Fairy Tail: I Don't Want to Be the Guild Master-Chapter 140: The Army is Attacking!

Two men stood beside the carriage—one was clearly a merchant, and the other his coachman and porter.

The merchant, now visibly shaken, had clearly gambled and lost. Though he'd heard rumors of bandits in the area, he'd been too stingy to hire a wizard for protection. That choice had nearly cost him not only his goods, but his life.

The coachman looked just as rattled. Getting hacked up by bandits while working for a cheapskate boss? A miserable way to go.

"Mr. Ban, should we get moving?" the coachman asked nervously.

"Wait," Ban said, eyes flicking toward the treeline. "It must have been a wizard who saved us just now. Let's wait for him."

Though his hands were trembling, a calculating glint shone in Ban's eyes. A skilled wizard had just taken care of the threat—wasn't this the perfect chance to snag a free escort?

They didn't have to wait long. From deep within the forest, a gray blur raced toward them. A large werewolf dropped from the trees and landed in front of them, yellow-brown eyes gleaming, fangs bared.

Ban nearly wet himself.

Thankfully, the werewolf spoke.

"Who are you?"

That was enough to calm Ban a little. A talking werewolf meant it was likely a wizard using Transformation or Take over magic.

"W-We're just merchants," Ban stammered. "Heading to Onibasu. We were almost ambushed back there—thank you for saving us! Is there anything we can do to help?"

Rhodes gave a curt nod. "If it's convenient, help me tie these guys up."

The coachman moved to assist, but Ban held him back.

"I noticed you didn't bring any rope," he said, pulling out a coil. "Thirty meters—only 600 Jewel!"

"Mr. Ban!" the coachman blurted out in disbelief. "Are you seriously trying to sell rope right now?!"

Even Rhodes stared at him in stunned silence. Who tries to make a sale mid-rescue?

Unamused, Rhodes declined, "No thanks."

He stayed in werewolf form and kicked the discarded weapons away from the fallen bandits before reverting to human form and tying their hands behind their backs—using the bandits' own belts.

"If you're fine, then clear out," he said flatly. "Don't get in the way."

Annoying people like this were always the worst—too cheap to hire a guard, too much trouble to ignore. Save them, and they'd be ungrateful. Let them fend for themselves, and it'd be a PR nightmare. Better to just shoo them away now.

But Ban wasn't giving up so easily.

"Mr. Wizard, don't misunderstand—I'm happy to give you the rope," he said cheerfully. "You're going to escort these bandits to the city hall anyway, right? Why not come with us? You can use the rope, ride in the carriage, whatever you like!"

Rhodes didn't need to think hard to see through him. The man just wanted a free bodyguard.

"Sorry," Rhodes replied bluntly. "I've got other business. Don't involve me."

"We don't mind waiting!" Ban offered quickly. "And if—"

This guy's persistence was something else. Since logic wasn't working, it was time to speak in Jewel.

While tying a bandit's arms behind his back, Rhodes said,

"Mr. Ban, standard escort missions usually run from 2,000 to 10,000 Jewel. With the amount of goods you're hauling and the risk of bandits in this area, that price would go up.

"Not to mention... you think it's cheap to hire a wizard like me—and my companions—who can wipe out a dozen enemies in the blink of an eye?"

That hit Ban where it hurt.

Of course he knew high-level wizards weren't easy to come by. That's exactly why he wanted one for free.

But faced with the real price, he finally backed down. "Apologies," he muttered. "We'll be on our way."

With one bandit group already dealt with, it seemed unlikely another would show up so soon. He could take the risk.

The coachman, on the other hand, looked like he wanted to run off on his own. He didn't know market prices, but even he knew the profits on this wagonload were high enough to afford ten mages.

"Next time," the coachman muttered under his breath, "I'm working for someone with a little more fear in their bones..."

Rhodes tied up the ten bandits one by one, then picked out the most cowardly-looking among them and dragged him a short distance away. After splashing some cold water on the man's face, he jolted awake.

"Who are you?! Let me go, or our boss will—"

A Murk Wolf bared its fangs and crept closer, causing the bandit to immediately shut his mouth in terror.

"Tell me how many of you there are. Are there any wizards in your group? What about hidden paths, traps, escape tunnels—anything unusual on the mountain?"

"Why would I tell you that?!" the bandit barked.

"If you don't," Rhodes said calmly, "I'll let the wolves have you. They haven't had lunch yet."

The two-headed Murk Wolf licked its lips and leaned in, hot breath wafting over the man's face as drool began to drip from its mouth.

"I-I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"

"Don't even think about lying," Rhodes warned, voice steely. "I'll be waking the others up to verify your story. If I catch even one lie... you're losing a hand."

Rhodes wasn't exactly trained in interrogation, but he remembered something about the "prisoner's dilemma" from somewhere. Whether it applied here or not, it seemed to work.

Terrified of being a Murk Wolf's midday snack, the bandit spilled everything—details about their numbers, the layout of the camp, traps in the area, and the boss's magic abilities.

After he got what he needed, Rhodes knocked the man out and moved on to another captive, repeating the process several times. Once the answers lined up, he returned to regroup with Alzack and Bisca.

Both of them were standing alert with their rifles drawn. One watched the forest in Rhodes' direction; the other scanned the surrounding area. Solid as ever.

"How'd it go?" Alzack asked, noticing the look on Rhodes' face.

"The numbers match what we already knew," Rhodes said. "Their leader uses powerful destructive magic, and there are traps laid throughout the terrain—"

He paused.

Bisca tensed. "What's wrong?"

"One of the Scuttle Crabs triggered a pitfall. Nothing serious—it's still alive. But they might've been alerted. We'll need to act fast before they try to scatter."

"I'm ready," Alzack said with a nod. Then he glanced at Rhodes, concerned. "How's your magic holding up?"

Between summoning and Take Over magic, Rhodes had used quite a bit of energy today—he was still supporting multiple summons: Krugs, Murk Wolves, Raptors, and Scuttle Crabs.

"I'm good for another twenty minutes," Rhodes said. "Worst case, I'll unsummon a few to conserve magic. Hopefully, I won't even need to join the fight."

"You've already done more than enough," Alzack said.

Follow current novels on freewebnσvel.cѳm.

Bisca agreed. "It's our turn to pull the trigger."

Still, Rhodes wanted to provide one final layer of support before things kicked off.

He dispatched a Krug to accompany Bisca to a sniper perch and then brought two more with him as he followed Alzack through a path that bypassed the traps they'd learned about.

The bandits' hideout wasn't particularly large. A wooden lodge stood in the center, surrounded by scattered thatched huts. A basic wooden fence lined the perimeter, and two crude arrow towers guarded the entrance.

Pop—Pop!

Before they could raise the alarm, the dozing sentry at the gate and the lookout in the tower dropped with clean headshots—Bisca's opening strike.

Rhodes circled around toward the rear, ready to cut off any escaping enemies.

Meanwhile, Alzack approached the front, loaded a high-explosive round into his pistol, and fired.

BOOM!

The blast blew the gates wide open.

Inside, chaos erupted.

"Enemy attack!"

"Damn it, who are these people?!"

"Boss! We're under siege!"