The Cursed Knight (Blue Triangle Series #1)

Chapter 7: Kill the Leader

“Intruder!”

Arth heard the bandit ahead shouting and ringing the bell on the post beside him. The sound of the bell alerted the whole bandits.

Damn it! Attacking them head on is a terrible idea, Luna! Arth thought. He pulled his Blackwinter sword from its sheath and ran towards the enemies.

Three bandits were already charging towards Arth. The sound of their battle cry was heard as they were holding their swords.

Arth rushed towards the opening with much speed. He dashed forward and swiftly slashed using his heavy sword.

Blood spurted from the wounded neck of the first bandit. He held his b****y neck but he couldn’t breathe anymore.

“He’s fast!” One bandit said.

Another bandit swung his sword to Arth. “You brat!”

Arth intercepted using his blade.

“And you’re too slow,” he said as he stepped forward and head-butted the bandit on the forehead. The bandit fell to the ground.

Arth extended his sword and spun his body which then hit and wounded the other bandit’s chest.

Arth continued heading on to the hideout where he saw more bandits approaching.

At all of a sudden, three golden arrows pierced through the bandits’ heads at lightning speed. Arth turned and saw a golden long bow shining on top of the hill.

A triple accurate shot?!

Arth heard another bandit coming towards him but he was fast enough to pierce his sword through the bandit’s neck. He pulled the sword and ran forward.

Arth reached the hideout which was then filled with more enemies.

They’re so many! Arth grunted while charging forward. Luna, a little help here!

He stopped running and dodged when one bandit swung his sword.

Arth sliced the bandit’s right arm with much speed.

“Gaahhh!” the bandit screamed in pain.

More bandits came to Arth but they were instantly shot in the head by the golden arrows of Luna.

Now, Arth can run towards their leader’s tent. Any bandit who tried to get close to Arth was pierced by Luna’s arrows. And there were no arrows missed or wasted. A true talent of a master archer!

Arth stopped while panting when he reached the largest black tent. Sweat was already flowing from his forehead to his neck. His heart was racing as his breath quickened.  

Arth saw a shadow figure from the inside of the tent. His eyes went up when suddenly a tall and muscular guy wearing black coat came out of the tent. The brute’s one eye was covered with a black strap. He was bald and was carrying an iron axe. He raised his chin with his intimidating eyes looking down at Arth.

Arth’s grip to his sword tightened. His mouth was slightly open while still catching his breath.

He then noticed that more bandits came to him. They’re about twenty and he’s now completely surrounded!

Luna, I wasn’t prepared for this! Arth thought as he looked up to the leader’s face.

“Well, look who’s here,” a dark voice came out in the mouth of the man. “A brat disturbing my sleep.”

Arth swallowed hard the lump on his throat. He’s strong. Stronger than any beast I’ve fought before. But I have to take him down no matter what. They’ve already done much damage to the village already! He prepared his stance and stood hard on the ground.

“I’ll deal with this young warrior myself,” the leader told the bandits surrounding them. “You find and capture that archer in the hill, go!” he shouted.

The bandits ran and left the two of them alone.

“You’re trespassing, kid,”

“Yes I am. And I came here for your head,”

The man laughed shortly and then his face became serious again, “You don’t know who you’re speaking to, you brat.”

“Actually, I know a bald and one-eyed man. You’re probably a Cyclops aren’t you?”

The man grunted in anger and raised his axe up high with both hands.

Okay, now I pissed him off!

He struck his axe down towards Arth with much force.

Arth managed to evade and jumped backwards. The axe hit the ground instead and made it c***k.

Arth’s eyes widened after seeing the damage it made to the ground.

What power! One hit and it could be fatal! I have to be careful.

The man pulled his axe up and swung it again to Arth.

He ducked to avoid it but he did not see the big leg of the man that was about to strike him below. Arth quickly crossed his arms to block it but the kick was too powerful that he was thrown away and rolled to the ground.

Shit! I never saw that coming. I would’ve been knocked out by that kick if I didn’t block it in time!

Arth slowly pushed the ground to lift his body up and stand. He gritted his teeth as he felt the pain in his arms while holding his sword tightly.

He narrowed his eyes. I need to wrap this up already. I can’t afford to take more hits.

Arth rushed forward and swung his sword from the right. The man blocked it using his axe but with Arth’s strength, he was forced to step backward. The man grunted and pushed Arth away.

His attacks are powerful but he’s slow. Arth knew that his speed was his advantage.

He bent his knees and angled his arms with the sword pointing towards the target. I’ll end this in one strike the chief taught me.

