Chapter 83: Shadow Wolf

"Shadow Wolf..."

The Count’s grin was an ugly thing, only for a man who’d checked his pockets and didn’t care about what he lost.

"They’re not just any mercenary guild, they’re the deadliest ones Naxos ever raised. So deadly that damn magic city can’t legally employ them anymore. Do you understand? They’re weapons, perfect for nobles like me."

He spread his arms like he was offering a gift.

"These bastards take any job... slaughtering an orphanage is hardly beneath them buhahaha!"

Hershant scoffed.

"Don’t be stupid. Your house will be punished for this. The King can overlook many things, even that one. He can spin the story for the people, too. But he will never pardon you for provoking the Chur—"

"THE CHURCH! The church, the church, the church! Is that all you people ever talk about?! What can the church do to me?! What power do they have?! I’d like to see it!"

His eyes barely held a string of sanity.

"I don’t care anymore! That miscreant is going to regret the day he tried me. And that salt road he’s so proud of? It’ll be a reminder of every drop of blood those little brats spill!"

He palmed his face and laughed into it.

"Do you forget? I still run the Black Road. The King needs me. Whatever I do, he’ll NEED me. I’m a member of the royal court. Ha! Screw it. They can have my seat for all I care, because this nation will always need Count Vesta!"

Spit flew from his mouth with every word.

Hershant’s teeth gnashed together, his cap whipped around as he marched off without another look.

"If anything happens to those poor children, I’ll show you a side of me even you wish you’d never seen."

He glared at the spiraling noble.

...

Meanwhile, Prussia and Alpis had been in Rensfell for a good while now, just like Adonis had ordered.

The village was quiet.

Market stalls lined the dirt road, their owners half-asleep behind piles of bruised apples and sad-looking turnips.

Alpis sat in the middle of the road, floating a ring of children around like balloons in the air.

"Higher! Higher!"

"Me next, me next!"

The children squealed as they’re lifted off the ground by nothing but a bubble of purple mana.

Nearby, Prussia was dealing with a different kind of problem.

"..."

"I’m sorry, Lady Prussia, I’m so sorry!"

Father Rill had both hands clasped in front of him and looked ready to kneel.

"I never meant for the prince to be taken. But I had to protect the children and the sisters, you understand? I had no idea what those soldiers would have done to them. The little ones are so young, so small, and some of the sisters are barely eighteen! What if the soldiers decided to—"

Prussia sighed through her nose.

The old man shut his mouth so fast his teeth clicked.

"Ah. Forgive me. I’m babbling again."

"It’s fine. Besides, he can handle himself. An excellent liar like him is the perfect match for the royal court."

Father Rill’s frantic breathing finally stopped as he happily held his chest.

"I do hope that’s true."

Prussia didn’t answer.

She’s looking past the rooftops, to where the faint silhouette of the Azapita Mountains cut the horizon.

...Hmm, Her eyes narrowed, something’s not right.

She couldn’t say what. There was nothing in the sky and nothing on the road. It was just the feeling a soldier gets when the birds are no longer in the skies.

"Uh, excuse me, miss?"

A voice called gently from her side.

She and Father Rill both turned.

A man in a baggy black cloak stood between them and the market stalls. His hood was low and he looked like every lost traveler you could ever come across.

"Um, yes?"

Prussia raised a brow.

The man leaned in to show her an apple.

"What do you think about these fruits?"

"Well, the apples here are quite good, but they’re—"

She stopped halfway through the word when a pure silver of a wolf’s head pendant slipped out from his collar and flashed brightly in her eyes.

Prussia threw herself backward.

"YOU—!"

Her hand was already on her sword. A gold-class swordsman has one of the fastest draws, but before the scabbard could even click, before she could even blink, the man lazily waved his hand through the air.

At first nothing happened, then everything happened.

A hurricane appeared between them out of nowhere. It lasted for one second and vanished just as quickly, and everything in front of that hand was erased.

There was no warning at all, until it burst.

Prussia couldn’t dodge it.

She flew like a ragdoll, and behind her every market stall in Rensfell was shredded into splinters.

