One of the underlings asked about the boss's condition. Only then did they slowly turn around, noticing my presence. Before they could react, I started smashing the heads of those still sleeping in the nearby barracks.
If they all rushed at me from every direction, even I could get hurt, so I had to deal with these guys first.
Thanks to this, the thieves who turned around saw a priest mercilessly crushing the heads of their sleeping comrades.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
Only then did the thieves notice me and prepare for battle. I grabbed the first thief who charged at me and slammed him into the ground. Seeing a man fly through the air like that, the others froze.
The thief I slammed into the ground twitched and foamed at the mouth. To ensure he was dead, I swung my mace.
*Smash!*
The mace pierced through the thief's body and struck the dirt floor, creating a massive explosion and kicking up dust. The thief's upper body was obliterated, making it impossible to identify him.
"Ugh... ugh... Boss...! Boss!"
The thieves holding swords slowly backed away, calling for their boss. The boss, still holding his cup, sat frozen in place. Blood began to trickle through the hole in his chest where the spear had pierced him. The underling who tried to grab the boss screamed in horror.
"Aaaah! Boss! Boss!"
The cup fell from the boss's hand. His face, half blown off by the spear, was now fully exposed. The underlings panicked and screamed. With the boss dead, no one could stop me now.
"Quiet!"
I shouted at the thieves. The boss, his head shattered, struggled to speak.
"Save me... p-please... save me..."
His head was clearly destroyed, and something inside him was broken. I mourned the boss's diminished intelligence and swung my mace at a thief trying to sneak past me.
*Thud!*
The thief, who tried to ignore me, took the mace to his gut and crashed into the fence. Using his body, he half-destroyed the fence, becoming a human hedgehog impaled on broken wood fragments. He gasped for breath, barely alive, but no one came to help.
"Gather in the center, all of you."
The thieves hesitated, unsure of my words. I shouted again,
"Gather here in the center, damn it!"
Adding a curse seemed to work. The thieves quickly moved and huddled together. The boss sat slumped to one side, still begging for his life. I turned my back to him, sat down, and faced the remaining thieves. Then I introduced myself.
"I am Lord Lucius Peta of Peta Manor."
My words unsettled the thieves. As the murmurs grew louder, I slammed my mace into the ground to silence them.
"You must be wondering how I found this secret hideout."
The thieves fell silent. I smirked at them. In their minds, they were probably wondering how anyone could discover their hideout. After all, no knights or soldiers had patrolled the forest.
"Recently, four thieves surrendered after a battle in the city."
"Ah..."
One of them spoke up, seeming to grasp the connection. He began trembling with hatred for the traitors.
"Th-those bastards..."
*Crack!*
I struck the head of the thief who dared interrupt me. He foamed at the mouth and died, choking on his own blood. The others fell silent again.
"Yes, thanks to those thieves revealing the hideout, I was able to find you."
Of course, those four thieves had never told me anything about their gang. But I had a reason for this lie.
"Normally, thieves are either executed immediately or, if their crimes are minor, their hands are cut off and they're released. But there are quite a few of you here."
Including the ones I'd already killed, there were over twenty of them.
"I can't kill all of you, but if you do one favor for me, I'll let you go on the condition that you never return to Peta Manor."
"What's the condition?"
*Crack!*
"Speak politely."
"W-what's the condition?"
I sent another thief, who dared speak informally, to join his boss. A red-eyed man raised his hand and asked. I replied,
"Those surrendered thieves—they're still thieves. I let them into the village under the guise of rehabilitation, but frankly, I don't believe they'll change. I want them dealt with. Will you do as I say? If you handle it well, I'll even give you a reward."
"Yes! We'll do it!"
The red-eyed man introduced himself as Clebang. He was burning with rage at the traitors.
**** ****
A few days later, I sat at the forest's edge, meeting with Clebang. Everything was prepared. In the barracks, the others waited for us. I told them they could leave if they wanted, but the promise of a "reward" seemed too tempting. Clebang nervously looked around, then nodded at me.
"It's all set. They're coming today."
"Good. Hand me a sword."
"Here, take this."
I replaced my mace with the sword Clebang gave me. In the distance, the four traitorous thieves approached. Clebang moved slowly to avoid suspicion.
"Did you sell everything?"
He was still playing the role of the ruthless "Rabbit's Foot" thief. The second thief nodded.
"Yeah... we rushed to sell it all, so we didn���t get full price... here..."
Clebang threw a dagger. The second thief fell, hand outstretched. Before the remaining three could react, I lunged and sliced the fifth thief's throat. Clebang attacked the fourth, and my sword pierced the third's heart.
With all four traitors dead, I wiped the blood from my face. Clebang cautiously asked,
"And... me?"
*Thud!*
I stabbed Clebang in the gut and said,
"Oh, right. The guards and knights are heading to the barracks now."
"Gah... ugh..."
Clebang coughed up blood, his red eyes growing darker. I picked up the second thief's belongings and walked toward the manor. I looked forward to what would happen tomorrow morning.
The manor was noisy from early morning. I knew why. The guards and knights had captured the thieves and brought them here. Excluding those who had already escaped and those killed during the arrest, about eight thieves were dragged into my manor. They demanded to see me, screaming.
"This isn't what we agreed on, you coward!"
"You scumbag! Do you even call yourself a priest?!"
The audacity of these thieves, lecturing me on justice and accusing me of breaking promises, was unbearable. I couldn't ignore their insolence. When I raised my mace, the thieves fell silent. Like Pavlov's dogs, they'd learned to shut up when I wielded my weapon.
"Robin, good work."
I lowered my mace and praised Robin. He looked like a gruff country man, but he loved being complimented. Robin nodded proudly, and the thieves began speaking again.
"Where's Clebang? What happened to him? Did you kill him?"
*Crack!*
I smashed the head of the first thief who dared speak. His helmet did little to protect him, and his head caved in like a can crushed by a press. The other thieves gasped. I wiped the blood from my mace and said,
"You run a thief gang and dare to judge right from wrong? By the law, those who harm civilians through theft are to be executed. Their crimes are severe, so they all deserve death."
"You monster!"
The thieves screamed in despair. I ordered the soldiers to draw their swords. In one swift motion, I silenced seven thieves. The soldiers stabbed their swords into the fallen bodies, repeatedly mutilating them in their rage.
"Hang their bodies in the streets."
Then I went to see Siri. When I arrived at the church, she was sweeping the courtyard. She fumbled with her greeting, then set down her broom and bowed deeply. It was the proper way to greet a lord, but her dropping the broom made me chuckle.