The Cursed Blacksmith Who Regressed - Chapter 112

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 112

Flash!

The view changed completely.

Then the location changed, and in front of the 1st Squad members, a one-eyed man was sitting at a table, quietly observing them.

Time was still frozen in gray.

[ You are mercenaries. You are the core force of the Hawk Mercenary Corps, same as in the previous story, and ten years have passed since the Patton Domain war. ]

[ The new lord of Pruzan, Lord Walter Pruzan, has been honing his strength for revenge for ten years, and now he plans to hire the Hawk Mercenary Corps that defeated him to face Lord Patton for his revenge. ]

[ Hawkman, the leader of the Hawk Mercenary Corps, will ask for your opinion. ]

[ If you wish to proceed, please shout ‘Start’. ]

A kind notification.

As the System said, Choi Hyun had found all the necessary information at the inn like a veteran.

That’s why it proceeded automatically, and now they had reached the stage for the final decision.

Choi Hyun tactfully explained the current situation to his squad members.

“Oh, as expected, the President is different. See? When the President steps up, even things we’re doing for the first time get solved smoothly.”

“Amazing, Boss.”

An U-ju and Shasha gave thumbs up.

Choi Hyun asked his squad members.

“So what would you like to do? To summarize roughly, the setting is that ten years have passed since the previous Gate, and this time we have to become Pruzan’s lord’s army and face the Patten Family.”

Maeng Bu-yong grinned as if it would be interesting.

“Of course we should do it. Actually, I prefer sieges over defense.”

Kim Ha-geom also nodded, and so did the other members.

Choi Hyun nodded and said.

“Understood, then we’ll go with accepting it.”

Then An U-ju slightly raised her hand and said.

“President. So are we dividing positions and working separately this time too? Are you going out for assassination?”

“Well? I’ll have to see the situation first, but if it’s about ending the domain war itself or if Pruzan lord’s purpose is to annihilate the Patten Family, then there’s a high possibility.”

“You seem really good at assassination, President. How do you practice something like that?”

“…You just do it.”

He was momentarily speechless.

How do you practice assassination?

You just do it with accumulated experience.

Worried that the awkward conversation might continue, he immediately shouted start, and the frozen gray light was released as time began to flow.

“Did you hear the story?”

Hawkman, the leader of the Hawk Mercenary Corps, asked naturally.

Choi Hyun tactfully answered.

“Yes, I heard that Lord Pruzan is having a domain war.”

“The pay is big. If we handle this job well, we probably won’t need to work for the next 1-2 years. But the requirements are quite demanding.”

“Pruzan was defeated, so where did they get that money?”

“Does it matter?”

“They must have gotten it somehow. What are the requirements?”

“First, all of you must participate as core personnel, especially you, Choi Hyun – they specifically named you.”

“The intention seems quite impure.”

“I agree with that. But if you get hurt somewhere other than during the war, they said they won’t stand for it.”

“Thank you. And?”

“There are no other additional requirements, but instead this fight has many restrictions. First, assassination like last time is not allowed due to cruelty. Also, massacring the domain’s people is not allowed. Naturally, plague strategy is also forbidden.”

Plague strategy.

He was referring to the strategy of loading rotten animal corpses into catapults and throwing them over the castle walls to spread plague.

“For the same reason, participation of mages is also prohibited. From what I see, Pruzan seems to want to restore honor in various ways this time. If they fight and win honorably, they can regain more honor than they lost last time.”

“What honor is there in fighting? The losing side will suffer considerable damage.”

“No, this is Lord Pruzan being wise. The justification may be honor, but this is a thoroughly calculated strategy for profit.”

“Why?”

“No matter how much the lord changed and they prepared for ten years, do you think Patton was idle during that time? Based on the rewards from the domain war ten years ago, they made their domain even more prosperous. So in a money game, there’s no chance of winning from the start. Patton has more money than Pruzan, so if they go somewhere and hire a bunch of excellent assassins and mages, could Pruzan even compete?”

“What if Patton refuses?”

“That’s why they put forward honor as justification. Nobles fear rumors, and nothing spreads by word of mouth as well as honor. The reason this domain war started in the first place is because Patton nearly annihilated the Pruzan Family ten years ago.”

Simply put, it was revenge for cruelty.

Hawkman pointed at Choi Hyun.

“In other words, your contribution to this fight happening is significant.”

“But you hired me?”

“It’s being cold-blooded. They saw your skills ten years ago. So they plan to hire us in advance and fight the domain war.”

“What if I had died in those ten years with such a plan.”

“Then they would have had other ideas. So, will you participate?”

With those words, a portal was created in one corner of the room.

It was an option to go through there and abandon the Gate itself if they didn’t accept.

