Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP. 28 – I Am the Sinner Ri Han (4)
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- Blood Crusaders? What the hell is that, some knockoff Blood Cult?
- Right? You think so too!
So he wasn't the only one who thought it was fake.
However, Taechang—no, Derek—was truly dumbfounded.
- A faction from the temple? Parasites that survived even after being destroyed by the previous king? ...What the hell is all this?
Derek muttered to himself incessantly, utterly bewildered.
His head was spinning from the emergence of a faction he'd never even heard of.
Yeah, just as he said, Derek's head was always a mess.
Because he knew too much.
Some might envy Derek, thinking that with that kind of info, he could do anything.
- It's horrifying, really...
But to Derek, knowing so much was poison.
No matter how much information he had, to utilize it and push forward required commensurate power and authority.
Not just any power and authority.
At the very least...
- Without the authority of a war god or the power of an Aura User, I can't freely use the info I have.
No, if he had even one of those, he'd be lucky, but Derek had none.
Just like how he knew about the monster outbreak the day before but could do nothing about it.
So Derek was always stressed, spending countless sleepless nights.
At least lately, with reliable allies, he slept well, but if not...!
- Sigh, Instructor's right. Ignorance is bliss. I'd rather just be an info vending machine.
- Kid, don't say that. Try to become an Aura User or war god-level authority yourself.
- ...Neither is easy, and I don't even want to...
Aura Users couldn't be made through skills or achievements.
And to become a war god-level authority required the political savvy to lead others, something he lacked both in ability and guts.
- What good is overflowing confidence if you can't back it up.
- ...Instructor overestimates me. Anyway, the important thing now is this mysterious faction showing up.
- You really know nothing? You predicted the monster incident.
- I know there's a villain. But there were no ridiculous names like 'Blood Crusaders' among them.
- ......
- It's some kind of error, or deviation. To figure out the deviation, maybe I should move with you, Instructor.
- Oh? What's gotten into you, being proactive?
- ...Haha, nothing much. Just imitating you, Instructor.
- Imitating what?
- You said it: No matter what, have a 'sense of responsibility.' I'm trying that.
A sense of responsibility as a game developer.
Derek was trying to put it into action.
And so, right now.
"Whoa, clean water after so long."
"The bread's soft, and the milk's fresh like it was just squeezed. How do they distribute stuff like this to a hellhole like this?"
"Mmm!!"
"Ah, Sir Aren. Eat slower. You'll choke."
"Cough! W-Water...!"
"...Happens right after I say it."
Thanks to Derek, the knights could enjoy a warm meal and fresh milk like farmers basking in rain after drought.
An astonishing miracle possible only for players with the cheat skill [Inventory].
"Who'd have thought you'd have such a capable collaborator. I see you in a new light, Lee Han."
"You have quite the connections, Senior."
"I'll admit it this time."
"All of you?"
"...I admit it."
"...Yeah. What was I expecting from you."
"......"
Lee Han teased the gullible Eighth Prince as always, while focusing on his conversation with Derek.
"So, found anything?"
"...That big?"
He knew it was large, but not this large.
Then again, it supplied fertilizer to the entire kingdom—no, the whole southern continent.
It had to be this massive to manage that.
"Not easy to investigate."
"Hm."
Probably the minimum estimate.
If they wanted a thorough look, two weeks might not be enough.
It wasn't just wandering; they had to scout for a hidden organization.
Is this really the place?
A momentary doubt arose.
Isis had picked three candidate sites, and this was the one her intuition pointed to.
Was trusting her gut a mistake?
...No, it's definitely here!
But Lee Han decided not to doubt her intuition.
She occasionally displayed inexplicable abilities.
Almost mystical.
So he had to trust her and be convinced it was here.
Doubting would only lead to finding nothing.
"Looks like you'll have to work harder. I'll search too, but as a sinner, I'm pretty restricted."
"Alright, see you at dinner."
