Emotionless Swordsmanship Genius

Chapter 37: Black Scorpion Mercenary Group (2)

“Miguel’s little rats were all hiding here, huh?”

The first man to enter was a giant wearing a fur coat that left his bulging upper body muscles exposed, with his hair spiked stiffly at the top.

On both shoulders were tattoos of black scorpions, and on his back, a ridiculously large double-edged axe hung.

“Creek?!”

“What are you doing here?!”

The mercenaries of the Miguel Mercenary Group, who had been chatting in the tavern, hurriedly drew their weapons and assumed defensive stances.

They were all visibly tense. The only exceptions were Karon and Shong, who looked at the massive man with curiosity.

He seemed to be the leader of the Black Scorpion Mercenary Group. Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

“Who is it?”

The man called Creek asked, and one of the thugs who followed him stepped forward.

It was the same guy who had been humiliated by Shong earlier in the marketplace. Pointing directly at Shong, he said:

“That one.”

“Huh? Me?”

Suddenly, all eyes turned toward Shong. He pointed at himself with an incredulous expression.

Creek glared at Shong as if he were about to devour him and spoke.

“You insulted our Black Scorpion! You’ll pay for tarnishing our mercenary group’s honor. I’ll give you two choices: either hand over that cloak peacefully, or I’ll take it from you after you’re dead!”

The absurdity of the situation left Shong dumbfounded. As he stared at Creek, disbelief written all over his face, a deadly aura filled the inn’s first floor.

The Miguel mercenaries began to sweat nervously, shrinking back in fear of Creek’s overwhelming presence.

When it came to individual strength, Creek was a step above Erect, the leader of the Miguel Mercenaries.

In other words, there was no one here capable of facing him.

‘This is bad…’

Shong gulped, his expression troubled.

Did they figure out this cloak isn’t ordinary?

He wasn’t sure, but he was definitely under suspicion.

At that moment, Linwood, who had been standing to the side, stepped forward in front of Shong. Of the group, Linwood was the most skilled.

“Creek! Don’t be ridiculous! It was you who started the trouble! Where do you think you are to be acting like this? It was your man, not us, who dishonored your group! Stop this nonsense and leave!”

As Linwood stood up to Creek’s oppressive aura, the other mercenaries behind him seemed to regain a bit of their composure.

“Hmph! Linwood, you’re still with this pathetic mercenary group?”

“It’s still better than a garbage mercenary group like yours!”

“What? Are you looking for a real fight today?”

“So, that’s how it is? Fine, I won’t back down either!”

The two glared at each other, their killing intent filling the air. The tension was so thick that it felt like the tavern might explode at any moment.

The innkeeper had already slipped away from the counter and fled into the kitchen.

In the suffocating atmosphere, both men were deep in thought.

‘What is that guy relying on? Does he have some sort of trump card? And what’s with that brat? He’s not even scared of my killing intent?’

Creek surveyed the surroundings, his eyes lingering on Linwood’s companions.

There didn’t seem to be any particularly strong mercenaries.

Only one young brat was staring back at him with a calm expression, which was somewhat unsettling.

Meanwhile…

‘If a fight breaks out, Shong will get caught in it. If that happens, I can rely on Karon’s help. With Karon here, those thug mercenaries will be nothing.’

Linwood subtly positioned himself between Shong and Karon, making sure to shield them both.

Karon noticed this and grunted.

“!!”

In the midst of the tense silence, Karon casually dragged his chair back and stood up.

The sight made every mercenary flinch.

How many people could move so calmly in such a heavy atmosphere?

As Karon picked up his black sword, which had been leaning against the table, and stepped forward—

“Wait.”

Shong blocked him, murmuring quietly.

“You’re not thinking of killing them here, are you? No killing. If there’s an investigation later, it’ll be a headache for us. Not just because of my cloak, but because of your sword too.”

At Shong’s words, Karon looked at him as if to say, Then what should I do?

Shong thought furiously, then remembered the conversation between the mercenary leader and the guard captain. They had mentioned coming here after finishing their patrol.

“Just buy us some time. The guards should be arriving soon. Just don’t kill anyone, okay?”

Shong whispered softly, then stepped aside to let Karon pass.

Creek furrowed his brow at Karon’s sudden appearance. The guy didn’t seem older than twenty.

A young brat with a short sword was standing between them, completely unfazed by Creek’s overwhelming presence.

Creek tilted his head in confusion.

‘Is he too dull to even feel my killing intent? No, that doesn’t make sense.’

What was even funnier was the fact that the Miguel mercenaries seemed relieved when the brat stepped forward.

‘What’s going on? Don’t tell me this brat is their trump card?’

He had a decent frame but was slender and didn’t look particularly muscular.

Was this scrawny kid the one they were relying on?

As ridiculous as the situation was, what came out of the brat’s mouth was even more absurd.

“Get out.”

The words were cold and emotionless. For a moment, Creek doubted his own ears.

The underlings standing behind him were equally stunned.

But soon, his head was filled with rage.

“You insolent brat…”

Creek had initially planned to just scare them and take the cloak, but now he changed his mind. He decided to kill.

