Chapter 273: Ground Battle

"They’re waiting for you below, so come down carefully."

Knight Commander Lothar offered advice. I thought it was important for a referee to stay neutral, but was this all right?

Anyway I landed on the railing of the third-floor balcony! At me dropping from above came:

"Uwah!"

"Kyaa!"

They were surprised, and they also seemed pleased. Having one of the parties to the fight appear right in front of them was apparently a joy. The balcony was packed so full there was no room to stand a needle. I worried it might collapse from the weight.

I took a breath and gathered myself to jump when some heartless person grabbed my ankle. I lost my balance and fell. I instinctively stretched out my left hand to grab the railing, but when I gripped it a sharp pain ran through my hand! I couldn’t hold the railing.

"It huuurts—!!"

When the arrow hit, had a crack gone into the bone? I had no strength and fell as I was. My whole body hit the ground. The impact knocked the breath out of me. I curled up and endured the pain. Kirchhoff soldiers gathered.

"You bastard!"

"Get him—!"

"Learn your lesson—!!"

"You piece of shit—!!"

I was cursed at as if I had done something unforgivable, struck with swords, kicked. It hurt so much I couldn’t make a sound. It looked like I would lose then and there.

Just as I thought that, there were gan, gan, gan sounds and the blows suddenly stopped.

"Lord Robbie, I’m late. I’m sorry!!"

Lily had come to help. I was truly glad she made it in time. I sat up and cautiously looked around; several men in armor were down.

Lily put her hand on my back and treated me. My heart, which had been about to break, revived a little. These guys—doing this to a child like me, wasn’t that child abuse?! There should be such a thing as holding back, I thought, but I stayed silent.

Lily received the enemies coming one after another and took them down. Watching the enemies’ movements I thought that in a sudden moment humans raise their swords overhead. Even though they were being beaten by Lily right in front of their eyes, they didn’t learn from it and were taken down the same way. If you always only practice swinging in sword drills, that motion comes out when it counts. The raise-and-bring-down movement had soaked into their bodies.

Incidentally, when they struck they always let out some huge voice. That was when Lily’s sword smashed in. The light moved from me to Lily. The sword glittered and shone. It might have been my imagination, but the hair peeking from her helm looked bluish. The speed of her sword increased another notch.

A rare spear-user charged in. Lily read the thrust, slipped it to the side, slid in to the spear-user’s hands, and knocked him down with a blow of the sword hilt to the cheek through the helm. She barely dodged a soldier slashing from the side and smashed the sword into his belly. Lily’s sword broke. She immediately let go, rolled on the ground, grabbed the downed opponent’s sword, and scooped it up from below. Pitifully, the sword passed through the soldier’s groin. The soldier seemed to lift for an instant.

Lily immediately advanced and crossed swords with the enemy soldiers.

A great cheer rose at Lily’s performance. Lily’s helm came off. Her hair glittered in the light.

I watched that scene from a little apart. The watcher beside me muttered:

"Amazing. She might be stronger than the instructors."

Right? That’s my woman! I couldn’t say that, so I said:

"Right? But I won’t give her away. She’s attached to the Marie Kingdom embassy."

and ran to Lily’s side.

By then there were no enemies around Lily; only soldiers remained around Count von Kirchhoff. A stream flowed between us and the Kirchhoff side. The width was less than a meter, so you could cross it in one leap. But shields were stood along the far bank so you couldn’t jump across. And was there some trap in the stream? No one had entered the water since earlier.

There were no longer ten men around Count von Kirchhoff. Five or a few more formed a meat wall surrounding him. They looked terribly sweaty. And beyond that a red light was visible, so it was certain the Count was there.

Here I would have Super Strength work hard for one shot. They would think I was going to charge in. I wouldn’t do the thing they were expecting. I stepped back a little, started running, and threw the sword in my hand horizontally! The sword spun as it flew, hit a shield, and dented it. Behind, a guwah voice rose. I picked up a fallen sword and another one! I put even more run-up momentum into the throw. The enemy’s shield bent and flew. I threw another sword there. The shield flew. The shields on the far bank were gone.

