“Over there! Charge!”
“Reinforcements, focus on the female knight!”
As Lena directed the reinforcements, they all surged towards Katrina.
“Damn it! You’ll pay for this!”
“...”
Deros couldn't retort to Katrina's enraged shout. He was too preoccupied with the two unexpectedly skilled soldiers in front of him.
Lena and Leo weren’t having an easy time either.
As expected, knights were not to be trifled with. Even against a novice knight with significantly inferior skills, the two of them were struggling.
But finally, their swords found their mark on Deros. Once wounded, the inexperienced Deros faltered noticeably, and he eventually fell to Lena's blade.
Lena and Leo, gasping for breath, turned to look at Katrina.
“Now, let’s help the others...”
“Aack!”
The last remaining soldier fell. Katrina, her red hair disheveled, stood alone, having single-handedly annihilated two squads.
“Phew, to think those two took down Deros… Those brats are pretty good for their age.”
Her eyes, sharp as daggers, fixed on the two soldiers. Shocked by Deros's absurd demise, she stared intently at them, forgetting to even tie back her hair.
Leo gulped.
The last time they faced Katrina, Lena lost an arm. She was an insurmountable opponent, and they only managed to win through Lena's quick thinking and sheer luck.
This time, they could die.
‘No. I still have {Swordsmanship}. And she's more injured than before.’
Blood oozed from multiple wounds on Katrina’s body.
She was already injured before, and now it was even worse.
Leo, mustering his courage, stepped forward, and Lena, wary of the monster who had unleashed such carnage, pointed her sword at Katrina.
A tense silence fell as the three faced off, but Katrina, forgoing any psychological warfare, struck first.
Prolonging the fight would only work against her.
More detachments might arrive, and her head swam from the blood loss. She had to take down these two quickly and escape.
‘Look at this guy.’
The man was getting on her nerves. Every time she tried to make a move, he would intercept, disrupting her flow.
‘His swordsmanship isn’t anything special, but his coordination with the woman is impeccable.’
Katrina realized the woman was the weaker link, but she couldn’t recklessly attack her. She needed to take out the man first, but he was hindering her every move.
The young man, despite his age, seemed to be nearing expert level, his sword imbued with considerable strength.
She was unaware of Leo’s activated achievement.
[ Achievement: One Knight Down - You are stronger when facing knights. ]
‘Damn it, if it weren’t for his interference, I could have taken out the woman first. If I focus on her, I'll get stabbed.’
But attacking the man directly wasn’t ideal either.
He was focused on defense.
‘If only I wasn't injured!’
Taking on over twenty soldiers at once had taken its toll.
It was a knight's duty to cut down soldiers like they were nothing, but it was her and Deros's misfortune that such abnormal soldiers were mixed among them.
Katrina attempted a few forceful attacks, inflicting minor wounds on the pair, but she received equal measures in return.
‘…This is it, then.’
Katrina accepted her fate.
There was no way to win in a fair fight, so she had to gamble.
Gambling didn't suit a swordsman, but she had no choice. Any longer, and reinforcements would arrive.
‘Ellen, I’m sorry. It seems I won’t be able to return.’
With newfound resolve, Katrina adjusted her stance, radiating a chilling killing intent.
She could take down one of them for sure. There was a high chance she would die in the process, but either way, she was as good as dead.
Katrina, putting her weight behind her sword, charged at Lena. Caught off guard by the force of the attack, Lena stumbled, losing her balance.
As Katrina pressed her assault, Leo tried to intervene, but the advice from {Swordsmanship} wasn’t what he wanted to hear.
‘This… I can’t block it. All I can do is counter.’
Pressure and feints were meaningless against an opponent who had abandoned all defense.
Left with no choice, Leo thrust his sword with all his might, aiming for Katrina's shoulder. In that instant, her eyes gleamed, as if pleased with his move. Katrina, forcing her wounded shoulder to move, raised her sword to block.
Leo's leather armor ripped, and blood gushed from his chest.
“Leo!”
Lena, rising from her fall, kicked Katrina's leg.
With a roll, Katrina created some distance, then gripped her sword again. The deep gash on her shoulder seemed to be of no concern to her.
“Wait!”
Leo shouted.
She was willing to die to take them down with her. If this continued, one of them would die.
“Let’s stop fighting.”
“…Why?”
“If we keep fighting, you’ll definitely die.”
“I can take at least one of you with me.”
“I know. That’s why let’s stop here. I won’t chase you.”
Katrina’s lips twisted into a smirk.
“You’re letting me escape?”
“No. I’m asking you to spare our lives.”
“Leo! What are you saying?!”
“Lena, I’m sorry. If this continues, one of us will die. Let’s just stop here.”
“But…”
Lena was torn.
She didn’t care if she died. A warrior never turned their back on an enemy, and she was a warrior. But if Leo died instead of her…
The sight of blood pouring from Leo’s chest softened her resolve. Lena wavered, unable to decide.
Katrina watched the pair's exchange with a blank expression.
‘Are they a couple?’
The strange atmosphere, rare on a battlefield, deflated her fighting spirit, and thoughts of Ellen filled her mind.
‘…Should I just leave?’
A knight fleeing at a soldier’s mercy? It was a shameful act.
But… Ellen, that man had pleaded with her to come back alive.
He, who knew nothing of the horrors knights faced in war, was beside himself when she told him she was leaving.
The day before her departure, he dragged his ailing body and bought a bunch of herbs, unaware that knights were provided with their own medical supplies.
Ellen, his face etched with worry as he handed her the herbs, urging her to be careful… She wanted to see him.
Hesitantly, Katrina sheathed her sword.
“Fine. I’ll retreat, as you say. This favor…”
She trailed off, turning away in embarrassment.
Her shame doubled when her eyes fell on Deros's corpse.
She regretted yelling at him when he was struggling against a difficult opponent. To think these guys were soldiers in disguise…
Katrina wanted to tend to his body, but she could barely keep herself together.
She gathered Deros’s sword and a few of his belongings and left.
[ Achievement: Sparing Katrina - Katrina remembers your mercy. ]
As Katrina disappeared, Leo collapsed. His clothes were soaked with blood from the wound on his chest.
Lena rushed to his side and frantically wrapped bandages around his chest. As she leaned close, her short hair tickling his nose, Leo apologized.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. We were never a match for her anyway. If that knight had been at full strength, we would be dead.”
She tied the knot, continuing, “And we did our part by taking down one knight.”
Lena, having finished the emergency treatment, sat down heavily in front of him, seemingly relieved.
Leo looked down at his chest and chuckled.
How absurd. She had tied the bandage knot directly on top of his wound.
Still, Lena, who knew nothing but swordsmanship, had kept her arm.