Chapter 107
Chapter 107
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Gale Squad (3)
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It was pandemonium.
Soldiers of the Arahan Estate complete their basic training throughout the Goyad Kingdom before finally receiving their last round of training in Arahan.
After that, they either follow the knight they are to serve or the nobles who wish to command them.
Yes, their lives were just beginning.
Most were in their early twenties.
Some were still fresh-faced boys in their late teens.
Each had arrived at the Arahan Estate to support their families, each holding a dream of their own.
But the fact that they would die before ever setting foot in the wider world drove them to despair.
As they watched the ferocious ogres close in, they needed something.
Someone to blame.
Stop the ogres with a single arrow?
But that one arrow became twenty arrows and met the ogres head-on.
*Ting, t-ting ting ting.*
The ogres’ hides were tough. The arrows bounced off.
But then.
*KABOOOM—!*
Twenty ogres slammed into the ground simultaneously.
Their massive bodies dug into the earth. The soldiers, who had been lost in chaos, stopped crying and looked at Hyun-soo.
A mere blacksmith, or a mere baronet knight.
They had heard his level wasn't much different from their own.
The man lowered the hand he had raised and spoke.
“Begin the subjugation.”
Kan, the first to regain his senses, shouted.
“Attack!”
The first to charge were the soldiers with spears, whom Hyun-soo had positioned.
The advantage of a spear is its long range, and a spear’s thrust is overwhelmingly faster than the swing of a sword.
Their long spears stabbed relentlessly at the ogres.
*Thud, th-thud, thud—!*
Next.
The ten-man archer unit, waiting on one side in a kneeling position to increase their accuracy.
They unleashed a volley of arrows upon the ogres pinned to the ground.
But the soldiers struggled to pierce the ogres’ tough hides.
*Twitch—*
The duration of Thousand Geun Time was a mere eight seconds. But it was even shorter than that.
It was because the ogres were a higher level than Hyun-soo.
The beasts began to push themselves up from the ground.
At that moment, the sword-wielding soldiers who had been waiting in the trees.
“Hyaaaaaah!”
“Hah!”
They leaped from the trees, striking the beasts down.
*CRUNCH—*
*CRACK—*
*CRACK-CRACK-CRACK—!*
Amidst the ceaseless thrusts of spears, the swings of swords, and the flurry of arrows, four ogres met their end in an instant.
The soldiers thought they might actually be able to kill all twenty.
But soon.
“Grrrrrr…”
The ogres rose, their eyes bloodshot.
The soldiers’ faces went pale as they watched the beasts, riddled with arrows, get back on their feet.
The damage to the ogres was significant, to be sure.
For soldiers who were only level 200 to have chipped away 50% of the ogres’ HP was an incredible feat.
But that was the end of it.
An ogre pushed itself off the ground.
It raised the heavy axe in its grip, aiming to bring it down on a soldier’s head.
“Hiiieeeek!”
The soldier, Reil, knew instinctively.
It wouldn’t just split his head; his body would be cleaved perfectly in two!
Reil, who had squeezed his eyes shut, opened them with a look of confusion.
“Guuuhhh…”
A strange sound reached his ears. When he opened his eyes, he was stunned.
The axe was stopped right above his head.
He looked around.
The weapons of the ogres targeting dozens of soldiers had all frozen in place.
The ogres’ eyes, the only things they could move along with their mouths, darted around.
Then, the ogres shot up into the sky.
*Swoosh—*
Reil could see him. Baronet Hyun-soo, clad in a stylish coat.
He stood before him, holding a single sword.
‘I need to show them overwhelming power.’
Hyun-soo needed their absolute trust, a reason for them to believe in him and follow him.
The easiest way to earn that trust was to prove his strength.
Having sent the ogres flying with Lord's Command, Hyun-soo lowered his stance and leaped up toward them.
*SWOOOSH—*
With sharp eyes, Hyun-soo took in the sixteen ogres that were still intact.
“Geuh?”
“Krrr?”
The ogres let out confused noises. They suddenly found themselves being pulled together into a tight cluster.
But the ogres scoffed.
