Chapter 81
Chapter 81
The village chief charged toward me. A desperate resolve burned in his eyes.
“You bastard! I will kill you here today without fail!”
The sword in his hand flashed. I could feel the presence of a Seventh Star swordsman. But to me, it looked no more than a flickering candle.
“Fine, let’s see you try.”
I smiled leisurely. The village chief’s blade flew toward my neck.
Slash—
With the sound of air being cut, the sword passed by. But his blade did not even graze a single strand of my skin.
“…What is this?”
Confusion flickered across the village chief’s face. Avoiding his attack was far too easy. It was like sidestepping a sluggish turtle.
“So this is the skill of a Seventh Star swordsman? How disappointing.”
At my words, the village chief’s face flushed red and blue.
“Insolent brat!”
He swung his sword again. This time it was faster and stronger. Yet it still posed no threat to me.
One step.
Two steps.
I retreated one step at a time, evading his attacks. Gracefully, as though I were dancing.
“This cannot be! How…! You clearly haven’t been long since your recovery, so how can you be this strong?”
Disbelief filled the village chief’s face. His breathing began to grow ragged. It did not seem easy for his aged body to unleash attacks at full power.
“You look exhausted. Shall we take a break?”
At my words, his face twisted.
“Do not underestimate the leader of Zephyr!”
He raised his sword high. The surrounding air began to tremble. It seemed he intended to display the true power of a Seventh Star swordsman.
“Take this! Shadowless Sword Art (無影劍法)!”
The village chief’s body blurred and split into several afterimages. His duplicates rushed at me from all directions.
“Oh? Now you’re finally showing something worthwhile.”
Even so, it was nothing more than the ugly struggle of a wretched old man.
I smiled mockingly. His attacks still failed to pose any threat to me.
Thud— Thud— Thud—
The swords of the afterimages pierced through my body. But I had already recognized that they were all illusions.
“This cannot be!”
Despair crossed the village chief’s face. Even his strongest technique had failed against me.
“Did you happen to pick up some secret manual somewhere?”
I slowly raised my sword. The surrounding air seemed to freeze.
Slash—
A single strike. That was enough.
The village chief’s body stiffened. Shock filled his eyes.
“How… is this…”
A red line appeared across his body. A long wound stretched from his chest down to his navel.
Thud—
The village chief dropped to his knees. Blood flowed from his mouth.
“Spare… spare me….”
“And now you beg for your life? You should have chosen your side more wisely from the beginning.”
Staggering, he reached out toward me. His eyes were filled with fear and despair.
“Please… just my life… I will become your loyal dog. Please, at least spare my life.”
“Why is it that they all say the same things? Can you not foresee the place where you will die?”
I looked down at him. Once, he had been the domineering leader of a bandit group. Now he was nothing more than an old man begging for his life.
“You want to live? What about the people you killed?”
At my words, his face turned pale.
“Th-That was… unavoidable….”
“Unavoidable? Then I suppose I have no choice either.”
Slash!
Once more, my sword moved. This time toward the village chief’s neck.
“Nooooo!!!”
The village chief’s scream echoed out. But only for a moment.
Thud.
His head separated from his body and fell to the ground. The village chief’s eyes were still filled with terror.
“This brings it to an end.”
I shook the blood from my sword. I looked at the corpses scattered around. Among them lay the village chief’s body.
“Young Master.”
“Cecil. What about the remaining stragglers?”
“They have all been dealt with. Commander Camille and the mercenaries fought far better than expected.”
“They’ve all worked hard. I should reward them once we return.”
“You have worked hard as well, Young Master. Are you injured anywhere?”
I nodded. The blood on my body was not mine, but Zephyr’s.
“Of course not.”
I gazed into the distance, lost in thought. There were still many matters left to resolve.
‘With this, Zephyr is finished. But I can’t shake this uneasy feeling.’
Zephyr was merely a bandit group.
Behind them stood an unidentified organization bearing the name Pandemonium.
I did not know their purpose, nor why they were targeting us, but I was certain they posed a potential threat.
‘I should report this to Father first.’
We gathered the corpses in the village into one place and burned them all. After completing our preparations, we departed at once toward Winterbell without delay.
I cast one last look at the village where the Zephyr bandits had been defeated. A resolute determination filled my eyes.
“Move out.”
At my brief command, the procession of carriages began to move.
By sunset, the long shadows of the carriages stretched across the golden fields as they gradually receded into the distance.
Inside the carriage, I stared out the window, deep in thought.
Seated across from me, Cecil asked carefully,
“Young Master, are you all right?”
I nodded.
“I’m fine. I simply have a few things on my mind.”
Cecil did not press further. She knew well the look on my face when I was lost in deep thought.
