“Who are you?” Sedge, failing to find Kellman, turned his puzzled gaze towards Howard.
He quickly recognized him as the man from the portrait provided by Kaedwyn.
“Where’s Kellman?”
He didn’t take Howard seriously, considering him an insignificant figure, not worth his concern.
In his mind, the real mastermind was Kellman, the deputy leader of the Frostwolf Mercenaries.
This audacious man had not only dared to interfere with Kaedwyn’s business but had also extended his reach towards Sedge himself.
Unforgivable, he thought.
Kellman must die.
No, the entire Frostwolf Mercenaries must be wiped out.
Sedge had heard that Kellman was busy with the reconstruction of his mercenary group today.
‘Heh,’ Sedge thought, ‘when he returns, I’ll have everyone who wants to join the Frostwolf Mercenaries arrested.’
Howard’s lips curled into a smile that made Sedge feel uncomfortable.
Seeing Howard stare and smile without speaking, Sedge grew even more enraged.
He read contempt on Howard’s face.
How dare this Howard look down on him?
Did this young man really think that he, Sedge, the Vice-Commander of the Empire’s Mercenary Corps and a nobleman, would foolishly come to this meeting alone?
The Four Knights were hidden in the shadows, ready to strike the moment Kellman showed up.
He would order their execution immediately.
No, he thought, they should be captured alive for a more satisfying torture, to make them understand the gravity of whom they had offended before their deaths.
Howard scanned his surroundings.
He wasn’t sure about the Four Knights’ strength, but their ability to remain concealed was impressive; he detected nothing.
“Where is Kellman?”
“Where is my son!”
Seeing Howard remain silent for too long, Sedge lost his patience and roared with fury.
“Commander Sedge, no need to be anxious. Just leave your life behind, and I’ll ensure your son lives to burn paper for you next year.”
For Howard, the time for pretenses was over; Sedge had walked right into the trap.
“Heh, how laughable, truly laughable. You don’t really think you can kill me, do you?”
Sedge found Howard’s confidence ludicrous.
Even without the protection of the Four Knights, he felt he could easily handle this young upstart.
Did Howard really believe donning armor made him a warrior?
Although Sedge’s combat prowess was modest compared to the elite of the Empire Knights Order – even mediocre by their standards – he was certainly not someone any inexperienced youngster could challenge.
Today, he intended to demonstrate the weight of the Vice-Commander of the Empire Knights Order to Howard.
Sedge signalled the Four Knights hidden in the shadows to hold their positions, to avoid scaring off Kellman who had yet to show himself.
In Sedge’s eyes, Kellman was the real threat to be wary of.
Despite his disdain for Kellman, he acknowledged that as the leader of the Frostwolf Mercenaries, Kellman’s abilities were not to be underestimated.
Howard could see that Sedge wanted a one-on-one confrontation.
This suited him perfectly; he might catch Sedge off guard and finish him easily.
Howard was somewhat baffled as to how such an incompetent figure like Sedge had ascended to the position of Vice-Commander of the Empire Knights Order.
“Commander Sedge, if you want to see Leader Kellman, you’ll have to get past me first!”
Howard raised his sword and slowly charged towards Sedge, deliberately slowing his pace and feigning weakness.
The Four Knights hidden in the shadows breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this; the young man indeed appeared to lack strength, so they let Sedge handle him as a warm-up.
Sedge couldn’t stop smiling.
With such feeble skills, Howard still dared to challenge him, clearly unaware of what death meant.
Kellman, hiding in ambush, almost threw his back out upon hearing Howard’s words.
The youngster was making it sound as though he, Kellman, had orchestrated this entire plot.
Even the men he had brought with him looked at Kellman with admiration.
They had been told that a man named Howard was leading this operation, but who was this Howard?
Not even recognizing him, yet he dared to assassinate Sedge, the Vice-Commander of the Empire Knights Order?
It appeared that the real mastermind was Kellman himself.
Now, Kellman was in too deep, unable to clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River.
He couldn’t explain himself without risking their cover, which might jeopardize the entire operation.
Tina covered her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter.
“Alright, boy, let me show you the difference between us, so you clearly understand what a real knight is,” Sedge proclaimed, not even bothering to draw his sword, smiling confidently at the approaching Howard.
He was utterly sure that with the level of skill Howard had shown, he could handle him single-handedly.
But what Sedge didn’t expect happened in the blink of an eye.
