The Bastard Swordsman Of The Imperial Guard [EN]: Chapter 93

< Nagore >

Whoosh-! Whoosh-!

A red-haired man swung his sword in the quiet training ground.

Lucas, the genius swordsman of the academy who drew his Sword Ki [a manifestation of inner energy used in swordsmanship] at a young age.

He never forgot to train every day.

He firmly believed that a drop of sweat shed during training was equal to a drop of blood shed in battle.

“Lucas. Your left side is open.”

“Yes…!”

Thwack-!

Meyer’s sword pierced through Lucas’s opening.

Meyer shook his head as he watched Lucas step back.

“Hmm, let’s stop here.”

Professor Meyer, who was standing opposite Lucas, sheathed his sword.

His concentration seemed to have waned from the prolonged training.

“If you can’t concentrate, take a break. Rest is also part of training.”

Meyer, who had been helping Lucas train until night, lowered Lucas’s sword.

Training without concentration is worse than not training at all.

It’s better to rest until your condition improves.

“Haa… Yes.”

Lucas sheathed his sword and sat down.

He wiped the sweat flowing down his cheeks and looked up at the sky.

There is no end to the sword.

No matter how much you train, you see more to learn, and the more you learn, the more you realize how lacking you are.

“The Taegeuk Sword [a specific sword style] is an amazing sword the more you look at it. Lucas, if you hone your Taegeuk Sword, becoming a Sword Master is not just a dream.”

Meyer smiled.

Lucas was only 20 years old.

No matter how much of a genius, no one could discuss the realm of Sword Master at the age of 20.

“Yes. I need to gain experience at this Dragon-Phoenix Competition.”

“Yes. Be sure to aim for the championship. I heard the reward for this championship is quite substantial.”

Originally, the Dragon-Phoenix Competition only had a small prize money, and the reward was all about honor.

But now that the Empire has intervened, it is different.

Perhaps for the sake of their status, a huge reward has been created.

“…Professor. I have a question.”

“Ask me anything.”

“Can I beat Lord Rael?”

Lucas had no time to worry about the championship reward.

The wall in front of him was too high.

“…Think about that monster later. Right now, it’s enough to just focus on the sword in front of you.”

Meyer, who had been a swordsmanship professor at the academy for a long time, couldn’t be sure about Rael.

His talent was so great, and behind him were the Grand Duke, the Second Princess, and the Holy Order.

He wondered where such a guy came from.

“Professor is right. Lord Rael must be working hard even now. I will work harder to catch up with even his back.”

“Yes. The break is over. Let’s start slowly again from Chapter 1 of the Taegeuk Sword.”

“Yes!”

Whoosh- Whoosh-!

Meyer looked at Lucas, who had started swinging his sword again, with a regretful expression.

If it weren’t for Rael… it would have been revealed that Lucas was the greatest genius in the Empire.

Because of his halo, Lucas was not seeing the light.

‘But I won’t give up.’

It is true that Rael’s talent is great.

At the age of 25, he suppressed a seasoned knight of the Carmen Knights and the rumor that he caught a high-ranking demon was highly credible.

Maybe he would have faced the wall of Sword Master by now.

But that doesn’t mean Lucas’s talent is fading.

Lucas was also an outstanding genius comparable to Rael.

Geniuses are originally beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

If Lucas’s talent is honed, he may be able to catch up with Rael someday.

‘Lord Rael… must be focusing on training right now.’

Such monsters do not simply come from being geniuses.

It is a combination of overwhelming talent and tremendous effort.

Meyer recalled Rael’s face and focused on Lucas’s training.

*

A quiet room in the slum, the base of Beggars.

Rael crossed his arms and leaned on one leg inside.

“Ha, what should I do with this bastard?”

Rael prided himself on being a civilized man.

Thinking about it, it wasn’t strange.

He was the only one in this crazy world with a high school diploma, so he was far from barbaric.

“But…! Even I can’t stand it if you keep your mouth shut, you know?”

Stab. Stab.

Rael stabbed the desert warrior, who was buried in a pile of dirt with only his head sticking out, with his scabbard and shook his head as if frustrated.

As befitting a room in the Beggars’ Den, the floor was covered with dirt, which was very helpful.

“I’ll talk! Everything!”

“Considering you’re from the desert, I buried you in the dirt you like. Huh? If you don’t show a cooperative attitude even now, I have no choice but to become a gangster…”

“I, I’ll tell you everything! You crazy bastard!”

“This bastard is hopeless. Let’s think after getting hit a little more.”

“No, wait! I’m telling you everything! Aaaagh!”

Thwack-!

‘What is it…?’

Clara thought as she watched Rael, who had started hitting the desert warrior’s head with his scabbard.

He said he would tell everything, so why does he keep hitting him?

No matter how crazy Rael is, he wouldn’t be unable to understand.

“Rael. Didn’t you say you would tell everything?”

Clara, who was sticking close to Rael to subdue the curse of the God of War, asked carefully.

“Huh? Ah… Clara. Look closely. These guys don’t tell the truth from the beginning. First, you have to beat them up so they know I can really beat them up, and then the truth comes out.”

An era where survival has become a vulgar joke… well, not that much.

Anyway, you need this much guts to survive in a beggar-like world.

“Hmm, should I start extracting information? Or should I beat him up a little more.”

“That should be enough. Rael.”

“Haa, no. I have to beat him until he’s about to die.”

“…It already looks like that.”

Clara shook her head as she looked at the desert warrior’s face, panting.

Other guys are being interrogated by the beggars of Beggars, but this guy was the last one and happened to be caught by Rael.

“I, I’ll tell you everything! I’ll tell you everything!”

The desert warrior Rashid, with blood and tears streaming down his head, pleaded with Clara.

