Chapter 25

Chapter 25. Wolf Blade (2)

Wolf Blade’s guild headquarters was thrown into chaos. It was because of a shocking report that had come out of nowhere.

Several guild members had died. Not merely died, but been turned into gruesome corpses. And there were no fewer than six of them.

Among those six was one of the only five Wolf Leaders in Wolf Blade.

One of the enforcers who effectively ran Wolf Blade.

Because of that, Philip, the Guild Master and the man who led Wolf Blade, flew into a rage.

“What bastard dared to kill my men? Who was it?!”

“It was him! That barbarian bastard!”

“A barbarian?”

“That barbarian named Balun or whatever, that bastard brutally killed Captain Derek... Gkh!”

The guild member giving the report broke into violent coughing. Philip had seized him by the collar.

“M-Master, why are you doing this... urk!”

“Why are none of you injured?”

“What?”

“I am asking why you are all in such good condition. Do not tell me you ran without even fighting.”

“W-well, that is...”

The guild member hesitated. Philip immediately drove a fist into his chest. With a groan, the man rolled across the floor.

“Have I not always told you? That running away is a knight’s disgrace. That you should fight back even if it means dying.”

“But we are not knights.”

“Even if we are not knights, our hearts are those of knights. That is Wolf Blade. I have told you this again and again, yet you still do not understand. How disappointing. Truly disappointing. Tsk, tsk.”

Philip continued.

“I taught you the swordsmanship of knights. Those of you who trained in it are as good as knights yourselves. Why do you not understand that?”

As he listened, the man who had been struck grumbled inwardly.

‘That damned lunatic. He is on this nonsense again.’

He knew that Philip had once been a knight. He also knew that Philip took great pride in it. But he could never understand why the man insisted on forcing all that knight nonsense onto them as well.

What? Their hearts were those of knights? Then why not treat them like knights?

“Where is that bastard?”

“Yes, sir. Since the fight broke out at the inn, even if he has run, he probably has not gone far.”

“Gather men right now. Go after him and drag him back here. Immediately.”

“Yes, sir!”

“You may cut off an arm or a leg if you must. But do not kill him. Bring him before me alive, no matter what. Understood?”

“Understood!”

Philip stopped one of the men who was about to run out.

“You, go to the guard. Tell them not to get involved in this.”

“Uh, would it not be better to ask the guard for help instead?”

Philip frowned at the dazed question.

“You fool. If we did that, people would point at Wolf Blade and say we are a bunch of useless idiots who cannot even catch a single loach without begging for help. Is that what you want?”

“Gah, I am sorry! I did not think of that!”

“Then get moving.”

“Yes, sir!”

The guild members rushed out. As Philip calmed the fury boiling inside him, he thought,

‘He killed Derek? That bastard dared?’

Derek was one of the men Philip valued. Of the five Wolf Leaders, his swordsmanship was the weakest, but his peculiar talent for getting things done made him a tremendous asset to the guild.

Now that he was dead, it was no different from the guild losing a major pillar.

Derek had been the one keeping order in Pordel, so who was supposed to keep order in Pordel now?

‘He was the one I intended to make my successor...’

Philip clenched his fists. They trembled, and his resentment flared just as fiercely as that shaking.

‘I will not let this pass. I absolutely will not.’

Philip had founded the guild, but he did not personally run it. That was because he took great pride in the fact that he had once been a knight.

He believed that a knight was someone who honed his sword, not someone who ran an organization.

And so he had always stayed in the background, doing nothing but training, paying no attention at all to the guild’s management.

But now the situation is different.

A subordinate had died.

To witness that and endure it in silence would be a knight’s disgrace.

He was not so cowardly that he could endure such disgrace.

‘It seems my sword will taste blood again after a long while.’

He took down the sword hanging on the wall. The familiar weight awakened his vigor.

The sword he had used in his days of glory on the battlefield. With this, he would kill that primitive barbarian. With this, he would restore his tarnished honor.

As he brushed the dust off the sword with a cloth, someone suddenly came to his office. It was a middle-aged man with a distinctive pencil mustache.

