Chapter 12: Black Forest
"YOUR HIGHNESS!"
Borneo's squealing voice startled Prince Algis, who suddenly pulled on the reins. In front of them, wolves with horns on their heads were scattered. To the left and right of them, there were people dressed in black with a piece of cloth tied around their mouths, like masks.
At the sudden pulling of the reins and the appearance of the black wolf, Algis's horse lifted its legs, dropped Prince Algis, and then galloped away.
Both Borneo and Fearish dismounted immediately.
"Your Highness, are you all right?" asked Borneo worriedly.
Fearish stood in front with his sword raised. The other knights also marched behind Prince Algis.
Except for the pain in his lower body from hitting the ground so hard. Prince Algis felt pretty good now.
"Yes, I am fine!" said Prince Algis as he stood up and then drew his sword.
The wolf in front of him was a magic beast that could be tamed by treaty. Prince Algis had never seen so many magic beasts before, except in the fairy tale books he read as a child. There were 15 wolves. The men in black were twice as many as the wolves.
"RISE AND PROTECT THE GLORY!"
A cry for an answer came from behind. Burning each other's spirits. Prince Algis' group was vastly outnumbered by the attacking party. They must survive this attack.
The wolf in front of them pounced on Prince Algis first. Then the black-robed ones rushed at the knights. Fearlessly, the knights fend off the wolves that keep coming. The only target was Prince Algis.
"Damn it!" Algis cursed as the claws of one of the wolves ripped the cloth from his arm. He backed away, bringing his back closer to Borneo, who was also beginning to feel overwhelmed.
Three people holding back 5 wolves that were magical beasts was difficult, of course. Besides, they seemed to be trained in this kind of battle. They were jumping and kicking each other. Prince Algis could smell the iron and the rancid smell of blood in the air. Now and then a wolf howled.
"Look out, Your Majesty!" Borneo shouted.
A black-robed man lunged at Algis, his sword thrust forward. Prince Algis reacted too late, only a few more seconds and the iron object would pierce his stomach. The clashing of the iron and the flash of fire from the clashing iron brought Prince Algis back to consciousness. Fascinated by the edge of death that was only inches away, Prince Algis fell.
Prince Algis stared at the back of the knight who had just saved him from death, towering like a solid wall protecting the kingdom. He felt like a little Prince Algis, mesmerized by the solidity of the towering wall.
"Where did your sword lead you, bastard?"
Prince Algis blinked, realizing that the back wasn't a wall. His towering back belonged to a knight he had wanted to belittle earlier. The one in his head had planned to be banished.
Whoever the knight was, he had jumped from his position and had just saved Prince Algis.
You can't hate someone in your position, Prince Algis. Remember who you are. Don't follow your feelings, and see the potential in the person you hate. Maybe one day he'll save you.
***
The shadow disappeared as people dressed in black suddenly jumped out of the bushes on both sides of the road. Cyril was stunned for a moment, then realized that death was upon him. He had unconsciously drawn his sword before he had even heard the message from the Knight Captain of the Seventh Squad ahead of him.
He could even hear the howling of the wolf ahead.
"Annoying!" he said angrily as he mounted his horses. This is what happens when you rush away unprepared. The guard knights were good at that, but their training opponents were fellow knights, not people in blackout to kill.
The people in black didn't speak at all, but they jumped and swung their swords at the same time. Cyril could feel their killing aura as they approached and blocked the attack. He kicked and swung his sword with all his might, even stronger than when he faced the captain of the knights who accidentally glanced at him in front of him. The captain of the seventh knight seemed overwhelmed by the wolves that jumped up and tried to bite everything they could.
"You die!" one of the men in black shouted as he threw something in the shape of a ball at Cyril.
Cyril quickly parried with his sword and returned the object to the thrower. The ball-shaped object exploded, knocking down the thrower and injuring two others.
"Bomb? Did they find it now? It's not just magic?" muttered Cyril, surprised by the explosion.
He couldn't imagine his body receiving the blast. Cyril could die.
"You bastards!" shouted Cyril as he charged.
He could see the look of astonishment in the eyes of the black-robed people. What's wrong with cursing? He slashed at an enemy who screamed before falling.
In a flash, Cyril saw Prince Algis fall to the ground, stunned, and an enemy in front of him ready to attack. Cyril couldn't pull himself back, suddenly he had already parried the enemy's attack with his sword.
Even if he dies, I might be free from the fate of death!
He sighed, angry with himself. "Are you alright, Your Majesty?"
He didn't get an answer, but he could hear the sound of swords rubbing against the pebbles on the ground. Algis picked up his fallen sword and got to his feet. Soon, the crown prince of the Emperatriz Kingdom was standing to his right.
Several more wolves jumped at them, Cyril swung his sword at the wolves, and Algis did the same. Borneo joined Algis and the captain of Fearish. The three wolves decided to retreat, howling as they came back to the edge of the bush, calling out to the rest of the herd. Unfortunately, Cyril was killed, except for the three who escaped.
The remaining black-robed ones did the same.
"Don't go after them!" Cyril shouted at the two knights who wanted to follow him.
The captain of the knights, who was nearby, glared warningly. The nobleman must have thought that Cyril had just defied authority. But he hardly cared.
"The same people are probably waiting in their hideout, aren't they? You'll be killed before you even know it's a trap," Cyril explained without even looking at the captain. He was tired and wanted to rest soon.
Prince Algis, who was standing next to him, cleared his throat. "The knight is right, we better continue our journey and reach Fort Vander!"
Cyril knew Fort Vander, he had read about it. In the original story, he fought the bandits there and rescued Crown Princess Adriana. It was there that he fell in love, regardless of Adriana's status.
Cyril looked at the bodies of the attackers strewn across the road. The story does not describe what happened to the bodies after the battle at Fort Vander. After the battle, the troops returned to bring Adriana.
Cyril imagined the corpses rotting, and it made him sick.
"What do you think, Knight Cyril?" Captain Fearish noticed the change in Cyril's expression.
"Shouldn't we clean up these corpses first?" Cyril pointed out.
Prince Algis turned his head toward the knight he didn't like. "Oh, that's right! We can't have these bodies strewn all over the streets."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone