Chapter 203: Two Reinforcements
“I-It’s a boar!?”
“S-so huge!?”
“Watch out! Dodge it!”
“Bugoooh…!”
Seeing the giant boar, as big as a carriage, charging straight from the forest, the bandits hurriedly leap to the sides to avoid being trampled. However, their evasion was pointless. The reason was that, before the boar could reach the highway, an arrow had lodged in the back of its head.
The boar, which was shot clean through the back of the head and into the brainstem, seemed to die instantly before collapsing as its strength faded away. The one who had shot the arrow was the boy whose voice had accompanied the boar’s roar.
“Whoa, I hit its vital spot! Lucky… but what’s this situation!?”
The boy, apparently engrossed in pursuing the boar, hadn’t been aware of the situation on the highway. He only realized something was amiss when he reached the fallen boar by the roadside.
Surprisingly, the boy, despite his surprise, did not seem frightened. In fact, he didn’t even try to run away but calmly surveyed his surroundings and muttered a quiet “Hmm.”
“What’s with this kid? A local hunter or something?”
“Hehe, perfect timing. Hey, kid. If you don’t want to get hurt, leave that boar and disappear.”
“No, no let’s capture him too and sell him! He’ll probably fetch enough for some drinks!”
The boy’s reaction was unlike that of a normal child, but the bandits were in the midst of their attack. They seemed to be impaired in their judgment by the thrill of violence. With that, one of the bandits, brandishing a blade, approached the boy, intent on stealing the boar.
However, the boy, grinning broadly, paid no attention to the approaching bandit. His interest was solely focused on Hilda and the coachwoman, who were on the opposite side of the bandit.
“Hey, big sisters, need some help?”
“…Are you serious?”
“Yeah! It’ll be easy!”
Hilda’s conscience argued against involving an unknown boy in their plight. However, as a guard, she believed they should absolutely accept his help. This wasn’t just because they were in a disadvantageous situation. She had an intuition that the boy before them was a formidable figure.
At first glance, he appeared to be nothing more than a lively, blonde-haired boy. His clothes were worn and tattered, and neither the bow he carried nor the arrows in his quiver seemed anything special. Yet the boy’s relaxed stance revealed a terrifying absence of vulnerability. If they fought, his skills might equal or even surpass her own.
At the same time, Hilda sensed something more than mere strength from the boy—a kind of indescribable intimidation. It was similar to the feeling one experiences in the presence of a wild beast—an aura akin to a wild, predatory instinct emanating from him.
“Don’t ignore me, you brat!”
“Hey, stop! There’s something off about this kid…!”
The bandit, ignored by the boy, flew into a rage and raised his sword to strike. Only then did one of the mercenaries, who had just noticed something off about the boy, try to intervene. But it was too late.
As the bandit swung his sword, the boy, with a bow still strapped to his back, moved with blinding speed. He stepped in close and leaped before punching the bandit in the jaw with such force that not only did it shatter his jaw, but it also broke the bandit’s neck.
“Whoa. It’s short, light, and above all, the steel quality is poor… Is this what they call an inferior product?”
Both the bandits, Hilda, and the coachwomen who were present at the scene were left speechless as they stared at the boy in shock. His strength was astonishing for a child, but what was even more unsettling was his complete composure. There wasn’t a hint of panic in him, which indicated that the boy was no stranger to killing.
The boy then took the sword from the dead bandit, whose head had physically rotated 180 degrees. He kicked the body aside and started swinging the sword a couple of times as if testing it. It was a type of sword called a bastard sword that could be wielded with either one or both hands, but the boy looked unsatisfied as he swung it around like a twig, something that even an adult would feel heavy.
“Well, whatever. Let’s go wild! If I’m too late, Dad and Mom, especially big brother, will scold me!”
“Tch! Aim for the carriage, you scum! The rest of you don’t even think about trying to capture the guards and that kid; they’re no ordinary foes. Just kill them!”
“””Uoooohhh!”””
As the boy slung the sword over his shoulder and dashed forward, the mercenary leading the bandits barked out a bunch of orders. The inexperienced bandits aimed for the carriage while the mercenaries, now divided into two groups, launched an assault on both Hilda and the boy.
The mercenaries, who were split into two equal groups, tried to surround Hilda and the boy without anyone giving them specific instructions. Their coordination was impressive, which made it hard to understand why they had become bandits in the first place.
“Ha! That won’t work on me!”
They were not weak by any means. However, they had met formidable opponents this time around. Before the mercenaries could encircle her, Hilda stepped forward, bashing with her round shield. Without hesitation, she slashed at the one next to her with her sword and then kicked another nearby. She skillfully moved to avoid being surrounded.
“Take this!”
On the other hand, the boy was swinging his sword while letting out a battle cry. He had already demonstrated the strength to easily kill an adult with his punches, but what was even more dangerous was his exquisite swordsmanship, backed by rigorous training.
With these two factors combined, every strike by the boy turned into a lethal blow. The mercenaries struggled to protect their lives from the boy who rampaged unrestrainedly.
