After two days together, Havent had once again grown familiar with the members of this hastily assembled mercenary party.
Riding at the rear of the group, he chatted with the spear-wielding mercenary from that day.
"Andel, what is the Armor Defense Line like?"
Andel took the wineskin Havent handed him and tipped back a large gulp. The rich taste of the ale made him shiver comfortably. He felt quite close to this generous young man.
"The Armor Defense Line? There's nothing especially remarkable about it. Mostly because I've never seen the outside world either. I was just a supply soldier before and never went up on the walls. But I can tell you a little about what it's like inside the Armor Defense Line. Will, I remember you said you were from the Northern Frontier too, right?"
Havent nodded at Andel, signaling for him to continue.
Andel did not have the bad habit of rambling nonsense. Under Havent's inquisitive gaze, he slowly began.
"Every adult man in the Northern Frontier has to serve at the Armor Defense Line once he turns eighteen. Looks like you haven't gone yet, kid, so I'll tell you about it. With your skills, Will, if you do well there in the future, you might even become some kind of patrol squad captain."
Havent paused in surprise at Andel's description. He had not known that every young person in the Northern Frontier had to serve once they came of age.
"Speaking of which, the lords of our Northern Frontier treat us common folk pretty well. A fellow like me only needed to serve five years at the Armor Defense Line before retiring, and they even gave me a hefty retirement payment at the end.
"I never went up on the walls myself, but my former captain said the main forces got even better benefits. He said you could exchange military merit for all kinds of things. My captain had been wounded on the front lines and transferred down to become the captain of a supply transport unit. He had a longsword mixed with magical metal in his hands. Tsk, tsk, that was truly fine stuff.
"You're young, Will, and you're good with your hands. If you spend a few years at the Armor Defense Line and stay careful, you can probably earn yourself plenty too. The years I served were peaceful enough. The Armor Defense Line was like a huge city. It was enormous..."
Havent found Andel's wistful sighing rather amusing. Still, it sounded as though his father and the others had indeed treated the people of the Northern Frontier well. At the very least, Andel had not said a single bad word even after retiring.
Perhaps after returning from the Imperial Capital, he ought to visit the Armor Defense Line himself. Just as Havent's mind drifted, he heard several sharp whistles through the air.
Havent instinctively flattened himself against his horse's back. Feeling arrow fletching graze across his back, he immediately rolled off the saddle and lay on the ground to see what had happened.
Beside him, Andel had been unable to dodge in time. Several arrows were lodged in his chest, and he collapsed to the ground, coughing blood from his mouth.
Like a lizard, Havent crawled over to Andel's side.
"Hey, how are you, Andel?"
Havent raised his head and looked at the masked figures approaching from afar, then nodded toward Andel.
"Congratulations, you guessed right. But there's no reward. Can you stand? We need to run."
Seeing the remaining mercenaries drag the young master and the old steward from the carriage before fleeing into the depths of the forest, Havent pulled Andel up from the ground as well.
But the ambushers had clearly planned everything thoroughly. Several masked figures emerged from deeper in the forest and forced them back. Seeing the masked men surrounding them from every side, the mercenary captain stepped forward despite himself.
"Gentlemen, we were hired by Baron Suir to escort the young master of his estate. Aren't you afraid the baron will uncover your identities after attacking us?"
The mercenary captain received nothing but silence from the masked men.
As the masked men watched them like tigers eyeing prey, the mercenary captain gritted his teeth and spoke again.
"Gentlemen, how about sparing our lives? I guarantee we'll pretend this never happened. We're willing to offer up all our valuables."
Dov, the mercenary captain standing at the front, froze upon hearing a familiar voice. The masked crowd parted, and a richly dressed woman stepped out from the middle.
"Lady Edwinna, why are you doing this? Baron Suir was already planning to send Young Master Lori away. Why are you determined to kill him?"
The beautiful woman across from them stared with hatred at the child hiding behind the mercenary captain.
"Shut up! That damned bastard has no right to be called a young master. Suir's heir can only ever be my son."
Havent supported Andel from the rear and watched quietly, unable to stop himself from complaining inwardly.
Damn it, how could I be this unlucky? I actually ran into something like this. That woman looks mentally unstable. I need to be careful once the fighting starts.
Things unfolded exactly as Havent had expected. After the beautiful woman finished shrieking hysterically, she looked coldly at the surrounded group.
"Kill them all. Dispose of that damned bastard."
As her words fell, the masked men raised their weapons and closed in on Havent and the others.
Watching the masked men approach slowly with swords and blades in hand, Havent drew the longsword at his waist and pressed close against Andel.
"Andel, can you still run? We'll head into the woods in a moment. I have medicine on me. Once we shake them off, I can treat your wounds."
Hearing Andel cough without pause, Havent turned to look at him. This burly Northern Frontier veteran was now pale-faced, blood froth constantly spilling from the corner of his mouth. When he saw Havent looking at him, he gave a blood-filled smile.
"Will, I probably can't make it. I'll cover you in a moment, cough, cough... Run. You're still young. You shouldn't die in a meaningless fight like this."
Seeing the determination in Andel's eyes, Havent felt his nose sting.
"Oh, right, Will. When you go to the Armor Defense Line someday, make sure you visit Vine Street. The bathhouse maids there are truly incredible."
With that, he raised his steel spear and charged at the masked men with a roar.
"Andel of the Second Squad, Fourth Supply Battalion, Twelfth Regiment of the Armor Defense Line, is attacking the enemy! Will! Stay behind me!"
Andel leveled his spear, radiating an unstoppable presence. He neither dodged nor flinched before the saber hacking toward him, instead taking it head-on with his broad shoulder. Tilting his head, he trapped the blade against it. The muscles in his arm bulged sharply, and his spear punched through the masked man's body as easily as chopsticks through tofu.
With a furious roar, Andel swung the masked man impaled on his spear into the other masked men.
"Run, Will!"
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