Dwayne and his seniors headed straight to the village chief of Dobina to report the incident.
Out of the six men who had attacked Ian, five were knocked unconscious, covered in blood, and one had his wrist cut off after drawing his sword.
Afterward, Ian had demanded twenty soldiers.
“Why does he need soldiers?”
“We asked him, but he didn’t give us a reason. We don’t know either.”
‘The young lord, suddenly?’
They had never heard of him planning to visit this territory.
‘But that troublemaker young lord wouldn’t come here for official business.’
The young lord, who neglected his duties and only cared about having fun, was known for his violent temper.
In fact, he had even lost his position as heir to his younger brother because of it.
That was the reputation he had among the villagers.
‘Then why on earth is that troublemaker young lord here?’
No matter how much he thought about it, it didn’t make sense.
This was a small village with nothing to offer for someone like the infamous young lord.
‘Whatever the case, it seems the other side drew their swords first….’
An investigation seemed necessary.
“Tell the young lord that we’ll send ten soldiers.”
“Huh? But the young lord said…”
“We can’t move soldiers without a proper reason.”
So, ten soldiers were the compromise.
He had cut the requested number in half.
“…So, I’ve brought ten soldiers.”
Ian, with his arms crossed, looked at the soldiers lined up behind Dwayne.
‘More than I expected?’
There was a very low chance, but sometimes they would refuse to send soldiers, using the excuse that they couldn’t mobilize the village guards without a good reason.
‘This is more than I expected, so it’s actually a good thing.’
Nodding slightly, Ian gave orders to the soldiers.
“Three of you, bind these men and take them away. Two of you, take the one without a wrist to get treated. Keep a close eye on him so he doesn’t escape. Once he’s treated, throw him straight into the dungeon.”
“Yes, sir.”
‘Look at how quiet they are.’
They would follow orders, but it was clear they weren’t happy about it.
It was because of their low loyalty.
‘Bastards. I’ll deal with raising your loyalty later.’
Though it bothered him, there was nothing he could do about it now.
Ignoring it for the time being, Ian turned to the remaining soldiers.
“The rest of you, follow me. We’ve got somewhere to go.”
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see when we get there. It’s not a difficult task. Just some cleanup.”
‘Cleanup?’
‘What kind of cleanup?’
Naturally, the soldiers thought the worst.
‘Is he calling us to drown someone?’
They tried to deny it inwardly, thinking it couldn’t be true.
‘But if it’s the infamous young lord, he might just do that and more.’
Unaware of the soldiers’ unease, Ian was about to move when a mother and daughter approached him.
They looked hesitant, as if they had something to say.
The chaotic events had made it difficult for them to find the right moment to express their gratitude.
They bowed their heads.
“Thank you.”
“What are you thanking me for? I came here because I had business with you in the first place.”
“Business?”
“I’ll be back before evening, so wait for me.”
The mother and daughter, not understanding what Ian meant by “business,” continued to bow and express their gratitude.
They figured they’d understand once he returned.
[Sera’s loyalty has increased by 5.]
[Rimil’s loyalty has increased by 5.]
Ian, who had taken the five soldiers somewhere, unfolded a map of the village and pointed to a specific spot with his finger.
“What you need to do is simple. Seal off this building tightly.”
“Huh?”
“There’s a loan shark operation exploiting the villagers. You all know about it, right?”
“Yes.”
“Who wouldn’t know about that?”
Ian wasn’t really asking if they knew.
It was just a way to start the conversation.
They were infamous in the village.
They didn’t just target villagers but also adventurers visiting the town, lending them money at exorbitant interest rates and squeezing them dry.
Over time, their behaviour had become increasingly outrageous.
Rumors had even started spreading that they were selling debtors who couldn’t repay their loans into slavery.
Given the situation, even the lord had taken an interest in the matter.
Ian was aware of this as well.
And.
“Their main base is right here.”
“…What?”
The soldiers’ expressions varied.
Some looked skeptical, while others were shocked.
It was understandable, as despite their heinous crimes, they had never been caught.
Every time they were pursued, they destroyed evidence and slipped away.
Even when their suspected base was raided, they were already gone.
“I have a question.”
Dwayne, who had followed them, raised his hand.
“What is it?”
“How did you find out? Even the village chief has been chasing them for months without success.”
‘I’d like to say I saw it on a live stream, but…’
Honestly, they wouldn’t understand even if he told them.
“That’s… classified.”
So, he had no choice but to brush it off.
Ian was confident they wouldn’t press further if he said that.
And he was right.
‘Classified?’
‘Did he work with them and then have a falling out, so now he’s trying to silence them?’
‘No way, he’s the lord’s son. He wouldn’t do that.’
But their thoughts took a slightly different turn.
‘If it’s the infamous young lord, he might just do that and more.’
‘He really might…’
The soldiers decided to convince themselves in their own way.
“If this goes well, I’ll make sure to mention your contributions to my father.”