She’s groaning in the rubble.

Her ears were ringing, small scratches covered her arms, but there’s blood around her for some reason.

’...Huh?’

She checked herself, no wound so it wasn’t hers.

Then she looked up, and the shock hit her all at once.

She’s surrounded by the mangled bodies of village merchants and children.

A broken skull here, a torn arm there.

The old apple seller who’d been dozing behind his crate was just a bunch of body parts now.

The man in the cloak pulled down his hood.

He was tall and well-built, with rough green hair, silver earrings, and a ring through his nose. A black chest plate was fastened beneath his cloak, and heavy boots on his feet.

"Damn! I really thought I had her! Keke!"

Father Rill had barely survived.

He was bleeding and panting as one arm hung uselessly at his side. Still, when he saw Prussia down in the rubble, he tried to run.

"Lady Prussia!"

Two people appeared in front of him from nowhere.

One was a huge, cheerful muscle-head.

The other was a woman with pink hair, a sharp fox-like face, and a scout’s outfit. She tilted her head at the old man.

Rill coughed up blood.

"Wh... who are you people?"

"...I’m Skein. The big dummy standing next to me is Hegor. And we’re mercenaries of Shadow Wolf."

The woman said, grinning sharply.

"Hello!" said Hegor, cheerfully.

The color drained out of the priest’s face so entirely he looked like he might wither on the spot.

"Sh... Shadow Wolf..."

Skein giggled over her delicate fingers.

"Oh, you know who we are. Then you also know no one is leaving here ali—"

A purple beam split the air, it was so fast that Skein felt the heat of it a hair from her chest. She coated her body in mana lightning in a blink and leapt aside, and the beam punched a hole through a wall behind her.

Her eyes narrowed.

"What was that?"

A raven-haired dragon girl was walking toward Father Rill as the village children and nuns trailed behind her. Her finger was still raised, smoking at the tips.

"That one...!" Skein hissed.

Alpis ignored her, casually jabbing her thumb toward Skein and Hegor and looked at Prussia.

"Do you want to exchange idiots?"

Prussia pushed herself out of the rubble.

She pulled her sword free but her furious eyes didn’t leave the man in the cloak for even a second.

"No. I want this one all to myself."

The man slapped a hand over his eyes and threw his head back for a laugh he didn’t even know his lungs allowed.

"Hah! HAHAHA! You don’t even know who I am, girl!"

"I do."

His laughter stuttered. "...Huh?"

"You’re the leader of Shadow Wolf. A gold-class wind mage with endless bounties on his head. A mage who rapes and pillages for pleasure... Crazy Wind Boreas Valdane. The Marsofian Union is very familiar with mercenaries like you."

Boreas grinned devilishly and slicked his green hair back.

"Well, well. Isn’t today my lucky day? I’ve got a fan, and a pretty one at that!"

He looked at Alpis as well.

"Mmm, and that one’s pretty too, I can’t make a choice, so I’ll make toys out of you both. I’ll snap your bones and drink the blood right out of your hearts!"

He gripped himself down there, and the pleasure on his face was so sickening that Prussia didn’t realize she’d taken a step back out of fear of the unknown.

Her fingers cracked around her hilt.

’This guy is insane...’

She took a small breath.

BOOM!

She launched herself at him faster than he could react.

"I HAVE A FIANCé, YOU DICKHEAD!"

Boreas’s hand came up late. He didn’t have time for another wind blast. Prussia’s blade, a stroke of pure excellence, passed through his arm and took it clean off. She spun mid-slash and drove her sword deep into his shoulder.

"RAAAAaaagH!"

His scream shook the broken rooftops.

Alpis punched a fist in the air. "Atta girl!"

Prussia was confident, she was ready to finish this.

...Temporary, though, a laughter stopped her.

It came from the man she had just run through.

"...What?"

Boreas raised his head and his face was wet with sweat and his eyes were wide with delight.

"Do you think I’m some washed-up mage, who can’t handle a worthless woman with a sword?"

His remaining hand gripped her by the stomach.

"Boom..."