One Mouth is Enough to Speak
The grand main gate of the majestic Restis Ducal Residence. It was just as Kael's group was about to spur their horses onward beyond the castle gates.
"G-Grand Young Master! P-Please wait a moment!!"
A youthful voice cried out desperately from behind, kicking up clouds of dust.
Kael, gripping the reins, turned his head with a puzzled expression.
"Hm?"
A blond young man came panting up to them. Emblazoned boldly on his chest was the emblem of a blue wolf—the mark proving he belonged to the Blue Wolf Knights, the ducal house's direct affiliate unit that Kael had only just left behind.
From atop his horse, Kael tilted his chin and asked, "What is it? The knights have no reason to chase after me."
"Huff, huff... C-Could you take me along on this subjugation mission too?"
Ella and Weger, standing beside him, stared at the boy knight with wide eyes at his bold request, gasped out while catching his breath.
Kael, too, curled his lips in amusement.
"Hm? Why? Didn't they hammer it in that they couldn't spare any personnel?"
Then came a most entertaining reply from the fresh-faced knight.
"Th-The vice-captain said... since I'm just the useless runt anyway, I should go follow the Grand Young Master right away...?"
Ella snorted in disbelief at the boy's innocent answer.
But Kael's expression soured. No matter how much of a dead weight the lowest rung was treated as, defying the acting family head's military orders and siphoning off troops was a dangerous act that could cost even a vice-captain his head.
"Isn't that a violation of orders? I appreciate the vice-captain's gesture, but I can't very well take his head just to bring along the likes of you. Go back. These ones are more than enough for escort duties."
As Kael refused and moved to tug the reins, the boy knight frantically waved both hands.
"N-No! It's my v-vacation!!"
At the unexpected response, Kael turned back.
"Hm? Vacation?"
"Yes, sir! The orders say knights shouldn't be dispatched externally or go out casually, but there's no command controlling personal leave! S-So I'm not breaking any orders—I'm on perfectly legal vacation right now, hehe...."
At that brazen explanation, the situation crystallized in Kael's mind.
Hoh, so he's not some rigid stickler after all?
The Blue Wolf Knights were known as the least influential order in the ducal house, patrolling the outskirts. They lacked the power to openly defy the acting head at the center of authority, but a knight's conscience wouldn't let them idly watch the family heir march into obvious peril.
Thus, they'd sent off their youngest, greenest member—the one minimizing any risk of repercussions—under the pretext of "vacation."
Sharp fellow. I quite like this survival tactic.
With that thought, Kael thoroughly sized up the young knight before him.
He had a somewhat scatterbrained look, like a screw was loose somewhere. His silver armor was caked in sand and dirt, as if he'd just been rolling on the training grounds.
Yet Kael's keen senses pierced straight through, reading the flow of energy in the boy's body.
Surprisingly, his meridians were remarkably clear and unblocked, and a pure, solid qi had taken firm root in his dantian.
"What's your name?"
"L-Loben! Loben Bannish, Grand Young Master!"
Bannish. Possessing a family name meant, unlike commoners like Weger or Ella, he was a proper noble scion.
"Right, Loben. But as the vice-captain said, aren't you the useless runt of the knights? What can you even do?"
To Kael's blunt question, Loben puffed out his chest confidently.
"Don't let appearances fool you—I'm from the outskirts of the Vollex territory you're heading to right now! I know the lay of the land blindfolded. Take me along, and even if I'm no good in a fight, I'll be perfect for guiding, errands, whatever!"
"No fighting? Is that what you call a knightly order?"
"H-Haha... W-Well, I'm the newest rookie, so I lack real combat experience... My swordsmanship's a bit lacking, yeah...."
Loben scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
It was a perfect pretext, and as the runt with nothing to lose, zero risk for the vice-captain. Someone else might dismiss it as mere posturing, but Kael—who'd roamed the jianghu for decades and seen it all—thought differently.
In battlefields or unknown terrain, a reliable guide who knew the geography inside out was often worth more tactically than ten peak experts.
"Very well. You're in."
"Really!?"
"But from now on, you're not Blue Wolf Knights. You're part of my personal subjugation team. Disregard a single order or act on your own, and I'll take your head on the spot. Remember that."
At Kael's chilling warning, Loben snapped to attention and shouted briskly.
"Th-Thank you! I'll do my best!"
Loben Bannish's addition proved an excellent choice, just as Kael anticipated.
He knew every shortcut through the rugged, twisting mountain paths to Vollex territory, letting the group reach their destination far faster than expected.
As dusk fell, the barren landscape of Vollex territory unfolded beneath the dimming sky.
Loben led toward the main road visible with the walls in sight, but Kael yanked his reins, veering off.
"Grand Young Master, weren't we stopping at the lord's castle first for lodging?"
Loben asked, puzzled. Kael replied indifferently.
"No. There's something more urgent."
