As if those words were a signal, the owner of the store across the street also started to naturally bring in the items he had left outside.
However, the shop owner's eyes were turned towards the market entrance. Two men following a young woman. The behavior of the two men who had been looking around as if hunting prey was very suspicious.
At that moment, the two men who had exchanged glances quickly ran forward.
"Catch it."
The target is the young woman in front. Her hands were full of things she had bought at the market, and on her waist was a thick purse of money.
The man on the right was faster than the man on the left. The man on the right, who had suddenly taken the position behind the young woman, reached out with both hands and pushed her back hard.
No, that's what I was going to do.
"I finally got it."
The young woman, speaking in a shrill voice, threw her things on the floor and grabbed the man's right hand and the nape of his neck with both hands.
At the same time, she put one leg between the man's legs and used the momentum of her waist to throw him to the floor.
Crash!
In the blink of an eye, the man lying on the floor was so shocked that he lost consciousness on the spot. A young woman who had just successfully completed a flip looked at the man on the other side with a surprised expression on her face, not knowing what to do.
"Are you in league with this guy too?"
"...."
The man, who had been standing there with an anxious look on his face as if he knew the sin he had committed, glanced at the man lying on the floor and then started running towards the market without looking back.
"Where?"
As she expected, there was no answer from the man. The young woman did not chase after the running man, but just laughed at him.
"You shouldn't go that way."
At that moment, three shopkeepers doing business at the entrance to the market quickly jumped out and stopped the fleeing man.
"It's the vigilantes!"
"It would be better if you just obediently catch us when we say nice things."
But the man did not listen to the vigilante's warning. The vigilantes mercilessly beat the man with their clubs as he struggled and resisted violently.
Thud! Thud thud!
The vigilantes who had successfully subdued the man who was on his knees screaming spoke one by one with angry expressions on their faces.
"Do you know how many days I had to work undercover because of you two?"
"I'm so tired I could die."
"I'll go to the Vigilantes' Office to investigate, so if you feel wronged or have something to say, go there and talk about it."
As the male vigilantes were helping the man up, who had his hands tied behind his back, a female vigilante approached them.
"Oh! You're really good at flipping."
"great job."
The female vigilante responded to the male vigilantes' playful compliments without being at all flustered, as if she was used to this situation.
"Come on! Let's stop talking nonsense. If we're vigilantes, this is something that anyone would do. Come on, let's wrap this up quickly and go home and get some rest. Everyone, hurry up."
"...."
Before she knew it, the female vigilante had left the escort of the two men to the male vigilantes and was walking briskly into the distance.
* * *
In the 'very large' city, the vigilantes were leaving work one by one, except for the night shift.
"thanks for your effort."
"I'll go first."
Most of the other departments had already left work, but the vigilantes in charge of theft were still working and investigating.
"Where is the money?"
"I'm sorry. I spent all my money buying this and that at the market."
As the two men caught in the market answered with their heads bowed, the vigilante superior investigating them let out a long sigh.
"I promised to help that middle-aged couple find money. Damn it!"
"...."
The vigilante superior who had finally caught the culprits who had stolen money from a middle-aged woman at the market and obtained a confession clenched his molars in anger.
"If you spend money, you have to pay it back even if it means using your body. The chiefs and the representatives will discuss and decide the punishment, but even after paying back the middle-aged couple's money, you will probably have to work for the country for about a year."
"A year?"
Two men raised their heads, seemingly terrified by the duration of their hard labor sentence.
"Why a year? If you include paying off a middle-aged couple's debt, it will take more than a year."
"…I see."
"…yes."
At that moment, a female vigilante passed by and struck the back of the heads of two men who were shedding tears as if in shock.
"So why did you steal the money? Twice? Do you know how much trouble we had while working undercover because of you?"
"sorry."
"I was wrong."
A moment later, the vigilantes who had just neatly wrapped up their first theft case in the market were walking out of the vigilante headquarters.
"It's my first time stealing money, and it's my first time working undercover."
"That's right. I can't predict what kind of extraordinary incident will happen in the future."
"But if the head of the Vigilantes had not come up with a solution, we would not have been able to catch the culprit."
At that moment, a playful vigilante imitated the speech and actions of the vigilante leader.
"Once you get a taste of free money, you can't help but steal again. It doesn't matter how many months it takes, just go undercover and catch the culprit."
"Hahaha! It's exactly the same."
"Why are you so good at imitating people?"
A female vigilante threw cold water on the male vigilantes who were holding their stomachs and laughing, dampening the mood.
"I heard that the solution was proposed by the chief of staff, not the director."
"...."
* * *
Penacuk tribe, small village. Outside the fence surrounding the village, more than three thousand warriors of the 'Sun of the Sky' awaited orders from the 'Brave Wolf'.
"This time, there are few warriors in the village."
A few Penacook warriors had been seen standing guard inside the fence a moment ago, but now they had fled back to the village.
"Yes, sir! Then, shall we give the order to attack now?"
The 'brave wolf' nodded slightly at the words of the white general who was assisting him.
"Yes. But don't kill all the Penacuk warriors like last time. Instead, try to capture them if possible."
"Okay, I understand. I will relay this to the thunderous celestial being."
A moment later, the vanguard, the Roaring Thunder, and five hundred warriors rode toward the Penacuk village.
"It's just a waste of time, there's no need to break down the main gate. Let's climb up the ladder and take over the village!"
"Take up your shield and protect yourself!"
