Kuro no Maou

Chapter 246 – Reckless Bandits

The targets were three adventurers.

「Hey, I’m saying to start up a fight and properly take the money to stop fighting」

Zack took several bandits aka Slave Dealers from the mansion he was residing. Upon reaching Isckia Village, on the front gate, he heard that information from the man he was about to meet up.

They couldn’t check the Guild Card hence the rank is unknown, this information surely is enough to make on anxious, but more than that,

(Hey, this is just too false-sounding, so you guys want to snatch the more pretty women for yourself, eh)

If they had already attacked the adventurers and pulled back temporarily, the atmosphere would be more dangerous.

From the point of Zack, they seemed to have forced out an unsatisfactory reason.

But, there was neither time or labour to confirm it, more than anything he had worked all till this point as their bodyguard, if by chance, just before the day contract period ends, he is falsely accused of something, then his pay and everything will be ruined.

(Well it’s the problem of adventurers to show-off by walking with such a pretty woman)

Though he’s not feeling motivated, but for the job Zack and others run on the path on horses following behind the man.

The sun has set down and the veil of darkness descends, so running on the path on a horse is difficult, it wouldn’t be so difficult if the path was maintained time-to-time, of course only if the rider has that much ability to horse-ride.

After walking for a while, they met up with the leading unit which was tracking the adventurers, as for the adventurers they silently moved to the campground site where the Student party had once camped.

「Hey, not even a single person for lookout, this guy’s some damn amateur......」

In this excessively wide plain without any shelter to hide, there was a single tent and brightly burning bonfire.

Just besides it were two horses tied up to a stake hammered in the ground.

This manner of defenselessness is something even those villagers can’t do, Zack wanted to give a lecture to the person camping here in such a careless manner.

He had heard that the adventurers were 1 male and 2 females, probably the male is some green young man of a noble and is amusing himself in adventurer-roleplaying along with his pretty maids.

In that case he felt less sympathy, and if the male was making love with the two beauties then his sympathy is just non-existent.

「Gonna ask for just in case, that camping ground doesn’t has a powerful barrier, right?」

If there is a Rank 4 Mage, then even without a person for lookout, the person can create an impregnable fortress.

If they neared carelessly then they might become human fire dolls by a fire barrier, or ice sculptures by a ice barrier. Zack and others don’t have any means to oppose such a power of magic, hence they are being vigilant.

「There is none, I had investigated it before and there was no reaction at all」

「So what will you do? The ‘negotiations’ like the last time?」

「No, this time we will attack at once. Kill the man and capture the women, even they all seem sleeping soundly, this won’t take more than 5 minutes」

Apparently they were going to use a surprise attack plan.

A campground without a lookout, other party is sleeping soundly without any defense. With this much favorable conditions it’s surely better to finish up the work at once.

「We will go, and teach you remain here. If something occurs then do help us」

「Roger, I will pray that my turn never comes」

And the bandits creep up to the campgrounds like a snake aiming at its prey.

Zack stayed behind at a little farther place while holding his battle axe in one hand.

The bandits move in the darkness without any torch or lantern, but the bonfire near the tent is working as the best landmark.

Against this tent set-up in these plains without any shelter, the bandits’ side can make use of their numbers and attack from all four directions.

Being illuminated by the light, the knives in the hands of men glittered.

The tent was already encircled by several tens of men, and were about to cut the cloth of tent and invade——or so it seemed like.

「Bullet Arts Full Burst」

At that time, in the silent dead of night, a dry loud sound of explosion roared.

「Wha!?」

Widening his eyes Zack witnessed a scene he had never expected, in other words the scene of the opponent counterattacking.

Without knowing what sort of attack that was, the men nearing tent for invading, screamed in anguish and started falling down one-by-one.

Thanks to being near the bonfire, the scene of men having their heads burst open like a trampled fruit, was easily visible.

In a second several men died, the men left showed fear.

