Chapter 192: A Choice You Can’t Hesitate On
“Huh?”
The man’s expression clearly changed when he heard what Armand said.
“You punk, what are you talking about? Who do you think you are?!”
“Oh? Are you indirectly calling me a kid? That must mean I still look young, right? I knew it, I totally give off the pretty-boy vibe.”
Armand smiled as if nothing bothered him. He didn’t look the least bit annoyed by the man’s yelling. If he got upset by this kind of street thug, he’d probably die of anger on the battlefield.
Armand was the kind of person who didn’t take things too seriously. Instead of getting angry, he’d smile and act like he didn’t care at all. His natural cheerfulness could be extremely annoying to people who tried to bother him, and that was exactly how he fought back. He had annoyed plenty of nobles with this attitude, so dealing with a few street thugs was no big deal. Armand was a pro at playing dumb just to mess with people.
“You—!!”
The man clearly didn’t want to talk anymore. Armand’s carefree attitude was driving him crazy. All he wanted now was the girl in Armand’s arms, Rachel. She had been “chosen,” and there was no way he was letting go of such a valuable target.
That girl meant money!
Maybe people could dislike Armand’s smirk, but no one hated money.
“Relax, man. If you give up now, put your hands behind your head and lie against the wall, I might go easy on you.”
“Shut up!!!”
The man had had enough. He shouted and charged straight toward Armand.
He looked big and strong, with thick arms and solid muscles, perfect for grabbing kids. His muscles looked ready to explode with power. A punch from this kind of guy was definitely not something you wanted to take head-on.
“Guah—!”
“Yaaah?!”
But before the man could get close, Armand hit him with a spinning kick right in the face. The man hadn’t seen it coming.
With a loud yell, the guy went flying, along with one of his teeth, and crashed two meters away. He even left a spray of blood in the air like some twisted piece of art.
The sharp scream that came at the same time? That was from Rachel, the little girl in Armand’s arms. Only a girl could scream like that.
She screamed because Armand’s spin kick had been so sudden that she almost flew out of his arms. It felt like one of those scary amusement park rides that swing you back and forth.
“Cough, cough... damn it...”
The tooth landed near the man with a sharp clack on the ground. Clean and clear.
“Yikes. Fixing that tooth’s gonna cost a lot.”
Armand mocked him while keeping an eye on the other thugs behind the guy. He also glanced toward the shadowy figure who had been watching from the dark.
But strangely enough that person was already gone.
That made Armand frown. That guy had looked like the real leader of the group. If he could’ve captured him alive, they might’ve gotten more useful information.
After all, human trafficking wasn’t a small crime. The Knight Order had a duty to protect the people and get rid of criminals like this.
But honestly, anyone who understood the situation would know that even the royal family might be involved in this kind of thing. No matter how tough the captain and vice-captain of the Knight Order were, there were things they couldn’t change right now. All they could do was try their best to reduce crime where they could.
Thinking about that made Armand angry. He didn’t join the Knight Order and serve the second prince just to stand around while terrible people kept getting away with things because of their status.
“......”
Armand let out a deep sigh.
Maybe because of Rachel’s earlier scream, he gently set her down in a safer corner.
He had wanted her to go back and find Evelia, but then he realized it wouldn’t be safe to let her run out alone either. So he decided to keep her nearby.
He believed Rachel was a smart kid and wouldn’t run around or make things worse during a situation like this.
At the very least, he needed to catch one of them alive.
Armand took half a step forward, watching the men who were running toward him.
Right now, the biggest issue was that there was no solid proof these people were connected to the second prince.
Sure, Armand personally believed the second prince was a terrible man, but that didn’t mean he could assume everything was his fault.
Even though the second prince had done a lot of bad things already, it wouldn’t be right to just say, “He’s probably behind this too, let’s stop investigating.”
Armand didn’t work like that. Even if he liked to annoy people, he had rules, and he followed them.
