Foreigner Volume 8, Chapter 169

Volume 8 Chapter 169, Steady Advance ~ 22

　After entering the country of Liese, Satoru's journey was smooth.

　Although he was traveling with a certain amount of tension because he was sure that his pursuers would be coming after him for his barbaric act of forcibly breaking through the checkpoint, there was not an ounce of dangerous atmosphere, and he only exchanged greetings with travelers he passed from time to time.

　On the first day, they stayed off the road in the open, but the next day they were in the mistletoe of Normad. Fortunately, it was uninhabited and there was no need to be on guard, so Satoru and the others rested comfortably and resumed their journey at sunrise. It is now their third day in the country of Liese. If all goes according to plan, they will be able to enter Arsweta in two or three days.

　Under a clear blue sky, the villagers are working busily, their faces full of harvest joy, as they look out over the vast fields of ears of wheat that seem to be harvesting. The scene of the quiet countryside, golden ears of wheat swaying in the wind, and the rustling of leaves is a comforting sight.

　Satoru strokes his chin as he sits on a horse-drawn carriage, which is still rocking and swaying as usual.

「I heard there was an epidemic going around, but I don't see any sign of it.」

『You're right. I looked around the village, but there was no sign of an epidemic.』

「Rather than disease, many people in the village were thin. Isn't the country weakening?」

「A vicious circle, huh」

　Satoru's face contorted from Liz's point of view. Liz's point of view is something Satoru does not have. The fact that she notices the body shape of the villagers shows the breadth of Liz's vision.

　It seems that wheat is the main grain in this country. It has been 62 days since he was summoned to this world, and Satoru has yet to see rice. It may be that he is traveling inland, but rice is a product of regions with abundant water. Wheat does not require as much water as rice, so it can take root even in a somewhat dry land.

　The land where they are now advancing is also dry. The occasional shrub is short, suggesting that water is not plentiful in this area.

　They could see a small forest on their way. A sharp smell hit Satoru's nostrils.

「Danna-samaa」

　Minerva shouts from the carriage. I knew it―Satoru stares into the woods as he goes.

「No, this time I got it too.」

「?」

　Liz looks up at Satoru with a curious gaze.

「It looks like there are bandits or brigands.」

　The forest is called the Red Forest. The trees are not dense enough to be called a forest, and the height of the trees is too short to be called a forest, but in this region, even such a level of trees is called a forest. The reason why it is called the Red Forest is because there is a small swamp in the center of the forest, and the water in the swamp is red and muddy, and the trunks and leaves of the trees standing around it are reddish as if affected by the muddy water. The water in the swamp is not suitable for drinking, so not many people approach the swamp.

　In the midst of all this, Satoru saw about 30 people. All of them were men. They were dressed in tattered and decaying clothes and held swords, axes, and spears in their hands. They had strong bodies, but their complexions were completely exhausted.

「Oyaji, I'm starving!」

　A young man complains of his hunger to a middle-aged man who is particularly large.

「Shut up! You're not the only one who's starving, have some patience!」

　A large middle-aged man with snow wolf fur and saber-toothed saber-tiger fangs clasped around his neck like a necklace is the leader of this group. They treat the leader as their father and all his companions as brothers.

　They are the bandits who are known as the "Baki" clan and are raging in the Liese region. They are characterized by wearing saber-tiger fangs as accessories, and their leader wears as many as 10 saber-tigers.

　The bandits used to be a fierce bandit group in the small country of Liese, but recently their power has completely weakened. The reason is simple: the country of Liese itself has become so weak that the number of people traveling the roads has plummeted. There is no hunting without prey to hunt.

「The country has become more troublesome, but I didn't realize the number of merchants passing through these parts would decrease so much.」

　They don't attack villages unless they have to. Their target is always the travelers. If they attacked and destroyed villages more than necessary, villages would cease to exist in this country. If villages disappear, the number of travelers would also decrease, which is why they do not attack villages. They do occasionally dredge up women from small villages, though.

　Of course, Liese's country has put a bounty on them, and several times they have formed a strike force, but they have skillfully escaped or repelled them by taking advantage of the forests and woodlands that are scattered all over the country.

　The leader's murmur is very true. In the northern part of the country, centering on the royal capital, an epidemic is currently spreading, and the number of people coming and going is decreasing drastically. If this situation continues, the only way for them to survive is to attack villages. They don't want to destroy the village in the future. However, it is time to change their backs.

　The leader, who has less than 30 men under his command, receives a report of hope.

「Oyaji! There's a carriage!」

　The leader, with a dirty look on his face, broke into a smile at the scout's report.

