Chapter 20: The Bandit Lord’s Welcome

“They came from the main family. It’s Intezeron.”

I tossed it out indifferently.

Lord Norting’s face turned pale.

“As far as I know, none of the elders have had children in nearly twenty years.”

“That’s right.”

“To my knowledge, the house head has only one son?”

“It’s me. The former heir. Called the crippled mage Anplus.”

Lord Norting trembled hands and feet as he prostrated himself at my feet.

I lifted him up and headed toward Samete together.

“Are you only coming now?”

It was a voice strangely laced with resentment.

Samete’s face, leaning on the bridge railing, was deathly pale.

He staggered toward me and collapsed onto the bridge floor.

“Are you alright?”

I asked urgently.

“I used too much mana, that’s all. I’ll recover with a little rest.”

Samete stood up without taking my offered hand.

I withdrew my hand and looked around.

The two knights I’d missed and thirty commoners had turned into ice statues.

Those commoner men were holding nine-tailed whips with knots.

“Dried ones, huh.”

Red bloods chosen as underlings.

“They came before the knights. Seems they tried to flee.”

“Flee?”

“They must have heard the sound of the back path collapsing. They probably thought a powerful earth mage had arrived.”

“Did you handle them all alone?”

“Yes. When they saw me, they scattered in all directions trying to escape. Freezing them all at once was exhausting.”

Cold had the property of consuming a lot of mana.

It would indeed be tiring to freeze all fleeing in every direction at once.

“I barely caught them all, then two knights showed up. I thought I was done for by the axe.”

He staggered with rough breaths.

His complexion was so bad I couldn’t say anything.

I spoke with apology.

“I’ll make sure not to miss any next time.”

“Yes. Please do.”

“I thought I’d missed about two out of eight, but I didn’t expect the dried ones to show up too.”

“Two out of eight?”

Samete asked, frowning.

“Two perfumers, six knights. One defected as you see, two I left to you, three I caught.”

“What happened to the perfumers?”

“One caught, one escaped.”

Samete made a strange expression.

“Is that possible with just one sword?”

I answered with a smile.

“Didn’t you see me defeat Prince Habinan?”

“Fighting on horseback is another matter. It’s not a distance where knight swords can reach.”

Samete made an expression as if experiencing cognitive dissonance.

How with just one sword? He muttered the same words a few more times before shaking his head.

“Knight. Guide us. We must strictly punish this generation’s Henestion.”

“Yes. Understood.”

Lord Norting answered with a spirited voice.

Samete and I rode the seized horses across the gravel path toward the village.

Lord Norting gladly walked on two feet to guide us.

As the sun rose, the fog cleared, and a village of about seven thousand people came into view.

Two- to three-story wooden houses lined the uphill road.

I asked Lord Norting.

“Lord. Did the village use many crossbows?”

Fortunately, he shook his head.

“Our village knights hunted beasts on horseback, whipping them with copper whips. We didn’t use crossbows much.”

He hesitated for a moment before adding.

“There might be a few in the warehouse, but they’re not in a state to be used immediately.”

“Good.”

I drew my sword and pulled the reins.

Hoofbeats clacked through the quiet village.

Gazes watched us from here and there, and the sound of wooden doors being barred echoed from places.

“The serfs must be terrified.”

Lord Norting said as if explaining.

Samete frowned.

“My lord has arrived, and they can’t even come out smiling to greet him.”

I cut off Samete’s words.

“I didn’t come with notice, so I didn’t expect to enter amid welcoming confetti. They have no ill feelings, so rest easy.”

Samete looked at me with an expression saying I have feelings, though.

I smirked and looked down the road.

“Yes. Look, a welcoming party is coming.”

A noisy shout came from the uphill alley.

Clang, a perfumer drew his military sword and aimed it this way.

Hiya, five knights on horses charged, swinging copper whips.

Behind them followed about a hundred skinny serfs.

They were armed with farm tools like pitchforks, long hoes, or long sickles for cutting grass.

“Didn’t you say the serfs were scared and hiding?”

Samete asked, gathering mana.

Norting stammered.

“They’re scared, so they’re not shouting.”

