[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
Chapter 264: Two Elders
"Have a safe trip, Allen."
"I'll see you when I return."
"Make sure to eat well, and try not to get into too much reckless trouble."
"I'll do my best."
"When you eat, make sure to have plenty of at. And try to mix in vegetables too..."
"I'll even eat weeds if I have to."
"That won't do. I gave Jeffrey a booklet with edible herbs, so even if it's botherso, make sure to—"
"Mother, I really must be going now."
I mounted my horse as if fleeing from my mother's nagging.
"May fortune be with you, young master."
At the words of Grand Commander Heinrix of the Special Operations Division, who had co out to see us off, I nodded slightly.
"Thank you for readily lending us your special forces."
"We're all in the sa boat, so I can't be stingy about lending a few crew mbers."
Heinrix smiled and looked at Rudgarda.
"Commander of the 6th batallion, be careful."
"Yes."
Rudgarda answered with her usual stoic expression.
"Allen, Rudgarda."
Ulbhild held out a wooden box to .
"...It's water I froze using my ice technique."
When I opened it, I saw seawater frozen solid like crystal.
"If nothing happens to it, it won't lt for a month."
"...!"
It sounds simple when put into words, but for ice to last that long in this sumr heat was remarkable.
This was proof that Ulbhild's ice mastery had reached an extraordinary level.
"It's nothing too special, but if you get hot on the road, rub it on the back of your neck occasionally. It'll be refreshing."
I smiled broadly.
"It's the perfect gift. Thank you."
We turned our horses around.
Our destination was Count Pergrin's territory.
The departing force consisted of myself, my personal guard, and about one battalion of the Special Operations Division, but we had more allies who would join us along the way.
"Haha, Taris. Isn't your back a bit stiff? Proper horsemanship is an art that requires communion, synchronizing with the horse's gait and breathing—"
"Can't you just shut up and ride?"
I spoke while letting Kaimak's familiar nonsense go in one ear and out the other.
"Speaking of which, Commander Jeffrey?"
"Yes, young master."
"Looking at you now, you've beco much stronger."
Compared to when I first t him, Jeffrey had also risen considerably in skill.
It's just that my own pace of improvent was too fast.
"During my ti serving as your guard, there haven't been many opportunities for to really prove myself."
Jeffrey spoke, dropping his usual playfulness.
"Even though your battlefield was the underworld, I haven't spent all this ti just lounging around and standing guard."
"That's certainly true."
"So this ti, I'll properly earn my keep."
I listened calmly to Jeffrey's resolve.
"I'm looking forward to it. Should I refrain from telling a soldier to be careful with his life, since it might sound insulting?"
At that, Jeffrey scratched his cheek.
"Well, that's true, but I'd like to live long enough to sar shit on walls."
"Admirable. Make sure you live long enough to paint pictures with shit on walls."
"Thanks for the encouragent."
"I should watch what I say."
***
The first to join us were, surprisingly, the Svaltalfar brothers.
"Eating sothing good? Give us so too."
The two brothers who appeared suddenly were drenched in sweat.
"Did you run here without horses? You both look terrible."
"We're faster running than on horseback."
"Impressive. If it were , I would have taken a horse even if it ant being a bit late."
"Lazy bastard."
Jeffrey, who had been briefed about this situation beforehand, approached with a slightly wary expression.
"I've heard much about you. I'm Jeffrey. I'm the Commander of the personal guard serving the young master."
Drak received the greeting on behalf of his brother.
"Drak Svaltalfar. I've recently inherited the position of clan head."
"...So you're the clan head."
Upon reflection, these two n were the heads of the kingdom's most renowned assassination clan.
That ant they were n whose skills were comparable even to the Godfather of the Red Mist Alliance.
Though their behavior seed casual, when it ca to the art of killing, they were among the kingdom's finest.
"By the way."
I watched Ghir's expression, which seed quieter than usual, and grinned mischievously.
"You fought with big brother Knut, didn't you? Who won?"
"...He was strong. We couldn't settle it."
"Wow, that's impressive. A draw with big brother Knut."
Considering Knut's strength, this had to be seen as remarkable growth on Ghir's part.
"He had trendously perfected self-defense techniques."
Drak explained.
"His martial arts were excellent too, but the most shocking thing was that even my brother's enhanced body was inferior to Knut's naturally strong physique."
