Chapter 23: 23 Cheating is a Duruchi Tradition

Chapter 23: Cheating is a Drucci Tradition

The first batch of transfers had already begun on Dakus's side.

The slaves on the small boats looked back desperately at the receding land—the land that had nurtured them—their eyes brimming with tears of profound attachment. They did not know where their future lay, nor what their lives would become.

The Drucci crew members rowing the boats likely understood the slaves' thoughts, for they had seen it all too often. They rowed on, shouting vicious insults in Elven to "comfort" the slaves, regardless of whether the slaves could even understand them.

The Doomrunner Chariot reappeared, suspended to the front right of the knights' marching route. It simply hung there, making no attempt to fire its harpoons.

"In the sky! A Pegasus!"

A knight, holding his shield before him, spotted the dark Pegasus in mid-air.

Alisha saw the Doomrunner Chariot and the eight charging knights. She chose not to cast a spell, but instead performed a flashy aerial maneuver.

The knights began to waver. They realized the opponent was merely playing with them, bullying them for their lack of ranged weapons. As the terrain and visibility opened up, they saw the distant beach, the three-masted galleon, the small boats constantly transferring troops, and the orderly ranks of black-armored infantry on the shore.

"My Lord?"

The one who had shouted most loudly earlier was the first to step forward this time.

When the lead knight saw all this, he knew it was over. His mind raced with a thousand thoughts: wondering why he hadn't stayed one more night, and thinking of his son, wondering if the boy would be able to manage the fiefdom in the future.

Gondel held the lance and shield of a fallen knight, his two-handed greatsword hanging from his saddle. He hadn't expected the task assigned by the Goddess of the Lake to be this difficult. Was it because he wasn't devout enough?

The knights seemed to realize what was coming next.

The Doomrunner Chariot executed a left-diagonal maneuver, and the harpoon crossbows began to fire. A harpoon struck a warhorse in the head; the horse faltered, sending the knight flying forward to roll across the ground. After lying prone for a long while, the knight struggled to his feet. He walked back to his longtime companion, stroked it, closed its eyes, then drew the two-handed greatsword from his saddle and began a running charge!

Alisha looped back through the air, summoning a searing amber spear, and struck the knight with incredible precision. The knight took two more steps forward before collapsing in the middle of his charge.

Dustin Cold-Eye paced incessantly on the deck, his heart filled with anxiety because time was running out. A voice came from the mast crow's nest reporting that cavalry was approaching. He pulled out his spyglass to observe; upon seeing that they were true Batonian cavalry, he cursed loudly and roared, "Sound the alarm! All hands to battle stations! Increase speed!" He could not decide what Dakus would do, nor could he stop him; all he could do was try his utmost to protect Dakus, for protecting Dakus was protecting himself.

The brothers Dakus and Takaya raised their lances high, watching the distant battle, seemingly understanding what was to come.

The mere thought of a lance charge made Dakus uneasy. This was a magical world, a world filled with behemoths, dragons, giants, and other strange things. The use and tactics of lances were entirely different from his previous life. In this world, regardless of race, lance materials were incredibly hard; the kind that shattered upon impact were usually reserved for training or ceremonial duels. In Batonia, some lances were even sacred relics, kept as offerings and only brought out in times of dire crisis.

To combat giant creatures, one had to drive the lance deep into a vital organ; otherwise, the tip would snap the moment it pierced the scales. Impact force? What even was impact force?

Cavalry charges were common occurrences. When fighting their cousins, the Asur of Ulthuan, the primary target for Cold Lizards was the Silver Helms, and sometimes even the mounted Dragon Princes. Whoever won earned the right to perform rear charges on the battlefield.

Cavalry against infantry usually meant a rear charge using the "anvil" tactic—piercing through them like skewers and then finishing them off with secondary weapons.

He thought to himself, *"Grandma? I'm not going to die here today, am I? Looks like a lance charge is coming. Three against seven—the advantage is mine!"*

At that moment, the first mate ran to the position of the Three Swords and knelt, saying, "Young Master, Captain Dustin Cold-Eye has signaled. The Reaper Ballistae are ready."

"Understood. Keep busy, don't panic."

Edmond also walked to the Three Swords, knelt on one knee, and said, "My Lord, I implore you to board the ship!"

"What about you all?"

"We will fight to the last moment!"

