How to Live as a Wandering Knight

Chapter 347: ????? ?????? (2)

“Ambush!”

A bloodcurdling scream in the eastern tongue ripped through the stillness of the enemy fleet. Lights flickered on in the darkness and shouts rang out, it would have been ignorant to not notice the situation.

“Ambush?! It’s impossible! How could they know where we’d be and lie in wait?!”

Balharni, brother of the sultan and commander of the operation, shouted in disbelief.

The secrecy of the operation was absolute, as security was paramount. Until that day, only Balharni himself knew which route they would take to make landfall.

How the enemy had learned of their path was unknown. It was enough to make one suspect that there was a spy amongst their closest confidants.

“Balharni-nim. You must give the order.”

The eunuchs who accompanied Balharni to assist him urged him on. The assistance was in name only, in reality, they were there to keep an eye on him. It was well known that the eunuchs were the sultan’s eyes and ears.

Balharni found himself in a position where he had to carefully consider every action, having fallen from favor in the power struggle. A single mistake could cost him his life. Balharni steeled himself and shouted.

“Do not be alarmed! Our numbers are greater than the enemy. At most, it is only a few swift ships sent to scout that are attacking! Do not be fooled by the noise and lights!”

Balharni shouted those words, but deep down, his heart pounded in his chest and a cold sweat ran down his back. In truth, he did not believe his own words.

Even in the bright light of day, it was not easy for a commander to fully grasp the situation of a battle. It was not unheard of for commanders to believe they were winning when their side was actually losing, to the point of committing suicide.

And this was the dark sea at night.

Furthermore, it was after a completely unexpected ambush. The worst-case scenarios flashed through Balharni’s mind.

‘????????????, ?????, ???? ???????. . .!’

However, Balharni did not give the order to retreat. No, he couldn’t. Because the moment he turned back, he would be branded a traitor and executed.

Balharni’s desperate struggle, cornered as he was, had an unexpected effect. At the very least, his subordinates on the other ships did not panic and flee first.

“Fight! Do not let them board the ship!”

“Wizard, we need the wizard’s help!”

??????

“No way, are they elites? They’re fighting too well for that.”

Johan, having boarded the nearest enemy ship, cut down the enemy soldiers alongside the paladins of the Order. At first, the warriors who had received them fiercely were now starting to flee as if they had seen a demon after being sent flying through the air a few times.

“Thanks to Your Highness leading the charge, the enemy is unable to fight back!”

One of the paladins of the Order said excitedly. No one could have predicted that they would capture the enemy ship so quickly.

When the enemy thrust their swords, he broke their swords. When they held up their shields to defend, he sent them flying along with their shields. When they swung their spears, he grabbed the shafts and threw them into the sea, displaying overwhelming power in this chaotic battle.

The sailors who had carelessly boarded the ship thinking that there were only a few of them paid a heavy price.

“The other ships aren’t retreating, though.”

The paladins were excited by their victory, but Johan was calm. Although it was difficult to grasp the full picture, Johan did his best to understand the current situation.

‘??? ????? ?? ???? ????????? ???? ? ????????.’

Johan had expected shock and awe. Just like he had done countless times before.

Humans were more cowardly than they thought. Before a knight who tore through their ranks displaying monstrous strength, there were few warriors who could stand and fight with their weapons.

It was the same in naval battles. If they were suddenly ambushed and lights flared up all around them, they could not help but panic and assume the worst.

However, there were no ships fleeing at the moment. They were somehow holding on, although their formation was in shambles from the panic.

He needed to give them a stronger shock.

‘? ???? ?? ???? ??? ????????? ??? ???? ???? ?? ????. . .’

??????!

Before he could even finish speaking, a pillar of fire erupted from the enemy ship. Even the paladins were taken aback by the phenomenon, something that should not be possible normally.

“It’s a wizard!”

“Your Highness! Is it a Republic wizard?!”

