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[Translator - Prøks]
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Chapter 139: This Footwork Is...
The middle-aged man muttered with a puzzled expression,
"...Strange. How can a mage..."
A brief silence fell. The mercenaries, focused on our fight, also remained silent. Only Daisy's cheers could be heard.
"This is my brother! How do you like the taste of him!"
Only then did the middle-aged man nod.
"Indeed, concise movements. I've never seen a mage like you."
I pointed at the middle-aged man and said,
"Are you from a knight clan?"
His swordsmanship suggested it.
A clean stance with no unnecessary movements, efficient sword path, and smooth footwork.
It was no wonder that Daisy, who still lacked experience, had a hard time winning against him.
"Did you commit a crime and run away from a knight clan? Did you commit treason or something?"
"You have eyes, so you must have seen. I haven't even drawn my sword yet. How about we stop this?"
"I haven't even started yet."
I opened five circles of my heart.
As my energy changed, the middle-aged man's eyes also changed.
With a clink, the blade drawn from the scabbard was a blue color, like the middle-aged man's eyes.
The watching mercenaries murmured.
"Uncle Wolf drew his sword?"
"I've never seen that before."
The moment the middle-aged man pointed his sword at me with his right hand...
I immediately kicked off the ground and leaped high into the air.
Levitation magic.
From the sky, I showered him with a barrage of flames, obscuring his vision, then spun my body towards the ground and shot down like a ray of light.
Fwoosh—
The middle-aged man chose to attack instead of dodging.
He aimed at me with his sword, its blade imbued with sword Qi.
My fist and his sword clashed several times, sparks flying.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
While fighting, I glanced at the middle-aged man's left arm.
Was it because he was wearing clothes that were too big for him?
The middle-aged man's left hand was hidden in his sleeve.
Throughout the fight, he had been wielding his sword with only his right hand.
Was he hiding a hidden weapon in his sleeve?
"Let me see your left hand, Mr. Beggar."
"I would appreciate it if you showed some respect for your opponent."
"Show me."
"No."
"Are you kidding me? I'll smash you with a sledgehammer."
Despite the chilling threat, the middle-aged man didn't show his left hand.
How dare he mock me?
As my fist and his sword continued to clash, I chanted a spell.
"Wind Cutter."
It seemed like one chant, but it was actually two.
Multi-casting.
Two wind blades enveloped us, targeting the middle-aged man.
As he engaged in close combat while also dealing with the wind blades, cuts began to appear on his body.
I had identified his weakness.
"Mr. Beggar wasn't spouting nonsense."
I looked at the middle-aged man's fluttering sleeve and said,
"You really don't have a left hand."
A slight opening.
As the situation became urgent, the middle-aged man's center of gravity was subtly collapsing.
I persistently aimed for that opening.
He fended off my attacks with his amazing footwork, but I wasn't going to let go of the advantage I had gained.
Fwoosh—
Suddenly, an intense mana wave emanated from the middle-aged man.
It was at least a 5-star level wave.
Sword Qi materialized on the blade, and his sword path twisted in reverse.
A knight using such unorthodox swordsmanship?
"Huh?"
But what really surprised me was something else.
I had clearly seen it just now. An intense malice surged in the middle-aged man's eyes.
That was definitely not intentional.
Eyes filled with rage. Not the eyes of a knight.
It was clear that his instinctive senses, honed over a long period, had instinctively surfaced.
I instantly created distance between us.
"Now I see that Mr. Beggar isn't from a knight clan."
The middle-aged man's eyes were now calm.
Was this his true self?
I looked at the middle-aged man and said,
"You were a mercenary. Seems like you've been through a lot."
"How did you know?"
"You can't fool my eyes."
He was definitely not an ordinary mercenary.
He hadn't learned swordsmanship from a knight clan either.
Rather, he was a mercenary who had honed his practical swordsmanship through extreme battles, reaching a high level of skill.
I reevaluated the middle-aged man.
"You must have gone through a lot. What did you say your name was?"
"Wolf."
"Which mercenary group were you with?"
"...I've already retired."
"You don't seem old enough to retire. Were you forced to retire?"
Wolf didn't answer.
