I Became a Dark Knight in the Game

23 – Fighting to the Death is Easy, but Lending a Path is Hard (2)

Most of the dragon species are intelligent. This is a manifestation of the wildness honed as the top predators in the natural world. Wyverns are also part of the dragon species. Although they may lack the wisdom of civilization, they possess a quick situational judgment ability honed by their instincts.

If the demonic nature granted by the abyss is added to that, the beast’s instincts can sometimes be sharp enough to replace strategy and tactics.

“Gr-r-r…?”

Even for such wyverns, the current situation was somewhat difficult to understand.

No matter how they thought about it, the figure of the knight approaching from the west was clearly a higher demon who should play the role of their leader. Yet, they could not feel the presence of the abyss from him.

Rather, there was a strong scent of those who stood at the opposite end of the abyss, a scent that felt somehow repulsive. According to their intuition, he was an existence that should be torn apart immediately.

But somewhere in their instincts, a whisper.

That sword.

The ashen blade hanging from the knight’s right waist. Something with an atmosphere infinitely similar to the abyss. An instinctive warning rang out that they should not touch it.

Instead of the two swords at his waist, the knight drew the greatsword strapped to his back.

Whoosh─.

A low cloud of dust rose with the motion of drawing the sword. A greatsword of unusual weight. Even if the blade was not sharp, it was a weapon capable of cutting a person into pieces with its weight alone.

Seeing the knight draw his sword, the tension among the border guards soared. They looked at their commander, sweating coldly.

“…Prepare to fire.”

There were no guards left on top of the wall. Most of the soldiers had taken positions inside the watchtower and the wall to protect themselves from the wyvern’s claws. But being inside the wall did not mean they could not attack the outside.

Weapons were aimed through the gunports drilled to shoot from inside the wall. Not only cannons and bows, but also the staffs of wizards loaded with spells could be seen.

Everyone could sense it. The vanguard of the abyss had arrived. The demon who had blocked the gateway city with wyverns.

The commander calmly measured the effective range. The worst mistake a commander could make was to hastily give the attack order before the enemy properly entered the engagement range.

Originally, this guideline was wisdom meant to apply to battles between armies, but the commander knew.

The demon was an army in itself.

Moreover, possessing the power to control wyverns.

‘Even at the minimum, we must assume they have strength equal to our defense force…’

It was the moment when the commander was about to gauge the distance to the knight and give the order to fire.

The knight charged.

Thud, thud, thud, the ground shook with heavy footsteps. The wyverns still had not fully grasped the situation.

The movement was imposing but not sluggish. The knight approached the gate in the blink of an eye.

‘Does he intend to act as a battering ram alone?!’ The commander’s astonishment.

However, the knight’s direction was not towards the gate. He ran towards the wall─

And climbed it directly.

Clad in full plate armor and wielding a greatsword, he scaled the nearly vertical cliff as if the weight was nothing. It was a siege strategy of superhumans, something the commander had only read about in historical texts. A lone warrior with physical abilities so extraordinary that the city walls were rendered meaningless.

To counter such a brute-force siege strategy, a mage was necessary. Barrier magic that made entry impossible even if the walls were breached.

However, this gateway city had no such mage. To be precise, the mage was absent.

Had the city’s advisor mage not been away, the citizens would not have been too afraid of the wyvern attacks to leave the gates.

In mere seconds, dozens of thoughts flashed through the commander’s mind. It was a moment like a revolving lantern of life.

But the commander’s instincts, ingrained as an officer of the empire, did not allow him to waste time condemning the absent mage.

“Commence firing!”

It was a desperate order to somehow stop the intruder. But the black knight moved a step faster than the commander’s order.

He soared to a height higher than the cannon’s range. Thus, the defenders’ attacks naturally failed.

However, the knight did not cross the wall. Reaching the edge of the wall, he kicked off it. His target was the wyvern’s nape.

Without hesitation, his weighted kick struck the wyvern’s neck precisely. A cracking sound echoed in the air.

Kriel transferred the recoil to the wyvern and leaped. While the wyvern was still unable to distinguish friend from foe, he had to deliver the maximum impact.

