Chapter 23 End Of Fight

  Fortunately, the other party had no intention of killing Ian and wanted to escape. After knocking Ian's sword away, the mercenary glanced at Rohr, who was already closing in, and spurred his horse in an attempt to continue northward.

  It was unfortunate that his horse had been slowed down during the fight with Ian, and its escape speed couldn't return to its peak immediately. Within a few seconds, Rohr caught up to him and thrust his sword through the mercenary's heart from behind.

  Witnessing this scene, Ian couldn't help but exhale in relief, though he was still shaken by what had transpired moments ago.

  He couldn't believe that he, who had always considered himself level headed, would charge towards the enemy like that. When his horse sprinted at full speed, all rationality seemed to evaporate, as if his body's hormones had transformed into pure adrenaline.

  This reminded him of a battler when the polish cavalry (the winged hussar) use the forest of spear formation to charge a heavy cavalry with a light cavalry and won, sadly Ian had neither the wine they used to attempt such a suicide mission nor the will to sacrifice.

  Shaking his head and making a firm decision to avoid such reckless attempts in the future, Ian began reflecting on his first real battle since entering the world of ice and fire.

  As for his performance, Ian couldn't consider it remarkable; rather, it was embarrassing. During the battle, his mind went nearly blank.

  Despite having acquired the riding skills of a mercenary knight from the system and the memories of swordsmanship skills, these memories didn't sync with his body, lacking muscle memory and leaving him unsure of what to do next.

  This deficiency in coordination between his memories and his body reflected a broader issue data from the system wasn't entirely reliable. Ian even contemplated having Rohr systematically train him in his free time.

  Glancing back, Rohr had already led the fleeing enemy's horse back to where the other mercenaries lay dead, sorting through the loot with Kith.

  Ian, however, was more focused on inspecting the equipment of the two knights.

  This time, Ian was eager to thank the planner because the rewards were impressive.

  Evidently, the S level NPCs rewarded by the system came equipped with top notch gear,

particularly their armor. Ian's heart sank when he recalled Carmel spear failing to pierce Keith, as he had expected. Case's successful dodge had caused the spear tip to hit his heavily armored left shoulder. Yet, it was clear that Keith's plate armor was top tier, ensuring it could withstand such a high speed charge.

  The quality extended to their warhorses as well. Despite being fully armored and having delayed themselves for a few seconds, Rohr and Keith had effortlessly caught up with Ian, whose horse was, in fact, a purebred horse. This revealed the superior quality of their mounts compared to his own.

  Such a configuration was a rare instance of fairness in this game. Soon, Rohr and Keith completed the loot collection, which included two horses, an exquisite long sword, a dozen golden dragons, a sizable amount of other coins, and a pair of plate and chain mail armor.

  Of course, when referring to plate and chain mail armor, it was essentially a metal plate added to the chest of chain mail, somewhat like what Stannis Baratheon wore in the Game of Thrones TV series.

  Ian found himself perplexed by this choice.

  Why would Stannis, a king, wear such poor armor? Wouldn't he be better off with something more defensive? If he had to wear plate and chain mail, it should at least resemble the armor worn by Jaime Lanniseter

  In any case, after his less than stellar performance, Ian was somewhat concerned about how he looked in fancy clothes. He promptly removed his coat, took the blood stained armor from the deceased Carmel, and donned it without hesitation.

  With Rohr's assistance, Ian donned the chainmail. Surprisingly, it fit him rather well, given that Ian and Carmel  had similar builds.

  Having completed these tasks swiftly, Ian ordered them to return to the small town of Holloway, where the salt mine was located.

  Upon their return, the battle at the salt mine was still ongoing. The surviving mercenaries had split into two groups, three against four, all appearing fatigued.

  It seemed that the situation had spiraled out of control once Carmel  left. These mercenaries, likely forming small groups based on their existing camaraderie, were now vying for the gold bars.

  Three among them were severely injured, and it was doubtful that even if their respective groups emerged victorious, the spoils would be enough to go around.

  The arrival of Ian and his companions disrupted the tenuous balance among them.

  The mercenaries gazed at Rohr's and Keith's bloodied swords, seemingly realizing something. In that moment, countless thoughts raced through their minds.

  Should they mount a desperate resistance? Should they flee? Or should they kneel and beg for mercy?

  All these considerations were rendered useless because Ian had already issued the order to attack and It was too late to consider any of this choices.

  In a matter of minutes, the battle concluded. The two knights effortlessly cut down several mercenaries who resisted, and then dismounted to finish off those lying on the ground, already seriously injured.

  After confirming that no survivors remained, they began searching for loot.

  Throughout this entire process, Ian's gaze was fixed on another direction.

  The night had swallowed the last vestiges of sunlight, and a vivid star map began to emerge against the dark sky.

  Perhaps, within that star map, there was a distant blue planet where there were no merciless executioners, no mercenaries begging for mercy, and no cries from the injured.

  Shortly afterward, Ian and his team finished tallying the second wave of loot.

  This time, most of the items were left behind per Ian's orders. What they took included Carmel's clan sword a high quality bastard sword, two exquisite daggers, three fully grown river horses, and Carmel's plate armor.

  Of course, the most significant loot was the money.

  Carmel's and the mercenaries own funds were almost negligible. What Ian and his group had retrieved were the two commissions Ian had paid and the remaining 80 golden dragons from Harui.

  Ian stashed all the gold bars in the auxiliary system's backpack and put the remaining 500 golden dragons into Rohr's bag.

  They then left the mine and reached the nearby Green Fork River to wash the blood off their bodies.

  "Could you explain why you were so confident in inciting Carmel's personal guards earlier?" Rohr suddenly asked Ian as they washed their clothes.