WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle

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◈ The Wandering Knight and the Moving Castle ◈

Chapter 26: Varda (2)

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“I heard bandits have been swarming around the city. Aren’t you worried?”

They had driven back Gord’s threat, but the bandit problem remained.

The city leadership had expected the bandits to fear a subjugation force and scatter once the trial by combat ended.

Instead, more and more men joined them from every direction until their numbers surpassed a hundred.

In the end, the city began organizing a subjugation force. They were recruiting mercenaries and laborers while stockpiling supplies.

“We’re heading in the opposite direction from where they’ve taken over, so we’ll be fine. The bandits will be dealt with soon enough. There are still plenty of knights in the city.”

Bonyard City still had its invited knights. Even after excluding those who had left after the trial by combat, quite a few remained.

That was why people were not overly worried about the bandits. Their real concern lay elsewhere.

“This is truly troubling. Roman’s chaos will throw the whole continent into turmoil. People like us who travel will be the ones to suffer. Why do those highborn people always have to fight so much?”

Nobles everywhere were already fighting over profit and honor, leaving ordinary people caught in the middle. If Roman was dragged into war as well?

Taxes would rise, and deserters, mercenaries turned bandits, and bandit knights would become even more common.

For a strong knight like Eugene, it might be a chance to rise in the world, but a small merchant like Caliber could see nothing but darkness ahead.

“Rest easy for at least today. I’ll keep watch.”

“Ha ha ha! I appreciate the thought, but this place is safe. The city guard is just a stone’s throw away. Who would dare rob us here?”

After Caliber left, Homi removed Eugene’s armor.

She wiped away leaves and windblown dirt, oiled several parts, then covered it with a thin cloth. Weapons and armor needed frequent maintenance while traveling.

“I really hate third watch.”

“How could you dig the pit this close? Do you plan to sleep while smelling it?”

“Good work, Kelly. Drink plenty.”

Mercenaries grumbled about night duty, workers lit bonfires and dug a temporary latrine, and Caliber wiped down the packhorses before letting them drink from the stream.

It was such a peaceful scene that it brought a smile to Eugene’s lips.

After dinner, Eugene lay down in a suitable spot. The autumn night air was chilly, but the Warg pelt kept him warm.

“Hmm-hmm~.”

Homi’s humming drew closer after she returned from washing in the stream. She cared even more about cleanliness than Eugene and never missed a chance to wash.

“Thanks for working so hard on the maintenance.”

When he lifted the pelt slightly, Homi slipped underneath. Her warmth joined his, along with a softness the Warg pelt could not provide.

“It’s definitely much better than most cloaks, right?”

Homi nodded from his arms. Though she was tall, her frame was slender enough for both of them to fit beneath one pelt.

The only problem was that they were both tall, leaving their feet sticking out. The wind slipped between Homi’s damp toes, making them curl and wriggle.

They would sleep like this, but if an intruder approached, they would notice before the mercenaries on watch. The senses of two warriors were as sharp as blades.

* * *

At dawn the next day.

Shake, shake.

Eugene’s eyes snapped open as Homi shook his shoulder.

He checked the sky first. It was still dark, but the damp pre-dawn air told him sunrise was close.

‘An attack?’

She wouldn’t wake him at this hour without good reason. A moment later, his senses picked up a group approaching in silence.

“What is it?”

The mercenary on watch was startled when the sleeping knight suddenly rose and grabbed his sword. He had not noticed anything.

As Homi helped Eugene hurriedly put on his armor, he pointed in one direction.

“We can’t see anything...”

The two watchmen rubbed their eyes, but all they saw was darkness and brush.

“Everyone, get up!”

Eugene shouted regardless.

“Wh-What is it?!”

The snoring mercenaries sprang awake.

“It’s still night. What’s happening?”

“What do you think, damn it? We’re being attacked, you idiots! Grab your weapons!”

The veterans squinted through sleep-heavy eyes and picked up their weapons and shields. Around then, the mercenaries on watch finally spotted the intruders.

“Enemy!”

They had crept forward through the grass with their weapons wrapped in cloaks and clothes.

Once they realized they had been discovered, the enemy abandoned stealth and approached with murderous intent. Torches lit up all around, revealing faces gleaming with greed and bloodlust.

