Chapter 250: A Magnificent Siege Defense and Close Combat

A flash of silver light shot toward my face, as if being drawn in. It felt like slow motion as a beautiful double-edged straight sword filled my vision.

I thought it was a straight sword, but it was closer to a rapier. It was a bit long, but had a sharp tip that looked like it would pierce well.

Just as the tip of the sword came close enough to touch my face, a high-pitched sound rang out, and sparks scattered before my eyes.

The ear-splitting sound of metal clashing against metal. And a light that made me instinctively close my eyes. I reflexively threw myself to the ground, rolling to avoid the next attack.

“Tch!”

Just as I heard the click of a tongue, another high-pitched sound rang out the next instant.

“Lord Van, please run!”

Hearing that desperate cry, I realized the situation must be dire and tried rolling sideways along the ground. The mysterious enemy was probably slightly to my right, thrusting with their right hand. So, I tried rolling to the left to put some distance between us.

I didn’t have time to slowly consider all this, so I moved intuitively. As if to prove my intuition correct, I heard the sound of something striking the ground right next to my right ear, and I felt the vibration.

“You dodged it!”

This seemed to be a different person from the one who clicked their tongue earlier. I got a little dirt in my mouth, but that didn’t matter. It was bitter and gritty, but without complaining, I pushed myself up with both hands.

The moment I looked up, I saw two men standing before me. To my right, Khamsin was facing two other individuals. All of them held swords and, without hesitation, thrust them toward me.

“Hyoe!?”

Reflexively, I kicked off the ground and jumped further to the left like I was doing side-to-side jumps, but a weird voice came out. Embarrassing.

“He’s quick!”

“Aim for the legs!”

“I’ll circle around!”

These four men must be highly trained. Speaking almost simultaneously, they changed formation like a single organism, trying to surround me. They were all dressed in black, with no visible armor. They might be wearing chainmail or protective gear under their clothes, but they looked lightly equipped.

Perhaps because of that, two of the four moved diagonally backward with surprising speed. If I got surrounded by two in front and two behind, I’d be helpless.

However, one of them quickly broke formation and turned his back on me. Wondering what was happening, I heard a series of high-pitched sounds from beyond the man.

“I won’t let you pass!”

It was Khamsin. Khamsin, who was still only about shoulder-height to the opponents, was desperately swinging his katana to block the man’s path. His blade should be extremely sharp, but what were those men’s swords made of? Could they be made of materials superior to Mythril?

For a moment, the three men stopped, their gazes wavering as they considered whether to defeat Khamsin first. Then, a low female voice came from further behind the men.

“One is enough for that child. The rest of you, aim for the Baron as planned.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

It seemed there was someone commanding them in the background.

“…I guess running away isn’t an option, is it?”

Laughing nervously, I drew my personal weapons from my waist. Two single-edged swords made of Orichalcum.

“Tonight, my beloved blades may or may not be thirsty for blood… Whoa!?”

I tried to pose with a sword in each hand to buy even a little time, but an uncouth fellow judged it as an opening and thrust his sword at me. While frantically swinging both swords and retreating, I managed to deflect the opponent’s sword with the flat of my blade. It was incredibly lucky that I blocked it, but greedily speaking, if I had hit it with the edge, I might have been able to slice through the opponent’s sword.

Not giving me time to think such things, the men closed in with swords in hand, one after another.

“Damn it! My popularity phase has arrived!”

Feeling like I wanted to cry, I swung my swords wildly while backing away. The opponent’s swords thrust at me from three directions like rain, but I somehow managed to dodge at the last second.

But I was reaching my limit.

“Tsa…!”

An impact ran through my hand, and I dropped one of the swords I was holding. A downward swing had struck the sword I swung sideways. The shock made me involuntarily let go, and I lost one of my precious beloved swords.

“Ouch! My hand is numb!”

Pain and impatience made me complain out loud. At that, the three men grinned.

“V-Van-sama…!”

Although he was a bit far away, Khamsin noticed my situation and shouted. Then, swinging his katana horizontally with all his might, he rushed toward me. Perhaps that strike was different from previous ones, because the man facing Khamsin took a full defensive stance with his sword.

And the man’s sword was severed in a single blow by Khamsin’s katana. Since it was a slash while running toward me, the man was unharmed, but it surely contributed to stalling him and reducing their combat power.

On the other hand, his master, Van-kun, was currently suffering a massive reduction in combat power. To top it off, he was cornered and on the verge of being slashed. Embarrassing.

As I was thinking that, the three men noticed Khamsin’s approach and, without a word, began their respective actions. Surprisingly, they ignored Khamsin approaching from behind and all ran toward me. I could see the determination to achieve their goal even if they died.

Even I have been trained by Dee. Although not as good as Khamsin, I pride myself on being able to fight on equal footing with Arb and Law. Against two, I could have bought some time. If one had gone for Khamsin, I think I could have fought a little. But against three, I was helpless. Khamsin wouldn’t make it in time, either. Maybe it was time to prepare for the end.

“…If I die, Khamsin, please protect Till and Arte.”

While watching the three men approaching with swords at the ready, I spoke words like a last will to Khamsin. It wasn’t very loud, but it seemed to reach him.

“…LORD VAAAAN!!“

Hearing Khamsin’s blood-curdling scream, I kicked the ground and jumped further to the left to increase my chances of survival even a little. Even if three were coming from three directions, moving left would bring me closer to the enemy on the left, but allow me to distance myself from the opponent on the right, the direction Khamsin was coming from. I wanted a moment, however brief, where it was one-on-one instead of three-at-once.

I moved while desperately deflecting the opponent’s sword. As planned, I managed to deflect one sword. But the second and third swords were closing in. The probability was low, but I might be able to deflect the central opponent’s sword with a return stroke. But what about the third one? It was impossible; I wouldn’t make it in time for a third action.

No, thinking is useless now. All I can do is risk my life to block the second sword. Maybe I can avoid a fatal wound from the third sword.

The hope is slim, but that should be the best option.

A moment of thought and judgment. Despite the critical situation, my senses were sharpened more keenly than ever before.

As a result, I was able to twist my body more accurately than I expected. Leaning my upper body diagonally to absorb the force, I twisted my hips and returned the sword at maximum speed, swinging it toward the second man’s sword.

A high-pitched sound rang out, and the impact shot through to my little finger. With swordsmanship I wanted to praise myself for, I deflected the second man’s sword and blocked the attack.

But, as anticipated, there was nothing I could do about the third sword. Having returned the sword swung left at maximum speed and swung it through to the right, I had dropped my hips and lowered my center of gravity to stabilize the blade path, leaving me in a state where I absolutely could not move immediately.

I might really die this time.

Watching the tip of the sword thrust out at terrifying speed, I thought this with a sense of detachment.

However, the next moment, the sword disappeared from before my eyes. The deadly weapon aimed at me suddenly vanished.

The figure of the man holding the sword remained. As proof, he was still reaching out in the posture of holding a sword. Was he trying to kill me by some other method? No, that didn’t seem to be the case. After all, the man who had been holding the sword was also surprised and had stopped in his tracks.

“W-what happened…!?”

With a demonic expression, the man looked back and forth between his own hand and my face, then immediately reached for his waist to pull something out.

In that interval, Khamsin, who had come to assist from behind, caught up. Slashed in his defenseless back, the man let out a muffled scream and collapsed to the ground.

“…A-are you alright… Lord Van…”

Breathing heavily, Khamsin spoke. In his hands, a katana and a sword were gripped.