Chapter 146: 146: Go Get Him

Letting out deep breaths, Roderic glanced behind him.

His eyes narrowed right away.

It seemed like that trap had finally done it.

Baldwin had come to a stop, his gaze locked on his fallen comrades.

‘It’s over,’ he thought.

Even if Baldwin decided to give chase again, there was no way he’d catch up to them.

The Western Gate was practically within reach.

And with all the commotion they’d caused, there was no doubt in his mind someone would be waiting for them.

Just as Roderic was about to turn away, Baldwin’s head snapped towards him.

For a moment, the two locked eyes.

Roderic smiled faintly and raised his hand.

‘Oho, he wants me dead,’ he thought, waving at Baldwin. ‘Looks like I’ll have to be careful on the battlefield from now on.’

The murderous look on Baldwin’s face was a sight to see.

It truly was something Roderic wanted to remember for years to come.

‘We did the impossible today,’ he thought, sitting down.

Letting out another deep breath, he slowly raised his head.

The sky above was still beautifully clear.

Moonlight from the full moon shone down peacefully upon them.

Roderic finally relaxed himself as a wave of exhaustion washed over him.

After a moment, he slowly raised his hand to the sky.

”Now that the last obstacle is out of the way,” he mumbled, ”we can finally focus on the real war.”

Roderic closed his eyes, enjoying the peace.

It had truly been a long day.

‘I could fall asleep right here…’

Trying to find a more comfortable position, Roderic rolled onto his side.

Just then, his fingers touched a wet substance.

‘Huh?’

Opening his eyes, Roderic found a pale, horrified face with lifeless eyes staring back at him.

”What the fuck?!”

Cursing under his breath, he instantly jumped to his feet.

Without even a moment of hesitation, he kicked the head straight off the wagon.

WHOOSH!

”MY SOUVENIR!” Finn’s horrified shout rang out immediately.

Before Roderic could even react, Finn leaped off the moving wagon, diving after it.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Roderic watched him tumble in the dirt, still curled up around the severed head.

For a moment… he truly didn’t know what to say.

Only one thought came to mind after several seconds.

‘Fucking lunatic!’

Having heard the commotion, Frederic had already started to slow down.

It didn’t take long before Finn finally caught back up to them.

Though his body was covered in scrapes, a cheerful smile sat on his face as he raised the severed head.

Roderic stared at him with a darkened expression.

‘I really need to reconsider who I recruit…’

After the minor disturbance was resolved, they quickly began moving again.

The Western Gate drew closer with every passing moment.

And finally, several dozen familiar figures on horseback appeared in the distance.

At the very front was none other than Arthur Whitemane.

Beside him rode Captain Harris, accompanied by nearly half of the knights in their territory.

Roderic smiled faintly.

‘As expected,’ he thought. ‘The commotion attracted them.’

For a brief moment, his gaze snapped back in Baldwin’s direction.

The knight’s silhouette was still faintly visible around the trap in the distance.

Despite his exhaustion, a plan immediately began forming in Roderic’s mind.

‘If they’re here… maybe we can finish that Three-Seal Knight off.’

There wouldn’t be many times when someone of that caliber was practically alone in the future.

With that in mind, Roderic glanced back at the approaching knights.

It didn’t take long before they reached the wagon.

”RODERIC!”

Arthur immediately pulled on his reins.

”Are you alright?!” he asked. ”What in the world happened?”

Roderic raised his hand right away, silencing him.

”I’m alright,” he replied. ”But there’s something much more urgent right now.”

Pointing in the distance, he continued.

”There’s an enemy Three-Seal Knight over there! He has around fifteen knights, half of whom are lying on the ground! You need to pursue him right now!”

Arthur’s eyes widened.

He immediately turned towards the direction Roderic was pointing.

Sure enough, several distant figures could still be seen near the forest’s edge.

His expression hardened.

”And the mage?” he asked seriously.

Before Roderic could even say something, Finn raised the severed head with a cheerful smile.

Arthur’s brows furrowed as he stared at him.

But he’d received the message.

SHING!

Pulling out his sword, he turned his horse sideways.

”KNIGHTS OF WHITEMANE!” he shouted, raising his sword. ”THE ENEMY IS RIGHT BEFORE US!”

Every knight immediately turned towards him.

Arthur pointed his sword towards the distant forest.

”CHARGE! LEAVE NONE STANDING!”

The knights didn’t hesitate.

”YES, MY LORD!”

Arthur turned back around.

For a split second, he nodded in Roderic’s direction.

Then he burst forward.

CLATTER! CLATTER! CLATTER!

Dozens of horses rushed around the wagon, kicking up clouds of dust.

Roderic watched them go with a satisfied smile.

”Good,” he mumbled. ”Let’s hope they kill him.”

If even that Third-Seal Knight was eliminated, the upcoming war would become significantly easier.

As that thought settled, he turned towards the front of the wagon.

”Frederic, can we turn around as well?” he asked. ”We could help with the ballista.”

Frederic’s expression became difficult.

He glanced down at the four horses before slowly shaking his head.

”I’m sorry, young master,” he said, his voice low. ”These horses are simply too exhausted.”

Roderic glanced at the animals.

Their breathing was heavy, and white foam had appeared all over their bodies.

‘Right…’ he thought. ‘Almost forgot about that.’

They had already pushed the poor animals to their limits.

”It’s fine. Just continue towards the gate,” he said. ”We’ll see if we can switch them out and help afterwards.”

Frederic nodded gratefully.

”Understood, young master!”

With that, the wagon continued towards the Western Gate at a steady pace.

Roderic glanced back, narrowing his eyes.

In the distance, Arthur and his knights were already closing in on Baldwin’s position.

‘Help afterwards, huh,’ he thought. ‘The battle will likely be long over by then.’

A faint smile appeared on his face.

‘Still, they outnumber them at least two to one. Even if Baldwin manages to escape, he’ll lose a bunch of valuable knights.’

That alone was more than enough to satisfy him.