Chapter 327
Chapter 327
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 327
Chapter Title: Those Martial Arts Guys
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That bastard... what the hell is he doing over there?
The emotion that hit me in that instant was pure bewilderment.
Why the fuck was an upper instructor from the Martial Arts Guild—who was basically elite—beating the shit out of these grubby criminal scumbags until they were on the verge of death?
Did the thugs try to sexually harass her or something? Even then, there was no reason for someone like her to be in the slums to begin with.
No way.
Was Rijette actually a Judge Dredd type?!
The only reason to beat down criminals for justice was that. Nothing else made sense.
But calling her Judge Dredd didn't quite fit— she wasn't in the standard Martial Arts Guild uniform. She was dressed in casual clothes that exposed most of her skin and curves, giving off a provocative vibe that wasn't very "law enforcer" at all...
Anyway, her face and fists were caked in blood.
That bright red blood suited her perfectly— the cold, professional killer aura in her eyes, combined with her wild red hair. Anyone who didn't know her would think she was some street punk, not an instructor.
And in reality, she kinda was.
"Huh? If you don't have money, make some and come back. Right?"
"S-sis, please...! It's just after winter, collections have been—"
"Shut your fucking mouth with excuses, you piece of shit."
—Thwack!
"Gahack!"
She grabbed the thugs by the scruff of their necks as they lay crumpled on the ground—like a fisherman hauling in fish—yanked them up, and unleashed merciless punches into their guts.
I'd taken a hit like that before. It fucking hurt like hell.
That wasn't a punch these back-alley punks could handle. They were probably gonna croak soon. And they sure as shit didn't have money for healing.
Just as my suspicions of her being a Judge Dredd solidified into certainty, I caught the thug mentioning "collections."
Collections... something shady was definitely going down here.
"..."
But it had nothing to do with me.
Yeah, spotting Rijette was fine, but seeing her like this? I just wanted to go my own way.
This wasn't running away.
I was just gonna take a detour to avoid the hassle.
I could get revenge on Rijette anytime—next month would do. Plus, my stamina wasn't at full right now. I'd need at least two days without sex to recover fully.
Though, unless I was sleeping outside, holding back was impossible.
Whatever. An opportunity would come eventually.
I tried to slip away quietly.
Then—
"Hey, you there. What're you peeking at? I see you, so come out, you rat bastard."
Rijette called me out.
...Fine. If she calls, I answer.
I stepped right out from around the corner.
"Well, if it isn't Rijette."
"Oh? It's that piece-of-shit bastard from before. Fancy meeting you here. How's the spot I punched doing?"
"Like hell it's fine, bitch. How's your gym holding up?"
"You rude little shit."
I bantered back while waving casually and scanning the surroundings.
—Groan...
—Urk...!
All I heard were the groans of men sprawled everywhere. The homeless and slum dwellers had long scattered due to the violence.
Aside from those pained moans, the atmosphere was eerily quiet.
As I checked the area, I took a good look at Rijette too.
She had a vicious-looking claw weapon strapped to a thong-like string on her ass—clearly her signature gear. Up close, the blade looked brutally sharp.
It screamed "serial killer's tool."
No way that thing was for anything but murder.
With a weapon like that, if a fight broke out, it wouldn't end like last time. We'd be going all-out, life-or-death. Best case? Mutual destruction.
"So what're you doing here? Heard some brawl noises while passing by, and who do I find? You beating on people as a hobby? Living up to your looks, huh."
"Jesus, do I really have to hear that shit from a bastard like you?"
With that scar on her face, she and I looked pretty damn similar.
"We're about the same, you know."
"Bullshit, you street rat."
Rijette smirked and glanced down at a squirming thug on the ground.
—Crunch!
She stomped on one guy's back like she was furious about something. "Quack!" A duck-like squeal burst out.
It was like she was playing with a rubber duck toy.
"You lot, get the fuck out now. Miss your quota next time, and you're really dead, you vermin. Remember that."
—Like one of those kid toys that squeaks when you squeeze it tight.
Did she see human lives as playthings?
"Y-yes, sis! We'll remember!"
"Thank you! Thank you!"
"We'll meet the quota for sure!"
At her words, the thugs—tears streaming, bodies gushing blood—scrambled up, supported each other, and bolted from the scene like they'd been granted salvation.
One of them, lips busted and eyes swollen black, headed my way.
I was apparently blocking the path.
I moved to step aside, but—
"Don't block the way, fuck off!"
The bastard growled and spat curses before I could react.
"What? Fuck off?"
"...Huh?"
Rage surged instantly. I drew my sword without thinking. Didn't this fucker learn manners from his mom?
"You fucking cunt, barking at me out of nowhere? What? 'Fuck off'? Didn't your mom teach you to say 'excuse me, just passing through'?"
"N-no, I mean... uh..."
I pressed the blade to his gut, and he stammered in shock. In the adventurer world, letting someone diss you first without clapping back made you a chump.
If you didn't punish provocations immediately, you wouldn't survive this brutal otherworld. A back-alley worm daring to mouth off to the Heavenly Demon, Kim Katt?
