Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 436

The sky was unusually clear.As soon as they emerged from the basement, the sunlight poured down dazzlingly. The prisoners, who had been imprisoned for a long time, seemed momentarily overcome with emotion, but Arendt urged them on.

“Don’t stop, keep moving.”

“Yes yes!”

Fortunately, there was no sign of enemies around.

It seemed that going a bit overboard and cleaning up the entire area was the right choice.

‘It seems like those two are pretty good at clowning around.’

By now, the enemies who had been dealing with Richt and Arthur would have figured out their intentions.

Naturally, they would have given orders to the prison staff to guard the prisoners, but unfortunately, all those who carried out the order were killed by Arendt.

However, they wouldn’t be able to withdraw their troops here while ignoring Arthur and Richt, and most of them would be preoccupied with dealing with Laius, who suddenly appeared in front of the castle gates…

Now was the perfect opportunity to buy some time.

“You hurry up too.”

Luna, realizing that it was not the time to joke, flew up without showing any complaint.

“If there is anyone who cannot walk or has difficulty moving, please help them or carry them on your back.”

“Are you really okay on your own…?”

A middle-aged woman who was trying to break up the fight spoke with concern.

It seemed unsettling that such a young knight was leading them alone.

Arendt, who had been pondering for a moment, gave a reassuring smile, befitting his role as the hero’s agent.

“Of course. There’s no problem. In the name of Captain Laius, I will definitely protect you.”

Luna was making a scene above his head, but Arendt pretended not to notice.

Anyway, it wouldn’t be visible to other people.

Meanwhile, outside, Salem began to move upon receiving the signal from another spirit, Ray.

Ray, who had just returned from a mission, settled into Salem’s arms.

Salem, who received the news from Ray, immediately took action.

“This way!”

Under Salem’s command, soldiers and elf warriors moved busily.

“Please hurry up, we don’t have time!”

“Yes!”

The hands of the soldiers digging the ground became faster.

Ray confirmed that all entrances to the castle were blocked or heavily guarded.

So there was only one option left to get the prisoners out.

The task had to be completed before the enemy noticed and before Arendt and his party escaped with the prisoners.

“Alright, Salem!”

“Everyone, get out of here!”

At Salem’s signal, soldiers and warriors quickly formed a line and lit the fuse.

At that moment, Ray flew up and used its magical power to create a golden barrier that could block out sound.

.

A few seconds later the fuse burned out quickly.

Gunpowder exploded beneath the golden shield, thick smoke rising.

Ray completely blocked out not only the noise but also the debris, sparks and smoke.

“Good job, Ray!”

Ray raised his head in pride at Salem’s praise and raised its shield.

A black smoke rose briefly, but even that was quickly dispersed by a few flaps of Ray’s wings.

To others, it appeared as if golden magic swirled around, creating a protective barrier, and then instantly dissipating even the smoke and flames.

“That’s spirit magic…”

One of the soldiers made a dumbfounded sound.

But the next order came flying in immediately.

“One more time! It’s not enough!”

“Yes, yes!”

There was no time for them to be lost in thought for long.

The explosion had just shaken and cracked the walls somewhat, but it was still a long way from creating a breach.

It was Llewellyn who first proposed this operation, which was simple and utterly ignorant.

“It’s impossible to escape the territory by circling around with civilians while fighting the ghouls. We need to create a straight path and protect the civilians as quickly as possible. That way, we can also ensure the safety of the knights.”

These were Llewellyn’s words intended to persuade Ludwin. Ludwin expressed his displeasure at what seemed like a reckless plan.

But he too was convinced soon enough, as Laius and Arendt sided with Llewellyn.

“We need to move as quickly as possible! Sir Arendt will be here soon!”

Salem’s shouts made the soldiers’ hands move even faster.

He couldn’t even count how many enemies he’d killed. It felt like an endless tug-of-war.

The knights’ bodies gradually accumulated wounds one by one, and along with them, the corpses of the ghouls sprawled on the ground continued to pile up.

‘They still have some strength left.’

Laius, who was observing the battle situation, swung his sword without even looking at the enemy rushing from the side.

“…!”

The priest was reduced to a piece of meat in an instant.

Flesh spilled out at Laius’ feet. His uniform was stained, and blood splattered across his face, but Laius wiped it away and resumed his survey of the battlefield.

‘About an hour and a half…’

The knights’ wounds were mounting. None had yet suffered fatal injuries, but Laius was growing increasingly anxious.

His sword, which steadily cut down the relentless onslaught of enemies, began to carry more and more emotion with each strike.

But Laius forced himself to keep going forward.

‘The important thing right now is to hold them back.’

Killing many enemies wasn’t the only way to succeed

What Arendt demanded was to hold the line and buy as much time as possible to prevent the enemy’s sight from reaching the rescue operation site.

Reclaiming the castle came next.

But he couldn’t help but feel his head getting hotter.

