54
Chapter 54
Clutching my throbbing head, I stared at the three pathetic weaklings before me.
They were all trembling in fear, having already surrendered.
To make matters worse, a pale yellow liquid was dripping from one of their suits of armor.
My brain simply couldn't process the situation.
What the hell was going on here?
'Why are those bastards so ridiculously weak?'
I might have at least made sense of this situation if I had struck them with the Holy Sword.
But the Holy Sword was already undergoing repairs, having been entrusted to the blacksmith some time ago.
The sword I was currently holding was one I'd received from Rubia. It was expensive, but it didn't have any special abilities or anything.
Yet that guy had been taken down in a single strike from it.
Seeing the other two trembling like that, they definitely didn't look strong, either.
'These guys aren't even bait.'
I wondered if they had tossed out meat shields to catch us off guard before sending in the main force to ambush us, so I made sure to check.
But even after scattering my mana to sense any nearby presence, there was no one else on this mountain besides those three.
Ironically, my attempt to make sense of the situation only raised more questions.
I had just realized that the amount of mana radiating from them was critically low.
It didn't even reach the average of the regular Imperial Army.
The lowest of the low.
They were definitely not elite soldiers. The amount of mana they exuded clearly indicated that they were nothing but a ragtag bunch of losers.
An Execution Squad sent to take down Black Fang.
A notorious organization known for assassinating the Empire's Knight Commander, wiping out an entire Elite Force, and even recently erasing the Black Market from the face of the earth.
And the Empire handpicked those pathetic bastards as their countermeasure.
I was genuinely curious as to what kind of thought process led to such an idiotic decision.
After pondering it for a while, I finally opened my mouth to speak.
Regardless of what was going on, my next course of action was clear.
"If you want to live, start by taking a Mana Oath. Swear that you will never do anything to harm me or my comrades."
I intentionally demanded a condition with a very broad scope.
The mere realization that they had done something to harm us would count as breaking the oath.
This would make it impossible for them to report our location or call for reinforcements.
Because a Mana Oath was not something to be taken lightly.
It couldn't be bypassed by any means.
The very moment they recognized that they had taken action to harm us, they would instantly drop dead.
Of course, given its nature, everyone knew the weight of a Mana Oath.
So, to help these fools make a wise decision, I figured I'd have to personally threaten them with my sword.
I prepared to radiate my Bloodlust.
And then...
"I-I swear on my mana!"
Before I could even draw my sword, they immediately opened their mouths.
They recited the restrictions I had demanded and took the Mana Oath at a speed that made it sound like they were rapping.
As I stood there dumbfounded by their utterly ridiculous display, they must have misunderstood my reaction as dissatisfaction, because they started adding even more dangerous restrictions on their own.
Swearing to immediately take their own lives if they caused me any harm.
Swearing absolute obedience to any command I gave.
Swearing to never lie to me.
It looked like they were having a contest to see who could swear the most.
Naturally, my head started to spin.
Did those bastards not even receive basic training?
It was common knowledge that you should never just mindlessly spout out a Mana Oath like that.
Besides, I was standing right here as the Leader of Black Fang. Were the Imperial Army soldiers really allowed to surrender that easily?
What kind of idiots were they?
Thinking that, I just stared at them. They were nervously glancing at me, trying to read my mood.
The one who finally broke the silence was the Knight whose arm had been severed.
"E-Excuse me. I'm really sorry, but... I think I'm actually going to die soon. Could you please treat my wound?"
Asking the enemy commander to treat your injuries.
I let out a deep sigh and opened my mouth.
"Stop the bleeding yourself. The Imperial Army Military Gear has bandages, right? High-quality ones, too."
I knew that because it was an item drop you'd get when fighting the Imperial Army. It had the best healing efficiency among all bandage-type items.
Though actually being hostile to the Imperial Army made the game's difficulty skyrocket, making it hard to really put them to use.
"...I-I didn't bring any."
While I was reminiscing about playing the previous installment, I heard a story that I simply couldn't comprehend.
Were they messing with me in this situation?
With that in mind, I checked the guy's backpack.
...Nothing.
More than half of the standard Imperial Army Military Gear items were missing.
"I'll let the bandages slide, but you didn't even pack any rations?"
"That just kind of happened..."
"You just swore on your mana that you wouldn't lie to me. Did you already forget that?"
At my words, the man's face turned pale.