“No. Republic wizards don’t have fire magic.”

“They’re useless then!”

The paladins grumbled. Compared to the abilities displayed by the wizard on the enemy side, the wizards on their side felt too weak.

“We have to take care of that one first. Follow me!”

“Yes!”

Normally, even experienced knights were reluctant to face wizards. If they were caught in a spell, even the sharpest sword was useless.

However, the knights of the Order had no fear when it came to facing such wizards. Besides, with Johan in the lead, what was there to be afraid of?

“Your Highness! Retreat!”

Perzeno, who was on the other side, spotted Johan and the knights and shouted urgently.

The wizard on the enemy ship at the moment was definitely one of the sultan’s Janissary wizards. He hadn’t expected them to have a fire-wielding wizard on board, it seemed the enemy was also prepared to fight tooth and nail.

The wizard seemed to be summoning spirits, gaining momentum. Two ships that had approached were hurriedly forced back due to the fire.

Perzeno and the Republic wizard agreed on how to deal with the wizard.

—Let’s wait for the wizard to tire out and then snipe them with arrows!

It would be suicide to rush in while the wizard was actively casting spells. Being human, the wizard was bound to lose strength eventually if they kept waiting.

“Your Highness! Step back!”

However, when the duke and the paladins ignored the warning and tried to cross over, Perzeno’s heart sank.

If the duke were to get hit by a fireball and fall into the sea. . .

Knowing that it was impossible, Perzeno urged the wizard beside him.

“Try talking to them!”

“M-Me? What can I do?!”

The wizard also seemed frustrated and shouted loudly. Perzeno grabbed the wizard by the collar and shook them, then the wizard opened their mouth wide, their eyes wide open.

“Ah.”

“. . . . . .”

They were at a loss for words at the sight unfolding before them.

??????

?????!

As soon as he stepped onto the ship, arrows flew at him. Johan did not even try to dodge them as none of the arrows were aimed at his vital points. The arrowheads hit his armor and fell to the ground, losing their force.

???!

A nearby enemy was sent flying backward. It was as if he had been shot out of a ballista.

“Demon b*stard!”

He couldn’t believe that he had been sent flying that far with just a kick while holding his shield up to defend. The warrior cursed and charged in.

Then he was sent flying backward again. With some space cleared on the deck, Johan ran towards the enemy wizard. The Janissary wizard, whose name was unknown, had almost lost their human form. Flames constantly spewed out from his eyes, nose, and mouth, spitting out fire around him.

‘???????!’

Johan recalled the appearance of Caenerna that he had seen before. He had thought that it was too much, even for a wizard, but at that level, it was not the wizard controlling the spirits, but the spirits burning the wizard’s body as fuel and destroying the surroundings.

The wizard, no, the spirit seemed to have noticed Johan. A ball of flame flew straight at him.

“!”

Johan drew the Seal Retriever and swung it like a bolt of lightning. The large ball of flame split in two and burned the ship’s railing. The spirit roared in surprise.

Another ball of flame flew at him. Johan raised the Shield of Agnarr that the elf king had given him to block it. The shield, filled with the blood of the enemy, absorbed the flame like it was licking it up.

A final ball of flame flew at him. It was the Giant Slayer that shattered that ball of flame. The Giant Slayer, shaped like a huge hammer, flew swiftly with a heavy sound.

The slaves who had been defending the wizard in front of him rushed in to block it with their bodies. No matter how large and heavy the Giant Slayer was, it did not seem like it could pierce through human bodies and hit the wizard.

However, surprisingly, the Giant Slayer pierced through the slaves and flew on. The spirit was also surprised, flames bursting out in all directions.

????!

With a dull sound, the Giant Slayer struck the wizard directly. At the same time, a bolt of lightning from the sky pierced the wizard.

“?!”

Johan was bewildered by the sudden phenomenon. Of course, he had thrown the Giant Slayer with the intention of killing the wizard in one blow, but the lightning was unexpected.

