Subterfuge (2)

It took longer than expected to burn it all due to the large amount of food they had stored up.

When I returned from the warehouse, I found Zeff in a terrible state, his clothes and hair had been burned partial off.

However, his skin was relatively undamaged in comparison.

The enemy he was dealing with was Pohorizen, one of the Three Swordsmen; it was natural for him to struggle.

"Zeff, are you okay?"

Zeff nodded.

"All right, let's kill him and get out of here!"

I've done what I had to do.

So now the priority is to get out.

I pounced on Pohorizen with Zeff.

He swung his sword around with a frenzied look on his face.

However, I equipped with my Perk Blade, my power level rose to 95.

I could've ended the fight quickly by using [Crush] but there was no need since Zeff was here.

As I used the [Attack] command to cross swords with Pohorizen, Zeff, who was now free, took advantage of the opportunity to get behind him.

Although he was not as fast as Ganev, Zint's speed was also quite high.

"When did you get there?"

Pohorizen turned around, distracted by Zeff.

He turned his back on me, as expected of someone with less than 10 intelligence.

While ridiculing his behaviour, I immediately stabbed him in the neck with the [Attack] command.

He fell down after being pierced from the front and back by our swords and never got up again.

"Kill them quickly! Whoever kills them will receive knighthood! Do whatever it takes to kill them!"

(TLN: Official knights are sudo nobles with a hereditary title that is not passed down)

Then, from afar, I heard Bautor shouting furiously.

He even mentioned a title.

At these words, soldiers jumped at us from all directions.

To give a title to a commoner is such a great thing, but for us, it was more of an opportunity.

Bautor was now fully in my sights.

If I could kill the king here, that would be my greatest achievement in this war.

[Do you want to use Crush?]

I didn't hesitate to throw Heavenly Demon Rain at Bautor utilizing the skill.

The soldiers in its path were all bounced out of the way by the white light of the sword.

"Block them…"

Bautor hurriedly drew his sword; however, he couldn't stop my attack.

His power level was 93 and [Crush]'s current power was 100.

The moment my attack was about to hit a blade of light appeared and collided with [Crush].

Heavenly Demon Rain that was going towards Bautor was stopped by the blade of light with 103 power.

I looked in the direction where the blade of light came from.

As I expected, there was Ganev.

Of course, he was missing one arm and his body was wrapped in bandages, but his skills were still as powerful as ever.

I didn't think that the person I wanted the least to see would appear here.

As expected of someone with 98 power level he was already awake even with those wounds.

"Zeff grab a horse, we're leaving!

"Yes, sir!"

I decided to retreat.

"Your Majesty, that guy uses strange skills, so I think it would be better for you to stay back. Don't worry, I'll take care of everything!"

"Yes! Now that you're awake, there's nothing to worry about! Especially that general's man, don't let him leave alive!"

I heard a voice from behind me.

As I turned around while riding my horse, I saw that Ganev, who had leapt into the air, had jumped even higher with the propulsive force he had created by swinging his sword.

He blocked the way in front of us, and now the rushing soldiers started blocking the way behind us.

War is always unpredictable but no matter how I look at it, I should have killed Ganev in the last battle.

Even though he only had one arm, Ganev used his sword to attack me. 　

I re-summoned my blade and fought him with a series of [Attack] commands, but it was too much for me.

No matter how many times I hit him, there's a difference in strength between him and me.

I managed to hold my ground with a series of [Attack] commands, but I couldn't overcome the difference in power, his attacks pushed me over the edge and I fell to the ground.

As I rolled on the ground pain seeped through my entire body.

But that was not the point right now.

Zeff also attacked Ganev; they were both A-class warriors anyway.

So, although they crossed swords, the difference in strength was a whopping three, he was immediately overpowered.

Zeff, who was well aware of this, made the worst decision of his life.

He tried to make his attack successful by offering his chest and aiming for the moment when Ganev would stab him.

Zeff grabbed the blade that had stabbed him in the chest with his bare hand and swung the sword at Ganev with his other hand.

However, Ganev gave up on the sword that Zeff grabbed and immediately drew his other sword, blocking Zeff's attack. He then kicked Zeff in the chest with his foot.

That extremely fast sword drawing was Ganev's greatest weapon.

The moment Zeff was stabbed in the chest, I got up to help him, but before I could run to him he fell to the ground.

"What, are you done? Try using that skill again. Why don't you cut off my other arm?"

Ganev had a confident look on his face.

He did not think that he was going to lose against us.

No, he was clearly enjoying the situation.

Is there a way out of this situation?

Of course there is.

Always be prepared for the worst.

That's what you have to do when you're making plans.

That's why I had prepared insurance.