Two years later. I'm 20.
I have proven myself in the gang on various serious raids and robberies. The boss appreciated my skills so I became one of his deputies.
It just wasn't enough for me. I wanted to be the boss myself. Current leader of the gang is not far from the mindless racketeers. Under his leadership, the gang remained in stagnation.
Recently my former fellow villagers came to the city and I found out that Gray's health was no longer what it used to be. It was not known how much he had left. Although the old man was 65 the training of the knights did not increase the duration of life, but rather harmed its duration.
Ever since I found out about this my patience has been wearing thin. Fuel to the fire was added by my dreams of becoming a Magician which were fading each day passed by.
I needed the right opportunity and soon I got it.
There were not many nobles in the city besides the lord, especially those with sufficient wealth and influence. However there was one who was doing quite well. The boss received information that this nobleman ordered a complete set of knightly armor which was supposed to be delivered to him soon.
Boss wanted to get this armor for himself but had no idea what is the exact time or place of arrival of the goods. Therefore he decided to send two groups of 10 people to ambush for this cargo in different places.
My group was located not far from the highway and we suffered from nonsense, killing time as best we could, in turn remaining in the observation of the target. Finally after a couple of days we found the wagon we needed.
Security was rather small. Only a dozen people not counting women and children. This happened all the time. I heard that even whole families were sometimes sent to war in full force.
We went to the road and blocked their way. I tried to make a good deal.
- Leave the goods and get lost or die.
However only few women escaped. The eyes of the defenders flashed unkindly and they prepared to fight.
For many of the people the loss of all property was worse than death. Any person could turn into a bandit overnight.
My gaze turned stern and I gave the command to the fighters to attack.
I myself was in no hurry to rush into battle, hoping that my people would suffer losses. And so it happened, the defenders resisted with all their might.
However the forces were not equal. Eventually only five of my people left standing, some of whom were injured. They crushed the resistance and the remnants of the defenders fled.
Although some of the guys looked askance at me, the rest climbed into the wagon and opened the box and finally confirmed that there was indeed a complete set of knightly plate armor inside.
Having received confirmation, I immediately made my move.
One of those who looked askance at me suddenly spat blood and looked down in bewilderment. His heart was pierced by a sword. The rest got furious upon seeing this.
- What the hell Sam, tired of living?
I laughed.
- From now on I am the new leader of the gang. Submit or die!
This statement amused them rather than frightened them.
- Maybe you should start shaving first kid?
They began to surround me but I attacked the next one and killed him without any problems even before help arrived.
Only now I finally used all my strength as a Squire and all my skills. This fight were unequal. My people fell cursing me before they died.
I myself finally looked at the armor and was delighted. I don't know if they make them in the capital or some other big city but those armor pieces looked great and sparkled in the sun.
Since I ordered the bows not to be used, the horse remained intact although it was frightened. I sat down in a coach and drove towards the city. When it was not far from the city I turned towards the forest.
There I began to take off everything that was superfluous including my chain mail, after which I put on a new undercoat that came with the kit and put my chain mail on top. Then continued to put on one piece of armor after another.
Components were dressed separately. Feet, greaves, greaves, neck protection, breastplate itself, armlets, shoulder pads, helmet and finally gloves.
The whole process took me a lot of time and effort but I was satisfied. There were few weaknesses in the armor. Only a small slit for the eyes, a small inside of the arms and legs. Besides those spots it was incredibly difficult to break through the armor.
Such armor was usually made to order, fortunately I was lucky and armor pieces fit me perfectly. The movements were not too constrained. Despite the fact that they weighed about 30 kilograms, for my Squire constitution this was not a big problem.
I looked towards the city of Harin and my eyes went cold under the visor of the helmet. A couple of lost years in the service of others was enough for me. If not for studying in the library with Farez I would hardly have lasted so long.
I passed through the gate without any problems taking off my helmet. After all the locals knew one of the deputies of the gang. I didn't give a damn about the fact that someone gonna see my armor. This noble was not poor but he did not have much power in the city either.
Soon a fully armed knight came to the three-story house. This was the main base and the boss occupied the entire third floor the rest were his various subordinates and guards.
- Submit or die.
These were the words that I repeated to everyone I met. If I did not receive the expected answer then I killed on the spot. Of course my arrival and the death of people at the entrance did not go unnoticed. About twenty people were already waiting for me in the foyer.
