Chapter 13: Prelude to Dusk

Su Ya, of course, did not go to the royal banner.

In front of the royal banner there was not only the Macedonian Phalanx Legion, but also a cavalry corps commander whose strength was completely unknown.

Dare to go, you'd surely die, die.

But before that, he observed—

The location of the royal banner was the command center of this army; all the Macedonian scouting cavalry, after completing their current reconnaissance mission, would converge toward this direction, report, and then receive orders to join the main force for deployment, either to strike with the army or to undertake the next reconnaissance.

Moreover,

The cavalry units and the infantry phalanx of this army were like two completely separate entities, their coordination infrequent, almost operating independently.

Except for the companion cavalry that initially followed Seleucus into battle, which had some connection, the cavalry corps surrounding the royal banner had never interacted with the infantry at all.

Not even sending a messenger to convey orders.

The two seemed to belong to entirely different command systems, only reluctantly merged because of the authority of the commander Seleucus.

Su Ya speculated,

perhaps because, according to historical records, the members of the Macedonian companion cavalry were mostly nobles?

He didn't know, nor needed to understand, but he immediately realized this was an exploitable flaw,

He observed—

the scouting cavalry squad, after returning to the central army, could alter its reconnaissance direction under cavalry command,

meaning this could be used to first approach and then veer, thereby avoiding the risk of exposure caused by anomalous detection routes—

If they charged backward along a straight line parallel to the army as Mei Li would, they would likely draw the attention of nearly fifty scouting cavalry squads, and before breaking out, would inevitably be intercepted by a scouting cavalry squad that detected the anomaly on the forward route.

Having taken down two scouting cavalry foot soldiers, Su Ya was barely left with a skin, and faced with such a large number of intact scouting cavalry squads

certain death!

Therefore,

now, at this spot,

this place was some distance from the cavalry corps surrounding the royal banner, yet out of sight of the front‑guard knights of the central army; moreover, it was flanked entirely by infantry phalanx, and the infantry phalanx naturally created a blind spot in the winding hill roads.

Su Ya decided to reroute here, attempting to disguise himself once more as a scouting cavalry that had completed its mission and was heading out for the next reconnaissance.

Although these light and heavy infantry might notice something amiss, the communication barrier between the two command systems

would likely delay the time of his exposure by a large margin!

Su Ya had no other option; this was the most feasible method he could devise,

so he could only gamble!

Moreover,

this was not without risk.

"Cancel the illusion? No, what on earth are you trying to do!?"

Mei Li lowered her voice, her magenta pupils trembling, her scalp prickling as she stared at Su Ya,

"You're courting death; if you cancel the illusion now, your identity will be completely exposed."

"It's already exposed."

"What?"

"Stop the chatter, how do we dispel it?"

"Throw away the leather armor, but are you sure you want to do that?"

Mei Li, terrified, shrank back, her hands gripping the saddle tightly, like a helpless white‑fur groundhog.

Su Ya forced a trembling smile and reminded her:

"From now on,"

"we are free!"

Su Ya unfastened the leather armor's waist buckle and flung it backward,

golden spiky hair fluttering in the wind, his emerald‑clear green eyes fixed on the road ahead,

he tightened his grip on the horse's belly, imprinting the blooming flower he had visualized in his mind, and decisively chose the nearest, fastest route,

"Charge!"

Thus,

shedding the disguise,

the handsome golden‑haired young Knight, his face smeared with blood, his clothes ragged, clutching a white rose, trembling and growling,

began to charge toward freedom!

The golden‑haired figure quickly broke away from the royal banner, galloping toward the rear of the army's western flank,

He thus toyed mercilessly with the ten‑thousand‑strong army and left them ruthlessly behind!

#

At this moment,

the midpoint of the reconnaissance route of Scouting Cavalry Squad 42.

"He's not hiding here?"

Shugusu frowned slightly, looking at the bewildered captain of Squad 42 before him; the slender Knight with short brown hair shook his head,

"I told you, no one can hide in this place; what exactly are you looking for?"

"Also, Shugusu, why did you leave your area and come here?"

"What about the two kids you were leading?"

"They're dead," Shugusu took a deep breath.

"?"

Xiugusu ignored the brown‑haired Knight with a stunned expression, squinting slightly as he pondered in his mind.

He couldn't guess what route Su Ya used to evade his tracking, but if this ruthlessly murderous man wasn't from the Macedonian Kingdom, the only direction to flee this place would be—

Xiugusu looked toward the far end of his sight, the western hill pass.

And at that moment,

Bang!

A brown‑red magical light projectile rose from the side of the royal banner.

