Chapter 65
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Carriage Escort (3)
The carriage that had left the barony entered the forest road.
The trip from Beth's guild to the barony had already taken a long time, but the return journey was even slower.
The wagon was packed full of goods, making its pace noticeably sluggish.
Right now, Beth was cloaked in stealth, having flipped her shadow over herself.
If enemies appeared, she could strike first with a surprise attack.
She wasn't tying the horse up to avoid drawing attention.
I glanced casually at the two carriages passing by beside us.
Out of all those packed goods, how many were truly valuable?
If I were transporting items by carriage and anticipated looting attempts from others... I certainly wouldn't load everything into a single wagon.
I'd split them across multiple carriages, filling them with decoys to distract the eye.
Then I'd designate sacrificial wagons and the important ones, distributing personnel accordingly.
Beth's guild, the Shadow Union, had a total of eight members.
Yet only Beth and I were assigned to this carriage.
If everything was inside this one, it would make sense for the entire guild to escort it.
Beth was a skilled thief.
If things went south, she could easily grab a small item or two and slip away alone.
Of course, I didn't think she would... but it never hurt to be cautious.
Then.
The carriage jolted to a halt as it traveled along the forest path.
"......"
"......"
I looked toward the front of the carriage.
There, a band of bandits blocked the road.
From among them stepped a hulking man who clearly looked like their leader.
"I'm Vogra, captain of the Crimson Blood Mercenary Corps. I'd like to talk, so why don't you come out first."
The man chuckled as he pushed through the laughing mercenaries and approached the coachman.
He seemed to think someone was riding inside...
"...All goods, huh? Ha!"
Peering at the items stuffed under the carriage's cover, desire lit up his face.
Then he spotted me.
"Knight! You alone?"
He pointed at me from a distance and asked, but I had no intention of wasting time.
"Step aside. Standing in front of the carriage with weapons drawn makes you no different from bandits."
"Khuh. Knight, don't get worked up. This'll be good for you too."
The man waved his hand dismissively.
On his thick shoulder was a black tattoo.
The mark of a black mage, one who drew power by feeding on others' lives.
But this man wasn't a black mage himself.
He was just the type who borrowed power by selling his soul to them.
I raised my hand to halt him.
"Come any closer, and I'll take your head."
Of course, Beth would be the one doing the taking.
"Khuhuhu. Fine. Then I'll talk from here, young knight. I was once like you..."
"Too wordy."
"Arrogant... Knight, we know who you are. Don't get cocky."
Vogra's face twisted for a moment.
He continued with a clearly offended expression.
"We already knew the Lockhart Trading Company sponsors the Shadow Union when we came here. And... we know you've split your wagons into several."
He seemed to think I was a member of the Shadow Union.
As I listened quietly, Vogra drew the scythe slung across his back.
"Even the back alleys have their lines, Shadow Union. You've crossed them."
I sensed presences around us.
It looked like all the ones burned by the Lockhart Trading Company had gathered.
Vogra noticed I'd picked up on it too.
"Khuhuhu. Looks like you're finally ready to listen. I'll say it once, so hear me out. We only need one of those two wagons up ahead. Do whatever you want with the other—roast it, boil it, we don't care."
Vogra pointed to the carriage in front.
"We'll take this one. You're alone anyway, knight, so this is your chance for a fresh start. Oh, we'll handle killing the coachman for you."
Vogra cackled.
He gestured as if prompting my response.
"What's it gonna be? We don't wanna waste energy on a knight either. You're by yourself out here, aren't you? Or split it with your union, and it'll still be plenty."
"What if I refuse?"
"Then of course... we'll kill you and take both."
"I see."
I pretended to mull it over and waited patiently.
Frustrated by my demeanor, Vogra shouted again.
"Decide in five seconds, knight! Gerok's waiting nearby too. If you've prowled the alleys, you've heard the name."
Madman Gerok.
A man whose nickname came from always taking a bite of his victims' flesh after killing them.
He mainly did contract kills—a fairly skilled assassin.
"That might be tough. But I'll offer a counterproposal."
"Knight. Don't you get it? This isn't the time for your proposals."
"Calm down. You'll like it too."
I tossed them a single rope.
"Tie your hands and feet with that. Then I won't kill you."
"...Knight, have you lost your mind in fear? Don't play games. We've killed over twenty knights with these hands!"
"Bro! Just kill him! Think he can take all of us alone?!"
The bandits glanced at each other and snickered.
As expected, combat seemed unavoidable.
And even if I handed over the carriage, they had no intention of letting anyone live.
They'd probably planned to secure one wagon safely first, then fight for the rest.
With the presences I sensed around us, there was at least one more guild's worth.
One wagon wasn't enough for all those mouths.
And above all... since they'd sold their souls to black mages, they couldn't be allowed to leave alive.
