Chapter 122 – Bandit Group

Soldiers lined up with the setting sun at their backs.

Seeing their worn armor and rough faces, I could tell who they were.

Among the soldiers blocking the way, one stepped forward.

A sturdy soldier a span taller than the others. Gripping an axe, he shouted loudly:

“Stop! We are the Undead Slayer Righteous Bandit Group. Hand over the goods in the carriage and leave immediately. If you surrender the carriage contents, we won’t harm anyone else!”

As expected, the soldiers blocking the way were bandits.

Seeing their armor, they were clearly soldiers who deserted during battle.

Though I could guess who they were, this situation made no sense.

Though we’d walked half a day since leaving the ravine, this was still the plains where the final battle with the Demon King occurred.

Allied forces still remained at the dungeon entrance, and this road must be used as their supply route.

Yet deserters were blocking this road? Were they suicidal?

“Will this be okay? There’s a knight. And that long-eared woman, isn’t she from that race they say came from another world?”

Seems someone on their side had similar thoughts.

At the muttering, the axe-wielding soldier shouted angrily:

“Damn it, want to kill morale? We have knights too!”

His words carried faint traces of mana.

Though not a knight, the axe-wielding man seemed able to sense mana.

Well, he couldn’t lead nearly a hundred bandits without at least that much ability.

At his shout about knights, two people leaning against distant trees waved.

They were knights in worn armor.

One seemed missing an arm, while the other wore an eyepatch.

And their mana fluctuated as it spread from their bodies.

They were straggler knights.

Severely injured knights with damaged mana circuits.

Failed knights who could no longer grow stronger and only weakened with time.

From their leaking mana, their injuries didn’t seem too old.

Both still seemed capable of fighting.

Indeed, with knights of that level, they could make it here.

Which made it even more incomprehensible.

Couldn’t understand why deserters would set up here even with such knights.

They weren’t targeting passing armies, and raiding supplies on this route made no economic sense.

While pondering the unknown reason, the viscount in the carriage revealed it:

“Not the carriage! Block them all! Do you know how I obtained these?”

The viscount’s voice came from inside.

Though a small voice leaking through the half-open window, I heard it clearly.

Looking through the window where the sound came from, the large carriage’s interior was very cramped.

Several large chests were loaded inside, barely leaving space for David and the viscount to sit.

Unlike appearances, the carriage seemed heavy – must be from the heavy chests inside.

Though I hadn’t seen any, seems the viscount had gathered useful items from the Demon King’s dungeon.

Come to think of it, hadn’t seen the statues either – did he take those too?

They say even honor can’t stop noble greed. The noble greed I witnessed was truly impressive.

“How did they know? I deliberately volunteered to guide the envoy, but these aren’t even my things. These are gifts for the Marquis, we can’t lose them.”

Hearing his muttering, seemed it wasn’t just greed.

The viscount apparently wasn’t from traditional nobility.

Heard many bought noble titles with money due to the Demon King – perhaps the viscount was such a noble.

Seeing him so un-noble-like and frightened, I nodded.

‘Good, should get advice from the viscount later.’

The viscount was an excellent senior for me planning to buy territory later.

As he rambled alone like that, the viscount finally came to his senses seeing David’s surprised face.

Getting out of the carriage, the viscount shouted loudly at the bandits on the hill:

“How dare you! This carriage carries an envoy invited by the Imperial family! Blocking the way like this is disloyalty to the Empire. Do you wish to face His Majesty the Emperor’s wrath?”

Having regained his composure, the viscount became an excellent orator.

His convincing words and actions made the blocking bandits look at each other nervously, but their confusion subsided at the following knight’s words:

“The information was correct. There are goods in the carriage.”

Seems the knight heard the viscount’s quiet rambling.

Perhaps due to losing one eye?

The eyepatched knight had surprisingly sharp hearing.

“Hahaha, that’s right. Didn’t I say it was reliable information?”

The axe-wielding leader spoke to the knight while wiping cold sweat.

Now I understood how things had developed.

After the war, the viscount gathered items from the Demon King’s dungeon to present to the Marquis, and took the envoy escort job to deliver those items.

The problem was that information leaked to these deserter bandits, and aiming for a big score, the bandit group came to this dangerous place with straggler knights.

Hearing it made sense, but to think this would happen while I was here.

“Really, does misfortune follow the knight?”

Even Ye-rim was saying such things now.

“Seems they won’t move aside, so let’s finish quickly. Only one usable knight, but let’s move together just in case.”

At the eyepatched knight’s words, the one-armed knight staggered to his feet.

