Reincarnated as a Genius Prodigy of a Prestigious Family - Chapter 268

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Reincarnated as a Legendary Talent Genius of a Noble Family Episode 268

172. Eastern Territory, Land of Fierce Battle (3)

Benatio thought.

That Dane was quite a compassionate fellow.

The boy who had processed and chased away the mountain bandits without a moment’s hesitation was acting like this toward a single child.

‘Complex personality.’

Having made that mental note, Benatio secretly followed Dane’s group again.

Following the child’s guidance, Dane’s group finally reached the bandits’ hideout.

The hideout was of considerable scale.

It housed dozens of people with a roughly constructed wooden fence and even had guards.

However, they all looked exhausted.

More precisely, they looked starved, with no one moving about actively.

Benatio climbed up a tree where he could observe both Dane’s group and the inside of the wooden fence at once.

‘Now, let’s see what’s happening inside.’

The scene unfolding was immediately visible.

“You stupid fools. Another failure!”

“S-sorry. The opponents were too strong…”

“Just three guys and you couldn’t beat them! I told you to ambush them, ambush!”

“They weren’t opponents who would fall for ambushes… They’re all skilled. At minimum, they’re all trained knight-level… Urgh!”

“You stupid bastard! You call that an excuse?”

From what he could see, the fellow commanding these mountain bandits seemed quite capable.

Though he couldn’t tell exactly, the conspicuously muscular giant frame and the sword at his waist looked quite good.

In other words, a trained warrior.

‘Where did this guy roll in from.’

A mercenary? Or perhaps a former knight?

“We’re forming an ambush team right now. This time I’ll participate directly!”

“S-sir knight. Right now our men all lack strength. If you could share even a little of the food in the warehouse…”

“Shut your mouth! What do you think you’ll accomplish with such rotten mental state! If we eat that food supply now, what about tomorrow? The day after? You stupid fool!”

Seeing him called ‘knight,’ he either wants to play knight or is a former knight.

It seemed certain that this fellow was commanding this bandit group.

‘If this guy is a former knight, this would be a matter to report to the Imperial Palace.’

Knights always have the duty to maintain dignity and help the weak.

That fellow who seems to uphold none of those principles is a disgrace to the Empire.

‘If I kill that bastard and bring back evidence, how much would the bonus be?’

Incidentally, the intelligence corps receives bonuses for discovering and reporting major facts unrelated to their mission during operations.

Of course, since it’s a bonus only paid upon completing the original mission, there’s absolutely no chance of neglecting that.

In the midst of this, Benatio turned his gaze toward Dane’s group.

“Oh ho.”

Dane was looking at the two guards on the wooden fence who had completely let their guard down.

And something unbelievable happened.

At least, to Benatio.

Thunk, thunk.

He put his hand in his coat and threw something, and as a result, the two mountain bandits on the wooden fence collapsed unconscious.

“No way…”

Did he just throw needles?

Not daggers but needles?

That was… the way of assassins.

‘What exactly is his identity?’

There was no time to think deeply.

Immediately, Dane grabbed a gap in the wooden fence and quickly climbed over, then went beyond it.

What followed was…

“Who are you… Urgh!”

“Gah!”

“In-intruder… Aagh!”

It was a one-sided fight.

However, it wasn’t a massacre.

Though it was an unbelievable sight, no one died.

That was because all the mountain bandits rushing at the intruding Dane were getting hit by magic arrows and collapsing one after another.

“Ma-mage! It’s a mage!”

He wasn’t even just any mage.

He was a mage of tremendous level.

Even if they were 1-Chain level magic arrows close to non-lethal magic, to operate dozens of them simultaneously and fire each one…

“That’s insane talent…”

Genius boy.

He knew the approximate level, but never imagined it would be to this extent.

Does this even make sense?

‘At minimum 5-Chain, no 6-Chain? No wait, this isn’t a matter of how many chains.’

As a member of the intelligence corps, Benatio knew to some extent about magic and mages.

Therefore, he well understood how absurd it was to fire dozens of magic arrows accurately at individual targets, and simultaneously at that.

‘Genius.’

To the extent that those commonly called ‘geniuses’ until now would seem like nothing…

Tremendous talent.

And that wasn’t even all.

“Who are you!”

The giant knight who had been yelling at the mountain bandits earlier appeared and flinched upon seeing the scene before his eyes.

“Ma… mage?”

Dozens of mountain bandits were lying in groups groaning, and a single man stood before them.

Though he couldn’t tell exactly due to the robe and hood, the glowing objects floating in the air proved he was a mage.

‘Could it be a subjugation force from the Empire?’

That couldn’t be.

A subjugation force from the Empire.

The Eastern Territory, especially these mountains not far from where fierce battles with barbarians take place, is a region the Empire abandoned long ago.

Even the Rangers withdrew over ten years ago. This place was just recycling the site the Rangers used to use.

So naturally… he thought he could play mountain king for a long time.

“You, who are you! What do you want!”

“Where did you put the children?”

“Ch-children?”

A completely unexpected question.

Receive the stern judgment of Imperial law.

I came to arrest you.

Disturbing order cannot be forgiven.

He had been thinking of words like that…

The knight’s mind began racing quickly.

“Th-the children are toward the warehouse… B-but if you don’t mind me asking, why are you here…”

There was no chance of victory.

So he quickly took a submissive stance.

To either flee depending on the situation, or secure safety through negotiation.

He couldn’t die in a place like this.

No matter how much one abandons their title and lives recklessly, life is still precious.

The man, Dane, shifted his gaze toward the warehouse, then looked back at the knight.

And then-

“Urgh!”

He instantly approached and struck the abdomen with a devastating blow.