‘???? ???. ?? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ????????? ? ?????? ???? ?????’

It was not uncommon for weapons that had slain monsters to be imbued with the power of those monsters. The Giant Slayer fell to the deck with a sizzling sound.

“We’ve captured the wizard!”

“His Highness the Duke has defeated the evil wizard!!”

The paladins who had come up on deck shouted at the top of their lungs. Even those who did not understand the Empire language would have guessed what they were shouting about.

Finally, the enemy began to waver. Johan smiled as he watched the ship at the very back subtly changing direction. The wizard’s performance was noticeable even in the darkness. It stood to reason that the shockwaves from their disappearance would be just as great.

?????—

“?”

Johan realized that the enemy ship directly in front of him was abnormally low. It looked like a ship that was about to sink.

‘?? ???. ?? ?? ???????!’

“D-Did Your Highness put a hole in it?!”

“What nonsense are you talking about?!”

The paladins of the Order seemed panicked as well, exchanging nonsensical words that they would never normally say. Why would an enemy ship start sinking when they hadn’t done anything?

Did they self-destruct?

“What the. . .”

Before Johan could finish speaking, the paladins of the Order had blank expressions on their faces. It was as if they had been possessed by something. Johan instinctively realized what was happening.

“Stupid mermen!!! Stop singing right now! We need to give chase, what are you doing!!!”

—. . .Ah, no. We came to help. It seemed like you were struggling. . .

Splashing sounds could be heard as a mermaid emerged from the water next to the ship. Despite her strange appearance, she seemed to be feeling very wronged.

—We just came to keep our promise.

“If you wanted to keep your promise, you should have come and asked me beforehand, but coming after it’s all over is just a nuisance, you fools! Besides, why did you sink the ship? Don’t you know how expensive each ship is?!”

—. . . . . .

The mermaids who had been scolded looked sullen. They had also done their best to rush over after hearing the commotion. They had diligently dug holes next to the ship and sang to help. . .

The mermaid leader spoke up, unable to bear it any longer.

—If we hadn’t helped, those guys would have escaped. Wouldn’t it be better to capture them, even if we had to sink their ship?

Johan pointed behind him instead of answering.

After receiving the call, the republic’s fleets that had been waiting elsewhere were coming in one after another. The mermaids were dispirited and lowered their heads as they saw torches flashing and coming from all over the sea.

—. . .We’ll go down and retrieve it.

??????

Although they had arrived after everything was over, the mermaids had indeed helped.

They changed the direction of the fleeing ships and captured them, they sank the ships of those who tried to fight back, and if there were any warriors who still resisted, they dragged them into the sea.

Only a few opponents were as fearsome as they were above water.

“A great victory! A great victory! The enemy will never dare to cross us again!”

They had captured nearly half of the enemy ships. The captains’ faces were beaming with joy, no matter how hard they tried to hide it. They had made several times the amount of money they had invested.

It was not as if the outcome was unsatisfactory. Of course, they had captured the ships, and they had also captured everyone on board. The enemy must be wondering why they had lost.

“Bring me the high-ranking prisoners separately. Make sure they don’t disguise themselves and hide. Did you lose the enemy commander?”

“Yes. It seems they escaped. They say they are of the sultan’s bloodline. . .”

“That’s unfortunate. They would have fetched a good price.”

“Your Highness likes to joke. . .”

‘? ????’? ??????.’

Johan was slightly embarrassed by the reaction of the knights of the Order. He had really been disappointed because of the ransom.

“Here are the prisoners, Your Highness. Most of them are low-ranking knights and there are a few Janissary centurions, but I don’t think there are any prisoners worth keeping. Oh. This one is the sultan’s eunuch. . .”

“. . . . . .”

Johan and the eunuch locked eyes. The eunuch lowered his head, unable to meet his gaze.

Even if he was unlucky, how could he be captured by the same demonic being twice. . .

