The summer afternoon had passed and the sun was starting to set.

「I hadn’t expected them to set up their hideout so deep in the forest when their main force consisted of horsemen. I really hadn’t thought of it at all. ……Bloody Blades, or whatever they were called, their actions aside, they seem to be quite skilled.」

「Gururu~」

Set gave a cry, as if agreeing with Rei’s words.

As he looked down at the ground, all he could see were the trees that made up the forest.

Even with the information of where the hideout was located in the forest, which they had extracted from the captured bandits, it was still difficult to find the exact location without any photographs.

In addition, the way the Bloody Blades moved along the ground was different from how Rei and Set would fly through the sky.

「Well, I guess Ranga is probably correct in saying that they will probably try to run away now that they’ve seen Set……」

「Guru~?」

Anything happen? Set seemed to ask as he turned his head back to face Rei.

As they flew over the forest.

Set suddenly turned his head back to a patch of forest beneath them.

「……Hm? This……」

Faint sounds of angry voices and weapons clashing could be heard. There was also the smell of blood.

It was the familiar sound of battle, which Rei had become well acquainted with.

「It seems like we’ve found the target. Did they have a split in opinions after withdrawing, or is it something to do with how big of a share of the goods each person will get? Anyway, I can only say it’s good timing for us. Set, please head in the direction of the sounds.」

「Gururururu~!」

Letting out a cry at Rei’s words, Set flapped his wings as he descended towards the ground.

Landing in a space just big enough for Set, they made their way towards the sound of battle while hiding their presence.

Reaching their destination after five minutes, the scene before them was entirely unexpected.

He had thought that the members of Bloody Blades had been fighting each other, but it seemed like they were dealing with a group of Goblins.

(With the horses present, there’s no doubt that they’re part of the Bloody Blades.)

Horsemen could be seen dexterously navigating the reasonably open space filled with tents and the occasional tree as they got rid of the Goblins.

With the skill at which they handled their horses, much better than what an unskilled knight could do, the people here had to be part of the Bloody Blades.

(Even so, Goblins? Why……no, I see. Lenora and Kenny had mentioned this. In addition, Milein had been taking care of those three rookies to hunt down the remnants of the Goblins that had escaped from the settlement.)

He had heard from Lenora and Kenny that an adventurer force had attacked and destroyed a Goblin settlement the day before.

Because of that, they had been complaining that it had taken them longer than usual to finish their work for the day due to the additional procedures that needed to be done.

However, thanks to that, they had been able to meet up with Rei, who had just returned to Gilm, so Kenny thought that they were quite lucky.

「Guru~?」

Set turned to look at Rei with a quiet cry, quiet enough that the Goblins and Bloody Blades couldn’t hear him.

Rei shook his head as he stroked Set’s back.

「Even if we attack now, it will only cause more confusion. The Goblins will run away when they see you, and so will the members of the Bloody Blades. Once the Goblins have been dealt with, we’ll make out move. In the first place, our role is to stop them from escaping, so we should focus on that.」

Set nodded at Rei’s words and the two of them watched the battle continue on for a while longer.

「That said, it looks like things will be wrapping up soon.」

As expected of a mercenary unit with a long combat history, the number of Goblins was rapidly decreasing……as Rei watched on, it seemed like the Goblins realised that they no chance of winning and stopped fighting as they scattered in all directions.

Immediately after, Everogi gave the order out to pick up as much materials, weapons, rare metals, and other items they could sell at a high price as they could.

「Seems like it’s about time, huh. I was hoping to make a move after the subjugation force arrived if I could.」

Rei looked around as he muttered, but it seemed like Ranga and the rest of the subjugation force had yet to arrive.

At this rate, they’ll end up escaping. Reaching a decision, Rei let out a small sigh before taking the Death Scythe out of the Misty Ring and leaving his hiding place along with Set.

「Oi, you guys! Let’s quickly get out of here. Pack up your valuables and belongings! Don’t forget the monster materials that the Goblins left lying around!」

Hearing such words, Rei spoke up as he leaned against a tree, still ready to make a move at any time.

「Heh, you seem to be making decisions quite quickly. I thought you would have a bit more time to spare.」

A moment of shock. The moment they heard Rei’s voice, the leader of the Bloody Blades stopped moving.

Then, like a rusty doll, he turned to look towards Rei……as he whispered his title.

「……Crimson……」

Rei nodded back as he held the Death Scythe before replying.

「That’s right. ……Well, why am I here? There’s no need to explain the reason, right?」

「……Yeah. You’ve come to kill us, haven’t you?」

The words that Everogi said made Rei frown slightly.

It was true that if they resisted, Rei would fight back, so he couldn’t say he had no intention of killing them. But at the same time, if they surrendered quietly, he didn’t intend to hurt them unnecessarily.

Of course, it wasn’t for peaceful or humanitarian reasons. It was simply based on the judgement that if he injured them, it would take a lot of time and effort for the subjugation force to treat them. Even if they were just going to be sold as slaves, injuries would cause them to be sold for less.

As he felt indebted to Daska, Rei decided he could be at least this considerate.

(No, rather, it feels like the rumours about me and growing in a strange direction……)

Letting out a sigh in his mind, he spoke up while trying to hide his thoughts.

