How to Live as a Genius Knight in a Fantasy World

55.

In the battlefield of bloodshed, Rohan’s gaze fell upon the ruins where masters and senior knights were battling against a great evil.

“In the end, the outcome of that battle will determine the course of the war.”

In a world where magic and ogres exist, and giants roam.

The impact of an individual’s strength on the battlefield was incomparable to that on Earth.

While Duke Karl and the elves faced off against the lich, Count Tigrun and Count Frederick each found themselves in dire situations against the Death Knight and the Corpse Dragon.

The Duke was holding his ground in an equal fight, but the situations of the other two were far from good.

Count Tigrun was constantly pushed back by the dark magic emanating from the Death Knight, while Count Frederick felt dangerously close to losing his life under the fierce attacks of the Corpse Dragon.

“…There’s no time to hesitate anymore. There’s no reason. I’ll die if they win anyway.”

Facing his fears, Rohan, with determination, leaped towards the Death Knight, aiming to strike him down.

As the Death Knight was caught off guard by the sudden attack, the blade of Rohan’s sword struck his left shoulder. The armored shoulder, along with the now exposed armor that had become a weakness, seemed on the verge of falling off.

Amidst the sudden shock causing the Death Knight to lose balance, the sword of the Duke, who had been at a disadvantage throughout the battle, finally found an opening.

The dark magic enveloping the Duke’s sword shattered like glass, and the sword, surrounded by blue flames, aimed for the head of the Death Knight.

Though the Death Knight desperately tried to parry the blow, it was impossible to block the sword of the senior knight wielded with precision without any harm.

The dark magic surrounding the sword shattered like glass, and in the following attacks, the armor enveloping the Death Knight’s body turned into ashes in an instant.

Pushed to the edge of a cliff in the blink of an eye, the Death Knight showed no signs of movement behind the mask.

Devoid of any pain or fear that a human would rightfully feel.

Ignoring minor scratches, Deis Knight deflected attacks that could cause fatal damage without hesitation.

Even amid the pouring rain of attacks, Deis Knight’s blade silently drew upon dark magic, gradually overwhelming the power imbued in Rohan’s sword.

“So heavy…!”

Though thoroughly pushed back, Deis Knight, who had managed to withstand the battle with the Master to some extent, naturally found it challenging for Rohan, who had not transcended the level of a knight, even if he enhanced his stats with skills.

While the arrival of Rohan did give Viscount Tigrun a moment to catch his breath, it was not enough for satisfaction.

With Frederick Viscount’s life hanging by a thread, the pressure was on Rohan, who was running out of time.

“I must find a way to turn the tide.”

Other knights seemed overwhelmed by the monsters, and the two senior knights had already exhausted all their strength in the fight.

With the Master and the elves bound by the lich, Rohan was the only one who could introduce a new variable.

“Is that the only way…?”

As Rohan made his decision and aimed to exploit a gap in Deis Knight’s defense to unleash the Warrior King’s strike, a new variable, unforeseen by Rohan, burst into the castle.

From outside the fortress, the sound of hooves echoed, and soon a group of elves, stained with blood and mud, entered the outer bailey.

The elves, led by Arden VI, who had dealt with the remnants of the monsters, advanced menacingly, unleashing all sorts of elemental magic over the heads of the monsters.

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, the monsters, who had been solely focused on the kingdom’s army in front of them, suffered significant losses and fell.

“Elves, it’s the elves.”

“Your Highness! Your Highness has arrived!”

The morale of the kingdom’s soldiers, who were unexpectedly fighting against the reinforcements, soared, and two figures passed through the soldiers pushing back the monsters as if they were flying dolls.

As Deis Knight’s blade once again aimed for Viscount Tigrun, a knight appeared out of nowhere and struck Deis Knight’s head directly.

Thunk!

The head of the victim, struck precisely by the blazing aura, split apart, and the mask that had steadfastly covered the face fell off.

“Gasp…”

As the mask flew off, Viscount Tigrun, who had maintained his noble demeanor even in the midst of the fierce battle, let out a gasp of astonishment.

“Why…?”

Seeing Deis Knight still standing tall despite having half of his head severed, and observing Viscount Tigrun, who now began to tremble at the sight, as well as the frozen expression of the king after checking the enemy’s face.

Unable to see Deis Knight’s face from where he stood, Rohan’s curiosity surged even amid the urgent battle.

“But I can’t move just because I want to see his face…”

Uncertain of when the enemy would strike again, Rohan did not want to disrupt the battle with such a trivial motive.

As Rohan hesitated, Arden VI slowly opened his mouth.

“Kiara…?”

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“Kiara? That name sounds familiar…”

The mind that had momentarily paused amidst the intense battle resumed its activity, and soon Rohan found the answer.

“Kiara… Kiara…? Princess Kiara?”

As Rohan found the answer, his eyes widened as if about to burst.

If his thoughts were correct, then it meant that the king had just severed his daughter’s head with his own hands.

In this world, even more barbaric than Earth, it was a tragedy that was hard to find elsewhere.

But shockingly, the tragedy had not yet come to a complete end.

As if trying to alleviate the guilt of her father, Arden VI, the princess who had turned into a monster, began to regenerate her severed head.

From the neatly severed section, darkly stained bone fragments jutted out, gradually extending their length and taking shape.

Watching as the enemy recovered right in front of him, the Marquis and the King, unable to wield their swords easily.