Whoosh.
The presence vanished.
Astonishing stealth—no, a skill.
If that skill developed just a bit more, even Lee Han might not detect it.
The status window really is a cheat.
Invisibility, stealth, acceleration, and more.
If not a humanoid stealth fighter, what was it?
As Lee Han felt envious.
"Hey, you. You're a knight from Britannia, right?"
"?"
"First time meeting, but I can tell from your trained body. You're no slouch. Nice to meet you. Mustang de Varga."
A fool blurted out his name out of nowhere.
As if hearing it would make them tremble.
But they just...
"??"
Stared openly like, What the hell is this idiot?
"...Y-You don't know my name?"
As Mustang panicked, eyes shaking, a reaction finally came.
"...Mustang? The Britannian general who led the 3rd Legion?"
Jake, the knight who read newspapers most among them, named his background, and Mustang rejoiced, but...
"Ooh!"
"The one whose idiotic command helped Pendragon win, the so-called hidden supporter and spy...?"
"...Oh......"
"The lunatic who threw a party in the middle of the battlefield...?"
"S-Stop! Enough...!"
His background emerging was perhaps misfortune.
The general called Mustang winced with every detail and shouted desperately.
But they'd heard it all.
Wow, we heard Britannia deserved to fall, but yeah, with guys like this as generals...
Incompetent allies are more dangerous than enemies...
Amazing. Can someone like that even be a general?
Come to think of it, you're a captain too, so maybe?
What the hell does that mean!!
They just gave him cold stares.
An 'incompetent fool' among fools.
Impossible to see positively.
And proving his incompetence, to those openly disdainful stares,
"Ahem, w-well, anyway, if you know my name, you know I'm your superior. State your names and affiliations, and show respect!"
"......"
...He whined outright for respect, leaving them speechless.
No tact at all?
Wow... Even incompetence can inspire awe like this.
If incompetence had realms, this guy was surely at the peak, like Fiery or Mystic Realm.
Nothing else could draw such admiration.
And then.
"Hmph! Demanding respect even in prison—are you without shame?!"
Pendragon's precious golden boy—no, white lion—frowned visibly and started needless bickering over status pride.
"You bastard! How dare you call the heir of the noble Varga family a 'bastard'!"
"Lowly scum. What does some Varga house matter."
"What! This punk...!"
Pendragon's golden boy and Britannia's wastrel engaged in petty squabbling.
The answer was to ignore such trash, yet picking a fight proved he was truly golden.
The fight heated up fast.
Wasn't it always so?
Arrogant, proud of their bloodlines.
They wouldn't yield easily, fighting until the other bowed first.
And so.
"This insolent...!"
"Who dares point fingers?!"
They grabbed collars and dove into fisticuffs.
It happened five minutes after meeting, but no one intervened.
Or rather,
"What are those guys?"
"H-Heh, full of energy."
The onlookers lacked the strength to stop them.
Exhausted from mini-wyrms, who had energy for fights or mediation?
To sinners, who won or fought didn't matter at all.
However.
"General Mustang. Please stop. Aren't they fellow countrymen we rarely meet? We should unite now more than ever."
"But this guy started...!"
"Haha, calm down, calm."
"...Hm."
One unusually affable-looking man blocked Mustang and calmed him, settling the commotion.
"My apologies. General Mustang meant no harm. He was just glad to see fellow Britannian knights. I say again, no ill intent, haha."
"......"
"Ah, late introduction. Roy Vant. Call me Roy."
"...Hmph."
Roy Vant approached with a smiling handshake, a most upright young man.
Like a capable administrator, harmless without combat prowess.
"Sir Vant! Are you leaving such rude fools be?!"
"General. But they are knights from our homeland, no? And fortunate—they're not from the legion you led."
"W-Well..."
Aware of his own blunders, Mustang flinched.
His troll antics had effectively doomed the legion; ignorance of that would make him worse than a beast.
