TTOB 06

Chapter 6

Surprise Attack (1)

Though he had forgotten most of his childhood, Kazar remembered the events of this night with vivid clarity. That night, Shakim’s unit had utterly trampled the village in an instant. They slaughtered the men who could fight, violated the young women, and bound them tightly alongside the children to load onto carts. Right after that, Kazar had run like mad across the plain, fleeing for his life with the Cornu tribe in pursuit.

‘Behind me was Shakim’s unit, and ahead was that bastard waiting in the dark, laying a trap.’

The Mercenary King, Cassion. At the thought of his name, Kazar ground his teeth violently. Cassion had used the young Kazar as bait to catch the Cornu tribe. Contrary to public rumors of him being a righteous man who followed chivalry, he was a despicable lowlife. When Kazar lay in a bloody heap, struck by an arrow and trampled by horse hooves, Cassion had walked up to him and said:

「I thought you’d kick the bucket, but you’re surprisingly agile. I might get another use out of you.」

That voice from back then was still vivid in his ears.

“So where is this safe place you mentioned?” “Over there, at the top of that cliff.”

In a corner of the vast plain stood a spot enclosed on three sides by steep cliffs. It was where the Cassion Mercenary Corps had set up their ambush in the past. Kazar had been forced to run for his life with the Cornu tribe on his tail all the way to that place. Back then, Shakim had fled after having one of his arms severed by Cassion, and Cassion took the artifact ring Shakim was wearing.

‘I’ll pit the two bastards against each other and take the ring for myself.’

Kazar was in a great mood, having found the opportunity to deal with two of his past enemies and acquire an artifact just three days after escaping the mine. Though the artifact wasn’t top-tier, it wasn’t bad for supplementing Tirad’s hopelessly frail physical body.

Setting Ernolf down inside a hollow recess at the top of the cliff, Kazar straightened his back. A subtle air of tension hung around him.

“You look like someone about to pull off something reckless. Where are you planning to go?”

Ernolf looked at Kazar with eyes full of suspicion.

“Where would I even go?” “So you’re saying you won’t go?” “Would you like me to go?”

The conversation was twisting oddly.

“No…”

Ernolf answered weakly and slumped onto the ground. The moment he rested his back against the rock, fatigue washed over him like a tidal wave.

‘There is zero strength left in this frame. How am I supposed to overcome these hardships with a body like this?’

Being dropped into what seemed to be the Warring States period—a transitional era from ancient to early medieval times—was already hard enough, but this was far too much. Not only had his status plummeted from high noble to the absolute bottom tier as a runaway slave, but the clothes on his back were rags unfit even for cleaning cloths, and his physical stamina was utter garbage. If he hadn’t awakened his Mana Heart, he would literally be a penniless beggar.

‘To uncover the cause of this ordeal, I must first secure a safe place to stay. No. Before that, I need to build my strength.’

Only with power could he survive to make money, buy land, and afford the leisure to focus on his investigation. To achieve that, the tasks ahead were mountain-high. Pondering this and that, Ernolf fell fast asleep in an instant. Once Ernolf was dead to the world, Kazar gathered branches and stones to roughly block the entrance so the wind wouldn’t get in.

‘This should do, right?’

Kazar turned his gaze into the distance. On one side of the dark plain, a massive flame erupted and steadily grew in size. It was where the village he and Ernolf intended to go was located.

‘Shall we begin?’

Stepping on the protruding rocks like stairs, Kazar descended below. Then, he sprinted like the wind toward the burning village.

“Aaaargh!” “S-Save me!” “Mommy!”