The longer they spent fighting the enemies, the more injuries his subordinates would sustain.

“It’s a summoning!”

Then, Glenn shouted loudly.

Laius, suddenly coming to his senses, raised his head. He saw what appeared to be the leader of the priests, activating a summoning circle at the very rear of the line.

The enemies, who judged that they could not stop Laius on their own, tried to summon a homunculus.

“Damn.”

The moment when Laius’ face hardened.

A steel arrow flew from behind, cutting through the air and hurtling towards them. Llewellyn had moved to block the summoning.

But the arrow was blocked before it could travel far.

Instead, a ghoul with a strange appearance jumped in and blocked the arrow.

The arrow fell to the ground, having only destroyed one ghoul.

Llewellyn and the elven warriors once again fired arrows at the circle, but the same result was repeated over and over again.

“Everyone, step back!”

Laius, sensing that they could not stop it, gave the order.

As the knights cut down their respective enemies and moved back to the front line, a fierce storm of magical energy swept across the battlefield.

“…!”

A blindingly stimulating red light erupted for a moment. When the knights looked back, a gigantic, pitch-black monster was slowly unfolding its crouching form at the very back of the ghouls.

“…Is it a wolf?”

Rider’s face crumpled.

As if waking up from a long sleep, the huge pitch-black wolf slowly raised its head.

“Grrrrr…”

Its bright red eyes, shining brightly, accurately captured its enemy.

Even though the distance was quite far, the wolf-shaped homunculus began to bare its teeth at Laius.

Laius straightened his sword indifferently.

“Everyone, stand back. Focus only on the enemy in front of you.”

The knights paused at the cold command.

Laius, who had read the expressions of his subordinates, added briefly.

“Just in time.”

His blue eyes cast a cold chill.

Laius, too, needed an enemy to cool his increasingly complicated mind.

Arendt lifted his head briefly at the ominous sound.

It felt like an earthquake, but it didn’t seem like a normal explosion or a loud noise from a fight.

‘Is it from the Captain’s side?’

Arendt could easily sense that the fighting on Laius’ side was intensifying.

But he couldn’t pay attention to that for long.

Arendt, sensing a presence from the front, gave urgent instructions.

“Go behind that wall!”

“…!”

A group of people quickly hid themselves at his direction.

Arendt, who was the last to enter behind them, peeked his head out to check the situation.

“Where have all the guys on patrol gone?”

The priest, walking quickly, was venting his anger on his subordinate.

“Damn it, an intruder! Did you check the prison?”

“There’s still no news. They say they’re engaged in a skirmish with two knights attempting to infiltrate nearby.”

Arthur and Richt still seemed to be tying them down.

Arendt gestured once more for those gasping for breath to be quiet, then focused on their conversation.

Another priest who had come running from somewhere reported.

“All the guys guarding that area are gone!”

“They’re gone?”

“Seeing that only pieces of ice remain… I think they might have been ambushed.”

“What, ice? Could it be the Frosty Touch?”

After hurling a torrent of curses, they hurried off somewhere. They were probably trying to check out the inside of the prison.

“Let’s go.”

They had to move as quickly as possible during this gap.

As Arendt took the lead again, the nervous crowd followed suit.

People who couldn’t walk were carried on others backs, and some even carried two children in their arms.

It wasn’t easy for this many people to sneak out, but the priest-turned ghouls had a fatal weakness: their senses other than sight and hearing were dulled.

Thanks to this, Arendt was able to easily lead the people out of the castle with Luna’s help.

“Come out this way.”

There was a small hole between the walls surrounding the castle. Luna had discovered it.

Arendt waited until they were completely out, and then he was the last one to leave.

“Phew…”

Fortunately, there were no immediately noticeable variables.

Arendt, who had briefly taken a breather by leaning against the wall, soon discovered Ray bustling back and forth on the distant wall.

‘So, in the end, they couldn’t find a safe escape route.’

He had hoped it wouldn’t come to the point of breaking down the castle walls, but…

As usual, they were of no assistance whatsoever.

“Disgusting bastards.”

“Huh? Sir, what did you just say…?”

“Everyone, thank you for your hard work.”

Arendt, who had blurted out curses without realizing it, suddenly changed his expression and smiled.

“Just hold on a little longer. You’ll be able to join the prince soon.”

“Thank you.”

There was no sign of them fighting or hitting each other as they kept their heads down.

The hope that was right in front of their eyes played a big role.

Right now, that role was being performed by Laius and himself.

‘It’s a bit awkward, isn’t it?’

Because it wasn’t a role that suited ‘Arendt’ very well.

Arendt, having put aside his thoughts and confirmed that the people had caught their breath, urged them on again.

“Let’s move again.”

Luna flew up again and began to cross the blood-stained alley.

The sun, with its warm light, had already risen above their heads.

That meant that it was time for news of the current situation to reach Jiklin, who was preparing to come here.