“Hunh?”

Seeing the girl walking in, the Deputy Stockade Lord’s eyebrow crooked upward.

As if he could hardly believe it, he looked back at his men.

“You idiots... you got done in by a scrawny little girl like that?”

Among his subordinates, the five who had lost to Namgoong Seolhwa turned their heads or lowered their gazes to avoid his eyes.

The wounds they’d received from her still burned into their pride.

Only one — the man who had traded the final steel with her — protested, aggrieved.

“She’s not normal! She took on my sword with a twig!”

“Hm.”

“It’s true! Don’t underestimate her, Deputy Stockade Lord!”

The Deputy Stockade Lord cocked his brow again and looked at the girl.

In the meantime, the girl had come to within three paces of them.

He slammed the broad saber point-first into the ground before him — thunk! — hooked an arm over its spine, and faced her.

The girl also stopped.

“Was it you?”

Namgoong Seolhwa checked the villagers’ condition past the big man’s bulk.

There were serious injuries, but thankfully it did not look as if anyone had died.

Among the women and children huddled together she saw the inn’s old woman.

Eyes full of cautious hope and worry.

The old woman’s gaze, fixed on her, could not hide its concern even behind that severe face.

“Let the people go.”

At that, the Deputy Stockade Lord, who had been snorting little laughs, burst into loud laughter — “Kahahaha!”

“What? Let them go? Kahaha! You’ve got guts! Do you even understand what situation you’re in?”

“I’m the one you need.”

She was the only one who had hurt his men.

“Looks like you’re confused. We’re bandits. We’d have looted this village whether you came or not.”

...

“And we near broke our necks waiting for you, you hear? You getting that?”

“So you’re saying they didn’t seize the villagers because of me?”

“Kahahaha! Who do you think you are! Hahaha!”

Watching him laugh, Namgoong Seolhwa felt a quiet relief.

All the way here she had blamed herself.

Was all this her fault?

If she hadn’t attacked the bandits, would none of this have happened?

The villagers had saved her, and it tormented her to think she had driven them into danger. But—

“...So it wasn’t that.”

They were simply wicked men.

This had happened because they were bandits.

Even knowing it all again, she would still have saved the woman.

The corner of her mouth tilted up, just a little.

At the smile she wore in a moment where fear would be natural, the bandits stirred uneasily.

“Did you... just smile? In this situation? What’s so funny?”

She erased the smile and looked at him.

Meeting that calm, answerless gaze, the Deputy Stockade Lord felt, for some reason, as if he had already lost.

“You shouldn’t be so pleased. They’re still hostages.”

“What do you want in exchange for releasing them?”

“I hear you’re strong. Word is you knocked down my boys with a twig.”

“And?”

He snickered.

“Thing is, I don’t believe anything I haven’t seen with my own eyes.”

...

“Show me, here and now. For each of my men you beat, I’ll release five.”

Namgoong Seolhwa flicked a glance at the villagers.

There were roughly fifty.

The bandits were around fifteen. Enough to save everyone.

They wouldn’t release all of them at once, but they would let the first few go, at least.

‘Start with the children...’

“All right.”

“However strong you are, you didn’t come empty-handed, did you?”

She drew the axe from her sash.

“Drop it.”

At his words, she flung the axe far off into the scattered debris.

“In return, take this.”

He picked up a staff-like pole from the ground and tossed it to her.

It was on a different level from the candied-hawthorn skewer — sturdy, long, thick.

“D-Deputy Stockade Lord! It wasn’t a stick, it was a twig...!”

“Shut your mouth. Shame’s a stranger to you, you idiot!”

He barked, but the bandit who had faced her could not hide his dread.

Each time she gave the staff a light whoom, whoom test swing, the man who had crossed her before flinched and trembled.

‘Back then it looked like something you could snap with one hand...!’

And yet he had neither broken nor even batted it aside.

And now they were giving that monster a weapon like this.

‘Damn... lucky my arm’s wrecked...’

Another round with that beast had nearly come to pass.

And the Deputy Stockade Lord was just the type to order it.

“Well then... who wants a go?”

He looked over his men with interest.

The bandits who had first confronted Namgoong Seolhwa averted their eyes without thinking; one of the others stepped forward.

“Heh. I just gotta crack the pretty girl’s skull, right?”