A village was trampled helplessly at midnight by nine members of the Cornu tribe. Children cried out for their parents until their throats tore, while parents searched frantically for their children with blood-soaked faces. Wherever blades passed, blood splattered and flesh parted; those lucky enough to dodge the weapons were crushed beneath horse hooves as they fled, their bones shattered. It took less than an hour for the elite unit of the Cornu tribe to annihilate the entire village. After crushing a resisting man under his warhorse like squishing an ant under a thumbnail, Shakim roughly grabbed a woman by her hair. As he set fire to the woman’s house, the raiding party waiting in the distance approached the village. Behind the raiding party gathering supplies and slaves, Shakim’s warriors pursued the women like beasts, as they always did. Just as Shakim was forcibly snapping the arm of a resisting woman, one of the raiders shoving children into an iron cage let out a sharp scream. Shakim whipped his head around like lightning.

“What is that?”

Some thief was riding one of the raiding party’s packhorses, speeding out of the village.

“Catch him, quickly!”

Shouting to his subordinates, Shakim drew his bow and pulled the string. Emitting a light as bright as a shooting star, an arrow flew through the pitch-black sky.

‘Did I miss?’

The sound of receding horse hooves continued unbroken. It was exceptionally rare for an arrow adjusted with Aura to miss its target. If it had missed nonetheless, it meant the runner was either an Aura user who severed his Aura, or possessed such extraordinary combat skill that he could dodge an arrow shot by an Aura user while riding at full speed.

“To think an Aura user is in a backwater place like this!”

The Cornu tribe never left behind combat-capable forces in order to make their raids easier the following year. In particular, Aura users and Mana users were top-priority targets for elimination. At Shakim’s command, the Cornu warriors charged forward like rabid beasts.

‘One, two, three, four… nine. Ah, how commendable. Every single one of them followed.’

Kazar counted the presences pursuing him from behind as he ran. Even during that time, arrows flew endlessly. Flicking away an arrow aimed at his neck with his finger, Kazar let out a faint smile. Among the nine Cornu warriors, he could feel Shakim’s aura.

‘Good, Shakim. Keep following.’

At the outer edge of the plain where Kazar was running, there were red rocky mountains and a forest filled with broadleaf trees. Rolling his eyes to cast a quick glance toward the rocky mountain where Tirad was, Kazar smoothly carved an arc and turned direction into the forest. Upon entering the forest, multiple arrows flew from up ahead. This time, they were shot not by the Cornu tribe, but by the Cassion Mercenary Corps camping in the forest. The arrows collided with the Aura Shield Kazar expanded, scattering in all directions.

Pababak!

Tree trunks struck by the arrows shattered completely.

“Who goes there!” “Halt immediately!”

Along with warning shots, a member of the mercenary corps shouted from deep inside the forest. Kazar stretched his lips into a wide grin and drove the horse even faster. The steed carrying him charged straight toward the mercenary camp. Standing before Kazar as he charged toward the camp was a knight holding a longsword. It was Cassion. Kazar glared at him with cold eyes.

‘It’s been a long time, Father.’

Memories from his past life when he first met the man rushed in like a surge of waves.

「Look at this kid. He’s harboring quite a fine aura, isn’t he?」 「Boss, don’t tell me this brat possesses an Aura Heart?」 「Yeah, by the looks of it he seems like a wandering beggar, but he has an Aura Heart. Kid, come under my wing. Listen to me well, and I’ll awaken your Aura Heart for you.」 「Would a beggar brat even know what an Aura Heart is?」 「If he wants to change his pathetic fate, he’ll have to start learning now.」

Looking up while devouring the bread tossed to him by the mercenary, Cassion had appeared like a merciful angel. However, it didn’t take long to realize that it was the face of a beast looking down at its prey.

「Once you can use Aura, even a beggar can become a king.」

Seduced by those words, Kazar took on all kinds of filthy and dangerous tasks for Cassion. Yet he merely escaped starvation, while all the rewards and honor went entirely to Cassion.

The Mercenary King, Cassion. The man called the King of Mercenaries. And…

‘My second father.’

Kazar gripped the reins tight and leaned low. Cassion raised his sword and brought it straight down, looking ready to sever both Kazar and the horse in a single stroke.

Fwhoosh!

A white Aura Blade sliced through the horse’s neck like a crescent moon.

