Chapter 34

Chapter 34. This Is the Revenge of Pork-and-Rice Soup!

Balun had expected someone to pick a fight with him in one way or another. But he had never imagined they would pick a fight like this.

No, what kind of situation was it to overturn someone’s meal?

Because of that, Balun had snapped without realizing it. How could a Korean, who lived by the strength of rice, endure having his meal overturned?

Moreover, it had happened just as he was about to taste pork-and-rice soup for the first time in so long, so the anger he had been holding back could only explode.

If he had eaten a lot, he would not have said anything.

He had only just taken one spoonful.

It meant he had barely even tasted it.

That was why he was even angrier.

Or they could have come earlier and overturned it then.

What kind of situation was it to let him taste it, get him all excited, and then overturn it?

Damn it, the more he thought about it, the more absurd it became.

His resentment surged all the way to the top of his head. With an expressionless face, Balun put strength into his grip. Snake Eyes’ face was rubbed even more harshly against the ground, and his screams grew louder.

“Aaaargh!”

“You are not vomiting. If I hit your stomach, you might.”

Balun grabbed the man by the hair, lifted him up, and struck him in the stomach. The thudding sounds decorated the cold silence.

The sound was loud, but he did not hit him hard. That was because Balun had deliberately taken almost all the strength out of his hand. Naturally, he had not used Enhancement Art either.

It probably did not hurt that much, but the sound was extremely loud. That was because Balun had mastered the art of beating people.

It was not as though Balun had learned such a skill because he wanted to. It had simply happened that way.

If someone fought every single day, they naturally learned such skills.

“Urgh!”

Only after being hit in the stomach about ten times did Snake Eyes vomit up what he had eaten. Several people nearby frowned and turned their heads away.

When Balun gently let go, Snake Eyes hurriedly dropped to his knees and rubbed his hands together like a fly.

“I-I was wrong! Please forgive me!”

“If you want forgiveness, bring back my food. If you give me two bowls, I will forgive you. If you give me three bowls, nothing ever happened between us.”

“Uh, that is not something I can decide on my own…….”

“Then it cannot be helped. I will not forgive you.”

When Balun made a motion as though he was about to grab him by the collar, Snake Eyes hurriedly bowed his head.

“I will do it! I will make it happen!”

“Truly?”

“I will give you three bowls! You may eat as much as you want! Yes! Of course I must give it to you!”

Balun jerked his chin. It was a signal for him to go.

Without even thinking to brush off his filthy clothes, Snake Eyes hurriedly retreated.

In the stillness of the scene, Michael glanced at the others, then spoke quietly.

“Brother, you did well. Bastards like that only listen after you show them their place. No matter how much you dislike someone, how can you mess with them while they are eating?”

Balun kept feeling this, but if Michael had become an official, he probably would have become a treacherous flatterer.

“But will you be all right? That bastard from earlier belongs to the Jackdaw Mercenary Company. Those people will not leave you alone. This is bad.”

“Jackdaw? Ah, that strong Mercenary Company? The one with the Gold Badge Mercenary?”

“That is right. Jaden is known to have quite a strong sense of pride. If he finds out his subordinate was beaten, he absolutely will not stay quiet…… Mm.”

Michael stopped speaking midway and let out a low groan as he glanced to the left. Balun followed Michael’s gaze and looked left, where he saw several people striding toward them from a distance.

“This is bad! It is the Jackdaw bastards! That blond man in the middle is Jaden, the leader of Jackdaw!”

Balun glanced at the blond man. He was a man with shaggy blond hair and striking dark freckles, and since he was rather slender, he did not look particularly strong.

But since he was a Gold Badge Mercenary, he was certainly strong.

Were they not said to be far more famous than Golden Fang?

“Michael. Step back.”

“Step back? What are you talking about? Should people like us, with nowhere else to go, not help one another and survive together?”

Balun chuckled at Michael’s fuss.

This man really was the type whose mouth would float even if he were thrown into water.

‘Then why are you, the one saying that, slowly inching backward?’

“Step back. If you stay with me, you will suffer for it. This is my business.”

“If you put it that way, brother, then it cannot be helped. Understood. I will step back. But do not forget that my heart is cheering for you!”

Michael clenched his fist in a show of encouragement and stepped back. In the meantime, the Jackdaw Mercenaries came closer and formed a line in front of Balun as though surrounding him.

Balun looked at them with suspicion.

‘Did those bastards pick a fight on purpose……?’

It had not even been a minute since he sent Snake Eyes away, yet his backers had arrived this quickly?

Actually, that was not strange. He must have gone straight to his leader and tattled as soon as he returned, so they had come immediately.

Balun was aware of that. Nevertheless, suspicion arose because there was no anger on their faces at all.

Rather than anger, how was he supposed to interpret the fact that the corners of their mouths were lifted?

“Was it you?”

“What was?”

“The one who touched my subordinate.”

Jaden looked Balun up and down. Balun nodded.

“If you mean the one with snake eyes, I taught him a little lesson. He overturned my food.”

“You made a man like that just because he overturned one bowl of stew?”

“Did that look like just one bowl of stew to you?”

Balun, who had been sitting, stood up. The two men met each other’s gazes at close range.

Coincidentally, Balun was about a head taller than Jaden. Because of that, Jaden had to look up at Balun.

“Not at all. That was not just stew. It was a Warrior’s honor.”

Balun puffed out his chest. Then he struck his chest with his fist.

“Inside this chest, a Warrior’s honor lives and breathes. But your subordinate insulted that honor.”

