novelraw Chapter 123 : Rest Area
Chapter 123 : Rest Area
Chapter 123: Rest Area
Shiiiiiik!
Robin snapped his eyes open and rolled across the ground.
Thud.
The fletching of an arrow embedded in the earth trembled finely.
The eyes of the six men, including John, widened in alarm.
“Sigbard!”
An arrow was lodged in Sigbard’s back.
He had been fast asleep and failed to avoid it.
“An arrow while I was sleeping soundly.”
What was surprising was that despite being shot, he stood up perfectly fine.
He looked as if he had merely been bitten by an insect.
“Sigbard, are you okay?”
Sigbard pulled the arrow out of his back.
Flesh tore as it slid off the sharp arrowhead.
“This much will heal if you spit on it.”
He snapped the arrow in half with one hand as if breaking a twig and glared at the archer.
The archer who met his gaze faltered and stepped backward.
“John, was this your plan from the start?”
“What are you all doing! Attack him all at once!”
John did not answer Sigbard’s question and instead leveled his spear.
Sigbard grabbed his rod with a disappointed expression.
Six humans.
John with a spear, three swordsmen, and two archers.
They simultaneously surrounded Robin and Sigbard.
“They’re just two greenhorns! Let’s go!”
Along with John, the three swordsmen charged forward.
Their target was Sigbard.
Take down the big one first, then kill the black-haired one who looked like a young master.
John’s spear rushed toward Sigbard.
Just before the spearhead reached his neck.
Thump.
Sigbard caught the spear with his bare hand.
In that instant, John’s pupils shook.
Crack.
He snapped the shaft cleanly and threw the spearhead at an archer.
Thud.
The archer who had been drawing his bow collapsed limply.
It all happened before the three swordsmen could even swing their blades.
The three swords never reached Sigbard.
Sigbard grabbed John by the collar and hurled him toward them.
“Uaaagh!”
Screaming a single syllable, he flew toward his own allies.
Two of the three who were bunched together were knocked over by John, while one dodged to the side.
Swish.
The tip of the long rod stabbed into the solar plexus of the one who dodged.
The swordsman dropped to his knees with a choking sound, clutching his stomach as he gagged.
The only enemy left was one archer.
The archer who had been watching from afar turned around and ran.
“Stop.”
Sigbard shouted, but of course, there was no way he would listen.
He strode over to the fallen John, took the broken spear shaft, and hurled it like a javelin.
Thud.
The snapped end of the shaft was sharp and struck the archer in the back.
The fleeing man collapsed face-first onto the ground.
Without Robin even needing to step in, all six were neutralized in an instant.
“You sly bastards! Were you hiding your strength!”
John hurled curses at Sigbard.
Smack. Smack. Smack.
He struck three heads in succession, knocking them out cold.
The swordsman watching from the side trembled violently.
“P-please spare me.”
Smack.
Sigbard ignored him completely and punched him out.
In the meantime, Robin dragged over the archer with the spear shaft stuck in his back.
“Looks like one human is dead.”
The archer with the spearhead embedded showed no movement.
“Robin, thanks to you, I lived.”
“It’s a relief you didn’t let your guard down until the end.”
Although Sigbard expressed his gratitude, he was not in a pleasant mood.
The adventurers who might have traveled with them had been bandits.
As for their more detailed scheme, he planned to ask once they woke up.
“For now, let’s clean up the surroundings.”
Thanks to Sigbard’s moderate measures, there were few bloodstains scattered on the ground.
After gathering the fallen bandits in one place and binding them, they searched their belongings while looking around the area.
“Mmm…….”
When John came to his senses, his arms and legs were bound.
The bandits he had gathered were in no different a state.
As dawn broke, they realized they were all in the same predicament.
“You’re finally awake.”
At the flat voice, John lifted his head.
Robin was sharing hardtack and jerky with Sigbard.
“Listen, Robin, Sigbard. I was wrong. Just hear me out first.”
“Go on.”
Surprisingly, Robin readily listened to John.
Swallowing hard, John stammered.
“Well… I mean…….”
“What’s wrong. Now that you’re trying to talk, can’t think of an excuse?”
Robin was right.
How could he possibly make excuses for secretly attacking them while they slept?