Ella, trailing behind, asked worriedly at his decision.
"You're going straight there, Young Master?"
"Of course. Why drag our feet? These things are best handled swiftly. If we arrive late and something goes wrong, that'd be trouble. When Marie returns from the main estate and finds her family safe, she'll be overjoyed."
Ella clasped her hands, beaming with admiration at Kael's casual words.
"Heehee, our Young Master is just so thoughtful and caring!"
"Is that so."
Kael chuckled softly and urged his horse toward the village.
Guided by Loben, they arrived at Marie's village.
But it was far from any peaceful hamlet.
Rotted wooden shacks, ready to collapse in the next rain, clung precariously together. The streets reeked of sewage and decaying filth.
A squalid den where fifty-odd impoverished families scraped by—a beastly slum abandoned even by the territory's outer guards.
Without some crime syndicate like Legnum, vicious bandits would still eye it for kidnapping fodder to sell into slavery.
Halting his horse, Kael silently took in the wretched scene.
Truly outrageous. Even if she was cast out, she was the ducal house's firstborn heir's wet nurse from infancy. To let someone like that fester in this cesspit...
Suddenly, an inexplicable rage boiled from deep in Kael's chest.
He quickly realized the source of this unfamiliar emotion.
This isn't my anger. It's this body's original owner—Kael himself—fuming.
The blood-deep attachment toward the wet nurse who'd wept floods of tears at news of his survival. Heavenly Demon Cheon Woo-jin accepted that searing resentment without suppression.
Don't worry. Just watch.
As the group entered the village center's cramped square, it happened.
"Hey, you there."
A rusty metallic rasp sliced the air.
From the shadows of a ramshackle hut, three men in crude leather armor sauntered out, gripping serrated axes.
No one would mistake them for honest villagers.
The stench of crusted human blood wafted from them.
The leader, scarred across the face, leered up and down at the group's glossy steeds and fine attire, sneering vilely.
"Fancy getup that don't belong in this rat-shit slum, eh? Lost nobles? Or playin' heroes?"
At the bandit's insolent mockery, Weger—holding the reins beside Kael—stood veins bulging in fury.
He lunged forward, bellowing thunderously.
"You filthy cur, how dare you wag that tongue at his lordship!! Do you even know who stands before you, you blathering fool!!"
The bandit just picked his ear and scoffed at Weger's roar.
"Hah, what's this? Musclehead with no brains? Think those puny pecs scare me? Don't care if you're some castle brat. This is Legnum turf."
He tapped his axe against his shoulder and jerked his chin.
"Leave the horses, your shiny trinkets, and that tasty wench behind, then scram quiet-like. Might even let your precious necks stay attached."
"You animal worse than beasts, eyeing Ella!!"
Weger, rage boiling over, reached for the heavy iron sword at his waist.
Pfsh—!
A faint friction, like an insect's wingbeat, cut the air.
"Uh...?"
The bandit, pointing and jeering at Weger, uttered a dumb sound.
His eyes glazed, pupils rolling upward.
Thud—
The burly bandit's body crumpled to the dirt like a marionette with cut strings.
A finger-width hole pierced neatly between his brows, dark blood fountaining out to soak the parched earth.
Instant death—no clue who struck or with what.
"......!!!"
Ella and Loben gaped, breaths catching at the surreal sight.
Ella's shock was indescribable.
The old Kael she remembered was so tender he couldn't crush a crawling bug or snap a flower stem—cherishing all life.
Even against enemies, killing so casually wasn't her Young Master.
Yet atop his horse, gazing down, Kael's face held not a speck of guilt or tremor for taking a life.
Just infinite boredom and indifference, like kicking aside a roadside pebble.
"Y-Young Master...?"
Ella looked up at him, voice quavering.
The warm youth who'd joked and smiled moments ago was gone.
Only the lord of Shipman Mountain Range, who subjugated the murim world with blood and slaughter, coldly gleamed his eyes.
Tch, pathetic. For the Mahon Bullet to pack only this punch.
Kael briefly assessed his technique, then scanned his frozen, dazed group.
Hm. Let's see how they fight.
His voice fell, emotionless and curt.
"Weger, Ella, Loben, and Oliver."
"Yes, sir!"
"Y-Yes, Young Master...!"
"Yessir!!!"
"Grrr... Woof!!!"
Even knight Loben reflexively straightened at Kael's edged tone.
Gazing coldly at the remaining bandits trembling and backing away, Kael's red lips parted slowly.
"One mouth is enough to speak."
Cold murder flashed in Kael's eyes.
"Kill them all."
At the command, Oliver bolted first without hesitation.
"Woof woof woof!! Graaaah!!"
Crunch—!
A bandit's nape tore away in Oliver's jaws, ending him instantly.
Watching, Kael pondered seriously.
Hmm... Weger, Ella—you'll have to hustle to keep up with Oliver.