Chapter 26: The Debt Collector’s True Face

Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank!

A force of about a hundred began to march.

Heavy infantry with large shields at the front.

Five mounted knights separated from the main body.

If things went south, they would break through the flank and shatter the formation.

‘Classic hammer-and-anvil tactic. Properly trained troops.’

Sometimes bandits also showed decent organization. A fugitive knight or mercenary could become their leader.

But even then, they could never display such perfect military structure.

Where would bandits get lances, flails, and full plate armor?

I gave Cordel a light chin nod.

“Go find out what’s going on. Why they’re doing this.”

“Me?”

“A duke personally stepping forward would look bad. Didn’t you just say you’d listen well?”

“…”

Cordel stepped forward, unable to hide his sour expression.

Anyone could see the hostile atmosphere.

Going out alone in this situation would be nerve-wracking.

Of course, I had no intention of just watching him get in danger.

‘I’ll step in at the right moment. The protagonist always appears at the decisive time.’

Even a Black Agent would feel the pressure of over a hundred elite soldiers.

Of course, every knight who had awakened their aura was worth a hundred men.

But was Cordel the only one who could use aura?

The other side would have trained sufficiently as well.

That’s why they came fully armed on horseback.

Anyone who couldn’t use aura wasn’t even considered a knight.

“Oh? He’s not scared?”

Surprisingly, Cordel strode forward confidently.

When the distance narrowed, he lightly raised his right hand.

The opposing soldiers immediately halted.

Quite an impressive sight.

‘They stopped at a signal? That means they’re willing to talk.’

Sure enough, someone emerged from the ranks and shouted loudly.

A middle-aged man with a distinctive mustache that curled inward at the ends.

“Do you have a man named Arzahil?”

“We do. But who are you, and where are you from?”

“We are from the Sierre ducal house. If you understand, hand over that man.”

Bellowing without even confirming who we were—truly the response of a prestigious house.

But Cordel didn’t back down an inch.

In terms of name value, we weren’t exactly lacking either.

“I am an imperial guard knight assisting Duke Carius’s journey.”

“So?”

“Unless there is clear justification, there is no reason to hand over a captured bandit.”

“…Is that Duke Carius’s will?”

Cordel neither confirmed nor denied it.

The black-mustached middle-aged man scowled deeply.

He seemed extremely displeased.

Well, of course.

Pressing with pure force would be burdensome.

‘I’m curious what he’ll say.’

Recently my reputation leaned toward saint or great ruler.

But my original nickname was the Mad Warrior of the North.

In terms of military achievements, I was arguably at the very top.

I had silenced most of the noisy northern tribes.

Even if they were the servants of a great noble house, they should at least bow their heads…

“Entire army. Charge.”

Clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter!

At that single low command, over a hundred elite soldiers raised their weapons.

The mustached man intended to crush us, ignoring everything.

‘But why?’

I couldn’t understand it.

They could just give a proper reason, pay compensation, and take him.

Why go this far?

Questions piled up, but I couldn’t even guess.

It made no sense by my common sense.

Then there was only one conclusion.

“They’re hiding something.”

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

Five mounted knights began accelerating.

Judging by how they split, they were aiming for both Cordel and the rear at the same time.

It was like throwing a question.

Which will you protect: one bodyguard knight, or dozens of porters?

When forced to choose in a split second, anyone would panic.

But that didn’t apply to me.

‘I just save both.’

What was there to think deeply about?

This was a dark medieval fantasy world.

Trying to understand things rationally was pointless.

No matter what nonsense the enemy pulled, I just had to crush them all at once.

“Finally testing this skill.”

The situation perfectly matched its name.

They were challenging my authority and creating an unreasonable situation.

So what should I do?

Drive a hammer right into their skulls.

Beast’s Heart activated

Tssssssss!

Crimson energy surged and blazed around my entire body.

It felt like I had squeezed the skill’s power to its absolute limit.

In that state, I activated another skill.

Doom’s Retribution activated

A tingling sensation immediately crawled up my right arm.

Twitch!

An unknown impulse welled up from my chest.

The desire to unleash the power concentrated in my hand.

‘No—this is a warning.’

If I didn’t release the condensed energy quickly, I would be the one in danger.

The method was as simple as the skill’s name.

Just swing it with everything I had.

Without hesitation, I drew the iron gavel.

“TSUAAAAAH!”

WHOOOOSH~!

With a roar, I raised my arm high, and a transcendent sonic boom erupted.

It felt like uprooting an ancient tree and swinging it.

And the result was almost exactly that.

“Huh?”

In an instant, the gavel had grown to the size of a building.

Of course, the physical object hadn’t multiplied.

The sapphire-blue energy pouring from my hand had simply transformed into a gigantic hammerhead.

Blue energy fused with the crimson light bursting from Beast’s Heart.

Then the house-sized mass of energy slammed down at terrifying speed.