He stomped his foot against the ground and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, his focus was now on the man’s neck.

The ground he’s standing on cracked as he pushed his feet with much force to dash swiftly towards the man.

The man also charged towards him and was about to swing his axe.

At one blink… a quick s***h through the flesh was heard when they passed by each other.

As Arth landed on the ground, he heard the man at his back cough hard.

“Speed overcomes strength,” Arth said as he placed his sword back to its sheath.

“How…” the man coughed again.

When Arth turned around, he saw the man already holding his neck as blood spurted from its fresh wound. The dark and thick liquid flowed through his black coat and was already dropping to the ground. He was already on his knees while breathing heavily and then he fell to the ground.

Arth walked towards the bald man and stomped his shoe on his face. The man grunted in pain.

“You’ve done enough garbage already,” he said as he pressed his shoe harder against the bald man’s face. A few seconds later, the man died with its eyes wide open.

“Justice is served,” Arth said as he put his hands on his waist and sighed in relief. He wiped the sweat on his face using his hand.

“Well done!” Arth heard Luna’s voice from behind.

She went towards him and squatted while surveying the dead body. She rubbed her chin and slowly nodded.

“I was about to take his head off with my own arrow, but I guess it’s not necessary,” she chuckled. “I knew you’d make it.”

Arth shrugged as he rubbed his arms because of the pain. “Man, that kick really hit me hard!”

“You can never leave a battlefield unharmed, Arth,” Luna said.

“Then why are you unharmed?”

“You were the only one on the battlefield! I was just a far, covering you in a distance. I would’ve been harmed too if I came here alone,”

“But you have perfect accuracy, Luna. How can you be harmed?”

“I’m not that good in close combat. My forte is only in long range, you see,” Luna replied.

She stood up and started to walk. “Let’s go. We’ll just ask the village guards to burn this hideout along with the dead bodies.”

Arth nodded and rubbed his black hair while looking at the dead body of the leader. This is a first. And I guess this would be the easiest one for me. I know that more powerful opponents await me in the future.

Luna took her arrows from the bodies of the bandits and placed them back on her bag. They walked back towards the village and arrived there an hour later. The people were already on their houses because it’s midnight.

When they entered the elder’s tent, Eleanor immediately stood up from her desk and walked towards them. Luna assured Eleanor that there will be no more bandits that will attack them ever again.  

“Oh may the gods bless you,” Eleanor held her chest in relief.

She signaled a guard to get the brown bag on the side of her desk that seemed to be full of gold coins.

“Please take our token of appreciation. It may not be enough-“

“Just save it, my lady,” Arth waved his hands in front of him.

Luna suddenly looked at him with furrowed brows. She fake coughed and pulled Arth’s cloak towards her. Then she leaned to his ear and whispered. “That’s their pay, Arth! What do you think you’re doing? We don’t want to get back to the guild empty-handed. The boss will get mad!”

“The village needs this more, Luna. The people here are already starving for days,” Arth whispered back.

“But the boss…“ Luna just sighed and shook her head.

“We can’t take this, my lady,” Arth told Eleanor. “Please just use it to cover for all the supplies you’ve lost.”

Eleanor’s eyes widened. “Thank you for your kindness,” she held Arth’s hand and shook it with gratitude.

“We’ll be taking our leave now,” Luna said. The elder thanked them again and then the two went out.

“What was that?” Luna asked Arth as they were riding their horses towards North.

“Luna, didn’t you see the poor people earlier? Even the children were also suffering from hunger. And I just hate seeing that,”

“Explain that to the boss when we get there,” she sighed again. “And don’t say I agreed to this. It was only you, you hear me?”

Arth just shrugged.

“Just don’t do it next time, okay? I understand your point, but it’s also our job, Arth. And our guild still needs livelihood,”

“Whatever you say,” Arth nodded.

It was already dawn when the two arrived at their hideout. Arth yawned as he walked through the hall. He suddenly encountered Janshai who was wearing a black cloak. His dark red eyes stared at Arth coldly while walking towards his direction.

Huh! I did my first mission well. You just underestimated me, grumpy. Arth thought as he looked at him.

“Uh… morning,” Arth greeted but Janshai just walked pass him and never spoke. Arth scratched his head and just shrugged. He went inside his room and immediately jumped on to his bed.

***

A sudden ring of the bell woke Arth up from his sleep.

He groaned and pressed his face on his pillow. s**t, what time is it? It felt like I only had few minutes of sleep! He slowly sat up on his bed and sighed heavily.

“My arms still hurt,” Arth whispered as he massaged his arms.

