Chapter 113: Sword Fight

From behind the five charging thieves, two men slowly stood up, using their swords as canes. They seemed to have injured legs. Were they the ones who had been hit by arrows while on the wall earlier? If the arrowhead was still stuck in their legs without passing through, there was no way they could walk properly. I didn’t know what kind of arrowheads the Count’s guards used, but if they were the type that were hard to remove, perhaps they had been trying to pull them out here. Or maybe the arrowheads were poisoned, and the poison had spread through their bodies while they were fleeing.

In any case, they couldn’t abandon their wounded comrades, so they had stayed together. And then, unfortunately for both sides, we ran into each other.

The security team was disappointingly weak in actual combat. Maybe it was because they had the mindset of "we have more people, they have fewer," or maybe it was because they had mostly recruited complete amateurs. Either way, they were clearly outmatched.

A thief slashed at one of the security team members. He blocked with his sword, but his exposed torso was kicked and he went tumbling. Another blocked a horizontal swing while in a pathetic stance and had his entire sword knocked away. They were so weak it was painful to watch.

Even seeing the security team’s pitiful state, I wasn’t afraid. As long as Lily and Stevie were here, those thieves wouldn’t be a problem. The two of them stood like a wall in front of me. The security team retreated to the sides, which resulted in Lily and Stevie facing the thieves directly.

The thieves could have attacked together, but perhaps they underestimated the two girls. One went for Lily, another for Stevie. Lily dodged the incoming slash by a hair’s breadth and slid the thin tip of her sword across the man’s neck like a caress. The path of her sword looked like a single line of light. The tip left a thin red line, and after a moment, blood sprayed from the cut. The man, still in the momentum of his attack, staggered right in front of me.

"Lord Robby, finish him!" Lily shouted.

"Yes!"

I answered loudly, dodged the man, and thrust my sword deep into the cut on his neck that Lily had made. I think I went in deep enough to see his trachea. The slashed man dropped his sword, clutched the wound, and tried to say something, but only a whistling "Huu... huu..." sound came out. Then he collapsed. I felt something enter me from him too.

Next! I thought, turning around. Stevie had already stepped in front of a man who was raising his sword, and with a sharp shh, she slashed horizontally across his completely exposed abdomen. As the man tried to hold his stomach, she thrust her sword into his heart from the side and quickly pulled it out before the flesh could close. The man fell forward. I had no chance to act, but as I tried to approach, Lily called out.

"Lord Robby!"

Strangely, none of them tried to thrust at me. They all raised their swords to slash. Lily moved with such speed that her figure seemed to blur, stepping in and slashing open their stomachs. Blood sprayed out from the paths she took. Does blood really fly this much?! One of them collapsed right in front of me, so I stabbed his neck, but there was a crack! sound. Damn, I hit bone. I didn’t feel anything enter from him.

Both Lily and Stevie had unbelievably fast footwork. My eyes couldn’t keep up — they left afterimages. Was it because it was dark and there was less light? But I felt like it would be the same even during the day.

In the blink of an eye, the five were down. The only ones left were two men dragging their legs — one big, one small. The big one stepped forward. Stevie moved in to slash his stomach. The man blocked her sword with his arm. He was wearing gauntlets. Since Stevie’s sword was light, it only bit in slightly. From the opposite side, Lily attacked. She crouched low and tried to slash upward, but the man’s sword was faster and came sweeping toward her neck.

"Lily!!"

I cried out involuntarily. She got cut!

Lily dodged the sword by a paper-thin margin. However, while her head avoided the blade, the hair extending from it was sliced off with a snap! She immediately leaped sideways and slashed across the man’s stomach. A thin red line appeared, but the man tried to grab her with the hand that had blocked Stevie’s sword. Lily backstepped to avoid it.

This guy had already thrown his life away. No matter how many wounds he took, he didn’t seem to care. It felt like his only desire was to take as many people with him as possible before dying.

Blood was pouring heavily from his slashed stomach and arm. On top of that, he had some injury on the back of his leg. Lily and Stevie created distance and prepared to attack again.

From behind, belatedly—

"Uryaaa—!!"

Another man charged at Stevie. You should’ve stayed quiet. Maybe he thought a young girl would be easier. But his injuries were worse than the big guy’s, and his footwork was clumsy. Before he could reach Stevie, he tumbled over with a thud.

"Idiot!!"

Stevie shouted and stabbed her sword into his neck. Well, at least you got killed by Stevie instead of some random old man. That’s better, right?

Hyun!!

Right in front of Stevie, the big man’s sword flashed. Stevie retreated one, then two steps. In that opening, Lily leaped in and slashed his arm. I think she cut the tendon. The man’s attention turned to Lily as he tried to slash at her, but his sword was too slow. Stevie jumped in and stabbed him in the side.

"Lord Robby! Now! The neck!!" Lily shouted.

"Eh? Ah, yes!!"

I jumped up toward the man’s face and slashed down at his exposed neck. Blood sprayed out. I landed behind him. Something entered me.