Attention is drawn to a man who emerges from the back of the truck and walks straight to Booy.

"What the hell are you?

　He handed Alisa over to his henchmen and Booy took the great sword in his hand.
　That great sword is a magic sword. When he had fought Alisa earlier, Booy had boasted that it was a demonic sword that had the ability to slow down anyone around him except himself. From what Hibigami had seen of the earlier fight, it could be said that it was not a good match for Alisa, who was good at fighting to claw her opponent around with her skillful footwork.
　Buoy's magic sword flashed. It sent demonic elements into the air.
　A feeling of being weighed down washed over Hibigami.
　Bui was a big man with a foolish-looking impression, but when it came to rough affairs, he seemed to have a competence that was beyond the reach of any of the mercenaries out there.
　He naturally activates his magic sword and has made a firm preemptive move.

''Guhehe, that was?　You were trembling in the carriage, scared and shaking, when you heard Aliza's screams, and then you summoned up the courage to come to her rescue?

　Hibigami pulled the sword that Huey had transferred to him from its scabbard.
　Booey's fallen eyes caught the drawn blade as it was pulled out.

'Oya?　That sword isn't even a holy sword or a magic sword, let alone a crystal sword?　We're going to play with this booby with such a stupid weapon?

　Booey squirmed and laughed loudly.

'Bwahahahaha!　With such a thin, branch-like sword, I can only scratch my steel muscles with it!
Stop!

　It was Badak who cried out in grief.

"Oh, I love your spirit, but these are not the people you can deal with!　Surrender meekly or, if you can, run--ugh!

　One of the field thieves kicked Badak in the back as he mouthed a warning.
　As Badak awkwardly fell forward, the wild thieves raised a sneer.

Well, there's an idea that it's because he's a good person that he's bad.

　Hibigami approached Booy with an unguarded gait.
　Probably none of them would have sensed a warlike will to fight from his steps. The tone of Hibigami's voice, as he walked up to them and expressed his opinion of Badak, was close to the tone of everyday conversation. There was not even a hint of murderous intent, or even wariness.
　That was also the reason why Booy had easily allowed Hibigami to approach him.

''What?　You mean to make a tactful, last-ditch bargain?　You don't have any room to bargain, you don't have a choice. You can do as you please until you get tired of being played...

　Hibigami slipped loosely into Booy's bosom and placed his palm on the bottom of the hilt and gently threaded the blade through his muscular, bloated body.

'Oh--Oh?'

　It was too gentle a first move to call it an open war edge.
　However, Hibigami's blade stitched precisely through the crevices of Booy's muscles, and yet it had reached the heart's guts.
　Here, moreover, the fact that the effect of Booy's magic sword did not have the slightest effect on Hibigami's movements would still not be one of them, either.

''For example,''

　Hibigami pulls out his blade, drawing a thread of blood.

'Even such a crude sword can be killed in this way depending on the user. Even if the muscles are as strong as steel - there is always an unguarded gap in the structure of the human body's bones and flesh.
Oh, oh...
You should remember...

　Hibigami brushed the blood from his blade.

"Excessive reliance on one's own weapons and body dulls one's instincts for battle.

　With a thud, Booy falls forward.
　With the buttocks still sticking out to the heavens, there are no more signs of movement.

Buoy-sama.........

　A henchman shouted as he stepped back.
　To the casual observer, the end of the first act was so uneventful.
　Brother Rogen's death was far too quiet, not even leaving a single sword fight that scattered the sound of blades.

''Don't be fooled, you guys!

　Zekel raised his sword and blackmailed his henchmen, who were on the verge of floating away.

'That was only a surprise!　As you can see from the blow before, he only has an ineffective deceitful sword technique used by swordsmen from the East!　Remember!　No matter how skillful they are, they are powerless in the face of numbers and power, as the Lord and Deputy Lord Commander of the White Lion Clan have proven on their own!
Yeah, yeah!

　One of the henchmen shouts out in agreement.

''We've defeated that [White Lion Gang]!　You can't let that pointy-headed motherf*cker get away with his lucky shot!　Don't be fooled by a small one-time trick!

　One of the henchmen, who had been fired up by the head, cut at Hibigami.

''Die!


　A roar and bone and flesh ripping sound made the air, vibrate.


　What followed immediately afterwards was a startling silence.
　The only person who wasn't dominated by the astonishment was the man in the dressing gown who made the sound.
　With a blade that crossed the body of the burglar who had cut at him from earth to heaven, a single flash.
　It destroyed the opponent's body, almost to the point where it was split into two halves on either side.
　The burglars, seeing the powerful blow, all at once stood up in a huddle.

