All-Out Brawl
Fourteen men emerged from the back of the store.
They were likely hired muscle working for the Eigenberg Merchant Association.
"Not bad for a third-rate country knight. But sometimes, being too perceptive can be the death of you."
The representative of the Eigenberg Merchant Association sneered and signaled his men.
Realizing they were about to attack, I called out to Reskel, who was still in shock.
"Take the other villagers and get out of here."
"Eh!? B-But—"
"I can handle this. In fact, it’d be easier if you all evacuate."
"Y-Yes!"
The villagers scrambled to flee outside.
At the same moment, the armed men lunged at me.
Some wielded swords, but… their form was terrible.
Their swings were so exaggerated that I could easily read their movements.
It was a textbook display of amateurs.
Even though I had been stationed in a remote region, I was still a Holy Sword wielder.
Lately, I had been spending most of my time farming, but I never neglected my training.
Like I’d lose to a bunch of lowly thugs.
"Hah!"
I charged head-on against three incoming attackers.
"Guoh!?"
"Gah!?"
"Urgh!?"
Without killing them, I incapacitated them just enough to take them out of the fight.
The rest kept attacking in numbers, but there was no coordination—just brute force.
They lacked the skill or knowledge to take advantage of their numbers.
Before long, only five remained.
More than half had already lost their will to fight and were groaning on the floor.
"Th-That sword… Is that a Holy Sword!?"
At last, the merchant representative noticed.
… Took him long enough.
Anyone with a keen eye would’ve recognized it the moment I walked in.
"Impossible!? Why would a knight strong enough to wield a Holy Sword be guarding some backwater villagers!?"
"Call it fate."
I pointed my sword at the remaining men.
I signaled my intent to fight, but… they weren’t interested.
They bolted immediately.
"W-Wait! I paid you a fortune to fight! Stand your ground!"
"Fighting won’t change the outcome. More importantly… you’re going to confess everything."
"Eek!?"
The merchant representative slumped to the floor, just like Reskel had earlier.
But unlike Reskel, there was no way out for him. He was finished.
Afterward, Reskel and the others reported the situation to the knights stationed in town.
Surprisingly, the knights had no knowledge of the Eigenberg Merchant Association.
Apparently, the knights responsible for this area had vanished a few days ago, and the royal capital had been contacted for reinforcements.
It was possible that those missing knights had been in cahoots with the corrupt merchants, which was why their crimes had gone unnoticed.
As for Dresslaw, the previous owner had started a new merchant association with his allies.
As expected of a Glacera merchant—he wasn’t one to go down without a fight.
The newly established Dresslaw Merchant Association agreed to buy our vegetables.
On top of that, many local merchants, who had despised Eigenberg, thanked us and asked to do business with us as well.
Honestly, things were turning out a little too perfectly.
With Eigenberg gone, Glacera regained its vibrancy.
As we stood at the center of it all, a woman approached us.
"I stopped by to investigate the recent disappearances of knights in Glacera, but… I didn’t expect to find you in the middle of this mess."
That familiar voice and way of speaking—
"M-Miracca!?"
"Long time no see. Glad to see you’re doing well."
It was my fellow knight, Miracca.
What do you think about this chapter?
