Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Steal or Plunder
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Lilian spoke cautiously, as if testing the waters.
"The culprit is probably... Second Prince Phairun."
"Ho, you sure it's okay to tell me that? I could sell you out to Phairun."
"Because you're trustworthy, Kel Bark."
"Hmph, funny. What makes you think so?"
Lilian flashed a bright smile.
"Hehe, my gut feeling."
"What an airhead..."
People like her die first in back alleys.
Probably not much different among nobles...
The more I saw, the more peculiar she seemed.
"Cut the nonsense and continue the story."
Lilian opened her mouth again by the campfire.
"Prince Phairun is ambitious. He's been preparing for a long time to seize the throne over the feeble First Prince. Right now, the capital has the princes' private armies facing off against the Royal Guard, and the provincial lords are just watching and picking sides."
"In other words, a volcano ready to erupt at any moment."
"...Yes. Civil war will break out soon. A big one."
Silence fell for a moment. I asked Lilian,
"So, what did you steal?"
"...Huh?"
"Killing a mere witness would suffice. But they sent elite mercenaries to capture you alive, which means you're holding something important."
I stared straight at Lilian.
"What did you run off with? The royal slush fund ledger? Or did you snag the royal seal?"
Lilian let out a snicker at my joke and shook her head.
"No. I didn't steal anything. But... I'm the 'weakness'."
"Weakness?"
"My father is Marquis Rusben Lubein."
I twitched an eyebrow.
Rusben Lubein. I'd heard the name before.
A heavyweight who controlled the kingdom's finances and military supplies. And a skilled mage to boot.
'Ah, so that's how it is.'
Whoever he backed would decide the civil war's victor. Supplies were top priority in any war.
"Second Prince Phairun desperately needed my father's support. But when Father stayed neutral and wouldn't budge, they targeted me."
Lilian wrapped her slender shoulders with her arms, a bitter look on her face.
"It's a bit embarrassing to say this, but my father really loves me. His one and only precious daughter. Taking me hostage would force even the mighty Marquis Rusben to submit."
"I see..."
"Father noticed the signs faster than anyone. He gave me magic tools and told me to flee to the desert no matter what. Only if I disappeared could he move freely."
She gazed at the northern sky with eyes full of trust rather than worry.
"Father will be fine. He's so exceptionally capable that without me as a weakness, no one can touch him. He'll probably turn the tables and use them instead."
"Optimistic, or blindly faithful to your father?"
"Both. Hehe."
Lilian giggled. Her mental fortitude was impressive, at least.
Parents, huh... Hmm...
I nodded and sorted through the situation.
The king's death. Princes' civil war. And the daughter of key noble Marquis Rusben Lubein was right here.
This went beyond a simple ransom.
'If I play this right, I could make Marquis Rusben Lubein owe me one.'
But that was for later. What mattered now was the fallout from this chaos.
'National turmoil. Civil war. It'll inevitably produce hordes of refugees.'
We had money. Resources too. But not enough people.
The Grom Kel tribe's population was barely a few hundred. I couldn't miss this chance.
"Lilian."
"Yes?"
"Ayula Kingdom's border regions. What's their defensive posture like?"
"Probably... a mess. The border garrison commanders are diverting troops to watch the capital's mood. Plus, search parties looking for me have scattered toward the desert."
I grinned darkly.
"Kuhuhu, is that so!"
I slapped my knee. A plan formed. Raid Ayula Kingdom's border regions.
Not just for money.
Deliberately breach their border defenses, punching a hole through.
Like water leaking from a dam, refugees fleeing the intensifying civil war would pour south through that gap—straight into my territory.
And I'd absorb them.
"People are national power, after all."
I smirked and stood up.
"Lilian, stick by my side for a while and brief me on the kingdom's geography. I'll make sure you're rewarded."
"Yes! Sounds good! Just keep the food and muscles coming!"
Executing this grand plan required coordination with Vox.
Food distribution networks to feed the refugees, supplies to settle the absorbed manpower.
That guy would probably faint when he heard the plan.
But first, I clenched and unclenched my fist.
'Ugh...'
Since the third-stage Imprint, I couldn't control my strength properly.
The occasional surges of aura brought excruciating pain.
'Gotta figure out this damn power first.'
The next morning, I headed straight to the training grounds upon waking.
My body felt light as a feather yet heavy as lead at the same time.
The new power from the third-stage Imprint: 'Aura'.
It was like molten lava boiling through my veins.
The problem? No control.
Even at rest, energy leaked out like a faulty faucet.
"Hoo..."
At this rate, I'd dry up and die before a fight. I summoned the tribe's third-stage senior.
"You called, Kel Bark!"
Karack appeared, dragging his massive double axes, lips greasy from morning meat.
"Oi, drop the axes. Sparring today."
"Sparring? Bare-handed?"
"Yeah. Use your brain. How am I supposed to fight you with axes?"
"What's wrong with that?"
I'll die, you lunatic.
"Anyway, how do you handle this aura thing? It's overflowing; I can't rein it in."
Karack chuckled at my words.
He slammed his axes down and rolled up his massive forearms.
"What's explaining gonna do?"
A mischievous grin spread across Karack's face.
Gulp—
Damn... I really hate fighting this guy...