A knight struck the ground with his copper whip and yelled.

“Charge!”

“Waaaaaaaaaa!”

It was a shout that seemed to shake the village.

I was curious how these starving wretches could yell so loudly.

“Lord Norting. How much farther to the mansion?”

He answered quickly to my question.

“Just climb this hill.”

I pulled the reins.

“Samete.”

“Are you insane? Three perfumers and five knights.”

“Just handle the serfs appropriately. Can you lay ice on the ground?”

“I can if I rest a bit more.”

I lightly kicked the horse’s flank with my heel.

The horse started up the hill.

A knight spurring down like flying swung his copper whip.

“Do you think we’ll hand over our lord easily!”

I swung my sword the moment the knight’s arm rose high.

Thud sounded, and the first knight with a deep neck slash fell from his horse.

I snatched the powerless copper whip in midair and gripped it properly.

“First time with a whip.”

“Die!”

“But I’m confident whipping bad guys.”

My whip and the second knight’s whip lashed each other’s torsos simultaneously.

Clang, the sound rang loudly.

Even with breastplate, it was considerable impact.

I tensed my stomach and endured.

At the same time, the crossing knight toppled backward.

The third knight whipped his horse to unhorse it.

The fourth knight drove his horse straight at me.

“Let’s go together!”

The moment horse collided with horse, I stepped on the saddle and jumped.

“I still have a long way to go.”

I stepped on the head of the knight jerking back from the impact and performed a roll.

As I rolled on the ground barely regaining balance to stand, the fifth knight thundered down with his whip.

Behind him, serfs surged like an angry wave.

I divided my heartbeat into four and watched the arm swinging the whip.

I crossed both arms in an X to block my face.

Clang, gauntlet and copper whip clashed, ringing loud metal.

Now!

I spun my left arm in a big circle and caught the whip.

Twisting my body hard and pulling, the knight fell straight from his horse.

In the eyes aimed at me rose an indescribable light of astonishment.

“If you follow the wrong person, you only hurt yourself.”

Watching the knight roll downhill with a groan, I muttered that.

“Waaaaaaaaaa!”

The angry serfs came down like a wave.

From uphill, three perfumers looked down at us.

Could I break through them and climb?

I let the wave-patterned sword hang and shook my head.

Even if I could, it wasn’t something I particularly wanted to do.

“Samete.”

“Now even I don’t know!”

The red-haired young noble placed both hands on the ground.

Blue light spread like wildfire along the uphill road, and the ground froze solid.

Morning dew and moisture lingering in the fog from the mist settled, piling thick ice on the dirt.

“Uh?”

“Uwaaaak!”

“Grab me!”

“It’s slippery!”

“Aigoo!”

The serfs began rolling down.

“Ha!”

I kicked off the slippery ground and ran uphill.

“Catch him!”

“Chop his legs!”

I kicked the head of a serf swinging a sickle with my combat boot, parried a pitchfork with my sword, dodged a hoe, and ran.

“How is he climbing that?”

“I don’t know either.”

From below the hill, Samete and Norting’s voices carried on the wind.

I charged at the three perfumer brothers and shouted.

“Surrender and I’ll spare you. Guide me to Henestion.”

“He is our father.”

“Do you think we can abandon family!”

The eldest-looking perfumer slashed down with his military sword.

I saw a faint blue light on his sword.

Definitely magic.

Instead of clashing head-on, I ducked left to evade, and slammed my sword down on the flat of his blade.

Boom!

The moment the pressed sword touched the ground, a fierce wind burst out.

Dirt and gravel flew everywhere.

I covered my face with my gauntlet and climbed uphill.

Flying gravel clanged against breastplate and gauntlet.

I saw the three perfumers staggering back.

“Big brother!”

“Damn it. Using my wind magic against me!”

“Big brother. Dodge!”

With the bloodline of rural low nobles like perfumers, they couldn’t produce firepower to pierce thick knight breastplate.

So he wrapped wind around the blade.

I advanced through the dust cloud.

The retreating eldest perfumer came into view.

He was gathering blue light again to wrap around his blade.

I grinned and kicked the ground to charge.

