The Indomitable Martial King

“Drive them to the other side! Cut off their escape route!”

Siris, glancing down from the roof, frowned. The force pursuing them easily numbered over a hundred. It was a number far too large to evade.

Moreover, their enemies were not just knights.

“Oh dear, knight sir. They went that way.”

“Thanks for the cooperation!”

“They’re running that way!”

“We’ll remember your loyalty!”

The residents of Viscount Kelberen’s territory were also cooperating with the pursuers. Viscount Kelberen was a decent lord, well-regarded by his people. Being in the countryside, most had only ever seen chases akin to a child stealing apples being chased by the fruit vendor with a stick. Rather than out of high loyalty to the viscount, everyone seemed to treat the chase as some sort of exciting festival, eagerly pointing fingers.

“There’s nowhere left to run!”

Three swordsmen blocked Siris’s path after she had just jumped across two roofs in succession. They had anticipated her escape route and climbed up to the roof in advance. The knights drew their swords and formed an encirclement around Siris. One of the knights pointed his sword at her and shouted with a commanding voice.

“Drop your weapons and surrender!”

Siris, assessing the situation, set Sillan down from her shoulder with a stern face. She also unclasped her long sword and gently laid it on the roof. To anyone watching, it was a clear sign of surrender, causing the knights to slightly relax their guard.

‘After all, that elf, even being a Slayer, wouldn’t dare to attack three knights.’

Siris then slowly took a small stick from her waistband. The knights were still smiling up to that point, not considering the small stick to be a weapon at all.

Suddenly, Siris exclaimed.

“Nihillen!”

The stick transformed into a bow of light. Before the knights could even react, Siris had already drawn the bowstring.

Whoosh!

An arrow of light pierced through the shoulder of one of the knights.

“Argh!”

The knight screamed as he fell off the roof. Seizing the moment, Siris kicked up the long sword from the ground and caught it in midair.

“Haah!”

Drawing the sword, she charged at the knights, swiftly dodging to the side and delivering a series of slashes! Her movements, greatly amplified by Sillan’s power, were beyond what the unprepared knights could handle. Caught off guard by the precise and swift attack, even the seasoned knights could not respond in time and were sprayed with blood. From behind, Sillan exclaimed in shock.

“Don’t, don’t kill them!”

Swinging her sword to scatter blood, Siris replied with a cold voice, “I do not kill unnecessarily.”

Indeed, the knights who had fallen appeared to suffer, but their lives were not in danger. At that moment, Siris had exquisitely targeted only their thighs and calves, robbing them of their mobility. Sillan sighed in relief, looking at Siris with newfound respect.

‘It’s fortunate that she didn’t kill them, but…’

The coldness in her voice was frightening. In other words…

‘It means she could kill if necessary, right?’

After all, thinking about it, Siris had been merciless even in the Chatan Principality. She had spilled blood efficiently against those who came to capture her, even killing one.

‘Considering she’s a Slayer, is this considered kind?’

Elves are said to treasure life, but that’s usually the ordinary elves. No matter how you dress it up, swordsmanship is ultimately a skill for killing. A Slayer who specializes in such a skill and has an aversion to killing would not make for a good profession. By those standards, Siris was relatively benign.

“Let’s go, Sillan.”

“Uh, yeah.”

Sillan nodded and reached out his hand to Siris. Soldiers were still pursuing them, so there was no time to relax. They needed to escape the area quickly.

Carrying Sillan again, Siris dashed off with a running start to the next building.

* * *

“What happened?”

“I’m sorry, Lord Eusus. They were more skilled than we thought…”

Under Eusus’s urging, the middle-aged soldier bowed in apology.

This middle-aged soldier, who was also the captain of the Viscount Kelberen’s guard, might not have been a knight, but he was reputed to maintain peace effectively within the lordship. However, his capabilities as a captain of a rural guard, where monster invasions were almost nonexistent and nighttime crimes were extremely rare, were simply inadequate to catch these ‘flying’ thieves.

Of course, there would be ways if they used bows or crossbows, but the renowned Golden Knight had explicitly requested they be captured alive.

Watching the obsequious captain, Eusus repeatedly grimaced. Then, he irritably whispered to the deputy commander, Sir Lot, standing beside him.

“I told you we should have handled this ourselves, didn’t I?”

Sir Lot gently bowed his head, placating Eusus.

“You know that’s not possible, don’t you?”

It would not look good for the Viscount Kelberen’s jurisdiction if the Tenes Knight Order took direct action, considering they were guests. Thus, they deliberately let the Viscount Kelberen’s family lead the capture effort, with themselves and the Tenes Knight Order supporting in a cooperative manner.

“What do you plan to do if you miss out on this?”

It was odd for Eusus, who understood the situation well, to be this impatient.

‘I don’t understand. It doesn’t seem like something worth making such a big fuss over.’

Sir Lot was internally puzzled. Of course, the thief from the night before was definitely not ordinary in skill. However, what he had taken was merely one small, unnamed box among the numerous relics of the Silver Age, its identity so obscure that it had not even been named. Although all relics of the Silver Age were valuable, it was not something to cause such an uproar over. Losing just that one should not have been a big deal, given the ample number of relics the Tenes Knights had collected.

‘But why is he so anxious? Could that box actually be something incredibly important?’

Sir Lot remembered the pale look on Eusus’s face the moment the theft of the relic was reported. Perhaps there was something he didn’t know?

As Sir Lot was lost in thought, a moment came.

“That’s enough! I will handle this myself!”

Eusus drew the magic sword Eldran from his back. Sir Lot, surprised, said,

“No, there’s no need for you, Eusus, to personally deal with such fellows…”

Ignoring Sir Lot’s words, Eusus immediately plunged Eldran into the ground. It was indeed unusual. Normally, Eusus would have at least responded.

