Chapter 20 – Snake Den (2)

Men with swords at their waists were causing trouble inside the inn.

The other customers around buried their heads in the tables and ignored the situation.

It was natural. For they were the direct subordinates of the Lord of Oker.

If they intervened, they would definitely not see a good end.

“Father. Help me! Father!”

“P-Please let my daughter… let my daughter go.”

The innkeeper held onto one man’s arm and begged with tears. But the man with the sword only snorted.

“Innkeeper. I’m telling you, your daughter’s face is decent, so we’re selecting her as a maid. Think of it as an honor!”

The man spoke in a tone of showing generosity, but the innkeeper turned pale and shook his head.

“N-Nonsense! I have never seen the children who entered that castle come back out! My daughter cannot… cough.”

When the master they served was insulted, the enraged man kicked the innkeeper in the solar plexus.

“You bastard. Did you just insult the Lord?!”

Crash!

The innkeeper collapsed on the floor and groaned. The man ruthlessly trampled the owner’s arm.

The other guys were whistling and harassing the innkeeper’s daughter. They touched her breasts or licked her face.

At the scene unfolding before his eyes, the fallen innkeeper clenched his teeth with bloodshot eyes.

The man whispered into the innkeeper’s ear.

“If you hate sending your daughter, you had better find someone else yourself—whether you kidnap them or buy them with money. Otherwise, show us some sincerity. Then we’ll release her.”

The man made a circle with his fingers in front of the innkeeper’s eyes and smiled despicably.

“I-If so… money.”

The moment the innkeeper was about to open his mouth with a trembling voice,

the door of the shop slammed open. The men’s gazes snapped around.

“Huh? What is it?”

“Hey. There are no seats here right now, so ge— gasp, why is a knight here.”

When two heavily armed knights suddenly appeared, the men were startled.

Just because they were the Lord’s men did not mean they knew every piece of news promptly.

Since there were no cell phones in this era, a gap in information naturally existed.

The men who had been drinking alcohol here since broad daylight were even more so.

Whether the men were flustered or not, Veloc, who entered the shop, surveyed the surroundings.

Bandit-like fellows carrying weapons, and a shop in a mess. The fallen innkeeper and the weeping woman.

‘Typical.’

Veloc asked,

“What are you doing right now?”

The men tapped each other’s shoulders and watched each other’s expressions, then slightly opened their mouths.

“That… we are the Lord’s men here. We’re trying to take the owner’s daughter as a maid.”

The subordinate sold the Lord’s name. Usually, nobles did not care much about what happened to commoners. They did not want to move needlessly and cause friction with the rulers.

But to Veloc, who had come to hunt the demon ruling this land, it did not matter at all. Veloc frowned heavily.

“Did you get permission?”

“Well…”

“Why are you hesitating so much! Lord Veloc is asking, isn’t he!”

Clang!

As the men hesitated, Adel shouted fiercely and drew her sword.

She did not care whether the Lord’s men committed evil acts or not. She was just more enraged that the peasants answered her master’s question slowly.

As the half-curved sabre emitted a sharp, cold edge, even the few customers who saw it screamed and fled.

Now inside the inn, there were only the Serpent Lord’s men, the owner and his daughter, Veloc, and Adel.

At that moment, someone slammed the table and stood up. It was the man who had been harassing the owner’s daughter and touching her breasts.

“Gee, you sure talk in a shitty way! Even if you are a knight, aren’t you just a wanderer? This is our Lord’s land! Is it okay to act so arbitrarily like this?!”

Veloc’s eyes flashed with interest.

“Hey, Aaron! Are you crazy!”

If several people were gathered, there was always one brave fellow among them.

A man whose face was exceptionally redder and who stumbled here and there. Aaron was exactly like that.

“S-Sir Knight. I am sorry. This friend is briefly… Hey, Aaron.”

“Move. Fuck! I’m going to teach him a lesson.”

