Chapter 156 – The Young Lady (8)
I don’t know the exact source, but I remember hearing it somewhere long ago: a knight dies if he falls from his horse.
‘I think I understand why now!’
If you fall from a height of two meters while wearing full-plate armor heavier than your own body—like being sealed inside a tin can—what happens?
No matter how well-trained the body, the spine isn’t going to survive unscathed.
“Hand me the lance.”
“Yes, Master.”
A squire who can barely do anything without assistance because even moving is burdensome.
Putting on flawless plate armor over the entire body, mounting the warhorse, tucking the long lance under the armpit while gripping it, and finally taking the reins…
No knight in this world could do all of that alone without a squire.
Me?
“Gasp! Th-that’s impossible!”
“Count Amolang?!”
On the outside I look like an ordinary human, but my muscles are compressed to super-high density, making my body extremely heavy.
And that’s not all. The leather-like outer skin I wear is reinforced to block even the Sword Demon’s blade, boasting a murderous weight. This mere iron tin can feels as light as a feather to me.
“Hi, hiiing~?!”
Tremble tremble—
As a side effect, the warhorse couldn’t bear the weight.
The moment I mounted, it couldn’t take a single step. It was even trembling anxiously!
“Hmm…”
(Successor. Stop the animal abuse and give up when you have to give up.)
What if the Sword Demon suddenly shows up?
(It’d still be better than standing there like an idiot until the war ends.)
“Chp.”
Disarming is easy.
But recreating the leather armor that protects my body would take considerable time and effort.
Why?
Because my foundation is still human. Suppressing the instinct to return to a pure human form while maintaining this shape requires tremendous focus…
(You talk too much. It’s just because your training is lacking.)
“Tch.”
In conclusion: lack of practice.
Srrr…
I couldn’t not learn chivalry just because the Sword Demon might appear, so I disarmed.
Leaving only the underwear that preserves my dignity—everything else removed cleanly!
“Prrrr!”
Now finally able to breathe, the warhorse began to move.
Clop clop.
There is a way for me to avoid disarming.
I could simply remove the barding—which is heavier than a knight’s armor.
‘That’s not an option.’
But then the warhorse would become far too vulnerable to arrows and lances, making it impossible to break through enemy lines.
“Um… Count?”
The boy temporarily assigned as my squire looked flustered.
“What?”
“Isn’t it heavy?”
“Do I look like it’s heavy?”
“N-no! You looked so comfortable that I asked!”
“If you survive the agony of death three times or so, you’ll be able to do it too.”
“Ah! Thank you!”
The squire completely misinterpreted my words as some profound metaphorical teaching and looked deeply grateful.
Bwooooo—!
The trumpet signaling the advance echoed across the battlefield.
“Shall we go?”
Mobility is life for all cavalry, including knights. Among them, the heavily armored ‘knight’ consumes extreme stamina, so one full-speed charge is usually the end!
After that, they must return to the main force to rest.
Two, three charges?
That’s only possible when victory or defeat is already certain and there’s no need to preserve stamina for retreat.
“Count Amolang.”
“Yes.”
“After the first charge, please return to the main force.”
“Only me?”
Why?
“The longer this war drags on, the more advantageous it becomes for the resource-rich duchy. And with five different commanders in the allied force, confusion and discord in orders are inevitable. If the war is prolonged, we’ll collapse from within…”
“I understand that we need to end it quickly. But why do I have to withdraw midway?”
“We will break through the enemy’s left wing, smash their supply lines in the rear, and then advance straight to their command headquarters.”
“Whoa~”
Even if we only ran without fighting, the route was long enough to exhaust the warhorse to the point of collapse.
A cavalryman who loses mobility?
Dies.
“His Majesty gave strict orders—even if the war is lost, Count Amolang must be kept alive and returned home at all costs.”
“If you do that…”
“It was unanimously agreed upon by all the allied nations. That’s how many beautiful young ladies are eagerly awaiting your return.”
“Ahem!”
