Chapter 32 - The Battle of the Shameless

The leader of the mercenary group, the man called Jackal, immediately replied: "It's good that you're here, Captain Apollo. We need you to bring justice against these people who threaten the security of Corona. We were recently in pursuit of a thief who stole an important item from our boss, Sagat. When we were about to catch up with him, he came across two cronies, these two children who were working with him and taking advantage of a moment of carelessness, they tricked us to help him escape. As they are children, we felt sorry for them, and we tried to convince them to tell us where the thief was, but who would have thought that they would take advantage of our good faith and attack us without mercy, seriously wounding 4 of my men. We tried to seize them and bring them to you, Captain, but the young man here got in our way and began to attack us without mercy. Had it not been for your prompt arrival, it is probable that these miscreants would have got away with it."

Nerun and Silvester were dumbfounded, and even Elijah was surprised. He never thought a person could be so shameless as to twist black and white so blatantly. Even some of the mercernaries blushed a little at their leader's words, and had to admit that he was an expert at trying to make the best of the situation.

While it seemed that the problem had escalated to a great extent, things could still be heading in the right direction or the mercenaries. This was because they knew that Captain Apollo did in fact have a certain relationship with Sagat, the Boss of the Violent Tigers. For this reason, the Captain only needed an excuse from Jackal in order to turn things in their favour.

"So that's what happened. I'm afraid we'll have to get to the bottom of this. Guards, take these two children and this young man to the barracks, where we will question them and find out what has really transpired," ordered the Captain, trying to settle this in a lighter way. Once the three were in the barracks, he could use any excuse to get rid of them. While it might get them into some trouble, he was confident that Sagat would more than compensate him for the great favour he was doing him. Even if Elijah tried to defend himself at this point, it would be even better, since he would have the opportunity to accuse him of resisting authority, thus sealing the fate of the three of them beyond doubt. Even within Ansem's army there are bad apples, and this Captain Apollo was notoriously greedy and did not hesitate to use his position to gain advantage whenever he could.

"How can you take us away without even making sure of what has truly happened? There are many people who have realised that this swindler attacked us without even asking, and when we explained that we had nothing to do with that thief he chased us and threatened to cut our legs off. Is this the so-called 'justice' that the Great Army of Ansem boasts of?" shouted Nerun at the top of his lungs when Elijah signalled to him. He quickly realised that the Captain was in favour of the mercenary band and that they could not allow themselves to be taken to the barracks without first exposing the truth, otherwise they would not get out of this mess unscathed. The only solution they could think of was to make the scandal even bigger. Even if the Captain were more corrupt, a loss of face for the Army would be markedly detrimental to his interests, and he would be made to bear direct responsibility. So Nerun and company were trying to put pressure on the rest of the soldiers and the proud population of Ansem, who claim to be the champions of Justice and Honour in the continent.

Indeed, the Captain's face darkened, and some of his soldiers looked at him sideways. It was fine if the Captain was doing his own thing and nobody knew about it, but if this became known, their posts could be in jeopardy. The Commander of the Border Regiment, Sebastian Dai Renata, was a tough and stern-tempered old man, considered a hero of Ansem and loyal to the death of the Royal House. He was markedly rigid with the Rules, the Laws and a staunch enemy of corruption. He had a very good reputation among the 4 border cities of Ansem, and if by some small chance, he were to learn of this incident, it was more than likely that he would hang them by their thumbs at the City Gate.

Mutterings began to be heard among the bystanders in the vicinity and several of them began to be dissatisfied with how the captain was handling the situation. "You dare to doubt the integrity of our army? You've got guts you brat. Just for blaspheming against our honour, you deserve a punishment of 50 strokes of the rod. Men, I want that brat arrested," Captain Apollo snapped angrily. Originally he was going to take them away and torture them, but he didn't plan to kill them, just keep them locked up and send them to some mine. But now he wanted to quickly get rid of them. Even though he was acting on his own, he could use the excuse of what the boy said to punish them. He was trying to force Elijah to act, and thus be able to act unbridled.