Just as he raised his hand to grab the axe on his back—

Sssshhhh—

Suddenly, a dark red aura began to emanate from the young brat’s body, and a horrifying killing intent started to suffocate everyone in the room.

His eyes turned blood red, and his face twisted grotesquely, making him look like a demon.

“Gasp!”

Without realizing it, Creek sucked in a sharp breath, his body frozen as though petrified. His forehead and back were drenched in sweat, and his pupils trembled slightly.

It felt as if he were trapped in quicksand, his body sluggish and heavy. Every second stretched out, as if an eternity passed in the blink of an eye.

His breath caught in his throat, dizziness clouded his mind, and his body began to go numb. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the deadly aura vanished like a lie.

Creek snapped back to his senses and quickly glanced around. None of his subordinates seemed to realize that he had been completely overwhelmed by the presence of a mere youth. They just stared at their leader, confused by his strange behavior.

At that moment, a group of people entered the inn.

“What business do the Black Scorpion mercenaries have here?”

The guard captain, flanked by several guards, spoke in a stern voice, his posture stiff with authority.

Beside him was Erect, the leader of the Miguel Mercenaries, who cast a piercing glare at Creek. It seemed they had arrived together.

“Hmph! Let’s go!”

Creek lowered his hand, which had been reaching for his axe, and shoved his way past the guards, storming out of the inn.

His underlings followed him in a rush. As they departed without further confrontation, Erect tilted his head in confusion.

“They aren’t the type to leave so easily. Maybe the guards really do scare them after all.”

“Haha! No, Erect. They just don’t want the hassle,” one of the mercenaries replied.

Unaware that Karon had subdued Creek with his mere presence, the two men speculated carelessly as they walked into the inn together.

“So what was all that about? Why did they come here?” Erect asked, ordering a beer as he took a seat among his comrades.

Linwood began explaining everything that had happened, starting with Justin’s encounter.

With that, the brief episode came to an end, and the Miguel Mercenaries and the guards began to drink and chat amicably, celebrating the peaceful conclusion.

Shong, too, joined in and drank heavily with the group.

Karon, who stood up first, quietly headed to the second floor and retreated to his room.

—

That night.

Two men in deep, hooded robes arrived at the inn where the Black Scorpion mercenaries were staying. Their faces were hidden from view.

One was tall, and the other was short.

The taller man carried a longbow on his back, the length of which was far greater than usual.

The two were led by a mercenary to Creek’s quarters.

“Nice to meet you. Thank you for coming all the way here,” Creek said.

“This is unexpected,”

“The leader of the Black Scorpion mercenaries calling for us?”

The two robed men spoke as if finishing each other’s sentences. Creek chuckled awkwardly in response.

“Haha! It’s just that the opponent feels unsettling,” Creek explained.

“Unsettling?”

“What do you mean?”

Once again, the two men spoke in tandem.

“One of them has a strange cloak, and my men tell me it seems to have some kind of shock-absorbing properties. As for the other one… I’m not sure. He might be an illusionist or a swordsman… What I do know is that when our eyes met, the pressure was unbearable, like nothing I’ve ever felt before.”

Creek shuddered at the memory.

The two robed men glanced at each other.

They didn’t exchange any words, but it seemed as though they had come to a mutual understanding, nodding in agreement.

Creek pulled out a pouch of gold coins.

“If you take care of just those two, we’ll handle the rest of the Miguel Mercenaries.”

“We don’t need gold.”

“We’ll take the cloak instead.”

The two men spoke firmly, their eyes gleaming from beneath their hoods.

Creek hesitated for a moment, but then laughed heartily.

“Sure, take it! I don’t care much for the cloak anyway. As long as you get rid of those Miguel scum, that’s all that matters to me.”

He rubbed his hands together slyly, already scheming about how to take control of the Miguel Mercenaries.

—

The next morning.

The two robed men stood on the roof of a building that overlooked the harbor. Though the distance was significant, they crouched low to remain hidden.

Hooooonk

The sound of a ship’s horn echoed across the harbor, signaling the arrival of passengers ready to board.

Among the line of people preparing to board were Karon, Shong, and the Miguel Mercenaries.

As they silently watched, the taller of the two men began preparing.

The shorter man pulled out a telescope from his coat, extending it. The golden metal frame gave it an air of luxury.

The taller man stood upright, turning to the side to face the line of passengers. He spread his legs shoulder-width apart and unstrapped the longbow from his back.

Creak

As he drew the bowstring, the Belmont wood of the bow, known for its powerful elasticity, creaked under the tension.

The arrow he notched was tipped with a heavy, metal point.

“Southwest wind. Speed: 4. Three steps to the left, two steps forward.”

The shorter man muttered cryptic instructions while looking through the telescope, keeping his focus on Karon.

The taller man adjusted his aim accordingly. Blue energy began to swirl around the bow, which then flowed into the arrow.

The tip of the arrow gleamed with a dark blue aura.

At the end of his sightline stood Karon.

“He’s stopped. Fire.”

Twang!

At the shorter man’s signal, the taller man released the bowstring without a moment’s hesitation.

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