In this unexpected situation someone would give out the orders for their movements, but the opponent adventurer was more fast on his feet.

Three shadows jumped out of the tent’s entrance as is piercing through it. The moment he saw it, Zack’s mind went blank due to fright.

「H-He is!」

A man with large build wearing a jet-black ominous armor came out first, but rather than feeling the eeriness of his armor Zack’s eyes were fixed on his face without a helmet.

He obviously remembered that black-haired man with sharp black and red eyes.

He was the main reason that Zack had no choice but return to being a decent adventurer, there can be no way he would forgot.

「No way, wh-why——」

But, he had known that the other man was an adventurer since seeing the guild card hanging from his neck, a meeting like this was not non-existent to happen.

The reason Zack was more surprised is because, with that man was, of all people, his life savior.

「——Why is fairy-san also with him!?」

Behind the man was a shining small figure of a person, it was a figure of a beautiful and cute person that everyone would call a fairy.

There was no way he would mistake her, she was the person who saved him from the fate of being eaten by slime and having this bones melted. Her figure was vividly burned in his brain.

The girl with two pair of wings shining in rainbow-color, long platinum blond hair and emerald green eyes, currently once again appeared in front of Zack.

And the white light which entirely exterminated the slimes, also made its appearance here.

「Arrgh, too bright!?」

The Flash sent out by the fairy was not only dazzling but also the hot winds which were the waves of attack also blew through the surroundings.

A slimes jelly-like body would burst open, but currently that destructive light was aimed at all humans, the blood was spilt and hand, legs, torso and other body parts were flying around.

And it wasn’t just the fairy causing bloodshed with heat and explosion.

The third adventurer, a witch in all black, fired several fireballs having equal explosion power as the Flash.

The red fire and white light display their furies as if wanting to grill the surroundings.

There was no magic for a normal man to be in the vortex of that storm of destruction.

The several tens of men attacking on tent vanished from the world within the short of five minutes and all that was left was charred corpses.

「Ahh, Arrgh......」

He watched his comrades having tables turned at them, no, it would be more appropriate to call it being flatten down one-sidedly.

Zack showing that reaction had completely forgot his work as the bodyguard and was trembling. He tried to move his fear-stricken frozen feet with all his strength.

But, before his legs even started to move,

「Aaaahhhhhh!」

He was captured in the gaze of black and red eyes.

The distance between him and the man was several tens of meters, he shouldn’t be visible under the cover of night.

That’s how it should’ve been, the man’s both eyes were aiming right in his direction——in short, their eyes met.

「Uuuwwwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!」

Throwing the battle axe, he finally turned around and ran at full speed.

He hated the fact that they had tied up the horses quite back to sneak up to the camping ground without making any sounds.

(I can escape if I reach there!)

He ran whilst believing in that hope.

But, Zack wasn’t right in his mind currently, hence he didn’t think that the adventurer in the camping grounds would be able to catch him if they untied heir horses.

Eventually he didn’t sense a horse chasing him at all, instead he clearly heard the footsteps stepping on the meadows just from his rear.

It was unbelievable, but the distance of several tens of meters was easily covered in less than three seconds.

“Impossible”, by the time he thought that a black shadow passed by him like a gale with super-high speed,

「Stop there」

And the man in complete black with just his red eye shining crimson stood in Zack’s way.

He was grabbing hatchet seeming like a bastard sword in his left hand, a dark red aura rose up from it.

He couldn’t come up with a single idea to defeat this man.

He had thought this man was strong when he first met him, but it was this moment he thought he was an unreachable overpowering existence.

If this man was serious, then killing Zack would be as easy as twisting a baby’s arm, last time he was truly ‘turned a blind eye’.

Zack understood that his life-and-death was completely in the man’s hands, he bend his knees raised his hands and took a pose of surrendering.

「W-Wait......Help, please......」

With that hoarse voice, he somehow spit out words for begging his life.

The eyes of the man looking down on his pitiable figure were after all sharp and had a cruel glint in them.