...It seemed he really had forgotten, even right after taking the Mana Oath.
"I-It just makes things unnecessarily heavy. If we need something, we can just resupply locally anyway..."
'So they just grab anyone they see and rob them.'
The average Imperial Army soldier hasn't changed since the previous game, I mused as I looked at them.
That clueless look on their faces.
There was no way that was an act. Besides, it was impossible to deceive a Mana Oath in the first place.
Those guys were genuinely ordinary Imperial soldiers.
The very definition of typical Imperial soldiers.
"Why the hell did you guys even come here?"
I asked them.
Even so, Black Fang had quite the reputation. I couldn't believe they had specifically assigned such pathetic bastards to deal with us.
It was hard to imagine anyone making such an irrational decision.
So, making a reasonable guess...
I figured they probably just stumbled upon us by chance.
They were likely passing through on other business, but due to a timing mix-up, I mistook them for an Elite Force sent to kill Black Fang.
That was the only plausible explanation for this situation.
"We received orders to eliminate a group suspected of being Black Fang..."
But apparently, that wasn't the case either.
The Empire had genuinely sent those guys to deal with Black Fang.
I felt embarrassed for having overestimated the Empire just a moment ago. I couldn't tell if these guys were out of their minds or what.
The fact that they had been dispatched precisely here meant they knew we were operating in this area, right?
They managed to track our movements with such impressive intel, yet this was their response?
'It's not like the Emperor has gone senile...'
As long as that cunning old man hadn't developed dementia, there was only one conclusion I could draw.
For some reason, the information hadn't been properly conveyed.
It seemed we were being treated as a fake Black Fang. A rather pathetic fake Black Fang, at that.
I wasn't sure if I should call this incompetence or competence. After all, we technically were a fake Black Fang.
It was a total stroke of dumb luck.
"E-Excuse me. I'm really sorry, but..."
While I was lost in thought with a troubled expression, a timid voice reached my ears.
"It hurts so much... If I stay like this, I think I'm really going to die..."
The rugged-looking man was blinking back tears in a pathetic display.
I pondered for a long time... before finally going to retrieve the severed arm.
It was true that I didn't view these guys favorably.
But for now, this was the best course of action.
If I killed them without thinking, I'd just be asking for unnecessary trouble.
The Empire had simply sent a few low-ranking grunts to wipe out a ragtag group impersonating Black Fang,
so if those grunts ended up dead, they would naturally suspect something was up.
Risking the exposure of our identities just to take the lives of those pathetic bastards was a terrible cost-benefit ratio, right?
I let out a deep sigh, pressed the severed arm against the stump, and cast Healing Magic.
Strangely, the wound Regenerated in an instant. I thought it would take at least a few dozen minutes—was my Healing Magic skill always this good?
"T-Thank you so much!"
The guy expressed his gratitude with a deep, almost burdensome bow.
"Go back and report this. Tell them you took care of the people who looked like Black Fang. That they were just ordinary Impersonators."
As soon as they heard my words, the guys glanced at me nervously and began to slowly back away.
I was about to just let them go, but...
"Wait, stop right there."
I suddenly had a thought.
Come to think of it.
This left a pretty bad taste in my mouth.
Even if I preferred peaceful methods, healing the very guys who came to attack us and sending them on their way was just a bit too much.
After thinking it over for a moment... I finally opened my mouth.
"When you guys usually get orders like this. You don't finish them right away, do you? How much do you usually slack off?"
"Not much... but when we're dispatched far away, we usually drag it out for about one to two weeks even if the job is done. Getting paid peanuts and working hard just feels like a loss, you know."
I looked at the man who had nearly died with pathetic eyes, having forgotten about the restriction against lying he just placed on himself, before speaking again.
"We have... a lot of time left."
If I sent them back right now, they'd actually raise suspicion by finishing the job way faster than usual.
Plus, seeing how pathetic they looked, I doubted they could even pull off an act. They probably needed some training.
And most importantly... we were running a bit short on hands lately. And right before my eyes stood a Slave.
A Slave who would take on all the dirty and exhausting work, sparing sleep to labor in place of our guys.
I smiled as I looked at them.
Unable to keep up with my sudden change in expression, the men forced awkward smiles while their eyes still brimmed with tears.
It seemed they still didn't fully grasp the situation.
"So, how about doing some volunteer work in your free time?"
Coming here was entirely up to them, but going back was going to be a different story.