It seemed the Imperial Knights’ commander had joined the scheme to rack up military merit, but in the end, he’d walked right into a death trap. The Lightning Knight was worth capturing alive, but this one I had no use for.

"Even if I have to go down, I’m taking you with me!"

"Did you learn swordsmanship with your mouth? Come at me!"

The commander charged in wildly. His blade traced arcs like a crescent moon, flashing erratically in the forest that was slowly being swallowed by darkness. I defended calmly while counterattacking simultaneously.

After binding blades, we exchanged spinning winding counterattacks targeting each other’s weak points, and when we closed the distance, we braced against each other’s strength while using wrestling techniques to attack the legs.

Clang! Clang-clang!

The commander swung his longsword with abandon, but I focused on thrusting techniques. And gradually, I retreated. It was a subtle lure. The commander, oblivious, pressed forward.

It would have been disastrous if I’d tripped on a rock, but my concentration was razor-sharp.

Thunk!

"Oh no!"

The commander had been attempting a Zwerchhau to strike my temple when his longsword caught on a tree, and he panicked. This was exactly the moment I’d been waiting for. I immediately thrust at his throat.

"You shouldn’t swing a sword like that in the woods!"

A longsword has good flex, so the blade can bend. And there are techniques that can be executed from that bent position—specifically, maintaining the thrust while sweeping the opponent’s legs.

"This is what happens when your sword catches on a tree!"

The recoil became a pushing force, and with his legs swept, the commander’s body went down far too easily. I brought the reversed longsword down on the fallen commander’s head with the force of splitting firewood.

Crack!

The commander’s helmet caved in badly. His body spasmed from the heavy impact. His fatal mistake was his lack of experience fighting in forests. I’d trained for forest combat precisely because I knew something like this could happen.

"It’s over."

Just as I aimed the tip of my sword at the gap in his helmet to finish him off, a sudden wave of nausea and violent dizziness hit me. Damn it, what the hell is this? Urrgh!

I ended up vomiting inside my own helmet.

Thwack!

The commander came to his senses and kicked me, sending me tumbling backward. The dizziness kept tormenting me. Instinctively, I recalled being hit hard by the Lightning Knight’s bludgeon during our fight.

Was the aftereffect only hitting me now?

Urrgh! Damn it! Of all times!

"Heh heh heh. God’s grace is with me."

The commander placed his foot on my helmet as I lay on the ground and stomped on it repeatedly. The stomps couldn’t actually dent it, but they were meant to humiliate me. Barely conscious, I couldn’t fight back properly.

"Not feeling so well, are you, Lord of Feuzen?"

The commander seemed intent on rolling me down the slope, kicking me hard in the ribs. My body tumbled helplessly down the hillside. I barely managed to grip the ground with my hands to stop myself.

Huff, huff.

I could barely breathe.

Damn concussion!

I’d never felt this powerless before. I had no idea that the sensation of your brain rattling could be this agonizing. I looked up at the commander as he approached. Through his helmet, I thought I could see his eyes, soaked in madness.

"After I kill you, I’ll burn Feuzen to ashes."

The thought alone must have thrilled him, because he laughed like a maniac.

"And that wife you love so dearly? I’ll ravish her in front of your severed head to my heart’s content. Together with my men. A noblewoman like her will be far more entertaining than a street whore. You can watch from purgatory."

As I struggled to push myself up onto my knees, the commander raised his longsword toward my face. Gripping it in a half-sword stance, he aimed to thrust through the gap in my helmet’s visor.

I was still just staring up at him with a dazed expression. Elated at the prospect of finishing me off, the commander drove his blade straight at my visor gap.

But the commander did not get his wish.

Because I caught his longsword with my bare hand.

[Using medical service]

I feel the strength of a tiger surging through me, you son of a bitch!

I whipped out the same dagger I’d used to stab Sigmund’s armpit and drove it into the back of the commander’s knee joint. Caught off guard by the counterattack, the commander let out a scream.

"Gaaah! You son of a bitch!"

"Raaaagh!"

With a battle cry, I grabbed his longsword and his arm and hurled him down the mountainside with everything I had. A perfect over-the-shoulder throw with a full rotation. With my stamina and vitality fully restored, I was overflowing with strength.

The commander’s body lifted off the ground and was flung down the slope, crashing violently against the earth, slamming into trees and rocks. He tumbled for a long time before finally coming to a stop where the slope leveled out.

Did you think I was just lying there taking it?

I took those hits on purpose to make you let your guard down.

With medical service at my disposal, a concussion was no obstacle whatsoever. The only annoying thing was the vomit still lingering in my helmet. I picked up the longsword my father had passed down to me and walked down the slope.

"Ngh... Damn it."

The commander could no longer resist and lay there limp. His armor was battered beyond recognition from hitting everything on the way down. In this brutal, bloody fight, I had won.

Just as I raised my longsword to finish him off, the commander started laughing.

"Heh heh, hahahaha!"

"What’s so funny?"

"I struggled and clawed my way through all of that, and this is how it ends. My own situation is just too pathetic not to laugh at. Damn it. Cough! Cough! My knee hurts like hell. God damn it!"

From that tumble down the mountainside, it seemed the dagger embedded behind his knee had been driven even deeper. The wound must have been fatal, because he’d lost a tremendous amount of blood. He’d be dead soon from blood loss alone.

"Hah, hah. If you spare my life, I’ll give you 200 gold coins."

"Quite a fortune you’ve managed to save up. Trying to buy me off?"

"If you get me safely to the Swiss Confederation, I’ll give you the rest as well."

My own fortune had only just exceeded 70 gold coins, so I was curious how he’d amassed that much. He was said to be the second son of the Marquis of Offenburg, but the commander was treated like a castoff by his own family.

He’d undoubtedly accumulated his wealth through every manner of corruption.

When I checked with the Manager Scouter, what he said about the money turned out to be true.

"No matter how loyally you serve the Grand Duke, you’ll have nothing to show for it. Wouldn’t it be more rational to let me live and make a fortune than to accept a measly few gold coins as a reward?"

Writing off the commander as dead and letting him go for a massive payout was a profitable deal, no question. The more money a lord has, the more projects he can invest in.

Above all, I was running low on gunpowder.

Five gold coins per barrel—an outrageous price.

And that was supposedly down from last year’s price, which was just absurd.

The gunners must have burned through enormous amounts of gunpowder defending Feuzen. Since it was used to protect Feuzen, I didn’t regret it one bit, but stockpiling gunpowder was incredibly costly.

Watching my reaction, the commander seemed to think his offer was working. And honestly, it was. My resolve did waver a little. As a lord, I couldn’t help but think practically.

That’s just how staggering a sum 200 gold coins was.

"I’ll never show my face again. I’ll live as if I were dead. Heh heh heh."

What a wonderful idea. Smarter than I gave you credit for.

You get to keep your life, and I get to make a fortune.

A perfect arrangement. Have my cake and eat it too.

Crack!

"No."

I drove the longsword deep through the gap in the commander’s helmet.

Blood spurted out and drenched my body. The commander convulsed.

"Grkk, grrk. You... you bastard! Grkk..."

"You can buy a man with money, but you can’t buy a noble wolf."

A man has his pride.

I won’t sell my honor for money.

"In... purgatory! Grkk! I’ll... you! Grrk! ...ranie..."

The commander’s arms, which had been flailing desperately, went limp.