Chapter 76
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 076
Chapter Title: Lord and Troublemaker (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘What the hell is this hardship in my old age!’
The white-haired old man, Michael.
As the proxy for the Chester Earl, he had managed Evergreen for over twenty years, but now he was going through a rough patch.
“Hand over the food!”
At the village gate made of wooden stakes.
Through the gaps between the logs, he could see more than forty men standing outside.
They were a band of thieves who had come to steal the village’s food.
‘Where the hell did these guys suddenly pop up from?’
Even after the massive uprising in the east, Evergreen hadn’t faced any real issues.
The sturdy fence had done its job perfectly.
Up until now, any bandits who came to raid the village had backed off once they saw the solid defenses.
But the recent bunch was different.
Far from giving up, their numbers kept growing.
And now, they had swarmed right up to the front gate, boldly demanding food.
‘We wouldn’t lose in a fight, but the aftermath is the problem. These bastards have a ton of manpower.’
He couldn’t tell if it was true or not, but the bandits claimed over a hundred comrades were waiting at their camp.
Meaning they could muster even more forces than this.
That’s why Michael hesitated to go all-out.
Evergreen had a hundred fifty-nine adult men, and fewer than a hundred could actually fight.
And proper soldiers? Not even ten.
But that didn’t mean he planned to avoid the fight.
He was just keeping it as a last resort.
‘There has to be some leader holding these bandits together. How else could they gather so many?’
Michael speculated on the reason behind the growing bandit threat.
At that moment.
Krunch!
More than half the bandits vanished in an instant.
No, not vanished exactly.
They had been crushed, losing their original forms.
“Wha—what?”
“What the hell?!”
“People are dying!”
Their comrades turned to chunks of flesh in the blink of an eye.
The bandits who witnessed it screamed.
But the bizarre events didn’t end there.
Fwoosh!
A fireball came flying out of nowhere.
The bandit it hit burst into flames.
And soon after, the heads of those nearby ignited simultaneously.
A situation defying all common sense.
So the bandits watching reached one natural conclusion.
“Magic! It’s magic!”
“A mage has appeared!”
“Shouldn’t we run?!”
The moment they realized they faced an opponent they couldn’t beat, the bandits panicked and scattered in confusion.
Michael and the villagers were just as stunned.
A mage had suddenly appeared to help them.
But there were more surprises in store.
“K-Knights!”
A villager peering outside shouted.
Sure enough, knights were approaching fast.
Not one, but four of them.
Michael cheered when he saw them.
He recognized the familiar emblem on one’s surcoat.
“The Chester Earl has sent reinforcements!”
One knight’s surcoat bore a bull emblem.
The symbol of the Chester Earl’s house.
But only that one looked like a Chester knight.
The other three wore surcoats with crests Michael had never seen.
‘They must be allies, anyway.’
Traveling with the Chester knight?
That meant friends.
So Michael cheered them on without worry.
And the knights’ prowess began.
Slash!
Every swing of their swords sent a bandit head flying.
Michael and the villagers watched with eyes wide in astonishment.
Michael focused on the three burly knights.
They moved without hesitation.
Swinging their longswords as if broken weapons didn’t matter, their ferocity was terrifying.
“Four knights out of nowhere...!”
“What’s going on?!”
“We surrender! Please spare us!”
The bandits suddenly facing four knights.
They flailed their weapons in clear panic.
Or dropped them to beg for mercy.
But it was futile.
The knights swung impassively, regardless.
So a few bold ones tried to flee.
But even that failed.
The mage didn’t let the runners escape.
Crackle!
A bolt of lightning from the rear.
It struck a fleeing bandit’s back.
He convulsed and pitched forward.
That was it.
Fearsome power.
The other bandits, frozen in place, trembled until the knights cut them down.
“Hah...”
Michael sighed as he watched the bandits fall one by one.
He was witnessing the most shocking scene of his life.
Five minutes.
That’s how long it took us to beat over forty bandits and capture three alive.
I could really feel how much stronger I and the burly trio had gotten.
‘What kind of mess is this right after arriving in the territory.’
Thinking that, I approached the fence.
The firmly shut gate swung wide open, and a white-haired old man came rushing out.
