35. Engagement – Grace

“Ha ha ha! Gotcha!”

Dehorman’s laughter echoed through the mountains as his boastful, massive axe was embedded in Old Phantom Fox’s head.

Once again, Leo handed the Old Phantom Fox hunting over to the hunting team. His skill had improved a bit thanks to the {Passable Skill}, but he was still far from being able to catch this sprawled-out monster. He had to settle for observing it while promising to do better in the future.

War broke out even before spring could arrive, and while Lena had become a warrior, Leo also joined the fray.

At first, Noel Dexter had staunchly opposed it and was displeased last time, but this time he easily allowed his son’s participation.

What a significant improvement!

Judging that Leo wouldn’t be outmatched by soldiers at least, he focused on teaching him how to deal with knights.

Lena and Leo sparred with Noel right up until they left, and soon the day of deployment arrived.

The soldiers and warriors formed ranks and began marching to the sounds of drums and horns.

During their long journey, Leo bribed the long-nosed Hundred-man Commander again. With the leftover {initial funds}, he gave it away freely since it was of no use to him anyway. In return, the Hundred-man Commander made a tempting proposal: he would categorize Lena as a patient and put her on a carriage.

Lena had blisters on her foot again. Clumsy as she was, no amount of telling would change her habit of suffering before she corrects her mistakes.

Though it was an unexpected benefit, Lena refused it. She endured the pain and walked on.

Just like last time, after two months of arduous marching, they finally reached the battlefield. The second battlefield they faced was still fierce.

‘But why is the Austin Kingdom losing?’

From the perspective of a mere soldier, it looked like the Austin Kingdom had the upper hand no matter how one viewed it.

Thanks to absorbing the barbarians as citizens, the Austin Kingdom had many warriors raised in harsh environments. These warriors possessed superior combat skills compared to the soldiers conscripted from the affluent Belita Kingdom.

The reinforcements for the battlefield arrived swiftly. Warriors could be deployed immediately after a simple training session. In contrast, it took a long time for the other side to train their conscripted soldiers.

However, the Belita Kingdom had a large population, so whenever they recruited, they poured in large numbers of troops.

The situation for the knights was somewhat different.

The northern kingdoms had a considerable number of knights. It was an odd phenomenon considering the population in the north was low. This was why the Austin and Aster Kingdoms were referred to as the land of knights.

Overall, it was clear the Austin Kingdom was at a disadvantage in terms of quantity. Instead, they balanced things out with the quality of individual soldiers and the number of elite knights.

However, in this world’s warfare, battles fought in small units without significant rotations meant that the high average individual combat power of the Austin Kingdom had to prevail.

Variables arose only when wars dragged on for a long time.

If the war prolonged, the conscripted soldiers of the Belita Kingdom would gain experience and grow into elite fighters.

Our side’s warriors would do the same, but with the larger numbers, the Belita Kingdom had a much greater advantage in becoming elite.

And the Belita Kingdom was wealthier.

Due to the harsh northern environment coupled with past civil war effects, the impoverished Austin Kingdom lacked the ability to sustain a long war and had to aim for a quick victory.

‘So, the war ended early… and the Austin Kingdom lost.’

It’s incomprehensible. If the war ended early, it should have been a victory for the Austin Kingdom.

“Hey! Leo! Why are you zoning out again?”

Lena shouted as she sliced through an enemy in front of her.

Lena quickly got promoted to Ten’Injang.

This was thanks to Leo hiding his true abilities and letting her take the credit, but if both of them became Ten’Injang, they risked being separated into different units.

Then Lena might end up meeting Katrina alone.

Lena, unaware of his strategy, nagged him about why he wasn’t giving it his all.

Now she’s acting like she’s in charge and giving orders.

“Ah! Lena! That’s too much!”

“If you’re upset, then rise up the ranks. What? I can’t hear you, your voice is too soft.”

Lena teased playfully. Even though she knew it was a joke, somehow it felt infuriating.

*

As summer arrived, greenery blanketed the battlefield.

It was time for the knights to go wild. Knights from each kingdom paired up in twos and threes, plunging into the battlefield.

Now, the soldiers’ fights became mere side events. Summer was the season where victory depended more on how well the knights were operated rather than standard troop deployment.

Lena’s unit remained on high alert, advancing when the Hundred-man Commander’s messenger ordered them to, and retreating when told to.

Leo didn’t let his guard down either.

Katrina should be appearing soon.

Meeting her was undoubtedly a {special event}. With him in the same unit as Lena, a meeting with Katrina felt inevitable.

The prediction came true. One hot summer noon, Katrina and a young knight burst forth from the bushes.

