I Reincarnated into a Single-celled Organism! - Chapter 200

“It’s the mercenaries that need to be blamed.”

The tavern stank of sweat and ale, and the bar was covered in various fluids, only some of them from drinks. A voice rose from an old man sitting on a stool in the corner. He was drunk, his face red and his eyes half-closed. His words were slurred and directed at no one and everyone within the bar.

“Shut up, old man…” One of the taverners barked.

“Stormhollow used to be a good city. Then, they all showed up.” He ignored the man, or perhaps couldn’t even hear him in his drunken state. “Then, the mercenaries showed up and everything went to shit. One of those dogs laid a hand on my daughter. I complained to the magistrate, and you know what he did? He gave me half a kilowatt. I got half a kilowatt for my daughter’s innocence!”

“That’s more than a whore like your daughter deserves!” Someone called back.

The old man’s face turned red with fury, and he stumbled out of his seat while grabbing a steak knife. “Who said that? Say that to my face!”

There was the scrapping of a seat, and a large man stood up in armor. He looked at the old man with disdain, one hand on the hilt of his sword.

“I said it…” He spoke in a deep voice. “Your daughter acts like a slut, so she’s treated like a slut. You should be lucky you got paid so much so your whore daughter can satisfy our men.”

“You scum!” He leaped at the man, not seeming to even notice that the table had another five men who were similarly dressed.

The mercenary caught the old man’s hand like he was playing with a child. He gave the man a single punch, but there was a distinct crunching sound as soon as his fist landed. The old man barely let out a noise before he collapsed to the floor, his skull partially caved in. The mercenary sat back down with the knife he had just taken from the old man’s hand and then began to cut his steak.

The bartender let out a sigh and nodded to a strong man standing in the corner. He walked over, picked up the old man who was dead, and tossed him out the door like a bale of hay. When he turned back, a few patrons were watching him warily.

“Night patrol will take care of him.” He dusted off his hands and went back to his seat.

“Did you sleep with that guy’s daughter?” One of the younger mercenaries asked the man.

“Never met his daughter.” He responded in between chewing.

The table broke into laughter as the nearby residents diverted their eyes. This was the way of things within Stormhollow. These mercenaries would face no retribution. If someone did complain loudly enough, they might get a small recompense for the inconvenience, but otherwise the mercenaries were free to do whatever they wanted to whomever they wanted.

Low murmuring of conversation returned to the tavern. The bartender filled two mugs and put them in front of two wary travelers sitting at the bar, a few seats away from where that old man had been. One of them looked calm as he took a mug. The other ignored it, looking somewhat anxious.

“What are we doing here?” Lucky demanded in a whisper as I took a sip from my mug. “While we’re drinking, who knows what they might be doing to my family. Just because they have to keep them alive doesn’t mean that they won’t potentially abuse them.”

“We’re gathering information.”

“Information? What will these people know that we can find out ourselves with our own two eyes?” Lucky spoke.

I wasn’t really surprised by his mentality. All paragons seemed to look down on commoners. He kept picking at his clothing as if even being dressed as one offended his very being.

“Just be patient,” I told him.

“Patience is easy for you to say. It’s not your family.” Lucky hissed.

At first, Lucky had been following along obediently, but it seemed like the closer we got, the less patience he had. I ignored him even as he continued to rant. That was because my ears were still locked on the group of mercenaries behind me, the group that included the one who killed the old man.

“How much longer do we have to be in this god forbidden city?” One of the men spoke up.

“Boss says soon.”

“It’s so fucking boring though.”

“Just be lucky you’re getting paid. I’d rather get paid to sit around in a bar than get paid to fight in a war.” Another spoke up.

“Whatever, I need to go. It’s going to be my shift soon.” The larger man who had killed the old man spoke up as he stood.

“You’re drinking before you shift?”

“How do you think I get through my shifts?” The larger man laughed.

He wasn’t the only one leaving. Two others got up with him. Although the locals complained about how expensive everything was, to paragons, gold was plentiful. I dropped a couple of coins to pay for our drinks, and I grabbed Lucky.

“And another thing… huh?” he seemed surprised as I grabbed him and headed straight for the doorway. “What are we doing?”

I ignored him and kept walking. We reached the door just ahead of the mercenaries, but I slammed into him with my shoulder as I passed by and cut them off. His shoulder was shockingly hard. Even with my enhanced status, I felt like I just shoulder bumped a boulder.

“You… hey!” The man yelled.

I ignored him and walked right out the door, immediately turning left and moving fast. The mercenary stepped out of the door.

“Hey, you bastard, apologize!” He called out to me.

I lifted a hand and flicked him off just as I pulled Lucky into the nearest alleyway.

“The fucker!” There was the sound of swords being drawn, and a moment later, three mercenaries appeared in front of the alleyway.

I finally stopped and turned, feigning a look of surprise. “What do you ugly bastards want?”

The three men exchanged looks, but the big man took the lead. “Seems like no one taught you any manners.”

“Why would I have manners when talking to pigs?” I tilted my head.

“Spirit?” Lucky looked as surprised as the mercenaries.

The three men entered the alleyway. Lucky cursed as he quickly pulled his weapon out. I started to walk toward the mercenaries unconcerned. The first mercenary came at me with a wide swing that looked more like he was trying to cut down a tree. I stepped forward instead of back, letting the blade whistle behind me as I slammed my palm into his chest. He staggered, breath knocked from his lungs, and I drove my knee into his stomach, folding him over. Before he could fall, I grabbed his belt and flung him into the alley wall. He hit it with a grunt and dropped like a sack of flour.

The second one was faster—or at least thought he was. He lunged in with a pair of knives, trying to catch me from the side. I caught his wrist mid-strike, squeezed until I felt bone shift, then pivoted and slammed my elbow into his face. Teeth clicked against stone as he hit the ground, dazed. He tried to crawl away, but I stepped on his back and drove him flat with a thud.

The third hesitated. Smart. He took a step back, then another, looking like he wanted to flee and get reinforcements. I gave him no chance. I closed the distance in a blink, grabbing him by the collar and slamming him back-first into a stack of crates. He managed to swing his sword, but I ducked, then brought my fist up into his jaw with a bone-rattling crack. His eyes rolled back, and he slumped into the refuge.

Lucky stared at me in disbelief and then shook his head. “I forget sometimes that you were the city’s champion and flawless.”

He seemed to think that I defeated these mercenaries because I was flawless, and they must have all evolved. I was pretty sure at least one of them was flawless as well, but they never had enough time to reveal their true strength. I knelt beside the first mercenary and started to unbuckle his armor. Lucky stared at me strangely.

“Are you going to help?” I asked.

“Why are you robbing them?” He asked. “That seems unnecessary.”

I rolled my eyes and tossed him the helmet. “That guy looks closest to your size. Strip him and put on his clothing. You want to be in the camp, don’t you?”

“Huh?” He blinked, then finally it all seemed to click. “Oh, right!”

I shook my head. I started to wonder if this guy was just a bit dumb. If we were going to get into the camp, we needed a disguise. There were so many soldiers that as long as we had on their armor, no one would notice us. It was time to rescue the Lou family.