A few days later, just as Micah had expected. A horde of fully armored troops (though only the vital parts, such as the chest, arms, and knees) came here. In the middle of the group, there was one person dressed in a super luxurious tuxedo, his face looked old with white hair, and he wore glasses. His body was very muscular like a bodybuilder.
At the back, there was a creature that looked like a lion but had a skin pattern that resembled a zebra, the hair on its neck emitted dust similar to volcanic ash, but it seemed harmless as the soldiers could still walk near them.
In the sky, there were winged creatures ridden by soldiers flying around the village to inspect the condition of the whole village. It was neither a dragon nor a bird, but a creature with a turtle-like shell, except its front legs had very wide wings like a giant bird.
*Grak!
The horde had stopped, and the muscular man walked to the man and woman dressed in super luxurious black suits.
The two people were Sherry and Doris who were ready to welcome the man. It was necessary to wear fancy clothes for this. They looked at the muscular man with great annoyance and fear. It showed on their faces that they didn't want him to come, but since they were nothing more than a peasant and bandit slayer, there wasn't much they could do.
"Good morning, Mr. Corn- I mean Sir Grand Marshal Corn Fredrick..." Doris smiled wryly while nodding like an idiot.
Doris really wanted to punch this old man in the face, but he didn't have the courage.
"I'll ignore the insults you said earlier. Let's get straight to the point, I'm here because of Duke Asena's orders to help take back the village from the bandits, however..." Corn's eye looked around at the village which was starting to be rebuilt, "it seems our help is unnecessary?"
"Y-yes, we managed to take our village back!" Doris answered with a sour smile.
"How?"
"At night we did it by stealthily! I used myself as bait while my husband killed them one by one in the dark!" Sherry answered like someone entering military training for the first time.
"Stealth? Bait?"
In silence, the marshal activated the 'Sense Satusus'. A magic that can reveal their status.
He discovered that the status of the two people had changed to Bandit Slayer and their levels were almost the same as his veteran unit. Their level is at 46.
"By the way, who made that plan?"
"Me!" Doris answered very optimistically and loudly.
When talking about something related to strategy, Doris did not look tense or afraid of the marshal. As if something called 'strategy' was his pride.
"And the one who uses magic?"
"Me!" Sherry raised her hands with a stiff scream.
The marshal smiled while adjusting his glasses. He seemed to have finished questioning them and ended up coming to a conclusion.
"It's a little hard to believe, but both of you are great!" The marshal laughed while clapping. "With this, I appoint you as the new head of the village!"
"Thank you(bow)!" said Sherry and Doris simultaneously.
Luckily the trio levels did not increase and all the exp goes to Doris and Sherry. The marshal really believed all the nonsense they were saying at this time. Their current level was absolute proof for him.
"With this, we will rebuild the village, and everyone who has died here will be erased(from history)!"
They had expected something like this. This was actually the part that made them speechless at that time. Having a village with a bad history will make trade partner from other countries raise their doubt.
"You guys, erased the list of everyone in this village?" Sherry's eyes suddenly became empty without a soul. Her words sounded slow and powerless.
"Of course! It would ruin diplomacy if outsiders knew that this village had been massacred before."
Erasing means letting go of those who died as never having existed. And that means everyone close to them is nothing more than their schizo fiction.
"Not gonna happen..."
"Sorry, milady, but that's the rule! You peasants have no value at all. You're nothing more than replaceable goods."
In the middle of the chatter, the flying turtle creature landed near the marshal. The rider walked over to the man and whispered something to him.
"I saw a small child hiding behind wooden boxes..." he said in a whisper.
"(Smiling), it looks like you two are not alone here(smirk)."
"What are you trying to do?!" Doris took a step back, his voice was full of threats.
The Souls Weapon he had instantly appeared in his trembling hands. The weapon is like having a sensor to detect incoming danger.
"You move, you die, remember that!" (Doris)
"Don't worry, I won't do anything to the child (laughs insultingly), it's just that if she's very cute and beautiful, maybe the Duke will want her," Marshal said while grinning when thinking it.
The Marshal wanted the girl not only to satisfy her master's lust but also to gain increasing trust from the Duke, which meant he could climb higher.
Since Asena became a Duke, all positions no longer depend on how capable or trustworthy they are, but rather how much the person pleases the Duke.
Both Doris and Sherry already knew about that. They immediately began to hold their Souls Weapons in hand. They were no longer joking, they were ready to fight against all the troops there.
"I'm so sorry, but you have to go!" threatened Doris with his sword.