But as Kel Bark, I couldn't back down.
"Fine. Knew you'd say that."
I took my stance.
"Come at me."
"Kahaha! Bones might break, but don't blame me! Kel Bark! I won't kill you!"
Is that how you talk to a king, you mad bastard?
Boom—!
Karack kicked off the ground and charged.
"Kuh!"
The pressure of a massive boulder barreling down.
Is this what his enemies saw?
Red aura cloaked his body, tearing through the air as it hurtled toward me. Reflexively, I threw a punch.
Bang—!
Fists collided with a cannon blast.
The shockwave scattered sand everywhere.
"Kuh!"
I was pushed back five steps, leaving deep footprints.
Karack stood firm in place.
My raw power hadn't lost.
No, with aura spewing wildly, mine might even be denser.
Then why was I pushed back?
"Kel Bark!! Mind leads!"
"What?"
Karack bellowed.
"Aura isn't for rampaging! Tame it like a Dromas!"
Terrible explanation, but it clicked somehow.
"Tame it?"
"Yes! Wrap it around your bones, shove it into your muscles! Compress the leaking power inward! To the brink of bursting!"
Red mist-like aura rose from Karack's body.
"And...!"
Karack punched the air.
Boom—!
"Release at impact!"
'That's it.'
But knowing didn't help.
"How the hell do I do that? Teach me!"
"Huh!? Doesn't it just happen?"
No, you...
"How do I contain it? It's bucking wildly; I can't!"
Karack crossed his arms, pretending deep thought.
"Hm, Karack doesn't know."
"What?"
"Karack could always do it. Can't understand why Kel Bark can't move aura. What does that even mean?"
"......"
That's why natural geniuses piss me off.
Then Karack uncrossed his arms as if struck by inspiration.
"Right, almost thought like a dumb Kel Bark. Just fight. It'll come."
What logic is that? Why's thinking dumb?
But before I could sort my thoughts, Karack lunged like a beast.
"Get beat first! You'll get it! Kahahahaha!!"
"Haa... haa... I think I get it now."
Not expending power, but condensing and exploding it.
That was aura's basics.
Just once, but the sensation etched deep into my brain.
I lay spread-eagled on the training grounds, drenched in sweat.
Karack hadn't shed a drop.
Monster. Same third stage, yet this gap?
Well, not all Expert-level knights on the central continent were equal.
"See! Getting beat worked!"
"Yeah, you were right, you bastard..."
Karack's words were spot on, honestly.
To avoid hits, I had to forcibly move the power—almost instinctively.
Like blinking when something flies at your eye.
But training lets us keep eyes open even then.
It was that feeling. Controlling innate instincts.
"Haa... At least succeeded once..."
Keep going, it'll work... But unease crept in.
Have to get beat by Karack every time?
"Damn it."
The sky was clear, the wind cool.
I gazed up and asked,
"Hey, Karack."
"Speak."
"If third stage is this much... how strong are fourth and fifth?"
"Hm... Fourth stage lightly smashes a boulder mountain? Extend aura to hit distant foes!"
Shit, ranged attacks.
"How to reach that? Just hunt monsters and get tattoos?"
Karack shook his head at my question.
"Limits there. Need 'Ancestor's Guidance' and 'Battle Forms'."
"Ancestor's Guidance and Battle Forms?"
"Yes! Fight hard, Guidance comes! Each stage needs fitting moves! That's Battle Forms!"
Hoo... From what Karack says...
Ask Aila about Ancestor's Guidance...
Battle Forms sound like martial techniques or movement styles.
Secret arts or ultimate moves? Nice. Getting more fun.
Of course. Barbarians wouldn't get this strong swinging wildly.
"Where learn Battle Forms? In our tribe?"
"No. All stolen."
Karack slumped.
But he perked up quickly.
"But now we have Kel Bark!"
"What's that got to do with me? I don't know Battle Forms."
"Not that!"
Karack thumped his chest laughing.
"Ours stolen too! So steal back!"
"...What?"
"Kel Bark! South is vast. Many tribes with centuries, millennia of history. Some hold Battle Forms of fourth, fifth, even legendary seventh-stage monsters."
What, what? Karack suddenly seems smart today. He gazed south, beyond the endless desert.
"Some ignite fire with Battle Forms, some have steel skin, some swift as wind. Strong as central continent folk, swarming here."
Karack laughed heartily.
"Go steal! Plunder! That's our way. Kahahaha!!"
"Steal or... plunder."
But aren't those the same?
Hm, subtly different?
Anyway, south crawls with powerhouses I don't know.
I'm a frog in a well, unaware.
Hearing that, my heart pounded fiercely again.
Fear? No, exhilaration.
Monsters wielding fire and wind exist somewhere in this wasteland.
And if I absorb their power, their Battle Forms.
'If they're all my subordinates...'
Shivers just imagining.
I clenched my fist tight.
"Sounds fun."
I raised a corner of my mouth and stood.
"Don't worry, Karack. We'll definitely steal, snatch, and plunder those Battle Forms!"
"Kahaha! Knew you'd say that, Kel Bark! But no stealing."
"What's the difference?"
"Dunno. Anyway, no stealing."
"......"
To do that, time for current tasks.
"Let's go, Karack! Time to work."
"Got it! Kel Bark!"