277. East, Wolguk (4)
Hidden among the bushes, watching the thieves build a siege, two men were having a private conversation, unheard by their subordinates.
“Boss, are we okay? Manwoldae, the royal bodyguard…?”
The man with the protruding front teeth scratched his head as if in trouble, and the huge man gave out a pained voice.
“It can’t be helped. Are you going to let my son die?”
Bakambo, the head of the thieves’ union operating outside the country, was currently being threatened by unknown people.
In the middle of the night, Bacambo had his son kidnapped, and they asked Bacambo for one purpose.
‘Buy time against the guys passing through the outer forest at dawn. It’s what I usually do, so I’m sure I can do it well. When this is over, I will return your son.’
There was no way Bacambo would listen to them well.
Angered that his son had been taken away, Vacambo attacked them, but he was no match.
It was not an enemy that a single bandit could deal with.
Bacambo was curious.
In the first place, if they were that strong, it would have been easier if they blocked them themselves, but why don’t they step forward?
And what kind of people are they who pass through the outer forest, so they try to stop them.
While the question was seldom resolved, Bacambo came out to the outer forest and saw the armor of Manwoldae, which was escorting Westerners, as soon as he saw it.
That this is not a flow that a mere thief can stop, that they have become embroiled in the politics of the humans residing in the palace.
“Tsk… If we don’t follow orders? Do you think only my son will die? It’s certain that your lowly heads will run away as soon as you close your eyes and open them. So all we can do is minimize the damage as much as possible. It’s just slowing down time.”
Ba Cambo clicked his tongue and said at the look in his eyes as if he was passing the responsibility on to the subordinate next to him.
In fact, Bar Cambo was doing his best to save both his son’s life and the lives of his subordinates.
“Never attack. I will shoot arrows from the forest while forming a siege to intercept them and prepare them for battle.”
“What if I follow you to the forest?”
“So, at the forefront of the siege, I placed the dead man and his vassals, whom I didn’t like recently. Even without that, they made a fuss about going to the front. It seems like they didn’t know it was an ordinary plunder.”
“I’ve never liked that son of a b*tch. You have to be moderately savage. It was difficult to even eat with those who have a bizarre taste for corpses.”
“Yes. If you’re going to give up your flesh, wouldn’t it be reasonable to give up your rotten flesh?”
“Boss has an idea…?”
“Guy, did you know that now? Who am I? Now I’m just a mere rustling, but at one time I was a person who defended the country as a soldier of the country. The reason why I, who was born in Ishai, was able to become a soldier of the country, which is famous for being picky. I have everything.”
“As expected, you are the boss!”
Bacambo praised himself, and the subordinate guarding his side twinkled his eyes as if he was thrilled.
“By the way, Manwoldae is unexpected…”
“Wouldn’t it be possible to slow down if you hit and run while touching it moderately?”
“They should be considered the elite of the elite among the royal guards. They only follow the king’s orders and no one else.”
“So you mean those westerners are the king’s guests?”
“I guess so. Hmm…”
Bacambo, who was sobbing and thinking, makes a decision.
“…Order the flour sacks to explode.”
“Cannons already…? Isn’t that what we were supposed to use to escape?”
“Don’t give them the information that we’re just a group of bandits. Otherwise, it’ll be hard to slow down time. I’ll cover their sights and block their firepower at the same time.”
“Okay!”
Bacambo had the experience of working as a soldier and the skill gained from commanding a band of bandits.
He meant that he didn’t come to lead the coalition without any ability.
The thieves outnumbered them, but the opponent was Manwoldae, who guarded the king. Even Bacambo himself was well aware that the difference in power was enormous.
However, there was one thing overlooked even in Bacambo, which was objectified so well.
There was no information about what kind of people the western people, who seemed to be the king’s guests, were.
***
“It’s a red raid!!!”
“Looks like we’re already surrounded! Captain!”
“Stay at Manwoldae!”
In the forest where Manwoldae captain Jamon’s shouts resonated, white dust rose up, making it hard to see the enemies or the arrows flying in.
ㅡChaeng!!
After hitting the arrow, Raijin quickly looked around.
‘Exactly as he said… Enemy attacks from all sides…’
The cadets were preparing for battle from early on, so there was no embarrassment anywhere, and they were easily blocking arrows flying from here and there.
“Tch, that’s tricky…”
Eisel, who had sparks rising from his body, looked at the dust rising from the forest, then clicked his tongue and regained his strength.
“Everyone beware of using magic. There might be a dust explosion. Lucia, can’t you blow this up?”
“I think you’ll have to wait a bit…”
The cadets nodded at Yuri’s voice.
“Crank, are we still at Ungwi Valley?”