‘More than twenty? They have more than twice our number of fighters.’

Eugene quickly assessed the enemy’s strength.

The servants and mercenaries were tense at being outnumbered, but none looked despairing.

Gulp.

Their eyes turned to Eugene.

“Caliber, stay hidden with the workers.”

“Yes, Sir Knight!”

The strongest knight in the area was with them.

With a heavily armored knight mounted beside them, the mercenaries felt safer than they had in any fight they had faced before.

“I don’t understand. Robbery right beside the city? Do they have two or three lives?”

“They’re men who live only for today. Maybe that’s why they struck where no one would expect it.”

The mercenary captain put on his helmet as he answered Eugene. One mercenary even slapped his cheeks, likely trying to wake himself faster.

When the two sides drew close enough, they could hear the attackers talking. The bandits seemed just as flustered.

“Damn it! There’s a knight!”

“Sh-Shouldn’t we pull back?”

“Less than half of them can fight! Just charge!”

A bolt flew out with a rough shout, but a mercenary’s shield easily blocked it.

Whizz!

“Argh!”

A bolt fired from Eugene’s side, on the other hand, knocked down one of the charging men. He was the one who had just fired the crossbow.

Homi, hidden behind the mercenaries, quickly reloaded and fired a second bolt.

Whizz!

“Ghk!”

Another crossbowman fell. Homi was prioritizing enemies with ranged weapons.

“Group up!”

The enemy slowed to form a shield formation against the unusual firepower. Even that could not keep them safe from Homi’s heavy crossbow.

Thud!

“Argh!”

A bolt pierced a thin shield and went through a man’s hand, making him scream. A mercenary tried to help with an arrow, but its weak draw could not penetrate the shield.

Then the front lines met, and the battle began.

“You bastards! You’re all dead!”

“We’ll strip you clean and kill you once you don’t have a single coin left!”

“You bitch with the crossbow! We’ll make you regret being born!”

The bandits shouted with rage after taking casualties before the fight had even begun.

“That’s what we should be saying.”

With those words, Eugene charged into their midst.

Whoooosh!

Then the slaughter began.

Every swing of the long-handled flail came with a thunderous whistle, bursting bandits’ heads apart. When anyone got too close, his longsword flashed, severing arms and opening throats.

“W-What kind of weapon is that?!”

A bandit covered in pieces of his comrade’s brain screamed.

He had seen guts and blood many times as a raider, but he had never seen what was inside a skull.

Yet every time that knight swung his strange pole weapon, terrible pink fragments scattered everywhere.

Blocking with a shield was useless.

Bang!

The iron club at the end of the chain slithered over the shield like a snake and smashed the defender’s skull from behind.

As crushed and dismembered bodies piled up around them, the bandits’ morale plummeted.

“What are you doing? Time to earn your extra pay!”

“The Victor Knight is with us!”

The mercenaries’ morale, in contrast, soared. They boldly charged enemies who still outnumbered them.

‘We have the advantage now.’

Eugene put away the longsword in his left hand and raised his shield. With the enemy formation broken, there was no need to use two weapons.

They were spread out nicely for him to crack their skulls one at a time with the long-handled flail. There might also still be enemies with ranged weapons.

Peep!

Just as Eugene was about to strike a bandit clashing swords with a mercenary, Homi’s warning sounded in his ear.

A moment later, he sensed a sharp whistle and killing intent. He reflexively raised his shield toward it.

Clang!

The bolt struck the broad iron shield and dropped harmlessly.

“Damn it!”

A bandit holding a crossbow stood in that direction, his face twisted in frustration.

Thwack!

A bolt pierced his left eye, and he collapsed with fluid spilling from the socket.

Homi scanned the enemies with fierce eyes, picking out any marksmen who might threaten her master.

Crash!

A bandit’s shield shattered when it collided with the long-handled flail.

“M-My haaand!”

The bandit wailed as his fingers snapped and flailed in every direction like a swastika.

Crack!

His scream stopped when the long-handled flail flying in from the side crushed his temple.

With things like this, the enemy could not focus on fighting the mercenaries in front of them. They never knew when the club of death would descend from above.

Whoooosh!

“Eek!”

Whenever a roar passed overhead, they instinctively raised their shields and looked up.

Crunch!

Then they found their comrade’s body falling in their place, creating a hellish moment of relief.

