Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 91

The Cold Storage was located underground, where sunlight couldn’t reach.

Even so, the only light source was a dim magic orb, designed to keep the temperature inside as low as possible.

Keinzel aimed for the magic orb first, swinging his sword.

Clang-

With the sound of shattering glass, thick darkness descended, making it impossible to see even an inch ahead.

“What, what is it!”

“Who turned off the lights!”

“Torches! Light the torches!”

Amidst the sudden attack and the opponents’ confusion, Keinzel activated Fallen Star [a spell that enhances perception and attack power].

Then, a brilliantly shining star seemed to fall towards the enemies’ location.

‘Two ahead, 10 meters in front, three behind the right pillar!’

As expected, the number of enemies wasn’t that large.

Keinzel had captured several Peddler’s Alliance members since the masked man incident.

And thanks to Zieg’s efforts, he was able to find out that most of the alliance members knew nothing of the larger plot.

In other words, the alliance members were merely pawns, only doing what they were told.

In the end, to reveal that the Peddler’s Alliance and Count Algedi were colluding with the Church of the Seven Sins [a criminal organization], he had to capture their core members.

Keinzel’s eyes gleamed.

The man slightly off to the side must be Gilbert, the representative of the Peddler’s Alliance.

‘Booster!’

Keinzel concentrated the aura spreading throughout his body to his waist and shoulders. Then, the muscles there swelled as if they would burst.

What’s important now is capturing the enemy alive. He can’t use the Aura Sword [a sword imbued with magical energy].

Keinzel swung the training wooden sword.

Thwack-!

“Kkeuaaaaack!”

The training sword, without a sharp edge, was no different from an iron club.

Even so, the monstrous strength erupting from the enhanced muscles shattered the opponent’s bones and destroyed their muscles.

Keinzel turned his body and delivered a body blow towards the man next to him.

The attacks that flew in from the darkness instantly swallowed two alliance members.

Gilbert’s response was quick. He threw the oil for the lamps directly onto the floor and lit it.

“Everyone, light the fires in this opening!”

“Yes!”

Gilbert’s eyes, looking around, were filled with astonishment. It hadn’t even been five seconds since the lights went out.

In that short time, two alliance members were foaming at the mouth and unconscious.

Not being able to see must have been the same for the opponent. But what kind of magic did he use?

Gilbert’s face distorted as he looked at Keinzel. The one who attacked them was someone he never expected.

“…You’re the owner of Verus [Keinzel’s shop]?”

“Lately, there have been rats infesting the store. I left them alone, and they were even trying to gnaw at the pillars.”

He heard that the owner of Verus was a rookie who became a Free Knight [an independent knight] a few months ago. But how did he find out that he was here and even attack?

“…So, surely! Jason betrayed us?!”

“Ah, so the name of the person who was wearing a mask and doing strange things was Jason. Well, if that’s easier, think of it that way. But you’ll have to pay the price for trying to steal the recipe. I’m sure it was said that the person who steals should have their arm cut off, right?”

“Tch, you little brat… You seem confident in your skills, but you’ve walked into your own grave! Activate it, Fox!”

Then, the face of the man standing next to Gilbert distorted with fear.

“Gi, Gilbert-nim… Not that…”

“Huh? You’re just a pawn, yet you have so much to say! If you don’t activate that thing on your arm right now, I’ll blow your head off!”

“Kkeu, kkeueueuek…”

The man, his face turning blue, grabbed one of his arms with trembling hands.

He was trying to use the wide-area fire magic using the magic seal [a magical inscription] engraved on his arm.

‘They even engraved magic seals on their heads? Aren’t they completely crazy?!’

Antares freely used powerful magic by offering a single finger as a sacrifice.

But what was engraved on the alliance member’s body was demanding an even bigger sacrifice.

Clearly, it was a mass-produced version with inferior performance.

Moreover, judging from his pained expression, it didn’t seem like he had it engraved willingly.

It was more vicious than he thought.

Keinzel recalled the expressions of the trainee knights looking at him and imitated it.

