Catching Loaches, Taking Revenge

A mortal grudge was nothing more than the hatred of a slain father or the resentment of a stolen wife.

And Igli Tal was involved in the former.

Even if no one said anything, news did not travel poorly. Even in a remote backwater like Tervain Village, anyone who wanted to inquire could find out.

Yesterday's Raphael Garcia Cortes was today's Igli Tal.

After Raphael Garcia Cortes killed the previous heir to Tevalinburg, the viscount heavily rewarded him, elevating him from a spearman to a knight.

Igli Tal was not so lucky. He had only been promoted to a squire, but he still received a handsome reward from Raphael Garcia Cortes.

He had leaped from being a recruit to becoming a squire knight—the sole squire knight of Lord Raphael Garcia Cortes.

Although Lord Raphael Garcia Cortes did not ride horses at all, he had actually taken this recruit on as his squire.

Feeling as though he had entered an entirely different class, Igli Tal called himself a tribune and led a squad of soldiers on border patrols day and night.

By sheer coincidence—or perhaps bad luck—he was attracted by the light of the torches they carried today.

William Adena had no idea whose enemy he was, so he paid it no mind and remained at the foot of the mountain.

When Igli Tal saw that the other party was ignoring him, he took another look at their armor and horses—things ordinary people could never afford.

He wanted to find some trace of their connection to the family ashes, but found nothing.

He could not determine where they came from, but he could be certain they were not on his side.

Raphael Garcia Cortes had once instructed him seriously: no matter where he went or what he did, there was one thing he absolutely had to do—keep his eyes sharp.

Thus, he had been required to memorize the family crests of every noble under the viscount.

That was to prevent him from offending any important person.

He had never seen this group before. And judging from where they were, they really might be from Tevalinburg.

With the principle that if the enemy was unhappy, he would be happy, he first sent someone back to report to his lord.

Then he firmly announced that regardless of what they were doing, they had to cooperate with their routine investigation.

William Adena was a noble by birth. Although he had never had the chance to inherit a title, he had still seen and experienced plenty.

How could he possibly take seriously this fool who had only just wiped the snot from his nose yet was already trying to act like a respectable gentleman?

"I don't know whose man you are, and I don't know what you intend to do. But let me make this clear: the land beneath our feet belongs to the Tevalin Family. Be on guard!"

With a simple shout, Adamson and the other heavy cavalrymen quickly took the shields from their backs and held them at their sides. At the same time, they adjusted their horses' angles, ready to charge at any moment.

While the two sides were deadlocked, slippery as a loach, Horus and his men were in trouble.

They had originally been climbing the mountain, but now they changed course and went downhill. The infantry, who had initially been attacking uphill, found things much easier.

"Fight to the death!"

More and more pirates were struck by bolts. Once they realized there was no hope of escape, their ferocity was roused, and they dared to stand their ground in groups of two or three, waiting for the enemy to close in.

But the infantry did not seem eager to engage them. They had no intention of getting close at all.

They fired their crossbows without the slightest concern for wasting bolts.

One bolt after another flew toward them.

Thus, after advancing and stopping repeatedly, Horus found that only a few people remained beside him.

Old Adam truly lived up to his name. He was steady as a rock.

Leading the infantry, he had never intended to engage in close combat. If they could shoot someone to death, they would never draw their swords!

Some pirates tried to fight back, only to discover that the weapons they threw could not possibly reach the archers.

They could only die in frustration.

By the time Horus fled downhill with the one-eyed first mate and the bookkeeper, no one remained behind them.

Only the infantry closing in from all directions remained.

Horus was truly slippery.

When he saw the standoff below, he immediately shouted, "We escaped from Tervain Village! We've brought news that Tevalinburg has betrayed the duchy! Please save us!"

Igli Tal had already been wondering how to provoke them.

How could he let such a perfect opportunity slip away after hearing that?

But he had clearly miscalculated.

Although William Adena was also of noble birth, he had never experienced anything called a private war between nobles. He could not tell that the shouting was still within reasonable bounds.

Without the slightest hesitation, he allowed the three utterly disheveled pirates to pass.

Leading his nine cavalrymen, he charged toward the farmers who had just put down their hoes and picked up wooden clubs under Igli Tal's command.

He knew that killing people would be bad.

It could easily spark trouble.

So he merely scattered the group.

But in that brief opening, Horus, who was even more slippery than a loach, suddenly accelerated and ran northwest.

Yet even after continuing along the boundary between the two territories for some distance, intending to find a chance to enter the viscount's domain and then locate a village for clothes and provisions, he had barely relaxed when he discovered a knight waiting there.

"Is this never going to end?"

Horus revealed his vicious side. "He's alone. Kill him!"

Ergons Tevalin had no idea who was whose enemy, but after seeing on the map that a group of people seemed about to come into contact with the battle—

the system suddenly issued a quest.

According to the shameless system's own explanation, this was because, strictly speaking, Ergons Tevalin now possessed two souls in one body.

The question was whether the Ergons Tevalin who should originally have died from poisoning had completely dissipated.

For him to leave this body completely and without resentment, Ergons Tevalin had to help him fulfill the promise he had made.

For example, taking revenge.

Perhaps no one embodied the concept of an enemy better than Igli Tal, who had personally carried it out.

So he had to act.

Thus, the pirates who had originally only wanted to reach the other party's territory could not be allowed to live.

Keeping them could only lead to trouble. At the very least, it would be aiding the enemy.

Before Horus could say another word, the long spear in Ergons Tevalin's hands had already leveled out.

The warhorse beneath him gradually picked up speed.

To be honest, on this rugged mountain road, Ergons Tevalin's powerful spear might not even hit a single person.

Even an ordinary horse could injure its hooves.

But was this a normal situation?

With one charge, Horus and the first mate dodged far away, but the pirate bookkeeper was caught on the spear.

At that moment, the first mate suddenly displayed admirable courage. He shoved Horus and shouted coldly, "You rotten noble, hurry up and leave! Don't throw your life away here. Didn't you always want to go home and reclaim your family fortune?"