16. Liberal League and Ian (2)
“Ask again. Who are you?”
Ian’s past, in which he was weak rather than strong, made him sensitive.
In particular, ears that can detect things that cannot be seen with the eyes are the most developed.
It is for this reason that he is a light sleeper.
So, it wasn’t even a job for him to find out that someone was eavesdropping when he was summoned.
It was easy to notice that the mysterious figure was following him.
Even figuring out that the follower was weaker than himself.
‘Still, at least a B-class hero.’
He tried to break the sword in his arm, but it didn’t work that far.
As Ian slowly let go of his strength, the sword quickly withdrew.
Turning around, there was a man with an unfamiliar face.
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Just by looking at the face half exposed by the hood, you could tell that the other person was engaged in a dangerous job.
“Are you an assassin? Who ordered it… Even if you ask, he won’t answer.”
“… … .”
Opponent was silent.
He seemed to have no intention of leaving.
‘Do you think I’ll have a chance because I’m bare-handed?’
It was a good thing.
Ian was also thinking of overpowering the opponent and finding out his identity.
The opponent suddenly rushed in and swung his sword.
‘It’s fast.’
Ian hurriedly took out his sword from his subspace pocket and defended it.
What I had to bring out was a sword for training.
– Kang!
The swords clashed and sparks flew.
The face of the opponent who was embarrassed by the short burst of light was revealed.
Still, the opponent did not stop.
-visor! Chaejaeng!
Swinging his sword quickly, he struck Ian’s sword.
‘The strength is good. The output of mana is also very good.’
-visor! Cadeuk!
‘But, that’s all.’
Ian leisurely defended and shed and analyzed the opponent.
‘A natural-born superhuman with a pretty good mana output. However, I have never been trained by anyone, and I have little experience of fighting someone risking my life. Let alone stronger than himself, he must have never properly competed against an equal opponent.’
Ironically, the reason Ian was able to educate the 1st warrior party who was much stronger than himself was because he was an underdog.
Amidst countless battles, he had to think to survive.
Understand, think, analyze, and destroy the opponent.
Because otherwise it would be impossible to win.
How is the center of gravity shifted?
When attacking, whether the stabbing or slashing power is applied.
When defending, do you block, dodge, or parry?
Where do you look?
how excited are you right now?
How many secrets are hidden?
how many times have you fought
Thanks to his unique powers of observation and analysis, Ian was able to teach the first warrior party.
‘Because of his strength, he could have easily defeated any opponent. He’s quite good at ambush, but there might be more cases where he was assassinated before fighting in the first place.’
In a short period of time, many things can be grasped and judged.
‘Cutting and stabbing are sloppy. there is no way to get The center of gravity is also unstable. The type who has lived by relying only on surprise and power. I don’t know if Jindeuk had been properly trained and gained experience… .’
Ian finished his judgment.
‘This guy right now is definitely weaker than me.’
In fact, it was a gap that Ian’s power alone could fill.
Nevertheless, he went through such a cumbersome process of grasping and analyzing.
It was like a fingerprint engraved on his life.
It was both habit and inertia.
Ian put a hand on his sword.
It was in a half-sword posture with one hand holding the handle and the other holding the sword body.
Cuts the opponent’s movement from top to bottom to the side.
Naturally, the opponent’s posture is opened and the handle is placed in front of the opponent’s face.
Ian pushed the handle short and took a picture of his face with the pommel.
“Keugh!”
Edgar backed away at the hot pain spreading from his nose.
There was no sword in his hand when he came to his senses.
While I was hit by the pommel, Ian stole it.
Ian followed without stopping, holding the sword upside down and swinging it.
A solid cross guard took the opponent’s face.
“Cheuk-!”
A few teeth fell to the floor with blood.
“You, you… how… .”
“Hmm. To be followed by such a weak fellow.”
“I, I, is comparable to an A-class hero… .”
Looking at the opponent muttering like he was dumbfounded, Ian burst into laughter.
“It seems you’ve never seen an A-class hero before.”
Ian casually swung his sword like a baseball bat and cut the opponent’s shoulder and thigh with a cross guard.
“Keah-!”
On his struggling wrist, Ian noticed a familiar mark.
Quickly grabbing my wrist and rolling up my sleeves, a tattoo with an ‘X’ in the middle of the circle appeared.
“The Liberal League?”
The X even came out of the circle.
Ian knew the meaning of the sign.
“You are the head of them. Did you say Edgar? I heard you use that name.”
“… … .”
The surprise opponent, Edgar, did not answer.
“But didn’t you guys accept the assassination request?”
“… … .”
Edgar had a hard time understanding this gap.
Why the hell do people of this level stay at the job of a manager?
“… Aha. By any chance, have you been following me since that day?”
“… … .”
Ian stepped on Edgar’s hand and rubbed it with his heel.
“Keuk… !”
“It’s not a situation that can be solved by keeping your mouth shut.”
“Yes, yes… !”
