Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: An Offer I Can't Refuse
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"It's finally here."
"I've faced countless foes in my time and seen all sorts of mana breathing techniques, but that one... I've never seen anything like it."
"......"
"It's too rough and crude to be a human-invented mana breathing method. Primal, almost savage."
Sure enough.
It was impossible to fool a Sword Expert's senses.
To think he could deduce the origin of the breathing technique just from crossing swords once.
'What should I say?'
He needed a plausible excuse.
And he had the skill for it.
'Eloquent Speech.'
Time to borrow that power again.
He couldn't very well say he'd stolen it from a troll berserker.
"......It's not been long."
"Not long? What hasn't?"
"Since I comprehended this breathing technique."
Comprehended.
That word piqued Mikhail's interest.
"You didn't learn it from anyone—you figured it out on your own?"
"More like half and half."
"Half and half?"
"You know I've been steadily gaining real combat experience here in Sobkov Territory."
"Of course. I get reports every day. How many molars and totems you've brought in today to drain our territory's coffers dry."
He hadn't realized the reports went into that much detail.
But Damian pressed on regardless.
"In the process, I started sensing it. The unique breathing rhythm of monsters coming from the great jungle."
"Hmm."
Monsters from the eastern great jungle were strong.
Even ordinary orcs and trolls resonated with mana.
Of course, the level was so faint that proper utilization was practically impossible.
Yet he'd comprehended this savage breathing technique just from fighting orcs and trolls?
"Then I encountered a troll berserker. A truly monstrous beast."
"I imagine so. Especially for someone at your level."
It was a monster no ordinary person could face.
If it hadn't appeared suddenly at the rear, they would have sent at least three seasoned knights.
"Honestly, I thought I was dead. I nearly was. The knights who deployed with me dropped at the start, my sword broke, my shield splintered......"
Was it because the despair of that moment was real?
Even Mikhail found himself immersed in the tale.
"But I couldn't just die like that, could I? So I kept recalling the advice you'd given me."
"Advice?"
"The part about getting stronger through real combat. I focused on that. I tried to analyze the troll berserker's movements, swordsmanship, shieldwork... and even its unique breathing technique."
Sensations only obtainable through live combat.
The troll berserker's breathing included among them.
"You mimicked the troll berserker's breathing in the middle of battle?"
"'Perfected' might be more accurate."
"You pieced together the clues you'd gathered bit by bit?"
"Something like that."
Damian nodded.
Mikhail let out a hollow chuckle at his reaction.
'If everything this guy's saying is true......'
There was no need to dig deeper.
A martial genius, without a doubt.
A man with immense talent who might have spent his life gripping a plow.
'He's definitely grown rapidly every step of the way.'
On the eastern front.
When he first arrived in Sobkov Territory.
And right up to today.
The kid kept getting stronger.
At an insane pace.
The problem was...
'......Does that even make sense?'
He'd seen countless geniuses in his life.
He himself had stood at the pinnacle among them.
Even Mikhail hadn't grown at this rate.
How was such growth possible?
"......"
Mikhail Sobkov fell silent for a moment.
The giant of the east fixed his gaze on Damian.
"......You."
Then he parted his heavy lips.
Very slowly, in a stern voice.
'Did he figure something out?'
He wasn't convinced at all?
Had the seeds of suspicion grown?
As anxiety swelled...
"I like you after all."
"......Pardon?"
Liking him out of the blue.
Wasn't this the same guy who'd been grilling him with suspicious glares moments ago?
"What do you mean by that......?"
"Exactly what I said."
Mikhail laughed.
The sharp tension from before had vanished.
"I knew it from the start. You're the perfect guy to keep under me."
Satisfaction gleamed in his eyes.
The look of someone who'd found a promising gem.
"Every now and then, freaks like you pop up. Sharp-eyed ones, I guess?"
He clapped Damian on the shoulder.
This time, he'd controlled his strength properly.
"Anyway, good. No matter how you got there, the fact is you've gotten stronger."
Prioritizing results over process.
That was Mikhail Sobkov.
"With that in mind, let's do a job together."
A job, suddenly?
Damian asked.
"What kind of job......?"
"Ah, nothing major."
He jerked his chin toward the distance.
Beyond the canyon.
"Just come with me there for a bit."
"......You mean the great jungle?"
"Yeah, there."
The eastern great jungle.
The source of the monster waves.
An unknown realm humanity's feet had scarcely touched.
"Me...... go there?"
"How many times do I have to say it? Yes."
"......"
What was this man saying?
Why go there all of a sudden?
"Even so, that's a bit......"
Damian hesitated.
No matter how much he wanted to grow stronger.
The great jungle was on another level.
'A place where I might have to risk my life.'
It wasn't simple hunting.
No guarantee of returning alive.
"What's 'a bit' about it?"
But Mikhail remained confident as ever.
"You want to get stronger, right?"
A question that struck at the heart.
"You want to be someone who can choose anything, right?"
All words Damian had spoken himself.
Words he couldn't take back now.
"Think about it. You gained so much insight from snagging one stray high-rank specimen that wandered in. Imagine how much stronger you'd get grinding it out there with me."
Damian's eyes changed at those words.
Simply because better prey was available?
He wouldn't throw himself into peril for that alone.
But it hit on something he'd never considered.
'Grinding it out with the lord......?'
What if he absorbed abilities just by delivering the killing blow?
Monsters the lord had beaten half to death.
All sorts of high-rank specimens.
'I need to test this.'
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, perhaps.
With that thought, his hesitation vanished.
"If you don't want to, no hard feelings. A bit disappointing, sure."
"......"
"But if you're even a little interested, follow me."
Had he sensed agreement?
The lord nailed it down.