「I see! Are there any guards around the carriage?」

「There are no guards around the carriage! Only a two-horse cart!」

「Guhahaha! I see, it looks like we still have some luck left!」

　How dare they drive their carriages along this road without knowing that our Baki clan is waiting for them, and without hiring a proper escort. Are they a traveler who does not know the reality of this country? The leader licked his lips, stood up with a huge axe, his pride, and joy, and looked back at his men, shouting loudly.

「Let's go, you guys!」

　Hyahaha! and then his men spread out with their weapons of choice in their hands. At first glance, it may look like they are dispersing at random, but this is a winning formation for them―well, it is something that is only laughed at by those who see it.

　The leader waited patiently for the desired carriage to arrive, while the three men scattered in pairs to form a semi-surrounding formation along the road. Without much patience, the leader licks his lips when he sees the carriage rattling along. It was a typical two-horse cart with a hood. From a distance, only the coachman can be seen. It seems that there are really no soldiers escorting the carriage.

「Carriage over there, stop right there!」

　The leader stood proudly in front of the carriage with his own prize, a great axe in his hand. The two horses stop moving with a neigh.

「Guhahaha! Standing in front of the Baki clan, you poor fellow!」

　The leader's movement stopped when he saw a figure sitting on the driver's seat. There was a young woman. She was a slender, good-looking woman with an impressive sharp face, though a little lacking in fleshiness.

「NuOOOOOHHHHH! Oyaji, a woman, and a good one at thaat!」

「Fuck her, I want to fuck her! I want to make her cry with my son!」

　A few of his men come out of the bushes to see the woman sitting in the driver's seat. The woman, perhaps intimidated, does not move her frozen expression at all. She has a sword at her waist, but it is a sword that such a thin woman would carry, so it is probably just for decoration.

　But still, she is beautiful―the leader licks his lips. He has occasionally attacked small villages and frightened women, but he has never seen such a beautiful woman.

「Guhahaha, if you don't mind after me!」

「After Oyaji, it's gonna be tough!」

　The screams of his men rose from the crowd. The leader is also proud of the size of his penis. The leader had once kidnapped a girl from a random village and gang-raped her. Although she was a virgin, the leader had her virginity smashed, and she was so loosely that she was unpopular with his men.

「Can't you even speak? Haaahhh?」

　The leader took a step forward with a big axe on his shoulder, as if to show off to the beautiful girl who had not moved since she stopped the horse. He shows his large body and thick chest and intimidating her. *chaching* and the saber tigers' blades shook.

　And. The top of the carriage's back opened and a man emerged from inside. The leader frowned.

「A man, huh. What are you, a bodyguard?」

「I am the owner of this carriage.」

　The man returned in a wry smile, fluttered down from the back of the carriage, and lightly swung a large sword, the likes of which the leader had never seen before, and thrust it into the ground. The leader flinched for a moment at the demonstration by the man who claimed to be the owner of the carriage. It had been a long time since he had seen a man taller than himself, and he had not seen a man handle such a heavy-looking sword with such ease.

　But even so, he was only dealing with one man. And he was not about to show his fearful appearance in front of his minions.

「If you resist this Baki clan, you will get into trouble, you hear?」

　With a big axe on his shoulder, he takes an intimidating step forward. The large young man's face contorted.

「You stink!」

「Ah?」

　For a moment, the leader turned his eyes, unable to believe the man's muttered words. The man pinched his nose with a frown.

「Get your stinky face away from me!」

「Bastaaarrdd!!」

　Instantly, the leader's brain boiled. He swung the great axe he carried on his shoulder―but the axe did not swing down.

「It's hurt, it's fucking huuurrttt!」

　With a fluid gesture, the man gripped the wrist of the man holding the great axe and twisted it behind his back. And with incredible force. The leader is in so much pain that he lets go of his great axe.

　The man was taller than the leader, but his arms were not nearly as thick. Nevertheless, his strength is at an extraordinary level. The leader's wrist, which is only held by the man's hand, makes an unpleasant sound.

「Ahh, Oyaji!」

「What the fuck are you guys staring at!? A woman, get the woman!」

　The leader, twisted backward by the screams of his men, was trying his best to send out instructions. If he could only get his hands on the woman sitting in the driver's seat, this man would have no choice but to obey.

　At the leader's command, his men attacked at once, shouting war cries. However, the voice of the beautiful woman, who looked frightened, was calm.

「Milord. What should I do with them?」

「They're just a bunch of thieves. Take them all away.」

「At once!」

　A beautiful woman in the driving seat puts her hand on the hilt of her sword and moves with a swaying motion. The next moment, there was the sound of a loud wind.

