I Will Be the Greatest Knight
Chapter 186: A Challenging Summer

Chapter 186: A Challenging Summer

Monsters everywhere. Not a day passing where the knights and apprentices didn’t face them.

Their summer felt like one of survival. It wasn’t meant to actually be the reason they went through the duchy, but it quickly became that.

The idea that they would pleasantly travel and be able to find traces of the Duchess was only in the backs of their minds. Only when they subdued the monsters did they tiredly see if anyone had seen her travel through.

Considering her unusual appearance, she wasn’t someone who went unnoticed for very long.

Even though there were a few monsters through each day, the travelers felt strangely luck that it hadn’t escalated to what they saw in the village northwest of the Duke’s Tower or at the full expanse of what they dealt with when Samson died.

They even went to check on his village and were pleased to see strong evidence of rebuild after such an awful even.

Their trail led them first southeast then along the outer edge of the duchy. They occasionally brought their trail inward if there were known villages or townships further into the duchy. When their direction turned to the north, they found themselves near Earl Auden’s lands which didn’t need protection so they left it to his knights—they were already plenty busy with the monsters they were dealing with.

This then took them west after two months and they found a couple more small villages with monsters in between.

By that point, the sight hardly affected them. Rather than looking to the knights for instruction, the apprentices merely pulled out their weapons and braced themselves. They would get rid of their horses and face the goblins on foot.

Irene found an opening and decapitated a goblin the second it dared raise an arm at her. She was no longer interested in practicing through mistakes or drawing out the scuffle so that there would be more to see. The fights she was willing to endure were quick and concise.

It was a testament to how quick and accurate she had become. She remained smaller than the others but equally a worthy adversary.

Since his goblin was taken down and there wasn’t anything left for him to do, Leif was the first to find flint and start a fire so that they could stack up the goblins.

Burning their bodies tended to last the longest, but it was completely necessary considering the autumn season they were in the early stages of. It was said to be a time when spirits were most vulnerable because this was the time of year necromancers seemed to activaet the spells that brought back the dead as strange tools to fight others.

The reason for necromancing was dimly understood. There seemed to be no reason for someone to necromance a body yet they always appeared without fail and fire seemed to be the only way to fight it since mages were few and far between.

The group stood in a half circle around a pile of burning carcasses and stared at the flames as it took care of their hard work with nothing to show for it other than experience that others couldn’t outwardly see.

"We will head to the Litharion’s village next," Gunnar decided.

Irene was suddenly at attention, no longer silently reflecting in her thoughts.

It was no wonder she was starting to recognize the lands they were heading to. It was her home they were nearing.

"Yes, sir," Irene was the first to agree.

The others followed easily.

"It will be important for us to tell your father the state of the duchy," Gunnar continued. "I believe the knight could offer us good insight."

Again, only noises of agreement.

They got back onto their horses and pressed on for a few more hours.

To Irene, the angle of the mountains was starting to look more familiar. The hills they climbed down gave way to floodplains she was more familiar with. Her family’s home on a small hill just above where the lands flooded caused a smile to pull at her lips.

They always told her how dangerous the flooding was when she was a kid but she and her brother never listened. It was the first time they were able to get outside after a winter indoors.

The waters due to snow melting were so unimaginably freezing that they could paralyze someone in minutes. Irene learned this the hard way when her father had to rescue her before. It was a miracle that he was at their home that day.

It didn’t go unnoticed that the lands surrounding what was Arthur’s responsibility were devoid of monsters. He promised to take care of what was his and clearly had something to show for it.

Their horses galloped through the town and they took a sharp left wih Sir Gunnar and Irene at the front of the path. Only the two of them were most familiar with this trail to the Litharion’s home.

When they were finally in front of the large manor, the other apprentices couldn’t help themselves.

"How are you not more spoiled than this?" Felix asked first.

"Why do you bother getting your hands dirty in the first place?" Leif quickly followed with.

As Irene casted them a glare as she slipped off of her horse, they shut their mouths tightly.

After all, the girl they were poking fun of had been an equal part as they were helpful to the summer of looking for the Duchess but mostly fighting monsters.

"We’re lucky your father welcomes uninvited guests," Gunnar realized as he followed Irene to the front door where they knocked.

Without even bothering to look through the cage viewing hole, the door swung open and they were met with a refreshing sight.

Sir Arthur looked well-rested and strong. His arms were crossed over his chest and the metal hand he had gotten used to added to his intimidation.

"What brings these weathered travelers all this way?" the knight asked.

To their surprise, Irene pushed into the house, hardly greeting her father before she found her mother in her father’s study and quickly shut the door behind herself.

"Mother, I need your help," Irene pleaded.

Rochelle had already jumped as if she saw a ghost but her concern became more present as Irene spoke up. The woman rushed forward and placed her hands on her daughter’s shoulders.

"What is it?"

"I need a way to flatten my chest," she insisted with determination in her eyes.