"That's..." Leynel muttered, only to release a deep sigh and shake his head. "More or less what I expected," he then admitted only to raise his hands and then rest them on his hips.
"My lord!" the man who caught Leon's attention screamed out, only to drop down from his mount before falling down on his knees and striking the ground with his forehead. "I only spoke truth, the truth, and only truth!" he then pledged, repeatedly striking the ground with his face. "May the gods be my witnesses, this is the man who killed nearly my entire unit!" he accused, raising up only to bring his hand up and point it at Leon. "Do not believe in a single lie this monster is spouting!" he then pledged.
"It is as you see, mister Leon," Leynel heaved a deep sigh, clearly not amused by the situation. And for the first time, a hint of genuine emotion flashed through his eyes.
The emotion that could only be described as an annoyance.
"It is a word against a word right now," Leynel finally admitted, raising his arms only to cross them over his chest. "Thankfully, there is a very simple way to verify which one of you speaks the truth," he then pointed out only for a small, vicious smile to appear on his lips. "And it's to go visit the village and ask around for their version of the events," he revealed.
The corner of Leon's lips twitched as he did his absolute best to hold back his amusement. Contrary to that, the survivor from the group of raiders turned white, realizing that his lies could only get him so far.
"He...He is for sure threatening them!" he then screamed out. Yet, as soon as Leynel glanced over at him, he instantly smashed his head down on the ground. "I swear on all the gods!"
'What does he expect will happen now?' Leon asked himself, genuinely taken aback by the man's obstinacy. 'Is he trying to extend his life even for a little bit? Or maybe hoping that if the situation prolongs, he might find a way to escape?'
Leon shook his head.
"I do not threaten anyone. In fact, I don't have a single weapon on me," Leon countered the man's accusation, raising his arms to showcase that he indeed hid no weapon on his body. "Also," he then turned his eyes back towards the officer. 'It's about time,' he thought, as a smile returned to his lips. "There is no need for you to bother going to the village."
As if by following a clock, the village elder suddenly appeared on the road. He was supported by the same guide that initially brought Leon to the edge of the village.
And in his hands, just as Leon requested, the elder held one of the swords that the deceased raiders left before departing for whatever awaited them after death.
"Sir, good sir!" The elder called out, struggling to catch his breath despite the help offered by the villager to his side. "A sword, just like you..." the elder spoke, quickly passing the weapon to Leon. Yet, by doing so, his eyes moved to the side and over at the group of soldiers.
At first, his face turned blank. Then, as the elder consumed more details of the situation, joy and relief replaced the initial terror only for fear to appear right back on his face when he recognized the man kneeling down on the ground.
"Are they..." the elder then asked in a trembling voice, taking a step to the side to hide behind Leon's back.
"I don't know yet," Leon replied and shrugged his shoulders. "I have yet to determine whose side they are on," he revealed.
The situation appeared to turn into somewhat of a stalemate. And then, Leynel took a step forward.
"Elder..." he spoke, only to stop right in his tracks.
Leon didn't allow the officer to take more than a single step. And when the officer took said step, he instantly raised the sword he received from the villager and pointed it toward the man.
"It would be a massive drag so I'm trying to avoid it," he announced, his voice turning cold for the very first time since the encounter started. "That's why I will overlook what you just did. But if you want to leave this place alive..." Leon's tone turned properly dark as he tightened the grip on his newfound weapon. "Don't you dare take another step."
'Keeping it all nice and dandy won't do me any good,' he thought, easily recognizing the direction the situation was going. 'Even if they won't outright kill me or attack the village, now that I caught that man's interest, he won't leave me alone if I don't set some borders.'
"Stop!" Leynel shouted.
But he obediently stopped in his tracks and even went as far as to raise his hands.
His words weren't directed at Leon, after all, but at the soldiers who readily reacted to Leon's provocation by lowering their lances and gripping tighter at the reins of their mounts.
"I understand," Leynel said, keeping his eyes locked on Leon's body. "I won't take a step forward. But I do need to question the elder."
The situation now reached its true stalemate. Or rather, that's how Leon decided to play it out. So he pretended to hesitate for a second, calculating all the variables in his thoughts... only to lower his sword while keeping up both his guard and attitude.
"Two questions. Be quick," he said.
"Elder..." Leynel said, only to swallow the anger caused by how Leon acted as if he was the one to decide the course of the events, despite standing all alone and facing a small but extremely dangerous group of his veterans. "Did the man by your side save your village from raiders?"
The village elder gulped down his saliva.
If there was anyone affected the most by the sudden escalation of the situation, it was the old man himself.
And so, rather than answering with a voice that he couldn't push through his throat, he simply nodded his head.
"Second question, then," Leynel informed, glancing over at Leon's lowered sword. "Who, amongst my people, was in the group of raiders that attacked your village?"
'That's pretty shrewd of him,' Leon thought, unable to stop an acknowledging smile from emerging on his lips.
Leynel asked about which of his man was amongst the raiders last night. And the man kowtowing on the ground didn't look like any of the mounted soldiers behind the officer's back. What's more, no one could tell whether the village elder actually happened to not only see the man who currently slammed his forehead against the ground nor if he got to see any details of his face!
"I..." Just as Leon expected, the elder hesitated."I hid in my house so I didn't really get to..."
"It's the man on the ground," before the elder could reply, his helper spoke out, pointing right at the man whom Leon recognized. "He was in the group of those bastards!" he uttered through his tightened teeth. "And I clearly saw his face when he was busy raping my wife!"