Chapter 68: Assassination (1)
Harang had returned.
People were relieved.
Although he had expressed it as ‘being away for a while’, the letter Harang had written exuded a sowhat aningful feeling.
Should one say it was tinged with a lonely sentint, as if from soone parting for a long ti?
Fortunately, the uneasy imaginations remained just imaginations, and many, including Eddy, expressed their joy.
It wasn't just the rcenary Corps; the rchants were equally pleased.
It was because they accurately understood whose doing it was that Marzen’s public order had noticeably improved.
However, there was soone else who had wished for Harang’s return more than anyone, and that was the forr assassin, Daereon.
‘No! My lifeline to success!’
What was the biggest reason he remained in the rcenary Corps despite all sorts of humiliations?
It was to suck the honey.
To bring success to his wretched life, he had to rely on Harang’s potential, and for that, he had shown loyalty even in life-threatening situations.
It wasn't an empty saying; hadn't he really almost died?
In the midst of that, seeing Harang, who had left Marzen without a set return date and then nonchalantly returned as if nothing had happened, joy and anger surged simultaneously.
‘Alright, fine. I’ll forgive everything. I’ll forgive everything, so just don’t abandon and leave. Just stay by my side until I achieve wealth and fa!’
Of course, he didn't voice that thought.
He rely welcod Harang’s return with an expression more full of loyalty than anyone in the Eddy rcenary Corps, even shedding tears.
However, three days after that, an incident occurred that would truly make tears flow from Daereon’s eyes.
“One!”
“One!”
“Two!”
“Two!”
“Your kiai can be soft. But your posture must be correct!”
“Yes!”
“Yeees!”
‘Son of a bitch……!’
Harang’s hellish training, which had started again, was inflicting imnse pain on Daereon.
No, to be precise, it wasn't at the level of ‘started again’.
The new training, initiated under Harang’s managent and supervision, far surpassed the intensity of before, boasting a terrifying difficulty that would make even the toughest person groan.
Of course, participation wasn't mandatory.
However, the problem was that the atmosphere wasn't like that.
“Good! I can feel myself getting stronger day by day!”
“It’s tough, but I can’t deny that it’s rewarding.”
“I, I too…… feel sothing welling up, even if just a little. Is this Aura?”
“Keueueueueok…… I feel like I’m dying. But trials that don’t kill make stronger!”
“Oh, that sounds cool. I should rember that too.”
Eddy, Pale, Glen, and the Bloody Fist and Iron Fist brothers.
These five diligent rcenaries participated in the training every day, even if they had to crawl, so others couldn't help but feel conscious of them.
Although they had changed from a thug gang to a rcenary Corps, it was an unchanging fact that Eddy was still the top Boss.
“Again! One!”
“One!”
‘Damn it, damn it!’
Daereon forcibly swallowed the tears that kept trying to spill and perford the movents.
Unlike his crumbling expression, his body maintained perfect posture through repeated learning.
No matter what, Harang’s hellish training boasted definite effects, so those who participated without fail experienced significant growth.
‘Good. If this continues for another month or two, I can increase the intensity a bit more.’
A thought that would make Daereon and a few others faint if they knew.
However, Harang was serious.
If possible, he wanted to push them harder, more intensely, to help the rcenary Corps mbers grow.
At least, let’s raise the average skill level of the Eddy rcenary Corps as much as possible so they aren't exposed to great danger like before.
That was the thod of ‘effort’ Harang had co up with after much deliberation upon returning to Marzen.
‘The Middle-aged Beggar was right. I shouldn't run away just because it's heavy.’
When he had put Eddy and Daereon in mortal danger, the goodwill he received from them brought Harang great joy and, at the sa ti, an unbearable heaviness.
He had no confidence he could repay it, and that had made him run away, albeit briefly.
This was a completely different story from receiving a al or so.
However, after hearing the Middle-aged Beggar’s advice, his thoughts changed.
If he wasn't going to abandon everything and beco a beggar.
If he coveted his current precious connections and wanted to maintain them for a long ti…… it was right to make an effort.
It was right to shoulder it, no matter how heavy what they had given him was.
He wouldn't look away.
Nor would he run away.
Instead, he would try to repay them in his own way.
Even if it was a difficult task.
‘It’s just like when I first held a sword. Even if it’s difficult and awkward, I’ll gradually get better.’
Harang, recalling when he was dragged to the village 16 years ago, nodded slightly.
He felt much better than then.
Back then, it was an action forced upon him by coercion, but now, it was an action stemming from his own heart.
Nor was it an action seeking a greater reward, sothing bigger.
Without realizing it, Harang was gradually coming to understand ‘bestowing upon others without expectation of return’.
“That’s all for now. You’ve all worked hard today.”
“H-hard work, sirrr……”
“Mr. Daereon. It’s good to see you working hard. In the spirit of respect, I will start speaking formally to you again from now on.”
“Th-there’s no need for that……”
“If you keep this up, it seems we can increase the training intensity starting next month. At this rate, you might reach high-level Expert within a year.”