He asked me,
“Thank you! Thanks to you, Mage, Evergreen is safe. If it’s not too much trouble, could you tell me the name of our savior?”
As I was about to answer,
Rupert stepped forward and replied for me.
“This is Heros, the new lord of Evergreen and hero of Chester.”
At Rupert’s introduction, the old man’s eyes widened, and he hurriedly bowed.
“An honor to meet you, Lord Heros. I am Michael David, who has been managing this village on behalf of the Chester Earl.”
I returned the greeting silently.
Then I quickly asked what I was wondering.
“Why were the bandits attacking the village?”
Michael glanced at me nervously, then swallowed and spoke.
“They didn’t actually attack. They were just threatening us. A few days ago, they started coming and demanding food. We kept refusing, so today they brought their full force for an intimidation show.”
At that point, Connel, who had been listening, raised a question.
“That’s strange.”
“What is?”
“No reason for bandits to target a well-defended village like this.”
I had thought the same.
The bandits numbered over forty.
That many could easily raid an undefended village.
No need to hit fortified Evergreen.
‘Was there a reason they had to target Evergreen?’
As I pondered,
Michael cautiously offered,
“The bandits said something odd. I didn’t believe it, sounded like a lie...”
“What?”
“They said a skilled mage joined their group. If we didn’t surrender, he’d turn Evergreen into a sea of fire with magic.”
“A mage?”
Why would a mage team up with bandits?
Someone powerful enough for that would be welcomed by any noble.
Yet he joined thieves...
‘Means he’s got a shady background.’
A shady mage.
One came to mind immediately.
A black mage from Eremus.
Over a month since the war ended, one who fled could be here.
If my guess was right, better to crush the bandits quick.
Leaving a black mage alone would just cause more problems.
“Do you know where their hideout is?”
Michael replied gloomily.
“No. No one’s left the village since they first appeared. We’ve been holding out on stored food, waiting for them to leave.”
Not knowing the hideout didn’t matter.
We’d find out now.
“Tell me everything you know about your group. Do that, and I’ll let you go.”
I looked down at the three kneeling bandits and said.
They eyed me warily.
Doubting my intentions, fearing death after talking.
‘Not gonna talk? It’s your chance to live.’
As I waited, one bandit cracked under fear of death.
“Spare us! That evil mage forced us to come here.”
“Evil mage?”
“Yes! He uses monsters to kill anyone who rebels! Then grabs people from around and makes them his minions!”
“What kind of monster?”
“Don’t know the name. First time seeing it. Looked human-ish, but gaunt with long, spindly limbs. Freaky thing.”
The monster he described.
I knew it.
Ghoul.
This raised the odds the leader was an Eremus black mage.
‘Controlling ghouls? Must’ve been a big shot in the eastern branch.’
Ghouls.
Precisely, humans who could become ghouls.
Regular black mages couldn’t control them.
So this mage was likely an Eremus executive or one of Desmond’s elites.
“Total headcount?”
After sorting my thoughts,
I asked the bandit who’d spoken.
But another answered.
“Didn’t count exactly, but over a hundred for sure!”
“Even after subtracting today’s dead?”
“Yes.”
Damn, over forty down and still over a hundred left.
All in one place.
Rare occurrence.
Godless folk don’t gather easily, and that many brings problems.
Like food shortages.
Yet they did, meaning a strong central figure.
The mage they mentioned.
“Is the camp nearby?”
I asked my last question.
The silent one finally spoke, cutting off the others.
“Pretty close.”
“Hm. Got it.”
I nodded and told the knights,
“Let them go.”
The Chester knight and Bear stared at me wide-eyed.
But they hauled the bandits up.
Confused faces, but following orders.
“Th-thank you!”
“We’ll never come back!”
“Thanks for sparing us, Mage!”
Eying us, the bandits thanked hurriedly and fled.
Watching their shrinking backs,
Bear asked,
“You sure about letting them go?”
“I promised.”
I replied to Bear as the bandits dwindled to dots.
Then Connel asked,
“Shall we track them?”
I nodded.
And said to the Chester knight and Bear,
“Alright, let’s follow. They’re inviting us to their camp—rude to refuse.”