Chapter 123: Thief Group (3)

“My goodness… Is it okay for a noble to sell their honor so cheaply?”

“Like I said before, we’re a family that was barely a baronet until recently. What’s wrong with selling a bit of honor?”

“Haa…”

Despite my seemingly persuasive argument, Jessica just sighed as if I was hopeless.

Before heading to the bandits’ hideout, I removed the reins from Silence and Jessica’s horse that were used to pull the carriage.

Silence and Jessica’s horse weren’t ordinary horses; they were trained in energy manipulation. Even if we encountered patrolling bandits, they could easily fend them off.

Moreover, when I punished Silence for betraying me before, I also taught it how to deal with humans. So it could handle bandits just fine.

“Alright, Hori. We’re heading out, so just get some sleep. If anything happens, Silence will take care of it, so don’t worry.”

“Mmm, okay…”

Hori replied weakly, her voice still groggy despite the five people I’d slaughtered outside.

Before leaving, I shouted one last warning to Silence and Jessica’s horse, wagging my finger at them:

“And you two, don’t start mating while we’re gone.”

“…Do thorns grow in your mouth if you don’t say vulgar things for even a moment? Besides, our Catherine is a stallion, not a mare.”

“What? A stallion?”

Wait, did she name a male horse Catherine?

When I pointed this out, Jessica brushed it off, saying that whether it was a stallion or a mare, an elegant name was better.

“Want me to give it a dignified name fit for a stallion?”

“No thanks. I clearly remember you trying to change that child’s name to something weird like Baldomaru. I’d have to be crazy to allow that.”

“Is that so? Too bad. By the way, are you planning to infiltrate in that outfit?”

No matter how dark it was before dawn, her snow-white full plate armor wasn’t exactly suitable for sneaking around.

“Don’t worry about that.”

As she said this, Jessica tapped her chest twice. Suddenly, her armor, which had been as white as a blank canvas, began to turn as dark as the night sky.

It wasn’t just a color change; there was a faint mana swirling around the armor.

“Looks like it’s not just the color that’s changed. What other effects does it have?”

“In this state, it suppresses noise from the armor as much as possible. Perfect for infiltration or escape.”

To demonstrate, Jessica hopped up and down a few times.

True to her words, even when she jumped and ran, the sound was so minimal that it was hard to believe she was wearing metal armor.

However, given my impression of Jessica’s father as someone who valued honor, it was surprising that he’d buy his daughter armor so well-suited for fleeing.

It seemed he valued his daughter’s safety even more than honor. Jessica seemed to realize this too, as she was eagerly showing off her armor’s capabilities like a child with a new toy.

As I watched Jessica bouncing around, I wondered if the armor had any other abilities. So, I tapped the chest area just as she had done.

Jessica, who had been hopping like a rabbit, jumped back in surprise.

“W-what do you think you’re touching?!”

“What do you mean? I just touched the breastplate. It’s not like I touched your bare skin, why are you overreacting?”

Jessica gritted her teeth, seemingly at a loss for words since I had only touched the armor.

“I was just checking if it had any other abilities, but I guess not.”

There might have been abilities that only activated when the wearer touched it, but judging from Jessica’s reaction, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Shall we go then?”

Although we were far enough away that we wouldn’t be discovered even if we made some noise, we approached the village slowly, keeping our footsteps as quiet as possible.

As we got close enough to see the faces of the bandits guarding the village entrance, we noticed sharp wooden stakes surrounding the village.

Behind the stakes, there were small watchtowers at regular intervals. Each had a torch lit at the top, suggesting at least one or two people were keeping watch.

“…The security seems tight.”

“Yeah, they’re more organized than I expected.”

However, while the security was tight, it wasn’t particularly difficult to breach. The only obstacle was some sharpened wood without any magical enhancements, and those guarding it were just bandits and barbarian warriors.

It was nothing compared to the barrier that Gintokang had supposedly broken through alone, let alone the fortress of the Count’s territory.

“We could just go in and cause chaos, but…”

I wasn’t sure how strong the chieftain was, but if he was skilled enough to recognize my abilities, he might get scared and run away.

I wanted to handle this as quickly and quietly as possible. Infiltration was essential for that.

“Jessica, let’s go around the side.”

“The side… You mean climb over the stakes? I don’t mind, but with those watchtowers…”

There was a reed field nearby, but it didn’t extend close enough to the stakes to provide cover.

If we tried to leisurely cross the stakes, we might get caught by the watchmen if we were unlucky.

“It’s risky, but we’ll have to take the chance.”

We moved towards the reed field, keeping our footsteps silent. Once there, we crouched down, measuring the distance to the distant watchtower.

