Chapter 16

Four days have passed.

Aldis and Grishe and the others were pulling a cart and continued hunting on the plains every day.

Since they had to move around while hunting for prey, and the cart slowed them down, their efficiency inevitably decreased, and their earnings naturally dropped.

Of course, this was compared to the first day, and despite everything, they were still making about seven or eight gold coins a day.

However, such smooth days wouldn't last forever.

Walking the streets with a cart full of furs and collected items would inevitably draw attention.

And not all mercenaries, like Grishe and the others, are straightforward people.

There are always those who envy the successful and try to steal their achievements.

"Aldis, they're there again."

Ralph looked back with a grimace.

"Don't worry about it. As long as they don't do anything, we'll ignore them."

Aldis said this while fighting off sleep.

"But, they clearly have something bad on their minds."

Ralph's concern was justified.

The western plains had been quiet recently due to Aldis's extensive hunting, so the group had been moving north and hunting since yesterday.

Heading north from Tria along the road would lead to a neighboring country, so it wasn't unusual to see merchants or mercenaries on the road.

However, it was rare for anyone to come to the middle of the plains, away from the road, unless they were hunting mercenaries.

Despite this, the group of mercenaries that occasionally appeared behind Aldis and the others neither hunted nor seemed to be investigating anything.

While they didn't follow them all the time, it was clearly strange to encounter them frequently in such a vast plain.

It was natural to assume that their purpose was to tail Aldis and the others.

Since the plains offered good visibility, it was impossible to follow them without being seen.

Therefore, they were likely pretending to be coincidental while keeping a watchful eye on them, but the problem was their purpose.

At a glance, their number exceeded twenty, more than four times Aldis's group.

They couldn't possibly be here to ask for a job.

Perhaps they had noticed that Aldis and the others were hunting a large number of prey every day and were trying to uncover their secret.

The secret was simply Aldis's extraordinary strength, but from the outside, it looked like a group of teenagers were hunting large numbers of Beast Kings and Despairs.

It was understandable that they suspected there was a secret behind it.

Aldis and the others continued hunting as usual, without letting their guard down.

They focused on hunting Beast Kings, disassembling the prey on the spot, and securing furs and other materials.

When the prey in the area ran out, they moved the cart to a new location and repeated the process.

Eventually, when the cart was full and they turned south to return to Tria, the mercenaries appeared in front of Aldis.

They split into three groups, with the largest group blocking Aldis's path, and the other two groups flanking them, forming a semi-encirclement.

"Aldis, what do we do?"

Grishe asked, sweating with tension.

The number of the enemy was more than four times their own.

Moreover, a quick check revealed that there were a few mid-level mercenaries among them.

Grishe and the others would be no match for them.

Aldis remained silent, observing the enemy with his eyes.

The silence was broken when a well-built man in the front group spoke.

"Kids, you've been doing pretty well lately, but it's not right to hog all the good stuff for yourselves."

His tone was far from friendly.

"Thanks to your excessive hunting, the prey has decreased, and we're struggling to eat. We're not monsters, though. If you share your methods or tools for easily hunting Beast Kings and Despairs, we can get along just fine."

It was a negotiation in form, but in substance, it was extortion.

"That's pretty blatant."

Aldis said with a sigh.

"So? What if we say no?"

Instantly, the mercenaries' presence became menacing.

"In that case, you'll be in a state where you can't even speak."

The mercenaries drew their weapons, and the ones who looked like mages readied their staves to cast spells.

"What's your answer?"

In response to this ultimatum, Aldis answered with a sardonic smile.

"Of course, we refuse."

The well-built mercenary raised an eyebrow.

He probably didn't expect a rookie mercenary in such a disadvantageous position to be so defiant.

The man, who seemed momentarily confused, quickly regained his composure and shouted.

"Take them down! Capture one of them alive!"

At his command, the mercenaries attacked in unison.

Fireballs and rocks from the mages on the flanks and arrows from the archers in the front group were aimed at Aldis and the others.

Aldis calmly drew a short sword from his waist and threw it into the air, then spoke a single word.

"Defend."

He then cast a barrier to counter the incoming magic.

The attack magic hit the area where Aldis and the others were.

The spells were of low power, but they were still strong enough to take down rookie mercenaries, and there were multiple of them.

The impact kicked up sand and dust, and arrows from the front group followed.

If Aldis and the others were just rookie mercenaries, they would have been almost annihilated at this point.

Even if they survived, they wouldn't be in a state to fight back.

Of course, Aldis was not a rookie mercenary.

The barrier of magic power, cast without incantation, deflected all the enemy's spells.

"Shred."

