Thanks to the summer season, today's weather was clear and perfect.
At this moment, the sky was cloudless, a bright blue as if washed clean, and the sun hung high above, casting golden rays down onto the earth below.
On such a sunny day, a carriage, seemingly recently repaired, strangely sped down a main road at an almost unusually fast speed.
It was actually inevitable.
Because behind the carriage, a large group of rough men on horseback, weapons in hand, were relentlessly chasing it.
"Don't run!"
"What're you running for?"
"Stay and have some fun with us!"
"Hahaha!"
Upon closer inspection, the equipment these rough men wore looked far from proper.
Some wore heavily worn armor, others dressed in clothes made of animal pelts, some even had clothes stained with blood, and a few were bare-chested, with grotesque scars running across their bodies.
Needless to say, the rough, crude aura they exuded, combined with the violent emotions constantly flashing across their eyes and faces, gave off a strong impression that they were definitely not good people — undoubtedly a group of bandits.
Meanwhile, their leader, a massive and burly man, glared at the carriage ahead, greed and desire constantly rising in his eyes.
'Heh, look at the size and decoration of that carriage. Whoever's riding in it gotta be either rich or noble. Well, even if they ain't a noble, they gotta be a wealthy merchant.'
'And those horses pulling the carriage are top-tier too, totally worth as much as military steeds on the black market. You'd need way more than just a few gold coins to get them.'
'Looks like we hit the jackpot this time. Finally found a real catch.'
Thinking while licking his lips, the leader of the bandits couldn't hide his excitement.
Due to the special nature of the territory they were in, it had been a long time since they had encountered such big prey.
It was understandable.
In the past, rich merchants or nobles had been aware of the situation in the territory and had prepared for it by either traveling on safe official roads, even if it meant taking a longer route, or bringing a large entourage of guards or knights with them.
As a result, the bandits either didn't run into any prey or were too cautious to make a move.
Because they hadn't come across a situation where only one carriage was traveling on this road in a long time, they normally could only rob the occasional passerby or unlucky merchant caravan.
It wasn't that they couldn't make any money, but there wasn't much profit to be had.
Today, however, it looked like they had found big prey.
'No guards, yet you dare to travel through this territory in a fancy carriage like you're begging to be robbed. Whether you're a noble or a rich merchant, you're a fucking dumbass, so just sit tight and become our prey.'
Having this thought, Morro, the leader of the bandits, sneered before shouting to his men.
"Hurry up! Block them off! Don't let them make it to the city!"
Upon hearing this, the bandits stopped playing around and urged their horses to pick up speed, charging ahead.
While the horses they rode weren't as majestic as the one pulling the carriage, the carriage was weighed down by its heavy load, so no matter how fast it went, it couldn't outrun the bandits' faster horses.
In the end, they quickly caught up to the fleeing carriage, several of them already level with it, hacking at the carriage with their machetes and creating cracks in the wooden frame.
"Stop, dammit!"
"Still not stopping?!"
"If you don't stop now, we'll start shooting arrows!"
As the bandits made such a threat, a young man, who appeared to be a servant sitting in the driver's seat, urgently pulled the reins and whipped the horses to make them run faster.
"Not good! We're being caught up, Young Lady!"
With a panicked expression, the young man shouted toward the inside of the carriage.
"Please, quickly use the communication magic crystal to call for help from the Lord!"
However, his shout was met with only a voice that sounded almost like crying.
"I-I already contacted Father, but he said it's too far! He can't send help in time!"
Upon hearing this, the young man clenched his teeth in frustration.
It made sense.
They were, after all, in another noble's territory.
Even though this territory wasn't far from their own, it was still a different region, so no matter how fast the people from their territory were, it was impossible for them to help in time in such an urgent situation.
'Shit! Is there really no way out?!'
Thinking with frustration, the young man couldn't help but recall the various rumors he had heard in the past, remembering the tragic fate of girls who had fallen into the hands of bandits, which made his face turn pale at the thought.
'No! At least I have to make sure she escapes!'
He couldn't bear to see the young lady he admired fall into the bandits' hands and be harmed.
"Gerald, please think of something!"
Hearing a crying voice coming again from inside the carriage, the young man, known as Gerald, gritted his teeth harder.
Regrettably, no matter how anxious or frustrated he felt, the situation wouldn't improve.
"Tch, still not stopping?"
Morro, who was behind them, looked at the speeding carriage in annoyance and immediately gave the order.
