The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 133

Judas, facing Cain, had to struggle to think rationally.

Losing oneself to emotions during a battle was something only the inexperienced would do.

He knew this well.

But it wasn’t easy.

An inexplicable hostility kept welling up inside him.

A cold, subdued aggression.

It felt like duty or responsibility.

‘I must kill that man.’

Judas thought as he looked at Cain.

The feeling was so intense that it felt alien, as if he were peering into someone else’s emotions.

But it didn’t change the fact that it was his own.

There was no time to trace whose memories they might be.

He was surrounded by countless enemy soldiers.

Leading them was Cain, an exceptional swordsman in his own right, but he didn’t recklessly engage Judas.

Instead, he responded calmly and tactically.

Even though some of his forces had been crushed under boulders and massive trees, enough remained to deal with one man.

“First row, knights with anti-magic shields, form a circle to block his escape. Second row, crossbowmen, ready your aim. Third row, mages, prepare bombardment spells.”

In a standoff, rash moves could be fatal.

The moment one moved, their trajectory would be read, limiting the options for response.

But staying still would only make him an easy target.

If both sides were evenly matched, the stalemate could have lasted a long time.

However, Judas was alone, while Cain had a whole army.

Cain had prepared his forces in anticipation of today’s confrontation.

With superior equipment, there was no need to prolong the battle.

The plan was simple.

Use the knights skilled in close combat to form a wall, then finish the job with magic.

Cain had a rough idea of Judas’s strength and skill.

The knights’ shields were specialized anti-magic shields, capable of withstanding magical blasts.

If Judas tried to act before that, the second row of crossbowmen would intervene.

Even the crossbows weren’t ordinary.

Each bolt was enchanted to enhance its destructive power.

If Judas continued to remain motionless, it would only play into Cain’s hands.

It would mean he had chosen to die without a fight.

The situation was grim—neither staying put nor moving seemed viable.

Yet standing still was the worst option.

It would mean dying helplessly, unable to do anything.

In other words, Judas would take action, even if it meant taking a risk.

Cain was certain of this and even tried to predict Judas’s movements.

‘There are two escape routes. One is retreating to the rear, away from me—safe but predictable. The other is breaking through the front, charging at me—risky but unexpected.’

Cain was prepared to handle either.

The combined magic from his troops was nearing completion.

The soldiers holding their crossbows had sweat forming on their fingers as they gripped the triggers, but Judas didn’t move.

He simply stood, shield raised, glaring steadily at Cain.

Cain frowned.

‘What is he doing? Is he planning to die?’

It made no sense.

If he intended to die, there was no reason to draw attention by showing up.

‘…Unless he needed to.’

Cain’s eyes widened as realization struck him.

The mages were fully focused on preparing their spells to neutralize Judas.

In other words, the magical interference field set up around their formation had disappeared.

Meanwhile, every soldier’s attention was fixed on Judas.

It created the perfect environment for Eliza to launch an ambush.

‘Could it be?’

Just as the thought crossed his mind, the magic was completed.

All kinds of elemental magic, glowing with dangerous light, cascaded from the sky.

Its target was singular—Judas, at the center of them all.

“First row, shields up! Everyone else, prepare for the explosion!”

The knights’ commander barked orders in Cain’s stead.

Meanwhile, Cain scanned the skies frantically.

‘Where? Where is it coming from?’

-BOOM!

A deafening explosion shook the ground violently.

Blinding light engulfed Judas.

Cain squinted against the intense glare, still searching for Eliza.

Then, at that moment, a glimmer of light caught his eye.

It’s not close by—it’s from somewhere far, far away.

A bright light rises, round like the sun.

–Rumble.

A thunderous sound growls from that direction.

And that direction is where his younger brother, Levi, is.

‘That light in the distance… it’s definitely Eliza’s magic….’

Then, what about Judas?

Cain’s mind momentarily shut down.

Faced with an incomprehensible phenomenon that defied all expectations, he gave up on thinking.

In that fleeting instant.

-Slash!

A sharp sound of a throat being sliced echoed.

“He’s alive!”

Someone cried out in shock.

