Emotionless Swordsmanship Genius

Chapter 33: Miguel Mercenary Corps (2)

From the moment the Miguel Mercenary Corps began setting up their tents, Karon had been watching them with an impassive gaze.

It was the first time he had encountered a mercenary corps since the death of his parents. Naturally, the memories of that day resurfaced, but they didn’t stir much emotion anymore. The rage from that hellish day had long since cooled, leaving only a cold determination to repay those debts in kind.

Karon’s attention drifted away from the mercenaries and back to the campfire. Oddly, his parents’ faces no longer appeared clearly in his mind.

Suddenly, he sensed two presences approaching from the mercenaries’ camp. The metallic clink suggested they were armed.

If they were merely setting up camp and placing guards, there would be no need to carry weapons. Clearly, their approach wasn’t entirely friendly.

“Mind if we join you?” one of the mercenaries asked.

“No.”

Karon replied bluntly, his cold refusal catching both mercenaries off guard.

“What?” they stammered, shocked that Karon had responded so directly. They glanced at each other, momentarily taken aback, before realizing he had addressed them with such disrespectful familiarity.

A subtle tension began to radiate from them, a faint murderous intent hanging in the air around the fire.

“Haha! Please excuse him! Don’t mind what he says; the kid hasn’t had much experience dealing with people,” Shong quickly interjected, trying to smooth over the situation with a forced laugh. He had grown accustomed to handling Karon’s bluntness.

Karon shot Shong a sharp look, as if to say, *Why bother?*, before turning away.

“What brings you so deep into the forest?” Erect, the leader of the mercenaries, asked, clearly unimpressed by the situation.

“Well, we’re headed to the capital, and cutting through the forest is faster than going around,” Shong answered, trying to keep things light. But Erect frowned. These two seemed like amateur travelers, just as he had suspected. Only Karon’s stoic demeanor stood out as odd.

“Didn’t you hear about the doppelgangers rumored to be in this forest?” Erect continued, probing further.

“Oh, doppelgangers? I had no idea!” Shong played along, feigning shock as he waved his hands.

It was awkwardly obvious, but Karon paid little attention. His focus was elsewhere—the dense, lingering presence he’d felt from the forest since earlier was much more concerning.

“Well, well. Camping out here in the middle of the forest without knowing about the dangers? You must have more lives than a cat. Do either of you even know how to handle a sword?” Erect asked, his condescension thinly veiled.

“They’re just greenhorns, aren’t they?” Linwood, Erect’s second-in-command, chimed in. His tone was openly mocking, but Shong wasn’t fazed. He was too experienced to fall for such provocations.

“Haha! You’re right. We’re lucky to have run into such reliable mercenaries,” Shong replied smoothly, ignoring the insult.

Erect, sensing an opportunity to assert dominance, extended an offer, “In that case, why don’t you spend the night in our camp? We’ll make sure you’re safe.”

“Haha… I’m not really the one to decide that,” Shong answered awkwardly, flashing a sheepish smile. By now, it had become clear that Karon made most of the decisions.

Erect and Linwood turned to Karon, waiting for his response.

“No,” Karon said coldly, not bothering to look at them.

“What? No? Listen here, you little brat!” Linwood snapped, anger rising as he reached for his sword and began to stand.

“Linwood!” Erect intervened, raising a hand to stop him.

“You’d do well to accept our offer. If you don’t, and a doppelganger attacks, don’t expect us to help you,” Erect warned, his voice growing stern.

“We can take care of ourselves,” Karon replied, his tone just as icy.

“You really don’t get it, do you? Do you think we’re lying about the danger here?” Erect’s patience was wearing thin, his tone hardening. But before he could finish, Karon cut him off.

“Lying? Don’t make me laugh. You’re nervous because we’re here. Otherwise, why would you approach us with weapons drawn?” Karon shot back, his voice sharp.

“Well, it’s more for protection than anything else…” Erect stammered, caught off guard. They had misjudged Karon, thinking him to be just another ignorant traveler. The precision of his observation left them unsettled.

Linwood, unable to contain his frustration, stood up fully, pointing a finger at Karon. “What? You arrogant little punk! We’re offering to help, and you insult us? Captain! Are you really going to let these brats talk to us like this?” he shouted, intent on teaching Karon a lesson.

But Karon remained completely unfazed, unbothered by Linwood’s size or the hostility emanating from him.

With a dismissive snort, Karon scoffed, “Hmph. I’d worry more about what’s out there than picking a fight with us.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Scared of a real fight, are you? You think we’re a joke?!” Linwood raged, swinging his fist through the air in anger.

“Linwood,” Erect called, his tone more urgent this time. He had sensed something off in the surrounding forest.

But Linwood was too enraged to listen.

“Linwood!” Erect grabbed Linwood’s collar, yanking him back. Finally, Linwood snapped out of his rage and looked at Erect in confusion. Just then—

*Beeeep! Beeeeeeeep!*

A sharp whistle echoed through the forest, one short blast followed by a longer one. It was the signal for monsters.

Erect immediately looked up at the sky. It was still just before nightfall, but his face twisted in frustration.

“Monsters… at this hour?”

The first thing that came to mind for Erect was the doppelgangers, but the doppelgangers of Yasper Forest never revealed themselves before nightfall.

This meant something had changed—a deviation from the norm, and deviations were rarely good signs.

