Chapter 662
Chapter 662
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 662
Chapter Title: 662. Reincarnated as the Plum Blossom Sword Master in a Count's Family
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Keieeeek!
A bizarre screech echoed from the sky.
I looked up. A red lizard with wings was soaring through the air. It was tiny compared to a dragon and had no horns on its head. But it was no monster to be taken lightly.
A wyvern.
The predator that roamed the skies freely. They saw almost every living creature as prey. Humans were no exception.
Keieeeek!
The wyvern spotted us. It circled once before diving straight toward us.
"It doesn't know to fear the sky."
A bolt of lightning struck down from the cloudless blue sky, aimed right at it.
The wyvern, hit by the lightning, wobbled in the air before regaining its posture and flying again. I called down another bolt on it.
Once. Twice. Three times.
The deafening thunder kept rumbling.
The wyvern finally crashed to the ground after exactly the eighth strike.
Floy unleashed her sword aura and charged at the fallen wyvern. After checking it, she shouted back to me.
"My lord! The wyvern is definitely dead!"
I approached the wyvern's corpse slowly. It was about the size of four or five people.
'Eight bolts of lightning? It died easier than its reputation suggests.'
I understood why. Wyverns ranked high in intelligence among monsters. They made full use of their ability to fly—dropping rocks on enemies or wearing down foes from the sky with underhanded tactics.
'In this world, there aren't many ways to attack something in the sky. The only real long-range option that can hurt a wyvern is a mage's attack spells.'
Fling sword aura? Nearly impossible unless you were a top-tier Aura Expert. Hitting a wyvern freely darting through the sky with arrows was incredibly tough, too.
"Master. What should we do with it?"
Yuria's question snapped me back to reality.
"Does this thing fetch a good price?"
"Not compared to its fame. The hide isn't tougher than an ogre's or troll's, and the claws and fangs are weaker than a saber tiger's. The meat reeks of fish, so there's no demand at all."
"No need to take it, then... Wait, no. I've got a good idea. Let's grab it. And kill any other wyverns around here, too."
Finding the wyverns wasn't hard. I used a drone as bait to lure them out. Wyverns thought the sky was their territory—they couldn't stand seeing another bird or monster flying around.
Once the drone was airborne, a wyvern showed up in under five minutes and attacked it.
"Stupid wyvern bastards!"
I wiped out every wyvern in the area and collected their corpses.
I headed to Viscount Payte's mansion. He greeted me as if he'd been waiting. He was an old man with a mustache, but his body was more robust than a young man in his twenties.
"A pleasure to meet you, Baron Prucker. I hope the journey here wasn't too taxing?"
I hadn't revealed my identity. Yuria and I had disguised ourselves as merchants, while Floy and the knightesses posed as our mercenary escorts to fool anyone watching. Calling out my true identity right away was a power play.
'Diona wouldn't have been stupid enough to leak it... Did he investigate on his own? Or use an information guild?'
The information guild was the likely bet.
"Why the surprise? Isn't it obvious I know who you are, Baron?"
"It is surprising. I didn't expect you'd recognize me. How'd you know?"
"I've been keeping tabs on the Jerdin Hisfield incident. How could I ignore a major noble nearby?"
"You planted someone at Hisfield Gate."
Viscount Payte smiled, curling the corner of his mouth instead of answering. He exuded confidence, like he thought he held the upper hand.
"I know why you've come to my territory, Baron. There's only one reason you'd show up in wyvern-infested lands like these."
"If you know, this'll go faster. Bring them out. Or tell me where they are."
"Hmm. Baron Prucker, this isn't the way to act at someone's mansion gate. Let me offer you some tea and we can talk inside."
"I'm not here to sip tea with you."
If it had been a pretty noblewoman, maybe. But I had no intention of wasting time drinking tea with an old man.
Viscount Payte's demeanor shifted. A sharp pressure emanated from him.
"Kuh."
I braced my lower body. This was a pressure I could barely handle. In other words, the man before me was at the pinnacle of Aura Expert.
"Ho. Impressive. To reach that level at your age... Your future's frightening."
"...Viscount Payte. You wanna go right now?"
"No. I merely showed you my strength because it felt like you were looking down on me. I want your respect, Baron."
I pretended to roll my neck while checking on Yuria beside me. It calmed my nerves. I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and straightened my back.
"You think a worm like you deserves my respect? Hilarious."
"...Baron Prucker. I consider youthful hot-bloodedness and ignorance a privilege of the young, but you've crossed the line."
A chilling killing intent prickled my skin. I raised a hand to stop Floy from stepping forward. Squish. Her chest pressed against my palm.
"My lord?"
"We're still talking. Stay back."
I stared straight at Viscount Payte. He was different from Jerdin or Diona. Even if I cut off his arms and shattered his legs, he wouldn't beg for his life.
"Viscount Payte. Let's keep it simple. One last chance. But different terms this time. Kill every member of the Heightier Mercenary Corps and bring me their leader. Refuse, and I'll slaughter everyone in this territory. You'll be tortured until your dying breath."
"Ha! To hear such words from a green brat whose blood hasn't even dried... You must really underestimate me!"
