Chapter 129 - How tall are you? (2)

The sound of children's laughter filled the entire village.

It was one of those days when the sky was a bright blue without a single cloud, and the flowers adorned here and there had vibrant colors today.

As if it were a world seen through the eyes of the voice.

In the midst of all this busy people, Vlad sat silently and alone.

'…'

Vlad scratched his cheek for no reason as he watched the people with smiles on their faces.

Vlad was too strange a being to enter their world, which was harmonious like a single body.

He didn't want to go in there either.

"Captain. thanks."

"What."

Vlad, who was pulled out of his thoughts by Goethe's voice, turned his head.

Until yesterday, we had been wandering together down the street, but suddenly it felt like Goethe was in a different world.

Goethe within the family circle seemed so unfamiliar.

"A pig."

Vlad turned his head to follow the direction in which Goethe squinted.

A whole pig roasting continuously with an apple in its mouth.

The children of the village looked excited as they nodded in the direction the pig was spinning.

"…The village chief gave it to me. In return, I gave him 1 gold coin."

Seeing today's wedding, Vlad remembered old Jorge.

Whenever something worthy of celebration happened to the organization members, Jorge would send them a bottle of alcohol on behalf of the chief, and the people who received it were very happy.

"Marie really likes it. She received the knight's blessing."

"…Is that so?"

If that's the case, that's all.

As expected, Jorge's method was correct.

The presence of an adult man whom he could see and learn from for the first time was still showing Vlad how he should behave.

"You said the groom has relatives in Marcia, right?"

"I did."

"Then, after this wedding, send your family there for the time being."

After hearing Vlad's words, Goethe nodded heavily.

Vlad was not simply unable to participate in this atmosphere because he was a stranger.

Unlike the villagers enjoying the wedding, Vlad looked elsewhere.

"Go see something. I think it's starting now."

Vlad moved the wedding forward by two days, but it was fortunate that it started successfully.

"I see. I have to go."

With those words, the village's half farmer and swindler began to run quickly forward.

But today, he's probably a man with more confidence than anyone else.

Goethe, who had proven his worth through Vlad, hurried to take his place to brighten his sister's future.

"Thank you to everyone who attended the wedding today..."

The wedding ceremony began with a congratulatory speech from a priest from a nearby village.

The bride and groom waiting to enter while stepping on a red cloth.

"…This."

But, unfortunately, in Vlad's eyes, instead of seeing someone happy, he saw the omen of an impending threat.

From afar, he could see Stefan looking at him with a puzzled expression.

"Boy."

"Yes?"

"Give me a flower from the basket."

Vlad called out to the boy holding the flower basket and quietly picked the flowers.

There was one flower that caught his eye.

"Congratulations Marie!"

"You must live well!"

The bride and groom walk hand in hand as the priest calls them.

The knight, who was about to leave, threw a red rose at them from a distance.

Congratulations and greetings. And leaving behind the beautiful view.

"It was a good idea to distribute the scouts as the knight suggested. They say unidentified armed men are coming here now."

"How much longer?"

"I think we can get there in two hours."

After hearing Stephan's report, Vlad quietly left the wedding hall with a serious face.

"What should we do about the wedding?"

"Do we end it now?"

Upon hearing Stephan's words, Vlad looked back in silence.

People in the same place but in different worlds.

Vlad wanted to complete the wedding for them as much as possible.

Wouldn't protecting something mean having to protect a scene like that?

"…Let's finish in ten minutes."

The cheers of the people behind Vlad gradually diminished as he walked away.

Then Vlad walked forward, leaving behind the red rose he had thrown.

***

'…Damn it.'

Colin spat out, suppressing the curse that grew within him.

Colin's eyes were turning red as he faced a completely unexpected sight.

"Are our men the ones hanging there now?"

"…Yes. These are the scouts we sent."

I thought it would be an easy mission.

To be precise, it was just a trivial mission that I didn't want to undertake.

However, what was seen before the eyes was far from what Colin and his men had hoped and imagined.

"...I suppose there was a knight hidden there."

A hastily erected wooden fence.

It was a flimsy wooden fence that looked like it could be knocked down, but the corpses hanging in front of it sent a strong warning.

The death-hanging fence seemed to say that this place would not be easy to cross.

"What should we do?"

"What are you going to do? Should we at least retreat from here?"

Three scouts were sent, but they were captured with none escaping.

The soldiers were at a level that could not be handled by a single village, so there was clearly something unexpected in the village.

"I will take the lead."

However, Colin did not hesitate despite the explicit warning from someone.

An easy mission also means it's a mission that cannot fail.

Colin, whose position had already been diminished due to the honor duel in Deirmar, was a man who could no longer turn back.

"Come out!"

A powerful force that couldn't be attributed to a simple bandit.