As Howard closed in, he suddenly accelerated, bursting forth with a terrifying aura.
The Four Knights, the first to sense the change, realized the danger.
“Not good, the kid’s been hiding his real strength, hurry and save Lord Sedge!” They immediately rushed from their hiding places, but the distance was too great.
Howard wouldn’t miss at this range.
Sedge’s end was sealed; he died due to his own arrogance.
Sedge’s hairs stood on end, his heart leaping to his throat in terror.
This young man…
Why…
Why had he suddenly transformed into someone else?
As Howard’s sword was about to strike, the overwhelming aura had frightened Sedge into forgetting to dodge or defend.
Even if he had reacted immediately, it would have been too late to escape.
A sense of helplessness overcame Sedge.
For the first time, he faced a life-and-death crisis, for the first time, he didn’t know what to do.
No, he wasn’t ready to die.
He thought of his Four Knights – yes, surely they would arrive in time to save him.
He vowed to tear this detestable young man to pieces afterward!
But the reality unfolded contrary to his wishes.
Howard decapitated him.
Although there was no time to extract a confession of his crimes, Howard was still quite satisfied with the successful, albeit risky, execution of their plan.
Sedge’s eyes, wide with panic, watched the Four Knights rushing towards him, but they couldn’t save him in time.
“Damn it, Lord Sedge!” the Knights cursed in anger.
With Sedge dead, whoever was backing him wouldn’t spare them; their fates would be even more miserable.
Sedge, a mere figurehead, had risen to the position of Vice-Commander of the Empire Knights Order; surely someone more powerful had been behind him – a fact that Howard had also considered.
Now, the best course of action was to eliminate all of the Four Knights, preventing them from reporting back.
For the Four Knights, Howard too had to die.
Only then could they return and face their superiors, perhaps sparing themselves from a worse fate.
Besides, they were furious at Howard, an unknown upstart who had killed Sedge and forced them into this desperate situation.
They had to kill Howard – to avenge Sedge and to quell the hatred burning in their hearts.
Just as the Four Knights were about to reach Howard, a figure swiftly appeared, intercepting them and halting their advance.
Chris had made her move.
At this moment, Kellman stood up and shouted, “Brothers, charge!” They rushed forward to engage one of the Four Knights in combat.
Howard observed the battlefield.
As Chris had previously mentioned, she possessed the ability to match three of the Four Knights without falling behind, but directly killing them seemed challenging.
Howard then shifted his focus to Kellman and the others, who were overwhelming their knightly opponent, creating an opportunity to take him down.
Deciding quickly, Howard no longer waited.
He charged towards Kellman’s location, ready to secure the defeat of that Knight.
With Howard joining in, the tide of the battle turned completely one-sided.
After a few rounds of relentless attacks, the knight fell in defeat.
Then, the group rushed to assist Chris.
The remaining three knights realized they had been outmaneuvered.
If they continued to fight, none would survive.
In a critical moment, they opted to retreat.
Even though returning would not bode well for them, it was better than dying on the spot.
Clinging to their will to live, they weren’t ready to give up their lives until the very end.
Escaping, however, was not easy.
Howard had already instructed Chris not to let anyone get away. 𝑖𝘳.𝒸ℴ𝑚
Facing a formidable opponent like Chris, any slip could lead to their doom.
If they chose to flee, they would surely be pursued and killed by Chris, losing any chance to counterattack effectively.
Waiting wasn’t an option either.
As Howard and Kellman’s group joined in, the pressure on Chris was alleviated, allowing her attacks to become even more fierce.
Before long, another knight fell under her sword.
Realizing the grim situation, one of the knights abandoned all caution and fled, leaving his fate to chance.
But how could he possibly escape Chris’s pursuit? Unsurprisingly, he too was impaled by Chris’s sword.
The last knight, seeing all his companions dead and knowing his own fate was sealed, chose to take his own life in a display of defiance.
With that, Howard’s plan had been perfectly executed.
He was satisfied with the outcome, but it wasn’t time to let his guard down just yet; there was still one more matter to attend to.
He pulled Kellman aside and spoke in a low voice, “How close are you to the men you brought today?”
“Not very, actually,” Kellman replied.
“We were pressed for time today, so I recruited some mercenaries with good reputations. The brothers I know well weren’t in the city at the moment.”
This content is taken from 𝘳𝑎.𝗇t