“A mere knight!”

The eldest perfumer in shock extended his left hand toward me.

Whiiing, it was a fierce wind hard to open eyes, but this much couldn’t blow me away.

“ōt!”

Puk, I plunged my double-handed sword into the eldest perfumer’s thigh.

“Huk!”

He dropped his military sword and collapsed.

As I pulled the sword, pale blue blood splattered.

“Big brother!”

The youngest-looking perfumer thrust long at me.

He was gathering blue light in his left hand, seeming to prepare magic.

I stepped back one pace and predicted the reach of his sword.

Now.

The fully extended sword stopped perilously before my breastplate.

“Iik!”

Toward the panicking guy, I bent low so chin nearly touched knee and kicked the ground.

He flailed uh uh and swung his mana-gathering left hand.

Before that mana could work a miracle, I was plunging my sword into his thigh.

“You should have used magic right away.”

I shifted my center forward and headbutted his stomach.

He staggered and sat on the ground, my sword pulling out.

“One left.”

The second perfumer coughed collock collock spitting dust, glaring at me with bloodshot eyes.

I aimed my sword and asked.

“What were you planning with embezzled taxes?”

He gritted his teeth.

“A mere knight dares speak down to me?”

“A perfumer who doesn’t even know my face insults me!”

I naturally exploded in anger.

At the noble reaction, the perfumer stiffened for a moment.

“I don’t know who you are…… but the dead don’t speak!”

He charged swinging a red-hot glowing sword.

I stepped back one pace as before and extended my steel-gauntleted left hand to grasp his military sword.

Kwadeuk, the iron plate heated quickly, but the thick leather inside held for a long time.

He panicked and pulled the sword.

“Iik!”

Kadeuk sounded from the iron-plated gauntlet palm.

One, two, three.

“Ha!”

I put strength in my left hand and broke the military sword.

Jjeong, with the sound, the heated blade fragments fell to the ground.

He stepped back gathering mana again.

I had no intention of waiting.

“A vassal who doesn’t pay taxes is unnecessary. You broke the contract. Shame of nobility.”

I kicked his stomach to topple him and stabbed then pulled my sword from his chest.

He made a deflating sound heok heok.

“I came to help, but it’s already over?”

Samete and Norting climbed the hill.

“Young Master Samete slipped three times on the ice, that’s why we’re late. Why didn’t you make ice spikes under your shoes earlier.”

“Shut up.”

They seem to have gotten close.

Good.

“Let’s go. That’s the mansion, right?”

Across the road, a mansion with a wide lawn was visible.

“What you said earlier was pretty cool.”

Samete said to me.

“What words?”

“A guy who doesn’t pay taxes violates the vassal contract. Even with blue blood, such a guy isn’t a noble but a bandit squatting on territory.”

I nodded.

“Yes. Then let’s go catch the bandit leader.”

Samete gathering blue light strode across the lawn and grabbed the door handle.

Then something seemed to move behind the mansion front door.

‘There might be a few in the warehouse, but they’re not in a state to be used immediately.’

I grabbed the collar of Samete’s uniform.

Samete, not letting go of the handle, was pulled back and the door opened.

“This……!”

“Shoot!”

Inside the entrance, six crossbowmen and one flamboyantly dressed noble were waiting for us.

I pushed Samete aside and aimed my sword.

The first bolt grazed my side and passed.

The second bolt shattered my extended left gauntlet.

The third and fourth bolts hit the laid-flat sword and bounced off.

“Ha!”

I twisted my body using the crossbows’ recoil.

I split the fifth bolt in half.

The sixth crossbowman shot a beat late.

Aiming at the fallen Samete.

I connected in my mind the guy’s gaze and the direction the crossbow tip pointed.

I dropped the sword and clenched my fist at the point where the two lines met.

Pang!

The thick crossbow arrow caught in my hand trembled paruru like a fish.

“A, Anplus gong.”

Samete stammered seeing the arrow stopped before his eyes.

I glared at this generation’s Henestion and said.

“Were you planning to kill the gongja? You decided to make me drink only spoiled water all the way back, Samete.”

“I see you.”