His demand was met with silent sneers and ignored.
The men closed in, and the innkeeper behind the counter quietly slipped away. Now that he looked, the register was empty.
Behind Leo, Lena stood frozen in fear.
The gazes of the surrounding men were terrifying. There wasn't a shred of warmth in their eyes, and their menacingly wielded weapons demanded submission.
How can humans treat each other this way? ─ The thought brought to mind the slaves he saw at the market.
This was reality.
A chilling silence descended upon the inn lobby. The wooden floor creaked under their weight, and one of the thugs stepped towards Leo.
-Clang!
The thug swung a small hand axe at the sword. He wasn’t aiming to cut; he was trying to knock the sword away. But Leo parried the blow.
Taken aback, one of the men behind the thug spoke up.
“Oh? You can block?”
“I won’t be so lenient next time. Stand down, now.”
No one listened. The tension escalated among the thugs, who had initially seemed half-hearted. Some adjusted their grips on their weapons.
“Hey, forget about capturing him alive. Just attack.”
As the man in the hat gave the order, the thugs closed in, two or three at a time.
Lena screamed.
Leaving the terrified Lena behind, Leo focused.
He narrowly dodged the axe swung down by a muscular man, directing it to the right. The axe struck the floor, sending splinters flying.
Simultaneously, he thrust his sword into the armpit of a man aiming a dagger at his left side and kicked the thug in front of him with all his might. Spinning around, he slashed at the thug who was raising his axe for another strike.
The thugs faltered.
Blood dripped from the cut and stabbed thugs, splattering the wooden floor with a sticky, yet dry sound.
The man who had been observing the fight from the back adjusted his hat, frowning.
“Well, this isn’t what I heard. You said he was just a hunter from some backwater village?”
“That’s what the merchant told me.”
The innkeeper next to him shrugged.
The thugs charged again, and Leo protected Lena, who was cowering in the corner, clutching her head.
Blocking, slashing, dodging, swinging.
The sword fight continued, but as the thugs started using their shields, most of his attacks were rendered useless.
“Ugh!”
A dagger, thrown from among the thugs, pierced his thigh. The pain was momentarily forgotten as he was struck by a shield from the side, losing his balance.
His shoulder blade screamed in pain.
Hearing his cry, Lena lifted her tear-stricken face.
“Leo!”
As he lost his balance, Leo desperately tried to dodge the sword aimed at his neck. He kicked off the ground and rolled away.
He narrowly avoided the sword but it was a grave mistake.
Seizing the opportunity, a thug lunged at Lena, grabbing her.
Lena struggled, flailing her arms, but the thug, ignoring her weak resistance, wrapped his arm around her waist and brutally clasped her neck.
Lena was dragged away, struggling in his grasp.
“Lena! You bastards!”
Leo swiftly swung his sword horizontally, forcing the thugs back, but another dagger came flying towards him.
He instinctively raised his sword to block.
He was lucky. But that left him with no time to avoid the axe that came crashing down. He had no choice but to lower his sword and take the blow head-on.
-Clang!
Sword and axe clashed. The impact sent jolts of pain through Leo's injured thigh, fresh blood gushing out.
“Leo! Leo!”
“Now’s not the time to be worrying about her, is it?”
“Let me go! Let go of me. Please.”
Lena struggled, trying to break free from the thug’s grasp. At her defiance, the thug tightened his grip, eliciting a pained whimper from Lena.
The man in the hat, who had been observing the fight, turned his head at Lena's whimper.
“Hey! She’s going up for sale tomorrow. Can’t you be more careful not to damage the goods?”
“But she keeps…”
“If she’s too much trouble, we’ll just have to wait until the next auction. Can’t you even handle a single girl? Hey, hey! Don’t grab her clothes like that! Do you want to leave more marks? You’re all useless. Ten against one kid… This is just pathetic.”
Leo’s sword pierced straight through a thug’s neck. With a choked gurgle, the thug collapsed.
A spray of blood showered Leo.
[Achievement unlocked: First Blood - Leo will experience less guilt from killing.]
The message popped up in the corner of his vision, but Leo felt no remorse. Instead, a burning rage consumed him, the desire to kill them all. He spat on the floor, a mixture of saliva and blood.
But despite his rage, his body was nearing its limit. His [Swordsmanship] allowed him to narrowly avoid fatal blows, but his strength was fading fast.
This Leo wasn’t the Leo Dexter from the engagement scenario.
He possessed strong legs, accustomed to traversing mountains, but his body wasn’t built to wield a heavy sword for extended periods. Even for Leo Dexter, facing fifteen opponents alone was an impossible feat.
Moreover, this faulty sword, with its weight concentrated at the tip, was quickly draining his grip strength.
His sword arm began to lower.
“That’s it. Don’t let your guard down, and finish him.”
“Wait!”
Lena, tears streaming down her face, cried out.
“Please, spare Leo. Please. I’ll do anything you ask.”
“…Anything?”
“Lena! No!”
“Hey, let her go.”
The man holding her released his grip. Lena didn’t resist, standing still, tears flowing freely.
The man in the hat lifted her chin, examining her face, then smiled in satisfaction.
“Hmm… Good. Saves me the trouble of breaking you in. If you don’t start behaving by tomorrow, your boyfriend here… well, you know?”
“…Yes.”
“Le… na! Don’t…!”
Leo struggled against the weight of the thugs pinning him down, but he could barely utter a word.
The thugs glared menacingly, but Leo only had eyes for Lena being dragged away.
“Leo…”
Lena looked back from the doorway.
The man in the hat grabbed her shoulder and shoved her out.
She disappeared from sight.
“Alright, boys. Keep a close eye on him. If he dies, he dies.”
“Yes, boss.”
The so-called boss followed after Lena, leaving Leo at the mercy of his thugs.
The thugs moved to tie him up, but Leo fought back with everything he had. His eyes were bloodshot, his throat raw from screaming.
“Let’s just knock him out. This is getting tiring.”
A thug raised his club.
- Crack!
Leo’s vision went black.