Instead, he slowly caught his breath and pointed his sword at me. From the moment his true nature, which had been submerged beneath the surface, awakened, Wolf had no intention of stopping.
I nodded and said,
"Good attitude. Once you've started, you have to see it through to the end."
Wolf calmly regulated his breathing.
Now that his weakness had been exposed, he intended to finish this in one go.
I had no reason to drag this out either.
With a thud, Wolf charged at me with his sword.
Rushing towards me with a speed that seemed to cut through the air, Wolf suddenly started circling me, moving like a dancer.
Unpredictable and unorthodox movements.
Truly fascinating footwork.
Watching Wolf's dance-like movements, I decided on my counter strategy.
Footwork against footwork, dance against dance.
I moved forward, improvising a dog-legged gait.
Wolf's eyes narrowed as if he had never seen a dog-legged dance before, and he unleashed an explosive flurry of sword techniques.
Horizontal and vertical slashes mixed together, flying towards me from all directions.
This was it.
I chanted "Shock Wave" in front of me while simultaneously lowering my body.
Fwoosh—!
As the sound of tearing air resonated...
I concentrated wind pressure on the tips of my toes and executed the Crazy Mage style footwork.
It was a silent footwork that glided over the weeds as if floating.
Wolf, having finished his attack, momentarily lost track of my position.
Using my silent footwork, I instantly got behind Wolf and thrust my fist imbued with the Shock Wave chant.
Bam—!
Wolf, his body flung into the air, crashed onto the ground.
Coughing up a mouthful of blood, Wolf looked at me with disbelief.
I pointed at Wolf and said,
"Seems like you've gotten quite dull, Mr. Beggar. You need to train more."
"What was that last move? Could it be a movement technique?"
"This footwork is..."
I was about to say "Crazy Mage style footwork," but Wolf's eyes were so serious that I changed my mind.
I improvised and said,
"Grass Serpent."
"A fitting name."
With that, the middle-aged man, his breathing ragged, slumped down.
Daisy, who had been watching, rushed over.
"As expected of you, Brother! You did well. But, um, did you knock him unconscious?"
"I think so."
Suddenly, Daisy pulled out a dagger scabbard from her waist and started hitting Wolf's head with it.
Thwack—! Thwack—!
After two strikes, I grabbed Daisy's scabbard.
"Stop it, Daisy. He's not a man to be trifled with."
"Yes, Brother."
I looked back and saw the mercenaries all staring at us with admiration.
Fenrir also said with admiration,
"...Wow, you defeated Uncle Wolf? That's amazing, truly."
I said to Fenrir,
"Do you have any moonshine by any chance?"
***
A drinking party ensued.
We sat in a circle on the wooden floor of the main hall and started sharing moonshine.
The mercenaries of the Fenrir Mercenary Group were all laid-back.
Mercenaries were generally rough and full of personality, but this felt different.
It started with them casually sharing drinks with me, the one who had defeated Wolf.
It felt like they were, how should I put it, the mavericks of the mercenary world.
As I drank, I suddenly became curious and looked at Fenrir.
"I heard you killed an entire mercenary group that used to be in Poeta."
"Ah, that?"
Fenrir replied nonchalantly,
"They backstabbed us. They sent a spy to place a request, and while we were away, they attacked us all at once."
The twin mercenary brothers, who were drinking, added,
"Three of our guys who were waiting at the headquarters were killed. Because of that, our number decreased from thirteen to ten."
I nodded.
"Good job."
So that's what happened.
As we continued to drink and chat, Wolf, who had regained consciousness, joined us.
Wolf offered Daisy a drink, and Daisy accepted.
I offered Wolf a drink, and Wolf accepted.
The three of us drank at the same time.
"Ah, this tastes good."
After three rounds of drinks, I asked Wolf,
"Why did you come to Kaoto?"
"Just to look around."
Somehow, I felt that wasn't the whole story, but I didn't press further.
This time, Wolf asked me,
"Are you the Crazy Mage?"
"You have a good eye."
Fenrir and the other mercenaries, who were listening, exclaimed in surprise.
"Oh."
"No wonder."
Fenrir nodded and said,
"I had a feeling it was you. Your reputation doesn't match your skills."
This time, I asked Wolf,
"How long has it been since you retired from your previous mercenary group?"