What was the name of that young knight again?

“Knight!”

The messenger from our unit jumped to the opposite side.

It felt like déjà vu; last time, we were on the right ridge of the battlefield. This time, we were guarding the left-side bush, yet Katrina appeared just the same.

The only difference was that Lena had been promoted to Ten’Injang.

Lena let out a whisper.

“Should we capture that red-haired one?”

As the Ten’Injang, she had to make personnel decisions.

Leo shook his head.

“That knight looks stronger. Let’s take down the one that looks weaker first and then help.”

Lena didn’t question how he knew that. The situation was pressing, and she trusted Leo’s judgment.

“All units, hold your ground against that knight! We’ll soon have reinforcements!”

She rallied the soldiers. Coincidentally, the number of personnel in this unit was the same fifteen as before. What a coincidence.

During battle, when units lost numbers rapidly, they often merged with other units, resulting in some groups with well over ten men, and that had happened both before and now.

Twelve soldiers rushed toward Katrina, while Lena and Leo stood alone in front of the young knight.

“Wow, I must have underestimated this.”

“You just look silly, Deros. Hurry up and finish him off so we can help.”

“Ah! Senior, come on! That’s too much.”

“Hahaha.”

Katrina remained calm even with a dozen soldiers before her.

Leo averted his gaze from Katrina. As cruel as it was to say, those twelve soldiers would soon be dead.

He focused on the young knight.

The knight, Deros, swung his sword lightly. A typical soldier wouldn’t have been able to block his strike, but Leo easily deflected it and countered.

“Whoa?”

Lena’s sword clashed with Deros’s leg. While he was busy blocking Lena’s sword, Leo sidled up and aimed for his side.

Deros deflected Lena’s sword and turned to her right. Naturally, he was moving away from Leo to keep targeting Lena.

‘Not gonna happen.’

Leo stubbornly stayed close, disrupting his movements, while Lena pressed hard against him.

“Hey! You idiot! There are only two of us! What are you doing? Are you crazy? Do you want to die by my hand?”

“…Katrina, they’re not normal!”

Katrina’s shout was rougher than before.

She’d already taken down six, but the sheer number of persistently grappling soldiers had dragged out the fight.

Soon, the reinforcements arrived.

“Over there! Charge!”

“Reinforcements, target that knight!”

As Lena shouted to the reinforcements, they all surged toward Katrina.

“Hey, you little brat! You better come see me later!”

“……”

At Katrina’s furious shout, Deros was left speechless. He was too preoccupied with dealing with two unexpectedly competent soldiers.

Lena and Leo weren’t exactly comfortable either.

Indeed, one shouldn’t underestimate knights. Even facing a rookie knight significantly weaker than them was a dire challenge.

Yet somehow, Leo’s sword struck Deros’s body. After taking a single hit, inexperienced Deros wavered noticeably, ultimately falling to Lena’s blade.

Gasping for breath, Lena and Leo turned their heads toward Katrina.

“Now we just need to…”

“Ahhh!”

The last remaining soldier fell. Katrina, with her messy red hair flying wildly, had single-handedly wiped out two entire units.

“Phew, to think Deros got taken down by two soldiers… You youngsters are quite something.”

Her eyes pierced fiercely at the two soldiers. Katrina was baffled by Deros’s ridiculous death that she didn’t even think to retie her hair.

Leo gulped.

Previously, while battling Katrina, Lena lost an arm. She had been an insurmountable opponent, yet Lena had managed to cleverly catch her off guard last time.

This time, they could very well die.

‘No. Still, I have the {Passable Skill}. And she’s hurt more than before.’

Blood was oozing from various wounds on Katrina’s body.

She had already been injured before, and now it was worse.

Leo steeled himself as he approached her, with Lena also brandishing her sword, wary of the monstrous slaughter that was Katrina.

A tense atmosphere enveloped them as the three faced off for a moment, but Katrina bypassed psychological warfare and took the offensive.

Prolonging the fight would only put her at a disadvantage.

Other units might come to support, and with blood splattering everywhere, her head felt dizzy. She needed to finish off these two and escape quickly.

‘This guy, though…’

One irritating detail kept interfering with her actions. Every time she attempted something, the guy disrupted her flow.

‘His swordsmanship isn’t anything special, but he works too well with that girl.’

Katrina realized the girl was the weaker link but couldn’t just rush towards her indiscriminately. She needed to take care of the guy first.

This boy, despite his young age, was close to becoming an expert, putting tremendous force into his blade.

She was unaware of Leo’s achievement activating.