“Monsters incoming! Everyone, arm yourselves!” Erect shouted.

The mercenaries, who had been preparing dinner, scrambled to put on their armor and grab their weapons.

Just then, one of the sentries came running back, shouting breathlessly, “Doppelgangers! We’ve got doppelgangers!”

“How many?” Erect demanded.

“At least ten—no, more than twenty!” the sentry replied, his voice trembling.

Erect frowned deeply. “Twenty? Damn it! They don’t usually move in groups. What the hell is going on?”

Doppelgangers were typically twice as strong as humans, and with twenty of them, even a skilled mercenary group like his was at a severe disadvantage.

“Could they be starving?” one of the mercenaries speculated.

“Even if they were, they never move in packs like this. Form a defensive line!” Erect ordered, pointing at Karon and Shong. “You two! Get behind us!”

Shong quickly grabbed Karon’s wrist and pulled him along behind the mercenaries. From their new position, they had a clear view of the well-organized mercenary ranks.

At the front stood the shield-bearers, followed by spearmen and swordsmen, with archers positioned in the rear. The mercenaries had quickly formed a solid defensive line.

Shong couldn’t help but smirk as he watched the scene unfold. *These guys may be jerks, but they’ve got some sense of duty,* he thought, amused.

While the mercenaries were preparing for battle, Karon and Shong simply watched, waiting for the doppelgangers to appear. Karon, never having seen one before, felt a flicker of curiosity.

Soon, the bushes rustled, and the doppelgangers emerged. Their humanoid forms had sleek, almost featureless skin, with arms that extended into sharp blades. Their faces were grotesquely incomplete, as if half-formed.

“Archers! Ready!” Erect called out.

The archers let loose a volley of arrows. Fortunately, the doppelgangers were slow, and the arrows struck their targets. However, the arrows seemed to have no effect.

The doppelgangers let out an eerie, gurgling sound as they rushed toward the mercenaries, their bodies covered in arrows that hadn’t even slowed them down.

“Charge!” Erect shouted.

The mercenaries surged forward, shields raised to block the doppelgangers’ advance, while spears and swords stabbed into any opening they could find.

The clash was brutal. The mercenaries managed to push back the doppelgangers, but it was clear that the creatures were far stronger than they were. Still, Erect’s leadership kept the mercenaries coordinated, minimizing casualties.

As the battle raged on, the number of doppelgangers began to dwindle. Their movements were oddly clumsy, and the mercenaries took full advantage of every opening.

Meanwhile, Karon and Shong watched the fight with disinterest. It was a peculiar situation—arguably the two strongest individuals present were merely observing from the sidelines.

If the mercenaries had known Karon’s capabilities, they would never have left him out of the battle.

But Karon’s expression grew more serious. His gaze was fixed not on the doppelgangers but beyond them.

“Man, these things are pretty gross. It’s your first time seeing them too, right?” Shong commented.

Karon nodded lazily, not particularly invested in the conversation.

One of the archers, overhearing their casual exchange, inwardly scoffed. In a life-or-death situation like this, these two were chatting as if they had nothing to worry about.

The archer glanced at Karon’s sword, which was still lying by the campfire. The young man didn’t even have his weapon ready—he clearly had no intention of fighting.

Cheers erupted from the mercenaries as the last doppelganger fell.

The archer raised his arms in celebration, but Karon and Shong remained indifferent, their faces showing none of the excitement of victory.

Then Karon muttered to himself, “This isn’t the real problem…”

*Boom!*

Before the archer could turn to confront Karon about his indifference, a deep, earth-shaking sound reverberated through the ground, sending a tremor through everyone present.

The triumphant atmosphere vanished instantly, replaced by an uneasy silence.

Beyond the fallen doppelgangers, something massive had crashed into the ground, leaving a deep crater where it had landed. The mercenaries stared, their eyes wide with shock.

“What is that?” one of them muttered.

“It looks like a boulder,” another guessed, though uncertainty lingered in their voice.

As they watched, whatever had fallen into the crater began to unfurl itself. The mercenaries’ gazes traveled upward as the creature slowly straightened to its full height.

It was a doppelganger—at least, it resembled one. But this one was three or four times the size of the others, towering over the battlefield.

Unlike the incomplete, grotesque forms of the earlier doppelgangers, this one appeared almost fully evolved. Its sleek, armor-like skin gleamed in the fading light, and its face was masked, giving it a disturbingly perfect appearance.

Its muscular frame was well-proportioned, and its limbs, now elongated and razor-sharp, exuded a deadly grace. A long, barbed tail trailed behind it, ending in a spiked tip.

The creature took a few steps forward, lowering its tail toward one of the fallen doppelgangers. As it impaled the corpse, the dead doppelganger shriveled up, its body rapidly withering as the massive doppelganger absorbed its nutrients.

*Splurt!*

After a few moments, a foul liquid oozed from the back of the giant doppelganger, dripping like waste.

The mercenaries stood frozen in horror, unable to comprehend what they were witnessing. Meanwhile, Karon’s eyes narrowed as he carefully scanned the creature.

This wasn’t a normal doppelganger—it was a beast that had consumed the energy of all the doppelgangers around it, evolving into something far more dangerous.

The doppelgangers hadn’t attacked the mercenaries—they had been fleeing from this monster.

Instinctively, the Miguel Mercenary Corps knew one thing: there was no way they could defeat this creature.

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