Chapter 109

(109)

The knights are not sword masters.

Unlike sword masters, they wear thick armor that covers their entire bodies, skillfully wielding swords, spears, and bows, while riding wyverns and warhorses.

They are all deserving of the title “force of nature,” being human instruments of destruction, and they receive commensurate treatment for their abilities.

Lords must treat their knights “very well,” providing them with ample food, clothing, and comfortable lodgings, with salaries that far exceed those of regular administrative officers.

Jeilliris was spending enough gold each year to maintain her four knight orders, each composed of 200 members, that she could have bought a major city.

Thus, it was only natural for emperors and lords throughout history to strive to prevent their knights from perishing one after another.

Since the introduction of strong armoring magic runes and elasticity-enhancing runes, alongside heat resistance, discharge, and fire protection runes onto their armor through enchantment research, the likelihood of anyone other than a knight being able to kill a knight has drastically decreased.

Consequently, drowning has become the leading cause of knight deaths.

They sink in an instant while grappling in battles near rivers or at sea.

The thick armor that usually protected them now became a prison that trapped them.

…Tentia thought of this while she floated in the cold water.

Thanks to the homeostasis magic runes inscribed on her armor, she couldn’t freeze to death, but she could clearly feel the cold water seeping in through the gaps.

She opened her red eyes and looked up at the surface.

The moonlight and the flames of Valenciaunos shimmered and danced above her.

Brrrrrrrrrr.

The sound of bubbling water echoed faintly in the distance.

“I’ve got you!”

The boat capsized, and her subordinates died like dogs, but the leader beamed brightly.

The nearby officers and leaders on other boats let out sighs of relief.

To catch a knight—an individual capable of throwing a person like a straw—with just a single boat and about fifty subordinates would be a significant gain.

No one would dare ask why the boat capsized.

That would have been a foolish query.

The cheers above the surface did not reach the knight below.

Tentia was well within the realm of superhuman endurance and could hold her breath for over thirty minutes, but the lake was deep enough that the bottom was out of sight.

If she sank deeper, she might slowly choke to death.

She smiled as she recalled her father and mother.

Though she was unsure if they were good parents, both were good knights, a good husband, and a good wife.

Now that she thought about it, it had been a long time since she had written to them.

If she ever got a long vacation and returned to her hometown, she would have to tell them a lot.

Isn’t true desire what surfaces in moments of crisis?

The thought that she had yet to rehabilitate the Bandit Duke, Elder Brother in the Imperial Family Valenciaunos, and had not taught him the ways of chivalry came to mind.

No matter how desperate she had been, the notion of kidnapping a saint was not one that would typically cross the mind of an ordinary person.

‘When I surface, I’ll have to mention that one more time.’

Tentia had no intention of sinking down like this.

They did not realize it, but the subordinates now sighing in relief and smiling with joy were under a great misconception.

The emperor, along with the kings and nobles and magicians, had no intention of allowing a situation where drowning was the leading cause of knight deaths to persist.

They had been given a massive budget and a tight schedule, and the magicians worked tirelessly through the nights until they found a solution.

Tentia felt the distinctly engraved runes below her breastplate and channeled her mana.

Szzzzzzzz!

Ice formed like a castle on the outside of her armor, rapidly increasing in size.

In an instant, Tentia’s body was encased in a block of ice the size of a small room.

Her body, which had been sinking deeper, began to rise to the surface once more.

The magicians concluded, after extensive research using wind magic for flow manipulation and fire magic for propulsion, that the most efficient approach would be to utilize the fundamental knowledge that ice is lighter than water.

Finally!

A large chunk of ice burst forth, cutting through the current.

“What is that?”

“It’s not the season for ice to form, is it?”

“No way?”

The subordinates’ eyes widened in shock.

An ordinary person would have suffocated and died in such a situation, but knights could hold their breath for about twenty minutes, and as for ice, they could shatter it like confectionery.

With a loud crash!

Tentia, having kicked off the chunks of ice, landed on another ship.