‘Right, that’s Cassion for you.’

As if he had calculated it in advance, Kazar let go of the reins and launched his body into the air.

Splat!

The Aura Blade severed the horse’s neck, brushed past the empty saddle, and flew toward the Cornu warrior pursuing Kazar.

“Haat!”

The Cornu warrior chopped down Cassion’s Aura Blade. The Aura Blade split in two, slicing through the surrounding trees. At that instant, Cassion shot forward like a wedge and thrust his sword toward the Cornu warrior’s chest. The Cornu warrior raised his axe to block the blade tip.

“How dare a mere barbarian…!”

The metal where their Auras collided glowed red-hot and let out a screeching scream.

Slick!

Cassion slid his sword down, slicing into the Cornu warrior’s forearm. The metal vambrace on the warrior’s forearm was cut away like paper. The Cornu warrior roared and swung his axe at Cassion. The massive battleaxe kicked up a gust of wind. Just as Kazar had orchestrated, Shakim’s unit and the Cassion Mercenary Corps clashed head-on. Outnumbered, the Cornu warriors were quickly surrounded by the mercenary corps.

“Hraagh!”

Shakim smashed the head of an attacking mercenary and enhanced his vision with Aura to sweep through the darkness.

‘Where did he hide?’

He was searching for the young brat who had dragged him into the mercenaries’ den.

‘He completely erased his presence.’

A brat capable of erasing his presence like this had made such a noisy scene fleeing from the village. It was blatantly obvious he had dragged them here on purpose.

‘He dodged an Aura arrow, and just now he dodged an Aura Blade too. On top of that, he knows how to erase his presence. He’s no ordinary kid.’

Judging by the reaction, it didn’t seem as though the mercenary corps had sent a bait into the village to lure them into the forest. This was definitely the work of that rat-like brat.

‘What is his scheme?’

A enemy hiding in the shadows with venom in their teeth is far more terrifying. Shakim was much more bothered by that brat hiding his presence and observing from afar than the mercenaries raging in fury.

“Skin those uncivilized beasts and turn them in for a bounty! Kill them all!”

Cassion shouted with venom in his voice. Having seen his subordinate killed by the barbarians who suddenly burst in, his rage had reached its peak. Cassion ruthlessly attacked the Cornu warrior blocking his path. Every time he swung his blade, the Aura wrapping the steel struck the axe with the heavy weight of a boulder. The Cornu warrior’s axe was also infused with Aura, but a stark gap in skill existed between the two men. Splitting the helmet of the Cornu warrior in front of him right down the middle, Cassion shouted:

“Who is the leader! Step out right now!”

Seeing Cassion scanning the surroundings with bloodlust, Shakim decided he should halt the fight and pull out quickly.

“Warn the men back at the village. We pull back when an opportunity presents itself.”

In the first place, the Cornu tribe had come to raid, not to die in foreign lands showing off their strength. Just as Shakim’s subordinate put his fingers into his mouth to give the signal, a dagger flew through the air and severed his fingers.

“Do you think calling more of your comrades will help you overcome me?”

Cassion said, stretching his lips wide in a sneer. At that mockery, Shakim turned around, bloodlust flaring across his blood-stained face.

“You bastard!”

Shakim blew away a mercenary blocking his path with a single strike and charged at Cassion. As their blades collided, white light scattered in all directions.

Kazar was watching from the darkness the moment their swords clashed. Everything was proceeding according to plan, but Cassion’s swordsmanship skill was superior to what he remembered.

‘Will it be difficult for the two of them to kill each other in battle?’

Kazar pondered whether he should step in when Shakim fell into a disadvantage, take Shakim’s ring, and then strike Cassion. He felt confident he could finish off Shakim, but concluded that with his current abilities, killing Cassion as well was out of the question. It couldn’t be helped, considering he had awakened only recently.

Rustle.

As he sought an opportunity to intervene in their fight, he felt a chilling sensation behind his back.