Rowan climbed to the second floor in an instant, opened the door, and headed for the second-floor office. It wasn't a place filled with the scent of books, but rather one stocked with weapons and equipment—now empty. The bandits had sorted through everything early and taken anything of value.
Of course, being retired veteran Rakson's armory, they'd taken every scrap of metal without leaving anything behind. Among the emptied shelves, Rowan spotted a bare armor stand. When he touched the floor beneath it, it rotated, revealing a hidden compartment. He pulled out a small wooden case from inside.
'Rakson's original secret manual.'
A secret location he'd naturally discovered while copying documents. Rowan tucked it inside his clothes. As he tried to escape through the window, a voice that shook the air rang out.
"Cowardly bastards! You won't come to your senses until you're beaten to a bloody pulp like dogs!"
Smashing roughly through the wooden window and immediately sticking out a leg, the drunk Handless Sendabil ducked his upper body sideways and squeezed through. The thrown burning firewood was blocked by the shield fitted to his handless right arm.
Crack!
The window frame came right out and was smashed by his halberd.
"What the hell is that size..."
The ruthless physique of Sendabil—who'd seemed large sitting on the platform but now approached three meters tall—was terrifying.
"Fuck off, you bandit bastard!"
The fire demon spread through the entire blazing house, and the front gate collapsed. The bandits inside tried to escape but were hit with thrown firewood and oil and couldn't dare flee.
Only Sendabil with his shield could get out. He swept the area with bulging eyes.
'Lots of them.'
He knew if he lost momentum, he'd be the one beaten to a pulp, but Sendabil strode forward, banging his shield with his halberd. The metallic sound rang out loud.
"Anyone who wants to come at me, come! I'll split your skull in half!"
Bueric the woodcutter, pretty big himself, slowly closed the distance. When others followed with lit firewood, Sendabil immediately recognized that woodcutter Bueric was the focal point of their courage. He was experienced in fighting—especially in clashes with citizens, from youth associations to militias and various combat groups.
'Can't leave a guy like that alone.'
People are more cowardly than you think and endure injustice remarkably well. They look brave because they swarm to one righteous person like bees. In reality, not many would face a nearly three-meter giant wielding a blade. When someone steps up to lead, then everyone rushes in.
"Waaaah!"
Sendabil jumped forward roughly. Woodcutter Bueric raised his firewood to block, but it was sloppy. His arm went right under the shield, and bandit boss Sendabil's headbutt slammed into his skull. As he fell backward, the halberd thudded into his head.
"Gack."
Without even managing a proper sound, his arms fell limply to the floor in a spread-eagle position. The blazing firewood spat out ash.
"Hng."
The man right next to him felt his legs give out. He looked at Bueric, who'd died instantly without moving, then got hit with the shield and tumbled across the ground.
"Oof!"
"Ptoo! Keh heh heh. Any other takers?"
When he thrust the halberd out, aiming it around, everyone backed off. Then a shout came from inside the building, which was starting to blaze and collapse.
"Boss! Over here!"
Setan, covered in burn injuries, shouted. He'd been rolling around wildly in some room—he wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing, just clutching a blood-stained dagger.
When the commotion started, he'd just killed the village woman he'd been with. He had a cruel, selfish mind, thinking to kill one more before he died. If asked why he killed her, he'd say "just because"—he'd killed the village woman from the selfishness that formed the foundation of his character. He didn't know himself well enough to recognize he'd killed her out of pure selfishness.
"Just stick it through!"
"Smash the window on the bottom!"
You could see him trembling with fear. This was Setan, who'd nearly burned to death once before when his stronghold had burned in Rakson's fire attack. Handless Sendabil looked back.
'Not even holding a weapon. Just gotta get Setan out and go.'
He was an important strategist. Separating villagers by gender was a tactic he'd created. At first, trying to kill as few people as possible had also been his idea. Of course, in the end, burning them all in the warehouse had been the masterstroke.
"Whew, whew, whew!"
He swung down once. The window frame broke, and the wooden floor materials collapsed. Pulling out the embedded halberd, he looked back again and shouted.
"Anyone who wants to die, come on! I'll make you into mush!"
While shouting, Sendabil noticed their eyes were looking above him. The moment he raised his head, his eyes stung and his right side went black.
"Gyaaaah!"
Even while screaming, he reflexively raised his round shield.
Thud thud!
Two consecutive impacts hit with jarring force.
'Arrows!'
Kneeling on one leg, he covered his upper body as much as possible with the round shield, reducing his surface area by bending his thighs and legs. Rowan grimaced as his decisive attack failed. He hadn't wanted to shoot arrows at an opponent with a shield. Only six arrows left now.
He'd used eight to deal with bandits who'd rushed out the sides and back, even while the building burned.
'Shame.'
He'd thought it natural to clear the small fries before dealing with the boss, so he'd spent time killing the minor bandits, but Sendabil had already killed one person.
"Urgh!"
Setan burst out, leaping forward while trembling. His crotch got hit by the halberd's spear tip, and he face-planted. He looked incredibly stupid, but considering his trauma about fire, it took real courage.
Rowan gave the crouching man an arrow in the side.
"Surround him!"
The four wolves were cunning enough not to attack until Rowan arrived and didn't even enter his line of sight. They kept plenty of distance—typical wariness learned from a life where cunning was necessary to survive in the wild.
