I’m not going to let them do that, of course. I take advantage of their brief pause, as they put themselves on guard against me, and use the Immortal Art ‘Flash Step’ several times in rapid succession. Simply put, it’s a technique that lets me move quickly by taking a single step. It’s closer to short-range teleportation than it is to actually giving me speed.
I can’t use it to move from inside to outside, or between two spaces that are separated by a wall, but getting to the other side of the carriage is as simple as using it twice.
I land a blow to the side of a bandit’s head, just as he relaxes, likely in the belief that he’ll be able to reach the carriage. Running with his hand outstretched, he collapses onto the ground before he even realizes that he’s dead.
“Gah! Ahhhhh!”
The kimono-clad man who was on the other side of the carriage a second ago suddenly appears in front of them. Not only that, but he’s killed their mate a few steps ahead of them.
Recognizing this, the bandits try to back away. Blois unleashes a wind blade at them from the air, cutting short their lives.
“Th-That’s impossible! How is everyone already dead?!”
The first spell killed five of them. After that, the men furthest from the carriage were picked off one by one. I killed three of them. During that time, the other bandits could do nothing but watch.
Taking down two opponents with twenty men should have been simple enough. But attacking the carriage of a daughter of House Sepaeda, particularly with that attitude, would only result in those twenty men being wiped out in the blink of an eye.
The last remaining bandit wasn’t alive because he was particularly skilled at dodging the attacks, or because he was so tough that he somehow endured all their damage, but rather because he just happened to be the last one standing.
More specifically, he was alive because Lady Douve wanted to declare victory.
“...Twenty isn’t very many, is it? My bodyguards were so strong that destroying all of those bandits didn’t take any time at all.”
Lady Douve leaves the carriage after confirming it was safe. She takes a brief look around at the bodies lit by the torchlight and lets out a soft sigh.
“Sansui, is this all there is? No chance of any reinforcements waiting to ambush us?”
I shake my head. No, I don’t sense any people nearby. We’d already thoroughly wiped them out. There’s nothing around us that could pose a threat.
“Oh...well, that was a disappointment. You should know better than to attack with just twenty men! If you’re going to attack my carriage you need to gather at least ten times as many! There’s a limit to how much you can underestimate House Sepaeda.”
What she says is true. When attacking a House Sepaeda carriage, the attacker needs to have a sufficiently large force to have any chance at all. Of course, we were the ones who elected to travel this way, despite knowing there were only twenty of them.
“E-Eeeep!”
“You know, Blois was as impressive as usual, but Sansui, you’re always so boring. I couldn’t even get a good look at your technique. Can’t you at least fight in a way I can watch properly?”
In my mind, I fought in a way that kept them from even coming close to harming the carriage, but she offers a ruthless critique nonetheless. Honestly, it’s more like nit-picking, but since Lady Douve’s goal was entertainment, not wiping out the bandits, she’s directing her frustration with her lack of fulfillment in my direction.
“You have my apologies, Lady Douve.”
“I beg your pardon, Lady Douve.”
For the record, it’s not that Lady Douve is secretly much stronger than we are. She just has authority over us; in truth, she doesn’t have any combat skills whatsoever. However, she’s also a noble daughter of high rank. Blois and I have no choice but to apologize. It’s hard being a retainer sometimes.
“Well, it’s fine, I suppose. The bandits are really the ones at fault for being so pathetic. I was watching from the carriage window, but what is wrong with you lot? You were so busy panicking that you didn’t show much fight at all.”
I feel a bit bad for the surviving bandit. Not only did his companions all get massacred, he has to stand there and get chewed out.
Evidently, he isn’t up to dealing with this new reality, and so, while still on his hands and knees, is looking for any other bandit that might still be alive. It’s doubtful that he’s actually listening to Lady Douve’s hectoring.
“There’s no point in even killing this man, is there? Looks like they’re just ruffians who started robbing people because they were hard up for money. Blois, return to the carriage.”
“Understood, milady.”
Looking thoroughly displeased, Lady Douve returns to the carriage and Blois follows behind her, leaving just the lone bandit and myself standing outside the carriage.
“Wait...does this mean...”
Does this mean he’s not going to die? Did he just hit the jackpot on a twenty-to-one chance and end up as the lone survivor? The remaining bandit, unable to process the fact that he might actually survive this encounter, sits there muttering to himself in bewilderment.
“Sansui, tie that man up. We’re not going to bother taking him in, though.”
Lady Douve’s voice comes from inside the carriage, but I can’t see her expression. Still, I can figure out her mood well enough by sensing her presence. Not that I have to bother; her tone of voice expresses her mood well enough.
“Leave him to be devoured by beasts along with his companions.”
“Understood.”
We’re not going to kill him, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to let him live, either. He attacked the carriage despite knowing it belonged to House Sepaeda. We did warn them before they attacked that we weren’t leaving survivors.
I retrieve a few leather belts and other miscellaneous straps from the bodies, then make my way toward the last survivor.
“W-Wait! There’s man-eating beasts around these parts!”
“So I see. The smell of blood’s drawing them here.”
It’s not a tasteful thing we’re doing, but it’s not exactly immoral, either. Rather than just kill them for sporting purposes, it’s better to let nature take its course and have the wild animals eat them instead.
“P-Please, help me! I’ll do anything, anything at all! I’ll even lick your boots! I don’t wanna die!”
“Far too late for that.”
We warned them, but they attacked us anyway. The results of that are entirely on them.
I fire a Ki Wave, leaving him immobilized. I’m careful to make sure he stays conscious.
“Then kill me! Don’t leave me to get mauled to death by some critter!”
“I’m sure it won’t be comfortable, but try not to worry about it. Most nonhuman creatures die that way anyway.”
I had already felt the presence of hungry beasts approaching earlier. I’m sure they’ll happily scarf down these bandits. What a wonderful thing.
“Don’t worry, it’ll be over quickly.”
I hope that this improves Lady Douve’s mood a little. Making sure he’s securely tied down, I make my way back to the carriage. By the time I take my seat, the elderly driver has the reins back in hand, and is going back down the road in a hurry. The horses are aware of the predators, too, which is why they’re moving so quickly despite having trouble seeing their next steps.