WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Order

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◈ I Became the Dark Knight in the Game World ◈

Chapter 24: It Is Easy to Die Fighting, but Hard to Lend a Road (2)

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Most Wyvern-kind were intelligent. It was a manifestation of instincts honed as apex predators in the natural world. Wyverns, too, were Wyvern-kind. They might lack the wisdom of civilization, but their honed intuition allowed them to assess situations swiftly.

When the Demonic Nature bestowed by the Abyss was added to that, a beast's instincts could become sharp enough to substitute for strategy and tactics.

“Grrr...?”

Even for such Wyverns, the current situation was difficult to understand.

The knight approaching from the west clearly appeared to be a higher-ranking Demonkin, one meant to lead them. Yet they could not sense the Abyss from him.

Instead, he carried the strong, revolting scent of those who stood at the Abyss's opposite pole. Their instincts told them he was someone they should pounce on and tear apart at once.

But something deep within them whispered.

That sword.

The ash-gray blade hanging at the knight's right hip. It carried an aura uncannily similar to the Abyss. Their instincts warned them not to touch it.

Rather than either sword at his waist, the knight drew the greatsword from his back.

Whoosh.

Dust stirred low as he drew the weapon. It was a greatsword of formidable weight. Even if its edge had been dull, its sheer mass alone could have chopped a person apart.

The members of the Border Guard tensed as they watched the knight draw his sword. Breaking into a cold sweat, they turned toward their commander.

“...Prepare to fire.”

No guards remained atop the walls. To protect themselves from Wyvern talons, most soldiers had taken up positions inside the watchtowers and walls. That did not mean they could not attack from within.

Weapons were aimed through the Gunports built into the walls for firing outward. Alongside cannons and bows, several mages' staffs loaded with spells could be seen.

Everyone sensed it. A vanguard of the Abyss had arrived. The Demonkin who had blockaded the Gate City with Wyverns.

The commander calmly measured the effective range. The greatest mistake a commander could make was giving the order to attack before the enemy had properly entered engagement range.

That doctrine had originally been meant for battles between armies, but the commander knew.

A Demonkin was an army in its own right.

Especially one with the power to control Wyverns.

‘At the very least, I should assume he has strength equal to our entire garrison...’

Just as the commander judged the distance to the knight and prepared to give the order to fire, the knight charged.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The earth trembled beneath his heavy footsteps. The Wyverns still had not fully grasped the situation.

His movements were imposing but not sluggish. In the blink of an eye, the knight reached the city gates.

‘Is he planning to serve as a battering ram all by himself?!’

But the knight was not charging for the gate. He ran toward the wall.

Then he ran straight up it.

As though neither his full plate armor nor his greatsword had any weight, he sprinted up the near-vertical wall. Even the commander had only seen such a superhuman siege tactic in history books. A lone warrior breaking through with physical ability so great that walls became meaningless.

A mage was needed to counter such a savage siege tactic. Barrier magic that made entry impossible even after the enemy crossed the wall.

Yet this Gate City had no such mage.

More precisely, the mage was away.

Had the city's Advisory Mage not been absent, the citizens would not have been too afraid of Wyvern attacks to venture outside the gates.

Only a few seconds passed. Dozens of thoughts rose and fell through the commander's mind. It was like his life flashing before his eyes.

Still, the instinct engraved into him as an officer of the Empire would not allow him to waste time cursing the mage.

“Open fire!”

It was an order born of desperation, a demand to stop the intruder somehow.

But the black knight moved a step faster than the commander's order.

He soared higher than the Gunports, naturally rendering the Border Guard's attacks ineffective.

Yet the knight did not cross the wall. Reaching its edge, he kicked off it.

His destination was a Wyvern's neck.

Without hesitation, his heavy kick struck the Wyvern's neck bone squarely.

Crack. The rupturing sound echoed through the air.

Kriel used the recoil to leap higher. Before the Wyverns could distinguish friend from foe, he had to deal the greatest possible blow.

