Chapter 44

"Kraak!"

[Master! Someone is following us.]

"A knight?"

[What's a knight?]

"Are they wearing armor?"

[What's armor?]

"You birdbrained idiot!"

No matter how smart Oberon the crow was among birds, he hadn't fully grasped the human way of life yet.

However, having accompanied the Santiago Knights before, explaining what a knight was wasn't hard.

[It was a human as beautifully black as you and me, master!]

"...Must be the Black Knight."

Ian easily deduced that the pursuer was a Black Knight.

Honestly, he was surprised.

He never thought a medieval person would ignore religious pressures to chase after Ian.

"They said he was from Baekguk... Don't they believe in the Church of Heaven's Faith there?"

If he was a heretic, it would explain it.

The pursuit continued, but nothing changed.

Ian hurried his horse to join the fleeing count.

"Damn...!"

And Ian saw it.

A knight getting hunted down like a beast, taking arrows.

And...

In that chaos, he also saw the count fall!

Ian easily found Lucy near the count, sobbing.

"[Darkness!]"

Summoning darkness to envelop the surroundings, Ian swiftly grabbed Lucy and ran.

"Lucy! The count!"

"...He's gone!"

"I really f*cking hate this! S*ht!"

Lucy confirmed the kill.

The count was dead.

'What the hell is going on?'

Ian was confused.

His knowledge about war was solely from movies and games.

In those, the commanders always won, and never showed what to do when fleeing or losing.

Thus, Ian found the concept of defeat extremely foreign.

'But...'

Ian glanced at Lucy, who was trembling.

The count was dead.

However, another noble was by Ian's side.

Lucy Talian.

If she remained alive, she could be another focal point.

Ian decided to focus on the immediate situation.

For now, he would concentrate on safely rescuing Lucy.

"We've got the Black Knight on our tail!"

"The Black Knight?"

"Yes! We need to shake him off, so let's head to the river!"

But Ian had no time.

The shouts of the pursuers were already close behind.

"Stop! Wizard!"

"...This is insane!"

Ian gritted his teeth and spurred his horse.

Getting caught by the Black Knight meant the end.

Looking back, the Black Knight and his men were quickly closing in.

Specifically, they were targeting Lucy, who was with Ian.

'Really persistent!'

Regardless of anything else, the Black Knight's tenacity was admirable.

Single-handedly carrying Graham's army on his back.

"No use running! Don't waste time and just surrender!"

It was the most crucial moment, where the outcome of the war hung in the balance.

Ian didn't stop.

"Just a bit more...!"

Ian's horse leaped forward, racing through the rough trail until a wide, shallow river appeared.

Ian stopped his horse on the riverbank and looked back at his pursuers.

The pursuers also stopped, because Ian wanted to talk.

"I won't mince words. Hand over Talian. Wizard."

The Black Knight said, his voice low and resonant.

Ian mocked the Black Knight.

"I wonder how much that bastard who hired you is paying. Do you not know your employer is the scum of the earth?"

Ian's taunting made the soldiers bristle.

Because Ian spoke the truth.

"What wrong has our captain done!"

"Yeah! It's Talian's own damn fault! That bastard had it coming! Our captain did nothing wrong!"

Ian felt Lucy trembling behind him.

To be brutally honest... it was hard to say Baron Talian was entirely blameless.

Actually, it was more like the Baron had tried to use Graham and it backfired.

But in this medieval fantasy world where war is the norm, does distinguishing right from wrong really matter?

The victor is justice.

So, the goal was to proclaim justice, and winning takes care of the rest.

"Hey, Miss Talian. Go ahead and give them a piece of your mind."

Upon Ian's cue, Lucy, who had been quivering, screamed out.

"Shut up, you lowlifes! Graham killed my parents and stole my land! Such a person deserves to die!"

Ian looked sternly at the Black Knight.

"Did you hear that? A usurper is a bastard among bastards, killing innocent nobles and forcefully taking their land. Is it worth fighting for such a person?"

"..."

Ian waited for the Black Knight's response with bated breath.

In war, justification was an incredibly important element.

It was directly tied to the essential component of 'will to conduct war'.

Why should we fight?

Why should we bleed?

Without answers to these, humans cannot fight properly.

Saying, "I will fight for all the children of this land!" sounded heroic.

But saying, "I will fight for all the pedophiles of this land!" would just make one look foolish.

Ian posed the question: Even knowing your employer is a dishonorable scoundrel, will you continue to fight?

"Has Graham done you a favor?"

After a moment of silence, the Black Knight answered.

"No. I was merely employed by chance."

"Then you have no loyalty to uphold?"

The Black Knight slowly shook his head.

"I am a freelancer. Wizard."

"...?"

Whether you're a salaried employee or a freelancer is none of my business.

That's what Ian thought as he shook his head.

The Black Knight explained that by freelancer, he didn't mean an unaffiliated professional but a knight who sells his force of arms here and there.

Indeed, the term freelancer originated from words describing such wandering knights.

