Chapter 56: Bandits
Three days passed by in a flash.
’’This is a fucking nightmare.’’
Roderic sat slumped against the side of the carriage, staring at the blue screen in front of him with dead eyes.
’’This entire kingdom is a fucking nightmare.’’
He had decided to start reading about the future major events within the kingdom of Valdoria first.
After all, he was about to attend a gathering filled with young nobles from all across the place.
Knowing who belonged to which family and what relationships existed between them seemed like a rather sensible idea.
At least, that was what Roderic had thought two days ago.
Now he regretted ever starting.
’’Why does this kingdom have to be so damn complicated?’’
The more Roderic read, the worse it became.
On the surface, Valdoria was a single kingdom ruled by one royal family.
In reality?
It was a complete fucking mess!
Several different factions were constantly fighting for influence.
Some powerful noble families had thrown their support behind individual princes, hoping to place their candidates on the throne.
Others wanted absolutely nothing to do with the royal succession and had instead formed alliances amongst themselves to take over the kingdom.
Then there were nobles who officially belonged to one faction while maintaining connections with another.
And apparently, switching sides whenever it became convenient wasn’t particularly unusual either.
’How the hell does anyone keep track of this?’ he thought, pulling his hair.
But that wasn’t even the worst part.
None of the factions would even matter in the end!
Roderic had long read about the eventual fate of Valdoria, and it was far from good.
In less than ten years, the entire kingdom would become a battleground between the Aster and Draker Empires.
Both empires bordered Valdoria from the north, and neither wished to damage their own lands in an all-out war just yet.
Thus, they decided to make Valdoria their battleground.
’So while everyone’s fighting for control... they’re just making it easier for the empires to tear this place apart.’
Roderic let out another exhausted sigh.
Somehow, that was the future he was supposed to prepare for.
’Well,’ he thought, rubbing his temples. ’At least I’ve got ten years for that.’
’And it isn’t a problem right now regardless...’
If he didn’t survive the upcoming territorial war, none of it would matter.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
Roderic’s thoughts were interrupted by a sudden knock against the carriage door.
’’Young master?’’ Edmund’s voice came from outside.
’’What is it?’’
’’We’ve arrived at the campsite,’’ Edmund replied. ’’We’ll be stopping here for a while to let the horses rest.’’
Roderic’s eyes immediately lit up.
’’Finally!’’ he almost shouted.
Dismissing the Archive, he pushed himself up to his feet.
The moment he stepped outside, a nice cold breeze washed over him.
Roderic immediately stretched his arms above his head.
’’Ahh...’’
Around him, the knights were already dismounting while several servants led the horses towards a nearby stream.
After stretching, Roderic turned to Edmund with a smile.
’’How long are we stopping?’’ he asked.
’’Around two hours, young master.’’
Roderic’s smile immediately widened.
’’Nice,’’ he said, leaning back inside the carriage to pick up his hooked blades. ’’Perfect to get some exercise in!’’
Without waiting for a response, he wandered off to an open area further away from the campsite.
The moment he turned his back, several knights exchanged glances with one another.
They didn’t say a word or make any gestures.
And a moment later, they simply returned to whatever they had been doing.
Roderic remained completely oblivious as he continued walking.
Once he was a decent distance away from the others, he drew both Azure Hooked Blades.
’Alright,’ he thought, rolling his shoulders. ’Let’s see if I can improve on the second move.’
...
Two hours later, the group was back on the road once more.
Roderic returned to the Archive almost immediately.
However, after another few hours of reading about noble families and their endless schemes, even he had reached his limit.
’Enough of this shit for today,’ he thought, dismissing the screen. ’One more fucking noble scheme and I’m going to lose my mind.’
Letting out a deep sigh, his gaze fell outside.
The sun had just started to set, which meant only one thing.
’We’ll be setting up camp for the night soon.’
Roderic leaned back and closed his eyes, planning to nap for the remainder of the time.
Unfortunately, he barely got the chance.
THUD!
The entire carriage suddenly shook.
Roderic’s eyes snapped open.
’’What the hell?’’
Outside, horses neighed loudly as several voices immediately rang out.
’’Stop the carriages!’’
’’Something’s blocking the road!’’
Roderic quickly pushed himself up and looked outside.
Several large trees had fallen across the road ahead, completely blocking their path.
’Trees?’ he thought. ’That’s unusual...’
A bad feeling settled in his stomach.
Without hesitation, he drew both his Azure Hooked Blades and opened his carriage door.
Before he could take a step outside, his suspicions were confirmed by another shout.
’’BANDITS!’’
Almost immediately, figures began pouring out from between the trees.
Roderic jumped down from the carriage as the knights around him drew their weapons.
’’Protect the young master!’’
More and more men appeared along both sides of the road.
Some carried swords and axes, while several others remained further back with bows in their hands.
Dark pieces of cloth covered their faces, leaving only their eyes visible.
Roderic’s expression grew serious right away.
’Twenty-five people,’ he thought. ’Fifteen ordinary people are using bows and ten with an aura seal got weapons.’
From the number with aura seals, Roderic immediately understood this wasn’t some ordinary bandit group.
Not to mention the fact that they dared attack a noble carriage with ten knights and ten soldiers guarding it.
Before he could think any further, one of the bandits near the front suddenly raised his sword and pointed it directly towards him.
Several bandits surrounding the man nodded right away.
Roderic stared at them for a moment before letting out a small sigh.
’’Well...’’ he muttered, raising his hooked blades. ’’So much for being bandits.’’