In the distance, the knights drew closer. On one side of the ship's hull, eight Reaper Ballistae began firing at their maximum range. Two bolts struck two knights; they didn't fly back, but were instead pinned directly into the ground—one even taking his horse with him.

The knights began to maneuver in the opposite direction to escape the ballistae's range. They wouldn't charge directly into a mass of infantry; they intended to stall until their squires arrived.

The second batch of transfer boats pulled alongside. Only the rowing crew was on board; the rest of the Drucci stood on the beach.

Kneeling on one knee, Edmond shouted again, "I implore you, My Lord, to board the ship!"

The soldiers and crew all knelt and shouted in unison, "I implore you, My Lord, to board the ship!"

Dakus ignored them. He turned his helmet toward the brothers Takaya, "Are you two ready?"

Flaneas said calmly, "My Lord, we are always ready!"

Rain was different; he said excitedly, "My Lord, my blood is boiling!"

Dakus shouted, "Edmond! Let those three squads stay behind. The rest, board the ship!"

"My Lord!"

Edmond tried to say more, but Dakus looked at him.

"Execute the order!"

Dakus patted the Cold Lizard beneath him, took up his shield, and began to guide the beast into a slow trot. The two brothers flanked Dakus, forming a wedge formation.

Seeing that he could no longer stop him, Edmond immediately ordered that every Blackbolt Crossbowman from each squad stay behind, while the rest of the soldiers boarded. The soldiers began pushing the boats; once the boats were pushed out, they climbed aboard and began rowing furiously with their shields. Every Drucci on the small boats was rowing with all their might.

Edmond looked at the remaining Black Ark pirates and a replacement beastmaster and asked, "Are you not boarding?"

The beastmaster jerked his head toward the direction of the chariot and said, "The Young Master and Kaelen are still over there."

The captain who had been following Dakus all along shrugged nonchally and said, "I'm a good swimmer; I can swim back to Krakalond. What's the plan now?"

Edmond glanced at the terrain and pointed to a spot, saying, "Advance there and form a long-range firing position. Block the approaching reinforcements and cover My Lord."

From mid-air, Alisha saw that Dakus and her two brothers had not boarded, but were instead charging forward on Cold Lizards. She began to pray in a low voice, "Moraiag Heg, please bless me."

Having finished, she began to manipulate the Winds of Ghyran. Swarms of crows appeared out of thin air; they were spirits of vengeance, possessing steel beaks and blood-stained feathers, and began attacking the knights' heads. But she was still too young; she had chosen the wrong magic. The knights' helmets were airtight, and they beat the crows away with their shields. Before long, the crows dissipated.

Seeing the three Cold Lizard knights charging toward them, the knights showed no mercy and began to turn their horses.

The lead knight cried out, "For the Goddess! For Leonis! For our comrades who have returned to the Goddess's embrace! Charge!"

The collision began!

The distance between the two sides was about three hundred meters. Dakus's side was gaining speed, and the knights were also accelerating.

There was no slow trot, no fast run, and then slowing down to wedge in. It was pure acceleration; whoever flinched was a coward.

The Cold Lizards began to roar with excitement. Dakus felt his speed reaching 60 km/h. He was breathing heavily with excitement, his adrenaline surging, making his whole body tremble. This was far more thrilling than riding an electric scooter!

Five seconds: both sides began to accelerate.

Eight seconds: Alisha once again manipulated the Winds of Ghyran, releasing the Hardened Pelt of Paen, enveloping the three of them in a layer of tough skin to provide greater protection against weapons and other forms of damage.

Ten seconds: the two brothers accelerated again, forming an inverted triangle formation to share the impact for Dakus.

Twelve seconds: both sides leveled their lances.

Fifteen seconds: the two sides slammed into each other with violent force.

The screams of warhorses, the wails of men, the splintering of wood, the roars of Cold Lizards, and the clashing of metal all intertwined.

Two on the opposing side fell immediately. One was pierced through by Flaneas's Soul Eater. A lance pierced through Flaneas's shield and his plate armor, leaving him unconscious on the back of his Cold Lizard, which began to fight by instinct, biting and tearing.

Gondel's lance plunged into the throat of Rain's Cold Lizard, the tip exiting through the back of the skull; Rain was now lying there with his legs twitching. Rain was thrown forward, rolled once, quickly stood up, drew his Messer, and began hacking at an oncoming knight.

