Chapter 51

When the battle between "The Dancing Sword" and "The Carnage Circus" began, Lambert was walking through the forest, taming a headless horse alongside the bard Alban.

In the midst of this, he sensed the presence of their conflict and, not wanting to bring the headless horse out in public, he left them behind and headed for the battlefield.

Lambert swung his greatsword with ease, splattering the blood of the two he had just cut down, and then retook his stance.

"Don't waver! Create an opening, and I'll shoot!"

The masked men were intimidated by Lambert, who had killed two of them as a greeting upon his sudden appearance, but they managed to regain their composure upon hearing Robin Hood's voice. The two masked men surrounding Lambert and their boss, Crown, once again took up their weapons.

With Robin Hood's archery skills, it was easy to pierce the joints of the armor from a distance. Even if the arrow missed and hit another part, it could still cause a bruise from the impact. Just because it was full plate armor didn't mean there was no way to attack.

"We're surrounding you, don't be scared!"

Crown shouted and leaped, aiming a needle at the gap in Lambert's helmet from above. At the same time, the two masked men on either side attacked with their swords. Lambert, while jumping, deflected the needle with his armor and then launched a powerful strike with his greatsword at Crown.

"Haah!?"

Crown never expected such a heavy weight to jump. Naturally, he had no time to prepare to avoid it. Lambert's shoulder slammed into Crown's abdomen, and he was bent in a C-shape. Wearing magic metal armor, Lambert was like a block of metal with terrifying explosive power. Crown was thrown and slammed into a nearby tree trunk.

"Gaahaaa!"

Crown expelled all the air from his body from the impact and let out a roar like a beast. Several bones were shattered by the impact. Crown, now unable to move, spat out a large amount of blood and lost consciousness in the intense pain.

The masked men, unable to even track the sudden disappearance of Lambert with their eyes, stood frozen in shock. Lambert, hovering in mid-air, looked down at one of them and readied his greatsword to strike.

Robin Hood was closely following every movement. The passionate expression on his face had long since disappeared, replaced by the cold eyes of a hunter.

Robin Hood had not intended to directly involve himself further in this battle. He knew that if he did, it would be a crushing victory. He was a man who had once been at the top of the city of adventurers, where nearly ten thousand adventurers gathered. Therefore, he had limited himself to command and restraint. It was supposed to be just a game, and it should have been enough. However, Robin Hood had immediately recognized that Lambert was an out-of-place monster.

In the instant he released an arrow, Robin Hood skillfully used his finger movements to hang another arrow and release a second shot, and then repeated the same action to release a third shot. It was not something that could be done with such speed just by shooting recklessly. It was truly a divine skill. The three consecutive shots, which seemed to have been released simultaneously, attacked Lambert, who had just taken up his sword in mid-air.

"Amazing! There's no way to avoid this..."

One of the masked men, watching from a distance, let out a sigh of admiration at Robin Hood's skill, forgetting the situation.

But Robin Hood quickly pulled three more arrows from his quiver, hung two of them, and was already hanging the first one on the string. His intuition told him that this wouldn't be enough to finish the job.

"Haah!"

And that's exactly what happened. Lambert swung his greatsword with ease, breaking the three arrows approaching him. The speed was incredible. Even Robin Hood couldn't track the last arrow with his eyes.

At the same time as Lambert landed, a nearby masked man was split in half vertically, collapsing on the spot, spilling blood, brain matter, and internal organs.

The masked man on the opposite side screamed and tried to run, but Lambert threw the tip of the arrow he had been holding in mid-air, which pierced the back of the masked man's head.

(After that last strike... he was holding the tip of the broken arrow)

Robin Hood hadn't seen this either. More than that, he couldn't believe it. The idea that Lambert had reached out and grabbed the arrow he had just deflected before it flew away was beyond belief.

"..."

Silently, Robin Hood lowered the arrow he had on the string and returned all three to the quiver. His expression remained unchanged, having shifted from a passionate face to a blank one. He switched his bow with another one he had been carrying on his back.

The new bow was larger and had a thicker string, with elaborate gold decorations on both ends. This bow was known as the Dragon King Bow, made with the whiskers of the legendary dragon, a national treasure-level bow. The string's recoil was so strong that a normal person couldn't even draw it. In exchange, it boasted terrifying power, and arrows fired from the Dragon King Bow were said to pierce even castle walls.

Robin Hood took a specially made arrow, entirely made of magic silver, from his quiver. Ordinary arrows would break under the strain of the Dragon King Bow.

Even Robin Hood couldn't properly draw this arrow. The back of the arrow had a thin rope attached, which he tightly tied to his arm and then drew the arrow on the Dragon King Bow. When he released it, he twisted the back of the arrow, and the rope would come off.

