Duke Pendragon

As Breeden’s figure grew barely visible, only Raven and the Pendragon family’s soldiers were left standing near the stream with hardened expressions. Del Geoffrey had left the fortress with his soldiers, and they were rushing down the hill toward Raven and his group. One of Raven’s soldiers looked at Raven, unable to hide his anxiousness.

“Y, Your Grace, what should we…”

“Kazzal, Tata.”

Raven called Kazzal and Tata who were hiding behind Raven’s horse while not even looking at the soldier.

“It’s your turn now. You know what to do?”

“Ah, I know!”

“Go for it.”

As soon as Raven’s words fell, Kazzal immediately crawled up a tree, and Tata spread her wings and flew up.

Woosh!

The soldiers gawked in awe at the sight of the harpy climbing dozens of feet with every flap of her wing.

“Y, Your Grace!”

The soldiers took on a panicked expression at the sight of what seemed to be two monsters escaping by themselves. But Raven paid their expressions no attention, and looked around at the soldiers before giving a command.

“Archers get ready!”

“Y, yes!”

The archers pushed their crossbows through the gaps which existed between the shields of other soldiers.

Rumble!

The sound of multiple horses galloping became louder by the minute. Moreover, the sound of the bandits’ shouts disturbed the soldiers’ ears.

“Kiyah!”

“Kuhaha!”

The bandits were only armed with thin leather armor and rusty weapons, but their morale was high, and their momentum was on pace.

“Handsome Kazzal, sent signal!”

“Good! Archers, fire!”

Raven gave a great shout at Kazzal’s words.

Woosh! Woosh!

Along with a blunt firing sound, quarrels (arrows for crossbows) flew towards the bandits, slicing through the air. The arrows pierced straight through the bandits’ thin leather armor and the muscles of the horses.

Neighh!

“Ahhhh!”

“Kuahhk!”

Four horses collapsed along with the sound of their cries and the screams of their riders. They tumbled down the hill with the same momentum that they were rushing towards Raven with.

“Archers reload! Infantry, get ready to maintain your defenses.”

The archers backed away a few steps to reload their crossbows at Raven’s command. The crossbows were accurate and powerful, but the slow reloading speed held back the full fledged force of the crossbows.

Clack!

“We will prepare for engagement! Archers, fire as soon as you finish reloading!”

After giving his command, Raven didn’t wait for any response and rushed out to the battlefield on his steed.

“Gasp!”

The soldiers opened their eyes in shock at the sight of Raven charging headfirst into the enemy lines.

“Goddammit!”

Del Geoffrey spat out swears at the accuracy of Raven’s archers. They were better than he thought. But he still had around fifteen calvaries, and more soldiers following behind. The enemy might have better equipment, but it didn’t matter in front of overwhelming numbers.

“Go! Let’s go crush them… Hmm!?”

Del Geoffrey opened his eyes in shock. An unexpected situation had occurred. The enemy soldiers were standing still, but the Pendragon brat had started to charge towards them by himself.

A vicious smile crawled up on Geoffrey’s face.

“Kuhahahaha! This brat is out of his mind! Alright! I was going to quietly capture you, but now I will personally cripple all of your limbs!”

Nobles were not to be killed carelessly, especially more so if they were an heir to a duchy.

If the rumor spread that the only heir to the Pendragon family was killed, the nearby lords and the soldiers from the imperial capital would march down here. No matter the circumstances, they wouldn’t just watch from the sidelines if a blood relative of the emperor was killed.

So he was planning to simply capture the brat, but now Geoffery began to change his mind. It was fine as long as he was alive. Or maybe, it was better to be off with the brat now.

There was no law that prevented him from killing Alan Pendragon and claiming the title for himself.

“Get that brat! It’s fine as long as you don’t kill him! Kuhahaha!”

The closer the brat in white armor came, the closer Del Geoffrey seemed to grasping his ambitions.

Clip-clop, clip-clop!

Raven’s eyes gleamed from within his helmet as he stared directly at the group of bandits. His heart beat as fast as the horse’s hooves hit the ground. In addition, he felt hot energy rising up from his body, causing his muscles to swell tightly.

