Episode 68 Blood and Flesh (1)
The four seasons in the jungle are quite distinct.
summer. crazy summer. winter. crazy winter.
Beyond the vast sea of trees, the seasons have changed several times.
And here is a secluded pasture at the beginning of the season.
…puck!
A dull noise is heard.
One of Balak’s warriors, probably in their late teens, sat down clutching his nose.
“Oh my nose bone!”
A man who groans and bleeds his nose. It was Ahhun.
And in front of him stood a man with a nonchalant expression with his fist outstretched.
Tall, sloppy black hair, cold eyes, and fair skin.
Bikir was looking down at Ahune with a grave expression.
“The martial arts fight is enough.”
Having finished his business, Bikir turned around without a word.
Ahhun stood up holding the hand of his colleague who supported him.
Looking at the back of Bikir, Ahhun spat.
“Unlucky bastard. Since recovering, he’s becoming more and more like a monster.”
Then the colleagues around me laughed.
“Originally, he was a great guy. These days, I heard that his bow skills are also great? I heard that he’s on par with Captain Ayen.”
“Ayy, how can I compare with Captain Iyen? And looking at the fist I just saw, it’s not that great.”
“Yes, that’s right. Ahhun’s nose was bleeding, but that’s what I can do too?”
As the colleagues giggled and exchanged words, Ahhun spoke in a low voice.
“……It didn’t fit.”
“what?”
“Fist. Didn’t get hit.”
Ahhun felt goosebumps running down his spine, albeit belatedly.
Apparently, Bikir stretched out his fist. And stopped right in front of his face.
After that, Ahhun had to feel the shock as if his nose was bleeding and his nose collapsed just from the pressure of the wind that came rushing in.
“…Did you do this only with the wind that you stretched out your fist?”
Colleagues open their mouths only after a step.
They just stare blankly at the back of Bikir, who is now very far away and has become a small vanishing point.
* * *
Bikir just turned 17 this year.
There was a lot of youthful tea on his face.
Even his short stature got bigger with each passing day, and his chubby cheeks got slimmer.
Twenty-four months in the water helped Bikir a lot.
Not only has his body completely recovered, but his body and soul have become much stronger.
Realizing that Ahhun and other warriors of his age had lost their gaze, Vikir tried his true strength.
…Pacan!
The demonic sword Baalzebub pierced through the artery of the wrist and appeared.
The awl became thicker and longer. Baalzebub can now be pulled out by almost a meter.
Bikir wielded Baalzebub to test cutting and stabbing.
…jump! Kwa-bang!
The rock in front split into two pieces, and a hole was made in the rock next to it.
Considering that it is generally more difficult to throw a thrusting blow than a slashing blow, Bikir’s swordsmanship has reached a considerable level.
As soon as Bikir destroyed two boulders, he blew up four more boulders.
A total of six boulders were destroyed almost simultaneously.
Six rocks torn, cracked, pierced, driven, sliced, and split.
It was the ferocious teeth of the hound that destroyed the rock.
‘Carnivorous.’
Completely mastered Baskerville’s Sixth Expression.
Bikir, who had locked the six teeth that had gone wild just before, back into his wrist, cooled the sweat that drenched his whole body.
The mana boiling inside her body is rotating at high speed, drawing six circles.
With this, Bikir has risen to the top of a perfect graduate.
‘But the master’s wall is still far away.’
Master is everything.
Although it is said to be an advanced grader, it has just been raised, and if it continues as it is, it has not yet reached the level of its previous life.
It was the 40-year-old Bikir before returning that he could not cross the master’s wall and stayed at the top of the graduate until the end.
It sounds like a pun, but there was definitely an intermediate wall between the advanced graduate and the sword master that had to be pointed out.
‘The best grader.’
A state where it can handle a liquid aura that is so thick and sticky that it feels like a solid.
Only when you reach this level can you fully regain the power of your previous life. Also, it would be possible to knock on the master’s wall.
However, apart from reaching the top rank of a graduate, Bikir had the confidence to fight and win against a top grade graduate in real life.
above one weight class. An ability that allows you to kill stronger opponents.
It was thanks to the divine protection of the Styx River, which made bones and flesh tough and hard, the magic sword Baalzebub, and the archery and assassination techniques learned from Balak’s barbarian warriors.
“……At the time of maximum output, it’s up to the best grader grade.”
However, it’s hard to say that the ability to squeeze through that much effort is really my skill.
