novelraw Chapter 172 : Chapter 172
Chapter 172 : Chapter 172
Chapter 172 - Hardeon (4)
The four instructors of the Rade Sword Hall.
As the conversation with them deepened, Shin Ah-yeon's expression grew rigid.
‘She’s properly pissed.’
It was understandable.
Without a single exception, these fiends were all trash.
The director of the sword hall who colluded with such trash would not be much different.
From experience, there was a high probability that he was a higher-grade piece of trash.
If I had to take down the sign of an innocent sword hall, my heart might have felt heavy, but now such worries were unnecessary.
The current Hardeon Empire, after the end of the age of magic, was in the golden age of swordsmanship.
Thus, a trashy sword hall like this could exist.
Because being recognized as a gladiator was the fastest path to success.
To someone, a place like the Rade Sword Hall might be a cherished cradle of dreams, but unfortunately, it would disappear tomorrow.
Even if I had not received the request, this was something I would have done of my own will.
“Now that we’ve had enough to drink, isn't it time to show that sincerity we talked about earlier?”
One of the group of instructors looked at me with greedy eyes.
“Sincerity...”
“For your information, a half-assed show of sincerity is worse than not doing it at all, you know?”
With that, the fiends chuckled.
“Ah-yeon.”
“Yes, Unit Leader.”
“So that the instructors here aren't disappointed, go outside and give them what you’ve prepared.”
“I understand.”
As if she understood the meaning of my words, Shin Ah-yeon answered without a moment’s hesitation.
“What! You had something prepared?”
“If you had something like that, you should have said so sooner!”
The fiends revealed their greedy teeth and looked delighted.
The opponent was four people, but it would not be overwhelming for Shin Ah-yeon alone.
After all, none of them were particularly outstanding.
***
“Hey! Just how far are we going? Huh?”
Shin Ah-yeon did not answer and quickened her pace.
It would be troublesome to cause a commotion ahead of tomorrow's big event.
She thought she had to deal with the fiends in the quietest place possible.
Just then, there was a suitable hill nearby.
At this late hour, she continued to climb to a place where people’s footsteps would not easily reach.
At first, the disgruntled instructors no longer argued about the situation.
They did not mind going to a secluded place with a pretty woman in the dead of night.
The meaning of the sincerity they mentioned earlier. A misunderstanding of that word was blooming.
“What on earth is supposed to be here?”
A tone that anyone could tell was a feigned act of being deceived.
At that sinister voice, Shin Ah-yeon felt a surge of irritation.
“Hehehe. Surely you’re not trying to run away now, are you?”
“This seems like a sufficiently secluded place! How about we stop going now?”
Shin Ah-yeon ignored the fiends and continued to walk.
In the end, after climbing for about ten more minutes, the place where she stopped was the mountainside.
She had finally judged that this was a suitable place to deal with the four of them.
She could feel a gloomy energy approaching from behind her.
It was not very difficult to guess what these fiends were thinking right now.
“That guy you call Unit Leader, I really like him! I didn't know he had such a commendable idea. Hehehehe.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“What?”
“It's been a while since I've felt this disgusted.”
“Surely you’re not going to back out now? Or is there something else here that would convince us?”
“...”
Shin Ah-yeon got goosebumps from that look in their eyes.
“Seeing as you can’t answer, it seems I’m not wrong. Hehehe. Everyone agrees to let me go first, right?”
“Jeff, only if you buy a round of drinks tomorrow.”
The instructors joked among themselves right in front of Shin Ah-yeon.
A moment later, the bearded man walked straight up to Shin Ah-yeon.
“My name is Jeff. I’m in charge of the beginner class at the sword hall.”
At that moment, Shin Ah-yeon's sword flashed.
Her sword, which drew two diagonal lines in the air in an instant, was worthy of being called a swift sword.
SHREEEED.
The shirt the bearded man was wearing was cut right off by her sword.
A look of bewilderment was evident in the fiend’s eyes.
But he tried hard to pretend to be calm.
“Wahahaha! Look at this? You could have just taken it off, why go this far!”
SWOOSH!
SWOOOOSH!
Under the moonlight, her sword flashed once more.
This time, it was his pants that were cut off.
In the end, the bearded man was left wearing only his underwear.
‘I’ve definitely improved.’
Traveling with Seo Ji-han, she felt as if she had shed another layer of the tough shell that had been holding her back.
For her, it was an unparalleled opportunity for growth.
It was different from simply learning at the sword family.
There was a certain feeling that only the field could provide.
Although there was no flash of enlightenment, Shin Ah-yeon could feel her swordsmanship being steadily filled.
Meanwhile, Jeff, who was instantly stripped to his underwear, could no longer pretend to be calm.
Shame and anger washed over him at the same time.
“I’ve never seen such a bitch!”
He picked up his sword and charged at Shin Ah-yeon as if to tear her to shreds.
But the sword he swung widely only cut through the wind.
She lightly deflected the sword and then kicked Jeff in the abdomen.
“Ugh!”
Jeff clutched his stomach in pain as if his breath had been momentarily knocked out of him and collapsed to the ground.
The other three instructors also sensed that the situation was not right.
“Get her!!”
There was no longer any regard for appearances.
The only thing that mattered now was to break that woman.
The overwhelming presence Shin Ah-yeon had shown a moment ago did not even register in their eyes.
CLANG!
Even in the face of three swords coming at her simultaneously, Shin Ah-yeon remained composed.
All the sword paths they were unfolding were imprinted in her eyes as if in slow motion.
