CHAPTER 140

City of Nassau.

One of the few port cities in the West.

Baron Iznik, the ruler of that place, was staring at the reports placed on his desk with a deeply furrowed brow.

"······I worked hard to get rid of it."

Just a quick glance was enough to elicit a string of curses from him.

Damn northerners.

Their actions were vile beyond measure, as if they were beasts with mixed blood running in their veins.

"These are the kind of people one should never underestimate."

The Baron shook his head and put away the paper he was looking at.

It seemed that nothing good ever came from getting involved with the North.

It was a proverb deeply rooted in the empire's prejudices, but never had it rung as true as it did now.

Just as it did now.

"My Lord! There's trouble!"

In an instant, the door to the office swings open as if it will break.

In the moment of silence that followed the noise, he saw the knight commander leaning against the doorframe, out of breath.

"What's going on!"

"······Lord Baron, Lord Baron."

The knight commander is catching his breath, unable to continue speaking despite the baron's shouting.

Baron Iznik, whose judgment was already clouded by the actions of one called Vlad, was more taken aback than angry at the news that eventually reached his ears.

"An attack...!"

"What?"

With a final word uttered almost like a whimper, the knight commander collapsed, leaving behind a trail of red stains on the doorframe he had been leaning on.

"What in the world..."

In an incomprehensible situation, the baron's beautifully grown mustache began to tremble.

No matter how experienced the Baron was, it was difficult for him to immediately understand the current situation.

There had been no warning signs.

The enemies were confined to the north, and the only troublemakers in the west were a mere band of around twenty.

"Are you Baron Iznik?"

However, misfortune and accidents always found a way to knock on one's door unexpectedly.

The body of the knight commander, leaning against the doorframe, blocking the entrance to the office.

Unfazed, a man strode past the corpse.

Screams that he had never noticed before began to come through the wide open door.

"Who... who are you?"

Black hair, black eyes.

A faint smile graced his face, but the coldness within was colder than the cold of the north.

"I am Rutger Bayezid."

"...!"

Rutger Bayezid.

A knight of Bayezid known not only in the north but across the continent.

"How... how did you...?"

"I had a bit of trouble getting here."

Though there was no invitation to sit, Rutger pulled a nearby chair and placed it confidently in front of the desk.

Though the intruder behaved like he belonged there, Baron Iznik could do nothing but swallow his saliva nervously.

"It seems the salty wind doesn't favor me."

'Sea...!'

Through Rutger's words, Baron Iznik could deduce where the breach had occurred.

The most fortified, the most secure place.

The invaders from the north boldly pierced through the heart of Iznik.

"I have come to convey the words of Peter Bayezid, the commander of this war and my father. Baron."

From the face of the man who wiped away his smile, the fierce scent he had accumulated over time wafted.

As a noble of the west and a seasoned merchant, Baron Iznik was well aware of the kind of scent this man carried.

"Baron Iznik, you must withdraw from this war."

Sharp, black eyes.

Beyond them, flames surged in the harbor.

Along with the screams of the ships anchored in Nassau.

The city of Nassau had fallen.

By the hands of the northern invaders who came unexpectedly along the waves.

An arrow from the north, unforeseen by anyone, was deeply lodged in Gaidar's shoulder.

※※※※

"The path ahead is blocked!"

"...Quite fast."

The paths gradually closing off.

The lords of the west, who had been as numerous as grains of sand until now, were now blocking the group's retreat with unwavering determination.

As if someone behind them was giving them direct orders.

"The lords are moving faster than expected. We could easily get trapped if we make a wrong move."

Marcus spoke of the desperate situation, but he maintained a calm attitude.

No, it seemed like he was making an effort to do so.

"Wouldn't it be better to break through head-on?"

"Not a bad idea, but not exactly a brilliant one either."

At Vlad's suggestion, Marcus gestured towards the woman riding behind them.

The woman's lips were turning completely white, as if her condition was getting worse.

The gaze of the boy trembling in her arms pierced Vlad's eyes.

