229. Childhood Friend – A Strange Person
On the day when the announcent was suddenly made that Elzeor de Lognum, the second prince, would be elevated to duke, Lev left Nevis.
His battalion of swordsn, numbering over a hundred, left with him, led by Cesar.
Cesar generously paid the innkeeper for their overdue lodgings, and Lev did not stop him.
The innkeeper was grateful.
He had expected these ard ruffians to leave without paying a penny, so he offered Cesar a handshake. Cesar smiled and promised to return.
“Cesar, have you registered the rcenary group?”
“Yes, and I’ve already secured so work.”
Cesar replied, taking out several contracts. Most were simple tasks like delivering mail, but one contract involved escorting a small rchant group, which earned him Lev’s praise.
“It can’t have been easy for a new rcenary group to secure a contract with a rchant caravan. Good work.”
“Haha, if it weren't for these letters, I wouldn’t have been able to convince them. I was lucky.”
Cesar laughed, tapping the mail loaded on the cart. As he said, it was indeed lucky.
A week ago, there was an announcent for Prince Athon de Lognum.
Although the news of his becoming the heir had already been spread nationwide through the church’s communication, that was only a verbal transmission of information, so the Lognum royal family sent out official docunts nationwide.
However, the people to whom these official docunts had to be delivered and the places they had to be stored—municipal offices in each city, lords (or governors) and military commanders in each region, border posts, ports and fleets, and countless small villages—numbered in the tens of thousands.
It was an impossible task for the Lognum royal family to handle directly.
Therefore, the royal family passed this task on to the kingdom’s bureaucrats, and the bureaucrats, who worked tirelessly with quill pens until their fingers nearly broke, outsourced the delivery to the private sector.
Cesar managed to secure a portion of this work. This was a chance to establish the credibility of the newly ford “Cesar rcenary Corps,” and Cesar went a step further by convincing a rchant group.
rchant groups, no matter how cheap, do not contract with rcenary groups lacking credibility. If the rcenaries turned into bandits, the rchants would be defenseless.
However, Cesar said,
“If we commit robbery while carrying royal docunts, we will face extermination.”
He leveraged the might of the Lognum royal family.
Without you needing to beco wandering spirits to curse us, the Lognum royal family will not leave us alone. Unless we have six lives, what courage would allow us to do such a thing? He reasoned and secured the contract at a low price.
The rcenary group gained experience, and the rchant group saved money—it was a mutually beneficial arrangent.
“He’s certainly good at his job.”
Lev smiled faintly. He praised Cesar’s cleverness without reservation and told him to depart when ready.
While the accompanying rchant group did business along the way and the cart loaded with mail gradually beca lighter, Lev accelerated his teaching of swordsmanship to his students.
The average swordsmanship skills of the battalion he created were still poor.
Rugged, barbaric youths.
To outsiders, they might seem impressive enough to elicit a “Wow, amazing!” but at least to Lev, they were not.
At best, they were as skilled as well-trained soldiers. With this level of skill, they could not make a noticeable impact on the battlefield.
Lev believed they needed to be at least of the junior knight level, but a junior knight wasn’t just anyone’s child.
Early in the betrothal scenario, Lena Ainar was on the verge of becoming a junior knight. Even with several months of teaching, despite their talents and each being a promising warrior in their respective tribes, it wasn’t a level easily reached.
Lev decided to weed out more of his students. He selected the ten most outstanding ones for one-on-one guidance, and for the rest, he focused on mastering swordsmanship centered on defense and counterattacks.
*I live, then I kill.**
First, they had to survive to attack. Of all the swordsmanship Lev knew, Noel Dexter’s style, which concealed the leisure of a single move, best fit this philosophy.
On the road to the Holy Kingdom of Jero, his battalion of swordsn was gradually taking shape. On a day when the southern scorching heat was at its peak, Cesar’s rcenary group parted ways with the rchant group and arrived in the border area, and Lev ordered Cesar to raid.
Their target was...
“Oh dear~ what a damn hardship this is. Do you know we’ve wasted a year of our youth on the road, boss?”
“Shut that mouth of yours.”
“If you just wanted to sell near the Kingdom of Bellita, you didn’t have to insist on selling in the Holy Kingdom of Jero... If you don’t give us generous bonuses, I won’t stand for it.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll get at least three tis more, so the bonus is... Wait, what’s that?”
It was the Theovic family’s weapon caravan.
Four hundred thugs were slowly approaching, pulling carts laden with various weapons.
While Cesar issued orders, Lev charged ahead, shouting, “Charge!” He didn’t use the Aura Blade.
“Follow the boss!”
Reuben Bizaine shouted exuberantly.
The hot-tempered warriors drove their horses forward, while Vanne Bizaine clicked her tongue and made a large circle. She attacked after forming an encirclent, her mouth agape with admiration.
“Look at our boss. A Sword Master truly is... a superhuman.”
*[Achievent: First Murder - Leo feels less guilt over killing.]*
*[Achievent: Defeated ‘302’ Thugs - More powerful when facing thugs. Min(10)]*
*[Achievent: Monster Hunter - ‘1’, Mana faintly imbues the body.]*
*[Achievent: Expert - Leo’s physique becos stronger.]*
*[Achievent: Sword Master]*
Massacre. Lev was literally massacring the thugs.
His unbreakable sword swung as if possessed by a deity, with no hesitation in his movents. There wasn’t a single thug who could withstand even one exchange, rendering their numbers useless.
The thugs lost their will to fight.
If a small, young man was like this, how terrifying must the burly swordsn driving their horses towards them be? They imagined the worst and fled in all directions.
“Chase them down! Don’t let a single one live!”
“No! Let them escape!”
