The Warrior’s Ballad

The silver coins scattered across the table with a sharp jingling noise.

Like a tiger pouncing on its prey, the Nameless charged at Haspil with a battle axe in one hand.

It felt as if time had frozen in this moment. The faces of the startled people, and Haspil, who was just about to scream.

But time, inevitably, moved forward.

“Aaaah! Ugh!”

Thud!

The axe, filled with vengeance, struck Haspil’s head. As expected, Haspil’s head split open like a watermelon. It was a moment where worrying about collecting the head was pointless.

The Nameless collapsed onto the floor in a tangle with the now-dead Haspil. Haspil’s bodyguards had no time to react; they were simply shocked.

The onlookers needed time to process what had just happened, and soon after, a sharp scream echoed through the room.

“Kyaaaaah!”

That scream was the signal. People began rushing to escape the gambling den. However, the exit was narrow, and with so many people, they quickly became entangled, pushing and shoving to the point of nearly being trampled.

“Don’t push!”

“I said, stop pushing!”

Tables and chairs were overturned, and coins were scattered everywhere. Ah, the sound of coins spilling. Even in this chaotic situation, that sound was enough to drive people mad.

So it wasn’t surprising that despite someone just having died, there were more than a few people scrambling to pick up the coins on the floor. Among them was Boribori. Like a startled rabbit, he looked around while hastily stuffing coins into his pockets.

The tavern descended into chaos in an instant, and members of the Thieves’ Guild finally drew their weapons, albeit belatedly. However, they were at a loss, not knowing what to do.

They too were overwhelmed by the chaos, just as confused as everyone else. Haspil’s death was hardly a priority for them.

The bodyguards tried to grab the Nameless at close range, but his body was hidden under a cloak and heavily armored.

As the Nameless raised his bloodied axe once again, Ricardt, who had climbed onto a table, shouted loudly.

“Everyone!”

Ricardt’s voice pierced through the chaos like the sharp edge of a spear, and the chaotic scene momentarily froze. Everyone looked up at Ricardt with wide, startled eyes.

“What happens when you cheat in gambling, huh?!”

Ricardt shouted passionately, as if making an appeal. He raised a shattered bowl and three dice high above his head.

“This man was caught cheating just now! You all saw it clearly!”

In truth, no one had seen anything clearly in the confusion. But the dead can’t speak, so Ricardt’s voice carried more weight.

Ricardt then looked at the members of the Thieves’ Guild and shouted.

“When someone cheats and gets caught, it’s only natural their head gets split open! Is it our fault or yours? If you have something to say, speak up!”

Ricardt, commanding the room, shouted confidently, grabbing hold of the situation with conviction and pressing his opponents.

As a result, even though Haspil was lying there with his head shattered, the Thieves’ Guild members were the ones shrinking back.

“We only followed the iron rule of the gambling table! And this is your reward!”

Ricardt threw a heap of his own money into the air, scattering it like a shower of gold. Here, there, everywhere.

People were showered in money. And, instead of running away, they greedily dropped to the floor, scrambling to pick it up.

In that moment, Ricardt called out to the Nameless. There was no time for formalities given the situation.

“Let’s go!”

The Nameless immediately understood Ricardt’s intent. With a single sweep, he overturned the heavy tables, clearing a path. Where the path was still blocked by people, he plowed through like a raging bull.

Ricardt leaped off the table and followed closely behind. Boribori also hurried after them, his pockets bulging with money, nearly bursting.

But just as the three of them were about to boldly exit the gambling den, someone shouted from behind.

“Catch those bastards!”

They were just a little further from being able to hide in the shadows of the night. It was unfortunate, but it didn’t really matter.

Ricardt, as if waiting for this moment, turned around and drew his longsword. He swung it sideways toward the first person rushing at him.

Swish! Thwack!

Ricardt’s precise strike severed the man’s neck. The headless body crumpled near the entrance, and several enemies tripped over the corpse as they charged forward.

The entrance was narrow, so those in the back had no idea what was happening in front. The constant pushing from behind only caused more people to stumble and fall.

The Nameless drew his axe again and began striking down the heads of the Thieves’ Guild members like a whack-a-mole.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

The bodies of those who fell piled up, twitching, and soon a mound of corpses, nearly as tall as a person, blocked the entrance.

As Ricardt said as he sheathed his sword,

“Let’s go grab our stuff at the inn and get out of here.”