,

“Ambush!”

A bloodcurdling scream in the eastern tongue ripped through the stillness of the enemy fleet. Lights flickered on in the darkness and shouts rang out, it would have been ignorant to not notice the situation.

“Ambush?! It’s impossible! How could they know where we’d be and lie in wait?!”

Balharni, brother of the sultan and commander of the operation, shouted in disbelief.

The secrecy of the operation was absolute, as security was paramount. Until that day, only Balharni himself knew which route they would take to make landfall.

How the enemy had learned of their path was unknown. It was enough to make one suspect that there was a spy amongst their closest confidants.

“Balharni-nim. You must give the order.”

The eunuchs who accompanied Balharni to assist him urged him on. The assistance was in name only, in reality, they were there to keep an eye on him. It was well known that the eunuchs were the sultan’s eyes and ears.

Balharni found himself in a position where he had to carefully consider every action, having fallen from favor in the power struggle. A single mistake could cost him his life. Balharni steeled himself and shouted.

“Do not be alarmed! Our numbers are greater than the enemy. At most, it is only a few swift ships sent to scout that are attacking! Do not be fooled by the noise and lights!”

Balharni shouted those words, but deep down, his heart pounded in his chest and a cold sweat ran down his back. In truth, he did not believe his own words.

Even in the bright light of day, it was not easy for a commander to fully grasp the situation of a battle. It was not unheard of for commanders to believe they were winning when their side was actually losing, to the point of committing suicide.

And this was the dark sea at night.

Furthermore, it was after a completely unexpected ambush. The worst-case scenarios flashed through Balharni’s mind.

‘????????????, ?????, ???? ???????. . .!’

However, Balharni did not give the order to retreat. No, he couldn’t. Because the moment he turned back, he would be branded a traitor and executed.

Balharni’s desperate struggle, cornered as he was, had an unexpected effect. At the very least, his subordinates on the other ships did not panic and flee first.

“Fight! Do not let them board the ship!”

“Wizard, we need the wizard’s help!”

??????

“No way, are they elites? They’re fighting too well for that.”

Johan, having boarded the nearest enemy ship, cut down the enemy soldiers alongside the paladins of the Order. At first, the warriors who had received them fiercely were now starting to flee as if they had seen a demon after being sent flying through the air a few times.

“Thanks to Your Highness leading the charge, the enemy is unable to fight back!”

One of the paladins of the Order said excitedly. No one could have predicted that they would capture the enemy ship so quickly.

When the enemy thrust their swords, he broke their swords. When they held up their shields to defend, he sent them flying along with their shields. When they swung their spears, he grabbed the shafts and threw them into the sea, displaying overwhelming power in this chaotic battle.

The sailors who had carelessly boarded the ship thinking that there were only a few of them paid a heavy price.

“The other ships aren’t retreating, though.”

The paladins were excited by their victory, but Johan was calm. Although it was difficult to grasp the full picture, Johan did his best to understand the current situation.

‘??? ????? ?? ???? ????????? ???? ? ????????.’

Johan had expected shock and awe. Just like he had done countless times before.

Humans were more cowardly than they thought. Before a knight who tore through their ranks displaying monstrous strength, there were few warriors who could stand and fight with their weapons.

It was the same in naval battles. If they were suddenly ambushed and lights flared up all around them, they could not help but panic and assume the worst.

However, there were no ships fleeing at the moment. They were somehow holding on, although their formation was in shambles from the panic.

He needed to give them a stronger shock.

‘? ???? ?? ???? ??? ????????? ??? ???? ???? ?? ????. . .’

??????!

Before he could even finish speaking, a pillar of fire erupted from the enemy ship. Even the paladins were taken aback by the phenomenon, something that should not be possible normally.

“It’s a wizard!”

“Your Highness! Is it a Republic wizard?!”

“No. Republic wizards don’t have fire magic.”