“If you crack her skull she’ll die. Be satisfied with arms and legs.”

“Got it.”

The Deputy Stockade Lord stepped back a pace, and the bandit advanced, swinging an axe as big as her head.

Namgoong Seolhwa stood to meet him, staff in hand.

Her gaze fixed on him, cold.

“Whew, those eyes are vicious. Little one, big brother will go easy, eh?”

He sauntered in with a jeer — thud, thud.

Then, the instant he raised the axe—

tat— tatak— smack!

“Urk...!”

His body pitched forward, tilting.

No one present tracked the girl’s movement.

Only after the thud of his fall did every eye begin to widen.

“Wh-what!”

“...!”

“Did it start? Is it over? What even happened?!”

“Why’s he on the ground...?”

The Deputy Stockade Lord, who had been leaning crookedly with an elbow propped on his broad saber, straightened without realizing it.

It had been a blink.

‘Did she club the back of his head?’

She’d dropped him with a blow to the back — but when had she gotten behind him?

When he was holding a weapon?

Hadn’t he swung?

Not at all—

‘I didn’t see a thing.’

He swallowed dryly.

One of his stronger men had been dropped without ever truly engaging.

Only now did his subordinate’s warning — not to underestimate the girl — sink in.

Still, to take back his words now would crumple his face. The Deputy Stockade Lord lifted a hand and twitched a finger.

“Bring five.”

“For the children.”

His and Namgoong Seolhwa’s gazes locked, sharp.

Meanwhile, fearing he would change his mind, the villagers hurried to get the children up.

Watching her a moment longer, the Deputy Stockade Lord’s mouth curled.

“Bring the children.”

Thus four children and one woman were moved behind Namgoong Seolhwa.

The children resisted leaving their mothers, but the mothers tore them away with desperate hands.

As five were moved per the bargain, the others watched Namgoong Seolhwa with eyes full of hope and fear. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Sss—

The Deputy Stockade Lord dipped his chin to one of his men.

A man with twin swords strapped across his back.

“Don’t get ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) careless. He’s fast.”

“Yes.”

Srrng— srrrng—

The man drew both blades and came forward.

A scar ran across his right eye, giving him a brutal cast.

Namgoong Seolhwa gripped the middle of the long staff.

For a breath the two met each other’s eyes.

Tat-tat—!

The man’s figure vanished from sight in an instant.

Then—

shwik—!

A razor wind tore past her right ear.

She set strength in her right foot and gave her body the slightest twist; the blade passed before her eyes.

A hair slower and it would have cut her nose.

“Die!”

As she leaned back to evade the vertical chop, the blade before her snapped up.

A chained attack — crumble the centerline with the left-hand sword, then cut the throat with the right.

Ka-kang—!

With the short grip, she caught his sword near the staff’s top.

At once she rolled her wrists, staff turning like a polearm, and intercepted the left-hand blade that had already swung in horizontally toward her abdomen.

Ka-ga-ga-ga-gang—!

Four, five exchanges crashed out in a blink.

The keening clash that rang through the market was impossible to believe of wood against steel.

Those watching tensed without knowing it, eyes locked on the duel.

‘Damn it all...!’

He had sent this subordinate to kill her for real this time!

Weak in power, perhaps, but as quick on his feet as any.

And she could track that?

‘A damned monster...!’

But there was something the Deputy Stockade Lord did not know.

Ka-ka-kang—!

In battle, Namgoong Seolhwa’s eyes were calmer than anyone’s.

She wasn’t chasing the man’s movements.

She was meeting them.

She had only watched for a moment because the entirely different weapons and patterns, compared to the prior bandit, were interesting.

Tatak—!

“Aagh!”

She set strength in her grip and turned the staff; both ends struck down precisely on his wrists.

Against his will he dropped his swords, gasping in pain.

The pain did not last.

Smack—! Thud!

The staff cracked the back of his skull, and he collapsed forward just like the man before him.

Bandits nearby scrambled, snatched up the fallen man, and fled backward.

Namgoong Seolhwa looked at the Deputy Stockade Lord.

Hff—

“!”

The staff’s tip leveled at him.

Even at a distance, he flinched under her presence, a shiver running through him.

Aiming straight between his brows, Namgoong Seolhwa spoke.

“Keep your promise.”