Naturally, the mercenaries did not just watch.

“Have you bastards gone mad? Where are you looking in the middle of a fight?!”

“Looks like the elders need to poke your bellies before you come to your senses!”

The mercenaries mercilessly drove spears and swords into the inviting gaps at their sides and stomachs.

“Die! Just die! Wahahaha!”

One mercenary was even laughing as he cut people down. Stabbing the backs and sides of enemies distracted by something else was something mercenaries liked as much as gambling.

“Argh!”

Some enemies fought well, but Homi’s sudden bolts brought them down clutching their thighs.

Eugene rode around the outside, cutting off their escape routes as though driving prey during a hunt.

There was no escaping a mounted knight with a pole weapon. Unable to flee, the bandits were wiped out.

“I-I surrender!”

“Please spare us!”

Two bandits, bathed in their comrades’ blood, threw down their weapons and flattened themselves on the ground. Their hands were clasped as if in prayer, and they trembled violently.

“I won’t let you die easily, you dog bastards! I’ll skin you alive first!”

A mercenary who had once been a hunter glared at them. He had been on second watch before the dawn attack, so he had lost an entire night’s sleep.

Scrape.

The sight of him sharpening the dagger in his hand on a whetstone was horrifying.

‘Why do mercenaries who used to be hunters always want to skin people?’

Eugene found it strange, but he did not bother asking.

Despite their threats to tear the bandits apart, the mercenaries did not actually draw blood. Someone else had to decide what would be done with them.

“What a mess so early in the morning. Is anyone hurt?”

“Just a few scratches. They’ll heal if we spit on them.”

“Your bravery truly is heaven-sent!”

The mercenaries shed their savage expressions from moments ago and answered politely.

“Are there more men like you nearby?”

When Eugene pointed at one bandit and asked, the mercenaries immediately put blades to his throat.

“N-No! It’s only us!”

The answer came at once under their chilling killing intent.

“Why would you try to rob people right in front of the city? I heard the bandit gangs were active elsewhere.”

“W-Well...”

The bandit glanced around. Naturally, the mercenaries had no intention of waiting for him.

“Do you want to die? Hurry up and talk!”

Thud! Thud!

“Urgh!”

The mercenaries knocked the bandit down and stomped on him together, sending dust billowing into the air.

Snort.

Might took a step back, moving Eugene away from the dust. Might was an intelligent Barsian warhorse.

Eugene watched the bandit being thoroughly trampled, then stopped them at the right moment.

“He’ll die at this rate. That’s enough.”

“Yes!”

The mercenaries stopped at once and pulled the bandit back to his feet. The hunter mercenary with the sharp dagger grabbed his wrist.

“Sir Knight! Please allow me to interrogate this one. If I peel the skin off one finger at a time, it won’t endanger his life, and he’ll tell us everything.”

“Oh!”

Eugene’s eyes lit up in a way unbecoming of an honorable knight. The bandits were horrified.

“W-Wait! I’ll tell you everything! Please! Spare me!”

Having suddenly realized how precious his body was, the bandit began babbling eagerly.

“We heard Bonyard City was in chaos, so we thought this was our chance and started raiding. More men like us kept joining, and when the group got bigger, we were happy, thinking we could rob a large village and make a proper fortune...”

He began confidently, but the mercenaries’ expressions grew grim at what he was saying. His voice naturally grew quieter.

“Continue.”

Eugene did not care about the bandit’s circumstances.

“B-But the boss said that if the group got too big, we’d draw attention and get swept away by a subjugation force. He said we should leave now and rob somewhere else instead.”

“Where is this boss?”

The bandit pointed with a trembling finger.

Everyone’s eyes settled on one corpse. Nothing remained above its nose, making it obvious Eugene had done it.

“That was... our boss.”

The bandit remembered his leader’s head exploding. At least he had likely died without pain.

“Why did you attack us?”

“W-Well...”

Perhaps he was afraid to explain why they had attacked the very people they had tried to rob, only to be crushed. Even after being stomped, he hesitated again.

Clink.

Instead of urging him with words, Eugene held the long-handled flail in front of his face.

The iron club was drenched in blood, with chunks of flesh clinging to it. When the bandit saw strands of hair growing from one piece, he wet himself.

Footnotes:

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