novelraw Chapter 205 : Chapter 205
Chapter 205 : Chapter 205
Chapter 205: Subjugation Battle (5)
“Are you… talking about the young man who won the Seton Swordsmanship Tournament?”
“Hmm, now that you mention it, there was that young man.”
Hearing Duke Muel’s question, Rough Schroeder nodded and spoke.
The name sounded familiar, and it seemed to fit. He hadn’t watched the tournament due to personal matters, but the rumors had spread so quickly and widely that it was hard to miss.
‘Strictly speaking, they say the final didn’t conclude due to the chaos, but… he was practically the winner.’
Thinking back, it was absurd.
Not in the youth division, but in the main event, defeating senior swordsmen twenty to thirty years older to claim victory. Did that even make sense?
But what was even more astonishing came next.
The fact that he succeeded in subjugating the Red Magician’s minions, something even the Seton Swordsmanship Hall had given up on… with just three people.
“I have a question too, Mercenary King. The ones who stormed the hideout of the Red Magician’s minions… it was you and that young man named Harang, right?”
“Hmm.”
After a brief pause, glancing at Gael and Hagio, Mercenary King Austin nodded. He answered both Duke Muel and Rough Schroeder’s questions at once.
“I’ll answer both questions at once. First, the Harang mentioned is indeed the young man who reached the finals of the Seton Swordsmanship Tournament. And it’s true that we stormed the hideout of the Red Magician’s minions together. Including this young man, Hagio, there were three of us.”
“Hmm!”
“So that’s how it is… thank you for clarifying.”
“No need to thank me. It’s not something to hide.”
The Mercenary King spoke, and Duke Muel and Rough Schroeder nodded. Their doubts were cleared.
But their expressions still seemed uneasy, as another question had arisen in their minds.
‘What’s this? A young man with enough chivalry to rescue hostages from the Red Magician’s minions… and with skills considered top-tier among Graduates, why isn’t he joining the Red Magician’s subjugation?’
‘It’s not a lack of skill, nor courage. He couldn’t have missed the news either. If that were the case, the Mercenary King and this Hagio wouldn’t be here either.’
What was going on?
The two Sword Masters looked at the Mercenary King, Hagio, and Gael with puzzled eyes, and Heitz, the strongest of Acanthus, was the same.
He asked Gael.
“Why didn’t he come?”
“Harang, you mean?”
“Yes. From what I heard, he doesn’t have fond feelings for the Red Magician either. As much as we do… I wouldn’t think someone like him would pass up such a good opportunity.”
“Hmm.”
“What’s the reason? Why isn’t Harang participating in this meeting?”
At Heitz’s question, everyone turned their attention to Gael.
It was only natural.
Whether they knew Harang well or not, they knew he had both the justification and the skill to join the Red Magician’s subjugation team. While his addition wouldn’t be as significant as a Sword Master’s, he would still be a meaningful asset, so many felt a sense of regret.
Fortunately, their assumption that Harang wouldn’t join the subjugation was wrong.
After a brief pause, Gael spoke.
“Harang is participating in this subjugation.”
“Hmm.”
“Oh….”
“So that’s the case. But… why? If so, shouldn’t he be here now?”
Duke Muel asked on Heitz’s behalf, and the others, sharing similar sentiments, looked at Gael with curious eyes.
It was a natural progression.
They weren’t setting out for the subjugation immediately. They had already located the Red Magician’s stronghold, but preparations were still needed.
But even with some time to spare… it didn’t make sense for someone participating in the subjugation to skip such an important meeting where even the vice-commander of the White Knight Order, Count Durand Verhagen, was present.
‘If there’s no solid reason… it won’t leave a good impression.’
‘Whether he’s arrogant or has some circumstances, we’ll find out soon enough.’
Thus, an atmosphere formed as if saying, ‘If you have an excuse, let’s hear it!’
Despite the subtle pressure in the room, Gael didn’t care.
He said.
“Harang asked for understanding.”
“Understanding? For what….”
“He said he’s at a critical juncture, trying to break through a thick wall… and that even a moment’s time is precious.”
“Hmm!”
“A wall….”
“…….”
Duke Muel, Rough Schroeder, and Heitz wore expressions as if they had realized something.
For someone as strong as Harang, what could be called a ‘thick wall’?
It could only be the transition from Graduate to Sword Master. They felt that no other process would warrant such a term.
‘Indeed, if it’s important enough to skip a meeting led by the Holy Kingdom, that’s the only thing it could be.’