「NGgaahh!?」

　At the same time, the leader's ears heard a sickening sound. His shoulder bone had been dislocated. The leader closed his eyes and gritted his teeth to endure the pain.

　The war cries of his men suddenly stopped. The leader opened his eyes, enduring the pain, and what he saw was a horrifying sight. Five of his minions, the upper and lower halves of their bodies were separated from each other.

「You really stink, you guys are.」

　The voice of a beautiful woman, who was supposed to be in the driver's seat, echoed from a completely different direction. Mixed in with her voice were the sounds of footwork and wind.

「The day before yesterday, I had the luxury of taking a bath. I can't stand the smell of such rotten smell」

　The voice of a beautiful woman mutters in disgust. I turn my head to look in that direction in a hurry ― my men have been cut down without a sound. I can't follow the beautiful woman's figure. Blood splatters everywhere, the wind blows, and my men fall to the ground.

　The leader's man screamed at the unbelievable scene.

「AAHH, AAAaahhhh!! How dare you, how dare you take my meeens!!」

　The Baki clan's members, all of whom boasted of their strength, were slashed to pieces one after another. One was slashed in the neck and torso, another from the shoulder to the left side, and another was cut in half and fell with a spray of blood.

　The leader was greatly outraged by the unbelievable tragedy. He has no time to worry about his dislocated arm. With his left hand, he sacrificed his right arm with the hatchet he had been carrying at his waist and struck the man who was twisting his own right arm with his full strength.

「Nuhn!!」

　Clank! A heavy metallic sound echoed. The blow, which should have been delivered with all his might, was blocked. The man held up an unbelievably large sword that had been propped up on the ground with his left hand and blocked the leader's blow. The leader's eyes widened in surprise, and a heavy impact was felt in his abdomen.

「Gubahhh, huhh? It hurts, it's fucking huuuurrtt!!」

　The man had kicked the leader in the stomach. The leader, who was supposed to be heavy in proportion to his physique, was kicked away like a leaf and hit his back with a thud against a large tree about two majors away. The leader screamed from the impact.

「You're noisy, you stink, and it's the worst」

　The leader looked up at the next voice he heard. He should have been kicked off and sent flying for quite a distance, but this man could have closed that distance in an instant―The leader's doubts were quickly drowned out.

「Oro?」[TLN おろ？]

　A rumbling sound could be heard. The leader's own vision suddenly shifted, and he dropped to consciousness after realizing that his head and torso seemed to be parting.

　Thus, the Baki clan who had been disturbing the Kingdom of Liese was easily destroyed.

　The two swordsmen who accomplished this were―of course, Satoru and Isolde.

　Satoru, with a discouraged look on his face, floated a water ball on the spot and put the Giant Killer into the ball to wash away the blood. He almost said that he had slain a trivial thing, and then he pulled himself together. Satoru would not have been so cavalier with a bandit who would have attacked him with all his bravado, but it is Satoru who restrains himself from telling stories that do not get through to his friends.

　However, he is not going to get used to taking people's lives anytime soon. And also, he doesn't think he should get used to it. Of course, when the time comes, he knows he shouldn't hesitate.

「Solor, bury them as you see fit.」

「Understood」

　Satoru gave that order without looking back at the pile of corpses. It is not good to leave dead bodies on the roads. If they don't at least make at least a minimal offering, the corpses might come back to life again as a member of the Immortal Family.

　These bandits were not much of an obstacle. But, if you think about it.

「This is the first time I've ever encountered any kind of decent bandits.」

　At Satoru's muttering, Leia glanced up from inside the carriage and gave a small laugh.

「Well, we were riding Minerva until Ares.」

　Satoru chuckles as he replies, "Oh, yes, that's right". Until now, he had been traveling in the sky with ease. The probability of encountering a bandit crawling on the ground was low.

「But still, bandits? Is that normal?」

「Not quite normal, though. There are more than a few of them, that's for sure.」

　Satoru only replied "Hmmm" to Rico's point. It seems that security is not so good on a global level after all. Considering the historical background, it is unavoidable.

　But fortunately, Satoru and the others are not bothered by it and can avoid it if necessary. Minerva's sensing ability is extremely effective in the open air.

　Satoru suddenly wondered if Dahl and his daughter, who had taken the northbound route to the royal capital, were safe. The number of people who passed through the Haivan checkpoint was overwhelmingly large, so they must have become a brigade (caravan) to some extent. If that were the case, it would be difficult for bandits to get their hands on them.

　As one would expect, he has no intention of following up to that extent, but he can at least hope for the safety of the few people he met on the journey.

　Upon seeing Solor return after disposing of the bandit's body, Satoru immediately instructed them to resume their journey.

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