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“You, you speak as if those guys are humans.”

“Hmm, but monsters don’t move like that, do they? Not at all? Even beasts take care of their young, but they don’t look after their kind.”

The mercenary scratched his head and replied awkwardly. Rumdad stared at the man for a moment before simply turning his head.

Despite his rank, he had to say something, but honestly, he shared a similar thought with the mercenary.

If a person who lives by the sword underestimates the strength of their enemy, they pay with their life. And the behavior of the Frisian Bandits, as Rumdad had assessed, was far from that of a ferocious monster horde. If they were treated like ordinary monsters, their bones would surely be buried in the wilderness.

However, he couldn’t reveal such thoughts in front of others.

“Don’t show such signs in front of the merchants. They’ll find it unpleasant.”

With a slight reprimand, Rumdad pointed towards the wagon ahead. The angry voices of Drag and the other slave traders inside could be heard outside.

“The world is going crazy! That so-called Fist King treats slaves like people, doesn’t he? What do those who are no better than livestock know to make a fuss about liberating their kind?”

“Exactly. Those ignorant fools get needlessly agitated and disrupt order.”

“If they just obediently listened, we’d raise and feed them well, what’s so bad about that…?”

Following the noisy merchants’ wagon, the trading caravan continued along the road. The days were short in the mountains, and as they went deeper into the Setellad Mountains, the sun gradually set.

It was just as the caravan’s front was crossing a mountain pass.

Whistle!

A sharp whistling sound pierced the air. Simultaneously, dozens of arrows flew towards the mounted guards.

“Argh!”

“Ugh!”

“Ah!”

In an instant, three guards screamed and fell from their horses.

‘Huh!’

Rumdad’s eyes widened in surprise. Most of the fallen were fully armored in chain mail and shields. It was standard practice to initiate an ambush with arrows, so they had been well-prepared. Yet, these arrows accurately pierced the gaps in the mercenaries’ armor.

‘This level of accuracy is like that of trained archers.’

Have you ever seen gladiators shoot arrows in the arena? Orc gladiators are never trained in archery. The Frisian Bandits, made up of slaves from various races, couldn’t possibly have such archery skills.

‘Could it be them?’

Amidst the chaos, Rumdad shouted.

“It’s an ambush! Everyone, form ranks!”

The mercenaries and the guards quickly formed a formation, just as they had trained in advance. They raised their shields, protecting the carriage, and surrounded the slaves, forming a circular formation. This not only prevented the slaves from escaping but also allowed them to avoid an arrow barrage if the attackers were the Frisian Bandits. The bandits couldn’t risk shooting their own kind while aiming at the mercenaries.

Indeed, as soon as the mercenaries formed their ranks, the rain of arrows abruptly ceased. Instead, archers began to appear here and there from behind the trees. Every one of them, men and women alike, had an evident look of anger, and Rumdad was once again surprised to see that a high proportion of them were women. Although their faces were masked, their long, pointed ears clearly revealed their identity.

“Elves? How can elves wield bows?”

Simultaneously, a group of troops hidden under a tree trunk rose with loud shouts.

“We are the Frisian Liberation Front!”

“For our oppressed brethren!”

“We rise here and now!”

They, too, wore masks that covered their faces below the eyes. Throwing aside the foliage they had used for cover, dozens of heavily armed orcs and dwarves charged at the merchant convoy.

“Brothers! Let’s save our suffering comrades!”

“Yaaaaaaah!”

The merchants and mercenaries shouted simultaneously.

“Monsters!”

“The Frisian Bandits!”

* * *

Battles erupted all over the mountain path.

Orcs with savage expressions wielded enormous axes and greatswords, rampaging through the mercenaries. On the outskirts, dwarves armed with halberds and battle hammers pressured the formation. Arrows continuously rained from above. Each time the elves on the trees released their strings, screams filled the air.

“Aaaaah!”

“Graaaaah!”

Amidst the cries of his subordinates, Rumdad screamed desperately.

“Seiya! Please protect us from these brutal creatures!”

When humans fought among themselves, they typically invoked the name of Ares, the god of war, but when facing non-human races or monsters, it was customary for knights and mercenaries to seek the blessing of Seiya, the god of humanity.

Shouting for Seiya’s blessing, Rumdad drew his sword. A dwarf with a halberd blocked his path. Grinding his teeth, Rumdad swung his sword down.

“Die!”

“Don’t die!”

The dwarf retorted, swinging his halberd. A flash of light blinded Rumdad, and blood spurted from his chest. As pain clouded his mind, Rumdad lost consciousness.

“Graaaah….”

Seeing Rumdad collapse, the dwarf Kadamyte quickly checked on his opponent’s condition. Although it was a serious injury, it wasn’t fatal, thanks to the skillful evasion of vital points. For an Aura User like him, such a high-level technique wasn’t particularly difficult.

As he cut down another mercenary, a gray-skinned orc approached him.

“Hey, Kada…”

“Eek! Don’t call me by my real name!”

Kadamyte jumped and brought his finger to his lips. The gray orc, Hadatoum, the chieftain of the Grey Hawk Tribe, looked startled.

