My Villains Episode 417
64. Fog (4)
Unlike the ramparts and gate towers filled with swirling flames, the inside of the city was dark and silent. Of course, the darkness and silence did not mean peace.
Dense fog on a moonless night makes people feel stuffy. There is no space to exhale as if the whole dark cloud has settled down and embraced the city. The soldiers standing on the wall, the swordsmen gathered in the dojo, and the citizens who tightly closed the windows all held their breath.
“This way.”
Deogen, who took the lead, strode forward holding the dagger dripping with blood. The murderous gangster roamed the back alleys without hesitation even in the night fog that filled all directions.
I followed him and looked down the alley in silence. Three or four-story brick buildings faced each other with a road paved with a mixture of cobblestone and lime in between.
Occasionally, I saw ivy that climbed up the walls to the rooftops, or buildings that revealed their inner flesh as if they had melted. In addition to the traces of those years, the history of this city may have reached the days of the ancient empire in the distant past, given that the appendages that make up the water supply and sewage system are hidden here and there.
How long do you want to walk while thinking about various things?
“This is the main street.”
Deogen stood leaning against a dye store building and poked his head out to look out into the alley. Confirming that no one was there, he turned to us and continued his explanation.
“On the other side of the boulevard is the plaza, and the West Gate is beyond it.”
Indeed, through the fog, the vague outline of Munru and figures holding torches can be seen. A lot of popularity is a bonus.
“There is a camp for conscripts in the square. I heard the day before yesterday that military commanders and late lieutenants were staying, but I don’t know if that’s still the case.”
“What about the market?”
“Pashhorse usually stays at the official residence, but after hearing that the kingdom army occupied Proshafen, it is on the south gate side.”
“…Hmm. How about that ‘Leupon’?”
‘City of Swordsmen’.
One of Icebowald’s nicknames.
Fittingly, there are more than fifty people in this city who are so-called ‘swordsmen’. Swordsman is often a title given to someone who has mastered swordsmanship, but in the Mitter Regerant Empire, the meaning is a bit narrower. Only swordsmen who are qualified to take disciples are called swordsmen. And those who give such qualifications to these swordsmen are the ‘masters of the sword’, that is, the sword masters.
Sword masters are those who have been recognized for their skills by the emperor of the Mittergerant Empire and have been given the authority to create a swordsmanship school. It was so rare that there were only 11 of them in the entire empire, and Holy Baek Hopeken, whom I encountered on the battlefield the other day, was one of them.
The old double swordsman Hopeken Seongbaek was a monster among monsters who reached the pinnacle of mankind only with physical prowess. And here in Eisbobalt, there are three people standing shoulder to shoulder with Holy Baek Hopeken.
“Do you see that cathedral over there?”
Deogen pointed to the silhouette next to the plaza.
“…Cathedral? Are you talking about that dome building?”
“Yes Nari. This is the cathedral where ‘Horhiu’, a saint from this neighborhood, is buried. It is also a place where ‘Horhiu Ryu’ uses as a dojo and accommodation.”
“You use the cathedral as a dojo?”
“It’s a cathedral, but it’s a place similar to ruins. There is no parish established and there is no priest. It’s just full of sword-clad bastards. Even though it has been established for less than a hundred years, Seongseman is the best among Ice Bobalt’s schools.”
It was not much different from the information he confirmed before infiltrating the city. As I silently inspected Horhiu Ryu’s dojo, Deogen looked around and whispered.
“I heard that not only swords were taught, but spears and shields were also taught, so it was good to use them everywhere. Most of the people snooping around are mercenaries, and even the city standing army, once they enlist, they have to work there for about a month to be treated as human beings.”
“Is Leupon there too?”
He quickly nodded.
“I will. I haven’t come out for a while… I’ve only seen that man’s face twice in the 30 years I’ve lived in this neighborhood. It will probably only appear after the royal army crosses the wall.”
‘Monk’ Leupon. A sword master recognized by the emperor and a representative of the Horhiu style.
Of course, he was not a real monk, but he was confined to a cathedral for the rest of his life, practicing only swordsmanship.
