Paddin looked at Julius. He looked at the young man who had suddenly appeared and stood out with courage that bordered on stupidity and recklessness.
"I told you when we were in the village that you should cherish your life and not squander it casually."
The warning he gave Julius at the exit of the village was now used again — but the situation was completely different.
Julius was still the young man who only had courage but did not know his own limits, while Padding was no longer the protector, but the perpetrator.
These noble knights stood together with the mercenaries and became murderers, even if they did not directly attack.
Julius stared at Padding fiercely. He no longer had any respect for this knight, only anger and disdain.
"Don't pretend, you hypocrite!
You are no different from these murderers, you are even more despicable! "He threw all the stones in his hand at Padding.
Padding did not dodge, the stones shuttled past him, or fell into the soil at his feet.
Some mercenaries were hit by Julius's stones that were not accurate, and cursed again. Looking at them, it seemed that they were planning to chop this arrogant brat into pieces.
"You are going to die here, brat." Olga said, "Because of your overconfident kindness."
After throwing the stones, Julius searched the headless mercenary's body and found a dagger, which he held tightly in his hand.
He wanted to pick up the mercenary's sword, but he could only pick it up and could not wield the iron plate, so he took a step back and only took the dagger. Even a weak child like him could kill with a dagger as long as he used it correctly.
But no one thought that he could make a difference.
His appearance only slightly surprised the people present, but did not affect the overall situation. It just added another young man's body.
If there was such a thing as an inscription after Julius' death, it would be: "Here lies a brave but stupid young man who died a miserable death."
"You have no power, you can't even kill a person.
They will make you wish you were dead, and use your pain to go with wine. "
"Sir, we are about to die together. We are companions who are going to meet the Grim Reaper together. Can you treat me a little better?"
Julius's words made Olga look at him slightly.
Olga saw the nervousness and fear on Julius's face. His lips were trembling slightly.
However, he had no intention of running away. Instead, he looked as if he was facing death calmly.
This young man was prepared to die here.
"All right, then. Let us be companions after death," Olga said with a smile.
Julius held the dagger with both hands and pointed the tip of the dagger forward. "If we sacrifice both our lives, we should be able to let this young lady escape, right?"
"Run?" At this time, Romiona finally spoke. "Where can we run to?
To choose a more suitable place to be buried? "Her voice was very weak, and it sounded like she had no desire to live.
Olga also understood that this time, no matter if it was him or her, the odds were against them. There wasn't much luck to speak of.
But only now, he wanted to be like Julius, who was beside him. He wanted to face what was going to happen next with courage, and not think about unnecessary things. Only with a clear mind could he kill more people.
The fewer people there were on the other side, the more likely Romuona would be to escape, even if it was just a slim chance.
Griss, who had been silent all this time, suddenly laughed and put the giant axe back on his shoulder. "Your courage is really commendable, brat.
If my subordinates had half of your courage, my mercenary group wouldn't have to do this kind of thing to pass time.
Unfortunately, you are going to die today under the hands of these knights who have helped you before. "
He turned around and shouted at his subordinates, "Pack up your things and wipe the blood off your weapons. We are going to leave this broken place and go back to the north!"
The mercenaries were stunned for a moment, and then after Griss shouted at them, they finally reacted. They ran towards the carriage and hung whatever they could take with them, or carried big and small bags of goods.
Looking at them, they didn't plan to return to the King's Castle. This wasn't strange, after committing such a crime, when they did this, they didn't plan to stay in the King's Castle, where the sea breeze blew all year round.
Compared to the cold and wet sea breeze, they preferred the dry north wind of their hometown.
This sudden change surprised Olga and the others. Not only them, Padding also frowned.
"This is different from what we agreed on." Padding stood in front of Griss, and Griss was sandwiched between him and Olga.
"You and your mercenaries will get rid of everyone, then leave the King's Castle and go back to the north. We will never set foot here again. We will move the bodies of these unfortunate people back and claim that it was done by bandits. We will apologize to the Church and the Mullenin Family for this.
