The God-Possessed Swordsmanship Genius - Chapter 31

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Sword Genius Blessed by Spirit, Chapter 31

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Allen was not in a good mood.
There were two reasons.
First, he had been interrupted in the middle of his physical training, which was nearly finished.
And second, the brats who had shown up without warning were looking down on his squad members.

‘They’re my kids now, after all.’

Even as he ran, he had caught snatches of what these guys were saying.
Kasar, Squad Leader of the First Unit.
Since taking over as the new squad leader of the Bigeom Corps, Allen had learned that the First Unit was the most accomplished and skilled squad within the corps, in both results and ability.
A squad whose temperament was the complete opposite of the Second Unit’s.

‘So that’s why I don’t like the look in his eyes.’

Those eyes that looked down on his squad members.
They had even gone so far as to openly try to poach the deputy squad leader.
And they had done it knowing full well that he was the new squad leader.
This was an act of contempt not only toward the Second Unit, but toward Allen himself.

“What’s with the sudden visit and the rudeness? That’s not very polite, Squad Leader.”
“Ha, it seems there’s been some misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding?”
“I simply came by to greet you, since I heard the famed Young Master has taken over as the new squad leader of the Second Unit.”
“Then why don’t you greet me and leave? Don’t go picking fights for no reason.”
“I was going to do just that at first, but…”

Kasar’s narrow, slanted eyes curved into crescent moons.
His gaze swept over the members of the Second Unit, who were staggering back to their feet.
Tsk. Kasar clicked his tongue openly.

“Seeing this, I just can’t let it slide, as a fellow member of the Bigeom Corps.”

Bigra lowered his head sharply, his face flushing, as if the words had struck a nerve.
He was probably embarrassed about having fallen just moments ago.
And then.

“What, did you commit some crime? Why are you hanging your head?”

Startled, Bigra jerked his head back up on pure reflex.

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of. If anything, it means you gave everything you had, so you should be proud of that.”

Allen took a confident step toward Kasar.
Not only Kasar, the squad leader, but the other members showed no trace of having sweated at all.

“Wasn’t the morning meant for group training?”
“Today I replaced it with individual training.”
“So that wasn’t training. That was a break.”

Allen looked over the First Unit swordsmen who had come with Kasar, as if he found them pitiful.
They were a far cry from the Second Unit, who had been rolling around and falling apart under relentless drills all morning.

“You think it’s dirty and shameful for a swordsman to sweat and vomit through training? Does practicing swordplay with grace look cool and stylish to you?”
“It’s simply more efficient.”
“Efficiency?”

At Kasar’s answer, Allen twisted the corner of his mouth into a smirk.

“Isn’t that just dressing up laziness nicely?”
“…”
“You should be ashamed. Of settling into complacency as swordsmen and stopping there. And of sneering that a swordsman who sweats is dirty and ugly.”

Displeasure surfaced on the faces of the swordsmen who’d been scolded.
Faces that couldn’t find a single rebuttal.
Still, there was only one reason their expressions were so full of resentment.
They simply hated being lectured by Unit 2 and its captain, whom they considered beneath them.

“Thank you for the lesson. That’s woken me right up.”

And the same went for Kasar.
Perhaps that was why.
Right in the middle of discussing the slackness of training, Kasar brought up something entirely unrelated.

“Did you know? Unit 2 is going to be disbanded soon.”
“…!”

The members of Unit 2 wore expressions of shock.
Disbanded, they said?
Even the unit members had never heard such a thing.
Then Meri, sensing the confusion among the members, shouted sharply.

“That hasn’t been confirmed yet!”

Apparently, Meri, the deputy captain, had heard some of the news.

“No. More than eighty percent of it has already been decided. Otherwise, why would your former captain have run away? He must have thought there was no hope with this hopeless bunch of members.”

At the mention of their former captain, the members’ faces darkened.
Perhaps it was true, they thought, that Unit 2 really would be disbanded.

“Probably, if Unit 2 is disbanded, you’ll all be split up and assigned to different units. So, Meri, while you can, come over to our unit quickly. If you end up getting sent to Unit 4 or Unit 6 by mistake…”
“Ah, so that’s how it is.”

At Allen’s words, Kasar wore a puzzled expression.
So that’s how it is? What did that mean?

“What do you mean by that?”

Allen didn’t answer Kasar’s question.
It wasn’t something worth explaining to a guy like this.
This was a matter that concerned his father.

‘So that’s why he shoved me in here.’

Allen thought about why he had ended up in Bigeom Unit 2.
At first, he’d assumed it was simply because the captain’s seat was vacant. Perhaps it was because his older brother was the Grand Captain, he had thought.
But that wasn’t it.

‘Is he trying to keep Unit 2 alive, given it’s on the verge of being disbanded for poor performance?’

Come to think of it, regardless of the captain’s post, Allen had been scheduled to join Unit 2 as a member anyway.
Being made captain was nothing more than an impulsive decision Axion had made, having rated Allen’s skill so highly.

“That’s an easy problem.”

Whether a mere member or a team leader.
All Allen had to do here was one thing.

“So you’re saying they’re disbanding Unit 2 because their results fell short? Then all we have to do is fill the quota.”
“…Do you think that’s so simple?”
“Doesn’t look that hard to me.”

Allen’s gaze swept over the Unit 1 swordsmen standing behind Kasar.

“Even those lazy bastards over there manage it.”
“What?”
“Now, look here, you…”

The Unit 1 members, who had been about to flare up, fell back a step.
It was because their team leader, Kasar, had raised a hand to hold them back.
Unlike his excited subordinates, Kasar only grew calmer at Allen’s words.