KABOOOOOM! KUGUGUGUGU—!

The strike that smashed into the ground created a monstrous shockwave.

I hadn’t intended to pulverize them from the start.

I only meant to scare them.

But the skill’s power far exceeded my expectations.

“ARRGH!”

“E-earthquake!”

“Jump off now!”

The charging knights hurled themselves from their horses.

If they were caught in that shockwave, they would be helplessly thrown off.

Better to use falling techniques to slightly increase survival chances.

The horses, of course, were not so lucky.

NEIIIGH!

Crash! Crash!

Five knights sprawled on the ground, and the advancing heavy infantry halted.

Every enemy crouched, shields planted into the earth to endure the storm-like force.

Those who failed to brace properly with comrades were flung backward like dolls.

“AHHH!”

“Grab each other!”

After a brief moment,

The earthquake and gale that had shaken the earth subsided.

It had been just one blow, but the result was devastating.

The once-neat public road had turned into a wasteland; no one could stand properly.

Except for the one person who had cast the skill.

“Phewww~!”

I let out a long breath and strolled across the battlefield.

Passing the fallen knights, I spotted the middle-aged man lying flat on the ground.

The very one who had ordered the attack without warning.

He looked up at me with a dazed expression.

“Hey. Mustache.”

“Y-yes?”

“If you knew who I was and still ordered a massacre, you must have a good reason. Stop wasting time and let’s make this easy.”

“I-I have no idea what you’re talking about…”

I pressed the cold, crimson-glowing gavel against the chin of the man who kept playing dumb.

“No need for a mouth that can’t speak properly.”

Slide.

As I raised the gavel high, the mustached man’s face turned not just pale but blue.

He must have sensed death.

‘Time for a little acting.’

Of course, I had no real intention of killing him.

If I did, I would have landed Doom’s Retribution directly on their main force.

If I had struck their center, the result would not have been like this.

They would all be nicely ground meat by now.

“AHHH! Those men owed a debt to our young master! That’s why we had to take them!”

The mustached man flailed his hands and explained in a rapid-fire burst.

Even in extreme panic, his pronunciation was clear enough.

The fear of death must have granted superhuman strength.

“Debt? Young master?”

“Yes, yes! The young lord runs a small lending business…”

I frowned and looked around.

I knew the big names, but I didn’t memorize every noble’s child.

If a butler were here, they would answer instantly.

But I hadn’t brought Tobias this time.

There was too much work in the duchy.

Then the only option was to ask the bodyguard.

“But where did he go?”

“Pardon?”

“He must have been blown away by the skill. So, you came to collect money?”

“Yes.”

“What does that have to do with attacking me out of the blue?”

“We didn’t know it was really Your Highness! We thought you were an imposter!”

Honestly, it was a somewhat plausible excuse.

We didn’t have much of an escort.

What were the odds a real duke would appear on a public road like this?

It was understandable that the mustached man misunderstood.

“So who is this young master?”

“What? He’s the next head of the Sierre ducal house—how could you not know?”

“Do I need to know every loan shark? If you don’t want to rot in prison, he’d better close that lending business fast.”

“Ahem!”

Well, wasn’t it true?

Someone lending money to bandits couldn’t possibly stick to normal interest rates.

Just mobilizing the family troops to collect debt was answer enough.

“I don’t know what this young master does—”

“His name is Skyler.”

“Right. Sky… huh?”

I unconsciously repeated the name, and suddenly my mind went blank.

An old memory began to resurface.

Then a certain scene flashed quickly through my head.

‘Ah, that bastard?’

Of course, this memory wasn’t mine.

It was original Abel’s from childhood.

In that brief footage, Skyler was portrayed like a demon.

The guy who had beaten a maid nearly to death just because she annoyed him.

‘A complete psychopath.’

The image of him smiling innocently white without a shred of guilt was vivid.

Childhood Abel had found him utterly repulsive.

Even now, the remnants of that feeling remained.

“Now I roughly know what kind of human he is.”

The kind you should never associate with.

Unless he was completely innocent.

But that was impossible.

He was trash who lied like breathing and made assault and battery part of daily life.

Something smelled extremely fishy.

The shadow of a serious crime loomed.

I grabbed the mustached man by the collar.

“Tell him this: the bandits are going to prison. If he wants to see them, he can apply for visitation.”

Thud!

When I released my grip, the man collapsed limply.

Yet instead of nodding, he started grinning.

For a moment I thought he had lost his mind.

Then he stroked his mustache and said,

“Kekeke! I don’t think that will be necessary.”

At the same moment, screams erupted from behind.

“ARRGH!”

When I whipped around, a separate group had broken in and was snatching the bandits away.

There had been light cavalry in ambush besides the main force.

A hollow laugh escaped my lips.

“Hah! Interesting bastards.”

This couldn’t be taken lightly anymore.

Then I had no choice but to get serious.

‘Where should I start breaking you, you psychopath?’