I chewed on so slightly charred at while predicting the course of the battle.
"Then you must have started with a direct confrontation, gradually been pushed back, and then brought out all sorts of combat techniques and assassination skills."
"That's right. Seeing that, Knut also employed the secret martial arts of Eisenach, and their depth and level were comparable to any martial art in the kingdom."
"Really?"
I grinned.
"That's welco news. If Svaltalfar's killing machine couldn't handle him even when serious, then Verdzig's subordinates won't be able to do anything to big brother Knut either."
At that, Ghir tilted his head.
"Wait. Did you arrange that fight just to confirm that?"
"It served multiple purposes. Thanks to it, you got so satisfaction, didn't you?"
"Now that you ntion it, I suppose so."
Just looking at Ghir quietly accepting the at I offered, it was clear that the sparring match with Knut had given him a kind of fulfillnt.
Or maybe he'd matured a bit in the anti.
Though that's probably not it.
"Speaking of which, have you heard anything about Marquis Belorok's Four Heavenly Kings? We'll be facing them this ti."
"Ah, you an that stupid title."
Ghir snorted.
"If those show-offs fall into my hands, I'm planning to make them the Three Heavenly Kings first."
"That's quite reassuring, you bloodthirsty bastard."
***
The next day, agents from the intelligence agency sent by Shadow Division quietly approached our camp.
"Young master, pleased to et you for the first ti. I'm Regeron. From now on, I'll be handling reconnaissance and other duties from your shadow."
I recognized the face of the man who spoke as the representative.
"Didn't you help when we took down the branch of Black Society?"
Their assistance had been crucial in setting traps that significantly weakened the Black Society's forces.
"You rember. Of course I was there."
"Excellent. So we're comrades-in-arms."
Moreover, having worked under Shadow Division in harsh conditions, he was hiding the deanor of a rarely seen master.
"If you have anything for us to do, please let us know anyti. Until then, we'll move independently and only report necessary matters, if that's acceptable?"
If they had their established way of working, it was my style to respect it to so extent.
"That would be better."
"Thank you. You're as magnanimous as I've heard."
I nodded.
"Fighting enemies is tiring enough without having power struggles among allies, don't you think?"
At that, Regeron smiled.
"Exactly. There are so many people in the world who make things tireso over pointless matters."
"I agree with that."
* * *
After several days of camping, eating the prepared rations beca tedious.
So when the sun set, we went hunting.
Actually, calling it hunting was a stretch.
Rudgarda basically did all the work while we just assisted and enjoyed the deer or wild boar she caught.
"Wolf doesn't taste as good as expected."
"Wild boar belly, sliced and grilled, is definitely a delicacy."
"I heard sowhere that boiling deer antler and drinking it is dicinal."
"Why deer antler specifically?"
"I don't know that either."
While maintaining military discipline during our march, we exchanged such idle chatter when the sun set and we prepared to make camp.
This could be called a process of building camaraderie among comrades.
I thought it was human nature to develop bonds when walking together, sleeping together, and preparing als together.
After several days of hunting like this...
Naturally, this beca a form of military training.
"Jeffrey."
"Yes, young master."
"Kaimak is too noisy with all his talking, so tell him to go gather so plants."
"Understood."
But who could have predicted that this decision would lead to even greater chaos?
While gathering herbs and vegetables suitable for als according to the booklet my mother had made, Kaimak ended up eating the wrong mushroom.
"Hahahaha! Hahahahaha! Kihihihihi!"
Unable to stand Kaimak's constant laughter after eating a laughing mushroom, Jeffrey banished him to the farthest tent.
"That crazy bastard finds new ways to cause trouble."
"I'm sorry, but you personally hired him, young master."
"Should I fire him even now?"
Anyway, having soone like him around did keep the journey from being boring.
Of course, that's not to say it was a good thing.
***
A few more days passed. Now we were about three days away from Count Pergrin's territory.
We had run out of things to say to each other and were just sitting around a campfire, staring blankly at the flas.
"..."
There are tis when people sit around a campfire late at night and fall into a strange lancholy even without drinking, and this was one of those tis.
"Rudgarda."
"What?"
"Did you learn to hunt from childhood?"
Rudgarda nodded.
"Since I could barely walk."
