The Strongest in Our Neighborhood - Chapter 14

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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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Our Town’s Strongest (14)
“Ah! You must be Clan Chief Eggman. It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Eldom from Louta Village. And the gentleman behind me is Kain, who’s helping us with this matter.”
“Hmm? Didn’t you come to our village before?”
Before Eggman the clan chief could answer, the gate guard standing beside him tilted his head in confusion and spoke first.
“Yes. I stopped by once before to acquire this spear. You’re Gate Guard Tender, aren’t you? It’s good to see you again.”
“Right, I remember now. You came with those pretty ladies back then, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
Having heard the exchange between the two, Clan Chief Eggman opened his mouth.
“If the gate guard remembers, there’s no need to ask further questions. Eldom and Kain, welcome. Tender, open the gate.”
“Yes, Clan Chief.”
Moments later, as the gate swung open, Eldom and Kain dismounted from the Saber Tiger and walked through, with the beast trailing behind them.
‘Their height is on the short side, but they all possess tremendous muscle. Even the women and children are heavily muscled.’
Though Kain had already heard from Eldom about the Dverberg Clan, he was struck by their distinctive appearance.
‘They said the Dverberg work with earth and fire spirits—perhaps that’s why they look the way they do.’
He found himself thinking that the difference in appearance between the Druid Race and the Dverberg Clan compared to ordinary humans likely stemmed from their Spirit Power.
“It hasn’t even been half a day since we contacted Elder Elena, yet you arrived this quickly?”
As Kain surveyed the village while following behind, the two ahead conversed with each other.
“Ah! Saber—that is, the Saber Tiger ran incredibly fast, which allowed us to arrive early.”
“Even if the Saber Tiger is fast, to cover such a distance in half a day while carrying two people on its back—is it truly such a swift and long-distance runner?”
“From my own experience, it’s a monster that runs extraordinarily well. And this Saber Tiger has even consumed an Ogre Inner Core, which makes it run even better.”
Eggman the clan chief stopped mid-stride as though he’d misheard something, and asked again.
“What? It consumed an Ogre Inner Core?”
“Yes. As for how Saber came to consume the Ogre Inner Core…….”
Eldom elaborated on what he’d said moments before, recounting the events from before. After hearing this, Eggman the clan chief swallowed hard and regarded Kain with disbelieving eyes.
“You didn’t fight the ogre for your life—you say you leaped up in a single bound and pierced its head through with your spear, killing it instantly?”
“I didn’t see it myself, but the ladies did, and they said it was truly magnificent.”
……
“And this Saber Tiger here consumed that ogre’s Inner Core.”
“Hah! I was somewhat disappointed that Elder Elena didn’t send warriors from the village, but it seems there was no need for that.”
“That’s right. Clan Chief, but when do we go rescue the abducted children? We hurried here as hard as we could because it was urgent, though of course it wasn’t me who ran—it was Saber.”
“Ah, Kain is currently choosing weapons in my armory.”
“Ah! That’s right. Now that I think about it, Kain expressed before that he wanted to acquire weapons of the Dverberg, so we gathered and stored hunters’ arms. Though, looking at it now, it seems that may not be necessary.”
As Eldom spoke with a light chuckle, Eggman the clan chief offered a wry smile.
The Dverberg Clan, renowned for their skill in craftsmanship and often called the artisans, produced weapons of such superior quality that they were precious and expensive.
Had it not been for this exceptional situation with the children being abducted, the clan chief himself would never have brought an outsider to his personal weapons vault.
Soon after entering the armory, Kain beheld various weapons arrayed on display.
“Kain, if there’s anything here that catches your eye, feel free to choose.”
Upon seeing the displayed weapons, Kain let out an exclamation of admiration before he could help himself.
“Wow! What magnificent weapons these are. Until now, I thought Eldom’s spear was the finest weapon I’d seen, but here such a spear seems almost commonplace.”
Kain picked up the nearest spear, gauged its balance, then examined the condition of the blade and its material, letting out a low whistle.
‘This iron is of unknown origin, yet how can iron be so elastic? And normally, elasticity comes at the cost of durability, and yet the blade portion is as hard and sharp as ground diamond!’
The Demonic Cult had many skilled blacksmiths, and most of its officers possessed weapons that could be called masterpieces. But the weapons here transcended masterpieces—these were Divine Grade arms.
Kain felt desire stir within him.
He had originally believed a single well-fitted sword would suffice, yet Divine Grade weapons lay scattered about, and the clan chief was telling him to take whatever he needed.
“Clan Chief, I don’t actually discriminate much when it comes to weapons—I use spears as needed, swords as needed, and even throw short swords like these. And when I’m focused on fighting, I can be caught by a stray arrow, so I need protective gear to guard my vital points as well…….”
“Take whatever you need. I ask only that you save the children.”
Eggman the clan chief cut him short and voiced his true wish, causing Kain to look slightly embarrassed.
“Then I’ll equip myself this way.”
He fastened a leather belt studded with short swords around his waist, slung the spear across his back, and hung a sword and long blade at either side of his belt. Then, donning a chest plate, arm guards, and leg guards for protection, his total weight seemed to have doubled.
After indulging such greed, as he was about to thank Eggman the clan chief, Eldom picked up a spear.
“Say, Clan Chief. Could I also choose a spear? This one really catches my eye.”
