[Translator - Pot]
[Proofreader - Kawaii]
Chapter 167: You’ve Been Kidnapped
“How dare a lowly bastard insult my lineage?!”
The third son of Cardovan clan, a notorious troublemaker, glared at in a fit of rage.
“Your lineage? You an your father’s lineage.”
“You insolent brat!”
I watched him lose his temper, then shifted my gaze to the side.
“What are you doing? Not coming at ?”
“Alright, let’s get started.”
As Krahel grinned fiercely, his half-severed ear twitched.
“Wait, hold on.”
“What now?”
I pointed at Krahel’s ear.
“Stop smiling like that. Your ear’s moving, and it’s disgusting.”
“……What did you say?”
“It’s been bothering since earlier. Why’s your ear like that? Did you lose it gambling or sothing?”
“Heh, hehehe.”
Krahel laughed like a madman.
They say when soone gets too angry, they start laughing. That’s exactly what was happening to this guy. I an, with that face and that build, when would he have ever been insulted like this before?
‘Besides, the ear thing is his sore spot.’
Calling him “half-eared” to his face is practically asking to be killed, isn’t it?
Zizek’s words were true. The murderous aura radiating from him now was on a completely different level from before.
‘How cute.’
Compared to Verdzig’s aura, this was almost laughably adorable.
“Oh, it moved again. Is it alive or sothing? Is it not an ear but so kind of parasite?”
“You damn bastard.”
Krahel’s face twisted in genuine anger as he lowered his hand.
“Kill him. Rip out his guts!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Good, bring it on.”
I channeled the mana of the Seven Stars of the Black Sea Technique into the shoddy dagger in my hand. In an instant, it transford into a blade so sturdy that even a dragon’s stomp wouldn’t break it.
Screech!
As spears and swords flew at from both sides, I moved my body along the optimal path. I narrowly dodged the blades and swung my dagger like a claw.
Thud!
The neck of the brave man who charged at first was severed as if torn by a beast, spraying blood everywhere.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Taking advantage of the montary hesitation of another man who raised his sword in shock, I stabbed him three tis in quick succession.
“Gurgle…”
After tossing aside the corpse with a hole in its neck, I shattered another opponent’s jaw with a punch.
Crack!
Teeth flew everywhere from the force of the punch. I imdiately repositioned myself, crushing another enemy’s knee with a stomp, then leaped up to kick his face, flipped mid-air, and landed to drive my dagger into the back of his neck.
“Damn it, he’s too fast!”
“He’s a skilled fighter. Don’t let your guard down!”
I wielded the dagger, threw punches, grabbed collars, and swept legs to bring my enemies down.
My fighting style was a chaotic mix of the Karzan-style dagger techniques, fist and leg techniques, and grappling.
‘Truly free.’
Even though I had recently learned the martial arts of Grunewald, this kind of fighting was still the most familiar to .
“Don’t give him space! Attack from a distance!”
Whoever said that made a reasonable call.
But it wouldn’t work on .
Thud!
I extended a blade of sword energy from my dagger, turning a man who thought he was safe at a distance into a lifeless corpse.
“S-sword energy!”
“At least a 3rd tier expert!”
Finally realizing that I was no ordinary opponent, the mbers of the Black Night Society hesitated.
Now it was my turn to close the distance.
I used the footwork of Scarlet Cloud Ghost Path to narrow the gap, then lightly pushed a giant man’s chest with the energy of the Seven Stars of the Black Sea Technique.
Crash!
The giant flew back, flipping tables and crashing into his comrades before slamming into the wall.
‘Phew, even with just first stage’s worth of energy, this is the result.’
It looked like he’d been thrown by an ogre.
“Weaklings, fall back!”
The weaker ones retreated, and in their place, combatants with noticeable mana rushed at . These were the ones who had been watching from a distance earlier.
‘At least 2nd tier. A couple of them have reached the 3rd tier.’
In that case, I decided to draw out more of my power.
Hummm!
The dagger, infused with the energy of the Seven Stars of the Black Sea Technique, let out a clear, resonant hum—sothing it had likely never done in its entire existence.
“T-that’s sword resonance!”
“What’s with that sharp sword energy?!”
I didn’t give them ti to think and unleashed a slash.
Thud!
As the unlucky ones were bisected at the waist, I was already charging at the swordsn on the other side.
“Block him!”
“Spread out!”
Each blade flying at carried enough force to easily cut through human flesh.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
But I incorporated the subtleties of the Azure Sea Moon Shadow Swordsmanship into Karzan’s sword style. The combination of solid defense and flexible counterattacks made feel at ease even amidst the onslaught of three or four enemies.
‘Free, smooth, and flexible.’
Karzan’s wild sword style was now infused with the refined elegance of Grunewald.
‘In this mont—’
My martial arts were blending together once again in the heat of battle. My sword could no longer be described as rely that of a back-alley thug.
‘There’s a realm only reachable through real combat, not sparring.’
Slash!
The dagger, with its blade of sword energy extended like a longsword, rcilessly cut down my enemies. Limbs were severed like cheese, and heads flew into the air, accompanied by fountains of blood.
‘It’s like a blood flower.’
I danced a sword dance amidst the blood. The faces of the dead and the dying passed by like scenery outside a carriage window.
Every ti the blade flashed, another head fell to the ground. Watching human lives fall like petals, I stepped over pools of blood.
“Huff, huff…”
“He’s a demon…”
Among those retreating in fear was the guard who had let in earlier.
‘Poor guy.’
I wasn’t so drunk on blood or rage that I’d stab a fleeing man in the back, so I held onto my reason and spoke.
“If you retreat, I won’t chase you down and kill you.”
“……!”
When I offered them a way out, even the mbers who had been charging at fearlessly began to retreat one by one.