Aaron pushed away the man holding him back and approached Veloc. His broad shoulders and height were certainly threatening, but

he was also a killing expert who had been through all kinds of hardships. With the alcohol added to that, his hesitation vanished.

“This bastard wants to die!”

“Adel, wait a moment.”

“Lord Veloc?!”

Veloc stopped Adel, who was trying to swing her sword at the insult her master received. A very good idea came to his mind.

‘I can reduce the enemy’s numbers through a justified method.’

Seeing this, Aaron grinned. Even if he is a knight, it seems it is indeed hard to act rashly in someone else’s land, huh?

Gaining momentum, Aaron stomped closer. And thrusting his face right before Veloc’s, he growled threateningly,

“Just get lost while I’m speaking nicely. Unless you want your head blown off and to die.”

Veloc did not say anything for a moment. But his pupils rather sank deeply.

Internally, he was thinking how could a plan work out this well.

Unfortunately, Aaron, who was spitting on the floor, did not realize this.

He simply thought this young knight was terrified, and turned around with a loud laugh.

“Thank you. For creating a justification.”

From behind him, Veloc’s voice was heard. Along with a metallic clanking sound, a giant wind pressure was also felt.

“What bullshit— uh?”

Leaving a final gasp, Aaron flew through the air with his upper and lower body separated.

Slash!

Blood and entrails poured down like rain, soaking the leftover food, cups, and the wooden table.

A heavy smell of blood was added to the musty odor unique to inns.

Subsequently, Aaron’s upper body fell with a thud, his tongue sticking out in death. The Serpent Lord’s men stared with wide eyes, unable to say anything.

It felt like something massive had just swept past, and a person was sliced in two.

“Aaargh!”

The innkeeper’s daughter screamed noisily. Only then did the men snap out of it and properly grasp the situation.

The chunk of iron, stained with Aaron’s blood and flesh, was embedded in the wooden floor, dripping blood.

“W-What is that…”

One man stammered, pointing his finger at Veloc.

A greatsword… it was a giant greatsword. Furthermore, it was outrageously large and crude. A weapon that looked as if only a giant race would swing it.

Fuck. A human swings something like that?

What dominated the men’s minds right now was not revenge or mourning for their dead comrade.

Only the fear of having witnessed an unbelievable fact.

When everyone was frozen, a cheerful sound of clapping echoed in the middle of the inn.

Clap, clap, clap.

“Indeed, you are wonderful, Lord Veloc! Somehow, your skill seems to get better day by day.”

The squire Adel was delighted, wearing a full smile.

A person was halved right in front of her, yet she clapped in front of that.

‘We’re fucked. We messed with the wrong people.’

Seeing this, the subordinates broke out in a cold sweat all over. Those bastards were as crazy as their boss.

Veloc lifted the greatsword embedded in the ground and rested it on his shoulder. And he said calmly,

“After swinging it a few times, I’m getting used to it.”

“You will gradually get the hang of it more in the future.”

Watching the two talk while ignoring them, the Serpent Lord’s men also whispered to each other.

A conclusion was reached quickly. The event just now could be lightly wrapped up as: ‘Foolish Aaron lost his mind and picked a fight with a knight. So he died.’

One man spat on Aaron’s corpse and said,

“What a crazy bastard. How dare you utter such nonsense to Sir Knights? He deserved to die.”

“Right. What a piece of trash. He only put on airs usually.”

The men insulted their dead comrade without any hesitation. Then, laughing obsequiously, they bowed their heads.

“Sir. Aaron’s blunder. I will apologize on his behalf.”

It was an act worthy of a bandit with no loyalty whatsoever.

“I accept the apology.”

Veloc nodded readily. At this, the men were visibly relieved and tried to move their steps.

“Thank you, Sir. Then we will be leaving now.”

Veloc smiled slightly. He called his squire.

“Adel.”

“Yes.”

Adel, understanding her master’s intent, suddenly swung her curved sabre.

Slash! Blood splattered, and the wrist of the smiling man flew into the air.

“Oh?”