Sure enough, Elijah's response was not long in coming. He noticed that the Captain wanted to assert himself above all else, to the schaudenfreude of Jackal and his comrades. Elijah decided to risk everything, even if they had to become fugitives. Better exiled than dead, and the Captain seemed willing to risk the army's reputation and use any excuse to arrest them. If soft methods didn't work then he would have to use force. Elijah looked at the Captain with eyes full of killing intent and began to contract his muscles to make an explosive attack with all his might. When Apollo noticed the look on Elijah's face, he smirked, for he knew that once Elijah attacked, all would be settled and he could kill them without a second thought. At that moment, however, they heard a loud cackle approaching.

"Hahahahahahahahahaha... To think that the Violent Tigers have to rely on lies to catch two innocent children, and even let go the actual thief. Go for wool and come out shorn is what they say, hahahahahahahahahahahaha."

Jackal and the mercenaries' faces dimmed and they twitched a little, when just what they feared happened. In the distance came Reyes, one of the leaders of the Night Ravens, and beside him was a young lady, very pretty, about 19 years old, of medium height, long hair braided in a ponytail, dark in colour, fair complexion and with limpid eyes and lush lips. However, despite her beauty, no one would dare to lust after her or say anything inappropriate to her, as this young woman, was also a Captain in the Ansem Army, Miss Serena Dai Vanilla.

"Reyes, do you intend to obstruct Captain Apollo in bringing justice to our brothers? These kids are known thieves in the city, who were caught red-handed, you shouldn't meddle where you weren't called," Jackal said, also trying to pour dirty water on the Night Ravens and trying to use Captain Apollo's authority as a shield. Still, his tone was careful, for Captain Serena was present.

However, Reyes showed no fear as he replied, "It seems that your ability to talk nonsense is increasing. If you don't succeed as a mercenary, you would certainly succeed as a tavern jester. I was just in the vicinity talking to the Captain, when we heard the hubbub and approached. To my surprise I see a bunch of adults picking on a couple of young children. For your information these two young lads only arrived in town today, and the tall young man with them is their comrade. In fact young Elijah here intends to join Ansem's army, and one of the boys is his servant and the other his younger brother."

"And how do you know that? Do you think you can just come out with the first thing that pops into your head and it will be the truth?" said Apollo quickly before things got out of hand and Serena jumped in. Normally among captains there would be respect for other people's decisions, but Serena Dai Vanilla was different. She had a reputation for meddling and self-righteousness, but she was well liked in the Army and held in high esteem by Commander Sebastian and was rumoured to be a personal friend of one of the top Brass. Apart from that, she was just as strong as he himself, a Praetorian level 38, and, being much younger, her prospects in the army were much better.

"In reply to Captain Apollo, in fact the three young men arrived along with an old steward today in a caravan that was escorted by the Night Ravens. In fact, young Elijah participated as an escort during the journey, and he is a very brave and talented young man. At his young age he is already a Praetorian. In fact I was just telling Captain Serena about him and she was interested in meeting him. It is purely a matter of luck that we found them in this conundrum. Perhaps there is some misunderstanding we can work out," Reyes replied as he clasped his hands and gave a small bow to the Captain. While Reyes was not afraid of Captain Apollo, because they also had contacts in the Army, preserving the Captain's face might help settle this in a peaceful manner. As for damaging the Captain's business, he couldn't give a damn about that. Reyes had decided to gamble on young Elijah's future, apart from the fact that the two had previously hit it off well.

"So that's what happened. Then young Elijah, can you explain to me what transpired here? While I admit that you are a brave and talented young man, fighting in the city is strictly forbidden, and I would hate to see your reputation damaged by some sort of misunderstanding," said Captain Serena with a slight smile on her face and a brave voice. Although she seemed to be scolding Elijah, her intention to help him resolve the matter was clear.