I can only say that the difference between a soft sword and a hard sword is insignificant to me................in short, it depends on the type of sword and the techniques used. The important thing is the quality of the warrior.
Oh, what the hell are you...

　Badak was looking at something unbelievable.
　Both Huey and Alisa looked gobsmacked.

'Mm?'

　There was a crack in the sword that Hibigami wielded.

''Well, not good!　The other katana is--

　Almost to the end, Badak held his tongue.
　He must have been trying to say this.
　The remaining weapon in his arsenal was a sword, which had no cutting edge.
　But Hibigami showed no signs of disadvantage.

It's not the first time that the weapons I use can't withstand my attacks.

　Hibigami touches the hilt of the "no-kill".

I've decided to use it when I'm dealing with an opponent with a lot of potential, but when I'm using my sword to fight to the death, I'm going to use it - or I'm going to have to. The trouble is, this is the only weapon that won't break even if I'm serious about it. It's a good thing that I had another fine sword, but to my surprise, it was broken.

　Hibigami picked up the sword of the cutthroat thief and pointed the tip of the blade at a cowering Zekel.
　Zekker, sweat trickling down his cheeks, placed the blade against the Huey's neck at his feet.

''Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, did you forget?　We've got hostages over here, okay?
Kaka ... a hostage?　If you want to kill him, go ahead and do it.
What?
I was asked to help them, and I sat down to help them. But I don't feel anything for them. That's why I'll try to help them, but if I die in the process, I'll accept that it's inevitable. It's a very good idea to be able to have a good idea of what to expect when you're in a position to do it.
It's a bluff, I'm sure it's a bluff but hey, look who's here!　You gotta be f*cking kidding me!　I'll kill you!　Seriously, I'm going to kill you!

　The tip of the blade buries itself slightly in Huey's neck.

'No!　Huey!

　Alisa, who was still being strangled in the wings by the wild thieves, let out a sigh.

''Gu........Lord Hibigami!　I don't care what happens to me!　But please, at least help her!　Please--gg!

　Zeckel throws a kick to the back of Huey's head.
　Huey looks like he just lost consciousness from that kick.
　With a grin, Zeckel lets the blade go free.

'How do you like that, Mister Hibigami?　Doesn't it hurt your heart to leave this good Commander-in-Chief behind?
I don't know, I told you I wouldn't mind seeing him dead. But you know what?
'Oh?　What?
This might be another strange thing to say, but a hostage is a hostage because he or she is worth saving. So the moment the value of that hostage is lost--

　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this.

I'm sure it's not a bad idea, but it's not a bad idea.
Ggh.....

　Zeckel seemed to understand that Hibigami was more competent than he was at the moment.
　Then one of the wild thieves ran up to the loading dock where Midon was.

'Hee-ha-ha!　Aside from those mercenaries, you can't even leave the merchants in the back of the truck over here, can you?　Hey!　You can't get out of-- lt doesn't work?　Ah........eh?

　It was only a few seconds later that the thief realized that he had been pierced in the neck by a sword.
　The thief fell down, scraping his face against the wall of the cart, and died.
　Everyone witnessed it.
　The moment Hibigami threw his sword with great precision, without deviating from the target, into the thief's neck.

'Surely that one, as a hostage, might be worth more than those mercenaries over there... well, have it your way.

　Hibigami glances at the weapons that fall beside the dead bodies of the mercenaries and field robbers scattered around them.

'Only if your life is spared.'

　With the current throw, the movement of the wild thieves came to a complete halt.
　Some of them were terrified and even ran away.

''d*mn... but--''

　Zeckel seemed to be waiting for something.
　And sooner than Zeckel realized, Hibigami noticed something that Zeckel was waiting for.
　Footsteps.
　The footsteps of far more people than those here.
　One hundred - no, one hundred and fifty of them.
　Much later than Hibigami, Zeckel notices the presence of something approaching here.

''Kukuk... hahahahahahahaha!　That's a lot of years ago.

　Zekel's attitude, which had been cornered, suddenly changed.

''The main unit of the Disturbance Cave Clan is on its way now!　We were supposed to meet up with you after this!　You know what?　Our current head is that 《Blood-crazed Anna》!
What?

　Badak is surprised.

''That 《Blood-crazed Anna》...?　No, come on....

《Blood-crazed Anna》.

　The name had been overheard by Hibigami as well.
　Originally, Anna had been a torturer in the royal capital of Rouvelargan, but at some point, torture itself had become her hobby. It was a hobby of hers, and she was too distracted from her original goal of getting people to reveal the truth.
　One day, Anna was stripped of her position at the behest of the War God King.
　After that, she disappeared from King's Landing and was never seen again.
　She is rumored to have been an excellent warrior, and is said to have won many martial arts competitions in Ruvelargan.

