Chapter 19: The Warrior’s Scout
While eating, I glanced sideways at Rahan. A blazing fla flickered in his eyes.
It seed he had made up her mind after sensing sothing from my earlier answer.
Before long, Rahan stood up with his plate in hand.
“I’ll bring so food to Lenel.”
“Do as you please.”
Lenel appeared to be the na of the girl who had gone upstairs. The bald man had given us plenty of food, so I didn’t care much.
No matter how much I ate, the food didn’t seem to decrease. The bald man must have thought I was so kind of glutton—he’d prepared far too much.
That was when it happened.
“What kind of trouble are you stirring up that you ended up in a place like this?”
Ryan entered the tavern, frowning.
His clothes were splattered with blood. He must have gotten into a fight on his way here.
I asked, “Ryan, what’s with that blood?”
“I ran into so weird bastards while looking for you.”
“What happened?”
“Well, they asked if I’d seen soone with reddish hair tips and a longsword at his left waist. Then they suddenly ca at , asking if I was with that guy. They ca at like they ant to kill , so I had to teach them a lesson.”
Those must have been the ones who had been bothering Rahan.
I thought they hadn’t seen my face, but it seed I wasn’t skilled enough with Seogwang Pyoholbo yet and had exposed myself to them.
‘That’s troubleso.’
People who lived in the shadows were more persistent than one might think. They lived by the belief that grudges must be repaid tenfold, while favors need not be repaid at all.
In cases like this, it was best to kill everyone who had seen your face—to prevent any future troubles.
“Did you kill them all?”
“Are you crazy? I just crippled one of them and left it at that.”
“...I see. You’ve worked hard, so sit down and eat. There’s too much food for alone.”
“...You’re buying?”
“I’m buying, so don’t doubt it and just eat.”
“What’s gotten into you? You’re the stingy bastard who wouldn’t even pay for a room.”
Ryan muttered as he sat down. He cast a suspicious glance at for a while before taking a bite of steak.
To be honest, I hadn’t originally intended to buy him a al.
A grown man should at least be able to feed himself—why should I treat him?
But if my guess was right, Ryan needed to fill his stomach here and now.
Just as we were finishing our al, Rahan returned and spoke.
“Your na was Leon, right, sir? Thank you so much for your help today. But I think it’d be best if you didn’t co to the back alleys anymore.”
“Are those guys who bullied you that famous in the underworld?”
Rahan’s eyes widened. The surprise on her face was unmistakable.
“You know how the underworld works?”
“To so extent.”
“Then I don’t have to explain much. Just like you guessed, those bastards aren’t that great. They’re just small-tirs who make money off drugs.”
His tone dripped with contempt. He must have suffered quite a bit under them.
I nodded.
“Then that’s good. If we take them out first, there’ll be no trouble later.”
“...Huh?”
“Ryan, get ready. You’ve crossed them too, so you’re on the sa boat as .”
I didn’t bother answering Rahan’s question. I simply rose from my seat along with Ryan.
But it seed Ryan didn’t understand what was going on either.
“What? I’m on your side now? What the hell are you talking about?”
“They’ll be here soon. You should be able to feel it too if you’re aiming to beco a knight.”
“What do you an—!”
At that mont, Ryan’s eyes turned sharp and cold. He gave a crooked grin.
“So that’s what you ant? What the hell have you been doing?”
“I’ve just been looking for quiet places.”
“Then why are flies like these following you around?”
Rahan looked at in confusion, which was only natural. The conversation between Ryan and I was of a kind that only those with heightened senses could catch.
The bald man, however, seed to have sensed sothing and told Rahan to stay inside.
Perfect timing. I could already feel the presences outside.
A faint killing intent drifted in from beyond the door. Around thirty of them.
I glanced at Ryan. He nodded in response.
After exchanging signals—
The door burst open.
“You bastards—!”
Thud!
I kicked the chest of the man trying to enter. It wasn’t a light kick. The blow, packed with internal energy, carried trendous force.
The man flew back without even making a sound. His chest caved in completely, his heart bursting from the impact.
His limp body hurtled backward and rolled across the ground.
I looked at the rest, who stood frozen in shock.
“What’s the matter? Didn’t you co here to fight?”
At that, they all charged toward at once.
* * *
Slash—!!
My sword sliced through the neck of the one rushing at . The headless body staggered, lost its balance, and the severed head collided with its own torso before both crumpled to the ground.
The grueso sight froze the rest of them in place.
Gulp.
The sound of soone swallowing echoed clearly. The tension was palpable.
I silently gazed at the n before . My calm, sunken eyes alone were enough to make them shudder.
I took a single step forward. They instinctively stepped one back.
Their fear-stricken faces grew darker with every passing second.
But I didn’t stop. These n had co to kill . rcy was not an option.
“What are you waiting for? Kill them.”
Ryan passed by my side, muttering as he went. Striding forward, he cut down the nearest foe.
I followed right behind him.
The key to battle was seizing the initiative. If you broke your opponent’s montum early, the fight beca far easier.
Proof of that was the enemy’s utter helplessness before Ryan’s blade.
Ryan’s skill was exceptional, but more than that, it was the pressure of my presence that made them falter.
Just by following behind Ryan, I was already lending him great help.
Ryan seed to know that too, clicking his tongue. Still, there was no need to exert ourselves over such a trivial fight.
Ryan did not refuse Leon’s help.
