#75 The Phantom Dauphin (19) – The Thief’s Unleashing

“The Order’s gone mad! The Order’s trying to kill us all!!”

“Eileen! Max! Where are you?! Answer me!!”

“R-run!! We’ll all die if we stay here!!”

Following the declaration of war echoing across Levruk.

The terrified citizens of the slums scrambled to flee.

Desperate to escape their district and move elsewhere.

However, those who reached the outer edge of the slums first could only feel bewilderment.

“T-the road is blocked…?”

Junk, collapsed building rubble, even carts.

All sorts of obstructions were preventing the citizens of the slums from escaping.

If they were intent on scaling the obstacles, perhaps a soul or two might flee, but the entirety of the slum’s inhabitants escaping was an impossibility.

Along the main thoroughfares, fully armed knights, apprentice knights, and auxiliaries stood in formation, their eyes gleaming with a strange excitement, a fervor.

“Advance.”

“Aye!!”

*Thud!*

Each time the Sarnos Knights took a step forward in unison, the ground trembled, sending a heavy thrum of impact rippling through the surrounding area.

“Ah, ugh, ahhh!”

Terror-stricken citizens scrambled to flee in the opposite direction of the knights, but the knights made no particular effort to apprehend them.

The knights were deployed in a manner that suggested they were encircling the slum.

Barring a breach of the encirclement itself, those within were destined to be cornered, their escape routes dwindling.

Of course, that did not mean the knights were merely walking politely down the streets.

*Crunch! Crack! Smash!*

They kicked over street stalls scattered along the way, smashed down doors, ransacked the interiors of buildings, or even collapsed the buildings themselves.

Ostensibly, the reason was to locate Dopehng, who might be hiding inside the buildings, but it was plain to see that this was merely a pretext.

A display.

To Dopehng, and to the citizens of Lebeuruque, to once again engrave upon them the nature of the knights, the force they possessed.

The action was effective; those citizens who had, just this morning, directed criticism or angry gazes towards the knights, were now as silent as mice.

Not only those inside the slum, but even those watching the spectacle from outside the encirclement.

The sight of knights literally ‘dismantling’ buildings with their bare hands, reducing them to piles of debris, was enough to instill instinctive fear in ordinary people.

Perhaps sensing this atmosphere, the knights’ actions grew more violent and intense as time passed.

The knights, already stressed from various matters as of late, found the activity of smashing whatever came to hand to be immensely refreshing.

Watching the citizens scream and desperately struggle to escape them, each knight wore a smile, their eyes gleaming with madness.

Yes.

*This* was the proper state of affairs.

It had been abnormal until now, these base creatures daring to unleash criticism and fury upon those who were strong and noble, without knowing their place!

“Uwaaah!”

“No, Max!!”

Among the fleeing citizens, a young boy tripped and burst into tears.

A man, seemingly the boy’s father, tried to pick him up and flee with him, but his movements were sluggish, perhaps because he was already holding a girl in one arm.

A light of vicious joy glimmered in the knights’ eyes.

Deliberately smashing buildings and furniture, just to terrify the people, was a rather pleasant amusement. But the sight of crimson blood, he was beginning to think, wouldn’t be so bad either.

The sword, raised high, descended.

“─I cannot help but concede, this was a misjudgment.”

However, before the blade could touch the family, a shadow, appearing from somewhere, kicked the knight with brutal force, sending him flying.

*Thwack!*

One of the knights went tumbling, while mannequin-like dolls seized the man and the children, ushering them to safety.

Blocking the path between the fleeing dolls and the knights, stood a man, his voice a murmur steeped in melancholy.

“Even so, I never imagined that those who call themselves ‘knights’ would be so base, so ignorant, so utterly devoid of shame.”

A suit the color of port wine. A wide-brimmed hat. A half-cape covering his arm below his right shoulder.

The playful smile, almost a trademark, had vanished. Sarnos Knights’ eyes widened, locking onto Dauphin’s face, a mask of chilling resolve.

“It’s Dauphin! Dauphin’s here!!”

“You damn thief! Do you even know what humiliation you’ve put us through!?”

“Last time we were caught off guard, but it’ll be different this time!!”

*Whump!*

Three knights slammed their feet into the ground simultaneously, their bodies shooting forward like arrows.

A speed and agility more akin to wild beasts than men.

But Dauphin effortlessly dodged their swinging swords, simultaneously embedding several playing cards into their armor.

*Pzzzzzzzt!*

Intense electrical currents surged from the cards, forcibly halting the knights’ movements, driving their knees to the ground.

It seemed like a perfect subjugation, but Dauphin, who had made the cards himself, knew better.

An attack sufficient to incapacitate an ordinary person, would only offer temporary paralysis against a 4th Circle knight.

Dauphin was about to deliver a finishing blow, but stopped himself.

Seeing their fellow knights taken down, the apprentice knights in the rear unleashed a volley of crossbow bolts toward Dauphin.

*Thwip thwip thwip!*

The time spent evading was but a fraction of a second, but that brief window was all it took for another knight to appear from nowhere, swinging his sword at Dauphin.

Parry that, and there’s another one.

Parry that, and yet another new foe.

The number of those targeting Dauphin only increased with each passing moment, and even for Dauphin, it was impossible to subdue them all at once.

“Don’t be afraid! He’s good at running away, but his firepower isn’t that high!!”

“Don’t conserve mana, keep the enhancements at maximum! Just think of the small attacks as something you can endure with your body!!”

Had Dauphin employed his specialty of ambush and deception, of hit-and-run tactics to whittle away at the Order’s strength bit by bit, he might have had a chance.

He need look no further than the Sarnos Knights already gathered at the manor, whom he had so thoroughly outmaneuvered before.

