Chapter 154
Chapter 154
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 154
Chapter Title: Remnants of the North
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Late into the night, when all but a few nocturnal beasts had fallen asleep.
Thud, thud.
Having wrapped up a long conversation with Viscount Sozen, Ian made his way back to his lodgings, mentally replaying their discussion point by point.
"The Duchess of Alvaret... That's unexpected."
It was something he hadn't anticipated at all.
To think that the ringleader corrupting the kingdom from within and pushing for treason was from the duchy at the very pinnacle of the realm.
And not even the duke himself, but his wife—Ian was genuinely taken aback.
"Then again, thinking about it, it's not a bad choice. Kaidu Ballak... He used his head well."
The nobles of the Pang Kingdom were those who had resisted the Khan Empire unyieldingly for countless years.
If they were the type to sell out their country for a handful of gold and jewels, the kingdom would have crumbled long ago.
'But noble wives might think differently. What they experience firsthand feels entirely different.'
Unlike the nobles who faced endless interference from the Khan Empire in their state affairs, their wives harbored far less resentment toward it.
The sting of a policy being shot down right in front of you couldn't compare to hearing about it secondhand from your husband.
On the flip side, the wealth and glory Kaidu Ballak dangled before them would have dazzled the noble wives more directly and vividly than anything else.
Slowly, ever so slowly, they fell under his barrage of gifts and began urging their husbands to side with the Khan Empire.
For the sake of themselves and their children.
Though the Pang Kingdom's nobles had endured through lean times for generations, not everyone could maintain their lofty pride in the face of their family's suffering.
In the end, some reluctantly began grasping the Khan Empire's hand.
And once they tasted that forbidden luxury... it must have gradually melted away the ice of grudges piled up by their ancestors.
'Kaidu pulled off something cunning, just like Siegfried. Then again... seeing how a mere noble from an ordinary house rose to emperor of the Northern Continent, it's only natural.'
How twisted with envy he must have been.
The man he'd looked down on had become the supreme hero, devouring an entire continent.
Meanwhile, Kaidu himself had only risen to grand duke in his own homeland—reason enough to grow impatient.
'Kaidu... that impatience will be the noose around your neck.'
Ian arrived at his lodgings and cracked the door open slightly. Snores drifted from inside here and there.
While he'd spent the whole day talking with Viscount Sozen, the Latent Dragon Squad members, tired of waiting, had already fallen into deep slumber.
'After getting chewed out like that, they sure sleep soundly.'
They had nerves of steel.
Then again, that's what it took to serve under him.
Seeing that all his men were fast asleep, Ian quietly leaped out the window.
It was time to meet with ties from his past life.
And after some time had passed...
A shadowy figure silently approached Ian as he moved.
A man with his face wrapped tightly in bandages.
It was Kasar Lichtenauer, the thunder rascal of the branch family.
As always, Kasar held out a paper with the question scrawled on it.
'Didn't see this coming.'
The place Ian was bound for was off-limits to everyone except him.
"I have personal business. I'll be back by morning, so head back quietly and rest."
Kasar eyed Ian curiously before finally nodding.
Swish, swish!
With that, he veered off and vanished into an alley.
"Whoa! W-what? Hey, get out of my way! Argh, I was just quietly tailing you 'cause it looked fun...!!"
The irritated voice of an elf echoed, blocked by an unexpected interloper.
It was Aelion, reined in by Kasar.
He too had watched Ian's exploits in the grand tent from the front row.
So he didn't believe Ian would embark on something this outrageous without a plan.
He had no intention of interfering.
Just curiosity.
About what outlandish scheme this peculiar human would pull off this time.
But that was Aelion's private thought. To Kasar, letting some dark elf of unknown origin hinder a successor candidate was out of the question.
As the two tussled playfully,
Ian had already scaled the walls of Dravia, Viscount Sozen's territory.
Whoosh!
Ordinary territorial guards could never track Ian's movements.
Landing lightly beyond the wall, he positioned himself under the third red flag in the row Viscount Sozen had lined up along the battlements.
Sizzle!
Aligning himself precisely with the flag, Ian shot a small firework straight into the sky.
Pheeeeeew...
At an hour when most of the territory's people slumbered,
The firework should have echoed far and wide, but it barely climbed three meters before bursting into a small green spark that flickered out in the sky.
It was a pitiful display, not even matching the toy fireworks children played with at village festivals.
Yet Ian crossed his arms and settled in, as if he'd fulfilled his duty.
If the spirit of the Northern Continent still lingered in 'Ye'...
They would undoubtedly recognize what this 'signal' meant.
Whoosh...
Was it the slightly higher latitude than the Southern Continent?
A chill wind whipped Ian's hair, briefly obscuring his view.
"...Even seeing it with my own eyes, I can hardly believe it."
As the wind died down and Ian brushed his hair aside, a man appeared before him who hadn't been there moments ago.
"Siegfried and Adrian... those bloodthirsty enemies not even death could sate my hatred for. I thought his lineage had ended because of them."
The diminutive man eyed Ian suspiciously.
His face, exuding a sinister, dagger-like sharpness, bore deep wrinkles etched alongside scars, testaments to the passage of time.
Seeing the man's face, Lucas's eyes—now Ian's—stirred with passion for the first time since his rebirth.
He was the first link to Ian's past life he'd encountered since returning.
'...You've aged so much, Balteran.'
Balteran Seilis.