"I've been paid, so until the job is done, Graham is my lord."

"Sh*t, then how are you any different from a mercenary?"

"... Not much, really. I just act in a way that doesn't shame myself."

The Black Knight's answer was clear.

'Yeah~ after all, we won't see each other once the job is done~ I'm just here for the money~'

Now, it was evident that his mindset was that of a freelancer through and through.

The Black Knight, a professional freelancer of the medieval age, pointed his spear coldly and warned.

"This is your last warning. Hand over Talian and back off."

Ian smirked and responded.

"And if I refuse?"

"...Why? Has Talian done you a favor? Do you have a reason to risk your life for that woman?"

"My reason is the same as yours. I'm after something I'm owed."

"Hmm. Is that so?"

The Black Knight seemed to understand Ian's words well.

Being a freelancer himself, he might have had a good grasp of a fellow freelancer's heart.

The Black Knight took a stance to throw his spear.

Having the same stance meant they were willing to risk death for their goals.

Although there were no personal feelings involved, the Black Knight was ready to kill Ian if it meant securing Lucy.

However, Ian acted faster.

"Then!"

Ian clapped his hands sharply.

'Damn! Another spell?'

The Black Knight immediately tensed his arm.

He intended to kill the wizard before any magic could be cast.

But Ian had anticipated something like a spear throw.

"[Run wild!]"

When Ian shouted in the language of magic forcefully, the pursuers' horses started going berserk!

Neigh!

"Ah, aahhh!"

The Black Knight gave up aiming and barely managed to jump off his horse.

"What trickery!"

Ian, a Level 3 summoner, easily transmitted his will to the horses, making it easy to dismount the riders.

The pursuers splashed into the river, falling from their horses.

Though the river was shallow, it was deep enough to wet their calves.

Even though they'd fallen off their horses, if they hurried, they could still kill the wizard...!

But Ian's magic didn't stop there.

Ian consecutively uttered in the language of magic.

"[O river!]"

The river and Ian had been aware of each other's existence for some time.

As soon as Ian addressed it, the river gladly responded to the wizard's call.

[I've been waiting. Human. You are a seeker of mysteries.]

Though the river was eager to engage in a deep conversation with Ian, he had no time.

Fortunately, being an ancient mystery, the river easily understood Ian's urgent feelings.

[Those beings are causing you distress, aren't they? Right?]

"[Sweep them away!]"

[Yes. Let's push those away first and then talk.]

Whoosh!

The Black Knight and his pursuers were horrified.

As soon as the wizard's spell was complete, the river began to wriggle like a living creature!

"Please, save us!"

The river water, like a giant slime, gathered together and engulfed the pursuers, pushing them far downstream.

Watching the pursuers being swept away, Ian was amazed.

Wow. That looks so fun.

A water slide in the plains? Can't miss out on this!

Had the pursuers known Ian's thoughts, they would have been furious, but fortunately, they were not mind readers.

"You did great, Ian!"

After sweeping away the pursuers with magic, Lucy praised Ian with great joy.

However, Ian had no time to attend to Lucy.

He needed to express his gratitude to the river that lent him its power.

The river, a curious being, asked Ian various questions, and Ian ended up spending quite a lot of time dealing with it.

By the time Ian left the river, the sun had already begun to set.

Ian decided to spend the night outdoors and look for the count's mercenaries once day broke.

As Ian went to fetch some water, he stumbled upon a few corpses on the riverbank.

"..."

They were the pursuers Ian had swept away with the river water.

After all, unlike water slides from the thoroughly tested modern world, medieval fantasy water slides didn't guarantee the safety of their riders...

Some water slides could only be ridden once, and Ian's water slide was just like that.

Ian was praying for the souls of the pursuers when he discovered the Black Knight.

Up close, the armor was truly pitch black.

Whether it was made of a unique metal or had undergone special treatment was unclear.

However, since armor was a precious and expensive item, leaving it would surely invite thieves.

But if someone was going to steal it anyway... wouldn't it be better if Ian took it?

Roaming the medieval fantasy world had taught him well.

Wizard or not, having armor was always beneficial.

You never knew when some lunatic might swing a sword at you.

The problem was that it was so black it stood out too much.

But it was better than having none.

'...It's a bit small though.'

When Ian tried to remove the armor, it was smaller than he expected.

The Black Knight was slightly smaller in stature than Ian, which was undersized by the standards of this medieval fantasy world.

'Can I fit into it?'

Ian was half worried, half hopeful as he removed the Black Knight's armor.

If it didn't fit, he figured he could sell it to Lucy.

While thinking this, Ian was startled as he removed the Black Knight's helmet.

"...?"

The sight of long, blond hair springing out from the helmet was too unexpected.

Had he heard right about the knight being from the East?

Could it be they didn't cut their hair because of Confucian beliefs?

Upon seeing the Black Knight's face, Ian's every question was answered, and at the same time, he was astounded.

'A woman?!'

The Black Knight was a woman.