Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Get in the Carriage, Coachman
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The next morning, we climbed back into the carriage. Having spent the night entwined, sharing each other's warmth as we slept, Soso was still peacefully dozing in my embrace. Her steady breaths tickled the back of my neck, while her full breasts gently pressed against my arm. It was a serene morning. The passionate lovemaking from the night before—and the profound sense of mental calm it had brought—had lightened my heart considerably.
"If days like this could go on forever..."
I planted a soft kiss on Soso's forehead and turned my gaze to the window. The road stretched on endlessly. What lay at its end, I couldn't say. But for now, I wanted to hold onto this moment of peace.
The jolting carriage gradually slowed, then came to a complete stop.
"Wh-what's going on?"
Before I could even ask, the coachman's trembling voice rang out. Soso, now awake, looked up at me with anxious eyes.
I peered outside through the small carriage window.
A dozen or so men blocked the middle of the road. Their grimy clothes, gleaming eyes, and the rusty swords or axes in their hands marked them unmistakably as bandits.
"Heh heh heh, where do you think you're going without stopping?"
A burly man who seemed to be their leader approached the carriage with a sinister chuckle.
"Looks like travelers who don't know the rules of our mountain. If you value your lives, hand over everything you've got and be on your way. And if there's a woman inside... include her too."
The coachman's face drained of color. The reins in his hands shook like aspen leaves. Soso clung tightly to my sleeve, her slender frame quivering faintly in fear.
I gently patted her back while coldly assessing the bandits. Fifteen in total. From the way they gripped their weapons and stood, none appeared to have any real martial arts training. They were barely a step above street thugs.
"This is my chance."
The overwhelming powerlessness I'd felt against the Black Elder had driven home how desperately I needed to grow stronger. My abilities were specialized for killing. Yet I'd never taken a life. If this wall had to be crossed someday, today was the day. These worthless scum were perfect as my first victims.
Besides, this was the ideal opportunity to test my hypnosis technique. Not one-on-one, but against a group—hostile ones at that. I needed to see how deeply my suggestions could take root.
I whispered in Soso's ear.
"Soso, it's going to get noisy for a bit. Cover your ears with the coachman. And whatever you do, don't open your eyes."
Though puzzled by my calm tone, she obediently nodded. I gave the coachman a quick glance. Already dazed with terror, he fumbled to plug his ears at my signal.
I stood, opened the carriage door, and stepped out.
"Oh ho, looks like we've got a bold one. Hand over everything you've got, you—"
The bandit leader's words cut off abruptly.
Clap!
I clapped my hands together with all my might. A piercing crack that could rupture eardrums echoed through the forest. In that instant, as the sound reverberated, I focused my mind and infused a single command.
'Die.'
Not my voice, but a pure wave of will rode the clap straight into their minds.
In that moment, every sound in the forest fell silent as if by magic.
The chattering bandits' mouths clamped shut. The light vanished from their eyes in a flash, replaced by hollow darkness. They looked like soulless puppets.
And then hell unfolded.
"Gahk!"
The frontmost bandit unhesitatingly drove his axe into his own neck. Blood sprayed like a fountain as his body crumpled lifelessly.
That was the signal.
Squish!
"Khek..."
One plunged his dagger into his heart. Another slit a comrade's throat, then immediately ripped open his own gut. Expressionless and silent, they slaughtered each other and themselves as if it were a lifelong mission.
Slash. Thud. Stab.
The gruesome sounds of tearing flesh and shattering bone filled the woods. Over ten of the dozen-plus bandits became corpses in seconds, sprawled across the ground.
I watched impassively. My first kills. Dozens dead by my will alone. No disgust or guilt stirred in me. It felt like observing the results of a fascinating experiment—as detached as a scholar. The mind I'd tempered through countless self-suggestions wouldn't crumble at a sight like this.
Not everyone had fallen to my suggestion. Three or four with slightly stronger wills or farther from the wave's reach survived. They stared in horror and terror as their comrades went mad and offed themselves before their eyes.
"M-madness! What did you do, you bastard?!"
One survivor pointed at me, his face ashen, screaming. I saw no point in responding.
I implanted another suggestion in myself.
'My body is harder than steel and swifter than the wind.'
My muscles tensed rigidly in an instant, blood surging rapidly through my veins. I snatched a bloodied broadsword from a nearby corpse.
Then I advanced.
"K-kill that guy!"
The survivors charged in panic, yelling. But my heightened senses made their movements look like slow shadows.
Whoosh!
The first bandit's sword sliced empty air. I ducked effortlessly, surged forward, and slashed his throat horizontally. He collapsed, blood gushing, without a chance to resist.
"Th-this monster!"
The remaining two turned to flee in fright. I kicked a fallen dagger; it spun through the air and buried deep in one man's back.
The last one froze in place, pissing himself. I approached slowly. Paralyzed by fear, he couldn't even beg for mercy.
I swung the broadsword without a word.
When it was over, silence returned to the forest. Only I and the two in the carriage remained alive. The metallic stench of blood assaulted my nose.
I began rifling through the corpses' pockets. Beneath their filthy clothes, I found hefty money pouches. Not just silver, but a few gold pieces too. All told, it amounted to a merchant's monthly earnings at least.
Then a brilliant idea struck me.
I hefted a particularly heavy pouch, making it jingle, and approached the coachman. He stared blankly at the blood-soaked road, still out of it.
I tossed the largest pouch onto his lap.
Clink!
The heavy metallic thud made his eyes bulge. He alternated disbelieving glances between the pouch and me. Inside was more silver than he'd touch in a lifetime.
"Wh-what is all this, sir...?"
"Hazard pay."
I said it casually. Then, locking eyes with him, I made my pitch.
"We've got a long way to go. But from here on, let's stick to the rough roads where bandits show up often."
"Y-yes...?!"
The coachman gaped at me in shock, his face screaming 'Are you insane?'
I tossed two more pouches at his feet.
Clink! Clink!
Greed flickered in his eyes. His breathing grew ragged. The money before him was more than a lifetime of coachman work could earn. With it, he could sell his rickety carriage, return home, buy a plot of land, and live easy.
But the price was risking his neck.
He agonized for a long while, eyes darting between the pouches on his lap and my face. Beads of sweat formed on his brow.
Finally, he spoke in a quavering voice.
"...F-fine, let's give it a shot. If that's what you want, sir... I'll take you anywhere, even if it costs me my life."
It was the voice of greed conquering fear.
I nodded in satisfaction. Soso, who'd watched everything from the carriage, gazed at me with a pale face. Considerable fear mixed in her eyes. I'd need to soothe her to prevent nightmares.
I climbed back into the carriage.
"Let's go."
From that day on, our journey entered a whole new phase.
Safe, quick routes were no longer the priority. Bribed by the massive sum I'd given him, the coachman deliberately chose treacherous mountain paths rife with grim rumors and bandit haunts. The initial terror had vanished from his face, replaced by a greedy grin. Every night, he polished his new silver with a cloth, chuckling to himself.
Of course, for me, this journey was one of training and reaping rewards.