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Taking out the Guards [Job/Solo]

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Kioshi

Kioshi
β-Tier
β-Tier

Job Overview: The guards that are supposed to be protecting the village have become corrupt and are accepting bribes from local criminals to look the other way. Remind these guards about Emperor Yoshiro’s anti-corruption stance.

Enemy Name: Guards x4
Rank: C
Needed damage to take down: C
Description: Guards move at 6 m/s and deal C-tier damage with their swords.
Abilities:
Heavy Armor – The Guards wear heavy armor, allowing them to ignore D-tier damage.




Kioshi had been spending more and more of his free time traveling around to villages, trying to garner support for the new Emperor or at least get a better feel for everyone’s stance on Yoshiro’s rule. Kioshi considered himself a loyal man, loyal to his country and his ruler, but the previous Emperor had stretched his dedication to its limits, so he had been relieved when Yoshiro had been the one to take the throne and not one of the other, less considerate children. Most of the Emperor’s children were spoiled dolts who were raised to believe that the world was theirs for the taking and it showed in their behavior. Yoshiro seemed to have been one of the few with an independent thought in his head and he was doing much to try and transform his inherited position into one that could be respected again, not just feared.

His stance on corruption had spread rumors like wildfire through the country, even the smaller villages hearing tales of how Yoshiro had been personally filtering out the most corrupt of the government officials and handling their punishments, which ranged anywhere from incarceration to exile and, in some extreme cases, even death. He was always the one to wield the weapon that took the life, an effort to show people that he would not have someone else do his dirty work. He had taken a very hands-on approach to the reforms he was pushing through, taking time in his busy schedule to check in with the different programs to ensure things were proceeding smoothly. If any issues arose, he was there to try and iron out the wrinkles. A slow battle, to be sure, but his dedication was clear to everyone in the country, even the rebels.

Emperor Yoshiro’s staunch stance on corruption was one of the reasons Kioshi was surprised when he stopped into a tavern for a bite to eat and some tea and heard murmurings of some of the guards accepting bribes. It seemed there was a rogue group of thieves in the area and they had managed to bribe the local guards to turn a blind eye to their activities. He overheard a man speaking with his wife about what they had lost in a recent burglary and he frowned. It seemed the thieves were becoming braver, meaning the guards were doing less and less to stop the invasions. It was not something Yoshiro could accept, this country needed stability and reliability, not crime and depravity. He would need more information before he could try and deal with the matter, though, so he finished his meal and waited for the man’s wife to leave before approaching the stranger and slipping quietly into the seat the woman had vacated.

The man looked at him with an arched brow and Kioshi kept his voice low when he spoke.

“I would like to help with your… problem. Is there a place we can speak privately?”

The man’s face was full of suspicion but he dropped some coin on the table before nodding at Kioshi to follow him. The swordsman dropped some coin on the table as well before following the man out of the tavern, keeping a discreet distance from the stranger until they were away from the busier areas in the center of the village. The man directed them to a small park and he sat on a bench, waiting for Kioshi to take a seat as well before speaking.

“Why would you want to help? You are not from around here.”

“I believe that our new Emperor is trying very hard to do good things and problems like the one you have will do nothing but take his forward steps and make them go back. He cannot be everywhere all at once and he does not have enough trusted officials to spare resources for each and every village. It will take quite a while for him to get a consistent force in place to prevent corruption. In the meantime, I feel like he would appreciate any help he can get. I work as a guard for one of his more trusted officials and, in my free time, I try to help out in whatever way I can. Let me help solve this town’s problems and, in return, all I ask is that you do what you can to spread the word to other areas that Yoshiro is a good man with good intentions.”

The man pondered on the words of the swordsman, easily able to detect that Kioshi was not attempting to hide anything, the conviction in his voice carrying even in the quiet tones.

“Very well. I can agree to those terms. We do not have much to spare in the way of coin, but I can afford to spare some good words for our Emperor.”

“All I need you to do is point out the guards accepting bribes, I will take care of the rest.”

“That is simple enough. The guards who have made deals with the thieves all wear a small piece of red cloth around their topknot. It is a signal to the thieves so they know when one of the patrolling guards is on their side.”

