109
My Villains Chapter 109
28. Longville (1)
The decaying spirit launched a heavy kick. I immediately stuck to its leg and drove in Hrunting.
Puk.
Branches and leaves crumble helplessly. A tasteless sensation, completely different from stabbing flesh.
Gooo.
It swung its arm to shake me off.
A fist like a massive pile of fallen leaves. Though not visibly threatening, not knowing what might be inside, I quickly threw myself and rolled on the ground.
A dull explosive sound brushed past, and I bounced and ran, positioning myself between the spirit's legs.
Then, recalling the teachings of Sir Ankir, I began swinging Hrunting with both hands. The blade above my head spins like a pinwheel.
Skak!
Every time the red sword light flashes, leaves, rotting corpses, and broken stems scatter in all directions.
Gooo.
The spirit, with both legs torn apart, collapsed meaninglessly. Utequais, who had approached at some point, swung his stone hammer right then.
"Return to nature-!"
Parak!
The moment the stone hammer touched the spirit, leaves and small branches scattered like falling feathers.
Looking closely, the head of Utequais's stone hammer was glowing a pale green. It was the activation of the 'Maul of Slonhe' special option that neutralizes spirit-type enemies.
The spirit lay down, revealing its bare stem and a black-glowing core, writhing dully.
"Hup!"
I stepped on the fir trunk and leaped up as if making a long jump.
Twisting my body and extending my arm. The red blade splits the core located at the spirit's center.
Goooweoeoeo-!
A low scream that echoes like a mountain roar. Startled mountain birds leap up, and wolves or wild dogs bark.
By the time the noisy mountain regains its peace, the decaying spirit had disappeared, leaving only dry tree stems and leaves.
"Phew."
Though an unexpected encounter, I solved it fairly easily.
I could have finished it with a fireball, but then the entire mountain would have become a sea of fire. I don't need to experience the thrilling adventure of being chased by a hot forest fire while slaughtering monsters in reality.
That's when it happened.
Jjeojeak.
"Oh, surprised me."
Looking down at the sound of something breaking, I saw a crack forming on Hrunting. A faint crack began spreading like a spider web, covering the entire copper-colored blade.
Utequais, who noticed Hrunting's anomaly, frowned.
"Phoenix! Something's wrong with your sword."
"No, it's fine."
I quietly watched Hrunting's transformation.
Hrunting, which had sucked the blood of countless enemies, was now growing. Breaking its copper-colored shell and being reborn.
"...How strange. Like a snake."
"Right."
As Utequais muttered, Hrunting, which had shed its skin and revealed a smooth blade, resembled a white snake. A milky-white blade with faint black blood vessels.
"...It's cool."
At Utequais's reluctant expression, I couldn't help but laugh.
The blade had gotten slightly longer. I'll need a new scabbard.
Some who inhaled the poison smoke collapsed with dizziness, but thanks to quickly administering the antidote, no one died.
Perso and one traveler collapsed, but they're said to recover quickly with rest.
"Don't lie down, sit and lean back. Don't touch them randomly trying to massage."
"Understood. Thank you, Mage."
Ellen raised her hand slightly to the merchants and slowly floated down to my arm, maintaining a proud expression.
That arrogant look... I want to punch her in the philtrum.
Seeming to read my expression, Ellen blinked her eyes slyly under her robe.
"What?"
"....Nothing."
Fortunately, most of the group are mercenaries or merchants. If they were ordinary farmers or nobles, they might have looked down on an unidentified Mage.
Sometimes they'd even argue to kick out a Mage from the group, saying it's ominous to travel with one. In the Middle World, wandering Mages are usually treated this way.
Ellen, sitting on my arm, lifted her robe and quietly looked around the forest.
"Something feels off."
"Off? What?"
"The flow of magic is unnatural."
At her words, I also tried to draw up my energy.
"Can you sense it? Something doesn't seem right."
"...Hmm, yes."
Of course, I couldn't feel anything. Considering the difference in magical power between Ellen and myself, that was natural.
Since Ellen was making a somewhat complicated expression, I patted her knee and said, "We'll know when we get to Longville. Let's go."
"Okay."
"Wow, it's incredibly wide."
Ellen silently nodded her head and looked down the mountain ridge. There, our destination Longville was spread out.
Yes, we had finally arrived at Longville. It had been a month and half since we departed from South Harbor.
Longville was a mountain estate surrounded by mountain ranges in three directions. Looking down at the scenery of the setting sun between the mountain ranges, Ellen opened her mouth with interest.
"Phoenix."
"Yes?"
"Do you remember when we looked down at South Harbor together?"
"Huh? Oh, when we escaped from the cave? We almost died then."
"This looks wider than the South Harbor we saw back then."
"Right. But weren't you closing your eyes in fear back then?"
"...I didn't close my eyes."
Fields were spread out in all directions of the estate, and in the center, a rocky hill was rising. On top of the rocky hill shaped like a long tray, there were straw-roofed houses, winding roads, and small vegetable gardens.