Only then did Cain’s consciousness return to reality.

‘Alive?’

One of his allies’ helmets rolled on the ground.

Beside it, the body of a headless knight collapsed.

Before he could fully process it, the crossbowman and the mage standing behind the knight were simultaneously cut down.

“Urgh…!”

Coughing up blood, their upper bodies crumpled.

Judas was weaving through the encircling allies like a ripple in a pond.

It was no wonder Cain couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

Judas had deliberately stayed still.

He had anticipated a concentrated barrage of the most powerful magic and willingly accepted it.

Why?

[‘Revelation’s Insight’ activated.]

[Immune to all magic for 3 seconds.]

He trusted his trait.

Three seconds was more than enough time for all the magic to be unleashed and conclude.

He waited with squinted eyes, then darted out the moment the barrage ended.

A massive magical bombardment.

The enemy, assured of their victory, let their guard down.

Simultaneously, Judas struck precisely in the moment when their vision was blurred by the bright light.

Cain, oblivious to these circumstances, was naturally flustered.

With no clear command, the allies were helplessly overwhelmed by Judas.

In such chaotic skirmishes where it was difficult to distinguish friend from foe, a smaller number had a significant advantage.

Careless attacks risked harming allies.

Of course, this only worked if the smaller group had overwhelming skill, and Judas more than met that condition.

Cain finally shouted an order.

“Reform the front line! Everyone, form a wall around me! Knights in the first row, hold them off! Protect the mages!”

Although the reason was unclear, Judas had withstood the magical bombardment.

‘Is it armor inscribed with anti-magic enchantments?’

Enchantments weren’t permanent.

The previous attack would have consumed a significant amount of its power.

If they gathered their firepower again, they could break through.

While the allies scrambled to regroup, Judas wreaked havoc in their midst.

The reason it seemed like chaos was entirely due to the allies’ panic.

Judas, amid the disorder, executed his heavy strikes with calm and precision.

“Guh!”

Another knight fell as Judas drove his blade into their body.

When another knight rushed in to stop him, Judas seamlessly withdrew his sword, parried, and cut them down as well.

His movements, despite their ferocity, were breathtakingly fluid.

Even amidst the carnage, Judas’s gaze never wavered from Cain.

‘He wasn’t this strong before….’

Cain recalled Judas’s fight with Agan.

At that time, he had a rough idea of Judas’s capabilities.

That was less than half a year ago.

But the Judas standing before him now possessed skills that had far surpassed those from back then.

“Tch!”

Cain reluctantly drew his sword.

There was no time to properly regroup the front line.

Even one troublesome opponent was too much, yet here came another just as vexing.

He had no choice but to step in himself.

‘The important thing isn’t the battle—it’s victory. I don’t need to win. I just have to stall, exhaust his stamina, and leave the final blow to the mages. We can use our numerical advantage. After all, he’s still human—he’ll tire eventually.’

Cain ran forward, shouting.

“Everyone, fall back! I’ll hold him off! Support me from a distance…!”

As he pushed past the knights and stepped forward—

A vertical flash of ivory light slashed before his eyes.

Instinctively, he raised his sword to block.

From afar, Judas had already closed the distance and was coming straight for Cain.

Judas saw the enemy commander’s face up close for the first time.

The short blonde hair and piercing red eyes gave off a military vibe.

It was a look he should not be familiar with, yet it felt disturbingly familiar.

A bitter smile escaped his lips unconsciously.

“At last, we meet.”

Judas never intended to say such words.

Even so, his mouth moved on its own.

There was no time to wonder.

Cain pressed his sword harder.

Judas staggered back.

Half a beat faster, Cain’s sword came slashing in.

Judas deflected it with his shield and aimed to counterattack from a blind spot, but his move was anticipated.

Cain slid his sword along the shield and naturally blocked Judas’s thrust.

Judas lowered his stance and pushed forward with his shield.

Cain instantly deflected the force.

In that moment, Judas’s center of gravity shifted to one side.

His balance faltered for an instant.

A blade came flying toward his head.

A quick horizontal slash.

Judas ducked his head swiftly, then rose up, swinging his shield.

