Personal Mission

The sound of wind brushed past his ears.

Leaves rustled softly.

Firth walked alone through the forest Ellie had pointed out, using the moon in the sky to judge his direction.

For ease of movement, he was not wearing his white knight order uniform, but instead put on a set of night gear he had used before, along with a dark brown-red hooded cloak.

Before being recommended by Agmad to become the vice-commander of the knight order, he had always led night operations.

As the leader of the night unit, he naturally possessed both night-combat capability and night-combat equipment.

The royal family had specially prepared cloaks for these night units.

These cloaks possessed camouflage abilities, allowing the wearer to effectively conceal their presence at night.

In the previous world, the one known as “Crimson Crow Firth” had also possessed such equipment.

However, that had been gear from several years later, far superior in performance, capable of even concealing body shape and voice.

Even so, this level of equipment was already more than sufficient for Firth.

What he did not know was the strength of the bandit leader.

And since this was a request personally entrusted by the Second Princess, he prepared more thoroughly.

Whether it was Agmad or Solor, both wanted Firth and Ellie’s relationship to ease somewhat.

Even Evelia thought the same.

After being kicked by Ellie, Agmad went home and seriously reflected on what he had done wrong over the past few years.

Unfortunately, in the end he still could not figure out what exactly he had done wrong.

But after hearing that Firth had also been kicked, he still chose to pat his shoulder earnestly and said,

“Maybe our knight order offended Her Highness the princess at some point in the past.

I’ve stepped back to prepare for my wedding, so restoring the royal knight order’s image in Her Highness’s eyes will be up to you.”

Agmad’s tone at that time was sincere and heavy.

Firth listened with a serious expression, yet felt completely confused inside.

Evelia was also present then.

She thought for a long time, as if trying to come up with a good solution, but in the end simply nodded and echoed,

“Mr. Agmad is right.”

“……”

Firth let out a rare sigh, as if he could no longer understand the current situation.

After arriving at the palace, Solor also heard that Ellie had kicked him.

And since Solor had been present when Agmad was kicked, the first thing he said was actually an apology.

“I’m sorry.

My sister was indeed in a bad emotional state during that time.

Please forgive her, and convey my apology to Agmad.”

Faced with such an apology, Firth naturally could not say anything else.

He could only nod politely and respond, “Understood.”

But once Solor saw that Firth accepted it, he quickly added,

“You are the royal knight order directly under the crown.

Although my sister does not appear often, she is still a child of the royal family.

Her personality is somewhat introverted, so please take good care of her in the future.”

After saying this, Solor revealed a helpless smile.

It seemed he was at a loss regarding Ellie’s current condition.

In matters of safety, the royal knight order would likely need to be more attentive.

And from the sound of it, emotional matters might also need consideration.

Sigh.

In the end, Firth stood here.

Standing in this forest.

Everyone around him had said to take care of this princess.

So when Ellie proposed her idea, Firth immediately agreed.

He even felt as though he were sacrificing himself for the dignity of the royal knight order.

To make it seem that the knight order treated this princess kindly, he personally came out himself.

That should count as giving her the highest level of respect.

Although he was currently the vice-commander of the knight order, because Agmad had stepped back recently to prepare for marriage, Firth was essentially acting commander.

Back then, Agmad had clearly proposed that the more capable Firth become the official commander, with himself returning after marriage as a deputy.

But Firth did not yield even slightly.

One could even joke that he had “not a shred of ambition,” stubbornly sitting in the vice-commander position, waiting for Agmad to finish his business and resume command.

“…I mean, can the commander of the knight order just disappear like that.

I’ve already submitted my request to step back.

Once it’s approved, you’ll be promoted directly to commander.

At worst, leave the deputy position vacant.

I’ll come back to assist you after my wedding leave.”

At that time, Agmad was holding the application to step back.

All it lacked was the crown prince’s seal, and he could vanish gracefully from the knight order.

But Firth refused.

“I will keep the commander’s position for you.”

He said this with a serious expression.

“But I need to take some time off.”

“I can serve as acting commander.”

“Isn’t that perfect.

Why not just be the official commander.”

“No.