"We can break through, but it won't be easy."

The soldiers of the west had firmly blocked the path, but considering the sacrifices, it should be possible to break through.

Of course, the problem was that the safety of the boy couldn't be guaranteed in the process.

"So, what's the plan?"

"There are still a few escape routes left to figure out."

Along with Marcus's words, crows continued to fly in from the front.

However, unlike before, the dwindling number of crows seemed ominous.

"...But don't go that way."

"What?"

It was a battle of intentions, but Marcus could understand Gaidar's intentions without much delay.

"Turn the head of the horse! We're heading to Nassau!"

While a few paths might lead straight to the north, Marcus decided to redirect towards Nassau.

The path ahead wasn't an escape route but a path leading to a grave.

"If it's Nassau..."

"I know someone there. We can borrow a ship from them and escape."

"....."

Marcus, who knew Bayezid's inner workings, knew that Rutger would have occupied Nassau by now.

However, there wasn't enough time to explain the situation to Vlad beside him.

"We're heading to the wasteland! We'll break through in a straight line!"

The members of the clandestine group turn their horses without delay according to Marcus' orders.

Though Aage and Stefan hesitated at the sudden change in direction, they eventually followed suit after seeing Vlad's determined expression.

"There are people following us from behind!"

"As expected."

Watching Marcus with a faint smile, Vlad turned his head to check behind.

A crowd that wasn't visible just moments ago.

However, as he watched them suddenly start to catch up, Vlad felt a chilling sensation in his gut.

'...I can't handle a battlefield like this.'

A knight might be a swordsman in peacetime, but in war, they become commanders. 

Vlad was in charge of the assault team, but this complex battlefield was a new experience for him. If it weren't for Marcus's judgment, they would have been completely trapped as intended.

"Don't just focus on the front, look beyond as well."

"...."

The world is vast, and there's much to learn. 

Vlad couldn't help but feel that he was still just a half-baked knight as he watched Marcus, who remained composed.

"Arrows!"

Arrows began to fly from behind, as if there was nothing left to hide. Among them, one malicious arrow pierced through the most fragile target.

"Aagh!"

Seeing the arrow lodged in the woman's shoulder, Vlad shouted loudly.

"Damn it!"

The blood spreading from her shoulder became clearer, along with the woman's increasingly pale complexion.

"Marta! No!"

The cries of the boy holding onto the woman in his arms shook one of Vlad's memories violently.

"...Shields up, everyone!"

At Vlad's command, the mercenaries strapped shields to their backs. These were shields made of thornwood, their trademark.

"Thornwood, to the rear!"

At Vlad's order, Aage and Stefan, who were covering the rear, began to interlace their shields.

As they formed a makeshift barrier, the onslaught of arrows began to diminish slightly.

"We won't hold out for long!"

At Stefan's shout, Vlad quietly bit his lip.

Blocking with small shields would only be a temporary measure anyway. As Vlad watched the pursuers growing increasingly from behind, he felt bewildered.

"It's a wasteland."

"Pardon?"

Marcus's voice conveyed that to Vlad.

Before Marcus's words could finish, a vast yellow wasteland began to unfold before their eyes. 

It's hard to believe that it was a forest road just a moment ago.

It was the beginning of the vast West, with no end in sight.

"They're the Gaidar cavalry. They're called outlaws of the wilderness."

As they emerged onto the wide plain, the pursuers were now clearly visible. 

Each of them bore fierce gazes, and above them fluttered a flag with the insignia of the Gaidar, the ruler of the West.

"What do you say? Worth a try?"

As a commander, judge for yourself.

Can you stop them?

"..."

At Marcus's question, Vlad quickly closed his left eye. Amidst the swirling dust, he sensed the wave of shaking enemies through his gaze.

'Five knights.'

Five knights responded to Vlad's aura. They were known to be skilled riders, even more so on horseback, among Gaidar's knights.

Can I really handle this situation?

"...I can."

"Do you have a confident reason?"

