CHAPTER 270: THE BEGINNING OF REVENGE

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As Ethan slammed the large soldier against the wall, soldiers scattered throughout the area began to gather at the sound.

“Th-this can’t be…”

Tainpro’s eyes trembled in confusion.

There were only about a dozen people ransacking the store. But now, at a glance, there were over a hundred gathered.

Moreover, their attire was different – many of them were more splendidly armed than the soldiers who had come to the store earlier.

“The Knights…”

“Not the entire order of knights. There are only four knights among them. Oh, the vice-commander has come in person.”

“The, the vice-commander!?”

There are several knightly orders in Marquis Dren’s domain.

As one of the Twelve Families, the level of their knightly orders was very high, so anyone who held the position of vice-commander among those knights could be said to be quite skilled.

Surprised by the mention of the knightly order’s vice-commander, Tainpro looked at the soldiers. And he could immediately spot him.

Even Tainpro, who had no knowledge in that field, could tell at a glance – there was someone emitting such an intense aura.

It was Relik, the vice-commander of Marquis Dren’s 3rd Knightly Order.

Relik checked the large soldier thrown far away and turned his head. Then he immediately drew his sword and approached Ethan.

“Schudlen.”

“Yes.”

“Yerica, clean up the rest. Tie them all up and gather them in the central square.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Ex-excuse me, but there are too many opponents.”

It was Tainpro who had bravely rushed at the soldiers.

But he didn’t know there would be so many soldiers.

On the other hand, it seemed Ethan had only brought two guards with him.

If Young Master Ethan Whiskers were to get hurt over this, it would be a big problem. It was Ethan Whiskers who had pulled the Whiskers territory up to its current position.

“Young master, it’s alright! I’ll go and apologize!”

“Why apologize?”

Ethan said.

“This is Whiskers territory. They’re the ones who invaded without permission.”

“B-but…”

Aren’t the invaders the knightly order of one of the Twelve Families?

“Where did that courage from earlier go?”

Ethan smirked.

“There’s no need to worry. My guards aren’t weak.”

Schudlen boldly walked towards Relik, the vice-commander of Marquis Dren’s 3rd Knightly Order.

“Huh.”

Relik looked at Schudlen.

The knightly order under one of the Twelve Families, Marquis Dren.

Though not the 1st Knightly Order considered the strongest, the 3rd Knightly Order was still an elite order that required sufficient skill to barely set foot in, no less than other knightly orders.

Relik was an outstanding knight who had honed his skills for over 15 years to rise to the position of vice-commander among them.

Watching the young-looking Schudlen walk boldly towards him, someone of his caliber, was absurd.

“Who are you?”

“I am Schudlen Mark, direct guard of Lord Ethan Whiskers. Right now, you are causing trouble without permission within Whiskers territory. By order of Lord Ethan Whiskers.”

Schudlen said.

“Bury your heads in the ground and apologize.”

“You insolent bastard!”

Relik gripped his drawn sword and stomped the ground hard. The distance with Schudlen closed in an instant. Relik swung his sword down, as if trying to cut Schudlen in half from top to bottom in one breath.

Schudlen was momentarily taken aback by Relik’s attack, which was much faster than expected.

In that moment when he thought he should dodge first, his body reacted faster than his judgment.

“…”

Clang-!

Schudlen blocked Relik’s attack perfectly.

“Not bad. So you have some skill to back up your arrogance? But that’s when you’re most dangerous. There’s always a higher sky above the sky.”

Despite Relik’s taunting words, Schudlen was looking at his own hand.

It was clearly much faster than he had expected. So he had thought he should dodge first, but his body moved before that and was able to block the attack.

His body didn’t strain, and the impact transmitted was very light.

“I’ve gotten stronger.”

Now it finally sank in. He had become skilled enough to handle even the vice-commander of a knightly order belonging to one of the Twelve Families.

Creak-.

Gripping his sword tightly, Schudlen smiled slightly.

Clang-!

And he moved his body as Regia had taught him.

Relik was momentarily flustered by Schudlen’s swordsmanship coming at him at high speed.

Even Relik had swung lightly for the first attack.

But after confirming that Schudlen’s skills were extraordinary, he made his second attack properly. It was to quickly subdue him and pressure Ethan Whiskers who was behind.

He didn’t expect that Ethan Whiskers himself would appear here, but this was an opportunity. If he could subdue and escort Ethan Whiskers, who had incurred the wrath of Marquis Dren, he could receive a great reward.

That’s why he swung his sword properly.

Clang-!

“…!”

But he couldn’t overwhelm him. Rather, he was pushed back greatly by Schudlen’s heavy sword.

As Relik was pushed back, the surrounding soldiers wore surprised expressions.

Relik was the strongest among the troops that came here.

For such a Relik to be pushed back by Ethan’s direct guard Schudlen…

“S-Sir Relik…”

“Was pushed back…?”

The gazes toward Schudlen changed completely. Schudlen, heedless of those gazes, took a step forward and swung his sword.

Swish-!

What Regia had taught him was overall mana manipulation along with the expansion of the swordsmanship he already possessed.

Regia’s head contained numerous sword techniques. Moreover, sparring with him was much more lively than facing the special golem that Ethan had made.

Schudlen had received numerous training sessions and practical lessons against that Regia for two weeks, and had overcome all of them.

Swish-!

So Relik’s movements were all too visible.

“This is nothing compared to Lord Regia.”

When the eyes changed, an opponent that seemed infinitely high before now became just at eye level.

Clang-!

Schudlen cut Relik along with his armor. The solid breastplate of the armor was sliced in a straight line, and then blood burst out with a squelch.

