The Soundless Flute
Raon crawled toward the voices and lifted his head.
Through the thicket that blocked his view like a wall, two bandits stood watch. They were snickering among themselves, trading idle jokes.
Their skill is low.
Their bodies were reasonably well-developed, but he felt no aura from them. Low-ranking martial artists who couldn't even use mana.
He looked past them. Behind the two bantering sentries sat a large bandit, and beside him a child was tied to a tree.
The child wore only a single thin layer of clothing. His face and hands had flushed a raw, painful red.
"Hic…"
When the child couldn't hold back a whimper from the cold, the bandit beside him casually tapped his cheek. The mere touch of that hand made the boy tremble and shrink into himself.
Tsk.
Raon narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue. Just as he'd expected on the way here, the bandits were using the child as a hostage.
If an enemy attacked, they would have put a blade to that boy's throat and used him as a shield.
There'll be more of them.
They wouldn't post only two guards over their sole hostage. Deeper inside, where the rest of the bandits were gathered, there would surely be others.
What should I do?
If he alerted everyone and they all moved together, the bandits would definitely notice. It might be better to rescue the hostage now, while they still hadn't been spotted, and sweep the rest like an assassination.
And I can't just leave him.
The child's lips had turned blue. Left like this, he might freeze to death.
"……"
Raon turned his head. Runaan's pupils trembled as she stared at the hostage, not knowing what to do.
"It's alright."
He spread a barrier of aura to keep the sound from leaking out, then whispered.
"I have a way."
"A way?"
"But I'll need your help."
"Okay."
Runaan nodded as if she would do anything he asked.
"When I give the signal, stand up and show yourself, and block the sound with your mana. Can you do that?"
"Okay."
Runaan didn't ask why or how. She simply nodded.
"After that, I'll handle the rest. The two of us can save that child."
"Got it."
When he said they could save the child, Runaan's nod carried far more force than usual.
"Alright then."
Raon left Runaan where she was and used Shadow Footwork to close in on the tree where the child was bound.
"How long do we have to sit here?"
"Those lunatics from Zieghart already dispatched swordsmen, didn't they? They've blocked every road."
"Fuck. Are we all gonna die?"
"The chief said he called people from the South-North Alliance, so if we wait, a guide should come."
The bandits rattled on about their situation, never imagining anyone was listening.
"Shut your mouths."
At the words of the bandit sitting by the tree, the two on watch clamped their lips shut.
That one's a bit different.
He felt aura from the dantian of the bandit sitting by the tree. Still only Sword Beginner level, though.
With a single step, Raon moved to the side of the large bandit next to the hostage.
Runaan had already finished preparing, breathing in a slow, even rhythm.
Huuu…
He steadied his breath, bent his knees, and took a stance from which he could move at any moment. Then he raised a finger and conjured a tiny flame.
Rustle!
Receiving the signal, Runaan rose from the thicket.
"Wh-what!"
"Who's there!"
The moment the watchmen saw Runaan, they scrambled for their weapons and lurched to their feet.
"A girl? Why would she be here… huh?"
The bandit by the tree reached for the child on a hunch — but Raon was already standing behind him.
Shlick!
The instant he drew his sword, he severed the bandit's neck.
"Ghk…"
The bandit never grabbed the child. He never even drew the sword at his waist. His head simply came off.
Before a fountain of blood could erupt from the headless body, Raon kicked off the ground.
"What the…"
The bandit on the right turned first. Raon pivoted on his ankle, changed direction, and lunged right, thrusting his blade.
Thud!
The moment he cut through the bandit's heart, he whirled his sword and leveled it at the last remaining one's throat.
"Wh-what…"
The sole surviving bandit swallowed dryly at the blade against his neck.
"Make a sound or move, and you die."
"Nngh…"
He wasn't completely dense. The bandit swallowed and shut his mouth.
"Runaan. Untie the child."
"Okay!"
Runaan nodded vigorously and approached the boy.
"From now on, you answer my questions. Every time you refuse, I'll pull out a bone."
Raon twisted the bandit's arm and slammed him into the ground.
"I-I understand."
The bandit, thoroughly cowed by the swordsman who'd cut down his comrades without a moment's hesitation, could only nod.
"This is Seolho Stronghold, right?"
"Y-yes."
"Total numbers?"
"Th-thirty-nine."
"Where are the rest?"
"Deeper in the forest."
The bandit pointed into the woods with his chin.
Confirmed.
Multiple presences were moving in the depths of the forest. Given the location, they weren't even bothering to hide them.
"When's the next watch rotation?"
"In about th-three hours."
"Hostages?"
"There's one more inside."
"As I thought."
Raon nodded. As expected, they'd posted this child at the watch post because there was another hostage.
With thirty-six of them clustered together, I can't do this the same way.
Assassination would be easy enough, but extracting a hostage from a place where thirty-six men were on high alert was no simple matter.
"Raon?"
Runaan approached after wrapping the child in a robe. She'd wiped his face with a handkerchief; it was clean now.
"S-swordsman, sir. My little sister is in there."
The child dropped to his knees before Raon and pressed his forehead to the ground. Blood was still seeping from his lips from the cold, but he forced the words out to the end.
"Please save my sister!"
"Don't worry."
Runaan gently stroked the child's head.
"Raon will take care of everything."
"Runaan. You shouldn't say things like that so casually."
"But you will, though."
"Ahem."
