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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 60: A Crazy Mage?
"...What do you mean? War?"
Michel asked in a bewildered tone, and the man continued his explanation urgently.
"It's chaos. A few days ago, there were small skirmishes, and then suddenly men with swords appeared in droves. The streets are in ruins. Our merchant group was almost swept away and killed. We lost all our goods and barely escaped with our lives."
I listened quietly to the man's words, and then, sensing something strange, I asked,
"The streets are in ruins?"
The man replied without taking a breath,
"This is not the time for this. We need to inform all of Leon's merchant groups. It's urgent. You can verify the truth later."
Finally realizing the gravity of the situation, Michel headed out but stopped and looked back.
I nodded, and Michel gave orders to the woman and the vice-Commander.
"Vice-Commander, gather the allies. Ray, quickly confirm the facts and report back. I will inform the other merchant groups. Servants, prepare for a meeting."
As Michel and her subordinates left like an ebbing tide, I organized my thoughts for a moment and then said,
"Daisy. You go back to the main base for now."
Daisy pouted and replied,
"You're going alone? I want to go with you."
"The situation has changed, and we need someone to take care of things. Go back and tell the executives what we just heard. Keep the slush fund in a safe place. It's unlikely those guys would have any ill intentions, but you never know. Always be prepared for the unexpected."
I nudged the man who had fainted with a bruised thigh and said,
"Take this guy with you when you go. Come to think of it, we still don't know who he is. When he wakes up, ask him what he does. If he's nothing special, take him in as a low-ranking member. We need to recruit talent at times like this."
"Understood."
"Let's go."
As I stepped outside, as expected, the mercenaries guarding the entrance were all sprawled out on either side.
"...You said they stepped aside?"
Daisy walked towards the wagon and replied,
"They did step aside. Look, they're still aside, aren't they?"
'Is she out of her mind?'
Seeing Daisy's confident face as she asked back made me feel like I shouldn't argue, so I quickly left.
"Let's part ways here. When you're done, wait for me."
"Okay."
I parted ways with Daisy and immediately left Leon, entering the forest path.
* * *
I ran as fast as I could.
The man might have exaggerated, but it was clear that the situation was a bit different from what I had expected.
'The streets are in ruins?'
That was a strange thing to say.
I knew the Bayern guys would be back soon, but I had already informed the mercenaries on how to deal with them.
Since Bayern's goal was to drive the mercenaries out of Khaoto, it wasn't particularly difficult to deal with.
Bravo Khan wasn't a fool.
His personality was far from reckless.
In fact, he was a veteran who would carry out my orders more perfectly than anyone else.
If there was any sign of an enemy attack, he would have run away without looking back.
'Did he lose his mind in the meantime?'
...Could it be dementia?
I don't know.
If the mercenaries fought and died valiantly, I won't let the enemies go unpunished.
With each step I took, a fierce gust of wind swept through the forest on both sides.
* * *
As soon as I arrived in Khaoto, I sensed the changed atmosphere.
It was too quiet.
'Donkey's Back Alley,' which had become a hot spot among the young folks, was devoid of even a single ant.
"Nureongi!"
"...."
"Where are you, Nureongi!"
"Woof!"
I barked just in case, but there was no response.
Usually, when I called like this, Nureongi, the darling of the back alley, would appear, wagging his tail.
Even when I approached the restaurant, there was no smell of spicy stew, and the tables and chairs were scattered around haphazardly.
Donkey was nowhere to be seen either.
The only silver lining was that there were no signs of fighting or resistance.
Only the innocent Blue Sea Flag was fluttering on the outer wall.
'Hmm.'
I stood still for a while, looking at the restaurant, and then took down the Blue Sea Flag hanging on the outer wall.
I slung the flagpole over my shoulder and started walking through the back alley again.
As I headed north, the streets continued to be deserted.
Occasionally, when I encountered a local, they would be startled and hide somewhere.
After walking for a while, I came across an open space,
And then the building that 'was' the headquarters of the Dark Sojungi Mercenary Groups appeared.
"...."
The main gate and the walls were all broken, and thick smoke was rising from inside.
As I entered the courtyard, a few weapons were scattered on the ground, and the rock in the center was split into two pieces.
I went back and forth between the ruined building and the courtyard, examining the traces of the fight.
After looking around for a while and not finding any bodies, I turned back towards Khaoto.
It was only after entering the main street in the west that I started to see signs of the sword fight.
There were bloodstains on the street, and the buildings on both sides had marks of being stabbed or gouged by sharp blades.
The closer I got to the center, the more severe the situation became.
In some parts of the street, there were scattered limbs, and many buildings were completely destroyed, from the roofs to the structures, as if someone had deliberately demolished them.
'It really is in ruins.'
In the midst of all this, I thought the man's description was appropriate.
It was exactly in ruins.
Suddenly, the wind blew, and something flew and fell at my feet.
With the Blue Sea Flag still slung over my shoulder, I bent down and picked up the piece of cloth.
'An eye patch?'
I connected the torn pieces of the yellow cloth, and it was definitely an eye patch. It looked exactly like the one the one-eyed man used.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of people.
Men with swords were walking around in twos and threes.
As I entered the center, the number of men increased. They seemed to think that the situation had been cleared up, as they were completely ignoring me and demolishing the old buildings along the road.
Finally, reaching the center of the central area through the noisy sounds, I encountered a group.
'Red Sunset Tavern.'
About ten thugs surrounded the tavern, and a few of them were hanging orange lanterns on the outer wall.
As I stood there blankly for a moment, one of the thugs sensed something strange and approached me swaggering.
"Who are you? I warned you not to wander around."
