96th Episode. What is the ranking?
Sirius left Palamia with Velid, Verdian, and Hwanwang.
Since they needed to lure out the subordinates of the Wind King and the Poison King, they decided to travel by carriage.
“What a strange group of four.”
Hwanwang muttered as he looked at the group gathered in front of the carriage.
“One is the son-in-law of a prestigious family who aspires to unite the entire continent.”
“…….”
“One is the disciple of the Poison King who was doing well in the Alliance until he met a strange fellow and his life went awry.”
“…….”
“One is…… what was he again?”
“Aren’t you being too much?!”
Hwanwang ignored Velid’s protest and stroked his chin.
“And then there’s me…… This is truly a strange combination.”
“It’s true that we lack unity.”
Sirius also nodded.
“Even our abilities differ greatly.”
“Indeed, that is true.”
Just then, Velid suddenly raised his hand.
“Sirius, by the way.”
“What is it?”
“In this group, what is the ranking?”
“…….”
A brief silence passed.
“Is there any need to discuss rank?”
It was Berdian who said that.
“There’s no need to force it.”
“Berdian, if I remember correctly, you were of a lower rank than me.”
“Ugh…….”
Berdian’s face turned red.
When he was first taken prisoner, Sirius had said that he would treat Berdian as the lowest rank.
This was even lower than Vellid, who had been the lowest at the time, so it was quite humiliating for Berdian.
That’s why he had suggested they not discuss rank……but his true intentions had been exposed right away.
“What’s the matter, Berdian.”
The Dread King laughed and snickered.
“Were you of a lower rank than this guy? That must be really shameful.”
“Tch…….”
Berdian bit his lip and trembled.
Up until his defeat by Sirius, Berdian had been on a winning streak in the alliance.
He had a naturally strong sense of pride, so this kind of humiliation was hard to bear.
“Berdian, there’s no need to feel humiliated.”
“What?”
Sirius spoke to Berdian.
“Vellid is stronger than you now, anyway.”
“That’s only because I lost my magic…….”
“And last time, you only survived thanks to Vellid?”
“…….”
This time, even Berdian had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.
It was true that Vellid had defeated the The Dread King’s assassin who had been targeting Berdian.
“Berdian, have you thanked Vellid?”
“That’s, not yet…….”
“You should. You were in the wrong.”
Berdian bit his lip.
And then he looked at Vellid again.
“At that time…….”
“Ah, no, it’s fine!”
Vellid hurriedly stopped Berdian, who was about to bow his head.
“I didn’t know that bastard was after you, and what. I didn’t do it to hear words of gratitude, so don’t bow your head.”
“Even so…….”
“It’s really fine. It’ll be burdensome, so don’t do it.”
“…….”
Berdian bit his lip again.
Seeing this, the king of illusions chuckled.
“Since you’ve shown me such magnanimity, I have no choice but to acknowledge that punk’s higher rank. Don’t you agree?”
“Yes…”
Verdian nodded with a look of resignation.
“I’ll take the lowest rank. Velid is older than me, after all…”
“Oh, is that right? hahahaha, then from now on, you can call me oppa…”
“No, I don’t want to.”
After cutting off Velid, who was trying to act friendly for no reason, Verdian looked at the king of illusions.
“So what about the other two?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I mean their ranks. Your Majesty, the king of illusions, and Sirius, who has the higher rank?”
“……”
This was Verdian’s counterattack.
“Well…”
The king of illusions glanced at Sirius with a trembling expression.
“I’m older, so I guess…”
“King of illusions, I remember you lost to me last time and agreed to become my subordinate.”
“No, that was just a fluke.”
“That’s not possible.”
“This punk…”
The king of illusions glared at Sirius’s resolute attitude.
“Then shall we fight again? Let’s finally decide who’s stronger.”
“I don’t mind, but if you lose again, you might lose your confidence.”
“Don’t worry about that! I’m not that…”
The king of illusions was about to charge in anger, but Sirius said in a relaxed voice.
“It doesn’t matter if you have a higher rank.”
“What, what did you say?”
“You’re older and have the highest rank, big brother.”
“……”
Sirius ignored the speechless king of illusions and pointed at each of the others.
“First is the king of illusions, second is me, third is Velid, and last is Verdian… I think this will work.”
“So it’s just based on age?”
“Do we really need to decide something like this?”
Verdian muttered with a look of disbelief.
“Big brother, you don’t have any complaints, do you?”
“Don’t call me big brother. Hmm…”
Even though he was ranked first, it was ultimately decided by age.
That’s why the king of illusions was a little dissatisfied.
