TING! TING!
The two Throwing Knives flew toward me like arrows, only to strike my shield and fall to the floor. While I faltered, Melvin closed the distance in an instant and appeared directly before me. The Stiletto in his left hand was poised to thrust at my right side.
‘There is no way I can block it.’
I hurriedly twisted aside, and the Stiletto thrust past my face a moment later. Had I moved even slightly slower, the awl-like blade would undoubtedly have pierced straight through my throat.
SWISH!
The Stiletto swept toward me once more, grazing my upper arm before cutting into the shoulder beyond it. Enduring the pain, I retreated and stared at the hand gripping Melvin’s weapon.
‘His accuracy is incredible. So is his speed.’
His movements were so swift that following them with my eyes was nearly impossible. I could understand how the soldiers had fallen without being able to respond.
SWISH! SWOOSH!
I desperately attempted to follow and react to the attacks that struck like a serpent, but I remained helpless. The blade came at me again, this time stabbing into my thigh.
“Ugh!”
I staggered briefly before quickly recovering my stance and retreating once more.
He was so fast that his blade was already piercing my body before I could react to his movements. There was simply no answer to it. All I could do was cover my body with the shield and avoid a fatal wound.
“Can you feel death approaching? Hmm? Can you feel the blood draining from your body?”
My teeth ground together when Melvin’s excited voice reached my ears. His mockery felt as though he were digging into every wound across my body.
I was undoubtedly in grave danger.
However, I composed myself and refused to be shaken any further.
‘If I panic, I truly will die. Remain calm. Defend against as many attacks as possible and observe his movements.’
The more disadvantageous the situation, the more important it was to remain composed. Only then could an opportunity be found.
Repeating that to myself, I opened the Status Window. I needed to organize the situation and find a clue that would reveal his weakness.
[Melvin]
[He employs dagger techniques that utilize his agile movements. He is persistently targeting the right side that cannot be protected by the shield.]
Just as the description stated, Melvin continued attacking only my right side. It was an unavoidable weakness for anyone wielding a shield.
I considered switching the hands holding my shield and mace, but soon realized that it would be meaningless. With speed like his, he would accurately target my openings and vital points regardless of which hand carried the shield.
Ultimately, I had to find a way to match that speed or prevent him from moving so quickly.
‘Prevent him from using his speed… Is that truly the only way?’
In truth, I had considered one method for some time. However, it was so reckless that I had not dared attempt it.
Now, I had no other choice.
If it failed, I would be unable to overcome Melvin’s speed and would inevitably die.
“I told you that I bear no personal grudge. Now die!”
Melvin charged once more.
As expected, he came from the right again. Judging by his lowered posture, he appeared to be aiming for my flank or abdomen.
I followed his movement to the very end and released the mace from my hand.
STAB!
“Ugh!”
A scream escaped me in the next instant.
The Stiletto slipped through a seam in my leather armor and pierced my side. Pain far deeper and hotter than anything I had felt until now tore through my body.
It might have been a serious wound.
‘But it will not kill me immediately. This is enough…!’
Gritting my teeth and enduring the pain, I seized the arm holding Melvin’s dagger with my newly freed right hand.
His eyes widened as though he had suddenly understood what I intended.
I glared into his face and gave him a twisted smile.
“I finally caught you, you bastard.”
THUD!
I swung the shield with all my strength and struck Melvin across the face. His head snapped to the side, and he staggered.
“Ugh… You bastard! Release me! Let go!”
Blood poured from his split lip and broken nose as Melvin violently shook his arm, but he could not throw me off.
Instead, I trapped his arm beneath my armpit, tightened my grip, and struck him repeatedly with the shield.
THUD! THUD!
“Aaargh! I told you to release me, you bastard!”
“Ughhh!”
Melvin twisted the Stiletto embedded in my side, causing agony to surge through me and another scream to escape.
However, the more it hurt, the tighter I held on.
I had deliberately abandoned my defense and accepted his attack to seize this opportunity. I could never allow him to escape.
With all my remaining strength, I clung to Melvin’s arm and continued smashing the shield into his face again and again.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Ten times, eleven times, twelve times.
I struck him so frantically that I lost count. Before I knew it, the strength left Melvin’s body, and he went limp.
Only then did I release his arm and pick up my mace.
Melvin looked horrific.
His face was covered in blood, dark blue bruises had swollen around his eyes, and several teeth were missing. He was a complete wreck.
“You… bastard… How dare you….”
“……”
“Fool… You truly are an utter fool. Do you intend to continue siding with that man? He will betray you and cast you aside miserably, just as he did to me. Can you not understand that?!”
“No. I have no intention of doing that. I have had enough of being manipulated by others.”
I stared directly at Melvin as he swayed on the verge of collapse.
I had spent my entire life being controlled by others because I was an illegitimate son.
I would not allow it any longer.
“The same applies to you. I cannot allow a mere obstacle like you to manipulate me and ruin my original plans.”
“Ugh… You bastard…!”
THUD!
The final blow of my shield struck him, and Melvin collapsed backward onto the floor.
After confirming that he had lost consciousness, I turned my attention to the Stiletto embedded in my right side.
“Ugh….”