“If I follow what you’re saying, my lord, then Unit 2’s results will soon overtake Unit 1’s.”
“Oh, right. I hear Unit 1 has the best results, doesn’t he?”
“You’ve already looked into that much, my lord?”

As if this was exactly what he’d hoped for, Kasar grinned and his eyes gleamed.

“Then shall we make a wager?”
“A wager?”
“Yes. A simple one. We’ll compete over which unit posts better results this year.”
“Wait just a moment!”

At Kasar’s words, Meri jolted and stepped in. But just as Kasar had restrained his own men, this time Allen was the one who held her back.
She faltered and stepped back, stamping her feet in frustration behind them.

‘This is absurd.’

Nearly half the year had already passed.
In this situation, it was impossible for Unit 2 to surpass Unit 1’s results in the remaining months of the year.
But perhaps because the words had already left his mouth?
Allen didn’t seem inclined to refuse this difficult wager.

“Never mind the terms. What are you putting up?”
“If we win, send Deputy Captain Meri to our unit.”

Kasar only laid out the condition for if Unit 1 won. It seemed the idea of losing had never crossed his mind at all.

‘So that was the real goal all along.’

From the very beginning, Kasar had wanted Meri.
The reason he’d visited the training grounds before and belittled the other members, picking fights, was to lure Meri over to Unit 1.
He’d meant to pull out a deputy-level officer before Unit 2 was disbanded.

“That’s if you win. What if we win?”
“What do you want? Your deputy captain?”
“Don’t really care about that.”

Allen waved his hand dismissively as he spoke.

“If our results are better, everything your unit has earned this year goes to us.”
“…What did you just say?”

Kasar’s voice rose at the absurd demand.
But Allen’s demands didn’t stop there.

“And one more thing. If you lose this bet, the whole of Unit 1 apologizes to my people.”
“Apologizes? For what?”
“For belittling our unit over a mere performance record. For insulting my people by calling them good-for-nothings, all of it. You’ll line up in front of the Path of the Sword and apologize.”
“…Are you actually trying to insult us right now?”
“Wasn’t it you who insulted us first?”

It was Unit 1 that had come storming in and picked the fight.
Kasar had no answer to that one.

“If you can’t accept these terms, then let’s call the bet off.”

Handing over every performance point, and lining up in front of the Path of the Sword to apologize publicly, were both unreasonable demands.
One side would give up its gains, the other its pride.
Even so, confidence radiated from Kasar’s face.

“Did you think tacking on conditions like that would scare us off? Fine. Agreed.”

Just then.

[A mission has been registered.]
[Category: Wager]
[The wager with Unit Leader Kasar of Unit 1 has been established. Achieve victory in the wager.]
[Time limit: 6 months]
[Reward: All Stats +3]

The mission window had appeared once again.
Allen’s eyes lit up.

‘All Stats, +3.’

Allen had already completed two missions and received their rewards.
The rewards were anything but small. Growing his stats through missions was far more noticeable than taking any run-of-the-mill elixir.
If he could, he’d have liked to do nothing but solve system missions.
Kasar, who until a moment ago had looked like a loathsome snake, now seemed almost endearing.

“Then we’ll consider the wager made.”
“Agreed.”
“Let’s make the Grand Captain the witness. This involves performance points, after all.”
“That suits me fine. If I want Meri brought over to our unit, I’ll need the Grand Captain’s permission anyway.”

Kasar scoffed and turned on his heel.

“Lord Second Son, you seem far too taken with the unit leader’s seat. Be careful. That seat is poisoned.”

The rest of Unit 1 filed out after him.
Once every last member of Unit 1 had left the training grounds, Allen turned and looked at Unit 2.

‘Are they going to be angry?’

He had wagered their deputy captain without consulting anyone, so he half expected it.

“Woohoo!!!”

In an instant, a cheer erupted from the whole group.

“That was awesome!”
“Kyaaah!”
“Ah! What a relief.”
“I think I could still go another round, you know?”
“Well, about that…”

It wasn’t the reaction he’d expected.
Allen let out a dry laugh and asked.

“What’s with the victory act already? What if you lose?”
“Come on, if we win, that’s all that matters, right?”
“Didn’t you say the unit gets disbanded anyway if the results don’t come in?”
“We’re already taking missions where life and death are on the line. What’s a little thing like this?”
“I thought you’d be some pampered young master, but you’ve got a sharp streak to you, sir. I like it a lot!”

Unit 2’s reaction was simpler than he’d expected.
They thought about winning first, and their enthusiasm caught fire before anything else.
Allen looked over at Meri.
Her reaction was calmer than he’d expected, too.

“Just as the members said, if the results don’t come in, Unit 2 was scheduled to be disbanded. If that happens, whether we get absorbed into Unit 1 is hardly the issue.”
“I appreciate you thinking that way.”
“Either way, today you’ve upheld Unit 2’s pride, Captain.”
“Are you all always this easygoing?”
“This is just how Unit 2 is.”

They were a more carefree and open-hearted bunch than he’d thought. Even if their results slipped, he found himself fonder of guys like these.
Allen spoke to the members.

“The unit won’t be disbanded, and I won’t let them send a deputy captain in either. I’ll make sure of that.”

Allen grinned.

“Please take good care of me, everyone.”

A proper, genuine first greeting.
Then the members’ cheers burst out.
With that one incident, Allen blended into Unit 2 quickly.
And the next day, and the day after that.
In the morning hours, Allen trained alongside the members as a group.
Training, and more training.
Amid the groans rising all around, Allen threw himself into the drills longer and harder than anyone.
Strangely, no missions came down.
Unlike the other sword corps, the Bigeom Corps was excluded from all of the family’s missions.

And so three months passed.
At last, a mission related to the Demon Sword was handed down to the Bigeom Corps.

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