The Cold Frost Descends on the Battlefield
An atmosphere as cold as frost settling over a grave. A suffocating silence stretched on, like forcing down a mouthful of chilled metal. We weren't exchanging words, yet the way their eyes kept darting to one another made it obvious they were cooking up some dirty scheme. I had no intention of simply watching them do it.
Boom! The ground trembled under my next heavy step.
“Then I’m counting on you!!”
“Shut your mouth and get on with it!!”
“How dare you try such cheap tricks…?!”
“Your opponent is me!!”
The slave hunter immediately turned tail and ran. The leader stepped forward to shield him. In that case, I would simply kill them both cleanly.
The sword carrying the faint mysteries of the Blue Sky Boundless Sword Art drew a blue arc as it streaked toward his throat. Crunch!Bang!! The deafening clash of metal rang out. The unexpected recoil sent me staggering back, and I frowned.
“Damn it. To think I’d have to go all out against a mere goblin.”
The leader had already lost his right arm. Yet he had deflected the sword—infused with the Blue Sky Boundless Sword Art—using only his remaining limb. A faint blue haze rose from his entire body. But it was not internal qi. It was a power similar to, yet fundamentally different from, internal qi. Among the common sense I possessed, there was only one such force.
“…Mana?”
“That’s right, you bastard. You’re dead now.”
So the leader was worthy of the title after all. To think he could wield mana. In terms of realm, he was probably a Sword User. In other words, roughly equal to me, or perhaps a little stronger. At any rate, he was on a completely different level from the trash I had faced until now.
Even so, I drew my internal qi to its absolute limit. My crude dantian screamed under the sudden overexertion. The calm approach would have been best, but reinforcements could arrive at any moment. Time was not on my side.
Short, decisive battle. This one strike must end him.
Crackle! Crackle-crackle!! My qi raged like a thunderstorm about to break, announcing its ferocious momentum. The leader, refusing to yield, bared his teeth and pulled up every ounce of mana he possessed.
Bang!!
A pure contest of strength with no tricks involved. The loser of that clash was the first to vomit dark red blood.
“Cough!! Damn it, to a goblin of all things…!!”
“Arrogance invites certain defeat. You looked down on your enemy; losing was only natural.”
“W-wait—!”
Slice. With a chilling sound, the leader’s filthy head tumbled to the ground. It was my first victory against a swordsman who wielded mana. A semi-transparent status window filled with messages, but I had no leisure to pay it any mind.
First time defeating a Sword User!
Karma has decreased by subduing an ‘evil person.’
Stat increases are restricted due to the physical limits of the ‘Goblin’ race.
The ‘Vagabond’ effect breaks through the limit!
Strength and agility have increased!
Internal qi and proficiency have increased!
“Tsk. I wondered what grand scheme they were plotting, but in the end, this was what they were after from the start?”
At first I thought he was calling for reinforcements. Sadly, there was a deeper bottom beneath the floor. The dagger in his hand was a hair’s breadth from the slender girl’s throat. Yes. The slave hunter had taken Rina hostage.
I clicked my tongue. Because the opponent was a Sword User, I hadn’t had the luxury to keep an eye on Rina as well. Reading the dismay on my face, the slave hunter spoke with a triumphant expression.
“If you take one more step without permission, I will drive this dagger straight into her throat.”
“…What do you want?”
“Drop your weapon.”
Of course. I bit my lip. No matter how much martial arts I had learned, my current physical abilities were objectively poor. And in this situation, he wanted me to discard my weapon? Against an opponent who could use mana at the Sword User level, no less?
If only I had learned a fist art in advance, the situation might have been manageable. Just as I was lamenting that fact, a status window floated before my eyes.
Vagabond skill proficiency has risen to Rank A!
The limit of martial arts that can be learned has increased from 1 to 3!
The limit of cultivation arts that can be learned has increased from 1 to 3!
So when skill proficiency rises, the number of techniques I can learn increases as well.
