Chapter 6: Here Is a Pushover Who Surpasses You (2)
Chapter 6: Here Is a Pushover Who Surpasses You (2)
Flash!
The magic of the scroll activated, emitting a brilliant light.
Immediately, a subjugation magic circle—the mark of a slave brand—was etched onto Brian’s chest.
“Is it done now?”
“Yes, it is complete, Young Master. Since you are set as the master, neither escape nor rebellion will be possible.”
“Kuuuh. This is truly great. Things would have been so much easier if I’d had something like this in the old days.”
In the old days? Just how long ago was that for the Young Master?
Lawrence, the butler, couldn’t understand the comment, but he simply let it slide. Prying into the master’s every word and action was not the duty of a butler.
Instead, he let out a sigh and spoke.
“It was difficult to obtain, and it was quite expensive, Young Master.”
“I know. But don’t worry.”
Patrick looked at Brian and gave a wicked grin.
“I’m going to milk him for every penny he’s worth. Absolutely!”
“…….”
Seeing the unwavering obsession in Patrick’s eyes, Brian trembled violently.
In any case, with this, Brian was demoted from the territory’s only knight to a slave soldier.
Brian wore an expression of a man who had lost everything, but at the very least, he was alive.
As long as I’m alive… there will be a chance to escape this plight someday.
Even in this situation, Brian tried to hold onto a thread of hope.
But would that even be possible?
Brian still had no idea exactly who he had crossed paths with.
* * *
The training ground of the Schneider Baronry.
With all the soldiers gathered, Patrick stepped up onto the platform.
“What’s going on?”
“Why is the Young Master up there?”
The soldiers were bewildered. Amidst the confusion, Patrick, standing atop the platform, spoke.
“Ahem. Ah, ah. Can you all hear me?”
Opening with a clear voice, Patrick spoke calmly to the lined-up soldiers.
“Starting today, there are two announcements I need to share with you all. First… Hey! Newbie!”
“Yes! Did you call?”
At Patrick’s call, a figure came running as quickly as a well-trained puppy. It was none other than…
“Sir Erickson?”
“Why is he here?”
“Did he just call him ‘Newbie’?”
To the soldiers who hadn’t yet grasped the situation, Patrick announced:
“Brian has been stripped of his knighthood. From now on, he will serve as a low-ranking soldier. The reason is that this bastard embezzled the territory’s budget.”
At Patrick’s words, the soldiers clenched their fists and cheered inwardly.
Finally!
He finally got caught!
Serves that son of a bitch right.
In truth, Brian’s embezzlement was an open secret among the soldiers. However, because his status as the territory’s only knight was so high and Baron Schneider’s trust in him was so deep, there had been no way to report his corruption.
Now, that Brian had finally been struck by the hammer of justice.
Patrick continued.
“I’ll say it again: there’s no need to give him any special treatment just because he’s a former knight. If this newbie can’t get his act together and starts acting up, tell me immediately. I. Will. Personally. Separate. This. Bastard’s. Flesh. From. His. Bones. Very. Slowly.”
With every word Patrick uttered, Brian’s body shook.
He would do it. He was more than capable of it.
Brian now knew how strong Patrick was, and more importantly, how cruel he could be.
With the slave brand etched into him, he couldn't rebel anyway, but he felt that even without it, defying that wicked brat would be nothing short of a suicidal act of madness.
Patrick then spoke again.
“And there is a second announcement. Starting today, I will be taking over your training and command.”
The soldiers stirred once more at Patrick’s words.
“Um, Young Master.”
“What is it? Speak up.”
“Are you saying that you will be training and commanding us?”
“That’s right.”
“You, Young Master?”
“Yeah.”
The soldier who had spoken wore a deeply troubled expression before cautiously addressing Patrick.
“Young Master, I apologize for saying this, but if I may humbly offer my opinion…”
“Just say it! Don’t beat around the bush.”
“You are too young to lead us.”
“I can’t do it because I’m young?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
Patrick let out a smirk and looked at the soldiers.
“No. To be honest, you think I can’t do it because I’m weak, right? Am I wrong?”
“Well, that’s…”
“I told you not to beat around the bush.”
Under Patrick’s pressure, the soldier squeezed his eyes shut and spoke as if throwing caution to the wind.
“Young Master, have you ever even held a sword? How can you command us to fight monsters and train us?”
“In other words, you don’t trust my skills?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Then it’s simple. What’s your name?”
“It’s Sanson.”
“Hmm, Sanson…”
Patrick looked at Sanson with intrigued eyes.
Black hair and reddish-brown eyes.
Broad shoulders.
Long limbs.
A height that far exceeded the average.
Even at a glance, his body was that of a natural-born warrior.
“Are you the strongest among the soldiers?”
At Patrick’s question, Sanson spoke with a look of inner pride.
“Yes, I am.”
“Good confidence. But why haven’t you… Ah, no. My apologies.”
As Patrick spoke, he realized the truth.
In any other territory, if a talent like this were discovered—even if he were a commoner—they wouldn't let him rot as a mere soldier. They would have taken him in as a squire and given him proper knight training.
But Sanson had been unlucky.
His direct superior had been a piece of trash.
Brian had been enjoying his position as the territory’s sole knight far too much. Naturally, he didn't want any other knights appearing in the territory.
Sanson’s talent was so obvious that anyone who wasn't blind could see it, yet Brian had intentionally suppressed and ignored it.
“Ugh… Seriously! Hey, you son of a…!”
“Agh!”
Getting angry just thinking about it, Patrick kicked Brian, who was standing right next to him. Then, he began to stomp on the fallen man.
