[??? POV]
Bandits...
The term given to criminal groups that frequently steal and cause chaos on the roads connecting villages and cities.
Currently, our platoon is disguised as a merchant caravan, transporting goods from a village to a major city. We are doing this specifically to lure these bandits out into the open.
Typically, 40 to 50 people would escort a caravan of this size. However, we have limited our numbers to just 25 men. This count is small enough to be tempting, yet not so small that the bandits would suspect a trap.
"Hey, Pablo. Do you think this plan will actually work?" one of my comrades asked.
"I don't know. We should just stay alert until the mission is over," I replied.
Truthfully, this plan was proposed by a group of academy students. However, it was only implemented because it received direct approval from our Lord, the Count of this region.
The bandit group we are targeting is called the Rumblers. They have been terrorizing this territory for the past three months. The most frustrating thing about them is that they only strike when their success rate is high, even if the spoils are meager. They prioritize the safety of their members over massive hauls. That is precisely why they have been so difficult to capture.
"Hey, Pablo, look!"
Up ahead, a man and a woman driving a cart had stopped in the middle of the road.
"Oh, thank goodness! Please help us, travelers!" the woman called out, approaching our group.
I and two of my comrades stepped forward to find out what was happening.
"What's the trouble, Miss? Why are you stopped in the middle of the path?" I asked.
"You can see for yourself, Sir. Our cart's wheel is broken, and the two of us aren't strong enough to fix it," she answered.
"Alright, we'll lend you a hand," I told her. "You two, lift the cart while I replace the wheel," I ordered my comrades.
My two fellow soldiers began lifting the cart along with the man who was with the woman. I pulled the broken wheel off and began fitting the new one.
"Hey, we're under attack! We're under attack!"
I heard a shout from the direction of the caravan and immediately stopped what I was doing.
"Dozens of riders have suddenly appeared from all directions! Brace yourselves!" cried one of my comrades in the main group.
I and my two companions turned to rush back to the caravan. However, I suddenly heard a scream of pain from beside me. I turned to see that the woman and the man had just stabbed both of my comrades.
"You! Why are you doing this!?" I demanded, drawing my sword.
"Fool! This was a trap from the very beginning!"
"You lot are so naive!"
They mocked me before fleeing the scene.
I rushed to check on my comrades. One had died instantly from a direct stab to the neck. The other was dying, gasping for air as he struggled to breathe. I hoisted him onto my back and ran toward the caravan.
"Hey! Find a Priest, quickly!"
I propped my comrade against a wagon.
After that, I immediately joined the ranks of the soldiers forming a defensive perimeter. I could see about ten riders charging toward us from the front. I heard reports that they were coming from other directions as well; it seemed the previous intelligence was correct—the Rumbler bandits numbered more than 50.
"Remember! Do not give the signal until we make contact with them!" shouted the Lieutenant leading our platoon.
"Hahaha! How stupid of them to bring such a small escort into this area!"
"We've been tracking your group since you left the village!"
The bandits began shouting in triumph.
I gripped my sword tightly and regulated my breathing to stay steady. Dozens of bandits closed in, leveling their spears at me. I nimbly dodged a thrust and slashed upward, knocking a rider from his horse.
"Attack them!"
"Plunder everything in that caravan!"
Shouts echoed from a distance, and I saw about 20 men on foot sprinting toward us. It seemed that in addition to their cavalry, the bandits had deployed an infantry unit for this assault.
Three men closed in on me at once, unleashing wave after wave of slashes. I did my best to parry and evade, but as time went on, I found myself increasingly cornered. If this continued, I would be killed!
"Damn you, you bastards!" I screamed in frustration, decapitating one of the bandits.
But seeing this, the other bandits only laughed as their comrade's head fell. They resumed their relentless assault, and my body began to accumulate nicks and cuts from their blades.
"Glory... To The Empire!"
Suddenly, I heard the Lieutenant's roar. That was the signal for the academy students to emerge and ambush the bandits who had been lured in.
Shortly after, the tarps covering several wagons were thrown open, revealing the academy students who had been hiding there all along. A flash of yellow lightning streaked before my eyes, and suddenly, the head of the bandit attacking me was severed and sent flying into the air.
"Are you alright?" asked the blonde-haired woman who had just saved me.
She had beautiful blue eyes and a face that was both stunning and elegant. Her striking physical presence radiated the aura of someone from a high-ranking noble family.
"I-I'm fine, Your Highness!" I stammered in response.