It was a lie. No such honor existed in Balun.

Moreover, Balun was quite good at enduring insults.

He was a selfish man who valued his life a million times more than honor.

“He insulted me by saying grass roots were food from my homeland and telling me to eat those instead. After deliberately coming over and kicking my food, he laughed at me. At me, Balun, who was once counted as a candidate for chieftain of the Red Fang Tribe and as a candidate for its greatest Warrior.”

“…….”

“You want me to endure that? Not at all. Warriors of the Red Fang do not endure insults. I punished that man to restore the honor of myself and my tribe.”

That was also a lie. Balun had simply been hungry.

The anger and emptiness of having delicious pork-and-rice soup stolen right in front of his eyes!

That was more painful than having his honor trampled.

“That is Balun’s meaning. Do you have a problem with it?”

“A problem? I do. Quite a lot of them, in fact.”

Jaden chuckled.

“Whenever I see you savages talking about honor, I always find it absurd. What honor do you even have to find, that you keep bringing it up all the time? Are you some Noble?”

“Does being a savage mean I have no honor?”

“Of course.”

“You are insulting my honor too.”

“This is entirely your fault. You dared to touch my subordinate. Ordinarily, you should repay this crime with death, but considering the circumstances, one arm should be enough.”

Balun chuckled. It was because he found it absurd.

Jaden’s words? No, the spectators nodding along as though agreeing with him.

They just did not say it out loud. They all thought the same thing, did they not?

It was unbearably sorrowful. If only because it was unfair, he had to grow strong quickly.

“Will you be all right? If you want to take my arm, you will have to stake your life. But considering the circumstances, I will only split your arm.”

“What? You? Me? Ha! That is not even funny.”

Jaden let out a scoff.

“Try to stop me if you can. I am curious too. I want to see just how remarkable the ability that supposedly crushed Wolf Blade truly is.”

Jaden drew his sword. Balun also took out two hand axes. Come to think of it, this battle would be the first debut of his Ego Weapon.

Holding his axes, he looked around. Seeing that people had already stepped back, a sudden question rose in him.

‘How is there no one stopping this? Does it not matter if a fight breaks out?’

Could an organization really function properly if they ran it like this?

The guards they had gone to the trouble of hiring were fighting instead of guarding.

Of course, no dangerous situation had appeared yet.

‘Judging by how they are only watching, they may be deliberately leaving this alone.’

Balun’s gaze reached into the distance. Near the command tent set somewhat apart from the rest, he saw people in white armor looking this way.

Ordinary people would not even be able to see them, but Balun’s eyesight was as excellent as a Mongolian’s. It was certain that they were aware of what was happening here.

‘They must mean for us to handle it ourselves. Or maybe it means they do not want to bother with fights among the lower ranks.’

Either way, the fight could not be avoided.

Balun was also aware of that fact. Even if this clash had not happened now, it would have happened someday.

That was why Balun did not back down either. It was something he would have to go through eventually.

If he turned away from something approaching him simply because he was afraid, he would only fall into a pit of despair.

‘I do not need anyone else. I only have to target the leader. Then the fight will end.’

Balun took a deep breath. He put strength into his entire body. The mana sleeping in his muscles and bones awakened, filling him with vitality.

In an instant, tension tightened around his whole body. He could feel his heart pounding. The desire to run away suddenly took over his mind. Even after hardening his resolve, this was how he was. It seemed there was no helping one’s nature.

However, Balun was a professional at combat. The trained instincts of a Warrior moved him.

“Everyone, listen!”

Balun shouted.

“Balun is a Warrior. A Warrior does not endure insults! I will prove it!”

THUD!

Balun stamped the ground with all his might. He felt the earth shake violently. He also saw people stagger at the unexpected tremor.

However, he did not consciously register them. To Balun, only Jaden was visible. The man’s shaggy blond hair, the slightly curled corners of his mouth beneath it, his unwavering eyes, his tightly gripped sword, his steady breathing, his moderately spread stance…….

All of those elements were input into Balun within a fleeting moment of less than a second.

“You are using petty tricks! But it will not work! I will teach you that being stupidly strong alone is not so impressive!”

Jaden held his sword diagonally. A haze gathered around that sword, and then blue light settled over it.

Exclamations rose here and there. They muttered in admiration about how clear his Aura was, saying that he truly was Jaden of Jackdaw.

Balun paid no attention and put all his strength into both arms. With a creaking sound, his muscles bulged unnaturally. Feeling the overflowing strength, Balun hurled the hand axe with all his might.

WHOOOSH!

Jaden’s eyes flew wide open. The hand axe had flown at him in almost a straight line.

He hurriedly raised his sword to block it. With a clean clang, the sword was cut and broken, and the hand axe bounced off in an absurd direction before embedding itself in the ground.

The hand axe stuck in the ground was trembling violently. It was embedded so deeply that nearly half the axe blade could not be seen.

“Insane!”

Jaden was startled out of his wits. How had his sword broken? It should have been as hard as steel while filled with Aura!

But in truth, the one even more shocked was Balun.

‘W-What was that?’

No, he had broken the sword that easily?

Moreover, the axe did not simply fly. It shot out like some kind of beam. He thought he had fired a missile.

‘Is throwing with Enhancement Art really this strong?’

No, was this not too strong?

“This is the revenge of pork-and-rice soup!”

Quickly recovering from his confusion, Balun roared and charged like a rhinoceros, then struck Jaden’s head with the flat side of the hand axe.

CLAAAANG!

A clear bell-like sound rang out, and Jaden fainted on the spot.