「Well, that depends on you. If you surrender quietly, there’s no need for any blood to flow. But if you’re going to resist to the end……then, the result you mentioned might just come true.」

「……」

At Rei’s words, Everogi did some quick calculations in his head……before coming to the conclusion there was nothing he could do.

After all, it was already known that he was the leader of the Bloody Blades. Since that was the case, even if they ran away in all directions like the Goblins had done earlier, Rei would still chase after him specifically.

No matter how confident Everogi was in his horse handling, it was basically impossible for him to escape a flying Griffon.

Since that was the case, could they try attacking all at once? No. No matter how young Rei might look, he was still an adventurer with a title. There was no way they would be able to win in a straight up fight, and even if they could, there was no doubt that he would be the first to die, as the commander of his subordinates.

The thought of abandoning his subordinates as disposable pawns crossed his mind. But there was no doubt in his mind that the moment his subordinates realised that, he would be the one sacrificed instead.

In conclusion, Everogi only had one real option.

Getting off his horse, he threw the long sword in his hand to the ground.

One of his subordinates nervously asked as the sword struck the ground.

「Boss, what the hell are you doing?」

「Can’t you tell? I’m surrendering.」

「What-!?」

They couldn’t believe it, they didn’t want to believe it.

As many of them showed those thoughts in their expressions, Everogi spoke up.

「Listen up, this guy is an adventurer with the title ‘Crimson’. Do you think you can fight him and win? Do you think you can run away? I don’t think so. In that case, we could fight and be killed. But I’d rather be sold as a slave instead.」

He didn’t say anything more since they were still in front of Rei, but if he was lucky, he might find a chance to escape before he was actually sold as a slave.

But……

「D-Don’t joke around! Me? Sold as a slave!? I absolutely refuse the idea!」

When one of them shouted that, several people around him also shouted in agreement.

「That’s right! I refuse to be a slave! Let’s just kill the kid and get the hell out of here!」

「Crimson? Those are just rumours going around. Look at him, he’s such a weak looking guy, isn’t he? If we all work together, it will be no problem. You all think so too, don’t you!?」

Hearing those voices one after another, the Bloody Blades gripped their weapons tightly in agreement.

If they had been a bit more calm, the people shouting out might have realised the difference in skill between Rei and themselves. After all, they had reached the level of skill required to know that.

However, it seemed like they had intentionally ignored it because of their fear of what would happen if they were caught.

Their desperation was not unlike the Goblins from earlier, although the end result was different.

「Hey, stop! Even if you can beat him, what are you going to do with the Griffon!?」

If we attack, we’ll really be killed. A few of the Bloody Blades managed to keep their composure, but their words meant little to those already in a state of panic.

「Alright, let’s do it! If we kill him here, we’ll have a way to survive!」

『UOOOOOOOOOH!』

Even though there were only less than 10 of them combined, both horsemen and those on foot, they shouted loudly as if to encourage each other’s survival.

Then with long swords in hand, the group attacked Rei.

「Bah-!」

Everogi tried to stop them, but it was already too late. The closest person had already closed the distance as they swung their sword down at Rei……

「Go to sleep.」

Along with the words Rei muttered, the butt of the Death Scythe was buried into the attacking man.

「Keh-」

The man fainted immediately as he let out a cough.

The long sword in his hand rolled to the ground with a clanging sound.

Luckily for the man, Rei was trying to capture the Bloody Blades alive instead of killing them.

Thanks to that, the shaft of the Death Scythe didn’t pierce the man in leather armour, only knocking him out.

Though considering what is life would be after being captured, it was hard to say whether he could be called lucky or not.

「ORAAAA-!」

In an attempt to exploit Rei’s action, the moment his ally was taken out, another man swung a battle axe down.

However, the next moment, a metallic clang echoed out and the next moment, the man realised that his battle axe had been cleanly severed.

Not at the shaft, but at the metal blade.

For a moment, the sight was so extraordinary that the man froze up.

One strike.

The shaft of the Death Scythe slashed out sideways, breaking the man’s ribs through his leather armour and sending him flying to the side.

With that momentum, the man collided with the trees that grew in the surroundings before falling to the ground with a dull sound.

『……』

The spectacle of a human being sent flying instantly cooled the head of those who had all been about to attack Rei.

It wasn’t a rare sight for high ranking adventurers, but even so, seeing such a sight with their own eyes made them all want to avoid experiencing that themselves.

「Stop, all of you!」

Everogi let out an angry roar, not missing the moment when everyone stopped moving.

Hearing the voice of their leader, the men all calmed down as they looked at Rei.

With the Death Scythe on his shoulder, Rei had a confident expression on his face, ready to react to anything that might happen.

What’s more, Set had crouched down low next to Rei, ready to pounce at any time.

「Do you understand now? If we run into someone like this guy, we lose. Don’t try anything more disgraceful.」

「But……」

Everogi silently shook his head at the man who had been about to say something.

There was no point in trying to fight as it would just cause unnecessary injuries.

Seeing their exchange, Rei spoke up.

「It seems like you won’t put up anymore useless resistance. Thank you. Besides……」

With a glance, he looked back towards the part of the forest he had come from.

Before long, a rustling sound could be heard among the bushes and members of the subjugation force, including Ranga, appeared.

「As you can see, you have no chance of escaping, so give up.」

Rei said that to the members of the Bloody Blades, who had expressions of crushed will as there was nothing left they could do.

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