Vol 1 Chapter 25 – Sniping【Vol 1 – Spoiled Princess Arc】

Aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrggggghhhhhh!!!!

A scream so piercing it made you want to cover your ears echoed all around.

It wasn’t the death cry of Brecht, who had been slashed by Erik.

No, the one screaming was indeed Brecht.

He was the one bleeding, his eyes bloodshot.

However, Brecht hadn’t been slashed in the neck or heart—wounds that would have been critical to his survival.

Where he had been wounded was his arm.

Even as he lost his balance, he’d instinctively used his arm as a shield to avoid a fatal blow.

That was less a display of Brecht’s skill… and more an instinctive reaction.

To instinctively shield oneself with an arm when faced with something terrifying. He had done no more than that.

Therefore, Brecht, having had his arm sliced off, had never been remotely prepared to lose it, so he screamed from the searing pain and sense of loss.

“M-my arm… You bastarddddddddddd!!”

“Just one arm, is it…? I must reflect on my own immaturity.”

Brecht’s ferocity as he roared, flecks of spit flying, was terrifying.

It was enough to make even Miriam, who was some distance away, tense up.

However, Erik, who was on the receiving end, found it rather pleasant; there was no way he would cower in fear.

That said, he hadn’t intentionally aimed to cut off just the arm.

Erik, though he possessed a desire to be bullied, had not the slightest desire to bully others.

He had intended to quickly settle things by taking Brecht’s head, but…

As expected, it seemed things wouldn’t go that smoothly.

“Still, losing an arm must be a significant blow. Surrender. If you do, I will spare your life.”

“Y-you condescending bastard…!!”

He glared at Erik, who had his sword pointed at him.

To admit defeat to such a pretentious man… a hypocrite… was something he absolutely could not stomach.

“Surrender?! Like hell I will!! I’ll kill you… I’ll absolutely kill you! I’ll pay you back for the pain I’ve suffered, tens of times over!!”

“Oh-ho?”

Erik’s cheeks relaxed into a smile.

Seeing that fearless smile, would one think him a berserker, or a diehard masochist…?

Unfortunately, no one knew the truth.

“You may say that, but you won’t be able to do it.”

Alfred came to stand beside Erik.

He had defeated all the attacking bandits and rushed to Erik’s side.

Looking around, the escorting knights, without a single loss, were in the process of neutralizing the bandits.

It would only be a matter of time before the other knights had them completely subdued.

“I am not as merciful as Erik-dono. I say again, surrender. If you do not comply, I will cut you down without hesitation.”

Gleam—

Alfred readied his blood-soaked sword.

The murderous intent pouring from him was no less than Brecht’s, perhaps even greater.

Now that Brecht had lost an arm, he would likely be no match for Alfred.

Erik, beside him, was thinking how he’d like to have that hostility and murderous intent directed his way.

Ghh…!

K-kh, kkhh…

At first, Brecht’s face was contorted, beads of sweat forming on his brow.

But his expression gradually shifted to one of ecstasy.

Kuhahahahahahahahahahahaha!!

And finally, it transformed into outright, boisterous laughter.

Perhaps because he was laughing so forcefully, blood gushed from his wound.

This was especially so because Erik’s technique hadn’t been particularly refined, leaving the wound far from a clean cut.

Seeing Brecht laugh like a madman, Alfred’s face twisted in suspicion.

“What are you laughing at? Are you so cornered that all you can do is laugh?”

“Huh? You think I’d do something pathetic like that? You—when do you laugh? It’s when you’re having fun, when something’s amusing, obviously!”

“What are you…?”

Alfred, completely failing to understand, furrowed his brows.

At that moment, Erik watched Brecht’s laughter, his heart stirring with anticipation.

Yes, this was… he had a good feeling about this!

“I wanted to kill every last one of you with my own hands, but… if it’s come to this, it can’t be helped.”

Saying that, Brecht casually raised his hand.

Was this surrender? No, considering his words and actions up until now, that was impossible.

Then…?

Alfred searched for any sign.

And then, atop a tree some distance away, a faint presence emerged.

“N-no way…!!”

Snap—

His gaze shot upwards, and there, perched on a tree branch, was a bandit, bow drawn.

During the melee… no, perhaps he’d been hiding there from the very beginning.

A man who, even while watching the battle unfold below and his comrades die, had remained utterly still and concealed, determined not to reveal his presence.

Taking Brecht’s raised hand as the signal, he was now on the verge of loosing an arrow.

Creeeak—

He drew the bowstring taut, imbuing the shot with enough power to take a life in a single blow.

And in his sights was Debora, their assassination target.

“Damn it!!”

Alfred sprinted towards the bandit in the tree.

Despite his heavy armor, his running speed was remarkably fast.

Truly the mark of a well-trained knight.

But he had noticed far too late.

The bandit could release the arrow in a few more seconds, whereas it would take Alfred about ten seconds to reach him, and then several more to interfere or neutralize him.

