A knight's most important armor and sword were shattered, and one could only imagine the state he was in himself.
When they realized that Ian might have been seriously injured, the pursuit squad's momentum declined steadily.
In the course of their pursuit, they had come to understand that their strength paled in comparison to Ian's; at least in various swordsmanship and marksmanship, Ian was performing at the peak of what someone his age could achieve, accomplishments even veterans of over a decade of combat could not claim to surpass.
But now, they discovered that even Ian couldn't withstand the mysterious assailant's shadowy attacks and had even fallen into an unfavorable position, with pieces of his armor knocked off and his side sword broken!
Under such pressure, some immediately thought about returning, waiting for reinforcements — for the sake of survival.