Then, an expression that ridiculed the opponent, so perfect it was ideal, was created.

“Are you going to use explosion magic? But surely you haven’t forgotten where this is?”

“Wh, what?!”

“That thing engraved on your body is a magic seal, right? You can activate powerful magic by offering your body as a sacrifice.”

“……”

“If you want to die together, try activating it.”

Gilbert’s body trembled.

If he used explosion magic here, the cave would collapse and they would be buried alive.

Traveling with a subordinate who had a magic seal engraved on his body meant that even a Sword Knight [a highly skilled knight] didn’t need to be feared.

But that hidden weapon was completely sealed off.

However, Gilbert still had a hidden weapon left.

“So you thought that far ahead and chose the Cold Storage. I’ve been completely outplayed. I’ll give up on stealing the ice cream. And I won’t touch Verus in the future either. How about we end it here? There’s no point in making things bigger, it wouldn’t be good for you either.”

“Hmm. Certainly, that would be the case if you were an ordinary peddler. But about the tattoo that you guys are proudly wearing on your bodies… Antares engraved that, right?”

“Kkeueuk!”

Gilbert’s pupils began to shake violently. He seemed to be asking how he found out about that fact.

Now that it’s come to this, he has to kill the opponent and silence him.

The sound of someone walking through the darkness was heard. A smile appeared on Gilbert’s face, which had been filled with despair.

The gold-ranked mercenaries that Algedi had hired with his money must have noticed his crisis and come to support him.

But the one who came into the Cold Storage was a completely unexpected person.

The female knight, who looked like nothing more than a beautiful girl, was dusting off her hands.

“Next time, make sure to thoroughly verify before hiring mercenaries. They couldn’t even handle an Aura Sword properly.”

Keinzel nodded lightly to Abel and slowly walked towards Gilbert.

“It seems like you’re waiting for the subordinates you left waiting outside. Sorry, but they’re not coming.”

“Eua, euaaaaack!”

Genuine fear appeared on Gilbert’s face.

Just what the hell are these guys?

There were three gold-ranked mercenaries waiting outside. But in less than five minutes, they defeated them all?

“Since you seem to like chess, I’ll tell you according to your taste. Checkmate.”

@

Gilbert seemed to have completely lost his will to fight.

Abel, who was tying up the alliance members lying on the ground, asked.

“You said you weren’t going to use the Aura Sword. Their bones are completely shattered.”

“I didn’t use it.”

“Kkeueung. That much power without the Aura Sword… You’ve become a monster after getting close to Instructor Ian.”

“I don’t think the person who took on three gold-ranked mercenaries alone should be saying that.”

Abel blushed as if he was embarrassed.

“I told you, they were just amateurs who couldn’t even handle the Aura Sword properly.”

Abel, who had accepted the bloodline of the elves, had become frighteningly strong.

When sparring with swords, it felt like facing seven people at the same time.

It was because of Abel that he could trust and leave his back to him.

“With this, the Peddler’s Alliance will be dissolved. If it becomes known that they are related to the Church of the Seven Sins, it will be difficult to even stay alive.”

“But is it really true that Count Algedi is behind this incident?”

Keinzel quietly nodded. It was Count Algedi who rented the Cold Storage.

There is no connection between him and the Church of the Seven Sins. But why did Algedi support the Peddler’s Alliance, who were henchmen of the Church of the Seven Sins?

“Why would the lord of Krolltra…”

“Maybe he’s hoping for another war?”

“Wh, what are you talking about? Why would he do such a heinous thing!”

“Count Algedi made enormous profits by supplying war materials. War was an opportunity for him to develop his family.”

“It’s absurd, but it’s certainly possible. Then, can we arrest Count Algedi as the mastermind behind this incident?”

Keinzel and Abel captured the henchmen of the Church of the Seven Sins in the Cold Storage rented by Count Algedi.

But Count Algedi could just say he didn’t know anything.

“He’ll just say he rented the Cold Storage for other business. Then we can’t investigate any further.”