Clatter. Clatter.
Time passed.
On the first night, we made camp near a small forest. I sat before the campfire, pondering the questions surrounding Pandemonium. Their identity, their purpose, and why they were targeting me—everything was a mystery.
“Young Master, you should rest.”
Cecil approached and spoke.
I nodded.
“Yes, tomorrow will be a long journey.”
The next morning, we set out again. The sky was clear, and the breeze was refreshing. But this peace did not last long.
A little past noon, the sky suddenly began to darken. Thick clouds gathered rapidly, and soon torrential rain poured down.
The oldest mercenary of the Harlan Mercenaries muttered,
“Such weather… how strange.”
The downpour made their journey difficult. The road quickly turned into mud, and the carriage wheels kept slipping.
I leaned my head out the window and shouted,
“Be careful!”
Before I could finish speaking, the carriage ahead began to slide and tilt to the side.
Crash!
The carriage overturned completely and plunged into the mud. Screams erupted, and chaos followed.
I quickly got down from the carriage to assess the situation.
“Is everyone all right?”
Camille reported,
“Yes, Young Master. Fortunately, there are no serious injuries.”
I let out a sigh.
“It will take time to right the carriage and reload the cargo. Our schedule will be significantly delayed.”
Together with the mercenaries, I wrestled with the mud for several hours to restore the carriage. The rain showed no sign of stopping and continued to pour relentlessly. In the process, several important items were damaged, and issues arose with our food supplies.
Camille spoke with concern.
“Young Master, at this rate, we may run out of provisions before reaching Winterbell Castle.”
I fell into thought for a moment, then spoke as if having reached a decision.
“It can’t be helped. We’ll have to change our route and stop by the nearest village to replenish our supplies.”
“Yes.”
Our journey grew far longer than expected. Because we had taken a detour, we passed through unfamiliar regions, and in the process faced several crises.
On the third day, we were passing through a dense forest when arrows suddenly flew out from between the trees.
At my shout, everyone tensed.
“An ambush! Prepare yourselves!”
A group of orcs surrounded us. I responded quickly alongside the mercenaries, but the situation was not easy.
I shouted,
“Cecil, take the left!”
My sword flashed as I cut down the enemies. Yet the accumulated fatigue made my body feel unbearably heavy.
The battle continued for nearly an hour.
At last, we drove the orcs back, but the mercenaries had also suffered considerable losses.
Cecil asked worriedly,
“Young Master, are you all right?”
I wrapped the wound on my arm and nodded.
“I’m fine. What about the others?”
“There are a few lightly injured. Fortunately, there are no severely wounded.”
After this incident, we moved even more cautiously. But the hardships continued. We had to cross treacherous mountain paths and ford a river that had suddenly swollen. Every moment was a challenge.
On the tenth day, we finally caught sight of the outline of Winterbell Castle. Relief flickered across everyone’s faces.
“We’ve finally arrived.”
As the castle gates opened and we entered, the servants began bustling about. I stepped down from the carriage and looked around. Everything was the same as when I had left, yet for some reason it felt unfamiliar.
“Lord Ran Winterbell of the Winterbell Ducal Family has returned!”
At someone’s shout, people began to gather.
“Ran.”
At the familiar voice, I turned my head.
The eldest son, Ryan Winterbell, stood there.
“Brother.”
I bowed my head in greeting.
Ryan Winterbell’s expression was as stern as ever, but there was a trace of relief in his eyes.
“You’ve returned safely. I imagine you have much to report.”
“Yes. There is an important matter.”
“Is that so? What is it?”
Without changing my expression, I asked,
“Brother. Have you ever heard the name Pandemonium?”
Ryan Winterbell’s eyebrows rose slightly. He was silent for a moment before speaking.
“…I have heard of it.”
I followed him into the castle. Upon arriving at the office, he firmly shut the door.
“Do you know anything about them?”
Ryan Winterbell nodded.
“Come to my office tonight. I will tell you the details then.”
“Understood.”
With that, Ryan Winterbell left.
I had asked the question to test him, yet it was I who was taken aback by his unexpectedly candid response.
‘There is a spy within the Winterbell Family.’
Even this alone meant that this subjugation had yielded results.
I headed toward the Annex with the Harlan Mercenaries. Worn down in both body and mind from the long journey, I ordered them to rest thoroughly for the time being.
Of course, I did not forget to provide unlimited alcohol and food. It would not erase all their fatigue, but the detailed commendations would have to wait until after I had spoken with Father.
‘I should wash up first.’
As I immersed myself in the warm water, it felt as though all my fatigue melted away. After finishing my bath and stepping into the bedroom, someone knocked on the door.
Knock, knock.
“Young Master. Butler Turk has come to see you.”