Chapter 12: ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ (๐๐)
Chapter 12: ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ (๐๐)
The mercenaries, after killing the servant who had accompanied Mrs. Aitz, took their positions near the door and windows. The nobles inside the feudal lordโs mansion were poorly trained, likely to foolishly rush out.
โWhy arenโt they coming out yet?โ
โCould there be an underground passage?โ
โStop talking nonsense. We already checked, thereโs nothing like that.โ
โShould we go in before the main force arrives and finish this?โ
The earlier trumpet signal was meant for the mercenaries camping at a distance. Karamaf preferred certainty. He had prepared dozens of men separately, just in case.
These men would completely seize control of the fiefdom and become the pursuit team if any situation arose.
โHey. Sir Karamaf ordered us to surround them and prevent their escape.โ
โWho said weโre not surrounding them? Letโs just go in and kill a couple. Itโs better than waiting for those inside to arm themselves and come to their senses.โ
This suggestion from one of the mercenaries intrigued the others. They had already been paid, but killing more of the Aitz family would earn them a bonus.
If they went in before the main force arrived, they could monopolize the reward, instead of sharing it with the others.
The mercenaries sought permission from Yein, Karamafโs offspring.
โYein-nim, may we go in?โ
โWouldnโt it be better to enter with the main force? If we go in with a small group and get ambushed, it would be troublesome.โ
โHa, donโt worry! If we get beaten by those nobodies, Iโll cut off my own wrist.โ
The mercenaries boasted confidently. They were battle-hardened, unlikely to be defeated by those who were hardly knights of the Aitz family.
โ๐๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐๐ช๐ต๐ป ๐ช๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ.โ
Yein frowned, thinking of Johan. Even without experience, his innate strength and size were formidable weapons. The mercenaries could be caught off guard.
However, as the mercenaries suggested, killing the family members before they could arm themselves seemed like a good idea. If they started arming themselves with the armory inside, the casualties would only increase.
After all, the death of one or two mercenaries wouldnโt change the situation. Dozens more were on their way.
To Yein, the lives of these mercenaries were as insignificant as those of the feudal lordโs servants. That was the way of the nobility. These werenโt soldiers he had personally raised but hired with money. Whether they succeeded quickly or died trying, it didnโt matter. Thatโs what they were paid for.
Yein nodded.
โThree. I permit only three. The rest must hold their positions.โ
โThank you!โ
The mercenaries excitedly decided who would go. For the three chosen, additional silver was almost guaranteed.
๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
โ๐๐ง ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ง๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ง ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ถ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ, ๐โ๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ข ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ. .โ
Johan sighed and closed the wooden window. Gessen didnโt come in but kept talking outside, so curious, Johan secretly went upstairs and slightly opened the window, only to find the worst situation unfolding.
Sir Karamaf killed Gessen and Mrs. Aitz, then ordered to kill everyone. The reason behind this was unknown, but one thing was certain.
If you stay still, you die!
โ๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ต ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ง ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ง๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ณ.โ Johan shook his head and let go of his regrets, focusing on the current situation.
After blowing the horn, torches flickered in the distance from the darkness. It was clear that the others waiting in ambush were approaching. At a glance, there seemed to be dozens of them.
At that moment, Johan gave up on fighting here. Meeting Kaegal had boosted his confidence, but he wasnโt up to fighting dozens of experienced mercenaries alone. That would be foolhardy.
โ๐๐ง ๐ ๐ง๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ ๐ฎ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ข ๐ง๐ฆ๐ธ, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ช๐ง ๐ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฃ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ด๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐โ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ป๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ. . .โ
Johan remembered Kaegalโs teachings. Fleeing when you canโt win wasnโt shameful.
The problem was how and where to escape.
The mercenaries looked relaxed but were strategically positioned around the feudal lordโs manor, their grip on their weapons showing no complacency.
โI have to break through after all.โ
Avoiding a fight wasnโt an option. Johan needed to find a relatively weaker one, kill them in one strike, and break through. He quickly formed a plan in his mind.
โS-Donโt come here!โ
โOh dear. My lord. Your legs are shaking.โ
โCan you even swing a sword properly like that? Put some strength into it and swing. alright?โ
The mercenaries laughed mockingly at Fern and John. The half-brothers, too, had awoken to the commotion outside. Unlike Johan, they foolishly rushed towards the stairs and encountered the mercenaries.
๐๐ถ๐ฉ? ๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐จ๐ถ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ด๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ?โ
Maybe they got bored of waiting? That was possible. Johan walked through the corridor towards the stairs.
๐๐ก๐ฎ๐โ
Fern and John collapsed, their legs giving out. A foul smell wafted as their pants got soaked, possibly with urine. The mercenaries climbing the stairs laughed at them, wielding their weapons. For them, nothing was more enjoyable than killing arrogant nobles.
โNoble sir, beg for your life. Maybe Iโll spare you.โ
โPlease. . . I have hidden money! Iโll give it to you if you spare me!โ
โOh? Where is it?โ
The mercenary seemed intrigued. Hidden noble silver could be worth a lot.
