31
My Villains Chapter 31
9-1. Attack (1)
"Phew."
"Phoenix, are you okay? You look gloomy."
"Huh? Oh, I'm fine. Just lost in thought for a moment."
I was walking side by side with Daria, carrying a sack of milled grain. Mr. Luke said he would join us at the Ship's Horn Inn tomorrow morning. He said he still had some work left as an undertaker. I asked if he needed any help, but he said it was fine.
Well, it should be alright. Mr. Luke is an experienced old man and a seeker of the spirit realm, no, the golden gate.
After parting with Mr. Luke, Daria and I stopped by the workshop and the market to run errands. We retrieved the equipment we had left for repairs, bought materials for Ellen's special bullets, and replenished various supplies like oil.
I thought we had earned quite a bit of money from catching the lizard, but after spending like this, we were left with only seven silver coins in our communal funds.
Well, seven silver coins wasn't a lot of money, but it wasn't too little either. Enough to get by for a few days even without results?
As I was thinking about various things, questions about Mr. Luke came up again.
If Mr. Luke was really the 'CorpseMannerjokka', he would have been at least a level 15 Necromancer.
In addition, he would have had to be wearing both the unique items 'Kurnugia's Staff' and 'Forgotten Ruler's Crown'.
The two items were graduation-level equipment for Necromancers, and I remember keeping them because they had good wear restriction relaxation options.
They weren't just common items, but equipment good enough to be frequently mentioned in the community, so I remembered them relatively clearly. I had some fun with them too.
Unlike these two pieces of equipment, the undertaker's hat and cloak that Mr. Luke is currently wearing were equipment that could be easily obtained even in low-level areas.
This means that Mr. Luke could be wearing these items even if he wasn't the 'CorpseMannerjokka'.
This naturally raises suspicions.
Maybe Mr. Luke isn't something like a Necromancer, but just an ordinary undertaker passing by? That kind of suspicion.
"...That makes even less sense."
Let's think about it.
I met an NPC by chance.
But that NPC has the exact unique modeling of a male Necromancer.
Moreover, he knows a few basic Necromancer spells, and his name 'Luke' is reminiscent of the Necromancer's true name 'Poppa Luke’.
In this case, what are the chances that Mr. Luke is a different person from the Necromancer Poppa Luke?
It would be very low.
"Hmm."
In the end, there were two possibilities left.
First possibility:
Mr. Luke is the Necromancer Poppa Luke, but not the 'CorpseMannerjokka'.
Second possibility:
Mr. Luke is hiding something from me.
My worries ended with Daria's bewilderment.
"P-Phoenix! Over there!"
"Huh?"
What Daria pointed to with a shocked expression was - black smoke rising into the sky.
...Oh, that's...?
"I-I think it's in the direction of our inn."
Black smoke rising from somewhere in the east. It feels like the instinct inherent in my blood is screaming terribly.
I gritted my teeth and said to Daria, "Daria, go quickly. Go and call the guards."
"G-guards?"
I handed over the sack of grain and the luggage bag to Daria, whose face had turned pale white, while making eye contact.
"Yes, guards. Hurry and call the guards. They're probably patrolling around here, so you should be able to find them quickly. Got it?"
"What? What- what are you going to do?"
"Go now!"
After saying that, I didn't even wait for an answer and started running, kicking off the flagstones. I hadn't run far, but I felt my heart pounding.
Damn, I shouldn't have left Ellen alone!
Is it because of the clear anxiety? A chill ran down my neck, my forehead was burning up, and my vision was turning red.
I gripped the falchion I had drawn out at some point even more tightly.
"Oh, get out of the way!"
"W-what's with that person?"
People walking on the street scattered with surprised expressions at the sight of me, fully armed and with my sword drawn.
I finally arrived at the Ship's Horn Inn after running through the inn street.
The fire seemed to be on the first floor of the inn, with flames flickering through the doors and windows, and black smoke rising from it like cumulus clouds.
Near the entrance of the inn, about a dozen shabby-looking beggars or thieves were swarming and arguing fiercely.
"Rush in quickly!"
"Damn it, don't push!"
"You cowards! Get in there!"
"You go in first! I can't see anything!"
The guys attacking the inn were wrapped in rags and wielding weapons like pitchforks, daggers, clubs, and hand axes. They were all crude weapons, but sufficient tools to take a person's life.
Looking again, it seemed like someone was fighting on the first floor of the inn.
I caught glimpses of the robbers' bare backs, and heard shrill screams, the sound of weapons clashing, and the sound of air being torn with a swish.
My head was instantly filled with question marks.
What's going on? Why are they attacking this place? Are they trying to loot food?
Where are the guards and what are they doing while this chaos is happening?
It seems like someone is fighting back inside. The innkeeper?
Could it be Ellen? No, I hear the sound of weapons clashing. There's no way she could engage in close combat.
Then where is Ellen - Is she hiding on the second floor? Has she already escaped? Or is she already...
"Damn it!"
Muttering a small curse, I shook off my thoughts and immediately rushed towards the inn. To take full advantage of the surprise attack, I held back my battle cry for now.
