Episode 69. Who’s Regretting It Now?
The men who had escaped the Sinclair Swordsmanship Competition ended up at a villa in the scenic mountains.
“It seems to be a villa owned by the Francis Clan Head,” said Andres, still in his black outfit.
“How do you plan to infiltrate this time?”
“Let’s go in head-on.”
“Head-on?”
The men who had run away from the Sinclair Swordsmanship Competition approached the villa.
There were guards with swords at the main entrance.
“Halt! What is your business? The Clan Head is currently with an important guest and…”
“A terrible incident has occurred at the Sinclair Swordsmanship Competition! We must inform the Clan Head, so let us in this instant!”
The guards opened the door right away at the sound of his serious voice.
“Let’s take off our masks for now.”
“Take them off?”
Sirius only removed his mask to reveal his face.
Then, with Andres, who had also revealed his face, he headed for the main entrance.
“They’re the ones who just went in. We’ll go in too and report to the Clan Head.”
“Ah, I see. Please go in.”
They spoke confidently, and the guards let them pass without much suspicion.
“Did that work?”
“As long as we get the atmosphere right, it’ll work…”
Sirius and Andres followed the men who had gone in before them up the stairs.
They put their masks back on.
“Clan Head! Pardon our intrusion!”
There was a broad-shouldered, middle-aged man with a muscular build on the top floor.
He was drinking with a brown-skinned woman.
“A terrible incident has occurred at the Sinclair Swordsmanship Competition!”
The men knelt on one knee and bowed their heads.
Sirius and Andres took the same posture upon seeing them.
“What is it? Tell me.”
“Intruders have broken into the Sinclair Swordsmanship Competition banquet that was being held in Yokland! They burned down the banquet hall and killed the people of the Sinclair Swordsmanship Competition on sight!”
“What happened to Sinclair?”
“We couldn’t confirm, but… it seems he lost his life!”
“….”
The middle-aged man… Francis frowned and put down his glass.
“Who on earth would do such a thing?”
“I don’t know. They’re dressed in black and their faces are covered…”
“Dressed in black?”
Francis asked, sticking his head out.
“Like the guys behind you?”
“What?”
The men, who had been bowing their heads, turned around in a hurry.
And the moment they confirmed the appearance of the two men in black, their eyes widened.
“Ugh…!”
Thud!
The men collapsed against the wall and fainted.
After dealing with the men in an instant, Sirius stood up.
Francis grimaced as he watched him.
“Who are you?”
“You don’t need to know…”
“Brother, let’s stop before we overdo it and lose our value.”
Andres, who had been stopped by Sirius, looked disappointed.
“Dressed in black, wearing black hoods… They look suspicious at first glance.”
Francis clicked his tongue.
“Who hired you? The fact that you went after the Sinclair Sword Ash first and then came to me means that you’re working for people who have a grudge against both sides… Is it the Albion Guild that was recently destroyed? Or the Shuckle family?”
“It seems you’ve made many enemies in the past, Francis.”
“That’s what happens when you do business.”
Even in front of the unidentified men in black, Francis didn’t seem scared at all.
“How much are they paying you?”
“Are you curious about the amount?”
“Sinclair was quite skilled. His men were strong too. The fact that you wiped them out overnight means that you’re a skilled fighter worth a lot of money.”
Francis said, leaning forward.
“I’ll pay you more than the people who hired you. Join me.”
“You don’t know anything, boss.”
“I don’t?”
“A man in black who changes sides easily for more money is not a man in black.”
“…”
“A true man in black would not be swayed at all by such an offer. He would only laugh at it.”
Think about it.
If there were men in black who would become your ally right away just because you offered them a few more bucks, would people in the world be afraid of men in black?
If men in black were perceived as petty criminals who could be swayed by money, the value of men in black would plummet throughout the martial arts community.
That’s why men in black in the martial arts community only laugh at offers of easy money.
It’s not that men in black aren’t interested in money. It’s an act to protect the value of men in black as a whole.
This was the conclusion reached by Cheonrangmuje Baekmurang and Shin Gwi of the Twelve Guardians when they discussed the ideal man in black.
Since they came to this conclusion while drinking and talking until dawn, it could just be nonsense.
“What the hell are you talking about? I don’t understand at all.”
“It can’t be helped if you don’t understand.”
Sirius spoke to Francis, who was making an absurd expression, in a cold voice.
“You’re going to die here.”
“…….”
Francis’s face finally hardened.
It was because Sirius had openly revealed his intention to kill.
Francis was just an ordinary merchant with no circle.
He was quite old and couldn’t even fight.
However, Francis didn’t raise his voice to call his subordinates.
“What should I do?”
Instead, he turned his head.
He looked at a brown-skinned woman who had been drinking alone while the fierce conversation was going on.
“They don’t seem like they’ll listen to words…… It seems I’ll need some help.”
“…….”
Actually, Sirius had been paying attention to her ever since he entered the place.
Unlike Francis, she had a considerable amount of mana.
It was almost the same level as Andres next to him.
“Do you guys know who this is?”
Francis shouted, looking at Sirius and Andres again.
