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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 63: The Fuse
I frowned as soon as I stepped out of the main house.
Even though we were quite a distance from the main gate, the ground vibrated and loud shouts echoed all the way here.
When I went down, I saw a group of thugs and apprentices facing off against each other with the main gate between them.
"Quite a crowd has gathered."
The apprentices, hearing my voice, first moved aside to the left and right.
Then, the thugs, who spotted us through the cleared view, drew their weapons and shouted.
I immediately extended my palm and aimed at one of them.
Fwooosh—
Two fireballs struck the thug in the front, right in the chest.
'Hmm?'
For a moment, I wondered if I had already mastered multi-casting magic, but that wasn't the case.
Zion, who fired a fireball almost simultaneously with me, said while panting,
"Don't cross the line there."
While the rest of the thugs were cursing and trying to cross the main gate, I chanted a spell once again.
'Fire Spear.'
The first thug was hit by the fire spear and collapsed backward, and the surrounding thugs, in their typical third-rate fashion, got tangled up and the fire spread rapidly.
"Aaaaagh!"
"This is what happens when you ignore our business manager's warning."
While the thugs were in disarray, a stream of water burst from behind, and with a hissing sound, the fire was extinguished.
"Move aside."
The thugs, who had become quiet in an instant, parted to the left and right, and two men walked out.
Snake Eyes came forward first, and behind him, a man I had never seen before was taking it easy.
He was a man with eyes similar to Blok's.
Snake, who had walked up to the main gate, looked at Kazen and said,
"Finally, we meet. Lord Kazen."
When Kazen remained expressionless and didn't respond, Snake twitched the corners of his mouth.
"So, how did things go with your trip?"
"...."
"Oh dear, it seems things didn't go well. That's a big problem. A very big problem."
Kazen said in a voice devoid of any emotional inflection,
"I clearly warned you last time, Snake."
"Haha, we'd like to say the same to you. We clearly warned you. If you can't pay the money, you’ll have to vacate the house. What is the meaning of this shameless behavior?"
"The repayment deadline hasn't passed yet."
Snake grinned and glanced at the elders.
"We've already told you several times, but it seems the elders haven't informed you yet? Then let me tell you once again. The repayment deadline has already passed."
"Bring the notarized contract first."
Snake burst into exaggerated laughter.
"Didn't we already show you the notarized contract? You're truly shameless. Are you trying to buy time like this?"
At that moment, the man who had been standing behind with his hands clasped behind his back stepped forward with a smile.
"Lord Samael. Listen carefully. We can't wait any longer. If you can't vacate Mount Khaoto, we'll have to force you out."
“Shane, did Lord Bayern instruct you to say that?"
Listening to the series of conversations, I deduced the man's identity.
I had a feeling those kinds of eyes couldn't be common. So, he's Blok's brother, huh?
Always one to satisfy my curiosity, I looked at the man called Shane and asked,
"Sorry to interrupt, but does your father also have corpse eyes?"
Shane looked at me with an incredulous expression.
"Who are you to speak so informally?"
"Someone in a similar position as you. So, does your father have corpse eyes? How can those genetics be so strong?"
Snake stepped forward and interjected.
"Young Master Ruin, you're still as disrespectful as ever. I clearly told you what would happen if you couldn't tell when to butt in and when to not."
While Snake Eyes was talking, I had already enveloped my feet in flames.
'Wind Push.'
I soared up like the wind, twisted my waist, and kicked at Snake's jaw.
Snake quickly jerked his head back but couldn't avoid it completely. The tip of my foot grazed his neck, and he stumbled backward.
"Ugh."
"Why do you keep crossing the line?"
I said, looking at Snake with a burn mark on his neck.
"That corpse-eye guy should show some respect first. Are you looking for a fight?"
Shane, who had been tilting his head, smirked as if he'd been waiting for this.
"Did you just attack first?"
"You guys trashed our business, and now you're acting like you're the victim because you got kicked once? Hey, you shameless bastard. Is that how your father taught you? Talking down to the head of another family?"
