EP4. The beginning of the journey (3)
Rumbling.
The wagon was struggling along a remote and narrow road. The riding comfort was so bad, but what can I do?
The contract has already been signed, and I have to escort this wagon heading to Laes.
Cren, a young man with a very unpleasant impression, was on his way to Laes with the help of this carriage under the pretext of escorting the carriage.
In fact, the odds of any particular danger on such a remote road were low. Especially, compared to the size of the road, this road to Raes was usually well-maintained because there were many people who were not normal, such as adventurers, mercenaries, or soldiers.
Thanks to these unique elements of Rhaeth that are hard to find in other places, even he, who has no experience as a mercenary, can go there as an escort.
Kren took a look around the carriage. A fairly small-scale ascending group was eagerly heading towards Laes. Maybe it’s because it’s such a small scale, so he signed a contract with a half-penny like himself. There were only three of them in the wagon: himself, the merchant, and the driver in front.
I heard that originally, the mercenary in charge of the escort had to walk outside the wagon while being wary of the surroundings. Is this merchant nice, or is it because there are so few items for sale that there are still seats left? Anyway, I can sit comfortably like this. As much as I liked it.
Rumble-
Although the road was a bit rough,
Kren asked the merchant next to him.
“Hey, do you know how far it is until Laes?”
The merchant was a little surprised when the young man next to him suddenly started talking to him, but he tried to keep his composure and cleared his throat.
“·····Hmm, it’s my first time going to Raes, so I don’t know exactly, but another merchant told me that it takes about 15 days to reach Laes. So, why not arrive today?”
It arrived today! I can barely get out of this damn wagon. Kren nodded to thank the merchant and went back to sleep.
Of course, a mercenary in charge of escort sleeping is usually nonsensical, but what is it?
The merchant next door doesn’t say anything anyway. In fact, the Merchant didn’t even have the time to say anything because this mercenary only slept every day during his journey to Raes.
In this way, Kren tried to fall asleep while enjoying the peaceful atmosphere, but his wish did not come true.
The appearance of the peaceful journey has suddenly turned into a bloody atmosphere. People ran out from among the sheep and grass on the forest road.
Coming out of the grass, they were six men, and it didn’t look like they were simply lost. Because they had weapons in their hands. Yes. They were bandits intent on plundering the wagon.
The thieves blocked the carriage and shouted fiercely.
“Stop! If you don’t stop, I’ll think you’re rebelling and I’ll kill them all!”
At that, the coachman immediately stopped his horses. The horses panicked at the obstacle that suddenly appeared in front of them ran wild, but they were barely able to put them to sleep.
When the peaceful time was suddenly disrupted, Kren realized the situation.
He’s now f*cked himself in a word. I never thought I would meet a group of bandits like this. And that, of course, in a situation where you are confident.
The thieves were talking after stopping the wagon.
“Hmm, but it’s smaller than I thought?”
“Well, is there anything special? If we want to make a living, we have to shake off these little things meticulously.”
No, these twins. In that case, just let it go. Even if he robbed this little wagon, he could be full.
From the start, a red line was drawn on his record. He was destined to become a great mercenary.
That said, I didn’t have the courage to do the escort’s original duty, guarding the wagon. He didn’t have the skills to cut six strong young men with just this sword.
Looking sideways, the merchant didn’t seem to have high expectations of himself. The color of his face had already turned earthy.
What can I say? He understands himself, but it’s just a little bit like that. No, now wasn’t the time to think like that.
Realizing that even merchants must hurry, he got off the wagon and bowed down to the thieves.
“Oh, sir. They have a lot of trouble living in today’s harsh world.”
When the merchant talked to Kren, he spoke in a somewhat solemn tone, but in the current situation where his life was in danger, he was not a person who took his life lightly enough to use such a tone.
The tallest bald man in the front responded to that.
“Yes. You must be the owner of this carriage.”
A large sword was tied behind the back of the bald man who said that.
Seeing the sword, the merchant gulped and swallowed. If it was that sword, the head would just be cut off…?
The merchant groaned at the boss’s words.
“Oops, that’s right. So, those elders… That, how… I’ll give you three silver coins… Can you send it to me…?”
Three silver coins. It was quite a lot of money. However, if he went to Laes and sold these goods, he would be able to make up for that much loss.
And these bandits won’t try to kill people either. Simply having thieves around and having a murderer show the difference between heaven and earth in the city’s alert posture.
If you recklessly kill yourself, the guards in Raes will surely intensify their search for the bandits. So, wouldn’t they just pay the toll fee and go…? The merchant had such hopeful thoughts.
The thief smiled and answered the merchant’s question.
“Three silver coins… It’s good.”
“Oh, thank you. Then····.”
