How to Live as a Wandering Knight

Chapter 326: ?? ??? ???? (3)

As the rain of arrows began to fall, the fighting knights only then seemed to realize the situation.

“The duke is boarding the ship! The duke is boarding the ship!”

The soldiers were astounded at the sight of the knight shouting at the top of his lungs, even after being hit by an arrow. Either his body was as hardy as an ox or the duke must be fearsome indeed.

It seemed that the knight’s shouts reached those hiding below the deck. There was the sound of people moving about busily below, along with shouts.

“Hide behind the pillars, no! Go below deck!”

The eunuchs were making sound judgments even in the midst of the confusion. The entrance below deck was narrow, and no matter how strong the duke was, there was no way he could easily get down there. If he made one false move, he could be run through with a spear.

“How dare those treacherous b*stards!”

The eunuchs gnashed their teeth as the knights blocked the entrance to the deck and readied their weapons. The situation had become several times more complicated due to this unexpected turn of events.

It had all started when a few of the knights who followed Yeheyman grew suspicious of the eunuchs.

They had tried to secretly check on Yeheyman’s condition, and flew into a rage when they realized that he wasn’t seriously injured and unconscious, but had been securely tied up and locked away.

? ??? ???? ???! ???????, ???? ??! ????? ?????? ??? ???? ????????-???? ??????????!

The eunuchs were shocked by this turn of events, but fortunately, luck was on their side. The rest of the men sided with the eunuchs.

They all knew that when they returned, they would have to make excuses to the Sultan, and there was no benefit in cozying up to the eunuchs.

? ????? ????? ???????????? ???. ? ???? ??????? ???? ??????!

? ????? ????????. . .!

As fate would have it, the ones who should have been seized ran up to the deck, and the duke happened to be leading his guards up the ship at that very moment.

It was a stroke of misfortune that defied belief.

“What do we do now?”

One of the knights asked, sweat pouring down his face. It wasn’t because it was hot below deck. It was because he knew who was up there. The fact that he couldn’t hear anything made it all the more terrifying.

“If we stall for time, the city’s nobles will step in to mediate. We can bribe them and escape then.”

The eunuchs knew the city’s rules well. No matter how powerful the duke was, he couldn’t just do whatever he wanted as an outsider. If he caused a disturbance like this, the city’s soldiers would step in.

If they could buy some time while the two sides mediated, they might be able to bribe them somehow. It would cost them a great deal of their wealth, but they had no choice.

“. . .Wait a minute.”

“?”

“Isn’t the ship moving?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? There aren’t even any sailors. . .”

“No, I’m not. It’s moving!”

The knights were shocked.

The ship really was moving.

??????

“Did you say he’s really down there?”

“Yes!”

“But he got caught by the eunuchs?”

“Yes!!”

“. . . . . .”

Johan wore an unusually troubled expression.

He thought the commander of the enemy was up to some evil scheme as he kept making unexpected moves and running away.

That’s why he brought the army here, leaving the Holy Land alone. . .

The wizards stared at Johan. Suetlg spoke as if he understood.

“There are times when the truth of the world is just petty and trivial.”

“. . .Thank you.”

Yeheyman’s knights made excuses for themselves without realizing it.

“The eunuchs used a trick, so it wasn’t Yeheyman-nim’s fault.”

“That’s right. The eunuchs used Yeheyman-nim’s honor.”

“No one asked.”

Johan said indifferently. He wasn’t very interested in how Yeheyman got caught. He already knew very well that any great knight could die from a single stray arrow.

“We’ll have to pull it up.”

“Let’s go down.”

“No. Leave it. I don’t want to see you die trying to catch those b*stards.”

The soldiers looked touched by Johan’s words. Johan shook his head at the sight of the soldiers who were touched even though he had just stated the obvious.

“But we can’t delay too long. The sailors. . .”

“Right. We need to sail. Bring the captain!”

“?!”

The captain who was suddenly dragged in started to speak with a trembling voice.

