Taken (8)

"This is your final warning."

The mercenary with an eyepatch spoke, adjusting his grip on his battle axe with both hands.

"Take off your hood and reveal your identity, now. If you don't comply within three seconds, I'll strip you down to your underwear by force."

― Kukukuk...

The mercenaries snickered nastily.

"And if you turn out to be nobodies... we'll show you what an axe feels like on your arms and legs, as punishment for annoying us."

― Thud... Thud.

The eyepatched mercenary, wearing a grim expression, tapped the handle of his axe against his palm.

A blatant threat.

Dried blood on the axe gleamed in the torchlight.

"Three."

The mercenary's countdown began.

Ian threw a glance at Javier beside him.

"Two."

Javier was looking at Ian as well.

His lips seemed to be asking, 'What should we do?'

Having followed Ian all this way, it was clear he wanted to defer to Ian's decision even now.

"One."

Ian nodded slightly and said,

"Let's clear them out and move on."

"Yes."

― Slrng! Slrng! Slrng!

At Ian's words, Javier and the four Heavenly Sword knights drew their swords from their waists without an ounce of hesitation.

"W-what!"

The six men before them, who had only thought of them as pushovers, suddenly drew their blades as one. The eyepatched mercenary, who was counting down, bit his tongue in panic.

"D-damn it! Shoot! Shoot them!"

― Piung!

― Shushushuk!

With the mercenary's shout, the archers on the rooftop fired arrows at Ian's group.

― Ting! Ping! Tiding!

Ian blocked the arrows lightly with the broad blade of Vladiark and said,

"Don't let a single one escape."

"Yes!"

"Understood!"

"Haaap!"

― Phababat!!

They hadn't even discussed a battle plan, yet the Heavenly Sword knights sprang in different directions as if they had planned it from the start.

― Chwaaaak!

― Wha-What!?

― Kyaaaaagh!

It was the beginning of a one-sided hunt.

* * *

"H-heuaaaargh!"

― Seokeok!

― Chwaaak!

"Keugh!!"

Of course, a dozen or so mercenaries stood no chance against Ian and the Heavenly Sword Knights.

Just Javier alone was a late-stage Swordmaster, and the captain among the Heavenly Sword knights was an exceptional swordsman at the entry-stage of Swordmaster. The other three were all senior knights of the Heavenly Sword Order, top-class experts.

With just a few mid-level experts among them, and the rest only at the level of regular users, no matter how many times the dozen mercenaries fought Ian's party, they would lose a hundred times out of a hundred.

"P-please! Spare me! Aaaaagh!"

Just two minutes ago this guy acted like a seasoned veteran, but now he was crawling away on all fours, having flung aside his own eyepatch.

A yellow liquid dripped between his legs.

― Crunch!

Ian blocked the escapee's path with the massive Vladiark.

"H-hiiik!"

Right there, the man fell backward, further soaking his trousers.

Ian looked down at him dispassionately and spoke.

"What were you guarding here?"

If possible, it would have been best to kill him right away and rush straight to their objective, the mansion at No.12.

But if he couldn't find Rudeus or Yuria there, it would be a huge setback, so he needed to extract some information from this guy first.

There was a possibility the mansion was just a warehouse, or that this man knew the true location of Rudeus's workshop.

"A-aah! Aaah!"

But the one-eyed mercenary was so consumed by terror he could barely breathe.

There was no way he'd be able to answer any questions.

"Tch."

Ian clicked his tongue briefly and raised Vladiark.

He was about to strike the mercenary down and turn him into a pulp when—

"Ah! I'll talk! Wait! I'll talk, okay?!"

Miraculously, the mercenary found his voice.

"Hmph."

― Chk.

Ian rested Vladiark on his shoulder and looked down at him.

"Then hurry up. What were you doing here?"

"W-we were on guard duty, ugh...! We were told not to let anyone approach... I-I was just doing what I was paid for...!"

"I don't care about your story. Shut up."

"U-ugh...!"

"If you were on guard duty—what were you guarding?"

"The mansion! That mansion with the blue roof over there!"

With a trembling finger, the mercenary pointed toward the end of the main street.

Following the direction, Ian saw a large mansion with a blue roof at the end of a long hill.

'Over there...'

The address the bartender at Cartai Inn had mentioned as Rudeus's delivery point.

It seemed to match 12, third Street, Morbeng Village.

So these guys had been guarding the mansion at No.12.

"Who's inside that mansion?"

"I-I don't know..."

"You don't? Then you die."

Ian raised Vladiark.

"Aaaaagh! It's true! I swear! We've never even been inside!"

"Then who hired you? You must have had a leader at least."

"T-the captain! Yes! Barbarian! Well known! Pink hair!"

Desperate to save his life, the mercenary waved his arms wildly as he spoke.

"He's called the Crimson—"

Just as the mercenary was about to say the commander's nickname,

― Shweeeeak!

― Baaang!!

"Blergh!"

A spiked mace flew from the roof and smashed the mercenary's head like a watermelon.

"What the..."

It was so fast that even Ian couldn't react in time.

― Shweeeeak!

At that moment, the air was split again with a sharp sound.

"Ugh!"

Ian quickly looked toward the noise. A spiked mace was hurtling straight toward his head.

'Damn!'

He was too late to dodge—it was too fast.

Too late to block, too. In the brief instant as the mace drew nearer—

― Kaaang!

A broad back appeared, swatting away the mace aiming for Ian.

"Young master Ian! Please stay behind me!"

It was the back of Sir Javier, a late-stage Swordmaster.

"Sir Javier...!"

"There is an enemy on the roof!"

At Javier's words, Ian looked up.

"Crazy..."

Atop the building's roof behind Javier's back were five huge black silhouettes lined up.

Just their massive, muscular shapes were enough to say it all.

All of them were barbarian warriors.

"Hrhrhrh..."

The barbarian standing among the giant group shrugged his shoulders and laughed.

"I threw it to kill you on the spot—yet you somehow managed to deflect it."

An immense aura was obvious even at a glance.

He was clearly the one who had thrown the mace, and likely the barbarian commander the mercenary had almost mentioned before dying.

― Bounce!

The gigantic barbarian commander leapt from the roof.

― Kuung!

The ground trembled as if a giant boulder had landed.

― Wharuk...!

The tremor made the torchlight flicker, illuminating the barbarian's face.

'That bastard...!'

Ian recognized him.

Pink hair, dark skin, thick lips, body covered in red tattoos...

'Crimson Yaksha...! Dorca!'

He was a top-rank barbarian warrior with whom Ian had fought to the death in the civil war of Hisperion in his past life.

'To think I'd run into that bastard here again...'

That pink-haired brute had also been part of the eldest son of Hisperion's faction in his previous life.

'At this point, it's a hundred percent. The culprit behind this kidnapping is Hisperion's eldest son... That bastard Theo's handiwork.'

Ian gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on Vladiark.

'Things have just gotten dangerous...'

The Crimson Yaksha Dorca reached the level of grandmaster in his past life—a top-tier powerhouse.

Of course, this was ten years before that, so he'd be much weaker, but still, he'd have easily surpassed the entry-stage of master.

At the very least, he was sure to be intermediate or higher.

Couple that with the barbarian's mighty physical strength, and Dorca's pure combat abilities could rival Javier's or even surpass them.

'Moreover...'

There were still four more barbarians on the roof, observing the situation.

'Yaksha Squad...'

They were mercenaries under the Crimson Yaksha—his Yaksha Squad.

The Yaksha Squad was a small elite group of berserker mercenaries, each a monster rivaling the Crimson Yaksha.

Of course, they were a few steps below their leader, and, currently, all were much weaker than in Ian's previous life. Still, every single one was at least at the entrance level of master.

Some among them might have already reached the intermediate level of master.

'We can't win as is. We lack force.'

The enemy: five barbarians. All at master level.

Their side: six humans—two masters, four experts.

Though Ian's pure combat strength as an expert exceeded the early-stage master, their side was still outnumbered in terms of power.

The other three experts, even if they charged a single master barbarian together, would not stand a chance.

That meant a power deficit equivalent to two master-level combatants.

'Furthermore...'

If they fought these guys here, it would turn into a drawn-out battle.

If, during the battle, Rudeus at the mansion escaped with Yuria, or if their trail was lost, it would be a disaster.

'I have no choice but to gamble.'

To overcome this overwhelming disadvantage, he had to shoulder an equivalent amount of risk.

[Sir Javier.]

Ian called Javier with an aura message.

"!?"

Javier's shoulders flinched in surprise.

[Y-Young master Ian!?]

Javier answered in a visibly flustered tone.

[Th-that was an aura message just now! Did Young master Ian send it!?]

Aura messaging was a technique that transmitted words silently by vibrating one's aura—a skill that only those with master-level understanding of aura could use.

Which meant—

[H-how could Young master Ian... use aura messaging...?]

[I understand your surprise, but there's no time for explanations. I'll cut to the core.]

[Y-yes! Understood.]

Javier kept his gaze trained on Dorca as he gripped his sword tightly, acting as if he was focused on the enemy so the others wouldn't notice the aura message exchange.

Ian took advantage of Javier's act and quickly relayed the essentials.

[With our current strength, we cannot defeat them head-on.]

[So you have judged as much...]

Javier, being a skilled expert, could sense that the enemy's presence vastly outmatched his subordinate knights.

[Yes. But there is a way. Here's the key point.]

[Yes, I am listening.]

[I will lend you my greatsword.]

[Your greatsword, young master Ian...?]

[Yes. My greatsword has the ability to absorb aura. It can kill an expert-rank opponent in a matter of minutes, or less, depending on how much aura it absorbs. Once absorption begins, it won't stop until the mana circuits are severed. With this, you'll be able to take them down without much trouble.]

The mana absorption of Vladiark was a power that even Darcanjo, the Heavenly Sword Lord who reached demi-god level, found troublesome.

Barbarians at mere master level would have no way to resist Vladiark's mana absorption.

[Indeed... with such power, this blade could be the decisive factor in overturning this battle.]

[But, there is a caution.]

[A caution...?]

[Yes. This sword's aura absorption distinguishes neither friend nor foe. If you infuse your own aura into it, you could lose your life.]

[T-that's...]

[So just use it as a blunt weapon, but the moment the enemy releases enhanced energy or sword energy, hit only those points with all your might.]

[B-but, young master Ian...]

Javier glanced over at Ian's expression before continuing.

[If you don't infuse aura into the sword... it might break against their enhanced energy.]

[No. Don't worry. The core of my sword is harder than adamantium.]

Vladiark was a sword that had once shattered even the divine blade Genesis in Ian's past life.

It couldn't be broken by something as trivial as a master's attack.

'Even if, by chance, it should break...'

Vladiark was a sword that restored itself more perfectly the more mana it absorbed.

As long as its core remained intact, Vladiark could be restored endlessly.

[The blade might chip off, but the core will be unharmed. So feel free to use it.]

[If you say so... Understood.]

― Whirlik!

Javier spun his sword deftly, gripping it in reverse as if to hand it over to Ian.

[Then, young master Ian, I'll lend you my own sword instead.]

[No.]

Ian pushed Vladiark's hilt into Javier's empty hand.

[It would be better if you wielded both swords to utterly suppress the enemy.]

[But Young master Ian, then you'll be left unarmed!]

[It's fine.]

Ian had the Authority of Projection.

─ "Authority of Projection" ─

◆ Item

[Elegance Armory Longsword Lv.53]

────────────

A 5,000-gold, state-of-the-art weapon, the pinnacle of modern smithing.

Ian had long since projected Sophia's longsword.

Even if he ran short on mana, he could summon the consumable [Iron Sword Lv.10] as much as needed. Ian was never truly unarmed.

[Don't worry about me, just focus on cutting down those barbarians.]

[Then what will you do, young master Ian...?]

[I'll head directly to the mansion at No.12.]

With the possibility that Yuria was imprisoned there, they couldn't afford to be held up by the barbarians.

Someone had to reach the mansion before the kidnappers could escape with Yuria.

It was both the most dangerous and the most crucial task.

[If Yuria and the kidnappers are there, I'll leave traces behind as I pursue them.]

Ian would plunge alone into the very heart of the enemy's base to rescue Yuria.

[Sir Javier, take care of the barbarians with the Heavenly Sword knights and then follow my trail.]

That was Ian's gambit.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】