“This is Passaria, who plays an important role in the southern branch of the ‘Alliance’! Do you know what it means to point a sword at me!?”
“…….”
It was a desperate bluff.
However, Sirius didn’t feel much discomfort.
He just nodded, meeting Andres’s gaze.
“Things are going well, brother.”
“That’s right, little brother.”
The black societies in the southern region had a unique structure.
It was a structure where the upper organization interfered with and monitored the lower organization by sending people.
There was someone dispatched from the Knight Guild in the Egret Workshop, someone dispatched from the Sinclair Sword Guild in the Knight Guild, and someone dispatched from the Francis Chamber of Commerce in the Sinclair Sword Guild.
So, there should be someone dispatched from the southern branch of the Alliance in the Francis Chamber of Commerce…… Things went better than he thought.
A high-ranking person with the mana of the 8th circle happened to be with Francis.
“Francis.”
Then, Passaria, who had been keeping silent, opened her mouth.
“Your work is not clean. You shouldn’t have created this situation in the first place.”
“I, I’m sorry.”
“You’ll have to pay more money to make up for this. Prepare it in advance.”
Passaria’s voice was cold as ice.
“You guys.”
Passaria only now spoke to Sirius and Andres.
“I don’t feel like killing today. So cut off your right wrists and back off. Let’s end it with that.”
She was a woman of great thinking.
Sirius asked in admiration.
“What happens if we refuse?”
“You have no right to refuse.”
After hearing what Pasaria said, Andres whispered to Sirius.
“She has a similar way of speaking as you.”
“Not really.”
Sirius replied as he put his hand on his waist.
“Was it Pasaria? I have something to ask you.”
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“You have no right to ask me.”
“They’re really similar.” Andres muttered on the side, and Sirius pulled out his sword.
“Have you seen this jagged sword?”
A reddish blade with an Egret-style finish.
Pasaria and Francis reacted simultaneously after confirming its appearance.
“You, by any chance…”
“That, that’s…!”
This jagged sword made in the Egret workshop passed through the Knight’s Guild and the Sinclair Swordsmanship to Francis.
Francis handed the jagged sword to Pasaria, and Pasaria gave it to Shahit as a gift.
What does it mean that Shahit’s sword, who had died not long ago, is here?
“You guys, then…”
Before Pasaria could finish speaking, Sirius moved.
He used Francis, who was standing in the middle, as a stepping stone.
He ignored Francis, who screamed with a broken collarbone, and aimed solely for Pasaria.
BOOM!
Sparks erupted.
The ceiling collapsed due to the explosion.
Pasaria jumped out through the collapsing ceiling, and Sirius chased after her.
“Oww!”
Andres tried to join from below.
However, Sirius reached out his hand to stop him.
“I’ll deal with this woman. You deal with the rest of those guys, hyung.”
Francis’s men were gathering after noticing the commotion.
Sirius glared at Pasaria after leaving the cleanup to Andres.
She was now holding a sword.
Her sword also looked like a jagged sword, but its blade was engulfed in flames.
It was a magic sword of fire.
“Did you teach Shahit that technique?”
“It seems that you are indeed Sirius Canisroot…”
“I’ve been caught.”
Sirius took off his mask.
As he gasped for breath, he felt more relaxed.
“You bastard, are you really thinking of picking a fight with the Southern Branch as well as the Eastern Branch?”
“Why not?”
“You’re out of your mind.”
Pasaria clicked his tongue.
“You seem to be feeling very proud of yourself for annihilating the Eastern Branch, but the Southern Branch is not comparable to such a backwater branch. It’s much larger in scale, and there’s a difference in the executives’ abilities.”
“I thought so.”
In Sirius’s view, the only person in the Eastern Branch who was as skilled as Pasaria was the Eastern Branch Chief.
However, it seemed that Pasaria was not the Southern Branch Chief but just an executive… The overall combat power of the Southern Branch must be incomparable to that of the Eastern Branch.
“Every time I come to the South, I realize it. The East is certainly nothing more than a narrow, backwater place.”
“Yes, so know your place and…”
“It would be really rewarding if I could cleanse this vast Southern region.”
“……”
Pasaria’s face twisted.
“Are you serious?”
“Should I be joking?”
“You really don’t know your place.”
The flames on the sword Pasaria was holding flared up even more fiercely.
It was more intense than the magic sword Shahit had used.
Yet it seemed more stable.
“You’ll regret this.”
Clang!
Pasaria leaped, smashing through the roof of the building.
The moment he swung his jagged sword, flames erupted.
In terms of martial arts, it was similar to unleashing a sword wind.
If the opponent was close, he would cut them with his sword energy, and if the opponent was far away, he would attack with his sword wind.
However, Sirius had already deployed the White Waves Air Force.
He spread out a cold curtain of swords to block Pasaria’s flames, then swung his sword.
He deflected Pasaria’s oncoming attacks to the side. And at the same time, he dug into the side.
Right after the two crossed paths.
Blood dripped down onto the collapsed roof of the villa along with flames.
It all came from Pasaria.
“Who’s regretting it now?”
“You bastard…!”
Pasaria, who had a large wound on his shoulder, exploded in anger.