CH 448

As the Sword of the Great Wisdom of the Empire

“Well, not bad at all.”

Dion whistled as the volley of arrows came closer. They flew as a single unit, straight toward their goal. He gave a satisfied nod. Even though he kept his horse going at the same speed on purpose to make himself an easy target, that’s nitpicking. These people were definitely good at shooting bows. None of their shots would even hit his horse, let alone miss it.

“Thanks for firing all of them at me. It makes it easier to handle.”

He chose to stand his ground and didn’t try to get away. His blade flashed again, and this time he made a pattern that was even harder and took even less time. All of the arrows went flying away, as if they had hit a force field, with a level of accuracy that was almost like foresight. He rushed through the attack without getting hurt. His shield was made out of pure skill.

“But you have to give it to them. This kind of accuracy while riding a horse is amazing. I’m ready to bet that even the Imperial Cavalry wouldn’t be able to do it.”

Archery from a horse is a very hard skill to learn. Archers in the Tearmoon military were either snipers who stayed in one place and shot precisely from far away, or formation bowmen whose less accurate shooting was made up for by their large numbers.

“These guys can shoot as well as snipers. While riding. Bandits, my ass. These are pros!”

The left hand of Dion blurred. When it stopped next to his neck, it was holding an arrow.

“The shot was delayed. Damn, these guys aren’t just good at sniping—they’ve got other skills too.” His eyes got smaller as he looked at the slimy, sap-like material on the tip of the arrow. “They use poison, too. It’s probably safe to think that a scratch will kill you. Most soldiers would have died at least three times already… But this makes things a lot easier for me.”

He threw back his head and laughed. Then, after giving the thieves a scary look, he threw the arrow he had just taken into the air.

“Hi, I’m Dion Alaia! Sword of Her Majesty Princess Mia, the Great Wisdom of the Empire! Don’t waste you arrows! They won’t help you! Come trade your life for mine if you want my life!” he yelled as he swung at the falling missile.

Its shaft had three lines of metal. Four parts that had been cut off fell to the ground. Before turning back to his enemies, he made a show of looking at each of them with a sharp gaze.

“Those who don’t care if they die the same way, come at me two at a time. No, make that three. I like killing people, but I don’t like to waste them. I want you to fight hard for me before you die, okay?”

He glared at the bandits because he knew that the mere mention of his name had caused a stir among them. It was very subtle, but he caught on to it.

It looks like they know who I am… I must have been right when I said they were working with old Wolfie. Or… Hah, maybe I’m also a famous person in Sunkland now.

He told them who he was for two reasons: The first step was to find out if the thieves knew anything about the wolfmaster. The second was to scare off his rivals.

If I were old wolfie, I’d tell them to stay as far away as possible from a guy named Dion Alaia. Unless, of course, they are very sure of how well they can use a sword.

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No matter what, they should think twice when they hear his name. Maybe it could even get them to stop.

“Not that I’m afraid to cross swords, of course,” he said in a low voice. “Hell, I could probably beat them to a pulp.”

As a soldier, that would be the best thing that could happen. Those who charged into fight knew they had won if they killed, scattered, or even made their opponent run away. As a commander, though, that was no longer the best thing to do, because at the end of a fight, even the soldiers who won were tired. Strength could be regained. Wounds got better. But death was always the end. Same goes for maiming. Every battle cost lives, which were paid for in the form of troops. Valuable troops who had been trained with care and attention on both sides—losing them was never a small thing. So, for an army, the decision to go to battle was already a bad choice by its very nature.

To win without drawing your sword, huh…? Who would have thought that one day I’d be thinking about these things? At this rate, I might become a leader after all. I should start working on my beer belly. After all, I have to look the part.

As a single soldier, he only needed to worry about his own skills in battle. As long as he beat his foes, everything was fine. But that wasn’t enough for the Sword of the Great Wisdom of the Empire.

“Anyway, that’s about all I can do… If they still decide to come, we will win even if we have our swords out. And I have no problem with that at all.”

The bandits gave no sign that they were going to leave. Nor attacking. They kept spreading out and slowly got closer to the wagon. Dion…really didn’t blame them.

“They probably thought it would be better for them if we had to watch out for the wagons while we fought. Or maybe they think they have a chance of getting me while I’m alone out here. The head of Dion Alaia would be a great prize for them. I can see why. The other option is that their person of interest is actually in one of the other carriages in the back.”

No matter what their reasons were, they would still choose death.

“Old Wolfie has been gone for a long time. That person knows when to stop. Oh, but I guess if he showed up, I’d be in there too, slicing like crazy. It’s way too much fun to pass up a fight with him.”

Just as he decided to wait a little longer to see what would happen, the situation changed quickly.

“The royal army has arrived!”

Someone let out a high-pitched squeal. Everyone turned their heads at once toward the distance, where a cloud of dust showed that a lot of feet were moving. There was a steady, deep rumble of army feet. Soon, it was clear that a line of horse was coming into view.

The bandits weren’t so brave as to try to fight both the Empire’s Finest and the royal army at the same time. Dion could tell right away that they were acting differently. Today, there wouldn’t be any more fighting. Shortly after that, the horses’ heads all turned at the same time. They quickly left with the same synchronized speed as they had come. When Dion saw it, he couldn’t help but whistle.

“What an act. I have to give it to them. It might not be worth it to try to catch them…”

“Sir Dion!”

He looked in the direction of the voice and saw a boy he knew leading the royal army.

“Wow, Prince Sion is leading the troops himself. Very gallant. Putting Prince Abel a run for his money. Now, the most important question is… Was even this part of what the princess’ plan?”

He said as he put his blade away.