Mustang fell silent, and Roy Vant, relieved, turned back to them.
"We showed an embarrassing sight."
"Nah, we didn't care except for one guy."
"Haha, glad to hear, uh... Your name?"
"Lee Han."
"...Ri Han?"
"Hm, been a while since I heard that."
"Pardon?"
"Forget it. Just Ri Han is fine."
"...Did I offend...?"
"No, nothing like that. More importantly, you. What's your relation to that guy?"
"...?"
Lee Han's remark felt sudden and unnaturally friendly; Roy eyed him oddly but answered earnestly.
"...I bonded with General Mustang in these tunnels. He saved me when I nearly died to wyrms. He's my lifesaver."
"Hahaha! Right, that happened!"
Mustang laughed exaggeratedly as if he'd forgotten, patting Roy's shoulder like boasting.
Irritating, yet Roy kept smiling, just as people's opinion of Mustang sank further.
"-That's weird. You don't look weak enough to need help from someone inferior."
"......"
...For the first time, Roy's smile froze at Lee Han's words.
"Really strange."
"...What do you mean...?"
"Don't get it? I'm saying straight up, you're suspicious."
"!!?"
Whoosh!
Thud...!
"......"
"Nice block."
"...Y-You madman..."
Lee Han's punch wasn't something an ordinary person could block.
It could've killed on impact.
Yet Roy blocked it effortlessly, which already proved...
"Feeling good after taking the antidote without your lifesaver?"
"......Damn you."
He used Fighting Technique; murder glinted in Roy's eyes.
Catching it instantly.
"Finally found you."
- Suspicious bastard.
Lee Han grinned and threw another punch.
Boom!
Lee Han and Roy Vant's fists collided.
Tire-bursting shockwaves boomed repeatedly, ear-ringing blasts echoing.
Whoosh!
Roy's leg snaked like a serpent, kicking at his foe.
Like a Brazilian kick from someone with truly serpentine legs—complex trajectory.
Such kicks assailed Lee Han relentlessly, but amid the movement flurry, his gaze unwavering,
Thud!
"That all?"
"!"
He blocked effortlessly.
Purely reactive; shock dawned on Roy's face.
Probably the first time blocked so easily.
Whoosh!
But Roy chained more powerful, flashy techniques seamlessly.
Evoking Muay Thai—practical, lethal striking art.
Clearly honed in real combat by a master.
Kaboom!
Skilled techniques, trained body, Fighting Technique.
A knight at perfection's peak shattered rocks and tore beasts.
Foot planted, cratering ground, a kick flew.
More vision-blurring feints than before.
Wow, artistic legwork.
Pendragon knights favored punches and wrestling, but Britannians excelled in footwork.
First time facing one properly, yet it was leg art at mastery.
Thus.
Pity. No matter how fancy, you're second from the bottom.
Great technique, but sadly, he'd seen far superior multiple times this year.
Roy's was second-best, just above Aren.
Thus, the flashy footwork threatening him,
Splat!
"Guhhh...!"
"Too light. Add weight."
He bulldozed through with brute simplicity.
The striker winced in pain—an odd sight.
But fitting.
Rock-shattering power, not steel-crushing.
Diamond-hard.
Far short of denting his body; Lee Han gripped the writhing ankle,
Whoosh!!
Kwarang!
And slammed him down.
Technique-less barbarity.
"Aaaah...!"
"Just twice, and you're whining."
"Th-This can't...!!"
"Still fine."
Whoosh!
Ignoring protests, Lee Han kept slamming.
Splat!
Midway, a desperate final kick,
"Still, you're three times better than the golden boy."
Respecting his grit and skill, Lee Han hoisted him high,
Whoooosh!!
...And granted rest.
Crunch!
German Suplex.
Head smashed ground, something cracked; Lee Han winced momentarily.
Oh... Shouldn't grant rest like that, huh?
Only now worrying if the head cracked.
...Far too late, of course.