Naturally, it was a portal invisible to Hawkman.

There was no reason to hesitate.

He knew the circumstances and the conditions.

It was a bit disappointing that it would be a pure frontal war without assassination, but it was still a fight worth taking.

Especially for Choi Hyun.

He accepted immediately.

“I’ll do it.”

“Good. I thought you would. Then I’ll send a reply.”

With the acceptance, the view changed again.

And what appeared was the Pruzan Estate he had seen before.

There were many mercenaries around.

Besides the Hawk Mercenary Corps, he could see quite a few other mercenaries too.

They were all hired by Lord Pruzan.

In front was Walter Pruzan, the new lord of Pruzan, and in the ten years, his appearance had changed considerably.

An U-ju whispered.

“He already had a somewhat fierce look before, but he seems even more fierce now.”

He agreed.

It was probably because he had gone through so much for revenge.

He shouted.

“Thank you all for coming! Tomorrow we plan to formally declare war on Patton Domain. Since it will take some time until the war begins, I’ll tell you what you need to know and where you should use during your stay here.”

Soldiers came out and began guidance.

Choi Hyun quietly looked at Lord Pruzan.

The lord also looked at Choi Hyun.

Their gazes intertwined in the air.

The first to leave was Lord Pruzan.

‘Does he really have no feelings toward me?’

Well.

The fantasy people Choi Hyun had encountered so far, especially those with semi-noble status or higher, were all as petty as anchovy livers the size of soy sauce dishes.

But you never know.

That man might be different.

Afterward, they received guidance from soldiers and were assigned accommodations.

Accommodations were assigned by mercenary corps units and then subdivided within those.

The room the 1st Squad received was fortunately a 5-person room, but naturally it was mixed accommodation without gender separation.

In this era, aside from mercenaries being treated poorly, the concept of gender separation itself wasn’t established in the first place.

Choi Hyun checked first and said to An U-ju and Shasha.

“Since it’s a Medieval European Fantasy World, we shouldn’t expect modern common sense. Still, just in case, I’ll ask if there’s a separate room you two can use.”

“I’m fine, Boss.”

“I’m fine with it too.”

“Hm?”

An unexpected reaction.

He hadn’t expected her to say she was fine with it.

“Won’t you be uncomfortable?”

“I’m fine. I’d rather be with people I can trust. Honestly, I think it’d be safer to be with modern people.”

“I don’t mind anything.”

He nodded at An U-ju’s words.

Well, that made sense.

No matter how much of a woman she was, it would be better to be with men who shared the same common sense and moral values rather than with people whose very concepts were completely different.

Eventually, mealtime arrived.

It was a cafeteria-style service, so they naturally lined up to receive their food.

But the meal was terrible.

All they got was one lump of mysterious puffy bread that probably didn’t have a bit of butter in it and one bowl of stew.

Maeng Bu-yong, who tasted the food, muttered without realizing it.

“Fuck…”

One of the things Maeng Bu-yong hated most.

It was tasteless food.

While he didn’t care much about fashion or sleeping arrangements, he was strict when it came to meals.

Food and alcohol were among his greatest pleasures in life.

Kim Ha-geom and An U-ju also put down their bowls.

The seasoning was all over the place, and there were spices they’d never tasted before in their lives.

Shasha just ate it.

Because she was from Hasan.

Seeing this, An U-ju asked.

“How can you eat this tasteless stuff so well?”

“We’re not here for fun.”

“Hey, what does that make us when you say it like that?”

“Weak?”

“Damn it.”

She was someone who had survived eating monster meat.

There was no reason such a person couldn’t eat human food.

But the others couldn’t do the same.

And that included Choi Hyun as well.

‘I could eat it if I had to, but…’

Why would he when he could eat something delicious?

Choi Hyun glanced around at the others and said.

“Shasha, you can stop eating too. I’ll take care of meals separately.”

At his words about taking care of meals separately, everyone’s attention focused on Choi Hyun.

Especially An U-ju, who asked excitedly.

“How?”

“I got a spatial skill when I reached level 50, and I keep most daily necessities and food in there. Well, they’re all processed instant foods, but still.”

As he said this and pulled out a burner, pot, water, ramen, instant rice, and other items from his warehouse, everyone’s eyes sparkled brighter than they’d ever seen before.

“Wow, thank goodness.”

“Thank you, President.”

“Phew, we’re saved.”

Choi Hyun smiled and began setting up the dining area.

“Let’s eat for now. I have plenty of toiletries and such too, so let me know if you need anything.”

At that moment, the squad members saw it.

The intense halo radiating from Choi Hyun.

“Ahh.”

“This is why everyone calls him Lord Choi.”

“Amen to Choi.”

It was a moment when the squad members’ loyalty deepened even further.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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