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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Teottry
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The bandit boss showed a tense appearance she had never shown before.
The seriousness and solemnity on her face conveyed to me that the current situation was quite difficult. Thinking about it again, wasn’t this a chance given to me? If a battle broke out and things became chaotic, a good opportunity to escape might arise. So…
“Save.”
[Save point setting complete!]
Good. The save was finished. I would watch quietly what happened from now on, and if a gap appeared, I would immediately run!
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“Pilmark, it’s over! The time has finally come to put an end to your evil deeds. You’re like a rat caught in a trap now. Just drop your weapon and surrender quietly.”
Neiva, one of the top elite knights in the Kingdom of Elbator, and her loyal subordinates were setting up camp in front of the bandit hideout entrance.
They were glaring at the hideout entrance with malice. Seeing their state, it seemed they were bound by a considerable bad relationship with the Pilmark Bandit Band.
“If you do not surrender, it is immediate execution for everyone. It does not matter at all whether we take your necks attached or detached, so if you wish to preserve your lives, drop your weapons right now and crawl out!”
Among them, Neiva glared at the entrance with an even more terrifying and murderous expression.
Let’s talk about the bad relationship between her and Pilmark someday.
For now, we had to focus on the fact that Neiva had cornered Pilmark with her excellent plan.
After pinpointing Pilmark’s hideout and waiting until they were careless, she suddenly rushed in the simplest but most difficult plan.
Targeting a moment when Pilmark, known for their sharp instincts and search abilities, let their guard down was no easy task. But because they were somehow weakened, they failed to notice the threat, allowing Neiva to corner them in the current situation.
Targeting a moment of weakness was also a strategy, so there was no part to be criticized.
Where could there be room for criticism in the righteous act of catching a bandit who deceived the world?
‘The day has finally come when I will plunge my sword into that bandit bitch’s heart! The heavens are definitely looking down on me, and the blessing of the Goddess of Battle, Aletta, is clearly surrounding me.’
The lifelong aspiration she had held was soon to be fulfilled.
Those of later generations would remember this day and sing of Neiva’s achievements and Pilmark’s end!
“Captain. Those bitches inside are grabbing weapons and preparing for battle. What should we do?”
“At most, they are about five or six bandits, but as you all have already experienced, those bitches are quite strong. However, not only is our number overwhelmingly large, but our supplies are also sufficient… We will wait here, having set up camp in front. Aim your crossbows and everyone, stand by.”
“Aren’t you going in directly? I, right now, would immediately take the necks of those pieces of trash…!”
“Do not rush. Time is on our side anyway. Furthermore, that is their hideout, so if we recklessly enter, there is a chance we could get caught in traps or similar things. Shake off your impatience, Jane.”
“Ugh… Yes. I am sorry. I was swayed by emotion and almost ruined things.”
“That’s enough. It was not your fault. My body is also itching before the great achievement that awaits us all…”
The two looked at the hideout entrance again.
That gap, which looked more like a small crack than an entrance, had excellent perception-hindering magic cast on it, making it hard to notice easily. But to the knights who had already seen through its essence, perception-hindering magic or anything like it did not work.
“Everyone, pay attention! We will wait here until those bandit bitches walk out of their own accord. Burn Fiery Herb in front of the entrance and push the smoke in.”
Fiery Herb, as it was called, was a flower classified as a poisonous plant due to the severe toxicity held by its flower and stem. The sticky smoke that came out when it was burned also caused immense stinging pain just by touching the skin, and furthermore, entering the nose and eyes gave unimaginably terrible pain.
It was usually used for purposes like torture.
Of course, the Pilmark Bandit Band were likely resistant to most kinds of toxicity, so they wouldn’t particularly suffer pain. But Neiva’s act of burning Fiery Herb was intended to contaminate the food and water supplies they possessed!
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Of course, the one man who was not a member of the Pilmark Bandit Band was exposed entirely to terrible pain.
“Delrin!”
“Keck, Kehek! Kueeek…”
Fuck! I couldn’t breathe!
Pain several times more terrible than chemical warfare gas stained not only my skin, but also every corner of my lungs and the inside of my nostrils.
Gasping for breath while covered in tears, snot, and spit, I struggled while being held in the bandit boss’s arms. What was given to me, as I sought clean oxygen and water to wash myself, was only the bandit boss’s embrace.
“Boss! This isn’t the time to worry about the man, I said! The Fiery Herb smoke has stuck to the food and water, makin’ it all unusable…!”
“Ek! Eheek! Kehuk…”
Yes, a bit! Just let me out! I would really die if this kept up!
“Even the dog hole is blocked, so the only place to escape is the entrance… What should we do?”
“Why don’t we just take that man as a hostage and hold out? Those bastards are knights, so they can’t carelessly lay hands on civilians, can they! What’s more, he’s a noble…!! Let’s just say we’ll kill him immediately if they don’t leave right now!”
