Chapter 226
Chapter 226
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 226
Chapter Title: 89. Ronin (2)
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Seeing the Easterners charging with murderous intent, Yuri spoke up.
“I once learned about the East from my master.”
“Oh, do you know what they’re saying?”
“No.”
“Then what did you learn?”
Yuri dismounted his horse.
“In the East, to converse with a man wielding a sword, you must draw your own to face him. It’s a world of contempt for the weak, where the feeble get devoured. Another name for the martial world is the ruthless jianghu.”
“Hero Moyong Chan was going on about righteousness and propriety...”
“All bullshit.”
Yuri lifted Guilty. The furious faces of the Easterners grew steadily closer.
“Why do you think my master came to the continent? A hero’s life in the East is like a drifting empty boat.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Knowing it hurts.”
The aura of Heart-Soul Severing blazed fiercely atop Guilty.
Yuri sighed and took a step forward.
“There’s a saying that all under the four seas are comrades. Even from different continents, how can martial artists swing their swords first at a stranger? The ways of the jianghu have fallen to the dirt.”
Though his companions could have stepped in, they trusted Yuri’s skill and leisurely watched from horseback, leaving it to him.
Just then, the Easterners closed in.
Yuri bellowed.
“Gal!”
A lion’s roar erupted alongside a whirlwind of sword ki that engulfed the Easterners.
Not a single one among the many kept their footing on the ground—they soared into the air before crashing backward all at once.
“Pathetic.”
Yuri flicked his robes wide with a dramatic sweep of his hand and strode toward the groaning Easterners sprawled on the ground.
“I ought to just...”
In the meantime, a young woman from the Ireine Merchant Company came running up in a fluster.
Yuri kept his gaze fixed on the Easterners and asked in a sharp voice.
“Interpreter?”
“Yes. Might you be...”
“Relay my words.”
Yuri cleared his throat and declared.
“There are five virtues that man must always uphold: benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust. Not a single one of you has kept them!”
The language was foreign to them, but the term “benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, trust” came straight from what Moyong Chan had taught him, pronounced perfectly.
The Easterners lifted their heads in shock as words from their homeland suddenly spilled from Yuri’s mouth.
At first, their expressions were doubtful, but as the interpreter faithfully relayed his words, the Easterners flushed red with shame.
To be called out on their own Eastern virtues—the Five Constants—by someone from another continent filled them with disgrace.
The interpreter bowed deeply on their behalf.
“They mistook you for a band of bandits. Please don’t be too angry.”
“That kind of mistake gets people killed. If I’d been weaker than them, I’d have died an innocent death. Wielding violence without checking the facts just because you’re strong makes you no better than beasts.”
“You’re absolutely right. They’re deeply impressed and wish to know the hero’s esteemed name.”
“My name is Yuri Brioll.”
As Yuri revealed himself, the interpreter nodded with a faint smile, as if her suspicions were confirmed.
“Indeed...”
“By the way, my enemies call me the Black Demon.”
“Pardon?”
Jared, standing behind him, mimed slitting his own throat with his hand.
“Don’t translate that last bit.”
“Ah, yes.”
Yuri cleared his throat with a cough.
“Anyway, you’re with the Ireine Merchant Company, right?”
“Yes, Your Highness. It’s an honor to meet you.”
The Easterners’ eyes went wide as saucers seeing the interpreter suddenly bow to Yuri.
She spoke to them while bowed, and they hesitated before offering Yuri their own awkward bows.
“I explained who Your Highness is—they apologize for not recognizing you.”
“Tell them all to stand. It’s only natural the people of the East don’t know me. They don’t need to bow to me.”
“Yes. But since they plan to live on our continent from now on, they should follow our customs, don’t you think?”
“Is that so?”
Yuri tilted his head.
“An intriguing story. In that case, why don’t we travel together for a bit and chat? We’re heading west anyway, aren’t we?”
“Yes, exactly.”
Yuri mounted up and moved with his group toward the caravan.
Through their conversation, it turned out the interpreter was in charge of this caravan. She had a remarkable talent for languages and had picked up Eastern tongue quickly, earning her a high position despite her youth.
Her name was Iris.
“It’s an honor to meet you again.”
“Good to meet you too.”
Yuri rode side by side with Iris at the head of the caravan, conversing as they went.
According to her, these were ronin from the East.
“The entrenched powers in the East are too firmly rooted, threatening the ronin’s livelihoods. Swords-for-hire without backing can’t even sustain a ronin’s life. They’re fed up with the harsh existence there and want to make a place for themselves on our continent.”
“Eastern mercenaries, in other words.”
“That’s about right.”
“Importing not just goods but people too—Ireine’s got some real savvy.”
Iris bowed her head silently, and Yuri waved it off.
“Don’t take it wrong. That’s a genuine compliment.”
“Thank you. We at Ireine strictly follow labor standards. They all signed standard employment contracts before we brought them.”
“I believe you.”
As the two conversed, the ronin marching alongside the caravan gazed at Yuri with eyes full of aspiration.
Ever since hearing of his status, they seemed eager for a chance at employment.
“Are there a lot of ronin like this in the East?”
“Yes, quite a few. With the martial world enjoying peace, the number of jobless swordsmen—unemployed with no skills but the blade—is growing.”
“Just call them unemployed. Makes it sound like some grand title.”