“Your Highness. I really don’t know anything. . .”

“Launch the ship. We have to get out the other way.”

“Yes???”

A cold blade was pressed against the captain’s neck. The soldier said coldly.

“If you speak back one more time, you’ll be breathing through the hole in your neck, not your mouth.”

“Y. . . Your Highness. There aren’t enough sailors right now. We need to weigh the anchor and release the mooring lines, but with the sailors we have now. . .”

“We’re here, so what are you making excuses for?”

“You’re not even familiar with the work! This isn’t something you can do with just strength. You need the knack for it. . .”

“Enough. Just tell me what needs to be done instead of babbling on.”

Since the momentum was fierce, the captain guided the soldiers to where the anchor was being raised. And he cursed inwardly.

‘??? ????? ?*??????. ? ???? ??? ?? ???? ???? ???????!’

The device for raising the anchor didn’t work by simply turning it with force. It had to be raised little by little by experienced sailors applying strength in turn.

No matter how majestic the duke’s authority was, he couldn’t just pull out the anchor that had sunk deep into the seawater.

?????! ?????! ?????!

Johan grabbed the device and started to pull up the anchor. The captain’s eyes widened as the device, which wouldn’t budge even with fifteen to twenty people, started to turn.

“Is it done?”

“Yes? Yes? Yes. . .”

“Let’s move on to the next one! If you waste time, I’ll throw you overboard!”

??????

“Be sure to speak to them politely! Do not, under any circumstances, fire your arrows. Do not insult or provoke them either! The duke also knows the customs, so if you strongly advise him, he will compromise!”

‘????’?? ??????? ???????? ????? ??? ??????? ????????!’

Thinking thus, the mercenary captain ran towards the harbor.

Each and every one of the duke’s guards must be heavily armed veterans. The mercenary captain’s men were not weak, but frankly, there was no comparison.

And yet, he was told not to fire arrows, insult or provoke them, and to apprehend them politely.

What could he do? He could only hope that the duke would understand the situation and be persuaded.

“??!?!”

The mercenary captain doubted his own eyes as he saw people gathering at the harbor and a ship sailing away into the sea.

What in the world had happened?

“What’s going on?! What happened?!”

“His Highness the Duke. . . has set sail. . .”

“Set sail?! What were those sailors doing on board the ship? It’s not even departure time?”

The sailors must be scattered around the harbor, so he couldn’t figure out how they managed to set sail. The mercenary captain grabbed the nearest man by the collar and shouted.

“W-Well. . . It just. . . somehow. . . set sail. . .”

“What do we do?”

The captain asked in a flustered voice. The mercenary captain frowned and said,

“Let’s chase them down in our ship!”

“Y-Yes?? Do we really have to??”

“We have to show them that we did something! What do you think they’ll say if we just return empty-handed?!”

“Understood. We’ll get ready. You sailors! Why aren’t you getting the ship ready faster?! How can you be slower than a bunch of soldiers?!”

The mercenary captain hurried to prepare the ship to give chase. Maybe it was his imagination, but they seemed even slower than usual.

??????

“Wouldn’t it be better to come out now? You’ll have to eventually, and if you keep stalling and come out late, the anger of His Highness the Duke might be directed at you. If you come out now, we promise to treat you as prisoners of war.”

A soldier fluent in the eastern language shouted loudly from the entrance to the deck. There was no response.

“Are they holding out?”

“Leave them be. We’ll send a signal.”

The soldier who had gone up shot an arrow. It was a signal to the troops waiting outside the city. They had decided on this in advance since they had planned to seize the ship from the beginning.

“Your Highness. If we keep going like this, the ship will run aground!”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll compensate you generously.”

The captain became sullen, but he couldn’t say anything more. It wasn’t just the soldiers on deck, the Duke’s soldiers were also seen chasing in the distance, kicking up dust.

“There’s a ship chasing us!”

“Chasing us?”