‘It’s understandable. A top-tier Graduate joining the subjugation versus a Sword Master joining is a completely different matter.’
‘I hope he breaks through.’
The three masters nodded.
That reason was convincing. Representing everyone, Duke Muel spoke to Gael.
“I hope that young man Harang breaks that wall.”
“He probably will. No need to worry.”
“Haha! That confidence is great. I’ll look forward to it.”
“We need to sharpen our skills too. We can’t afford to be a burden in the subjugation.”
Rough Schroeder chimed in with a laugh, and the momentarily tense atmosphere warmed up.
But then.
Zeb, the former Godok ranked fourth in Acanthus, felt something was off.
‘……Harang hasn’t reached the master level?’
It wasn’t strange in itself.
At best, they were around 22 or 23 years old. Reaching even the Graduate level at that age was miraculous, let alone Master.
But Zeb had seen it. Gael had reached the Sword Master level and fought brilliantly against Heitz.
‘Gael reached Master, but Harang is still struggling at Graduate? Something’s off….’
It wasn’t that he was belittling Gael.
Rather, he held Harang in high regard. And Harang had the qualifications to deserve such an evaluation.
‘I need to ask Gael and Hagio later.’
Truth be told, he wasn’t particularly close to either of them. In fact, Zeb had never formed deep bonds with any Godok.
But matters concerning Harang were important enough to overlook that.
Thus, a day after the meeting.
When Zeb, after a long time, sat down with his Godok peers and asked Gael about it, Gael and Hagio chided him.
“What are you talking about? Harang hasn’t reached Master? Of course not.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Yes. Harang reached the Sword Master level much faster than I did.”
“……As I thought. I knew something was strange.”
“What’s strange? Why did you think Harang was still a Graduate in the first place?”
“Well… you said it. That Harang is at a critical juncture, trying to break through a thick wall or something.”
“A thick wall?”
“Yes. At our level, the only thing that could be called a thick wall is the transition from Graduate to Sword Master….”
Zeb trailed off, gauging Gael and Hagio’s reactions.
The two wore blank expressions for a moment.
But soon, they raised the corners of their mouths as if amused and said.
“Hmm. I suppose you could think that.”
“No, it’s definitely more natural to think that way. We misspoke.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well… we don’t know for sure. Hagio hasn’t reached the Master level yet, and I only recently crossed that wall. But….”
After a brief pause, Gael looked at Zeb and continued.
“If someone like Harang calls it a thick wall, and if he succeeds in breaking it… it might be a level far beyond what we can imagine.”
“……You’ve changed too.”
Zeb muttered, looking at Gael.
And he was surprised.
Of course, the fact that Harang was aiming for a realm beyond Sword Master was shocking enough.
But what surprised him more was that Gael, who saw Harang as a rival, spoke of his growth so casually.
‘A lot must have happened since being freed from the village.’
They must have grown internally and externally through experiences he couldn’t even imagine.
At least, compared to the past, when he was hyper-aware of Harang and Maya and lived without mental ease, Gael now felt far more solid.
‘The same goes for Hagio.’
He wasn’t the same as before.
The current Hagio was by no means beneath him. The solid presence he exuded, unbelievable for a meeting between ranks 4 and 11, piqued Zeb’s curiosity.
That’s why.
Zeb wanted to have deeper conversations with them, and it gave Gael courage.
The courage to be honest about his true identity.
“Hmm….”
“Sorry for keeping it hidden all this time.”
“……No. We were young. Too young to judge right from wrong. Honestly, we’re still young and immature. I understand completely.”
Zeb said.
He meant it. They had lived their lives without experiencing even a tenth of what normal children see, feel, and learn. Mistakes were inevitable.
Even Zeb was no different. Only recently had he realized that, driven by his vendetta against the Red Magician, he had done terrible things to many innocent people.
“We need to take responsibility for that, in some form. But….”
“But?”
“To do that, we first need to deal with the Red Magician, the village, and the calamity.”
“That’s right.”
“……It has to be.”
Everyone nodded.
Zeb was right.
To move forward, to live a new life… they had to deal with the remaining enemies.
‘We must win.’
‘I’ll survive. Survive and protect the kids.’
‘The Red Magician… I’ll definitely kill him. And beyond that, the Lord of Calamity too.’
Gael, Hagio, Zeb.
Those who had lived only to kill thought.
They didn’t want to live like that anymore.
They wanted to live a new life.
With those thoughts, they ended the meeting and immediately dove into training, swinging their swords as if every second was precious.
……And so, a few days passed.