“Ah, right. Anyway, we’re not killing these guys, right?”

“That’s right.”

Currently, the multi-racial army, the Frisian Liberation Front, wasn’t spreading killing intent against the mercenaries.

They had been secretly trailing the trading company for days, gathering information. Although the Maul Trading Company was full of scum not worth sparing, Rumdad’s Rum Mercenary Group was different.

‘From what I’ve seen, they treat people fairly well.’

The Rum Mercenary Group wasn’t particularly harsh on their slaves. They even paid attention to meals to maintain the slaves’ strength and intervened when merchants tried to overwork them. Due to the changing perception of different races across the continent, there were now people who felt guilty about mistreating them.

‘It’s better to let people like this live, as it will pay off later.’

Those who were harsh on the slaves were all killed, but those who treated them kindly were spared. If this became widely known, it would lead to better treatment of other slaves. After all, even when tempted to whip a slave, one would think twice.

Of course, the majority would still act as they did before, but all revolutions start with small changes.

“Argh!”

“Ugh!”

The number of mercenaries falling with screams was increasing. However, while there were many injuries, there were no deaths. The skill gap between the multi-racial warriors and the mercenaries was so great that they could subdue their opponents without killing them.

This was because the Frisian Liberation Front wasn’t composed of escaped slaves.

It consisted of individuals like the dwarf Aura User Kadamyte, Malroid, the orc Aura User Hadatoum, Relhard, the chieftain of the Dahnhaim Tribe, and the elite of their respective races.

This was why the Graim Kingdom and the Duchy of Chatan couldn’t find them. Every time they raided a slave trading caravan, they used the space portal at Daiman Terminal to escape to Grand Forge or the Duchy of Antares, leaving no trace.

From a tree, Relhard shouted.

“Third row, commence firing!”

The elves continuously shot arrows in sequence. Each time, the arrows accurately targeted the gaps in the mercenaries’ armor, penetrating their thighs and shoulders. Though not life-threatening, the injuries were sufficient to render them combat-ineffective.

It was truly a remarkable display of skill. While anyone could shoot an arrow, hitting a target required extensive training. Yet, the elves present demonstrated archery skills akin to first-class archers.

Pulling back his bow, Relhard smiled inwardly.

‘Is it because my spirit power has increased? Now hitting from this distance is no longer a challenge.’

Elves, who could communicate with the spirit of the wind and read the patterns of the wind, were traditionally born archers. In old stories before they were distorted, elves were always depicted with bows. This was a forgotten truth, but with the revival of the World Tree, the elves’ sense of archery had also revived.

As the battle continued, a scream from an orc erupted from across the ranks.

“Krraack!”

“Huh?”

Malroid and Hadatoum turned their heads simultaneously. Did the seemingly insignificant mercenaries possess the skill to take down an orc warrior?

Next, the scream of a dwarf warrior was heard. With blood splattering, orcs and dwarf warriors fell, and behind them appeared dozens of knights. Unlike the mercenaries, their armor gleamed brightly.

“They’ve appeared! The runaway slaves!”

The knights all wielded longswords that flickered with flames and thunder. It was clearly different from Aura. Malroid frowned.

“They’re mage knights!”

These knights were specifically hired by the Maul Trading Company from the Principality of Chatan. The Principality of Chatan, which considered commerce the foundation of their nation, often deployed knights for the company’s business when paid appropriately.

Typically, knights, full of pride, would never participate in something as menial as escorting a trading company. However, the knights of the Principality of Chatan, due to their national character, had a weak sense of honor and pride, making such occurrences quite frequent.

From within a carriage, Grad shouted triumphantly.

“Ha! Did you think we’d let you run amok forever?”

The mage knights unsheathed their swords and confidently approached the non-human races. Being from a country with nothing but money, they were all covered in expensive magical armor.

The mage knights boldly shouted.

“Kneel! Surrender quietly, and we will spare your lives!”

Malroid, fiddling with his greatsword, smiled wryly.

“Why should we surrender?”

“You foolish slaves! You should be groveling for mercy right now!”

One of the mage knights scoffed. His armor provided him with extraordinary strength, reflexes, and defense, unmatched by ordinary knights. Knights of the Principality of Chatan, equipped with such armor, could massacre dozens of soldiers in an instant.

“Do you think you can stand against us?”

The mage knights activated the magic in their armor, enhancing their physical abilities. Just as they were about to showcase their power with a confident smile, Kadamyte, standing next to Malroid, raised his halberd high.

“Why not?”

Buzzz!

A bright crimson Aura illuminated the dark night sky!

“Huh?”

The eyes of the mage knight flickered with confusion and astonishment. But it wasn’t just him. Hadatoum and Malroid also drew out their blade Aura.

“What is this!”

The sight of three streaks of blade Aura reflected clearly in the eyes of the mage knight through his helmet. He muttered in a trembling voice, doubting his own eyes.

“Wh-what is this!”

“What do you think?”

With a sneer, Kadamyte lunged forward.

“It’s your death.”