The Elk Bandit's Reward
As soon as Olivia announced the reward, Ision shot a meaningful glance at Marcus. Marcus and I stepped outside, opened the animal pen, and dragged out a mountain goat.
“Maaaaaaaah!”
Marcus grabbed the loudly bleating goat by the neck and, right in front of everyone, expertly slit its throat with a dagger. I struggled to hold the thrashing body steady and quickly positioned a large basin beneath it to catch the blood that gushed out like a spring.
As the blood drained, the goat’s eyes slowly closed and its desperate struggles grew weaker. By the time the animal finally went still, the basin was brimming with dark red liquid.
I scooped the blood into an empty bowl and carried it over to the box of money. Looking around at the gathered bandits, I spoke in a grave tone.
“Let me make this clear one more time. If this money is real, I’ll stake my life on it. But if it turns out to be counterfeit… then… then…!”
Ugh, I really want to beg them to just let me out of here. That was the only thing I truly wished for. But if I carelessly said I didn’t want to stay with the bandit group, it would crack the fragile trust I’d barely built and only earn me negative points. There was no way they’d release me.
“Then what? Spit it out already!”
“Then please recognize me as a proud, full-fledged member of this bandit group! All I ask is that you place unlimited faith and trust in me. That will be enough!”
Ah… I’ve lost my mind.
“I already trust you, Hyunwoo! Hurry up and get on with it! That’s not what matters right now!”
Taking Bernhardt’s words as the signal, I boldly poured the bowl of blood straight into the money box. There was no need to wait anxiously—the result came instantly. In other words, it was an immediate, perfect hit.
Chiiiiiiik!
A sound exactly like grilling pork belly on a hot iron plate rang out as thick white smoke billowed up. The thin illusion coating on the surface of the coins and bills dissolved rapidly in the blood, revealing their true forms.
“Cough, cough!”
Once the smoke that had obscured our vision drifted away, the contents of the box needed no further inspection. It was obvious at a glance.
Rusty iron pieces shaped like coins and blank sheets of paper the size of banknotes. The box was full of them—utterly and completely fake.
“Oh my god!”
“This can’t be!”
Bernhardt and Marcus both gaped in shock, their mouths hanging open at the same time. The money they had worked so hard to earn had turned out to be worthless scraps of paper. The leaders and squad heads probably felt sick to their stomachs, but a bright smile spread across my lips. I was satisfied with the outcome.
I turned to look at Ision, who had been the most annoying obstacle until the counterfeit was proven. He was staring down at the money box—no, the pile of trash—with a stunned expression. He looked like he couldn’t believe it. Seeing that face filled me with secret delight.
“It’s definitely counterfeit, right?” I said, turning to Olivia.
Instead of flying into a rage, she covered her face with her palm, her lips twitching. It looked like she was barely holding back an explosion of laughter.
“Heh heh!”
A huge laugh burst out of her.
“Kyahahahahaha!”
It wasn’t a laugh of joy or amusement. That was genuine fury. She had been hit so hard that her anger had driven her to the point of madness, and the laughter was spilling out uncontrollably. It sounded exactly like an evil witch cackling.
A sudden chill ran down my spine and I unconsciously wrapped my arms around myself. When I glanced at Marcus, he was also looking up at Olivia with clear tension in his eyes.
Once her laughter finally died down, a terrifying voice flowed from her lips. Her tone was low and icy, her gaze as sharp as a frozen blade. It sent shivers down my spine.
“Bernhardt. Form a capture team immediately and go hunt down Crachio.”
“Yes ma’am! I’ll head to the city myself and drag that son of a bitch back here right away!”
The Great Squad Leader was taking the field personally. It looked like we were about to witness something truly spectacular.
Olivia then turned to Ision.
“Have everyone fully armed and on standby. I’ll gear up and join you shortly.”
“Understood.”
I tilted my head in confusion. Why fully arm the entire unit just to deal with one guy?
Marcus and I saluted Olivia and left first. Marcus grabbed my arm and spoke.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had an emergency. I’ll go wake Phelton up in the barracks. You head up the back mountain and wake Harry. If you go up a little way, you’ll see a big tent.”
“Yes, I’ll wake him and head straight back to our barracks.”
“Good. Got it.”
“See you in a bit.”
I turned to walk away from Marcus, but he suddenly grabbed my arm again. When I looked back, he was giving me a meaningful look.
“You saved my life this time. Thank you.”
