Chapter 19: Chapter 19

Chapter 19: The Warrior’s Scout

While eating, I glanced sideways at Rahan. A blazing flame flickered in his eyes.

It seemed he had made up her mind after sensing something from my earlier answer.

Before long, Rahan stood up with his plate in hand.

“I’ll bring some food to Lenel.”

Lenel appeared to be the name of the girl who had gone upstairs. The bald man had given us plenty of food, so I didn’t care much.

No matter how much I ate, the food didn’t seem to decrease. The bald man must have thought I was some kind of glutton—he’d prepared far too much.

That was when it happened.

“What kind of trouble are you stirring up that you ended up in a place ?”

Ryan entered the tavern, frowning.

His clothes were splattered with blood. He must have gotten into a fight on his way here.

I asked, “Ryan, what’s with that blood?”

“I ran into some weird bastards while looking for you.”

“Well, they asked if I’d seen someone with reddish hair tips and a longsword at his left waist. Then they suddenly came at me, asking if I was with that guy. They came at me like they meant to kill me, so I had to teach them a lesson.”

Those must have been the ones who had been bothering Rahan.

I thought they hadn’t seen my face, but it seemed I wasn’t skilled enough with Seogwang Pyoholbo yet and had exposed myself to them.

‘That’s troublesome.’

People who lived in the shadows were more persistent than one might think. They lived by the belief that grudges must be repaid tenfold, while favors need not be repaid at all.

In cases , it was best to kill everyone who had seen your face—to prevent any future troubles.

“Did you kill them all?”

“Are you crazy? I just crippled one of them and left it at that.”

“...I see. You’ve worked hard, so sit down and eat. There’s too much food for me alone.”

“I’m buying, so don’t doubt it and just eat.”

“What’s gotten into you? You’re the stingy bastard who wouldn’t even pay for a room.”

Ryan muttered as he sat down. He cast a suspicious glance at me for a while before taking a bite of steak.

To be honest, I hadn’t originally intended to buy him a meal.

A grown man should at least be able to feed himself—why should I treat him?

But if my guess was right, Ryan needed to fill his stomach here and now.

Just as we were finishing our meal, Rahan returned and spoke.

“Your name was Leon, right, sir? Thank you so much for your help today. But I think it’d be best if you didn’t come to the back alleys anymore.”

“Are those guys who bullied you that famous in the underworld?”

Rahan’s eyes widened. The surprise on her face was unmistakable.

“You know how the underworld works?”

“Then I don’t have to explain much. Just like you guessed, those bastards aren’t that great. They’re just small-timers who make money off drugs.”

His tone dripped with contempt. He must have suffered quite a bit under them.

“Then that’s good. If we take them out first, there’ll be no trouble later.”

“Ryan, get ready. You’ve crossed them too, so you’re on the same boat as me.”

I didn’t bother answering Rahan’s question. I simply rose from my seat along with Ryan.

But it seemed Ryan didn’t understand what was going on either.

“What? I’m on your side now? What the hell are you talking about?”

“They’ll be here soon. You should be able to feel it too if you’re aiming to become a knight.”

At that moment, Ryan’s eyes turned sharp and cold. He gave a crooked grin.

“So that’s what you meant? What the hell have you been doing?”

“I’ve just been looking for quiet places.”

“Then why are flies like these following you around?”

Rahan looked at me in confusion, which was only natural. The conversation between Ryan and I was of a kind that only those with heightened senses could catch.

The bald man, however, seemed to have sensed something and told Rahan to stay inside.

Perfect timing. I could already feel the presences outside.

A faint killing intent drifted in from beyond the door. Around thirty of them.

I glanced at Ryan. He nodded in response.

After exchanging signals—

I kicked the chest of the man trying to enter. It wasn’t a light kick. The blow, packed with internal energy, carried tremendous force.

The man flew back without even making a sound. His chest caved in completely, his heart bursting from the impact.

His limp body hurtled backward and rolled across the ground.

I looked at the rest, who stood frozen in shock.

“What’s the matter? Didn’t you come here to fight?”

At that, they all charged toward me at once.

My sword sliced through the neck of the one rushing at me. The headless body staggered, lost its balance, and the severed head collided with its own torso before both crumpled to the ground.

The gruesome sight froze the rest of them in place.

The sound of someone swallowing echoed clearly. The tension was palpable.

I silently gazed at the men before me. My calm, sunken eyes alone were enough to make them shudder.

I took a single step forward. They instinctively stepped one back.

Their fear-stricken faces grew darker with every passing second. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on noⅴelfire.net

But I didn’t stop. These men had come to kill me. Mercy was not an option.

“What are you waiting for? Kill them.”

Ryan passed by my side, muttering as he went. Striding forward, he cut down the nearest foe.

I followed right behind him.

The key to battle was seizing the initiative. If you broke your opponent’s momentum early, the fight became far easier.

Proof of that was the enemy’s utter helplessness before Ryan’s blade.

Ryan’s skill was exceptional, but more than that, it was the pressure of my presence that made them falter.

Just by following behind Ryan, I was already lending him great help.

Ryan seemed to know that too, clicking his tongue. Still, there was no need to exert ourselves over such a trivial fight.