“Kueuk.”

Relik groaned and knelt on one knee on the spot.

“!”

“No way… for Sir Relik to be so one-sidedly…”

As Schudlen, who had made Relik kneel, stepped back slightly, this time Yerica appeared in front.

Swoosh.

As Yerica, who had lightly floated into the sky, raised her staff to the sky, the ground shook.

Rumble-!

Tree roots that sprouted from the ground caught the soldiers’ ankles and lifted them up. Then they slammed the soldiers to the ground in an instant.

Crash-!

“Wow.”

A surprised Schudlen looked at Yerica. He had told them to bury their heads and apologize, but he didn’t expect them to be made to bury their heads like that.

Yerica neutralized the soldiers by slamming them down several times, then tied them up with the tree roots and threw them into the central square.

Just as Schudlen’s talent had blossomed, Yerica, who had inherited all the magic of Archmage Hecate, had also become a magician capable of easily handling dozens of soldiers with a single gesture.

Ethan watched this with a pleased expression.

‘It was worth the investment.’

Yerica and Schudlen, the two people he had invested in, had perfectly bloomed.

“Im-impossible… how.”

Tainpro, standing next to him, couldn’t hide his shock.

To clean up over a hundred troops, including the vice-commander of the knightly order, in an instant.

“Isn’t it amazing? In the past, we couldn’t have even imagined such a thing.”

Ethan said, looking at Tainpro.

“Don’t worry. From now on.”

Ethan raised the fallen flag of the Whiskers family again.

“No one will dare to rush at us recklessly after seeing this flag.”

***

“This is truly insane. To do such a thing so blatantly.”

“They really seem to be looking down on us Whiskers. Even if they are one of the Twelve Families, to invade our territory and commit such atrocities without any justification…”

Schudlen glared angrily at the unconscious soldiers.

“It’s because we’ve grown rapidly. Until recently, we were just an unremarkable noble family in the provinces, so it’s natural. Moreover, if it had been the Whiskers of the past, we would have had to keep our mouths shut even after being treated so one-sidedly. For them, this is just the natural order of things.”

The two guards frowned at Ethan’s words. Certainly, Ethan was right. Marquis Dren’s family is a large, traditional family belonging to the Twelve Families.

On the other hand, the name value of Whiskers is very low compared to Marquis Dren’s family.

Originally, it would have been natural not to be able to raise a voice even to such unjust treatment.

But now it’s different.

“Tie them up tightly and send them straight to the marquis’s estate.”

“Yes!”

At Ethan’s order, Yerica waved her hands this way and that.

After thoroughly neutralizing them, she handed them over to the vigilante group in charge of this area.

“I’m sorry, young master.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. These guys came with a plan. The one leading them was a knight of Marquis Dren’s family. It’s inevitable that we would be pushed back. But don’t worry. This will be the last time such a thing happens.”

Ethan said emphatically.

“From now on, no one will be able to mess with our Whiskers easily.”

***

Thump-! Thump-! Thump-!

It was a grand procession. Knights of Marquis Dren’s family, holding high the flag of Marquis Dren’s house, passed through the gates of Whiskers territory one after another and entered the interior of the territory.

The direct guard unit and magic battalion centered around Marquis Dren in the middle.

The attire and artifacts they were wearing were of the highest quality, befitting one of the Twelve Families.

They were consistently emitting a prickly aura as if they were in enemy territory, which was enough to intimidate the Count Whiskers’ party welcoming Marquis Dren’s party.

It was truly a procession befitting a great noble family.

“Welcome Marquis Dren!”

Count Whiskers welcomed Marquis Dren. He was the only one among those welcoming the marquis who could wear a bright expression.

Marquis Dren, standing in front of Count Whiskers, looked around the disorderly Whiskers territory.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Marquis Dren! I apologize. Our territory is currently quite disorderly. We are continuously developing in many ways.”

“I’ve been hearing quite a lot of news, Count Whiskers. So much news that it’s quite curious, there are many strange things happening. I’ve come to have a talk about that.”

“I should have spoken to you first, but as we unintentionally grew larger, our business rights have overlapped quite a bit with Marquis Dren’s family.”

Count Whiskers said with a smile.

“Now that our territories are adjacent, let’s talk about it. There seems to be quite a lot to agree upon.”

“What?”

For a moment, one of Marquis Dren’s eyebrows raised.

Agreement.

That word was very grating.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“Do you think I’ve come here to make an agreement?”

Marquis Dren’s aura intensified.

The surrounding air froze in an instant.

The direct knights standing behind the marquis were preparing to draw their swords at a moment’s notice, while the Whiskers side couldn’t respond properly.

“Your behavior is against etiquette. This is Whiskers territory. Please show proper respect.”

At those words, the knights of the marquis’s family immediately drew their swords.

Ching-! Ching-! Ching-!

The Whiskers side personnel couldn’t help but be flustered, not expecting the Whiskers lord to utter such words.

“You’ll regret those words. I didn’t come here today to make any agreements. I’ll give you a chance to correct your mistake, Count Whiskers.”

“…Since when did the Twelve Families become like this? You are now trying to attack us without any justification.”

The steward looked at Count Whiskers with worried eyes.

While everyone, including the steward, was unable to utter a word properly, overwhelmed by the fierce aura.

Count Whiskers was looking straight at the marquis and speaking boldly.

Of course, his fingertips were trembling slightly, but his eyes and voice were as composed as ever.

Just as the angered marquis was raising his hand.

Someone slowly walked through the marquis’s procession.

“Hello, Marquis.”

With a friendly smile.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, I am Ethan Whiskers.”

Ethan greeted Marquis Dren.

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