Despite wearing armor, the impact was transmitted completely.

“Uwaaek.”

It was such a powerful strike that his whole body shook and he seemed ready to vomit everything inside.

“You’re all skin and bones, yet there’s quite a lot coming up.”

“Gak… urgh.”

The knight couldn’t believe it.

He was also a knight who could handle a core to some degree, yet he hadn’t even noticed the approach and couldn’t even think of defending.

Just one strike.

‘This damn bastard…’

“The children are probably in the same state, aren’t they?”

Having said that, Dane flicked his finger and shattered the gate latch of the mountain dwelling with a mana bullet.

Creeeeak…

At the same time, the door opened and Leila and Ernest entered.

“Seriously, you never give us a chance to be active?”

“He handled everything alone again.”

The two who entered grumbling surveyed the situation and reacted as if it was nothing special.

“What should we do?”

“The mountain bandits won’t attack anymore anyway. Over there, he said there are children in the warehouse.”

“Should we tie this guy up?”

“Tie him up tight and throw him in that secluded spot over there.”

“Alright.”

Then Ernest skillfully bound the knight’s hands and feet, making it impossible for him to move at all.

“Wh-where are you taking me!”

“Quiet, quiet.”

He dragged him away and threw him in a secluded spot before returning.

“He’s really heavy.”

“Well done. Now let’s go check the warehouse.”

Benatio finally snapped out of his dazed state.

‘What kind of fellow is he really…’

To single-handedly clean out the mountain dwelling and subdue a knight who seemed fairly skilled with just one blow.

Just how many things would he need to note down?

He never thought he’d write a report with such content, but it was all true, so what could he do?

Meanwhile, Benatio watched the bound knight struggling and tilted his head.

“Why did he put him over there?”

He could just keep him in sight and monitor him.

Was it because saving the children was enough?

Or perhaps…

“No way, surely not.”

That couldn’t be it.

Benatio decided to keep an eye on the knight while watching how Dane’s group would proceed.

“There are about eight children.”

When they opened the warehouse, children who looked like they hadn’t eaten for days came stumbling out.

Afterward, Dane asked Leila to tend to the children while he headed to another warehouse that was firmly locked.

Then, as the mountain bandits gradually got up one by one to watch the situation-

Bang, boom!

He completely burned down the warehouse.

“Th-the food supplies!”

“The treasure…”

The mountain bandits who had believed food would be shared with them collapsed with a thud.

“…Good decisiveness?”

He could have opened the warehouse and distributed it to the relatively pitiful mountain bandits.

But that wouldn’t be a fundamental solution.

No, rather than fundamentally solving it…

It would only make the situation worse.

Now that their focal point was gone, the mountain bandits would eventually fight over those food supplies again or establish new factions.

“He’ll only secure what’s certain, I see.”

Truly multifaceted.

Righteous, cold-headed, and decisive.

A boy who was completely unpredictable.

No, how was it possible for someone of fourteen years to show such qualities?

Benatio immediately sent a magic signal transmitting the coordinates of this location.

Before long, Imperial Army forces nearby would come rushing here.

“Come on, children. You’re being good, right? Can you walk? Here, drink some water first.”

“These children are too thin… Isn’t this really too much?”

Dane’s group gave the children water to drink. They couldn’t share food with them.

“Even dry rations won’t do. We need to move locations first and feed them liquid food.”

“Right now they all look so hungry though…”

“If they eat other food while starving, they could die.”

Dane shared facts he knew well from his previous life’s experience, comforting the children and his two companions.

“But Dane, is it okay for us to leave like this? What about those mountain bandits? That guy who calls himself a knight?”

“It’s fine. We came here to rescue the children.”

Then he added…

“Someone will take care of it.”

He looked at the mountain bandits, then glanced at a certain spot before turning around and leaving the mountain dwelling.

Though he couldn’t hear the conversation between the three, Benatio, who sensed the gaze directed his way, thought “surely not” once again.

“That can’t be right.”

He was a professional in stealth, assassination, and disguise.

No matter how skilled someone was, there was no way he could be detected.

But…

It seemed too careless to leave the mountain bandits and that knight behind like this.

Could it be that he noticed his presence?

Was he telling him to handle it?

‘There’s no way that’s possible. He probably just thinks the children are more important.’

Benatio tried hard to deny it.

However, since things had come to this, he decided to deal with that knight properly.

Since he was a fellow who had tarnished the Empire’s honor.

Crack, crackle…

As the food storehouse blazed fiercely, the mountain bandits got up one by one, staggering away to escape, and Benatio appeared in that gap.

“Is-isn’t anyone there! Un-untie me! Please untie me!”

And he approached the knight who was shouting loudly and said:

“I came from the Imperial Palace.”

“…!”

“You’ll have to accept the punishment for tarnishing the Empire’s honor and kidnapping young children.”

“Th-the Imperial Palace? Pl-please show mercy just once!”

The knight was already out of his mind.

Because everything will be over now.

Instead of answering, Benatio quietly drew a small dagger and stabbed it deep into the man’s arm.

“Ugh.”

A short scream followed by unconsciousness.

It was a dagger coated with a solution that knocks out the target.

Benatio looked at the dagger and suddenly remembered.

The fact that Dane had used a needle in the assassins’ way.

Thud.

He immediately jumped up onto the wooden fence and examined the fellows who had been hit by needles earlier.

However…

No needles could be found anywhere.

“I didn’t see him retrieve them.”

Then what could it mean?

Could it be that he fired thin and sharp ‘mana bullets’ like needles?

“That can’t be possible.”

Faced with a series of events beyond common sense, Benatio shook his head.

But one thing seemed vaguely clear.

The fact that this was an important target worth tracking right now.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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