To be fair, Shane hadn't completely spoken informally to Kazen, but it's important to assert dominance first.
Humans are creatures of perception. If you strongly assert something first, it can create confusion in their memory.
I looked around at the apprentices and said in a serious tone,
"Judging by the way these guys are talking, they came here with a fight in mind. Apprentices, today is the day. Today is the day we fight with our lives on the line. It might sound sudden, but heads always roll unexpectedly, so there's nothing strange about it. Trust in yourselves and the training you've worked so hard for."
The apprentices immediately spread out and took their positions, centering around the main gate.
The ragtag group of mercenaries who had been waiting in the distance also appeared instantly and stationed themselves behind us.
In the midst of all this, even the elders unexpectedly stepped forward and filled in the gaps, pulling something out from their robes.
'Magic stones?'
The elders were holding magic stones and taking a stance as if they were about to throw them at the enemies.
'Throw them? Magic stones?'
I couldn't predict what they were planning to do.
For a moment, I made eye contact with Elder Norman, and it was the same crow's eyes I had seen a few days ago.
"...."
I quickly averted my gaze and looked at the enemies.
The thugs also started drawing their swords one by one. Meanwhile, Snake, who had recovered, was looking at us with a dumbfounded expression.
"So, you've all decided to go rogue."
"Scared?"
Snake let out a chuckle.
"Do you even have a plan, you reckless brat?"
"Whether I have a plan or not, you're going to die, Snake Eyes. There's only one way to survive. If you're scared, run away now and disappear. Always keep a lookout around you."
"I didn't expect it, but you're truly insane."
Kazen, who had been quietly observing the standoff, suddenly looked up at the red flag fluttering above the main gate, then leaped up and landed in front of it.
He pulled out the flagpole, and the dried blood stained his hand.
Kazen, who had been silently staring at his bloodstained hand for a while, leaped once again and planted the Blue Sea Flag in the middle of the main gate where Bayern and Samael were facing off.
"This is where it ends. Samael will no longer stand idly by and watch Bayern's tyranny."
His voice was calm.
Amidst occasional chuckles, Shane threw back his head and roared with laughter.
"This is rich. You can't even repay your debts. And you don't have the Red Magic Tower’s support either. What makes you so confident, Lord Kazen? Don't tell me you're relying on those young apprentices and old elders? Let's see what you've got."
Just as Shane was about to give the order to attack while laughing,
Suddenly, several metallic sounds rang out from behind the thugs, followed by the sound of flesh tearing and a cacophony of screams.
"Oh, for real. What's with these crazy bastards?"
It was a familiar voice.
"Move aside, will you? Why do you keep blocking me? Anyone who blocks me is gonna die. Want to see what real craziness looks like?"
After a few more sounds of sword clashes, a group of people emerged through the thugs.
Everyone's eyes focused on the beautiful woman at the front.
Upon recognizing the woman's face, Shane shouted in a flustered voice.
"You've got to be kidding me! What is the main branch doing here? Don't tell me you're planning to break the agreement?"
"Do I need your permission to come here? You little brat, you're asking for a beating."
"Where's Master Shepiro? Didn't we agree that you would withdraw from the Khaoto Branch?"
"That bastard Shepiro's been dead for ages. You're way behind the times. We're the Dark Sojungi Mercenary Group. Move aside if you don't want to get sliced."
Both enemies and allies gasped in surprise.
Shane and Snake exchanged glances, assessing the situation. Our mercenaries, who hadn't heard the news yet, tilted their heads in confusion, looking back and forth between me and the woman.
"Damn it, where's my brother? Brother! I'm here! Where are you, brother!"
The warrior woman drew a dagger from her waist and began a fearsome sword dance.
Meanwhile, some of the men were staring at the warrior woman with burning eyes, but they didn't seem to have any malicious intent.
How did I know that...?
"Fuck, where are you!"