At the innermost part of the hill, two stone buildings were situated. The building embracing a wide courtyard would be the lord's manor, and the wide square fortress on the earthen rampart would be the citadel.
The residential area seemed to be at least several kilometers in circumference and was tightly guarded by thick wooden palisades. There was only one gate through which one could enter, and the security looked extremely strict.
"...Wow, they must have gone through a lot to build this."
"The surroundings are all mountains. You'd have to do this much to block monsters."
"Hmm, is that so?"
A struggle to survive. There could be no greater motivation than that.
I don't know much about castles, but it definitely looks difficult to capture.
If someone were to occupy Longville, they would need to climb the 6-meter rocky hill, break through the strict gate, or cross the 4-meter wooden palisade, and then destroy the citadel at the innermost part. Is this even possible?
That's right, in the original scenario, the Bandits Baron was occupying this place with his subordinates. How on earth did he manage to occupy this place?
The gate was bustling with farmers, mercenaries, and merchants. The soldiers guarding the gate were checking each person trying to enter Longville, which naturally caused delays.
Eventually, our caravan stood before the gatekeeper as twilight was falling.
"Where are you from?"
"From South Harbor."
"What goods?"
"Salt, spices, fabrics... Well, things like that."
"Salt and spices." While the porter and gatekeeper were conversing, I was observing the soldiers.
The soldiers of Longville looked disciplined at a glance. They weren't chatting among themselves, nor were they distracted or looking elsewhere. They were simply scanning visitors with sharp gazes.
Their equipment was just padded armor, iron helmets, and long spears, but their elite atmosphere made the lack of equipment hardly noticeable.
The gatekeeper, accompanied by four soldiers, began inspecting the carriages, carts, and people. They continued checking luggage and asking about people's origins.
Bows, crossbows, and halberds were immediately confiscated. The mercenaries surrendered their weapons without much resistance.
And finally, the gatekeeper stood before us.
"Where, um, are you from?"
"From Ailant."
"Ailant? From beyond the straits?"
When I nodded, the gatekeeper hesitated for a moment before asking,
"May I ask about your status?"
Seeing the gatekeeper's persistence, I knew Ellen and Utequais would also encounter difficulties. Especially Ellen, who is a magician without a faction, would definitely be problematic.
...Ah, I'll have to reveal it after all.
I answered with strength in my voice, "I am Phoenix, a knight of Prince Ulkar."
Of course, in this world, there are no identification cards. Nowhere and at no time can anyone prove whether a person is a farmer, a noble, or of royal blood.
Of course, I do have something like a 'Lavaltan Estate Rights Certificate', but it's quite rare to prove one's identity with such a document. Showing a faction is only applicable to magicians.
Ultimately, most people discern each other's status through appearance, demeanor, and speech.
In that sense, I was clearly a knight, both in reality and appearance. I'm not sure about my speech, though.
The gatekeeper bowed with a somewhat uncomfortable expression, likely for this reason.
"...Ah, it's an honor to meet you, Sir Phoenix."
"Likewise."
"May I ask the purpose of your visit to the city?"
"Traveling."
"Traveling, I see. May I inquire about your destination?"
I scratched my eyebrow and asked back,
"Do I absolutely have to say?"
"No, not necessarily."
When the gatekeeper's gaze turned to Ellen and Utequais, I quickly took the initiative.
"This lady here is currently under my protection. This one... Well, is a guard."
The gatekeeper made a strange expression.
"...So, you're protecting that magician? As a knight?"
"Is there a problem?"
Generally, female magicians are only treated as 'ladies' if their status is truly noble. In other words, they're not typically under a knight's protection.
The gatekeeper seemed somewhat uncomfortable, knowing this, but eventually nodded.
"I'll inform the lord's manor."
"...The lord's manor?"
"Yes. As a knight of Prince Ulkar, the lord will want to meet you."
The gatekeeper was speaking with a rather cold expression.
Well, did I do something wrong
"And those savage weapons carried by the slave or guard must be left at the gate."
When the gatekeeper pointed to himself, Utequais suddenly became enraged.
"I am a warrior of my mother! I am no one's slave!"
The large, bare-chested barbarian suddenly shouted, startling the soldiers who raised their weapons. I quickly tried to restrain Utequais.
"Ugh! Don't yell, speak calmly!"
"Braak! Heplia onsome!"
Fortunately, he didn't take any aggressive actions, but Utequais's loud outcry was enough to make the gatekeeper's face turn pale.
"P-Please calm that barbarian down! Otherwise, we'll attack!"
...Oh, he's getting angry suddenly.
"Are you ordering me?"
"Pardon? No, that's not-"
"What's 'not'? And if you've misspoken, you should apologize first, not threaten?"
"Sir, that's a misunder-"
As I glared at him, the gatekeeper stammered nervously. I swallowed some rising emotion and let out a deep sigh.
"Phew. Misunderstanding or not, apologize quickly."
"Excuse me?"
"Apologize to this friend for calling him a slave. If you want this to go smoothly."
While the gatekeeper was hesitating to speak, a woman appeared from inside the gate.