In front of the Dragon King Bow, even a half-hearted sword defense was meaningless, and full plate armor was almost as good as being naked. The rope bit into Robin Hood's arm, causing blood to pool.

"Come on! I'll pierce that helmet! You clowns, just for a moment, stop him!"

Robin Hood shouted. The masked men had just witnessed their comrades and boss, Crown, being easily thrown aside. They were unsure of what to do. However, in this short time, they had been swayed by Robin Hood's words and strength. As a result, the remaining four masked men, without a single one missing, headed towards Lambert.

"I won't let you!"

Talmia leaped in front of one of the masked men and unleashed a flurry of attacks with her double-edged knives.

"Get out of my way!"

But the masked man blocked the blades with his shoulder and tackled Talmia, forcing her back. The high morale was a stark contrast to the earlier half-hearted attempts to avoid decisive blows. Similarly, the masked men who had been obstructed by "The Dancing Sword" scattered and rushed at Lambert.

The tip of the arrow Robin Hood had drawn was relentlessly tracking Lambert. Despite the unconventional way of drawing the arrow, the tip never wavered.

The arrow fired from the Dragon King Bow was much faster than a normal person's. Normally, it would be impossible to avoid it after seeing it. However, Robin Hood was confident that the armored man would surely avoid it if he just fired it normally.

"..."

Robin Hood opened his eyes wide and observed Lambert.

The first masked man was still on horseback. He shouted and thrust his spear with force. Lambert dodged the spear and the horse's charge with a small movement and cut off the upper body of the first masked man. The horse, still carrying the lower half of the body, galloped away, neighing in distress.

Robin Hood didn't move. He just watched. Thanks to this, he was getting used to Lambert's movements. Lambert was a swordsman in a realm beyond human, but Robin Hood was also an archer approaching that realm.

Lambert shattered the axe thrown by the second masked man with a single swing and lunged forward, thrusting his greatsword into the chest and quickly pulling it out. Using the momentum from pulling it out, he spun half a turn and struck the head of the third masked man with the flat of his greatsword. The face exploded in a spray of blood.

Robin Hood still didn't move. The limit of his own arm supporting the arrow was approaching. The next one was the last. He had to shoot Lambert here.

"Aah... raaaaah!"

The last one was holding a morning star, a club with spikes. This might transmit the impact through Lambert's armor. But that was only if it hit.

As he approached, the masked man felt overwhelmed by Lambert's presence. No matter where he struck, he could see himself being knocked down in the next instant. He couldn't move. If he did, he would die.

(But... but if I can create even a moment of opening... that man will surely shoot this monster...!)

He gripped the morning star he had almost dropped. The reach of the greatsword was much longer. If he attacked normally, he would be cut down no matter what. This was clear from the previous events.

The masked man extended his arm to its maximum and swung the morning star at Lambert's greatsword. Defeating him was impossible. But if he could induce even a slight moment of rigidity, Robin Hood would surely pierce the great armor in front of him.

Lambert moved forward mercilessly and raised his arm. The morning star was knocked high into the air.

"Ah..."

In the next instant, an overwhelming weight slammed into the masked man's head. Lambert pushed the split body aside and continued forward.

Robin Hood didn't move. He couldn't. He knew that even if he shot now, there was no chance in a hundred of a miracle. He was simply mesmerized by Lambert's sword skills.

"What a beautiful sword technique..."

He lowered his arm, which was congested with blood from the rope, and dropped the Dragon King Bow at his feet. The arrow, released with a thunderous sound, pierced the ground and disappeared.

"...We're retreating, Seraph."

When Robin Hood said this, the blue horse he was riding nodded and galloped in the opposite direction. The blue horse was not particularly large but was much faster than a normal horse. His beloved horse, Seraph, had the power to manipulate wind mana, strengthening tailwinds and avoiding headwinds.

Lambert, holding his greatsword in one hand, drew it back to his shoulder and threw it at Robin Hood. The blade pierced the ground behind Seraph's hooves, sending up a large spray of dirt.

"Hmm... it's too far, after all."

Robin Hood turned back to Lambert with a startled look but continued galloping without breaking his pace.

(Without a horse, I can't catch up... )

Lambert gave up and stopped. His original goal was to rescue the people being attacked. While he had achieved something close to that, eliminating the villains was secondary.

Moreover, there weren't many horses that could bear the weight of his magic metal armor. Even if he borrowed a horse to chase Robin Hood, he couldn't catch up to Seraph. To catch up to Seraph, he would need a large and famous horse.

(But that man... he doesn't seem to be the type to be left unchecked. I'll have to kill him eventually. The problem is that he can't be shown in public... perhaps I should tame a headless horse)