Which meant, conversely, that even for Dauphin, facing the Order in a full-scale battle like this was utter folly.

Yet, even in this situation, Dauphin could not choose to flee.

The instant he vanished again, the Sarnos Knights were the kind of men who would not hesitate to massacre the citizens.

Even so, Dauphin did not surrender.

Even as the stockpile of magical artifacts he’d amassed dwindled at an alarming rate.

Even as his once pristine suit was soiled with blood and dust.

Even as his body became a tapestry of wounds, with scarcely a place left unmarked.

He did his utmost to fell even one more knight, to buy the people even a moment more to escape.

“Long have I sought you. At last, I gaze upon your face.”

As if mocking Dauphin’s struggles, the Order Commander’s blade sliced through Dauphin’s right arm.

*Thwack!*

Blood erupted in a fountain, and the cloak that had shielded Dauphin’s torso fluttered to the ground.

Neither the cloak, which could deflect even sword auras, nor the specially tailored suit that enhanced his strength, were of any consequence against the 5th Circle’s sword ki, which sliced through everything like tofu.

Clutching the wound where his arm had been, Dauphin spoke.

“I understand your desire to draw me out. But surely, a mere threat would have sufficed. If you had simply conveyed your demand for me to appear, I would have gladly shown myself! There was no need to wield your swords upon my people!”

“Yes, perhaps you would have. But why should I?”

“What?”

The Order Commander glared at Dauphin, his eyes filled with rage, and continued.

“This city needs a lesson. A lesson for daring to underestimate the Sarnos Knights, for daring to voice discontent and opposition to the Order’s actions. I may not be able to slaughter the entire citizenry, but at least, an example is in order.”

His voice was terribly steady.

The name of the Sarnos Knights weighed heavily.

If simply killing a few paupers could restore the reverence for the Order, there was no reason to hesitate, or so he genuinely seemed to believe.

“—Do you think, I’ll let you?”

And in this city, there was someone who could never accept the Order Commander’s twisted logic.

*Vwooom!*

Dahlia hurled her spear, lunging towards the Order Commander.

The Commander, dodging the attack with a slight twist of his body, raised an eyebrow upon seeing the interloper.

“Prison break. Assaulting a superior officer. Aiding a heinous criminal. Where should I even begin? Have you finally lost your mind? Or have you come to openly admit you were Dauphin’s accomplice? Answer me, 8th Squad Leader.”

“Neither. I am merely a guard of this city, here to stop the ‘thieves’ who threaten the lives of its citizens.”

“Then I understand even less. If it’s thieves you seek, isn’t one standing right behind you?”

“No, this man is certainly a criminal, but at least he isn’t the thief I must apprehend right now.”

*Thud.*

Dressed in common clothes instead of armor.

Her face uncovered, not hidden behind her usual visor, clutching only a spear.

Dahlia declared without the slightest hesitation, or uncertainty.

“─Knight Commander. No, the Sarnos Knights. You are the ones who are the bandits, calling yourselves a knightly order.”

Someone gasped.

The sight of a mere territorial guard accusing a knightly order representing an entire family of being ‘bandits’ made everyone doubt their eyes.

And what of those being accused?

“…Do not think you will have an easy death, *woman*.”

Rage.

No, unbridled fury was a more fitting description of the situation.

The Knight Commander, the Vice Commander, and the other members of the knightly order, all bristled at Dahlia’s statement, radiating a palpable killing intent.

Yet, even in this situation, Dahlia showed not a sliver of fear.

As if bothered by this sight, one of the common knights stepped forward.

“Commander! There’s no need for you to dirty your hands personally! Leave this woman to me!”

The Knight Commander stared at the knight for a moment, before finally replying curtly.

“Granted. But do not take too long.”

“Thank you!”

Having received permission, the knight then glared at Dahlia with burning eyes.

Still harboring resentment for being overpowered by her during Dahlia’s arrest, he intended to return the humiliation he had felt back then.

– *Snap!*

No matter how strong Dahlia’s physical prowess, such strength is meaningless if she can’t land a blow.

The knight’s body moved in a zigzag pattern, rushing towards Dahlia.

Seeing Dahlia standing there blankly, seemingly unable to react to his erratic movements, the knight wore a triumphant smile.

‘You foolish wench. You’ll regret your arrogance of coming to the battlefield without even wearing armor!’

A strike, empowered further by magic, wielding the highest-grade longsword presented to the knightly order by Count Sarnos.

A chop that could cleave even a massive log like butter, struck Dahlia’s shoulder—

Towering.

– The knight’s sword stopped dead.

“?”

A question mark momentarily consumed the knight’s mind.

But before he could fully comprehend and analyze the question, the spear Dahlia wielded slammed into his side.

This was no mere metaphor; getting hit by a carriage would’ve been preferable.

The armor, once the pride of the knight order, crumpled like flimsy tin, crushing the flesh, bone, and organs within to match its distorted form.

Unable to fully dissipate the immense force, the knight’s body skipped across the ground two or three times, like a flat stone on water, each bounce contorting his limbs in grotesque directions.

KWA-A-A-ANG! RUMBLE!

The wooden structure, one the knight order had to ‘disassemble’ piece by piece, painstakingly, collapsed in an instant, solely from the impact with the knight.

While everyone stood speechless at the absurd spectacle,

Dahlia declared, unperturbed.

“When subduing criminals within the city, we prioritize capture whenever possible. However, if the lives of guards or other citizens are endangered, lethal force is authorized.”

A natural born force of violence, yet one who had always restrained her own power with order and discipline, declared to those intoxicated by violence,

“If you understand, then come at me. You thieving scum.”