"Woof! Woof woof woof!"
Of course, they circled closer, barking so loud it felt like the air was ringing, showing their teeth menacingly.
"Get up, you bastard!"
Sendabil shouted and yanked out the halberd with one hand. Meanwhile, Setan stood up with an arrow stuck in his side. Blood dripped from the wound. His lips trembled—it seemed to hurt terribly.
"Hngh, shit!"
When Rowan pulled the bowstring and realistically faked a shot by leaning forward, Setan cursed and rolled. Of course, Rowan didn't actually release the arrow.
'No point shooting a guy like that.'
His only weapon was a dagger. Two wolves would finish him. He didn't seem like he could fight well either. The problem was Sendabil, who wielded a round shield and halberd and wore leather armor in critical places.
Though an arrow had pierced his right eye, when he pulled the halberd hard and ducked his head, the arrow fell to the ground on its own, eyeball attached. The empty socket filled with blood, sloshing and spilling with each movement. Blood flowed down as if he were crying tears of blood. He cursed continuously as he walked. The pain was so maddening that his brain felt like it was burning—without cursing, he couldn't muster the energy to run.
"You bastard! Come down!"
Rowan didn't respond. When the distance closed to about fifteen paces, he came down and started following. The wolves maintained a ten-pace distance.
"These damn wolves!"
Setan threw a stone, but the wolves dodged instantly—they knew perfectly well everyone was watching them. Their eyes were fixed on both men.
Even after leaving the village, Rowan and the wolves continued the chase. Using a tree for cover, Sendabil caught his breath. Heat poured off his whole body, and cold sweat soaked his back.
The villagers didn't follow. Woodcutter Bueric's gruesome death was enough to terrify them. The big woodcutter had his skull split in one blow and died spread-eagled without even managing a loud scream.
Handless Sendabil had tried to stop the pursuit by killing one person instantly, but there was one human not infected by that fear.
"You bastard! Stop chasing me!"
Sticking the halberd in the ground and using a tree for cover, Sendabil shouted while shaking out a pouch of crushed herbs with his left hand.
But he couldn't see Rowan in the darkness—only heard the threatening sounds of wolves barking from all directions. He could tell that Rowan, whose outline should've at least been visible, was hiding in the bushes.
The night wind was strong and rough, so the sound of rustling bushes filled the air. Even while looking around, they were tense, having trouble distinguishing arrows in the darkness.
'Thought the big guy would be dumb, but he's the trickiest.'
He was moving around with the tree as an axis—irregular movement, hard to aim at. Arrow speed made it difficult to hit an enemy moving like that.
On the other hand, naked Setan was an easy target. But Rowan didn't target him. He was Sendabil's excellent baggage and more helpful to Rowan alive. Because Setan was there, Sendabil didn't run away alone at full speed. He even entertained thoughts of fighting Rowan, and that internal conflict made him stop here.
Unlike hunter Geric, Rowan, who'd operated in the deep forest, needed his own body safe more than anyone, so he executed a calculated human hunt. In the boring, languid mornings, Rowan's only pleasure had been imagining scenarios—and that naturally included human hunting. An age of lawlessness. He was throwing down the gauntlet to the world with just a blade in his hand. Ironically, there wasn't a single scenario he hadn't considered.
Rustle—!
The bushes made a loud sound in the wind. Quiet time continued, and even the barking wolves eventually lowered their bodies and pressed their bellies into the bushes for cover.
Moonlight was shining down, but even that was blocked by clouds or tree branches.
"Can you move?"
Sendabil spoke to Setan. Setan, who'd broken the arrow off in his side, pulled himself together and stood awkwardly next to him.
"What's he trying to do?"
"He's hunting us. Won't attack, just keeps stalling. We'll tire first."
At that, Sendabil asked Setan's opinion.
"So? How do we shake him?"
"Wouldn't it be better if we split up in different directions?"
At naked Setan's words, Sendabil was shocked. Without weapons or armor, Setan would definitely die.
"You'll die."
"I'm prepared. Just get revenge."
Unlike the heartwarming scene it appeared to be, Setan was grinning in the darkness.
'Idiot.'
Sendabil believed his weapon, equipment, and bulk would save him, but Setan thought the opposite. All those indicators would get him killed.
'He'll chase you, not me.'
The most threatening presence was Handless Sendabil. From the moment a citizen's skull had split in his brutal display, he'd become big game that absolutely couldn't be let go, and Setan had become small fry.
'Just pretend to run, then lie flat, hold my breath, and give myself to the darkness.'
"When I give the signal, I'll run north."
He whispered. Sendabil gripped the halberd with his left hand again. Though his right eye had been hit, he felt no regret. His right hand was already cut off, so his left eye was more precious than his right. And even if he fell into despair, escaping came first.
The two men stayed silent as mice, whispering whenever the wind blew.
"When the next wind blows hard, let's split up and run."
"Yes."
The wind blew hard. The two men ran in an instant, and Rowan immediately commanded.
"Only one chases the small guy—the rest follow me!"
Two wolves turned their heads to chase Setan, but soon one turned back and started chasing Rowan. As Setan had predicted, Rowan let him go and poured his full strength into pursuing Sendabil.