“Good, you made the right choice.”
aningless slaughter wasn’t what I sought.
But Krahel’s head had aning.
“……Krahel, stay right there.”
I smiled as I looked at Krahel.
“I’m coming up.”
“D-damn it!”
Finally realizing he’d picked the wrong opponent, Krahel shouted in a fit.
“Stop him! Don’t let him co up!”
“Giving impossible tasks isn’t the mark of a good leader, Krahel.”
I slowly climbed the stairs, cutting down, throwing, and rolling the enemies who rushed at .
“Damn it, you useless bastards!”
“That’s an even more trashy thing to say, Krahel.”
I pointed my blood-stained dagger at Krahel.
“You should’ve stepped up before all your n died.”
“Shut up!”
Krahel charged at , unleashing a deadly technique. The trajectory of his attack seed to be based on his own analysis of my defensive moves, and I realized that beneath his bear-like appearance, he was a cunning fox.
"But."
It's an impossible feat for soone like , who is now revealing my true strength without holding back.
Thud!
I accurately sliced Krahel's wrist as he swung his sword, then kicked the back of his knee, shattering it.
"Kuaaaah!"
Krahel, having lost a hand and a knee, collapsed before as if bowing in submission.
I looked over his shoulder at the mbers of the first-floor organization who had been watching the fight. Those who were dead, injured, or broken in spirit stared at with eyes flickering with fear and confusion.
"All of you, get lost."
I infused my voice with authority and commanded them.
"Gasp!"
"I-I can't breathe..."
The pressure was so intense that the weaker or severely injured ones even forgot to breathe.
"Those who are injured, carry each other and run. This is the last rcy I’ll show you."
No one dared to disobey the voice that carried an almost abstract sense of dignity.
...Except for a few ghoul-like individuals lurking in the corners, waiting for a chance to gamble again, even in this situation.
"Why are you still here? Do you really want to gamble so badly that you can sll blood while people are dying like this?"
"......"
The gamblers looked at with fearful yet lingering greed in their eyes.
"Get lost. Before I cut off your wrists and make sure you can never hold cards again."
"Y-yes, sir."
Whether they were scared of the pressure I exuded or terrified of never being able to gamble again, the last of the gamblers finally disappeared. I looked down at Krahel and spoke.
"See, Krahel? These are the gamblers you lured, even causing them to lose their senses."
"Why is it my fault that they lost themselves to gambling?"
I let out a scoff at Krahel's growling voice.
"Are you seriously saying that?"
I took a step forward, increasing the intensity of my pressure, and Krahel's chin dropped.
'This is absurd.'
After all, Krahel is a powerhouse of the 4th tier. To exert this level of pressure on soone like him, I would need to be at least at the 6th tier.
'It must be thanks to the Seven Stars of the Black Sea Technique's energy.'
Even among those at the 5th rank, not all are equal. The mana cultivated through a pure and superior ntal technique is far more solid and powerful than that of those who haven’t mastered such thods.
"Huh, huh. You... are you at the 5th rank?"
Finally realizing my true strength, Krahel let out a laugh.
"...You’ve been toying with from the start."
"Just as you’ve done to others."
Krahel stared at the ground and asked, "Do you know ?"
"Don’t ask questions. You don’t have the right."
"Huhu. You’re ruthless."
"You tempted fathers into bankruptcy, then lent them money at exorbitant interest rates, forcing them to sell their children."
I listed his sins.
"You ruined lives and don’t even rember what you’ve done wrong."
"Ah, right. I rember now. That’s my death sentence."
Krahel muttered, but his voice showed no remorse, regret, or resentnt.
Thud!
I kicked Krahel’s decapitated body.
Thump!
"K-Krahel!"
The third son of the Cardovan scread as he watched Krahel’s body roll down the stairs.
"Y-you monster! Aren’t you afraid of the Black Night Society?"
"Why should I fear a group that couldn’t even handle and got swept away like trash?"
I retorted as I stored the bundle of money Krahel had thrown into my subspace pouch.
"I won the bet, so I’ll take the winnings."
Of course, Krahel’s head, now pale and drained of blood, couldn’t respond.
In any case, this wasn’t ill-gotten gains but the rightful reward from winning a bet. I should buy Moritz and my younger sibling so clothes.
"Isn’t there anyone here? Kill this bastard right now!"
Seeing the third son of the Cardovan still unable to grasp the situation, I felt a hint of amusent.
"How spoiled do you have to be to lack this much common sense?"
This level of ignorance was almost worthy of study.
"Shut up! You can’t kill anyway!"
I asked, "Why not? I could just kill you and disappear."
"W-what?"
Shocked for a mont, the brat then shouted with false bravado, "The Security Guards will be here soon! You’ll never escape their pursuit!"
"Oh, really? Do they have any reason to catch ?"
"Yes!"
The brat declared confidently, "I’m close friends with Young master Sorset! If you kill , the Young master will mobilize the entire Security Guards to hunt you down!"
"Ah, I see. So you’re close with Young master Sorset, huh?"
I raised an eyebrow.
"Arrogant fool, have you finally realized the situation? Then kneel down right now—"
So, to summarize, this brat is close friends with Sorset, a spoiled young master, and was being entertained by a high-ranking mber of the Black Night Society?
'Look at this guy.'
I’ve caught an unexpected big fish.
Perhaps I can uncover the secret ties between the Bisakino Brotherhood, Huten, and Sorset through him.
"Young master, listen carefully."
I gently patted the back of his head. Sensing sothing ominous, the brat stamred, "W-what are you saying?"
If he’s asking, it’s only natural to answer. I explained to him in a gentle voice.
"You’ve been kidnapped."
[Translator - Pot]
[Proofreader - Kawaii]
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