Heimarian Odyssey

Chapter 114: Conflict

"Where did she get the white bread from?" Locke curiously asked Laffey.

She blushed and explained, "Who else but Henry?"

Locke didn't believe that. Only platoon jarls and above were able to get white bread; even if Henry was almost at the same level as himself, he wouldn't have any extra for others. Somehow, Laffey and Kristin probably got the bread from somewhere.

Laffey was much stronger than Henry's guards since she practiced impetus. As long as she was cautious enough to not leave any traces behind, he would never be able to notice her stealing anything.

Locke wanted to laugh at the thought of Henry suddenly realising that a loaf of bread had gone missing.

One could not blame Laffey for leading Kristin astray. The three women, including Glace, used to eat delicacies of all sorts in the margrave's mansion. Suddenly, they could only eat food such as wheat biscuits. The three women could at least bear with eating only white bread.

Since there were only women and children in this household, Locke felt assured about their safety and after a few words, he stepped out.

Next to the house stood a shack. There should be people staying in it, but there was no one at this time. The messy pots and pans showed that the owner had been very anxious when he or she left.

It was just nice to leave the horses here. Locke went and brought over the horses of the three women. These were horses transferred by him from the cavalry platoon. The lives of the horses were more precious than the soldiers. If these horses were to go missing, Locke, as the one who took them, would need to pay the baron quite an amount as compensation.

With the horses' ropes tied, he turned away and got ready to leave.

"Who are you! Why are you here?" Mueller looked at the Faustian in horror. From the man's heavy armour and the bright sword on his waist, Mueller could tell that he was at least an officer.

Aren't the Faustians still in the west? How could he be at his doorstep? Mueller suddenly turned around and looked at his door. The broken door was all he needed to infer what happened not long ago.

"You bastard!" Mueller let out a roar and charged towards Locke.

Locke looked at this guy who suddenly appeared with much confusion. Although Mueller had participated in a week of defending the city, he was still only a civilian. His attack that had many flaws made Locke uninterested in wasting time on him.

Like how he kicked the wooden door, Locke swiftly turned 180 degrees, kicking straight towards Mueller's waist, sending him flying. After landing, his hands tightly grasped his waist, and there was no movement for a long time.

Although he didn't use impetus, most people couldn't withstand Locke's kick. In fact, he only used one-third of his strength.

"Hmmph!" Suddenly, a figure rushed over and hugged Locke. This person was taller than him, a whole 1.8 metres tall. The funny thing was that after hugging him, the big man wanted to lift Locke and throw him out. However, Locke didn't budge by even a bit and the man couldn't move either.

"Huh, a fool with only brute force," Locke smiled contemptuously, raising his right foot to kick the man's left leg. The man staggered and with a beautiful arm throw by Locke, he was sent flying just like Mueller had been.

This time, Locke used all his strength. After the man fell on his back, he coughed out blood with some chunks of his internal organs.

"Auon!" Mueller shouted at the man on the ground.

"Swoosh." Locke pulled out his longsword and prepared to finish these two unexpected guests.

Locke had seen their attire often in recent years, and he killed a fair share of those dressed like so. Two Shalorian barbarians, Locke thought.

Locke, a low-rank Knecht, couldn't be stopped by two ordinary soldiers, and these two were not even soldiers. They were mere civilians.

When he raised his sword and was about to swing it down, the Shalorian woman he met in the wooden house ran out, shouting, "No!"

She knelt in front of him, kowtowing and crying. "Please, don't kill him!" she begged helplessly.josei

Not only this woman, but her two children ran out crying, and called out to their father.

Locke immediately understood everything.

"Just spare their lives." At some point, Glace walked out as well.

"I need a reason," Locke said.

Glace was speechless.

Locke was not as hostile towards the Shalorians as other Faustian soldiers. However, it didn't apply to all Shalorians; he only showed mercy to women and children.

He had never been soft when dealing with Shalorian soldiers. The merciful Faustian soldiers would have long died out by now.

"I beg you!" The Shalorian woman next to him was still begging, her forehead already bleeding due to her kowtowing.

"Betty!" Mueller saw his wife and forget his pain, feeling nothing but joy. "Betty, you're fine!" His waist was still hurt badly, but he still struggled to crawl to her side, hugging his wife and two children.

Seeing this scene, Locke was a little hesitant. After a while, the longsword he was holding did not fall.

"Daddy brought you delicious food." Mueller ignored the pain and took out two small pieces of jerky and a piece of wheat biscuit from his chest.

The jerky and wheat biscuits had been smashed into pieces when he landed just now, but Mueller insisted on feeding them to the two children. He knew that his children, including his wife, probably hadn't eaten for more than a day.

"You all owe me your life!" Locke left these words and turned to leave. The Shalorian civilians living in the neighbouring houses heardthe commotion and opened their windows, sneaking judging glances at them. Locke didn't want to expose Glace and the rest.

Glace obviously understood Locke's intention. "Go back soon, he won't trouble you anymore," she said to Betty.

Betty quickly nodded, got up and helped Mueller walk home.

"And him," Mueller pointed at Auon who had fallen on the ground towards his wife.

Betty nodded, and after helping Mueller back, she came out again and pulled the unconscious Auon into the house.

Seeing what happened, Glace shook her head. Such was the fate of the weak and defeated.

Mueller knew why the Faustian officer would say they owed him their lives. He thought that he and Auon were definitely going to die. It was not only because of their encounter with Locke, but also because of the uniforms they wore.

Since they were Shalorian soldiers, they were Locke's enemies. During the siege, Mueller himself too injured many Faustian soldiers.

He wasn't even sure if he had truly killed one, however, though it was incredibly likely. He wouldn't be surprised if Locke did kill him.

"It seems like the Faustians are not as brutal and terrifying as we imagined," Mueller murmured. "Ack..." His child was still kicking around in his arms, and directly touched the spot Locke kicked. "Bob, do you want to kill daddy?" He squeezed his son's face.

Bob grinned, revealing white breadcrumbs between his teeth. After Mueller noticed, he turned and secretly looked at Glace and the rest who were standing at the other side of his house.

Seeming to spot Mueller's gaze, she explained with a smile, "We will only be staying for one night."

The house was small to begin with, and now there were eight people in it. There was really no room unless they remained standing. Betty looked at her husband's wound carefully, while the two children were playing around. Auon laid on one side; whether he was still alive was unknown. Glace and the rest stood at the other corner near the door, away from the family.