You agreed to take up this role, and now you want to give up? "
When Padding was talking to Griss, most of his attention was still on Olga and the others. If Olga made any move, he would immediately intervene.
Olga could feel Padding's calm, determined and sharp gaze. If he had any intention to escape with Romuona, he would definitely not hesitate.
And it wasn't just Padding who was here. Among the knights of the Church, there were people who carried bows and crossbows.
There was no doubt that these warriors, who were both knights and sharpshooters, would not hold back. Everyone here had come for Romuona's life, and there was no room for negotiation.
Under the siege of Padding and a group of crossbow-wielding knights, how long could he protect Romuona?
Olga estimated that he had no chance of winning, and Julius, who came to help, was just a burden, an additional corpse.
Griss rubbed his chin, the stubble on his chin was as hard as a needle, and he rubbed it again and again. "I have lost enough people today, and it was all because of your concealment."
He held the giant axe in his right hand, and stretched out his left hand and poked Padding's breastplate. "After careful calculation, in this shady business, I only made money, but I lost five men who were loyal to me. What does this mean?
This means that there are more jobs that I can't take on for the time being. I have to find more dogs that I like, and that I can raise.
Do you know how much effort this will take?
No, of course you don't. You noble knights who don't want to dirty your hands don't care. You only care about that ridiculous faith of yours, and think that faith can fill your stomach. "
"The reward you received, plus the additional plunder, is enough to form a mercenary group of a hundred men." Facing Griss's aggressiveness, Padding did not have the slightest fear. "You've received enough, and now you're telling me that you're going to stop?"
Griss's ferocious face turned into a smile in the next second, even if it was a smile full of malice.
He patted Padding's shoulder and said in an affectionate tone. "I was kind enough to leave the feast for you and the Church's knights. My men and I are full enough, and we can't eat anymore." Griss patted his stomach, as if he was really full.
"It's time to leave the meat to you. If your master doesn't see that you've also contributed, how can you claim credit?"
Was Griss that kind?
Of course not.
He just didn't want to lose any more men.
If Olga, who had easily killed five of his subordinates, wasn't here, he wouldn't have minded finishing the job.
But now the situation had changed. It didn't matter if these damned Church's knights had intentionally concealed such important information. Since the situation had become so serious, he would no longer be the knights' cannon fodder.
He, Griss, was willing to be the executioner for others, but he would never be the cannon fodder.
After all, he had already received the reward before leaving the King's Castle. Plus the spoils of war from the convoy, after finding a place to sell them, it would be a considerable sum of money.
Padding was right when he said that he could expand the mercenary group after this harvest.
"You're violating the contract." Padding's face was a little unpleasant.
Griss laughed and walked past Padding. Padding did not block his way anymore.
"The one who signed the contract was not me, but you, the noble Silver Knight.
A knight of the Church of Light who signed a contract with a mage of the Holy Spirit Church. No, I should say a former knight of the Church of Light. "After saying this, Griss continued to laugh. His laughter was full of mockery.
"I will report this to the Church." Padding pulled out the sword hanging on his waist.
The long sword in the leather scabbard was exposed to the air. The cross-shaped hilt and silver-white blade looked dazzling. It didn't look like a murder weapon at all, but more like a ceremonial sword.
Since Griss did not plan to continue, as the leader of this operation, he could only do it himself.
"Up to you." Griss did not care at all.
He was already prepared to return to the North. When that time comes, who would care about the voice of the Holy Spirit Church hiding in the King's Castle, like the Double Eagle Empire?
His belief was in the Church of Light, not this heresy.
Olga saw Padding pull out the sword and became even more nervous.
"Miss, brat, hide behind the tree." He shouted to the two people behind him.