"I'll feed you all the real combat experience you crave until you're stuffed."
And not just that.
"Maybe even something extra."
"Pardon......?"
"Like our family's secret spirit elixir."
Spirit elixir.
He'd never tasted one in his life.
Not even seen one.
"You're the guy backing me up—what wouldn't I give?"
An offer impossible to refuse.
At least for Damian Winter.
'......I was the first?'
The first volunteer aside from the lord.
He now stood in the center of the training grounds.
'This is a bit awkward.'
Right after the lord's abrupt evaluation.
He'd shoved Damian's back and brought him here.
To the 'testing ground' for selecting the elite suicide squad, no less.
"We're starting the suicide squad selection now."
Thanks to that, Damian, a mere mercenary, got to observe the selection process.
"The criteria are simple."
Mikhail held up fingers one by one.
"First, you have to be strong. That's the baseline."
Obviously.
Martial prowess was essential for infiltrating the great jungle.
"Second, you have to be useful."
Useful.
A variety of skills required.
"You should already know those from the vice captain."
Skills already predetermined.
Of course, they weren't easy conditions.
High-level martial arts were the prerequisite.
"From now on, explain your usefulness. I'll hear it directly and judge."
Candidates already pre-screened by Elena.
They began demonstrating or describing their skills.
"Hmm......"
For a while after that.
A sort of 'interview' proceeded.
But...
'Not easy.'
Strong in martial arts, lacking skills.
Skilled, but weak in combat.
Mikhail's dilemma deepened.
'Pure power says that guy, but skills make this one tempting......'
He had to find a compromise.
The problem: the mission allowed no compromises.
A suicide squad prepared for death, after all.
'......This is tricky.'
Meanwhile.
Damian watched the proceedings.
His brow furrowed in thought.
'I can do all that stuff.'
Indeed.
From absorbing all sorts of abilities.
Damian's skill set was beyond imagination.
'A bit annoying, but......'
Survival was key.
Building overwhelming force was essential.
'Better if I take the hassle.'
Pairing with powerhouses boasting solid combat ability.
That was the surest way to boost survival odds.
'Above all.'
The most important reason.
Damian's purpose here.
'Devouring.'
An elite squad selected purely on strength.
They'd leave monsters half-dead.
'I just finish them off.'
Perfect scenario, right?
'Yeah, that's the way.'
Decision made.
Damian approached the lord.
"Lord."
Mikhail turned to him.
Clearly undecided still.
"About the selection criteria."
"What, found someone you like?"
"No, more like......"
Damian chose his words carefully.
Then blurted it out.
"Just pick them in order of strength?"
"......What?"
Mikhail echoed in disbelief.
"Forgot what our mission is?"
"I know."
"Then how do you say that?"
Utter exasperation.
But Damian's response was unflinching.
"Yes. That's how."
No hesitation.
"I can handle it all."
"......What?"
"Tracking, scouting, herbs, alchemy, maps, traps, you name it."
"......"
"So leave that to me and assemble the strongest possible force."
"......"
"That way, our odds of returning alive go up, right?"
"......"
In that moment, Mikhail Sobkov.
Even the giant of the east wore a dumbfounded look.
An expression he'd never made before.
The next day.
The final seven-man suicide squad assembled.
At the entrance to the Spine of Sighs.
"Before we depart, introductions."
The lord's gaze went first here.
"Knight, Balrok Gardner."
A massive man.
He stepped forward.
'Huge.'
Over two meters tall, easy.
Muscles like an ogre.
"Sobkov's finest shield."
The enormous steel shield on his back.
That defined Balrok.
A reliable ally.
"Next."
Mikhail's eyes shifted.
"Scout leader, Kanna."
A lithe woman with brown hair and sharp features.
She bowed quietly.
'Wolf.'
She exuded wild energy.
Almost beast-like.
"Born and raised on the great jungle's edge. No one knows the forest better."
Two daggers at her waist.
Longbow and arrows on her back.
Probably barbarian stock.
"Next."
The third.
"Knight, Adenn Mount."
A man covered in scars.
He nodded silently.
"No need to explain this one. He's just nuts."
Obvious at a glance.
What kind of guy he was.
"Next, knights Gunther Trollbane and Arsen Trollbane."
Sobkov Territory's famous twin knights.
Bearing the unique family name 'Trollbane'.
"The ones who'll carry Sobkov's future."
Both young experts on the cusp of Expert realm.
"And last."
Mikhail's gaze turned to Damian.
"Mercenary, Damian Winter."
All eyes on Damian.
"Possesses all the skills needed for this mission."
Balrok, Kanna, Adenn, Gunther, Arsen.
And Damian Winter.
Seven including Mikhail Sobkov.
"Listen up."
Introductions done, Lord Mikhail surveyed the squad.
"Beyond there lies hell."
The lord's gaze pierced the canyon.
Toward the eastern great jungle.
"I guarantee it."
No one knew what awaited.
Undoubtedly massive threats.
"But no need to fear. We're pretty vicious ourselves. That, I also guarantee."
That was the Sobkov way.
And Sobkov confidence.
"Our mission is one thing."
Mikhail raised his greatsword high.
"Infiltrate the great jungle, ascertain the enemy's true nature, and return alive—all of us."
A life-or-death task.
Failure meant death.
"Move out!"
No hesitation in the advance.
The suicide squad followed.
Over the Spine of Sighs.
Into the great jungle.
"All troops."
Those watching from afar.
Elena Sobkov, acting lord.
And the territory's knights and soldiers.
"Salute the suicide squad!"
At Elena Sobkov's booming command.
Knight and soldiers saluted in unison.
The squad charging into peril on a grave mission.
Toward their noble footsteps.