“Wait…!! What are you planning?”

“…You’ll see.”

I gathered energy in my knees and released it all at once, leaping towards the watchtower in a single bound with a gust of wind.

“What the… Huh?”

I found myself face-to-face with two dumbfounded bandits who had been watching the ground from the tower.

At first, they blinked in confusion at my sudden appearance, but soon their faces contorted with shock as they realized what was happening.

“Ugh…!!”

They hurriedly reached for the horn at their waists, but my Wolffang was faster, slicing through both their necks.

Their heads fell to the floor with a thud, not even managing a single scream.

After dealing with them, I quickly surveyed the surroundings, but there was no sign that anyone in the other towers or on the ground had noticed.

Once I confirmed it was safe, I grabbed the torch hanging in the tower and signaled to Jessica, who was still hiding in the reeds.

Receiving my signal, Jessica hesitated for a moment before darting out of the reeds and sprinting towards the stakes, careful not to be seen by the other towers.

“Hup!”

When she reached the stakes, Jessica leaped over them like a rabbit.

After confirming Jessica had made it over, I climbed down and crouched low, roughly hiding the fallen bandits’ heads in the bushes.

“We did it.”

“Whew… Good thing it worked out. What were you thinking, doing something so reckless? What if they had screamed…”

“It turned out fine, didn’t it?”

Truth be told, it had been a bit of a gamble.

If the bandits had screamed instead of reaching for their horns, our infiltration would have been exposed right there.

“The chieftain lives in the largest house in the village, right?”

Leaving Jessica hidden in the bushes, I climbed back up the watchtower and surveyed the village while staying low.

Torchlight illuminated the village streets, suggesting the bandits were conducting regular patrols.

As I observed the abandoned village and memorized the patrol routes, my eyes fell on a disturbing ornament in the village center, causing me to pause.

The ornament, crudely shaped like an eagle, was made not of stone or clay, but human bodies. Its legs were human legs, its wings human hands, and atop its head, several finely crafted knight helmets were impaled.

‘…I can’t let Jessica see this.’

Even I, accustomed to blood, hesitated for a moment. I could only imagine how Jessica would react if she saw it.

‘They probably made it to set an example for the subjugated bandits, but this is too much.’

Aside from the cruelty, the smell must have been unbearable. I wouldn’t be able to sleep anywhere near such a decoration.

Surely even barbarians would feel the same? Looking away from the nauseating ornament, I noticed a large house on a hill at the edge of the village.

“Found it.”

I quickly descended from the tower and approached Jessica, who was still hiding in the bushes.

“I think I’ve found where the chieftain lives.”

“Really? Then let’s hurry, we might not have much time.”

Jessica was right; we didn’t know when the tower guards would change shifts, so time was of the essence.

The hill with the chieftain’s house was on the opposite side of the village, quite a distance away. However, thanks to my earlier observation of the patrol routes from the tower, we managed to reach the hill without much difficulty.

“You’re surprisingly good at infiltration, aren’t you?”

“Baldo is the ultimate sword technique, suitable even for assassination. It’s not strange that I, who wields it, would be skilled at infiltration.”

“Right… If you say so.”

Jessica’s tone, reminiscent of a tired mother, was a bit annoying, but at least she seemed to understand.

We finally reached a point where the chieftain’s house was right before our eyes.

Hiding behind some looted goods, Jessica stroked the hammer at her waist and asked:

“What now? The door will be locked…”

Neither Jessica nor I were thieves, despite our infiltration skills, so we didn’t know how to pick locks.

But while I couldn’t pick locks, I could easily sever the neck of the chieftain sleeping comfortably inside.

“Leave it to me. I’ll be back in a moment.”

Leaving Jessica behind, I approached the door and checked for presences inside the mansion.

If those bandits weren’t lying, there were indeed several presences inside.

They had mentioned bringing in good-looking women to rape, so the other presences I sensed were likely those victims.

Filled with disgust for the chieftain I hadn’t even met, I raised my voice louder than usual and shouted at the mansion:

“Hey, you barbarian chieftain bastard!! I, Ian Barthow, wielder of the world’s strongest sword technique, have come to punish you!!”

“?!?!?”

My voice echoed through the quiet village. Jessica, who had suddenly emerged from behind the goods, exclaimed in a panicked voice:

“W-what are you doing?! We came to assassinate him, so why are you shouting…?!!”

“Why? I’m announcing my name to the target before the assassination, of course.”

I couldn’t understand why Jessica was so flustered.

Wasn’t it common sense to shout the target’s name and reveal your identity before an assassination?