He reached out to his attendant, who tremblingly placed a sword in his hand. His aura grew even more ferocious.
I cut through it with my words.
"Viscount Payte. I've prepared your payment."
"...Payment?"
"Yuria."
"Yes, Master."
Yuria's shadow stretched long. Wyvern corpses rose from it. Over thirty of them. Viscount Payte's pressure faltered at the sight.
Thirty wyverns. A number that would take days of hard work to hunt.
"Not enough payment?"
"..."
His sword lowered. He stared at Floy and Yuria with a stiff expression, lingering especially long on Yuria.
"That woman is around my level... And this one... I can't even gauge her depths. Baron Prucker. Have you come to wipe out Payte territory?"
He'd roughly gauged Yuria's strength.
'I planned to threaten with the wyvern corpses... but revealing Yuria's power worked better.'
I met Viscount Payte's eyes directly.
"This is your last chance, Viscount Payte."
"Ha..."
His sigh carried a wealth of meaning. He wouldn't beg for his life, but he wouldn't throw it away easily, either. Between his life and the Heightier Mercenary Corps, the choice was clear.
"Give me thirty minutes. I'll send servants to summon the Heightier Mercenary Corps."
And thirty minutes later, the Heightier Mercenary Corps arrived at the mansion.
At their center was a man with disheveled blue hair and droopy eyes. He matched the description Floy had given of the Heightier leader. This was Galtear.
"Viscount. Why the full assembly..."
Galtear trailed off. He froze mid-step. His gaze locked onto Floy and didn't budge.
"Baron Prucker's one-eyed knightess...? Damn it all! Viscount! Are you abandoning us?!"
Viscount Payte stroked his mustache with his index finger.
"No choice. You'd understand if you were in my shoes."
"Understand...? That's all you have to say?!"
Galtear bellowed.
"What do you want from me? An apology? Sorry about that. You've served well. Do this last thing for me."
"Crazy! You can't just give up like this! There are only seven of them! With your help, we could bury them here!"
Viscount Payte glanced at Yuria.
"You know nothing."
I stepped forward. I grinned at Galtear.
"First time seeing you like this."
"...Baron Prucker...!"
"Still don't like you. Die."
I gestured to Floy. She and the knightesses drew their swords and charged. The over hundred Heightier mercenaries couldn't handle the mere five knightesses.
"Yuria. The old man's done his part. Kill him."
"Yes, Master."
Yuria drew her dagger.
Viscount Payte hesitated, raising his sword. He roared at me in fury.
"Baron Prucker!! What is this treachery! This contradicts what you said earlier! You were the one who gave me a chance!"
"You believed that? More naive than you look."
"Have you no noble honor or pride?!"
"Sorry I lack those. But it sounds like you've got plenty to spare."
I nodded toward the Heightier Mercenary Corps. Galtear was already sliced apart by Floy, and the rest were dying against the knightesses. They were Viscount Payte's hounds—proof of his corruption.
"Baron Prucker!!"
That was his final cry.
Yuria appeared behind Viscount Payte and slit his throat effortlessly. His one mistake: focusing on me with Yuria right there. If he'd concentrated solely on her, maybe he'd have lasted ten seconds.
"Aaaagh!"
"S-save me! Kraaak!"
A wind blew in, carrying the stench of blood. I gazed vacantly at the empty sky.
'Time for a sex party when we get back. Have the maids dress as Halloween zombies. Gangbang with zombie girls... Heh heh heh.'
Just imagining it was already fun.
"My lord. It's over."
Floy and the knightesses, covered head to toe in blood, approached me.
"Good work. Let's head back."
I had no intention of killing the territory's residents. My goal was achieved. Slaughtering them would just be pointless time-wasting.
"Shouldn't we clean up?"
"Why? Even if we leave it, they won't trace it back to us. Officially, we're in Tevra right now."
I pulled the Mirror Tunnel from my inventory, poured hot water on it to activate it, sent the girls back to my mansion first, then packed it up and tore a spatial transfer scroll.
'This way, the Balt Kingdom won't suspect me. They'll probably conclude the Heightier Mercenary Corps and Viscount Payte fought and mutually destroyed each other.'
The job was done. I'd gathered troops, stockpiled weapons and armor, and had overflowing funds. War preparations were perfect. All that remained was waiting.
War broke out in the north. A bit earlier than in the original story, but the start was unchanged.
'Starting with the northern war, the entire continent will be engulfed in flames within a month.'
Humanity's numbers would dwindle, but they wouldn't go extinct. Victors would gain, losers would lose. Soon, the Rapelli Kingdom would go to war with the Balt Kingdom too.
'But before that. If it follows the original...'
The Rapelli Kingdom declared war on the Balt Kingdom. It started with a skirmish on the border that escalated into full war. Rapelli nobles rose with their forces to invade Balt as if they'd been waiting, while also fending off counter-invasions.
My brothers—Zent was bloodthirsty for merits, invading Balt. Kyle was still observing. And I waited without rash moves.
"Master. Word from the capital. Just as you predicted, the Rapelli King has passed away."