LITMIR.BIZ

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pause, the warrior continued:

      “As besides everything else, gold has been stolen. For your assistance, you will be rewarded with this same gold. One to one for the amount stolen. We are not interested in your gold or your establishment; we only need the heads of the thieves. If you attempt to aid these thieves in any way, following foolish bravery, if it can be called that, you will be rewarded with death. And yes… fleeing from here is pointless! The tavern is surrounded – every entrance and exit is under our control.”

      Two warriors began to inspect the tavern and its patrons. After some time, one of those sitting near the trio stood up and said:

      “Here they are! It’s them you’re talking about. I heard… I heard everything. And he… he’s not an ordinary person, and the sword on his back is not ordinary. He’s a warrior just like you, only he’s been exiled.”

      The gaze of everyone present turned towards the trio: Rein, Iziro, and Ainom.

      “You! Stand up and turn around!” exclaimed the warrior.

      Rein stood up and walked away from the table. Then, facing away from the warriors, he lowered his head and drew the sword from behind his back, placing its blade on the floor. He put his hand on the table and looked at Iziro and Ainom. Iziro continued to sit, and Ainom kept snoring.

      “Even poor Ainom, you decided to involve. Well. We’ll talk about you later,” said Rein to the wandering traveler.

      “My name is Acres, and I swear,” the traveler continued. “He said he can’t stand the empire for exiling him, and he will avenge it, no matter the cost. You can do whatever you want with us, but please spare at least my companion – Mirie. I beg you, be merciful, great warriors of the Raidarian Empire.”

      “You and your companion have nothing to worry about,” replied the warrior. “As I said, you’re not of interest to us. You will receive your reward once we deal with these bold and shameful thieves.”

      Rein snarled. He was extremely angry with this greedy and deceitful individual. Rarely did he want to kill someone so badly.

      “Well, it seems that we can’t avoid a battle, right?” Rein said, looking at Iziro.

      “Battles can always be avoided!” replied Iziro.

      “Dying without accomplishing anything?” Rein asked.

      “Silence, exile!” said the younger warrior.

      “Traitor, who has so shamefully disgraced his name that even the right to a dignified death has been denied. Indeed, probably frustrating. But no matter… I will grant you that right. Even though you don’t deserve it,” declared the senior warrior.

      Rein took off his hood but didn’t turn to face the warrior. The warrior approached Rein, drawing his sword from behind his back. When the warrior reached a close distance to Rein, everything fell silent. Not even the slightest whisper could be heard. Even the weather outside the tavern’s windows calmed. The warrior swung his sword to decapitate the traitor of his people and empire. However, at the moment the warrior’s sword approached Rein’s neck, Rein began to bend down, gripping the hilt of his sword with his hands for a counterstrike. The warrior’s sword passed so close to Rein’s head that it trimmed a part of his hair. Meanwhile, Rein’s sword was already moving upward towards the warrior’s head at a considerable speed, and the warrior had nothing to do but recoil in horror, moving backward away from Rein’s sword. As a result, the sword’s edge cut through the warrior’s armor along his entire torso, starting from the groin and ending on the warrior’s face, splitting his face into two almost equal parts.

      “The problem is, I’m not just an ordinary traitor, but at least a trained one,” said Rein.

      After that, Rein looked at the second warrior, who stood closer to the entrance of the tavern.

      Although the warrior wore a helmet, it was evident that he was surprised and quite disoriented. Integrated into the armor of this warrior was a miniature arrow-firing device attached to a part of the armor on his forearm. This device resembled a rapid-fire crossbow without the usual stretched bowstring. The device only activated the bolt, housed in a casing, while the arrow’s tension occurred directly within the casing.

      The warrior aimed the crossbow at Rein and fired several shots in succession, but Rein simply shielded himself with his hand, and all the arrows stuck in his armor.

      “Don’t you know that arrows can’t penetrate Reinwood armor?” Rein asked the warrior in amazement. “You have one yourself. But a sword, if swung hard enough, can!”

      After these words, Rein immediately, with a swing, forcefully threw his sword in the direction of the warrior, and then ran towards him. The warrior easily blocked the sword with his hand, and the sword didn’t even leave a dent on his armor. However, Rein, at a high speed, collided with the warrior, knocking him down and pummeling him on the helmet with great force.

      While Rein was attempting to break through the helmet of the warrior he was fighting, another warrior emerged from the kitchen area. Without much hesitation, after seeing what was happening, this warrior moved to assist his comrade. But Acres, who had surrendered Rein, seemed to be waiting for this. As soon as the battle unfolded, he instantly positioned himself at the entrance to the kitchen, awaiting whatever might happen. Finally, the moment arrived. As the warrior barely started to move towards Rein, Acres followed behind him. And as soon as the warrior drew his sword to strike Rein, Acres stealthily stabbed a dagger into the gap between the warrior’s helmet and chest plate, precisely entering the warrior’s neck. The enraged warrior turned around and began swinging his sword towards Acres, but being agile enough, Acres evaded and retreated until the warrior, bleeding, simply fell from the loss of strength.

      Rein, as if unaware of what was happening behind him, was consumed by rage and anger. When the warrior he was beating stopped offering serious resistance, Rein removed his helmet and continued relentlessly pounding him in this fit of fury. He clearly didn’t want to simply disable the warrior – his goal was the warrior’s death. Rein kept striking and striking, almost pulverizing. The face of the warrior less and less resembled a face, gradually turning into a beaten mess. After some time, Rein finally grew tired and slowed down. Then he saw before him the aftermath of what he had done. It was just an ordinary Raidarian youth who became a warrior. He was only following orders and nothing more. Realizing this, Rein understood what he had become. He felt repulsed by himself once again, contemplating what had happened, envisioning what actions could have prevented this.

      Judging by himself, he knew that for a true Raidarian warrior, death was preferable to a life after defeat. He also understood that he couldn’t let any of them go, as they would then tell about him, complicating his life significantly. In the end, he convinced himself that it was unavoidable, and he did what he had to do.

      Rein stood up from the fallen young warrior, lowered his head, and stood silently for some time. Then he quietly said, “You fought like true warriors. For a warrior, it’s an honor to die in battle.”

      Iziro approached Rein, placed a hand on his shoulder, and said, “My friend, you have serious problems. Luck has once again eluded you! And over time, the problems that will follow you because of this will inevitably become more significant.”

      Iziro removed his hand from Rein’s shoulder and walked towards the exit.

      “You’re disappointed, aren’t you?” Rein said to him.

      Iziro stopped in front of the tavern’s entrance but, after a second, opened the tavern door. He was blinded by the rays of the rising sun. He shielded his eyes from the incoming sunlight with his hand, walked out, then closed the door, gently slamming it shut.

      Unexpectedly, a voice rang out, “Is it already dawn?”

      It was the old man, Ainom. He nonchalantly walked past the fallen Raidarian warriors, the astonished patrons of the tavern, and its staff, as well as past Rein. Then, he stepped outside, leaving the tavern door open.

      “Good

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