Ryan did not refuse Leon’s help.

When they had taken down about half of their enemies, the remaining ones began to flee.

They weren’t even capable of proper combat, let alone swordsmanship. There was no way they could stand against the spirit of a warrior and the sword of a soldier.

However, Leon did not let them escape. While Ryan, sensing the end of the fight, sheathed his sword, Leon did not.

Five heads flew through the air in a single stroke. To cut down five people with just one swing—

No matter how weak the enemies were, such precision in sword technique was impossible without refined control.

Leon’s sword ultimately struck down every one of the fleeing men.

“Was there really a need to kill the ones running away?”

Ryan asked with a serious face. Leon gestured toward the tavern.

“They weren’t after me, but were connected to them. If we don’t kill them all here, who knows what trouble will come later.”

“...Is that so? Then you could’ve just said so.”

Ryan grinned as he replied.

“By the way, do you have a spare set of clothes? I was already uncomfortable with the blood, but now it’s just disgusting.”

As he said, Ryan’s clothes were soaked in blood—stained so deeply they clung to his skin. It was only natural he felt unpleasant.

At that moment, Rahan looked at Leon and Ryan with wide eyes, clearly impressed. Her eyes sparkled with awe.

The bald man beside her was no different. He, too, stared at Leon and Ryan with an intrigued expression, as if looking at something extraordinary.

Then, mumbling something to himself, the bald man suddenly spoke.

“Hey, you two. Ever thought about becoming mercenaries?”

After tidying up the area, the bald man approached Leon and Ryan.

“Sorry for making you wait. I’m not used to cleaning up corpses, so it took me a bit longer than I thought.”

“No matter. We’re the ones who caused it anyway.”

“I heard the story from Rahan. Leon, you saved him, didn’t you?”

“Well, since this must be fate, how about I make you an offer?”

“You mean that mercenary thing?”

Now that he was calm, the bald man seemed composed—but just moments ago, he had been extremely excited.

So much so that Rahan had to stop him from getting carried away.

Leon thought to himself,

‘It’s not a bad offer.’

After all, both he and Ryan lacked a proper source of income. They could live off Count Reinhardt’s money for a while, but after that?

They’d need at least a minimal way to earn their keep.

And the bald man’s offer was for them to become mercenaries. Mercenaries—wanderers and problem-solvers of the world.

They were people who took on requests and resolved their clients’ troubles for a fee.

“First, I’d like to know your name.”

“Ah, right. My name’s Georan.”

“Georan? That’s quite an unusual name for someone from the Empire.”

“Haha, that’s because I used to be a warrior from Elphrel, like you.”

Leon’s eyes widened. He’d heard that some warriors from Elphrel occasionally lived abroad—but to meet one here, of all places?

He smiled without realizing it.

“I see. So you were a warrior from Elphrel.”

“It’s probably not what you’re thinking. I don’t really have much affection for Elphrel.”

Everyone had their own circumstances. Leon decided to respect Georan’s unspoken past.

Perhaps because of his easy acceptance, Georan laughed heartily.

“Haha! I like that you don’t sweat the small stuff. Anyway, I’m the leader of the Black Dragon Mercenary Corps.”

“...The Black Dragon Mercenary Corps?”

Leon recalled hearing that name in a conversation between Zeke and Reinhardt.

A legendary mercenary group that roamed the continent, each of its members said to possess the skills of a knight’s intermediate rank.

In martial terms, they were comparable to one of the Nine Great Sects.

And now, the commander of that mercenary corps stood before him?

As curiosity flickered in Leon’s eyes, Georan continued,

“Well, to be exact, I’m the former leader. I retired not long ago because of an injury. So our corps is in a bit of a tough spot now. I used to handle about thirty percent of our combat strength myself, so the others are struggling to fill that gap.”

Thirty percent of the strength of a group where each member rivaled a knight—that was no small feat.

Just how strong had he been before his injury?

“But that’s strange. Why would you want to recruit me into such a group?”

“There are plenty of reasons. First off—your power. From what I can see, you’re quite strong. In terms of physical training, you’re about on my level. Your technique isn’t quite there yet, but you’re still young. You’ll grow.”

“But if strength alone was enough, there are many out there far better than me.”

“Good point. But you don’t think Rahan was the only one who heard about your dream, do you?”

In any organization, trust was the most important thing. Loyalty and friendship were all born from it.

From that perspective, Leon must have seemed like someone dependable. Not only because of the greatness of his dream—but also because he had directly crushed the injustice that had befallen a child.

To recruit someone like that was to recruit a trustworthy man.

Still, one question remained.

“Even so, you don’t know anything about Ryan.”

“You’re traveling with him, aren’t you? That’s good enough for me.”

So that’s how he decided, huh.

Leon couldn’t help but think Ryan’s luck was extraordinary.

Mikelan had told Ryan to watch and learn from him, but perhaps he’d secretly wanted Ryan to gain broader experience.

After losing to Leon, Mikelan had likely hoped Ryan would see and face stronger opponents.

And for that, the Black Dragon Mercenary Corps was the perfect place.

Ryan, too, seemed unwilling to let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“Good! Then it’s settled. Follow me.”

And with that, Georan skillfully led the two of them somewhere.