A regretful sigh escaped from the bushes.
The bandits stopped hiding and emerged from the shadows. Nidhogg quickly counted. There were seventy or eighty of them, all clad in tattered clothing.
Some carried longbows or crossbows and loosed cold arrows at the two men.
Nidhogg calmly donned his helm, raised his heater shield, and blocked several arrows. He didn't flinch.
"Let's kill them together!"
Guts's voice was cold. He had no intention of fighting alone.
He tossed aside his worn cloak, hefted his massive sword, and batted away a few stray arrows. Then he charged into the bandit ranks. With his first swing, a man flew through the air!
Nidhogg followed suit, shield raised, longsword ready, and ran toward the mob.
"Let's see who tires first!"
Nidhogg parried a bandit's wild swing, countered with a shield bash, and then thrust his longsword forward. The blade took the man in the head, and he crumpled.
Several more surrounded him. He stepped forward and thrust again, his longsword punching through leather armor like a spear.
He didn't even look. He pulled the blade free, swept it in a half-circle, and opened another bandit's throat.
Blood sprayed, invisible in the night, but the firelight caught the crimson mist hanging in the air.
Beside him, Guts was a whirlwind of destruction. With every swing of his massive sword, a bandit fell, as if he were mowing grass.
The bandits were stunned.
They were used to overwhelming their victims with numbers. They blocked the roads and plundered travelers, rarely facing real resistance. When they'd spotted the two men at the campfire, they'd assumed easy pickings.
They couldn't have been more wrong.
Instead of a quick kill, they were being slaughtered. Seventy or eighty of them were helpless as children before these two.
Nidhogg, working his way toward Guts, had already killed over a dozen. Guts was worse. Corpses piled up around him like a small hill.
After using his massive sword like a cleaver to split another bandit in two, Guts took the initiative to fall back, back-to-back with Nidhogg. A savage grin spread across his face.
"Nidhogg! You said you wanted to watch each other's backs, right? Then let's see if you can catch up to my kill count tonight. If you do, I'll acknowledge you!"
"Deal!"
Nidhogg agreed readily. He had shed the last of his civilized inhibitions. He was reveling in the fight, in the slaughter.
The remaining bandits heard this exchange and shuddered. These two had already killed dozens of them in an instant, and they were still joking about it?
They looked at each other. They still had the advantage in numbers, but no one dared to be the first to die. They were starting to think about running.
Then they heard it. The thunder of hooves.
Nidhogg and Guts turned. A cloud of dust billowed from the darkness, and within it, a troop of horsemen emerged.
The man at their head wore a white eagle-helm, gleaming under the bright moonlight.
He raised a curved sword high, pointed it forward, and shouted, "Rout these bandits!"
The man gave the order, and the cavalry behind him answered as one. They charged!
Griffith? The Hawk Company?
Nidhogg was surprised. He hadn't expected to run into them again.
Guts tensed, gripping his massive sword, ready to defend. But then he realized the cavalry weren't aiming for them. They swept past and fell upon the bandits.
The bandits were already shaken by Nidhogg and Guts's ferocity. Facing the well-drilled Hawk Company, they broke completely after a single charge.
The Hawks rode among them, cutting them down. Only two or three managed to flee into the night.
In an instant, the battlefield was clear.
Guts relaxed. He planted his sword in the ground and turned to Nidhogg. "You know them?"
"Don't you remember?" Nidhogg said. "That's the Hawk Company. They were the ones who held the castle with Jackson for three months. They're why your army couldn't break in."
"Oh. Them." Guts was even more confused. He hefted his sword again, wary. "Then why did they help us? What's their angle?"
Nidhogg had a theory. "They're mercenaries. We're mercenaries. We were on opposite sides before, but that's just business... I think they might want to recruit us."
Guts understood now.
Over the years, he'd killed countless enemies on the battlefield. Many knights and mercenary captains had offered him a place in their ranks, drawn by his skill. He'd refused them all.
Nidhogg noticed his quest had updated.
「Short-term Quest」 Defeat the Bandits (Completed. Reward: Level Up from LV 19 → LV 21)
「Short-term Quest」 Encounter Key Members of the Hawk Company (0/6)
The Hawk Company finished securing the area and then formed a loose circle around Nidhogg and Guts. They made no hostile moves, clearly following orders.
Griffith rode forward. He unfastened his helm and dismounted.
The Hawk Company cavalry dismounted with him. A dark-haired woman took a position at his side.
Griffith studied the two men.
Nidhogg was right. Griffith was interested in recruiting them.
The strange look Nidhogg had given him earlier had sparked a flicker of curiosity, but nothing more. Griffith had a grand dream, and he didn't dwell on small matters.
When Nidhogg killed Jackson, Griffith had immediately recognized that the castle was lost. He'd led the Hawks out to preserve their flawless record.
He needed that reputation to gain recognition from the nobility of Midland.
He'd witnessed Nidhogg and Guts's courage in the courtyard battle, but even then, he hadn't been set on recruiting them.
But running into them again tonight, fighting side-by-side against overwhelming odds without a trace of fear... that changed things.
Griffith's dream was to have his own kingdom.
The Hawks were tough, but not enough to win. Even in a few years, they might not be ready to make the jump to becoming an elite, well-oiled machine.
Perhaps these two fierce warriors, as generals of the Hawks, could accelerate their rise and bring his dream closer.
Griffith had a feeling. A premonition.