Reborn as shield hero with Garps Template

As the soldiers in Lute Village began to gather, their footsteps grew louder and louder. Jack and the others, who had already returned home, immediately noticed the commotion.

Jack didn't even bother to eat. He rushed out of the house at once.

When we arrived at the meeting point we had previously agreed on, we saw several people already gathered there.

"What happened? Why are all the soldiers in the village out?" Jack asked anxiously.

"It seems that Wordsworth's house was smashed by the soldiers, and his father was injured. So, Wordsworth sought revenge," someone replied.

"That fool! Why did he rush in alone without talking to us first?"

"Maybe he didn't want to drag us into it. But now that we're all here, let's check out the situation first."

Except for Wordsworth, the remaining nine of us were all present. So, we immediately headed toward the village entrance.

Soon, we saw bodies lying around the entrance. We could tell by the aftermath that Wordsworth was definitely involved.

Wordsworth was there, too, fighting seventy to eighty soldiers. He wielded his huge sword repeatedly, killing the soldiers around him in an instant.

Seeing that he was okay, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"These soldiers are weak. Even though they outnumber him, they aren't a match for Wordsworth."

"Wait, this isn't good. Wordsworth is injured! A hidden mage launched a surprise attack on him!"

Just as we thought everything was fine, a nearly transparent wind blade shot out from the building next door, slicing into Wordsworth's left calf.

"Surrounded by so many soldiers and attacked by a mage from a distance, Wordsworth can't last much longer," someone remarked.

"We have to go—Wordsworth is going to die!" another shouted.

"But it's been confirmed that these soldiers are backed not only by the Hero of the Spear and the First Princess, but also by this whole country. If we get involved, we'll cause big trouble for Sir Shield Hero."

"Wordsworth probably went after these soldiers fully prepared to die. That's why he didn't tell us. He didn't want to cause trouble for us or Sir Shield Hero."

"But we can't just let him die! Wordsworth is one of our Ten Blades. He's our comrade!"

"Yeah, that big idiot Wordsworth! I'm so mad right now!" Jack exclaimed.

For a moment, we couldn't make up our minds. To save him or not was an extremely difficult choice.

Meanwhile, Jason, after leaving the magic shop, returned to the weapon shop and got into the carriage nearby. He headed straight for Lute Village.

The journey went smoothly, but Jason, sitting in the carriage, felt uneasy.

"What's with this feeling? Is something happening in Lute Village?" he wondered aloud.

"Master Jason, should Filo speed up?" Raphtalia asked, even though she was lying down with motion sickness and her face was pale.

"Master, I can go much faster!" Filo exclaimed excitedly. For her, pulling the carriage was fun, unlike others who saw it as hard labor.

"No, take it slow. If Jack and the others encounter any problems, they should be able to handle them," Jason replied as he glanced at Raphtalia, shaking his head.

Even without speeding up, Filo was much faster than a regular carriage.

Before long, Lute Village came into view.

With Jason's sharp eyesight, he quickly spotted Wordsworth fighting dozens of soldiers at the village entrance, with demons lurking nearby.

But aside from Wordsworth, Jason didn't see Jack and the others. That made him frown.

"Could it be that Wordsworth's parents were harmed because of high taxes? So Wordsworth rushed out to fight the soldiers, and Jack and the others, fearing they'd drag me into it, didn't intervene?" Jason quickly figured out what had happened.

Soon after, he spotted Jack and the others hiding nearby, confirming his guess.

"Jack... Did I ever teach you to watch your comrades die?" Jason's voice echoed through Lute Village.

At the same time, Filo accelerated and rushed to the village entrance, bringing the carriage to a smooth stop.

"Raphtalia, you rest here. I'll go settle this," Jason whispered to her as he jumped off the carriage.

By the time he arrived, Wordsworth had already dropped to one knee, supporting himself with his massive sword due to his severe injuries.

The soldiers, who had been attacking Wordsworth, immediately stopped and turned their attention to Jason.

Although Jason had been away for over a month, his reputation still spread throughout the capital. The soldiers knew who he was. Even the King would avoid provoking him.

Now, with Jason standing before them in person, the mere mention of his name was enough to strike terror into their hearts.

"S-Sir Shield Hero, y-you don't plan on intervening, do you? This guy attacked us first. Many of our comrades are already dead," a high-ranking soldier stammered as he stepped forward, trembling.

In truth, he had already decided that if Jason wanted to step in, he would order all the soldiers to retreat immediately.

Jason was just too terrifying for them to face.

"Your comrades died?"

"Then let them die. If they're unlucky, so be it. The most important thing is staying alive," Jason said coldly.

"When the time comes to report to the king, they'll say it was Jason who did it. I won't bear any responsibility at all."

Jason turned to the soldiers. "Don't worry, killing all of you would just dirty my hands, so I won't interfere, but..."

"Thank you, Lord Shield Hero! Thank you!" the soldiers hurriedly began to express their gratitude.

But Jason's voice cut through their relief. "But they will."

"Th-they?" The soldier blinked in confusion, and when he turned around, he saw them—nine figures appearing on the main road of Lute Village.

Each of them looked young, but they were armed to the teeth with all sorts of weapons. It was clear at a glance that these weren't people you wanted to mess with.

"Sorry, Wordsworth, we're a little late!" Jack called out as they approached.

"We're very sorry, Lord Shield Hero. We didn't ignore Wordsworth on purpose," another added.

"After this, please punish us however you see fit, Master Shield Hero. We know we were wrong," they admitted.

Originally, Jack and the others had been debating whether to save Wordsworth, torn between their loyalty and the potential danger. But when Jason had said, Did I ever teach you to refuse to save your comrades? they finally understood.

Realizing their mistake, they stopped hesitating and stepped forward one by one.