Chapter 90🎀 · BMMAW

Chapter 90

Strange Patterns Appeared on the Bandits’ Faces

The adjutant continued, panting heavily.

“Th-the driver is a single man… haah… haah… Inside the carriage, it looks like there’s a woman and a child. I can occasionally see them through the gap near the driver’s seat. There doesn’t seem to be any other man.”

In other words, he was suggesting they rob the carriage. Just a single carriage. The baron let out a sigh. How had his situation fallen this low? The more he thought about it, the more absurd it felt. A hollow laugh escaped his lips.

“Keuheuheu.”
“Baron…?”

The adjutant looked at him strangely, as if wondering whether he had finally lost his mind.

“It’s fine. I haven’t gone mad yet.”
“…My apologies.”
“So, what kind of carriage made you rush over like that? Is it loaded with food or something?”
“I’m not sure about that, but… there’s a unicorn.”
“What?”

It sounded like the adjutant had gone insane. Then again, in this situation, it would be stranger if he were sane. Sensing the meaning in the baron’s gaze, the adjutant shook his head.

“No, really. A unicorn is pulling the carriage. I doubted my own eyes too, but it was definitely a unicorn.”

The baron didn’t think the adjutant would lie. He was a man who had served him for a long time. Even if he doubted himself, he trusted his adjutant’s words.

Still, a unicorn pulling a carriage was hard to believe. What kind of person would use a unicorn like a common draft horse?

“…Are you certain?”

When the baron asked suspiciously, the adjutant grinned.

“Yes, without a doubt. I checked two, three times myself. If it’s pulling a human carriage, then the one driving it must be a beast tamer.”
“A unicorn tamed by a human…”

The baron muttered blankly, and the adjutant smiled.

“With just that one, we could recover all our losses and more.”

The baron didn’t know much about beast taming. But if it obeyed someone’s commands, it could likely obey others as well. If they could just capture it alive, it could be used in many ways later.

After thinking for a moment, the baron looked at the adjutant.

“Prepare everyone. We’re attacking the carriage. It’d be best to capture them alive, but if the man tries to use the unicorn, kill him immediately.”

He paused, then continued.

“No… it’s better to kill him from the start so the unicorn doesn’t go berserk. Prepare the archers.”
“Should we use poison arrows?”
“Yes. If he can handle a unicorn, he must be a skilled tamer. We should be cautious from the beginning.”

The baron nodded heavily.

Before crossing into Simoni territory for the raid, he had prepared a few poison arrows.

They were meant for magical beasts, but they had been useless against Orthos. Its tough hide had deflected every arrow.

But now, in an unexpected situation, they would finally prove useful.

“Understood!”

The adjutant answered loudly and turned to leave.

“Wait.”

The baron called out to him. The adjutant turned back, puzzled.

“This is our last chance. If we miss this, there won’t be another.”

His territory back home had already reached its limits. Even if he returned, there was no future. Until now, he had sustained things with loans from the kingdom and moneylenders, but no one was willing to lend him anything anymore.

“I know, Baron. We all know.”

The adjutant grinned and ran off toward the others. Watching his retreating figure, the baron pressed his lips tightly together.

A unicorn was a legendary creature—rare even among rare magical beasts. Whether or not they could use it, its mere existence held immense value. It would sell for a fortune.

With just one, he could rebuild his domain. He could save his starving people.

We must capture it.

Meanwhile…

Small buds had begun sprouting on the branches. The bark still looked gray and winter-worn, yet somehow it had already begun preparing for spring.

Seeing that made Juhwan feel like he needed to push forward as well. He couldn’t lose to a tree.

When he said that aloud, Lizzy—peeking out from behind the driver’s seat—burst into giggles.

“Juhwan, you’re strange sometimes.”
“…”

He had thought it sounded poetic. He assumed women liked that kind of thing, but Lizzy seemed different.

Maybe he was the only one who thought it was poetic. He felt slightly deflated.

Lizzy laughed again, as if she could read his thoughts.

Dorothy burrowed into Lizzy’s chest, her head popping out.

