[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
Chapter 263: What Kind of Childish Nickna
Ti flowed quickly and before we knew it, the scorching sumr had arrived.
"Damn, it's hot as hell."
The salty, humid sea air combined with the blazing sunlight created an unbearable ordeal.
Thanks to this, after every training session, we ended up soaked in sweat like pickled sausages.
"You've gotten quite tan, sister."
I said while wringing the sweat from my clothes.
"You've gotten a bit of color yourself."
We had beco comfortable enough as siblings to tease each other about our appearances.
"You've worked hard, Allen."
The three of us were able to spend fulfilling days of training.
Not only that, but Olivier and Jeffrey, along with the Special Operations Division mbers, trained the personal guard together and tested each other's martial skills.
We also kept a close eye on Severian, who we suspected of being a spy, occasionally getting him drunk to probe his intentions.
'The bastard has no openings. When he gets drunk, he just falls asleep.'
He was undoubtedly a cunning fellow.
'Anyway, setting that aside.'
During this ti, I had beco familiar with various techniques of dark mana.
I had also beco quite skilled at combining them with the three abilities of the Seven Stars of the Black Sea Technique.
In the process, I experinted with using the principle of explosive power obtained by colliding the Dark Soul Mana and Brilliant Spirit Mana in the second stage of the Silent Soul Sacred Spirit Technique.
I tried to clash the properties of dark mana and the Seven Stars of the Black Sea Technique ntal.
'Though I nearly died in the process.'
The path of martial arts is such that while so processes are easily mastered, you can unexpectedly get stuck for long periods in seemingly trivial areas.
Even if I'm a great genius who mocks the gods with the qualifications of a grand master, I'm no exception.
"...Allen."
"Yes."
Ulbhild raised her palm upward and created a beautiful, large snowflake.
Clang!
Seeing that Rudgarda's sword wrapped in sword energy couldn't cut even a single petal of that flower, Ulbhild spoke.
"Thanks to you and Rudgarda, I've finally completed the Snow Blossom Sword Technique."
"Congratulations."
"It's thanks to the your efforts."
Ulbhild nodded slightly and raised her sword high.
Swoosh...
Snowflakes that cooled the sweltering heat gathered around Ulbhild's sword.
"It's like a sacred fire made of snow and ice."
"I like that comparison."
Ulbhild scattered the ice and snow flowers wrapped around her sword into the sky.
They imdiately beca a massive bridge of ice, decorating the heavens.
"At this rate, it won't lt for several days, will it?"
I marveled at the trendous cold energy.
"Just looking at this technique, it's easy to see that sister has broken through the barrier of the 7th tier and mastered the Snow Blossom Sword Technique."
Ulbhild smiled.
"But it's nothing compared to what you've achieved, is it?"
That's right.
That's right. As Ulbhild entered the 7th tier, I too was able to refine my swordsmanship close to completion through all that training.
"Now, even if we fight with swords alone, my win rate doesn't exceed 30%. I've raised a tiger cub."
I grinned.
"If it were a life-and-death battle with ice techniques included, sister's win rate would be about 45%."
"You still won't say it's fifty-fifty even if you're about to die."
Ulbhild poked my ribs.
"I truly owe you a great debt, sister."
I grasped Ulbhild's hand as I spoke.
"I will never forget this kindness."
Ulbhild smiled gently.
"I forgot such worries long ago."
And now, all preparations for the expedition were complete.
In other words...
'Marquis Belorok or whatever he is, his life is forfeit now.'
* * *
The evening before the expedition, which was now two days away.
After discussing various current issues with Olivier and passing a note with several contingency plans to Zizek's side.
I propped my feet up on the desk and gazed out the window, then casually muttered as if in passing.
"Which mouse dares to crawl into the quarters of mine?"
Then unexpected uninvited guests jumped down from the roof and landed inside my room with acrobatic grace.
"It's ."
"It's too."
I nodded, sensing the forms of the two n lded into the darkness through my mana sense.
