(1)
“……If it were me, I would get down on my knees right away. “Chief.”
A wolf is smiling in front of me.
A wolf looking at the poor flock of sheep flocking to him.
As soon as Stefan saw Vlad’s cool eyes passing by him, he felt goosebumps rising on the back of his head.
“There is only one guy and there are dozens of us. “If you just take the lead, we can easily subdue you!”
Stefan snorted involuntarily at the village chief’s absurd suggestion.
No matter how peaceful you have been living, you cannot recognize the threat smiling right in front of you.
This person is not qualified to be the village chief.
“Then we’ll leave.”
“……what?”
With those words, Stefan and the mercenaries slowly began to back away.
The mercenaries living at the crossroads between life and death recognized the cruel wolf smiling in front of them and did not hesitate to bow to him.
“what. “Why are you doing this?”
“You guys weren’t hired to do this in the first place! “Why are you falling back!”
The vigilantes who had gathered together, each holding a spear, were taken aback when they saw the mercenaries leaving the battlefield without hesitation.
“That person is a knight.”
“what?”
“That guy is a real knight.”
Some of the mercenaries who recognized Vlad quietly informed the villagers even as they retreated.
No matter how much you guys gather together, you can’t handle the man in front of you.
“Drop your weapon immediately. “You idiots.”
“…….”
The atmosphere is becoming increasingly frozen.
Even though there was only one, there was a force in the blue eyes that overwhelmed dozens.
Only then did the villagers, who realized what was going on, swallow their saliva and look at Vlad.
“You guys are lucky.”
The black horse’s breath becomes harsh.
Roughly enough to step on the humans in front at any moment.
Because the world that touched him was shaking so much.
“Because I came here to have a quiet vacation.”
Once this sword is drawn, there is no turning back.
Because the world that surrounded me and taught me told me that once I draw my sword, I shouldn’t stop until it’s over.
And I am not used to being patient.
“Don’t miss the last opportunity I offer. “Chief.”
Even if you’ve only lived in a small world, it’s time to find out.
Who is the person in front of you now and what are they doing to him?
The villagers, who had finally faced reality after going through anger, embarrassment, and prejudice, had their lips turn blue.
Just as the tip of the spear was shaking, their eyes were also trembling mercilessly.
※※※※
“…….”
The village chief’s house sits in heavy silence.
As the biggest and most spacious house in the village, the space inside was comfortable, but the weight of the air was beyond imagination.
“We didn’t dare recognize the knight…”
“It’s 3 gold per person.”
“yes?”
Vlad’s cold eyes passed over him as he looked at the village chief who was stupidly questioning him.
“Let’s even look at the guys who hit the spear. However, the guys who invaded Goth’s house cannot be ignored.”
There were dozens of villagers who had just pointed their spears at him.
However, if he killed all of them just because they were hostile to him, he would be no different from a simple murderer.
No matter how many rights one has, they must be exercised according to common sense.
“3 gold per guy.”
“But, sir. “In a small town like ours, 3 gold is worth.”
“Your son is worth 10 gold.”
Even so, you can’t just ignore the insulting treatment.
Vlad was proposing a compensation plan that the owner of this village, Baron Rosmitz, could only nod his head at.
Although it was an excessive amount of gold coins, it was like a bolt from the blue for the parties who had to pay directly.
“If you really can’t pay, there are other ways.”
“Just say the word!”
The village chief bowed his head and tried to find a solution other than gold, but he should know.
The cheapest way to solve everything in this world is with money.
“Cut off each of their left arms.”
“……Chief Knight.”
He was a man who grew up in a rough place and swore to carry a sharp sword for the rest of his life.
Vlad’s words contained a chilling sincerity that anyone could understand.
“Of course your son will have to have both arms cut off.”
The chief, who faced Vlad’s bright eyes, no longer had the strength to open his mouth.
There are no more negotiations.
If you reject all these offers, your son and the lives of those insolent bastards will be lost.
“Is there anything more to say?”
“……doesn’t exist.”
“Then go out.”
He had put the village in crisis through his wrong judgment, but the village chief, who had the last clue, had no choice but to hang his head and go outside.
Because it was none other than themselves who made an irreversible mistake.
“…You also have this side.”
“It was a good thing I didn’t step forward. Stefan. “I was already thinking about cutting someone off as an example.”
Stefan stopped and pulled down his jacket from around his neck at Vlad’s casual words.
Vlad’s tone, whose anger had not yet subsided, contained thorns that were difficult to overcome.
“Because we knew very well what kind of person the driver was.”
Vlad pushed the car that the village chief had given him and stood up.
Vlad continued, looking at the numerous bottles of alcohol placed on the cabinet.
“But how did it end up here? “I don’t think these skills will be pushed out to a corner of the countryside.”
Is this mead?
Vlad’s eyes began to sparkle as he found a bottle of liquor that was not easily found in the northern part of the country where flowers were rare.
“Well, in a way, the reason we are here is because of the knight’s virtue.”
“……ah.”
When Vlad realized what Stefan meant, he fell silent.
“It wasn’t that bad though. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen the countryside, and my nose feels refreshed.”
“Let’s have a drink with this. “I will follow you.”
Vlad opened the chief’s mead without hesitation as if it were his own and poured it for Stefan.
Vlad had a falling out with Count Vitskaya in Tanovo.
There was no problem for Vlad, who was planning to leave anyway, but the Thornwood Mercenaries, who were planning to establish a new position there, had no choice but to wander around here and there again looking for requests.