His name was Banet. He was a mage affiliated with the Blue Magic Tower, and at present he was a distinguished guest of Wolf Blade, receiving Philip’s most lavish hospitality.

“You have come, Sir Banet.”

Banet entered in blue robes, leaning on a crooked wooden staff as though it were a crutch, and asked,

“It sounded rather noisy outside. Has something happened?”

“Ah, there is one minor issue, but you need not concern yourself with it.”

“A matter so minor that it requires your sword?”

“Hm? Ah, this is merely to set an example as a Guild Master. Haha.”

“You, setting an example? The sun must be about to rise in the west. I find myself curious what sort of matter could prompt this.”

Banet stroked his chin with interest. Watching him, Philip cursed inwardly.

‘There he goes again, completely blind to the mood. What a damned lunatic of a mage.’

“Ah, it is nothing, truly. Sir Banet, please do not trouble yourself and rest comfortably. I will return shortly, and then we can continue the conversation we did not finish yesterday.”

Philip hurriedly smoothed things over. He did not want this hard-won guest to discover the guild’s internal troubles.

How much money had he poured out just to invite this single mage? All to make Wolf Blade grow even larger.

It was a chance he had barely secured through immense money and effort. If Banet came away with even the slightest impression that the guild was lacking, then all that enormous investment of money and labor would go up in smoke.

“I would like to see your swordsmanship. Did you not say that in your day you strode across battlefields as though they were your own home?”

“Yes, I did. But this is not that kind of battle. It is merely a trivial dispute I must settle as Guild Master. There is no need for you to trouble yourself.”

“I see. Since you insist so strongly, I shall wait here.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

Without Banet noticing, Philip inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. He had almost lost points for no reason.

How could he possibly show that one of his Wolf Leaders, a senior officer no less, had been killed by a stinking barbarian? It was too humiliating even to contemplate.

“I shall return shortly, so perhaps have a cup of tea while you...”

“Master!”

At that moment, the door burst open and one of his subordinates came rushing in, out of breath.

“What is it?”

“Th-that barbarian—!”

“What about the barbarian? Have you captured him?”

“He has appeared in front of our guild headquarters!”

“What?”

“He says he wants to see you, Master! Our men have surrounded him for now, but I thought I had better report it first...!”

“I understand. I am going down immediately.”

Philip tilted his head.

‘He came here? Of his own accord?’

Unexpectedly. He had thought the man would flee.

“That hardly sounds like a minor issue.”

“Hm?”

At the voice behind him, Philip turned. Banet was seated on the sofa, his eyes gleaming.

Philip’s face stiffened without him realizing it. It meant Banet had heard the whole exchange.

“For a man to rush in without even knocking on the Guild Master’s door and deliver such an urgent report... Is it not so?”

“Ah, well...”

“That means it is not a minor issue after all. Then your sword should dance all the more splendidly. It sounds as though it may be quite a sight. Might you permit me the opportunity to witness it?”

“Yes. Let us do that.”

Philip nodded reluctantly.

‘He really cannot read the room at all. What a meddlesome mage.’

He was seething with irritation, but what could he do? He could not vent his anger at a mage from the Blue Magic Tower, so all he could do was swallow it.

“Come to think of it, I have heard that the swordsmen of Wolf Blade are quite skilled. I shall get to see that skill today. Hoho.”

Philip sincerely wanted to pluck every hair from that smirking pencil mustache on Banet’s face.

***

Balun looked around. There were many men with drawn swords. There had to be at least fifteen of them.

The important thing was that these men did not look as pathetic as the Vipers’ thugs had.

They clearly possessed real basic swordsmanship.

The way they held their swords, the breadth of their stance, the gaze with which they watched their enemy, the steadiness of their breathing, all of it told him that these were seasoned swordsmen.

They were fundamentally different from the third-rate Rogues in back alleys who had threatened passersby with clumsy daggers.

These men had truly trained with the sword. And because that fact was so obvious, Balun could not help but shrink inward.

-A preemptive strike guarantees victory.

Balun had come charging in boldly after engraving that famous saying, known to every modern person, in his heart.

He had intended to do to these bastards what he had done to the Vipers, but the moment he arrived in Wolf Blade’s territory, that resolve melted away like cotton candy.

