Lord of Caldera - Chapter 52

Chapter 52: Chapter 52
“Hey, you!”

Max jumped back in shock, retreating out of the range of Sylas’s sword. It was already a situation where no excuse would work.

A string of curses popped into Max’s head, but there wasn’t even enough time to spit them out.

‘Run!’

The job and everything else didn’t matter anymore. If he didn’t flee immediately, the knights would capture and kill him.

Just as Max was about to open the door, a teacup flew from Sylas’ hand.

Crash!

“Oof!”

The teacup struck Max’s head, shattering on impact and causing him to stumble. In that brief moment, Sylas darted out and blocked the door.

“There’s no escape!”

‘Damn it…!’

Max barely managed to regain his senses, biting his lip as he stepped back. Now, the only escape route left was the window behind him.

After a moment of hesitation, Max turned, sprinted, and threw himself toward the glass.

Smash!

“Argh!”

Max tumbled to the ground from the second floor, shaking off the glass shards. Fortunately, the high-quality glass wasn’t too sharp when it broke. He let out a small sigh of relief, but that relief was short-lived.

“What was that sound!?”

“It came from over there!”

‘I knew this would happen.’

That’s why Max always hated breaking through windows. It was like announcing his location to the whole neighborhood.

Luckily, he had managed to distance himself from Sylas. If he could hide his mask and dagger, he could return to being an innocent warehouse worker.

Just as he thought that and prepared to slip into the shadows, a voice rang out.

“Assassin!”

“…!”

Max’s heart sank at the sound from nearby. When he turned his head, he saw the last person he wanted to encounter.

‘This is insane! Why is this drunken fool here?’

It was Toby Bastone, a knight infamous for his reckless behavior but renowned for his unmatched physical strength within his household. He was also someone Max had no chance of defeating, even in a perfect ambush.

Toby grinned at Max, who stood frozen in fear.

“Don’t worry. I won’t touch you. I’m not the one who’ll deal with you.”

“…?”

What was he talking about? There was an assassin who had just attacked his lord—or at least, someone who looked like one—standing right in front of him, and yet he wasn’t going to attack?

Max cursed under his breath, unable to ask directly for fear of being exposed. But his question was soon answered.

Thud.

“Hmph.”

A sound from behind startled Max, and he trembled as he turned his head. Sylas, holding his sword, had already arrived. It seemed he had jumped out from the window Max had just broken.

Sylas dusted off the dirt from his landing and gripped his sword firmly.

“Toby, make sure he can’t escape.”

“Don’t worry, sir. If he tries anything, I’ll skewer him with this.”

Toby lightly tapped his spear, causing Max to break out in a cold sweat. With Toby’s monstrous strength, if he threw that spear, Max wouldn’t have time to dodge; he’d be impaled instantly.

Max gritted his teeth and readjusted his grip on his dagger, realizing his escape route was completely blocked.

‘There’s no other way. I’ll have to take that young lord as a hostage!’

There was no longer any way to explain his situation, and there was no way to escape undetected. His only option left was to take a hostage.

Although he wasn’t sure if that would guarantee his survival, there was at least a slim chance.

‘Luckily, Toby’s only blocking my escape. A young lord who’s barely been training with a sword for a month should be easy enough to…!?’

Before Max could finish his thought, a lightning-fast strike from Sylas’s sword made him freeze. Instinctively, he raised his dagger to block, and sparks flew as the weapons clashed.

Clang!

‘Ugh!’

The sheer force of Sylas’s attack made Max’s arm tremble violently. Despite the difference between a dagger and a longsword, the strike had far more power than Max expected.

‘This young lord isn’t a novice!’

Cold sweat ran down Max’s back. He had thought it would be easy enough to take Sylas hostage with a bit of effort, but now he had to worry about his own life.

Seeing Max manage to block the surprise attack, Sylas smiled, seemingly impressed.

“Oh, not bad. I guess I can go a bit harder.”

“…!?”

Max initially thought Sylas was bluffing, but before that thought could even finish, another barrage of rapid thrusts came his way.

Max had no choice but to focus all his energy on parrying Sylas’s strikes. There was no time to think about anything else. All he could do was block the blade that was right in front of his face.

While Max was struggling to fend off Sylas’s attacks, time continued to pass, and a crowd had started to gather around them.

“Sir Toby, what’s happening here?”

“The young lord… he’s fighting!”

The knights gasped in shock as they saw Sylas clashing swords with an unknown assailant.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s help him!”

“No! Stop, all of you!”

Some of the knights drew their swords and charged forward, but Toby stepped in their way.

Frustrated at being blocked, the knights frowned and shouted.

“Sir Toby, why are you stopping us!?”

“Lord Sylas is your master! You should be the first to help him…” they yelled in outrage.

Toby, however, lowered his head solemnly, wearing a heavy expression.

“Do you think I don’t want to help? But the problem is his identity!” Toby said.

“His identity? Isn’t he just an assassin?”

“He’s no ordinary assassin! That guy… he’s an assassin from the heretic cults of the East!”

“What!” The knights gasped, exchanging startled glances. Eastern heretic assassins were notorious, even within the Empire.

These assassins were known for their fanatical devotion, willing to die without hesitation, and for undergoing ten years of body modifications just for a single mission.

And now, Sylas was fighting one of those dangerous killers?

“An assassin from the East? Are you sure?” one knight asked in disbelief.

‘Sure? Are you kidding me? Where’s this drunk fool getting this nonsense from?’ Max thought, shocked even more than the knights.