From Noble mtl dot com
“Big brother, just accept it. It would be better to receive it when Sirius gives up first place.”
“I didn’t give it up! Don’t say that!”
Sirius snickered as he watched the furious emperor shouting at Veiled.
“Well then, let’s get going. The youngest will take the role of the coachman.”
“So that’s why you ranked us like this, to take advantage of us like this……”
Verdian grumbled as he sat on the coachman’s seat.
“Then get on quickly. We’ll be leaving soon.”
“Ah, wait!”
Veiled hurriedly got on, and Sirius and the emperor followed suit.
The carriage carrying the peculiar quartet left Palamia behind and began to travel across the wasteland.
* * *
Their first destination was the Lespada family.
The head of the Lespada family was an herbalist who had once sent the Red Flame Grass discovered on an island in the southwest to Justitia.
Sirius planned to visit the Lespada family with Justitia’s letter of introduction.
However, they wouldn’t go there directly.
He intended to stop by various places to learn about the situation in the west and lure out the subordinates of the Storm King and the Poison King.
“Hey, youngest. Hand me the jerky over there.”
“Could you please stop calling me that?”
Verdian handed the jerky to Sirius with annoyance.
Bellid, the third youngest, was currently taking the role of the coachman.
“The medicine should have arrived at the Granz family by now, right?”
“It should have. Unless it was attacked in the middle.”
“There shouldn’t be a problem since Aleion is in charge of escorting it.”
Before leaving, they had sent Riald’s healing medicine to the Granz family.
If he took it consistently, he would be able to make a full recovery.
Of course, in order to prevent a relapse, the entire west would have to be at peace.
By the way, they had also sent an antidote and an endotoxin in case of an emergency.
They had also given a sufficient amount to the Cheonrang Sword Clan, so even if they were suddenly attacked by the Poison King’s subordinates one day, they wouldn’t be wiped out.
It was unlikely that they would leave Sirius, the emperor, and Verdian alone and attack other places.
“But speaking of which, big brother.”
“I told you to stop calling me big brother.”
Sirius asked the emperor a question while chewing on the jerky.
“In the end, it seems like we’ll be attacked mainly by the Storm King’s confidants…… Are there any guys we should watch out for?”
“Hmm…… Well.”
The emperor stroked his chin.
“Shiroque is already dead…… Among the Storm King’s confidants, Garbaldi seemed to be the strongest.”
“Garbaldi…… I’ve met him too.”
Verdian spoke up from the side.
“He’s a skilled fighter with strength close to the 9th circle.”
“Strength close to the 9th circle……”
“Even Your Majesty the emperor would have a hard time claiming victory if you fought Garbaldi.”
The emperor’s eyes widened at Verdian’s statement.
“What did you just say? I’m a 9th Circle, and I’m going to lose to an 8th Circle?”
“Your Highness Hwanwang is a bit of a special 9th Circle. You’re not a direct attack type, so……”
“Are you trying to get revenge for me teasing you a bit earlier? Huh?”
“That’s not it.”
Sirius smiled as he watched them bicker.
The truth was, the reason Sirius had called them older brother and younger brother was to break down the wall between these two.
Despite being from the same Alliance, there was a sense of distance between them.
If they were going to join forces in the future, he had to make them get along somehow.
Hwanwang had a more easygoing personality than he had thought, and Berdian wasn’t a bad guy either.
“Sirius, wait a minute!”
Just then, Velid’s voice rang out from the coachman’s seat.
“There are some guys blocking the road ahead?”
“Really?”
Sirius turned his head towards Velid.
The carriage was currently passing through a mountain pass, and there were indeed some people blocking the middle of the road.
“They look like bandits.”
“They must not value their lives.”
Velid placed his hand on the longsword at his waist.
“What should we do? Should we subdue them right away?”
“No, let’s try talking first.”
Sirius sat down next to Velid for the time being.
As the carriage approached, the bandits also came forward.
“Stop right there.”
“What’s the matter?”
“This is a road managed by our Volcanic Faction. You must pay a toll to pass.”
As he spoke, the man peered into the carriage.
“What kind of people are you? You don’t seem to be merchants.”
“We’re just family.”
“Family?”
“A family of four.”
Velid let out a chuckle after hearing Sirius’s words.
The man took that as Sirius making fun of him and scowled.
“Tell me exactly who you are. That way, I can calculate the toll.”
“Do you charge different amounts depending on the person?”
“That’s right. We have a calculation method for everything.”
As he spoke, the man unfolded a neatly folded piece of paper and showed it to them.
“It seems like you’re passing through for the first time, but we were the ones who built this mountain pass in the first place. We also repaired it when there was a landslide a month ago. That’s why we have the right to collect tolls from you.”