- Who the hell are you? - the boss asked.
He was one of the few who wore chain mail and used a two-handed sword as a weapon. The rest were with crossbows, flails, axes, shields, swords, spears, and so on. Almost all in leather armor.
- I'm Sam. From now on I'm the leader of the gang. If you want to live just get lost. - I turned to those around me.
However, no one was going to leave. Although my fighting ability was known, nevertheless I did not often shed blood. Rather they become more confident after realizing who is hiding behind the armor.
- Haha. Do you really think this tin can will save you? - Boss's eyes twinkled.
He picked up a spear from an assistant and ordered to shoot.
Crossbow bolts flew, but they could not penetrate the armor. The leader simultaneously threw the spear. The force of the throw was obviously rather big. Nevertheless, I reacted and changed the trajectory of the spear with my sword.
With shouts, the fighters rushed to attack me from all sides. I hit one of the attackers in the head, but he managed to dodge, obviously expecting a blow.
Steel-on-steel clashes sounded and the others instantly struck at different areas of the armor. Although the strength of their blows made itself felt and slightly knocked my breath away, they still could not break through the armor.
Of course I did not waste time and immediately swung in the direction of another attacker who this time was not ready, his skull was cracked. Almost at the same moment my iron leg slammed into the household of another bandit, which caused him to bulge his eyes with a pitiful cry.
More than 4-5 people could not attack me at the same time, they themselves simply did not have enough space for a swing. Having repelled a couple of attacks, I answered with a blow to the shield of one of the bandits but it was no use. But then immediately turned around and repelled the attack of the other two. The shieldman charged up and hit me in the back with the shield, knocking my balance and breathing out a bit. But the effect was not big enough to hit me on the ground.
After blocking the blow of the boss's two-handed sword, I tried to cut off his head, but he managed to dodge. I had to be distracted by a bandit who jumped on my head trying to take off my helmet. An iron glove hit him in the face and he fell to the floor.
The fight continued. Repelling the most dangerous blows, I tried to counterattack and mostly successfully, the bandits became less and less.
On the other hand, some attacks still managed to hit weak spots, especially the stab wound in the back of the leg. Constant blows to the armor also left an unpleasant aftertaste, but this could not stop me. There were fewer and fewer enemies.
I slammed an iron glove into the face of one of the attackers, his nose seemed to fall inward from the blow and he fell unconscious. The sword was knocked out of my hands, but I just turned around and met the boss's blow with my steel gloves. The armor buckled under the blow of the sword and I felt pain. However I immediately grabbed the sword with one glove and swung with the other.
The boss turned out to be a good fighter and did not let him get to himself, picking up another weapon. I picked up the ax. At the same time someone fired from the crossbow again, hitting me in the back of the helmet. Turning around, I threw the ax and opened the skull of the crossbowman.
Once again, the boss tried to surprise me. This time he picked the right moment and his spear pierced one of the weak spots under the shoulder pads. The force of the blow pushed me against the wall and my eyes bulged in pain as the spear left my body.
He wanted to strike again but I managed to grab the shaft of the spear with my glove and redirect the blow away from me, at the same time taking a step forward, I grabbed his wrist with an iron glove.
- Dirty rat. I finally got you - I said with excitement.
The boss let go of the spear and attempted to kick, reaching for the dagger. But my grip was literally iron and I not only did not let go, but also grabbed the same hand with the second glove.
Soon, with a cry of pain and horror, the boss was already doing somersaults due to a dislocated arm. He fell to the ground facing me and without releasing my hand, I stepped with a steel foot right on his face. His scream immediately subsided and his head shrunk.
My breathing was heavy and I looked around. Only three fighters remained intact who obviously did not attack too willingly. Seeing the death of the leader, they retreated even further. A couple more people were writhing on the floor with severe injuries. The rest of the foyer was filled with heaps of blood, corpses, and severed limbs.
- We agree, you're the boss. - bandit threw a glance at the others - right guys?
- Yes, yes, now we obey you. - confirmed others.
At the same time, they were standing near the exit, I could not stop them from escaping.
- All right, get everyone out of here so that no one will be in the building until I give permission.
- Okay Sam. I mean yes boss we understand. We really don't care who's the boss. We're leaving.
I went up to the third floor and drove all the women out of there. Then I could finally remove armor pieces and take care of my wounds, This process was not very pleasant.