Captured

Several bundles of firewood were ignited beside the palisade, and sections of it were now ablaze. The wounded and a portion of the mercenaries had already gathered, ready to retreat once the palisade was fully alight and the rear guard joined them.

But change always comes faster than plans.

"Giddy up!"

A knight in a blue robe, noticing the burning palisade, sensed something and decisively charged forward on horseback. The half-ton knight, with an unstoppable momentum, collided with the palisade, which was already on the verge of collapse from the struggle. The palisade shattered into pieces. The knight, undeterred, continued his charge, even knocking a mercenary who stood in the way flying five meters away, with a visibly caved-in chest.

"Take him down!"

Wolf immediately grabbed a two-handed axe and ran towards the knight, with several mercenaries following suit.

Norn anxiously watched the scene. Although the knight's speed had slightly decreased, he was still not someone to be reckoned with. But if the knight broke through and swept along the defense line, the entire defense would collapse.

"We have to take out this knight," Norn thought, seeing the gap created by the knight's charge, through which some enemies had already begun to attack, though temporarily held back by their soldiers. It wouldn't hold for long.

"We have to act fast!"

Norn picked up a short spear at random, roughly aimed at the knight, and then took a deep breath. The air was filled with the smell of flames and death.

With a heavy step from his left foot, Norn swung his right hand back, his body taut like a full-moon bow, gathering all his strength into his right hand.

The short spear, whistling through the air, flew towards the knight, who quickly raised his shield.

The spear struck the shield hard, embedding half its head into it. The knight felt the impact, his body jolted backward, but the high saddle bridge firmly supported him.

Taking advantage of the knight's limited vision as he raised his shield, several mercenaries successfully closed in on the knight.

Bill, a hulking man like a tower, roared and charged at the knight from the left front with his shield, but he was immediately sent flying in the opposite direction like a home-run baseball, his left hand bent unnaturally.

But the knight's speed finally slowed down.

Captain Wolf seized this rare opportunity and swung his two-handed axe at the horse's head. But the tall steed, under the knight's control, showed incredible agility. The horse kicked off the ground and sidestepped, dodging Wolf's attack.

The knight even threw his shield, which was still holding the short spear, directly knocking down Captain Wolf.

"Captain!"

A mercenary approached the knight from the right, thrusting his spear fiercely, but the knight narrowly dodged it. Before the mercenary could retract his spear, the knight swung his sword upward with his right hand, creating a spray of blood.

The mercenary helplessly watched a massive wound from his shoulder to his abdomen, and his body convulsed before collapsing to the ground.

"Die!"

Jinn, his eyes bloodshot, approached the knight from the left rear and thrust his spear with all his might. This time, the knight's back was heavily struck.

The knight stumbled, but the thick chainmail under his robe effectively blocked the spear. Jinn felt he hadn't penetrated very deep.

The furious knight immediately turned his horse, intending to kill the boy who had left him with a humiliating wound. Jinn decisively dropped his spear and began running around the knight.

The knight kept turning his horse, but he couldn't keep up with Jinn's circling speed, and for a moment, he was at a loss.

"You cowardly little mouse, only knowing how to run!"

An angry voice came from under the knight's helmet.

"Dodging the enemy's attacks on the battlefield is not dishonorable. Winning the victory is the true spirit of chivalry!"

Jinn, who had been thoroughly educated by Norn on "knighthood," didn't care about the knight's anger and continued to nimbly dodge around, always staying in the knight's left rear blind spot.

While the knight and Jinn were playing a "circle" game, Norn, who didn't follow the rules of martial virtue, quietly approached the knight with his glaive.

"Jinn, I'm here to help you!"

Taking advantage of the knight's distraction by Jinn, Norn raised his glaive high and struck the knight heavily. The long glaive head hit the knight's left rib, but the blade couldn't pierce through the knight's armor.

The already furious knight, feeling the blow to his left rib, became even more enraged. He glared at Norn, who revealed a triumphant smile.

"Get off your horse!"

Norn pulled the glaive with all his might, and the hooks on the glaive head immediately embedded themselves deeply into the chainmail rings. For a moment, the long spear and the knight were firmly attached.

But awkwardly, despite Norn's utmost effort, his face turned red, not only did he fail to pull the knight off the horse, but he was also being pulled towards the knight.

The knight on horseback firmly planted his feet in the stirrups and grabbed the spear shaft with his left hand, pulling back with all his strength. The well-trained knight's arm strength was naturally not comparable to Norn's at the moment. Norn's feet left two furrows in the mud as he was slowly dragged towards the knight.

Fortunately, Norn was not alone.

Jinn suddenly appeared beside Norn and grabbed the spear shaft, pulling back with all his might. With Jinn's help, Norn finally stabilized his footing. The knight, on the other hand, became even more furious and pulled the spear shaft with all his strength.

For a moment, it turned into a tug-of-war.

"Ha-ha! Die!"

A flash of cold light suddenly struck down. Wolf, the captain, who had somehow gotten back on his feet, gasped for breath and swung his axe at the knight.

The knight, who had been exerting all his strength, was caught off guard by the heavy blow, and his balance was instantly disrupted. He was yanked off his horse.

The knight, clad in iron armor, fell heavily to the ground with a loud "thud." The intense pain left him temporarily immobilized.

Norn and Jinn immediately seized the opportunity and pounced on the knight, pinning him down with their bodies.

Dusty and disheveled, Norn roughly tore off the knight's helmet and lifted the chainmail collar. Throughout the process, the knight struggled fiercely but was pinned down by Norn and Jinn, unable to move.

Norn drew his dagger, which was not very sharp and had several nicks and an unknown stain, but it was still a deadly weapon.

"Say your last words, my lord knight!" Norn sneered, looking at the knight's roughneck, and raised his dagger high.

At the last moment, the knight, no longer caring about his dignity, shouted a reason to stay in his executioner's hand.

"I'll pay a ransom!"

The sound of their own horn suddenly rang out from behind Norn. Accompanied by a cloud of dust, their knightly reinforcements finally appeared outside the camp, beginning to flank the rebels.

For a moment, the battlefield was filled with the sounds of pursuit and slaughter.

Norn's eyes flickered, and after a long moment of contemplation, he gently lowered his dagger.