Johan was puzzled. Of course, they had stolen a ship from a well-established city and fled, so it was possible that they would be chased.

However, the response would depend on what kind of thief they were dealing with. If they had seized a ship that was hiding someone the duke was pursuing, then usually, even a city wouldn’t want to cause trouble and would let it go.

“They must be mercenaries hired by the city, so don’t you think they’re just pretending to chase us to save face?”

“Would they really go that far? Either way, I’ll go and persuade them myself.”

The ship carrying the mercenary captain approached slowly. Johan spoke in a voice loud enough to be heard.

“Don’t come any closer!”

“Your Highness. Aren’t you the one who respects customs and laws? How can you just kidnap our ship and sailors and take them away?”

“Weren’t you the ones who were arbitrarily hiding the criminals I was pursuing?”

“We didn’t know anything about that! If we had, we would have told the council. How could people from a small city like ours possibly hide criminals being pursued by Your Highness the Duke??”

They were both shouting while beating around the bush, knowing the truth. Johan had to suppress a smirk.

“In that case, I have a proposal.”

“Yes. Please tell us.”

Johan intended to propose returning everything except the criminals—the ship, the captain, and the sailors—safely. It was a proposal that would save the other party’s face to some extent, and the people of the city would probably accept it. If he added some gold coins as compensation later, it would be even better.

“Excluding the criminals. . .”

Before he could finish speaking, a small speedboat approached the mercenary captain’s ship, and a centaur approached Johan’s ship.

Then, they reported the same thing.

“Your Highness the Duke! The mercenaries have captured the city!”

“Which crazy mercenaries did that?”

“. . .Your Highness, your mercenaries.”

“. . . . . .”

Johan turned away, lost for words. The mercenary captain looked at Johan with an expression full of shock and betrayal.

“It’s too late to say it wasn’t intentional. . .?”

“Yes. It seems they won’t listen to anything I say.”

??????

Johan and those close to him were now fully aware of the situation, so they weren’t too worried about leading only a hundred men into the city.

Considering the city’s atmosphere and political situation, there was no reason for them to be hostile towards Johan.

However, there was no way ordinary mercenaries could know that. They waited anxiously and restlessly. City people had always been greedy and suspicious, and it was even worse when they were pagans.

What if His Highness the Duke was deceived by some suspicious trick and imprisoned??

“When are they coming out?”

“Hey. You have that slave you captured. Why don’t we take him and send him in to spy on them? We can’t just stay here like this.”

The mercenaries tried to capture and question merchants coming and going from the city, or tried to sneak in themselves to check the atmosphere inside.

In the meantime, the mercenaries heard shocking news.

“They say the city people sent soldiers to capture His Highness the Duke!”

“What??!”

The centaurion panicked and tried to calm the mercenaries down.

“Calm down! His Highness the Duke told us not to act rashly. . .”

“Say that again!”

“. . .!”

The mercenaries’ relationships were more horizontal than one might think. Although they were called captains and centurions, if they accumulated grievances, even a squad leader could incite a rebellion and kill them at any time. That’s what mercenaries were like.

The centurions had a hunch that if they stopped them now, they would be beaten up.

“. . .He did say that, but this isn’t the time for that! That’s right. We need to go in and rescue His Highness the Duke!”

“Waaaaah!”

‘?? ??? ???? ????? ??? ??????, ????’?? ???????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ?????’

Several furious units charged towards the city gates. The guards defending the gates were caught off guard by the unexpected attack and, incredibly, failed to close the gates and ran away in panic.

“We’ve taken the city gates! Raise the flag!”

“Capture the nobles first!! If His Highness the Duke has been captured, we need to exchange them as hostages! Go to their mansions and find the nobles!!”

“W-What nonsense are you talking about. . . We never captured His Highness the Duke?!”

“Shut up! How dare you lie! You pagans!”

“I’m a monotheist too. . .!”

