Early the next morning, Ryman and Marco arrived at Nord's manor with eight hunters. Marco looked particularly high-spirited. After returning home, he had specially made a sheath for his Machete out of animal hide and hung it prominently at his waist, afraid people might not notice it.
Looking at the crude workmanship of that sheath, though, it was hard to say what Marco had to show off about. Yet when he saw the other hunters regretting that they had not thought of the idea themselves, Marco silently praised his own cleverness.
Compared with One-Handed Swords, the hunters preferred Machetes. Not only were they more suitable for fighting in the mountains and forests, but their imposing appearance also helped. Good looks were justice. After Ryman and Marco brought the Machetes back yesterday, they had let the hunters who had joined the guard first and seen combat choose their weapons.
An elegant One-Handed Sword or an imposing Machete—the result spoke for itself. The hunters all chose Machetes, but there were not enough to go around. Even the remaining hunter chose a woodcutting axe rather than a One-Handed Sword. He had probably been won over by Ryman's battle that day and become his little fan.
The One-Handed Swords were distributed to the newcomers. Since the swords came with scabbards while the Machetes did not, the hunters used ropes to carry their Machetes on their backs. Only Marco had played a little trick, using his unbearable craftsmanship to make what he considered an excellent sheath, which even earned the envy of the other hunters.
When Nord arrived at the front of the manor, he found a group of hunters surrounding Marco and asking him how to make a sheath. Nord glanced over and saw that it was merely animal hide cut into the rough