If Seongbaek Hopeken received the title of master of sword after gaining fame as an imperial knight after learning the ‘Sigmil style’ and building his skills, Monk Leupon would train for the rest of his life and take over the position when the previous representative of the school died. it was a case of Of course, I heard that Leupon was also recognized for his swordsmanship by demonstrating his swordsmanship in front of the emperor.
“What about the other schools?”
“’Sel-Sid Ryu’ is next to the mayor’s residence, but they are probably all vacant as they work as sergeants or officers. ‘Corvaleu’ is to the southeast.”
“……good.”
I made a decision after taking turns inspecting the Horhiu Cathedral, the den of swordsmen in the square, where the Munru conscripts were stationed with their torches flaring.
“Didn’t you say that all of your men were conscripted? Where are you all going to be?”
“It will be, sir. Why is that?”
“Then can you help me set fire to the military camp with them?”
“……yes?”
Deogen pursed his lips before carefully speaking.
“But my job is done by sending the rulers into the city and giving directions.”
“I know. I’m just asking you to do one more simple thing to try to establish goodwill between us.”
“…It doesn’t seem that easy to set fire to the military camp.”
I smiled and patted his shoulder.
“Hey, thug.”
“…Yes Nari.”
“If we capture this city, shouldn’t we wipe out criminals like you in order to control public sentiment?”
“At that time, if I am going to save you and your children, I will need a little favor.” “But
I’m going to stop Nari here.”
The reason you brought us into the city and showed us the way was to kill your boss and other thugs who are hobbing hobulunji. I made a deal by matching the price, so what’s there to do with favor?” Deogen bit down on his lower lip as if swallowing a quarter. I pinched his cheek violently.
“Release your expression, my friend.”
He pulled hard enough to see blood through his dry lips, but he didn’t even let out a moan.
“Did you think everything would be solved by killing all the thugs? Even if the city was occupied by us, we thought that it would soon be pushed back because we had few troops. right?” “But there is. If you want to be a traitor to the city, you have to do it to the end. Did you think that we would just let it go if we pretended to stick to this side and only took advantage of it and pretended not to know?”
“…no.”
“Because I’m going to loosen up my face. What am I supposed to do with a face that seems to have a different mind? uh?” Deogen, who seemed to have understood my meaning, quickly raised both of his lips.
“Yeah, it’s a good laugh.”
“Heh heh.”
“Will you listen to my little request?”
“…yes. I will serve you sir.”
“How long will it take?”
“I will do it in an hour.”
“Well, I can’t afford that much. Can you do it in thirty minutes?”
Deogen nodded with a firm expression. I tapped him on the shoulder as if to encourage him, then chinned him.
Master Epause, who was standing silently behind him, handed a roll of parchment to Deogen, who was about to leave. After being explained what the spells contained in the scrolls were, he soon disappeared into the mist.
“…If anyone sees it, Nix will think you’re a gangster.”
These were the words of Atalanta, whose cheeks had become slender from regurgitating for a long time. Master Epaz also expressed his agreement.
“As expected, he is a cruel person in many ways, sir Phoenix.”
“How cruel. Aren’t you the kind of guy who
eats pimps and merchants in back alleys anyway ?”
“It is the same with the emperor, the king, and the great lord. Not only village chiefs and landlords, but also ordinary farmers. All normal people live by taking advantage of those who are weaker than me.”
“Then it must mean that I am also a normal person.”
“It is not. Because there is such a thing as using and eating.”
Master Epos said with a smile on my face, and I scratched my eyebrows.
“…You’re not quarreling, are you?”
“Oh, absolutely not. It just dawned on me that he
was a cruel knight.”
He feigned fright and waved exaggeratedly.
This is a bastard who seems to have lost a screw somewhere. Somehow, it seems that no one is sane under Prince Ulkar.
“Can you trust that thug?”
“I don’t know.”
At my carefree answer, Atalanta narrowed her eyebrows.
“What if I betray you?”
“Even if he betrays him, he’s not the type to run to the mayor or military commander. I’ll either hide myself or run away with my subordinates.”
“What if we announce our existence?”
“Anyway, it’s going to be noisy… isn’t that enough?”
Seeing her worried eyes, I shrugged. Atalanta let out a deep sigh and shook her head muttering, “I don’t know either.”
Contrary to Atalanta’s worries, not even thirty minutes, let alone fifteen minutes, began to rise from the plaza. It seems that the ‘Scroll of Flame Divergence’ that Epoz gave to Deogen did its job.