“Do you think we’ll fall for that? You’re even lying about your god! Find His Highness the Duke!”,

As the rain of arrows began to fall, the fighting knights only then seemed to realize the situation.

“The duke is boarding the ship! The duke is boarding the ship!”

The soldiers were astounded at the sight of the knight shouting at the top of his lungs, even after being hit by an arrow. Either his body was as hardy as an ox or the duke must be fearsome indeed.

It seemed that the knight’s shouts reached those hiding below the deck. There was the sound of people moving about busily below, along with shouts.

“Hide behind the pillars, no! Go below deck!”

The eunuchs were making sound judgments even in the midst of the confusion. The entrance below deck was narrow, and no matter how strong the duke was, there was no way he could easily get down there. If he made one false move, he could be run through with a spear.

“How dare those treacherous b*stards!”

The eunuchs gnashed their teeth as the knights blocked the entrance to the deck and readied their weapons. The situation had become several times more complicated due to this unexpected turn of events.

It had all started when a few of the knights who followed Yeheyman grew suspicious of the eunuchs.

They had tried to secretly check on Yeheyman’s condition, and flew into a rage when they realized that he wasn’t seriously injured and unconscious, but had been securely tied up and locked away.

? ??? ???? ???! ???????, ???? ??! ????? ?????? ??? ???? ????????-???? ??????????!

The eunuchs were shocked by this turn of events, but fortunately, luck was on their side. The rest of the men sided with the eunuchs.

They all knew that when they returned, they would have to make excuses to the Sultan, and there was no benefit in cozying up to the eunuchs.

? ????? ????? ???????????? ???. ? ???? ??????? ???? ??????!

? ????? ????????. . .!

As fate would have it, the ones who should have been seized ran up to the deck, and the duke happened to be leading his guards up the ship at that very moment.

It was a stroke of misfortune that defied belief.

“What do we do now?”

One of the knights asked, sweat pouring down his face. It wasn’t because it was hot below deck. It was because he knew who was up there. The fact that he couldn’t hear anything made it all the more terrifying.

“If we stall for time, the city’s nobles will step in to mediate. We can bribe them and escape then.”

The eunuchs knew the city’s rules well. No matter how powerful the duke was, he couldn’t just do whatever he wanted as an outsider. If he caused a disturbance like this, the city’s soldiers would step in.

If they could buy some time while the two sides mediated, they might be able to bribe them somehow. It would cost them a great deal of their wealth, but they had no choice.

“. . .Wait a minute.”

“?”

“Isn’t the ship moving?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? There aren’t even any sailors. . .”

“No, I’m not. It’s moving!”

The knights were shocked.

The ship really was moving.

??????

“Did you say he’s really down there?”

“Yes!”

“But he got caught by the eunuchs?”

“Yes!!”

“. . . . . .”

Johan wore an unusually troubled expression.

He thought the commander of the enemy was up to some evil scheme as he kept making unexpected moves and running away.

That’s why he brought the army here, leaving the Holy Land alone. . .

The wizards stared at Johan. Suetlg spoke as if he understood.

“There are times when the truth of the world is just petty and trivial.”

“. . .Thank you.”

Yeheyman’s knights made excuses for themselves without realizing it.

“The eunuchs used a trick, so it wasn’t Yeheyman-nim’s fault.”

“That’s right. The eunuchs used Yeheyman-nim’s honor.”

“No one asked.”

Johan said indifferently. He wasn’t very interested in how Yeheyman got caught. He already knew very well that any great knight could die from a single stray arrow.

“We’ll have to pull it up.”

“Let’s go down.”

“No. Leave it. I don’t want to see you die trying to catch those b*stards.”

The soldiers looked touched by Johan’s words. Johan shook his head at the sight of the soldiers who were touched even though he had just stated the obvious.

“But we can’t delay too long. The sailors. . .”

“Right. We need to sail. Bring the captain!”

“?!”

The captain who was suddenly dragged in started to speak with a trembling voice.