‘Damn it, these bastards are no joke.’

To begin with, even their weapons were different. Daggers and longswords were worlds apart.

How big was the difference in length? Even if he was surrounded all the same, the pressure a person felt from longswords was obviously far greater.

That feeling that if he moved even a little, one of those blades would pierce him. Balun felt as though he were buried in the middle of a storm of sharpened steel.

‘Ha, I should have just run. That would have been safer.’

Balun wailed inwardly. The problem had been that the innkeeper’s cheering had puffed him up, and he had gotten carried away. He had gained confidence for no reason and rushed in with bravado he could not truly back up.

‘There is no helping it now. It is kill or be killed. Either I die, or Wolf Blade dies. One of us has to go.’

Balun clenched his fists tightly. He tried hard to calm his heart as it pounded in fear. Looking around at the men surrounding him, he opened his mouth.

“Move aside. Balun did not come for you. Balun came to meet your leader.”

“We will let you meet him. But you will have to leave an arm and a leg with us first.”

“Balun does not want to split you people open. Balun only has business with your leader. But if you attack Balun, Balun will have no choice but to split you open.”

“What kind of nonsense is that, you lunatic bastard? Split us open? We are not firewood.”

“Do you truly want that? Do you want war?”

Balun looked around expressionlessly. The enemies who met his eyes flinched. Dense killing intent was pouring from Balun’s gaze.

This killing intent was the real thing.

Balun had run across the great plains and cut down countless enemies. The look in his eyes was that of a predator itself. It was the gaze of a butcher who had lived each day in bloody battle.

These swordsmen, who had merely trained with their blades in the city, were taking that aura head-on, so naturally their bodies shrank back on their own.

They had lived longer lives, yes, but the quality of the lives they had lived was different.

The density of war Balun had endured over six years was enough to rival thirty or forty ordinary years. That was why he had been so desperate to escape the tribe.

“Y-you crazy bastard. So what if you glare like that? Huh?”

“And you think you will walk away unharmed after that?”

“You primitive barbarian bastard!”

“Balun asked if you wanted war!”

Balun shouted thunderously. At his booming voice, the guild swordsmen who had been snarling at him flinched. Balun continued,

“If there is war, it cannot be undone. There will only be victors and defeated. But if there is no war, it can still be undone. A peaceful agreement can be reached.”

“...”

“Do you not want an agreement? Do you truly want war? You will become miserable losers. Are you all right with that? Balun, the hero of the Red Fang Tribe who led countless wars to victory, asks whether you truly think you can defeat him!”

Balun shouted with a flushed face. His eyes gleamed blood-red. Blood vessels stood out all over him, making him look like a roaring tiger.

Of course, that was only on the outside.

‘Ah, please, just lower your weapons. Say you will not do it. Please.’

Balun cried out desperately inwardly.

‘If you lower your weapons, it will be good for both of us. Why make our faces red over nothing? Right?’

Balun begged and begged. Please be intimidated. Lower your weapons.

But reality never unfolded exactly as one wished.

“This lunatic bastard. What is he babbling about? What? War? A hero?”

Mocking laughter poured out at once.

“Why are we even listening to a stinking barbarian? Just kill him already!”

In the end, they thrust their swords toward him. Balun gripped his axe tightly, his face hardening.

“Balun warned you clearly. This is self-defense. So do not resent Balun.”

In an instant, Balun’s eyes widened. Power surged into his legs on its own, and the muscles there swelled explosively. Balun stomped the ground.

Boom!

With a deafening crash, the ground around him shook as though an earthquake had struck. The guild swordsmen closest to him lost their balance and staggered.

Balun did not miss the opening.

“Be careful! That barbarian is using ma—!”

Slash!

Balun rushed forward with his two-handed axe and swung. With the sound of flesh and bone being cleaved, the heads of the three enemies in the front row flew into the air all at once. Blood erupted like fountains and drenched the surroundings.

At that shocking sight, the eyes of the guild swordsmen encircling him from the rear went wide.

They could not believe it. How could a single swing of an axe cut off the heads of three men at once?