Chapter 51
Chapter 51
Translator: Penny
Chapter 51
The assassin, who had been staring at Agron, now turned his gaze toward Duran.
What's going on here?!
The assassin's expression twisted, his eyes conveying a silent, frantic question.
Duran shrugged at him, prompting the assassin to spur his horse forward and ride up beside him.
"Who told you to approach me?" Duran whispered quietly, his tone mildly reproachful as he watched the figure approach.
"Is that what matters right now?"
"Why? Is something wrong?"
"Didn't you say you'd tear the Troll Warrior to shreds?!" The assassin exclaimed, his face conveying disbelief. Have you ever seen such a madman?
But Duran remained unfazed.
"Even someone like that would die if ambushed, wouldn't they?"
"Damn it! I'm an assassin, not a monster hunter!"
"Think about it. Do you really believe he did that? It's probably just the typical boasting of a noble. Who in the world could tear monsters apart with their bare hands? Not even Baron Wolfgang could do that."
"But, Lord...!"
"If you refuse, I'll mobilize my entire Organization to imprison you, your comrades, and even your families in the mines for life, never to see the light of day again. Understand?"
"..."
The assassin's face twisted in a grimace.
He had tried to argue, but this was an opponent he couldn't dare defy.
Seeing the assassin's crumpled expression, Duran smirked and continued, "In return, if you succeed, I'll double the promised reward."
"...Damn it, no backing out now."
The assassin reluctantly accepted the terms and returned to Agron's side.
Duran let out a soft sigh.
To think even such a fool makes a living as an assassin.
There was no way anyone could tear a Troll Warrior apart and kill it.
When the first Troll Warrior corpse was brought to the Royal Palace, Duran was so shocked that he badgered the Court Mage and Secretary for days, demanding they scour the archives for information.
Their conclusion was unanimous:
Without a weapon imbued with magical secrets or a tool empowered by Demons or Spirits, it was impossible for a human to tear a Troll Warrior apart and kill it. No such feat had ever been recorded in history.
Duran intended to inform the King of this truth.
He couldn't stand the fact that the insignificant Lawrence was receiving more attention than himself at the Royal Palace.
But then news arrived that Baron Wolfgang, hailed as the reincarnation of Heclaitus, had been defeated by Agron.
King Decker was both astonished and delighted by the news, even sending Lawrence to join the Count's side.
Confessing his suspicions now would only earn him accusations of petty jealousy.
He resolved to wait for a better opportunity—a day when he could turn the tables on all of this.
Duran bit his lip, glaring at Lawrence.
Not just Agron, but you too will pay for this.
"Count Agron," Count Kopellus called out with a subtle tone. "I need to speak with you about something."
"What is it?" Agron asked.
"Well... Viscount Fabia, who used to be one of my men, caused a disturbance at your banquet, didn't he?"
"...?"
Agron frowned, struggling to recall the incident.
Seeing his expression, Count Kopellus flinched and immediately lowered his head.
"I'm truly sorry. Please don't look so displeased. I've been meaning to apologize for this at the first opportunity."
Count Kopellus's words were half sincere and half false. Though born a knight, he was also a shrewd politician, keenly aware of profit and loss.
What?! How dare he throw out one of my men from his banquet!
When Count Kopellus first heard that Viscount Fabia had been expelled from the banquet, he had even plotted to bury Agron in the social circles.
No noble in the Kingdom was unaware that Fabia was a close associate of Kopellus.
This arrogant upstart has gone too far! Does he really think he can smear my reputation and still maintain his noble status in this Kingdom?!
Kopellus felt as humiliated as if he himself had been the target of the insult.
However, after some time had passed and he received a more objective account of the incident, Kopellus realized that Fabia had indeed been in the wrong.
What...? Fabia actually said those things to the Count? And in front of Prince Lawrence, no less?!
He even learned that it was Prince Lawrence, not Agron, who had ordered Fabia ejected from the banquet hall.
After much deliberation, Count Kopellus decided to invite both Prince Lawrence and Count Agron to his next banquet.
Kopellus had the excuse of extending the first olive branch, and he figured he could apologize later, after assessing their capabilities.
This should make it clear I'm sorry, he thought. Everyone knows what a great honor it is to attend a Kopellus banquet.
But when Kopellus actually met Agron, he couldn't help but be astonished.
With just a few words, Agron had driven Prince Duran into a corner and was now addressing the Empire's Duke as an equal.
Though the banquet was meant to honor Duran, Agron had completely seized control of the event's momentum.
Count Kopellus became convinced that Agron would soon become the eye of the storm in the Kingdom.
"Please accept my apology," he said.
It was rare for a Central Noble and Great Lord to bow his head to someone of equal rank, especially someone younger than himself.
Agron couldn't understand why the other man was acting this way.
"Um, please raise your head. I've completely forgotten about it."
He meant it sincerely.
Since Viscount Fabia wasn't a warrior, Agron had genuinely forgotten about him.
"Hngh... You're only making me feel more ashamed. To say you'd forget my past humiliation... Count Agron, you have a magnanimous heart."
"Well, I really—"
"Count Kopellus."
Lawrence, who had been listening to their conversation from a short distance away, interrupted.
He was stopping Agron from saying something foolish.
"Enough with the apologies. Just do better from now on, right?"
"From now on... Your Highness?"
"I mean, why don't you become Agron's patron?"
"Ah."
Agron hadn't yet entered central politics.
The Veilain Fief was located in a remote region, and the House itself was of modest standing.
Such families typically lived out their lives without ever setting foot in the capital, unless they achieved extraordinary feats that earned them a summons from the King.
