My Demons - Chapter 50

Prev I TOC I Next

His name was ‘Albi.’

He didn’t even understand why he was bestowed with such an endearing name. He lacked any knowledge of his parents or siblings who could have given him an explanation.

The earliest recollection from his life was that of pilfering food and enduring a brutal thrashing from an enraged merchant.

From that point forward, he sustained himself through begging and pickpocketing, gradually evolving into an integral part of a gang of thieves.

What transformed Albi’s existence was an encounter with a wounded, itinerant knight.

His band of thieves couldn’t resist the allure of the injured knight’s armor and weaponry, beseeching for mercy. Impulsive thieves, blinded by their avarice, lunged at the knight.

Remarkably, they were all annihilated by the knight, who was on the brink of death.

Observing this, Albi sat beneath an oak tree, seeking refuge from the scorching sun.

As the insults and shouts gradually subsided, he approached the fallen knight and inflicted a fatal stab to the knight’s neck. From that day onward, Albi assumed the role of a wandering knight himself.

Even afterward, Albi continued to partake in thievery.

The distinction lay in the fact that he no longer needed to be subservient.

To convincingly enact the persona of a wandering knight, Albi acquired expertise in horseback riding and martial arts. As his gang expanded, his impersonation as a knight became increasingly convincing.

With Albi’s advancing skills came growing notoriety, and the size of his gang continued to swell.

When his band of thieves exceeded a thousand members, Albi realized that the title of ‘wandering knight’ no longer suited him.

Thus, he declared himself a noble and knighted his subordinates.

Hence, ‘Baron Albanne’ and his gang of robbers were born.

Amidst the low-lying reed fields, numerous horses had established a camp.

In the heart of the encampment, a wide, flat rock served as a perch for a heavily-armed man.

At first glance, shrouded in black plate armor, he bore the visage of a knight.

The heavily-armed man, self-styled as ‘Baron Albanne,’ sat with arms crossed and a furrowed brow.

“The prince himself?”

“Yes, my Lord. Ten cavalry units have been lurking along the riverbank since dusk, poised to cross at any moment.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

As Baron Albanne stroked his chin in contemplation, the surrounding bandit leaders voiced their concerns.

“We absolutely must prevent them from breaking our encirclement.”

“Some may be rushing from South Harbor to reinforce them, my Lord.”

“Even if it’s just twenty of them, why not lure them into the forest and eliminate them?”

Though he maintained the facade of a knight and thus employed moderately polite language, the Baron couldn’t help but scoff at his subordinates’ suggestions.

“Heh, you’re all quite foolish, aren’t you? If they intended to cross the river, they wouldn’t delay; they would seize the opportunity.”

“So, what’s their plan, then?”

“It’s clearly a ruse. They aim to divert attention towards the prince while breaking through elsewhere.”

Baron Albanne clicked his tongue in disapproval, casting a critical eye upon his perplexed subordinates.

‘What a collection of ignoramuses I have under my command. I must swiftly establish a domain and replace them all.’

“Aldo! Relay a message to the pirates. They may be targeting the coast.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“Pageno! Patrol the tunnels. They may attempt to divert attention to the east and slip through the tunnels.” Pageno, upon receiving the order, raised a question.

“Haven’t we stationed men near the tunnels already? I don’t believe I need to go there, my Lord.”

In response, Baron’s face contorted in anger.

“You are to pursue and apprehend anyone wandering near those tunnels, you imbecile. Cease your chatter and depart before I gouge your eyes out!”

Grimacing at the Baron’s outburst, Pageno hurriedly moved.

During their strategizing, a messenger approached the Baron.

“What is it now?”

“They’ve successfully crossed!”

Baron’s eyes widened in surprise as his previous assumption proved to be incorrect.

“What? How? Explain!”

“Arrows rained down from the other side, and the cavalry swiftly crossed the river!”

“Arrows? Did they bring infantry as well?”

“It appears so!” Receiving the report, Baron Albanne’s anger flared.

Not only had his prediction been wrong, but one of the surrounding bandit leaders had let out a snicker.

“You, you six-fingered scoundrel!”

Seething with rage, Baron grabbed his massive weapon propped against the rock. It was a flanged mace.

Before the knights could react, Baron raised the mace with both hands and brought it crashing down.

Crash!

The bandit leader who had been snickering had his head instantly shattered into pieces.

Splattered brains, burst eyeballs, mixed with blood and shattered bones flew in all directions. The marauding leaders stood frozen in shock. Surrounded by them, the Baron raised his voice again.

“Why are you fools just standing around? Assemble all the troops!”

The raid leaders, their faces drained of color, scattered in all directions. Baron Albanne grinned from ear to ear.

***

The May sun on the southern coast seemed exceptionally long.

Even as evening approached and the group that had left the garrison reached the northwest coast, the sea still had a crimson hue.

Although I was concerned about being discovered by bandits roaming the forest, a cliff shielded the sandy beach below.

The beach, a mixture of rounded pebbles and fine sand, presented a fairly pleasant scene.

However, among the nine people who had settled on the rocks, it appeared that only I and Luke had the leisure to look around.

“The sun is finally setting.”

With those words, the man who let out a small sigh was Randel, the medium-armored soldier who had given me a ride yesterday.

