The Bastard Swordsman Of The Imperial Guard [EN]: Chapter 166

The heart of the Carmen Empire’s second district.

Here stood luxurious buildings, homes to high-ranking nobles and the obscenely wealthy.

Ra-El, upon entering, immediately clicked his tongue.

“Is this right? An open organization devoid of any hungry spirit… the world’s gone mad.”

“…It’s been a while since Beggars became the empire’s strongest information guild. We can’t stay stuck in the fifth district forever, Ra-El.”

“That mindset is precisely what’s wrong. Even if your position changes, your heart should always remain in the gutter. Huh?”

“…”

Though he spoke those words, Zenith couldn’t help but notice that Ra-El seemed more dissatisfied now as a warrior of the Gaia Order than he ever had as captain of the guard.

However, Zenith wisely decided against saying anything.

‘His mood is volatile today… if I provoke him, I’ll likely get a beating.’

Ra-El was exuding an inexplicable aura.

Ever since their encounter with the Demon King, he was starting to feel like a genuine hero.

Zenith, ever the diplomat, plastered on a smile and poured the tea himself.

“Ra-El, here. Have a cup of tea and calm down. Beggars has a reputation to uphold, you know? Our credibility would plummet if we operated out of some dilapidated hovel.”

“Tch. I suppose you’re right. Zenith Uncle has his face and status to consider. I understand.”

“Thank you. Thank you.”

Zenith wasn’t entirely sure what he was being thanked for, but he accepted it nonetheless.

“Zenith Uncle, the founding festival is coming up soon. What’s the plan this year?”

“Wouldn’t it be the same as last year? A grand parade honoring the founding emperor, the Emperor’s speech, and various events hosted by the Order.”

“What’s this I hear about the next emperor being decided at this year’s founding festival?”

“Ah… that’s due to the Emperor’s failing health. I hear he’s on his last legs.”

The Emperor of the Carmen Empire, Leopold von Grandia.

Rumors of his declining health were so widespread that even commoners knew of them.

It was said that he was beyond critical condition and could barely open his eyes.

Hence, the whispers of the next emperor being chosen at the founding festival.

“Isn’t the Emperor famous for his obsession with eternal life? Is he really just going to succumb to illness?”

“Ra-El, countless individuals have craved eternal life, but none have ever achieved it. How can a mere mortal defy the will of heaven?”

“…I guess you’re right.”

Zenith’s words held truth.

In the original story, the Emperor passed away shortly after the founding festival.

But… something felt off.

‘Why am I sensing demonic energy from a man on his deathbed?’

It seemed this year’s founding festival would be significant.

He had a strong premonition that something momentous would occur.

“By the way, Ra-El, do you know anything about the remnants of the Demonic Cult?”

“The Demonic Cult? We apprehended quite a few in Arconia, so they should be struggling to operate now. They’re about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.”

“…Why would you need the Demonic Cult?”

“I’m looking for some swordsmanship practice.”

“Swordsmanship practice…?”

Was there anyone else in the world who sought out the Demonic Cult for a simple sparring session?

Zenith shuddered at Ra-El’s twisted logic.

“Yes. But why did you suddenly bring up the remnants of the Demonic Cult?”

“There have been numerous intrusions into the empire by external forces since last night. It seems the Demonic Cult is involved. I was wondering if you knew anything.”

Beggars had completely taken over the underworld of the imperial capital.

Moreover, the beggars scattered throughout the empire were constantly on the lookout for suspicious individuals.

A number of intruders had already been flagged.

“…There’s a Demonic Cult presence?”

“Yes. Lord Tu-sin himself confirmed it, identifying them as the Demonic Cult. They seem to have infiltrated primarily in the lower districts, like the fourth and fifth.”

“The fourth and fifth districts… those guys are completely insane.”

Ra-El chuckled at Zenith’s words.

He didn’t frequent the fourth district much these days, but it was practically Ra-El’s hometown.

‘I was wondering when someone would finally take the bait… the timing couldn’t be better.’

The perfect training partners for Hoicheon [a powerful swordsmanship technique] had arrived.