He aimed for Cain’s face, but Cain leaned back effortlessly to avoid it.

In mere seconds, they had exchanged numerous strikes.

Both thought the same thing as they briefly separated.

“He’s no ordinary opponent.”

Underestimating him would mean death.

***

Cain’s soldiers could only watch.

The duel between Judas and Cain.

Approaching them carelessly would mean getting caught in their clash and dying.

Neither mages nor crossbowmen could offer support.

The fight was so intense that aiming precisely at Judas was impossible.

Each clash of their swords sparked strange embers.

Judas’s Moon Pupil glowed ivory.

In contrast, Cain’s sword shimmered crimson.

It was the holy relic known as the Sunblade.

Neither weapon had an advantage over the other.

Victory depended solely on their skill.

As their swords crossed and passed, ivory and crimson trails rippled like waves.

Beautiful, yet standing too close meant being torn apart.

Cain gritted his teeth.

“How does such a person exist?”

Judas constantly defied his predictions.

Blocking when he shouldn’t, striking when it was reckless.

As if he didn’t care about dying as long as he could win.

An audacity Cain had never encountered in his life.

It was baffling that someone this reckless was still alive.

“That doesn’t mean he’s stupid. Did he figure out my strategy?”

Judas relentlessly closed in.

He gave Cain no opportunity to fall back and regroup with his forces.

Cain was the lynchpin of his army.

If he fell, the rest would collapse into chaos.

Even if Judas died, killing Cain meant victory.

“Not that I intend to die.”

The brief distance between them vanished as Judas charged forward.

At that moment, Cain raised his sword high.

The determined stance and expression showed he was ready to deliver a devastating vertical slash.

Judas instinctively knew his shield would shatter if he blocked it.

Dodging was impossible; his momentum carried him forward.

“In that case….”

Judas’s calculations were instantaneous.

As Cain’s sword came crashing down, Judas swung his blade diagonally.

Clang!

The sound of metal reverberated as a brilliant flash exploded.

Both swords spun into the air, knocked away.

“It worked.”

Judas had deliberately caused them to lose their weapons.

He excelled in unarmed combat.

Cain hesitated but quickly lunged forward, swinging his fist.

With a gauntlet-clad hand, his punch was as deadly as a blunt weapon.

It came at him suddenly, but Judas was ready.

He reacted with equal speed.

Lowering his body, he closed the distance.

Both wore armor.

There were no collars or sleeves to grab, but that didn’t matter.

Grasping the outstretched arm with both hands, he threw it down.

“One-arm shoulder throw.”

Thud!

The ground trembled with the force of the throw.

“Ugh—!”

Cain coughed up blood.

By then, the sword that had been flung into the air was falling.

Judas swiftly grabbed his own sword.

At the moment he turned back toward Cain, aiming his blade, Cain was smiling.

‘I didn’t expect to use it here.’

An artifact his father, Barak, had crafted just for him during his childhood.

It was originally meant to be used against Eliza.

Barak hadn’t specifically told him to use it against Eliza, though.

A secret weapon, unknown even to Eliza.

It was a one-time use, but if he wanted to win, he had to use it.

‘Black Spot Explosion.’

He poured mana into the necklace hidden beneath his armor.

Scarlet flames surged up from the necklace.

He advanced toward Judas, who had raised his sword.

Flames, rising like countless threads, entangled Judas.

Before long, his figure vanished into the blaze.

Only the swirling flames remained, radiating light from the spot.

Whoosh—watching the fiercely burning flames, Cain let out a deep sigh.

“Hah… troublesome….”

It was unfortunate that he had to use his trump card, but it couldn’t be helped.

This was something he couldn’t afford to die for.

He glanced into the distance.

Wondering about Levi’s situation, he picked up the fallen Sun Sword.

“…Ugh?!”

An ivory blade pierced through his body and emerged from his chest.

With trembling hands, he grabbed the sword to stop it.

It was futile.

“Urgh—!”

The sword drove deeper, protruding further.

“How…?”

Cain turned his shaking face.

Golden eyes glared coldly at him.

Judas was behind him.

Untouched by the flames, his appearance was pristine.