I Picked Up a Saintess from the Ruins

42 – 7. Recapture of the City

The tenth day of the outbreak of the Thieves Apocalypse in Villach.

When a city is occupied, all kinds of vicious acts such as looting and arson that naturally follow… Surprisingly, not much happened.

This was something that went directly against common sense.

“No! My property, my home! Everything I have dedicated my life to achieving… Uh?”

“What is it? Why… “Is my house okay?”

I woke up shivering in the morning, locked in a corner of my house or in a church, due to the untimely chaos of the night.

Then, one by one, the people of Villach came out from their hiding places, tilting their heads and scratching their heads as they realized that everything had not been reduced to ashes.

Of course, there were instances of people taking out a lot of beer from the city basement and drinking it, or running away with valuable items from the church.

However, considering that the city has fallen into the hands of thieves, it is a crime that is close to a trivial and cute prank.

There were cases where people took advantage of the chaos of the first day and fled out of the city with money, but those who chose to stay only committed a healthy amount of theft.

Of course, they were not enlightened by suddenly opening their eyes to morality and realizing the value of a life of sharing and giving.

“I like looting. Plunder! Plunder! About- Ugh! “What, why are you hitting me?!”

“You idiot, come to your senses. “Why bother putting it all together when we can have it all soon anyway?”

“No matter how much I covet the wealth right in front of me, I can’t help but think about the future. Think of the land we can get our hands on!”

They say that if you don’t eat one marshmallow, you’ll get two later, so there’s nothing you can’t resist.

This can be seen as suppressing greed with greater greed with a little restraint.

The forces that occupied the city could be roughly divided into two.

One was the knights and mercenaries who had been excommunicated or were at risk of excommunication. This is a group with no plans for the future, whether due to an explosion of dissatisfaction or a sudden rush to ride the mood.

The other ones were thieves who broke in from outside.

This group of thieves, who called themselves the Black Fingers, was an organization comprised mainly of mercenaries who turned into thieves because they did not receive their salaries on time.

And they had a plan as they led the rebellion.

The goal was one from the beginning. After pursuing this goal for several months, I was close to achieving it.

“Let the excommunicated idiots plunder, and we search for the relics!”

“I have to tell you what it looks like so I can find it!”

“Raven, this is a holy relic owned by a knight named Raven. Unless he sold it somewhere, he probably keeps it himself, so find him!”

Take advantage of the confusion and steal the compass. The reason he changed from a mercenary to a thief in the first place was to obtain that holy relic.

I didn’t know that a traitor could not overcome his greed and ran away with the head, giving it to a knight along with the head in a small village.

So, we take back what was originally ours. The way to get it back, as always, was to use their special skills.

As soon as he heard that Raven had entered the city, he got ready and prepared to attack Pillach as quickly as possible.

“Captain, captain!”

“So, did you find out anything? “Have you found the whereabouts of the knight?”

“I found it, but… “They say he left Villach yesterday.”

“What?”

But plans always fall apart easily for trivial reasons.

Hearing the vivid testimony of the guard that their target had left Villach just before then, the bandits who had tried to leave the city after a triumphant meal lost their purpose and just ran away.

I never thought that as soon as he arrived in the real Philach, he would just make a pledge and leave right away.

It is common for knights to have a battle of pride with the church, or to use that as an excuse to try to rip something off.

“I guess I have nothing to do now. Should we just plunder like usual?”

“I like looting. Plunder! Plunder! Plunder!”

But there was also a plan to prepare for this situation. The compass was just one of the objects they targeted.

Marcus, the leader of the bandits, spoke confidently to those wandering around after seeing what had been done.

“No, it actually went well. He was promised that he would get a good answer from the emperor. “You just have to hold on.”

“Really? “Then who did you receive the promise from?”

“I received it from a high-ranking priest who followed the emperor. “I personally know who he is, so you can trust his promise.”

Not long ago, the Pope began his specialty, causing trouble, by forcing churches across the empire to swear his oath.

Because it was full of loyal clergy who followed the orders of the Holy See, the emperor was foaming at the mouth and went wild at the atrocities.

However, we must not forget that just as the Pope has bishops all over the world who act like his hands and feet, the Emperor also has bishops who have turned their backs on the Pope.

Guiberto, the self-proclaimed emperor’s most faithful bishop, heard Villach’s complaints reaching a critical point and blew into the ears of Marcus, who was stealing nearby.

It’s a pity that I lost the compass I was aiming for, but should I still just have my own territory?