The instincts of monsters and animals were far superior to those of a mere human.
The power they sensed from him was only slightly better than that of those pathetic soldiers.
Did such a weakling think clustering them together would change anything?
And then, the lips of the unknown man watching them twisted into a smirk.
He had been waiting for their HP to drop sharply, and he had deliberately guided them to cluster like this.
*SHIIING—*
The sound was clear and pure.
To the ogres, it was an unfamiliar sound, one that soothed their minds for a brief moment.
*CLICK—*
The moment the man drew the sword from his waist.
*SH-SH-SH-SH-SH-SH-SHINK—!*
The Sword King’s Secret Art tore them to shreds without pause.
The advantage of Cry of the Sword was that it ignored all defense.
No matter how tough their hides, the ogres’ bodies were diced into pieces.
And while it attacked all enemies within a 20-meter radius, its power was amplified when the targets were clustered together.
*Thud—*
Soon, Hyun-soo landed back on the ground.
Using Lord's Command, he swept the shattered remains of the ogres into a single pile.
*Thud-thud-thud—*
Then, for all to see, he casually grabbed the collar of his coat and dusted it off.
*Pat, pat—*
With an unfazed expression, Hyun-soo turned to the soldiers and asked.
“Is everyone alright?”
“…!?”
All the soldiers stared at Hyun-soo in astonishment, and Reil was honest with his reaction.
“Wow…!”
Meanwhile, Hyun-soo checked the endless stream of notifications.
[The subjugation party has successfully hunted 20 ogres.]
[Experience points are distributed among the soldiers based on their contribution.]
[All soldiers have leveled up by 2.]
[You have acquired 103 Gold.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[Subjugation Progress has increased by 30%.]
*T-ring!*
[Not a single one of your soldiers was seriously injured.]
[You have gained an additional 5% Subjugation Progress.]
35% Subjugation Progress.
Philip had originally said he only needed to raise it by 20%.
Of course, he still had to hunt the Ogre Chieftain.
‘Hunting the Ogre Chieftain will probably raise it by about 10%.’
Even so, that would only be 45%.
While it was more than double the figure Philip had mentioned, he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.
Just then, a notification appeared before Hyun-soo.
[Your subjugation party has hunted many ogres in a short amount of time.]
[A new, never-before-seen episode will begin shortly.]
[Upon successful completion of the new episode, you will receive a special reward from ???.]
‘A special reward from ???’
Hyun-soo wore a puzzled expression.
He was used to notifications about new stories by now.
But receiving a special reward from ‘???’ was unusual.
‘Is this unrelated to Philip, the one who gave me this quest?’
If the one granting the special reward was Philip, the notification would have said ‘the Commander.’
At that moment, Hyun-soo saw a soldier approaching him.
It was none other than the soldier named Kan.
***
Kan was in a position where he had to find a master to serve.
Ironically, however, Kan hated nobles.
Back when the Gale Squad was disbanded.
‘Raise the soldiers to the level of knights, you say?’
‘Your Majesty, please retract that order.’
‘Other nations will condemn us if they find out.’
‘I do not believe it is necessary to go through such trouble.’
Many nobles had opposed it, and so the squad was disbanded.
They only managed to survive because Barad used his influence when some nobles even demanded they all be killed.
The nobles simply hated that people like them had been hidden away.
That was why Kan hated nobles.
And yet, at the same time, he had hoped.
For a noble who was not only strong but also knew how to cherish his people, his subjects.
He thought he might even be willing to lay down his life for such a lord.
And then, a memory flashed through Kan’s mind.
‘…Lead the soldiers and escape.’
He himself had been prepared to make a sacrifice.
But the man had ignored his words and chosen not to run.
It was, in fact, a rather reckless decision.
Sacrificing one to save many was the better choice, after all.
Kan was curious.
Was it confidence in his own skills?
The other soldiers gathered behind Kan.
‘That man saved us.’
‘If not for his command and his strength, we would have all died.’
‘Not a single one of our thirty men was hurt.’
They endlessly blamed and berated themselves.
They had dismissed him.
