Chapter 66. We will take over this workshop.
Sirius headed to the Egret Workshop.
Aleion, Vellid, Berdian, and Andres accompanied him.
“Sirius, I actually filled the ten thousand times yesterday.”
While riding a horse, Vellid told him that he had completed the task.
“I thought it would take longer because the sword was heavy, but it ended sooner than expected.”
“That means your basic abilities are developing.”
At first, it took a long time to reach ten thousand times with a wooden sword.
But this time, even with a heavy iron sword, it was quickly over.
“Ten thousand times with a wooden sword, ten thousand times with a real sword… I’ve done twenty thousand techniques in total, so I think I’m starting to get the hang of it.”
“Get the hang of it?”
“Yeah, I think I’ve come to understand… what kind of meaning is contained in this swordsmanship.”
“Oh, you think you’ve come to understand it…”
“Sirius, then can I move on to the next level now?”
Sirius spoke in a cold voice to Velid, who asked with sparkling eyes.
“Fill in the ten thousand by adding thirty thousand more.”
“Why…!”
Velid protested as if he was about to jump off his horse.
“I said I’m starting to understand! I’ve had a realization! I have to move on to the next level!”
“Realizing that you don’t know anything is the next level.”
“What, what?”
Velid made a bewildered expression at Sirius’s words.
However, Aleyon, who was next to him, nodded in agreement.
“That’s right. It’s the most dangerous when you start to feel like you understand.”
“Usually, many people die at that stage.”
When Verdiant also said a word, Velid’s expression hardened.
“Ugh… Okay, then I’ll do it up to ten thousand.”
“Yeah, it won’t take as long as you think.”
“Twenty thousand… twenty thousand…”
Velid began practicing again, swinging his sword on horseback.
Andres made a dumbfounded expression as he watched the bizarre sight.
“They really are a strange group.”
“It would be better for you to get used to it quickly. If you can’t adapt, you’ll just keep getting stressed.”
“Hmm…”
Andres groaned at Verdiant’s words.
Andres is a very serious person.
It won’t be easy for him to adapt to this atmosphere.
“By the way, I haven’t heard who you are yet. Are you also a member of the Thousand League Sword?” Your build seems too slender to wield a sword…”
“I’m from the Federation. I was captured and taken by Sir Sirius.”
“What?”
Andres opened his eyes wide.
“No, are you joking?”
“I’m serious.”
“You’re being taken away as a prisoner, but you’re riding a horse without any shackles or chains? You could escape whenever you want?”
“Sirius threatened me terribly, saying that it would be useless to run away.”
“….”
Andres was at a loss for words at Verdian’s explanation.
“Sirius, just how harsh could you have possibly been to such a delicate person? She looks even younger than Eustia….”
“She is not a delicate person, Lord Andres. If Verdian were to unleash her true power, she could annihilate the Retiude family overnight.”
“Wha, what did you say?”
Andres opened his eyes wide.
“Are you saying she’s stronger than me?”
“That is not what I meant.”
Sirius continued to speak as he drove the carriage.
“Lord Andres, as a circle 8 sorcerer, you can best demonstrate your power when unleashing long-range attacks against a large number of enemies.”
“Well… that’s true.”
“Verdian, on the other hand, best demonstrates her power when she stealthily infiltrates a location and quietly assassinates people.”
“……!”
Andres’ expression turned pale.
Meanwhile, Verdian pouted.
“You’re the one who stripped me of all that power, and yet you’re the one talking like that?”
“Not all of it. The knowledge in your head should still be there.”
“If I can’t use magic, I can’t make proper use of it.”
Sirius ignored Verdian’s grumbling.
“Lord Andres, if someone like Verdian were to infiltrate the main Retiude estate, would you be able to counter her with your magic?”
“That’s….”
Andres pondered for a moment.
“I don’t know. It would probably be difficult.”
“From what I’ve observed so far, the sorcerers of prestigious families lack the ability to adapt to various situations.”
“……”
“Magic is a power that can be applied in a wide variety of ways. One should make proper use of that characteristic and develop diverse tactics, but it seems that the sorcerers of prestigious families have only practiced unleashing attack magic from a distance.”
“Perhaps it’s because of the academy’s education.”
Andres replied in a stiff voice.
“The academy doesn’t teach magic to the children of prestigious families specifically to train them as experts in magical combat. It’s more like… they’re just teaching them about the discipline of magic.”
“That seems to be the case.”
“In the first place, the children of prestigious families rarely see actual combat. They usually leave such matters to their subordinates. My younger brother, David, also has almost no experience in actual combat.”
“What about you, Lord Andres?”
“I’m the type of person who gets anxious if I leave things to other people. I prefer to do things myself.”
As he said that, Andres made a wry expression.
“Still, as you said, I lack the ability to adapt to various situations. That’s why I’d like to learn from you.”
“Then, would you like to learn swordsmanship? We can start by practicing ten thousand times with a wooden sword.”
From Noble mtl dot com
“That… I’m sorry, but I’ll have to decline.”
Andres looked at Velid and shook his head.
“That’s unfortunate. I would have liked to see Lord Andres apply his specialty, flame magic, to create a magical flame sword.”
“A magical flame sword? It doesn’t sound very practical….”
“Have you never heard of such a technique?”
“I am sorry. It is the first time I am hearing this.”
The Shahites, whom he fought last time, used a magic sword of fire.
Andres said he had never heard of it either, so it seemed that it was a technique passed down through the Yandi faction of the Alliance.
