CHAPTER 100 - JACK SCOLECITESeeing the suspicious group before her, Harriet didn't have to wait long for the answer, because she finally saw a familiar face.
"Jake Scolecite," whispered Harriet.
He was the owner of a large auction house in the Capital. The handsome young man with dark grey hair sat on his horse and watched the group from behind. Looking at the situation, it seemed like the group had just resumed their journey after camping nearby to spend the night.
If Jake had been supervising the trip himself, it might have been a very important item that they were bringing with them. It was just that Harriet had a bad feeling from seeing the group.
And sure enough, just as they came to a curvy road between three high hills, where there was nowhere to run and it would be difficult to escape, suddenly the mercenary troupe escorting the group drew their swords—and pointed them at their own party.
"Betrayal, huh?" Harriet muttered under her breath.
Harriet lay prone on the grass watching the situation. She couldn't interfere, let alone help as she was now alone. If Liam came back, he might be able to do something. Moreover, Jake was one of the people the Emperor liked. They often worked together, though Harriet hardly ever met or became acquainted with Jake.
Harriet's heart was pounding with worry as the situation was getting messier and messier. Jake drew his sword and tried to stop the mercenaries from attacking his subordinates. From the situation, Harriet saw that the mercenaries were eyeing the item Jake was carrying.
"Milord, hurry back…" whispered Harriet.
Warf!
Harriet was taken aback. As it turned out, Liam had been standing behind her for quite a while. He too was looking at the situation like Harriet. Seeing her husband return, Harriet smirked. She made an impromptu decision and immediately told Liam.
***
"Damn it!" Jake swung his sword with all his might and managed to fight and defeat several mercenaries, but he didn't expect them to be much stronger than him. Actually, he was confident that he could complete the task from the Emperor this time to obtain the rights to sell exotic goods from the East Continent, but why did it turn out like this?
The mercenaries he had hired were actually bandits who had lost their place on the mountain after being chased away by the Crown Prince's army of knights. They had done the right thing, but the aftermath of the cleaning wasn't done effectively enough.
The Emperor ordered Jake to be the bait to lure them out. He purposely accepted them as his guards on this trip. Perhaps because they heard rumours that he was carrying a valuable item from the East Continent, they immediately intended to rob him rather than escort him to his destination.
Actually, Jake was a strong knight. On his horse, he was no less reliable than the ten strongest knights of the empire. But his enemies now were too many. Jake also didn't think that all the mercenaries he had hired were former bandits.
Troubled, Jake began to carry out plan B.
TWEET!
He whistled loudly, and at once the carriage doors swung open. From within the three enclosed freight carriages emerged three knights who had quite the reputation and were among the fifty strongest knights in the empire.
The mercenaries were shocked. They then realized that they had been framed, even though they were the ones who had intended to trap them.
"ATTACK!"
The fight continued back.
The number of mercenaries that Jake and the three elite knights had to fight was over thirty people. Of course, if the mercenaries were ordinary people, they would be able to defeat them quickly. But they were former mountain bandits. They had a high coordination system and well-honed teamwork.
Jake also acted as a protector for his subordinates who couldn't fight, while the other three elite knights fought the mercenaries around them.
At first, everything went well. They managed to take down two-thirds of them, leaving only twelve to fourteen people left. But suddenly, one of the elite knights was caught off guard and injured.
"AAAGH!"
The sword slashed the knight's left arm, causing him to fall backwards. Two other elite knights and Jake finally had to step forward in his place against the rest of the mercenaries that surrounded them. Unfortunately, some of the mercenaries that had fallen at the start started to stand up again and joined back in the fight.
This was how hard it was to fight former mountain bandits. They had strong bodies and also chose difficult terrain, giving them an even greater advantage against knights.
Just as Jake and the other knights were exhausted and on the verge of giving up hope, they suddenly heard a loud sound that made the hairs of their necks stand on end.
AWOOOO!
Everyone stopped and froze. They searched for the source of the terrible sound and looked up at the lowest and closest hill.
Everyone was stunned to see the two figures standing in the light of the morning sun.
A beautiful woman in a white dress with long, pale lavender hair that flowed freely looked down on them. Behind the beautiful woman was a giant white wolf with golden eyes, whose thick white fur reflected the light of the morning sun, making it shine with a golden light.
While everyone was still glued to the appearance of the two figures that looked more like a pair of mythical creatures, the beautiful woman in front of the great white wolf pointed at them, like a goddess about to pass judgment.
And a split second after, the giant Wolf jumped down and pounced at them.
"MONSTER!"
Everything was over quickly once the wolf participated in the fight. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt anyone. But it was able to drag two to three people with its big jaws to gather in the middle, then continue to chase the others who were trying to escape.
"GYAAH!"
The former bandits who chose a place so their opponent would face a difficult time escaping were also consumed by their own plans. No one could escape from the white wolf's pursuit because on their left and right and in front of them were all high hills.
Jake, the three knights and their subordinates just stood still, out of the way of the giant wolf, which looked like a giant dog playing around, gathering its toys into one place after being told by its master. But they were still scared, because who wouldn't be afraid to see a giant wolf do all that?
The more they saw the wolf as if it had high intelligence and sadistically toyed with the mercenaries who were crying in fear and running helter-skelter, the more they got goosebumps and leaned closer to each other to stay alert.
They didn't realize that the beautiful woman with long pale lavender hair who had been on the hill was already standing behind them.
"Oh my," said the woman cheerfully.
Everyone was shocked. Not only Jake's side but also the mercenaries' side. Even the giant wolf paused for a moment.
"Let's see who's been making such a fuss this early in the morning," the woman said with a soft and warm smile, as warm as the morning sun.