Being a knight is not easy

Chapter 206 Ambush
The night wind carried the smell of sulfur, and Robin recalled the roar of the Free Knights when they awakened on the training ground, and the angry and shocked look in Leo's eyes behind his mask.

This is indeed a golden opportunity. As long as Leo is killed, the backbone of the old order can be completely severed.

But he also knew that Aisha's "gifts" always came with a price tag.

“The Knights Guild will not easily submit to the one who murdered its leader.” Robin gripped his spear tightly. “You want me to be the executioner, but aren’t you afraid of inciting public outrage?”

"Public outrage?" Wind Chime suddenly let out a silvery laugh, and Butterfly Shadow transformed into chains that wrapped around Robin's wrists. "When you step over Leo's corpse and announce the abolition of the knight class, when commoners take up longswords and become new nobles, those so-called public outrages are nothing but the wailing of dying nobles."

Her wand pressed against Robin's chest, the black crystal glowing crimson. "And Lady Aisha will spread the prophecy in the capital, making the whole kingdom believe that this is a necessary sacrifice before the Stargate opens."

Robin's pupils contracted sharply.

In the distance came the sound of soldiers changing shifts, and the light of torches illuminated his tense profile.

He suddenly realized that this cooperation was no longer a simple exchange of interests, but a bloody altar that would push him to the pinnacle of power.

"I want command." Robin suddenly broke free of the sorcery chains, his dragon-slaying spear slicing through the swarm of butterflies. "The sorcery troops attacking the supply line must be deployed by my men."

Fengling stared at the burning ambition in his eyes, a satisfied smile curving her lips beneath the mask: "As you wish. But remember—" Her figure gradually dissipated into purple mist, the last few syllables swirling in the air, "Leo's Judgment Sword is not so easy to catch."

When the butterfly shadows completely disappeared, Robin gripped the blood-stained gun handle tightly.

………………

The Valentine Forest was shrouded in a thick, inky night, with pale vines hanging from the twisted branches of ancient trees, like countless outstretched ghostly hands.

The damp, decaying leaves crunched underfoot, a sound that made your teeth ache. Robin gripped his dragon-slaying spear tightly, the dragon scale patterns gleaming eerily beneath his skin. His heat detection spell displayed the movement of the entire forest on his retina.

"This place has long been surrounded by the Bauhinia Organization's assassins." Feng Ling's voice suddenly came from above. Robin looked up and saw her hanging upside down from the branches of a thousand-year-old oak tree, her purple robe like a blooming mandala. "Three hundred people in each of the four directions: east, south, west, and north."

She lightly tapped her snake-bone wand in the air, and dark red sorcery marks snaked and grew on the tree trunk. "And over there—" The wand pointed into the depths of the thick fog, where twenty wizards were setting up a magic circle. As they chanted incantations, the purple specks of light floating in the air coalesced into a hideous beast-head phantom.

Robin took a deep breath and turned to look at the twenty knights beside him.

The Rock Medal on Andisu's chest gleamed faintly in the night. The knights behind him gripped their improved knightly swords tightly. These free knights, once considered the lowest class, now had a burning fighting spirit in their eyes.

"You really don't regret it!" Robin's voice echoed in the silent forest, trembling slightly.

He knew that facing the legendary knight Leo would be a battle with a slim chance of survival.

Andysu knelt on one knee with a thud, the clanging of armor startling a night owl roosting in the forest: "My lord, we are willing to follow you to the death!" He pulled open his collar, revealing pale golden patterns that had appeared due to his new breathing technique. "You have shown us that a knight's glory is not in his blood, but on his blade!"

The other knights followed suit, their metallic kneeling sounds like the booming of war drums.

Robin's dragon scale patterns throbbed violently as he drew his pulley-operated compound bow from his back, intending to first kill the other two legendary knights beside Leo when the battle began.

Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves came from afar, and Leo's black banner with silver lions pierced through the thick fog.

Robin saw the guild leader's armor gleam coldly in the moonlight, and the knightly runes on the Judgment Sword radiated a holy light. Behind Leo, the exhausted knights were completely unaware that they were about to step into a death trap woven from witchcraft and betrayal.

"Ready!" Robin whispered the order, the tip of the Dragon Slayer Spear pointing towards the sky.

"Release the arrows!" Robin's roar rang out simultaneously with the trembling of the bowstring.

The arrow formation of twenty knights burst forth with dazzling golden light, and the improved earth-burst arrows, trailing magical flames, pierced through the mist.

Leo sneered, and the magic crystals embedded in his armor suddenly lit up. The moment the phantom of the Holy Shield unfolded, the arrows exploded into harmless dust in mid-air.

But his underestimation of the enemy came at a price. From the depths of the dense forest on his right, Wind Chime's sorcery troops suddenly launched an attack, their purple runes weaving into a giant net that instantly blocked the retreat route of the knights behind them.

"Despicable wizard!" Leo's warhorse reared up, its hooves shattering the magical runes on the ground.

Leo's sword swept across the spell-inscribed vines wrapped around his leg armor, and the charred plant remains fluttered like gray butterflies.

Just as he was about to look up and lock onto Robin's trail, a chilling spear light tore through the mist. Robin swooped down from the top of the ancient tree, the Dragon Slayer Spear carrying a spiraling golden aura. Before the spear tip even reached him, the decaying leaves on the ground were already pulverized.

"Well done!" Leo roared, his sword of judgment drawing out a half-moon.

The moment the divine weapon clashed with the dragon spear, the air crackled like shattering glass, and the shockwave exploded in a ring. Ancient trees within a ten-zhang radius snapped in half, their crowns collapsing with a deafening roar and raising clouds of dust.

A line of blood appeared on Robin's tiger's mouth, and warm liquid meandered down the gilded spear shaft, spreading into dark red flowers on the dragon scale pattern.

But his offensive did not stop.

Using the recoil from the collision, Robin shot towards Leo's side like an arrow.

He pinpointed the legendary adjutant wearing three medals. "Old man, it's time for a change!"

Robin's roar pierced through the battlefield's clamor, and the Dragon Slayer Spear transformed into a streak of light, its runes at the end emitting a golden-red glow that dyed the mist.

The adjutant, who had followed Leo for over thirty years, suddenly narrowed his eyes. He instinctively raised his mithril shield, only to hear a mournful groan as the metal twisted.

The moment the Dragon Slayer Spear tore through the shield, Robin's dragon scale patterns shone with a dazzling light. This spear not only pierced through the legendary knight's breastplate but also shattered the life core that had been condensing within his body.

Warm blood splattered on Robin's face, and he could even see his own resolute silver eyes reflected in the other's pupils.

"No!" Leo's roar shook the clouds, and the runes of the Codex on the Sword of Judgment swirled wildly. He charged forward, stepping on the broken tree trunk, and before the sword even reached him, the holy light had already scorched Robin's back.

But Robin had anticipated this, and suddenly pulled out the dragon spear stuck in the lieutenant's corpse, and fired three earth-burst arrows with his backhand.

The arrows intertwined in the air to form a magic circle, forcing Leo to parry with his sword. The thick smoke from the explosion instantly engulfed the two figures.

(End of this chapter)