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Book 2: Chapter 287

The sword was by no means special.

There were at least a dozen more swords scattered on the ground with the same sheath and hilt as the one he’d chosen.

This was probably a shipment of mass-produced weapons that were being delivered after being completed by a blacksmith.

Sssng—

He drew the sword from its sheath.

The condition was excellent. This proved that it was properly maintained before being placed in the crate.

‘…a sword.’

It didn’t feel like it fit snugly in his hand. Rather, it gave him a strange feeling instead. Lukas couldn’t help but turn his gaze back to the other weapons scattered on the floor.

There weren’t just swords. But also spears, axes, and maces.

Nevertheless, he had judged that the sword was the only weapon he could properly use in his current condition.

Weapons like spears, axes or maces, while they might have advantages in reach and destructive power, had individual characteristics that were too strong. More importantly, they might hurt him more than they would help him in his current unbalanced state. He would need to be in perfect physical condition in order to properly wield such weapons.

For example, a person with only one arm would have to be extremely skilled to wield a spear properly.

In such a situation, the balance of a weapon like a sword was near perfect. This was part of the reason why it was given the title of ‘king of weapons’.

Swoosh-

Lukas roughly swung the sword in front of him. His left arm wasn’t working well, so it would be better for him to just use his right hand unless he was forced to do otherwise.

“…”

He couldn’t help but feel a bit strange wielding a sword. It felt like he was forcibly wearing clothes that didn’t fit.

But it couldn’t be helped. He had no choice but to get used to it as quickly as possible.

‘…first.’

It was important for him to get used to the unfamiliar sensation.

With that in mind, Lukas ignored the noises coming from the outside as he immersed himself in a brief training session.

* * *

Since they were attacked in the middle of the night, it took a while for the mercenaries to gather themselves together and fight back in an organised manner. Although it wasn’t fast, it was still the most accurate response to the situation.

As she glanced at them, Rina couldn’t help but recall her role.

‘Leave the command of the battle to Idail and Garp…’

“Cough!”

She couldn’t help but let out a cough. This was because the surroundings were filled with smoke.

Two of the four carriages in the convoy had been set on fire. Rina couldn’t help but call out in a strained voice.

“Someone put out the fires! Where are the Wizards?”

“Here!”

Several hired Wizards used water spells to extinguish the fire. Rina calmly analysed the current situation.

‘…I can’t believe something like this really happened.’

Of course, she had considered the possibility several times on their journey.

However, assuming that it would happen and it actually happening was as different as the heaven and the earth.

In addition, these guys were no joke.

‘Who are these guys?’

She was certain that they were no ordinary bandits.

The time was probably around 2 or 3 am. This was usually the time when the night watch would begin to lower their guard because everyone would soon wake up. In other words, it was the best time to launch a sneak attack.

Mindless bandits would never use such tactics. Even if they knew that it was the best time to launch an attack, they were bound to make mistakes because of their shallow and vulgar impatience.

These guys, on the other hand, were different.

At the time when their group was the least vigilant, they perfectly launched their attack without warning as if it had been properly planned beforehand. No matter how experienced a mercenary was, or how many life and death battles he’d experienced, he would still die like anyone else if he were attacked by a fire arrow while sleeping.

And while the camp was panicking from the sudden attack, the group stealthily invaded the camp and sent no less than ten mercenaries to the afterlife without suffering any casualties of their own.

‘They clearly have a high level of planning and organisation.’

And no one would think that such a group like this would be simple bandits.

No. Others might think so, but Rina certainly wouldn’t.

‘Were there any bandit groups of this size in this area?’

Although she’d hired fewer mercenaries because of Peran’s presence, she’d picked these mercenaries more carefully to make up for it. Among mercenaries, the ones protecting their convoy could be considered elites. None of the mercenaries there were lower than C rank, so they were definitely not a group to be looked down upon.

But the ‘bandits’ were also nothing to scoff at. Now that she looked at them closely, it didn’t seem that they had a numerical advantage.

In other words, this meant that even when fighting with similar numbers, the ‘bandits’ were at an advantage.

‘This doesn’t look good, but it’s not over yet.’

As time passed, it was possible for their side to gain more of an advantage. Soon, the Wizards who had been sent to put out the fires would return and the mercenaries, whose minds and bodies were still slow because they had just woken up, would gradually regain their condition.

Nevertheless, Rina’s expression didn’t improve. This was because, while she wasn’t very good at reading the flow of battle, she was one of the best when it came to reading the expressions of others.

And she could guarantee that the bandits were hiding some kind of trump card.

‘…are they just trying to buy time?’

What were they waiting for?

Reinforcements? Or the next stage of their operation?

…In truth, nothing would change even if she found out what it was. At that point, all Rina could do was pray that the mercenaries would win.

It wasn’t like they could abandon their cargo and leave just because the enemies might suddenly increase or were planning a lethal strategy.

‘Or, perhaps they are…’

A sudden thought caused chills to go down her spine. Although she thought that, she knew that the probability was incredibly low. After all, this transaction was so secretive that she was the only merchant in the group together with the mercenaries. This wasn’t done to monopolise the profits.

Nevertheless, as the fight progressed, Rina’s expression became progressively worse.

‘These aren’t bandits.’

Even she, an amateur, could see that now.

It didn’t mean that they were particularly strong for bandits.

It meant that there was absolutely no way they could be bandits in the first place.

While they were disguised by their shabby clothes, each of them was strong enough to fight toe to toe with the best mercenaries she’d hired.

Just as Rina had become certain of their true identity.

“I think you should run.”

Idail, the leader of the mercenary group, approached her with a solemn expression.

“…Leader Idail.”

“I’ll give you two of my men, so run to the north as fast as you can. As long as you don’t get lost, you should see the Rulan River in a few hours.”

“Do you mean I should cross the Rulan Bridge?”

Idail nodded.

The Rulan Bridge was the largest bridge built on the Rulan River. It was also a must-go if one wanted to officially enter the empire from this direction.

Naturally, guards from the empire were always stationed there in order to check the identities of those passing through.

In other words, if she went there, the ‘bandits’ wouldn’t be able to touch her.

“Do you think that we can’t win?”

As Idail nodded again, this time much more heavily, a dark cloud crossed Rina’s face. In truth, when she’d asked that question, she’d already expected this answer. If he was certain of their victory, he wouldn’t have bothered evacuating Rina.

“…There are still two carriages in good condition. The equipment in them are the key items for this journey. Can we not take one or both with us?”

“Have you not understood the situation yet? They are deliberately not attacking the carriages.”

“Huh?”

Idail sighed.

“At first I wasn’t sure why they hadn’t at least tried to stop them from leaving, but now I understand. It was to make you hesitate because of lingering feelings.”

“Me? Why…?”

“Isn’t it because their real goal is actually your life?”

“…!”

Those words caused Rina’s heart to sink.

Idail was about to add something else, but in the end, he just clicked his tongue.

“I guess it’s too late. We wasted too much time.”

In the next moment, they heard the sound of footsteps.

Rina subconsciously held her breath.

“I’ve warned you countless times before Rina Traine. If you only chase immediate profits, your life will end up shortened.”

“…”

With his cold, deep voice resonating in the air, a man stepped out of the shadows.

It was a middle-aged man who was dressed quite neatly. His gentle expression despite standing in the middle of a mess created an extremely strange aura.

However, when Rina saw this man, she trembled as if she was looking at the reaper himself.

“Budilem.”