Chapter 99 : The Mercenary Bureau’s First Request (13)
Chapter 99: The Mercenary Bureau’s First Request (13)
“By the way, your mercenary company is truly extraordinary!”
“Thank you so much for the compliment. Haha. I think they would be very pleased to hear it.”
“Indeed! Your mercenaries must have been born warriors. They are of a completely different quality than those rebel bastards who were just tilling fields before they came here. Hahahaha.”
‘The mercenaries were also originally just guys who tilled fields, you know.’
As expected, the Northern Elf noble did not disappoint. That was Ragnarsson for you. However, Shatien did not bother to argue with him.
“I am merely grateful for the praise.”
“Yes. Well, be sure to pass this story on to the mercenaries. Uhahaha.”
“…….”
Shatien thought he would probably get cursed at if he actually said that, but he gave a nod for now.
“Right. Sir Shatien. We will classify the wounded and let the lightly injured recover over the next week. Then we will depart for Holsten immediately.”
“Will it be alright if we don't go on a scout?”
“Scouting? Why bother? It is all flat land here. Ambushes are impossible.”
“…I see.”
Shatien replied with a dubious expression.
He recalled the commander named Waldheim whom the bandit knight had mentioned. Thinking back on the previous battle, that man was not someone who moved simply.
‘I should check it myself.’
Shatien decided he needed to verify things personally.
He had more than enough time since they had a week anyway.
* * *
The road leading to Holsten.
Two small pits were dug just a short distance away from that road. Waldheim looked over the pits and nodded with a satisfied expression.
‘This should be enough.’
When Ragnarsson’s army passed by the road a short distance away, the cloaked dwarf crossbowmen were scheduled to assassinate Ragnarsson and Shatien.
‘I cannot help it even if it is cowardly. Assassination is the only solution.’
How else was he supposed to catch a monster like that knight who showed the skill of one against a hundred? This was not at a level that could be controlled by strategy or tactics. To control it would mean he would have to move an army of at least ten thousand directly.
Baron Rollo, who was watching the pits from the side, let out an exclamation of admiration.
“This is a very good idea, Waldheim. To think of a way to ambush dwarf crossbowmen on flat ground.”
“Is it not all thanks to you for providing the dwarf crossbowmen, Baron?”
The dwarf crossbowmen, known as ‘Noble Assassins,’ were famous for having incredibly high fees. It went without saying since the cost to hire just two of them was as expensive as Baron Rollo’s own ransom.
Of course, their skill and equipment were so outstanding that they could hit a flying bird a hundred meters away, so an assassination at this distance was essentially no problem at all.
Once all preparations were finished, Waldheim ordered the Noble Assassins to enter the pits. Then the dwarf assassins grumbled.
“Damn it. You expect us to endure for several days in this narrow place?”
“Employer. Can’t we just go to the enemy camp and assassinate them? Why are you being so complicated?”
Waldheim shook his head. The enemy was not a fool, and the guard was excessively tight in preparation for assassinations.
“We already tried once and failed. The security was no joke.”
“Tsk. I suppose the alertness only went up because you used some clumsy amateurs?”
“That is why you should have used us right away. Why did you use those guys?”
“Ahem. I have hidden horses on the slope at the back, so use them well when you escape. And these are the armor and appearances of the two targets.”
The dwarf assassins nodded.
“Well now. Both of them look like they have quite nasty temperaments. Kuhehehehe.”
“Look at yourself. From a human perspective, don't they look handsome? Do not go getting twisted with an inferiority complex for no reason. Got it?”
“Shut up! You bastard!”
“…….”
Looking at the two noisy dwarves, Waldheim felt a sense of doubt about whether he should leave the request to them, but he had already witnessed their skills with his own eyes.
“You must know that if a problem arises, we will deny any involvement.”
“Hehehe. I understand. The payment has been made clearly, and the route and plan are perfect, so don't worry. As soon as they pass this spot, those two will become corpses.”
The dwarf assassins made their boastful guarantee and closed the camouflaged wooden boards covered with grass. Since they only left a hole small enough to secure a field of vision, it was impossible to distinguish them from the surroundings.
‘Perfect.’
If one looked at these pits from a distance, they would only look like an open field.
* * *
Shatien led ten cavalrymen on a scout toward Holsten. No matter how much they rode along the endless road, the only thing to see was the grassland. There were not even any villages. Eventually, Hans, whose patience had reached its limit, grumbled.
“Shatien. Isn't this scout a waste of time? There has to be something here for a scout to have meaning.”
“Let us go a little further. We might at least run into an enemy scout.”
“Hmph. Well, fine. Whew. At least the breeze is nice.”
After going quite a bit further, Holsten appeared in the distance. Shatien frowned.
‘Did I really work for nothing?’
However, no matter how much he thought about it, something was strange.
That man named Waldheim would not have left things without any countermeasures like this. It was as if he were saying they could come scout if they wanted to.
“This is enough. Let us go ba—”
But right then.
-Ziiiiiiing-!
Shatien’s ancestral heritage let out a fierce warning.
Something. Something was there.
Shatien jerked his head around according to the guidance of that sensation.
An empty field.
But something was a bit strange.
Between the grass.. something….