'Roaring Thunder', who led the warriors from the front, laughed eerily again.
"Puhahahahahahaha! This is it. My whole body feels so energetic."
The white generals who had been following behind, supporting the 'Roaring Thunder' on both sides, flinched for a moment and took a few steps back.
"Poohahahahahaha! Attack! This time, don't kill the Penacuk warriors, subdue them!"
* * *
'Roaring Thunder' and his warriors conquered the Penacuk village in less than an hour, again without a fight.
"Search the hut thoroughly and double check to make sure no one is hiding."
"Yes, Mr. White!"
"Bring the chief to this village."
The warriors of 'Sun of the Sky' were busy running around clearing the battlefield. And in the central square of the village, the Penacook tribesmen gathered together with fearful expressions on their faces.
Mostly elderly people, women and children. At that moment, the white warrior brought the chief of this village to the 'brave wolf'.
"Please, spare me."
"If you just listen to me, nothing will happen."
The words of the 'brave wolf' were immediately interpreted by a warrior who spoke the Penacuk language. 'Brave Wolf' continued his speech after reassuring the anxious Penacook chief.
"From now on, this village and the land around it will be managed by the 'Sun of the Sky.' Do you agree?"
"…yes."
Fearing that he would be killed, the Penacuk chief answered yes to everything the "brave wolf" said.
"Please give me the chief's necklace as a token. You can stamp your seal on this piece of paper. By the way, the paper says that you must keep the laws and duties set by the 'Sun in the Sky.' This friend will explain the contents in detail later."
"… Yes. So I just have to put my thumb here?"
"yes."
Finally, the formalities are roughly complete. After sending the chief back from the village, the 'Brave Wolf' once again called the white chiefs and gave them instructions.
"Where will the reinforcements come from this time?"
"The Mohegan tribe."
"Well, distance-wise, this is the closest place to the Mohegan tribe's territory."
After conquering the Iroquois Confederacy, the Brave Wolf force continued southward, choosing to go south rather than north through Mohawk territory, conquering the Penacook and several other minor tribes.
And the conquered villages were turned over to reinforcements from the Mohegan, Pequot, and Queepee tribes.
"Good. Leave fifty warriors in this village as well. And when the reinforcements arrive and the handover of this village is complete, the warriors remaining in the village will return to their main unit immediately!"
"Understood, sir!"
The white chiefs answered vigorously and quickly dispersed. Meanwhile, the 'Brave Wolf' called out to the 'Roaring Thunder' and asked where the next village would be conquered.
"How did the buffalo cavalry find that village? It's quite far from here. If they left now, they would probably arrive around evening."
The 'Brave Wolf' was very useful as he sent out reconnaissance in advance for the buffalo cavalry unit entrusted to His Majesty the Emperor.
"hmm!"
Today alone, we conquered three villages. After thinking for a moment, the 'brave wolf' made a decision.
"I'm spending the night in that town today."
"Poohahaha! As expected, you are hot, Commander! A man should charge forward boldly. Then, I will make sure that you can set out right away."
The 'brave wolf' shook his head as he watched 'Roaring Thunder' running back with excited steps.
"I'm doing well so far, but…."
* * *
The village of 'Sun of the Sky' and 'Claws'. In the distance, the village of 'Claws' came into view.
"Almost there! Just a little more effort!"
"Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
The three thousand guardsmen following me answered vigorously. After a while, the 'Ferocious Wolf' and 'Sharp Antlers' came out in front of the village gate to greet us.
"With all due respect to His Majesty the Emperor! Loyalty!"
"welcome."
After exchanging brief greetings, the two great warriors who had achieved great feats were immediately congratulated.
"I heard from the report. You did a good job reclaiming Claw Village without much damage from the Illinois Federation."
Feeling pleased by my compliments, 'Sharp Antlers' laughed loudly and struck first before 'Ferocious Wolf'.
"I will tell you more about the battle at the town hall. Come inside. I will guide you."
The 'Ferocious Wolf' followed me with eyes full of respect, seemingly uninterested in the 'Sharp Antlers''s' sly actions.
* * *
Town hall. 'Sharp Antlers' was spitting out the tale of the Corn Town Mercury and the pursuit of the Illinois Confederate warriors.
"… … The Illinois Confederate warriors fled in a panic. But who am I? Your Majesty the Emperor! This sharp-antlered deer led the warriors in pursuit."
At that moment, the 'Ferocious Wolf', who could no longer just listen to the story of the 'Sharp Antlers', stepped forward.
"Stop it. Don't you know we're going on a campaign the day after tomorrow? I don't have time to listen to your tales of bravery."
"Well, this kid is just trying to show off… ."
'Sharp Deer Antlers', who had been getting angry for a moment, lowered his voice as he looked at me.
"Why? I find it fun. Keep going."
"No, Your Majesty! We are about to set out on a campaign, and I think I made a mistake. I will tell you later after we conquer Illinois."
'Sharp Antlers' lowered his tail and whispered softly, as if he thought the words of 'Ferocious Wolf' were right.
"You should have told me earlier. I'm the only one who doesn't have any tact."
"...."
But the 'fierce wolf' didn't respond. I burst out laughing again without realizing it. You could tell they were competitors, but they were like comedians exchanging jokes.
"Then, Your Majesty the Emperor! I will tell you how to attack the Illinois Confederacy."
"okay."
As soon as I gave my permission, 'Ferocious Wolf' began to calmly talk about the strategy that 'Sharp Antlers' had come up with after consulting with him.