Surviving as a Knight in a Trash Game

Chapter 11

Just like the martial sects in wuxia novels, numerous knight orders were scattered throughout the world.

Formed in pursuit of profit during the chaos that followed the emperor’s death, these groups were often no different from gangs, wielding unchecked power wherever they pleased.

“At first, a knight order of about thirty people settled here. They weren’t strange from the beginning.

They drove away bandits who eyed the farmland beyond the walls, and sometimes even protected merchant caravans. It was almost a symbiotic relationship.

But over time, they revealed their true colors. They started collecting protection money.

The money they take ends up in the hands of the local lord and the famous Alcantara Knights.

They’ve always called themselves a knight order, but now it’s become even harder for common people like us to speak up.”

The Alcantara Knights she mentioned were a large order, rivaling even the Holy Knights in scale.

They had over a thousand knights and consolidated smaller regional orders, acting like kings in their territories.

Usually, the western regions were influenced by both the Holy Knights and the Alcantara Knights—

the southwest under the Holy Knights’ influence, and the northwest under the Alcantara Knights’.

The Alcantara Knights were faithful to their desires—more wealth, higher status, and increasing privileges were what they pursued.

“In the past ten years, their influence has grown uncontrollably.

And in the middle of it all, it’s people like us who end up suffering.”

She filled her cup with the liquor she brought and downed it in one go.

“Why are you telling me this story?”

“No reason. You look like a knight, but you don’t seem like one of them.

So tell me—why do they do it? These so-called knights?

Don’t you all swear to uphold chivalry?”

“Seems knightings have gotten simple these days. You fond of old tales?”

At Karl’s comment, the innkeeper nodded.

“I read them a lot when I was younger.

Stories where noble ladies and loyal, righteous knights fight against evil and triumph.”

“You can read?”

“…”

“There’s no such thing in reality. Even in the old days, cases like that were rare.”

“…You're cold.”

She kept drinking in response to Karl’s words.

She looked to be in her mid-twenties, and even for Karl, who had wandered this world for fifteen years, she was strikingly beautiful.

There seemed to be many around her who admired her, and Karl could feel the jealous stares directed at him.

“You seem tired.”

“Yeah, I am. My husband didn’t even make it this far—he died on the road.

Two years ago, I wandered in here alone with nothing but a coin pouch and took over this inn… and look at it now.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“You’ve got a strange charm.”

“You mean I’m handsome.”

“Ugh, the fact that you know it is annoying.”

As they exchanged drinks, Karl stood up first and headed to his room.

Not long after, the innkeeper, glancing around cautiously, handed things off to a staff member and followed him upstairs.

“I’m Anne.”

“Karl.”

Even after they exchanged names, she quietly sat on the bed and continued talking.

***

The next morning, Karl woke to find Anne no longer beside him.

He grabbed his sword, planning to do a bit of training, and went downstairs.

“You can’t just hike the price 10% out of nowhere! What are we supposed to live on?”

“Anne, how many guys do you think drop by here just for your face?

If we’re keeping them from doing anything stupid, that protection’s worth paying for.”

They seemed to be thugs working for the Dalton Knights.

“Bullshit! Just the other day, some mercs got into a knife fight right in here!

Even if I wanted to die drunk, I couldn’t afford it!”

“Tsk. That’s what happens when you can’t pay.”

One of the men picked up one of the few unbroken wooden chairs and smashed it hard on the floor. Nails and splinters flew.

“One silver for the chair.”

Anne, clearly a woman who had survived on her own here, wasn’t easy to deal with.

But then, one of the gang slapped her across the face.

Smack!

With a loud crack, her lip split as she fell to the ground.

No matter how strong-willed she was, there was no way she could stay standing in front of raw violence, when all she had were survival instincts.

“Are you crazy? The Dalton Knights said not to touch her face.

Something about their captain being concerned or whatever.”

“Look at her attitude. If she doesn’t fall in line, we’ll just tie her up and toss her over!”

While the thugs were exchanging glares, no one noticed Anne’s fingertips quietly slipping into her sleeve.

“…”

Karl hadn’t planned to get involved. But there was a connection—however small—so he walked forward slowly.

“What now?”

As Karl casually stepped between Anne and the thugs, the five men scowled in unison.

“Look, you must be some Free Knight who doesn’t know his place.

We’ve got the Dalton Knights behind us—and behind them, the Alcantara Knights.

If you slept well, you should just be on your way.”

Even they didn’t want a conflict with a knight, so they used the most respectful tone their low lives could muster.

“No.”

“You mad? Didn’t you hear what I said? I said Alcantara. The Alcantara Knights.”

Heh.

At Karl’s smirk, their faces turned red and blue.

“Sir Knight, did you just laugh?”

“You’re out here shaking down pocket change and name-dropping the Alcantara Knights. Should I cry instead?”

At his blunt words, Anne, still collapsed on the floor, burst out laughing.

“You little— I was gonna let you off— ugh!”

Karl’s fist slammed straight into the man’s gut.

The hit landed perfectly, making him vomit up last night’s meal and collapse, unable to breathe.

The remaining thugs seemed to realize this was beyond them, and fled without even looking back.

“Karl… that was a mistake. You should’ve just looked the other way.”

“Maybe. Too late now.”

His answer made Anne smile—worried, but also amused.

“Now you have to run. Those guys will bring the Dalton Knights soon.

And they really do have ties to the Alcantara Knights.”

“I’ll handle that.

Can I get a beer? And some roast pork too.

It didn’t smell too bad yesterday.”

At his calm reply, she made a face like she couldn’t believe him, shrugged, and went off to cook.

“Oh, and this.”