Conveniently, one martial art had surfaced. It wasn’t the most famous fist technique, but those in the know recognized it. The only problem was that its cultivation method was fundamentally incompatible with the clear, pure qi of the Blue Sky Great Connection Divine Art.
Yet I quickly changed my thinking. Only when dark clouds gather in the lofty heavens can lightning strike.
Enlightenment achieved.
The Heavenly Martial Body effect has activated.
At last, I could discard my weapon.
Humans are the foundation of the continent and therefore the most superior race.
From the moment the Unified Empire’s doctrine of human supremacy arrived, non-human races were given two choices. Become slaves and suffer, or run away. Naturally, no race wished to become slaves, and thus began an eternal game of cat and mouse.
I don’t exactly pity the plight of other races… but I still have a job to do. I need to eat too, you know.
Charles was a rare slave hunter who felt some sympathy for other races. But sympathy was all it was. He strictly separated personal feelings from business. After all, simply chasing down other races brought in enormous bounties. Only a fool would refuse.
That was why Charles had switched from ordinary mercenary work to slave hunting.
“So all I have to do is catch the runaway elf girl?”
“Yes. Any problem with that?”
“No, it’s almost too easy.”
To offer this much pay just to chase one little elf girl… she must be a rather important slave. Yet the troops they had mobilized were not particularly high quality. It was almost as if they were only pretending to search for the missing elf slave.
Questions multiplied, but Charles quickly stopped thinking about them. Excessive curiosity was a monster that devoured people. All I need is the money. Digging any deeper will only get me killed, right?
Decent skill and the attitude of quietly completing assigned tasks were the most important virtues for a slave hunter. And Charles had no trouble proving his ability.
He had waited at the girl’s hometown. Sure enough, the runaway slave came walking back on her own two feet. Seeing this, Charles clicked his tongue in pity.
An orphaned young slave would obviously return to the only place she knows. But what is that green thing sticking to her side?
At first he hadn’t recognized it because of the strange triangular hat. But it didn’t take long to identify the monster beside the elf slave as a goblin. After all, what other creature wore green skin and strode about on stubby limbs?
Don’t tell me the goblin rescued the girl? No way. I just hope it hasn’t violated her…
With slaves—especially female ones—virginity was extremely important. No matter how beautiful, a non-virgin sold for next to nothing. That was why slave merchants managed their stock with extreme care. It let them sell at a high price.
But an elf slave violated by a goblin? Unless the buyer had very peculiar tastes, she wouldn’t fetch much. Yet any complacency Charles felt shattered the moment the goblin sliced off the heads of the leader’s two subordinates.
I have to survive somehow! That’s it. The goblin brought the girl here, so if I take her hostage…!!
It had been a gamble. If the opponent viewed the girl as nothing more than a slave, his own head would fly. But fortunately the gamble succeeded. The goblin, who had been swinging his sword like a demon, froze.
The hilt had fallen completely into his hands. Judging this, Charles ordered the goblin to drop his weapon.
Without a weapon, I can capture him alive somehow. Then I can sell him for an absolute fortune…!!
A goblin with intelligence and swordsmanship? He couldn’t even imagine how high the price would go. As expected, the goblin obediently discarded his weapon. Charles slowly approached.
He had prepared slave restraints specifically for the girl. Using them, he could capture the goblin without much trouble.
Even if he resists, he’s still just a goblin. Without a weapon, I can subdue him easily.
Unfortunately, Charles had already been completely blinded by greed. The instant he drew close enough—
The goblin’s hand shot out like lightning and seized the dagger. But Charles had already anticipated the desperate struggle. He released the dagger and drew the restraints in the same motion. The moment he snapped them onto the goblin’s wrists, victory would be his!
Yet in the instant he was certain of triumph, a voice reached his ear.
“…Byeokryeok Shingwon!!”
The explosive lightning-like power of the Hwangbo Clan’s signature fist technique surges forth, shattering everything in its path.
At that moment, lightning fell.