Chapter 18: Mortal Combat! ...Mortal Combat?

While Mia’s brain was taken over with poisonous mushroom-related affairs, Ludwig and Dion were traveling. Their meeting with Gilbert had allowed Ludwig to fully appreciate the danger posed by the House of Yellowmoon. With this realization, he decided that intelligence alone wasn’t enough; he’d pressure the foe with a divide-and-conquer approach while simultaneously continuing to gather information. This was a common trick to use against large organizations. The greater their number, the more fragmented their allegiance. No faction of great size could be a monolith. There were always members that could be pressured, tempted, or otherwise persuaded into breaking from the group.

If the House of Yellowmoon was meant to function as a lure for those harboring hostile sentiments toward the empire, then it would be foolish of him to assume everyone under its banner was his enemy. The first potential non-enemy he set his sights on were the outland nobles, who were shunned by the central nobility. If they’d sought the Yellowmoons because they were lacking in allies, then he should be able to peel them away by offering a second option. With that thought in mind, Ludwig had decided to pay a visit to Outcount Rudolvon in the hopes that he would assist in persuading the other outland nobles.

“The sun’s already down...”

Sighing, he observed the darkening skies from the window of his carriage. Though the path to his destination was not exactly perilous, traveling by moonlight would nonetheless entail a degree of danger. Normally it would be time to make camp for the night.

“Slow down a little, but keep going. Time is of the essence right now,” he said, instructing the driver to continue.

Dion concurred with a nod.

“Yeah... Best to keep going. In fact,” he said, eyes narrowing, “best to keep up the speed too.”

“What do you mean?”

Mere seconds after Ludwig frowned at this, the feral howl of a wild animal echoed in the distance.

“What in the world was that?”

His answer came in the form of a guard riding up to the window.

“Sir.”

“Situation?” Dion asked.

“Wolves, sir. They seem to be coming after us.”

The mounted soldier’s reply was equally terse. Terse but clear, leaving no room for misinterpretation. Still, Ludwig couldn’t help but doubt his ears.

“Wolves? Out here?”

The soldier nodded before loosing a fire arrow into the darkness behind them. It traced a glowing arc through the air. The instant it touched the ground, it exploded with light that repelled enough of the surrounding gloom to reveal the forms of black wolves. They were massive, and there were three of them.

“Impossible... I’ve never heard of any wolf packs that attack people within the empire’s borders...” insisted a bewildered Ludwig.

“...These aren’t regular wolves.” Dion opened the carriage door and leaned out, squinting into the darkness behind them. “I can just barely make out the sound of hooves.”

In a fluid burst of motion, he readied his bow and pulled the string taut, its creaking tension echoing the high-strung atmosphere in the carriage. A breathless moment passed. Then...his fingers twitched, and his arm became just a blur. Three sharp twangs sent three arrows streaking brightly through the night. They were met with a dim crescent that flashed amidst the wolves. It was, Ludwig realized a beat later, the moonlit glimmer of a blade.

The guard shot another fire arrow at their foes, only for another swing of the blade to split its shaft in two mid-flight.

Dion whistled.

“Hey, not bad.”

“Is that...a man on a black horse?” murmured Ludwig, peering backward from inside the carriage.

“A man on a black horse who can smack arrows out of the air in the dark.” Dion grinned. “I think I like the guy.”

“Is he alone?”

“Probably. Well, depends on if you count the furry buddies he’s got protecting his flank, I guess.”

“A wolfmaster, then? Not something you see every day... Still, I assume this means we’ve become enough of a nuisance for them to start sending assassins. Granted, it seems a bit odd to send only one person, but...”

Ludwig’s puzzlement was not shared by Dion, who simply shrugged.

“Not really. We’ve only got about a dozen guys with us right now. If it were me, I could definitely cut them all down and ride off with your head. Wouldn’t be surprised if our enemy sent someone of equal capabilities.”

He then signaled to the three guards riding closest to the carriage. They were all exceptional soldiers who’d served under him since his imperial army days. Even so...

“You three stay with the carriage. Make a beeline for Outcount Rudolvon’s domain and request his protection. Ludwig is your sole priority. Ensure that he arrives without a scratch.”

“What about you, captain?”

“Me? Ha ha, I’ll be having the time of my life keeping our fine assassin busy. Oh, gimme one of your horses.”

“By yourself, sir? Are you sure? We can—”

Dion silenced the concerned soldier with a shake of his head.

“The enemy is an expert. Frankly, no one else stands a chance.”

After appropriating a steed from one of the guards, he let out a laugh.

“Well then. It’s farewell for now, good Ludwig.”

“Knowing you, I’m sure you’ll be fine, but...”

“Of course I will. Look, just between us, the truth is that carriage rides aren’t really my thing and I’ve been itching for some exercise. This guy looks like he’ll fit the bill,” Dion said before flashing a smirk. “You should be more concerned about your own head. Make sure it stays on your shoulders while I’m gone, yeah? It’ll be hard to work with you otherwise.”