The three of them disappeared into the shadows of the night and headed toward the inn near the city gate.

As they walked, Boribori clutched his waistband and hurried along like someone who urgently needed to urinate. His pockets were filled to the brim with silver coins.

The clinking sound of the coins echoed through the night streets, but there was no need to worry about being caught because everyone from the gambling den was also grabbing their share and fleeing in all directions.

The sound of money jingling could be heard all around, and the Thieves’ Guild members were grabbing anyone they could find.

Those thugs, however, weren’t interested in chasing after Ricardt. Instead, they were more focused on killing people on the spot and taking their money. The Thieves’ Guild members were just as blinded by greed as everyone else.

It wasn’t like these thieves had any loyalty to their organization or their dead boss. With everything already falling apart, they probably thought they might as well grab whatever they could for themselves.

The three stormed into the inn. The people sleeping on mats in the hall woke up in shock, but the trio didn’t care. They quickly headed upstairs, grabbed their belongings from their room, and rushed back out.

Once they were outside again, they saw a glow in the direction of the “Mother’s Sorrow” gambling den. It seemed there was a fire. In this cold winter night, it was a strangely warm sight.

However, the city gate was closed for the night. For a moment, Ricardt wondered what to do, but the Nameless, who had clearly been through this kind of situation before, simply walked toward the barracks next to the gate.

He kicked the door open with a loud bang, startling the guards inside who were quietly playing cards.

“W-what’s going on?”

Seeing the large, heavily armored man in a dark cloak, the guards were too startled and frightened to confront him.

The Nameless walked over to the large gear mechanism used to open the city gate. It usually required the combined effort of several men to turn it, but he started turning it on his own.

The thick chains rattled, making a sharp, heavy sound as the gate slowly opened. Ricardt and Boribori helped as best they could, but their efforts didn’t contribute much.

Once the gate was open, they calmly walked out of the barracks. The stunned guards just blinked in disbelief.

And with that, they had successfully killed an enemy arguably more challenging than the Ernburg Five. They hadn’t taken the head, but they had their revenge, so it didn’t matter.

The winter night air was cold, but for some reason, the excitement they felt kept them from noticing the chill.

“Wasn’t that easier than expected?”

Boribori said, his bag bulging with loot.

“No matter how many there are, they’re just like grains of sand. You push them a little, and they scatter. That’s how thieves are.”

Of course, that wasn’t true for all thieves. The world was full of many Thieves’ Guilds, nearly one in every city. Some of them were extremely organized, secretive, and terrifying. Even among thieves, there were differences in level.

The Nameless suddenly looked back. Beyond the city walls, he could see the glow of the fire in the distance. He felt something different from the usual sense of revenge.

This wasn’t about easing his own mind or getting closure. It just didn’t stir any particular emotion in him at all.

It was hard to say whether it was because of the boys next to him, but a sense of emptiness somehow brushed across his chest.

“The job ended easier than we thought. While we’re at it, how about raiding the bandits too?”

Ricardt suggested, looking at the other two.

“Why?” Boribori asked.

“These bastards probably have people locked up, trafficking them or doing all sorts of nasty things. We’ve already taken out their leader, so we might as well wipe them out.”

The idea of just three people taking down a large group of bandits seemed absurd.

But that was only if you looked at it in terms of numbers. If you had the skills and the smarts, it wasn’t impossible. After all, they had just proven that.

“Sounds good. What about Dad?”

Boribori said, looking at the Nameless. Dad? So that’s what he was calling him now.

In any case, the Nameless nodded silently.

With the decision made, the three crossed the bridge over the river in the middle of the night and started up the mountain trail.

Even though it was pitch black and nothing was visible, the destination was clear. The bandits’ hideout was lit by torches.

Ricardt, with the other two, approached the hideout and hid behind some trees to observe it.

There were a few guards posted on the palisade, but instead of keeping watch, they were distracted, staring at the fire in the city. They were muttering something to each other, but it wasn’t clear what they were saying.

The Nameless quietly pulled out a throwing axe, but Ricardt reached out and stopped him.

“Let’s check the surroundings first.”

They moved around the perimeter of the hideout. The place had been hastily built, leaving plenty of gaps and places where one could easily climb up.

However, scattered all around the hideout were corpses. Some were mere skeletons, while others had only recently died. Most of the bones were small, likely children.

The sad reality was that many of the people captured, whether for ransom or to be sold, were children. They often died because they couldn’t endure the harsh conditions.