“No. There’s no way they’ll give up on us. If we say there’s a hostage, we can hold out for a moment, but eventually gettin’ caught while bein’ in here is only a matter of time.”
The bandit boss held her head for a moment, then finally hardened her resolve.
“Let’s do this. First, we’ll use Delrin as a hostage to break through that encirclement. The moment we arrive at the stream, let’s split up and escape individually. That pretentious, righteous bitch Neiva will rush towards where the hostage is, so I’ll take Delrin and draw attention. Ya guys will escape while shakin’ off the other riff-raff knights.”
“Uhm… But who’s Delrin?”
“I’m talkin’ about this man.”
The female bandits looked at their boss with worried eyes.
“Boss, will ya be fine…? Last time, after ya clashed with that bitch…!”
The boss pressed the eye covered by her eye patch for a moment.
Perhaps there seemed to be some story behind it.
But I didn’t have the leisure to care about that kind of story right then!
“Hek, Heo-uk… Hueuk… Keck, Ke-eek…”
It damn hurt… Just make me faint or something…
“We’ll start right away. Everyone, pack yer weapons, and only bring important things. After hidin’ for about three months and thinkin’ things have quieted down, let’s meet at the [Night Moonlight] pub.”
“Yes, Boss!”
“Boss, please also… stay safe!”
Fuck… Save me…
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Hideout entrance. Both sides, having finished preparations, gathered near the small gap and raised their voices at each other. The one who spoke first was Pilmark.
“Neiva! Ya brought those worms who can’t even properly hold a sword again. The smell of rookies is so strong I can’t bear it!”
Responding to that was Neiva.
“You dirty bandit bastard… I will have to gouge out one more eye to make you come to your senses, wouldn’t I? Since you can’t see anything anyway, there would be no difference even if I gouged out both.”
“Well. Lookin’ the sight of ya bringin’ so many numbers like that, it seems yer quite scared, huh? Ya remember that I said next time we met, I’d stab a dagger into yer pussy, not yer guts! Lookin’ ya in this state of complete preparations, I mean! As expected, since yer a virgin bitch who’s never even put a finger in, yer pussy hole must be precious, huh? Ahahaha!”
“You vulgar bastard. Nonsense…!”
Indeed, it seemed the righteous knight captain couldn’t keep up with the rough bandit boss’s skill at running her mouth.
Neiva’s face flushed bright red, and her subordinates watched her mood.
Neiva, who was about to explode any moment, was enduring while tightly clenching her teeth. Facing her, Pilmark added one more word.
“But, what should we do? In our hideout, it isn’t just us, ya see. There’s also a noble boy we caught to extort a ransom! He seems to be on the verge of faintin’ ’cause of the Fiery Herb ya guys burned. If he was just a commoner, maybe, but he’s a high-rankin’ young master. Is that fine to treat him so roughly like this?”
“What?”
Neiva seemed startled by the word ‘hostage’ for a moment, but soon mocked Pilmark and retorted.
“It is a lie. You foolish bitch. You are Cornered, yet you are truly struggling like crazy. If you had taken a hostage to get a ransom, you would have already gone around and done all sorts of bizarre things to increase the ransom. Now that the bottom of your scheme is visible, your downfall also seems not far off!”
One female bandit countered that mockery.
“The one who lost an eye was our Boss, so why can’t the great Knight Captain see properly? It’s an absurd situation! Here, take a look!”
What nonsense… Were they trying to draw attention and escape?
No. They absolutely couldn’t do that.
Dozens of crossbows were already aimed at the entrance, and if Neiva just flicked a finger, she would turn it into a beehive instantly…
Surely not. I mean, really?
“Huh…”
“Eh…”
“Ugh…?”
“Wa…”
Wait… what?
All the knights who thought something would be shown were momentarily flustered.
Nothing at all came out from inside the hideout. Only the sounds of struggle between the female bandits and Pilmark were heard.
“What was that?”
“Ju-Just a moment, wait!”
“Captain…! I said they absolutely wouldn’t shoot! What’s with this sudden…!”
“No! What if…! What if!”
What were they doing?
“Wa-Wait! We really have a hostage…! What’s more, he’s a young master of a high-rankin’ family from the Holy Kingdom!”
“You are telling me to believe those words? Everyone, prepare to fire!”
According to Neiva’s command, the crossbows were aimed at the entrance. But…
“Keck.. Hueuk… Just a moment! Just a moment…! Just a moment… Cough…”
From inside, a man’s voice was truly heard.
“What was that…?”
“Captain! What should we do?”
“Everyone, do not be deceived! The things those bandit bastards do are always the same! At most, they are trying to extend their lifespan by doing things like voice imitation…”
“Kehok, Keck… Kehek…”
Finally, towards that entrance, a handsome man who was coughing from the Fiery Herb smoke stuck his face out.
“Huh…??”
‘It was real…?’
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