This was a death sentence without trial—totally legal.
"S-s-s-sorry! I misspoke!"
Finally coming to his senses, the idiot tried some lame excuse, and it just fueled my white-hot fury.
"Misspoke my ass!!!!!! I got a sword that misfired too!!!!!!"
"Uwaaaaaah!! Don't do it!!!"
—Thud!
It happened in a flash.
Weakling Contempt, Criminal Contempt, and Scoundrel Contempt all triggered at once. I couldn't hold back the impulse and slammed a kick into him.
"—Gaaack!!"
A satisfying impact shot up from my foot. He flew back, crashing flat on his ass from the gut shot.
"You dare rip out my heart!!!!!! Pay up in damages, you gutless shit!!!!!!!!"
"I-it's...! I got no money! My bad!!"
I stomped him wildly while yelling.
"I'll ream your guts!!!!"
"Urghaaack!!"
No money? Then cough up your life, show some spine!!
"No cash?!! Then drop your pants, you dickless bitch!"
"Kahack! Gack! S-sis! Help!!"
I'd always despised these slum thugs to the extreme. Blame it on all the shit I took when I was a beggar.
Beating these fuckers to death actually helped the world. I wasn't soft enough to pity scum like them.
"Speak! Nicely! Or die! Die, you orphan fuck!"
"Kack! Sis! Sis, please!"
"Call for mom in times like this, not sis!!!"
I was mid-tap dance on him when Rijette stepped closer.
"Hey, hey. Ease up, asshole. That guy's broke."
She intervened, so I stopped the dance.
...Come to think of it, he called her "sis."
Was Rijette in a gang?
"You know this guy?"
Curious, I let go of the half-dead thug and asked. He crawled away like a turtle.
"Kinda. Anyway, that was some next-level thug shit from you? What're you beating a kid like that for?"
Like she hadn't just done the same.
"Says the one who was wrecking punks a minute ago. So what's the deal? Why were you beating them? You in a gang or something?"
"A gang? Me?"
Beat-up thugs. "Collections." "Sis." Piecing it together, Rijette seemed like an upper Martial Arts Guild instructor and a slum gang exec.
"What's the Martial Arts Guild salary that you'd bother with this crap?"
"Then what is it?"
Good pay, huh?
"Just pocket money. Why? Interested?"
"Pocket money?"
"Yeah. Pocket money... But hold up—you're just chatting peacefully with me right now? I remember our last fight ending on a weird note. Though I was winning."
What bullshit.
"Winning my ass. If we'd kept going, I'd have won. Don't front."
"Sure you would've, you limp-dick."
"The fuck, bitch?"
Still, I sheathed my sword.
Fighting now? One of us would die for real. Looking at her again, I could tell. Win rate? 50% tops.
She had at least one move on me.
Revenge later, when I could crush her. No need to risk my neck on a nice day like this.
"Eh, it's a good day, so I'll let it slide. Rematch later."
"Scared?"
"Worried you'd die."
"Bastard. Your mouth."
She smirked, arms crossed. Seemed she didn't wanna fight either. Yeah. Bare-knuckle was one thing—with weapons? No point risking life.
"But seriously, no thoughts on being an instructor? You'd be good."
She slipped in the question from last time.
"Why would a swordsman teach martial arts? Nah."
"The guild needs a thug like you."
"If it's thugs you need, you're enough."
"Fuck off."
"So, what's this pocket money thing?"
I got curious about her "pocket money" gig. She dragged over a crate, sat on it, crossed her legs, and explained.
"Eh, nothing much."
According to her, she just beat up back-alley gangs for actual pocket change and extorted them.
Beating people and robbing them just for extra cash? What kind of criminal was she? But the gangs were criminals anyway, so no legal issue.
"Kekeke, small change, but taking it yourself makes it worthwhile. Right? A few punches and free money—who wouldn't?"
She seemed to enjoy the violence itself.
With her strength, these punks were perfect—no real backlash. Hell, she could probably crush whole gangs.
"...True that. Nothing beats stolen cash."
Especially from criminals. Felt rewarding. Listening on, she seemed to have solid ideals.
"Right? So whenever I get pissed, I come here, rough up these shits, and squeeze 'em for cash. Grab any bastard, beat 'em—no fallout. Break a few spots, and tribute rolls in automatically?"
"..."
Her bragging tone sparked all kinds of thoughts. And yeah, her vibe fit the slums perfectly.
Did she, like me, hold grudges from dealing with these criminals before? Now strong, getting petty revenge?
"You're a better guy than I thought."
Rare to find someone with proper ideals these days.
"Never thought I'd hear that from a thug like you."
Her actions had a righteous edge. Borrowing from wuxia novels I'd read, she was a straight-up xia—vigilante hero.
Beating crooks, robbing them, and feeding herself? Textbook xia.
That's when you drop "xia," right?
—Thump thump.
This...
Just beating slum vermin gets you tribute? My heart started racing.
Could I do this too?