“Tsk. Clara. Compare it with what you investigated, and if even one lie comes out, call me again. Got it?”

“Yes. Don’t worry.”

Rael left the interrogation to Clara and came outside.

Today alone, he captured 5 desert warriors.

‘Wasn’t the Desert Kingdom fighting against the Jeongcheon Alliance [a political and military alliance]? Why are they plotting such a thing?’

The Desert Kingdom Nagore was not a very large kingdom.

At best, it has about half the national power of the Vanessa Kingdom.

I’ll have to interrogate them to find out the details, but no matter how I think about it, the desert guys don’t have the strength to fight against the Jeongcheon Alliance and terrorize the Empire.

‘It’s strange even if the black magicians helped. Those bastards must be about to die already.’

After the rebellion of the black magicians.

In the original story, the black magicians never show their faces even once.

‘Then, does that mean there are other guys behind them?’

I left it to Lucas because it was annoying, but should I have taken it on myself?

Rael spent some time thinking about that.

About an hour later, the results of the interrogation of the desert warriors came out.

“Rael. Only the warrior you directly interrogated told the whole truth.”

Clara couldn’t hide her surprise at his interrogation skills.

“I told you. So what is it? Tell me as briefly as possible.”

“Nagore’s goal is the Dragon-Phoenix Competition. It seems they want to show other countries what they’re made of this time.”

“And the means is black magicians?”

“Yes. The Empire’s defenses have weakened, so they joined hands with the black magicians.”

“…Tsk.”

Rael sighed.

He couldn’t understand why the Carmen Knights, those bastards, were standing still when black magicians and Nagore warriors were rampaging in the Empire.

“What is their base?”

“They are being interrogated now, so it will be organized soon.”

“Okay. Keep up the good work.”

Rael immediately moved his steps.

There were several places to investigate directly.

*

The Central Imperial Guard was constantly visited by people even at night.

This is because of the increasing number of missing persons cases recently.

“We are doing our best. Please wait a moment.”

“My child… my child has disappeared!”

“There is nothing we can do. We have requested support from the Carmen Knights, so please wait a moment…”

“How many times have you said the same thing! If the Imperial Guard doesn’t protect us, what will happen to our child! Sob, sob…”

Kuran sighed as he looked at the woman who started crying in front of him.

Originally, it was absurd for commoners to attack the Imperial Guard… but parents who had lost their children were running to the Imperial Guard without thinking.

‘This is a big problem. Why aren’t the Carmen Knights taking action?’

It is perhaps natural that nobles are not interested in the lives of commoners.

However, more than a hundred children have been kidnapped in the past two days.

Even with such a major incident, only standby orders were being issued due to the lack of manpower in the Knights.

“Kuran. What’s going on?”

At that time, an unexpected voice was heard.

“…?”

Kuran widened his eyes as he looked at the man who approached him.

It was Rael, who had become a famous figure in the Empire.

He spread his name in the Empire just a few months after leaving the Imperial Guard, and now he was in a position that he could no longer match.

“Rael. No, Lord Rael. What’s going on.”

“Don’t call me Lord Rael. Kuran. Come inside for a moment.”

Rael entered the Imperial Guard.

“Find our child! Please find our child! Please!”

“Imperial Guard! You should do your job if you take our taxes!”

He couldn’t help but feel annoyed by the voices of the people coming from behind.

It wasn’t annoyance towards those people.

It was annoyance towards this crazy world that only thinks about the safety of the nobles and doesn’t look back at the commoners.

“Lord Rael. What brings you to the Imperial Guard?”

Sitting in the Imperial Guard’s duty room, Rael frowned at Kuran.

“Don’t use strange language, speak comfortably.”

“I can’t do that. Lord Rael is an honorary knight of the Silver Cross Knights.”

“…Haa.”

Given Kuran’s personality, he would stick to that attitude even if he spoke.

Instead of useless conversation, Rael asked what he was curious about.

“Kuran, you must have already reported this to the Carmen Knights, right? But why aren’t they moving?”

“There is no action even if I report it.”

“…Why?”

“The Carmen Knights say they don’t have the manpower.”

“…”

Rael narrowed his eyes.

The Carmen Knights are the strongest knights in the continent.

No matter how much the Dragon-Phoenix Competition is being held, it doesn’t make sense that they don’t have the manpower.

‘What are they plotting?’

The Carmen Knights.

He had a feeling that something was up with those bastards.

A huge event was happening in a place he didn’t know about.

“…For now, try to calm people down.”

Rael immediately got up and ran outside.

The destination was the Third Public Cemetery in District 4.

“Rael? You must be busy these days, what’s going on?”

“I have something to do for a while.”

The gravedigger Hamel greeted him, but Rael greeted him roughly and went inside.

Then, an unpleasant energy rising through his body greeted him.

“…Shit.”

As soon as he entered the public cemetery, he felt a strong dark magic and the power of curse.

And, he also felt a faint magical energy.

‘Those demon bastards are acting up again.’

Rael then understood.

As he expected, the weak black magicians and half-baked desert warriors were not everything.

This time, it was a collaboration between the Desert Kingdom Nagore, the black magicians, and the demons.

‘The goal is the Dragon-Phoenix Competition. The damage value is… unpredictable.’

As many people gather, it will be a huge damage.

The more sacrifices there are, the stronger the black magicians’ magic becomes.

“…I need to get some help.”

Rael immediately turned his body.

Since the public cemetery was also robbed, it was certain that Nagore and the black magicians were plotting something.

The damage in District 4 was a problem, but the terrorism of the Dragon-Phoenix Competition was also a problem.

‘In the first place, the Dragon-Phoenix Competition grew because of me… so is there some responsibility?’

If people die because of him, he won’t have good dreams.

Rael quickly moved his steps.

If there is evidence, there are many people who will help him.