“Dad, Dorothy will try harder than the tree too!”
“Yeah, let’s both do our best.”
“Orto! You do your best too!”

At Dorothy’s voice, the unicorn shook its mane as if annoyed. It still didn’t like its name. Juhwan smirked.

Since Gwen had warned them about possible raiders, Juhwan drove whenever they entered mountain paths, even if Lizzy handled things on flat ground.

Though honestly, I’m not doing much…

The unicorn moved forward as if it knew the road itself. It was so intelligent it almost felt human.

Juhwan scanned the surroundings.

The narrow mountain path was just wide enough for a carriage. It twisted, limiting visibility. Dry trees lined both sides, with evergreen trees rising behind them.

His hand unconsciously leaked mana. He checked the arrows placed around the carriage.

If there are bandits, they’d appear somewhere like this.

The moment he thought that—

The unicorn suddenly neighed and stopped.

At the same time, Oz let out a sharp cry and leapt onto the carriage roof.

It seemed his suspicion had come true.

“Don’t come out. Lock the door, Lizzy.”

The sound of a heavy latch sliding into place came from inside.

Juhwan grabbed his bow and climbed onto the driver’s seat.

“Be careful,” Lizzy’s voice came from inside.

“Don’t worry. And don’t stick your head out, no matter what.”

He repeated his warning, then stood up and steadied himself.

Fire magic wasn’t suitable in the mountains. At best, he could wrap it around his arms for close combat.

Right now, his main option was wind magic.

It’s fine. I’ve been practicing for this.

He stared into the trees.

Nothing yet—but both Oz and the unicorn sensed something.

Oz cried out sharply.

Juhwan steadied his breathing and waited.

Time felt like it stretched endlessly.

Finally, shadows appeared beyond the trees.

Bandits.

They ran silently, weapons glinting in the sunlight.

Juhwan drew his bow.

Stay calm. Not yet…

Closer.

More of them appeared—at least twenty, maybe thirty—splitting into groups.

He couldn’t identify a leader.

Then I’ll just aim for the closest.

Now.

He released the arrow.

Ping!

The mana-infused arrow cut through the air.

It snapped a branch—but didn’t change direction.

A scream echoed as it struck a bandit.

Juhwan fired again.

And again.

Arrows flew in rapid succession.

Not all were killed, but about half were hit—enough to disable them.

That was enough.

“We’ve got a wind mage!”
“Kill him!”
“Don’t give him an opening!”
“What are the archers doing?! Shoot!”

Bandits burst onto the road.

Juhwan dropped down with an axe.

They have an archer…

He clicked his tongue.

Charging forward, he swung—

Thud!

A bandit’s skull shattered.

He yanked the axe free and struck again.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an archer.

That one.

The archer aimed, waiting for the right moment.

Other bandits shifted aside to give him a clear shot.

Juhwan wrapped wind mana around his body.

But before he could focus fully—

A large bandit rushed him.

A heavy blade swung down.

Clang!

Their weapons collided.

He’s the leader.

The impact cracked the axe handle.

Juhwan dropped it and ignited flames in his hand.

At that moment—

He saw a bandit approaching the carriage.

“!”

Juhwan spun.

The leader attacked from behind—

Juhwan struck first.

Flames exploded.

The leader’s clothes caught fire.

“Baron!”

Others rushed to extinguish the flames.

But Juhwan didn’t care.

His eyes were locked on the man approaching the carriage.

Lizzy and Dorothy were inside.

A warning rang in his mind.

His hand moved to the resin powder pouch at his waist.

If needed, I’ll burn everything.

Just as he was about to leap—

“Pii!”

Oz dropped from the carriage.

The small rabbit clung to the bandit’s face—

Then unleashed a flurry of kicks.

The bandit rolled on the ground, unable to shake him off.

Then someone shouted—

“The unicorn! Its horn is glowing!”
“What is that?!”

The bandits screamed.

Juhwan froze.

He stared at their faces.

Strange patterns were appearing on them.

“Y-your face—!”
“Baron! Your face!”
“What is this?!”

The patterns spread—

From their faces…

To their necks…

To their entire bodies