MERCHANT ADVENTURER

Ambush (2)

The moment after Maxim winked at Marcus, they both suddenly stood up. Then Marcus diverted himself towards Bacchanal, while Maxim headed towards me.

I had a sturdy tree branch I had been using for combat practice. Maxim held a small steel dagger in his hand. I held my stick in front of me, in a protective stance. I wouldn't act blindly. I held my ground, waiting for Maxim to attack.

On the side, I heard, "By all that is holy." Bacchanal shouted out his war cry. He used his lute to whack Marcus in the stomach. When Marcus folded in half out of pain, the dwarf whacked him again on the back of his head, rendering Marcus unconscious. I had never seen a dwarf nor a bard fight before and the scene was rather enthralling. I never would have pegged him for a vicious fighter.

Maxim's focus had also been diverted towards Bacchanal. Having taken care of Marcus, Bacchanal rushed towards Maxim with full speed. Maxim stupidly stood there. I don't know if he was holding his ground or if he was purely too shocked to move out of the way.

As Bacchanal came closer to Maxim, Maxim threw out a stab towards the top of Bacchanal's head. Bacchanal dodged to the side. The dagger barely missing him, almost slicing into his arm. Just as Maxim was about to make a move, Garlan jumped out of the bushes. He kept Maxim's focus on himself.

Seeing that Maxim's attention was completely focused on Garlan, Bacchanal moved closer to Maxim's legs and whacked Maxim in the back of the knees.

Maxim fell forward. And before he could counterattack, Bacchanal had used his lute to whack Maxim in the back of the head. Maxim fell forward, his body sprawled out on the ground.

Unexpectedly, the fight was over before we knew it.

We soon tied up both Marcus and Maxim. Then we splashed them with water. The two slowly rose out of their unconsciousness.

They both stared at us. Maxim had a gloomy scowl on his face. While Marcus had a fearful expression.

"Why did you attack us?" I asked.

Maxim gave me the cold shoulder, unwilling to reveal his secrets.

However, Marcus cried out, "The merchant's family told us to take care of you. They said if we did, they would pay us a hefty sum. This is my first time doing anything like this. Maxim, he took care of Jerilyn and her parents and that bloke Jerilyn had relations with. Please don't kill me."

As Marcus recounted all of this to me, his nose dripped unceasingly.

"Are you saying Jerilyn and her parents and George are all dead?"

My question was only for confirmation. I had a feeling the merchant family as well as the Young Master wouldn't let me go easily. Perhaps, they originally let me go because they intended to get rid of me in secret. There is a saying that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Since the Young Master is a bad apple, his parents must also be rotten apples. I never thought anyone would want my life, especially, when I had done no wrong. Strangely, I had no energy to take revenge. I knew for people like them, revenge would come from the gods.