Chapter 305

As Seonghyun followed the boy.

They were able to gradually enter a dense forest.

And then.

"Shh."

He motioned for him to follow quietly.

Seonghyun followed slowly from the village entrance.

And how far had they gone?

'Wouldn't it be faster if I just carried him and ran?'

After moving for a long time so slowly, Seonghyun felt a little frustrated.

The boy pointed to one side.

A place far away that would be hard to see normally.

But since it was easy for Seonghyun to see, he looked there.

Quite a few horses were tied up, and he could see people with rough-looking clothes and bodies.

'Hmm.'

They looked like a band of mounted bandits to anyone.

Seonghyun stroked his chin as he looked at them.

Is this mission about catching the mounted bandits?

'It's a bit small for a Unique rank.'

It didn't seem too difficult.

Besides, wouldn't it be a bit much to call it resourcefulness just for hiring a mercenary?

As Seonghyun was thinking that.

The boy gestured to Seonghyun as if to go back.

Go back without striking now?

It was a bit strange.

But wasn't it a mercenary's job to listen to the client?

Because of that, Seonghyun listened to the boy and left the spot as he was told.

And when they were some distance away.

Seonghyun spoke to the boy.

"Do you want me to take care of those mounted bandits?"

"Huh? No? If it were just that, I wouldn't have paid up to 10,000 gold."

"Hmm?"

Well, that's true.

They wouldn't give 10,000 gold just for dealing with all the mounted bandits.

For a moment, he thought the boy didn't know the ways of the world.

So what was he thinking?

Curious, he looked at the boy.

The boy looked at Seonghyun and spoke.

"Hyung, they're not the only ones."

"......What?"

"They're just the advance party. Have you heard of the famous mounted bandit group in this area, the 'Savage Wolves'?"

As Seonghyun was about to say he had never heard of them.

[Information: The 'Savage Wolves' are a band of mounted bandits active in this area, and their numbers are known to exceed a thousand. Even if the exact number is unknown, it is widely known that they are not a single bandit group.]

Seeing that information message.

Seonghyun immediately nodded.

"So they're the Savage Wolves."

"Yes, as you've heard. It's also known that if one of their own is dealt with, they abandon money and everything else and come for revenge for their brothers."

"Hmm."

"So we can't deal with those guys."

It certainly made sense.

Killing those guys would be easy.

They seemed to be quite skilled mounted bandits.

But to Seonghyun, it was a laughable matter.

However, making them retreat without a fight is many times more difficult than dealing with them.

And they had to be made to never come near this place again.

If that was indeed possible.

'It would be worthy of being called the boy's resourcefulness.'

Seonghyun finally nodded as if he understood.

As Seonghyun came to this understanding on his own.

The boy spoke to Seonghyun.

"Even though you look strong, hyung, you probably won't be able to handle the entire Savage Wolves. And even if you could, I don't have that much money."

A very rational child.

Well, since it was a quest, Seonghyun could have taken care of all the Savage Wolves.

But he didn't know how things would unfold.

It seemed best to listen to this child's story.

As Seonghyun focused on the child's story.

The boy grinned.

"Hyung, you're a really good person."

"Suddenly?"

As he tilted his head at the boy who complimented him out of the blue.

The boy smiled and said.

"Even if I paid them for a request, there aren't many adults who would seriously listen to a kid like me."

"Hmm, is that so?"

Well, that could be true.

It was plausible to think of it as a child's immature talk.

Above all.

"Even when I showed you the money, you looked more amused than greedy."

"Hm, that might be so."

"Anyway! We have to make them turn back from here!"

"Do you have a way?"

"Of course! If I didn't, I wouldn't have hired you, would I?"

Alright then, let's hear the method.

What on earth could be the way to deal with those mounted bandits?

As Seonghyun also looked at the boy with curiosity.

The boy chuckled and spoke.

Afterward, as Seonghyun listened to the boy's story, his expression certainly became serious.

Indeed, with this method.

Even the mounted bandits would never come near this village again.

"That might actually work, you know?"

"Yes! And you need to help me with that, hyung."

"Alright."

Besides, it was a mission that was a perfect fit for Seonghyun.

Then, shall we begin?

6.

The guys who ruled this area could truly be called villains.

The Savage Wolves.

Even among mounted bandits, there were many who only went as far as extorting money, food, and goods.

But the Savage Wolves were infamous for slaughtering entire villages if things didn't go their way.

Moreover, their numbers exceeded a thousand.

So even some territories found it difficult to subjugate them.

It was too ambiguous to step in directly.

But leaving them be was a nuisance.

Was that why?

They knew this line very well, so after raiding a territory a few times.

They immediately moved to another territory.

Then, even if a territory had already suffered a loss, chasing them would lead to even greater losses, so they were often left alone.

Only the innocent commoners suffered.

But the Savage Wolves didn't care at all.

"Kwahahahaha!!!"

"They say we're going to raid all the villages around here soon, right?"

"The boss is a real piece of work, I tell you!?"

"To think no one would chase us if we split up like this, raid each village, and then leave the territory!!!"

"Tell me about it! Kwahahahaha!!!"

The guys, laughing heartily and drinking horse wine, chattered away like madmen.

Normal bandit groups tended to be cautious before a raid.

But these guys didn't care one bit.