"About a year."
No matter how I looked at it, his skills didn't seem like they belonged to an ordinary mercenary group.
Wolf didn't seem willing to tell me, but I had a few guesses.
"Your left arm seems to have a story behind it."
"...It's something I've already forgotten."
Considering the personalities of the Fenrir mercenaries, I said,
"That's why you're here like this. To find peace of mind. Do you have any dreams, by any chance?"
Fenrir looked at me with a slightly surprised expression.
I took a sip of alcohol and shared my thoughts.
"There are many things that aren't easily forgotten, even if you try to forget them."
I didn't know what Fenrir's story was.
But there were things in the world that couldn't be easily forgotten.
I knew that firsthand.
The more I tried to forget, the more the faces of those who tormented me in my dreams every night wouldn't disappear.
I decided to get to the main point.
"How long have you been working here?"
"About three months."
"What's the pay?"
"There isn't any. I'm here purely out of my own will. I already have enough money."
"Then that's fine."
I poured more alcohol into Wolf's empty glass and said,
"Come with me."
Daisy was surprised and asked,
"Brother?"
I continued, looking at Wolf,
"You don't seem to have any reason to stay here anyway. Come to our Patrol and teach the kids."
Wolf replied,
"You want me to be a swordsmanship instructor?"
"That's exactly what I mean. It would be wonderful for you to teach our Vice Commander Daisy."
Wolf looked at Daisy and said,
"I admit she's talented. But I can't do that."
"It's not often that I make this kind of offer."
"I'm not interested."
"You're deceiving yourself."
I smiled at Wolf.
"By the way, you're refusing without even hearing about the compensation?"
"As I said, I don't need compensation. I've already earned enough money."
"I don't think so."
"What do you mean?"
I stopped smiling and looked at Wolf.
"Let me make you an offer. I'll help you get revenge."
Wolf looked at me intently.
Beyond his blue eyes, the hidden emotion of malice was stirring.
I looked straight at that emotion.
"Choose. Will you live your life pretending to be okay while suppressing your pain? Or will you draw a future with me?"
After a moment of staring contest, Wolf suddenly sighed and said,
"It's impossible."
"Nothing is impossible for me."
"I'm talking about reality. I admit Samael's reputation has grown recently. But that's not enough."
"Reputation doesn't always represent skill."
"I'm saying this with all that in mind."
I clapped my hands and said,
"Then it's decided. You'll believe me if I raise my reputation. How high do you want me to raise it?"
"I'm not joking."
"Neither am I."
I tossed Red Dagger into the air.
With a thud, Red Dagger landed in front of Wolf's empty glass.
"Decide carefully, Wolf. That's not what's important. Your heart is what matters."
Wolf looked down at the empty glass without saying a word.
After a while, Wolf pulled out Red Dagger and handed it to me. I lifted the moonshine bottle and poured it into his empty glass.
Wolf rolled up his left sleeve.
He lifted the glass with the prosthetic hand revealed on his severed left arm.
"Good thinking."
When I held out my glass, Wolf clinked his against mine.
Strangely, Daisy and the other mercenaries also raised their glasses and clinked them together.
After emptying his glass, Wolf suddenly said to Fenrir,
"Will it be alright?"
Fenrir replied with a smile,
"Well, it's Uncle Wolf's decision. What's it to us?"
Then Fenrir looked at me.
"Somehow, it seems like he'd fit in better over there."
I smiled back at Fenrir.
"You're very straightforward."
"Honestly, it's a bit of a shame. He was an important asset. But in return, spar with me sometime when I visit."
"Sure."
"Take good care of Uncle Wolf."
Suddenly, I became curious and asked,
"By the way, how old is he that you call him uncle?"
"I don't know. He looks old enough, doesn't he?"
Only then did I take a closer look at Wolf's face.
"Hmm."
"What is it?"
"I'll call you uncle from now on too."
Uncle Wolf nodded with a solemn expression.
"That would be good. Then I'll speak comfortably too."
"Is that so?"
"...Didn't you say you'd call me uncle?"
"I did, didn't I?"
"Didn't you mean you'd speak respectfully?"
"What are you talking about? Get up now, Uncle Wolf."
"...?"
"Stop drinking and let's go."
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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