Chapter 201
Chapter 201
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 201
Chapter Title: Gold Fairy
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All martial artists, upon growing to a certain realm and finally earning the title of master, naturally acquire a nickname.
It's also called a moniker.
Of course, I've long admired these monikers.
Sky-Splitting Sword, Evil-Smiting Fist, Lightning Flash...
Just the names alone make your chest swell with grandeur.
Someday, as I make my name as a hero in the future, I'll get one too.
I wonder what mine will be?
Honestly, I've even come up with some cool ones on my own.
Since the Flame Arts of the Greatest and White Sun Eclipse are my primary martial arts, something evoking flames or the sun would be perfect.
Great Sun God Fist, Sun Yang Sword...
Of course, the sword isn't my specialty, but slapping "sword" into a nickname just makes it cooler. Like half the battle's already won.
But.
“Gold Fairy...?”
For this Ruan Bednicker, it's way too cute.
What can I say.
It's exactly like a fairy from a fairy tale.
The kind that chatters endlessly beside the protagonist, playing the comic relief role.
- Master! I'm the Gold Fairy Ruan!
Damn, now even my own name sounds kinda cute for a guy.
My forehead throbbed with bulging veins.
I'd never felt rage this intense since I was born.
Well, probably not true, but in this moment, I'd forgotten it all and become the angriest man in the world.
“I'm pissed, you bastards!”
Right after I shouted, Zial and Haro moved ahead of me.
Their figures shot forward, immediately clashing with the approaching puppet-masked foes.
Clang!
True to their discipleship under the Sky-Splitting Sword, both wielded swords, while their animal-masked opponents swung short daggers.
The metallic clashes were quite loud, but the emcee's booming voice on stage had yet to alert the audience.
In any case, Haro and Zial were holding their own admirably.
Even in this confined space against multiple enemies, they weren't being overwhelmed.
'No, wait.'
Not being overwhelmed?
Two disciples of the Sky-Splitting Sword, against mere auction house staff?
The odd part was their opponents.
It meant these guys were somehow holding their ground against the direct disciples of an S-rank hero.
What the hell are they?
“Damn! Their movements are too quick!”
“These guys couldn't be...”
The moment Haro realized something and scowled...
A presence stirred behind me.
It was the wolf-masked figure who'd appeared first and then vanished.
“Gold Fairy. I'll handle you.”
“Don't call me that.”
Was it because I was burning with rage?
My body felt scorching hot, as if I'd circulated the Flame Arts of the Greatest. Like it was fully preheated.
Heat writhed in my palms.
I closed the distance first and thrust out my left palm—a close-range form of the Fire Wheel stance—only for the wolf to meet it head-on with his own palm, rather than dodging.
Boom!
I was slightly taken aback.
Of course, I wasn't pushed back or anything, but the true energy wriggling beneath this guy's flesh was no joke.
'Mana... his internal energy itself isn't that profound?'
Which meant his raw physical prowess was on a transcendent level...
I glared at the wolf for a moment before hastily ducking my head.
Clang!
The sound of broad metal clashing rang in my ears.
“Crazy.”
What the hell had I just seen?
In that instant, the wolf's mask had split wide open, revealing vivid teeth and a thick, serpentine tongue inside.
So...
This bastard had just tried to bite me?
Clang! Clang!
It was real.
The wolf kept snapping his jaws at me, forcing me to hurriedly widen the gap.
“Not a wolf mask, but a real face? Does that mean you lot are...”
“Yes.”
Rip, tear...
The wolf's shirt tore open, his skin bulging as gray fur emerged beneath.
His waist bent, claws sprouted in an instant, and his frame seemed to double in size.
Along with glaring yellow eyes came a somewhat garbled voice.
“We are the beastmen tribe.”
“Ha...”
Starting with the wolf, all the ones we'd taken for masked figures began transforming, each into a different beast.
More precisely, bipedal beasts.
Their numbers had swelled in the meantime too, leaving the three of us suddenly surrounded by dozens of the creatures.
I cocked my head arrogantly and said,
“I've heard beastmen warriors are all brave, unyielding fighters who know no retreat.”
“Overly kind words.”
“Listen to the end. Whether you're unyielding warriors or heroes of reversal, you won't block me with numbers like this.”
“Obvious bravado. Your condition isn't fully recovered yet, is it?”
“...”
I let out a slight chuckle.
Naturally, my qi circulation wasn't so sloppy as to betray my physical state to a punk like this.
He was probably trying to rattle me based on prior intel.
The fact that Ruan Bednicker had been bedridden wasn't exactly a secret.
“The perfect handicap. If I were at full strength, you'd all be dead by now.”
“...”
“You mock me even when I tell the truth?”
“Sorry, but my mouth's naturally torn to my ears.”
“My bad.”
When it came to mocking looks, quick apologies were the custom, so I bowed my head before launching straight into an attack.
Once more, I thrust my left palm, and again, he extended a forepaw to counter.
His viciously extended claws threatened to shred my palm at any second.
Boom!
Nothing but a thunderous noise echoed, leaving my hand without a single scratch.
Instead, the one staggering back was the wolf.
I couldn't read his beastly expression, but it was plain as day that he was rattled.
“When beastmen undergo beastification, their physical abilities multiply several times over, right?”
“...”
“Even in human form, you were evenly matched, so you figured after full beastification, you'd dominate?”
I said with a giggle.
There was one thing this guy didn't know. In that initial clash, I'd used barely a trickle of internal energy.
“...”
The wolf clamped his mouth shut without a word. Contrary to his initial impression, he seemed the taciturn type...
But I was buzzing from my first outing in ages and this scrap.
I felt like yapping nonstop.
“What's wrong? Your opponent's a patient. Put some more effort in.”
“...How do you have that much mana at your age.”
