Chapter 73
Translator: penny
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Train Like It's Real Combat, Fight Like It's Training.
100 days.
That's a pretty long time. If you think about having to endure three meals a day while staring at nothing but a wall, there's no greater hell.
But what if you set your mind to one task and threw yourself into it for 100 days without rest...?
What if you became so absorbed that you lost track of whether it was day or night, whether your eyes were open or closed...?
If you could manage that, then 100 days might actually feel incredibly short.
"Huh? It's snowing."
The youngest somehow sensed this firsthand as he gazed at the first snow falling from the sky.
The air had grown cold without his noticing, filling his lungs, while the soft flakes piled up on his shoulders.
The 100 days he'd promised the boss had passed several days ago.
'...It really was a hellish 100 days.'
Especially for the youngest, who had a slimmer build than the other brothers, undergoing the same external martial arts training and getting battered by the boss to hone his combat sense had been utterly grueling.
Squeeze.
The youngest flexed his arm and examined it slowly.
It hadn't bulked up much compared to before, but... his arm was now as solid as an oil-soaked club.
The boss called it 'compressed combat muscle.'
It was nothing compared to the boss, but through diligent muscle-building and taking hits, the youngest had achieved a physique somewhat similar to his.
'Wait... how many beatings did the boss take, then...?'
The youngest suddenly recalled the boss's casual remark while demolishing them.
'Back in my day, this was just warm-up stuff... tsk tsk.'
"...Haha, you really went through a lot, boss."
Still, the youngest didn't think the hardship had been in vain.
At first, he couldn't grasp what it meant to learn while getting hit, but... after taking hit after hit, his sense for saber techniques grew familiar.
The boss's saber style was so intricate that it was hard to comprehend just by watching or listening. But experiencing it firsthand made the whole thing click into place.
Thanks to the boss's efforts... the bandit lieutenants had internalized his saber techniques to a decent degree, if not mastery.
After that, they even found some spare time and resumed their duties.
"Brother Bangsam!"
"Yeah, take this pass... Huh? Youngest."
The place the youngest had come to was the gateway pavilion, the key checkpoint on the mountain path.
He grinned and massaged the shoulders of Bangsam, who was hard at work there.
"I've come to relieve you. You've been working nonstop for half a day straight."
"Oh, has it been that long already? Ughhh...."
Bangsam was in charge of the gateway pavilion, but he couldn't handle it alone all day, so the youngest had recently jumped in to help.
Stretching with a groan, Bangsam stood and patted the youngest's shoulder.
Dealing with hundreds of merchants from one spot was no small feat. But now it was over....
"Finally, some rest. Take care of it, Youngest."
"Big Bro said to come find him once you're done with Brother Bangsam. He said he'll spar with you."
"......"
...The start of an even greater hell.
At the mention of sparring, Bangsam's eyes darted around as sweat beaded on his brow, despite the freezing weather.
"...Fuck, that guy's real hobby is beating on us, isn't it? The 100 days are over, so why again.... Ah, whatever. I'll just run..."
"He said he'd hunt you down and kill you if you ran."
"Fuck-!"
The boss was a man who followed through on his word. And everyone in the bandits knew it.
Bangsam trudged off toward the boss with the expression of a cow heading to the slaughterhouse.
"Hang in there, Brother."
"...You too, Youngest."
Even so, Bangsam didn't forget to offer the youngest some encouragement. The youngest waved him off.
Then he took a seat at the guide's station.
As soon as the youngest sat down, the merchants recognized him and greeted him warmly.
"Oh! It's been ages! Remember me? Nice to see you again...."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm cutting your toll."
"Tch."
The merchant clicked his tongue at the youngest's firmness and placed his luggage on the table for inspection. The youngest smiled back, inspected it meticulously, and set the toll accordingly.
The youngest handled his duties with unflinching thoroughness. It had been tough at first, but he'd gotten the hang of it and adapted quickly.
Bangsam always grumbled about how grueling the job was, but the youngest actually enjoyed facing all sorts of people here.
"Next!"
He finished with that merchant, collected the toll precisely, and called for the next one...!
"Huh...?"
...Only to freeze at the sight of the next customer's face.
"You?"
**
"Huff... huff...."
"......"
Little Dragon was exhausted, breathing heavily.
And for good reason. He was currently in a one-on-one spar with me.
The initial spars had all my underlings ganging up on me at once. But after the promised 100 days flew by, I felt the need for individual training and started working with them one by one like this.