No matter how you looked at it, he wouldn’t make it in time.

(But, even so…!!)

Alfred didn’t give up.

How would the Alfred he once was have reacted?

Ever the knight, he would naturally have done his utmost to protect Debora, but would he have been this desperate?

They had only spoken briefly. But in that time, he had come to see that Debora was different from the princess of the notorious “Spoiled Princess” rumors.

Therefore, Alfred could not give up.

“Hmph…”

And Erik was another who hadn’t given up.

Unlike Alfred, he didn’t head towards the bandit, but in the complete opposite direction. Towards Debora.

Sheathing his sword that would hinder his run, he sprinted in a straight line.

“You shouldn’t turn your back on your enemy, damn it!!”

Brecht was the one gleefully watching Erik’s defenseless back.

He picked up the sword he’d dropped when he was cut and slashed at Erik’s back.

“Ghh…!!”

Erik let out a pained grunt.

Would he give up and turn to fight?

Now that Brecht had lost an arm, his chances of winning a direct fight were slim, but if Erik turned, he wouldn’t be able to save Debora.

For Brecht, simply fulfilling the request and snatching away something precious from that hypocrite would be enough.

Even if Erik didn’t turn towards him and instead stubbornly headed for Debora, it was obvious that the pain from being cut would stop him in his tracks.

Yes, normally, he shouldn’t make it in time…

“Wha—?!”

Far from stopping, Erik continued to run without his pace slowing in the slightest.

Moreover, as if Brecht, the one who had cut him, wasn’t even in his line of sight, he ran straight for Debora without a single glance back.

“Is his pain tolerance too high?! Either way…!”

Erik had completely ignored Brecht.

And not just on the level of ignoring someone talking to him, but ignoring the one who had just slashed his back.

This humiliation of not even being acknowledged was enough to make Brecht’s face flush red.

However…

“Too late!!”

As if in response to Brecht’s words, the arrow was loosed.

Immediately after, the bandit was dragged down by Alfred, who had reached the base of the tree, and plunged into battle with him.

The bandit would likely be killed shortly, but that was already outside Brecht’s awareness.

The arrow whizzed towards Debora.

Debora could only stare blankly, her eyes wide.

Erik rushed towards her.

His timing was cutting it extremely close.

Whether he would make it or not was a fifty-fifty chance.

(But just making it there isn’t enough.)

Brecht’s face twisted into a smirk.

Even if he reaches Debora before the arrow does, how will he evade the attack?

Knock it down with his sword?

If he succeeds, both Debora and Erik can be saved.

However, drawing the sword he currently has sheathed and swatting the arrow away would create a time lag.

And at this critical moment, that lag would clearly be fatal.

Besides, knocking down a high-speed arrow with a sword requires advanced skill.

Does Erik possess such skill?

Having witnessed his fighting so far, Brecht believed Erik lacked that capability.

Then, will he save Debora by shoving her out of the way?

Indeed, doing so might save her alone.

But if he charges in with momentum and pushes her, Erik’s own body will remain in the line of fire.

If that happens, the arrow will pierce him.

Since it was aimed at the petite Debora, it might not hit a fatal spot on Erik, but…

(I’ve properly thought about that too, y’know.)

Brecht chuckled.

He hadn’t assumed from the outset that something as convenient as a single arrow could take a life.

Moreover, the archer was a mere bandit.

Even though he’d had him train in archery, he couldn’t place his complete trust in the bandit’s skill.

Therefore, he had used ‘that’ which their client had provided…

But before that, it was also conceivable that Erik wouldn’t even reach Debora in time.

Well now, what would happen? Brecht eagerly awaited the next few moments, ready to laugh whatever happened.

“Kgh…!”

And indeed, Erik managed to reach Debora before the arrow did.

However, the arrow was already right before their eyes.

It was impossible to draw his sword and strike it down now.

Then…

“Gwah!!”

“Erik!!”

Erik, true to his moniker “Altruistic Charity,” had shielded Debora with his own body.

Fortunately, since the arrow had been aimed for a fatal blow on Debora, where it pierced Erik’s abdomen, it didn’t carry enough force to take his life.

“I’m saved, Erik! As expected of my knight!”

“Hmph, I merely did what was necessary.”

Debora gave a thumbs-up, and Erik smiled brightly.

(Having an arrow pierce him was also quite an irresistible pleasure.)

“Ghh, hmph… Well now, is this the end of your wicked schemes, Brecht?”

Pulling out the arrow and tossing it to the ground, Erik stopped Miriam, who was offering to heal him, and stood before Brecht.

Though not a fatal wound, he must have been assailed by intense pain, yet seeing him smile fearlessly, one could only say, “As expected of the Hero.”

Brecht’s situation was, simply put, desperate.

Most of his comrades had already been subdued.

Some had been cut down by the escorting knights, while others had fled.

Well, Brecht understood full well that a bandit’s loyalty to his comrades only went so far.

Looking at this situation, no one would say Brecht wasn’t cornered.