But what was the first thing he said after all the ogres were dead?
‘Is everyone alright?’
His words struck a chord.
He could have boasted about his own prowess, but instead, he worried about them first.
Because of this, Kan asked.
“Why did you make such a choice? Wouldn’t it have been easier to escape by sacrificing me?”
Was it because he was certain of victory?
No, Kan was quick-witted.
The baronet before him, Hyun-soo, had also taken a gamble.
At this, Hyun-soo responded with a dumbfounded look.
“Are you out of your mind?”
“Pardon…?”
Kan looked puzzled at the sharp retort.
*He’s got quite a foul mouth.*
*Is he always like this?*
“You are my people.”
No, he wasn’t foul-mouthed.
Kan’s question had made him so.
“If I needed someone to do that, it should have been me acting as the lure. Don’t cross the line, Kan.”
The soldiers had heard many stories.
‘They say the nobles treat us like objects.’
‘I heard that a certain Count Pruso threw a hundred of his people to monsters just to save himself.’
‘The nobles think of our lives as no more than flies!’
All soldiers lived in a world where nobles came first.
A world where they lived if told to live, and died if told to die.
But Baronet Hyun-soo was telling them something else.
It was a matter of course.
There was not a hint of hesitation in him.
And Hyun-soo truly believed it.
His own life was infinite, while theirs were finite.
Hearing the conviction in his words, Kan smiled faintly.
“I will give my life in your service for as long as I serve you.”
It was a lie.
Kan would not just serve him for a time; he would serve him for the rest of his life.
There were only five members of the Gale Squad left in the world.
He would run to the other four and tell them.
‘We have found our sun.’
The soldiers behind him also shouted with vigor.
“We pledge our loyalty!”
They all shared the same thought.
Unlike Kan, they were powerless soldiers.
The best they could do.
The best they could do was to salute with all their might at the soldier conferment ceremony.
[30 soldiers pledge their lives and loyalty to you.]
[They will jump into fire at your command without hesitation.]
*T-ring!*
[Hidden Piece: The Gale Squad - Complete]
Hyun-soo looked on, puzzled.
A Hidden Piece could only be seen after fulfilling certain conditions.
[You have captured the heart of Kan, the vice-captain of the Gale Squad, who were abandoned by the nobles.]
[You have become a paragon of nobility and moved his heart.]
[There are five members of the Gale Squad in the world, and they possess martial prowess equivalent to a level 280 knight.]
Hyun-soo was impressed.
‘Equivalent to a level 280 knight…?’
And they were soldiers, no less.
He immediately understood the advantage of the Gale Squad.
‘Are they the ones who will secretly protect me and Gwangmyeong?’
They desperately needed people like that.
Guild Gwangmyeong’s core members were all users. Users couldn’t always be defending their base.
But NPCs were different.
They lived in the area and could always protect the base.
And they were as strong as knights?
Hyun-soo was originally supposed to take three level 200 soldiers.
‘I can take soldiers who can fight like they’re level 280?’
Soon, Hyun-soo’s expression twisted.
[However, due to the agreement between the King and Commander Philip, you cannot take them unless you achieve 60% Subjugation Progress.]
[Kan is an exception. You can take him due to his loyalty to you.]
[A total of 60% Subjugation Progress is required to take three members of the Gale Squad.]
[80% Subjugation Progress is required to take all members of the Gale Squad.]
Hyun-soo’s face contorted.
He wanted to take all five of them.
But even if he hunted the Ogre Chieftain here, his total Subjugation Progress would only be 45%.
‘Is there no other way?’
A way to raise his total Subjugation Progress and take all the members of the Gale Squad.
It was then.
[A new story begins.]
[Sudden Quest: Hunt the Giant King has been generated.]
Hyun-soo opened the quest details. Two things were important to him right now.
Whether this quest would grant Subjugation Progress, and the identity of the ‘???’ who was offering the special reward he saw earlier.
Soon, Hyun-soo’s face twisted as he confirmed the identity of that person.
‘Marquis Lükburg?’
The man who was once the kingdom’s greatest noble, whom he had gotten exiled to this place.