I picked up another sword, took a run-up, and threw! I faked it and leapt into the enemy position together with the sword!

The enemies thought another sword was coming, so the soldiers on the sword’s flight path fled left and right. Thanks to that I landed at my leisure. Lily landed right after.

Now the two of us would sweep the rest!

The enemy no longer had cohesion and came at us one by one. I tried to cut them down, but before I could Lily came out and knocked them down with her sword. Each time the enemy fell into the pond or the stream and splashes rose.

Three left. We had finally reached the last boss. On our side it was just me and Lily—a child and a woman. By appearance alone we would look overwhelmingly disadvantaged. But how did we look to the spectators?

Count von Kirchhoff wore a hooded robe that hid his face. Two men stood in front of him. They had bodies like lumps of muscle, all sinew. But those were muscles for swinging a greatsword; they didn’t look like muscles that could handle a sword.

"Marieeee—!! Loseee—!!"

"Count—win—!!"

"Show the power of the Kingdom of Mainz—!!"

"Count von Kirchhoff—!! I bet a fortune on you—!!"

"Count—!! I won’t forgive you if you lose—!!"

Anonymous as they were, they hurled whatever jeers they liked. When money is on the line a person’s true nature comes out in any world.

A thought struck me then. Had our Duke placed a bet? Could he have bet on me losing? I glanced at the place where he had first taken position; His Grace seemed to have recovered and was watching from someone’s shoulders. He was full of energy and shouting something. I didn’t think he was cheering for the Count... Surely only the Duchess and the Queen had bet on me. I wanted to believe that!

—-

"You did well to come this far. Just the two of you—that body and a woman. I’ll praise you as splendid. But your struggle ends here. You cannot defeat us! I’ll make you rust on my beloved sword. Wahahaha—!!"

One of the big men laughed heartily. I was pretty sure we were using blunted swords, but I was going to become rust on a sword? He hadn’t declared he was using a live blade, had he? Wasn’t that against the rules? Wouldn’t someone stop this guy?

And did this guy not know that anyone who spat lines like that always lost?

While I was a little stunned:

"Still, being defeated would be regrettable, wouldn’t it? I’ll tell you the name of the one who will defeat you! Listen well! I am Klaus Dinger of the First Knight Order of the Kingdom of Mainz!!"

He declared it in a voice that seemed to echo through the Count’s residence, and cheers rose from the mansion. Was this man a celebrity? I looked at Lily; she shook her head.

Drawn along by that, the other one also shouted:

"I am Karl Bardos of the First Knight Order of the Kingdom of Mainz!!"

Again yanya-yanya cheers rose from throughout the mansion. Hearing that, I had a feeling that if we defeated these two we would be showered with huge boos.

A thought struck me here. While these two were announcing themselves they were full of openings. If I had leapt in now, couldn’t I have taken them down? Their upper bodies were in full plate, but they wore nothing on their lower bodies. No—to be precise, a man’s delicate zone had proper dedicated armor so it could withstand Lily’s blows.

But taking them down while they were introducing themselves would be called cowardly, wouldn’t it.

We waited, thinking we should fight fair and square. Here I tossed out a small question.

"I understand both of your names well. Then I would like to ask one thing: what is your relationship to House Kirchhoff? Relatives, or perhaps members of the Count’s family?"

At my question the two grinned.

"No, we have no connection whatsoever to House Kirchhoff! For this battle Count von Kirchhoff recognized our strength and nominated us! He said that we would live up to His Lordship’s expectations and distinguish ourselves! There is no greater honor! To be chosen from among the more than one hundred members of the First Knight Order means our strength is acknowledged and we can demonstrate it here! Ahahaha!"

They closed with a loud laugh.

"I understand well. Then this time is unpaid?"

"What foolishness are you speaking! The higher the reward, the higher the evaluation!"

Dinger-san held forth at length. Bardos-san nodded as well.

"Now, let us begin!"