At the sudden burning sensation, the man’s face stiffened. Adel swung her sword again.

The sword light flashed, and the decapitated man collapsed, spurting a fountain of blood.

The innkeeper’s daughter screamed again. The Lord’s men also screamed.

They wailed as if it was extremely unfair.

“Why! Why! Shaun!”

“Didn’t you say you would forgive us!”

With the greatsword resting on the ground with a thud, Veloc cleaned his ear with one hand. It was a sound like some dog barking.

“I said I accepted the apology… but I never said I would let you go?”

“What?”

“You bastards insulted me and my squire. You dared to call me, Veloc Heine, a cowardly bastard who has no mother and no courage, and you insulted my squire as a street prostitute.”

Fuck. When did we.

The subordinates wanted to beat their chests in frustration. Although it was true that Aaron had threatened them, he had not said such harsh words.

But to Veloc, who wanted to use justification and saving face as an excuse to reduce the Serpent Lord’s forces, it did not matter at all.

Besides, they were people who made a habit of capturing and selling people, so he had no qualms of conscience.

“Isn’t that right, Innkeeper!”

Veloc called the innkeeper.

Then, the innkeeper, who had hidden in the corner with his daughter at some point, glared fiercely at the Lord’s men.

He nodded frantically.

“Yes! Truly honorable Sir Knight! It is all true! Those rioters insulted and intimidated you, Sir. This Dodon heard it clearly with his own two eyes and ears.”

They were the men who insulted and trampled his only daughter. Without thinking of the consequences, the innkeeper poured out the anger in his heart as much as he could. He was thinking of just packing his assets and fleeing if things went wrong.

At that moment, the subordinates realized. This knight before their eyes had no intention of letting them leave alive.

“Y-You son of a bitch!”

“Fuck. I’m going to kill you!”

Then they just had to fight.

The subordinates gripped their weapons with harsh curses. Their bloodshot eyes and distorted faces were quite threatening. Gaining momentum, they charged like beasts.

Veloc also bared his teeth and lifted the greatsword he had embedded in the ground.

The veins bulged, and the horrific chunk of iron hummed.

“I will spare one fellow. Since he must deliver the news to the Lord.”

Whoosh—

With the sound of tearing air, the inn floor shook as if it would shatter.

The innkeeper packed all his possessions and left the town with his daughter. Indeed, Veloc would have done the same.

The shop’s furniture was in pieces, and beneath them was full of the corpses of dismembered humans.

How could such a mess be cleaned up?

“Still, since he saved his only daughter’s life, didn’t he get off cheap?”

Veloc said, taking a sip of the alcohol remaining on the shelf. Adel also said, chewing on the bread contained in the basket,

“His subordinates were killed. Won’t the enraged Lord try to take revenge?”

Veloc shook his head.

“I don’t think he will.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Well. Because he is a noble? Besides, he is a demon who enjoys cannibalism. Would a demon consider humans as equals? No, I suspect he would just think of them as convenient tools to use.”

Of course, it was not certain. After all, the only demon he had caught was that goat-headed one that couldn’t even speak and just bleated.

But for some reason, it felt like it.

It could be considered the intuition of a 21st-century modern person who had encountered various information in different media.

‘Well, if they all come at once for revenge, I’ll just kill them all on the spot.’

In the fight with the bandits just now, Veloc felt it. With monstrous strength and a monster-like sword combined, he felt he could cut down even if dozens or more than a hundred human soldiers swarmed in.

“I see!”

Adel nodded and finished swallowing the bread she was eating. The two ate and enjoyed for a long time, relieving the fatigue of their journey.

The floor from which the smell of blood rose and the bodies of the dead did not affect them at all.

“A signal should come soon.”

It was when Veloc rested his arm on the shelf and spoke.

Knock, knock.

A knocking sound was heard from the entrance of the inn.

“Sir. I am Sam, a subordinate of the Lord of Oker. I would like to apologize for the rudeness that occurred earlier, so may I enter for a moment?”