Julius, who had been in a state of anxiety and panic, went behind the tree. Seeing that Romuona did not react and was completely stunned, he quickly pulled her behind the tree and shielded her behind him.
"I'm sorry, but it's time to end this." Padding held the sword with both hands and swung it. The sword flashed —
— The blade fell on the back of Griss' neck.
The sword sank into Griss' thick neck, and then the blade was stuck halfway and could not continue to move forward.
Griss's reaction wasn't fast enough. He only activated his Qi-Jin and tightened his muscles when the blade was about to slice his throat. That was how he managed to prevent Padin from slicing his head off.
He barely managed to react, but Padding was faster.
Since he could not cut off Griss' head in the first place, he would not compete in such a place. He immediately pulled out the sword and slashed down along Griss' back, aiming at his heart.
Griss could not block the sword with his strong body.
Padding's sword pierced through his heart, and the blade emerged from his chest.
When Padding pulled out the sword, the greataxe on Griss' shoulder fell to the ground. He covered his neck with his hand, but blood kept flowing out. Coupled with the wound on his chest, half of his body was dyed red.
All of this happened in just a few seconds.
Olga's sword was fast and could kill four mercenaries in an instant. Padding's sword was also fast, and faster than Olga's. He was more powerful and stealthy. That was why he was able to kill a strong Silver-tier mercenary easily.
After Padding pulled out his sword, he immediately pointed the blade at Olga and the others. "Don't act rashly. I'm confident that my sword is as fast as yours, or even faster … Mr. Olga."
All of this happened too suddenly and too quickly. It was even more unexpected than the mercenaries' surprise attack and massacre.
Padding's movements were also very fast. After killing Griss, he immediately pointed his sword at Olga, so that Olga could not think of a fluke.
Padding's sudden attack was a signal, and all the knights began to move.
The Church knights, who turned a blind eye to the massacre, began to attack the mercenaries who did not know what was going on.
Most of the mercenaries were holding onto the things they stole, and before they could react, they were killed on the ground. Some of the smarter ones saw that the situation was not good and wanted to escape, but they were killed by the knights who were guarding the periphery with crossbows and crossbows.
Without Griss as their leader, the mercenaries were just a motley crew.
At most, they were Bronze-tier mercenaries, and were no match for the Iron-tier knights.
The encirclement of the mercenaries was soon over.
The knights finally entered the place where the smell of blood was thick, and stabbed the mercenaries who were not completely dead to death with their swords.
The attack on the mercenaries started suddenly and ended quickly — just like the mercenaries massacring the attendants of the caravan, it started and ended quickly.
In this short period of time, there were two massacres, and dozens of people died.
The mercenaries' leather armor was stained with the attendants' blood, while the knights' armor was stained with the mercenaries' blood.
Padding was the only one who was clean.
His chainmail shone brightly, and there was no stain at all.
Leon Pastin, the young and promising knight of the Church, and the vice-leader this time, came to Padding's side.
There was not much blood on his body, but the longsword in his hand was dripping with the mercenaries' blood.
He bowed to Padding and said, "These despicable and shameless bandits who attacked the attendants of the Mullenin family, the innocent and kind people, and the poor Miss Romuona, have all been eliminated."
As he said this, he looked at Olga, and then at Romuona who was pulled behind a tree by Julius.
Romuona's eyes were lifeless, and if not for the fact that she was still breathing, she would have looked like a dead person.
"Poor Miss Romuona. She did not want to be humiliated to death by these despicable mercenaries, so she committed suicide. It is the negligence of the knights of the Church that we were unable to save her," Leon continued.
Romuona did not commit suicide, and she was not dead, but in his words, Romuona was already a dead person.
When he said this, his expression did not change at all, as if he was talking about something that had already happened, and it was natural.
"I am guilty as you, Leon," Padding said, his longsword still pointed at Olga.
"A loyal old man and a brave young man wanted to protect Miss Romuona, but the old man was outnumbered, and the young man was powerless. Both of them died tragically … Someone will remember these two loyal and brave warriors." When Padding said this, it was as if he was pronouncing the death of Olga and Julius.
