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108. Childhood Friend – Merchant

– Flap. Flap.

The horse that Reb was riding grumbled as it trotted along.

This horse, bought from a merchant in Torito, was a brown horse with a splotchy black rear, and it had a demanding personality.

When it saw the wide fields of early autumn, it would shake its mane as if wanting to graze, and as it approached a hill, it would subtly pull its backside back and walk slowly. Additionally, it seemed to have memorized the terrain around it because whenever it slowed down for no reason while running, it was surely near water.

“What a sly creature, being born as a horse…”

– Neigh!

Still, it would happily run when its desires were fulfilled, so Reb stopped by the creek and let ‘Bante’ drink.

He had named this male horse after the short-legged female horse, ‘Audi.’

Having forgotten to bring a water bucket, Reb rolled up his pant legs and dipped his feet into the creek, splashing water playfully at Bante.

He was trying to cool off the creature that must have been heated from all the running…

But Bante, looking at his owner with disdain, turned his body. It was a request to splash water on the other side as well.

Who’s the master here…?

While he was busy splashing water, a merchant party arrived at the creek with a thud-thud-thud sound.

Reb wasn’t surprised.

Just a bit ago, a mercenary had arrived first to check if there were any bandits at the creek.

‘It’s about time to slip away.’

Soon, the merchant’s coachmen would come with their horses and take over the creek. Reb pulled Bante, whose belly was swollen with water, and scanned the newly arrived merchant party.

The coachmen were untying the horses tied to the carriage and grabbing their water buckets, while the mercenaries nonchalantly gathered to chat, and the merchants who got off the carriage spent some time stretching their weary bodies.

But somehow, they looked familiar.

‘Where have I seen these people before? Ah!’

At that moment, a spark ignited in Reb’s eyes.

“Ugh, it feels like I’ve spent my first night with a bride. I must be getting old. Hahaha.”

A merchant with a hefty belly and an oddly twisted mustache was getting off the carriage. He lit a cigar and casually tossed a suggestive comment.

‘That guy is here!’

He was the merchant who had sold Reb and Lena into slavery. When we, who were new to travel, mentioned that we were going to Nevis, he pretended to know nothing, pocketed the travel expenses, and handed us over to another merchant as slaves.

At that time, they had met Reb and Lena in a large town (Torito) and traveled westward together. Judging by the timing, they must have just completed that trading journey and were on their way back.

– Crunch.

Reb clenched his teeth.

He vividly recalled the moments when Lena was kidnapped, and he had struggled tied to a stable post all night. Lena had begged with tears to save Leo at the very least.

And there was Lena, dressed in clothing that could easily be stripped away, with dead eyes that had turned black… How could I forget that image?

‘You’re dead today.’

Reb adjusted the sword at his waist and approached the merchant. However, he quickly reconsidered.

There were mercenaries around. If he killed that merchant, the mercenaries guarding the caravan wouldn’t just stand by.

‘I could win in a fight, but…’

The mercenaries weren’t involved with the merchant’s actions of selling travelers. They were getting paid to guard the merchant group, and it was an independent crime by the merchant; they wouldn’t be guilty in their eyes.

After hesitating for a moment, Reb climbed onto Bante’s back and trotted past the merchant.

This wasn’t an act of forgiveness or delaying revenge.

If he didn’t strike now, there might not be another chance.

He needed to get to Nevis quickly, and since the merchant was heading towards Torito, it was now or never.

Though he wanted to painfully kill the guy, he decided to spare him. After all, he was someone who “did nothing” to them.

“Hmm? What are you— Ah, come on. Be careful with the horse…”

– Slash!

The merchant’s head flew off. Reb’s sword carved a clean arc, beheading him.

[Achievement: Civilian Killing – You have killed ‘3’ civilians. This will cause minimal misfortune.]

“Huh?! What, what’s happening!”

The merchants, who had been lighting their cigars together, yelled in shock. They were stunned by the sudden splash of blood in broad daylight.

In a panic, one merchant caught the severed head of the merchant just as it flew into the air. Startled, he dropped it and fell on his backside.

“C-what?! Who are you?! Stop!”

The mercenaries shouted in astonishment, but Reb, having swiftly sliced off the merchant’s head, was already spurring his horse away.