The sense of the moment that Seo Ji-han always emphasized.
She felt like she was beginning to understand what that was.
“Die!!!”
The pig-like fiend’s sword curved in.
The tip of that squirming sword was fully loaded with mana.
She could feel his will to gain the upper hand in a power-versus-power confrontation.
Although she had the confidence to meet him head-on and crush him, in the end, she chose gentleness.
SWIIIISH!
Sword and sword crossed and brushed past each other.
And the place where the tip of Shin Ah-yeon’s sword landed was on one of the pig-like fiend’s ears.
“Aaargh!!”
Blood flowed as his ear was cut off, but even so, this was showing mercy.
Her sword did not stop and continued.
This time, it was the tall bald man.
The fiend seemed to flinch for a moment at the pig’s scream, but he entrusted his body to the inertia of his charge and thrust his sword forward.
CRASH!!
The bald fiend ended up dropping his sword from Shin Ah-yeon's strike that came down from above.
“Hup!”
And then came Shin Ah-yeon’s smoothly continuing sword path.
Her sword, which curved in a circle, cut off one ear again.
“Aack!”
A groan echoed.
But there was no one here to come to their aid.
Her sword strikes were relentless.
“S-save me!!”
The ear of the big-nosed fiend who was backing away was also mercilessly cut off.
“Fuuuuck!!”
The bearded fiend, who was covering both his ears with his hands and cursing, ended up losing his wrists as well.
But this was not the end.
SMACK!!
THWACK!!
Her attacks continued.
Her hand-chops and kicks flew one after another.
The pain of their cut-off ears was already forgotten.
Like four mice before a cat, they had to endure Shin Ah-yeon’s attacks without any resistance.
The thought that something was wrong washed over them, but it was a realization that came far too late.
It was a little later that a single ray of light descended.
“I’ll give you a chance.”
At Shin Ah-yeon's voice, which they had not heard in a long time, the four men could only tremble and wait for her next words.
“Dig a pit with your respective swords.”
“A-a pit?”
“Fortunately, it seems you can hear well with one ear. You will get in there. The depth should be enough to submerge you up to your chins.”
“S-save me!”
“I never said I’d kill you. Even if you get in the pit, you might live if you’re lucky. The probability of a person finding you before a monster is high, after all.”
At Shin Ah-yeon’s words, the fiends’ faces turned pale.
But none of them could talk back.
“Be thankful to the Unit Leader. He did not directly mention your life or death.”
If there had been even a single word, Shin Ah-yeon would have carried out Seo Ji-han’s order without hesitation.
“Then we will begin now.”
As Shin Ah-yeon's words fell coldly, the four men immediately picked up their swords.
As she said, this was perhaps their only chance to live.
Rather than fighting a hopeless battle, it was better to leave it to luck.
They lifted their staggering bodies and began to dig a pit.
***
The Rade Sword Hall.
This place, which would normally be bustling with noise, felt quiet from outside the main gate.
It was because all classes and schedules for today must have been canceled.
As I opened the gate and went inside, the expected scene unfolded.
[Closed]
A notice with these letters written in large print.
The trainees had returned home.
But there was just one person.
There was a boy who was swinging his sword alone in the air.
The fiend noticed us entering the sword hall and looked at us with a blunt expression.
“Who are you?”
The boy's presence was a bit concerning.
If he were to see the cradle of his training collapse with his own two eyes, it might leave him with trauma.
It was necessary to send this boy back before starting the work.
“We are people who have business here. But why aren’t you going home? It seems there are no classes today.”
“Even if there are no classes, I can still practice on my own.”
“Why here? You could practice on your own at home.”
“How much is a day’s tuition? I can’t just go back. When the director comes back later, I should learn at least one thing before I go.”
“It seems the director isn’t here right now.”
“No.”
In that case, I would have to send this boy back before the director arrived.
The boy began to practice his swordsmanship again.
Although his form was crude, it seemed to have discipline.
It meant his innate talent was not bad.
For now, I continued to watch the boy's swordsmanship.
The boy also stopped paying attention to us and focused only on his own swordsmanship.
It was when the sun was high in the sky that the fiend, who had been swinging his sword for a long time, spoke to me again.
“Are you waiting for the director?”
“Well, something like that.”
“Do you know how to use a sword?”
“Well, a little.”
“That’s great.”
“What is?”
“We can just have a sparring match while we wait.”
This was the reason he had spoken to me again.
He was a young but bold fiend.
“Let me ask you one thing before that.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you choose the Rade Sword Hall?”
At my question, the fiend looked at me as if I were strange.
“It's the only sword hall in town.”
“Then you would be very sad if this sword hall were to close down.”
“No, I wouldn’t.”
“Huh? You wouldn’t?”
“Yes. Because this one sword hall is settled right here in the neighborhood, I can’t go to the capital to study swordsmanship abroad.”
“Why, don't you like it here?”
“Can I be honest?”
“Of course!”
The boy was even bolder than I thought.
He began to relentlessly badmouth the sword hall he was attending.
From the tuition fees to the instructors' bribery and assault, it seemed that a lot of bad feelings had accumulated here.
“So, you’re saying you don’t care if the Rade Sword Hall goes bankrupt?”
“My parents would hate it, but I’d welcome it with open arms. But is the Rade Sword Hall going bankrupt?”
“Yeah.”
“When?”
“Today.”
At that moment, a single presence was felt near the main gate.
A stronger aura than the instructors I had met yesterday.
It was not difficult to guess its identity.