Chapter 89: All villains are the same

An arrow penetrated Hogg’s thigh as he let out a scream.

“Argh! Bastards!”

Hogg screamed as he fell on the ground. He was done.

“All enemies are down. Take off your night-vision goggles and light up the torches.”

Howen ordered through the walkie-talkie and fires lit up around the camp. The bonfire was started and the camp was now lit with torches. The mercenaries were on the ground, mostly grabbing at their wounds.

“Tie them up and tend to their wounds.”

The Ainos warriors took their weapons and began tying them up with rope. They then pulled out the arrows and patched up the wounds with medical herbs. Villagers began gathering around the campsite to watch what was going on.

“Hey, aren’t those the Berdocs?”

“Did they just attack the campsite?”

“Gods. It’s the Donians! It must be!”

“Hey, be quiet. Someone might hear.”

“What were they thinking?”

“Quiet!”

A man who was watching, signaled the onlookers to be quiet as they all turned to someone who appeared.

“K-knight!”

“It’s the Knight of the Daehan Empire!”

Everyone fell silent as Joonbum walked out in his full suit of armor.

‘They are scared just by my appearance.’

Villagers seemed to revere knights, but they also feared them.

“Hey, you.”

“Oh, S-sir Knight! I’m here!”

A man in ragged clothes ran towards Joonbum and bowed. He knelt on the ground where it was dirty with mud and feces but he did not hesitate. They did not dare to oppose knights.

“Bring Hectos and Jackson from the Guards. Go tell them there was an attempt to assassinate the Countess of Daehan Empire and her son.”

“Understood!”

The man disappeared quickly into the darkness. Everyone bowed their heads at Joonbum’s presence. There were some who grew pale and ran away. Joonbum watched them for a moment and turned back.

“It’s going to be a bloodbath!”

“What? What do you mean?”

“You dumb retard! Didn’t you hear him say it was an assassination?”

“OH!”

“This will not end well! An assassination attempt on a visiting noble! I wonder what the lord will say to this…! And did you see those men who ran away?”

“Men? From Donian?”

“Yeah. They’re in trouble now.”

The villagers were in shock. Joonbum returned to the camp and let out a sigh.

‘These people are so dumb.’

The intelligence of common villagers was very low. They were illiterate, but they were also lacking in general knowledge. The lack of available education made even the smartest commoners limited in knowledge and it allowed the nobles to easily reign above them. That was the reason why this foolish attack was attempted.

‘I’ll use this chance to make Donian pay back what they robbed from the Ainos.’

It was the reason why Joonbum specifically mentioned the word ‘assassination.’ With that, the incident had grown to a much bigger scale.

“Whew.”

Joonbum took out a thick cigar and lit it up on the top of the Marauder. He had to think of what he needed to do next.

‘I will need the lord’s help to make Donian pay… I guess I will have to let him have at least half of it.’

Joonbum grinned. It was so easy for him to gather information from a saloon. He just needed to drink and bribe people with some money and everyone gladly shared information with him. Even the servers happily told him everything they knew when he handed over some coins. Besides, what Joonbum wanted to know wasn’t much of a secret either.

-Our lord borrowed some money to hire those mercenaries to fight off the monsters.-

-Yeah, I heard he’s busy paying interest to those damn Donians.-

-It’s true. I went inside the castle to work last time and there was nothing!-

All of that information was blurted out by the people in the saloon. It was not much news for them either.

‘But it all matters to me.’

Joonbum put out the fire on his cigar and stood up. It was now time to pressure Hectos and Jackson.

*

“Dammit! Dammit! How dare they try to kill the countess! I will kill those retards with my own hands!”

Hectos shouted in anger as he was walking to the Ainos campsite. Jackson, who was walking behind him, was pale from fear.

‘Gods… How can they… No, they are dumb, but not that dumb. Then what? …Potions? Right, it’s the potions! The Donians hired them to steal the potions and they messed it up!’