While the mercenaries were fully occupied with Hilda and the boy, the other bandits all attacked the carriage. Yet, not a single one could even touch the carriage. The one stopping them was a lone coachwoman.
“Gyaaaaaaaah!”
“Damn it! This one’s strong too!”
“She’s using spiritual arts!”
The coachwoman moved swiftly around the carriage, striking down the approaching bandits with her sword and hammer. Remarkably, she was also using spiritual arts while moving around.
She mainly used water-based spiritual arts. By manipulating water at will, she created duplicates of herself and employed them to form an impenetrable defense around the carriage.
These duplicates, made of water, were animated by spiritual arts. Their surfaces were so sturdy they seemed nothing like water, and their hardness was comparable to that of metal. It was impossible for anyone without combat training to cut through a substance as tough as metal. Ordinary bandits stood no chance of breaching her defense.
If there had been even one mercenary among those targeting the carriage, the outcome would surely have been different. The strength generated by a body enhanced with fighting spirit could forcibly cut through the duplicates. Among them, there were also those capable of using spiritual arts, which could have been an effective countermeasure.
However, the presence of the boy made this impossible. In fact, it was more than that. The boy possessed not only an abnormally high physical capability but also swordsmanship as refined as that of a veteran warrior. Far from defeating him, four mercenaries had already been slain by his hand.
“Damn it! How many of us have died just attacking this small carriage!?”
“It’s not worth it! Should we retreat…?”
Facing unexpectedly severe losses in what they thought would be an easy raid, the bandits, reluctant to suffer more damage for a mere small carriage, opted to retreat immediately.
This decision was quicker than Hilda had anticipated, yet it could also be considered too late. As one of the bandits glanced back, he involuntarily froze in his tracks. The reason was that a lone figure stood in the middle of the road, a short distance from them.
“Who…is that?”
The figure was clearly a man, and judging from his build, he was standing slightly taller than the average adult male. Even through his black clothing and the long, dark brown overcoat he wore, his well-toned and muscular physique was still visible. It was obvious at first glance that he was no ordinary man.
Like the coachwoman, he wore a hood that concealed the upper half of his face. However, the iron mask covering the lower half of his face, protruding from beneath the hood, emanated an eerie aura and a sense of intimidation.
“Geh! Bi-Big brother!?”
“I thought you were taking too long, so I came to check… What are you doing, Leo?”
Upon seeing the man who suddenly appeared, the blond boy whose name seemed to be Leo grew a bit pale and shouted. The man, with an air of exasperation, muttered to himself before starting to walk slowly towards the carriage. Strangely enough, this alone caused the bandits, who were trying to flee, to involuntarily step back.
It was probably a warning issued by the bandits” instincts: flee from this man. There’s no chance of winning against him. To survive, distance yourself as much as possible. Their dulled instincts were now sharply awakened.
“I can guess the situation just by looking. Fight to the end since you’ve come this far. I’ll join the fight too.”
“Hehe, as expected from big brother!”
“But be prepared to get scolded by Sharl later.”
“B-by Mom!? Th-this is all your fault! Take thiiiiiiiiis!”
As he spoke, the man in the iron mask flicked his cloak to the sides and drew two swords from his waist. In his right hand, he held a slender, pure white sword, and in his left, a broad, pitch-black sword.
The sunlight reflected off his blade, making it gleam brightly. Before anyone knew it, the man had approached right in front of the bandits. Without giving them time to shout, he swiftly beheaded several of them in one breath, including the leader of the mercenaries.
Simultaneously with the man’s arrival, the boy’s way of fighting became more intense. It might have seemed like desperation, but considering he was effectively blocking the bandits’ swords, it was more likely that he was now fighting with his full strength.
“Ah! I can’t do this anymore!”
“The head is dead too! We can’t possibly win!”
Already at a disadvantage, the bandits’ morale completely collapsed with the loss of their leader. They didn’t retreat in an organized manner but scattered in a chaotic rout like spiders dispersing. Hilda and the coachwoman were unable to leave the carriage they were supposed to protect, but they remained vigilant with their weapons ready, watching the bandits’ backs as they fled.
Finally, the man who appeared last cleaned the blood off his swords and sheathed them, indicating he had no intention of pursuing the bandits. Instead, he grabbed the collar of the boy who seemed about to chase after them.
“Ugh! What are you doing, big brother?”
“There’s no need to chase them. I came here with Mika. You understand what that means?”
“With Mika? Then, I guess there’s no need to go after them.”
At first, the boy seemed reluctant, but as soon as the name “Mika” was mentioned, he stopped his attempt to pursue the bandits. His expression even suggested a sense of relief, as if to say, “Then all is well”. Hilda and the coachwoman instinctively understood that the boy and the man had another friend and that this person was also skilled.
With this, their objective of protecting Lieselotte from the bandits was achieved. However, it was clear that if the man and the boy before them became enemies, they would pose a greater threat than the bandits. Hilda and the others were still tense as they kept their guard up, warily eyeing the two.
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