Jackson blushed as he watched the woman come out from the red carriage. He was mesmerized.
‘She… she is like a goddess. Goddess of War!’ he thought as he watched countess walk out of the Marauder. Every guard thought the same thing as they watched Sunsook walk out with silvery white armor and a white cape. The wind lifted the cape and her long black braided hair below her helmet. Everyone gaped in awe at the unbelievable sight of a countess walking out of a carriage that just massacred hundreds of monsters.
Soldiers who went down the wall quickly opened the gate, but she did not enter. Instead, she turned back to where she had come from. That was when the soldiers realized there was more.
“OH!”
“Are those people?”
“That’s the Ainos! They’re on Galims!”
“But how…”
“The Ainos are here!”
They began to shout in excitement. About thirty Ainos men on huge Galims were walking toward them.
“Knight of the Daehan Empire! Sir Joonbum Christos is here with the Ainos!”
‘Joonbum Christos!’
Jackson’s eyes widened at the sight. The man in the lead was Joonbum. He and the Ainos casually walked past the field ridden with dead monsters like it was nothing.
‘He wanted me to serve him.’
He thought about Joonbum’s offer from a while ago. It was an absurd offer, but there was something about it that made it sound like it was reasonable. Joonbum approached on his dark blue Galim as the Ainos followed him. Behind them were hundreds of commoners.
Jackson looked at the angry Galim who seemed to be agitated by the smell of blood and the Ainos who were shooting arrows to finish off any living monsters from the top of their Galims.
‘They’re like monsters themselves.’
The Ainos calmly shot their arrows, not missing any monsters that were still alive.
‘Those must be the nearby villagers…’
It was the people they could not manage to rescue as they were trapped within Khaloda Village. It was weird that these people did not seem to be afraid of such dead monsters. They were smiling, comforted by their guardians.
‘That carriage… it isn’t a normal carriage.’
The red carriage looked peculiar from the beginning, but nobody imagined it would have such might and power by itself.
‘It moved alone.’
Jackson looked at the carriage. He felt a sudden chill travel through his spine.
‘If that thing charges at the soldiers…’
The red carriage charging with a loud roar would be like a monster itself. Now that the carriage was covered with the thick blood of the monsters, it was an abomination.
‘With that speed…’
He thought about the carriage’s speed when it was chasing the fleeing monsters.
‘No armies can defend against it.’
Jackson felt his hands shaking as he watched Joonbum Christos walking toward the village. They were not just some nobles from a foreign country.
“She’s… so… beautiful! Hehe…”
Meanwhile, Hectos was mesmerized by the beauty of the countess. His jaw seemed to have dropped open with no signs of closing.
‘Ugh, this fool…’
Jackson frowned.
“I’m sure the count will happy to hear that you lusted over the countess.”
“HUH? What! I didn’t LUST over. Don’t falsely accuse your brother-in-law!”
Hectos swept the saliva next to his mouth with his hand. Jackson shook his head.
“Then go ahead and greet them! Todd! Go out with the soldiers and collect those monster bodies!”
“Yes, sir!” Todd shouted and commanded the other soldiers to move out.
“I believe she has brought that good liquor again… Hehe.”
Jackson sighed as he watched Hectos going back to his old self again. Then he ran out to greet the countess and the knight.
*
Khaloda Village’s atmosphere changed instantly as Joonbum and the Ainos arrived at the village. The merchants were happy to see the Ainos with their goods. Since the imminent threat of the monsters had diminished, every villager felt relaxed. The soldiers and mercenaries worked together to wipe out any remaining monsters around the village and with the help of the Ainos warriors, it was a breeze.
As the village stabilized, the person whom Sunsook was waiting for arrived.
-Madam!-
-Good to meet you, milord.-
-I missed you, dearly.-
That was only what Joonbum heard before he moved away. The count jumped off his horse and ran in front of Sunsook, kneeling down to kiss her hand. Sunsook blushed and lowered her head while the count greeted her. Nobody dared to stay to watch, so the knights and other servants moved away.
‘He looks like he had a hard time.’
Count Brant Khalodian didn’t look too well. His beard had not been taken care of and his face looked very tiresome. The knights and soldiers who came with him also looked battle-worn with all the damage on their armor.
“Jackson, send the soldiers to the cafeteria. You know what I mean, right?”
“Yes, milord.”
Jackson nodded politely and went away. Joonbum grinned at the sight.
‘He sure is smart.’
Jackson was quick to understand and was very intelligent.
“Hehe, Sir Joonbum.”
‘Oh, and here he is.’
Hectos approached, bashfully scratching his head.
“No.”
“Ugh.”
“I will cut off your arms if I see you drinking. Don’t test me.”
“Nngh…”
Hectos groaned as he backed away, giving up on the request. Joonbum then turned to Pav.
“I will keep an eye on him,” Pav answered and followed Hectos.
‘Alcoholic.’
Hectos was an alcoholic. He had a particularly strong physical attribute that helped him withstand his heavy drinking habit, but it was nearing its limit. The people here did not seem to grasp how disastrous an alcoholic could be.
‘I need Jackson, so he’s a must.’
Joonbum turned away.