“If you surrender, I won’t kill you.”

* * *

Tentia sank several more of the subordinates’ boats and, after boarding the fleeing leader’s vessel, captured him alive.

“I am a captain authorized by the baron of this territory to conduct privateer activities. If you execute me recklessly, you are disregarding the authority of this baron!”

The leader produced a permission slip and desperately used his tongue.

“In truth, you are not even harmed, are you? Your Grace the Duke and the knights must guarantee the autonomy of the lords in accordance with the law.”

Valenciaunos regarded the leader with the eyes of one who found him to be an audacious and amusing creature.

What a splendid piece of sophistry.

“Your Grace Duke Seberik, how about we take this opportunity to put all of the surrounding baronates in order and make them your governor province?”

“It’s not proper to speak such things to you, but won’t the imperial court be wary?”

“Since we’re already undertaking the canal project connecting with the North, this should pose no issue. His Majesty the Emperor has also mentioned that he intends to clean up around this lake.”

It was a statement so outrageous that if it had come from anyone else, it might have raised suspicions, but the fact that it was spoken by Elder Brother in the Imperial Family made it a different story.

Only then did the leader realize he had dared to touch beings he must not have even cast a shadow upon.

Who would lead such a large convoy north at this time?

‘…Duke Septentrio of the North. I’m doomed.’

As the leader resigned himself to death internally, Valenciaunos laughed.

“Can you pay a ransom?”

People become most desperate when hope arises.

The leader nodded frantically, and Tentia took all the chests filled with silver coins from his captured ship.

“From now on, make sure to consider the place you are resting before extending your legs.”

Valenciaunos truly released him, and Lysena shot him a clearly displeased glare.

“Is your Excellency so blinded by a handful of silver coins that you would make deals with criminals?”

Both Seberik and Tentia also wore expressions that were less than pleased.

As much as Valenciaunos had unsanctionedly released those who had sought to pillage Seberik’s grains, this could very well be perceived as a serious affront.

However, the renowned sophisticator did not hesitate to respond.

“There are quite a few subordinates who have fled.”

“That may be true.”

“With a privateer permit, there are obligations to the lord who issued it. You cannot kill captives indiscriminately, and there is a minimum ransom you must accept. You may not raid ports, harbors, or riverside villages.”

“So, you spared their leader?”

“Privateer permits are issued to individuals, not rabble. All this time, they must have adhered to what I just mentioned while under that leader. What happens when he’s gone?”

Lysena nodded, a look of displeasure on her face.

“They would scatter and raid riverside villages.”

“Yes. You know quite well. If we were to pursue them and eradicate them completely, that would be the proper course of action. But as long as that isn’t the case, killing him would only worsen the situation.”

Of course, he added politely.

“If my thought of collecting the proper price from a brigand who dared to steal your Grace the Duke Seberik’s grains has offended, then I sincerely apologize. Revenge is an honorable right of knights and nobles.”

Lysena narrowed her eyes over her glasses.

Seberik lightly nodded in agreement, and Lysena clicked her tongue, taking a step back.

Having heard about the riverside villages, it was clear that Seberik had no intention of demanding blood money.

Tentia removed her helmet, scattering the thoughts from below the water.

Her wet short red hair hung down limply.

“Your words just now certainly weren’t very knightly, especially seeing you smile so blissfully at the sight of silver coins.”

Valenciaunos shrugged in response.

“Is that so?”

He offered Tentia a dry towel, and after she graciously accepted it with a bow, she rubbed her short hair a few times to dry it.

“Yes, but you acted fittingly as Elder Brother in the Imperial Family and as a Duke.”

Someone of his status couldn’t simply chase after his own pride at the expense of everything else.

In fact, it would be even more honorable to bend his pride for his citizens.

Tentia narrowed her red eyes and continued.

“It would have been even more so if you had not taken any money.”

Valenciaunos replied in a sharp voice.

“That would only make me look like I am akin to Elder Brother in the Imperial Family and Duke.”

Tentia spoke with a voice that was a mix of laughter and a sigh.