I was still standing blankly when I swung my hand and punched him in the jaw.
"Cough!"
As soon as another thug behind him drew his sword, I swung the Blue Sea Flag slung over my shoulder like lightning and struck the charging thug's head.
Crack—
"Aaaagh!"
The man's head shattered, and blood gushed out.
At that moment, the tavern door burst open, and a familiar man appeared from inside.
"What's all the commotion!"
I was startled for a moment and quickly swung the Blue Sea Flag, but unfortunately, it didn't reach him.
As expected of someone with a head so unparalleled that it was difficult to gauge distance.
The big head glanced at his screaming subordinate, then looked at me and tilted his head.
"...Who are you?"
"I clearly said it. We'll manage this place. What's going on?"
"Who are you?"
I was in a rather sensitive state, so for the first time in a while, I revealed my true identity.
"I am the Crazy Mage."
Raven, who suddenly remembered hearing about the Crazy Mage's status from Brairo, stopped in his tracks and became highly alert.
"...So there really was someone above you. Are you the Commander of the Dark Sojungi Mercenary Groups?"
"You know me?"
"I heard about you from Brairo."
"Did I say something like that?"
"What do you mean?"
"What do you mean?"
"What?"
Feeling something was amiss, I shook my head and said,
"Forget it. You know who I am. Then you also know that if you don't want to die, you need to explain. Tell me. We said we'd manage this side. Where did everyone here go? Where are my subordinates? Don't tell me they fought bravely and died?"
As I glared, the tavern door opened again, and thugs poured out from inside. There were far more of them than I had seen before.
Raven raised one hand, stopping the thugs, and said,
"We clearly warned you. Leave Khaoto. You didn't heed the warning. We even reminded you who's behind us, and now you're going to argue?"
"That's not an explanation. Why is this mess happening? Why did you kill the locals? Why are the buildings in this state? Why are the streets in ruins?"
Raven replied calmly,
"That's only natural. We have to manage this side now, so it's natural. The entire western part of Khaoto will change, just like the eastern part. Now that we have plenty of money, we should strike while the iron is hot. We'll get rid of the old buildings and renovate everything. We had to kill those who resisted even after we gave them a chance."
"...Ah."
Suddenly, a hollow laugh escaped me, and I let out a random chuckle for a moment.
What kind of trouble were they causing? These guys were completely beyond my comprehension.
Right. The world always has its f*cked up side.
How could it always go according to my expectations?
As the thugs surrounded me again, Raven said,
"I'm giving you a chance now. Think carefully. I don't really want to see blood."
I said to Raven,
"I told you that Urgon is behind you guys."
"I've told you many times."
"Do you know who's behind Samael?"
Suddenly, the thugs giggled, and Raven also let out a chuckle.
"So what?"
"I'm asking who's in Samael."
"Who's there?"
"The Crazy Mage."
"Don't tell me there are two Crazy Mages?"
"I'm the only Crazy Mage in the world. Are you saying some bastard is impersonating me?"
Raven frowned and replied,
"It seems your mind is a bit messed up."
"You're the one with the big head."
At that moment, the tavern door opened once again, and a familiar face appeared.
The guy swaggered at the door, looked around, and then his eyes widened when he spotted me.
"... Ruin?"
"There's another one who knows me."
Blok suddenly burst into laughter, as if he had met his match.
"Khehehe! Oh, this is interesting. Long time no see, Ruin. You've changed a bit, I almost didn't recognize you. You crazy bastard, why are you standing there like that, waiting to die?"
Raven looked at me and Blok in confusion.
"Blok, do you know the Crazy Mage?"
"What? Crazy Mage? The front is right, but the back is wrong."
Blok jerked his head, and Raven clicked his tongue and replied,
"Well, even if Brairo treats him with respect, the way you talk is..."
"Oh, really?"
Blok frowned at the disapproving look.
'That low-ranking mercenary bastard is doing it again.'
Recently, Raven had been subtly showing signs of disrespecting him.
Blok jerked his head— and came down from the tavern.
"Now that I see it, Raven, your eyesight is terrible. Just watch quietly. I'll show you."
The moment Blok's strange laughter erupted again.
'Wind Push.'
I lunged like lightning, grabbed Blok's face, and flew straight into the tavern.
Crash—
"Puheeeaagh!"
Laughter and screams mingled and stretched out.
I slammed Blok's face onto the tavern floor and pressed the flagpole of the Blue Sea Flag hard against his solar plexus.
As the door slammed shut with the sound of wind, I quickly raised both hands and aimed at the entrance.
'Fire Spear.'
'Fire Spear.'
Two fire spears shot from both hands with a slight time difference and hit the door, instantly setting the entrance ablaze and Blokking it.
I looked around, and there were quite a few thugs inside as well.
'Were there this many of them originally?'
Putting aside the question for now, I immediately thrust the flagpole hard into Blok's solar plexus.
"If you come closer, I'll kill this bastard."
Blok screamed and flailed like a shrimp. I grabbed the flagpole, sat down on the floor, and flicked his forehead.
"I clearly said I'd get revenge."
"Kuuugh. You crazy... Cough!"
I sat down and continued flicking Blok's forehead.
Forget the situation, there's the target of my revenge right in front of me, how could I hold back?
"Cough!"
Meanwhile, the flames had spread to the first-floor outer wall, and the thugs were panicking inside and out, not knowing what to do.
After about 100 flicks, Blok's screams stopped.
My wrists started to ache, but I couldn't stop. I continued to hit Blok's forehead with the dedication of a master swordsmith sharpening a blade.
"Keuh."
The moment Blok completely fainted, I heard a familiar scream from downstairs.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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