“They’re useless then!”

The paladins grumbled. Compared to the abilities displayed by the wizard on the enemy side, the wizards on their side felt too weak.

“We have to take care of that one first. Follow me!”

“Yes!”

Normally, even experienced knights were reluctant to face wizards. If they were caught in a spell, even the sharpest sword was useless.

However, the knights of the Order had no fear when it came to facing such wizards. Besides, with Johan in the lead, what was there to be afraid of?

“Your Highness! Retreat!”

Perzeno, who was on the other side, spotted Johan and the knights and shouted urgently.

The wizard on the enemy ship at the moment was definitely one of the sultan’s Janissary wizards. He hadn’t expected them to have a fire-wielding wizard on board, it seemed the enemy was also prepared to fight tooth and nail.

The wizard seemed to be summoning spirits, gaining momentum. Two ships that had approached were hurriedly forced back due to the fire.

Perzeno and the Republic wizard agreed on how to deal with the wizard.

—Let’s wait for the wizard to tire out and then snipe them with arrows!

It would be suicide to rush in while the wizard was actively casting spells. Being human, the wizard was bound to lose strength eventually if they kept waiting.

“Your Highness! Step back!”

However, when the duke and the paladins ignored the warning and tried to cross over, Perzeno’s heart sank.

If the duke were to get hit by a fireball and fall into the sea. . .

Knowing that it was impossible, Perzeno urged the wizard beside him.

“Try talking to them!”

“M-Me? What can I do?!”

The wizard also seemed frustrated and shouted loudly. Perzeno grabbed the wizard by the collar and shook them, then the wizard opened their mouth wide, their eyes wide open.

“Ah.”

“. . . . . .”

They were at a loss for words at the sight unfolding before them.

??????

?????!

As soon as he stepped onto the ship, arrows flew at him. Johan did not even try to dodge them as none of the arrows were aimed at his vital points. The arrowheads hit his armor and fell to the ground, losing their force.

???!

A nearby enemy was sent flying backward. It was as if he had been shot out of a ballista.

“Demon b*stard!”

He couldn’t believe that he had been sent flying that far with just a kick while holding his shield up to defend. The warrior cursed and charged in.

Then he was sent flying backward again. With some space cleared on the deck, Johan ran towards the enemy wizard. The Janissary wizard, whose name was unknown, had almost lost their human form. Flames constantly spewed out from his eyes, nose, and mouth, spitting out fire around him.

‘???????!’

Johan recalled the appearance of Caenerna that he had seen before. He had thought that it was too much, even for a wizard, but at that level, it was not the wizard controlling the spirits, but the spirits burning the wizard’s body as fuel and destroying the surroundings.

The wizard, no, the spirit seemed to have noticed Johan. A ball of flame flew straight at him.

“!”

Johan drew the Seal Retriever and swung it like a bolt of lightning. The large ball of flame split in two and burned the ship’s railing. The spirit roared in surprise.

Another ball of flame flew at him. Johan raised the Shield of Agnarr that the elf king had given him to block it. The shield, filled with the blood of the enemy, absorbed the flame like it was licking it up.

A final ball of flame flew at him. It was the Giant Slayer that shattered that ball of flame. The Giant Slayer, shaped like a huge hammer, flew swiftly with a heavy sound.

The slaves who had been defending the wizard in front of him rushed in to block it with their bodies. No matter how large and heavy the Giant Slayer was, it did not seem like it could pierce through human bodies and hit the wizard.

However, surprisingly, the Giant Slayer pierced through the slaves and flew on. The spirit was also surprised, flames bursting out in all directions.

????!

With a dull sound, the Giant Slayer struck the wizard directly. At the same time, a bolt of lightning from the sky pierced the wizard.

“?!”

Johan was bewildered by the sudden phenomenon. Of course, he had thrown the Giant Slayer with the intention of killing the wizard in one blow, but the lightning was unexpected.

