Chapter 76

Shraaaack!!!!

Every time I swung my sword, the bandits’ skin was cleanly sliced away. Though it was a scene close to a one-sided massacre, they did not lose their will to fight and continued to charge at me. Their courage was admirable, but that changed nothing.

“Gaaaah!!!”

“My arm! My arm! Kill this son of a bitch! Kill him no matter what—!!”

“He was half-crippled not long ago, so how is he this strong?”

“I don’t want to die like this. Please. Spare me.”

Thump. Thump.

I moved my feet in rhythm with my heartbeat.

Tap. Tap tap.

Whenever the muscles in my right arm screamed, the bandits’ screams followed. The unpleasant harmony tormented my ears, yet the more immersed I became, the faster my sword grew. Like a pure white wolf upon a snowfield, Behemoth tore into them.

Slash! Slash!

Kicking off the ground, I surged forward and swung my sword again and again. I tore through the clustered thieves, splitting lungs, ripping flesh, severing arms, carving open bellies, and cutting throats.

Before I knew it, my entire body was drenched in their blood.

The scent of blood would not leave my nose. The stench of blood and flesh. The nauseating smells continued to torment me.

And yet, for some reason, I felt exhilarated.

The faster my heart beat, the faster my body moved. My mind grew numb, and strength overflowed through my entire body. Could I go even faster? Could I swing my sword even quicker?

I entrusted myself to instinct.

[Hey. Ran Winterbell! Get a hold of yourself. What do you think you’re doing, letting yourself be consumed by madness here? You’ve definitely grown stronger than before, but this is too much.]

Behemoth’s words echoed in my mind, and I snapped back to my senses. When I looked around, the ground was covered entirely in corpses. Dozens upon dozens of bandits lay scattered in pieces.

It was as though I were looking at a river made of bodies.

“…….”

Had I been enjoying killing just now?

I didn’t know.

To be honest, every time I split flesh, shattered bone, and cut through muscle, I think I felt a faint thrill.

‘Maybe it’s because I saw blood again after so long. I must have fallen into a trance for a moment.’

[The stronger you become, the more the madness within you will try to devour you as well. If you fail to control it, there may be no turning back. You will become a monster that lives only for slaughter.]

‘Right. I must have briefly forgotten whose blood runs through my veins. I forgot that I am someone more susceptible to madness than anyone else.’

My aunt suddenly came to mind. I still clearly remembered that moment when she, who had seemed endlessly gentle, looked at me with blood-red gleaming eyes and released killing intent.

A beast driven mad by blood.

That was the very essence of the blood flowing through half of my body.

“……S-spare me.”

“Are you their leader?”

When I looked around, most of the bandits had already been dealt with. As expected of an experienced mercenary group, they had first eliminated the archers who were the most troublesome and threatening in group combat.

“…Y-yes. Please, just spare my life. If you need money, I’ll give you as much as you want. I’ve gathered quite a bit of gold. I’m sure you’ll find it to your liking.”

“Oh? Gold, you say. Where is it?”

“I hid it in a place only I know. If you swear to spare my life, I’ll tell you the location. Let’s go find it together.”

“Let’s go find it together, you say……. Fine. Then I will set a condition as well. Tell me where the gold is hidden. I will send my subordinate to search that location. If the gold is there, I will spare your life.”

“……You might go back on your word later, so what am I supposed to trust before telling you?”

I let out a faint, crooked smile. It was so absurd that a laugh escaped me. How dare someone who didn’t even know his place try to bargain with me?

The way he wagged his tongue without understanding his own situation made my blood boil with disgust.

So I—

Slash!

“Aaaaaargh!!!”

I cut off his left wrist.

The man presumed to be the bandit leader rolled across the ground, screaming in agony. He was built like a bear, yet he wailed pathetically.

“You should know your place. You know who I am, yet you dare spout such nonsense? State your name and the name of your bandit group.”

“…I-I am Carter of the Black Tiger Band.”

“Why did you target me? Did you accept someone’s request?”

The terrified Carter clamped his mouth shut.

“So you can’t speak, is that it? Was one wrist not enough? Or is the one who hired you more frightening than I am?”

“……I-It’s not like that!”

“You vermin seemed to already know who I was. To stand before the Wolf of the North and still hesitate to open your mouth……. Answer honestly and I’ll let you live. I’ll count to three.”

“P-please, wait a moment! Th-that’s……!”

“One.”

“Pl-please!”

“Two.”

“I-I’ll talk! His face was covered with a mask, so I truly don’t know who he was! But he was quite strong, and among those with him was a high-ranking mage. He said that if we eliminated the youngest young master of the Winterbell Ducal Family, he would give us 10,000 gold coins. He told us he’d inform us of when and where you’d be moving, and that we only needed to lie in ambush and launch a surprise attack…….”

