Knights of The Dauntless Princess

Chapter 36: Captain Trevor

They were able to defeat the henchmen of Louie's grandfather, but it wasn't easy for them to overcome them, so they decided to try to outpace them instead.

"Why are these people so skilled in combat? Aren't they just ordinary citizens of Priya?" Ranz asked as he continued to fight, trying to push forward.

"Yes, but my grandfather used to be a military trainer! He must have trained them just like he trained us, even though we weren't part of the army!" Louie replied.

"Tsk! Your grandfather sounds intense! Did he foresee the future and expect that this would happen!?" Cyrus asked after punching a man blocking his path.

"My grandfather lived during times of continuous warfare, so that's how he thinks! I didn't fully understand it back then, but it seems his hardships with us have paid off," Louie said.

The four of them ran towards the entrance of the cave together, leaving some of their companions behind to hold off their pursuers. However, they were still being chased by other henchmen of Louie's grandfather. When they reached the cave, they continued to get inside. Some men inside the cave were surprised by their unexpected arrival. They tried to stop them, but the four had no intention of slowing down.

"Hey! Who are you?! Where are you going!!!" shouted a bald and muscular man.

"Get out of our way!!! " Ranz yelled back, but those guards of that cave had no intention of giving in to them.

In their haste, they had no choice but to fight back to get past them. When they managed to knock down the men blocking their path, they continued running into the broad and spacious cave.

Louie looked around as if recalling the way. They ran and followed the path based on his memories. However, every route they took had people guarding it, so they didn't waste time trying to reason with them, fearing that more would surround them.

When Louie saw the door he was certain it was the one where he could find his grandfather, he hurriedly ran towards it. But the loud shouts and footsteps of the people running made them stop and turn around to see what was happening behind them.

"Stop right there! You shameless people!" shouted the men, and they were surprised to see more people coming from ahead of them.

"Damn! There are more of them!" said Ranz.

"I'm surprised too! There weren't this many before! Tsk!" said Louie, and they realized it seemed like they were up for a serious fight.

"Well, that might be better. The more, the merrier," Cyrus said with a grin. "We just need to convince your grandfather to side with us!"

"I don't know, my grandfather is stubborn! He always wants to be the one in control! He might side with us, but I'm not sure if you'll get along," Louie warned.

"Why do I suddenly not want to meet your grandfather? Should we just go back to our camp?" Ranz suggested.

"You insolent fools! Who are you!? What are you planning!?" angrily demanded one of the men, a servant of Louie's grandfather.

"We need to speak with your leader! He is my grandfather!!!" Louie boldly declared, but the men burst into laughter.

"You cannot deceive us! You might have been sent here by the kingdom to kill our leader! Liars!!!" shouted the man at them.

"W-Why won't you believe me? I already said I am his grandson!!!" Louie insisted.

"It's impossible for the Captain's grandson to come here! He said his grandson was a coward, weak, and frail! Whom do you think we'll believe? You or our leader?" replied the man he was talking to.

Cyrus covered his mouth to suppress laughter as he recalled Louie's past appearance. "They're right! That's exactly how you were before, and that's how we saw you, too, back then! Even I didn't recognize you immediately when we met again. Hihi!"

Louie glared at him and retorted, "You, imb3cile, shut up!"

"It seems they won't believe you until your grandfather confirms it himself," said Dravis. "The only way to do that is to see him!"

Upon hearing that from Dravis, his three companions immediately prepared to attack.

The man Louie was talking to earlier gritted his teeth. He was convinced that they were all lying, so he signaled his comrades to charge at the four young men.

The battle resumed, and as the four young men were surrounded, they knew they couldn't escape anymore.

The noise from the scuffle caught the attention of an old man inside a room. His sharp eyes glanced towards the door, wondering.

"What is that noise?" asked the old man, who was about to sip his coffee.

"I'm not sure, Captain," one of his men replied.

They stood up from their seats and headed towards the door. The noise grew louder as they opened it. They saw their men in a state of chaos. They were facing an enemy, but the Captain couldn't clearly see who it was due to his men surrounding it.

"What is this commotion?" the old man asked, calling for the fight to stop.

They glanced at the old man and seemed instantly afraid, "Captain! Intruders have entered our camp! We are certain they are Emmett's followers, and they want to kill you!"

Up until that moment, the old man still couldn't discern who the enemies were, but Dravis, Cyrus, Ranz, and Louie were already looking at him.