His target was the largest and highest-flying wyvern among the group. Using the wall and a wyvern as a springboard, Kriel finally ascended to a height higher than the lead wyvern.

In mid-air, he adjusted the direction of his greatsword. Gripping the blade firmly with both hands, he aimed it at the ground.

And then, he fell.

Sensing the approaching shadow, the wyvern instinctively flapped its wings. But it was a mistake. The greatsword’s blade pierced the wyvern’s wing membrane.

The acceleration of the fall, combined with the heavy weight and the torn wing, deprived the wyvern of the sky. With the wyvern’s scream, the knight descended.

──!

With a thunderous crash that shook the wall, the lead wyvern’s wings were broken. The greatsword’s blade, which had torn through the wings, shattered the pavement stones and embedded itself deep into the ground.

The lead wyvern’s body, having absorbed the full impact of the fall, was completely shattered. Only now did the scent of blood spread.

The wyverns, realizing that the black knight was not their ally, began to rage furiously. Their claws and tails lunged at Kriel.

At that moment, the border guards’ belated attack continued. They couldn’t attack Kriel when he soared higher than the cannon’s range, but the story changed when he descended.

The soldiers reflexively followed the latest orders. It could be seen as an unconscious action in a state of panic.

However, at this moment, the commander was the only one maintaining his composure. His mind calmly assessed the situation. The knight was an enemy of the wyverns.

‘But the wyverns are our enemies, so the enemy of our enemy is a friend, right?’

‘…Huh?’

“Cease fire! Cease fire!!”

Overwhelmed by the atmosphere, he hadn’t thought it through, but the direction the black knight had come from was the Holy Kingdom to the west. He might be a paladin, not a vanguard of the abyss.

The commander was filled with mixed emotions at the thought that he might have turned the reinforcements into targets with his own hands.

He was not a devout believer, but this time, he fervently prayed to the entire pantheon.

A place swept by arrows, gunpowder smoke, and magic.

Fortunately, the Black Knight was still standing. Even amidst the chaos, he had managed to decapitate a few wyverns and use them as a barricade.

The wyvern horde, which still seemed to number around twenty, circled in the air before disappearing somewhere.

They must have realized that they couldn’t withstand the firepower of the border guards while also facing this knight.

The commander swallowed a groan. If the remaining wyverns had charged now, the situation might have been better. Since the attack didn’t occur inside the walls, they could unleash their full firepower of cannons and magic.

Those cunning wyverns knew that humans valued their property and kin. In the early stages of the wyvern attacks, the main assaults took place in bustling areas because they realized it was difficult to attack where there were many people.

This was a rare case of a battle occurring outside the walls. There’s no guarantee that they will attack in such a favorable environment next time.

“Commander, that person is waving their hand after laying down their weapon.”

“…Open the gate. They are a precious ally. We must greet them personally.”

*

As the soldiers opened the gate, I quickly rushed in. Although the wyvern horde had retreated for now, their numbers were still significant. When night falls, even if I can manage, the soldiers’ combat performance will inevitably decline. The thickening darkness will obscure their vision.

Accurate support fire like before cannot be expected without clear sight.

I was inwardly impressed by the precision of that support fire.

It was truly a timely response. As I charged, drawing the wyverns’ attention, and they rushed to attack me.

They concentrated their firepower, including magic and cannon fire, to sweep away the wyverns that had come close to the ground.

Exquisite timing and precise attacks. Even if they had prepared in advance, it would have been difficult to gauge the timing, yet the commander’s adaptability and response were remarkable.

The commander, wearing a helmet adorned with a red plume, indicating a higher rank than the other soldiers, approached me. I raised my hand to my heart and slightly bowed my head.

The heart symbolizes life. It was a greeting meaning a comrade against the abyss.

The commander responded with the same greeting. To ease the atmosphere and understand the situation, I spoke first.

“Truly excellent command.”

“…Pardon?”

“The volley fire against the wyverns. It would have been impossible without accurately predicting the wyverns’ descent following my fall. There must have been a risk of friendly fire, but it was a bold and decisive move.”

For some reason, the commander seemed flustered despite the praise. A humble personality, perhaps?