Clang!
While Armand was still thinking about where these people had come from, a flash of silver suddenly streaked past his face. A knife had just grazed his cheek.
Calm and quick, Armand turned his body, grabbed the attacker’s extended arm, and with his other hand traced up the arm to the shoulder. With a crack, he dislocated the man’s strong-looking shoulder with ease.
Then, with a swift leg sweep, he tripped the man, slamming his face hard into the ground. As the man fell, Armand stomped on his leg, breaking it with a loud snap. The knife clattered to the ground, followed by a loud scream of pain.
Even though Armand always carried a sword at his waist, for fights like this, more like street brawls, he preferred hand-to-hand combat. It was more satisfying, and he could catch people alive for questioning. Why not?
Armand had been trained as a warrior, not just a swordsman. He learned how to hit hard and fight smart, using brute strength head-on or redirecting the enemy’s force against them. As for weapons? He only trained with swords as a side thing when he was young, thanks to natural talent and opportunity.
Still, without good sword skills, he wouldn’t have become the captain of the knight order. On the battlefield, having a weapon is better than punching armor with your bare hands.
Who wants to tear open a helmet with their fingers?
Now he had taken down two enemies, and they looked like the strongest of the group. That left one thinner, weaker-looking guy. Compared to the others, this one seemed like a rookie. He held a shiny, new-looking little knife, but his arms and legs were shaking nonstop. Definitely a beginner.
“P-please, sir, have mercy!”
Seeing Armand turn his gaze on him, the guy quickly threw away the knife and did exactly what Armand had said earlier. He put both hands behind his head.
“I—I swear I just wanted to earn money for my sick mother… She’s been ill for a long time and the treatment is expensive… I had no choice! This is my first time! I didn’t hurt anyone yet! Please spare me!”
Some people who seem pitiful also make awful choices. And sometimes bad people can have sad stories.
Armand had heard stories like this many times. As a knight, he had met all kinds of criminals, many with tragic reasons for their actions.
“You’ve surrendered, so I won’t hurt you,” Armand said. “But you’ll need to come with me to the knight’s headquarters for questioning.”
Even if someone’s story was sad, they still had to answer for what they did.
Maybe this guy would get a lighter punishment. But for now, Armand had to take him in.
Based on his attitude, the questioning probably wouldn’t be too harsh.
“O-okay, I—”
Before the man could finish, Armand suddenly felt a killing intent.
Three knives flew out from somewhere in the shadows, each headed in a different direction.
One was flying toward Armand.
One toward the kneeling man.
And one, toward Rachel, who was frozen in fear nearby.
It was like one of those “trolley problems.” Armand had to act fast. He could only save one.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the man whose tooth he knocked out was already dead, a short blade stabbed deep into his head. He had tried to escape but hadn’t made it.
Clearly, these guys had known something important, and someone was now silencing them.
The old woman and the shadowy figure had disappeared. These three thugs? Just disposable pawns from the start.
Based on the knives' angles and timing, they were designed to all hit their targets at the exact same moment, the kneeling man and Rachel were to the left and right. Armand could only stop one.
No time to hesitate.
In that instant, Armand twisted his body to dodge the knife flying toward him, and at the same time, he threw his sword.
CLANG!
The flying sword hit and knocked away the knife heading for Rachel.
She was safe. So was Armand.
But in exchange, the other two men died.
The man who had surrendered gone.
Even the man whose leg Armand had broken earlier was hit by the knife meant for Armand and died.
In an instant, the noisy alley went completely silent. Only Armand and Rachel were left alive.
“Damn it…”
Armand looked toward the direction the knives had come from, but there was no one there.
He had been completely played.
From the moment he stepped in, the others had been doomed. Someone had already decided they wouldn’t survive.
And those men? They thought they still had a chance. That they could escape. That they’d earn some money.
But their struggles were nothing more than foolish dreams and make-believe.