“Ah, I can see it now.”
As they climbed the hill, a building surrounded by a high wall began to appear in the distance.
Black smoke was rising from here and there, indicating that it was where the blacksmiths gathered.
“That is the Egret Workshop.”
The Egret Workshop, which produces rough iron swords suitable for magic swords.
If Berdian’s information was correct, that place would also belong to the Alliance.
* * *
The Egret Workshop specializes in making weapons and armor.
Places like this are prone to exploitation by other forces if they are not strong enough.
Therefore, the Egret Workshop had its own strength.
When someone came to the workshop to extort money or to take away weapons at a cheap price, they would not forgive them and would kill them.
As such incidents repeated, they ended up killing even an official from the southern branch of the Alliance.
The following day, an executive from the southern branch came and killed half of the blacksmiths.
And they forced them to choose whether to submit to the Alliance or have the remaining half killed.
Since then, the Egret Workshop has been supplying weapons such as rough iron swords while submitting to the Alliance.
“What? Is that true?”
The men playing cards in the corner of the workshop frowned.
They were members of the nearby dark guild, the ‘Ninth Guild,’ and were sent to manage and oversee the Egret Workshop.
“They say they want to meet the person in charge… What should we do?”
Atyran Egret tilted his head in front of them.
He was the successor of Egret-style processing techniques and was once the head of the Egret Workshop.
However, he had made the mistake of provoking an Alliance official and was now being used like a slave.
“They are not here simply to request the production of weapons…”
A man with a scar on his face muttered, stroking his chin.
He was the brother of the guild leader of the Ninth Guild and had the highest position among those present.
“In that case, we should respond. Atyran, you should join us.”
“I understand.”
They all went to the reception room together.
Inside the reception room, a red-haired man was sitting on the sofa.
With four subordinates.
“Greetings, Sir Andres.”
“Hmm…”
Andres Retiud nodded briefly.
“I apologize for visiting so suddenly.”
“Not at all. It is an honor to meet the renowned Sir Andres.”
In truth, Andres was not at ease.
He could not understand why Sirius was making him do this.
Just now, Sirius had asked Andres to take the lead.
He said they would act as if they were Andres’ subordinates.
“So what brings you here today? Is it about the weapon production?”
“I’d like you to take a look at this.”
Andres held out a sword.
“Is this a jagged sword made in this workshop?”
“This is….”
Looking over his shoulder, Atillan nodded.
“Yes, this is the jagged sword we made. I remember it.”
“Shahit, the leader of the Shahit Sufic Order, had this sword.”
“Yes?”
“It didn’t seem like stolen goods, but rather something he had received officially. We’re investigating how it ended up in Shahit’s possession, so I’d appreciate it if you could provide us with any information.”
“Why would Master Andres want something like that….”
“It seems that Shahit has deep connections to the League of Black Mages.”
There was a brief silence.
“This is going to take a while. Hey, bring the tea.”
The scarred man gave instructions to his subordinate.
“Are you interested in the League, Master Andres?”
“I heard that a subordinate organization of the League in the East was destroyed. I believe that the South should also be on high alert.”
“The Retiud family was in a marriage alliance with the Rigel family in the East. Now that I think about it, what happened to your family members….”
As they continued their conversation, warm black tea was prepared.
“Please have some. It may not be to your taste.”
“No, I’ll have some.”
Honestly, he could tell just by the smell that it was low-quality.
It was nowhere near comparable to the black tea the Retiud family drank.
However, it would be impolite to refuse tea that someone had offered you.
That’s why Andres tried to hide his feelings and brought the teacup to his lips.
However, someone suddenly reached out and snatched the teacup away.
“……!”
Gulp.
The members of the Night Guild stared wide-eyed as the long-haired young man standing behind Andres drank the black tea.
“What are you doing….”
Andres was just as shocked.
He had never expected Sirius to act so rashly.
“Verdian, check it out.”
Sirius handed the tea that he had taken a sip of to Verdian.
Verdian sniffed it briefly and then nodded.
“It’s a combination of Elland dandelions and flytrap roots. It has the effect of impairing a person’s judgment. It’s a drug that’s often used when you want to extract secrets from someone.”
“……!”
Andres’ eyes widened, and he sprang to his feet.
“You, you were trying to poison me!?”
“We’re not so bold as to poison the eldest son of the Retiude family. We merely gave you the potion to learn what Andres’ intentions are.”
Sirius said in a calm voice.
“As the first vanguard of the Southern Alliance, you must be able to handle even this to fight against the Dark Assembly. Do you understand?”
This time, Sirius had Andres take the lead in order to make him realize this.
If he truly wanted to change the world, simply honing his combat skills wouldn’t be enough.
He also needed to know how to fight dirty with these kinds of people.
Sirius wanted Andres to experience this firsthand.
“H-hey, just what nonsense are you talking about…”
The scarred man tried to defend himself as he stood up from his seat.
But Sirius’s hand was faster.
“Thwack…”
Crack!
With a single slap, his teeth flew out.
Right after the man collapsed, spewing blood, the others hurriedly drew their swords.
“What the hell, you bastard!?”
“Who the hell are you!?”
Looking at the agitated men, Sirius picked up the jagged sword that Andres had offered him earlier.
Then he looked around.
It was a fortress-like place surrounded by high walls.
It was the perfect place to manufacture the armament of the Murim Alliance.
“From now on, we’ll take over this workshop.”
Sirius planned to make this place the Murim Alliance’s Steel Pavilion.