Cannibals who lived off others' flesh would just spawn more victims if spared.
As my response dragged on, Vogra coaxed slyly.
"Young knight. This is your last chance. Send one wagon this way. Then we'll cleanly..."
At that moment, Beth revealed herself.
Drenched in blood from head to toe, she tossed something from her hand at the bandits.
"Is this Gerok?"
"......"
A man's head, twisted in agony, rolled across the ground.
"...Took too long."
"More than I expected."
Vogra, who'd been listening to our exchange, stared blankly at the head on the ground and Beth in turn, uncomprehending.
Then realization dawned.
"N-No way!"
He whistled sharply.
Probably a signal to call in the surrounding forces.
But...
"Wh-What's going on...?"
All the presences I'd sensed around us had vanished.
"They're all dead."
Beth spat the words coldly, like a death sentence.
A brief silence fell.
The bandits, grasping the situation, began backing away one by one.
"Don't let any escape."
"Got it."
I cast Black Hole ahead.
Terrifying mana warped space, forming a black void at its center that sucked in the surrounding bandits.
"U-Uwaaak!"
"S-Spare me! Spaa..."
"Urk, grrk...!"
They let out short screams before plummeting into the Black Hole's core and vanishing.
Only the leader resisted briefly, his body dyed purple.
"U-Uuugh..."
But after exceeding his limits, his form shriveled and he was dragged into the Black Hole.
That cleared the bandits.
"One more."
Beth nodded toward the thicket.
I'd sensed it too, so I quickly manipulated my inventory, pulled out golem materials, and summoned it.
Then.
"Impressive."
From the distant thicket emerged a man cloaked head to toe in black robes.
"To take down one who inherited my power in a single blow. He had a decent head on him, and a sturdy body too."
The black mage who'd claimed the bandit leader's soul.
"But you... Pretending to be a knight, but you're a mage? Nearly fooled me. That could've been trouble."
He clapped leisurely, then lowered his hood to reveal his face.
The left side of the man's face was grotesquely twisted.
The result of delving too deep into black magic, rebounding on himself.
"One mage, one thief. And what's that crude golem?"
He let out a disbelieving laugh.
"Ha... This is why back-alley trash is trash. You thought this was enough to take us on?"
At his gesture, something emerged from the thicket.
A creature crawling on four legs... with a human head atop a lion's body.
A chimera.
The horrific lifeform favored by black mages.
"You... Your body's good, so I'll have to discard the head......"
The black mage muttered while pointing at me.
Then.
"First, you."
At the black mage's gesture, the chimera leaped.
It charged at me with tremendous speed, but slammed into my golem.
The human face on the chimera twisted.
"Grrrrrgh!"
It screamed.
Seeing this, the black mage raised his left hand, enveloping my golem in black energy.
I considered hitting him with a spell, but quickly dismissed it.
Among black mages' spells, the trickiest was Mirror.
It reflected projectile-based magic.
Unclear if this one had it, but better not to risk it.
Instead.
『Corrupted Bloodstone』
― Bloodstone that enveloped Corpse Lord Golter. Infusing mana allows use of black magic.
I poured mana into the Corrupted Bloodstone, countering his black magic.
"? You, that spell......"
The black mage blinked in flustered confusion.
He urgently commanded the chimera.
The chimera's jaws gaped wide, spewing purple liquid.
The venomous fluid black mages used—even a drop caused poisoning.
This level of poison was cured in an instant.
Realizing the tide was turning against him, the black mage snarled.
"Tch, I didn't come alone! At least you first."
He released something bound to his hand.
Then.
"Grrrrraaah!"
The chimera battling my golem suddenly went berserk.
Apparently restraints linked to the chimera.
He seemed poised to flee while it bought time.
But.
*Stab!*
"Huh?"
A blade from behind pierced the black mage's heart precisely.
Beth, who'd been shadowing him since he first appeared, had closed in.
Spotting her too late, the black mage focused mana into his trembling hand.
"Too late."
*Slash!*
Even that was severed by Beth's blade and fell to the ground.
Her merciless knife then riddled his body.
The black mage collapsed.
Now for me too...
*Zing!*
With the black mage down, I freely unleashed my magic.
A splitting light ray shot from my staff's tip, piercing the chimera's head. It crumpled lifelessly.
"...All done?"
Only after the chimera fell did the coachman, who'd been hiding and trembling behind the carriage, peek out.
We roughly cleared the corpses and resumed our journey.
We'd taken down the black mage for now, but this was hardly the end.
Black mages bound their souls together.
The others nearby would have sensed his death.
"...Found you."
A man heading toward the Berin Barony's eyes gleamed.
One of his black mage minions had just died.
But through the death-thought sent out, the man pinpointed the carriage's location.
Ecstasy filled his face.
He shook the blood from his ominous black sword and headed toward the thought's origin.