The knight of the Limgrave Army had no time to dodge. The sharp spear pierced straight through his skull.
Blood and brain matter burst outward, mixed with scraps of flesh that splattered over the surrounding soldiers.
Seeing this, the silver-haired knight did not linger. He turned and left at once.
"Quick! Kill him! We cannot let this criminal who dared slay a noble escape!"
A knight, face twisted with fury, roared himself hoarse.
Soldiers flooded in from every direction. A dense rain of crossbow bolts tore through the air, while messengers spurred their horses toward the various barracks.
But Nolan, having carved a path of carnage through the enemy ranks, never slowed. He paused only briefly at a gap in the encirclement.
Watching the "spies" slip away one by one, the Golden Needle Knight raised the Spectral Steed Whistle to his lips. Even amid a field piled high with corpses, Torrent answered the summons and galloped to his side.
A true champion acts without hesitation, even in retreat. Nolan vaulted onto the saddle in one fluid motion, clamped his legs around Torrent's flanks, and the steed shot forward.
Fortunately for him, the soldiers rushing back to reinforce the camp were too many and too hurried. They clogged the main encampment, shoving and trampling one another, their movements hopelessly slowed.
As for the units stationed at distant outposts, they were still racing back. There was no way they could regroup and organize an effective pursuit in such a short time.
The Golden Needle Knight seized a soldier along the road, twisted his right hand, and snapped the man's neck. Without breaking stride, he caught the spear that slipped from the corpse's grasp.
Ahead, a knight was hurrying back toward camp. The moment he spotted the Golden Needle Knight, a chill ran up his spine.
Driven by pure survival instinct, he jerked hard on the reins, trying to rein in the warhorse beneath him.
The horse reared, front hooves lifting high. The knight had just begun to raise his shield when the spear split the air.
Thud!
The force punched through his body, sending him flying backward before pinning him against the trunk of a thick tree.
His head drooped. After a few weak twitches, he went still, dead where he hung.
Nolan did not pause after the strike.
With a flick of his wrist, he wrenched the reins and sharply turned Torrent's head, casting a glance over his shoulder at the soldiers still chasing after him.
Some fumbled to draw their bows, their arrows flying wildly into the night.
Others scrambled to find their mounts, only to be trapped in the crush of their own men, unable to advance or retreat.
Nolan looked away and rode on, receding beneath the moonlight.
Bringing down a Flying Dragon. Cutting down champions. Tearing through an enemy camp. Any one of these feats would be enough to become a bard's tale.
And not far away, in the Haligtree camp, word of the Golden Needle Knight had already spread.
"Agheel slain?"
The tall red-haired woman frowned slightly at the report.
That Flying Dragon did not interest her in the slightest. If she wanted a true challenge, she might as well lead her forces in an assault on the Royal Capital.
"Do we know who did it?"
"Your Highness, they claim it was the Golden Needle Knight. But I asked Captain Leda, and none of the Golden Needle Knights are missing. Everyone is accounted for in the barracks, except..."
The Cleanrot Knight standing to the side hurried forward, but before he could finish, the woman lifted a hand to stop him.
The Golden Needle Knights were Princess Miquella's personal guard. Even if Finlay was away on a secret mission, the ones Princess Malenia trusted most were still the Cleanrot Knights.
Malenia kept her eyes on the distance and asked quietly, "And what did your investigation turn up?"
"That knight wielded two Knight's Greatswords, and he was highly skilled in both Glintstone Sorcery and Ancient Dragon Incantations. His strength was terrifying. Agheel had almost no ability to fight back."
"The Flying Dragon couldn't even resist?" Malenia's tone remained even. "Slaying a dragon to save villagers is certainly worth praising. But why disguise himself as a Golden Needle Knight and hand the credit to the Haligtree?"
Her calmness wasn't born from sympathy for the suffering commonfolk in an age of chaos. She was simply imitating her elder sister, as she always did.
In any case, it wasn't a bad outcome. If anything, it only raised the Haligtree's reputation in the region.
After a brief pause, Malenia asked again, "Anything else? His name, his appearance... anything at all?"
"No name. Only that he was a man with long silver hair. And according to them, he was exceptionally handsome. The kind of face you'd remember for the rest of your life after seeing it once."
The Cleanrot Knight nodded as she spoke, making it obvious the villagers were looking at their savior through a heavily softened lens.
Aside from that Golden Needle Knight favored by the Empyrean, she had never seen anyone described as handsome to such an absurd degree.
"A silver-haired man... handsome enough to be unforgettable?"
Malenia lifted her head, momentarily taken aback, her gaze drifting unconsciously into the distance. Her thoughts had gone exactly where the Cleanrot Knight's had.
That detestable man was silver-haired too. And he relied on that pretty face of his to flirt and draw admirers all over the Haligtree.
On top of that, her sister had sent him to Liurnia of the Lakes to study sorcery, and the strange golden lightning he used did bear a resemblance to Dragon Lightning.
But he had struggled even against a Church Confessor. Could he really have butchered a Flying Dragon, a creature on par with a champion?
No. Impossible.
It had to be the cursed rot eating away at her mind, making her think of that irritating bastard again.
Damned Goddess Of Rot.
Just imagining that man someday monopolizing her sister's affection, clinging to her in her arms, then flashing Malenia a smug, triumphant smile...
The Valkyrie's anger surged, and for a moment she genuinely wanted to beat him senseless.
But she was the Valkyrie, and her subordinates were present. She maintained her composure.
She gave a light cough, cleared her throat, and called out, "Greta."
"Present."
At her summons, the knight named Greta immediately dropped to one knee, waiting respectfully for orders.
"If you encounter him, don't make things difficult for him. If he wishes to join the Haligtree, we will welcome him."
Malenia lowered her head slightly, lost in thought. Only after a short silence did she speak those words, slow and measured.
The Cleanrot Knight beside her, someone close enough to speak freely, asked with a teasing tone, "And if Godefroy's men come demanding we hand him over?"
Malenia sat upright in her seat, her gaze falling on her cold, lifeless right hand.
She stared at it for a long moment, then waved dismissively.
"Tell them to get lost."
The words were blunt and domineering, leaving no room for courtesy. Greta raised no objection. The strong had every right to be that arrogant.
The Cleanrot Knights followed this Valkyrie for exactly that reason. Their loyalty had nothing to do with that bewitching Empyrean.
The long night passed without incident, and the Lands Between soon brightened again.
In the forest, urgent hoofbeats thundered closer from afar. A group of furious noble cavalrymen rode at full speed.
They chased wagon after wagon, and after coming up empty again, they simply moved on to another place, continuing their search for the Golden Needle Knight.