Chapter 23.2: ๐๐ง๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ, ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ญ, ๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฒ, ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฏ๐ (๐)
Chapter 23.2: ๐๐ง๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ, ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ญ, ๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฒ, ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฏ๐ (๐)
Johan ran like hell.
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The notion that big, muscular people are slow was a prejudice. Johanโs sprint was fast enough to catch up with the horses.
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But Johan realized,
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โ๐๐ตโ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ.โ
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He could see silhouettes darting through the night, recognizing them as thieves by the sound of horse hooves.
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His muscles reached their limit from the sprint. Humans couldnโt win a long-distance race against horses. They were already far ahead.
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โ๐ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ค๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ.โ
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He might have caught them if he had realized sooner that Burren wasnโt alone and dashed out immediately. But now it was too late. . .
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โNo, this was unavoidable.โ
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Despite feeling ridiculous, Johan controlled his emotions. It was like an unavoidable accident. How could he have foreseen one of the town folks stealing his horse? Itโs not like he could sleep hugging his horse.
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โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ. . .!โ
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Johan, seizing his mace, threw it with all his might, half relying on luck in the darkness. He couldnโt catch them all, but hoped to catch at least one.
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To show them hell.
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๐๐ก๐ฎ๐!
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A heavy sound, followed by a thump, indicated someone had fallen.
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โ๐๐ช๐ฅ ๐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ต ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ?!โ
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Johan was surprised. To hit at this distance. . .
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But the horses didnโt stop or change direction. They kept running rhythmically.
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โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ธ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ง๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ. . . ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ฏ. ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ข๐ณ๐บ.โ
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Approaching, Johan kicked the groaning figure. The torchlight revealed Praโs face, unknown to Johan.
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โ. . .Slipped away.โ
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The fact that he missed the ringleader infuriated Johan the most.
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๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
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โHeโs coming! Theyโre coming!โ
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โThat crazy b*stard!!โ
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Gamson realized that saliva was drooling from his mouth. He was so scared that he couldnโt close his mouth.
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They ran without turning on the lights, but Johan was running towards them with a torch. It was really scary for them. How could a human run that distance so quickly?
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๐๐ก๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฉ!
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โ???โ
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Gamson turned his head. He saw Pra screaming and falling from behind.
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โ๐๐ช๐ต ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ?!โ
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โShit. . . Run! Run, you stupid horse!โ
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โWhatโs going on?! What happened?!โ
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โAss*ole! The knight dastard is chasing us! Run! If we get caught, weโre all dead!โ
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Pell realized that his friend had fallen, but now there was nothing he could do. Turning the horse around now would mean death.
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โPra. . .! Pra! Iโll come back to save you later!โ
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โShut up and look ahead!โ
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A mercenary and a villager thus successfully escaped the town.
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๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
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The turmoil ended and dawn arrived.
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The atmosphere of the town was gloomy as if something was weighing it down.
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The village chief, Atanka, was holding his head.
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โThese b*stards worse than goblins. . .!โ
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They should have been punished when they bragged about their well-off homes. They were spared when they caused minor troubles, but now theyโve caused a major incident.
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The influential villagers in the town gathered at the village chiefโs house. News spread fast in such a town. They all had different expressions on their faces.
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โVillage chief, we heard that the mercenaries caused trouble. Is that true?โ
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โHow dare they cause trouble in our town. Shouldnโt we call the local militia?โ
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โWho got hurt?โ
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โBurren and Pra are half-dead. The mercenaries have captured them.โ
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โWhat? The mercenaries dare. . . Call the young men of the town right away to take care of this. . .โ
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โShut up!!โ
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Atanka shouted, punching the floor. The villagers were startled by the unusual behavior of the village chief.
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โAm I the only one understanding the situation here? These assholes. . .โ
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โIsnโt that too harsh, village chief? Are you siding with the merchant you brought in. . .โ
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โYou. Try handling this yourself! You seem to be defending your kid whoโs causing trouble. Do you think this is a usual situation? The opponent is a real knight! And that merchant is from the Katana Merchant Guild! Do you think this is a matter to be solved with threats?โ
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โBut theyโre less than ten. . .โ
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โThose less than ten are people who kill for a living. Local militia? Just some guys whoโve swung sticks a few times. . . Have they even properly dealt with a goblin?โ
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โThatโs too harsh! Weโve faced mercenaries several times!โ
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โThatโs when the mercenaries are at a disadvantage! We have dozens of men, so they didnโt want to shed blood rashly. What do you think will happen if we really fight? Even if we catch all of those guys, half of us will die and the rest will flee. And mercenaries are not the issue. If it was just mercenaries, we could have ended this by persuasion or threat. The problem is that thereโs a real knight among them. Donโt you really understand what it means to be up against a noble?!โ
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At the words of the village chief, the townspeople murmured. The name โnobleโ instilled fear in them. However, the gruff owner of the mill, Burrenโs father, spoke up.
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โSo what if itโs a wandering knight? Thereโs no need to be so scared of a wandering knight dastard, right? No matter how strong he is, we have numbers. Just scare him off and then talk things over when the manager comes. Iโll lead the talk. . .โ
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Atanka inhaled sharply, his face red with anger. He refrained from slapping the man right then, only because Atanka had aged. Had he been younger, he would have done it immediately.
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โHow are you going to talk properly?โ
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โSay that the wandering knight dastard came and caused trouble. . .โ
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โWhat if the knight tells the manager?โ
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โThe manager is friendly with us; surely heโll believe our word, wonโt he?โ
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โYou mean to say the manager will take our word over that of a noble-born knight dastard. . .?โ
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The village chief spoke sarcastically, and the townspeople began to grasp the situation.
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No matter how they thought about it, something was off.
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โAlright, letโs say he listens to us. And then the knight dastard goes back to his family and tells them about this, and they tell the Count. Do you think the manager will still take our side then?โ