As if he were no longer going to hide his identity, Colin began to shout loudly and reveal his presence.

"How dare someone cut off my men's heads!"

The boar's angry shout rang out through the village.

The village, which a moment ago was full of laughter, was now filled with anxiety that made it hard to even breathe.

"If you don't open the door right now, I'll cut off your heads!"

If you open the door, I'll spare your lives.

Colin shouted confidently as if he were in charge, but the response he received was only calmness.

"Knight of Pylos. Colin the boar of the land."

With the man's voice, the wooden door began to open.

So small that only one person can pass through.

"It's been a while since I've seen you, but I'm not at all happy."

"...Who the hell are you."

A blond man emerges alone from the village.

The man who seemed like a knight at first glance threw an object he was holding at Colin instead of answering the question.

Thud-

Heads rolled at Colin's feet.

Colin frowned as he looked at the heads of his subordinates, each with their eyes wide open.

'They were all cut off at once.'

There was no doubt about the scar marked on their neck.

This meant they were cut with a sword without a sign of deviation.

I don't know who the knight in front of me is, but I can guess his abilities to some extent.

"Today is a good day. Colin. So if you die now, I won't blame you for your bad manners."

"You didn't even ask who I was?"

Blond hair and blue eyes.

A knight of splendid appearance who looks like an aristocrat, but whose spirit is as fierce as that of an animal.

There was no way he wouldn't remember a boy with such a strong impression.

"I'm sorry. You didn't draw your sword for me that day?"

"...What?"

A strangely relaxed smile that stirs anger.

He wasn't the type before him, but Colin remembered a knight smiling like that.

"I'm Vlad of Soara."

The one-eyed knight of Bayezid.

That bastard who dealt him a humiliating defeat.

"I'm Lord Jager's squire."

Now that I see it, he looks exactly like him.

The way he moves and the way he speaks.

And even that smile that seems relaxed.

"Yes, I see..."

Colin's eyes, which had finally recognized Vlad, began to turn red with anger.

I remember a land full of lemon scent.

Joubert, the one-eyed, laughed at himself and clicked his tongue.

And even the bright Pablo and the blond brat.

"Bayazid, you dog!"

I finally remember it.

The disciple of the knight who defeated him.

It was almost impossible to recognize him at a glance.

For the boy who suddenly became a knight, his former scruffy appearance remained only a trace.

He seemed so confident, as if he had been like that since birth.

"I will kill you! Northern bastards!"

What was once a trivial mission suddenly turned into a fiery field of revenge.

That day I drew my sword to protect you, but not today.

Today I will kill you and erase the defeat of that day that I could not contain.

"Wait, Colin!"

The angry boar caught his target with both eyes.

Colin, the boar of Pylos.

The leader of the assault, who had no idea of retreating, began to run towards Vlad with a perfect motion.

"Shit! Follow him inside! Attack right now!"

"Follow Lord Colin!"

The soldiers of Pylos, disguised as bandits, also began to charge hastily, following their knights.

Like trained soldiers, they maintained their formation even in sudden situations and ran towards the fence.

"Kwaaaaaak!"

"It's a trap, it's a trap!"

However, Vlad did not waste the time given to him.

Traps made by experienced mercenaries and villagers began to attack the soldiers of Pylos from various places.

Rumble!

"Die! You son of a bitch!"

"My name is Vlad of Soara."

Vlad, who blocked the boar's charge with his whole body, gritted his teeth and weakly smiled.

Although he couldn't completely stop the force rushing at him, he let it in, which couldn't be a bad thing either.

"Stephen! Close the door!"

"Understood!"

The wooden fence door, which was flimsy but functional, began to close.

Screams and blood began to flow through the wooden door separating the commander and the soldiers.

"I will kill you today and take your head to my master!"

"...Now, if it's about my head... is it worth taking?"

He really deserves to be called a boar.

Though they are isolated, their eyes are lifted as if they are not looking back.

Though there was no finesse, their innate power of strength pressed mercilessly against Vlad.

"...If that's the case, then I'm glad."

Colin's eyes widened as he looked at Vlad.

The smile that I thought resembled Jager's a moment ago was now distorted and showing its true form.

No one else's smile but Vlad's.

The beginning was noble, but the end was the smile of a cruel predator.

"So, how much is your head worth?"

"What?"

A cruel smile that only a predator could have appeared on Vlad's face.

Stabbing the fastest dragon, Lindworm.

Killing the sharpest dragon, Nidhogg.

However, Vlad, who had never faced a life-or-death situation with another human being, always felt curious.

How strong am I?

How far have I come?

"Are you not asking how far I will kill you?"

Vlad continued to chase the shadows of the men who had led him.

Because he wanted to be like them and surpass them.

Where am I?

How far will I go?

Now was the time for the boy knight to find out.

With his left eye closed, Vlad's world began to burn intensely.

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