Raven released his hands that were grasping the reins.

Then, he unsheathed Widow’s Scream, wielding it with his right hand and reaching behind his back to grab a crescent-shaped blade with his left hand.

Woosh!

The scimitar he used to beat up Killian in Conrad Castle was no longer an antique. Raven had the blade sharpened and its handle rewrapped. The newly restored blad was now quite similar to the weapon Raven had used in his days in the demonic army.

Wooong!

Pendragon family’s treasured weapon, Widow’s Scream and the scimitar, shone cold in the sunlight, displaying their sharpness. The weapons radiated an eerie metallic sensation.

Raven’s face was adorned with a smile that was cold and as vicious as his two weapons.

“Let’s get warmed up, shall we!”

A man, who was once called the reaper of the battlefields, broke through the bandits’ formation.

“Sir Killian! We see the signal!”

“I see it too! All units, charge!”

Killian shouted a command after seeing the twinkling signal coming from the tree in the distance. The soldiers of the main army rushed out from the woods that they were hiding in.

“Charge! Charrgee! If you’re slow, then we’re gonna leave yer behind!”

“Yes, sir!”

The soldiers who numbered around one hundred increased their speed even further.

“I, I’m here!”

Killian and the soldiers, who had crossed about 200 yards, saw something rush towards them. It was the harpy that Alan had with him. She flew towards them, crossing dozens of yards with each stroke of her wings.

“M, master fighting! Human girl, knight, run away! Huff, huff!”

The harpy gasped for breath, indicating how hard it had rushed towards them, even with its stamina being better than humans.

“I, I see.”

Killian had already heard from Alan, but it really was incredulous that the goblin sent a signal, and the harpy acted as a liaison.

“Where is His Grace right now?”

“F, follow Tata! Gasp!”

The harpy took in a deep breath, then turned around before flying back to the way it came from.

“Let’s go! Advance! Charge!”

Killian and the soldiers ran after the harpy crazily.

Slice! Swoosh!

Several bandits were rolling on the ground with their arms cut off, accompanied by continuous screams. There were already eight bandits that were heavily injured or dead, squirming on the ground like worms.

“Huff… Huff!”

Del Geoffrey was standing in disbelief, his armor and body entirely soaked in blood. He took several steps back but fell in place due to his injured leg from falling off of his horse.

Woosh!

The scimitar drew a beautiful arc before one of Geoffrey’s subordinate’s heads flew up in the air. The dead man’s sword was nowhere close to reaching its opponent. Geoffrey looked up at his opponent who dove into his men by himself and slaughtered them with dull eyes.

“D, d, demon. That’s not a human. That’s a demon…”

Del Geoffrey muttered, unaware of the drool that was coming down his face. It was hard even for a knight to wield their weapons proficiently on top of their horses. But that demon had used both hands to wield two weapons, not even bothering to hold onto the reins. His movements had no gaps, and it was as if he had become one with his horse.

Clang!

That was when one of the rusty blades struck the body of the demon around the waist area. Del Geoffrey’s eyes lit up at the sight, brimming with hope. But after an instant, hope changed into shock and despair. Whatever material the white armor was made up of, there wasn’t even a scratch on the bloodied armament.

“You dirty scoundrel!”

Along with rough words unfit for a duchy’s heir, Raven made a cross with the sword he held in his right hand.

Kieeeek!

The man’s chest split open, accompanied by a sound similar to a ghost shrieking.

“Ahhhhh!”

Along with a flick of Raven’s wrist, both of the bandit’s arms rolled on the ground. Blood gurgled in his mouth before he fell into convulsions and died on the ground.

Wooosh! Thump!

Three more bandits fell as quarrels flew in from behind and struck their targets. Thirteen were dead. In the time it took to enjoy a cup of tea, thirteen men were killed by just one man. Del Geoffrey got up from the ground and turned his head towards the monastery.

“Whoo…!”

A sigh of relief escaped his mouth. Over thirty of his soldiers were rushing towards them with spears, swords, shields, and bows.

“Come quickly, you bastards! Overwhelm them with numbers! They can’t do anything in front of our crushing numbers!”