“Your Highness. I really don’t know anything. . .”

“Launch the ship. We have to get out the other way.”

“Yes???”

A cold blade was pressed against the captain’s neck. The soldier said coldly.

“If you speak back one more time, you’ll be breathing through the hole in your neck, not your mouth.”

“Y. . . Your Highness. There aren’t enough sailors right now. We need to weigh the anchor and release the mooring lines, but with the sailors we have now. . .”

“We’re here, so what are you making excuses for?”

“You’re not even familiar with the work! This isn’t something you can do with just strength. You need the knack for it. . .”

“Enough. Just tell me what needs to be done instead of babbling on.”

Since the momentum was fierce, the captain guided the soldiers to where the anchor was being raised. And he cursed inwardly.

‘??? ????? ?*??????. ? ???? ??? ?? ???? ???? ???????!’

The device for raising the anchor didn’t work by simply turning it with force. It had to be raised little by little by experienced sailors applying strength in turn.

No matter how majestic the duke’s authority was, he couldn’t just pull out the anchor that had sunk deep into the seawater.

?????! ?????! ?????!

Johan grabbed the device and started to pull up the anchor. The captain’s eyes widened as the device, which wouldn’t budge even with fifteen to twenty people, started to turn.

“Is it done?”

“Yes? Yes? Yes. . .”

“Let’s move on to the next one! If you waste time, I’ll throw you overboard!”

??????

“Be sure to speak to them politely! Do not, under any circumstances, fire your arrows. Do not insult or provoke them either! The duke also knows the customs, so if you strongly advise him, he will compromise!”

‘????’?? ??????? ???????? ????? ??? ??????? ????????!’

Thinking thus, the mercenary captain ran towards the harbor.

Each and every one of the duke’s guards must be heavily armed veterans. The mercenary captain’s men were not weak, but frankly, there was no comparison.

And yet, he was told not to fire arrows, insult or provoke them, and to apprehend them politely.

What could he do? He could only hope that the duke would understand the situation and be persuaded.

“??!?!”

The mercenary captain doubted his own eyes as he saw people gathering at the harbor and a ship sailing away into the sea.

What in the world had happened?

“What’s going on?! What happened?!”

“His Highness the Duke. . . has set sail. . .”

“Set sail?! What were those sailors doing on board the ship? It’s not even departure time?”

The sailors must be scattered around the harbor, so he couldn’t figure out how they managed to set sail. The mercenary captain grabbed the nearest man by the collar and shouted.

“W-Well. . . It just. . . somehow. . . set sail. . .”

“What do we do?”

The captain asked in a flustered voice. The mercenary captain frowned and said,

“Let’s chase them down in our ship!”

“Y-Yes?? Do we really have to??”

“We have to show them that we did something! What do you think they’ll say if we just return empty-handed?!”

“Understood. We’ll get ready. You sailors! Why aren’t you getting the ship ready faster?! How can you be slower than a bunch of soldiers?!”

The mercenary captain hurried to prepare the ship to give chase. Maybe it was his imagination, but they seemed even slower than usual.

??????

“Wouldn’t it be better to come out now? You’ll have to eventually, and if you keep stalling and come out late, the anger of His Highness the Duke might be directed at you. If you come out now, we promise to treat you as prisoners of war.”

A soldier fluent in the eastern language shouted loudly from the entrance to the deck. There was no response.

“Are they holding out?”

“Leave them be. We’ll send a signal.”

The soldier who had gone up shot an arrow. It was a signal to the troops waiting outside the city. They had decided on this in advance since they had planned to seize the ship from the beginning.

“Your Highness. If we keep going like this, the ship will run aground!”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll compensate you generously.”

The captain became sullen, but he couldn’t say anything more. It wasn’t just the soldiers on deck, the Duke’s soldiers were also seen chasing in the distance, kicking up dust.

“There’s a ship chasing us!”

“Chasing us?”

