Chapter 57: Traitors
The aura seal ’bandits’ spread out in an arc around the carriage, blocking the front and sides.
Roderic’s brows furrowed as his gaze swept over them.
’They seem trained,’ he thought. ’Pre-determined positions and a loose encirclement.’
’Coupled with the fact that they are after me... only one question remains.’
Why were they not blocking off the back?
If things went south, Roderic could just turn around and run.
’Something’s strange,’ he thought, gripping his blades tightly. ’They wouldn’t make such a mistake unless...’
There was something that guaranteed it wouldn’t happen.
Roderic’s mind immediately went to one of them having a second aura seal.
But he couldn’t detect anything like that.
’Do they have reinforcements then?’ he thought, his expression darkening. ’Or... is it something else?’
Roderic clicked his tongue.
Whatever it was, he’d find out soon enough.
Just standing around was the worst thing he could do, after all.
’’Soldiers, stay with the carriages!’’ he shouted. ’’Make sure our horses remain protected.’’
The ordinary soldiers immediately nodded, raising their large shields in preparation for the arrows.
At the same time, Roderic turned to his knights.
’’Pick an opponent and help each other!’’ he shouted. ’’I’ll personally take the front two and break through to the archers!’’
Several knights immediately wished to protest.
But Roderic didn’t budge one bit.
As the strongest on their side, dealing with the greatest burden naturally fell on him.
Besides, this was the best strategy he could think of to keep casualties to a minimum.
Just then, Roderic’s eyes caught the faint glint of a reflection.
WHOOOSH!!!
Arrows soared through the air, several of which were heading straight for him.
Roderic immediately swung his aura-covered blades out.
CRACK! CRACK!
Two arrows shattered before they could hit him, while another shot just past his shoulder.
Behind him, the knights all raised their shields.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Arrows slammed against the metal one after another.
’’Move!’’ Roderic shouted.
Without another thought, he lowered his body slightly before kicking off.
His two targets reacted immediately.
The first was a large man wielding a huge greatsword with both hands. Even beneath the dark clothing, Roderic could easily make out the brute’s massive build.
The other was noticeably smaller and carried a sword and shield combination.
Both had blue aura already flowing around their bodies.
And neither seemed intimidated by Roderic charging them alone.
In fact, the smaller man immediately moved several steps to the side, while the greatsword combatant remained directly in Roderic’s path.
’’Tch.’’
Roderic narrowed his eyes as he tightened his grip on his hooked blades.
’One in front and one from the side... fine by me.’
The larger man moved first.
He raised the massive greatsword above his shoulder before bringing it down with both hands.
BOOM!
Roderic stepped aside, allowing the sword to slam into the ground.
’Slow,’ he thought, moving in.
One of his hooked blades swept towards the man’s exposed side.
CLANG!
A small, aura-covered shield suddenly appeared in its path.
The smaller man had already closed the distance, ready to compensate for his comrade’s mistake.
Roderic’s eyes narrowed right away.
Before he even had time to pull back, the brute tore his greatsword out of the ground, swinging it up towards him in one rough movement.
’’Tch.’’
’They work well together...’
Roderic flipped his blades to their hooked sides.
CLANG!
The greatsword slammed into the upper hook as Roderic twisted his body aside.
At the same time, his second hook instantly caught the bottom of the greatsword.
’Got you!’ Roderic thought. ’Weapon Breaker!’
Both his blades lit up in an instant.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Dozens of fractures raced across the greatsword.
The brute’s eyes widened.
’’What the?’’
He immediately let go of his sword, even jumping a step back.
At the same time, the smaller man stepped in, piercing his blade straight towards Roderic’s stomach.
Unfortunately for them... Roderic was already done.
BOOM!
The greatsword shattered into thousands of pieces, scattering in the wind like dust.
His gaze had already locked onto the smaller man’s sword, watching it closely as it continued straight towards him.
But Roderic had no intention of dodging.
Instead, he swung one of his hooked blades down, aura gathering around its sharp edge.
’Second move...’ he thought.
CLANG!
The two collided for a split second.
’Dragon’s Slash.’
The gathered mana ruptured out in the shape of an arc, slicing straight towards the opponent’s sword.
SNAP!
From such close range, the smaller man’s sword stood no chance.
The man’s eyes widened as he saw half of his sword spinning through the air.
Before he could even react, Roderic moved his second blade, slipping it right behind his shield.
’Got you!’ he thought, grinning slightly.
But just as Roderic was about to yank it away, every hair on the back of his neck suddenly stood up.
WHOOSH!
The faint noise piercing through the air behind him made his eyes widen.
’What?!’
Roderic let go of his second hooked blade and threw himself sideways without hesitation.
SWISH!
A spearhead shot past his shoulder, just barely cutting a gash into it.
Roderic stumbled a step back before immediately twisting around.
’What the hell?’ he thought. ’Behind?!’
That’s when his gaze landed on the culprit.
A knight wearing familiar armor with a white horse crest embroidered on his chest.
For a moment, Roderic froze.
’One of ours?’ he thought.
Before he could think any further, two large arms shot underneath his armpits from behind.
Only a split second later, Roderic found himself several inches off the ground.
’’Fuck!’’ he cursed.
The brute had caught him in his moment of distraction.
Roderic immediately tried to break free, but the man’s grip only tightened.
’’Damn it!’’
The brute chuckled behind him between strained breaths, using all his strength just to keep Roderic restrained.
Just then, the traitorous knight stepped forward once more.
He raised his spear and pointed it at Roderic.
Roderic’s eyes widened slightly.
’’The madam sends her regards,’’ the knight said coldly.
WHOOSH!
Without hesitation, the knight thrust his spear straight towards his chest.