Chapter 483: A Ragged Mercenary
byLuke walked alongside the group of soldiers he had run into. From what he had gathered, they were returning from a reconnaissance mission.
“Those damn Ardan Order bastards,” Isolde spat, clutching her wound. “They caught us off guard with their bombs.”
“So this place has been at war for a few weeks,” Luke murmured.
“We’ve been fighting each other for months,” Hugo replied, “but everything really went to hell this past week.”
Two of them kept their distance from Luke, hands tight on their weapons, eyes never fully leaving him. He had already picked up all their names: Roland, Hugo, Ulric, and Isolde.
“Miles attacked the military base guarding the exit rift,” Roland said. “He gathered damn near an army.”
From what Luke understood, Miles was a baron of the Kingdom of Lagras. A few weeks earlier, he had rebelled inside the rift and allied himself with a criminal group known as the Eight Red Fingers.
“He must have spent months sending people through illegal rifts,” Isolde added.
And then he launches a full assault on the base managing the exit rift and takes it for himself with his private army. The situation reminded him of the tutorial.
“He wants the…” Ulric began, then froze.
In a sudden motion, Ulric spun, crossbow snapping up, finger tense on the trigger. “Don’t mov…”
He never finished. Luke lunged forward, knocking Ulric’s arm upward so the bolt fired harmlessly into the air. At the same time, Luke pressed a kukri to Ulric’s throat.
“You have one second to beg for mercy, or I cut your throat,” Luke said calmly.
“Please, stop. Everyone calm down,” Roland shouted.
Ulric locked up, sweat pouring down his face. “I, I, I beg…”
Luke answered with a punch to the face. As Ulric collapsed, Luke flicked the kukri toward the archer who had shifted his stance. The blade grazed his cheek close enough to draw blood. The archer froze.
“Did you seriously think you could try something against me?” Luke said.
The archer glanced down at his bow and went pale. The string had been cleanly severed.
“I thought you were one of Miles’ damn dogs,” Ulric groaned from the ground, blood running between his fingers.
Five throwing knives hovered around Luke, suspended by the power of [Telekinesis]. He could not launch them, but that hardly mattered. The soldiers stared, fear deepening in their eyes.
“Drop your weapons. Now.”
“I’m wounded, you idiots, and you pull this kind of crap?” Isolde snapped.
“We were trying to protect you,” one of them protested. “We thought we could take him.”
“And you were wrong. You can’t,” Luke replied. “Now walk. Strip. Down to your underwear.”
They stared at him, stunned.
“You thought you could attack me and walk away clean?” Luke continued. “I’m not killing you. But I’m not letting it slide either. You choose. Walk back to camp in your underwear, or lose a thumb. That way I know you won’t be holding a weapon anytime soon.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“You thought I was some kind of bandit. Fine. I’m stealing your weapons and your clothes. Move.”
Moments later, the three men stood there in nothing but their underwear.
Luke pulled out a healing potion and tossed it to Isolde. “Drink it. You owe me valuable information. Consider this me sparing you the dignity of being carried by an idiot in his underwear.”
“Th-thank you,” she muttered.
“Wow, a real gentleman. My panties are soaked,” Artemis commented.
Shut up. At least now they can move faster without dragging her along.
“Now start talking,” Luke said as they resumed walking. “Tell me the whole damn story.”
“These inferior beings,” Angie’s voice hissed inside his mind. “Saved by my lord, and this is how they repay him. If I could, I would make them suffer.”
Stolen story; please report.
***
While Luke listened to the explanation about the village and its treasures, a few ghouls began to creep closer.
At first, the soldiers tensed, hands tightening around their weapons. Luke did not even slow down. One shadow ball after another flew from his palm, each one erasing a creature before it could get close. When five ghouls charged at once, the black explosion bloomed outward and swallowed them whole.
[You have slain a Ruin Ghoul – Lv. 21]
[You have slain a Ruin Ghoul – Lv. 21]
[You have slain a Ruin Ghoul – Lv. 21]
[You have slain a Ruin Ghoul – Lv. 21]
[You have slain a Ruin Ghoul – Lv. 21]
**Your second class [Witch] has reached Level 10!**
[You have acquired a Witch Skill]
As the conversation continued, Luke started to piece together what really mattered.
There was a commanding officer in charge of administering the area. Her name was Cassandra, a noblewoman and the daughter of a general from the Kingdom of Lagras. The place itself was rich in mineral deposits and other valuable resources. On top of that, she was personally responsible for overseeing the search for treasures meant as gifts to the royal family of Lagras.




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