However, the clanking of my armor and the sound of my studded boots stomping the ground were quite noisy.
Thanks to that, several men turned their heads towards me.
"Hey, what's this guy..."
My falchion, coated with crimson blood, grazed the Adam's apple of the guy who was muttering something.
Slash.
"Keck, keureurk!"
The thief with a slit throat clutched his wound as if scratching it, foaming blood at the mouth.
Before the retreating thief could fall on his backside, I thrust out my shield, striking another thief's face.
Crack!
The metal-rimmed shield edge shattered the thief's orbital bone and cheekbone, then burst his eyeball.
"Urgh, keu!"
Leaving behind the thief who was making muffled screams, I thrust my falchion at the one next to him.
"Damn it-"
The toothless thief turned to me and hurriedly aimed his pitchfork, but my falchion had already plunged into his mouth with a thud.
"Gueok, kek!"
The thief, skewered by the falchion, fumbled at the red blade meaninglessly. By then, the thieves' attention was already focused on me.
"What the hell!"
"Kill him, just kill him!"
Fleeting thought.
These guys were clearly not experienced warriors.
Their faces, blackened with grime, were gaunt, and they couldn't even afford proper clothes, let alone armor.
Their weapons were poor, and crucially, their eyes were already filled with fear as they looked at me.
Having fought similar guys a few times before, I knew what was needed now.
Showmanship to explode their fear.
I took a deep breath, puffing out my chest.
Then came the roar I had been holding back.
"Kuaaaargh-!"
As my shout reached its peak, I swung down my falchion.
The thief with his mouth pierced was collapsing backward. My falchion deeply sliced through his chest and belly.
A resounding shout echoing around.
Entrails spilling out onto the floor.
Three thieves spewing blood.
The remaining thieves froze for a moment.
I boldly leaped into the midst of the thieves paralyzed with fear.
It was an act born of confidence that their crude weapons couldn't pierce my armor.
Swish!
Only after I swung my falchion and severed one thief's neck in a single stroke did they let out screams.
"Aaaah!"
"Kill him, kill him!"
Among the panicking thieves, one aimed his weapon at me.
I rushed straight at him, raised my shield to deflect the sharp skewer, then—
Squelch.
I stabbed my sword into his belly.
"Kheuk, you son of a-"
Splash!
I swung my arm again, and the falchion sliced through his side, spraying blood.
Simultaneously, I pivoted and turned around, making eye contact with a thief who was lunging at my back.
"Ugh, damn..."
I swung my falchion wide at the retreating thief, and with a chilling sound of tearing flesh, the wrist holding the short sword fell off.
"Kuaaaargh!"
Ah, such a noisy scream.
Perhaps due to my heightened senses, my ears hurt too much.
I approached the thief who had fallen and was clutching his wrist.
Then I raised my heavy leather boot with its metal studs and stomped down hard.
Crunch.
The sensation of crushing a watermelon with a combat boot.
"Heu."
I barely swallowed a groan by gritting my teeth. An intense pleasure originating from the sole of my foot ran up my spine.
Crazy. Am I really okay?
Is it the effect of the buff skill 'Bloody Thirst'? I feel like I might get addicted to this terrible sensation...
A brief thought flashed by, but my body kept moving without rest.
Instinct to somehow increase the pleasure was controlling my body.
So, puffing out my chest toward the hesitating thieves, I let out another roar.
"Don't run, come at me-!"
Of course, the thieves didn't move as I wanted. Their morale was completely broken.
"S-shit! This isn't what we were told! Why is there a guy like this!"
"Run, run away!"
Thieves fleeing in panic.
A base instinct urged me to chase them down and tear them apart one by one cruelly.
Just as I was about to follow that command, my reason shouted.
Ellen!
Barely stopping my pursuit, I immediately dashed into the inn filled with black smoke.
Bodies strewn across the floor.
About half seemed to be thieves, and the rest looked like inn guests.
Even a boy in his early teens lay dead. A familiar face. The young servant who helped around the inn.
Grinding my teeth, I lunged at the thieves moving busily under the smoke.
Taking advantage of the chaos, I had cut down three of them before they noticed my presence.
"Damn, what the-! Watch out behind!"
"Kill him!"
Amidst voices filled with anger and surprise, a woman's voice was heard.
"Phoenix!"
Turning toward the voice, I saw a mercenary with a shield just pulling her blade out of a thief's neck.
"Grania?"
What? Why is she here?
Grania was holding off the thieves from behind the bar.
Next to her, a mercenary holding an axe was breathing heavily with one arm hanging limp, and behind them, a woman was drawing a bow. Both were Grania's subordinates.
Several questions arose, but there was something more important right now.
"Grania, where's Ellen!"
"She should still be upstairs!"
"Upstairs? Damn it."
The stairs were completely engulfed in flames, spreading fire to the second floor.
Judging by the burning tables near the stairs, that seemed to be where the fire had started.
I split the face of an attacking thief with my falchion, then immediately leaped.
Towards the flame-engulfed stairs.