Those ladies seem determined to drag me straight into the jaws of death!
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
The knights, gathered from various kingdoms and thus wearing mismatched armor, formed up in ranks.
Diamond formation.
It sacrifices some penetrating power compared to a triangular wedge, but offers superior stability and defensive strength.
“The signal…!”
Rumble rumble—
Thud thud thud—
The mounted knights surged forward as one.
Their target: the enemy’s left wing—the far left edge of the human-and-shield wall, to be crushed first.
“Knight Order!”
“Here they come!”
But the duchy was not about to let us rampage freely!
Knowing full well that dragging out the battle would secure their victory, the duchy’s knights conserved their stamina in the rear and waited for us to arrive.
No dodging or flanking was possible.
Horses are living creatures, not machines. Even just maintaining formation—running at similar speeds without tangling—requires considerable skill and training.
The only path left?
“Full speed!”
“For the alliance—!”
The knights shook off their fear and pushed their mounts even harder.
(Excellent.)
Even my stingy senior gave praise.
“…This is thrilling.”
The allied force overwhelmingly outnumbered the enemy in knights, but the duchy’s knights had superior equipment and better stamina preservation.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
…And their long years of joint training had forged a flawless chain of command with zero miscommunication.
No miscommunication means?
They can charge at their maximum trained speed without having to watch other knights’ movements or hold back.
“For the duchy!”
“For the young lady—!”
Thud thud thud—
Rumble rumble—
The earth shook as the two heavy cavalry forces collided head-on.
“Hiing~?!”
“Hiing~?!”
BOOM! Crunch! Crash!
It was an intentional traffic accident. Knights impaled on long lances fell from their mounts; horses with shattered forelegs flipped over, somersaulting through the air in a surreal spectacle.
“Hmm~”
A duchy knight’s lance thrust precisely toward my abdomen.
Can I evade while seated in the saddle?
‘Now I get it.’
The knight who taught me had completely given up on the idea of perfectly dodging.
Instead,
Screeech—
I only needed to slightly twist my upper body so the sharp lance tip would glance off the armor instead of penetrating.
If even that was too much?
Stab!
“Guh—?!”
I had to strike first—impale the enemy knight with my own lance and force him to fall!
(Successor. This looks less like technique and more like brute-forcing it with raw power?)
“Haha!”
First priority: survive!
“Aaaah?!”
“Guh?!”
“Uwaaaaah~?!”
Everyone has a plausible plan—right up until they get hit!
Break through the duchy’s left wing, disrupt their rear supply lines, then charge straight for the command headquarters?
‘Dream on!’
The allied force couldn’t even get the first button fastened. Blocked by the duchy’s knights, they fell into complete deadlock.
Among the few survivors—including me, who had broken through by sheer force rather than skill—the numbers were pitifully small.
So many knights lost their lives in a single, massive traffic accident.
On the other hand,
“For the glory of the duchy!”
“For the young lady—!”
The duchy’s knights overcame their numerical disadvantage and more than half survived.
Thud thud thud—
Rumble rumble—
Ignoring our completely shattered formation, they turned and charged straight toward the allied army’s right wing.
“Damn it…!”
“Oh, God—!”
“No, no!”
The moment they broke through, the tense balance of the front line would collapse in an instant.
The reason?
The duchy’s knight corps—nurtured with abundant capital—was far stronger than expected, while the allied force was comparatively too weak.
“After them!”
“Count?!”
Leaving the stunned knights behind, I chased the duchy’s knights alone.
“Prrrrr~!”
“Tired, huh?”
Even though it had only been one charge, the wild horse I tamed was completely exhausted. It had been carrying far too much weight!
If that’s the case…
“No need for this anymore.”
Swish~
I began stripping off the armor that was only adding useless weight, piece by piece.
(You’ve given up on being a knight.)
“First, I have to win!”
Swish~
That still wasn’t enough, so I removed the barding protecting the horse as well.
“Hiing!”
“Let’s go!”
Clop clop clop!