However, the situation changed dramatically if a Central Noble became their patron.
"What do you think? Agron is worth the effort, isn't he?" Lawrence asked cautiously, yet with a subtle urgency, as he desperately hoped for this outcome.
If Agron advanced into central politics, Lawrence himself would be the first to see his position transformed.
After a moment's contemplation, Kopellus thumped his chest with his fist and declared, "Understood! I, Luhan Arhan von Kopellus, Head of House Kopellus, pledge to become Count Agron's unwavering support from this day forward!"
It was not an easy decision for him.
This was a far different step than simply taking someone like Viscount Fabia as a close aide.
If an aide caused trouble, he could simply dismiss them. But a ward was different. He would have to face ruin alongside the patron who had guaranteed for him.
In other words, from this moment forward, Kopellus was essentially in the same boat as Agron.
He's just a fledgling now, but if I provide the water and nutrients, Count Agron has the potential to grow into something great. He's close to Prince Lawrence, and more importantly, Duke Belmond himself addressed him as "Brother."
Kopellus fell deep into thought, pondering how best to nurture Agron's growth.
Meanwhile, the gamekeeper signaled that preparations were complete, and the Chamberlain of House Kopellus waved the flag.
"Charge! Let's move out!"
Kopellus, reacting a beat late to the signal, shouted to the waiting nobles.
"Yeehaw!"
"Giddy up! I see a deer over there!"
"Follow me!"
"A reward for whoever finds the largest game!"
The nobles spurred their horses forward, leading their beaters and servants into the forest.
"Your Grace, Duke Belmond, please take care."
"Thank you for your concern. Your Highness Duran, you too should be careful."
Duran offered Belmond a brief nod before disappearing with his group.
"Then I'll head this way. Agron, I'm quite confident in my hunting skills too."
"Hmm, I wouldn't get your hopes up too high, but alright."
Lawrence led his knight Hunts and the beaters in a different direction.
"Hey, Brother! This is a competition, so let's split up!"
"But for Duke Belmond's safety, it might be better to stick together."
"Come on, with all the nobles' eyes watching, what could possibly happen? Besides, you lent me that excellent knight, Wolf, didn't you?" Belmond clapped Wolf on the shoulder and laughed heartily.
Having lost all his vassals during his travels, Agron had instructed Wolf to serve as Belmond's escort.
"Hmm, I see. Then let's meet up after the hunt."
"Puhahaha! If you catch something bigger than mine, Brother, I'll give you a prize too!"
Belmond waved goodbye to Agron and rode his horse in the opposite direction, with Wolf galloping eagerly behind him.
Agron slowly surveyed his surroundings.
"Hmm."
He was alone.
Women were forbidden from entering the hunting grounds, so he couldn't bring Elena. Jacob had been assigned to attend to Baek Woon, whose back was acting up.
"It's been a while," Agron said, twisting his torso from side to side to loosen his muscles.
Stimulating scents filled the air: the musky stench of massive beasts, the rising dust, and the sharp, acrid tang of poison.
Agron tightened his grip on the horse's flanks with his thighs, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"Shall we begin the hunt?"
Whoosh!
Agron slammed his fist down on the charging boar's head, sending the massive creature spinning through the air before crashing to the ground.
"The boars here are smaller than I expected," Agron muttered, tugging at the shattered tusk of the boar.
The Snowfield boars were nothing like this.
They were three times larger, with a horn on their forehead, and notoriously ill-tempered, making them a thrilling hunt.
Agron, who had anticipated such a challenge, was sorely disappointed.
These boars were weaker than even the Snowfield rabbits.
"Could this one have been unusually weak?" he wondered, scratching his chin as he lifted the boar's tusk.
Though the boar was a large specimen, roughly 4 meters long and weighing over 500 kilograms, it seemed unimpressive to Agron.
"This wouldn't be enough to feed the Tribe. Just enough for me and White Bison."
Agron shook his head as if resigned, gripped the boar's tusks with both hands, and pressed his foot against its head to wrench them free.
Drip...
Crimson blood soaked the ground.
Agron swung the tusks to shake off the blood, then scanned his surroundings.
Sniff, sniff.
"Hmm, the prey is quite close."
With that, he hurled a tusk with all his might at a massive tree.
Crack!
The tree snapped clean through and toppled sideways, and a man hidden behind it bolted out, panting heavily.
"Gah!"
"Where do you think you're going?"
As if he'd been waiting for this moment, Agron drew back the remaining tusk behind his shoulder and hurled it with full force.
Thud!
"Aaaah!"
The tusk shattered the fleeing man's legs, pinning him against another tree.
"Hngh... Aaaaaah!"
"Well, well, a creature smaller than a boar."
"Hngh, Lord, why are you doing this?! I'm just one of the beaters..."
The man claiming to be a beater pleaded with Agron, tears and snot streaming down his face.
But Agron ignored his words, pulling the tusk that had been lodged in the tree and approaching the man.
"A beater, you say?"
"Y-yes, sir..."
"And a 'beater' like you was badmouthing Duran and me before the hunt?"
"...Huh...?"
The assassin's mouth gaped, as if he'd lost his voice. He had never spoken within earshot of Agron.
"My apologies, my hearing is rather keen."
"Uh... that's..."
"And do beaters typically poison their arrowheads?"
Agron plucked an arrow from the assassin's bow and thrust it into the man's thigh.
"Aaaagh!"
"Confess everything you planned. Otherwise, I'll pull out your teeth one by one and crush your face like a wild boar's."
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny