Chapter 18

Ossan, * *DISCLAIMER: I DON'T REALLY KNOW j.a.pANESE, THESE ARE MACHINE TRANSLATIONS THAT I TRY TO PUT INTO PROPER ENGLISH. READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.

*The t.i.tle is kind of a minor spoiler. I'll put it at the end of the chapter.

The girl was an ordinary student who attended a nearby junior high-school. However, there wasn't anyone she could call a friend, and so, her days went by.

It took little time for her to start feeling like a bird in a cage in such a monotone and ordinary world, where all her days were exactly the same.

The new state-of-the-art game console she bought with her New Year's money, 【DreamWorks]. It's clear as a bell, how she would get hooked up with the online game 【Sword and Sorcery], released at the same time.

This virtual world was full of excitement unlike the real one, and thus, the monotone daily life she dreaded became full of vibrant colors, and eventually becoming the only place she belonged to.

She made a lot of friends; trustworthy companions. Though, they're not there anymore the moment she turns off the game. Although loneliness was the main reason she felt suffocated in the real world, that didn't really matter to her anymore.

And then… when she was doing quests along with her companions like usual, suddenly, her vision faded to black…

She was standing in the center of a plain before she realized. There was no one else there, and at the same time, she had a hunch that her everyday life was going to change from that moment onward.

A hunch that was reaffirmed when she read the email that appeared when her status screen expanded.

According to it, the G.o.ddess of this world had sealed the Evil G.o.d in her former world (more specifically in Sword and Sorcery's virtual world), and many people died due to a curse the Evil G.o.d released just before it was defeated.

It seems she had been recreated based on the aspect of her former world's body and her status in the game world. Whatever the process was, she had died and was reincarnated into another world.

To begin with, she didn't care much about her former world. Moreover, she didn't interact much with her family in the first place, so she didn't have any lingering attachments.

In truth, Being in another world less boring than her original one will only arouse her adventurous spirit. 

Taking out a map from her inventory, she finds a town nearby and starts walking towards it.

—–

Her name is Irie Sumika *(T.N: Irie is the surname, Sumika her first name). The name she used to register at the Mercenary Guild was Iris. 

In order to enjoy this world, she became a mercenary using the same name as her character's when it was a game.

The Mercenary Guild is similar to the game's Adventurer Guild in both, organization and structure, so it was quite convenient to her for her goal of enjoying this otherworld…

She is now currently being held captive by a band of bandits.

"What are we going to do now, Iris?"

"Right now… we have to wait for our chance to escape. Don't worry, it'll definitely come."

"Really?"

"Probably…"

Due to her status(*T.N: I guess Status as in her character's overall strength or ability) from the time when it was a game, her ability as a mercenary sits around the intermediate levels. Specifically, she's rank C, but a mere merchant escort request is nothing but easy work to her.

The problem was that there were a lot more bandits than she had antic.i.p.ated, and in addition, the merchants who they were supposed to be protecting were taken as hostages. After all, she is a girl used to living in a modern society, and doesn't see this world from a weird angle like a certain sage from somewhere. (*T.N: talking about the MC)

That lack of awareness is what has put her in this perilous situation.

The bandits abducted not only women but also children. While holding one of these children hostage in front of a woman, who seemed to be related to the kid, a bandit is making her take off her clothes in order to rape her.

Perhaps it was this child's mother, but the woman is frightened and trembling in shame whilst undressing quietly. 

The men who were looking at her with such filthy eyes didn't even count as humans to Iris.

(I'll be sure to kill you all…)

A primeval killing instinct dawned on her for the first time in her life. 

She glares at her surroundings while making sure to keep as close as possibly to the bandits that are about to rape a fellow woman. (*T.N: no clue about that sentence, I practically made it all up)

Suddenly, while using her detection skills, she notices a magical reaction above in the sky.

(Is that a familiar? There's a magician looking here?)

Hawks and falcons were circling around in the sky without even trying to hide themselves. But they weren't actual living beings. 

"Rensan, maybe there's help on the way…"

"Really? But how…?"

"It looks like a magician has found this place. They might come to help."

"But you don't know when they might come to rescue us, right?"

"Un…" 

The familiars have certainly seen their situation. However, it wasn't clear when the help would arrive, if any. 

"This… is the worst, I want it to end soon…"

"I don't care about being saved… but I'll get back at them."

Her first companions in this world were glaring at the bandits as if to kill them with their gaze. There were three other fellow mercenaries accompanying Iris on this escort mission, but they left a bad impression on her after they met for the first time, and thus, they didn't get along with each other.

They really wanted help to come soon.

(If you're coming to help, come quickly!… no more…)

Eyes full of l.u.s.t gathered on the two young women. They could only regret that they might be raped next, before they would get here.

Thirty minutes after they started to follow after the bandits' traces upstream. 

The knight squad, including Zero and his disciples, have finally arrived at their hideout. There's a boat laying by the river, with which, they seemed to have carried their loot.

"So they were river bandits…"

"Are these guys the Mobus bandits?"

"I don't know, but the rumor is that they were some ill-bred lot that separated from the main group of bandits."

"So they were marked as traitors by the leader and escaped here?"

"Well, who cares. Let's destroy everything!"

"Now, let me hear a good scream hehehehe…"

It was hard to tell who were the bandits in this situation.

The waves of the knights' killing intent aura were already at the levels of a violent storm.

"What do we do about the hostages? Women, children and some men are gathered around the center of their lair."

"They're threatening the hostages with those children and are about to rape them."

"Nii-sama… You aren't peeping, right?"

Celestina's freezing gaze was stabbing deep into Zweit. After all, this is an emergency situation. As time pa.s.ses, the hostages lives get progressively endangered.

"How insensitive… Do you think I'm a monster?"

"It's not like that, and well, somehow we need to attract their attention…"

"We'll surround them and beat them to a pulp… we'll make them regret being born kukuku."

"Do we have poison?"

"I think we do, right? You guys have a terrible personality…"

Their plan was quite horrifying, but for them, these bandits were nothing more than trash, so there was no reason to make it easy for them.

Subjugating bandits was also the knights' job, but most of the times they just charge head on into their hideouts, instead of encircling them or using more sly methods, so more often than not, the bosses end up escaping through back doors.

After all, The knights are mobilized in large numbers, so bandits would know when they were going to be raided by them just by keeping a watch for the moment they start making their preparations to sortie.

Ultimately, that's because when knights move, so does gold. Such as by purchasing supplies, as well as when weapons and food are transported into forts and other garrisons. In addition, when knight scouts are frequently spotted, the bandits are, naturally, on high alert.

That's the biggest factor responsible for the failures in the subjugation of large bandit bands, be that is it may, at least small bandit groups were more predictable, to a certain extent.

Countries are not the only ones to have information networks. It's natural for merchants and  even bandits to have them as well.

There were information management organizations by the name of guilds, with each profession having its own information network.

Ironically enough, it's only on wartime where all of these different organizations would  cooperate with each other. 

Mercenaries, merchants, and even bandits are sensitive to the flow of cash, and information is a highly prized commodity.

Mercenaries do all sort of jobs for money, merchants sell goods, and bandits even sell behind-the-scene information from other countries. It's normal in this world, for information networks to be used for their own benefit.

Needless to say, these bandit rebels who attacked the merchants also possess an information network on the defense of the country. They carefully chose their hideout based on that, but the bandits made a mistake.

Collecting and a.n.a.lyzing multiple different pieces of information can give you a more in-depth understanding on a situation. However, they only collected and relied on a single piece of information, failing to notice that their natural enemy was approaching.

There was a certain group of knights that went on a escort mission to the far-reaching woods of Far-flung. And they have become ridiculously strong in the past week, continuously fighting monsters…

They were gleefully observing the bandits, with eyes like those of bloodthirsty beasts, and working out a plan to annihilate them all.

And, in that moment, the plan had already been decided.

"Zeros-dono. Please get their attention until we manage to surround them all."

"Is it okay to be flexible depending on the situation? If it gets dangerous I'll just kill them all."

"What about the hostages? I'd like to help as many as I can."

"It'll depend on the way the opponents come out. I'll try to play the villain as much as I can."

"I'll leave that to you. Now let's go, we don't have much time."

The lead role was to be undertaken by the strongest, Zero.

Well, that was the only reasonable option.

"Alright, let's get going, shall we? If you don't hurry, I will hunt all the prey～♪"

"Please leave our share, I want to clear out my grudge…"

The grudge over their peaceful time being interrupted runs deep.

"…We're talking about humans though."

"They may no longer distinguish between humans and monsters. Both of them seem to have become hunted."

"How pitiful… Don't die… everyone."

"I am destruction, no one can stop me now…"

In just a week, the knights have become absurdly strong. At first, it was supposed to be real combat training for Celestina and Zweit, but it turned into a life and death situation.

Their levels have gone up almost three times, and their skill levels have almost gone halfway through. It's not an exaggeration to say that these knights were at the level of the few elite troops, if not the country's strongest. 

