69 – Patience-9

“I’m following you. What should I do, Enerel?”

Nerwen, who was on top of the carriage, reported the situation without letting go of his guard.

“Is that so…”

It is not certain whether the woman who seemed to be a merchant or aristocrat is also a bandit or not.

Right now, in modern times, not one or two people complain when delivery is delayed by a day. It is a huge loss for a trader to waste time on unstable risks,

If so, the best she can do is to check it out.

“S, shall we attack?”

“If I had thought of that, I would have done it earlier.”

Rather than attacking a galloping wagon from behind, it is a wiser choice no matter how you look at it.

Of course, our strength was nothing compared to her matrix, but at least the outward numbers were much smaller.

“If we pass by and make sure it’s safe, she’ll be willing to follow.”

There was a more efficient way.

After not telling us anything, stop for a moment and follow us carefully as you do now.

This wagon was also expensive in its own way, so there was no way the bandit wouldn’t be greedy. Even if this wagon is allowed to pass, at least the method of blocking the road and attacking cannot be chosen.

She was perfectly kind and gave me the information that the future was dangerous.

“Are there bandits?”

“Yes. I can’t see it, so I don’t know the exact scale… but it doesn’t look strong.”

Nerwen’s sense is an ability that goes beyond the realm that such a mountain thief can avoid.

Not knowing if it was an urban area or a village filled with human smell, the smell of humans entering the forest would come to her disgustingly and intensely.

As we went a little further, Nerwen called Ceres.

“Stop. The front is blocked.”

“Can’t you see it from here?”

“The air flow is awkward. If you cross that alley, it will be blocked. Tree debris and… stones? It’s been dead for a long time, but it hasn’t been long since they fell here.”

I didn’t want to waste my time here.

It can’t be helped that I was delayed due to the accident Nerwen committed the other day, but I was also impatient.

To the point where the wagon running at such a high speed felt stuffy.

“Let’s move on. Can you handle it?”

“It is possible.”

As she said, we went further and felt the humans surrounding us from the top of the mountain.

“after…”

I walked in front of the wagon, reluctantly, at the smell of metal and the hideous look that could be felt even inside the wagon.

Sure enough, men with quite stern-looking faces were sticking their faces out here and there.

“Stop! If you don’t pay the toll, you can’t break through here!”

The confident shouter was probably the captain.

After staring blankly at him, I felt an unfamiliar sensation.

It’s boring.

It wasn’t the first time he had fought a human.

In the face of an overly gigantic common enemy called the Demon King, most of the humans joined our party.

But not all were good. There were people who took advantage of the chaos to fulfill their own greed, and there were people who didn’t understand our decision.

Some were discovered while worshiping demon gods, while others surrendered to demons with whom they could speak and shamefully saved their lives in return for cooperating with them.

But all of them had great pain.

Few raided for money. Most immediately attacked us to protect their families or other villagers, and failed.

Even if it was a demon god, there were people who truly worshiped that god. In the midst of being driven to the most barren land, there were people who couldn’t bear to abandon the evil spirit that opened their way to life.

There were people who lived happily and comfortably without causing harm to others, but had to surrender to the monsters that suddenly attacked them.

However, compared to them, they are too small. It wasn’t his height or size, but the weight he was carrying was so light and vague.

Maybe this is also arrogance. Because these people may have their own troubles.

But it seemed to me that it was for a laughably trivial reason.

“…Let it pass. We must go forward.”

Even though I know the human up there won’t listen to this, I casually spit it out.

Maybe it’s just to make an excuse for yourself. With the corpses of those people in front of them, to create a way out, saying, ‘I still tried to solve it peacefully.’

If I had been a little more sincere, if I had been a little more obsessed with each and every one of them.

Would he have jumped up this cliff right now, overpowered them with the bladeless holy sword, and rushed to the nearby village to be judged by the law?

Or did he sincerely try to save them, saying that there might be good people among them, and that among those who are committing evil now, there might be people who could repent.