Marcus did not trust individual bishops. He believed that his purpose and his were the same, that their interests were the same.

The bishop also did not trust Naburangi, the leader of the bandits. He just believed in human greed.

Marcus found this method much more trustworthy than the trust built by preaching causes and morals.

So, if you hold out just a little longer, the Emperor will negotiate with the Pope and settle this situation. Time was on his side, so all he had to do was wait.

“… “Let’s forget about the compass for a moment.”

“I understand. “Then let’s go prepare to defend Villach.”

Still, it would have been a waste to give up the relic that a saint had put so much effort into creating.

There is an urgent matter, so let’s deal with it first.

After hearing the news that the attack had begun due to the Count’s last struggle, Marcus decided to put aside the thought of the relic for a moment.

*****

Unfortunately, the reality was that sleeping at an inn did not save the game.

If you die, there is no resurrection in the church.

Because it is not a movie, plans often fall apart for trivial reasons.

Also, since it is not a game, enemies do not wait until you pass the cutscene.

As expected, it was the more experienced side that moved first. It was effective to have the sword drawn in preparation for this situation.

As soon as I grasped the sword tightly, a soft light flowed through the body of the sword, leaving a thin trace along the direction of the swing.

The thieves’ mouths opened slightly as they realized the situation, perhaps to scream, but before anything could come out of the other side, their two necks flew into the sky.

When I was putting away the sword that wasn’t even covered in blood, the knight right next to me covered the mouth of the remaining one, then pushed him against the wall and stabbed him in the abdomen.

“Evil…… !”

“Inhale!”

Only the dull sound of a body hitting the wall and a short, dying sound remained.

A scream that could not escape through the metal armor lingered and soon died out. His struggling also gradually subsided.

Suddenly, the last remaining thief lowered his head and only then did his hand come off. With nothing to rely on, the body collapsed helplessly.

All I saw through the door earlier were three people. The person who ran away… There was no sound of footsteps after that.

Even though I tried to handle it quietly, I couldn’t hide the small scream and the sound of the weapon being dropped on the ground.

I held my breath for a moment just in case and looked to see if more enemies were coming, but it seemed like they weren’t detected since I couldn’t hear anything other than the sound of the siege starting from the other side of the castle.

Infiltration, successful.

Since the witnesses are no longer in this world, it is appropriate to infiltrate.

As if the tension had finally eased, the baron-turned knight exhaled heavily and asked.

“It’s a good sword. “Is that a glow-in-the-dark sword?”

“That’s right. “Are you jealous?”

“A little.”

“Let’s talk later, and hide the body first.”

“Do you know where to go next?”

Enough of the small talk during the operation, it was time to move on to the next step.

It was not possible to hide the body and blood traces, so we had to hurry before anyone else saw this.

“Uh… ….”

“Come to your senses. “Which way should I take now?”

“… Yes? Oh, sorry. First, you have to go through the door the thieves came out of. It leads to where guards usually wait for patrol. From there, you have to find the stairs leading back down.”

The soldier, who saw two heads being separated from the body in an instant before his eyes and the other being skewered alive, came to his senses a little late, but rolled his head to do his duty.

Everyone around them nodded slightly to show that they understood, then entered through the door.

As I entered the building, the sound of the siege became quieter, and the screeching sound every time I took a step was annoying.

It was unavoidable since the armor weighed a certain amount. Still, probably because everyone had left for the siege, no bandits appeared after hearing the sound.

And then it stopped in front of the next door.

This is because loud voices were heard from inside.

“I patrolled all night and I want to sleep… ….”

“If we do that, we’ll be dragged into the siege just because we want to sell it?”

“Okay, I have to at least pretend to be busy. “I saw that they sent all the people who were sleeping secretly through the door just now.”

This time it was difficult to pass quietly.

I looked at the soldier leading the way to see if there was another way, but he shook his head and whispered softly.

“There is, but you have to go back too far, so there’s a good chance you’ll encounter more enemies.”

I peeked through the door to look at the thieves inside.

As expected, the state of armament was poor. But it seems difficult to handle them all without causing a fuss.

Five people. And since they were scattered throughout the room, it was impossible to kill them all with one single blow, even if it was a glow-in-the-dark sword.

But if you are not alone.

I adjusted my sword and pretended to throw a javelin with it. The other knights thought for a moment and then nodded, seeming to guess what I meant.

Along with throwing sand in the eyes, it is one of the knights’ final five rites.

It is a sword throwing technique.