At the knight’s words, I looked back.

The knight the viscount brought stood blocking the carriage front with drawn sword.

Though his stance and eyes weren’t bad, he didn’t seem usable as the other knight said.

I approached the knight who seemed barely of age.

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect the carriage with my life.”

I extended my hand to the young knight making typical newly knighted statements.

When he looked at my hand, I moved slightly.

“Nice sword. Mind if I borrow it?”

Though I thought I could, taking the sword from his hand was easier than expected.

“What is this!”

The surprised knight shouted, but I waved to him while walking forward.

Though sorry to him, couldn’t be helped.

Having broken even the military-issued sword, I only had common soldier swords left.

Those swords weren’t enough to face knights.

As I walked forward holding the sword, the opposing knights slowly descended the hill…

While walking I signaled the party members to guard the carriage.

Though the deserters weren’t few, wasn’t worried about party members.

Because Zahina was in my party.

“Seems there really was an envoy in the carriage. You seem to be a knight escorting the envoy – you’re unlucky too.”

I smiled bitterly at the one-armed knight’s words.

Though not wrong, the opponent was equally unlucky.

The deserters stationed on the hill didn’t move.

Seems they would move after the knights’ fight.

Well, since the tide turned each time based on which knight won, perhaps natural to wait for the fight to end.

“Which knight are you? Can’t tell affiliation with borrowed sword and supply armor.”

The eyepatched knight asked standing midway up the hill.

Couldn’t help but sigh seeing a knight-turned-bandit maintain such courtesy.

Though he likely spoke that way still thinking himself a knight, speaking so while robbing was ridiculous.

Still, having fought together as knights, I answered:

“Was a free knight.”

Both knights were startled at my answer.

“A free knight? A free knight who survived to the end?”

“Damn, not an easy opponent.”

Unaffiliated free knights were expendable assets used right after common soldiers.

For such a free knight to survive until now, natural for them to be tense.

Watching the two knights grip swords and draw mana, I also pushed mana into my sword.

*whoosh*

The sword resonated and began glowing softly.

This sword was better than expected.

Seeing the glowing sword, the two knights’ expressions hardened.

“Damn, not just any free knight!”

“Could he be a named knight?”

They also pushed mana into their swords.

Their swords also began glowing with contained mana.

Unlike my sword, the light flowing from their swords wavered dimly.

Typical appearance of damaged mana circuits.

The two knights grimaced after pushing mana into their swords.

Moving damaged mana circuits meant accepting pain.

“Will you fight in that condition?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, how are we different from you? Just didn’t have priests then!”

“Look what happened to us who fought thousands, tens of thousands of skeletons in these fields as bait for the hero without holy water. You were lucky to stay intact, but we who gave our all were abandoned like this!”

Though I spoke out of concern, those words seemed to anger them.

The knights shouted at me.

Then rushed at me unable to contain their rage.

Though mana circuits damaged, the swords of two knights who hadn’t yet lost mana gradually approached.

Though their skills surely hadn’t decreased yet, I could clearly see the approaching swords.

The starting point, current path, and destination of the swords all drew clearly in my mind.

A sight I couldn’t see before going to that world.

I swung my sword toward the approaching swords.

*whoosh*

Though not yet in range, my swung sword cut through the two knights’ swords and severed their waists.

The match ended in one exchange.

“Sword… Sword Master?”

The eyepatched knight asked while coughing blood.

I shook my head.

“No. Not yet.”

Though I could use sword energy, still far from matching Count Schönheim.

The eyepatched knight collapsed with a hollow expression, while the one-armed knight looked up at me leaning on his sword.

“Sword energy… *cough* This was madness. To think a Sword Master-level guard was protecting…”

Though he kept saying wrong things, I didn’t correct him this time. The opponent couldn’t hear anyway.

The moment the two knights died, the bandit leader shouted:

“At-attack! Attack the carriage! Must take hostages before it’s too late!”

The leader seemed too shocked.

Instead of fleeing he gave attack orders.

Must have thought taking hostages gave better survival chances.

Certainly wasn’t wrong thinking.

If they could take hostages…

The soldiers charged down the hill toward the carriage.

Some passed beside me but I didn’t stop them.

Instead, I looked at Zahina standing beside the carriage.

Zahina raised her hand to the sky without looking at the approaching soldiers.

*rumble*

Mana surged and wind howled.

An tremendous wind, like the huge tornado I saw on TV in my past life, sent all approaching soldiers flying into the sky.

This was Zahina’s true power that she couldn’t use in that world.