What’s with this old man all of a sudden? This wasn’t like his usual character. The atmosphere was getting too serious, so I deliberately broke the mood. I didn’t want to grow attached to anyone and end up with lingering feelings when I eventually left the bandit group.
“I got it, so stop staring at me with those eyes like you’re looking at your long-lost first love. It’s giving me goosebumps. Just insult me instead.”
Marcus’s face hardened instantly and he clicked his tongue.
“Ugh, you rotten little brat. I can’t even remember what my first love looked like, you idiot. Anyway, just know that. And it’s not just me. Everyone in our squad, including you, survived because of what you did. If we’d discovered the counterfeit money later… it would have been an absolute nightmare. A nightmare.”
Marcus disappeared toward the 15th Squad barracks, and I hurriedly ran up the back mountain to call Harry.
The entire bandit group had come outside and was watching in tense silence.
Crachio, dragged in by Bernhardt and the capture team, was squeezing out tears and begging on his hands and knees before Olivia, who was fully armed in black armor.
“I-I was wrong! Please spare me! I’ll never do it again!”
Olivia simply stared down at him with an icy expression as he knelt and pleaded. Meanwhile, burly bandits approached, dragged him to a freshly dug pit, and hurled him inside.
As he tumbled down, four men rushed forward and began shoveling dirt back into the hole. Mud poured down on him from all sides, and Crachio flailed desperately in the rising sludge, screaming for his life over and over.
Only when the mud had reached his chest did Olivia finally speak, and the shoveling stopped.
“Crachio.”
“Y-yes ma’am!”
Crachio, now inside the pit, flinched and snapped to attention, looking up. His military discipline was impeccable. With his neat 5:5 part now completely covered in mud, he looked more pitiful than pathetic.
“Why did you betray me?”
“I-I never betrayed you! Please believe me! This was all because Chen threatened me! He made me do it!”
“What did Chen want from you?”
Crachio’s voice immediately burst out, full of desperate appeal, as if insisting he was innocent.
“A few days ago, Chen’s men came to my office and told me to cut ties with you and start doing business with them instead! I told them absolutely not! I refused them very firmly! B-but… right then, they pulled out knives and started threatening me—ugh…! Blegh!”
Olivia ordered the shoveling to resume, as if she didn’t want to hear any more. Mud began piling up again. It only stopped once it reached his neck.
“Do you really think such obvious lies would work on me?”
“Th-they’re not lies!”
“Really?”
“Y-yes, they aren’t!”
Olivia pointed to her left with one hand. Crachio turned his head. Then he flinched violently.
A naked woman with her upper body bound in ropes was being dragged forward by Bernhardt. It was Crachio’s female secretary.
When the terrified woman stopped in front of the pit, Olivia demanded,
“Tell the truth and I’ll spare only you. What kind of deal did you make with Chen?”
The secretary glanced nervously at the miserable-looking Crachio before turning back to Olivia. Then she spilled everything like a machine gun.
“It was Chen! He said he wanted to get rid of the annoying Elk Bandits and take complete control of the territory you held! He offered to share some of the profits, so our boss happily accepted! It wasn’t a threat! Once you started circulating the counterfeit money, they planned to report you to the lord! That was the whole plan!”
Olivia smirked as she looked down at Crachio.
“That’s what she says.”
At the same time, she extended her right hand. A waiting man placed a sharp, long spear into her grasp.
Seeing this, Crachio’s eyes widened in terror and he shouted desperately.
“I-I’ll tell the truth! I’ll tell the truth! Chen really did threaten me! But he also tempted me with sweet words to do business with them! He said he’d charge less for transportation than the Elk Bandits! At first I didn’t want to—aaaagh! Don’t throw it! I was wrong! I was wrong!”
Crachio shook his head frantically, his face twisted in fear.
Olivia gripped the middle of the spear and aimed it straight at Crachio’s face, buried in the mud, as if preparing to throw it. Then she grinned and asked,
“Any last words?”
“P-please forgive me! I’ll only do business with you for the rest of my life! Please!”
“Save those words for when you get to hell.”
The moment she finished speaking, Olivia threw the spear without hesitation. The spear flew with terrifying force and pierced straight through Crachio’s face.
Everyone swallowed hard at the gruesome sight, and a brief silence fell.
Ision approached and pointed at the secretary.
“What about this woman? Will you spare her as promised?”
Olivia brushed off her hands and answered lightly.
“Give her to Hyunwoo as a reward. His contribution was significant.”