Vlad looked at Marcus with his closed left eye. His gradually flowing world was clearly full of confidence.

Auguste's traces were showing the way to Vlad.

"If there's no one else to guard."

"Alright."

If he is alone, he can break through it.

Because there won't be anything to worry about.

There is only one road pointing there.

"Then let's meet at Nassau."

Following Marcus's gesture, the group lifted the staggering woman.

Meanwhile, the boy's eyes met Vlad's.

The tear that fell from the boy's eyes was carried by the wind and touched Vlad's cheek.

'...'

A tear from one boy to another.

There is a time in everyone's life when they shed tears like the boy right in front of him.

"Aage!"

"What!"

However, Vlad decided not to open his closed eyes even in the face of tears.

Now, he was someone who could do something.

"I heard they're the fastest cavalry in the world!"

".....Who says so!"

Knowing it was a feeble taunt, Aage decided to overlook it.

The experienced barbarian warrior understood Vlad's intent.

Those who do not bow before the outlaws of the West.

"Who dares to speak such words in front of the Budart tribe!"

Following Vlad's lead, Aage began to boost the warriors' morale with a loud voice.

In response to his call, the warriors of the Budart tribe raised their weapons.

"Stefan! Follow Marcus!"

"But!"

"Ensure the mission is completed without fail!"

Talent in the right place.

Now is not the time to protect with a shield.

"Understood!"

With a nod and the Thornwood mercenary unit joins Marcus as if they are being sucked into the formation opened by Aage.

As they watched the group gradually move away, the warriors of the Budart tribe began to shout loudly.

"Are you ready?"

"Of course."

The approaching Gaidar cavalry could be seen from behind.

It is threatening, yet an opportunity to prove themselves.

The warriors of the Budart tribe began to glance behind simultaneously towards the approaching threat.

Horses running without pause.

On their backs, warriors of the Budart tribe balanced on their thighs alone, turning to look back.

As fierce as their gaze was the arrowhead hanging at the end of the protest.

Vlad found a way in the unconventional tactics of these barbarians.

"Fire!"

Sharp arrows shot forth from the hands of the barbarians.

A stance that could not be replicated even with training, only continuing through innate skill.

The barbarians' unique technique of back-shooting, which had troubled warriors of the North for so long, was being displayed in the wastelands of the West.

※※※※

"The enemy! They're turning around!"

"What?"

Gaidar's 3rd Cavalry Commander, Wagner, was taken aback by the sudden reversal of the Northern people.

"No, they're just, just turning their bodies!"

"What kind of bizarre..."

A strange posture never seen in the West before.

From within that seemingly possible stance, sharp arrows began to shoot forth.

"Argh!"

"Urgh!"

One by one, cavalrymen fell to a tactic they had never encountered before.

Wagner clicked his tongue in frustration as he saw the arrows boasting accurate accuracy even while running away.

"What in the world..."

Yet, despite his frustration, he did not waver.

Amidst his subordinates falling one by one, the fierce gaze of the West, seizing the opportunity, remained unwavering.

"Increase the speed!"

It is natural that the speed will decrease because enemies are not holding the reins.

The outlaws of the wilderness began to speed up, highly intoxicated.

Rather than resorting to such tricks, it would be more effective to get closer and strike.

"Huh?"

However, the arrows unleashed from the North were not the end of it.

"What's this?"

The formation of the barbarians split in an instant.

From within emerged a jet-black horse.

On its forehead, a horn gleamed white.

"...This is exhilarating."

The converging speeds, the moment of facing each other in the opposite direction, did not shake Vlad's blue eyes.

"Let's go!"

A small northern flag begins to rush towards Gaidar's flag.

The world that began with the tears of a boy flowed through the left eye of the knight who had proven himself.

In the clash at the edge of colliding worlds, there was no hint of hesitation in the charge of the knight and his horse.

Kwaaaaaah!

A shock so terrible that even sound could not be heard.

Alongside it, bodies began to fly indiscriminately.

As the moon of the day rose early, red blood began to splash towards the sky.