The inside of Dakus's shield was embedded with a lance tip and half a shaft. His left hand had lost all sensation, and the webbing of his right hand was torn. The Soul Eater was gone, his mind was reeling, and the half-moon crest on his helmet had vanished.

The Cold Lizard beneath him had been pierced through the chest, and he had been thrown to the ground. The fall was heavy. Regaining a sliver of consciousness, he bit his tongue hard to stay awake, staggered to his feet, dropped his shield, spat out the blood in his mouth, drew his Messer, and gripped it with both hands.

A knight had just scrambled up from the ground when Flaneas's Cold Lizard clamped its jaws onto his shoulder blade. With a powerful snap of its jaw, the armor shattered. The lizard pinned his body to the ground with its foreclaws and began to tear at him.

Gondel ran over, raised his two-handed greatsword high, and with a single strike through the joints of the armor, severed the beast's neck. He fell to the ground along with Flaneas, and the knight being eaten also lost his life. Gondel's hands were numb, and his long-serving greatsword had developed nicks. He turned and saw Dakus standing up; Dakus saw him too.

The two clashed head-on. Gondel's greatsword became a silver blur, weaving a lethal pattern through his forward lunges and spins, relentlessly attacking Dakus. Dakus used every trick in his arsenal to dodge and parry the ferocious onslaught.

Over there, Rain had already finished his combat, with a knight's head hanging from his belt. Kaelen was also approaching with the Doomrunner Chariot. The two beastmasters aimed their harpoon crossbows at Gondel, and Rain looked ready to strike.

After being forced onto the defensive for several more exchanges, Dakus realized he truly could not defeat this half-step Grail knight; his strength, skill, and agility were being directly suppressed.

*"Is this a Grail Knight? No, that's not right—there's no Grail sigil on him."*

In that moment of distraction, Dakus was struck in the chest. Gondel's greatsword recoiled, and Dakus felt a massive shock in his chest, followed by a spray of blood as he stumbled back two steps.

Gondel lunged forward half a step with a thrust, the blade catching the notched edge of the Messer. Dakus's weapon flew from his hands, and he fell backward.

As Gondel raised his greatsword to deliver the finishing blow, a sharp pain erupted from his lower back. His vision went black as a harpoon tip punched into the inside of his chest armor.

Seizing the opening, Dakus lifted his right leg slightly, pulled out his flintlock pistol, disengaged the safety, aimed, and said grimly, "Ashina Style!"

*BANG!*

The shot hit Gondel squarely in the abdomen. Then, another harpoon struck his back. His eyes were filled with disbelief, surprise, and pain—an expression that would be forever etched upon his face.

Rain rushed over and kicked Gondel aside.

Lying on the ground, Gondel uttered his final words: "Despicable!"

"Sorry, but cheating is a Drucci virtue."

"May your soul return to the embrace of the Goddess of the Lake."

"Where's your brother?"

Only then did Rain realize; he ran into the fray to find his brother. Kaelen drove the chariot over, and the two beastmasters dismounted to help.

Dakus picked up his Messer and shouted to Alisha in the air, "Alisha, go support them over there! See you on the ship in a bit!"

On their way, the squires saw only fallen horses and the corpses of their lords. Following the trail to the beach, what met their eyes were two knights pinned to the ground, a group of black-armored men waiting for them, small boats returning on the sea, and a black sailing ship already underway.

A few stubborn squires took up bows, intending to test the waters, but before they could even reach effective range, they and their horses were riddled with arrows like hornets.

At that moment, a dark Pegasus flew overhead, circling rather than passing through.

Alisha spoke in Batonian, "Your lords have all fallen in battle. I suggest you use this time, before the other lords realize what happened, to fetch your wives and children. Do you need me to bring their heads to confirm it for you?"

A few sharp-eyed squires had already seen the situation with Dakus but hadn't been certain. Upon hearing this, the squires began to waver, chattering amongst themselves. If all their lords were dead, what was the point of returning? To be promoted to nobility? Some broke away from the group and ran west to bypass the area toward Mushilon; others ran north, seemingly to fetch their families. Before long, the figures vanished, leaving the two knights pinned to the ground with no one to collect them.

Flaneas was carefully lifted onto the chariot. He was injured again, and yet, he had not died again.

Dakus looked up at the breaking dawn and sighed, "What a busy day!"

*I'm so bad at this. _(:з」∠)_*

(End of Chapter)