The even sadder part was that many of these children had been sold by their own parents, who were desperate from hunger or unable to pay off their debts.

Ricardt, after assessing the layout from behind the palisade, climbed up first. The Nameless and Boribori followed closely behind.

With torches and bonfires lighting the area, Ricardt headed toward where he thought the bandits would be sleeping, based on his earlier observations. He opened the door and saw about a dozen bandits sound asleep inside.

“Let’s set it on fire.”

When dealing with a large number of enemies, or when massacring, the most efficient method was to trap them in a warehouse or a barn and set it ablaze. Killing them one by one was hard labor.

Ricardt, Boribori, and the Nameless each grabbed handfuls of dry straw and a burning log from the bonfire. They tossed the straw into the bandits’ quarters and then threw in the burning logs.

After that, they shut the door from the outside and locked it.

“What the fuck, what’s going on? Ugh!”

“What’s happening?!”

“Cough cough! What’s this?! Hey, stop messing around!”

“Help! Please! Help us!”

Waking up to find the place engulfed in flames and smoke spreading everywhere, the bandits were in complete panic. As the commotion grew, the guards on the palisade and others who had been sleeping elsewhere rushed out to see what was happening.

Before they could do anything, Ricardt’s group had already hidden behind another building, waiting to ambush the bandits as they came to rescue their comrades.

The Nameless was the first to charge out, swinging his axe multiple times. With each swing, another bandit fell.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

His axe strikes were terrifyingly accurate. The difficult thing about handling an axe is that it’s very troublesome if you don’t hit accurately, but he never missed.

The startled bandits were in a panic, and the Nameless grabbed a throwing axe and hurled it at a distant enemy who had grabbed a bow. As expected, it hit him square in the head.

Thwack! Thunk!

The bandits, still groggy from sleep, hadn’t even had time to put on proper gear or grab their weapons.

Boribori chopped them to pieces, while Ricardt calmly observed the scene and killed any potentially dangerous variables as they arose.

The three worked together so seamlessly that even though they were vastly outnumbered, they managed to carry out a near massacre.

The remaining bandits couldn’t comprehend what was happening. All they knew was that it was beyond what they could handle, so they opened the gates of the hideout and simply fled.

And once one person starts to flee, the rest inevitably follow, swept up in the panic.

Meanwhile, the flames grew larger, and Ricardt finally opened the door where the captives were held. As expected, he had sensed it even from outside, but now the stench of feces and urine hit them full force.

Huddled together in a corner, the women, clinging to each other in terror, stared at Ricardt and his companions with fear-stricken faces. The sound of people dying outside, along with the smell of burning, had filled them with dread.

“Come out. We’ll escort you to the city.”

“Wh-Who are you?”

The women never dreamed they were being rescued. Because such a thing was unheard of, even in legends.

Legendary heroes were known for slaying evil dragons or defeating demons, not for rescuing people.

“Uh… Nameless X and his kids? Anyway, come out quickly. The place is on fire.”

Ricardt said. Even so, the women were too scared and confused to move.

So, the Nameless went inside and forcibly dragged them out. Only then did they step outside, eyes wide with shock as they saw the spreading fire and the gruesome sight of the bandits’ corpses scattered everywhere.

“I said hurry up, come on.”

Ricardt said nonchalantly, striding out of the hideout. The women followed behind him.

Once they made their way down the mountain and reached the gates of the city of Lunenberg, the women finally began to gather their senses and expressed their gratitude.

“Th-Thank you.”

“Thank you, heroes.”

The glow from the fire in the city and the fire burning in the bandits’ hideout illuminated the scene from both sides. Though the light wasn’t strong, they could faintly see one another in the dim night. The smell of smoke was thick in the air.

The women appeared to be in their teens or early twenties. To them, Ricardt and his companions seemed like beings beyond human, cloaked in the fiery shroud of the night.

Ricardt stared at them for a moment, then, almost offhandedly, tossed them a pouch of coins.

“Live well.”

Then he just left with Boribori and the Nameless.

Was it compassion, kindness, or pity? It certainly didn’t seem to be a sense of justice, but they acted all the same.

Even the three of them didn’t fully understand what had motivated their actions. However, as dawn broke and the city gates opened, word of the three rescuers began to spread from the mouths of the freed women.

And before long, people began to refer to the three as the Heroes of Siegfringer, the ones who vanquished villains and saved the people.

*****