“What is this! Where am I on fire!”
“Captain here! I do!”
“Everyone wake up-! Bring water!”
It didn’t take long for the entire plaza to become lively. After breaking up with Atalante Epos, standing in front of Horhiu Cathedral, I took out some of the best stones I had stuffed in my pocket beforehand and threw them.
Clink!
The faded colored glass in the windows splattered like bursts. The chaos that had filled the plaza seemed to invade the cathedral as the windows were shattered one after another two meters wide and twice as tall as me.
Men armed with swords and shields or spears poured out in front of the cathedral. Hiding behind the cathedral, I drew a long, bloody whip from my left hand and raised it up.
Whirik.
Four lines of blood extending more than 6 meters were entangled in the structure of the church roof.
I was wearing only a breastplate I had picked up from somewhere without a helmet, let alone plate armor, because I was infiltrating. Thanks to that, I was able to grab onto the whip of blood and jump as if flying. After hitting the outer wall a couple of times, I was up on the roof in no time. I couldn’t hear a single footstep, perhaps because of the high agility score compared to my level.
“What the hell is going on? Did something explode?”
“I do not know. Shall we send the students to help put out the fire?”
“…you you. Go and figure out the situation. wait for the rest! Do not be rash!”
“yep!”
Leaving behind the conversation between a certain swordsman and his disciples, he climbed over the sloped roof of the church. Whether it was the Church of Calandari or the Church of El Ganore, the Gwangmyeong Church had a similar appearance, so it wasn’t too difficult to find the target building.
I found a building surrounding the quiet courtyard behind the main building of the cathedral in the shape of a square. It was a dorm building.
Unlike the dome-shaped roof of the main building, the roof of the lodging building had purple tiles. As soon as I stepped on it, I felt a sharp gaze and looked down at the courtyard.
An elderly man, fresh from middle age, was standing in the middle of the courtyard. He was dressed in a plain linen outfit, had a simple long sword, and a small buckler fastened to his wrist. Gray hair, a shaved Farrani beard, medium height, and stocky body were commonplace.
I looked down into his turquoise eyes and opened my mouth.
“Monk Leupon?”
he didn’t answer
In fact, I didn’t even need any of that. It was because the moment our eyes met, the chicken meat sprouting from the nape of his neck explained who that man was.
He let out a laugh mixed with his exhalation and spurred the roof off. A lot of flat roof tiles were broken, so a loud sound followed the trajectory I was drawing.
It fell from the roof into the courtyard at once. Right before both feet stepped on the well-trimmed lawn, the blade of blood gushing out nearly 3 meters was swung like a thunderbolt.
Cacan!
The man swung his jet-black buckler as if to cut it off. The dark red sword spirit slipped and landed on the floor. Before swinging the black ice again, he raised his left hand.
Crackle-
A plain longsword flew towards my neck and was caught in the mouth of a hand covered in black scales.
“Sigh!”
As soon as the blade was grabbed, the old swordsman threw himself into my arms and pushed the permal. He quickly twisted his shoulder. Upon avoiding the permal, the swordsman twisted his wrist. The tip of the crucifix brushed dully past the side of the head.
Fuck! Blood flowed from the
“big”
cut and soaked his ears and chin. I swung the black ice while swallowing curses at the unpleasant dampness.
Awesome!
The blade, which was as long as a long spear, sliced in all directions faster than a whip. The elderly man, who was defending with a long sword and a buckler, threw himself backwards and rolled across the lawn as my sword attack increased his momentum.
“……X arm.”
Strangely, whenever I hang out with old people, I get hit first. Every time this happens, it hurts my pride.
He ran his scaly hand over his left ear. The torn wounds were already healing. The flowing blood soaked his hands and the scales expanded their territory.
“Could it be the Red Knight?”
The man brushed off his grass-covered arm and asked. I smiled mischievously.
“late. If you want to speak out, give me at least one arm.”
The elderly swordsman, Monk Leupon, silently put his hands together and took a sword pose. He aimed his longsword lying horizontally at my eyes, and Buckler covered the back of his hand holding the longsword.
Whirik.
I swung my sword around and lunged at him with light steps.
