57. Give Me Strength
“Sirius… I thought about it all night, are you making fun of me?”
He had already done it ten thousand times, and now he was asking him to do it ten thousand more.
Bellid protested to Sirius as soon as morning came.
“You said I could move on to the next stage after practicing ten thousand times. But now you’re telling me to do another ten thousand? Is that the next stage?”
“Are you complaining?”
“Of course I’m complaining!”
Sirius had originally planned to make Bellid practice the Three Calamity Swordsmanship at least 100,000 times.
Since Bellid had no experience with martial arts or swordsmanship, he knew that ordinary methods wouldn’t be enough to make him strong.
However, he had told Bellid to do it only 10,000 times at first, thinking that he wouldn’t be motivated if he told him to do it 100,000 times from the beginning.
“Don’t worry, it won’t be the same.”
“What?”
“Bellid, hold the wooden sword for a moment.”
“….”
Bellid obediently took the wooden sword and assumed a stance.
“Swing it at me.”
“What? At you?”
“Horizontal strikes, vertical strikes, thrusts, keep going without stopping.”
“Sirius, if I end up hurting you…”
“That won’t happen, just do it.”
“Ugh…”
Unable to resist Sirius’ urging, Bellid swung the wooden sword at him, using the Three Calamity Swordsmanship.
However, every attack was stopped by a single finger of Sirius’.
“No way, how can you block it with just one finger…”
Bellid muttered in disbelief when suddenly,
The wooden sword suddenly shattered into pieces.
“Si, Sirius, what did you do?”
“It was about to break anyway.”
Bellid’s ten thousand swings included not only swinging it in the air, but also striking an opponent.
The wooden sword that Sirius had made for him by processing a suitable piece of wood had held up well until now.
“Use this from now on.”
“What?”
Sirius took out an object wrapped in cloth.
It was something that Eustia had brought him from Entroville.
“I asked Schmitz of the Entroville Blacksmiths Guild to make it for me.”
“What is this?”
He unwrapped the cloth, revealing what was inside.
It was a practice sword (wooden sword) of the same shape as the one Bellid had been using.
“It’s a practice sword for training. Use this instead of the wooden sword from now on.”
“Th-this is what I’ll be using?”
“Yes, give it a swing.”
Velid swung the sword experimentally.
But his eyes immediately opened wide.
“It’s heavy.”
“Of course it is. It’s made of iron, not wood.”
Sirius said in a monotonous voice.
“Practice with this ten thousand more times to fill these ten thousand.”
“Sirius…”
“You know it too, Velid.”
Sirius’ gaze turned to Velid’s biceps.
“You’re now as strong as you would be after ten thousand repetitions of practice.”
“……!”
“You will get stronger if you practice ten thousand more times.”
Sirius didn’t know what realm Velid would reach by training in this way…
But one thing was certain.
This experience of training on his own would never betray Velid.
“Keep up the good work, Velid.”
“Sirius…”
“The Three Calamity Swordsmanship you showed me earlier… It was much more plausible than the first time.”
“……!”
Sirius left Velid, who was holding his breath, and stood up.
And… he approached Aileon, who had been kneeling with his head bowed since earlier.
“Aileon, get up.”
“Master, please punish me!”
Aileon said in a mournful voice.
“I failed to properly carry out Master’s order to monitor Berdian!”
“Berdian was just one step ahead. It’s also my fault for not anticipating that.”
“No! If I had just been more alert, I wouldn’t have fallen for Berdian’s sleeping potion!”
Last night, Berdian made a sleeping potion from ingredients she had gathered from the roadside and put Aileon to sleep.
But in the end, she didn’t run away, so there wasn’t really any damage.
“If you really want it, I’ll punish you.”
“Thank you! I don’t care what it is, please…!”
“For the next week, you will be ranked below Velid.”
“……”
Aileon was silent for a moment.
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”
“Serve Velid from now on, like an older brother.”
“Master…!”
“You said you didn’t care what it was?”
Sirius coldly glared at Alayon, whose face had twisted in anger.