“Sounds like nothing! If you really want to go, leave that elf girl on the carriage earlier! No, I’ll have to check what kind of girl is in the carriage!”

When I was powerless, I didn’t have to worry about this.

I wasn’t the one who made the painful choices. I appealed to Eleanor and Farseer to ask if I should save at least this person and rushed at them, and that was enough.

It’s a sensation you don’t need to feel when cutting down an orc without intelligence. I chose the fast route and decided to ignore the others.

this is laziness

“I ask you one last thing. That elf just now, alone, should be able to kill everyone on it.”

Nerwen ducked slightly and hid behind the wagon to avoid being directly hit by an arrow.

“Ha, no words! This body has sold elven slaves before! If you scare me like that, ‘Oh, I’m scared.’ Did you think I would be fooled while doing it?”

Although I hadn’t met various elves, I could tell that his and my perception of elves were different.

Most elves are not very strong.

Of course, the basic physical abilities are far superior to humans, and the experience that comes from that overwhelming lifespan is hard to ignore.

There are so many elves who have learned swordsmanship for over 100 years as a ‘hobby’, so they are overwhelmingly strong by the standards of ordinary people.

However, most are not combat personnel.

Elves born as Elementalists deal with spirits from birth, but their swordsmanship is not superior to humans.

Elves born as landscapers can really handle plants as if they were talking to trees, but their archery skills have their limits.

They are those whose existence is determined from birth, and when they do not follow that purpose, they become absurdly clumsy.

It was difficult for even elves to see humans outside the World Tree. You’ve probably never seen an elf, a warrior.

“Please, please.”

The bandit burst into laughter at the soulless plea.

If he really accepts my request and avoids the seat, that might cause uneasiness in its own way.

I might feel guilty at the news that another traveler was attacked, and there was a procession of kind women right after me, even if I didn’t have to go far.

Maybe even now I’m hoping for his rejection. Because that was the easiest and fastest way to get the job done. In a fair fight, there is no resentment or responsibility.

“You have a long snout!”

I have power. Even if you can’t decapitate cleanly with this sword, it’s too easy to beat someone to death.

can kill I have a choice. I have no intention of yielding to them, and I have a desire to return as soon as possible.

This wasn’t exactly a fun thing.

After all, it’s my laziness. Those who had the slightest possibility of living together with others, I kill because I do not have time.

to end their lives.

“Nerwen…”

I don’t know how many more of these things to do. Rather, it might be more convenient to put an end to it now.

I decided.

“Kill.”

With those words, the elf’s arrow pierced his head.

There was no time to scream. It was as if an arrowhead-shaped ornament had been pierced into his forehead.

There wasn’t too much blood either. The back of his head was probably full of brain and blood, but at least it wasn’t visible from here.

Slowly his legs gave way, and the lifeless chunk of meat fell forward.

“What, what!”

“The captain was hit! We also counterattack… Keuug!”

There was no time for the wizard inside to get out. I didn’t agree with the way she handled magic, but at least I didn’t have to consume her against an enemy of this level.

It was in the lowlands, but it didn’t bother Nerwen at all. The bandit who opened his mouth immediately became a corpse with an arrow piercing his neck or head.

It was not the first time I had seen a grotesque situation. I have seen many dead bodies and people die right in front of my eyes.

There is no reason to sympathize with them. They deserved to die, except for the one who dared to point a knife at me and blocked my path.

Even if they were forced to capture them alive and be judged by the law, they would almost certainly hear the scolding from the captain of the guard, saying, ‘Why didn’t you bother bringing them here?’

“Run away! Go back and call the other kids!”

“What am I going to do if I only run away from one person! I have to avenge the captain… Ugh.”

But if it were me when I first came here, I don’t think I would have worried about this.

Because I wasn’t the one who killed people or let them die for the right reasons to die.

I was too naive. Even if you shake a little now, you have to be patient. It is unavoidable to go back.

Leaving behind their screams, I removed the stones and blocks of wood blocking the road one by one.

The world number is coming soon.