Cesar blocked Reuben, who was excited after seeing blood. The warrior, who had a strong voice in the group, clashed with Cesar, who had suddenly been appointed as the leader, but Lev called Reuben over, waving his hand to settle the matter. Roughly more than a hundred thugs had escaped.
Reuben had a puzzled expression, not understanding, but Lev gestured toward Cesar. Cesar nodded, making a motion full of gratitude and understanding, and then ordered the swordsn.
“Gather the spoils. There are plenty of weapons, so switch to those that fit your hands, and put on armor. Is everyone ready? Then, so of you will transport these carts to the estate of Marquis Guidan. The rest will return to Nevis!”
Cesar’s rcenary group split into three factions.
One group was tasked with driving the forty large carts. These would be used to arm the barbarian warriors from each tribe who would return as soldiers after training, so the carts slowly retraced the path they had co from.
Another was Cesar's rcenary group.
Having successfully completed their first mission, delivering official docunts and escorting the rchant caravan, they swiftly rode south. Fully ard and gleaming, they appeared to an unfamiliar eye as if they were a knightly order.
The last group headed north.
Lev’s ten selected disciples.
They did not wear armor. They simply exchanged their dull swords for new ones and crossed the border with Lev in their simple swordsman’s attire.
As Lev passed through the gates of the Holy Kingdom of Jero, he felt that many things had changed.
It was his first ti crossing this gate legitimately.
The first ti he crossed this border, he couldn’t get through the gate. He had been traveling with a weapon caravan when he encountered a crusader stopping weapon smuggling, got the mark of holiness on his head, and was forced to break through the border on his short-legged mare, Woody.
The second ti he crossed this border, he wasn’t in his right mind.
As a disciple of Barbatos, he killed every human he saw, stained the land he passed through red, and declared it Barbatos’s territory. To him, borders held no significance.
And this was his third ti.
It would probably be the last.
His ten disciples guarded him securely, and just as he knew the weapon caravan would arrive here in the sumr, Lev easily predicted what would happen in the kingdom ahead. All that was left was ti. All he had to do was wait for the right mont.
Lev lowered his head and made a vow.
Lena. I’m coming. I’ll be there soon.
This will be the last ti I et you as a friend. Next year, I will be a king, beco Lev de Bizaine, and propose to you.
You will surely be delighted.
Finally, we will be happy.
Lev raised his head. With a deep smile, he shed the scars of the past. Even so, he did not let his emotions consu him. He intended to remain vigilant until the very last mont.
The sumr sun was at its peak, reflecting the vibrant green of the forest. The wind from the distant sea tickled Lev’s cheeks.
---
Leo Dexter had not yet arrived in Lutetia. Having been discharged for his achievents on the battlefield, he was now likely on his way to the Holy Kingdom with Lena Ainar, so there was plenty of ti left.
Lev decided to do what he had not been able to before. The day had co to remove the sharp thorn embedded in his heart.
He had to save Enen.
He had not forgotten the girl from the Uena tribe who had been horribly killed by a roaming beast called Oantahu. He had never forgotten.
The girl’s end was so horrific that it felt like God had torn her apart just to tornt him, leaving a part of his heart in darkness. Now he was going to cleanse that.
He had known for a long ti that once a beast was caught, it would never appear again. For a really long ti.
If he had visited the Uena tribe village even once and caught Oantahu, it would have been resolved, but despite knowing that Enen would be brutally killed each ti, he couldn’t find the ti.
It was because of distance and ti.
The Holy Kingdom of Jero was far from the starting point of each scenario... Well, I won’t lie to myself with excuses. Lena was more important to us.
No, that was a lie.
We had the strength and capability to visit the Holy Kingdom of Jero while protecting Lena in each scenario. Yet, the reason we didn’t do so was simply because of that.
*[19/23]*
It was because of that round limit, marked in red at the bottom of his vision. I was afraid of wasting an entire round, so I made excuses about distance and ti, and efficiency. That’s why it was more painful. It wasn’t a justification, but it couldn’t beco an excuse either.
Lev silently climbed the mountain path.
When he began to sll a subtle mushroom scent, he was almost there.
The disciples wore expressions of confusion, not knowing why their leader had set this forest as their destination, but upon entering the Uena tribe village, they thought, “Ah, the leader is trying to liberate the natives here too.”
They held a misunderstanding that did not fit the reality of the Holy Kingdom of Jero. The Holy Kingdom of Jero did not discriminate against or oppress barbarians. They simply allowed them to live autonomously. The natives of this land, where slavery was prohibited, were content.
Disappointing the expectations of his disciples, Lev went to see the village chief and said, “We are travelers. We like the scenery here and wish to stay for a while, so please provide us with food.” He had plenty of money.
After so discussion, it was agreed. As the ard outsiders staying in the village could cause the natives unease, Lev set up a log cabin outside the village.
Lev didn’t build it himself; his disciples did. After deciding where to build the house, he dressed lightly, leaving his sword with the disciples, and wandered toward the mountainside where Euta often went.
He heard a “ping!” sound.
A boy wanting to hunt had hung a target on a tree and was practicing archery. Lev had fond mories with this kid and was glad to see him, but...
Lev’s eyes scanned the surroundings. Over there, in the bushes, he saw Euta’s sister, Enen, catching insects.
She looked so carefree.
Soon, she would head into the forest.
“Who are you?”
Euta asked. Lev responded,
“A traveler.”
He introduced himself as a traveler. It had been a long ti since he had returned to this place.
A cautious boy and a thoughtless girl.
Lev sat down as he watched Enen rummage through the bushes again. “Your archery skills are pretty good. Are you planning to hunt?” he casually asked Euta, like a man with nothing better to do. Euta removed the target from the tree and returned to the village with his sister.
Thinking he was a strange person.
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