[ Achievement: One Knight – Increases strength when battling against knights. ]

‘If only that disruption wasn’t there, I could take care of the girl first and deal with him afterward. If I focus on the girl, he would stab me.’

Yet it felt inappropriate to target the guy.

That guy was focusing on defense.

‘If only my body was intact!’

It was unreasonable to face over twenty soldiers at once.

For a knight, the role is to hunt down soldiers without any losses, yet the serendipity of encountering these abnormal soldiers was unfortunate for her and Deros.

Katrina attempted reckless attacks several times, inflicting slight injuries on her enemies, but in return faced the same.

‘…I guess this is it for me.’

Katrina prepared for death.

Since she had no chance of winning in a fair fight, she had to take a gamble now, a serious gamble.

It wasn’t fitting for a knight to take risks, but there was no other option. Any further delay could lead to reinforcements arriving.

‘Ellen, I’m sorry. I might not make it back.’

Having resolved herself, Katrina adjusted her stance and emitted a dangerous aura.

She could definitely take at least one down with her. It was very likely she would also perish from retaliation, but she was already riding on borrowed time.

Katrina lunged towards Lena, shifting the weight onto her sword, and crashed into Lena with such force that Lena lost her balance and staggered.

As Katrina’s relentless attacks commenced, Leo desperately tried to assist, but the advice from the {Passable Skill} wasn’t what he needed.

‘This… I can’t protect her. All I can do is counterattack.’

Against an enemy who began disregarding defense, pressure or disruption was meaningless.

Against his will, Leo exerted himself to stab at Katrina’s shoulder. At that moment, her eyes shone—she had hit the jackpot. Katrina forcibly moved her pierced shoulder, raising her sword.

Leo’s leather armor crunched as blood streamed from his torso.

“Leo!”

Fallen Lena kicked at Katrina’s leg.

Katrina, having been kicked, tumbled back for a moment to create some distance before repositioning her sword. Despite the deep wound on her shoulder, she acted nonchalantly.

“Wait!”

Leo shouted.

That woman was currently charging at them, intent on taking them both down. At this rate, one of them would die.

“Let’s stop fighting.”

“…Why?”

“If we keep fighting, you’re definitely going to die.”

“I can at least take one down.”

“I know. So let’s end it here. I won’t chase you.”

Katrina’s mouth twisted in displeasure.

“Are you telling me to run away?”

“No. I’m asking you not to harm us.”

“Leo! What are you saying!”

“Lena, I’m sorry. At this rate, one of us will die. Let’s just stop here.”

“But…”

Lena hesitated.

I don’t care if I die. A warrior doesn’t turn their back on an enemy, and I’m a warrior. But if it’s not me and Leo dies…

The blood pouring from Leo’s chest wet Lena’s stubborn resolve. Unable to find an answer, she found herself faltering.

Katrina watched the two in bewilderment.

‘A couple, huh?’

Such a strange atmosphere was rare on the battlefield, causing her to lose her edge while recalling Ellen.

‘…Should I just back off?’

A knight escaping thanks to the goodwill of soldiers. That would be shameful.

But… Ellen had asked her to come back alive.

The man who didn’t know how terrifying knights were had panicked when she said she was going to war.

The day before deployment, he had awkwardly dragged his ailing body, returning with a ton of herbs. He didn’t even realize that knights received provisions for medicine separately.

Handing her the herbs, he implored her repeatedly, and Katrina wished to see him again.

Hesitating, Katrina sheathed her sword and said,

“Fine. I’ll run away as you say. I’ll remember this grace…”

Trailing off, she quickly turned away. How embarrassing.

Her humiliation intensified when she caught sight of Deros’s corpse.

Feeling sorry for having insulted him when he struggled against a tough opponent. Who would have thought such fools could be hiding among the soldiers…?

Katrina wanted to give him a proper send-off, but her own safety was hard enough to ensure.

She picked up Deros’s sword and some heirlooms and left.

[ Achievement: Saved Katrina – Katrina remembers this grace. ]

As Katrina vanished, Leo plopped down. His clothes were soaked with the blood spilling from his chest.

Lena hurried over and wrapped bandages around his chest. When her short hair tickled his nose as she leaned in closer, Leo apologized.

“Sorry.”

“…It’s fine. We weren’t really going to manage against her anyway. If that knight had been in normal condition, we’d have been dead.”

She continued tying the knot.

“And we did our job by taking down one knight.”

Having completed the first-aid, Lena plopped down in front of him, now looking relieved.

Leo looked down at his chest and let out a hollow laugh.

It was a mess. The bandage knot was tied directly onto his wound.

But still, for someone who only knew swordsmanship, Lena’s arms were unscathed.