The Song Of Sword And Magic

Chapter 34: A Plot

[Translator — Asuka]

[Proofreader — Karane]

After running for a few miles, they finally saw two groups of people confronting each other. On one hand, there were Miles and his mercenaries. On the other hand, there were a group of soldiers who were armed to the teeth.

Quentin rushed forward and panted heavily. “Miles, what happened? Why didn’t you respond to the horn?” 

Without turning to Quentin, Miles still stared fixedly at his opponents. “Keep your guard up. We’re faced with a group of hostile people.”

Just then, the mercenaries who had just arrived at the scene realized that there was no one on a particular horse on their side, and somewhere not far away from the horse, a mercenary was lying on the ground with an arrow deep in his chest. His clothes were drenched in blood, and there was a horn in his hand. 

“Alf!” Will rushed forward and lifted the mercenary a little while Fern and Niss followed him. The mercenary named Alf was no longer breathing, and there was no spark in his eyes. His mouth was still slightly open as though he was trying to say something before his death.

“He’s dead…” Fern heaved a sigh while Niss looked sorrowfully at them. 

His body trembling, Will put down Alf and turned to their opponents. Upon pulling out his sword, he growled and was ready to charge forward. 

“Stay right there!” Miles demanded sternly. 

Upon hearing that, Will stopped in his tracks and looked puzzledly at Miles. “They killed Alf!”

“I know… Will, I know.” Miles still stared fixedly at his opponents. Feeling furious, he clenched the rein of his horse and scowled. 

***

Right then, the leading knight opposite them said, “That’s right. Stay right there. If you hadn’t acted on impulse, he wouldn’t have lost his life.”

It was then did Fern pay attention to the knight, whose hair was blonde, and his face was angular. His body was sturdy, and he was clad in luxurious armor and accessories. It was apparent that he was a nobleman. 

“Don’t even try to resist,” the knight continued. “Otherwise, the archers behind me will kill all of you just like how they killed your companion just now.”

Behind him were two rows of scouts who were formidably armed, and their horses were burly. On the sides stood knights who were clad in silver armor with swords in their hands. They were all covered in helmets, so no one could see their expressions. Just like statues, they remained on the spot without moving a muscle. 

On the other hand, the Black Crows were incomparable to them in terms of equipment and number of people. The mercenaries gritted their teeth in resentment, but there was nothing they could do.

Just then, Miles questioned, “Who are you? And what do you want?”

The leading knight sneered. “I didn’t expect that your support team would come so fast. Just like the rumor about you, the Black Crows are swift and ruthless.” He paused and gripped the rein of his horse tighter. “I’m Diaz from the kingdom of Doyle. The king has ordered us to take something from you.”

“We don’t have what you need. You can leave now.” Miles replied impassively.

“Do you think I’ll believe you?” Diaz guffawed and shot a look at Naven to motion for him to come forward. “I’m sure you couldn’t have expected that I had installed a mole in your team before you reached Tarantara.”

“What?” Miles shuddered in disbelief. 

Quentin hurriedly explained to him what just happened. As Miles listened to his narration, his expression darkened. 

Niss looked around curiously, not understanding the severity of the matter. “Stan, is there anyone called Diaz in Doyle?”

“I have never heard of him. Perhaps he was a nobleman in the past. After all, Doyle has been around for hundreds of years, so I don’t really know all the people from the past.” Stan shook his head and looked at the front in uneasiness. 

“Whatever the case, we have to be careful. Even though this isn’t our world, we’ll still be hurt here.” Rae explained and clenched her magic cane. 

After Naven finished talking, Diaz told him to step aside and turned to Miles. “Alright. What do you say? Will you give it to us?”

Miles’s face stiffened, and the veins on his forehead popped. After a long time of suffocating silence, he said, “Alright. I will give it to you. However, you have to promise that we’ll leave safely.”

Diaz guffawed before he straightened his face and turned his head to nod at someone behind him.

***

All of a sudden, a sword stuck out from the middle of Naven’s eyes. On the other end of the sword was a scout who was gripping the hilt. When he pulled out the sword, blood immediately spurted out from Naven’s wound. Without even having a chance to yelp, Naven collapsed to the ground as the soil around him soaked in blood. 

All of them were shocked by the sudden change. Even though Naven was a mole, the mercenaries still couldn’t bear to see him be killed in such a ruthless manner. Niss shrieked and crashed into Fern’s embrace while he patted her back to pacify her. At that instant, no one uttered a word, and the atmosphere was extremely eerie. 

“You should have agreed to it earlier.” Diaz didn’t care about Naven’s death as though he had just killed a fly. “Give it to me now.”

Miles stared at him with a grim expression. “I told you that you have to make sure we’ll leave safely before I’ll pass it to you.”

Displeased with the reply, Diaz scoffed, “Are you bargaining with me, Miles? Do you think you’re in any position to do that?”

After a pause, Miles turned to take a look at his mercenaries and continued, “If the Black Crows resist with our lives, you’ll also lose many knights on your side. Is that the outcome you want to see?”

“How dare you threaten me!” Diaz glowered at him.

“Try me.” Miles retorted. 

Diaz laughed maniacally. “Fine, Miles. What do you want?”

“It’s simple. We’ll leave this place now and I’ll tell someone to pass you that item later.” Miles said slowly.

Upon hearing that, Diaz snorted. “Do you think I’ll let you leave? Even if I’ll lose some knights, I’ll still win the battle.” After he finished speaking, he secretly took a look at his side.

Seeing that, Fern knew that Diaz was about to take action, so he leaned closer to Niss and said in a hushed voice, “Niss, get ready to use wind magic. Make sure the wind will be strong so that they can’t see us clearly. Listen to my command.”

Niss nodded and started chanting a spell in a small voice. Hearing what he said, Rae joined her fellow magician and did the same.

Feeling unnerved, Miles gazed at Diaz and the scouts behind him. “Since you can’t make a decision, I wouldn’t want to keep wasting my time.” He made his horse turn around and was ready to give a command.

“Wait a minute!” Diaz yelled, whereupon Miles turned around and stared at him anxiously.

At that instant, Fern realized that Diaz was about to raise his hand, so he quickly told Niss, “Now!”

***

Join our discord for more updates on releases! https://discord.gg/sb2jqkv

***