Chapter 153
Translator: penny
Chapter: 153
Chapter Title: Hachisuka Gang (1)
'Good heavens.'
Baek Il-yeong couldn't help but let out a scoff as he took in the bandits surrounding them, their eyes fierce and ready to pounce at any moment.
And who could blame him? 'Kill the women and rape the men'? What kind of barbaric nonsense was that, straight out of some backwater hellhole? Of course, it wasn't entirely incoherent. The world he stood in was one where female daimyo and warriors weren't exactly rare.
"...They're completely insane."
"Those bitches have lost their minds. We have to protect the young master, no matter what."
Still, judging by the reactions of the Hirate family samurai who had drawn their swords to guard him, this was clearly a new breed for them too.
And before long...
Under the fully darkened sky, as Il-yeong scanned the genders of the bandits encircling their campsite clearing, his expression turned to one of utter astonishment. He murmured,
"Now this is a fresh one."
For starters, every single one surrounding the clearing was a woman—not that it mattered much. But their appearance? Bizarre, to say the least.
'Not a regular army...'
Their clothing was somewhat uniform, but calling it military garb was a stretch.
'But not typical bandits either.'
Having encountered real-deal bandits while crossing from Owari to Mikawa before, Il-yeong couldn't help questioning if these women truly qualified as such. Sure, this world had its quirks, but women weren't physically superior to men. An all-female bandit gang? That just didn't add up.
And right then—
"...An all-woman group, huh. Ah, I see."
Ikoma Kitsuno's familiar voice brushed past Il-yeong's ear. She paused while loading the wrist-mounted crossbow not far from him, narrowing her distinctive brown eyes as she muttered lowly.
"The Hachisuka Gang."
A name that rang a vague bell.
The moment he recognized it, Il-yeong noticed.
"Mm..."
"Hmph."
Unlike the Hirate family samurai gripping their swords, faces set in grim resolve as they braced for the outnumbered fight ahead, the Ikoma caravan merchants and a few ronin wore complicated expressions—clearly piecing together who these women were.
Sure enough.
Ikoma Kitsuno, catching Il-yeong's eye, approached slowly enough not to rile the surrounding female bandits and spoke to him.
"The Hachisuka Gang—a bandit crew that's started operating around Mino and Owari relatively recently. But they're a bit different from your average thugs—"
"Yeah. I can see that much."
A smirk tugged at his lips.
Realizing a beat late what he meant, Ikoma Kitsuno couldn't help but chuckle along, though she finished loading her wrist crossbow and added,
"That's just their intimidation tactic. It's an odd mindset, sure, but surprisingly effective, from what I've heard?"
"You seem to know a lot about them."
"Our caravan's run into them a few times."
Only then did Il-yeong understand how the Ikoma crew had identified them—and a question arose in tandem.
"So, what makes them 'a bit different'?"
He was curious about the exact meaning behind those words. As if she'd been waiting, she replied.
"The Hachisuka Gang doesn't usually go for the kill. They'll fight if they have to, but they tend to show mercy. Mostly, they take hostages and—"
Even as she spoke, a woman emerged from the forest beyond, piercing the darkness.
"—ransom them for hefty sums. We've paid up a few times ourselves."
"I know plenty about them, so I won't repeat myself. Drop your weapons."
A woman stepped forward through the parted ranks of her bandits.
"Do that, and I guarantee no one gets hurt."
Her voice, belonging to a woman with hair and eyes somewhere between black and purple, echoed across the clearing. Naturally, Il-yeong quickly sized her up.
Skin nearly as pale as porcelain, features striking enough to turn heads anywhere—not exactly bandit leader material.
Likewise, her clothes were somewhat soiled but neat, and her gait screamed nobility.
Finally, the loyalty and envy in the eyes of the female bandits watching her.
'Definitely not your average bandits. Neither in behavior nor looks...'
This felt more like a mercenary band than brigands.
What were bandits, anyway?
No matter how you dressed it up, most were just desperate losers hiding in the hills, preying on the weak. Trash who formed pathetic little gangs with weapons, crushing and killing folks not unlike their past selves.
That's why, last time he'd met bandits, Il-yeong had shown no mercy. If anything, he'd been extra brutal to ensure they never tried it again.
But what to do here?
'They look like they have a story. But...'
In a fleeting moment of deliberation, Il-yeong's eyes darkened. Just as quickly, he sorted his thoughts.
'Intentions and sob stories aside, they're still robbers.'
Since when did victims have to sympathize with criminals? No matter the excuses or flowery words, if it boiled down to violence, they had to pay the price.
'Caravan's got about forty people. Around thirty actual samurai.'
Not Hirate elites, but the caravan's hired warriors weren't pushovers either.
Moreover, the Ikoma merchants, survivors of these chaotic times, were already armed for self-defense.
But with the enemy numbering nearly a hundred, charging first was still risky.
"......"
"......Hah."
How long did the stalemate drag on?
Finally, the purple-haired Hachisuka leader at the front sighed in resignation—and that instant—
"Charge!"
"Raaah—!"
A shout rang out from the bandits, and they surged forward without hesitation, swarming the group.
And their targets were none other than—
"Take down that noble and the caravan boss!"
"Break through!"
Ikoma Kitsuno.
And Il-yeong.
"Noble, huh."
Il-yeong let out an absent scoff at the shout clearly aimed at him—but it wasn't carelessness.
"Hup!"
He dodged a spear thrust at his thigh from behind. Grabbing the shaft that grazed his waist, he smashed his elbow into the face of the woman charging from the rear.
"Gahk!"
She'd be out cold for a while, but Il-yeong didn't care and shouted.
"Akechi!"
"Yes!"
Akechi Mitsuhide, answering Il-yeong's call, barreled through the bandits charging with murderous intent befitting their slogan and headed for Ikoma Kitsuno. Soon, the area devolved into chaos as bandits and samurai clashed.
And naturally, outnumbered as they were, Il-yeong couldn't avoid the fray.
—Whoosh!
"Come on, just stay still!"
The female bandit's yell as she swung a massive club at Il-yeong's head sounded oddly plaintive, but he twisted aside, seized her wrist, and wrenched.
"Krrk!"
"Hm."
Was it her grit that let her play bandit? Despite the pain, she bit her lip and dropped the club without hesitation, drawing a dagger and slashing at Il-yeong.
"Yaa!"
Her skill was solid—neither masterful nor amateurish. But as Il-yeong read her thrust, he couldn't help smirking.
'Thigh again.'
As Ikoma Kitsuno had said, they were avoiding lethal strikes, aiming to subdue him.
And it wasn't just him and Kitsuno.
"...What the?"
Itsuki too.
"Mm."
Akechi Mitsuhide as well.
"Young master, these women..."
Even the Hirate samurai who'd crisscrossed battlefields with Il-yeong soon realized it.
It was simply—
"They're really holding back on killing..."
They truly refrained from murder.
Thus, the moment Il-yeong realized it, his gaze settled on the woman leading this 'Hachisuka Gang'—who stared back with sunken eyes.
...It looked like he'd have to ask her directly.