*

The imperial night streets.

Three figures darted through the dark alleys.

“Damn it, how did they discover our infiltration route…?! Even the Carmen Knights [elite military order of the Carmen Empire] didn’t detect our movements!”

“That’s irrelevant! We must not be captured!”

Ream, the leader of this Demonic Cult splinter group, gritted his teeth.

After personally investigating the annihilation of the Demonic Cult’s forces in Arconia, he had gathered all the remaining members from the Vanessa Kingdom and infiltrated the empire.

‘Why were we discovered? Is there a spy among us?!’

He hadn’t anticipated any difficulties.

They had succeeded multiple times even when the Carmen Knights were at their peak.

He believed they would be virtually undetectable now that the Carmen Knights, the empire’s protectors, were weakened.

However, reality painted a different picture.

Their movements were being tracked with unnerving precision.

He tried to exploit the gaps in the Carmen Knights’ defenses as before, but the outcome was drastically different.

“Ugh, uaaaaaack!”

Thud-

A Demonic Cult member running beside Ream collapsed to the ground.

A deep gash marred his ankle.

“To accurately target the ankle from this distance…! You son of a bitch! Chris! Scatter!”

“Yes! I will not be caught!”

The two men exchanged a fleeting glance before sprinting in opposite directions.

It was their survival strategy: ensure at least one of them lived to fight another day.

“Aaaaagh! Re, Ream-nim! Run!”

But the next moment.

Chris, who had fled in the opposite direction, crumpled to the floor.

‘Chris! I’ll make your sacrifice count!’

Ream quickened his pace, fueled by the sacrifice of his comrade.

The Demonic Cult’s rendezvous point was just around the corner.

Hundreds of Demonic Cult members awaited them there.

Even if they were being pursued, the trackers wouldn’t dare attack carelessly…!

“They scatter like rats.”

Ra-El sighed as he watched the fleeing Demonic Cult members.

He had been patrolling the night streets for hours.

“When you were showing off the Demon King Manifestation, Myriad Demon Subjugation, when did you run away because you were scared?”

Why was it that the Demonic Cult members always seemed to be running away whenever they encountered Ra-El?

He had hoped to practice Hoicheon in a real battle, but this was turning into mere target practice.

If he had known this would happen, he might as well have practiced on the trees back at the Special Guard training grounds.

‘Well, it’s still a moving target… and the Demonic Cult members are surprisingly resilient.’

Not all Demonic Cult members were descendants of giants, but most of them possessed considerable strength due to their exposure to demonic energy.

They made for decent practice dummies.

Ra-El raised his hand once more, focusing his magical power.

He wanted to cut them down like he was slaying demons, but he couldn’t simply kill them all.

“Le, let go of me…! What are you crazy beggars doing all of a sudden…!”

The Demonic Cult members that Ra-El had subdued were being rounded up by Beggars’ informants.

To claim credit for dealing with the Demonic Cult remnants as a warrior of the Gaia Order, one had to put in the work.

“Hoicheon.”

Ra-El concentrated on the magic power of Hoicheon, manipulating the surrounding magical energies.

He instantly reversed the flow of magic power that was slowly being absorbed into him and aimed it at the back of the fleeing man’s head.

‘He went that way.’

Simultaneously gathering different magic powers drawn into Ra-El’s body into one place.

The magic powers that originally could not be mixed compress and collide in one place, creating a huge explosion.

To control that power, Ra-El lightly flicked his finger.

“Hoicheon, Explosion (爆) [Hoicheon, Explosion (爆) is Ra-El’s special move].”

Kwaaaang-!

Instantly, an explosion erupted beneath the running man’s feet.

“Kkeuaaaaaa!”

Ream, who had been running with dreams of the Demonic Cult’s resurgence, was caught in the blast and slammed against a nearby wall.

Ream, his dreams shattered, lost consciousness and was promptly dragged away by the beggars.

“Okay. That’s the feeling.”

Ra-El smiled, examining his fingertips.

He was definitely growing more accustomed to controlling Hoicheon.

‘I think I can refine it even further….’