"So it's the Svaltalfar brothers."
The older brother Ghir, who had gone mad with bloodlust, and the younger brother Drak, whose remarkably calm deanor had been impressive.
The Svaltalfar assassin brothers who had joined hands with to defeat Huten had co to find .
"Is it an occupational habit? You could have co properly instead of infiltrating."
"We're not exactly the type of people to make official visits, are we?"
"That's true."
I rang the bell to summon Peter.
"Young master! You called?"
Peter ca running quickly, then was startled when he saw the faces of the two assassins.
"Eek."
"Don't be surprised. They're assassins, but they're guests."
"Hic!"
Seeing Peter imdiately start hiccuping, I clicked my tongue.
"Such a timid fellow. Go and bring so water or tea."
I looked at the two brothers and asked.
"What would you like to drink?"
"Anything as long as it's not poison."
Ghir replied.
"Even poison is fine as long as it's not deadly poison. Moderate toxicity has a nice kick and goes down smoothly."
Drak went one step further.
"There really aren't any normally crazy guys around."
I told Peter.
"Just bring water."
"Y-yes, sir."
After Peter closed the door and left, Ghir spoke.
"...Surprisingly ordinary kid. He hasn't even learned martial arts."
"Right. He's stupid but a good kid."
I nodded.
"Anyway, how have you been?"
"As you can see."
"You've beco unrecognizably strong."
I rubbed and picked off so eye crust as I spoke.
"Sa goes for you two. Seeing how strong you've beco in such a short ti, there must be so special story behind it?"
Then Ghir answered in a nonchalant voice.
"We killed all our competitors and rivals through assassination, then took the head of the clan position a bit early."
"Wow..."
I stuck out my tongue.
"That's brutal."
"It's our custom to kill or be killed anyway, so there was no choice."
To Ghir's indifferent words, Drak added an explanation.
"We compromised with brothers who could communicate or didn't have major behavioral problems by having them cripple their martial arts or cut off an arm. That was the maximum rcy we could show."
"...I see."
I simply nodded without saying much.
They're ones who grew up in hell.
I can't say anything about their thods.
Even so, if they could show a thread of rcy to their brothers, it ans these brothers aren't walking the path of inhumanity.
"I understand. I didn't expect you to keep your promise so quickly."
"It sounds simple when you say it, but we also crossed several life-and-death situations. As a bonus, we split the elixir that's only given to clan heads and ate it together."
"...What about the madness?"
"Thanks to breaking through the barrier, I can control it to so extent through willpower. But it's still a precarious state, so I passed the position of clan head to my younger brother."
"I'm already finding it botherso, so this is a big problem. Should I hurry up and have children to pass the buck?"
"You guys have an absurd lack of desire for power."
Ghir replied.
"We don't have much. We just couldn't die peacefully at the hands of those idiots, so we reluctantly stepped forward."
"Couldn't you have left the clan and beco independent?"
"If we did that, we'd be establishing a branch clan and would need the clan head's orders. There's no reason to listen to lectures from soone weaker than with a worse personality."
"...I see."
Anyway, this didn't seem like the kind of conversation to have while exchanging pleasantries.
"Excuse , young master. I brought the water."
"Thanks. Go and rest."
After drinking the water Peter brought in one gulp, I asked.
"So? What's the matter? Coming all the way here in person."
"Let's confirm one thing first."
Ghir said.
"Our alliance is still valid, right?"
"Of course."
"Then let's work together on sothing."
Ghir grinned.
"There's a bounty on Marquis Belorok's head. You're going to attack him soon too, right? We're thinking of joining up and looking for an opportunity to go for his neck."
"That's absurd."
"We're offering to be additional forces, so what's the complaint?"
"That's also true."
I was convinced.
"So you're saying we should use each other?"
"Isn't that the true flavor of an alliance?"
I stared at Ghir intently and asked.