A descendant of the Basel Rodar tribe from the Alexandr Empire days, and one of the few sharp subordinates under Lucas Alexei(?).
Even after earning a promising post for his merits as Lucas ascended to emperor of the Alexandr Empire, he'd volunteered for the harsh Eastern Continent.
'Turning a Northern Continent noble-equivalent into a bandit rolling in the dirt for decades out here...'
A thick guilt weighed on him from his old subordinate; he could scarcely lift his head.
But to Balteran, Ian's feelings were irrelevant.
In his judgment, Ian was a spark that could ignite the fuse of a time bomb slowly surfacing within Ye.
"Who are you? No, identity can wait. You seem to know something about us... care to explain?"
Balteran's tone toward a possible successor of his old master held no warmth whatsoever.
Perhaps that's why.
Ian tamped down his surging emotions and replied.
"I'm Ian Lichtenauer. And you... Balteran Seilis?"
"...!!"
Balteran's eyes widened at Ian's answer and blunt question.
He could be known by name.
As Ye's intelligence chief and advisor in their bandit band,
It would be stranger if the people of the Eastern Continent didn't know it.
'But knowing my full name... that's a different story. Only his heirs would know that name.'
Not only did he know how to contact them, but he also knew Balteran's full name, never revealed in the Eastern Continent.
That alone proved the young punk before him had inherited his master's legacy.
"Where... did you inherit 'his' legacy? Most everyone has long passed into the void."
Ian answered Balteran's question calmly once more.
"In the Southern Continent, in a Lichtenauer Clan market stall. I chanced upon the Hegemon's martial arts. Does that answer it?"
Balteran nearly nodded in acceptance at Ian's reply.
The Southern Continent was worlds away from Crohoka. And as a scion of the Lichtenauer Martial Clan... even 'that' Siegfried couldn't touch him lightly.
But.
"...You don't think a simple answer like that will make us acknowledge you as his successor, do you? We didn't wait all these long years for some hollow pretender."
Swish!
Balteran jerked his chin at Ian and turned.
"Follow me. If you're truly his heir... you must have foreseen the trials of approaching us."
Ian nodded and trailed after Balteran.
These were people Lucas had personally raised and taught.
Ian, knowing their ways better than anyone, would have been more disappointed if they'd accepted him outright.
In an unnamed wild mountain in the distant Baekra Mountains from Dravia territory.
Confirming no one around, Balteran turned.
"You followed without losing my trail... Impressive skill. But."
Shing!
As Balteran flicked his wide sleeve, two corded daggers appeared in his hands, gripped in reverse grip.
"You know footwork alone won't earn our recognition, right?"
Rumble!
"Show me his martial arts. When he mentioned this place, he surely said not to visit without qualification."
Killing intent thickened around Balteran.
"If you're just greedy beyond your station without true worth... you'll die by my hand here today."
"......"
Shing!
Ian silently drew the Twin-Headed Blood Serpent to meet Balteran's aura, hardening the man's expression further.
"...A sword? Is that your weapon?"
Absurd.
His master's martial arts fused overwhelming divine power and divine weapons into devastating offense and defense, with unpredictable trajectories to crush foes.
A mere ordinary sword couldn't possibly manifest it.
'The flags in Viscount Sozen's territory and knowing my name suggest some connection...'
But if it was just scraps of info scavenged by the Lichtenauer Martial Clan to toy with them—unlikely, but if so—
He'd make them pay, even if it was the Southern Continent's strongest clan.
"What nonsense."
Ian gave Balteran a curt reply.
"Shut up and come at me. Lucas wouldn't judge by chatter."
Despite the brat's provocation, Balteran didn't rage but smirked.
"Fair enough. He might have left another insight, and if you're just insulting me... I can tear you apart right here."
Crack!
The moment Balteran finished, Ian's vision flashed white.
Balteran had hurled his left dagger in a surprise attack.
Clang!
Despite the unexpected strike, Ian deflected it without changing expression.
Balteran, uncharacteristically small for a Northern Continent man,
Had always favored ambushes over fair fights to survive the harsh north, so Ian had anticipated this.
"The kid's got composure!"
Whoosh!
Reeling in the deflected dagger by its cord, Balteran closed in.
Covering his chin view with one hand, he leveled the other dagger horizontally, stabbing between the ribs.
A vile thrust targeting organs over bones.
Less warrior, more back-alley thug.
Whoosh!
As Ian swung the Twin-Headed Blood Serpent short to repel him, Balteran anticipated it, slipping closer and evading the blade's path.
"If you think a sword can block me, you're gravely mistaken, whelp!"
Impersonating his master's arts was a grave sin.
Now in close, Balteran slashed diagonally at the liver spot with his reverse-gripped dagger.
"I'll drain your blood dry, then pry out where you got this intel, bit by bit."
At the chilling warning, just as Balteran's dagger reached Ian's liver...
"Exactly as I expected, Balteran Seilis. You'd press forward instead of retreating."
"...?!"
A voice too calm.
Balteran looked up to see Ian gazing down, utterly unflustered.
"That's your style... one step further in."
Kaang!
As Ian spoke, Balteran's dagger clanged against something solid.
Sizzle, sizzle!
Torn cloth revealed Silver Moon Chainmail beneath.
Armor that was also chains—Balteran's eyes bulged.
"Th-this is?!"
My god.
In his stunned pause,
Bam!
A brutal impact rocked Balteran's skull from behind, and his vision went black.