“And Alayon, do you have the time to be concerned about such things?”
“What?”
“If you were defeated by Verdiant, the first thing you should do is arm yourself mentally so that it doesn’t happen again. It’s not important for me to punish you so that you can ease your guilt.”
“……!”
Alayon had a shocked expression.
As Alayon bit his lip, lost in thought, Velid’s voice was heard.
“Whew, as expected, wielding this lump of iron makes me sweat right away. Hey, Alayon. Get me some water.”
“Ugh……!”
Alayon’s body trembled in humiliation as he watched Velid nag him after eavesdropping on their conversation just now.
“Is this how you usually act……?”
Verdiant, who had been watching from the side, muttered in disbelief.
“It’s none of your business, Verdiant.”
“What?”
“You haven’t forgotten that you’re the youngest, have you?”
“…….”
Verdiant’s expression hardened slightly.
Perhaps Alayon, who had been tormented by Velid, would start tormenting Verdiant.
“What are you guys doing?”
Just then.
Eustia appeared, looking exasperated.
“Sirius, I just spoke with Lady Leticia. She said that she wants to talk to the Southern Union, so she’ll arrange it for us.”
“That’s good.”
Leticia had married into the prestigious Retiud family of the South.
The Retiud family was also a member of the Southern Union, so it would be possible to get an introduction to the Southern Union through them.
“But…… Lady Leticia has a request.”
“What is it?”
“She wants us to come as a couple.”
“…….”
As a couple.
In other words, she wanted him to come with Eustia.
“She said that it seems like she’ll only be able to arrange it if the two of us visit the Retiud family together.”
“Well, that’s……”
“I think my sister genuinely just wants to invite the two of us. But…… I’m not sure about the Retiud family.”
In fact, the Retiud family was one of the factions that had been eyeing the Rigel family.
They must have been expecting to take control of the Rigel family by installing Leticia as the next head.
However, Sirius had suddenly taken the initiative in the Rigel family, and Eustia’s position had also risen sharply.
From the Retiud family’s perspective, Sirius and Eustia would not be very welcome guests.
“Sirius, what should we do?”
“We should accept the invitation.”
Leticia is a difficult woman to deal with.
However, the Letiwood family had to be dealt with in advance.
They might try to exert influence over the Rigel family, using their position as the second son-in-law’s family as an excuse.
In order to avoid hindering Sirius’s actions, their relationship had to be made clear.
“Talk to them and set a date. We’ll make preparations on our side as well.”
“I understand. Actually, I wanted to go to the south as well.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, it’s about time the Cheonrangpyoguk expanded its business.”
Eustia bowed her head lightly to the others and left.
Verdian muttered as he watched her go.
“That was unexpected.”
“What was?”
“When I only heard rumors, I thought they were a passionate couple… but when they face each other, they’re just cold to each other. I was a little surprised by the overly businesslike atmosphere.”
“……”
As Sirius remained silent, Aleion brought a cup of water to Velid and opened his mouth.
“They are not the kind of people who act so emotionally in front of others. Both of them are thoroughly rational.”
“Are they different when no one is watching?”
“Well, I haven’t seen it myself, but perhaps… Ugh!”
He shut him up by flicking a piece of the shattered wooden sword at him.
Velid, who was drinking water, snickered at the sight.
“Verdian, can I tell you something?”
“What is it?”
“From what I’ve observed so far, Sirius is secretly quite shy. Whenever the topic of their marital relationship comes up, he always snaps and makes it impossible to talk about it any further… Agh!”
Velid, who had been hit by a piece of the wooden sword, screamed next to Aleion.
* * *
The Black Tortoise Unit, a unit to which several families provided troops to maintain治安 in the entire eastern region, was officially launched.
The name Black Tortoise was chosen because the Five Corps of the Murim Alliance were also named after the Four Symbols.
In every era, there were four corps: the Azure Dragon, the Vermilion Bird, the White Tiger, and the Black Tortoise. The remaining one varied from era to era, sometimes being the Yellow Dragon, the Kirin, or the Phoenix.
