7-1 Part 2
The Seventh Son Says It Is a Grand
Escape
- Bandit -
Translator : PolterGlast
"Ashley! What are you doing?! It's
dangerous!"
"Aneue, trust me as if I were Georg-aniue. The plan is simple: I charge
into that and create a breakthrough. Aneue, push through there; I'm
leaving Dulin in your hands."
"S-Such a thing, Ash—wait a minute?!"
"From now on, I am Shinza!"
There's no time to hesitate or argue. If I were Georg-aniue, there's no way I'd lose to a
force of that size.
Facing a
weird man charging at them with a Shovel, the other side blocked the path with a complete lack of tension. Their numbers are roughly less than thirty; looks like it'll
be easier than the goblin battle that day.
"Halt! If you value your li—Ugah?!"
"You bastard, kill him! Capture only the women, kill
the man!"
"Making an enemy of us without a weapon—Ugu,
Agah?!"
Being surrounded is actually convenient. With the strongest
weapon in history, the Shovel, I carved a path forward.
"Don't underestimate him; this guy, his weapon is weird,
but he's ridiculously strong...?!"
"Surround him! If we attack in a bunch, no matter who
he is—uwa?!"
In a situation like this, no one looks at their feet. With
natural movements, I dug small holes and tripped the bandits into them.
Unfortunately for them, their surprise didn't end there. The
essence of Shovel LV 4 made them flinch. Is this what Zirant was
talking about? When the steel Shovel clashes with cheap cast swords, my
blade sinks deep into their swords.
Every time we clash, half of the opponent's blade is lost.
An ultimate masterpiece that cuts even iron is called a Zantetsuken (Iron-Cutting Sword), but in this case, calling it a Zantetsu Shovel (Iron-Cutting Shovel)
would be correct.
"Boss, this guy is definitely weird! Look, the swords,
the swords break when they hit him!"
"That's because you're using cheap stuff! Anyway,
surround him, attack all at once and—y-you bastard, don't tell me?!"
Highway bandits are usually made up of destitute locals or
former soldiers. By the time they realized, it was already too late.
With the strongest Shovel that cuts even iron, I
pried open a breakthrough for Dulin and Aneue. Smashing the
wooden barricade, I created a path for the carriage. Afterward, I jumped onto
another barricade and raised the tip of the Shovel toward the Ducal
Capital.
The sound of the whip and Aneue's shout echoed. The
stopped four-horse carriage began to advance toward me with a momentum humans couldn't stop.
"Stop it, stop the horses!"
"Like I'd let you."
Standing on high ground, it's easy to distinguish who the
boss is. The burly bald man hanging back in the rear seems to be the leader.
Like a bird of prey, I jumped down from the barricade and attacked him.
"Bastard, I'll turn the tables on—Ugeh!!
I-Impossible..."
Shovel LV 4,
huh? This power is incredibly convenient and unfair. When I swung the Shovel
down at him from the air, he used a flashy longsword, likely stolen from
someone and ill-suited for him, as a shield.
But with a heavy sensation, it snapped, and the lump of
steel clunked into his exposed forehead.
"Shinza—"
With the leader incapacitated far too quickly, the bandit
group was visibly shaken. Furthermore, as I regained my stance from the landing
impact, Aneue and the carriage charged toward me.
"Grab on!"
Aneue is brave.
Trying to pull me back onto the carriage, she extended her palm toward me. But
there was an idiot aiming for Aneue's arm, so it couldn't be helped.
Ignoring Aneue's invitation, I snapped the villain's sword in a single
blow.
If I hadn't, Aneue's arm would have been lost, and I
would have been forced into a life where I could never lift my head to Georg...
"No, Shinza!"
"Go ahead!! I told you to think of me as Georg!!"
The carriage passed through. Despite the still tense
situation, I felt relieved at that. With this, I can fight without worrying
about my back. Georg would likely say that.
"After them!"
"Like I'd let you."
This time, I attacked them. Before they could split their
forces for pursuit, I startled their horses. After all, I can destroy the
opponent's weapon just by clashing. Blades were nothing to be afraid of. I
could move around freely.
It's a failure already, give up. I considered advising them so, but stopped just as I was
about to open my mouth. If I let them go, someone else will be attacked by
them. I think it's pitiful, but bandits are bandits. Also to make them think
they could beat me, I deliberately pretended to be out of breath.
"We can do it, just a little more, just a little more
and... Ah?!"
"Oi, look at that! It's the Highway Patrol! Abandon the
boss and run!"
However, just as I defeated half of them, an interruption
occurred. A rumbling approached from the Ducal Capital side, and a cavalry unit
appeared.
"Wait."
"L-Let go! Let me go, please!"
Time is running out. The bandits scattered and fled into the
forest. There was one guy regaining consciousness and trying to get up, so I
stepped on his shoulder.
"Who hired you? If you talk, I'll move this foot."
"Ugh, th-that is..."
"Spit it out quickly, there's no time."
"The State Church! The boss said so!"
"I see. Alright go, though I doubt you can escape
now."
In short, these guys are pursuers hired by auntie. I never thought she would forget morality to the extent of
joining hands with bandits.
"Are you alright? Are you Ashley?!"
"Yeah. And where are you from?"
The patrol men stopped their horses, while the others
charged into the forest still mounted. Both horses and humans seem trained.
"We are the Highway Patrol under direct control of the
Duke Aion family. by the order of Duchess Atomina,
we will escort you."
"No need. More importantly, pursue them. I'll walk from
here."
"That may be reasonable, but... However, we cannot
disobey orders—"
"Just go. Defeating even one more of them and
protecting the people is what soldiers do."
Looking around, it seems the capture of the bandits I
defeated is complete. Then I simply turned my back in silence and left the
scene.
Eventually, exiting the forest on foot, the White City came
into view. There's still a bit of distance to walk. As expected of the place
the Emperor's daughter married into, it's quite a large city.
Come to think of it, I heard from Aneue before. Since white marble can be quarried inexhaustibly nearby, it's called the Chalk Ducal Capital. The carefree Shovel Man slowly walked the road to the capital until he was picked up again by that Highway Patrol man later.
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