Because they believed without a doubt that they could never lose.

That's why they were all laughing so boisterously, when.

Heeeeeigh——!

Pudeureuk, pureureuheuheu.

Ihihiiiing——!!

As the horses made a racket, the bandits' gazes turned.

For the tied-up horses to suddenly cry out so loudly.

What was going on?

Although they were a band of mounted bandits, they took very thorough care of their horses, even training them to be almost like warhorses.

The bandits' horses were different from ordinary horses.

They wouldn't be startled by a small commotion.

They looked on, a bit puzzled by such a startled reaction.

"Is something wrong?"

"Hey, rookie! Go check."

"Eigh, when will I ever get out of this rookie life......"

"What? It'll be a long time before we get new recruits, so stop complaining and go check quickly!"

Grumbling, he headed towards where the horses were tied.

However…

There was nothing particularly out of the ordinary.

But…

Hwooooooo.

Kiiiiiiiiiiii.

"......???"

An eerie sound of wind.

Although the atmosphere was unusual.

They weren't the kind of bandits to be scared by something like that.

He just tilted his head.

Did the wind always sound like this?

He thought something was strange.

But his senses weren't sharp enough, so he just went back.

"Is there anything there?"

When the rookie returned.

The bandit who was the leader of this group asked as if to say what's wrong.

The rookie scratched his head and said.

"The wind sounds a bit eerie, but there was nothing there."

"The wind sounds what?"

"Like some kind of ghost wailing......"

The moment the rookie said that.

Kiiiiiiiiiiii——.

The sound of the wind, like the eerie laughter of a woman, was heard.

And unlike before, it was coming from all directions.

Although the atmosphere had become somewhat eerie.

There was no way the bandits would care about something like that.

They just dismissed it as the sound of the wind.

However, the party leader's face crumpled in a frown at the strange sound.

"I don't think the wind sounded like that just a moment ago?"

"It was just the sound of the wind before, right?"

"Hmm, is it because it's night?"

"Kwahahaha!!! Are you saying a ghost has appeared or something?"

"Kehehehe, as if something like that could exist!!!"

The bandits shouted, laughed, and chatted, raising their drinks again for a toast and about to resume their conversation.

However.

Kiiiiiiiiiiii——!

The sound of the wind, like that of a ghost's laughter, grew louder.

The ever-loudening sound of the wind.

As a result, even the bandits who hadn't paid attention at first grew annoyed and their faces crumpled in a frown.

"Aish! It's killing my appetite."

"What kind of sound is so f*cking annoying."

"Puhehe, if it's f*cking annoying, shouldn't it be the sound of a man?"

"Kehehehe, you're right."

The guys who didn't hesitate to make lewd jokes.

Among them, a strange atmosphere began to be felt.

"......Was it always this dark here?"

"Huh? Wasn't the moon out just a moment ago......?"

The full moon, which had been shining brightly just a moment ago, had disappeared.

Also, the sky was eerily dark, as if it wouldn't allow any light.

And in the midst of it all.

Kiiiiiiiiiiii——!

Only the eerie sound of the wind swirled around.

"......."

"......Keuheum."

"......."

"Hmph."

The voices of all the bandits died down.

As if there was something there.

The most faint-hearted among them said, trembling.

"D-don't you think this area is cursed?"

"Cursed?"

"......Keuheum."

"Cursed, you say......"

A cursed land.

Since such places actually existed, no one could refute it.

He wanted to argue that if this place was like that, how could those villagers live here.

But the villagers never came out at night.

Could it be that they knew about this phenomenon beforehand?

Such a worry arose.

The bandits didn't say anything out loud.

But they were gulping, afraid that it might really be a cursed land, and were adjusting to the darkness.

The surroundings, which had been gradually darkening, were now completely dark, making it hard to see even an inch ahead.

But they were bandits who were used to the dark.

They were able to adapt to the darkness quickly.

It was then.

A few lights began to appear in the forest.

Bluish, dark lights.

As the lights floating in the air increased one by one.

Everyone was swallowing hard.

Could it really be cursed?

As they were thinking that.

The bluish lights gradually turned red.

And soon, the moon that had disappeared just a moment ago rose again.

But it was a red moon, so different from the one that was there before.

"L-leader. Shouldn't we t-tell the boss and g-go somewhere else?"

"You f*cking idiot!!! You think we should just back down!?"

Although the leader shouted so.

His voice trembled slightly, as if he also wanted to run away.

And besides that faint-hearted one, others seemed to have similar thoughts.

They all just wanted to run away.

In that situation.

Something fell from the sky.

Thud.

It was none other than one of the bandits' horses that fell from the sky.

And the horse that had fallen to the ground was trembling violently.

Without a head.

A fountain of blood gushed out, and the horse's flesh was torn away as if devoured by something, leaving what looked like bite marks.

"......!!!"

"......!!!"

"!!!!!!"

The startled bandits, without exception, got on their own horses and fled the scene.

They thought this place must be cursed.

But as they fled in such a hurry, they didn't realize.

One horse had died.

How could all of them be riding horses?

"D-don't attack that village!!!"

"W-we have to tell the boss!!!"

Watching the bandits fleeing in a hurry, the boy and Seonghyun chuckled and came out.

"That was effective."

"Tell me about it."