I Will Be the Greatest Knight
Chapter 149: Reckless Abandon

Chapter 149: Reckless Abandon

Revealed to them was much more than a mere few bandits.

As the men crept closer, the sheer number was revealed as they came from between. It seemed like an organized effort which meant that someone had prior knowledge that the Royal Family would be going through that part of Tenetium at some point.

Irene observed the men moving forward slowly and she took note of a few things.

Rather than knights’ armor, their armor was more metal and leather. It was a bit duller and worn which, if it didn’t speak of experience, it spoke of being used and traded. This was a common trait of mercenaries.

Many mercenaries simply were that because of a desire to make money and lack of discretion on the jobs. Since being in a knighthood was selective, there were plenty who didn’t make the cut but still displayed skills with weapons.

With the skills of a knight but no Code of Chivalry they were bound to, they made for terrifying opponents if that’s what it came down to.

However, why in a world full of monsters would man want to go against one another? They were all trying to survive just as the next person.

"Anyone who dares raise a sword to the Crown Prince and Princess is in contempt against the Crown and punishable by beheading."

A Royal Knight close to the carriage had pulled up his visor to address the men creeping closer. He brandished his large silver sword and spoke concisely so that there was nothing to be misinterpreted.

There was no doubt to anyone there that the people weren’t already aware of who was inside of the carriage.

By that point, everyone had their weapons drawn.

Those in the defensive position backed towards the carriage and got into a protective formation that would ensure the best outcome considering the large number of men they were set to face.

The layers went carriage, Royal Knights, all the apprentices, and Knights of Tenetium on the outside. All corners of the carriage were accounted for. If the maid was smart, she would have locked the carriage doors as well. She had received a specific pattern knock on one of the windows that meant to not leave at any cost.

Wordlessly, the assailants kept moving forward. Their pace didn’t change—not even after the knight’s threat.

The knight then put his visor down. He said the words "so be it" and in an instant, the first line of swords met swords. The Knights of Tenetium fought off what they could.

However, it was far different fighting men than it was fighting monsters. It became more panicked and less organized. When faced with the intentions of men, monsters seemed pure.

Since Sir Gunnar and Sir Phillip, who were in front of Irene at that moment were occupied with their own opponents, another large warrior who came rushing forward targeted the girl with a thick claymore.

It was clear that the weapon wasn’t for conciseness but rather slashing down many at once.

Irene knew that she would need help, but it wouldn’t stop her from trying her best head-on. As long as she could be fast and avoid the thick blade, that was all that mattered to her.

The girl darted forth and feinted at the man who was already swinging. Since his blade was so large and inefficient, if he missed the target it meant that the momentum of his swing had to be stopped and controlled but it gave him wide-open weak points that Irene took advantage of.

She changed the direction of her blade and ended up slashing him in the stomach. The man cried out in pain but he did the unadvised and let go of the blade with one of his hands, unable to control it with just one.

He then dragged his elbow downward against Irene’s shoulder and she was forced onto her knees. It didn’t stop her from slashing at the man’s legs as best as she could. There was only a millisecond to be sick at the fact that she was seeing real human blood and not that of a monster.

Rather than someone coming to her rescue, someone came to the much larger man’s rescue as he failed to right himself and fell to the ground. The injuries Irene dealt could be fatal if he kept moving.

The next opponent was much faster but his weapon was shabby. Rather than a sword or something more precise, it was a club that had spikes sticking out of it in all directions. Considering it was mostly wood, it was light and went fast.

Irene had to escape the situation or certainly get beat to death by one of the spikes.

Since she was in the snow, her footing was rough. Even though she propelled herself forward, she merely slid until she was in another pile of snow.

At least this position got her onto her back because she was then able to have more sight and control of her sword.

It was just in time for the man to swing downward. She dodged it enough to avoid sinking into her flesh but the spikes stuck to her clothing between the shoulder and chest plate. He was able to cling to her and control her because of the thick clothing that wouldn’t rip further since further down on the spike wasn’t sharp.

"Protecting scum like that—!"

The man shouted at her accusatorily but she couldn’t even fathom what it was about, at that point she was merely trying to survive.

It afforded her a moment to use the back of her greave to smack the man in the side of the head and she tried to slash his stomach. However, the lightness of his weapon gave him a countermeasure and he took the bat to her armor once again, tearing more of her clothing away from it as he did so.

She did feel some of the spikes meet the softer part of her arm just below the plate and she cried out in pain.

Irene still slashed her sword and it met the man’s weapon-wielding side, but only went down enough to catch his forearm and then the shabby leather greave he wore to protect his wrists. If she had more force, she would have cut clean through it.

There wasn’t a moment to regret the decisions she had made so far in that battle.

To Irene’s horror, a blade went through the man and out the front of his chest, a mere few inches from her face. She was sprayed with crimson blood.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.