โItโs. . .โ
Fern rolled his eyes. Even without experience, he wasnโt a fool. Revealing the location without any promise was idiotic.
โSmart kid.โ
โAaaah!โ
With a โthudโ, blood splattered from Fernโs leg. The mercenary had stabbed him with the tip of his weapon.
โEnough, kid. Even if you donโt tell us, we can find it. Do you think we havenโt robbed noblesโ houses before? Itโs probably hidden behind a wall or under a bed.โ
The mercenary kicked Fern. Fern crawled, trying to escape. The mercenary followed Fern with his eyes and then noticed someone standing in the corridor.
โHuh?โ
One strike.
It took only one slash to sever the mercenaryโs neck.
Swoosh!
Johanโs monstrous strength instantly decapitated an unsuspecting mercenary. A fountain of blood sprayed, drenching Fernโs face.
โWha, what? What?โ
A mercenary behind him swung his sword in panic. It wasnโt a thoughtful action, but one borne of experience.
Johan charged fiercely. Before the mercenary could fully swing, his sword was struck out of the air.
๐๐ซ๐๐๐คโ
The impact twisted the mercenaryโs arm backwards, exposing his torso.
And then, a deadly strike to the exposed torso.
The mercenary who was attacked was the most experienced and well-armored mercenary among the mercenaries who followed Karamaf. He wore a full chainmail and even added a separate metal plate on top of it for a mercenary.
However, against Johanโs strength, it was meaningless.
From the shoulder to the side, the body was nearly split in half, spewing blood and entrails. The mercenary died without a sound. The last remaining mercenary panicked and tried to call for help outside.
โDamn it! Thereโs a monster here. . .โ
Once Johan saw blood, he didnโt stop. His longsword gleamed as it pierced the mercenaryโs neck. The mercenary gasped for air and then knelt.
โ๐๐ฏ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ?โ
Johan looked at his old longsword, now filthy with blood and entrails, worrying more about its durability than the dirt. He felt he had used too much strength in his last swing.
โ๐๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต, ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ตโ๐ด ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐จ๐ถ๐บโ๐ด ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฏ.โ
โYou. . . You. . . You. . .!โ
John and Fern pointed at Johan, speechless from shock at what had just happened.
โYou killed Sir Karamafโs men. How will you handle the aftermath?!โ
โ. . .Youโre talking nonsense at a time like this? Idiots. Look outside. Karamaf has unleashed mercenaries to kill us.โ
Only then did they come to their senses.
โWhereโs your brother?โ
โWaiting in the bedroom. . . But why did you save us?โ
Fern asked, puzzled. They never thought Johan would save them. They always mocked Johan, and he beat them when the time came.
โSo you wished to be left to die?โ
โNo. . . itโs not that. . .โ
โI donโt like you, but I donโt hate you enough to leave you to die. Thatโs all.โ
โ. . .Thank you.โ
Fern and Johm nodded in gratitude. Seeing Johan fully armed, they said,
โWeโll bring weapons too! Letโs fight together until father arrives!โ
โSir Gessen is dead. Karamaf killed him. By now, every armed man near the lordโs manor is probably dead, and no serfs will come to our aid. Stop talking nonsense and think about escaping.โ
Johanโs words froze them. They were overwhelmed by the flood of information.
โFather is. . .โ
๐๐ฅ๐๐ฉ!
Johan slapped Fern. Fern, stunned, asked,
โWha. . .?โ
โSnap out of it.โ
โYou. . . You could have just said it, no need to hit!โ
โI donโt have time to coddle you. Iโm planning to break out now.โ
โWait! Me too!โ
โNo, it canโt be. John.โ
As Fern tried to stop him, John looked at him as if asking why.
โWe. . . itโs too much for us.โ
โOh, because you got stabbed in the leg? Donโt worry! Iโll carry you and run. . .โ
โYou fool. Itโs too much for your skills.โ
Johan scolded John. It was literal. How could he think of breaking through with skills that couldnโt even handle a single mercenary? John couldnโt retort and just blushed.
โBut brother, if we keep staying here, really. . .โ
โThatโs true. . .โ
Fern licked his dry lips with his tongue, unsure of what to do. Johan picked up a longsword from the mercenaries and said.
โThere is one way.โ
โWhat, what is it?โ
โSet a fire.โ
โ. . .!!โ
๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
The mercenaries initially thought they were seeing things wrong. Flames began to burst from the windows of the feudal lordโs residence.
โT-This is crazy. . .!โ
โWhich b*stard set the fire?! Are they insane?!โ
Karamaf had strictly forbidden setting fires for the purpose of identification. Moreover, there were things to loot inside, so no mercenary would be foolish enough to start a fire.
โItโs definitely the guys who went in! These idiots must have messed up something and started the fire during the fight!โ
โThese b*stards. . . if they come out, Iโll kill them!โ
The mercenaries cursed their colleagues who had entered first. They never imagined that the Aitz family would set the fire. What kind of madmen would set fire to their own location?