Elijah and the two children bowed to the female Captain. "Thank you for letting us explain ourselves, Captain Serena. I arrived just at the end when I saw my brother and my servant being chased by those men. I didn't know what had happened, and I jumped to defend them, but I was immediately attacked by that man they call Jackal. My brother would be better to report to you what happened to find out how this matter began."

Everyone then looked at Nerun who was pretending to be hiding behind Elijah. Suddenly, he started whimpering, making an abandoned child's face "Pretty Big Sister, please help us. You don't know how scared we were... Snif snif, when we were walking down the avenue.... "

Nerun began his account, exaggerating here and there what had happened. The victim role he played was such that many of the people listening could not help but feel tenderness at the sight, and began to look down on the Violent Tigers. Nerun told how they tried to catch them and how they had threatened to do unpronounceable things to them, and how one of the mercenaries even put his crotch close to Nerun as if to annoy him. The Violent Tigers almost vomited blood as they listened to the story Nerun told, one of his brothers was still convulsing from the hard blow he received to his groin, and the kid made it look as if he was almost abused. Tears could be seen on Nerun's face and his story was increasingly tragic and heartbreaking, and of how they were lucky that they were able to run for their lives from the bumbling mercenaries until they managed to meet up with their big brother Elijah. Nerun's acting was truly Oscar-worthy.

"In the end, it's because we are poor. No one takes us into account, and everyone thinks we don't even deserve the right to speak. Big Sister, please don't forsake us," said Nerun as he threw himself at the Captain and cried hugging her legs. The Captain who was normally a very tough woman could not help but feel compassion for the boy and even almost cried when she heard his story and began to look at the Violent Tigers as if they were the scum of the earth. Even Apollo who originally wanted to harm them, could not help but glare at the Violent Tigers and walk away from them as if they were the plague. Sylvester had to bite his tongue to keep from bursting out laughing. He knew perfectly well that it was extremely difficult to beat Nerun in a match of bullshiting. In that field, Nerun was probably Legendary level already, and he was only six years old.

Jackal's mouth was twitching almost out of control. He thought he was a great scoundrel, capable of twisting everything with his viperous tongue, but his own level is not even amateur compared to Nerun's shamelessness. This one could even be his grandmaster. What an imagination and what a gift for acting the victim, thought the mercenaries, who joined each other when they noticed the look the other bystanders were giving them.

"Well, well, well. Looks like the Violent Tigers think they can get away with skirting the law on the Ansem Border whenever they can. The truth is, this is low, even for you Jackal," said Reyes, as he added fuel to the fire.

But before the situation could get any worse for the Violent Tigers, Jackal himself came forward and quickly said: "It seems that it really was all a misunderstanding. We didn't know these kids were not from the area and we made a mistake. Please accept this as compensation for the inconvenience we have caused you". Jackal threw a leather pouch containing 100 gold coins, the equivalent of all his money for a year towards Elijah's feet.

"Get out of my sight. I'll stop by later to talk to Sagat to find out if this is how he intends to conduct his business here in Corona," said Apollo, markedly angry and cursing the mercenaries, but ultimately saving the Violent Tigers from Serena actually being able to say something and punish them.

"Yes, Captain. Thank you for your forbearance," Jackal said as he hurried away with his men. He knew that Captain Apollo would be coming to visit them soon and they would have to pay a hefty compensation for getting them out of the possible trouble Captain Serena might have caused them. In the meantime, he burned Nerun's face into his mind, cursing the brat. While Nerun had greatly exaggerated his story, making them look not only inept but also dragging their honour to the ground, there was little point in defending himself when the mob had clearly sided with the boy and anything he said could be used against him. Moreover, the gist of what Nerun told was actually the truth, and there were several witnesses, so they could only hold back for now. However, he had not gone but a few yards when he heard a voice say.

"Look, Big Brother, that child molester left us some good money, but what a rich man he is. Do you think he wanted to spend it chasing other children like me?" said Nerun with an "innocent" look on his face. Jackal vomited a little blood from the anger he felt inside and fled the scene even faster, otherwise, he might very well die from anger.