It's a problem that they're starting to abandon their humanity though…

In any case, the bandit annihilation operation was, thus, carried out.

There were several paths to becoming a bandit. First of all, those who were born to farmers but were driven out of their homes due to conflicts of inheritance.

Next off, thugs who were fired because of their problematic personalities and can't get a job in the city.

Lastly, criminals who just switch their line of work to a more ruthless one. 

These people organize themselves by flocking around those with similar situations, and earn their livelihood by committing crimes. Annoyingly enough, they don't want to do honest work, they want to earn money by taking from others.

For them, it seems ridiculous to earn a living off of their own sweat. In order to think that it's okay to have fun and money, they mistake thievery as an efficient and safe business.

There are rules in most criminal organizations, but education is not a thing for the thugs at the bottom of society, and so, they are judged according to how well they can steal, sell, and perpetrate crimes in general. Beasts were still better, they could only feel pleasure besides living. (*T.N: yeah, no clue about that one sentence) Especially when they could have fun playing around with women.

A lover, wife, mother, sibling… Anger and humiliation, despair and lamentation, sorrow and pleading, raping such women in front of their victims, soaking in pleasure, an incredible feeling.

And then, the women are sold to slave traders, who in turn, sell them to unscrupulous merchants they are adquantenced with, for them to finally sell these slaves under the table.

When money goes in, these thugs would go to taverns and brothels to play around until they ran out of cash and then, committing another crime to repeat the cycle.

However, whether it's in the shadows or in broad daylight, the jobs might not go well. They were lucky today, but tomorrow could be the worse day of their lives.

Now, in front of them, there are women who exposed their bare skin in order to save their family members and lovers. f.u.c.king such women… the bandits can't hide the joyous smiles creeping on their faces.

Up until now, that is…

"Excuse me, I'm a bit lost, What is this place?"

"…Eh?"

Turning around, the bandit sees a shabby-looking magician standing in front of him.

"Well, I strayed off the highway and wandered through the forest for about a month, so I'd like you to tell me where the nearest town is."

"Oi, Who do you think we are? Do you understand the situation you're in?"

"Ehh, I'm the man in charge, Do you understand now? We're not helping you out, buddy."

It wasn't a problem in itself that the person in front of the bandit was a magician, but this magician was just too shabby. A middle-aged man with a discoloured, dirty-looking robe. Unshaved, messy stubble, unkempt hair grown too long almost completely covering his eyes.

And yet, he exuded the presence of a respectable and powerful magician.

(A grey robe?… His ability seems the real deal though….)

The leader judged Zeros to be dangerous and sent a signal to his subordinates.

"Oi, can you look at these guys and say that again?"

"Ehhh, well there are some fine women around here. If possible, I'd like to keep one for myself, as an experiment material, of course."

Given that they're bandits, they rape and abuse women until they're broken, but they don't kill them because they can still be sold as slaves. However, the magician in front of them looked at the naked women and said 'experiment material'.

They concluded that he was more dangerous than they thought.

"I see… so you want to take one with you? You see… we're having fun with these beauties right now."

"Is that so, It doesn't matter as long as they're alive. I have a lot of things I want to try, after all."

They knew dark magicians sometimes experimented on human beings, but they never thought they would ever meet the real thing.

These magicians didn't care about anything except for their research and the results of their magic experiments.

Conversely, the bandits thought it was likely that he was going to sell information about them, given that he knew of their location. Magic research is expensive, but even with a small amount of research funds, they can kill many.

It's safer to deal with this here.

"Well, you'd be free while we are having fun, right? Come, have a drink."

"Oh, that would be great. I haven't had anything decent, recently. Do you have some good sake?"

"Ahh, I got one from some old sly merchant, but I don't know if it'll be to your taste."

"Kukuku, great. I'm eager to savor some fine sake."

There was an outburst of suspicion between the bandits. However, there's no change in the way they handle the situation.

One of the bandits approaches the magician.

"Hey, are you busy right now?"

"Ah, I'm terribly sorry, I was just in the middle of the fun par……."

"So you don't mind right? Were you enjoying yourself? To h.e.l.l with that, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d!!"

As previously instructed, the bandit slashes Zeros from behind.

Except, it was the bandit who died. With a knife piercing deeply into the chest of the thug, a cold smile creeps on the face of the magician. The bandit never even realized what happened. 

"Oya oya, going to sleep so early? Oops, I guess this would be eternal sleep, right?"

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"Wha…? f.u.c.ker, what did you do!?"

*** You are reading on https://www.novelhall.com/ ***