The surrounding knights had already surrounded them, and they were different from the timid mercenaries. Their eyes were firm, and they were equipped with excellent equipment. Short bows and crossbows were already aimed at Olga.
"I see, so that's what happened …" Looking at the unforeseen event that happened in front of him, Olga understood some things.
"An unknown betrothed, a bad evaluation of the mercenaries, a rushed trip, and a route with few people … These were all planned beforehand.
All of these were not accidents, and it was inevitable. "
"The reason why these mercenaries were chosen was not just because they were despicable people."
Padding said, "The followers of the Church of Light killing the followers of the Church of the Holy Spirit … This will be a sensational thing in the King's Castle."
Olga remembered that these rude mercenaries indeed claimed to be the followers of the Church of Light, and because of this, they had caused some trouble in the city. This was the reason why they were chosen, and also the reason why they would die here.
In this place that was far away from the Church of Light's sphere of influence, no one would care about their lives, and their bad reputation would become a good bargaining chip for the Church of the Holy Spirit to attack the Church of Light.
After Padding said this, he looked at Julius who stuck his head out from behind the tree, "Everything went according to plan, and the only accident was that an innocent person would die.
I told you before, child, your courage will kill you, but at least I can let you die with a good reputation.
The people in the village will know that you sacrificed your life to save a poor noble lady, even if you didn't succeed. "
"Stop pretending, you hypocrite!"
Julius shouted at Padding, he was quite angry, "You are a despicable person who stabbed others in the back, you are not a knight at all, you are a devil!"
Padding thought that perhaps it was indeed so.
Romuona who had been silent all this time, finally spoke, "So, this is the reason why father gave me a white flower when he said goodbye to me?
He had already prepared a fresh flower on my coffin, the grave had already been dug, the tombstone had already been chiseled, everything was ready … All that was left was my death. "
Romuona was a smart girl, and her brain worked very quickly. Now it seemed that being smart was not a good thing, especially when this kind of intelligence would not allow her to survive this murder.
Her face was already pale, and now it was almost bloodless, and small blood vessels and veins could be faintly seen under her skin.
Olga was very angry, and also felt sad for Romuona.
This poor girl lost her mother at a young age, and her father was the head of the Mullenin family. He had many children and was cold and heartless, and Romuona was never worthy of his attention.
Her mother was just a commoner with no identity, so Romuona was never valued at home, and was even often bullied and ridiculed by her so-called relatives.
No one would stand up for her, no one would protect her, and no one would love her.
She was treated as a sacrifice, placed on the altar of murder and conspiracy, and even her father was involved in it.
"Put down your weapons, Mr. Olga." Padding continued, "You also know that you have no chance of surviving today.
These knights have a mission, and they did not hesitate to dirty their hands to complete it; but I, am here to complete an inescapable contract. "
"I can take Miss Romuona to the north, and swear not to return to this filthy place." Olga said, "You can just treat us as dead."
"You even want to take this impulsive boy with you?" Padding was unmoved by Olga's proposal. "You know it's impossible.
We have to bring Miss Romuona's body back.
The head of the Mullenin family said that he hoped that his daughter would have a decent death and funeral. "
Hearing this, Romuona did not have much grief, but her heart was unexpectedly calm. She even thought that the meaning of her existence in the family might be for this kind of thing — whether it was used as a bargaining chip for marriage or a sacrifice for conspiracy, she was very suitable to be used.
She was a consumable, a chess piece that could be sacrificed without hesitation.
"It seems that today is a day of life and death."
Olga's face was grim, "Before I fall, I will let you despicable guys go to hell with me."
"Olga, run away." Romuona said to Olga, "You can run away, don't worry about me."
"I have escaped many times in my life, Miss." Olga smiled, "I am already old, and I don't want to run anymore."