"Watching you all this ti, I've realized that your legs, which run faster than horses, developed into lightness skills, and your ability to hide your presence and avoid detection while hunting beca stealth techniques."
I spoke.
"I think martial arts ultimately originated from abilities developed to hunt beasts in nature, gradually refined and advanced over ti."
At my interpretation, Rudgarda smiled slightly.
"I think so too. But with anything that gets old, people often forget what the original essence was."
That was truly the case.
I thought that even the revenge spirits of the Black Society had probably forgotten their original intentions during their 200 years of wandering the continent.
'Even the single-minded pursuit of revenge becos a muddy torrent mixed with all sorts of things when it spans multiple generations.'
Understanding this was my prerogative, but I had no intention of sympathizing or forgiving them.
The fact remained that they had treated countless humans like slaves and ruined even more people's lives.
"I'm a bit tired. I'll head in first."
"Rest well."
After Rudgarda returned to her tent, and the voices of the three musketeers—Jeffrey, Taris, and Kaimak—who had been bickering in the distance also grew distant—
I lifted my eyes from the flas I'd been staring at to look up at the twinkling stars.
I'm not a navigator, so I don't know constellations well.
Adeline had taught a few once, but I wasn't very interested, so I don't rember them well.
"..."
After all the revenge was over, soday it might be good to find out how Adeline was doing.
But I couldn't muster the courage to show myself before her.
"Sigh."
Feeling tired of being lost in thought, I sighed and lowered my gaze.
"?"
Sothing was strange.
The fire was burning, but there was no one around .
The problem was that this silence was too contrived.
'What's this?'
As I grabbed my sword and stood up.
Kaimak's voice ca from outside the tent.
"Hahaha, who are you? Reveal your identity, kihihihi! Huh?"
Kaimak's noisy voice cut off.
'Hmm?'
I activated my heightened senses, sweeping the entire campsite with my enhanced perception.
Then I could sense the sentries collapsing like puppets with cut strings, not even knowing what had hit them.
'Enemy attack!'
Goosebumps rose on my skin as I drew my sword—only then did I realize soone had already appeared from the direction opposite the fallen sentries.
"Who are you?"
Though I couldn't see the face clearly, I could tell this sturdy man was an aged master of considerable skill.
Was he from the Black Society? I wasn't sure. What was certain was that he wasn't Ivan.
'I can't read his mana at all. He's an incredible master.'
I used footwork to retreat while drawing up the power of the Ink Soul Sacred Shadow Technique and unleashing my maqna
But seeing my mana which was powerful enough to crush steel walls, scatter helplessly with a single slash from the old master left montarily dumbfounded.
"Your response isn't bad. Are you on the verge of the third stage of Ink Soul Sacred Shadow Technique?"
"...!"
Surprised, I asked again.
"Who are you?"
The intruder spoke.
"I am Leszek. To you, I am a distant ancestor and an elder of the sword."
"...Lord Leszek?"
It was the unexpected appearance of Leszek Grunewald, whom I had known only as a legendary figure.
"Hahaha! You look completely stunned!"
Moreover, behind appeared Geninghen Grunewald, another legendary figure, laughing loudly.
'This is absurd.'
It turned out I was already inside a barrier, but I couldn't tell when this had happened, which was chilling.
"...Lord Geninghen. It's been a long ti."
"It has been a long ti, boy."
I also bowed to the man whose emotions were unreadable, like an ancient tree.
"I heard you were coming to visit long ago, but you never ca."
"Hehehe."
Geninghen chuckled and said.
"If not now, there wouldn't be much opportunity to talk comfortably. Plus, I wanted to play a little prank on our heir."
When Geninghen snapped his fingers, what I was standing on changed from dirt to clouds.
"What the hell."
"Don't be startled, it's just a simple illusion."
No matter how I looked at it, I seed to be standing on clouds, so I tested the ground with my feet.
From the resistance I felt, it was still dirt.
"Why did you want to see outside like this? And why now, when we're almost at our destination?"
"Even old folks stuck in back rooms need to get so fresh air sotis, don't they?"
Geninghen replied simply.
"Plus, we were watching to see if those Black Society bastards would try to attack."
"I had no idea. Where exactly were you watching from?"
At that, Geninghen pointed upward.
"The sky."
There was sothing so cool about that matter-of-fact statent.
[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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