As the tension began to leave me, the pain intensified.
Fortunately, the blade appeared to have pierced only the flesh. It did not seem to have reached the organs or bones beneath it, as I could not feel the heavy, sickening sensation that would indicate a grave injury.
‘That is a small price to pay for deliberately allowing the attack. I was fortunate.’
Melvin had been exceedingly fast, but he had persistently targeted my right side throughout the battle.
That meant I could be almost certain where his next attack would come from.
My strategy had been to wait for him to strike from the right, seize him, and prevent him from using his speed.
If the blade had landed even slightly differently, the wound might have been fatal. However, there had been no other way to win, so I had made my decision.
‘In any case, I should not pull this out yet.’
Carelessly removing an arrow or weapon embedded in the body could cause severe blood loss and prove extremely dangerous.
I decided to leave it in place for the moment and approached the fallen Melvin.
“M-My lord! Thank goodness. You defeated him!”
“……”
“Thank you. You did exceedingly well! F-First, please pull this dagger from my hand. I will take care of the treatment afterward….”
Yakov shouted with an expression containing both relief and pain.
Without so much as glancing at him, I began searching Melvin’s body.
Before long, I found the Contract from earlier inside his right trouser pocket.
[Bloodstained Contract]
[A document concerning the agreement made between Yakov, the Mayor of Zilvergard, and Melvin. It states that Melvin will follow Yakov’s orders in return for payment.]
The contents were precisely as the Status Window described.
At the bottom of the document were the hastily scrawled signatures of both Melvin and Yakov.
It was undeniable physical evidence that the two had been involved with one another.
“Th-That is….”
Before the startled Yakov could say anything, I folded the document and placed it inside my own pocket.
“I will hold on to this, Mayor Yakov. I do not believe I need to explain why.”
“M-My lord, please listen to me first….”
“You are already a criminal. Do you understand that?”
I cut him off with an icy rebuke.
Yakov, who had been groaning in pain, flinched.
“You used me to clean up your own mess. You committed the grave crime of deceiving a son of a ducal house. Even setting that aside, if I reveal the secret deeds you committed using this document as evidence, you are finished. You may spend the rest of your life rotting in an underground prison.”
“Th-That….”
Despair and fear spread across Yakov’s face.
The mere thought of what might happen appeared to crush his spirit.
However, despite what I had said, I had no intention of exposing Yakov’s secrets.
“But I am a generous man, so I will overlook the matter in exchange for keeping this document. Do not worry. I swear upon the name of Vermont that I will store it safely. I will not reveal your secret, either.”
With those words, I approached Yakov.
For a moment, I considered removing the dagger embedded in his hand, but soon decided against it.
Instead, I stared directly into his eyes and continued.
“Therefore, do not overstep your place again, Yakov. If you ever attempt to use me again, I will finish what Melvin started.”
“……”
“As long as you remember that, we can maintain a good relationship. You should even be able to complete your term as mayor normally… Conduct yourself wisely.”
That concluded my warning.
I looked away from Yakov’s devastated face, turned around, and left the office.
Melvin and every surviving member of the Wyvern Brotherhood were sentenced to death.
Both the trials and the executions were conducted in secret and concluded within only two days.
-A secret trial followed immediately by an execution? Is there not something deeply wrong with this?
-Even if they were vicious criminals, this seems excessively severe. Were they even given a proper opportunity to defend themselves?
Yakov’s political opponents criticized the unusual proceedings and used them to attack the mayor.
However, the citizens of Zilvergard offered Yakov their wholehearted support. From their perspective, they could only be grateful that the gang threatening the city’s security had been eliminated in a single operation.
-Long live Mayor Yakov!
-He handled the matter splendidly!
-My cousin was stabbed to death by those Wyvern bastards. Now that every last one of them is dead, I finally feel as though he has been avenged!
With that, the incident involving the Wyvern Brotherhood came to an end, and public security within the city improved considerably.
It was now time for Yakov to dispatch the soldiers he had promised.
“Fifty men make a proper military unit. That is a respectable force.”
“He also promised to assign a capable commander. Together with the villagers, it should be enough.”
I answered Hakon as we walked out of City Hall side by side.
Only moments earlier, I had personally watched Yakov sign the Deployment Order and hand it to the Captain of the City Guard.
I had finally achieved my original objective of securing soldiers, so my steps felt exceedingly light.
-I will select only the finest soldiers and commanders for you. I sincerely hope that your subjugation proceeds successfully. Ha ha ha….
Furthermore, recalling how Yakov had cowered and groveled before me was deeply satisfying.
As long as I held his weakness, he would continue behaving that way in the future. The thought made my mood even brighter.
“Then everything is finished. Are we returning now?”
Hakon asked.
All our problems had been resolved. All that remained was to wait for the soldiers to arrive at the castle in three days and then depart to subjugate the Goblins.
There was nothing more to do, except for one minor matter.
“We are, but I have something to take care of first. Hakon, go to a Tavern and have a drink while you wait.”
“A Tavern? Am I not allowed to accompany you?”
“It is a personal matter. Wait at one of the Taverns in the Commercial District. I will meet you there later.”
After answering, I changed direction and walked away alone before Hakon could object.