“Embezzlement, dereliction of duty, and even hiring corruption? You really did it all, didn't you? Huh?”
“Aaargh! I’m sorry! Young Master!”
“Die! Die! If you’ve done wrong, just die!”
“Gwaaaah!”
As Patrick suddenly began to stomp on Brian like a madman, the soldiers’ eyes widened.
The Young Master is…
Beating Brian. How?
Even if he’s a bastard, he’s still a knight.
The soldiers watched the scene in disbelief—a 2-Star Knight like Brian being unilaterally trampled by a ten-year-old like Patrick.
After finishing his round of stomping, Patrick spoke.
“Ah, this isn't what’s important right now. Where did I get sidetracked…”
“Gwaah… Save… Save me…”
“Stop screaming! You bastard. I can’t organize my thoughts because you’re so distracting!”
Then shouldn't you stop stomping on him?
However, Patrick’s feet continued to relentlessly tenderize Brian’s body without pause. Then…
“Ah, right. You said the problem was that I’m weak?”
Finally remembering, he stopped stomping on Brian, stepped forward, and spoke.
“Then the answer is simple. I just have to prove that I’m strong, right?”
Sanson gave a bitter smile and asked.
“Are you saying you want to spar with me?”
“Huh? No, no. Surely you don’t think I’d be that unreasonable?”
Of course.
Then what is he planning?
Just as Sanson was thinking that, Patrick spoke.
“I have to spar with all of you. Would you be convinced if I just beat you alone? You all need to get a good beating to come to your senses.”
“…….”
“No matter how thick-headed you are, if you lose a one-versus-two-hundred fight, you won’t be able to make baseless claims about me being weak, right?”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah, why?”
“…….”
“Since we’re talking about it, let’s do it now. Go ahead and grab your weapons.”
Patrick then walked to one side of the training ground and picked up two wooden swords.
“Oh, you guys can use real swords.”
The soldiers were dumbfounded.
The soldiers of the Schneider Baronry were strong. Though their knight-level power was pathetic, they took pride in the fact that their soldiers were second to none.
Having survived constant real-life combat against monsters that attacked the territory almost weekly, the soldiers had naturally grown strong.
Get strong, or die.
From the beginning, those were the only two options here.
And now, Patrick, who was only ten years old, was telling them he would take them all on. How were they supposed to take this?
To the bewildered men, Patrick said:
“Not picking up your weapons? Well, do as you like. Anyway, are you ready?”
“Young Master, are you truly serious?”
“You talk too much. Talking too much before a fight is the twenty-eighth thing I hate most in the world.”
Why does he hate so many things?
As the soldiers were thinking that, Patrick smiled and said:
“Then… start!”
Crack!
The moment the word “start” left his lips, Patrick’s body vanished.
When he reappeared, he had already driven his knee into a soldier’s face.
“Wh-what?”
“Wait, what just happened…”
Amidst the panicked soldiers, Patrick spoke with a bright smile.
“You’re losing focus and dazing off, aren't you? Here I come!”
And then, Patrick began to run wild in earnest.
* * *
Radiant Dragon Hero.
It was a title given to him because he was a dragon as fast as light.
Well, behind his back, people more often called him the Mad Dragon.
Regardless, the core of Patrick’s martial arts was speed.
Even Unorthodox masters who prided themselves on speed—those with titles like Soul-Stealing Hand or Swift Wind Demon Wolf—couldn't even catch a glimpse of Patrick’s shadow in his past life when he moved with intent.
In particular, Patrick had extensive experience fighting against many opponents alone, making him an expert at handling crowds.
By piercing through weak points and stirring the battlefield in every direction, he prevented the enemies from forming a proper formation. When that happens, the advantages of a crowd disappear, and the disadvantages are maximized.
“Dammit, what are you doing?”
“Block him! I said block him!”
“Aaaaaagh!”
The soldiers belatedly tried to resist Patrick, but without any command structure, it was impossible for them to catch him.
They simply stumbled around before being unilaterally beaten and knocked down by the crisscrossing Patrick.
“Can’t you do it right? Are you all scarecrows?”
Patrick roared.
Even as he shouted, he kicked one soldier and used the recoil to bury his fist into the face of another.
While relentlessly pushing the soldiers, he spoke in a stern voice.
“Are you just going to end this by getting beaten one-sidedly? Why even hold weapons in your hands then, you idiots! Even a worm should wiggle when stepped on!”
Out of the two hundred soldiers, over fifty had already collapsed.
At Patrick’s scolding, the soldiers realized something.
This wasn't the time to worry about saving face. If they didn't want to be utterly humiliated, they had to give it their all.
“Draw your weapons! Your weapons!”
“Don’t charge in barehanded! Grip your swords!”
“Surround the Young Master!”
Only when the soldiers drew their weapons did a thick smile spread across Patrick’s lips.
“Right, you should have done that from the start. I don’t know why you only come to your senses after getting hit.”
With wooden swords hanging from both hands and a satisfied smile on his face, no one could see Patrick as a mere ten-year-old child anymore.
He was a monster.
“Stay sharp!”
“Hold your shields properly and take your stances!”
“Think of him as a Troll and surround him!”
As the soldiers took their stances with weapons in hand, the corners of Patrick’s mouth curled up as he spoke.
“Looks like you’re ready.”
“…….”
“Then I can start hitting you for real now.”
For real?
Then what was that carnival of brutal violence we just experienced?
With a smile plastered across his face, Patrick raised one hand and beckoned the soldiers.
“Come at me.”