only five of them, and they were so frightened that they jumped up and down, even dropping their riders.
A knight who handles mana wields a power worthy of fear. Just one person can turn the tide of battle, but there were two in this narrow path.
"Get off the horse!"
Although the cavalry fell one after another from the front, not all of them fell. The cavalry relatively far behind were unharmed.
However, the road was blocked by fallen horses and people, making it difficult for horses to pass. They had no choice but to dismount and trample over the horses and people to get across.
"Hey, save me!"
One of the mercenaries, whose legs were caught by a horse, struggled and pleaded, but everyone quickly stepped on him and moved forward. If they stopped there, they\'d all die.
They had to fight, whether their comrades died or not. The mercenaries who had stepped on their comrades felt despair when they saw two knights with longswords drawn and the imperial soldiers blocking the road with large shields and aiming their spears.
"... Damn it! Turn around!"
"Eww!"
But they had no other choice.
The mercenaries each drew their weapons and charged forward without thinking. Carl nodded slowly after confirming that the cavalryman briefly visible above the soldiers had completely disappeared.
Crunch...
Carl\'s armor emitted the roar of a crouching beast. The shouts of the mercenaries and the noise of battle as they bravely charged against the wall of knights and shields were deafening. The narrow valley made the sound echo. Everyone\'s eyes were focused on the front, and it was so loud it was deafening. The best time to make a surprise attack.
"Reversal!"
"Understood!"
At Carl\'s shout, Billford and three soldiers guarding the rear turned around and looked forward. They noticed that Carl was looking up at the sky, so they looked up too.
"Damn it! Get down here quick!"
The mercenaries who were quietly climbing down holding onto the rope to capture Carl hurriedly climbed down at Darian\'s shout.
From the top where sunlight barely shone, into the valley where darkness had descended. That is, where the enemy had already noticed the surprise attack and was waiting, prepared.
***
It goes without saying that there was no reason to just sit there and wait while the enemy came down from above.
Purbuck!
"Kkaaaah!"
Even though they were wearing sturdy gloves, they went down so quickly it felt like their hands were burning, but before they could even touch the ground, six mercenaries were attacked by Billford and his soldiers and were rendered incapacitated.
In particular, Billford\'s performance was dazzling.
While the soldiers were each stabbing a mercenary with their spears to incapacitate them, Billford stood guard over Carl and swung his spear like a windmill, taking down three mercenaries in an instant.
With elaborate spear techniques, he made sharp attacks on the lower back, buttocks, and back of the thighs, which were usually not well protected by armor. Even getting up and walking was impossible.
But the opponent was also desperate, so eventually more than ten mercenaries landed safely on the ground.
Woohoo!
"Ugh!"
"You idiot!"
One of them broke his ankle after jumping off the rope, so it might not be right to say he was safe. Among the mercenaries who landed was also Darian, who wore solid armor.
"Catch him!"
At Darian\'s shout, the mercenaries rushed towards Carl.
Meanwhile, Carl cleanly ignored the mercenaries who had fallen between Billford and the three imperial soldiers.
Surprisingly, Billford did not try to protect Carl by holding him or hugging him like he used to; instead, he guarded his back.
Carl held the flag in his left hand, stepped out with his right foot, and threw the one-handed sword in his right hand over his shoulder.
Clank!
The moment the mercenary\'s short spear pierced through, Carl jerked his body to the left. The blade passed through, scraping the armor of the raised right arm.
Cook!
Just after the spear passed, Carl turned his head sharply to the left and swung the sword he had pulled behind his shoulder. The sword that Carl swung so close that his gauntlet scraped his helmet seemed to have suddenly popped out of Carl\'s head.
The mercenary couldn\'t even react to the swordsmanship of Carl, whom he had thought was a member of the royal family.
Puck!
Carl\'s sword dug into the mercenary\'s neck. The sword touched the bone, and just as the mercenary fell limply with his nerves cut off, Carl skillfully twisted his sword out and took a step to the left.
Kkudangtang!
Carl, who avoided the falling corpse, stood up straight with his sword hanging down again. Red flags and capes fluttered in the wind that swept through the canyon. There wasn\'t a drop of blood on Carl\'s armor.
"Useless thing," Carl muttered indifferently. The small voice spread strangely clearly and was heard by everyone.
"Okay, grab him!"
Darian, startled by the eeriness, clenched his teeth and gave another order. The other side was on the verge of being annihilated by Billford and his soldiers. If they missed this moment, everything would be over.
Three mercenaries, including Darian, rushed towards Carl. Facing them alone, Carl had no fear at all. He had killed a person for the first time in his life just a moment ago.
The emotion Carl felt now was a calmness more transparent than a calm lake. He had no aversion to killing and no fear of combat. Having killed the mercenaries with a single sword strike, Carl was able to accurately gauge their level and also his own.
He had never crossed swords with anyone other than Catherine and Billford, so he had no idea how far he had come.
But now he understood.
Kwajik!
As mercenaries rushed in from three directions, Carl forcefully planted the flag into the ground and strode forward.
The flag was planted deep into the ground, beyond the power of Carl\'s small size, and in just one stride, Carl\'s form leaped forward powerfully, reaching top speed.
Kaaaang...
Everything seemed to move slowly for Carl. As if he had become a transcendent being, the passing sandstorm and the screams of ripping iron felt so vivid.
Carl swung his sword from left to right.
The sword strike, which should have required less force since it was far from the hand, struck the iron handle, which was closer to the hand. Normally, it should have been blocked in vain.
But not only Carl\'s sword, but even the arm of the mercenary who held it tightly was pushed away lightly like a dry reed.
The mercenary\'s arm jerked back in shock, his wrist twisted and snapped, dangling broken.
Carl\'s vision flashed as the mercenary\'s eyes grew wide in surprise at the enormous force. One was blocked, but one more rushed in from the left and the front.
Carl swung his sword sharply to the right, his exposed body looking precarious. The mercenary on the left charged forward with force, astonished at Carl\'s movements.
A gap.
Sling...
But when Carl pulled the sword out from his left waist with his left hand, it was revealed to the world that the loophole he had seen had never existed in the first place.
Dual swordsmanship. Who would have thought that a member of the royal family would do something so perverted?
Ting!
The sword that Carl pulled out with force was caught in the scabbard and pulled out in a straight line. The moment the sword\'s tip was caught on the edge of the scabbard and then pulled out, the sword spun around Carl\'s hand and swung around at high speed.
Shhh!
The sword that rose from the lower left to the upper right scratched the arm holding the axe, and in an instant, it swept away the mercenary\'s exposed eyes that were not covered by his small shield.
Clank!
Carl\'s body suddenly turned around as he swung both swords to the right, but stopped abruptly as he touched the ground with his right foot. The ground shattered, debris flew, and the steely roar of armor pierced the air.
When the red cloak spread open and blocked his vision, Carl was already looking at the bridge in front of him, his left hand gripping the sword in his right hand.
\'Ah...\'
A miserably brief moment, so brief that even sound couldn\'t be conveyed. Darian couldn\'t even properly recognize what he was thinking.
The sword held in Carl\'s left hand easily kicked away the spear that Darian was swinging powerfully at. Darian couldn\'t even see it and had to pay the price of standing in front of Carl, exposed and defenseless.