He felt as if he could see a strange gap.
And finally, Shatien realized what his ancestral heritage was warning him about.
A gap like a thin line. He had locked eyes with a mysterious pair of pupils in that gap. At the same time, a flash erupted from that opening.
-Swish!
Something had been fired.
‘Damn it?’
Shatien immediately swung his sword.
-Clang!
The bolt that struck the air lost its power and fell to the ground. It was truly a difference of a hair’s breadth. Shatien frowned.
‘This is no joke. I would have died instantly if I had been hit.’
The impact felt five times stronger than a typical crossbow. If the guidance of his senses had been even a little slower, he would have been pierced and killed right there. Late to the realization, the mercenaries shouted.
“Shatien!”
“Centurion!!! Protect him. Block it quickly!”
The mercenaries rushed forward to protect Shatien. Of course, another bolt was fired before that.
“Not a chance-!”
Shatien swung his sword again.
-Clang!
This time, unlike before, he was able to block it accurately. He also figured out how they were shooting.
‘A pit?!’
That small gap was indeed a pit. Shatien opened his eyes wide in surprise. Two crossbowmen were poking their heads out slightly from an unimaginable location.
“What the! What on earth is happening!”
“Over there. Right there!”
Miles looked at the pit Shatien pointed to and was startled.
“No way! They shot from that distance?”
“Miles! We don't have time for this. We must charge in quickly.”
“Ah, I get it! You bastards. What are you doing! Move it!!”
At that same moment, their horses began to dash toward that pit like arrows.
-Neighhhhhh!
-Clop, clop, clop!
‘I will not let you be!’
He did not know who they were, but they were no ordinary experts. He intended to kill them this time and eliminate any future trouble.
* * *
The Noble Assassins inside the pit fell into a panic.
“F-Fuck! What is this?”
It was surprising enough to lock eyes from that far distance, but to think he would deflect bolts twice in a row.
Furthermore, the crossbows they used were not ordinary ones, but weapons made by ancestors that contained the mysteries of the ancient empire.
The speed, accuracy, and destructive power could not even be compared to a normal crossbow. Yet he had deflected the bolts fired from them. It was truly a monster-like skill, but they had no leisure to admire it.
“Reload quickly, what are you doing!”
“I am already done!”
“You crazy fool. Then why aren't you shooting! You bastard.”
The two crossbows were aimed simultaneously at Shatien, who was charging on horseback.
If the speed of the bolt was added to the acceleration of the horse, he would never be able to block it. The dwarf assassins, certain of Shatien’s death, burst into laughter.
“You fool! Die!”
“Hahaha. Farewell.”
-Pwoosh!
The bolts that flew simultaneously struck Shatien. Or rather, they almost struck him.
Just as he got close.
-Clangg!
This time too, Shatien deflected the bolts quite easily.
“He's coming too fast!”
“Aim for the horse first!”
The hands of the dwarf assassins moved busily. They planned to hit Shatien’s horse first and then escape on their own horses once he got closer.
However, the dwarf assassins did not know.
They did not know just how much of a madman Shatien was.
* * *
-Pwoosh!
-Neighhhhh!
A bolt that flew suddenly lodged into the horse he was riding.
“Dammit!”
The warhorse tumbled forward. This time, the angle was one Shatien had no way of blocking. In the end, Shatien’s best option was to jump off hurriedly.
-Thud!
Shatien, who rolled once on the ground, immediately caught the momentum and stood up to run. Another shower of bolts rained down toward the front.
-Clang!
However, it was only one shot.
‘Do you mean to shoot in succession?’
It was a trick.
And Shatien’s prediction was not wrong. He had barely taken a few steps before another bolt flew toward him.
Shatien’s brow furrowed.
‘The reload speed is faster than I thought.’
There were clearly only two of them, but they were eerily fast. There had to be some special device.
“Fine, let’s have a battle then.”
Shatien kicked off the ground and ran again. He did not even have time to wait for the mercenaries following from behind.
Thirty meters. Ten meters. Five meters.
The distance closed in an instant.
Now, the expressions of the assassins were clearly visible.
‘Dwarves?’
To think they were dwarf assassins.
Only then did the notorious assassins who drove the continent's nobles into fear come to mind.
‘Noble Assassins!’
To think he would see those Noble Assassins here. If he had not accidentally discovered the guys in the pit here, Ragnarsson would have been in great danger.
* * *
The dwarf assassins were horrified. What kind of human could perform such sophisticated swordsmanship while running like that?
But it was already too late to run away. Before they knew it, that target had run within fifteen meters. Now, only one chance remained.
“I will aim for the head. You aim for the legs!”
“As close as possible! Close! Maximum! Wait for it!!!”
Fifteen meters. Twelve meters. Eight meters!!
“Now, fire!”
-Pwoosh!
The last bolts flew rapidly. It was such a close range that it should not have been a distance one could possibly avoid.
However,
-Swoosh!
One shot flew into the empty air because he twisted his body in a bizarre way.
-Clang!
The remaining shot was blocked far too easily by the sword.
“Huff, huff… huff…”
And before the eyes of the dwarf assassins, Shatien appeared, looking down at them as if he were about to kill them.
-Gulp.
They could only swallow their dry saliva.