The commander’s position is yours.”

“But it’ll still be a while before I return.”

“During this time, I will handle the knight order’s affairs as acting commander.

Please rest assured and take your break.

I can manage.”

“—Then just be the official—”

“No.

You are the true commander.”

“…Good heavens.”

The conversation fell into a loop.

And Agmad was always the first to give up.

In the end, with no other choice, Arman approved Agmad’s leave under his title as commander of the royal knight order.

The knight order was placed under Firth’s temporary command, with trusted personnel specially assigned to assist him.

But for something like a princess’s personal commission, it was better for Firth to handle it himself.

And if only one or two people were to be captured, bringing too many men would only alert the enemy.

Acting alone was far more convenient.

Arriving at the location designated by the princess, Firth spent roughly half an hour circling around.

Since it was the hideout of a bandit leader, it was normal for the paths to be complicated.

And the more complicated they were, the more it proved that something was hidden here.

The deeper he went, the more traces of human presence Firth noticed.

These signs of group habitation all proved that an organization was definitely hidden here.

The paths were intricate, but they posed no problem for Firth.

Leaving aside his personal skill, Ellie had also prepared a precise map for him.

Something like that did not need to be carried.

One glance was enough to engrave it in memory using the moon’s position.

Sure enough, after walking a bit further, he heard voices.

“I’m saying, boss, several nearby camps have already been wiped out.

Is it really okay for us to stay here.”

“How could it not be okay.

Haven’t you heard that the most dangerous place is the safest.

They’ve already conducted a full sweep once.

They won’t come a second time.

If we hide here, we’ll definitely be fine.

Once things calm down, we can make a comeback.

Damn it, decades of work, destroyed just like that by the royal dogs.

Those bastards really won’t let people live.

Didn’t we just kill a few people and steal some money.

Aren’t there plenty who starve or die of illness every year.

Death is death anyway.

Why does it matter how.

This is really killing me.

Good thing I found a corpse and put my clothes on it, pretending to die there.”

Several young men who looked like minor lackeys were sitting around a weak fire.

The one seated in the central position appeared to be their leader, likely the bandit chief himself.

Those beside him were probably the stragglers who had escaped the last purge.

Firth had thought he had done a clean job.

He did not expect there to really be survivors.

Judging by the number, there were over ten of them.

As a bandit group, this was enough for future expansion.

“Yeah.

Good thing the boss is smart.

We really followed the right man.

With a boss like this, we’ll definitely make a comeback.”

“That’s right.

A comeback.”

They seemed fired up, each grabbing bottles and drinking.

You said a line, I said a line.

It was like a company annual meeting, fantasizing about a bright future.

“Huh.

Why hasn’t Fifth spoken for a while.”

One of the young men suddenly noticed his companion beside him.

After saying a couple of words with no response, he muttered and pushed the man next to him.

“Fifth.

You drank too much.

Just two bottles of this cheap beer and you—”

The next second, in the dim firelight, his voice abruptly stopped.

“Huh.

What’s wrong—”

Thud.

As his words fell, something hit the ground.

“Hey.

What’s going on.

Add more fire.

Make it brighter.”

“Stop rushing me.

Weren’t you the one afraid the firelight would expose us.

Bring the extra firewood and the fan.”

“Where did everyone go.

Where did they all go.”

Their voices were chaotic one moment.

The next, everything fell completely silent.

“Hey—hey.”

Only the specially dressed bandit leader, in a panic, lit the fire fully and looked around by its light.

The scene before him made him suck in a sharp breath.

His heart seemed to leap into his throat.

There was not a single living person left.

Corpses were everywhere.

The bodies of those who had just been his companions.

They lay scattered across the ground.

Each had been killed with a single precise strike.

“You the boss.”

When the leader, terrified by the scene, turned his head back, his vision was suddenly filled with a piece of dark red-brown fabric.

Firth’s voice hung above his head.

Simple words.

Without any emotion.

He had taken down over a dozen people in one breath.

Without even panting.

“Ah… ah.

I—I…”

“Don’t worry.”

Firth flicked the blood from his sword.

His tone even carried a hint of ease.

“You.

I’m taking alive.”