"Archers! Fire!"
At Morro's command, several of the bandits riding horses behind and on both sides took out their bows and began to shoot.
*Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!*
*Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!*
Before long, the sound of arrows slicing through the air rang out as arrows flew toward the carriage, landing and piercing it in various places, quickly turning it into a porcupine. Some arrows even flew over the carriage, targeting the driver and the horses pulling it.
Even though the accuracy wasn't perfect, with so many arrows, a few inevitably hit their target.
"Damn!"
Gerald quickly drew his sword, holding the reins with one hand while using the sword with the other to swat away the incoming arrows.
Unfortunately, perhaps due to the horses being frightened, the carriage started to lose balance, swaying as it sped forward, causing a small scream from within.
"Hahaha!"
"Finally caught up!"
Thanks to the support from the archers, the bandits, who had been chasing the carriage and attacking it with machetes, finally passed Gerald, who had been sitting in the driver's seat, and reached the front of the carriage.
In the next moment, they blocked the road, even swinging their machetes to attack Gerald in the driver's seat in the process, causing him to accidentally get cut by one as he scrambled to defend himself.
"AAAARGHHH—!"
Gerald let out a horrible scream and was thrown out of the driver's seat.
"Gerald!"
Hearing Gerald's scream, the girl inside the carriage screamed in horror.
Meanwhile, the horses pulling the carriage were forced to stop by the bandits, slowing down and halting right in the middle of the main road. Only then did the bandits surround the carriage, blocking the entire road and ensuring no one could escape.
"Young Lady!"
Seeing this, Gerald, who had fallen off the carriage, was shaken and tried to get up, but before he could, a foot kicked him in the back.
*BANG!*
With a dull thud, Gerald was kicked away.
"Run! Go on, keep running, you son of a bitch!"
Morro, who had somehow dismounted, walked toward Gerald with a grim look and then kicked him while shouting.
"Bas... tard..."
Gerald tried to resist, but the wound from the machete kept him from getting up, leaving him bleeding on the ground, unable to move.
"Enough! Drag out those inside the carriage!"
After confirming that Gerald couldn't fight back anymore, Morro grinned and ordered his men.
"No!" Gerald seemed to be greatly triggered, as he ignored his injuries and grabbed his sword, shouting at Morro. "We are from the Elyssir family! You dare to attack someone from a noble family?!"
At this, not only was Morro not intimidated at all, but he also kicked Gerald again, knocking him down.
"Elyssir family? Ain't that the viscount family from the neighboring territory?" Morro raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Well, didn't expect someone from a viscount family to be this dumb. Even if you've never come here, you should've at least heard about what's going on in this territory, yeah? You really think that kinda talk's gonna scare us?"
Upon hearing this, the nearby bandits chuckled mockingly.
"Noble? We've probably robbed nobles more times than we can count."
"Who gives a fuck about them! Let them come and punish us!"
"What a load of bullshit! You know, those damn nobles would rather stay as far away from this place as possible! Why would they come here to suffer when they can just enjoy themselves on their own lands?"
"It's so fucking frustrating. Why do those shitty nobles get to live in big manors and enjoy their lives while we gotta suffer in places like this?"
"Yeah!"
Needless to say, the bandits didn't feel the slightest fear after hearing Gerald's words and, in fact, grew even more indignant.
"Okay, what's the point of talking to this dumbass?" Morro said, clearly annoyed. "C'mon, let's just get to work! Since they're from a noble family, we should be able to get a good ransom."
As Morro spoke and began to get ready to carry out his usual kidnapping routine, someone suddenly called out.
"Boss, it looks like another carriage is coming from behind!"
As soon as they heard this, all the bandits, including Morro, instinctively turned to look behind them.
Soon enough, a carriage indeed came into view, rolling down the road from the other side.
In that instant, all the bandits' eyes lit up.
It was only natural.
"Oh, that carriage looks way fancier than this one!"
"Another big fish, huh?"
"Haha, today's our lucky day!"
One after another, the bandits laughed, making Gerald, who was on the verge of losing consciousness, instinctively shout.
"HEEELPPP—!!!"
Gerald's shout caused the carriage to come to a stop.
Inside the carriage, a young man who seemed to have been resting with his eyes closed slowly opened them.
"Seriously, this place... is indeed chaotic..."
A soft whisper echoed inside the carriage, settling down only after a while.