Jackson realized what had happened. The Berdoc Mercenary Group would not have made a move without Donian backing them.

‘They’ve failed. They did not intend to attack the noble.’

There was no need for them to attack the noble. It was very likely that they were only after the potions.

‘Should I try to explain?’

He thought about persuading the noble that the attack was not meant for them, but it disappeared as he thought about the cold look of the knight he faced. He remembered the chillness he brought upon the moment they did not understand what he wanted.

“Move out of the way!”

The soldiers walking in front ordered the villagers to give way. They arrived at the base camp, where the entrance was blocked by the Ainos. Hectos walked out and shouted to them.

“Where are the assassins that tried to kill the countess — ugh!”

Jackson quickly pulled Hectos by the shoulder before he could finish speaking.

“What! Hey, what are you doing?!”

“Captain! Please!”

Jackson let out a sigh at Hectos, who looked around and moved back.

“Hmmph.”

Hectos backed up and Jackson came to the front.

“I heard there are thieves trying to steal your healing potions.”

“Captain. Lieutenant. Please come in. The countess is distressed by the assassination attempt so we’ll lead you to Sir Joonbum. Those assassins are also inside.”

‘It’s over.’

Jackson realized it was too late to label the attackers as robbers.

“Ugh! J-jackson! Lieutenant! Help me!”

“Captain! It’s me! Save me!”

“Who?”

“Captain! You know me! Come on!”

“I don’t know who you are. Why would I know a criminal dog like you? Don’t use my name for your own sake!”

Some mercenaries shouted to Hectos and Jackson as they walked past.

“We were ambushed! These Ainos dogs were waiting for us! Please! For old time’s sake!”

“I don’t know any of you, so don’t ask me. Pay the price!”

Jackson sighed at the sad sight of the mercenaries. He turned his eyes away from them and asked the Ainos who was walking in front.

“So what were the casualties…?”

“There’s none. No severe wounds either. Oh, and none are dead. I never expected to be attacked in the middle of the night but we managed to stop them with a few arrows to their arms or legs. But they’re all healed now. Nobody will die. We can use the potions if something really goes bad.”

Jackson frowned. The Ainos warrior was saying the impossible in such a casual manner.

‘So, they captured all of the attackers without hurting them in this darkness?’

It seemed unreal. At that moment, Hectos flinched and bowed his head and Jackson followed. The chair beside a large bonfire was occupied by a figure they knew. The huge chair, almost like a throne, was covered in thick hide. Joonbum was on the chair, holding onto a sword in his hand.

“There has been an assassination attempt on me and my mother.”

Jackson knelt onto the ground at the low voice. He wanted to object, but he did not dare to open his mouth. Joonbum rose from his seat and walked in the front of Jackson.

“I need to know who’s behind it. If you find out, I will reward you. But if you don’t, then I will have both of your heads instead. I believe you know what you must do.”

“Y-Yes, milord! I will find out!” Jackson replied. His face was pale and he was drenched in sweat.

“You are dismissed. You are free to question any of the attackers if you need. Bring me the information by sunrise.”

“Yes, milord!”

Both men stood up and disappeared. Joonbum who watched them disappear, let out a big sigh.

“Ugh. It’s so hard to act like a noble.”

“Is it? I guess it does look hard. Here, have a drink.”

Mayze came over with a cold beer. Joonbum suddenly felt better from the chill from the can.

“Have this too.”

Mayze also handed him a piece of Bodua jerky. As he chewed on the jerky, he began to feel hungry.

“I want some instant noodles. How about you?”

“Now? It’s late.”

Joonbum stood up.

“Yeah. It’s best when you eat it at night.”

He took out a portable stove and a pot then began preparing. The instant noodles were quickly cooked and Mayze brought him some side dishes.

“Here, have some.”

“No, I’m okay. Don’t mind me.”

Mayze shook her head and Joonbum started eating.

Some Ainos came over from the smell but quietly went away as they saw Mayze glaring at them.