“Mm, you’ve gone through considerable effort guiding Kain here, so take it.”
“Thank you.”
“Kain, are you finished selecting?”
“Yes. This is more than sufficient.”
“Then let us depart.”
As they exited the armory, Kain spotted a figure standing outside who appeared to be wrapped in bandages like a mummy.
“Ingram, didn’t I tell you to rest inside? Why have you come out again?”
The clan chief rushed over in alarm, and Ingram opened his mouth.
“Father, let me escort Kain to those Maximus Mercenary Group thugs.”
“How could you manage that with your wounds?”
“Eldom and Kain arrived on a Saber Tiger, didn’t they? I can take Eldom’s place and guide the way.”
“You didn’t see it earlier, but the state Eldom was in after riding the Saber Tiger and guiding us was absolutely dreadful. Eldom, tell my son Ingram how difficult it was to ride the Saber Tiger here.”
“Ah, Ingram! You’re saying you’ll ride the Saber Tiger? Even I, perfectly healthy, thought I’d die from how fast it ran. Look at how we made it from our village to Houwan Village in less than half a day—can’t you imagine how rapidly the Saber Tiger was moving? Honestly, I only managed to survive that journey because I can summon the Wind Spirit to support me. An ordinary person probably would’ve lost consciousness.”
“You heard him? You won’t be able to hold on riding a Saber Tiger that runs that fast.”
“No, I can. Kain, please let me guide the way.”
Kain saw the desperate look on Ingram’s face and hesitated for a moment before nodding.
“Hmm, with that kind of resolve, he seems more suited than Eldom, who’s rather fussy. And he’d know best where the Maximus Mercenary Group is heading, too.”
“You’ve seen clearly. If someone else had guided us, I’d have to track them from the place where we fought the Maximus Mercenary Group, but I know their final destination, so I can easily get ahead of them.”
“Eldom, you heard? We’ll have to find the Maximus Mercenary Group with Ingram.”
“That’s settled then. Well, as long as he doesn’t pass out on the Saber Tiger’s back, it should be fine.”
Ingram looked at his father once Eldom agreed.
“Father, I’ll be back soon.”
“Sigh! All right, who’s going to stop your stubborn streak? Be careful on the way. Kain, I’m entrusting my son to you.”
“Of course. Don’t worry. Oh, Ingram. You’re not actually going like that with all those bandages on, are you?”
“Ah! I prepared an outer robe beforehand.”
Once Ingram put on the robe he’d prepared, Kain called for the Saber Tiger.
A moment later, the Saber Tiger, which had been eating the food the villagers provided, came running with a large piece of meat in its jaws.
“Eat quickly. We need to run again now.”
Crunch-crunch.
Hearing Kain’s words, the Saber Tiger chewed and swallowed the meat it was holding, then crouched low so the two could mount.
“Father, I’m going now.”
“All right, be careful.”
“Eldom, I’ll be back soon.”
“Yes, Kain. Please bring those children back safely.”
“I’ll do my best.”
As the Saber Tiger carried the two of them and left the village, everyone followed them out and waved goodbye.
Once the Saber Tiger left the village, it vanished at its customary incredible speed, and Eldom watched it go with a puzzled tilt of his head.
‘Strange. The Saber Tiger’s movements seem much smoother than when I rode it…’
For some reason, moving like that seemed like it would cause less sickness.
* * *
“Commander, many of our wounded soldiers need rest, and the Dverberg Clan we’re taking to the slave merchants are exhausted. Wouldn’t it be good to rest by the stream just ahead?”
Maximus let out a short sigh upon hearing his vice-commander Jiner Mann’s words.
“And whose fault is it that we’re fleeing without rest? If you hadn’t let that one escape yesterday, we’d be resting comfortably now, eating our fill and traveling at ease.”
“I did let one Dverberg warrior escape, but I wounded him severely. He wouldn’t have made it back to his tribe and likely died on the way. And even if, by some luck, he did make it back and requested aid, we’d have plenty of time to enter the Hylong Barony.”
“That’s your assumption, but if that bastard arrived earlier than we expected and requested rescue from his tribe, we could be attacked again before we reach the Hylong Barony. That’s why I’m pushing hard like this.”
When the commander glared with his eyes, Jiner Mann couldn’t say anything further and simply nodded.
“Yes, understood.”
Soon after the vice-commander convinced the soldiers to increase their pace, Maximus glanced back at the forest they’d passed through.
‘I have a bad feeling about this. When my instincts scream like this, something always happens!’
The secret to maintaining his mercenary band of over thirty soldiers for more than a decade lay in this special sixth sense that warned him of misfortune in advance.
Since that instinct was ringing alarm bells so fiercely, he was driving them forward even harder to enter the Hylong Barony.
The Hylong Barony bordered the Krellarion Mountain Range, where monsters frequently roamed, so it was surrounded by high walls, and its gates were constantly manned by trained soldiers who wouldn’t let anyone without an identity permit pass through.
Maximus pushed through the night without sleep to shake off his ominous feeling, and by dawn the next day, he was the first to pass through the city gates.
Once Maximus entered the barony and reached their quarters, he finally caught his breath and sent word to the slave merchants that they’d captured Dverberg children and warriors.
‘Phew! Once the slave merchants come and buy the goods, I can finally get some real sleep!’

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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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