“……”
“Why that expression?”
“No…… It’s nothing. Thank you……”
Daereon, with a sowhat uncomfortable expression, dragged his poorly moving legs and disappeared as quickly as possible.
Harang, watching him, tilted his head, then soon smiled with satisfaction.
Though their relationship had started poorly, he was now also a precious mber of the Eddy rcenary Corps.
And that made him feel a subtle emotion.
How should he react to the fact that his connection with him, who should have died by his hand, had continued this far?
“……”
He still couldn't tell.
For Harang, who had been in the outside world for less than a year, this was too difficult a problem.
Eventually, Harang shook his head to clear his distracting thoughts.
And he drew his sword and began his personal training.
To ensure the safety of his precious connections, their own strength was necessary, but for now, Harang’s martial prowess was more important.
He knew.
How many strong people existed in the world.
Although he hadn't yet t an opponent who could handle him since coming to the outside world, when he recalled the village's chief administrator, his spine still chilled and goosebumps rose on his skin.
He didn't know in detail, but the powerful individuals who had reached the ‘Master’ stage would surely possess martial prowess no less than that.
Harang wanted to protect the rcenary Corps even from such individuals.
He wanted to show that he wouldn't be pushed back even against such strong opponents.
“Thoughts, end here.”
Harang, muttering briefly, imrsed himself in training.
He reviewed the swordsmanship taught by the village administrators he loathed.
He honed the personal techniques derived from it.
Lastly, he strove to embody what he had realized since coming out of the village.
Acting Lowly.
Expansion of senses.
And as a result, the countless new possibilities that branched out, the infinite potential in attack and defense.
As he began to delve deeper into the aspects he had neglected due to his recent wanderings, his stagnant skills rapidly improved.
It was astonishing.
Considering the stagnation of the last year before he was freed from the village, it could be called truly remarkable progress.
However, it was insufficient.
This much wasn't enough.
He wasn't just talking about the village's chief administrator.
Even ‘Rank 3’ Gael, who was surely training, sparing every second, or ‘Rank 2’ Maya, whom he never wanted to et but was certain to encounter soday, were opponents he couldn't let his guard down against.
Faster growth was crucial.
And Harang knew one important keyword for that.
‘Aura Cultivation thod.’
Enlightennt from real battles teetering between life and death.
Or hellish physical training comparable to the pain of death.
A cultivation thod, different in kind from these, said to be ableto accumulate a vast amount of Aura just by breathing, an incredibly esoteric technique.
Thoughts about this newly filled Harang’s mind.
Of course, he didn't think it was a panacea, or so great as to negate everything he had built up so far.
If it were the only correct answer, the head of the Portville Swordsmanship Family couldn't have been weaker than him.
He felt there was a reason why the village hadn't taught it.
Whatever their treatnt, they were bastards who stopped at nothing to create the ‘strongest individual’.
It was impossible that they didn't know of the existence of cultivation thods, so perhaps he was obsessing over sothing useless.
However…….
‘I can’t stand being curious.’
Freedom, curiosity.
These were the values Harang considered most important.
Though ‘connections’ had been added to these, it was impossible for what he had previously valued greatly to completely disappear.
The problem was that this item called the Aura Cultivation thod was extrely precious…… a treasure difficult to obtain even with a thousand gold pieces.
‘Even Daereon, who has made a living with his sword in the outside world for a while, hasn't learned it, and even Sheratiya Viyan expressed difficulty in obtaining it…….’
“Hmm……”
Harang fumbled with the wooden box in his bosom.
The item called an ‘elixir’ that ca out after dealing with a mber of Black Poison, no, the Black Hydra.
This too was an extrely precious item, but without an Aura Cultivation thod, it was essentially worthless.
He had thought of consuming it just in case, but gave up because Eddy and the others strongly advised against it.
The reason was that consuming an item containing strong energy without the help of a cultivation thod could cause one’s body to explode, and he thought the outside world was full of interesting things.
‘For now…… let’s put aside thoughts about the cultivation thod for a while.’
That was right.
Obsessing over sothing that couldn't be resolved right now was foolish, and he also needed a little more ti to process what he had gained in the outside world.
And in truth, there was one more important matter than all the things ntioned earlier.
Harang, with a hardened expression, recalled the contents of the letter that had been placed in his room last night.
[Harang, please respond to an old man’s invitation. I will be waiting at the lord’s manor. From Viscount Kilkearn.]
Viscount Kilkearn.
An unforgettable na.
Starting from the Carlson rcenary Corps and recently even Dukan Iter, wasn't he an existence entangled in a bad relationship second only to the village?
For him to send an invitation directly…….
‘What on earth is he scheming?’
Harang continued to think deeply.
However, the conclusion soon flowed towards it being aningless.
“I’m going to kill him anyway.”
That was right.
He would kill him.
Having finished his thoughts, Harang told Eddy he had a place to visit for a while, and then left for Viscount Kilkearn’s territory.
His usual simple attire and expressionless face.
However, with a slightly sharper gaze, the black-haired Reaper set out on an assassination.
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