Geoffrey shouted crazily, spit splattering out with every spoken word.

Then, as if he had heard Geoffrey’s words, the demon in white armor stopped for a second and faced his head towards Geoffrey. Geoffrey flinched, but regained his composure and held up his blade in front of him.

“Today will be your last day, Pendragon brat! You are… hmm?”

Geoffrey stopped in the middle of his words. The brat had taken off his helmet to reveal a smile underneath.

“You can’t do anything in front of overwhelming numbers? Well-spoken for a dog who tried to bite its owner.”

“W… what?”

Del Geoffrey’s confusion did not last long.

“Kill those damned thieves! Go assist His Grace Pendragon!”

At someone’s sudden shout, Geoffrey quickly turned his head around.

“Uaaahhhhhhhhh!”

Del Geoffrey’s ugly face became distorted and wrecked to the point where people would believe him to have taken the shape of a new type of monster.

Wooooooooooooosh!

Dozens of quarrels brushed past Geoffrey, causing the air to distort. Where the arrows were shot from, around one hundred soldiers were rushing towards him while holding a flag with the Pendragon coat of arms in front of them.

“There’s no greater strength than numbers. Don’t you agree?”

Raven’s smile grew deeper.

***

“Aaaaaaaaaahhh!”

A bloodcurdling scream resounded throughout the monastery. Raven was seated in the middle of a large courtyard and coldly stared at the sight that unfolded before him with indifferent eyes.

Dozens of bandits were tightly bound and knelt in front of him. In front of them, a naked man was tied on a cross-shaped wooden pole. To the left and the right, there were tens of men and women who were watching the events of the courtyard with scared eyes. They didn’t dare stare at Raven for the fear of making eye contact with him.

“Hueeeeek… Heeuk!”

Del Geoffrey gasped for breath, his mouth full of blood-stained froth. His hands and feet were nailed to the cross-shaped device. Raven slowly stood up from where he sat. The bystanders flinched and took a few steps back at his action. Raven slowly walked towards the cross.

“Raise your head, dog which dared to bite its owner.”

Del Geoffrey raised his head in a half-conscious state.

A pure white face with no blemishes, a beautiful face that was hard to distinguish whether it was a man or a woman. But to Geoffrey, it was a face scarier than that of a demon’s. Under the gaze of those cold, blue eyes, Geoffrey lost control of his bladder.

“Heuuu… F, forgive…”

“Forgiveness?”

Raven mumbled quietly and turned his head. Raven’s gaze headed towards a large pit behind the road that led to the monastery. Just moments before, soldiers had occupied the monastery and confirmed what was inside the pit.

They made the report with horrified faces.

Raven had personally headed to the pit and looked into it. The sight of around a hundred skeletons that were charred black made even Raven, who was called the reaper of the battlefield, recoil at the sight. The remains belonged to the villagers of Southstone and the area around it.

Some belonged to those caught escaping, some belonged to those that collapsed due to the heavy labor, some belonged to those that were killed for entertainment, and some belonged to those that were raped then killed. The bodies were all burned beyond recognition.

“You kill my subjects and then say what, forgiveness?”

“Heuuuu. I, I’m sor… Please…”

Thud.

”Ahhhhhhhhhh!”

A scream resounded once more. The dagger thrown by Raven accurately pierced Del Geoffrey’s lower leg.

“Huek! Keu…”

Raven turned away from Geoffrey who was gasping with pain. The residents that were staring at Geoffrey with hatred and vengeful looks flinched and lowered their heads. Raven slowly opened his lips amidst the mixture of hostility, tension, and fear.

“Everyone, lift your heads. Raise your head and see how Pendragon takes care of a traitor, a traitor that is less than a wild beast. Watch, and listen.”

“……”

The residents slowly raised their heads. The appearance of Alan Pendragon with fluttering hair and cold eyes was proud and confident. Raven spoke in a cold voice while looking around at the residents.

“I will decide! I, Alan Pendragon, heir to the Pendragon duchy, will leave the judgment of Del Geoffrey… to my subjects that are here.”

“……!”

The eyes of the soldiers and the residents widened, and Raven turned his body away from the courtyard.