Chapter 63

After finishing their preparations for battle, Noein and his companions took turns to sleep, and by the time the sky began to brighten, everyone was awake.

"Lord Noein, please give them some words of encouragement."

Nodding at Yurii's words, Noein stood on the platform in front of the wooden fence and looked down at the retainers and villagers.

The faces looking at Noein ranged from determined expressions to anxious ones.

"Everyone, I want you to look behind you."

Noein started with these words.

The villagers, looking a bit puzzled, turned around as they were told. There were the houses of the capital Noeina.

"Here are our homes. Here is our land."

Hearing Noein's next words, the villagers turned back to face him and looked up.

"Many of you didn't have a place to belong before. Some of you may have lost everything and felt hopeless. But that's not the case now. This is our place to belong, and we have something and someone important to protect."

He paused and took a breath.

"So let's fight here. Let's protect this place and continue to live here. For that, let's survive today!"

"「Yaaaaaah!」"

In response to Noein's loud voice, the retainers and villagers echoed back. The look of anxiety was gone from their eyes.

...

"Indeed, there's a path. It seems like they really have established a territory ahead."

At the entrance of the Bezel Great Forest, Gosling, standing at the head of the bandit group, muttered these words.

"According to rumors, the population of the capital of the Alquvist territory is less than 200. It's the same number as us, but that includes women and children," the thin man, his deputy from his mercenary days, whispered beside him. Gosling snorted in displeasure.

"Ha, it's laughable that a tiny village calls itself a 'capital.' Nobles are only good at putting on a show."

"Should we proceed?"

"Yeah, let's attack and crush them. Then we'll take the jewels and gold and leave this country."

Even with a bandit group of 200, they couldn't keep causing trouble forever. They would eventually be hunted down by the noble's army or the kingdom's army.

Gosling had planned to take the treasures stored in the Alquvist territory, divide them among his men, and disband the group. With enough money, they could scatter and escape, even reaching a foreign country, and start over. That's what he thought.

"Let's go, men! Follow me!"

"「Yaaaah!」"

Bathed in the enthusiastic cheers of his men, Gosling spurred his horse forward.

...

Shortly after entering the forest, Gosling changed the formation of the group.

The road was well-maintained and had good visibility, but there were plenty of places to hide in the forest on both sides. This made them easy targets.

Gosling didn't think the approach of his group had been noticed by the Alquvist territory, nor did he think they would come out to attack. However, as a precaution, he dismounted the cavalry, including himself, and proceeded more cautiously.

"How much longer until we reach the village?"

"Who knows. But it shouldn't be too far. They wouldn't place their first base in a dangerous, remote area when they're trying to develop this forest."

The road curved slightly to the right and left, and the end was not in sight.

If this road was intentionally made this way to prepare for an attack, the lord might be a smart one... Gosling thought and tightened his focus.

At that moment.

A loud sound of something colliding, "Dogaah," echoed, and Gosling crouched and turned around.

"What the hell is that!"

The thin man, who also crouched and turned around, shouted in surprise.

Gosling felt the same way.

"Unbelievable..."

What had burst into the side of their formation from the forest was a Wood Golem. However, its movements were far from ordinary.

Golems were known to be slow and useless, only good for shields or carrying loads. That was the general knowledge among warriors.

But the golem that had burst in moved as swiftly and smoothly as a seasoned warrior.

Moreover, several swords and axes were tied to the golem's arms, and every time it swung its arms, they cut into the flesh and split the heads of the surrounding bandits.

Some bravely struck the golem with their swords, but they were easily deflected and hit by the weapon-laden arms, falling silent and torn to shreds.

The golem, made of the sturdy wood Semilwood, was impervious to ordinary weapons.

Gosling shouted to calm his panicked men.

"Stay calm, don't try to fight it head-on! Light a fire! Burn it down!"

There were a few in the bandit group who could use "Ignite" to a certain extent, and some had magic items. A wooden golem would be destroyed by fire.

Just as the bandits were regaining their composure at Gosling's words,

"Yaaaah! They're coming from this side too!"

