In the front, the knights were slaughtering the bandits.
It was less a battle and more a massacre.
Our side was fighting as well.
Winged Sword mercenaries worked in tight groups, cutting down enemies together. The Vipers appeared and disappeared like ghosts, ambushing bandits from the shadows and slicing their throats before vanishing again.
The Bull Charge mercenaries lived up to their name. They rushed forward with brute strength, crushing anyone who stood in their path.
And then there was me.
Three bandits surrounded me.
One was on horseback with a sword, while the other two stood on either side with spears. They tried to stab from both sides, hoping to force me off Rusty while the swordsman finished me.
I had to focus on all three at once.
The bandit on my right thrust his spear.
I leaned back slightly while still seated on Rusty. Their coordination wasn't perfect.
At the same moment, the swordsman swung his blade.
The two attacks collided awkwardly.
That was the opening I needed.
I immediately thrust my spear forward and stabbed the bandit on the right through the chest.
At the same time, I swung the back end of my spear toward the bandit on the left, aiming for his head.
He bent down to dodge, but the man I had stabbed loosened his grip on his spear.
I grabbed the weapon and drove my own spear forward again, striking the swordsman directly in front of me.
The left bandit tried to stab upward toward my body.
But now I had two weapons.
I caught his spear using the shaft of the one I had taken and forced it aside in a semicircle.
Then I swung the axe blade attached to my spear.
The strike shattered his spear and cut across his torso.
He collapsed to the ground, cursing in pain.
The fight continued around us.
Small injuries were beginning to pile up—mostly scratches and shallow cuts.
Nothing serious yet.
It seemed the knights had already finished their fight in the front and were beginning to move back toward us.
Eventually the battle ended.
Ron managed to capture one bandit alive.
As before, he tried to question him for information.
But before the prisoner could speak, one of the knights rode forward and cut off the man's head with a single swing.
"I killed him!" the knight shouted proudly.
The anger in Ron's eyes was impossible to miss.
Even the other mercenaries looked irritated.
"Good work, mercenaries," one of the knights said casually.
Most of us exchanged silent looks.
Everyone clearly thought the same thing.
Idiots.
They ordered the caravan to start moving again.
But Rany suddenly shouted from behind.
"Oi! Are you blind or what?"
He pointed toward the merchants.
They were terrified.
Some were shaking, others staring at the bodies scattered across the road.
"Let them rest first!" he said angrily. "We also need to treat the wounded."
The knight commander frowned.
"We need to reach the next town quickly."
"If we arrive early without people alive, what's the point?" Rany shot back.
After a short argument, the knights finally agreed to rest for a while.
Paul the healer began treating wounds.
As I sat on Rusty, my hands started shaking again.
Killing monsters was one thing.
Killing humans was different.
I avoided looking at the battlefield.
Even in the darkness, I could see pieces of flesh and broken bodies scattered across the ground.
I closed my eyes and leaned forward against Rusty's neck, trying to rest.
About an hour passed.
The wounded were treated, and the bodies were gathered together.
Mari used her magic to burn them.
Soon we were preparing to move again.
Khaun walked over and shook my shoulder.
"Wake up."
I activated my sensory field again.
Almost immediately, I felt something.
People.
Many of them.
Approaching from a distance.
And the number kept increasing.
It wasn't just me who noticed.
The knights sensed it.
Niles did too.
"They're surrounding us!" someone shouted.
Bandits were approaching from all sides at high speed.
We were completely encircled.
This time, the knights didn't rush forward.
They stayed near the caravan.
Moments later, the bandits appeared.
Horses.
Swords.
Spears.
Bows.
Dozens… then hundreds.
We were surrounded.
One man stepped forward from their ranks.
He wore dark armor and carried a heavy halberd resting across his shoulder. Slowly, he removed his helmet and looked at the caravan with calm, cold eyes.
"We are only at war with the knights and the merchants," he shouted.
"If the mercenaries step away now, we will spare your lives."
No one moved.
The man smirked.
"Good," he said. "Even if you begged, I would still kill you."
Before anyone else could react, a knight suddenly spurred his horse forward.
Suddenly, one of the knights spurred his horse forward.
He raised his spear and roared loudly,
"I am Ranul of House Raonelet! Remember the name of the one who will kill you!"
He charged straight toward the bandit.
The bandit didn't even move from his spot.
When the knight finally reached him and thrust his spear—
The halberd flashed once.
Just once.
In the next instant, Ranul's body split apart, falling from the saddle in two pieces.
Blood sprayed across the ground.
The battlefield fell silent for a heartbeat.
Behind me, Rany cursed under his breath.
And at that moment, a cold sense of death crept down my spine.
This enemy…
was on a completely different level.