Meanwhile, the coachmen by the creek were unaware of the situation and were busy drawing water.

Reb thought this was the best course of action.

Taking revenge on the merchant without harming innocent people…

But things turned troublesome as the mercenaries quickly galloped after him. Their horsemanship was far superior to Reb’s.

[Achievement: First Horse Riding – Leo’s horsemanship slightly increases.]

Reb’s horsemanship wasn’t very impressive. He had ridden quite well in the previous Childhood Friend, Engagement Scenario, yet his experience in racing his horse full throttle was limited.

Eventually, the mercenaries closed in on him, and Reb clicked his tongue.

“Stop! Hey, shoot that bastard…??”

The mercenaries were flustered. The fleeing youth halted and dismounted.

“What, what’s going on?”

‘Is there really someone who stops when told to?’

Flustered, they dismounted and drew their weapons, and Reb remained calm even as he was surrounded by twenty-some mercenaries.

“I had a grudge against that guy. I’ve just settled it, so don’t get involved.”

“Grudge? What could a little brat like you have against the merchant?”

“That guy deceived innocent travelers and sold them into slavery. Didn’t you know?”

“Bullshit! We’re a merchant group, not slave traders…”

At that moment, the mercenary captain raised his hand to stop the angry mercenary. He had heard of merchants occasionally selling travelers into slavery, so he had a suspicion. The fat, foul-mouthed merchant they knew could’ve done that.

The captain asked.

“Do you have any proof? If it was an ordinary person, not a barbarian, then that would be an obvious crime.”

“…”

“If you have evidence, I can help you report it to the authorities. In that case, your crime of killing the merchant will be somewhat mitigated.”

It was a reasonable statement, but Reb merely turned his eyes away vacantly.

What happened in previous scenarios wasn’t real; he had no evidence or witnesses.

“I have nothing to say.”

Reb insisted.

He could charm all of them, but there were several people wearing wedding rings, which required considerable magical power.

He didn’t want to waste his powers on such a trivial matter. He was already concerned if he would have enough power to charm the king…

The captain’s face grew tense.

“If there’s no evidence, you’re just a common murderer. I can assume there must’ve been a reason for a decent-looking young man to do what he did, but… You should drop your weapon now. I will ensure you have a trial in town.”

The captain had displayed maximum goodwill, yet when the young man ultimately refused to drop his sword, the mercenaries gradually tightened their encirclement.

“It would be wise to back down. I don’t want to see blood…”

“Drop your sword! Now!”

“Captain! What kind of trial would there be for this murderer? Our safeguarded merchant has been killed; if we let him live, it’ll cut off our livelihoods!”

A mercenary from moments ago voiced his dissatisfaction and suddenly lunged with a spear. Our captain is being too timid.

“Wait! He’s still a young man, don’t you think there’s some circumstances… Ah!”

The mercenary captain expected the young man to be brutally stabbed by the spear, but instead, the young man struck the thrusting spear down with his sword and stepped on the diagonal spear shaft, spinning around.

A mercenary struck on the temple fell to the ground.

“Ugh!”

“Hosen! Get him!”

As the atmosphere froze, Reb issued a threat.

“I could kill you all. But I don’t want that, so just leave.”

However, the mercenaries didn’t cower. Their gaze was fixated on the mercenary captain.

The captain, taken aback yet somewhat angered, frowned.

“Looks like the kid learned some swordsmanship somewhere… If he thinks he can take on a whole mercenary group with that fancy swordsmanship, he’ll regret it.”

He drew his sword, and it happened to be a two-handed sword.

Besides knights, it was rare to see someone wielding a two-handed sword. While it boasted tremendous attack power, it was also difficult to handle.

Chances are he was a knight in the past…

– Clang!

The mercenary captain charged. The fierce sword slash came down upon Reb’s sword.

This mercenary, named Brender, had only a few years ago been a knight for Count Amus. The Count he served had been an ordinary noble with no significant issues.

But as the ‘Trash Princes’ took over the regime, the Count quickly changed, and after enduring it, Brender had cast down the sword gifted to him at the steward’s feet.

Leaving the Count’s household, he had formed a small mercenary group and was living satisfactorily, finding it not so bad to live while contributing to the safety of the people.

