The village had been put to the torch, and only the burned skeletons of the destroyed homes gave any clue as to what it had been like before.
The smell of blood blended with the stench of burning as one walked between them.
Gazef's face was calm, with no hint of any emotions on it. However, no expression could convey his feelings more clearly than this. The same applied to Vice-Captain who walked by Gazef's side.
Over a hundred villagers had lived here. Six had survived. Everyone else had been mercilessly slain, whether they were women, children, or infants.
"Vice-Captain, have some of our people return the survivors to E-Rantel."
"But wait, this is…"
"You're right, it's a big risk. Even so, we can't just abandon them like this."
E-Rantel was directly administered by the King, and protecting its surrounding villages was the King's duty. Abandoning the survivors here would cause a lot of problems for him. One could imagine how the Noble Faction, which opposed the King, would seize on that opportunity to make trouble for him. More importantly—
"Please reconsider. A lot of the survivors witnessed Imperial knights. We can consider that as having fulfilled the first part of the King's orders. I feel we should fall back for now and make sufficient preparations in E-Rantel before carrying out the next part."
"No."
"Warrior-Captain! You should know by now that this is a trap. The timing of the attack came too close to our arrival at E-Rantel to be anything but a coincidence. Their ruthless actions were only committed after we arrived, and the reason why they did not kill everyone was in order to use them as bait for a trap."
The survivors had not evaded the knights. Rather, the enemy had not finished them off. It might be a plot to divide Gazef's strength by having him split off his men to protect the survivors.
"Warrior-Captain, do you intend to keep at it, knowing well that there's a trap?"
"...Indeed."
"Warrior Captain, are you serious about that!? Indeed, you are strong, and you could easily defeat a hundred knights. However, the Empire has that old man. Even you would be in great danger against him. There's also a chance that you might lose against the Empire's renowned Four Knights, under-equipped as you are. Therefore, I beg you to fall back. To the King, losing a few villages is nothing compared to losing you!"
Gazef could only listen quietly as his Vice-Captain got more and more nervous.
"If we won't fall back… then we should leave the survivors behind and launch a pursuit with all of us."
"That would be the wisest option.... But at the same time, it would mean that we would be leaving them to their deaths. Do you think they can survive by themselves?"
The Vice-Captain could not reply, because he knew the survivors' chances by themselves were practically nonexistent.
Without someone to protect and escort them to a safe area, they would be dead in days.
Even so, the Vice-Captain spoke — no, he had to speak.
"...Warrior-Captain. Yours is the most valuable life here.The villagers' lives are nothing in comparison."
Gazef was well aware of the painful decision the Vice-Captain had made, and he was angry at himself for having forced him to say such a thing.
Even so, he could not comply with the Vice-Captain's request.
"I was born a commoner, and so were you."
"Indeed, and I enlisted in admiration of you, Warrior-Captain."
"I recall you were born in a village as well?"
"Yes, which is why…"
"Life in a village is difficult, and death is a constant companion. It's not uncommon for a village to be attacked by a monster and many lives lost as a result, am I wrong?"
"...No, you are not."
"When a monster shows up, the rank and file soldiers are hard pressed to deal with it. If a village does not have the money to hire adventurers to deal with monsters, all they can do is hunker down and wait for the monster to leave."
"...That's right."
"Then, can you say you did not look forward to something like this? Can you say you did not hope for the nobles or someone strong to come and save you?"
"...It would be a lie to say that I didn't. But the fact is that nobody ever came forward to help. At least, the lord of the land where my village was did not pay for adventurers to help us."
"Since that is the case… why don't we prove that we're not like him? Come, let us save these people."
The Vice-Captain thought of his own experiences, and could not say anything in response.
"Vice-Captain, let's show the villagers what heroes who willingly plunge into danger to save others look like. Let's show them how the strong will save the weak."
Gazef's eyes met the Vice-Captain's, and countless emotions passed in between them.
His voice somewhat tired but grateful, the Vice-Captain replied:
"...Then allow me to lead the men. There are many who can replace me, but none who can take the place of you, Warrior-Captain."
"Don't be foolish. My chances of survival are higher. Remember, we're not going to die, but to save the people of the Kingdom."
The Vice-Captain opened his mouth several times, as though to speak, but in the end, he chose to remain silent.
"Then, pick the soldiers who will follow you in escorting the villagers to E-Rantel."
The crimson light of the setting sun shone on a group of men upon the plains.
There were forty five of them.
They must have had excellent camouflage techniques given the way they had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Magic was most likely involved.
It was obvious at a glance that they were not simple mercenaries, travellers, or adventurers.
They were all dressed the same way, in armor made of special metals, which emphasised defensive power and mobility. After enchantment, they were more protective than full plate armor.
The bags on their backs were small, hardly the kind one would expect a traveller to carry. Those bags were enchanted as well. Their belts were special, designed to carry potions, and the capes on their backs also radiated an aura of magic.
Gathering this many sets of magic items would be a daunting task, be it in terms of time, money, or effort required. The fact that these people were outfitted in this sort of equipment was a clear sign that they had the backing of a nation, or the equivalent.
However, there were no markings or badges on them which might reveal their allegiance. In other words, they were hiding the fact that they were a black ops unit.
They looked at the ruins of the village with emotionless eyes. Although the stink of blood and fire hung heavy in the air, their merciless gazes seemed to say that this was only to be expected.
"...They fled."
The words were spoken with a hint of disappointment.
"...Well, that's only to be expected. We will continue attacking villages to draw him out. The beast must be lured into the trap."
The man who spoke cast a razor-sharp look in the direction where Gazef's company was riding.
"Show me the village which we will next be using as bait."