Chapter 77 - Renid (8)

Contrary to the two's thoughts, the energy I sensed was not that of a monster.

In fact, if it were monsters, shaking them off and avoiding them on this wide plain would be no problem at all.

Because the performance of the wagon, designed with magic engineering, far surpassed the mobility of monsters.

“Leira, are there any famous bandit gangs active in this area?”

“Bandit gangs have been wiped out for a long time now. Even if there were, there are no gutsy enough ones to dare to target the Merwell Guild. But Johan, did you really feel something?”

I nodded my head.

“Warriors have something called presence detection.”

“But Captain Tardel hasn't said anything yet.”

Tardel was currently taking out a telescope and looking out the window.

Since I had already shown him what I could do, he couldn't just ignore my words.

“If it's not a bandit gang either……”

I couldn't yet know its identity.

Because the distance was so far that I was only feeling a faint energy.

However, no matter how small the energy, I could at least detect the hostility towards us.

This was what my instincts, worn and honed on the battlefield, were telling me.

A moment later, Tardel cautiously opened his mouth.

“Miss, it seems what Johan said is true.”

“What did you say?”

“A fairly large group is moving towards us on horseback! I can’t tell if they have hostile intentions towards us, though.”

They had come close enough to be caught in the telescope’s view.

“Johan! What on earth is your identity! How did you know this even before Tardel found out with his telescope……”

“That’s not what’s important right now.”

It wasn't like I had an identity to speak of anyway, but this wasn't the time for such leisurely talk.

Leira quickly turned her gaze back to Tardel.

“What about their numbers?”

“About fifty or sixty. Roughly twice our forces. Miss.”

“What purpose they have will be important.”

“I have a bad feeling, so we should prepare for the worst. Miss, you must absolutely not come out of the wagon.”

A determined air hung around Tardel’s expression.

As we got closer to them, there was one thing I became sure of.

That they were not simply a bandit gang.

The scale was one thing, but there was no way a mere bandit gang could emit such a strong energy.

In that case, I became quite curious about what kind of people they were and what purpose they had in approaching us.

***

They were all wearing black masks and identified themselves as a bandit gang.

Their demand was to hand over all the goods loaded on the wagons.

“Prepare for battle!”

At Tardel’s command, the Merwell Guild’s warriors all drew their swords at once.

This was an order that had come down from Leira.

There was an order to never surrender, no matter who the enemy was.

It was a fortunate thing for me as well.

Because if the caravan journey were to be halted here, I would have to start the quest all over again.

“Is there no one in charge of this caravan? I’d like to see the face of this caravan’s head, not some warrior lackeys.”

“Shut up! We are the ones who will deal with you.”

Tardel fiercely countered the enemy’s provocation.

“Are you perhaps too scared to come out of the wagon?”

“You insolent fool!”

“I’m sure you’re listening, but since you’re not even showing a hair, I guess you really are scared.”

The man’s sly laughter leaked through his mask.

At that, all the masked men started laughing in unison.

Tardel’s grip on his sword tightened.

“How long do you plan to hide? Is a merchant’s courage only this much?”

Simultaneously with the man’s shout, the wagon door opened.

“Were you looking for me!”

Finally, Leira revealed herself.

“Miss! Please get back inside the wagon, hurry……”

“It’s alright. Tardel. It seems they have something to say to me, so I’ll hear them out myself.”

“Quite a bold young lady.”

The masked man and Leira stared at each other, continuing a tense war of nerves.

“I have clearly conveyed my will. That there will be absolutely no negotiation and that we will fight back, no matter who the enemy is. But it seems you all think differently?”

“Hoo!”

“Why? Are you getting scared at the thought of a full-frontal battle?”

Leira expressed her will without being intimidated at all, despite their forces being more than double in number.

But that didn't mean she was underestimating the enemy.

Surprisingly, the side that was slightly at a disadvantage in terms of strength was the Merwell Guild.

Both I and Tardel agreed on that point, so Leira was also aware of this fact.

“I don’t think you’re in a position to be talking big. Or do you just not know how the world works?”

“Cut the useless talk, and if you have business, say it now!”

Leira continued to maintain her spirited demeanor.

“All the goods in the caravan and your life. With that, I will let the rest of you live.”

“The goods are one thing, but my life?”

“Instead of fighting recklessly, I’m giving you a chance to make a noble sacrifice. This is my final ultimatum.”

He said that, but upon closer inspection, there were too many suspicious points.

First, that masked man who seemed to be the leader of the bandit gang. He was playing the role of the leader, talking about a final ultimatum, but in terms of skill, a big question mark remained. In my Mana Eyes, I could see people much stronger than him.

Also, it was strange that all the bandits were wearing masks.

It was hard to understand if there was a reason to hide their identities by wrapping their faces so tightly.

Furthermore, even though the Merwell Guild’s crest was engraved on the wagons, they didn't say a single word about it.