Every time the warrior woman cursed, they all twitched as if they had been electrocuted, their bodies trembling with excitement.
"Oh? There he is. Brother, I'm here!"
I, who had been desperately avoiding eye contact, finally met the warrior woman's gaze.
I collected myself and said,
"I told you to wait. What are you doing here?"
Daisy pouted and said,
"You're being too cold after such a long time. I couldn't just wait around worrying, brother. I've taken care of everything with Leon, so you don't have to worry."
"How did you know to come here?"
"Where else would you be besides here?"
The people around us, listening to our conversation...
All had mixed expressions of confusion, bewilderment, jealousy, and curiosity.
Daisy raised the tip of her red dagger and said,
"Anyway, who are all these guys? That idiot-looking one over there is from Bayern."
"What do you think?"
"Should I kill them?"
At that moment, Snake and Shane, who had finished assessing the situation, stepped back and said,
"So this was your trump card."
While Snake was ordering the thugs to retreat, Shane glared back and forth between me and Daisy and said,
"So you're backstabbing us after all. Fine. We'll retreat for today."
I smirked and pointed at Shane.
"You idiot, who said you could?"
"I haven't crossed the line yet."
"You just did. I'm taking your head today."
For a moment, Shane looked down at his feet in a flustered manner, but his toes hadn't crossed the flag yet.
"I haven't crossed it."
"So what? What does that matter? Would you let me go if I were you?"
As Shane, startled, immediately jumped back to create distance, I raised my hand to calm him down.
"Just kidding, just kidding. You scared?"
"...You bastard."
The thugs, who had quickly finished organizing themselves, retreated, and Kazen and I watched their backs with calm expressions.
Shane, who thought he had secured enough distance, turned around and glared at us.
"We'll be back. Don't forget who's behind us. The warnings are over."
Daisy whispered in my ear.
"Should I kill them?"
"Let's just clean up."
I looked back and saw that the locals had gathered in a circle at a distance, watching us with worried expressions.
* * *
Bayern had already finished all preparations and was just waiting for Kazen to arrive.
If Daisy hadn't appeared, they probably would have attacked immediately.
Nevertheless, the reason I deliberately let the Bayern guys live and sent them back was simple.
It's cleaner to take them out all at once rather than giving them an excuse by killing a few small fries.
As the saying goes, when you're fishing, you need to catch the whole school at once. Trying to catch one or two first can ruin the whole thing.
Kazen probably had similar thoughts, which is why he just watched them retreat.
While Kazen and the elders were calming down the locals, I received a report from Bravo Khan about the recent events.
It turned out that as soon as Bravo Khan escaped to Samael, he explained to the elders about everything I had done.
The elders already knew about the mercenary group through Zion and the gatekeepers, so they didn't have any particular suspicions.
Moreover, Bravo Khan had noticed that I had even absorbed the main branch's troops into the mercenary group.
Indeed, the old officer had a knack for handling things neatly.
I let Bravo Khan continue explaining to Kazen and the elders, and in the meantime, I asked Daisy various questions I was curious about.
"... The headquarters?"
"Completely taken care of."
"Did you hide the slush fund well?"
"Yes. I moved it to a place only I know."
I checked the wagon that had followed us and asked,
"You brought gold bars?"
The skinny quartermaster next to her replied,
"Yes, we brought a little, just in case."
"Good job."
I checked the gold bars in the wagon and had the mercenaries quietly move them to one side.
Then, I instructed Daisy to move with Bravo Khan and gathered the apprentices to one side.
"Are you nervous?"
The apprentices didn't answer.
Even though they had undergone harsh training, they were still young. The fact that a real sword fight almost broke out had left them stiff.
I looked at the apprentices and started lecturing them as I saw fit.
"I told you. It could be tomorrow. It could be the day after. You have to think that if you don't crush the enemy's skull..."
Surprisingly, the apprentices interrupted me and replied,
"We know."
"Don't worry, Commander."
Iron muttered with a determined expression,
"I'm a Samael too."
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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