A personal guard to the prince, he was casually dressed in leather armor, facing the sunset.

“Time to move.”

“Yes, it’s time.”

Randel nodded with a grim expression. As I stood up, shaking the sand off my rear, the rest of the group also began to move.

Two scouts who had come as guides, two personal guards to deliver the prince’s letter, Grania with tightly tied auburn hair due to her lost hood, Arnal with a quiver on her back, Luke rolling up his sleeves, and I, all clung to a small wooden boat.

As eight strong people left long trails in the sand pushing the boat, Ellen, who had been leisurely walking, was unexpectedly startled by the speed and resumed her steps.

Why the sudden need for a boat?

I don’t know, darn it. This never happened in the game.

Originally, according to the scenario, ‘Arrogant Liam the Knight’ should have devised the plan.

If the army moves through the secret passage to the west, the player exploits the weakened encirclement to break through and return to South Harbor—an inherently risky but simple plan.

However, the scenario took an unexpected turn, and Prince Ulkar assumed a central role in the plan.

Consequently, the plan grew more complex and audacious.

According to the prince, despite cooperation between pirates and bandits, their collaboration was far from perfect. This was evident in their failure to execute a joint operation, despite controlling territories in the sea and vast reed fields.

Therefore, the prince identified the beach and the nearby shore as the most significant weak points in the encirclement around South Harbor.

That’s why he issued orders for the nine of us to follow Plan B, which involved proceeding along the beach into South Harbor.

So, what’s Plan A?

A direct frontal assault.

The pursuit in the plains the previous night had resulted in more than a hundred casualties for the bandits.

The defenses along the Salt River would have weakened, making a frontal breakthrough – that’s Plan A.

If the bandits concentrate on us, the frontal breakthrough is likely to succeed; if their attention shifts to the frontal attack, our mission will have a higher chance of success.

If Plan A fails, regardless of the outcome on our end, the prince intends to execute ‘Plan A-2’… surely he won’t actually do it? That would be insane.

As we reached the shore, and the water rose to our knees, I looked around and gestured.

“Everyone, hurry and board! I’ll push.”

While observing the soldiers and comrades boarding the boat, I suddenly glanced back.

“Phoenix, help me.”

“…What are you doing?”

“Hurry. My shoe is wet.”

Ellen, who was standing on the beach, said this and extended both hands to me.

I was surprised by her confident demeanor, but I didn’t want to waste time, so I quickly helped her onto the boat.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Riding the tide, the turbulent waves crashed around us, but I stood firm on the sandy bottom and gained speed.

Eventually, as the water level rose to our necks, I grasped Arnal’s hand and lifted her onto the boat.

I wrung out the leather clothing beneath my armor and asked the young man, or rather, the boy in front of me,

“Are these waves too strong? Is this okay?”

“Well, it seems we’ll have to go further than planned, sigh.”

The young oarsman, rowing vigorously, went by the name of ‘Ivo,’ a youthful deckhand.

He was a slender, tall fellow, his face dotted with acne, appearing to be around Ellen’s age, maybe a year or two older.

“If we get caught by pirates, it’s going to be trouble. Wouldn’t it be better to follow the beach?”

“Well, that—”

Ivo hesitated briefly, cast a glance at the other deckhands, and shrugged his shoulders.

“Actually, I’m not sure. Lomet probably has a plan.”

“Hmm, does he?”

It didn’t appear that way.

The seasoned deckhand Lomet sat at the bow, gazing out at the sea. His scowling expression, while he scratched his salt-tinged hair, indicated that even with over 20 years of experience, he didn’t have any particular solutions.

In the end, the boat moved diagonally, riding the waves and heading south.

Grania and three soldiers were rowing diligently, but due to the rough waves, we could hardly pick up speed.

Watching that uneasy scene reminded me of the dappled horse I had left at the garrison.

Riding a horse along the beach would have been genuinely exhilarating.

According to the stable hands, with proper training, the dappled horse could become a decent war horse. While not as formidable as a cavalry charging horse, it was quite well-built.

Suddenly, I found myself worrying, recalling the arrow that had struck the dappled horse’s hindquarters. The stable hands would take good care of it, right? Even a mediocre war horse costs at least fifty gold coins…

Ah, it’s not about the money. It’s only natural to be concerned about a comrade with whom I’ve faced death, even if briefly, isn’t it?

Of course, if someone were to offer me a pile of gold coins, I might consider parting with that comrade, but—

Splash!

“Agh!”

Ellen’s sudden scream interrupted my thoughts.

A large wave had crashed against the bow, completely soaking her. Unable to find a target for her anger, she simmered in frustration.

She shot a glance in my direction, exuding an aura that said, ‘Say one word, and I’ll give you a piece of my mind.’

Naturally, I wasn’t going to remain silent just because of that atmosphere.

“You should have anticipated this when you complained about getting your feet wet. You brought it upon yourself.”

“You, you rascal—”

Muttering, Ellen glared fiercely at Arnal, who was suppressing a chuckle.

Arnal, who had been leaning against the railing, promptly clamped her mouth shut and pretended not to notice. Ellen grumbled for a moment and then turned her head away.

Prev I TOC I Next