It was impossible for not just ordinary people, but a bandit gang, to not know of the Merwell Guild.

‘This is definitely strange.’

If they already knew that the Merwell Guild would be passing through here, this question could be easily explained. Even the fact that they had pursued our wagon along a very efficient travel path.

Above all, my instinct was telling me one thing.

That what they were truly after was neither the caravan’s goods nor Leira’s life.

If I could take off those masks, all these questions might be easily solved.

‘First, the leader.’

I wasn't talking about the puppet leader who was at the forefront right now.

My first target was the man standing in the middle of the group, silently watching this situation, the one with the most abundant mana.

Whoooosh!

A dagger left my hand and flew like a gale.

Both forces, which were in a tense standoff, let out short gasps of surprise at my sudden release of mana.

This sudden situation was going to end in the blink of an eye anyway.

The thrown dagger wasn't an unavoidable attack, but it wasn't something that could be completely dodged either.

Because my Sword Control Technique was becoming more and more refined.

Shwaaaa!

The dagger slightly twisted its trajectory as it flew and emitted sword qi.

Though extremely faint, that beautiful blue light was clearly sword qi.

It wasn't yet strong enough to harm a person, but it would be able to cut a piece of cloth without difficulty.

Swoooosh!

“Which bastard dares!!”

The mask he was wearing was cut off helplessly, and his face was revealed without any filter.

A gut feeling washed over me that many of the questions surrounding this situation would be answered.

Now, it was the moment to wait for the reactions from both sides.

“Don’t tell me, the Oslot Guild?”

It was as I expected.

It was a familiar face from the Merwell Guild’s side, and these people were not a bandit gang.

Tardel spat out a fierce rage.

“You Oslot bastards! Why did you plot such a crazy thing?”

Since his identity was revealed anyway, the man answered with a sly smile.

“It’s an obvious story, isn’t it! What do you think our chairman wants?”

There was no need to listen any further.

A rival guild had made a reckless move to keep Merwell in check.

“Since it’s come to this, you all have to die! That’s why I told you to just end it with the sacrifice of that one girl!”

Whoooosh!

At that moment, a dagger left my hand once again.

It was the same method as before.

Only the target was a different person.

Swoooosh!

Another man’s mask was taken off.

This man also possessed a considerable amount of mana, so it was necessary to check.

What exactly was this man’s identity.

“You crazy bastards! The Reche Guild is also involved?”

Tardel wore an expression of disbelief.

With this, it was revealed that it was a joint operation of two guilds.

The reason why a mere bandit gang’s strength surpassed that of Merwell’s private soldiers could now be understood.

“You arrogant Merwell bastards! Now that it’s come to this, we can’t even let you live. Huh?”

From the beginning, they hadn't wanted a full-frontal battle.

The goal of the two allied guilds was to interfere with this caravan and tear down the trust and reputation that the Merwell Guild had built up.

They had probably planned to hit and run appropriately, but a situation that was not welcome for them had been created.

By the way, it was surprising how discerning they were, showing no reaction even after I had shown them this much.

This was why it was only right for the level of Lenad’s swordsmanship to be looked down upon.

Whoooosh!

Whoooosh!

This time, five daggers soared into the air at the same time and floated.

The men couldn’t hide their astonishment as they looked up at the swords floating above their heads.

“Wh-what is that!”

“Don’t tell me that’s going to attack us?”

A performance sufficient to instill fear.

The daggers quickly shot downwards. And began to take off their masks.

The fired sword qi was not neutralized by any defense, so they had no choice but to reveal their faces helplessly.

‘By now, they should have noticed that something is strange.’

If they felt no sense of incongruity even after witnessing the new world of Sword Control and sword qi, it would be a testament to them having the eyes of a fish.

They probably weren't that stupid.

“D-don’t tell me!”

“A Sword Master?”

“Are you saying the Sword Master I’ve only heard about in words actually exists?”

As someone mentioned Sword Master, they began to be violently agitated.

Of course, it was absurdly lacking to be at the level of a true Sword Master.

Because my body still couldn't keep up with my mind.

The sword qi I shot was only enough to cut off the masks. In fact, it was difficult to display any more martial prowess than that.

But since no one could know these inner workings, this alone was enough to make them lose their will to fight.

For me, it was necessary to take full advantage of this situation.

Because at my current level, winning without fighting was the best option.

I trudged forward step by step.

“Don’t waver! It can’t be a Sword Master!”

The escort captain of the Oslot Guild shouted in a loud voice, calming the soldiers.

The escort captain of the Reche Guild immediately agreed.

“That’s right! Has anyone ever heard of such a master in the Merwell Guild?”

But the two of them also had expressions of having lost their will to fight.

They were just raising their voices like a scared dog barks furiously.

I looked at them and calmly introduced myself.

“I am Johan, a mercenary from Earth.”

The fear of the unknown is always greater. That was probably how they felt right now.