Again, without incantation, a spell was cast at the enemy mercenaries.

The powerful wind that was simultaneously released at the flanking groups quickly enveloped the mercenaries, mercilessly slicing their arms, legs, and necks.

When the dust settled, Aldis and the others were unharmed, while the mercenaries lay bleeding on the plains.

"What...!?"

A voice of shock came from the front group, which had not been hit by Aldis's attack.

Their arrows, far from piercing the rookie mercenaries, had been deflected and fell to the ground.

Above the broken arrows, a short sword floated motionless in the air.

The unusual sight caused a stir among the mercenaries.

"Could it be... sword magic?"

"Is that the rumored...?"

"They say he's quite skilled."

"He's just a kid."

"We were told he was a rookie, but this is different."

One by one, the mercenaries spoke, and the well-built mercenary, growing impatient with their hesitation, shouted at them.

"What sword magic! He's just a kid! We still outnumber them, and if we swarm him, mages are nothing to fear! Take him down!"

With that, the mercenaries charged.

More than ten of them attacked Aldis at once, but there was no sign of a mage among them.

The mages were probably all in the flanking groups.

"If they had attacked without all the talk, it would have been better."

Aldis chuckled, drew another short sword from his waist, and threw it at the archer at the back of the enemy group.

The short sword, released from Aldis's hand, sliced through the archer's neck, then changed direction against inertia and flew toward the remaining archers, bringing death.

Meanwhile, the three arrows fired by the archers were easily deflected by the short sword that had been floating in the air.

With this scene in his field of vision, Aldis turned his palm toward the mercenaries who had closed to within about five meters.

"Strike."

Instantly, a brilliant light shot from his hand.

The light, faster than arrows, pierced the foreheads of the mercenaries, instantly taking their lives.

The bodies of the mercenaries fell to the ground with a thud.

Over twenty enemies, and not just ordinary people or rookies, but seasoned mercenaries who made a living from fighting.

Aldis had crushed them head-on with overwhelming strength, leaving Grishe and the others breathless.

"Man, that was... amazing."

"His strength is beyond comprehension."

Ralph and Conia looked at each other and said.

"Hey, Aldis."

"What?"

"Given your strength, couldn't you have subdued them without killing them?"

Against over twenty mercenaries, Aldis stood alone.

The difference in strength was so great that it was understandable why Grishe could see Aldis winning.

But at the same time, if the difference was so great, couldn't Aldis have handled the situation without taking lives? Grishe indirectly blamed Aldis.

"I could have, if I wanted to."

For Aldis, it was a simple matter.

"Then why didn't you? If you could, you could have captured them and handed them over to the guards!"

"There was no need. Pity for bandits is unnecessary."

"They're not bandits! They're mercenaries like us!"

"Then tell me, what are bandits? What kind of people do you consider bandits, Grishe?"

"Those who break the law and threaten the property and lives of others, I suppose."

"Then what did they do? In the middle of the plains, where the law doesn't reach, they tried to take our property and lives by force. How is that different from bandits?"

"That's..."

"Moreover, they are worse than bandits. While outlaws and unknown bandits are one thing, these are mercenaries with known faces. Some of their comrades and townspeople might defend them. Even if we handed them over to the guards, there's no guarantee the guards or the lords would believe our side. After all, there are no witnesses other than the parties involved."

"You can't say that would never happen. What if they were acquitted? Even if they were fined or given a short period of forced labor, they would surely come back for revenge, and this time with a more elaborate plan."

To Aldis, Grishe's thinking was too naive.

He believed in a world where evil is punished and good is rewarded, like in children's storybooks.

Believing is one thing, but reality isn't that clean. Aldis had finally understood this after losing many important things.

Though he didn't say it out loud, Grishe must have sensed Aldis's thoughts from the atmosphere, as he didn't press the issue further.

Normally, they would have collected the equipment and items from the mercenaries' bodies, but considering Grishe's feelings, Aldis decided to leave them.

After burning the bodies and burying them with magic, they started the journey back, pulling the cart.

On a day when they would usually chat on the way back to Tria, the group walked in silence the entire time.

2016/12/19 Typo correction: Despia → Despair

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2018/08/09 Typo correction: "impose a crime on us" → "impose a crime on us"

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2019/05/02 Typo correction: "Aldis standing" → "Aldis and the others"

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2019/07/22 Typo correction: "separate" → "split"

2019/07/22 Correction: "skilled" → "skilled"

2019/07/22 Typo correction: "at a high speed" → "quickly"

2019/07/22 Typo correction: "pierce" → "strike"

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2020/01/27 Adverb repetition correction: "Aldis calmly" → "Aldis calmly"

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