“Bandits?”
“They must be talking about us.”
“Hehe, how our status has fallen.”
The men who were clearly bandits chuckled.
Meanwhile, the merchant next to the dead Jackson crawled backwards.
Was he trying to escape?
He might think he wouldn’t be seen.
“That’s right, we’re bandits! Hand over your money and your lives!”
A bearded man kicked the merchant.
“Aaagh, spare me. I’ll, I’ll give you everything!”
The merchant immediately begged for his life.
It was the right choice.
As soon as he was hit, he took out his money pouch from his bosom and lay flat on the ground.
The bearded man picked up the money pouch.
“Eh, it’s just pocket change.”
“I’ll give you all the goods in the carriage too!”
“Is there any beer among them?”
“There’s no beer…”
“Then I don’t need it!”
The bearded man swung his sword without hesitation.
With a thud, the merchant’s head flew off.
Roil covered Amain’s mouth as he was about to scream.
These were men accustomed to killing.
They didn’t hesitate at all to take a life.
Roil was just as scared, but he couldn’t just tremble when his son was beside him.
He stepped back one step at a time with Amain.
But they wouldn’t be allowed to escape.
“Hey, mister with the kid.”
“…”
“What do we look like to you? Do we look like bandits?”
Roil’s back touched the cargo wagon.
How could he get Amain to escape, at least?
“You, you look like heroes.”
“Heroes? Hahaha!”
The men burst into laughter as if they had heard an amusing joke.
Roil forced a smile.
“My, my wagon is full of ale. I was going to sell it in Calea City. Since this is an opportunity, I’d like to give it all to you heroes.”
“Oh, the beer supplied to Calea City is always delicious.”
“That’s right. It’s top-quality ale worth 1 gold per barrel… I’ll give you all the money I have too. And the cargo wagon and donkey!”
Please, just spare our lives.
However, one of the chuckling men turned serious and sneered.
“Why are you making such a big deal out of something obvious? It’s upsetting that you’re talking as if we’re bad guys.”
“I’m sorry. I misspoke. Of course, it’s all yours, sirs.”
Roil acted subserviently, as if he would give them his liver if asked.
Because his trembling son was in his arms.
“I’ll give you everything. Even my life…”
He wasn’t stupid, just a bit slow-witted.
He knew they were toying with him.
“So please spare my son. I don’t mind dying.”
“Huh, this is touching.”
Roil hugged Amain tightly, shaking.
And whispered softly in his ear.
‘Amain, run straight into the bushes. Right away. Don’t look back. After I count to three in my mind.’
His son flinched.
“You seem to think we’re the worst kind of villains. We don’t kill people for fun.”
“Yes…”
“But what if you spread rumors about seeing us? Oh, from the way you mentioned bandits, has word already spread?”
He would charge at the bandits after counting to three.
He hoped to buy even a little time, even if he’d be torn apart.
“I absolutely won’t tell anyone. Absolutely…”
Two,
One.
Just as Roil was about to push Amain aside and charge at the bandit:
“M-Master.”
Amain called out in a frail voice.
Roil froze.
Amain, who had clearly been told to run away, placed his hand on the wagon’s cargo hold and spoke again.
“Master, please help us…”
Of course, there was no answer.
“What’s with these bastards?”
The bandit tilted his head and drew his sword.
“Is someone inside? Or have you gone crazy with fear?”
“Hey, that kid pissed himself.”
“Oh, he really did! Hahaha!”
The bandit laughed once and then frowned.
“Are you mocking adults?”
He swung his sword at Amain without hesitation.
Roil jumped in to take the blow instead.
Thud!
Blood spurted.
Roil was startled by the blood that splattered on his face.
It didn’t hurt at all.
The bandit was frozen in the posture of swinging his sword.
“Urk.”
A strange sound and blood flowed from his mouth.
There was a dagger stuck in the middle of his chest.
Only after the bandit collapsed with a thud did the others grasp the situation.
“W-what!”
And in that confusion, a clear sound rang out.
Shhhh- shhh.
It was the sound of a snake.
Roil felt a chill on the back of his neck.
Something crawled out of the darkness of the cargo hold and onto his shoulder.
Shhhh.
It was a snake.
A not-so-large snake covered in crystal scales, wearing a crown.
“A monster?”
The moment one bandit muttered absentmindedly.
The dagger stuck in the dead man’s chest pulled itself out.
And another bandit’s throat was slit by the dagger.
“Aaaagh!”
Shhh-
Every time the snake made a whistling sound, one bandit died.
In an instant, three more bandits died.
“Crossbow, shoot the crossbow!”
Someone shouted.
Although there was no one skilled enough to accurately hit a single snake, they aimed their crossbows at Roil anyway.
Ping ping ping!
“Aagh!”
One bolt hit Roil’s thigh.
One of the bolts flew straight towards the white snake’s head.
Crack!
An unbelievable thing happened.
The snake caught the incoming bolt in its mouth and crushed it.
The fighting spirit of the bandits who witnessed this scene dropped completely.
The snake climbed over Roil’s shoulder and fell to the floor with a thud.
Then it crawled towards the bandits.
Amain quickly checked his father’s wound, and the book he always hugged opened by itself.
A pen floated in the air and scribbled something in the empty space of the book.
Amain tried to regain his composure.
And in a trembling voice, he read the written words.
“O-Ouroboros asks.”
It was clear that he was speaking on behalf of the snake.
“Are these all the worms gathered here?”
No one answered politely.
“Boss!”
The bandits only shouted that.
At the moment the dagger Dawn’s Ashura was thrust into that bandit’s mouth, someone came riding on a horse.
A strange outfit with iron shackles on his wrists.
“Gasp…!”
Roil recognized him immediately.
A fugitive he had seen on wanted posters.
Was it Stray Dog Yatus?
He had escaped from prison with his fellow inmates and disappeared, but could he have hidden in one of the magic realms, the mountains?
“W-what snake!”
Yatus had drawn a sword.
Aura was imbued in that sword.
He rode his horse towards the snake.
The snake also didn’t take him lightly and held up the dagger in the air.
And then.
Tick.
The dagger was enveloped in brilliant flames.
Both the prisoners and Roil were shocked.
“A-Aura-!”
Who could have imagined that this was a technique a monster could use?