“Yes.”
“Yeah, I see.”
Yuri glanced back. The ronin, who had been shambling along, suddenly straightened up and marched with crisp posture.
“They seem pretty handy with their swords, at least...”
“They’ve got solid skills.”
Iris snuck a glance behind her.
“On the way back, there was a lot of opposition to bringing them, worried they might get ideas.”
“Can’t blame them.”
If Yuri hadn’t swept them away with a single spin of his sword, they looked skilled enough to charge straight at bandits without hesitation.
Yuri murmured to himself.
“Outsiders have to pay their dues to settle in.”
To enter the same framework as the continent’s people, they’d have to shed blood alongside them. They’d face rejection until they paid that proper price. That was human nature.
Yuri decided to make use of these ronin in the coming war.
“Iris, will you relay a message for me?”
“Yes. What...”
Yuri suddenly wheeled his horse around. Even so, his mount kept backing up smoothly as he spoke. Everyone marveled at his horsemanship.
Yuri called out.
“Heroes from the East! True martial artists earn their keep with the sword. Are you prepared to bleed to prove your worth? Do you have the courage to pay the price for a place on this continent?”
Defying Yuri’s expectations, the moment Iris finished translating, the Easterners replied in clumsy continental tongue as if they’d been waiting.
“Yes!”
Yuri approved of their enthusiasm.
Iris chimed in from the side.
“A ronin’s life is harsher than our continent’s mercenaries. These are men who swung swords every day. They came prepared to throw themselves into battle from the start.”
“You’ve already guessed how I plan to use them.”
“I’m a merchant too, after all.”
“Ireine’s full of talent.”
Yuri asked in passing.
“Speaking of which, do you know a guy named Rick?”
“Rick? He’s the type who starts with flattery no matter who...”
Iris glanced at Yuri’s expression and hastily rephrased.
“...He’s got such eloquent speech that he’s a colleague worth emulating.”
“Yeah. That sounds like him.”
“You’ve met him, then.”
“Ran into him here and there.”
“I see...”
“Anyway, I’ll hire these ronin.”
Yuri planned to deploy them first for the Bezos reclamation.
If they proved their worth, they could settle as they wished—and for Yuri, it opened the door to importing more ronin from the East, a win-win.
They might even become a hidden trump card the Empire couldn’t anticipate.
On top of that, Yuri was already envisioning a grander scheme, using these ronin as the opening gambit.
“The Heavenly Demon is the martial world’s public enemy, after all...”
“What’s a Heavenly Demon?”
“Nothing, just mumbling to myself.”
Yuri grinned.
“If these ronin open the floodgates of East-West exchange, the two continents will grow ever closer. Don’t you think?”
“Absolutely. And that’s the world merchants like us dream of.”
“It’ll happen. Is there a leader among them?”
“There’s one who picked up the continental tongue fastest—he’s leading them right now.”
“That’ll make things easy. Tell him I want to contract the whole group of ronin. There’s a battle coming soon to reclaim Bezos—they just need to join that. Handle the rest of the terms as our go-between.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. I’m hiring you as the agent.”
Iris’s eyes widened.
Mediating a service contract for a group this size was a massive achievement for any merchant. It would boost her standing at Ireine once more.
And the client was none other than Brioll’s prince.
Iris beamed and nodded vigorously.
“Leave it to me!”
“Then guide them to Brioll for me? We’re heading out ahead.”
“Of course. We were taking the goods to Brioll anyway.”
“Not the Empire?”
“Customers aren’t just in the Empire, you know.”
“Fair enough.”
Yuri smirked and glanced back at the ronin. Every one of them stared at him with expectant eyes.
Soon, they’d fight under his command.
Before parting, Yuri decided to build a bit of camaraderie with the ronin. As their commander, it was his duty to foster unity in the unit.
He dismounted and began walking alongside them.
To the bewildered ronin, he pulled something out.
It was an Eastern item he’d bought from Rick: the demon-repelling ritual bowl.
As he circled a wooden stick around its rim, a strange, resonant hum spread outward.
“Uh...”
“Ooh...”
Not unfamiliar to the Easterners, the ronin clasped their hands in front as one.
Yuri gave Iris a look and opened his mouth.
“They say this tool has the power to drive away evil spirits. Everyone, shake off your past. The dark forces that held you back are gone. You’re starting a new life with me!”
His words were immediately translated.
The ronin’s eyes reddened.
In this strange, bewildering land far from home, Yuri’s warm words soothed their hearts.
Suddenly, one of the trailing ronin began chanting in a mysterious tongue.
“Mahaprajnaparamitahrdaya sutra. Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, practicing the profound Prajnaparamita...”
The hum emanating from Yuri’s ritual bowl and the ronin’s enigmatic incantation blended seamlessly, as if they’d always been one.
“Form is no different from emptiness, emptiness no different from form. Form is emptiness, emptiness is form...”
Yuri closed his eyes and savored the sound. He didn’t understand the meaning, but it carried a profound resonance.
Yuri played on silently, while the trailing ronin continued his solemn sutra recitation.
It was a brief moment when Yuri and the ronin became one.
At last, the voices faded, and Yuri stopped the stick.
“Next time we meet, I’ll check your swordsmanship. I expect true martial artist caliber. Until then, farewell. Prajnaparamita!”
“Prajnaparamita!”