"Get some rest. We will finish off these bandits quickly," she said, giving me a beautiful smile that I will remember for the rest of my life.
She then blurred into motion, cutting down bandits who were already beginning to scatter in shock at our reinforced numbers. Princess Elena looked graceful and mesmerizing, even as her body was sprayed with the fresh blood of the bandits.
Despite her young age, her swordsmanship was top-tier, rivaling that of a Master from a Knightly Order. Since she was a child, she had been tutored in the arts of the swordsmanship by our Lord—Count Raymond de Chatelon—one of the Empire's Grand Espadas, known as The White Knight.
It didn't take long for the academy students to wipe out the attackers. In this operation, three men from our side fell. On the bandit side, we killed 42 and captured the remaining 24 who had tried to flee.
***
[Count Raymond POV]
It has been nearly four hours since the operation began. I wonder if they succeeded in eradicating those bandits.
This plan had actually been proposed by my student. I was quite surprised when she—who previously only knew how to fight—suddenly came up with a strategy clever enough to lure the bandits out.
After spending a month in this region, I've noticed she has changed significantly since the last time we met. Her sword techniques and fighting style have become much harder to predict. I wonder what caused such a drastic change? A person doesn't transform that quickly without a major influence.
Suddenly, I heard cheering and a commotion coming from the main gate of the castle. The platoon I had sent out returned, along with the academy students who were performing their field training in this territory.
Every soldier in the castle greeted them. However, I knew these fools really just wanted to catch a glimpse of the blonde woman at the front of the group. Look at their faces—my soldiers looked like virgins seeing a woman for the first time, completely mesmerized by my student's beauty.
I walked over to her, and the soldiers immediately snapped to attention upon my arrival. My student stood tall and gave me a crisp salute.
"Reporting, sir! The bandit eradication operation has been successfully completed!" she said loudly.
"Princess Elena, look at you! Not only are you beautiful and graceful, but you're also capable of completing a mission perfectly!" I praised her. "If you stay here much longer, my soldiers will soon only follow your orders and ignore me—their Lord!"
"You're exaggerating, Master," she said with a warm smile. "The soldiers in battle today were incredibly brave and did not flinch when facing superior numbers. It was their courage that made this operation a success!"
Hearing praise from their 'Goddess' standing before them, my soldiers began to smile foolishly like men in love.
"Good work, everyone!" I shouted to the returning troops. "Now, go and rest! Tonight, we will celebrate this victory with all the food and drink you can handle!"
The soldiers erupted in cheers.
After dismissing the group, I and my student went straight to the training grounds. Even though she had just finished a mission, Elena never tired of asking me to train her so she could become stronger. This was another change I hadn't seen the last time we met.
Previously, she would only train if I invited her. Elena used to say she wanted to focus more on the organizational affairs of the academy rather than becoming stronger in combat. I suppose the reason she felt that way was because there was no one at the academy who could rival her strength.
Elena is the greatest talent the Empire has seen in the last 100 years, aside from Liana de Grantz. However, I feel Elena's abilities will surpass Liana's within the next two or three years. Liana de Grantz was the strongest Grand Espada in the Empire's history, but she died before she could reach her peak potential as a Knight. It was a truly great tragedy.
"Earlier, you said you wanted to show me your newest attack combo, right?" I asked. "Do you want to show it now?"
"That's right, Master. I want to know if I can still refine the combo I created," Elena said, drawing her sword.
"Heh~ This is interesting. Show me! I want to see a combo developed entirely by my own student."
Elena gave a confident smile and took her stance. She took a deep breath and released it slowly. Her gaze became focused, and she gripped her sword with both hands. It seemed this combo would emphasize power.
She then lunged at me and unleashed her attack. I tried to parry and evade her slashes, but the pattern was strange, making it quite difficult to handle. There were many feints woven into her movements, making it hard to predict where the next strike would land.
Elena pressed the attack. The ringing of steel echoed as I parried several of her blows. Sparks began to fly due to the immense power she was pouring into the combo.
— Slash!
One strike managed to graze my right arm. Elena's combo wasn't just powerful; it was fast. Despite launching ten consecutive attacks, she didn't stop and kept the pressure on.
— Tang! Tang! Tang!
I parried most of them, but four or five strikes managed to nick various parts of my body. That ten-strike flurry was incredibly dangerous. After finishing the sequence, Elena stopped, her breathing heavy.
"What do you think, Master?" she asked.
I looked at the five shallow cuts on my body. That combo was no ordinary attack.