His target was the largest Wyvern in the flock, the one beating its wings highest in the sky. Using the wall and one Wyvern as sacrifices, Kriel finally rose higher than the leader Wyvern.

In midair, the greatsword changed direction. Held firmly in both hands, its blade pointed toward the ground.

Then he fell.

Sensing the descending shadow, the Wyvern instinctively beat its wings. It was a mistake.

The greatsword pierced its wing membrane.

The acceleration of Kriel's fall, his enormous weight, and the torn wing robbed the Wyvern of the sky. The knight and Wyvern plummeted together amid the creature's scream.

──!

With a thunderous impact that shook the walls, the leader Wyvern's wing snapped. The blade that had torn through its wing shattered the road's flagstones and sank deep into the earth.

The leader Wyvern's entire body had been smashed by the impact. Only then did the scent of blood spread.

The Wyverns finally realized the black knight was not their ally and flew into a rage. Their talons and tails lunged at Kriel.

Then the Border Guard's delayed attack followed. They could not attack Kriel when he had risen above the Gunports, but that changed once he came down on his own.

The soldiers reflexively carried out their latest order. It could have been called an unconscious response amid panic.

Only the commander had retained his reason. His mind calmly assessed the situation. The knight was the Wyverns' enemy.

‘But the Wyverns are our enemy, so doesn't that make the enemy of my enemy a friend?’

‘...Huh?’

“Cease fire! Cease fire!!”

Overwhelmed by the situation, he had failed to consider that the Sacred Kingdom lay to the west, the direction from which the black knight had come. He might not be a vanguard of the Abyss, but a holy knight.

The commander was flooded with emotions at the thought that he might have turned the reinforcements who had finally arrived into targets with his own hands.

He was not an especially devout believer, but this time he fervently prayed to the entire Pantheon.

After arrows, cannon smoke, and magic had swept through the area, the black knight was fortunately still standing.

Even amid the chaos, he had severed the heads of several Wyverns and used the dead Wyverns as a barrier.

Around twenty Wyverns still seemed to remain. They circled in the air before disappearing into the distance.

They must have realized they could not face the knight while also enduring the Border Guard's firepower.

The commander swallowed a groan. It might have been better if all the remaining Wyverns had attacked then. Since their attacks had taken place outside the walls, cannons and magic could have been unleashed without restraint.

That terribly clever flock understood that humans valued both their property and their own kind. The Wyverns had primarily attacked busy districts at first because they knew there were too many people there for humans to strike them easily.

This was a rare case where the battle had taken place outside the walls. There was no guarantee the Wyverns would attack again in such favorable conditions.

“Commander. That person has put down his weapon and is waving.”

“...Open the gate. He is a valuable reinforcement. We should welcome him in person.”

* * *

As the soldiers opened the gate, I hurried inside. The flock had retreated for now, but many Wyverns remained. Once night fully fell, the soldiers' ability to fight would inevitably decline, even if I was fine. The deepening darkness would obscure their vision.

Without a clear view, we could not expect the same precise supporting fire as before.

I had been quietly impressed by the accuracy of that fire.

It had been an excellent response. My charge drew the Wyverns' attention, and the moment they rushed in to attack me...

The soldiers concentrated powerful attacks, including magic and cannon shells, to wipe out the Wyverns that had descended closer to the ground.

It was a precise attack delivered with exquisite timing. Even if they had prepared in advance, judging that exact moment would have been difficult. The commander's adaptability and responsiveness were remarkable.

The commander approached me. His helmet bore a red plume, marking him as higher-ranking than the other soldiers. I raised a hand to my heart and dipped my head slightly.

The heart symbolized life. It was a greeting that meant we were comrades standing against the Abyss.

The commander returned the same greeting. To ease the atmosphere and learn more about the situation, I spoke first.

“That was superb command.”

“...Pardon?”

“The volley at the Wyverns. It would have been impossible unless you had precisely predicted that they would dive after my fall. There was a risk of friendly fire, yet you showed remarkable boldness and decisiveness.”

For some reason, the commander seemed bewildered despite the praise. Was he simply humble?

Footnotes:

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