What Stefan said was not just an insult, it was the truth.
“So what request did you come here for?”
“Hmm…. The principle is not to disclose the content of the request without permission from the employer.”
Vlad stopped smiling at Stefan’s joke.
An acquaintance with whom I had a connection with delicious alcohol.
It was a moment when the atmosphere that had been heavy until now was broken.
“You saved my life. “This time and last time too.”
“Yes. “I don’t know what would have happened if it hadn’t been for the driver on the bridge at that time.”
The position of mercenary leader was not one that could be achieved simply by eating a few knives.
It is also a place where you have to create a comfortable atmosphere and promote yourself to your employer, just like now when you are facing Vlad.
“It’s not really a secret. “After all, it’s something everyone knows.”
Stefan, who drank the drink Vlad offered him, brought his head closer to Vlad as if someone was listening and opened his mouth quietly.
“It looks like a war will break out here soon.”
“War?”
“I mean Yeongjijeon. “It’s a land grab between nobles.”
When completely unexpected words came out of Stefan’s mouth, Vlad put down his drink and straightened his posture.
A world he had never experienced before was flowing from the tip of Stefan’s tongue.
“Keep going.”
“…The request we received from Baron Rosemitz was to protect this village from bandits.”
The Thorn Mercenaries, who were looking for a new area to take root, came to Wisteria Village after being entrusted with a kind of vigilante work.
This is because looting by bandits has become more frequent near the border of the baronial territory.
“What does banditry have to do with territory warfare?”
“That’s the key part.”
Although the village chief’s house was empty, Stefan quietly leaned closer as if someone could hear him and opened his mouth to Vlad.
“Those guys who go around looting don’t seem like bandits just by looking at them.”
“…….”
Even if the villagers didn’t know, Stefan, who had a lot of experience in the mercenary industry, could tell.
The actions of the bandits rampaging around here are suspicious.
“The appearance of the hit and run is very neat and refined. “Just like trained soldiers.”
“……hmm.”
Perhaps Baron Rosmitz also knows.
The bandits running rampant right now are not ordinary guys.
“The way I see it, this is a kind of prelude. “It’s about securing an access road to Marcia.”
Before declaring war, the enemy was clearing the surrounding villages and securing the access road to Marcia.
“And Baron Rosemitz?”
“That person is buying time.”
And Baron Rosmitz was sacrificing several villages to gain time and troops to build a defense line.
Those who attack and those who defend.
Both moves may have been strategically correct, but in the end, the people who were sacrificed were just villagers who knew nothing.
“We plan to stay here until this week and then get paid and leave. “You can’t be on a sinking ship, right?”
“……okay?”
The mead you are drinking is bitter.
Although I had come to the village to enjoy a vacation, I felt like I was swept away by something again.
No, it was a time when it was inevitable no matter where you went.
“Who is the opponent?”
“……I think it might be Baron Pylos. “There is looting going on from that direction.”
“Philos?”
Although his common sense was not yet deep enough to clearly understand the noble families, the family called Pylos was definitely a family that Vlad remembered.
‘Pylos Pylos…’
Vlad closed his eyes and began to recall a familiar name, going through his memories as best as he could.
‘ah.’
As the name that had been buried in his memory began to emerge, Vlad felt a faint lemon scent coming from the tip of his nose.
-As expected, I have good strength, just like I heard.
-They’re not called mud boars for nothing. If you get caught there, you won’t even be able to get the bones out of it.
There was a land where he took his first steps toward becoming a knight.
The duel at that time was not honorable at the beginning, but it blossomed into a splendid ending.
There was a gaze glaring at the boy who was carrying the honor that Josef had lent him on his back.
He was a knight who was fuming as he was unable to defeat the man who had been defeated by his teacher, Xayar.
※※※※
Wow!
Help me! I’ll give you what you want!
People’s screams were echoing everywhere along with the acrid smoke.
Inside the small village, sounds that could no longer escape were rattling and echoing.
“Colin.”
“Report.”
The smell of blood and the sound of someone crying.
A man with black skin chewing chewy beef jerky as if nothing had happened in the midst of such a scene of carnage.
“This town has been completely taken over.”
“Did you take out everything you needed to take out?”
If a village is to be burned, it would be right to leave out useful things.
These are items that will no longer have an owner anyway.
“…Is this all you can do?”
“It appears to have been a very poor village.”
Not a city, just a village.
Since it was a village buried in a corner of a mountain, there was no way they could find satisfactory loot.
The man named Colin’s expression began to distort, as if he was not happy with the loot in front of him.
“But the next village we’ll go to will be a little different. It’s a village near Marcia, and the village chief there is a former collector.”
“okay?”
The wild boar’s expression finally started to become happy as it smelled the gold coins it wanted.
If you are a former tax collector, you probably have a slush fund saved up for one reason or another.
Because it was a place that allowed such things in the first place.
“Which town do you want to go to next?”
“It’s called Wisteria Village.”
Colin put away the dagger he was cutting the meat with and stood up.
Dusk was just about to set.
Maybe there are sparkling gold coins waiting in the direction where the sun sets.
“Finish it quickly, guys.”
“Yes, Colin.”
A knight is a sword.
And the sword is a tool.
Depending on who holds the handle, the knight appears in various ways.
And today, Colin of the Pylos family, who laid down his honor according to his lord’s order, no longer looked like a knight.
It was just the appearance of a vicious bandit.