In this world, however, the Cheonlang Sword Corps, named after the Cheonrang, had been created first.
“Honestly, I’m very surprised.”
Kian Agtas exclaimed in admiration as he examined the structure of the Black Tortoise Unit, which consisted of six divisions and twenty-four squads.
“It’s very rational. If you deploy them in various locations and have them cooperate organically, you’ll be able to reliably ensure the治安 of the entire east.”
Sirius had decided on the entire structure of the Black Tortoise Unit.
There was no one else in the eastern region who could do such a thing except for Sirius.
In a way, this was only natural.
The eastern region had never been united before.
Even when several families moved together, their troops were always operated in a haphazard manner.
No one had any experience in operating such an organization.
However, as the Lord of the Murim Alliance, Sirius had experience in coordinating and commanding the troops of various sects.
Moreover, before becoming the Lord of the Murim Alliance, he had also experienced the positions of corps commander and division commander.
“It seems excellent to me as well. It seems that Sirius also has the talent to be a general.”
The head of the Albraim family… Clind Albraim also nodded his head in agreement.
Until now, the Albraim family had only focused on protecting their own territory, but when Sirius emerged, they gave their support through Velid.
Now that the Rigel family, to which Sirius belongs, had become the leader of the East, Clind was publicly expressing his support and giving it strength.
“You have welcomed a very great son-in-law, Rootvein.”
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Rootvein Rigel smiled at Clind’s words, which were tinged with envy.
During this time, Rootvein had been busy subjugating the small dark guilds around him in order to protect the Rigel family.
It was not a task that suited Rootvein’s gentle and scholarly nature, but once the Black Tortoise Corps was established, there would be no need for Rootvein to go out in person.
From now on, Rootvein… as the head of the Rigel family, one of the five great families of the continent, could devote himself to supporting Sirius.
“Kaien, Clind… I am currently in this position as the head of the Rigel family, but to be honest, the current representative of the Rigel family can be said to be Sirius.”
“…….”
“I think that Sirius will be able to correct this continent where black and white are so confusingly intertwined.”
Rootvein had heard Sirius talk about the harmony of black and white before.
And he was very impressed with the pattern of the Taegeuk, where the yin and yang are intertwined.
Since that day, Rootvein had high expectations for Sirius.
Sirius might be able to fulfill the original mission of the five great families of the continent… the mission to lead the continent in the right direction.
Believing so, Rootvein entrusted the future of the Rigel family to Sirius.
“So please.”
“…….”
“Give Sirius your strength.”
In front of Rootvein, who spoke in a serious voice, Kaien and Clind nodded their heads together.
Sirius’s efforts to create a new Murim Alliance… were gradually bearing fruit.
* * *
The Black Tortoise Corps had also been officially launched, and it was time to leave for the South.
Since they had decided to travel along the river, Sirius boarded a ship at the Entroville pier.
“Sir Sirius.”
“What is it?”
Before boarding the ship, Rodius, who had been the leader of the Entroville Six, approached him.
After the Entroville Six was disbanded, he became a member of the Cheonrangpyo Kingdom and worked as the head of the water transportation business.
“We have taken it for granted until now… but I thought that Sir Sirius might take it differently, so I am telling you in advance.”
“You talk too much. Get to the point.”
“Every time we entered the southern region, we paid protection fees.”
“Protection fees?”
Sirius doubted his ears.
“Weren’t you guys in charge of protecting the goods? Shouldn’t you have received the protection fees?”
“Since there are some dangerous sections… We only ask the local forces to guard us in those places.”
Rodius said, scratching his head.
“Such a thing no longer happens in the East, but it is inevitable when entering the southern region.”
“What is this dangerous section?”
“It is a place where pirates are rampant. If they attack, it is a headache, so we ask the local forces to guard us in advance. Then the pirates won’t be able to approach.”
Sirius clicked his tongue at those words.
“Those local forces and bandits must be in cahoots. If you don’t pay protection money, the bandits will raid and rob you, and if you do pay, the local forces and bandits split the money.”