“Yes, sir!”
Their expressions and voices had changed from before.
It was more accurate to say they were tense.
They were thinking that one wrong move could land them in the same situation.
‘Hmm, they seem motivated by the prospect of earning merit.’
And so, their thoughts ran on parallel lines.
“So, after sealing the doors, what do we do? Do we storm in when you give the signal?”
“No, that’s it.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll handle the rest. You just make sure no one escapes. Two of you guard the front, and two guard the back. Not a single one gets away. Understood?”
“Understood.”
Ian pointed to each of the four soldiers, assigning them their positions.
That left one person—Dwayne.
“And Dwayne.”
“Yes, young lord.”
“I have a separate task for you.”
He then whispered instructions into Dwayne’s ear.
“…Got it?”
“Yes!”
“Then go.”
Dwayne, following his orders, dashed off somewhere.
“Alright, everyone, to your positions!”
The operation had begun.
A shabby tavern in the alley.
About twenty huge, rough-looking men had gathered in the tavern even though the sun hadn’t set yet.
And shortly after.
Bang!
A figure violently kicked open the door and entered.
It was Ian.
All eyes turned to him.
“Quite a crowd for a tavern in a shady alley.”
A bald man with a scar on his head approached him.
His menacing appearance was enough to make anyone instinctively avoid him.
“Who are you?”
“I don’t deal with lackeys. Call the boss.”
“I’m the owner of this tavern.”
“Not a frontman like you. The real boss, the one who lends money.”
“….”
“….”
The moment he finished speaking, an eerie silence filled the room.
The bald man, who had been planning to casually shoo Ian away, no longer hid his expression.
“How did you find this place?”
“There are ways to know everything. Like the fact that you’re actually a gang.”
The gazes of the men drinking at the tables grew sharper, and they began to rise from their seats one by one.
Shhk—
They pulled out daggers from their coats.
[Hidden Quest ‘The Darkness of Schrantz’ has been triggered.]
<The Darkness of Schrantz>
Objective: Defeat the gang (0/1)
―Eliminate the gang exploiting the villagers in the territory of Count Schrantz.
Reward: Loyalty of villagers in Schrantz territory +10, experience points based on contribution.
A quest that only triggers under specific conditions.
‘Originally, I’d have to track down their traces and all that.’
But Ian already knew the exact location of their hideout.
There was no need to search around—he could just head straight there.
Thanks to that, he could skip all the intermediate steps and trigger the hidden quest directly.
The bald man shouted.
“Boys, we’ve got a lot to ask this brat who hasn’t even dried the milk from his lips, so try not to kill him!”
With his shout, the gang members rushed at Ian all at once.
“You started this, right?”
As the men charged at him with all sorts of weapons, Ian drew his sword.
Slash!
Without hesitation, Ian swung his sword, and the arm of the first man to charge at him flew off.
The next one had his leg cut, and the one after that lost his head.
“…?!”
The head rolled across the wooden floor.
In an instant, three men were down, and the gang members who had been relying on their numbers hesitated.
“W-what the hell? Why is he so strong?”
Seeing a teenager who looked to be in his late teens wield a sword like that, they grew tense.
They realized their opponent was far stronger than they were.
“If you’re not coming, I’ll come to you.”
As the men froze in place, Ian charged at them this time.
“Damn it!”
“We outnumber him! What kind of disgrace is it to lose to some brat who still smells like milk!”
The men, mustering their courage again, tried to use their numerical advantage, but Ian didn’t give them any room, cutting them down in an instant.
When they got too close for him to use his sword effectively, he used his fists or legs to push or knock them down.
Crunch!
“Aaaah!”
In the process, some of them had limbs twisted in grotesque ways.
Men lay on the floor, screaming in pain.
In no time, pools of blood formed around them.
The scene was nothing short of hellish.
Ian paid no attention to those who were incapacitated and turned his gaze forward.
The remaining men were hesitating, stepping back.
The initial momentum they had shown was completely gone.
“Thirteen left now?”
Seven men had been taken down in an instant.
And yet, not a single one had even grazed Ian’s clothes.
“M-monster!”
[Enemy morale has significantly decreased! The enemies are panicking! Some are attempting to flee.]
“R-run away!”
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Some of the men, realizing they were no match, tried to escape through the entrance.
“T-the door’s blocked?!”
No matter how hard they pushed, the door didn’t budge.
This was why Ian had made such a noisy entrance, breaking the tavern door.
While the soldiers were blocking the exits, he had kept their attention on him.
“Unfortunately, I don’t enjoy playing tag. I really hate tedious things.”
His grip on the sword tightened.
“If you’re not coming to me.”
Squelch—! Squelch—!
Stepping through the pools of blood, Ian’s approach was the embodiment of terror for the gang members.
“I’ll come to you myself.”
The grim reaper, guiding them to their deaths, charged at them.
Leave a Reply