Published: January 4, 2026
The outskirts of Nishil.
A water transport convoy, guarded by nearly one hundred soldiers, was heading toward Your Majesty’s summer retreat.
Aside from the water transport wagons, a carriage carrying Brother Henry was running alongside.
I was also riding a horse next to it.
I was there to see off Brother as he escorted the water partway.
"Hmm."
"What’s the matter, Brother?"
"Noah looks so fitting on horseback."
"Really?"
"Yes, watching you makes me admire you. Do you ride often?"
"To some extent. The empire is a 'nation of warriors.' Even you, Brother, were trained to at least ride a horse since childhood."
"But still, there are people who simply never ride. Oscar and I are not good with horses."
"Brother Oscar too?"
I thought about that... Oscar gives off the vibe of a gentleman, so it makes sense if he’s not good with horses.
While chatting with Brother, suddenly the soldiers escorting the water began to stir uneasily.
"What is it?"
Brother, responsible for the transport, asked a subordinate.
The soldier frowned as he answered.
"Reporting, dust clouds from the south. Probably—"
Brother and I turned to the south simultaneously.
Beyond the horizon, a group was approaching, raising dust clouds.
They headed straight toward us and quickly surrounded the convoy.
"Bandits."
Brother’s tone changed.
His face tensed, and deep wrinkles formed between his brows as if not even a piece of paper could be slipped in.
"Not expecting this here."
"Leave it to me, Brother."
I said that and jumped off my horse.
Hundreds of bandits surrounded the stationary convoy, and I approached the man who seemed to be their leader.
"What do you intend?"
"Heh, with such an elaborate escort, you must be carrying something valuable."
"..."
I looked back.
Indeed, we increased the number of guards compared to usual for delivering to Your Majesty.
That must have caused the misunderstanding.
I made eye contact with Brother Henry behind me.
We exchanged wry smiles.
"If you hand over the cargo quietly, I might let you live. Hmm?"
The man tapped his longsword on his shoulder, grinning as he spoke.
Ignoring his "suggestion," I drew Leviathan from the bracelet.
A demonic sword that glowed with a pale blue light.
The moment I drew it, both enemies and allies focused their attention on it.
"What? You’re going to fight?"
"—Hmph!"
I stepped forward and instantly cut down three bandits behind the leader.
The three looked at each other, bewildered, dropped their weapons, and collapsed.
"..."
I glanced around.
Perhaps because it happened so quickly, neither enemies nor allies could react.
"Wha—! You bastards! Get him!"
The bandit leader was the first to snap back to reality.
He shouted a command, and the bandits charged me all at once.
They forgot about stealing the cargo; they just attacked me.
Just as expected, I had drawn their attention.
Swinging Leviathan, I cut down bandits one after another.
All abilities were SSS rank, and with the prime minister’s (bonus) invincible mode activated.
One slash per person, I felled them all.
It took less than thirty minutes to slaughter the roughly three hundred bandits.
After defeating them all, I ordered the soldiers to tie their arms with ropes and restrain them.
Brother Henry got off the carriage and came to my side.
"Impressive, Noah. I never expected you to defeat all of them alone."
"If damage occurs, it only delays delivery to Your Majesty."
"Indeed. Still, that was a splendid demonstration of skill."
Brother nodded and praised me highly.
I looked at a man forced to kneel with both knees, his arms bound.
Blood was dripping heavily from his shoulder, and he glared at me.
After watching him for a moment and thinking, I asked.
"Your name?"
"I am Jerry Eisen of the White Tiger. Remember it well."
Jerry answered confidently.
"Jerry, huh? Do you know what you’ve done?"
"Hah, I’m prepared for this kind of work. It’s probably the death penalty. I’m not weak enough to fear that."
"That’s a good resolve, but it’s meaningless."
"What?"
"By the way, how many people did you kill as a bandit?"