The Knight Commander of the Second Male Lead [Novel] Chapter 58

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 58

Chapter Title: Swift Dawn Rescue

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Nina first stopped by the lab and squeezed every last potion out of Kiril. Then she saddled the One-Horned Horse and galloped out through the castle gates.

A misty wind wrapped around the One-Horned Horse's four legs, and its speed surged dramatically.

For a moment, the One-Horned Horse seemed startled but soon adapted to the velocity and broke into a full gallop.

Fast.

It was fast enough to rival a car.

Thanks to the spirit's blessing, that was all that saved her; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to keep her eyes open and would have been flattened against its back.

Empowered by the North Wind, the One-Horned Horse covered the vast distance in no time. Nina arrived at her destination before the sun had even risen.

This territory's in rough shape too. Or is it just this area?

Nina thought as she knocked on the door of a small hut.

The man who emerged, ready to chew out an unexpected midnight visitor, widened his eyes in shock upon seeing Nina, who was unmistakably a noble.

Spotting the One-Horned Horse behind her, he looked like he might topple over backward.

Nina apologized for the late-hour intrusion, and the trembling man prostrated himself flat.

She soothed him with a small piece of gold ore and asked about Rorokomo.

The man hurriedly ushered her inside the hut. The low ceiling and dim interior prompted Nina to pull out a glass vial containing seed crystals from her bosom.

The man recoiled with a squeak at the excessively bright light.

"Could you give us some space?" Nina asked, and without a word, he bolted outside like a rabbit.

He's really scared.

Nina gazed at Rorokomo's puffy face. Part of his cheekbone was caved in.

Even his pale sky-blue hair had been crudely hacked off—a deliberate act of humiliation. His clothes had clearly been stripped away almost entirely.

Bandits for sure, and they must have had knives, but instead of stabbing, they'd beaten him nearly to death with clubs...

His companions were captured too, right?

What fate awaited them in the clutches of such monsters...

Maybe they took them for ransom? That's why they let Rorokomo go.

But if left like this, Rorokomo wouldn't survive the day.

Nina laid out the medicines she'd brought in sequence.

"Alright. I'm counting on you, Lady Kiril."

Kiril had saved the lives of knights countless times. This time, the pouches were filled with secret remedies she'd developed with Randell.

If even these didn't work, there was nothing more to be done.

His body was broken in so many places that Nina carefully propped up his upper body and first fed him the pale yellow potion bit by bit.

He choked and struggled at first, but by the time she'd cautiously gotten half into him, his breathing had eased considerably.

And wait...

Nina silently counted to 300 before administering the deep blue potion. Then she counted to 1000...

As she opened the clear potion vial, Rorokomo's eyes fluttered open. His swollen eyelids made it hard, but he managed.

"You're awake. Lady Kiril never fails. Thank you."

Nina said with relief.

"Are you with it? Do you know your own name? Can you see this clearly?"

Nina adjusted the light so it wouldn't shine directly into his eyes and held up fingers.

"Ugh..."

A groan escaped his lips. Nina spoke softly.

"You're safe. You're being treated right now. Do you remember your name?"

His unfocused pink-and-purple eyes wandered before barely fixing on Nina's face.

"Roro...komo..."

As he barely managed his name, Nina sighed in relief. At least his brain seemed fine.

His focus was gradually sharpening, so his vision appeared intact too.

Nina peppered him with questions, and Rorokomo answered slowly but even managed basic math.

Nina held up a potion vial.

"Now you need to drink this. I'll help you."

As she brought the vial to his lips, he tried to raise his arm in refusal but stifled a scream.

"Your arm bone's broken too—you can't lift it. Ribs and collarbone at least are cracked. So drink this first and we'll talk. You won't fall asleep on me."

At her firm words, Rorokomo drank the potion.

Pulling back the blanket to check his wounds, Nina grimaced.

It's really bad.

They'd stripped him down to his undergarments. At least that saved her the trouble of undressing him.

Nina uncorked the largest pale green potion vial.

She carefully applied the gel-like medicine to a cloth, then spread it over his entire body.

Rorokomo spoke in a voice much softer than before.

"Miminaga... was captured. Miminaga, cough, was taken. Please, please, save her..."

Tears streamed down his temples. Nina covered him with the blanket and said,

"Do you know where they took her?"

"No, no... I, I..."

Overwhelmed by helplessness, Rorokomo suppressed another cry. He held back sobs, but the tears kept flowing.

"Got it. Don't worry. I'll bring her back. Just wait here."

As Nina stepped outside, the man stood at a distance, and the One-Horned Horse was eyeing him disdainfully, intimidating him for no reason with horn-jabbing head tosses.

Each time, the man flinched and backed away.

"Enough."

Nina scowled, and the One-Horned Horse instantly turned meek as if nothing had happened.

Nina approached the man.

"Could you watch over Rorokomo while I'm gone? Sorry to keep asking."

"Not at all. I'll take care of him."

The man recalled in order: the gold ore, the One-Horned Horse, Nina's sword at her hip.

"And do you have any guess who might have robbed him?"

At Nina's question, the man swallowed hard.

Nina lay prone in the bushes, watching the dancing woman.

She wore a thin dress cinched with a striped waist sash characteristic of the Bleka tribe, but her long tawny hair obscured her face.

Her dance was slow, exhaustion plain. When she finally stumbled and fell, the villains rushed in.

"!!"

The villains undid her sash and prodded her with spear tips to keep dancing.

The stripped sash was tossed aside onto a pile of Bleka traditional garments, making the cruel game obvious.

Bastards.

Too drained even to cry, she began dancing again. When she faltered, one grabbed her by the hair, and Nina held back no longer.

Good. No mercy.

She'd already decided to kill all the villains on the way here. But how remained undecided—until now.

Her sword blazed with bright light. Nina bared her teeth in a feral grin.

"What's that over there?"

"Fire?"

"Who goes there!"

The next instant, Nina shot forward like a drawn arrow.

In a flash, limbs of two or three men were severed. None had died yet.

The bandits with severed limbs screamed as fire ignited on their wounds, writhing on the ground. But the flames only grew fiercer. In the sudden chaos, Nina seized Miminaga and leaped into the bushes.

She pinned her flat and said,

"Rorokomo sent me. Stay here."

Miminaga's eyes widened. Pale sky-blue and deep sky-blue. The Bleka tribe's signature heterochromia.

Right one saved.

Confirmed, Nina felt relieved.

"Rorokomo's alive—"

Before she could finish, Nina charged back out.