And since the target he was really aiming for was Hugo Les Baskerville Sword Master, the head of the Baskerville family, he had to work harder anyway.
In time, Bikir returned to the village.
At the entrance of the village, young hunters who were about to go hunting were waiting for the blessing of the shaman Ahheman.
They still apply dark charcoal powder to their faces.
It is a ritual that prevents the soul of a killed prey from remembering its own face.
“…”
Ahheman stood there, glaring at him without saying a word, as if he didn’t like the belated arrival of Bikir.
But even so, if he said he only went hunting, he couldn’t help but bless Bikir, who always produced the best results.
no matter what If you don’t bless Vikir and still perform well on your own, it will only prove that the shaman’s blessing doesn’t mean anything.
Eventually, Ahheman smeared charcoal powder on Bikir’s face, but he was so insincere that Bikir’s white skin was exposed in places.
“……Well, the hunting gods will be with you.”
“……Thank you.”
Bikir was also in a position where he did not need Ahheman’s blessing, so the two of them broke up blandly.
Meanwhile.
Iyan was receiving reports from the returning hunters before going out hunting.
She is quietly listening to the report with a rare serious expression on her face.
Bikir approached Iyen and asked.
“Aren’t you going hunting?”
“Mmm. Later.”
It was indeed rare for Ayen to reject Bikir.
She used to come to Bikir first before asking or suggesting something, and she was serious today.
“……?”
Bikir was a bit puzzled, but didn’t bother asking.
Eventually, Bikir, equipped with a fresh longsword and bow arrows, goes deep into the sea by blood and blood alone without a wolf following him.
Even with such a simple outfit and equipment alone, Bikir performed far better than most other hunting birds, so other hunters didn’t pay much attention either.
……Except for one person, Iyen.
“Are you gone?”
Ayen turned his head again after confirming that Vikir was completely gone.
The subordinate who was posting the report nodded and opened his mouth again.
“Shall we report again in detail?”
“Yes. Try that.”
As Iyen listened, the subordinate resumed his report.
“To summarize, four things. First, the rainy season is coming.”
Earlier in the day, the search party found an unusual creature while passing by a stream.
It was a fish called ‘Lungfish’.
These lung-bearing fish were able to breathe through the lungs, which allowed them to survive out of water for quite a long time.
These fish, which crawl on the mud flats by flapping their fins, sleep by making chambers in deep, moist mud during the dry season, and become active when the humidity in the air rises with the approach of the rainy season.
Balak’s hunters didn’t eat lungfish because they said meat without scales was unclean, but the fact that they were roaming around meant that the rainy season was coming soon.
When the rainy season came, it was necessary to prepare in advance because there were many bad things such as overflowing rivers and epidemics.
“The second is that we found suspicious strangers.”
Hearing the next report, Iyan narrowed her eyes.
Those who came into the sea were white-skinned imperials.
It might have been the remnants of the Merchant Mercenary group that was annihilated two years ago, but of course it wasn’t.
They came in quietly and went out quietly, all they did was loosen something all over the source of the river.
Red liquid in a glass bottle.
Suspicious people unwrapped it on the riverside and left the jungle again.
Balak’s warriors captured one of the dogs, and he is said to have killed himself by consuming the poison he had hidden in his mouth.
All that was left was a dagger with a large snake mark on it.
Iyen kept it in his arms. With the intention of asking Bikir what it was later.
If you’re a Bikir who doesn’t know anything, you must know about this pattern.
“The third is the recent situation of Rococo.”
The subordinate continued to report.
Rococo was a tribe that could be said to be Balak’s rival, and just as all of Balak’s members were good archers, all members of Rococo were shamans.
It was the master of their curses and spells, and it passed under the alias of black magic in the empire.
Ayen frowned.
According to reports, the Rococo tribe has been making little appearances in their territory lately.
Considering that the population is almost 10 times larger than that of Ballack, it was a strange thing.
Soon after, the final report followed.
“The fourth is the Morgue family search party.”
Iyan reacted most sensitively to this fourth report.
“Are they back again?”
“Yes. More frequent than before.”
“Their commander? Unchanged?”
“Yes. This time, it’s ‘that woman’.”
Hearing the sightings of his subordinates, Iyen’s expression crumpled.
For the past two years, the Morgue search party has been tirelessly scouring the sea.
And the commander of the front line of the search party who was always the same.
Morgue Camus.
She was close by.