He walked out of his room like a zombie and went to the kitchen. He only saw Robert, Luna and Lucas on the table. Arth wondered if Alice already came back from her mission. Janshai probably has a mission too because he left so early in the morning. 

Arth sat on the chair beside Robert.

“Congratulations on your first successful mission, Arth!” Robert held Arth’s shoulder and tapped it. “Luna told us how you single-handedly took down their leader.”

“Beginner’s luck, I guess?” Arth rubbed the back of his neck.

“Damn your humility is annoying me! But I call that, talent!” Robert said. “Right, boss?”

Lucas cleared his throat and looked at Arth.

“Luna also told me why you came back here empty-handed,” Lucas said as he raised a brow.

Oh shoot. Right. Arth smiled apologetically.

“Sorry, boss. It’s just-“

“I understand. She told me the reason of your refusal,”

Arth sighed in relief and ate the porridge on his bowl.

“Anyway, Arth you’ll come with me together with Robert,” Lucas continued. “We’ll give you your first training today. Luna reported to me her observations about your fighting style last night. And I should say that you need more practice and experience.”

“We’ll train you hard as a rock, Arth!” Robert added.

Arth raised his head and looked at Lucas. I didn’t even have enough sleep. He sighed and just nodded. After eating their breakfast, they immediately went out to the woods.

“So, Arth,” Robert placed his arms around Arth’s neck while they were following Lucas on the forest. “Did something happen between you and Luna last night?”

Arth suddenly furrowed his brows. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I have to say, don’t let her big breasts seduce you,” Robert laughed. “She may be hot but she’s already over a hundred years old!”

“I’m not!” Arth replied in a defensive manner and rolled his eyes. What a p*****t!

“By the way, why didn’t she come with us?” Arth asked.

“Oh, it’s one of the rules in our guild that at least one member should stay in the hideout,” Robert explained while raising his point finger. “No matter what.”

Arth’s mouth formed an ‘o’ as he slowly nodded. “Wait, you never told me yet about the rules!”

“Don’t worry. You’ll know each one when you violate one,”

Arth looked at Robert sharply because of what he just said. Robert just chuckled and they followed Lucas in front of them.

A few minutes later, Lucas stopped. Arth saw him looking around the forest.

“Okay, this area is clear,” Lucas turned to the both of them. “Since there are no beasts around, we can start training Arth here.”

“Arth, did Chief Gregor already taught you about magic?” Lucas asked him.

“Only some basic ice elemental spells, boss,” Arth replied. “But I rarely use magic during battles. I don’t want to use up all of my strength since I’m not certain what could possibly happen after. I might not have the energy left to deal with whatever may come.”

Lucas furrowed his brows. “It’s not strength, Arth. You actually thought that the one we use for casting spells is our strength?”

“Wait, am I wrong?”

“I’ll explain it to you first,” Lucas sighed. “We are able to cast spells using our mana, a magical energy that flows through our body.”

“Mana? But why do I feel like my strength was depleted when I overuse magic too much?”

“When your mana is already used up, it will consume your own physical energy. That’s why you will already feel weak and tired,” Lucas replied. “Knights, like the three of us, can only cast a few spells because our mana pool is not that high compared to mages who have tremendous mana that allows them to perform powerful spells.”

Arth nodded slowly.

“However, it’s also important for us knights to use magic wisely. It will greatly affect the outcome of the battle. But just as you said, never use all of your mana in a battle. You don’t know what might happen after that and you might end up exhausted and unprepared,”

“Are we gonna tell him also about empyreal abilities, boss?” Robert asked Lucas.

Arth furrowed his brows, getting more curious. Empyreal abilities?

Lucas sighed. “We will but not for now.”

“What’s an empyreal ability?”

“It’s a hidden ultimate ability, Arth. But it’s not the time for that. Let’s just focus now on what matters most,” Lucas said. “Luna told me that you never used magic last night.”

“Yeah, that’s impressive, Arth!” Robert told him.

“Why? Am I supposed to use magic during the battle?”

“Only when necessary. But when you’re dealing with powerful opponents, using physical attacks and speed won’t be enough. And that could potentially increase the risk,” Lucas explained. “So that’s why today, we will train you on increasing your mana pool so that you can further use magic on our future battles. Because let me tell you, Arth…”

Lucas stepped towards Arth and tapped his right shoulder. “You’re gonna play a very significant role in our upcoming battles soon. We will need you so we will work hard to prepare you for it.” 

Lucas removed his hand from Arth’s shoulder and turned his back to him. “Now pull out your sword. We have a lot of work to do!”