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A few days later, my group of knights and men-at-arms were leisurely trotting the path on the way to the next village, but instead of them clanking around in their usual full plate armor as they bounced to the rhythm of the horse's trots, they were all outfitted in plain and durable clothes while wearing mismatching pieces of armor, most of which was from my pratice or test pieces of armor that I had not gotten around to melting down to reuse.
In that time, we had already gone through five villages, mostly settling petty disputes, especially for villages that were either too close to each other or downstream of another village.
Originally, I was supposed to ride in a carriage while the rest of them escorted me, but I decided that would be too conspicuous. So I mounted up with the others, and with the wear from days of travel, we now look the part of traveling mercenaries. And I got to say, it did wonders for catching people doing what they are not supposed to do, most of which are harmless, while others are more worrying.
For example, we are currently entering a town that is now under the hostile control of a bunch of bandits, and instead of running away and hiding like bandits do when seeing well-armored men with a noble's heraldry on it. They were just cautious of us after seeing we were well armed and looked like we could fight, but let us pass while openly oppressing the local populace, thinking that we would not do anything to risk our lives in what was not our business. The only deterrent the bandits showed us was putting on a brave front with their numbers while trying to look tough.
Quite laughable, really, were they not openly messing with the local villagers. Even now, as I glanced back from the front of my column at my men, I could see their jaws tighten, hands gripping their reins tighter, and hands twitching toward their weapons, but I gave the hand signal behind my back for them to hold.
A few meters into the village, the biggest of the bandit lot, along with four others who looked like they knew how to fight, got up and stood in the path of our horses. "What's your business here, stranger?" the biggest bandit asked while resting an executioner's sword on his shoulder.
"Just passing through after we restock some supplies." I said calmly.
A shit-eating grin crept up on the big bandit's face as he replied, "Unfortunately, as you can see, we are using said supplies, and have none to spare. So I guess you are going to need to find somewhere else to get your supplies." he said loud enough for the other bandits watching the show.
The peanut gallery of bandits, their bravery bolstered by their leader and the alcohol they were drinking, laughed like their leader told the joke of the century and shouted jeers at us.
"No… no, that sounds too troublesome. We will just take your supplies." I said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
At my words, the smiles left the bandits' faces, and I could see the rest of the bandits tense up. The villagers, who could see what was about to happen, quickly moved out of the way as the bandits reached for their weapons.
"Oh? Feeling brave, are we? We outnumber you three to one. Are you going to die trying to get some food?" the bandit leader asked while he still rested his executioner's sword on his shoulder, but I could see his grip on it tighten and be ready for action.
"Are you? Because I am going to take every single fucking scrap of supply in this fucking village." I said as every bandit in the village started walking toward us, closing ranks and encircling us.
"Is that so?" the bandit leader asked with a carefree smirk, but I could see his hard eyes trying to figure me out. By now, every bandit had their weapons out and ready to fight, but I was ok with that because all the villagers had used the distraction to run away and hide. That was good, it lessens the chances of hostages being taken.
Trying to intimidate us, the bandit boss flared his aura, followed by his four other lackeys that first confronted us, and maybe three others in the surrounding. "I am going to enjoy carving up your corpse." the bandit boss said as he licked his lips, but did not advance on us.
I just tilted my head to give him a look like one would give a puppy trying to intimidate an adult pitbull, and let out an amused snort. Their auras were trash. There was barely any control, letting them flare about wildly. Sure, it looked impressive to a layman with only a cursory knowledge of auras, but professionals like me and my men know that it is just a quick way for them to tire themselves out. And even as their auras flared, it wasn't even consistent. Some parts of their bodies' auras would spike while others flickered down to a faint glow. Sloppy, and I'm not even going to mention their stances and footwork. It's like they took whatever stance they thought looked coolest to them.
"Cute… but sloppy." I said with the most condescending voice I could manage and activated my own aura, forming a smooth blue layer just above my skin with nary a flicker. The rest of my men followed my lead and activated their own auras. The two knights with me, Sir Ector and Sir Lucan, had auras on par with mine in quality.
As for the men-at-arms, they were no slouches either. Though they were just commoners and not knights, that didn't mean they were weak. They weren't soldiers in the traditional sense, but each one was a fighter hired by the Ironcrest house because of their combat skills, and they trained regularly with the knights. So, even though they didn't have formal training in aura techniques, they learned enough from the knights to be leagues better at using their auras than these riffraff. Their auras had minimal flares, coating their bodies evenly, and looked to be ready to dismount at a moment's notice.
Just as I saw the bandits with auras or knowledge of auras, come to the realisation that they were outclassed, my hand flickered faster than most men could see, and a second later, there was the sound of a body crumpling to the ground.
When the bandits looked at the source of the sound, they saw the body of one of the aura-capable bandits next to their boss, with the top of his head split open by a throwing knife that passed through at supersonic speed.
That was the signal to action, and we leapt off our horses in all directions to begin the slaughter.