"I told you, he's my grandfather! Why can't you listen!?" Louie stubbornly defended.

Upon hearing his voice, the old man's eyes welled up, clearly in disbelief. He recognized the voice, but it was hard for him to believe that his grandson was truly there.

"L-Louie!?" the old man stammered, and his men were taken aback.

Louie stepped forward to be clearly seen by the old man.

"Yeah, who else do you think, Grandfather!?" the young man replied, gripping his sword tightly.

The Captain stared at him, seemingly examining his physical appearance. The young man had changed a lot, but his face and way of speaking were unmistakable. The Captain knew he couldn't be mistaken; the young man was none other than his grandson.

"Could it be a miracle that my cowardly grandson is here?" the old man grinned and held onto the hilt of his sword, which was tucked at his side.

"Captain? So, is he truly your grandson?" one of the old man's men asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," the old man replied.

Louie glared at him in frustration and rushed towards his grandfather, shouting, "You stinky old man! I'm even unluckier to have you as my grandfather! Hyah!"

The old man swiftly blocked his grandson's sword with his own. He grinned wider while staring at Louie and said, "Hmm, not bad. It seems you've grown stronger somehow, but... THAT'S NOT ENOUGH TO KILL ME!"

Upon hearing the old man's words, Louie retaliated with another attack. Their swords clashed, and they seemed determined to finish each other off.

"W-Wait, I thought he was the captain's grandson?"

"I thought they had no intention of killing our Captain?"

"Why are they fighting each other?"

They watched in astonishment as the two engaged in combat. They were equally amazed at the skill and bravery displayed by both fighters, and they couldn't deny that they were undeniably grandfather and grandson.

Cyrus glanced at Dravis when he noticed that the young man was sheathing his sword again as if they had no one else to face. He followed the young man with his gaze as he took a step forward towards Louie and the old man's direction.

"Dravis?" Cyrus called out.

"I think I should interrupt them now," Dravis replied coldly. "We shouldn't waste our time watching them like fools."

Cyrus, Ranz, and the other men just watched him as he walked calmly.

"And what exactly is he planning to do now?" Ranz asked, furrowing his brow, but Cyrus just shrugged his shoulders.

"Aren't you done with your warm greetings to each other?" Dravis asked.

The old man was about to attack his grandson, but upon hearing Dravis' voice, he stopped in his tracks. He glanced at Dravis' direction, and as soon as he recognized the young man, his eyes widened, and a broad smile spread across his face.

"Is that you... DRAVIS?" the old man exclaimed, overwhelmed with joy that surprised them all.

"What? Do you know each other?" Ranz asked in a puzzled tone.

"Yeah, he's a colleague of my father, and he was also the one who trained me when I started as a soldier," Dravis replied.

They all looked at Louie, who seemed to lose his vigor. "Why does it seem like you're more of the captain's grandson than that man?"

The old man left his grandson, Louie, and approached Dravis. He warmly patted the young man's shoulder as if showing how proud he was of him.

"You know what, I really wish Dravis were my grandson instead of that unimpressive one! Dravis is incredibly intelligent and skilled; he accomplished everything I taught him back then! And beyond that, he became a general, and I take pride in having contributed to his excellence! He was my most exceptional student, and this young man makes me so proud!" chuckled the old man.

Ranz and Cyrus exchanged glances.

"No wonder he was so confident earlier," Ranz said, his eyes gleaming.

"I had no idea that he was the one who trained Dravis. We were in different camps when we were still training," Cyrus replied.

Louie just stared at them, his eyes filled with anger. He couldn't care less about his grandfather's opinion because he had always belittled him ever since his father died almost 10 years ago. But even though he heard it repeatedly, those words seemed to dig deeper into his heart.

"If only there were a sword that could sever my ties with you as my grandfather, I would have used it long ago," Louie said, taking a deep breath.

"I probably would have been the first to use it on you if such a thing existed," the old man retorted immediately, then turned his gaze back to Dravis. "So, what brings you here?"

The atmosphere turned serious as Dravis faced the old man. "We wanted to talk to you privately, if possible."

The old man quickly glanced at his subordinates and signaled them to leave. They were surprised, but they didn't speak and just followed their Captain's order.

"Come to my room, let's talk there," the old man invited, and opened the door to the room he came from earlier. He looked back at his grandchild and called out in a cold tone, "You too, young man, come in."

Louie let out a sigh, realizing he had no other choice but to follow them.