“We have suspicions, but no evidence. The future is the problem.”

“But capturing Gilbert has changed the situation. If we interrogate him, we might be able to reveal the relationship between Count Algedi and the Church of the Seven Sins.”

“I hope so. Especially that Antares bastard…”

Just then, Gilbert’s body, which had been bound, began to tremble violently.

“Oop! Uuuuuuup!”

The same was true for the other alliance members. Blood was pouring out through the holes all over their bodies.

“Kkeueueuk, kkeueueuek! Eu, euAlgeediii!”

“Kuaaaaaaack!”

“Sa, save me…! Euaaaaack!”

In an instant, hell unfolded before Keinzel’s eyes. Gilbert and his subordinates writhed in pain and screamed terribly.

There was only one reason he could think of.

Gilbert acted as if he could freely activate his subordinate’s magic seal.

Maybe something like that was engraved on his own body as well.

Keinzel bit his lip and shouted.

“Damn it, the magic seal is going berserk! Abel! We have to get out of here!”

“Yo, you!”

“I’ll follow right away!”

Gilbert’s body was already swollen as if it would explode at any moment.

He was disgusted by the viciousness of Antares, who had engraved the magic seal.

There was no more time to delay.

Keinzel bit his lip and activated Booster. He had to get out of here as quickly as possible.

Just in case, he made Meringue [a magical creature] fly to protect Abel’s body.

With this, they should be able to withstand some degree of explosion.

And the moment the two of them escaped the Cold Storage, the magic seal activated.

– Kuuuuuung!

The explosion was smaller than he thought. Was it because it was engraved to silence the owner?

The icicles that had formed on the ceiling covered the two of them, but thanks to Meringue, they were able to escape without any injuries.

“……”

Keinzel bit his lip and looked inside the Cold Storage. Gilbert and his subordinates all had their heads blown off and were dead.

“He treated his subordinates like chess pieces, but he himself was also a chess piece…”

It was such a futile end.

@

“Oh, my god…”

Mayor Wilson, seeing the carnage inside the Cold Storage, fell backward.

It was a sight that was hard to believe was done by humans.

“…To think the Peddler’s Alliance was a henchman of the Church of the Seven Sins…”

The Church of the Seven Sins were national criminals. Their collaborators are treated the same way.

Such criminals were active in the city he managed.

If Gilbert hadn’t died, Mayor Wilson would have had to take all the responsibility.

“…There is much left in their corpses. We must manage them as strictly as possible.”

Mayor Wilson quietly nodded.

The dead have no words, but traces of magic seals remain on their bodies.

If we study it, we may be able to unlock the secrets of the mysterious magic seal.

Everything was thanks to the actions of one Free Knight.

“Thank you so much. If it weren’t for Sir Keinzel…”

“As a Free Knight and a citizen of Citizen, I just did what was natural.”

“I, I will take responsibility and make sure to award you the Honorary Citizen Medal.”

The Honorary Citizen Medal.

It was a very honorable thing that every citizen living in the city dreamed of.

But there was something much more important left.

He learned that Count Algedi might be a collaborator of the Church of the Seven Sins.

If that was true, he would be at odds with ‘Alejandro Algedi’ in the future.

Abel looked at Keinzel with a worried expression.

“Keinzel. Do you know who Count Algedi’s son-in-law is?”

Keinzel quietly nodded.

In charge of diligence among the seven virtues.

A man who became a Sword Master [the highest rank of swordsmanship] with only basic swordsmanship, Meliot Sandalphon.

He was Alejandro Algedi’s son-in-law and the best supporter.

‘Sword Master…’

Keinzel quietly stroked the kitchen knife he was wearing on his waist.

He shouldn’t be satisfied with just becoming a Sword Knight.

Wasn’t he started wielding a kitchen knife with the goal of becoming a Sword Master in the first place?

Sooner than he thought, the moment when he needed an Aura Blade had come.

Swordsmanship more than now.

No, he has to improve his cooking skills.

Learn French #1