“That’s right. It’s the same as Unguigok. The difference is that it’s hard to breathe. And this, flour. They could be delicious bread… It’s a shame…”
Amon, who was building a huge earthen wall nearby to block the arrows, scratched his head tiredly, and Crank let out a wistful voice as he licked the dust on his hands.
‘As I’m used to hearing, the cadets of Innocence Academy seem to be very talented for their age.’
Raijin was a little embarrassed by the reaction of the cadets, who had not been able to cope with it well and had reached the point of feeling relaxed.
I thought about that for a while.
“…Excuse me.”
Someone pokes Raijin’s back as he was shooting the arrow.
When he turned his head, he saw Kaen with a disapproving expression on his face.
“Well… I’m fine, so I think you’d better protect the other cadets.”
Kaen said, unable to pull out the sword from his waist.
The cadets, who were definitely dealing with magic, were running around and barely avoiding the arrows, probably because they had difficulty casting magic due to the dust.
“…Keep your seat!”
Raijin, who had nothing to say, chose to be evasive.
“Ah…?”
Embarrassed by his sudden cry, Kaen widened her eyes and let out her bewildered shriek.
Raijin calmly thought to himself as he struck off the arrow again.
‘Sir, I’m sorry for being rude. But I can’t help it. Why are you impatient because you can’t show off…’
The pattern of white peach blossoms engraved on her scabbard was a pattern that was well known to the warriors of Wolguk even if the general public did not know it.
‘It must be Seo Cho-ryang’s ruse.’
In the first place, it was a strange situation for Manwoldae to attack even though they were openly escorting them.
That’s why her true identity should not be known.
“…Rijin, is that all right?”
Soon after, a member of Manwoldae broke through the dust blocking his view and approached him.
“There are no other problems.”
“…Hmm? That’s…”
As the crew member who ran up to him looked around, his eyes met Kaen’s sword and shed a question.
“…?”
Kaen also tilted his head at his reaction.
“…Keep your eyes peeled!”
Unable to see this, Raijin slapped the member’s cheek despite being his superior in terms of rank.
“Rijin, what are you doing…?”
The crew expressed their bewilderment at the sudden incident.
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‘I don’t know…’
Raijin, who used to be a judge, suddenly shouts.
“Isn’t it time for a leisurely walk?! What would the King think of us if the cadets got hurt!”
“…I’m sorry. I had some spare time, so I was looking around for help…”
“You trust our members, Manwoldae.”
“You’re right.”
The member who was unexpectedly slapped on the cheek apologized to Raijin and left to defend his post, as if he had nothing to say when he mentioned the king.
‘It was almost dangerous…’
Raijin, who managed to avoid the eyes of suspicion, let out a sigh.
‘Anyway, how long are you planning to stay like this?’
Raijin wanted the situation to be quelled quickly, but he couldn’t display his skills due to the influence of the dust.
Moreover, it was even more dangerous because there was a possibility that it would be impossible to know when and where the information leaked out if Kaen, who was certain to be reincarnated as Baek Do-hwa, left.
‘Yes, because the academy has the famous ‘black blood’…’
Black-blooded young war heroes were rare, and their insolence was well known in the East.
“Do the instructors know where you are and what you are doing?”
Nevertheless, the cadets weren’t looking for black blood, and Raijin, who was curious about the reason, asked Kaen, who was behind him.
“Well, maybe by now they’re stuck somewhere and debating who’s going to step in.”
“…Yes? A discussion?”
While Raijin questioned them, their voices came from somewhere in the middle of the battlefield.
When I pay attention to my ears, I can hear their conversation more clearly.
“Rock, Paper, Scissors.”
“…Again.”
“Rock, Paper, Scissors.”
“…Again.”
“It’s our 15th year now. How about the two of you getting married at this point? It’s a match made in heaven.”
“I feel bad.”
“I’m sorry, Raina, but it’s on my side that I feel bad.”
“This bastard.”
Rijin doubted his ears at their mischievous conversation from afar.
‘War hero… Right…?’
I couldn’t understand the relaxed behavior of the cadets even though their lives could be in danger.
“Well, isn’t it okay for us not to step in? It’s like simple thieves… If that’s enough, Jeto or Manwoldae will take care of it.”
It was difficult to help Raijin understand even with one last word.
‘Zetto, do you mean that blind man…?’
It felt unusual for him to predict the enemy’s attack, but after all, he was just a cadet.
Even with Manwoldae, it was hard to believe that he could solve the situation alone.
At that time, I heard his voice from the other side.
“Am I a little late?”
Then the cadets began questioning him as to whether he had been waiting for his return.
“What are you doing late for?”
“I came to discuss with the captain of Manwoldae for a while.”
“With the captain?”
“I was making a promise that I would never get hurt…”
“The enemy is determined and not attacking, so why bother?”
Jeto, who had been fixing the bandages around his eyes, smiled meaningfully.
“That makes it even more suspicious.”