　It was said that there was a hidden lurking competitor in Noyes' information.

　-- if it was the woman, then there was some promise.

"There's your goose on the line, thieves.

　Hibigami's words attracted the attention of the thieves, who were suddenly starting to gather momentum.

"If you run away like this, we'll let you go. It's a waste of time and effort to cut off an opponent who is too weak.

　Hibigami held Arisa's sword, the finest of the ones on the ground, in his hand.

The actuality of this is that I'm going to join up with the main body and fight them, I'll cut them off without question. I didn't feel much of a desire to fight and went along with some travesty, but from here on out, I must go measure the value of the blood-crazed.....................now what do we do?
Oh, shut up!　You're not the enemy when it comes to the missus and the main army!　You'd rather be the one begging me to let you go!

　'Hmm,' sniffed Hibigami.


'Very well.'


　Just as the blade of the sword in Hibigami's hand seemed to gleam in the sunlight that shone through the gaps in the branches and leaves - fresh blood erupted from the neck of the first one.




　The wild thieves who were here sank into a sea of blood, unable to escape or even put up any kind of resistance by Hibigami alone.

''Zekel's bastard is gone!　He's running away!

　Huey was lying on the ground, unconscious from a kick to the back of his head.
　He must have decided that he couldn't hold on for dear life until the main force arrived and escaped.
　But Hibigami had also caught Zeckel out of the corner of his eye as he tried to escape, cutting down the wild thieves.
　Hibigami picked up Zoe's great sword.
　Naturally, it couldn't show its original ability as a magic sword because it couldn't handle the magic element.
　But to Hibigami, it doesn't matter.
　He held the body sword with one hand and pulled it backwards.
　I put strength into my right arm that holds the sword.
　He drops his gaze to the ground and listens carefully.
　Twisting his body, Hibigami put more strength into his arm.
　The muscles in his arm creak with a squeak.

'Ugh, my Huey and Alisa have been insulted so much!　We can't just let him get away with it!　Chasing--

　At a bold pace, something passed by Badak's side as he was about to go into the woods.

''--What?''

　Zoe's great sword was thrown at her with a speed that cut through the wind.
　The great sword disappeared without piercing the tree trunk.
　And after a moment.

'Geeeeeeeeeee........!

　Zeckel's decapitation was audible.
　'Hmm,' sniffed Hibigami.

'You'll have to put out the noise before you can deal with the blood-crazed.
Oh, you...

　Badak broke out in a cold sweat and looked at Hibigami.
　The other mercenaries didn't seem to know how to address him either.
　The reaction of those who have caught a glimpse of Hibigami's power is usually this.
　Kaka," says Hibigami with a short laugh.

　--You're going to be able to get a good deal more than just a few minutes of your time.

''Well, you know what ... thank you. I apologize for what happened in the back of the truck I didn't see that you were that good at it.

　Alisa then thanked him briefly, too.
　As soon as she apologized for the shortened thank you, she ran over to Huey and began to change her condition. Her attitude towards Hibigami had also changed, though not as much as Badak's.

I'm sorry for the auspiciousness of this change, but I don't think the crisis is over for us.

　Hibigami said as he looked at the gentle slope.

''Yeah, you're right... so if you can, I'd like your help.
I'm sorry, but that's not the kind of help we need.
If you want anything, you know... if we can do anything at all...

　Hibigami took the holy sword that Zeckel had thrown away and retrieved the scabbard and placed it on his hip.

''Kaka then let me feel free to impose my wishes on you.
I'll tell you everything you need to know.
Then you will stay here and guard the carriage.
...What?
From now on, I'm going to deal with the Bloodthirsty Anna. I'm going to take care of the other bandits who are in my way, but in this environment in the middle of the mountains, with almost 150 bandits at the same time, I can't guarantee that we won't lose a single one of them.

　Hibigami starts walking in the direction of the approaching footsteps.

"So we will stay here and avenge the bandits I failed to kill.

　Hibigami says to Badak and the other mercenaries, who are gaping their mouths behind him.

'That's about as good a job as you can do, isn't it?
"...Okay, okay!　I will protect you, even if it costs me my life!
Kaka that's a good answer.
It's just that, well you said earlier that you weren't gonna help me.
It's possible that Anna the Bloody Maniac might be the person I'm looking for. If so, this is my domain. I fight for my own reasons. So they don't have to help themselves.
Oh, is that how it works...?
Kaka if you don't understand, imagine. What is the purpose of that head?

　Without looking back, Hibigami left it and dove into the bushes in a straight line.