After his defeat against the Greenmane Chieftain, Gwangil threw himself into his training with even more intensity than before.
"He must want to get stronger," I thought as I watched him. As the leader of the combat team, Gwangil’s determination kept the other soldiers alert, scanning their surroundings with heightened vigilance.
“Not calculating by numbers, you say?” Sanghyup muttered, pondering my earlier comment.
“Don’t worry; you’ll see what I mean soon enough.”
The soldiers who joined us on this expedition were among the highest-ranked in our unit, including Sergeant Gwangil and myself. To be honest, we were more than over-prepared for a simple trade escort.
The purpose of this journey wasn’t solely trade. Our real objective was to forge an alliance with the powerful group rumored to be based here in Yanggu-gun. Displaying our strength could increase the likelihood of them accepting our offer.
“Let’s hope they’re a proper force this time,” I thought, recalling a failed alliance attempt with a vampire group.
As Awakened, we moved swiftly, covering ground without needing breaks. Even the monsters that attacked us along the way barely slowed our pace.
After some time, a sign in the distance came into view: "Welcome to Yanggu-gun."
"Well, here we are," Gwangil muttered, glancing at me.
“From here on, I think it’s safe to say we’re out of our territory.”
I nodded. Our unit’s influence extended to Chuncheon and Inje, where rumors of our presence had spread, deterring criminal activity. But here? This was an unknown region where anything could happen.
“Should be fine,” I replied with a shrug, confident that any criminals here would be kept in check by whatever group we were seeking.
* * *
As we entered the heart of Yanggu, a small town appeared on the horizon. Just as we were about to proceed, we all stopped abruptly.
“Um, why did we all...?” Sanghyup’s eyes darted around, puzzled.
Instead of answering, I focused on the approaching footsteps. Unlike the usual chaotic sounds of monsters, these were calm, deliberate human steps.
“Alright, that’s far enough,” a voice called out.
Three men emerged from behind a building, with several others appearing on nearby rooftops and around us, armed with daggers, crossbows, and other weapons.
“Where did they come from?” Sanghyup whispered, scanning our surroundings. It was clear they had us surrounded.
One of the men, who appeared to be the leader, smirked and raised his crossbow. “If you want to pass through here, you’ll need to pay a toll.”
“Toll?”
“Yeah, we manage this road. It’s only fair you pay a fee to use it,” he said smugly.
It had been a while since I’d heard such a line. Ariel usually handled bandit clean-up, so it was rare for me to encounter this type directly.
Sanghyup, who hadn’t experienced much of the outside world since his Awakening, looked resigned as he attempted to reason with them.
“What do you mean, you manage the road?” he asked.
“We cleared the zombies and monsters here. It wasn’t easy, you know. We worked hard, so those who use it should contribute to the upkeep.”
“That’s absurd! Who gave you the authority to charge tolls?” Sanghyup protested.
“Well, the government that managed these roads is gone now, so someone has to step up. Trust me, we’re not exactly thrilled to do it either,” the man replied, eyeing us suspiciously. “Soldiers, huh? AWOL, I presume?”
“...”
“Not sure what unit you came from, but I don’t see any guns. Guess you ran out of ammo, huh?”
The men surrounding us chuckled, clearly enjoying their advantage.
“We’re just asking for a reasonable fee. We’re all Awakened here, and more than half of us have abilities. You’re outnumbered, and honestly, we don’t want any unnecessary bloodshed.”
At that, Sanghyup sighed, opening his bag. “We don’t have much in the way of rations, but...”
“Ah, now you’re talking sense.”
“See? We’re not so bad after all.”
Sanghyup seemed ready to hand over some combat rations, hoping to avoid a fight. However, I reached over and grabbed his hand, stopping him.
“Uh... what are you doing, Youngjun?”
“Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing. What do you think you’re doing?”
“Well, if we can avoid a fight by giving them some food, isn’t that a reasonable compromise?”
I could understand his reasoning as a merchant, but I shook my head.
“And who authorized you to make that call?”
“What?”
“Those rations were provided by us, remember?” I said, taking the food from his hand. I took a bite, looking at the bandits. “Hey, you guys!”
“Did... did he just call us ‘you guys’?” the leader’s face contorted with annoyance.
“Since you’ve been ‘maintaining’ this road, I assume that means we can turn around and leave, right?”
I was giving them a chance, albeit grudgingly, as we also collected protection fees in other areas. But instead of taking it, the man sneered.
“Oh, that won’t work. You’ve already walked on our road, so you owe us, whether you stay or leave.”
I chuckled. “Figured you’d try that.”
I turned to Gwangil. “Hey, Gwangil.”
“Yes?”
“We may not be police, but as soldiers of the Republic of Korea, we can’t just ignore illegal toll collection, can we?”
“Understood. Leave it to me.”
With that, he and the other soldiers sprang into action.
* * *
“Ha... Going on a trip just to run into this...”
“I deeply apologize for not realizing who you were,” said the bandit leader, bowing with a mix of fear and respect.
“Don’t sweat it,” I replied, watching him closely.
“Where did monsters like this come from...?” he thought, glancing at us in horror.
In a mere five minutes, our ten ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) soldiers had subdued his group of thirty, despite their fortified positions.
“To think they wiped us out that quickly...”
Despite having the advantage of terrain, his group had been utterly overpowered by our team. We were so efficient that I hadn’t even needed to join the fight myself.
The leader, now pinned beneath one of our soldiers, spoke up nervously. “So, uh... how long do you want us to stay locked up?”
The soldier sitting on him snorted. “Hey, how long have you guys been running this scam? You sound pretty experienced.”
“I-I mean... this is our first time?” the man stammered, trying to sound innocent.
“Do I look that gullible to you?”
Our soldier got up and called out to the others. “Alright, guys, let’s round them up and lock them in that building over there.”
One of the soldiers looked puzzled. “Are we sure that’s enough?”
“Look, I’d rather not get blood on our hands. We’ve confiscated their loot; that should be enough.”
Inside, the leader cheered silently. “They’re just a bunch of naive soldiers!”
Sure, they were strong, but they were still young and, apparently, idealistic. The stolen goods they’d confiscated were just what they’d collected in the past week, and their main stash was safely hidden elsewhere.
“Listen up, guys,” I said, addressing the group of captives. “This is your last chance. Next time, there won’t be any second chances.”
They stayed quiet, nodding in fearful agreement as we locked them in the building. I checked my watch.
“Stay put for an hour,” I told them. “If I find any of you sneaking out before then, it won’t end well.”
“Yes... understood...”
After we left, the bandits breathed a collective sigh of relief.
“They’re... they’re really leaving?”
“Who were those guys?”
“Thought we were dead for sure...”
Amid the murmurs, one of the men stood up, brushing himself off. “Why wait an hour? Let’s just get out of here.”
“Yeah, they’re gone,” another man agreed, reaching for the door.
“Wait,” the leader said, stopping him. “What if they’re watching from somewhere?”
“Would they really bother?”
“There was one guy who just stood there slicing vegetables while we were getting beaten. He’s not right in the head.”
After some discussion, they decided to wait the full hour. Once time had passed and the night had fallen, the bandits cautiously exited the building.
And as they stepped out, they were greeted by a figure standing in the moonlight.
“Hello there,” she said.
The woman’s eyes glinted red, her golden hair glowing in the faint light, contrasting sharply with the military uniform she wore.
“W-who are you? You... you’re with those soldiers, aren’t you?” the leader stammered.
The woman smiled, her sharp fangs catching the light as she closed the door behind her.
“Let’s start with a lesson in respect,” she said, stepping closer, her voice calm and chillingly polite.