“You decided on suicide for a mere 10,000 gold.”

In truth, calling it “mere” was inaccurate. Ten thousand gold coins was an astronomical sum—enough to purchase a top-tier mansion in the imperial capital.

‘They didn’t make this decision based on money alone. It makes no sense for bandits operating in the North to provoke Winterbell. There’s a high chance these bastards aren’t from the North either.’

What unsettled me most was the information. These men had known in advance that we would be coming here. It was impossible for a mere bandit group to have access to Winterbell’s intelligence. The information network operated independently by Winterbell was not so lax.

If someone had exposed our information to the bandits, it strongly implied the existence of an internal spy. Otherwise, the movements of my companions and me could not have been leaked. And anyone who knew my information to that extent would at least hold a certain position within Winterbell.

‘It might even be the maids or attendants who know my schedule.’

“Haa…… haa……. I misjudged. To dare lay hands on Winterbell, on the Wolf of the North—please, please spare my life.”

This man was nothing more than a small fry. Even if I dug further, no significant information would come out.

“Don’t even think about bargaining. Tell me the location immediately. Then I will spare your life.”

After hesitating for a moment, he pulled something from his chest and handed it to me. It was a map marking the location where the gold coins were hidden.

I called over one of the Harlan Mercenaries, handed him the map, and ordered him to go to that place and retrieve the gold.

It wasn’t far, so we would have the results within a few days.

“Since I’ve told you the truth, you’ll keep your promise to spare my life, right?”

“Of course.”

“Hehe. As expected, the Wolf is different. Thank you—.”

Slash!

“…you?”

The sword I swung cleanly severed his neck. He couldn’t even finish his sentence before his head fell to the ground.

Camille, who had been watching from beside me, asked,

“Did you never intend to spare him from the beginning?”

I nodded.

She was right. From the moment they ambushed us, I had no intention of letting him live.

“The moment he showed hostility toward us, I had no intention of sparing him. I only asked a few questions to find out who was behind this.”

“……A wise decision.”

“There’s no reason to spare vermin that have bared their fangs. Doing so would only tarnish Winterbell’s prestige.”

Camille silently nodded.

After checking on the wounded and finishing our preparations, we set off again. Though we had been attacked without warning, that didn’t mean we could cancel the operation we had planned.

“Fortunately, no one is seriously injured.”

“Good. We depart immediately. If there’s a village nearby, we’ll stop and regroup there.”

“……There is said to be a small village about an hour away.”

“We head there.”

“Yes!”

I climbed back onto the carriage. The moment I did, Attica leapt into my arms.

“Papa! Papa! Are you okay? You’re not hurt anywhere, right? If something hurts, Attica will blow on it for you!”

“Haha. I’m fine, Attica. I’m not hurt.”

“The bad people bullied Papa and the uncles!”

Cecil, who had been quietly wiping the blood from herself, spoke.

“For a mere bandit group, they possessed considerable strength. They were not simple rabble.”

“That’s how it seemed. Among the archers, there were those who could handle aura. After interrogating the leader, it appeared they knew exactly when and where we would appear. It seems some unidentified individual hired them to eliminate me. The payment was 10,000 gold coins.”

Attica, who had been listening from the side, asked in a cute tone,

“Is 10,000 gold coins a lot~?”

“Ten thousand gold coins is a looot of money, Attica.”

“I want to earn lots of money too!”

“You will soon enough.”

Cecil’s expression turned grave.

“If they knew all of our movements…….”

“Yes. That would mean there was a spy within Winterbell. Someone must have sold my information……. Whoever it is, it’s only right to assume that someone within Winterbell commissioned my elimination.”

Though her face remained expressionless, intense killing intent emanated from her.

“Shall I investigate personally?”

I shook my head.

“There’s no need to move just yet. As I rise higher, that tail will naturally reveal itself.”

“……Understood for now.”

Cecil looked displeased. That was only natural—when it came to my safety, she was more sensitive than anyone. We had always known there were potential threats within the family, but for it to be exposed this blatantly was another matter entirely.

“For now, let’s confirm whether the gold coins are real.”

“Yes.”

She pulled out a dagger from her chest and began spinning it between her fingers. I knew what that gesture meant.

That was Cecil. No, Lin.

It was a habit she had long used to control her emotions. She once said that spinning a blade like that calmed her mind.

“Cecil. Let’s get some rest for now.”

“Yes.”

“Attica wants to sleep too!”

“Alright. Let’s sleep together, Attica.”

With Attica sitting on my lap, I leaned against the carriage and closed my eyes. The scent of blood still clung to my body, but it didn’t feel so bad.

‘Just wait. I’ll clean every last one of you out soon.’