The Marshal was not surprised by their reaction. He's even used to it, it's like his Tuesday.
The Marshal smiled and took out the axe attached to his shield. The weapon was purely handmade and not made of magical.
They must be careful because if the enemy is hiding their Souls Weapon, it can only mean two things. Either their weapon is too powerful that they need to hold back from using a regular one, or their weapon is too weak so they end up using handmade weapons. However, since their opponent is a Marshal, even a 'grand' one, the second possibility is highly impossible.
"You know? The position of village head will exist until that person's death, and I just gave it to you! If you dare to resist now, I will strip you from your position right away!"
Stripping off the position meant death, that's what it meant.
"If you want to do as you want, why don't try to raise your own flag?!" with a firm grip, Corn Fredrick swung his axe towards Doris.
The swing cut through the air, causing Sherry's hair next to him to flutter aggressively.
*Ctang! The black sword halted the axe swing fragilely. The swing almost split the sword into two. The sword couldn't withstand another hit, or it would shatter.
"B-because of that... I will fight for my freedom!" Doris replied tensely and breathlessly.
Doris took a step back and then lunged forward, aiming to strike Corn with a single slash.
*Slash! The slash happened so fast. Even Sherry was too late to react and step back.
*Brukkkk! Nevertheless, Corn's reflexes were quicker. He parried with his shield made of softwood.
Doris's swung sword pierced into the soft shield, making it difficult to take it out. The marshal laughed foolishly and then swung the shield, causing the stuck sword to be flung aside.
"Now you know why shields aren't always hard, don't you?!" he exclaimed as he ran towards Doris and kicked him until he was sent flying.
Doris's body instantly suffered severe injuries from just one physical attack.
Sherry, realizing the danger, quickly opened her book and attempted to cast a spell.
"Barrier!" A translucent green wall appeared around Doris.
"Tch! Eruplion, the girl is your breakfast now!" Corn commanded the lion-shaped creatures, with zebra pattern skin, and volcanic ash fur, to move to unprotected Sherry.
All five Eruplions surrounded Sherry from all directions. There was nothing the woman could do but accept her own death. If the Eruplions erupted once, she would be finished.
"Sherry!" Doris tried to call out, but nothing happened.
"Sherry! Sherry! Floria!" His initial cries sounded desperate but then transformed into a strange shout.
The marshal instantly understood the meaning of the shout. It was a kind morse shout that provided a pattern for those who heard it. It was a signal.
Immediately, a large puddle of water appeared beneath the Eruplions and Sherry. Whatever would happen, the Eruplions instantly tried to flee from the puddle.
Slowly, bubbles emerged from the puddle, growing larger and their number grew over time. Until finally...
*Kaboom!
An explosion of water occurred above the puddle. All the Eruplions that stepped into the puddle died from the water explosion, while Sherry survived as the water gave no sign of danger to her at all.
Meanwhile,
*Dor! *Dor! *Dor! *Dor! *Dor! *Dor! *Dor!
The sound of gunfire rang out from the rooftops seven times. As a result, two soldiers died, three horses died, and the remaining horses fled in fear, ignoring their masters.
On another side,
The sound of very loud and fast footsteps echoed throughout the village's alleys. A dark shadow was seen running around, confusing the soldiers and marshals.
*Slash! In an instant, the flying turtle rider was killed.
*Prak! The slash continued towards the marshal, but he was no ordinary person. He wouldn't die like his soldiers. He was an experienced individual.
Corn blocked the sharp sword with both of his palms. He realized how sharp the sword was, and if he blocked it with a weapon or shield, it would end up splitting into two.
"Level 1, status: commoner? You guys are strange people!"
Corn finally unleashed his Souls Weapon, a heavy and sturdy diamond shield. He swung the shield towards the person who attempted to kill him.
*Dooarrk! The person was instantly sent flying.
"You three! I think I understand now the source of oddness since the start set foot on this ground!" with enthusiasm and a fighting spirit, Corn tensed all his muscles and threw away his glasses. His eyes widened and turned red, realizing that his current opponent was no ordinary foe.
Micah stood guard on the rooftop with his weapon. Lidya was ready with her magic on the balcony and was now taking cover behind the balcony fence. Rudi faced the marshal directly.
The soldiers around them were busy with their horses, unable to help. Even if they were, Micah would soon cause chaos, preventing the soldiers from approaching their marshal.
Their fight was about to begin. The two actors left the village as soon as the commotion began and took cover. This was to give the three young people a stage and not become a burden to them.