The Strongest in Our Neighborhood - Chapter 22

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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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The Strongest in Our Neighborhood (22)
“You’ve actually faced the Marquis yourself? You fought him and yet somehow survived… Ahem. My apologies.”
Mogoya Daparon swallowed the rest of his words, and Crudawan offered a bitter smile.
“How do you think I survived? The Marquis let me live.”
“What? Ah!”
“Honestly, I couldn’t withstand even one of his strikes, but I thought Dimitrion, being one of the Ten Swords of our homeland, would be on a different level… There’s barely any difference.”
Mogoya Daparon began to recover from the initial shock upon hearing Crudawan’s words.
“I’ve never even imagined Dimitrion being bested by anyone. To see it with my own eyes today… it’s like witnessing a heaven beyond the heavens.”
“A heaven beyond the heavens—yes, that’s apt. Dimitrion is a heaven to me, so Ga-in must be a heaven to Dimitrion.”
Mogoya Daparon nodded at Crudawan’s words, but a moment later his expression grew puzzled.
“Crudawan, from what I can see, the battle is already over. Why doesn’t he finish it? Why does he keep poking at Dimitrion here and there like a cat toying with a mouse?”
The armor Dimitrion wore had been torn to shreds by Jang Ga-in’s blade—it could scarcely be called armor anymore.
“Beats me. I can’t fathom what he’s thinking either.”
* * *
‘That strange rebound that happened with the breastplate earlier… it’s not happening anymore.’
Jang Ga-in sliced through the other pieces of armor with his blade, then frowned in disappointment.
He had refrained from killing his opponent because he was curious about that rebound and wanted to examine it more closely.
Once there was no more armor to slash, he stopped.
Then Dimitrion spoke, trembling and gasping in agony.
“Hnnnngh… P-please… spare me!”
“Hm? Oh. Right. I was distracted for a moment there.”
“What?”
“I was planning to kill you, but if you answer my questions well, I’ll let you live.”
“I’ll answer anything. Please, ask away.”
“When I stabbed the breastplate earlier, there was a strange rebound that knocked my blade back. Why isn’t that happening anymore?”
“Ah! There was a Defensive Magic Circle inscribed on the breastplate, and your attack shattered it. That’s why the magic no longer activates.”
“A Defensive Magic Circle!”
Curiosity flickered in Jang Ga-in’s eyes at the mention of magic.
He had heard something about magic when learning Spirit Magic from Eldom.
“Yes, this pattern here—this is the Defensive Magic Circle.”
As Dimitrion pointed with his finger at his own breastplate, Jang Ga-in’s eyes widened.
On the half-torn breastplate, a geometric pattern that hadn’t been visible before was now revealed.
“This is a Defensive Magic Circle?”
“Yes.”
“That’s strange. I didn’t see any markings like this on the breastplate before.”
“Ah, magic circles are normally concealed. This one only became visible because it was destroyed.”
Jang Ga-in reached out and touched the geometric pattern.
A faint tremor ran through his hand.
The moment his fingers made contact, he felt the lingering resonance of power still remaining in the pattern.
“Fascinating. What principle allows such force to be embedded in an iron plate, strong enough to stop my thrust?”
He had thought of magic as something akin to sorcery or black magic, but it seemed to be something altogether different.
“I’m not a mage myself, so I’m afraid I don’t know the principles.”
“Then where is the mage who inscribed this circle on the breastplate?”
“In Seublan.”
“Seublan—that’s the capital of this kingdom?”
“Yes.”
“What’s the mage’s name?”
“Dalsima.”
“So if I go to the capital and find this mage Dalsima, I can have circles like this inscribed on armor?”
“Yes. There are several mages in the capital who can inscribe magic circles. If you seek them out and pay the price, they can inscribe circles onto your armor and equipment.”
“I see. That’s useful information. But how much does it cost to inscribe one?”
“The price varies depending on the circle, but this one cost 50 Gold.”
Jang Ga-in’s eyes went round. The money from the Maximus Mercenary Group’s vault had been 30 Gold, and with that sum he’d purchased two large wagons’ worth of grain and supplies, leaving only a few Gold remaining.
“50 Gold! What makes it so expensive?”
“It is dear, but if you think of it as the price of an extra life, it’s not that costly.”
“An extra life? For something that breaks after activating once?”
“W-well, that’s only because you’re absurdly strong. Normally, when fighters of comparable skill fight each other, such a circle is indeed worth the price of a spare life.”
Jang Ga-in listened to Dimitrion’s words and nodded after a moment’s thought.
“If they’re of similar strength, I suppose that makes sense. Well, once I earn more money later, I should visit the capital and find a mage.”