“These are different from the bandits I imagined.”
Velid made a flustered expression.
“What should we do, Sirius?”
“Well, if it’s true, I can pay the toll.”
There were quite a few bandits in Murim who managed checkpoints like this.
As long as those bandits didn’t act up too badly, Murim Maeng tended to turn a blind eye, because it would be a problem if they disappeared altogether.
“The road leading up to here was well-maintained. Was that your doing?”
“It was.”
The man said with a proud expression.
“We belong to the Black Iron Alliance. Our leader thinks it’s important to maintain the roads, so we’ve been putting our heart and soul into it.”
“….”
The Black Iron Alliance.
Leader.
These were words that were hard to ignore.
“Why does the Black Iron Alliance prioritize maintaining the roads?”
“How would I know? I’m sure the leader has his reasons.”
“….”
It’s probably not for the convenience of passersby.
Then… is it in preparation for taking over the entire west in the future?
“You’re an ambitious man.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh, nothing.”
Sirius took out some money from his pocket and handed it to the man.
“No, I haven’t even calculated the toll yet, so if you give me this much…”
“There’s something I’d like to ask you.”
Slipping him more money, Sirius asked,
“I’m sure you have a superior. How can we meet them?”
* * *
A commercial city at the crossroads leading to the Lespada family.
In a large tavern located in the city’s entertainment district, a man was looking over a letter.
“It seems that Palamia has fallen completely under Sirius’ control.”
“That seems to be the case, Lord Noitman.”
Noitman was the man in charge of managing this area.
He had originally been the head of a dark guild that controlled the entertainment district of this city, but when the Black Iron Alliance expanded its power, he immediately joined them.
“It’s likely that they’ll advance into this area soon. Everyone, stay sharp and report any information about Sirius immediately.”
“Understood. However…”
Noitman’s subordinate asked carefully,
“If Sirius shows up… what should we do?”
“Kill him.”
Noitman replied coldly.
“He’s a nuisance to the Black Iron Alliance. We have to kill him by any means necessary.”
“But I’ve heard rumors that he’s incredibly strong. Will we be able to kill him?”
“Do we have to confront him head-on? We just have to kill him, by any means necessary.”
“Ah, I see!”
The surrounding area was all indirectly managed by Neutmann.
Whether it was an inn, a restaurant, or a tavern, he just had to order his men to take action when they showed up.
“I should also prepare some poison. That’s the surest way.”
“Ah…!”
“I’ll issue the official order tomorrow. You can go now.”
After dismissing his subordinate, Neutmann poured himself a drink.
Neutmann was a cunning man.
Thanks to that, he was able to rise to a high position in the Western underworld, which was full of simple and ignorant men.
If he could kill Sirius… Neutmann would be able to climb even higher in the Obsidian League.
“Yes, that’s it. I’ll be recognized by the Lord…”
Just then.
The woman sitting at the next table suddenly stood up and approached Neutmann.
“What is it?”
“Are you Mr. Neutmann?”
The woman with platinum blonde hair spoke politely.
“I’ve admired you for a long time. May I offer you a drink?”
“……?”
If she had been a mature enough woman, Neutmann would have gladly accepted.
There were many people in this neighborhood who tried to curry favor with Neutmann, regardless of gender.
However, this woman looked too young.
“What are you doing here? You don’t look like the kind of woman who should be in a place like this.”
“Hoo…”
The woman sighed and glared at the table where she had been sitting.
“I knew it wouldn’t work. Don’t tell me to do strange things just because I lost at drawing straws.”
“Damn it, I thought I had it.”
“Big brother, since you lost the bet, pay for the drinks.”
“Phew, thank goodness I didn’t get caught up in the straw draw.”
As Neutmann grimaced at the strange atmosphere.
The long-haired man sitting at the table suddenly stood up.
“Then I’ll buy you a drink.”
“Hey, what are you guys…”
At that moment.
The man’s hand suddenly shot out and grabbed Neutmann’s jaw.
He wasn’t particularly large, but he had incredible strength.
“Verdian, the drink.”
“Yes.”
The woman from earlier picked up a glass and fanned it with a ‘fan’.
“Here you go, Sir Sirius.”
“……!”
Lord Sirius.
Hearing those words, Noitman tried to ask for help from his surroundings.
However, despite the commotion, none of the people inside the bar even glanced in his direction.
As if possessed by something, they resolutely refused to turn their gazes towards him.
“Drink the alcohol. Keep drinking it.”
Feeling the alcohol mixed with something enter his mouth, Noitman let out a silent scream.