Raon cleared his throat. Runaan's eyes were transparent. Perfect trust. The sheer weight of that faith made him cough.
"Dealing with the bandits is one thing, but to get the hostage child out safely, I think we should call for help. There are thirty-six bandits plus the chief — it could be dangerous."
"Should I blow the flute, then?"
"Yes."
Runaan stood, still holding the child's hand. She stepped back and blew the flute Rimer had given her.
She blew so hard her face turned red, but no sound came out.
It really is silent.
Even standing right next to it, he couldn't hear a thing. Now he understood why Rimer had given them this flute.
"That's the Soundless Flute! Everyone up! Trackers are here!"
The instant the flute stopped, a gravelly male voice roared from deeper in the forest.
"What the…"
Raon swallowed. That reaction. He'd clearly heard the flute.
Someone with senses that sharp was in there…
He'd never expected anyone to hear a flute even he could barely detect, from that far away. A cold sweat ran down his spine at the thought that things had gone wrong.
"Runaan. Take the child and hide over there."
Raon pointed toward the thicket to the west.
"What about you?"
"I'll buy some time here."
As he answered Runaan, he dragged the subdued bandit toward the bushes.
"It's alright. Trust me. And if you see an opening, rescue the other hostage."
"Got it."
When he said it was alright, Runaan nodded and slipped into the thicket on the right.
Rumble!
With a sound like the forest collapsing, thirty-four bandits in mismatched clothes came pouring out.
"Wh-what! When did they—"
"Oh, fuck!"
"Which bastard did this!"
The bearded brute with the strongest aura ground his teeth at the sight of the dead bandits.
The hostage is… over there.
Hidden in the thicket, Raon confirmed the hostage's position. The bandit on the far right was gripping a young girl's nape. Fortunately, it was right next to the thicket where Runaan was hiding.
"Come out!"
The bearded brute stomped the ground, eyes blazing.
"If you don't, I'll take this one's head."
He drew a great saber and pointed it at the girl hostage.
"Tsk."
Raon grabbed the subdued bandit by the neck and stood up from the bushes.
"A kid? You're telling me you did this?"
"That's right."
"Insane! A brat this young…"
"V-Vice-Chief…"
The bandit whose neck Raon held called the man in front of them Vice-Chief. So that big one was the bandits' second-in-command — and the one who'd heard the flute.
"Who did you call with the Soundless Flute?"
The man even knew the name of the flute Rimer had given them. He must have been an instructor somewhere.
"What does it matter who I called?"
"You little shit. You're begging to die."
The Vice-Chief snarled like a beast.
"I want a hostage exchange."
Raon spoke, using his sword to block the line of sight between the Vice-Chief and the other bandits.
"A hostage exchange?"
"Hand over that child and I'll give you this one back."
"Kyahahaha!"
The Vice-Chief snorted so hard his shoulders shook.
"I don't give a damn whether that bastard lives or dies. Unlike that brat, he's got no value as a hostage."
"I see. So that's how it is."
Raon nodded and turned his blade against the bandit's throat.
"I already told you. We don't care if he dies. If you don't want to watch this girl's head come off, drop that sword right now."
"Is that so."
With the little finger of his left hand, he sparked a tiny flame — a signal to Runaan.
"Whether this one has value or not isn't for you to decide. It's for me."
Raon sliced the bandit's carotid artery with the edge of his blade. A massive spray of blood erupted from the neck, momentarily blinding the bandits.
Now!
Raon drew the dagger at his waist. He opened the Sense of Frost Flowers and his perception to the utmost, locking onto the presence of the bandit holding the child.
He packed the dagger with the full power of the Cultivation of Ten Thousand Flames and launched it at the bandit.
Thud!
As the blood raining from the sky settled, the bandit with a dagger buried in his forehead collapsed.
"Damn it all!"
"St-stop him!"
The moment the Vice-Chief and the bandits lunged for the now-free child, Runaan rose from the thicket. Silver frost bloomed along the blade she'd drawn.
She swung her sword, and frost spread beneath the charging bandits' feet.
"Wh-what is that girl!"
"Cold energy?"
"That's elemental aura!"
The bandits froze, not daring to move. That single moment of hesitation. It was enough.
Boom!
Raon kicked off the ground and shot toward the child.
"Stop!"
A bandit in the middle brought his sword down.
Clang!
Raon slapped the flat of the blade aside with his palm and severed the bandit's neck. His momentum was like riding the wind — it was like watching Rimer.
"You bastard!"
The Vice-Chief brought his massive saber down to cut off Raon's path.
Raon twisted his ankle, planted himself in front of the child, and thrust.
Clang!
The thin sword and the massive saber collided — and it was the saber that was driven back.
"Ghk!"
The Vice-Chief gritted his teeth and staggered backward.
"Got her."
In that interval, Runaan came forward and scooped up the girl.
"Serin!"
"B-Brother!"
The children clung to each other, fat tears rolling down their faces.
"It's alright now."
Runaan held the children and stepped back. A rare, small smile touched her lips.
That girl.
Raon glanced back and let out a short laugh. Runaan had moved exactly as he'd hoped, as if she could read his mind. For someone who looked so blank, she was sharp.
"You little brats! Do you even know who I am!"
The Vice-Chief ground his teeth and whirled his saber. The bandits behind him all drew their swords, murderous intent rolling off them.
"I don't care about the name of a man who's about to die."
Scarlet flames blazed up along Raon's sword.