Ra-El began to walk, lost in thought.

Fortunately, there were still plenty of Demonic Cult members left to hunt.

*

The next morning.

The city buzzed with rumors of the explosions that had rocked the night.

Some feared that the Demon King who had appeared in Arconia had now set his sights on the empire.

“Extra! Extra! The Hero of Exorcism has completely annihilated the remnants of the Demonic Cult that invaded the empire!”

Just then, the Night Crow [a news organization], having received information from Beggars, began distributing newspaper articles at lightning speed.

“As expected, the Hero is the only one who truly cares about us!”

“Gaia-men! Cheers for the Hero of the Gaia Order!”

As the imperial citizens were moved by Ra-El’s actions and offered their prayers.

Ra-El headed to the Order headquarters early in the morning.

“Ra-El hyung-nim [term of endearment for older brother or respected senior]! Is it true that you dealt with the Demonic Cult last night?! Do you have two bodies, hyung-nim?”

“They weren’t particularly strong. Carlson, you could have handled them too.”

“I was resting in the fourth district yesterday when I was startled by the explosions.”

“…If it was the fourth district, were you gambling again?”

“Haha. I suffered enough in Arconia, so.”

Ra-El chuckled.

Well, the world was a mess anyway. It didn’t really matter whether Carlson gambled or not.

“More importantly, where’s Lucas? I haven’t seen him lately.”

“He said he felt his limitations in Arconia and has locked himself away in the academy. He’s undergoing intense training.”

“You should take a page from Lucas’s book, Carlson.”

Lucas was the protagonist of the original story, so his mindset was naturally different.

On the other hand, Carlson, hailed as one of the empire’s three heroes, was gambling.

It was a rather depressing state of affairs.

“Hyung-nim! I’m also training like crazy with Captain Marco!”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll mention it to the Saintess.”

Ra-El waved his hand dismissively, ending the conversation.

What truly mattered was Cecilia’s approach.

She was still smiling brightly as she walked towards Ra-El.

“Ra-El-ssi [honorific title]. Thank you for your hard work. If we had left those Demonic Cult members unchecked, who knows what they might have done…”

“No, Cecilia-nim [honorific title]. More importantly, has anything unusual happened since returning from Arconia?”

Ra-El carefully posed the question.

Whether it was Carlson, Cecilia, or Marco.

He was concerned that Pope Chunma [the Pope’s name] might have harmed them.

“No. His Holiness the Pope simply commended me for my efforts.”

“It’s the same for me. I heard he said similar things to Captain Marco.”

“…Is that so? That’s a relief.”

Of course, he considered the possibility of Chunma directly harming them to be low.

But what Ra-El found perplexing was that they hadn’t even been brainwashed.

‘The destruction of the Order’s sanctuary must be quite a headache for Chunma as well.’

Chunma’s divine power was derived from the Order’s sanctuary.

Ra-El had personally destroyed the sanctuary, so he expected Chunma to react.

“Gaia-men! The Hero of the Gaia Order has returned!”

Just then, a priest with a rather portly figure came running from the other side.

He was adorned with gold necklaces and bracelets.

“…Cardinal Bernardo?”

“It hasn’t even been long since you returned from Arconia, and you’ve already dealt with the Demonic Cult remnants! You are truly a proud warrior of the Gaia Order! And a dear friend of this Bernardo!”

Bernardo vigorously shook Ra-El’s hand.

He, who had previously been dismissive of Ra-El, had now risen to become the Order’s de facto number two, surpassing Cardinal Angelo.

The position of Pope was now within reach!

“Yes, yes. Cardinal Bernardo. You must be busy with the Order’s affairs, what brings you here?”

Ra-El took a step back, observing Bernardo.

“Haha, His Holiness the Pope wishes to see Ra-El-kyung [honorific title]. He desires to hear firsthand about your experiences in Arconia.”

“…Haa.”

So, it had finally come to this.

Ra-El sighed and nodded.

“Let us proceed together, Hero-nim.”

“Yes. Let’s go.”

There was no avoiding it.

Pope Chunma.

It was time to face him.