Xiugusu, slightly startled, turned his head and saw—

A squad of heavy‑armor cavalry galloped forward, led by the two full‑armor Knights who had previously escorted Su Ya toward the central army.

"All Knights, heed the command!"

"Captain Hector relays—"

"All scouts, red; all cavalry companions not yet in formation, use the royal banner as the origin and carpet‑search for a Knight named Aiduo A Duo."

"The trait is a leather armor stained with copious blood on the front, a massive sword wound on the face, clouded consciousness, and the ability to mechanically repeat a few sentences."

"The living must be seen, the dead must be seen as corpses!"

"This person holds intelligence on Yuse Wang's son, the future ruler of all Britannia, Arthur Pendragon."

"Furthermore,"

"He is a true Knight; the corpse must be found, reported to the King, and given a Knightly burial!"

Xiugusu grew increasingly uneasy as he listened,

while the brown‑haired Knight froze, looked at Xiugusu, and asked with a face full of astonishment:

"Aiduo A Duo?"

"Xiugusu, isn't that your subordinate?"

Upon hearing the brown‑haired Knight's words,

the two full‑armor Knights beside them were startled, removed their helmets, revealing two young noble faces,

both blue‑haired and looking alike, like brothers; among them, the young noble Knight named Lars looked at Xiugusu, eyes filled with shock,

"You are Xiugusu, you're still alive?"

Xiugusu's already grim complexion darkened further,

"Of course I'm alive; could the one standing here now be a corpse?"

"But..." Lars scratched his head bewilderedly,

He quickly recovered, his expression stern, and demanded harshly without distinction:

"Is Aiduo A Duo your subordinate? Why did he return alone?"

"Where were you when he was fighting Arthur Pendragon?"

Xiugusu furrowed his brows, replying coldly with slight displeasure:

"How would I know? Moreover, if the Arthur Pendragon you're looking for is a blond‑eyed swordsman, that fellow is already dead!"

"As for Aiduo A Duo—ha."

"I say—" Lars said coldly, staring at Xiugusu,

"If you don't want to die here now, you'd better speak to me with the respectful tone you used when meeting dignitaries in the kingdom."

"Look into my eyes, thief!"

"Answer me!"

Xiugusu exhaled heavily, unable to help but clench his fists tightly,

He had completely lost his patience,

relying on the calm mindset he possessed when he chose this profession,

at this moment he finally understood everything,

the one who killed Aiduo A Duo, deceived him, and masqueraded as Aiduo A Duo had once again fooled this group of tin‑canned soldiers,

making these tin‑canned soldiers regard him as a 'true Knight'?

Moreover, because of this utterly useless Knightly spirit, he was still being dragged here to play house with these fools, delaying the time to locate and execute the real murderer, impostor, and fraud!

What a mockery!

However, he knew clearly that he was no match for these two peak‑level, Qi‑wielding, professional tin‑canned soldiers, let alone the hero standing behind them, the illustrious companion Knight, commander of the Companion Cavalry—Hector.

Even though they are all professional‑level, the gap between people can be larger than that between a man and a dog.

Thus,

Xiugusu could only take a deep breath, adjust his emotions,

and reveal a dry smile that was nowhere near as pretty as crying:

"Sir, I know the location of Aiduo A Duo's corpse; while he fought, I was scouting a point on the other side of the Y‑shaped front. By the time I arrived, it was already too late."

"If you seek Aiduo A Duo's corpse, then I will take you there."

Hearing this, Lars's anger dissipated, and his face instantly showed surprise,

"Is that true?"

"You know where that true Knight is!?"

Compared with the doomed Arthur Pendragon, Lars held even greater respect for a hero possessing true Knightly spirit,

even if he is so weak, any Knight who upholds the Knightly spirit deserves the highest respect in sending him off!

He only regretted not having met this true Knight earlier!

"Of course."

Xiugusu turned his back, stepped onto the stirrups, and mounted.

He was on the verge of laughing in anger, and his face instantly broke into a cold sneer that was the extreme of both fury and sarcasm.

Of course!

Of course!

Not only do I know where that damned murderer is, I also know—

That little thief who toyed with ten thousand people isn't even a proper professional!

"Don't rush. Don't rush."

"I've already memorized your scent; I'll be coming for you soon!"

"After I finish toying with this bunch of dimwitted cans, I'll personally tear off your filthy, stinking skin!"

Xiu Gus gritted his teeth, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the curved dagger strapped to his waist and abdomen,

"I'll make you pay for my boys—"

"Blood debt, blood repayment!"

(End of Chapter)