Chapter 118 - Challenge

Chapter 118: 118 - Challenge

Marcus stared at Adrien without speaking. For several seconds, the road, the three cargo vehicles and even the twenty Bloodfang mercenaries around him seemed to disappear from his attention as the same questions repeated in his head.

How had Adrien known?

How had he known about the convoy, the route and the exact time Marcus intended to strike?

None of this had been decided until the previous day, yet the Lord of House Clairmont was standing in front of him as though he had been waiting from the beginning.

Marcus looked toward the supposedly surrendered guards again.

They had lowered their weapons exactly as ordered, but none of them looked frightened anymore, and that was when the answer finally began to settle in. This had never been a merchant convoy. Marcus had walked directly into a trap.

What Marcus didn’t know was that Adrien had expected him to make another move from the moment he left the Bloodfang camp.

Marcus had rejected stable work despite the condition of his own people, and the way he spoke about the robberies had convinced Adrien that desperation was no longer the real reason behind them.

Creating bait had been the easy part.

House Clairmont had cargo vehicles, soldiers, resources and enough influence across its own territory to spread information about a wealthy merchant transporting valuable goods south.

Every driver, escort and supposed employee travelling with the convoy was a Clairmont soldier.

The more difficult part had been making sure Marcus stood alone if he took the bait. Marcus’s expression darkened as he understood at least part of what had happened.

"You planned this..."

Adrien held his gaze.

"I gave you a choice first."

Before Marcus could respond, movement came from farther along the road. Dozens of figures appeared between the trees, then more followed until the road behind them began filling with familiar faces, with Kael walking at the front.

Most of the Bloodfang Wolves followed behind him. Only a small number had remained at camp to protect their belongings and supplies, while almost everyone who wanted nothing to do with another robbery had come with Kael.

Marcus stepped toward him.

"What have you done?"

Kael stopped several meters away, his purple eyes fixed on the man who had led the company for years.

"I’m trying to save what you’re destroying, Marcus."

Several of the twenty mercenaries beside Marcus shifted uncomfortably. They had expected a merchant caravan, not Adrien Clairmont and nearly the entire company standing opposite them.

Kael looked around before continuing.

"Look at what you’re doing. Lord Clairmont offered us legal work, stable money and a way out of this. You refused it, lied to me, and came here anyway because what we already had wasn’t enough for you."

"Watch your mouth."

"No."

Kael’s voice remained level.

"That’s what everyone has been doing for months. Watching what they say because of everything you’ve done for this company. But this isn’t protecting us anymore. You’re letting greed drag everyone down with you."

Marcus’s Mana Core stirred as his anger rose.

Adrien noticed immediately, and mana gathered around his hand before Umbral Root manifested into his grip.

The response from the convoy came at once. Clairmont soldiers manifested their Items around the vehicles, blades and shields taking shape from mana, while Vikir summoned the weapon tied to his Ranger Path. A long mana rifle formed in his hands, already prepared to fire if Marcus made the wrong move.

Marcus was a Four-Star Knight. At close range, he was dangerous enough that nobody there treated him lightly, but even he could see what the situation had become.

Clairmont soldiers stood in front of him while the majority of his own company watched from behind Kael.

Adrien took another step forward.

"Marcus, you’re under arrest for the organized robbery of merchants travelling through Clairmont territory, assault against their guards, theft of their property and—"

"No."

Adrien stopped and looked toward Kael. The interruption clearly hadn’t been expected, and Kael stepped away from the other mercenaries before approaching.

"Forgive me for interrupting you, my lord, but I’d like to settle this as mercenaries."

Adrien’s expression changed slightly. His plan had been simple from this point: arrest Marcus and the people who had willingly continued participating in the robberies, then decide what happened to the rest of the Bloodfang Wolves afterward.

Kael apparently had something else in mind. Adrien had already heard enough about how the company worked to understand what Kael meant.

Leadership among mercenaries depended heavily on strength, and some disputes couldn’t be settled by simply talking until one side surrendered.

He lowered Umbral Root slightly without dismissing it.

"You want to handle Marcus yourself?"

"Yes."

Marcus stared at Kael until the meaning became clear. Disbelief appeared first, followed by something closer to contempt.

"Oh... you’re not really asking for that, are you?"

Kael remained silent, and Marcus stepped toward him, the difference in experience between them obvious even if their Mana Cores stood at the same rank.

"You actually think you can beat me? You’re still a baby without his mother compared to me, Kael. You’ve been co-leader for a few months and suddenly you think you’re ready to take the company I built?"

Kael showed no reaction to the insult. Around them, the Bloodfang Wolves had fallen completely silent, their attention fixed on the two Four-Stars standing in the middle of the road.

He looked toward Adrien first.

"If I lose, do whatever you intended to do. But if I win, let the company decide what comes next."

Adrien studied him for a moment. He had come to end the attacks, not destroy every custom the Bloodfang Wolves followed, and almost the entire company had already shown where it stood by following Kael here.

After several seconds, Adrien stepped back, and Kael turned fully toward Marcus. His voice carried clearly enough for every mercenary on the road to hear him.

"Marcus, I challenge you to a duel for leadership of the Bloodfang Wolves."