As John stood silent like a mute who had eaten honey, Robin brought his sword close.
“H-hiiik! I was wrong! Please, just spare my life!”
“Why did you attack us?”
“I, I didn’t want to share the cut with you…….”
“Even if it was monster byproducts, it wouldn’t have been a large amount.”
“Wouldn’t it be quite profitable if we took their equipment too…….”
‘So in the end, it was because of money.’
Facing the dark reality directly left a bitter taste.
The reason adventurers operated in unexplored regions was money.
It was not only by hunting monsters or conquering dungeons that one could earn money.
Killing those weaker than oneself and stealing from them.
It was a way to amass wealth quickly.
“Why didn’t you attack us at the start and only ambushed us now?”
“That was…….”
“It’s fine, just say it.”
Perhaps thinking himself a real piece of trash even by his own standards, John continued in broken sentences.
“Wandering around alone was dangerous, so…….”
“What?”
“Didn’t we need people to carry the luggage…….”
In short, even if they were going to kill them, he intended to squeeze out everything useful first and then kill them.
Robin stared at John wordlessly, dumbfounded.
“If you’d known Sigbard was that strong, you wouldn’t have attacked.”
“So you traveled together to probe us, and once you thought we were greenhorns, you planned to kill us and take everything.”
John affirmed it with silence.
‘Humans are the scariest.’
The reason John had not acted sooner was for efficiency.
Two greenhorns who knew little about the ecology of unexplored regions.
He pretended to be a kind senior adventurer and led from the front.
They helped each other and fairly divided anything that might be worth money.
Once trust gradually built up that way, they were eliminated without a trace.
‘That must have been the plan.’
“Um… may I say something?”
The archer who had been silent spoke up.
Curious whether he had more to say, Robin gestured with his chin.
“You two will kill us now. That’s only natural. I have no complaints about that.”
“Yeah? Then I’ll kill you right now.”
As Robin placed his hand on his sword, the archer hurriedly continued.
“I heard that you two are not registered with the guild yet.”
“You even knew that? When did you tell him?”
When he threw a glance at John, a small reply came back.
“When I went to wash the dishes…….”
“So all the time you were separated was part of the plan?”
The more he learned, the more meticulously prepared it revealed itself to be.
Robin let out a hollow laugh and looked at the archer.
“I can resolve the registration issue for you.”
“If you’re about to say you’ll use connections to slip past the guards, know that you’ll die instantly.”
When Robin lowered his hand, the archer calmly added an explanation.
“You can forge another adventurer’s identification badge.”
“So that’s what you were getting at.”
Because Robin reacted as if it was not even worth hearing, the archer grew desperate.
“I know adventurers far worse than us!”
“So what? You want me to go steal a criminal’s identification badge?”
“I’ll bring it myself! If you give me a chance……!”
“You sure don’t have complaints about dying. Your eyes are desperate to live.”
The archer desperately tried to persuade them, throwing out every argument he could.
“You’re going to the rest area anyway, aren’t you? I’ll guide you!”
“Are those worse adventurers at the rest area?”
“Yes. They are extremely vile villains.”
“Then we can just go without you.”
“It will be difficult to catch them without me. They’re extremely sharp-witted…….”
‘Is he planning to betray others in the same line of work.’
“Engraving a mark onto an identification badge is difficult. I can do that as well!”
Robin asked Sigbard what he thought they should do.
“Even if what they say is false, we lose nothing.”
“So it’s nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
“That’s right.”
That archer had precisely grasped what Robin wanted.
Punish criminals masquerading as adventurers, and forge identification badges.
The fact that it was illegal was an issue, but this was a lawless zone.
Nothing that happened here would be strange.
‘Ha. Should I trust these guys again or not.’
Having already shown the difference in strength, they did not seem likely to betray them easily.
If they did betray them, he could simply draw his sword.
Robin let out a snort and nodded.
“Guide us to the rest area.”
“That means……!”
“It’d be better to drop any foolish ideas.”
There was no promise to spare his life, but the archer thanked them and took the lead.
The handling of the others was also pushed back for later.
“If I go alone, they’ll find it suspicious.”
For that reason, eight people moved toward the rest area.
The six bandits, including John, had their arms bound behind them, with only their legs free to move.