Johan was puzzled. Of course, they had stolen a ship from a well-established city and fled, so it was possible that they would be chased.

However, the response would depend on what kind of thief they were dealing with. If they had seized a ship that was hiding someone the duke was pursuing, then usually, even a city wouldn’t want to cause trouble and would let it go.

“They must be mercenaries hired by the city, so don’t you think they’re just pretending to chase us to save face?”

“Would they really go that far? Either way, I’ll go and persuade them myself.”

The ship carrying the mercenary captain approached slowly. Johan spoke in a voice loud enough to be heard.

“Don’t come any closer!”

“Your Highness. Aren’t you the one who respects customs and laws? How can you just kidnap our ship and sailors and take them away?”

“Weren’t you the ones who were arbitrarily hiding the criminals I was pursuing?”

“We didn’t know anything about that! If we had, we would have told the council. How could people from a small city like ours possibly hide criminals being pursued by Your Highness the Duke??”

They were both shouting while beating around the bush, knowing the truth. Johan had to suppress a smirk.

“In that case, I have a proposal.”

“Yes. Please tell us.”

Johan intended to propose returning everything except the criminals—the ship, the captain, and the sailors—safely. It was a proposal that would save the other party’s face to some extent, and the people of the city would probably accept it. If he added some gold coins as compensation later, it would be even better.

“Excluding the criminals. . .”

Before he could finish speaking, a small speedboat approached the mercenary captain’s ship, and a centaur approached Johan’s ship.

Then, they reported the same thing.

“Your Highness the Duke! The mercenaries have captured the city!”

“Which crazy mercenaries did that?”

“. . .Your Highness, your mercenaries.”

“. . . . . .”

Johan turned away, lost for words. The mercenary captain looked at Johan with an expression full of shock and betrayal.

“It’s too late to say it wasn’t intentional. . .?”

“Yes. It seems they won’t listen to anything I say.”

??????

Johan and those close to him were now fully aware of the situation, so they weren’t too worried about leading only a hundred men into the city.

Considering the city’s atmosphere and political situation, there was no reason for them to be hostile towards Johan.

However, there was no way ordinary mercenaries could know that. They waited anxiously and restlessly. City people had always been greedy and suspicious, and it was even worse when they were pagans.

What if His Highness the Duke was deceived by some suspicious trick and imprisoned??

“When are they coming out?”

“Hey. You have that slave you captured. Why don’t we take him and send him in to spy on them? We can’t just stay here like this.”

The mercenaries tried to capture and question merchants coming and going from the city, or tried to sneak in themselves to check the atmosphere inside.

In the meantime, the mercenaries heard shocking news.

“They say the city people sent soldiers to capture His Highness the Duke!”

“What??!”

The centaurion panicked and tried to calm the mercenaries down.

“Calm down! His Highness the Duke told us not to act rashly. . .”

“Say that again!”

“. . .!”

The mercenaries’ relationships were more horizontal than one might think. Although they were called captains and centurions, if they accumulated grievances, even a squad leader could incite a rebellion and kill them at any time. That’s what mercenaries were like.

The centurions had a hunch that if they stopped them now, they would be beaten up.

“. . .He did say that, but this isn’t the time for that! That’s right. We need to go in and rescue His Highness the Duke!”

“Waaaaah!”

‘?? ??? ???? ????? ??? ??????, ????’?? ???????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ?????’

Several furious units charged towards the city gates. The guards defending the gates were caught off guard by the unexpected attack and, incredibly, failed to close the gates and ran away in panic.

“We’ve taken the city gates! Raise the flag!”

“Capture the nobles first!! If His Highness the Duke has been captured, we need to exchange them as hostages! Go to their mansions and find the nobles!!”

“W-What nonsense are you talking about. . . We never captured His Highness the Duke?!”

“Shut up! How dare you lie! You pagans!”

“I’m a monotheist too. . .!”

“Do you think we’ll fall for that? You’re even lying about your god! Find His Highness the Duke!”