The Knight in Black (黒衣の騎士 Kokui no Kishi? ) is the 3rd chapter of the Arslan Senki Manga by Hiromu Arakawa. It was released in Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine.
Summary[]
The Battle of Atropatene is turning into a Parsian Rout as Daryun runs to save Arslan's life.
Synopsis[]
In the midst of battle, King Andragoras fervently questions his men as to the whereabouts of Kharlan. They reply that they have not seen Kharlan anywhere and the king orders them to bring him once they find him. As they leave, the king questions if Kharlan has betrayed him as he was not warned of the cliff ahead in his report.
Vahriz then meets with Daryun and informs him that they cannot find Prince Arslan anywhere. Vahriz orders him to go look for the missing prince, Daryun telling Vahriz to meet back at Ecbatana before riding away. Daryun soon finds Kubard and asks him if he has seen the prince. Kubard says no and then asks Daryun if his men have all died. He tells Kubard that he lost his position of Marzban but he will still fulfill his promise to his uncle by finding the missing prince. Kubard offers Daryun 100 of his men, but he refuses saying that he does not want to be seen by the enemy. Daryun continues on until he comes across a group of Lusitanian soldiers. They prepare to engage the lone soldier in battle, but are swiftly dealt with. One more Lusitanian soldier arrives on the scene and Daryun asks him if he has seen someone with a lion helmet. The scared soldier shakes his head fearfully as Daryun kills him. He leaves to continue his search.
Meanwhile, Vahriz tries to propose the idea of retreating to the king. Andragoras furiously opposes the idea until Vahriz asks the king if he would allow the capital and Queen Tahamine to fall in the enemy's hands. The king reluctantly withdraws his troops while some of Kharlan's troops exclaim that "Andragoras the Third has run away!" This causes the morale of the remaining troops to lower greatly as they question their king's cowardice. Shapur is angered by the false news as Kubard tells him he can run as well if he does not want to fight. He then continues to say that as long as the king is doing his duty, which is protecting the capital, then he has the authority to do whatever he sees fit. Kubard then goes to fight an upcoming wave of Lusitianian soldiers.
Two Lusitanian soldiers are seen with the gold lion helmet which Arslan wore into battle. One of them attempts to try it on, but is beheaded before he could even put it on. The remaining soldier, frightened by the attack, is asked by Daryun where he got the helmet from. The scene then returns to Arslan and Kharlan, Arslan questioning why Kharlan is attacking him. Kharlan says that he has his reasons and continues to attack from atop his horse. Lusitanian soldiers watch nearby and wonder why Kharlan is having such a difficult time with the prince. One by one, the soldiers on stand-by all fall prey to Daryun's attacks. Daryun spots Arslan but before he could call out to him, Kharlan summons his followers to keep Daryun at bay. Daryun questions Kharlan's loyalties to which he responds that this isn't a betrayal, although in the future it may be seen as one to usurp the throne from Andragonas. Daryun figures out that it was Kharlan's plan to have him loose his position as Marzban and continues to plow his way through soldiers under Kharlan's command. He tells Arslan to leave the fight to him, which Arslan wearily agrees to, and then begins a full on assault against Kharlan. The most he manages to do is break the reign on Kharlan's horse, causing him to retreat with the remaining men, Daryun vowing to kill him later on. Daryun then rushes to Arslan's side but all Arslan could think of is why Kharlan has betrayed them.
The Pars camp is then set ablaze as we see the King and his troups make their way away from the battle field. But before they have time to take a break up in the mountainous trail, they are rained upon by arrows by the Lusitanians. Silver Mask then arriaves and holds off the ambush in order to approach the king. He then kills Vahriz and prepares to kill the king.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
Characters in italic are only seen briefly and have yet to make a proper appearance.
[]
| Volume 1 | Chapter 1 • Chapter 2 • Chapter 3 • Chapter 4 |
| Volume 2 | Chapter 5 • Chapter 6 • Chapter 7 • Chapter 8 • Chapter 9 • Chapter 10 |
| Volume 3 | Chapter 11 • Chapter 12 • Chapter 13 • Chapter 14 • Chapter 15 • Chapter 16 • Chapter 17 • Chapter 18 • Chapter 19 |
| Volume 4 | Chapter 20 • Chapter 21 • Chapter 22 • Chapter 23 • Chapter 24 • Chapter 25 • Chapter 26 • Chapter 27 |
| Volume 5 | Chapter 28 • Chapter 29• Chapter 30 • Chapter 31 • Chapter 32 • Chapter 33 • Chapter 34 |
| Not Yet Collected | Chapter 35 |