Chapter 133
Clip, clop, clip!
The jarring drum of horseshoes kicked up a heavy cloud of dust.
“Ya! Please hurry up! Faster!” exclaimed the coachman while flicking his whip. Next to him was a middle-aged man with a concerned look. A banner with the Pontier Family’s emblem fluttered in the wind on the carriage’s roof.
Following this carriage were four equally huge carriages. Given that each included a bit more than a hundred people, including knights, there were about five hundred people in total. Their numbers were halved from before.
“Damn it…” The middle-aged man sitting next to the driver gnashed his teeth and said, “I can’t believe it. They actually ambushed the caravan.”
The Imperial Law had always prohibited attacks against caravans carrying food and supplies because the well-being of the territories’ populace was more important than anything, but Marquis Crombell had just violated that law with an ambush aimed against their caravan.
“What on earth is the Imperial Family doing? There’s no way they have no idea about a territorial war between one of the Five Duke and a Marquis of the Twelve Families.”
“My Lord, the scout has reported the annihilation of the rearguard!” said a knight on horseback.
“...!” The middle-aged man’s name was Count Aerijona, and his eyes widened at the report
“Are you saying that the rearguard is gone?”
“Yes, and they mercilessly wiped everyone out. Their bodies…” the knight trailed off with a disturbed look.
However, Count Aerijona didn’t really have to listen to know.
“T-Those crazy bastards…!” Count Aerijona was furious, nobles shouldn’t casually commit such heinous crimes since they had their own dignity to uphold, yet Marquis Crombell was doing the opposite.
“How far is the Aiden Gorge?” Count Aerijona asked the coachman.
“It seems that we will arrive within the next ten minutes, my lord,” replied the coachman.
At that, Count Aerijona let out a cry.
“Move faster! Every minute—every second that we stay here might result in hundreds of deaths!”
“Understood, my lord!”
Neigh!
At Count Aerijona’s orders, the coachman pushed the horses to their limits.
***
The plains were saturated with blood and blanketed with the dead.
There was a strange sound. It sounded similar to a blade cutting through flesh.
“Keugh!” a young man groaned in agony.
“You know, cutting a living person is better than cutting a corpse because, unlike corpses, a living person isn’t affected by rigor mortis.”
“Please… kill me…” the young man groaned once more as life slowly drained out of him.
The young man looked so weak that the perpetrator—another young man who looked to be the same age as the former—was worried that the former would die just like that. It wouldn’t really be strange if that happened since the young man’s condition was wretched.
One of his legs had been severed, while the flesh of his other leg was being sliced piece by piece by the young man standing in front of him.
“Yes? Can you say that again?” The young man brought his ear closer to the dying young man.
“Kill… please kill…”
At that, the young man revealed a mischievous smile. Then, he spat on the dying young man’s face.
The spit thickened as it combined with the dying young man’s blood and flowed down his face to reach his chest. On the dying young man’s surcoat was the emblem of the Pontier Family, a golden owl.
“Killing you isn’t worth the effort, dumbass.”
At that, the young man continued humming and slicing the man’s flesh with his blade.
Eventually, the dying young man passed out from the pain. Seeing that, the young man revealed a bored look before thrusting his sword at the unconscious young man’s heart.
Puuk.
A sickening crunch echoed as the ribs were crushed. The unconscious young man convulsed for a few moments before finally dying.
“Master Gehog,” a voice echoed from behind.
“...?” Gehog, a young man with ugly features, turned around and saw Baron Theo, the leader of the Crombell Family’s 3rd Knight Division.
“Can we really leave them as they are? Since the soldiers of the Pontier Family have already gathered at Aiden Gorge, I don’t see a reason to let them escape with relief supplies…”
“That’s not it… They are the prey.”
“Yes?” Baron Theo asked blankly.
Gehog said, “Sheep would always be afraid whenever they were being hunted, but what if they were a flock of sheep?” Gehog simply stared at the silent Baron Theo as if he wasn’t expecting any answer as he explained, “Fear is very infectious. Fear of us will spread among the flock like a virus. We will benefit if their morale drops due to fear.”
“Ah…”
“If they’re scared, it would be easier to kill them all at once, and…” Gehog trailed off. He revealed a deep smile before saying, “Once this war ends, the families, mothers, and fathers of the participants will all have to die. It is the punishment they deserve for pointing their swords a the great Marquis Crombell.”
“Yes? Wait, that’s…” Baron Theo didn’t manage to continue.