“Hmm. Is it a battle of egos between criminal organizations? Still, it’s tenacious.”
“What do you know about the circumstances of the shadows in the back alley… !”
“… That’s right, a bastard who survives on crime is a back alley or a shadow, so he’s good at giving names that seem to exist.”
Even with that blatant insult, Edgar couldn’t refute it.
“But it is strange. It’s too exquisite to have come here with me.”
“that… .”
“You’ve been in Fiorene since the beginning.”
“… !”
“Right? It was taken.”
It wasn’t entirely unfounded.
The underground ballroom in Fiorene is not a space that anyone can come in and out of.
If it was a person enough to spy on the place, it would be reasonable to assume that he was there from the beginning rather than accidentally visiting him.
“What’s your relationship with Lorenzo?”
And, there was a good chance that he had some kind of relationship with Lorenzo, the lord of the castle.
“As I said, it’s not a situation that can be solved by keeping your mouth shut. Even the will… .”
Ian put his sword on the floor and tried to finish the story.
Because he moved slightly, the weight on the back of Edgar’s hand lightened slightly.
Edgar did not miss that opportunity.
-pop!
Gray smoke rose and covered the surroundings with a light explosion.
The acrid, burning smell disturbed even the sense of smell.
When Ian waved his hand and checked ahead, Edgar was already gone.
I heard a sound running away from somewhere.
‘Is it to the northeast?’
Ian looked at the missing spot and smiled.
I didn’t expect him to open his mouth in the first place.
‘And there’s no way that the representative of the Liberal League, who values safety, is stuck in the city of Fiorene without a hideout or organization’s base nearby.’
He had planned to let Edgar escape from the beginning.
to aim for that base.
He needed someone better at tracking than he was.
‘Kati.’
[Yes.]
‘Is there any problem there?’
[That’s right.]
‘Then come here.’
[All right.]
*
Kati is needed for the chase, but Ian didn’t bring her along in the first place.
In case the person following is not one person.
Or, if you’re not targeting yourself.
It was because they needed someone to protect them at that time.
Fortunately, there was only one pursuer and no enemies on either side of the party.
It was impossible to summon, but Kati came to Ian’s location very quickly.
Despite covering quite a distance, Kati showed no signs of getting tired.
Arriving, Kati took off her blindfold and inspected the ground.
“Can you follow me?”
It was dark, so it was hard to see, and even if he ran through the bush and erased the footprints, Katie’s eyes couldn’t be fooled.
Kati raised her head, following the brightly glowing footprints with her eyes.
Due to the injury, the balance of the run was unbalanced, and the footprints were deep, and there were intermittent drops of blood.
It was a very easy target to track.
“Yes.”
“Please.”
Kati got up from her seat and looked up at Ian.
It was the golden eyes Ian hadn’t seen in a long time.
The pupils that widened to receive light in a dark place even looked innocent like a cat wearing boots.
Recognizing the meaning of that gaze, Ian placed his hand on Kati’s head.
“Thank you always. Even during the day today.”
Ian stroked his hair slowly, and Carty placed her hands on top of it, enjoying the movement.
Ian didn’t feel the warmth because he was wearing gloves, but it was enough.
As Ian’s hand slowed down, Kati moved her own hand to stroke it more.
Ian laughed bitterly.
“Sometimes you are like a real cat. A cat like a dog.”
“doggish… ?”
“No, it means that you listen well like a dog, but the tone is a bit like that… .”
Kati continued to move Ian’s hand, lowered her gaze, and pondered deeply.
Kati’s thoughts were not long.
She nodded her head slightly, as if understanding something.
“It’s fine with that.”
“… If you like it, that’s fine. But when are you going to tell me what those drops are?”
Kati wears a bell choker around her neck, but the bell doesn’t make a sound.
She had been wearing the maid uniform before she even wore it.
Ian asked several times, but Kati just evaded that there was nothing inside.
“It’s just decoration.”
It was the same today.
Carty slowly lowered Ian’s hand and stepped back.
Ian’s hand slowly slipped out of the softly folded hands.
Like a magnet that someone is forcibly pulling on, Kati had a hard time letting go of that hand.
Kati said while still holding her fingertips together.
“I will go.”
“yes. Be careful and let me know if anything happens. … What do you need my help for?”
“Required.”
“Okay, then I’ll run right away.”
“Yes. thank you.”
“I am grateful.”
Their fingertips brushed against each other, and their hands barely moved apart.
Still, Kati laughed.
It was a very small, faint smile, but it was enough for Ian to recognize.
“That word alone is enough.”
Without hesitation, Kati turned around and ran after the footsteps.
Suddenly, her figure disappeared into the darkness between the bushes.
Ian watched for a moment where she disappeared.
‘Whether it’s a hideout or a base, Kati will find it and tell you where it is. Then organize them all at once.’
Since we don’t know the scale, it might be difficult to handle everything together with Kati.
Wolf Gang.
I need his help.
Ian immediately moved toward the city of Fiorene.