Karl tossed a small box-like object toward her.

“For your face. It’s a pretty effective medicine. Use it and return it.”

His tone was indifferent, but the corners of Anne’s lips lifted.

“If you’re going to give it, just give it. What’s with asking for it back?”

Grumbling outwardly, she went off to prepare food. Soon, the pork and a lukewarm but drinkable beer were placed in front of Karl, and just as the meal was about to end, the sound of hooves echoed around the area.

Bang!

The door burst open, nearly off its hinges, and a group of knights entered the inn. They marched straight toward Karl.

“You. Was it you?”

Karl didn’t respond. He put the last piece of pork into his mouth, chewing slowly, and lifted the beer mug with the final sip inside.

Ten knights surrounded Karl, and in the middle of them, Karl remained focused on his food in a strange standoff.

Since arriving in this world, Karl had established one rule for himself.

Do not form ties recklessly.

This wasn’t a safe, prosperous world like Korea from the era he lived in.

The most valuable thing that could be entangled in a relationship here wasn’t money—it was life.

Karl rarely broke that rule. Except on days like today.

“You can’t live by your principles alone, huh…”

Downing the last sip of beer, Karl slowly stood up.

“What’s he mumbling by himself?”

The third squad leader of the Dalton Knights frowned deeply as he watched Karl rise, muttering to himself.

“So, there’s nothing more to say.”

As Karl’s hand went for his sword, blood suddenly spurted from the third squad leader’s wrist. The gauntlet he wore didn’t block a thing.

“Wh-what…?”

Staring blankly at his wrist, stunned by the sudden bleeding, the squad leader finally realized what happened and screamed.

“Captain!?”

Even though their leader had just been attacked, the so-called knights hesitated to move. If they were ordinary street thugs, they might have rushed in blindly.

But anyone who had actually wielded a sword could tell—what Karl had just shown was a strike of extraordinary skill.

“Aaaagh! Attack him! Kill him! I said kill him!”

Marcus, clutching his bleeding wrist, shouted at his men, but none of them moved. They just glanced nervously at one another.

As they tried to decide who would go in first, Karl let out a dry chuckle.

“Knights, huh? You’re no different from that Stewart Gang of gutter rats.”

Despite his mocking tone, the supposedly proud knights of the Dalton Knights couldn’t move their frozen legs.

“On the count of three, we go together!”

One of them, mustering some courage, shouted a countdown. And with that, nine knights simultaneously lunged at Karl.

They believed that among the nine, at least one of them could get behind him. But then, Karl stepped forward to meet them head-on.

“What…!?”

Contrary to their expectations that he would retreat, Karl rushed in faster than they could react and slashed behind the ankle of the leading knight.

As blood sprayed and the first knight was taken down, Karl’s sword soared upward toward the next target.

“Gah!”

Seeing the blade flying toward him, one of the Dalton knights instinctively dropped to the ground.

Just as he sighed in relief for avoiding the blow, blood burst from the chest of the knight behind him.

Shrouded in screams like a veil, Karl pushed forward relentlessly.

Before anyone realized it, he had already broken through the encirclement.

In just one clash, three knights had been incapacitated.

While everyone’s attention was drawn to the astonishing scene Karl had created, only Anne—the innkeeper—was looking into his eyes.

‘Why do his eyes look so empty…?’

Anne had never seen eyes like that before.

Two more knights fell soon after, and the remaining five began dragging the injured away from the inn.

Karl, having shaken the blood off his sword, calmly returned to his seat as if nothing had happened.

“One more beer.”

Startled back to her senses by Karl’s order, she brought out a beer and set it in front of him.

It was just a simple glass of beer, but for a moment, life flickered in Karl’s otherwise empty eyes.

“Is it good?”

“It’s a decent ale, for once.”

Watching Karl, Anne found herself wishing she could look at him a little longer.

“Will you stay another night?”

Karl nodded.

And later that night, the two of them talked again, just like the night before.

“If I asked you to stay, would you?”

“No. You already know that.”

“I do. I just wanted to ask anyway.”

Karl answered her quietly, without words.

“That necklace… Does it have a story?”

Noticing the subtly glinting necklace, Karl asked.

“My mother passed it down to me. It reminds me of who I was.”

Gazing at the necklace for a bit longer, Karl turned away and closed his eyes. Soon after, he shifted beside the now-sleeping Anne and leaned his body against the bed.

[Necklace of the Gloster Imperial Family: Crafted by the empire’s founding emperor through the greatest jeweler of the time, only 33 were ever made. They were to be inherited and worn solely by the emperor’s direct bloodline. Not meant for vanity or decoration, the necklace is nearly unknown and its appearance is modest despite its significance.]

The past Anne spoke of was likely all a lie—except, perhaps, for the part about reading a lot of books. Her name, too, was probably not the real one she inherited from her parents.

And at the edge of Karl’s senses, he faintly felt the presence of figures with unclear intentions.

That didn’t bother him.

What mattered was not knowing what this connection would eventually lead to.

***

Anne woke to find the space beside her empty.

She thought the past three days felt like a dream. She also thought the vanished Karl resembled the protagonist of a traveling knight tale.

A gentle breeze flowed through the window.

And into that scene—like a page from a story—stepped a figure that didn’t belong: a shadowy silhouette of a person.

The figure knelt on one knee before Anne.

“…”

At that moment, the gentle, smiling country innkeeper disappeared.

“Find out everything you can about the Free Knight named Karl. His family, background, level, behavioral principles, goals, relationships—everything.”

To her dry voice, the kneeling shadow bowed lower, then disappeared from the room.

A warm breeze quietly crept back in.

“Don’t die, wandering Free Knight.”