The Laughing Swordsman

Apollo scratched the side of his head, not paying attention to the guards in front of him.

"How am I supposed to hide the bodies?"

Both the guards and Apollo were standing still. As Apollo continued contemplating his problem, one of the guards stepped out from the rest.

This guard had a blue sash over his armor, but unlike the previous one, it had golden engravings on top of it. This guard was at a higher position, not a leader, but a chief.

He pointed his spear threateningly towards Apollo.

"What are you doing within the empire's walls? Raise your hands in the air or I will have no other choice but to use force!"

Apollo furrowed his brows.

"Can you be quiet? I'm trying to think here."

He proceeded to rub his chin with his thumb and forefinger, completely ignoring the guards in front of him.

The chief got a little angry.

"Stupid kid! You brought this on to yourself!"

He charged towards Apollo, spear in hand.

As for Apollo, he simply sighed.

"Can you just give me a moment?"

He swung his bokken, pushing his thumb against the hilt.

The chief suddenly froze.

'Eh? Why can't I move?'

He felt a searing pain spread from a line down his body. One of the guards stared at his chief with confusion.

"Sir? We still need to investigate the situation, you can't keep-"

Blood splashed across the floor, interrupting the guard's sentence.

The chief split in two, each half falling to the side.

The guards watched in horror as they saw a pool of blood form underneath the corpse.

"Chief! ...How did this happen?"

"That kid! Don't let your guard down!"

"His wooden sword must be a feint. He is definitely a mage since he could attack from that range!"

While the guards were freaking out, Apollo was still pondering.

"Hmm... If I cut them alot, then they will just turn into countless pieces. That won't make them hidden..."

The guards raised their spears.

"Since it's a mage, we must close in!"

"He will be weak at close range, charge!"

"Don't let the mage cast any more spells!"

Apollo furrowed his brows.

"You guys are so noisy! Can't you be quiet for a moment?"

The guards ignored him, letting out roars as they charged. One guard thrust his spear forward, straight towards Apollo's heart.

Apollo's eyes were unfocused. He was still thinking of a solution to his problem. However, despite not consciously processing the situation, his bokken flashed.

Before the guard could complete his strike, he split in two.

The other guards were not discouraged by this. In fact, they got more excited.

"The mage used his spell! We have a grace period to attack!"

The guards swiftly encircled Apollo and thrust their spears.

Apollo's bokken subconsciously flashed once more.

With a clang, the spears were knocked away, flying out of the hands of the guards.

"How can he still cast spells?"

"Wait... he used his sword!"

"What? Did he just use a wooden sword to..."

Before the guard could finish his sentence, he split in two.

Apollo closed his eyes and scratched the side of his head with frustration.

"Why can't I think of anything? You guys really aren't helping by being so loud, you know?"

The guards panicked.

"Damn, our weapons..."

"He must be a demon!"

"We must regroup with reinforcements!"

They were trained well, as such, they wouldn't normally let a weapon fall out of their hands. After all, they would always have a firm grasp on them.

However, the force from Apollo's strike was simply too strong. Despite being covered in armor, both the fingers and wrists of the guards twisted violently.

This meant that even if their weapon was right next to them, they would be unable to pick it up, much less fight. As such, the guards began to flee.

However, they wouldn't get away so easily.

Apollo simply swung his bokken towards wherever he heard a noise. It wasn't because he was trying to kill the guards, he just wanted them to be silent.

However, he swung so fast that they all died one after another.

Only one guard was able to get a few steps away.

The guard screamed out in fear.

"Don't kill me, please!"

Apollo furrowed his brows.

"I'm trying to think here!"

He swung his bokken down, pressing his thumb against the hilt.

The guard suddenly split in two, falling to the ground and sliding a few meters forward.

That was when Apollo's eyes lit up. He found a solution.

"Ah, I can just ask these guys!"

Apollo looked around himself, only to see a pile of corpses around him.

He scratched the side of his head.

"Ah... They probably won't be able to answer now."

Apollo tilted his head to the side.

"Hmm... maybe I can find someone else to ask."

With that, Apollo continued running down the hallway, searching for someone that he could ask.

Though he probably wouldn't get an answer.

After all, his question was, 'How can I hide a body?'.

Which guard in their right mind would tell some kid how to hide a body?

In the meantime, Layla was running across the top of the wall. Her hair danced with the wind, while soft jingles rang throughout the air.

There was a blissful smile on her face.

"La la la la la la~"

Layla made no effort to hide or be quiet. As such, it was not hard for a group of guards to notice her.

A group of roughly forty guards blocked the path ahead, with a chief at the front. The chief raised his spear.

"Stop! What are you doing here?"

Layla tilted her head to the side.

"Ah, I forgot! I was supposed to be doing something!"

The chief furrowed his brows.

"...Anyways, move aside! We have business to attend to!"

Layla's tail swayed.

"Wait! Do you want to be friends?"

The chief clenched his fist.

"No! Just move-"

"Sir."

One of the guards put a hand on the chief's shoulder. The chief was annoyed, but decided to hear the guard out.

"What is it, soldier?"