The kid seemed to have his own reasons as well, so if possible, he should be subdued, and if he could be helped, he should be helped…

– Cawing!

The mercenary captain’s expression hardened. This reckless youth’s swordsmanship was beyond imagination.

“Goodness…!”

“Captain, you’re in danger!”

He was startled as he parried the opponent’s sword, but the mercenaries who lacked understanding of swordsmanship rushed in. They thought that the two-handed sword’s precarious exchange was outrageous and began to butt in.

“Don’t! Step back! That one is dangerous…!”

“Die!”

The mercenary who had received a hit to the head charged again, thrusting his spear.

‘Yikes!’

Reb had no leeway to show mercy this time.

Though he possessed excellent swordsmanship, he was still just an average young man with a somewhat sturdy lower body, not a warrior like Leo Dexter, and couldn’t afford to be loose against a knight.

Reb swiftly sidestepped to avoid the spear while simultaneously invading the mercenary’s space.

“Whoah!”

“Hosen! It’s dangerous!”

Another mercenary charged in. This time, it was a guy wielding a one-handed sword and a round shield. He swung at Reb’s back, trying to assist his friend, but…

“Ugh!”

Reb’s sword was faster. Reb decimated Hosen’s throat before he even realized, clutching the body of the pierced corpse close. Turning swiftly, the mercenary’s sword cleaved through the chest of his dead friend.

“You bastard!”

“Don’t! Everyone back off! Now!”

The mercenary, having beheaded his friend, went wild. Ignoring the captain’s words, he charged at Reb again.

However, that mercenary stood no chance against Reb.

As Reb slashed upward at a peculiar angle, the mercenary was taken aback, and his shield was rendered useless as the sword struck his right hand.

The cut-off pinky and ring finger twirled and fell to the ground along with the sword.

Ultimately, as the enraged mercenaries joined in, the captain felt helpless and shouted.

“Be careful! He’s not to be trifled with! Don’t charge in alone; wait for me to hold him off before attacking from behind!”

Twenty armed mercenaries formed ranks and charged towards the young man.

Some threw spears from a distance, while others pushed forward with shields. There were even archers readying their bows from the back.

Reb sensed that things were getting difficult.

He could handle a mere twenty mercenaries, but among them was an elite knight. At this rate, he might genuinely lose his life.

Even while blocking the captain’s sword attacks, Reb couldn’t afford to slacken his sidestepping.

A moment’s slip, and he could be stabbed in the back.

Yet he had to move aggressively. Being defensive would never allow him to face multiple opponents alone.

– Clang!

As Reb deflected the captain’s sword, he took one hand off his sword. He grabbed the thrusting spear from behind and yanked it with a solid pull.

{Swordsmanship. 3v: Barth-ryu (流)}.

“Whoah?!”

The captain found his body thrust onto the stabbing sword; however, Brender was no push-over. He unexpectedly cried out to his subordinate blocking the way, “Stay still!” and tried to kick.

Targeting the young man’s waist.

At that moment, a glimmer sparked in Reb’s eyes.

The captain hesitated, withdrawing his kick, while Reb swung the two-handed sword with his left hand.

Though it was more like he used the centripetal force of the weight to raise it rather than swinging, the mercenary hit in the groin fell limp to the ground.

“This bastard!”

The captain admonished himself for thinking the innocent young man might be trying to kill him. He steeled himself and aimed to thrust down with his sword again, only to hesitate once more as Reb stabbed one of the mercenaries in the thigh. It was the mercenary who had just lost his fingers and friend, retreating with his shield raised.

“Guh!”

The mercenary glared with malice, but Reb turned his back on him and walked away. He might as well leave his back exposed since that fool had lost battle capacity, and the axe was falling towards Reb’s head.

“Die!”

One mercenary swung down fiercely. But there were too many openings, and Reb was instead pondering where to stab.

There was someone charging straight ahead… ‘A diagonal slash would be nice.’

Those like mercenaries or thugs, who hadn’t systematically learned swordplay, generally struggled against upward attacks. They would merely try to block the weapon without considering their balance or stance, resulting in,

“Ugh!”

Being knocked back while allowing a blade insertion to their body. Each attack they threw had little experience fighting against a heavy two-handed sword.