Of course, a plain spar would be too easy for me, so I imposed a handicap on myself.
Against Little Dragon, my penalty was... using only one hand.
Fighting with one hand cut my power to far less than half, but it was just right for facing him.
In fact, it was plenty for Little Dragon, who was drenched in sweat like it was raining.
"Little Dragon, you gonna snap out of it? What kind of deputy boss flails around like this? Huh?"
"...Tch!"
Whoosh-!
Stung by my words, Little Dragon poured his qi into his saber and leaped forward.
As he swung, the wind howled with the fierce flow of his qi.
He was executing the initial forms of the Wind Wave Saber Method, charging straight at me.
The Wind Wave Saber Method was one of the saber styles I'd taught my underlings.
It worked by whipping up powerful saber winds and controlling them freely to slash the foe mercilessly.
Rumbleeee-!
In that regard, his current saber wind was fairly sharp, and Little Dragon's momentum was intense.
It was definitely at a level where he could claim he'd learned the Wind Wave Saber Method anywhere.
But....
"Still not enough."
The Wind Wave Saber Method's large motions left gaps all over if you couldn't fill your surroundings with saber wind.
At least in my eyes, Little Dragon was full of openings....
Screee-!
I thrust my sheathed saber into one with my one hand.
Crunch.
"Ugh-!"
Little Dragon groaned in pain as my saber pierced his side, but....
Slash slash slash-!
"...Ho?"
His technique didn't break; it held steady. From his expression, he was in a trance-like state, hell-bent on smashing my head.
'Did I do something wrong?'
Flustered by his determination, I could only blame my past self.
I'd probably turned him into this by beating him so soundly.
'I didn't beat him because I enjoy it-! This punk doesn't get his boss's heart-!'
Feeling aggrieved, I shoved my saber all the way into his side.
Swish swish....
His momentum faltered, his power waning.
But at that moment....
Twirl-.
"...!"
Little Dragon instantly reined in his qi, spun his body, and....
Whoosh-!
...Dodged my saber before launching another strike.
It wasn't as powerful since he'd pulled back his qi, but my saber was already extended, making it hard to react.
I twisted to evade as well, but....
Tap.
...By then, the tip of his saber had already touched my shoulder.
"......"
"......"
It was the first time Little Dragon's saber had touched me. An awkward silence fell over this unprecedented event....
"Yaaaaah-!!"
Soon after, Little Dragon's triumphant roar echoed through the mountains.
"Finally-!! Did you see that, Boss? My saber touched you-! Aaaah-!!"
His face looked ready to burst into tears any second.
I grinned at him and said....
"Little Dragon."
"Yes, Boss."
"The spar isn't over yet."
"...Huh?"
...Then swung my saber.
Bam-!
"Aaack-!"
Naturally, the defenseless Little Dragon took the hit and tumbled backward. I followed up with a few more in midair.
"Hey, you punk. I said treat it like real combat. You gonna do this in a real fight too? 'It touched you, so I win' or what?"
"Cough... Boss. I, I just got too excited and...."
"Shut it, punk. Take another one."
Bam-!
One more swing, and Little Dragon collapsed like he'd passed out. That wrapped up today's session with him.
"Alright, next up...."
"...!"
I glanced aside to see Bangsam, just back from his shift, standing there awkwardly.
"Bangsam, come on."
"No, Boss. I just finished work and I'm beat...."
"Train like it's real combat, fight like it's training. Right now, imagine enemies ambushing you right after you've collapsed from a full day's work."
"...If it's real-combat-style training, can I just run like it's real combat?"
Bangsam was already turning to flee before he even finished speaking.
I smiled at him and continued.
"It's real combat, so of course you can run. Except right now, I'm role-playing a warrior who has no sense of honor and inflicts extra merciless pain on anyone who flees."
"...What a dogshit setup. Fuck."
Whoosh-!
Bangsam cursed and charged at me.
After 100 days of that, he still rushed in—befitting the third in rank.
I pondered where to hit him as I raised my saber.
Just as our sabers were about to clash.
"Brothers-!"
"Hm?"
"Huh?"
The youngest's voice rang out suddenly, halting us as we turned to look.
There he was, the real youngest. Even though it wasn't his sparring time.
He should be on duty right now. As I opened my mouth to ask why he'd come....
"Youngest, why... Ah.... Huh? What?"
...I spotted the person beside him and froze, struggling to continue.
"You...."
"Long time no see, Great Hero."
True to her words, it had been ages. She beamed with a genuine smile, looking straight at me.