refusal

Damian planned, could Howard, a middle-aged man in his forties, handle himself and Joan? Although Joan was the main combat force.

Even if Joan, being a woman, had inherent disadvantages, Damian could still summon longbowmen to rain arrows and solve the situation.

Then they could form a wedge formation with the concentrated knights, directly breaking through Howard's scattered troops, disrupting the rebels, and then annihilating them one by one.

With such a chain of plans, Damian was confident that he could defeat Howard.

Who knew that Howard, the leader of the rebels, had the exact same plan as Damian!

He had ambushed Viking pirates in Bovendon's windmill, waiting for Damian or Conosa to appear, and when they approached, he would deliver a fatal blow!

Both sides wanted to execute decapitation tactics to conceal their internal weaknesses but ended up exposing their vulnerabilities.

At this moment, they met face to face.

Damian and Joan stood on one side of the bridge, while Howard stood on the other.

Both armies, totaling thousands of men, were far away, separated by a hundred steps.

At this moment, almost everyone's gaze was fixed on the two leaders. Although Countess Conosa was on horseback, everyone knew she was not a war strategist. And Damian had gradually become a reliable leader in everyone's eyes, thanks to a series of victories.

How would they choose?

In this critical moment, Howard, skilled in battle and with strong martial skills, his first reaction... was to turn and run!

He was the head stablemaster of the palace, a position ostensibly responsible for horse care, but in reality responsible for managing the knights within the estate, in other words, the generals.

Anyone who could hold this position was a valiant and famous knight, known for their exceptional combat skills.

On the other hand, Damian, who was not versed in warfare and had never undergone a day of knight training despite his towering stature, his choice was... to give it his all and chase after Howard!

"Joan, come with me!"

With strategies failing and instincts taking over, Damian charged forward with Joan.

The nearest enemies, the ruthless Viking pirates, were just a few dozen steps away!

Such a surprising turn of events not only shocked the Countess who was watching from the outskirts but also shook the morale of Howard's traitorous coalition army.

Further away, on the walls, old Madi, who witnessed everything, regretted sending away his second son years ago: "If I had known Damian was talented in both literature and martial arts, I wouldn't have abandoned him..."

As the head of the family, old Madi appeared ruthless, but it was also a necessary trait for a family to survive.

Meanwhile, Amelia immediately donned her face-covering helmet, brandishing a two-handed sword and shouting, "Warriors, join me in flanking the rebels and avenging Schneider!"

She couldn't think too much; she just wanted revenge for her husband.

Soon, Damian tightened his grip on his spear and, step by step, closed the gap with Howard.

Howard had miscalculated; he forgot he was wearing armor, with dozens of pounds weighing down on him, how could he outrun Damian, who was young, tall, and had long legs?

The Viking pirates shouted and hurled throwing axes a few steps away.

Joan gritted her teeth, blocking the flying axes with her sword.

In just a dozen seconds, the Viking pirates would catch up and rescue Howard.

Damian tightened his grip on his spear, aimed at Howard's back, and thrust with all his might!

According to knight training, one should reserve three-quarters of their strength when thrusting with a spear, but Damian didn't know that.

So when the spear, difficult but full of force, pierced through Howard's maille and deeply into his flesh, the iron tip of the spear broke off because it got wedged between bones and the maille!

Howard spat out a mouthful of blood but turned back and laughed, "Kid, without a pointed spear, do you think you can still stab someone?"

Seeing this scene, the shining knight Joan stumbled and knelt directly on the ground.

It was a failure.

Just this tiny bit.

As the Viking pirates were about to approach, a frantic barrage of armor-piercing arrows blocked them. Greb bought Damian some more time.

"Who said you can't stab someone without a spearhead?"

Damian, in dire straits, suddenly remembered a scene from a martial arts movie in his previous life, and it gave him a boost of courage.

He once again exerted all his strength and ruthlessly thrust the spear without a head towards Howard!

And the target was the stuck tip of the spear.

Howard's pig-like head instantly became engorged with blood to the extreme. He wanted to run, but could a spear be slower than a person?

The stick struck the tip of the spear, allowing it to penetrate deeper, sinking deeply into his internal organs. All the way to his heart.

Splurt!

Blood gushed out, and Howard unbelievably discovered that his heart had been pierced.

"Brother, I've avenged you." Damian spat, then stepped forward with large strides.

Howard was killed by the young Damian!

[Upgrade, skill points available +1]

[Beheading Enemy General: Howard]

[Acquired Trait: Duelist, +15% damage against single targets]1

[Completed Mission: Revenge for the Murder of My Brother! Obtained a random elite cavalry squad!]

A series of notifications diluted Damian's inner joy.

At this moment, there were still Viking pirates nearby, but they had begun to retreat due to the death of their employer, causing unrest among the rebel ranks.

The gates of Bovendon Castle opened, and a knight wielding a great sword led soldiers in a pincer attack, causing the rebel forces to start collapsing.

Damian immediately shook his spear and called for the soldiers to continue the pursuit.

Watching the chaotic crowd rushing away, Damian couldn't help but sigh; fate was unpredictable.

The war in plans was cold-blooded machinations.

However, real war was about minimizing mistakes and winning, even if it was won haphazardly.

As the soldiers moved forward, the beautiful Countess rode her horse to Damian's side.

"You did it! I now believe that you are the knight bestowed upon me by God!"

Damian smiled, "can you marry me then?"

Conosa chuckled.

But she shook her head regretfully, "No, the nobles of the principality won't allow it. Damian, hurry and grow stronger. I'll be waiting for you to come and marry me."

Damian didn't speak but just smiled, grasping Conosa's hand and gently kissing it.

"Don't worry, it won't take too long."

He was very confident about that.

The setting sun looked like blood, as countless remnants of defeated soldiers on the battlefield awaited the victor's judgment.

Most of the rebel forces fled into the forest in retreat, but a small group, like Howard's direct line, were abandoned and became prisoners of war.

Damian also saw his own family: his father, Old Madi, and his sister-in-law, Amelia.

It's a pity that his mother, brother, uncles, and distant relatives all died on the battlefield.

When Damian arrived, the expressions of the two were complex. Madi was hesitant to look at his son's expression, while Amelia seemed cautious and hostile.

Conosa jumped excitedly, walking up to Damian like a young girl. "Damian, kneel!"

She picked up a short sword.

This was to grant Damian a fiefdom, meaning Damian was officially leaving the church and returning to the knight's family.

The surrounding people looked admiringly at Damian.

However, in the presence of all the knights, Damian refused to kneel.

He stood tall and said, "No, I refuse."