Reb’s diagonally slashing sword cut through the chest of the mercenary striking down with an axe and the forehead of the mercenary rushing from the front in succession.

Simultaneously, Reb jumped to avoid the falling axe. Twirling in the air following the swinging sword, he struck again with the same sword that had slashed upward.

The guy who had swung the axe was met with Reb’s blade across his face. The shattered cheekbone welcomed the refreshing outside air.

“Kill!”

“Shoot him!”

The bloody fight raged on. Shouts exchanged as the cold steel clashed.

When Reb was hit on the shoulder by an arrow while methodically slicing up the mercenaries, he genuinely felt endangered. As the right-handed youth was injured on his right shoulder, the mercenaries grew bolder and began to press him.

But thanks to Barth’s swordsmanship, it mattered little which direction the attack came from, and Reb ultimately triumphed.

It was likely also influenced by the moments where Reb’s eyes lit up, causing the mercenaries to hesitate.

“Guhh…!”

The mercenary captain lay dead.

He kept wavering, unable to fully commit to subduing the young man.

As he clashed swords, he exerted force to push the youth down, but the young man’s sword glided smoothly.

Stepping in robustly, he pressed his weight against the captain.

What is he doing? Afloat with confusion, the captain stepped back, only to trip over a body.

Pinned by the young man, Brender’s head was slowly severed, bit by bit, as his strength winked out.

“Run away!”

With the captain dead, the remaining mercenaries, now demoralized, began to flee.

Blood-splattered Reb staggered to his feet and surveyed his surroundings.

“Huff… Huff…”

The ground lay awash in blood, with a dozen corpses sprawled out and viscous blood flowing from the underbrush.

It was the carnage he had created.

Yet for some reason, Reb felt no remorse. Even having brutally murdered those who weren’t his targets, he merely thought, ‘So this is how it turned out.’

‘It’s probably because of the first murder achievement…’

As he gazed at the retreating mercenaries, evaluating his mental state calmly, perhaps due to the excitement of battle? His heart raced, urging him to chase after them.

And,

[Target Hunting]

The power of Barbatos has been unleashed.

Reb realized that this ability was superior to {Tracking Skill} the moment it became available.

While it seemed constrained by distance, unlike {Tracking Skill}, which merely indicated direction, [Target Hunting] pinpointed the exact location of his ‘prey.’

Hesitant, Reb raised his hand.

– Kill.

Pointing towards the fleeing mercenaries, the mark on his right hand, proving him to be Barbatos’s Apostle, glowed, and sequentially, a trumpet symbol appeared above their heads.

“What, what’s going on…!”

A mercenary trying to mount his horse bled profusely. Alarmed by the blood pouring from his nose onto the saddle, he wiped it, yet it showed no sign of stopping.

It was a debuff. The bleeding would not cease. Unless he received a priest’s healing, he would succumb to excessive bleeding.

Reb knew that the debuff timer was generous. Even just from a nosebleed, they had more than enough time to execute a fatal attack that could last ‘years’, and he could see other injured mercenaries stumbling off their mounts.

They didn’t need to be killed directly. Reb cast debuffs on the bleeding mercenary’s horse as well and climbed onto Bante again. He rode to stab the mercenary.

Silence enveloped the area. Apart from the occasional whinny of horses left without riders, all the mercenaries he had pursued lay silent as corpses.

Even those who had tried to escape on horseback could not endure the bleeding and had all fallen off.

Reb shook the blood-soaked sword. Sheathing it, he gazed down at the slain mercenaries, contemplating.

Sorry, but not really that sorry. If he hadn’t drawn his weapon in the first place, he wouldn’t have borne the responsibility for his defeat.

He worried they might escape and report him…

‘Feeling dizzy.’

Reb experienced a wave of dizziness. He rifled through the dead mercenary’s possessions.

Aside from the arrow wound, he suffered no significant injuries, but blood flowed from his many small cuts.

Finding a healing potion, he applied it and wrapped his wounds with bandages, then climbed back on Bante.

‘Let’s get out of here for now…’

Leaving behind countless corpses, he rode hastily towards Nevis, with Bante, the demanding brown horse, behaving more docile than before.