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As Johan advanced, swinging his mace, three fell, blood spraying. A blow to the torso was severely damaging. Johan smiled contentedly. The weapon, found on the road, was useful.
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As more than half fell, the remaining mercenaries began to flee without orders. Johan was puzzled.
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‘𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯?’
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On second thought, one of the men he killed, who wielded a shortsword, did seem like a Captain. . .
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Johan quickly pursued, striking the leg of the furthest man. No need to capture all. Just enough to interrogate.
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‘𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰.’
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Better than just one. Johan broke the fallen man’s leg, more painfully for being an archer.
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“Aaaaagh!”
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As Johan chased, the mercenaries threw their weapons and fled, shivering at the thought of him following.
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𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐝!
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He managed to catch another. As the opponent drew a dagger, Johan slapped both cheeks.
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“You b*stard. . .”
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The opponent, still venomous, continued to talk. Johan broke one arm to prevent mischief, then the other as the eyes still showed life. Then the opponent cried out.
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“Ah, my lord. I was wrong!”
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“Realize your mistake?”
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“Yes! Yes! Deeply!”
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Unlike other mercenaries who cursed or acted rough, the impassive breaking of each arm was terrifyingly filthy.
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‘𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳. . . 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴!’
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🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
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“This brat! How dare you challenge us!”
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Enraged, Gamson tried to strike down the fallen one, but Goran stopped him.
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“Why are you stopping me!”
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“He’s not the one you caught. Rookie.”
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“But we can kill those who attacked us right away, can’t we!”
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“I won’t stop you, try it if you want.”
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Meanwhile, Johan returned. Johan asked Gamson, looking at him.
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“What’s going on?”
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“Uh. . . nothing.”
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Gamson stumbled back. Seeing Johan covered in blood, he lost his nerve. In one hand, Johan even held the head of a twitching mercenary.
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“You’ve all worked hard.”
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“No! Thanks to you, Johan-nim, we were able to save our lives. Thank you so much!”
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Goran bowed respectfully, his gratitude sincere. As a wandering knight, there were some doubts about his abilities, but the recent scene cleared them all. Indeed, a knight is a knight. He rushed into battle, hardly armored, and butchered several men in the blink of an eye, a chilling sight.
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“What are we going to do with this guy?”
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“Take him to the city and sell him as a slave, right? Since we’re on our way there anyway. . .”
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“Not a bad idea, but first, I have questions. We need to find out who hired this guy.”
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“What? He’s just a bandit.”
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“We can take on bandit requests too.”
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Johan called out to Eldans. Eldans, who was hiding and trembling between the carriages, stuck his head out.
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“Is it, is it over?”
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“It’s over, you can come out now.”
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Eldans came out with a sigh. He had no idea what was going on.
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“They say words have consequences, but the bandit b*stards really. . .”
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“. . .?”
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Johan scanned Eldans’ expression. He didn’t seem to be lying.
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It was clear that they weren’t targeting Johan. And there was no one who would hire mercenaries to target those seemingly worthless mercenaries. . .
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Only the merchant was left?
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“Hey. Did you catch the two of them?”
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“The knight caught them.”
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“Let’s take them and sell them as slaves. These trashy b*stards. How dare they rob! They will be cursed by God.”
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“Let’s hear their story first.”
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Johan lifted his mace over his shoulder and asked.
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“Who ordered you?”
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“W-We don’t know anything!”
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𝐓𝐡𝐰𝐚𝐜𝐤!
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As soon as the words were out, Johan swung his mace. The broken knee shattered.
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“Aaaahhh!”
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“Did you think I caught you to hear you say you don’t know anything? Spit it out! Spit out the answer I want.”
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The mercenaries swallowed their saliva at Johan’s appearance. He looked to be around twenty years old, but his flawless appearance was no joke. They wondered what kind of family he had trained in.
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“If you don’t want to live as a cripple for the rest of your life, spit out the answer. Now. One! Two!”
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“T-The Captain knows! He just said to rob that merchant guy! So! So!”
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The captured one shouted out in a hurry. Then everyone’s eyes turned to Eldans.
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“Milord Eldans. What is this? You didn’t say anything like this.”
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“I don’t know anything about this either!”
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“Don’t tell me you tried to save money. . .”
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“If I knew someone was after me, I would have hired more mercenaries, why would I gamble with my life?!”
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Eldans argued as if he was frustrated. Goran frowned but accepted it.
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“I understand.”
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The reward that Eldans offered was not bad. Three Empire coins per day and one Empire silver coin every time a fight broke out. Twelve coins were worth one silver coin, so it was a decent job for escorting a merchant. Eldans was not a fool who would cut corners on his life.
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He would have hired more mercenaries if he knew someone was after him. A seasoned merchant wouldn’t risk his life for a few pennies.