“It’s nice, but…. We’re having a hard time these days, so we need to hit it a little more.”
At that sly word, the merchant made the thief very excited about all kinds of curses that exist in the world, especially his parents who gave birth to such scum, but it only happened in his mind.
The merchant carefully asked, barely maintaining a smile.
“·····It can be. That… How much more can I give you…?”
The thief grinned and said as if the question he wanted came out at those words.
“All those wagons.”
“・・・・・・・Yes?”
“Leave the whole wagon and get out of here. Otherwise, I will kill you.”
Why are the bandits going out like that? The merchant had doubts, but he couldn’t. Obviously, they are simply threatening.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think it will go that far. I gave you five pieces of silver…”
As if the thief didn’t want to hear anything more, he winked at the men next to him and all the thieves drew their weapons.
“Choose. Are you going to offer a wagon? Or will you give up your life?”
No, thieves, what would you do with a wagon? The merchant felt that way.
What should I do? It is true that life is the most important thing, but how much effort was put into preparing the items for this wagon. Although they were small in scale, they were as good as their own lives.
Is it when the merchant is so flustered? The thieves strode forward with weapons in their hands, as if to get rid of that worry.
Then they immediately cut the head of the coachman, the man who was trembling with fear in front of them.
The greatsword the boss was holding couldn’t completely cut off the coachman’s head, but since it had already cut his neck in half and impaled him, his death could not be changed.
“Can you make some decisions now?”
Seeing the scene where people actually die, the merchant couldn’t think of anything else. He is really dead And he himself can be too. In the midst of that fear, the merchant couldn’t say anything and was just trembling.
Someone pushed the merchant’s shoulder and came forward.
From noble mtl dot com.
The merchant was surprised to see it. He was the mercenary he hired, Kren.
“You…”
Kren ignored the merchant’s words and spoke to the thief leader.
“Well, just give me a few silver coins. Don’t you think you guys are too much to kill people?”
“Oh, my God. Are you saying you want to fight us?”
Are you going to fight? f*ck. I don’t know about that. It’s this kid In fact, Kren has already become a blank page in his head.
But what can I do? He intends to become a great mercenary himself, and he himself escorts the wagons.
He couldn’t stay like this without doing anything. Damn just die here
Cren gave a thick swear word to the thief in front of him and his poor life, and, of course, in his heart.
Anyway, he then pulled out his sword.
The bandits also prepared for battle when the young man standing in front of them seemed serious.
“You have quite a bit of courage. How do you want to be fair and square?”
“Shut up, you f*cking asshole. Just jump in!”
“What? Kill this madman!”
The thieves came running to Kren brandishing their weapons, and Kren thought as he closed his eyes in fear.
Oh sh*t. Come to think of it, I’ve never used a sword before.
I wonder if Cren had closed his eyes for a while. When nothing happened to him, Kren slowly opened his eyes.
And the sight I saw.
A knight blocking the great sword of the fierce boss. Is the article right? His appearance is quite peculiar.
It’s not flashy, but he’s wearing armor that looks pretty new, and on the contrary, he’s wearing an old cloak that’s pretty tattered. I can’t tell exactly from his back, but he doesn’t look that old.
“Are you okay?”
He was Sean.
***
Sean didn’t wait for Kren’s answer, which was dumbfounded, and focused on the battle.
The boss was taken aback for a moment when he saw the boy who had appeared from nowhere, but after thinking that it was probably the boy hiding in the carriage, he swung his sword at the boy again.
You must be lucky just now. At most, a boy like that could block my heavy attack.
But he was wrong. Actually, the boy is blocking his attack.
Whether the sword was swung from above, from below, or stabbed, the boy continued to block the attack. At the same time, the expression on the boy’s face seemed quite relaxed.
The man took a step back and spoke to the boy.
“Yes. I’ve seen quite a few swords used. If so, do you think you can defeat all of our children by yourself?”
At that, Shawn said calmly.
“You don’t have to worry. Mister.”
“What?”
“I am not alone.”
Before the boss could understand Sean’s words, something happened.
Puong-
I heard something explode. The boss turned his head towards the source of the sound.
One of his subordinates was rolling all over on the floor. With fire on.
“······What,”
Puong-
When the same thing happened to another person. Only then did the boss begin to understand the situation little by little.
He shouted at his men with all his might.
“·····This is… A wizard! Run away!”
At that, the bandits were visibly taken aback. And it wasn’t just the thieves who were flustered.
Wizard, you say? To Kren, who sat down in terror, those words seemed rather unrealistic. In the midst of this brutal battle, in front of a more vivid reality than anything else, a wizard you’ve only heard about in rumors or seen in fairy tales?
Kren slowly turned around and looked in the direction the fireball had come from.
There, a small man wearing a cheap robe was walking with one hand outstretched.