With that, he drew his blade and reversed his horse with the enthusiasm of a child who’d found a new toy. A few moments later, the three wolves charged down the path and pounced at him.

“Sorry, doggies, but I’ve fought too many wild beasts to find your kind interesting. Out of the way.”

He glided through their snapping jaws with ease and shot straight toward the dark figure who, after siccing his wolves on Dion, was in the midst of circling around to catch the carriage. Both steed and assassin were clothed head-to-toe in black, the former of fur and the latter as mask and robe.

Dion took aim at his masked foe and swung. His blade split the air with a deadly swish, threatening to rend whatever stood in its way, be it metal or be it bone.

The assassin abruptly angled his body, somehow managing to hang at such a precarious angle that it seemed he should’ve fallen off, and evaded the strike by a hair’s margin. It was as if horse and rider were truly one.

Dion whooped in delight at this display of equestrian prowess.

“Bloody good show! Also, smart of you to dodge my sword. We’d be done if you tried to meet it.”

Laughing, he drew his horse around again. The assassin did the same, man and mount performing a perfect pirouette. They clashed, once, twice, thrice, four times. Sparks lit the air amidst a series of heavy clanks, and Dion immediately realized he didn’t have the upper hand.

Huh. Bugger me sideways. He’s better on horseback. I’ve got him beat in strength, but he’s winning in speed. And he rides like a bloody acrobat—

The point of the assassin’s sword flashed in a fierce thrust. A breath later, it slid straight through Dion, half its length jutting out behind his back. The motion was fluid, almost beautiful. And, as Dion’s sly grin revealed, ineffective.

“No reason to keep fighting on your turf now, is there?”

In truth, the blade only grazed his side, passing by with little harm. But now Dion had the assassin’s arm locked in his elbow.

“Care for some exercise? A big guy like you won’t mind a little fall from a horse, right?”

He leapt off his horse, launching himself backward with his foe’s arm held firmly in his grasp. There was a brief sensation of weightlessness...

Their forms fell from their steeds tangled, but did not remain so on landing. The pair instead parted in midair, each twirling away to land on their feet and lash out in a spinning strike, clashing once more before backing off.

“All right. Enough four-legged shenanigans. Let’s fight like proper two-legged men with our feet on the ground. Pace yourself now. We’ve got all night to bleed each other dry, and I want to savor every second,” said Dion, grinning as he drew his second sword. “Before we dive in, would you like to tell me your name?”

The masked killer answered with a sudden thrust. Dion slapped away the straightforward strike and whistled.

“That was a pretty boring thrust. Too obvious. Which, of course, is the point, since you’re trying to shift my attention away from the wolves circling behind me. Good for you. Points for having an actual plan.”

A flurry of pawsteps sounded behind him, growing rapidly louder. He laughed, hearing their feral breathing as they closed in.

“Bloody hell. Coordination, eh? Honestly, I’d love to know how you’re commanding the furballs.”

Without warning, he kicked his opponent and used the impact to launch himself backward. Twisting in midair, he whipped his sword around in a horizontal swipe. The blade flashed menacingly in the moonlight. Vicious beasts though they were, the wolves couldn’t help but flinch from his deadly aura. He landed in a crouch before them and shot their intimidated forms a dismissive glance before shrugging.

“Well, well, well, looks like beasts will be beasts, for better or for worse. Smart of you to keep out of my range. That said, had you all charged me, one of you might have actually landed a bite. Missed opportunity there. Instinct can tell you when to dodge a sword to the face, but it can’t teach you when to take one. And that, I suppose, is why you’re only beasts.” With the sword in his right hand resting on his shoulder, he gave the one in his left a twirl. “Of course, even if you’d come at me, I might have just cut you all down instead.”

He glared at the wolves, causing them to shrink away. In that moment, the alpha had been established, and it was him. For beasts, that hierarchy was absolute. To challenge a definitively superior foe through pure will was the kind of folly only humans engaged in.

“Now then, with that out of the way, let’s resume our conversation,” Dion said, turning back toward his bipedal foe.

The assassin abruptly took a step back.

“Hmm?”

Dion lifted an eyebrow, only to smack his forehead in realization when a black horse raced past them, and the assassin flipped onto its back.

“Ah, forgot about the bloody horse... Should have seen that coming. If he can get the mutts to do his bidding, he obviously knows a trick or two with horses as well.”

A quick glance around revealed that the wolves had vanished.

“A clean retreat. Pretty impressive. I probably bought everyone enough time though. Ludwig should be safe now. Gotta say though, that fellow sure wasn’t talkative. I was hoping to hear his voice at least, but he literally didn’t speak a word. Also...”

He craned his neck from side to side and shrugged his shoulders.

“Now where the hell did my horse go?”