"This combo is extremely dangerous, Princess Elena," I replied. "Especially those last ten strikes. Even as a Grand Espada, I was only able to parry five of them perfectly."
Hearing my praise, Elena only smiled melancholically. I couldn't tell what was on her mind. She should have been thrilled to have created a combo that could wound a Grand Espada—the strongest Knights in the Empire.
"There is a man who can parry this combo even better than you can, Master," Elena said softly, looking down at her sword. "Out of twenty strikes, he parried and dodged 17 with ease, and the remaining three only managed to graze him."
What!? Someone could parry and dodge that insane combo better than I could? Had Elena shown this attack to another Grand Espada?
"Didn't you say you'd only ever shown this combo to one person besides me?" I asked.
"That's right," Elena replied with a full smile. "Even though it was his first time seeing it, he parried and evaded almost perfectly."
"Who is this man, Princess Elena? Is he a Grand Espada like me? Or perhaps a Holy Knight from the Temple Authority's military unit?" I asked, becoming increasingly curious.
Elena just giggled and shook her head.
"No, he doesn't have a title like Grand Espada, nor is he a fearsome knight like a Holy Knight," she answered casually. "He is just... an academy student, like me."
I was stunned. It was impossible for an academy student to handle a combo like that more effectively than I could. It made no sense! Was there another talent that exceeded Elena's own?
"His name is Raul de Garcia..."
Wait, Garcia? Isn't that the family name of the current Head of Imperial Intelligence? Is he the son of that cunning man? However, as I thought about what I knew of Raul de Garcia, I saw an expression on my student's face that I had never seen before.
As she mentioned his name, her cheeks flushed slightly. Her smile was exactly like the smiles of my soldiers who were captivated by her beauty. For the first time, I saw the Second Princess of the strongest Empire in the world look... smitten.
Ugh... I felt sorry for my soldiers. Their dream woman had her heart stolen by another man before they even got to meet their 'Goddess.'
"Count Raymond, Princess Elena, forgive me for interrupting your training."
We were suddenly approached by one of the servants working in the castle.
"What is it? Is there important news from the capital?" I asked.
"It is better if you see the newspaper for yourself, My Lord."
I took the newspaper and read the headline.
"What's the news, Master?" Elena asked, moving closer.
"The Main Temple in the Duchy Grenaut was attacked by a heretic group," I muttered. "They killed Bishop Vermind, and several Inquisitors fell at their hands."
Elena's face darkened at the news.
"It says here that The Masquerade was behind the attack."
The Masquerade—a heretic group that was a massive headache because they targeted influential high priests within the Temple Authority.
"How could they penetrate the Main Temple? It's heavily guarded by elite forces like the Inquisitors!" Elena asked, looking shocked.
"Princess Elena, The Masquerade has a team they call 'Performers,'" I revealed. "Their power can be on par with mine, a Grand Espada."
"Master, do you think there will be great chaos in this country in the future?" Elena asked, sounding worried.
"I don't know, Princess. What is clear is that we must be prepared if disaster strikes soon."
***
[Raul POV]
"Hacchooo!"
Ugh... for some reason, my nose just got incredibly itchy. Is someone talking about me?
"Captain Raul, what is it?" Melissa asked, looking concerned.
"It's nothing, just a bit of fatigue from the duties we've been given," I lied.
"Is that so? Don't push yourself too hard, okay? Many people would be frightened if you weren't here to guard this region," Melissa said with her usual sweet talk.
"Heh~ you've certainly become quite the smooth talker," I teased. "There are plenty of other patrol soldiers besides me, you know."
After the attack on the Main Temple in the Duchy Grenaut, the Temple increased their personnel in that region and the surrounding areas. I also heard that a Holy Knight from the Holy City of Notredame would be arriving as additional reinforcement to eradicate our group.
It seems that in the coming days, the Temple will be scouring for any traces of The Masquerade. I think placing the orphanage in the City of Grenaut was the right move. They won't suspect that the 'rats' bothering them have been living right under their beds this whole time.
Bounty fliers have also been spread throughout the Empire. There are three wanted posters featuring illustrations of the masks worn by the Performers. Currently, the three masks confirmed by the Temple as members of The Masquerade are Dancer, Painter, and Tamer.
Since completing those two missions, Keeper hasn't given us any new assignments. He only ordered us to keep an eye on the orphanage in Grenaut from time to time. I suppose we can't carry out any missions while the Temple Authority's vigilance is at an all-time high following the attack.