Freed of its burden, the wild horse’s speed noticeably increased.
From heavy cavalry to light cavalry!
It couldn’t reach racehorse speeds, but it was enough to close the gap with the triumphant duchy knights.
“Oh! They’re paying attention to me.”
Thud thud thud—
Three knights broke formation and veered toward me.
If I were pierced by their lances, even I wouldn’t come out unscathed.
‘Then I just won’t get pierced!’
First, I hurled the lance in my hand, knocking one knight from his saddle.
“……”
“……”
But the remaining two didn’t waver. Calmly, they thrust their lances.
One aimed at me.
The other aimed at the horse!
“Damn…”
I had naturally assumed they’d both target me, so this caught me slightly off guard.
(What now?)
“Sorry.”
I hadn’t just thrown away my only weapon.
If I hadn’t, I could have deflected the knight’s lance.
Stab!
The wild horse’s neck was pierced through, and it collapsed. Using the momentum of the falling saddle, I kicked off lightly and evaded the lance.
I shifted sideways.
“I’ll borrow this.”
“Gah!”
Crack!
I smashed the duchy knight’s ornate, gold-embellished helmet with full force.
“I’ll borrow this too!”
“……”
After snatching the lance from the unconscious knight, I shoved him off the single-seat saddle.
Thud!
The last remaining knight spun around violently and charged at me—the one who had just killed his comrade and stolen his horse.
“You bastard…!”
“Nice one.”
I felt sorry for the wild horse that had been sacrificed to my poor judgment, but the duchy’s warhorse—born from carefully bred pedigree lines—was truly exceptional.
Stable ride quality!
Beyond bloodline, the consistent care and training from the handlers must have played a huge part.
‘In that case…’
Since the horse wouldn’t collapse under the weight anymore, I could finally adopt the attack style I had been holding back.
Whoosh—
I swung the long lance—originally meant for thrusting—like a club.
“Hiing?!”
The once-stable duchy warhorse lost its balance and staggered slightly, but it didn’t fall.
That was enough.
“What the—?”
Crack!
The duchy knight, completely unprepared for the misuse of a lance, had no answer.
His helmeted head separated from his body and flew through the air like a baseball.
Tap.
“Good.”
Before the lance he left behind could hit the ground, I snatched it up and tucked it under my left arm. Now I had one in each hand.
Ready to fight as two men at once!
(Shameless successor. Is there even such a thing as a knight like this in the world?)
“Haha! First things first—win! Let’s go!”
“Hiing~!”
I had wasted too much time on three duchy knights.
Boom! Crunch!
The allied soldiers on the right flank were collapsing, pierced through the side.
If this continued, defeat was certain!
That wouldn’t do. To shatter Ranuvel patient ‘Vienna Susan’s’ paradise, I had to win this war no matter what.
“Here I come…!”
Whoosh—
Whooooosh—
The duchy knights had broken through the allied lines and were regrouping. I charged straight into their rear, swinging both lances in a wide fan-like arc.
“What the—”
“How—?”
Thwack! Thud! Crack—!
The long lances meant for charging—barely wieldable even by a trained adult man.
But to me, they were perfectly manageable skewers.
“Haha!”
The duchy knights—who had slowed down to reorganize—fell like bowling pins, tumbling from their saddles one after another.
Fine knights, outstanding knights, seasoned knights, brave knights, noble knights…
Before the monster wearing human skin, they were all just ordinary humans.
“Uwaaah?!”
“S-save—?!”
“Hiing~?!”
Stab! Crunch! Snap…!
It took only seconds for the duchy’s proud knight order to be completely annihilated.
(…Successor.)
Yes!
(This isn’t something you should do even at the Olympics, right?)
Of course not!
Back then, Olympic rules only allowed one lance.
(Sigh…)
Why?
(Let’s just not talk about it.)
“Yes!”
The first day of the war ended in a draw—both sides’ knight orders had been fairly annihilated!
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TL Note:
The novel is fully completed (231 chapters)
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