When they had taken down about half of their enemies, the remaining ones began to flee.
They weren’t even capable of proper combat, let alone swordsmanship. There was no way they could stand against the spirit of a warrior and the sword of a soldier.
However, Leon did not let them escape. While Ryan, sensing the end of the fight, sheathed his sword, Leon did not.
Slash—!!
Five heads flew through the air in a single stroke. To cut down five people with just one swing—
No matter how weak the enemies were, such precision in sword technique was impossible without refined control.
Leon’s sword ultimately struck down every one of the fleeing n.
“Was there really a need to kill the ones running away?”
Ryan asked with a serious face. Leon gestured toward the tavern.
“They weren’t after , but were connected to them. If we don’t kill them all here, who knows what trouble will co later.”
“...Is that so? Then you could’ve just said so.”
Ryan grinned as he replied.
“By the way, do you have a spare set of clothes? I was already uncomfortable with the blood, but now it’s just disgusting.”
As he said, Ryan’s clothes were soaked in blood—stained so deeply they clung to his skin. It was only natural he felt unpleasant.
“W–Wow...”
At that mont, Rahan looked at Leon and Ryan with wide eyes, clearly impressed. Her eyes sparkled with awe.
The bald man beside her was no different. He, too, stared at Leon and Ryan with an intrigued expression, as if looking at sothing extraordinary.
Then, mumbling sothing to himself, the bald man suddenly spoke.
“Hey, you two. Ever thought about becoming rcenaries?”
“...?”
After tidying up the area, the bald man approached Leon and Ryan.
“Sorry for making you wait. I’m not used to cleaning up corpses, so it took a bit longer than I thought.”
“No matter. We’re the ones who caused it anyway.”
“I heard the story from Rahan. Leon, you saved him, didn’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“Well, since this must be fate, how about I make you an offer?”
“You an that rcenary thing?”
Now that he was calm, the bald man seed composed—but just monts ago, he had been extrely excited.
So much so that Rahan had to stop him from getting carried away.
Leon thought to himself,
‘It’s not a bad offer.’
After all, both he and Ryan lacked a proper source of inco. They could live off Count Reinhardt’s money for a while, but after that?
They’d need at least a minimal way to earn their keep.
And the bald man’s offer was for them to beco rcenaries. rcenaries—wanderers and problem-solvers of the world.
They were people who took on requests and resolved their clients’ troubles for a fee.
So Leon asked,
“First, I’d like to know your na.”
“Ah, right. My na’s Georan.”
“Georan? That’s quite an unusual na for soone from the Empire.”
“Haha, that’s because I used to be a warrior from Elphrel, like you.”
Leon’s eyes widened. He’d heard that so warriors from Elphrel occasionally lived abroad—but to et one here, of all places?
He smiled without realizing it.
“I see. So you were a warrior from Elphrel.”
“It’s probably not what you’re thinking. I don’t really have much affection for Elphrel.”
“I see.”
Everyone had their own circumstances. Leon decided to respect Georan’s unspoken past.
Perhaps because of his easy acceptance, Georan laughed heartily.
“Haha! I like that you don’t sweat the small stuff. Anyway, I’m the leader of the Black Dragon rcenary Corps.”
“...The Black Dragon rcenary Corps?”
Leon recalled hearing that na in a conversation between Zeke and Reinhardt.
A legendary rcenary group that road the continent, each of its mbers said to possess the skills of a knight’s interdiate rank.
In martial terms, they were comparable to one of the Nine Great Sects.
And now, the commander of that rcenary corps stood before him?
As curiosity flickered in Leon’s eyes, Georan continued,
“Well, to be exact, I’m the forr leader. I retired not long ago because of an injury. So our corps is in a bit of a tough spot now. I used to handle about thirty percent of our combat strength myself, so the others are struggling to fill that gap.”
“Hooh...”
Thirty percent of the strength of a group where each mber rivaled a knight—that was no small feat.
Just how strong had he been before his injury?
“But that’s strange. Why would you want to recruit into such a group?”
“There are plenty of reasons. First off—your power. From what I can see, you’re quite strong. In terms of physical training, you’re about on my level. Your technique isn’t quite there yet, but you’re still young. You’ll grow.”
“But if strength alone was enough, there are many out there far better than .”
“Good point. But you don’t think Rahan was the only one who heard about your dream, do you?”
Leon sighed softly.
In any organization, trust was the most important thing. Loyalty and friendship were all born from it.
From that perspective, Leon must have seed like soone dependable. Not only because of the greatness of his dream—but also because he had directly crushed the injustice that had befallen a child.
To recruit soone like that was to recruit a trustworthy man.
Still, one question remained.
“Even so, you don’t know anything about Ryan.”
“You’re traveling with him, aren’t you? That’s good enough for .”
“...”
So that’s how he decided, huh.
Leon couldn’t help but think Ryan’s luck was extraordinary.
Mikelan had told Ryan to watch and learn from him, but perhaps he’d secretly wanted Ryan to gain broader experience.
The world was vast.
After losing to Leon, Mikelan had likely hoped Ryan would see and face stronger opponents.
And for that, the Black Dragon rcenary Corps was the perfect place.
Ryan, too, seed unwilling to let go of this once-in-a-lifeti opportunity.
“Good! Then it’s settled. Follow .”
And with that, Georan skillfully led the two of them sowhere.
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