‘???? ???. ?? ?? ??????? ?? ????? ????????? ? ?????? ???? ?????’

It was not uncommon for weapons that had slain monsters to be imbued with the power of those monsters. The Giant Slayer fell to the deck with a sizzling sound.

“We’ve captured the wizard!”

“His Highness the Duke has defeated the evil wizard!!”

The paladins who had come up on deck shouted at the top of their lungs. Even those who did not understand the Empire language would have guessed what they were shouting about.

Finally, the enemy began to waver. Johan smiled as he watched the ship at the very back subtly changing direction. The wizard’s performance was noticeable even in the darkness. It stood to reason that the shockwaves from their disappearance would be just as great.

?????—

“?”

Johan realized that the enemy ship directly in front of him was abnormally low. It looked like a ship that was about to sink.

‘?? ???. ?? ?? ???????!’

“D-Did Your Highness put a hole in it?!”

“What nonsense are you talking about?!”

The paladins of the Order seemed panicked as well, exchanging nonsensical words that they would never normally say. Why would an enemy ship start sinking when they hadn’t done anything?

Did they self-destruct?

“What the. . .”

Before Johan could finish speaking, the paladins of the Order had blank expressions on their faces. It was as if they had been possessed by something. Johan instinctively realized what was happening.

“Stupid mermen!!! Stop singing right now! We need to give chase, what are you doing!!!”

—. . .Ah, no. We came to help. It seemed like you were struggling. . .

Splashing sounds could be heard as a mermaid emerged from the water next to the ship. Despite her strange appearance, she seemed to be feeling very wronged.

—We just came to keep our promise.

“If you wanted to keep your promise, you should have come and asked me beforehand, but coming after it’s all over is just a nuisance, you fools! Besides, why did you sink the ship? Don’t you know how expensive each ship is?!”

—. . . . . .

The mermaids who had been scolded looked sullen. They had also done their best to rush over after hearing the commotion. They had diligently dug holes next to the ship and sang to help. . .

The mermaid leader spoke up, unable to bear it any longer.

—If we hadn’t helped, those guys would have escaped. Wouldn’t it be better to capture them, even if we had to sink their ship?

Johan pointed behind him instead of answering.

After receiving the call, the republic’s fleets that had been waiting elsewhere were coming in one after another. The mermaids were dispirited and lowered their heads as they saw torches flashing and coming from all over the sea.

—. . .We’ll go down and retrieve it.

??????

Although they had arrived after everything was over, the mermaids had indeed helped.

They changed the direction of the fleeing ships and captured them, they sank the ships of those who tried to fight back, and if there were any warriors who still resisted, they dragged them into the sea.

Only a few opponents were as fearsome as they were above water.

“A great victory! A great victory! The enemy will never dare to cross us again!”

They had captured nearly half of the enemy ships. The captains’ faces were beaming with joy, no matter how hard they tried to hide it. They had made several times the amount of money they had invested.

It was not as if the outcome was unsatisfactory. Of course, they had captured the ships, and they had also captured everyone on board. The enemy must be wondering why they had lost.

“Bring me the high-ranking prisoners separately. Make sure they don’t disguise themselves and hide. Did you lose the enemy commander?”

“Yes. It seems they escaped. They say they are of the sultan’s bloodline. . .”

“That’s unfortunate. They would have fetched a good price.”

“Your Highness likes to joke. . .”

‘? ????’? ??????.’

Johan was slightly embarrassed by the reaction of the knights of the Order. He had really been disappointed because of the ransom.

“Here are the prisoners, Your Highness. Most of them are low-ranking knights and there are a few Janissary centurions, but I don’t think there are any prisoners worth keeping. Oh. This one is the sultan’s eunuch. . .”

“. . . . . .”

Johan and the eunuch locked eyes. The eunuch lowered his head, unable to meet his gaze.

Even if he was unlucky, how could he be captured by the same demonic being twice. . .