It was all because Gehog was now staring at him with a frown. “What do you want to say?”
He started approaching Baron Theo while chewing on his lips, and what happened next was astonishing.
Gehog punched Baron Theo so hard that the latter’s face forcibly turned to the side.
Drip.
Blood dripped from Baron Theo’s parched lips.
If any of the knights had seen this event, they would definitely stupefied. The true commander of this group was Baron Theo, not Gehog. No matter how great his bloodline was, Gehog had no leadership experience, so Marquis Crombell made Baron Theo—a seasoned knight—the leader of this detachment.
In other words, Gehog had just committed insubordination.
“...”
“I hate nothing more than lowly scum like you puking up words whenever I talk. I’m not like that imbecile, Veron shen Villas. How could an owner fail to keep their dogs on a leash? To be insulted by a mere knight like you while you’re under my command…” Gehog growled after recalling the events many years ago. “I only want to hear three things from you: ‘Yes,’ ‘I understand,’ and ‘I obey.’ Do you understand?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“That’s it then.” Gehog stepped up to Baron Theo and patted him on the shoulder with a grin. “Did I hurt you? It hurts me, too. As the future patriarch, I believe it’s crucial to establish things. You understand how I feel, don’t you?”
Gehog casually emphasized the word ‘patriarch.’
“Yes.”
“Then, let’s wrap everything up.” Gehog grinned and muttered, “Let’s go and instill fear in our prey, shall we?”
***
It was hard to make out the face of the figure who had just emerged from the darkness, but the robe was unable to hide the figure’s tall and thin stature.
Even though they had never seen the figure’s face before, they were awfully familiar with his power. As such, an introduction wasn’t necessary for them to recognize the robed figure.
“I-It’s that newbie…” muttered a mercenary while trembling.
The robed figure finally arrived in front of the mercenaries.
‘I… I don’t think he heard anything. W-we… we aren’t very loud…’
Greg furiously prayed in his heart, but the robed figure—no, Joshua’s words dashed his hopes.
“Colluding to rape a client? You call yourselves mercenaries? You lot are worse than vermin.”
“...!” Greg closed his eyes.
‘Fuck! He heard everything…’
“I think there has been a misunderstanding…” a mercenary respectfully said. He didn’t manage to suppress the fear that blossomed in his heart upon sensing the intimidating aura Joshua was emitting.
“A misunderstanding?” Joshua stared at him coldly as he said, “You lot have already been caught red-handed, but rather than kneeling and begging for forgiveness, you’re trying to hoodwink me with a lame, invented excuse? How pathetic.”
“W-Well…” the mercenary stammered and started panicking.
At that, Greg shouted and rallied. “Damn it! Don’t be afraid! No matter how powerful he is, he has fought a battle already! It’ll take him days to recover from that!”
“B-but even then, the power he showed back then was—”
“So, what, you want to just sit here and die?!” Greg howled at the mercenaries staring at him. “If the guild hears of this, what do you think is going to happen? Permanent exclusion, guaranteed, and specific guild-level punishments on top of that! How are you going to live from now on?!”
“...!” The mercenaries finally realized the gravity of the situation, and they lifted their heads.
Shing!
“Dead people tell no tales! I will not remain still!” Greg proceeded to unsheathe his sword.
Joshua coldly smiled at Greg, who had just pronounced his own death.
“You truly are a piece of trash.”
“Fuck! Then what? What's wrong with taking advantage of a rare opportunity to escape from this fucked up rat race? Do you really think that everyone in this world is as talented as you?”
“So are you saying that it’s okay to be happy at the expense of others?” Joshua coldly asked.
Greg shouted in response, “This is exactly the issue with you people! You’re definitely from a noble family, so you will never be able to understand our outlook in life. Those who have never hit rock bottom before will never be able to understand us!”
“Rock bottom?” Joshua smiled wryly.
Greg unconsciously took a step back upon seeing Joshua’s smile.
“Die!”
A mercenary charged at Joshua from behind.
At that moment, the obsidian earring on Joshua’s earlobe glistened slightly.
“Kneel,” Joshua coldly muttered, and a unique wave of energy burst in all directions.
Gwooo!
Thud!
When the wave made contact with the mercenaries, they sank to their knees.
“What’s going—” Greg started.
Thud!
However, he also collapsed to his knees.
“...” A deafening silence descended. It became so quiet one could even hear a pin drop.
Beneath the moonlight, Joshua was the only one standing amidst the scheming mercenaries.
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