"It's a second one! What's going on!"

Another similar golem burst into the formation from a position closer to Gosling than the first one.

Gosling's efforts were in vain, and the bandits fell into panic again.

"Are there two puppet mages who can handle such golems? What's going on..."

The men were in a state of panic. It would take more than a little to calm them down. Meanwhile, the damage was spreading at an alarming rate.

"Boss! What do we do!"

"...The puppet mages must be nearby. Find and kill the puppet mages! They're probably in the forest!"

Following Gosling's orders, his deputy and elite subordinates from his mercenary days scattered.

By their loud commands, the other bandits also entered the forest.

Gosling himself entered the forest, carefully looking around. He used all his senses to search for the enemy's presence.

They were likely on a slightly higher ground, from where they could see the bandit formation.

"...There! Over there!"

Eventually, he noticed a man on the right flank of the bandit formation, on a slightly elevated area.

Physically, he looked like a child or a young adult. The way he was directing his attention to the golems indicated that he was the puppet mage.

Gosling immediately threw his sword at the mage, intending to kill him instantly.

The sword was about to hit the mage, but a woman with a round shield stood in front of him, and a guard-like man in front of her deflected the sword.

At almost the same time, a man standing close to the mage threw a spear at Gosling.

It was a sharp throw, but Gosling narrowly dodged it and pointed at them, shouting.

"Go after them! Capture them! Kill them!"

Following Gosling's orders, the bandits rushed towards the puppet mage.

...

"Huh?"

"Lord Noein!"

"Watch out!"

When a sword suddenly flew at Noein, he let out a silly sound, but Matilda stood in front of him with her shield, and Pense swung his sword to knock the enemy's sword away.

Without a moment's delay, Radley threw a spear at the enemy, but the enemy narrowly dodged it.

"Damn, I thought if I took out the leader, it would disrupt their command."

"Wow, Radley, that was amazing. And Matilda and Pense too, you guys handled that surprise attack so well."

"This isn't the time to talk. We've been spotted, so we're retreating to the gate!"

Following Pense's finger, the bandits were rushing towards them, following the orders of the one who had thrown the sword.

"Got it!"

Noein hurriedly ordered the golems to retreat and ran with Matilda pulling him along. Pense and Radley followed to protect his back, and the golems followed behind them.

"Yurii! We're retreating to the capital Noeina!"

"Understood, we'll prepare to meet them."

Noein, still connected to Yurii via "Long Talk," ran desperately. He ran as hard as he could, but his legs were slow.

"Lord Noein! Run faster!"

"At this rate, they'll catch up!"

"I know, I know, but!"

Radley and Pense urged him, but Noein, lacking in physical strength, could barely run without falling.

This was due to the sharp intuition of the bandit leader, who had found them earlier than Noein and his group had expected.

"Lord Noein, please excuse me."

Matilda threw away her shield, picked up Noein, and carried him on her back.

Thanks to Matilda's superior running ability as a rabbit person, the surprise attack group managed to put a considerable distance between themselves and the bandits.

Soon, Noein and his group emerged from the forest and entered the farmland surrounding the capital Noeina.

Matilda, carrying Noein, ran along the farm paths that wound through the fields, followed by Pense and Radley, and the two golems.

Behind them, the bandits emerged from the forest one after another, their voices filled with intense anger, perhaps because they had lost many of their comrades.

"Yurii! Get ready!"

"Yeah, I see them. We're ready. Keep running... Wait, you're not running yourself!"

"My legs are... too slow..."

Despite the lack of tension in their conversation, Noein, thanks to Matilda, managed to reach the gate safely.

Behind them, Gosling, leading the bandits, pursued Noein and his group.

While running, Gosling shouted instructions to the bandits, reminding them that even with two golems, they were not to be feared if they set them on fire. The other bandits had already regained their composure.

The bandit group was still about three-quarters intact. Gosling was confident they could do it.

"Kyaah!"

"Whoa! What the hell!?"

Suddenly, a large number of arrows flew from the wooden fence surrounding the village, piercing the bandits.