"But this isn't like a double contract or anything, right?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Well, you know, while taking Marquis Belorok's head, you might also have received a contract to kill and suddenly stab in the back..."
At my joke, Ghir clicked his tongue.
"I didn't think of that. I'll keep it in mind for next ti."
"Hey, you damn bastard."
"We'll go to the Bisakino Brotherhood and stay there for a few days, so let us know when your expedition preparations are complete. We'll join at an appropriate ti."
"Really? Nagan will have a hard ti."
"I've beco much more well-behaved than before, so there shouldn't be any incidents."
"That would be fortunate."
On one hand, I was curious about what kind of chaos would ensue when he t Brother Knut.
'Wait?'
Co to think of it, that's an interesting dynamic.
I quickly opened my mouth to instigate a fight.
"When you go there."
"Hm?"
"There's my maternal cousin brother there who's rarely strong and has an incredibly solid body. He has trendous body protection techniques and fights with his fists like a wild beast. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a future Fist King."
"Ho...?"
When I scratched just the right spot, Ghir imdiately showed a reaction.
"If your specialty is recovery, that person has cultivated external techniques so deeply that blades and spears can't penetrate him from the start. Even the great Ghir Svaltalfar would find it difficult to handle that person's fists."
Then Ghir asked with a smile.
"What's his na?"
"Knut Eisenach."
"Ah. I've heard that na. You're saying that man is that strong?"
"Without a doubt."
"Great, whenever I co looking for you, interesting things always happen."
Ghir imdiately jumped out the window and disappeared in an instant.
"...Sigh."
Drak sighed.
"What if they start fighting as soon as they see each other?"
"Why? Well..."
I grinned.
"It's interesting."
Drak's reaction to this was:
"That's... hmm. Co to think of it, that's true."
This bastard isn't normal either.
* * *
Another day passed and it beca the day before departure.
"Allen, we've already confird the miscellaneous matters several tis, so there's no need to discuss them further."
I had a modest drinking session with Father, Venion, and Head Butler Count Aiden.
"Be careful. Marquis Belorok's capabilities and their forces are not to be taken lightly. This is a war against an entire marquisate, so make sure you don't get caught up and et with disaster."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"You're a smart fellow, so I don't need to nag you further."
As Father smiled contentedly, Venion threw in a joke from the side.
"By the way, did you hear about the young master's ranking going up recently?"
"What ranking are you talking about?"
"Young Lady Siena defeated the existing 3rd rank and said, 'Since Young Master Allenbert is above , I'll be content with 4th rank.'"
"Wow, my ranking went up while lying down."
I grinned.
"But Allen, you two seem to have beco quite close. Perhaps...?"
"It's not like that."
"You're denying it so strongly that it's suspicious."
Seeing Father's expression full of mischief, I sighed slightly and changed the subject.
"By the way, the quieter Brother Verdzig is, the more anxious I beco. What could he be doing?"
"It would be cheating for to tell you that."
Father drew the line.
"As far as I know, Verdzig hasn't done anything that crosses the line yet."
"I understand."
If Father says so, then that's the truth.
"By the way, young master."
Venion asked with another mischievous expression.
"Did you hear? They say there are four warriors considered the top forces in Marquis Belorok's military camp, called the Four Heavenly Kings."
"Four Heavenly Kings?"
I rubbed the goosebumps that rose on my forearms.
"Wow, I'm getting chills. What kind of childish nickna is that?"
"It certainly feels childish."
Father nodded and commanded .
"It's unsightly, so you go and clean it up."
"Understood."
One would be Siena, one would be Drak and Ghir, or perhaps Rudgarda.
It would be perfect if I could beat up another one, but the war situation probably won't flow that way, will it?
"Still, they say they're all strong warriors of the 6th or 7th tier, so it would be best not to underestimate them."
To the head butler's concern, I replied.
"They need to be at least that level for the fight not to be boring."
Hearing my cockiness, Venion quietly muttered.
"There he goes again."
[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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