Annoyance swelled in Rohan’s heart as he looked at them.

Since Rohan had no acquaintance with the princess, he could make an objective judgment.

“Even if she was a princess in the past, she is now nothing but a mere monster. I must end her life quickly and help others.”

One of the elves who had intruded with the King clung to the body of the dragon, but it was no different from being swept away in the chaos as two people rolled around.

Even the wounds inflicted by the Duke of Karl during the fight seemed to have fully healed, and the dragon’s bone had returned to its sturdy form as before.

As much as he desired to cut open the princess’s body immediately, Rohan was just a knight who had recently been appointed.

Even in her transformed state as a monster, he couldn’t predict the consequences of thoughtlessly attacking the princess’s body with a sword.

In a short period, numerous assumptions flickered through Rohan’s mind.

Thoughts raced at a speed he had never experienced before, and when the princess’s head was about halfway regenerated, Rohan could reach a conclusion.

“I can’t just stand here foolishly. We’ll all end up dead. But even so, it’s risky to end the princess’s life alone. No, I might not even be capable of that.”

Hence, what he chose was to attack the princess while controlling his strength.

Not fatal, but an attack sufficient to convey a message to the King and the Marquis.

At this moment, that seemed to be just the right amount.

As Rohan made his decision, he swung his body and sword widely, and the princess, in a vulnerable state, was split open at the shoulder.

Bones and muscles were severed, but the internal organs were unharmed due to appropriate control of force.

While feeling relieved for successfully completing the task he had assigned himself, the enraged King shouted loudly.

“What are you doing!”

Although it was expected and done deliberately, as the King’s intense anger poured out, Rohan felt his body stiffen involuntarily.

The pressure he felt as a superior knight emanated, and the immense anger he felt as a father added to it, making it a level of pressure that Rohan found difficult to withstand.

However, he couldn’t retreat like this.

Despite being a princess, she was just an individual.

It was an unimaginable task to change the fate of countless lives, including hers, now a lifeless body with no way of resurrection, and the many others who were still fighting death, by wielding a sword against it.

“My choice is right.”

With that conviction, Rohan raised his voice without hesitation.

“Your Majesty, what are you doing!”

“What? What are you saying right now…?”

With an unexpected reaction, the King’s voice trembled as he couldn’t control his anger.

“Your Majesty, please look around. Your subjects, soldiers, knights, even elves are dying at the hands of monsters. I am also deeply saddened by what happened to the princess. I am also your knight, one of your people. But no matter how sad it is, we don’t have time to stay tied up like this. Shouldn’t we try to save them a little longer?”

At Rohan’s outcry, resembling blood being vomited, the anger that had risen in the eyes of Arden VI gradually dissipated.

The King also realized that Rohan’s words were not wrong.

The King, who had somewhat regained his composure, scanned the battlefield slowly.

Things that he hadn’t seen before, distracted by his daughter’s appearance, now began to catch his eyes one by one.

Knights fighting desperately, soldiers dying in vain, the two figures struggling against the dragon, and even the daring knight who raised his voice to him.

Scratches clearly visible on armor, a half-broken small shield, a sword with teeth missing in many places.

Rohan was truly embodying the demeanor of a warrior who had crossed the line numerous times.

“…I made a mistake.”

Finally acknowledging his own mistake, the King’s eyes met the face of the young knight.

Young, unfamiliar yet somewhat familiar face.

Not long after, the king could recall the name of the young knight.

“Thank you. I almost made a grave mistake. Sir Rohan.”

“Thank you.”

“No, I must thank you again. Now, my daughter is gone. That’s just… a shell left behind.”

In a declaration-like manner from the king, Viscount Tigrun also quietly nodded.

Having watched the princess since childhood, he too was considerably shocked, but he acknowledged Rohan’s words to be true.

The king’s gaze lingered by the princess for a while.

Now a creature entirely devoid of vitality, relying solely on dark magic.

Though the princess had fallen into ruin, retaining her appearance from life, Prince Arden the 6th felt a tearing pain in his chest.

Despite this, the inevitable could not be postponed indefinitely.

With closed eyes, the king, upon finishing his words laboriously, commanded the two in a low voice.

“Viscount Tigrun, Sir Rohan. I entrust the closure to you. Although it’s just a shell left behind… I can’t bring myself to handle it personally.”

After the strained words, the king swiftly left, as if finding it difficult to stay any longer.

Rohan, briefly watching the king’s back heading towards the direction of the lich dragon, turned his head to meet Viscount Tigrun’s eyes.

“All right, let’s begin…”

Sensing the emotions in Rohan’s eyes, the viscount raised his sword with an expression containing sadness and resignation.

No matter how resilient a Death Knight they were, enduring the attacks of the two in a state where they couldn’t move due to their head being severed was impossible.

Under the blows dealt by the sword imbued with dark magic, her body shattered into dozens of pieces, and the thick dark magic that had filled her body flowed out and dissipated into the air.

No matter how powerful the dark magic was, the impact was enough to make sustaining life impossible.

It was finally the moment when the princess turned into a creature found eternal rest.

A fleeting bitter emotion briefly crossed Viscount and Rohan’s faces upon confirming her death before swiftly disappearing.

As Rohan had said, there was no time now to indulge in sentiments.

Eventually, the two launched their attacks towards the direction of the king.

A formidable enemy still survived, shaking this land.