I Will Be the Greatest Knight
Chapter 176: To the Rescue

Chapter 176: To the Rescue

For a moment she stood there, but as she rubbed the tiredness from her eyes, she realized she needed to move quickly. If they were requesting knights from so far away, it meant it was really bad if those already across the duchy couldn’t handle it themselves.

In a rush of action, she got her things together and placed armor over her clothing. She brought a light cloak, but it was warm enough that she likely wouldn’t have to worry about it.

The tiredness was completely gone by that point. She still threw a bit of water on her face to try waking up completely and gain the sharpness she knew she needed for what she was about to take on.

By the time she made it outside with her packs over her shoulders, she saw the others heading towards the stables as well. They were all armored and armed. She saw Leif and Felix looking as tired as her, but their expressions were focused.

Considering the weight of the situation, they knew they could only go forward from there and hope that they made it in time that the entire township wasn’t wiped out.

In the last five years, two villages had been wiped out by monsters, and they were the two closest to the Duke’s Tower, which meant that Samson’s township was the next closest left. It would look terrible if the knights couldn’t protect what was within their reach.

"Go southeast and don’t stop," Gunnar ordered. "The horses will be fine."

Going and not stopping meant they would likely get there late in the night, but since monsters were most active then, it would allow them to see the true expanse of the pillaging.

They needed no further instruction as everyone climbed onto their horses and took off immediately. Since the direction of the township was on a well-traveled trail and they didn’t have many turns to follow, it was straightforward enough that the apprentices could get there on their own.

However, Leif, Felix, and Irene went at about the same pace, so if anything happened, they would at least have one another.

Their knights were at the Duke’s Tower, directing the others, but they would most likely catch up.

Since the orders were so extremely clear and straightforward, they did as they were told without any words shared between them.

They rode for hours and hours, with the sun overhead, but it started dipping lower and lower when they reached the crossroads where they would have to go over the bridge.

"I’m going to let Sorrel drink," Irene explained as she shielded her eyes from the setting sun. "I’ll eat something as well."

The ’something’ was merely jerky, but it was better than nothing. She eventually also jumped off and filled her waterskin.

Knowing it was their highest priority to take care of themselves so they could take care of those they were trying to rescue, the others led their horses on either side of Sorrel.

The knights then caught up with them and seemed to have the same idea to let their horses cool off for a moment and nourish themselves before they were all on the trek forward once more.

Words still didn’t need to be said between any of them. They all had one destination and one goal in mind.

For quite a long time, Irene and the others had to squint or hold their left hands over their eyes to block the sun from completely blinding them. However, once it finally dipped underneath the eastern mountains, which were far shorter than the northern ones, they had a bit of relief as they pressed on into the evening and eventual night.

Luckily, there was moonlight, even if it was merely a sliver. Their eyes had time to adjust slowly, and they made it to their destination just over two hours after the sun had completely disappeared into the horizon.

However, with their eyes adjusting, they realized there was smoke rising in the distance—the closer they crept, the more the smoke eventually covered the moonlight.

Suddenly, everything felt much more urgent. Lives were at stake, and something bad certainly had happened. They had to cut through one last small forest before they made it all the way there.

When they did, they were all horrified to see that what awaited them was a town with the outskirts practically leveled and goblins still swarming the area.

Occasionally, they heard shouts and the metallic clashing of blades and knew that there were knights somewhere out there doing their best to fight off goblins that had been attacking for over a day by that point.

Rather than being able to join the others, they had no choice but to hide their horses in the trees and take the rest on foot so they wouldn’t risk their mode of transportation back to the Duke’s Tower. They had to fight from one end of town to the other and dove into the lake of goblins, slashing them down practically from the moment their feet met the earth.

They slowly went deeper and deeper, having to step over not only the bodies of monsters but bodies of humans as well. It would be too hard to identify anyone until the fighting was completely over.

Irene managed to back herself towards the heart of the township as she cleared a path of goblins. There were perks of being on the shorter side compared to others because the goblins paid less attention to her since she was out of their line of sight.

With her sword in front of her, she caught a glance at the rubble on the outer edge of the city. There were a few houses. Even the farmer’s buildings that they had found goblins nearby last time were completely devastated.

What caused them to act so crazed was a mystery to her, but she thought she smelled that poisonous scent and wondered if that was the reason. They still waited for Gunnar or the mages to be clearer about what they were doing, giving poison to the goblins that night.

Seeing that most of the goblins were handled in that area, the girl backed even further into the town and as she looked over her shoulder, she realized one of the largest fires was coming from a building she was more familiar with.

Samson’s blacksmith shop was up in flames and halfway collapsed. Her eyes widened, and she sprinted off, not waiting for Gunnar’s permission.