He finally spoke up, but it was such a cliché line it wasn't even fun.
I replied with a deflated feeling.
“99% training, 1% spirit pills.”
Not exactly accurate, but whatever.
At that moment, applause rang out from behind.
“Wow! Impressive!”
It was Raizen.
He was looking at me with genuine admiration.
“Overwhelming the wolf... Haha. Looks like the rumors about blocking the Demon King's descent weren't empty talk. This is why you have to see the real deal for yourself to separate genuine from fake.”
Raizen narrowed his eyes at me.
“Ruan. Ruan Bednicker. The Bednicker family's headache. Could it be you're...”
“Nope. The playboy antics, failing to get a blessing, selling off the treasured sword, getting kicked out of the main house—that was all me.”
I cut him off with an exasperated look.
I was starting to get used to this routine.
“Hmm.”
Even more intrigue sparked in Raizen's eyes.
“Interesting. For some reason, I get the feeling we'd get along great...”
“Personality-wise?”
“That too.”
Honestly, he seemed easier to talk to than a blockhead like Hector.
“How about it? Let's bury the hatchet on everything so far and go into business together.”
“Business?”
“Yeah. You'll rake in more wealth than you can imagine. It'll be fun, for sure!”
“Sorry, but I'm already rich.”
“Oh?”
As we traded banalities, the wolf glared at me and spoke.
“Master, you should check the backstage area.”
“Why there?”
“Gold Fairy Ruan and the two Sky-Splitting Sword disciples. They're all top-tier operatives who could be called active heroes without issue. It doesn't seem likely they'd charge into enemy territory so exposed with just three.”
“...”
Sharp guy. Though he didn't seem to know one of our group was the Iron-Blooded Duke.
'Moreover...'
He'd known our identities from the start.
I reflected a bit.
I needed to move more cautiously from now on.
At the very least, I had to drop the idea that my face was still unknown.
It wasn't overconfidence—my reputation had already risen high.
As the Iron-Blooded Duke said, I might need to prepare one or two disguised identities.
As these thoughts swirled, Raizen nodded and said,
“Makes sense. Alright, I'll head out then. Subdue them as needed.”
“Yes.”
Raizen left, but I didn't budge an inch.
The wolf asked, puzzled,
“You're not pursuing him?”
“I'll deal with him later. More importantly, I've got questions for you lot.”
“As if I'd answer willingly—”
Before the wolf could finish, I closed in and reached for his shoulder.
He twisted his upper body to evade easily enough, but being so furry, he couldn't escape completely.
I grabbed a fistful of coarse wolf fur.
“This isn't your head hair, right?”
“...!”
Instead of answering, the wolf bared his fangs again. This time, it felt more reflexive.
Like a startled dog growling without thinking.
Dodging such an attack was child's play.
I slipped the bite and smashed my fist into his protruding chin.
Tough bastard—no way this would drop him.
I yanked the arm gripping his shoulder and drove my knee into his solar plexus.
“Guh!”
The wolf retched and crumpled. My knee sank in deep, like punching dough.
I'd taken similar hits before; his sky was probably flashing yellow right now.
Having subdued the wolf, I glanced around.
The two Sky-Splitting Sword disciples were still tangling with the minions, but it looked like it'd wrap up soon.
“You some kind of officer? You're clearly way stronger than those small fry over there.”
“Kill me.”
The wolf muttered weakly.
I couldn't help but chuckle.
They said beastmen warriors tended toward extremes, and this fit the bill.
But to me, defeat wasn't a reason to die, so I snagged a snack from the table and asked,
“You beastmen live and die by honor, right? So why get tangled in an illegal auction like this? And helping a guy like Raizen, no less.”
“...Don't insult the Master. He's not someone a sheltered flower like you can casually speak of.”
“Oho...”
A fiercer reaction than expected.
I'd thought it was just a business deal, but from the way he spoke, this wolf practically revered Raizen like a lord.
'No, hold on...'
I tilted my head.
There'd been quite a few animal-masked staffers at this auction. Most seemed mid-to-upper management.
And they were all beastmen.
That meant Raizen had at least dozens, maybe up to a hundred beastmen cooperating with him.
That went beyond normal units.
Beastmen numbers were already sparse to begin with.
Excluding the near-extinct dragonkin, they had the smallest population among the seven races.
In other words...
'Could be the entire beastmen tribe is cooperating with Raizen?'
Not a wild delusion.
I knew bits of the future and couldn't help connecting the dots.
The Bednickers had plenty of enemies...
And the Iron-Blooded Duke, Delac C. Bednicker, had even more.
I also knew that years later, the beastmen would become one of the Bednickers' most persistent headaches.
Starting a few years from now, they'd nitpick and obstruct the family at every turn, but back then, I hadn't thought it strange.
The Iron-Blooded Duke seemed coldly rational at first glance, but when it came to demons or cults, he had a reckless, no-holds-barred side...
His domineering nature from way back had always sparked big and small conflicts.
It was easy to unknowingly earn grudges.
Even if prioritizing demon hunts and cult purges had rubbed a few beastmen the wrong way, it wouldn't be odd.
Beastmen prized loyalty above all among the seven races, and their tribal bonds ran terrifyingly deep.
'But what if that's not it?'
Meaning, if I was standing at the origin point of the conflict between the beastmen and the Bednickers right now...
'If Raizen was a benefactor to the beastmen, the Iron-Blooded Duke killed him, and the entire tribe harbored grudges against the duke—and by extension, the Bednickers—'
To beastmen, a blood enemy was literally an irreconcilable foe you couldn't share the sky with.
They'd pour their entire lives into vengeance.
'In that case.'
I turned my gaze toward the stage.
I couldn't let the Iron-Blooded Duke kill Raizen.