In a notably messy house, some men were engaging in a card game, accompanied by beer. The table was covered with empty glasses, and the clothes they were wearing clearly weren't typical of the region. As they played, the sound of the door suddenly opening echoed through the room.

Fixing his gaze on the door in question, a man of about thirty-two approached the table where the other men were. The upper part of his body was unprotected. Once he settled in, he grabbed a glass and filled it with the beer from the bottle on the table.

"Aren't you going to join us in the game, boss? You've been resting for hours. Is everything okay with you?"

Upon hearing the question from one of the men, the boss, known as Elliot, looked up and began to survey the surroundings. His eyes finally settled on a bag on a table, containing all the money looted from the village. The leader himself wasn't overly concerned about the amount of money they had obtained.

If the amount wasn't sufficient, he and his group would have to head to another village and continue with the plunder. Although this wasn't the lifestyle the man had initially aspired to, he couldn't deny that it was significantly better than his former life as a soldier in the service of Storne. Suppressing these thoughts, the man turned his gaze back to the subordinate who had asked the question and replied.

"You don't need to worry about me, I'm fine. Besides, this game is for fools, so don't call me anymore"

While Elliot's words may have sounded harsh, the men around simply laughed and replied.

"A typical response coming from you, boss"

After uttering these words, the men resumed the game, completely ignoring Elliot's presence, who, in turn, continued to drink carelessly. After emptying his first glass of beer, the man filled it again and asked.

"By the way, those guys I assigned to keep watch aren't dozing off again when they should be on the lookout, right?"

Upon hearing Elliot's words, all the men in the room abruptly stopped playing. Small drops of sweat were visible on their foreheads. When he realized that none of them were responding to his question, Elliot slowly directed his gaze to the eyes of the men who had moments before been focused on the cards and declared.

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"If you don't want to be hanged on those walls, you better wake up those fools right now"

As these words were spoken, all the men who were sitting abruptly stood up from their seats and turned in Elliot's direction. Then, they lowered their heads and spoke in unison.

"You got it, boss. We promise not to let you down"

Upon uttering these words, all the men left the house and headed towards the walls surrounding the village. Watching this scene, Elliot once again turned his attention to the half-full drink glass and clicked his tongue.

"Tsk, bunch of idiots"

Later, Elliot continued to drink, waiting for the return of the men who had left. One minute passed, no sign. Three minutes passed, still nothing. When eight minutes elapsed with no sign of the men, Elliot slowly turned his gaze toward the door. Cautiously, he rose from his chair, grabbed the sword hanging at his waist, and brandished it.

With slow and determined steps, Elliot began to approach the door. When he got close enough, his hand reached for the doorknob and began to turn it gradually, trying to open it. Holding the door firmly, he struck from the outside as soon as it opened.

A sound of metal colliding resonated as his sword was intercepted. The man in front of him wore armor, but as a former soldier who had served Storne, he knew very well who he was fighting against.

(Commander Jhon? Why the hell is he here of all places?)

Elliot thought as he looked at Jhon, realizing that Jhon was right in front of him. Elliot assumed that his men were probably already dead, with that in mind, Elliot retracted his sword just before pushing Jhon out with all his strength, after which, Elliot quickly locked the door and ran to the window at the back of the house.

Opening the window, Elliot jumped out of the house. In the narrow alleys, he began to run in a direction he knew well. The route would take him to a point outside the village walls, through an opening he knew. After a few minutes of running, Elliot reached the hole. A smile spread across his face as he advanced through it and finally emerged outside the village.

(Good thing I took care to dig this hole as a precaution when we captured the village. Knew I couldn't trust those idiotic bandits)

With these thoughts in mind, he began to consider where he should go now. Although he no longer had his subordinates, he still had his sword. Remembering this, he remembered that there was another village further ahead, which was currently developing into a town.

(Well, anyway, I was already planning to go to that place)

With that idea in mind, he began to walk. However, suddenly, something hit him from behind, hitting his arm that held the sword. Excruciating pain shot through his arm, and as he tightly held the wound, a voice echoed in the surroundings.

"Without the use of your dominant arm, I doubt you can counterattack. How about surrendering? It would save both of us a lot of trouble"

After the voice, several people emerged from behind the trees, each holding strange equipment pointed directly at him. Those weapons were something he had never seen before. Furthermore, with his useless arm, he slowly raised his hands and decided it would be better to surrender.