Sigbard held six ropes that tightly bound their torsos.
“This feels like taking pets for a walk.”
“Except for the fact that they’re people, that’s not wrong.”
“That’s wrong. They’re not people. They’re beasts.”
‘He’s adapted far better than I have.’
Was this the adaptability of the Barbarian Tribe.
True to such a bold tribe, he showed no mercy toward criminals.
The six men carrying luggage silently guided the way.
Five hours later.
In the distance, a three-story building standing alone came into view.
They had walked nonstop toward the north, skirting around the mountains.
“Huff. Huff.”
“Is it hard?”
“No, sir!”
The six men carrying luggage looked exhausted no matter who saw them.
It was because Robin’s and Sigbard’s backpacks had been added as well.
‘There’s a reason robbery is done in groups.’
If one wanted to take everything worth money, the more people there were to carry luggage, the better.
“Over there is the rest area.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes!”
“If you’re wrong, know that you’ll die.”
It was not a joke.
If they had gone to the trouble of spending all this time only to be deceived, there was no intention of forgiving it.
Sigbard spoke as if to calm him down.
“Don’t intimidate them too much. It’s only natural for frail humans to grow tired.”
“Are you taking their side right now?”
“When there is a whip, there must also be a carrot.”
Sigbard rummaged through his clothes and pulled out a monster bone.
‘Why does he even have that?’
As if to make Robin’s doubt meaningless, Sigbard waved the bone toward the six men.
“I will give a reward to the one who fetches it first.”
“…Pardon?”
Sigbard threw the bone far forward.
“Fetch it.”
The six wore blank expressions, but soon came to their senses.
The ropes had been released.
The quick-witted archer sprinted first.
“Tch!”
“Are you trying to save yourself alone!”
Sigbard spoke with a satisfied expression.
“Handling subordinates is also a virtue of a great warrior.”
‘That’s just mockery.’
Robin questioned him while watching the six run.
“What if they just run off like that?”
“Don’t worry. We have their identification badges.”
Robin had confiscated the six men’s valuables.
Identification badges, cash, weapons.
They were tightly bound so they could not free themselves alone, and on top of that, they were carrying heavy loads.
Furthermore, the six were tied together with ropes so they could not separate.
“They’re running straight to the rest area.”
“It’s true. What’s wrong with their heads.”
Contrary to Sigbard’s assurance, the six sprinted past the bone at full speed.
They were not fast, but they managed to open the door and enter the building.
“…Let’s go too.”
It did not take long for Robin to reach the rest area.
As he entered with Sigbard, the six men, panting heavily, greeted them.
Their cringing expressions were nowhere to be seen, replaced by a sense of triumph.
“How dare you try to screw us over?”
“Mosep, thanks to you, I lived!”
“You dare work us like dogs? Report this to the guards and you’ll end up in jail, so prepare yourself!”
Their attitude changed completely in an instant.
Not understanding what was going on, Robin looked around.
Other than the six, no other adventurers were in sight.
Shing.
When he drew his sword, John’s face stiffened in alarm.
As Robin trudged closer, he hurriedly shouted.
“Manager! Is there no manager! There’s a crazy swordsman here!”
‘By manager, does he mean the rest area administrator?’
Creeeak.
The back door opened and a large man entered.
The man looked at Robin and tilted his head.
“A beginner, are you.”
“Yes.”
“Put your sword away.”
“Who are you?”
The man strode forward and stopped in front of Robin.
He was taller than Robin.
The man rolled his shoulders and replied.
“The one responsible for this rest area.”
“They tried to kill us.”
“That does not justify starting a fight in the rest area.”
“Then we’ll drag them outside.”
Just as he tried to pass the man to grab the six.
The large man’s hand seized Robin’s shoulder.
“There must be no murder, nor any kind of dispute. This is a rest area where anyone can rest in peace.”
Crunch.
A heavy pressure was transmitted to his shoulder.
It was not a pleasant feeling.
At present, Robin had not sheathed his sword.
Even though he was gripping his sword, the man showed no sign of agitation.
“And if I don’t listen to you?”
The man curled his lips into a mocking smile and withdrew his hand.
As he clenched his fist, a threatening cracking sound spread.
“Then you’ll hear the screams of a rabbit caught in a bear trap.”