Kioshi gave a nod of thanks before pushing up from his seat.

“Consider it dealt with. Go home to your wife, sir. Tonight is not a good night to be found roaming the streets.”

The man stood, still eying Kioshi warily, not entirely trusting the swordsman, but finding he had little choice. Little by little, the village was being robbed blind by the thieves. If the guards would not do anything about the problem, maybe this man could.

Kioshi waited until the man was out of sight before meditating in the quiet park. While his first instinct was to take out the thieves immediately, that would not solve the problem of the corruption spreading. More thieves would come to take their places. But, if an example could be made of the guards, perhaps it would remind the others that they were there to protect, not enable deception.




It took two days for Kioshi to identify all of the guards with the small scraps of red cloth tying their hair up and to get a general idea of their patrol patterns. They were not a particularly sophisticated group and their paltry attempts at hiding their nefarious activities was the work of amateurs. It took very little for Kioshi to have concrete evidence of their corruption, clearing his conscious to do whatever he felt necessary to make examples of these men.

The first guard did not even see him approach as he patrolled around a silo of grain. Hana sliced out in a fast movement across the back of the guards ankles and the man fell to the ground with a pained cry. Kioshi’s blade had severed the man’s tendons, making it impossible for the man to do more than hobble away. A quick strike of a fist across the guards face had the man falling unconscious. Kioshi stripped the guard of his uniform and pilfered all of the money the man had on him, a small fortune for a guard in a rather remote location, more evidence of his corruption.

It took another two hours for Kioshi to locate the second and third guards, the pair patrolling near a larger property. From the tone of their chatter, Kioshi’s stomach tightened at the idea that they were also helping the thieves by scouting out prospective targets. Kiosi’s steps were silent on the ground as he used Stunning Speed to place himself in front of the two men, Hana lashing out to Disarm one of the guards. In a fluid movement, Kioshi used Deflection to prevent the second guard’s strike.

Kioshi had no intention of trying to kill these men, so he pondered on his options for only a split second before slashing Hana across the second guard’s wrist as the first guard went to gather his weapon from where Kioshi had knocked it. The wound to the second guard’s wrist kept him from being able to hold a sword and would likely require a healer to fix the damage the katana had done. As the first guard approached Kioshi, sword raised, Kioshi used a Swift Strike across the guard’s belly. It would not be fatal, but it would certainly not feel pleasant. Both of the guards were on the ground now and Kioshi looked around before simply taking the men’s belts and using them to tether their hands together. The men struggled as he began to drag them along the ground, pulling them into an alley until he could locate the final guard.

The last of the corrupt guards was walking down the main street of the village. Kioshi kept Hana sheathed as he approached the guard, looking like an average person hurrying home after a hard day’s work. The guard paid him no mind as they crossed paths and it only took a single Wicked Blow from Kioshi to the guard’s back to have the man crumbling to the ground with a loud cry.

The sound of the guard crying out drew the attention of people in their homes and Kioshi could see faces peeking from partially open doors. His words carried on the breeze, his voice strong.

“You and your men have no honor and I am stripping you of your position. You will return every last coin you have accepted as a bribe. You will provide all your knowledge of the thieves to the most superior guard in this town. And then, you will report to the capital for your punishment. If you do not, I will return and you will return to the capital in pieces. Is that understood?”

The guard whimpered but gave a nod of understanding. He was not a bad man, necessarily, and he had thought this venture with the thieves would be harmless enough. Nothing stolen was important enough to have warranted attention from one of the larger villages, it was supposed to be a simple, clean profit and then the thieves would move on. He had certainly not expected someone to catch him. Kioshi glared at the man in disgust before dragging him to his feet and shoving him towards the guard house. When he arrived, he shoved the guard at the constable, explaining the situation and including the locations of the other three guards so they could be gathered and taken to the capital for judgement.

Tired, Kioshi retired back to the tavern where the man from before raised a glass to him in a toast. Kioshi nodded in acknowledgement, a miniscule smile dancing over his lips as he settled down to enjoy a cup of tea.

[1000+/1000]
[Stamina 120/200]



Abilities Used:


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Taking out the Guards [Job/Solo] CTMy3cr

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