“Remarkable.”

Valenciaunos called for Rudi and, as they headed toward the back deck together, asked.

“By the way, what caused the boat to capsize earlier? In this weather, it’s not like a hydra or crocodile monster would be passing by, is it?”

“I’m not sure. I thought I saw something large swimming by—a shadow, maybe. It kind of looked like a horse’s head…”

Tentia uncharacteristically trailed off.

Valenciaunos thought that it was not that she had mistakenly seen something due to her panic; rather, he believed it was possible that an ancient presence had disrupted the image, or that an actual creature resembling that had emerged.

As far as he knew, there was only one being that resembled a blend of a horse’s head and a fish.

He immediately rushed over to Seberik and spoke.

“Duke Seberik. It seems that a wicked spirit has attached itself near the flagship.”

The Duke of the North grimaced unusually and promptly made his way to the deck.

The North had fewer standard monsters due to its frigid conditions, but it was a place where various wonders lay scattered.

Since it was a spirit, it could not be treated like a typical monster, making it oftentimes a headache to deal with.

“Do you have any idea what it could be?”

“From what I’ve heard, it sounds like a Kelpie.”

Seberik furrowed his gray eyes and drew his sword once more.

The Kelpie is a spirit monster that typically has the head of a horse and a pair of forelegs, while its body from the waist down resembles that of a fish.

Despite not having a particularly fearsome appearance, it falls into the category of wicked spirits due to its classification as a target for extermination.

“I never knew that cannibalistic spirit was here too. It would be great if it showed itself.”

Because it disguises itself as a horse to lure children and drags them into the water to devour them.

Tentia once again donned her helmet and deliberately leaned toward the railing.

She did not think it was mere coincidence that the boat she had been on had capsized.

‘If I’m being targeted, I cannot let His Excellency be put in danger.’

Bubbling, bubbling, bubbling.

As if sensing her intent, bubbles began to rise beneath the railing.

Finally!

A massive creature with the head of a horse lunged forward, extending its long body.

* * *

If I’m being targeted, I cannot let His Excellency be put in danger.

It was not merely a self-sacrificial thought.

‘Let’s kill it quickly.’

A wolf-like smile crept onto Tentia’s lips.

The Kelpie that leaped forth with a splash bore the upper body of a gigantic horse, just as the rumors described.

However, it didn’t appear to be a real horse; it seemed to be made from a transparent, solid substance resembling black slime formed into a horse shape.

Its mane hung down like seaweed or hair, exuding a much more sinister aura.

The hooved legs were not in pairs but rather in dozens, making them resemble hands bursting forth from between the doors, crying out.

“Hiiiiiiiiing!”

The Kelpie howled with a nightmarish cry and slammed down its thorny hooves.

“Haaaaaa!”

Tentia drew her sword, ignited with red mana, roaring from deep within her as she slashed upward.

The blade ascended, shimmering as it traversed its path through legs, waist, and shoulders.

Bang!

Tentia’s sword sliced through three of the Kelpie’s legs, embedding itself halfway into the fourth hoof.

The Kelpie let out another howl and thrust its massive jaws forward.

“Urgh!”

“I’ve never seen such a grotesque Kelpie before. Were you hiding from me all this time? Had you been in the North, I would have killed you long ago.”

Duke Seberik pierced through the Kelpie’s lower jaw with his frost-covered sword, impaling it all the way through to the roof of its mouth.

The frost spread like flowers, gradually freezing the Kelpie’s mouth.

The Kelpie thrashed wildly, slamming its enormous hooves down as its body twisted.

The thick deck made of planks splintered and cracked under the stress, but Tentia endured with her armor, while Seberik withstood it with his wall-like body.

Seberik pulled on the Kelpie’s lower jaw with his left hand and shouted.

No matter how much of a spirit it was, it could not escape the grip of a sword master.

“Valen! The neck!”

Valenciaunos looked up at the Kelpie’s neck.

The neck, as thick as a person’s torso, was stretching long like a snake.