Leaving a bewildered Sir Lot behind, Eusus began to chant a prepared incantation.

“Awaken, Eldrad!”

Golden light exploded, enveloping his entire body. Eusus, now wearing the magical armor Eldrad, lightly stamped his foot.

Boom!

With a loud explosion, a golden shadow flew up like a bird, dashing through the rooftops.

* * *

“Taaah!”

With a sharp yell, a flash of the sword sparked. Three streaks of red blood sprayed into the air. Siris shouted after bringing down three knights with three slices, securing an escape route,

“Sillan!”

“Yep, I’m on it.”

‘Ah, when will Mr. Repen ever train me in building muscle? The pride of a man… sob sob.’

As Sillan was indulging in leisurely thoughts, reaching out his hand, a resounding shout came from behind.

“Cry out! Blade of the Wind!”

Whoosh!

The atmosphere distorted, and a blurry shape of a blade aimed at the two, flying towards them. It was the 4th circle wind magic spell, Wind Smash.

Boom!

The Wind Smash precisely split the space between Sillan and Siris, tearing through the rooftop. Sillan, startled, turned his head.

“What, what’s that?”

Sillan turned his head and saw a knight clad in dazzling armor landing on the rooftop. From head to toe, he shone in brilliant gold. It was a sight so distinctive it could not be mistaken.

“The Golden Knight of Graim!”

After sealing off the opponent’s retreat with magic, Eusus von Tenes brandished his sword at Siris and Sillan.

“This is the end, you rats.”

Contrary to his usually polite demeanor, Eusus’s eyes were chillingly cold. Taking a moment to catch her breath, Siris suddenly charged, swinging her sword.

“Hmph!”

With a sneer, Eusus swung his magic sword Eldran from below upwards.

“Rise, breath of the earth!”

The sword wind rose, creating four whirlwinds that surrounded Siris on all sides, attempting to restrict her movements with wind instead of using more lethal magic to capture her alive.

‘Got her.’

Eusus, about to look away from Siris with an indifferent gaze, paused when suddenly Siris’s longsword moved swiftly left and right.

“Taat!”

Cutting through the wind with her sword should have been futile, but astonishingly, the blade cleaved through the whirlwinds, emitting sparks of electricity.

Crackle!

The four whirlwinds dissipated in an instant. At the same time, Siris slid up to Eusus’s chin, kicking off the rooftop. A ghastly blade light spread wide and swung fiercely.

Clang!

Their swords clashed, and Siris was thrown back. She thought she had found an opening, but Eusus had already counterattacked with the golden sword, deflecting her strike. The force of his counter was so fierce that Siris rolled across the rooftop without being able to regain her posture.

“Ugh!”

Groaning, Siris quickly got back on her feet, slightly bending her knees as she readied herself for battle again. Eusus, observing the longsword in her hand, showed a puzzled expression.

“…That’s no ordinary sword.”

It was impossible for a regular blade to cut through magical wind. Even if not as powerful as Eldran, the sword was clearly of significant magical quality.

After all, it was a sword once used by Lantas, an Aura User. The Rolpein Trading Company, known for having nothing but money, wouldn’t have bought a cheap sword for a valuable Aura User, would they?

The longsword Siris now wielded was a precious item, likely to be carried only by the commander of a knightly order in a modest-sized nation. Of course, Eusus could not know the detailed circumstances, but he was certain that such a weapon was not meant to be wielded by an elf of a slave race.

‘An elf wielding such a precious sword?’

While Eusus momentarily pondered in astonishment, Sillan quickly recited a holy spell.

“Philanence! Grant your servant the bravery of a lion. Let the strength of a giant infuse her armed hands, her eyes become as fierce as a hawk’s, and her legs strong as a bull’s to strike down her enemies!”

This was known as the ‘Full Service of the Goddess’. Siris’s entire body sparkled in pink, emitting an incredible aura. Eusus von Tenes was even more astonished upon seeing Sillan. With such skill, it was clear to anyone that he was a high priest.

“Indeed…”

To think, the man jumping over the wall was an aura user, and the slave he had brought along wielded an extremely valuable magic sword. Now, a girl who seemed like a mere novice pilgrim was demonstrating high-level divine power.

“They were not just any thieves.”

Seeing Eusus’s knowing expression, Sillan waved his hands dismissively.

“Well, I admit it’s understandable to be mistaken, but actually, it’s…”

“Attack!”

Cutting off Sillan’s words, Siris charged again with her significantly enhanced physical abilities. Eusus calmly countered the attack. Sparks flew in the air as several sword strikes were exchanged in a flash.

‘Clearly, this isn’t a situation to be resolved with conversation.’

Tsking, Sillan began to chant once more.

“Philanence, strike down the enemies before us with your holy mace!”

Pink light hammers flew wildly. Eusus frowned. He had seen high priests occasionally use such divine spells, but he had never seen someone shower down hammers of holy light like a storm.

‘Is she really some sort of bishop?’

Well, he was surprised, but that didn’t mean the opponent was too strong to contend with. He was the Golden Knight of Graim, a magic swordsman of the aura wielder class.

“The trajectory of the heavens, flowing with the wind.”

Magical currents formed behind Eusus, swirling through the air and striking down the incoming pink hammers all at once. Sillan’s hammers of holy light, engulfed in powerful magic, were instantly dissipated into the air.

“My spell was dismissed so easily?”

Ignoring Sillan’s astonished voice, Eusus focused on the elf girl in front of him. His swordsmanship, which had been focused on defense, gradually shifted to offense. Having gauged the opponent’s capabilities, there was no need for delay.

The golden magic sword Eldran began to press Siris increasingly. She groaned, being pushed back more and more.