Dimitrion watched as Jang Ga-in had not yet sheathed his blade, and he swallowed hard.
The opponent could kill him whenever they wished.
He wanted to survive by any means.
“The mage Dalsima and I have connections, so when you reach the capital, if you mention my name, he’ll treat you far better than other mages.”
“Your name? Come to think of it, what is your name?”
“Dimitrion Marshal, sir.”
“Dimitrion Marshal. Understood. I’ll remember to mention your name if I meet that mage Dalsima later.”
……
“By the way, you said the baron of this territory sent you to kill me, right?”
“Yes! Ah, yes. Though, he didn’t actually say to kill you—he said to teach you a lesson.”
“Do you take me for a fool? ‘Teaching a lesson’ is the same as saying to kill me.”
“Normally it would be, but I didn’t have any intention of actually killing you.”
Jang Ga-in’s expression turned wry, and he let out a short, bitter laugh.
“This guy’s amusing. If you had no intention of killing me, then you would’ve let me go even if I was weaker than you?”
“Yes. In truth, I didn’t come here for a deathbattle. I came because I heard that you’d defeated Morson, and my competitive spirit was kindled—I wanted to test myself against you.”
“When two people cross blades, unless there’s a dramatic gap in skill, one of them ends up dead or crippled. Are you an idiot?”
“I believed that dramatic gap in skill would exist. Of course, foolishly, I thought my skill was superior.”
When Dimitrion offered a bitter smile, Jang Ga-in opened his mouth in disbelief.
“What! You had that kind of arrogance at merely the beginning of the Peak?”
“The beginning of the Peak? What do you mean by Peak?”
“Peak is, roughly speaking, the level where you can release the energy accumulated in your body outward. That’s when you’re at the Peak.”
“Ah! So that level is called the Peak. We knights usually say we’ve reached Expert-class.”
“Right, so let’s call it Expert-class then. In any case, it’s ridiculous that you harbored such arrogance at merely the beginning of Expert-class.”
“Though, I’m not exactly a beginner. I’ve been at Expert-class for more than five years.”
“Five years or ten years—the time period is meaningless. How many times have you actually fought other Expert-class masters?”
“Twice.”
“Only twice. That you’re still alive is lucky for someone at your level. Normally, those who’ve recently reached the Peak become arrogant and get their necks cut off.”
Watching Jang Ga-in speak as if he had extensive practical experience with Expert-class masters, Dimitrion swallowed hard without realizing it.
“Then what happened to those two you fought? Did they die or become crippled?”
“Both suffered some injuries, but they were minor enough to be fully healed with potions.”
Jang Ga-in suddenly tilted his head in confusion.
“What? At the Peak level, a blade’s edge alone carries enough energy to cut through metal like paper. Minor injuries? Did you perhaps have some casual sparring instead of a true deathbattle?”
“That is… they weren’t enemies worth risking my life over. And if I killed them, it would also weaken the kingdom’s overall strength…”
“So you’ve never had a proper fight since reaching the Peak? You’re a complete novice.”
“I… I suppose so. Only today have I truly understood I was a frog in a well.”
Jang Ga-in sheathed the sword he’d been holding.
“Since you had no intention of killing me, I’ll let you live this time. Still, what should I do about that baron who hired you? I suppose killing him would be best?”
Dimitrion’s eyes widened at Jang Ga-in’s words.
“Ga-in. If you kill Baron Jabedra, you might have to fight the entire kingdom.”
“What? You think the entire kingdom would move against me for killing just one provincial noble?”
“Nobility may differ in other ways, but in that regard they stick together. The whole kingdom won’t move, certainly, but nobles with connections to him will surely band together to seek revenge.”
“Do I look to you like someone who can be killed if a few nobles band together?”
“High-ranking nobles have knights in their service, but some also employ mages, Spirit Magic users, and even Black Mages. No matter how strong you are, if such individuals unite against you, the danger would be very high.”
“Mages and Black Mages! Hmm, it’s true that magic is a mysterious power I don’t understand.”
Jang Ga-in recalled the odd elasticity he’d felt from Dimitrion’s breastplate and frowned slightly.
Magic was mysterious, certainly, but he didn’t think he would actually fall to such power. Still, it did seem like it could become quite troublesome.
“So what should I do? I can’t just let the baron who hired you to kill me go without some retaliation.”
“Hmm! How about this?”
……
“In fact, Baron Jabedra agreed to give 50 percent of the Centron Mine shares to Baron Mogoya Daparon in exchange for my teaching you a lesson.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Yes. So instead of killing Baron Jabedra, if you spare him, demand the mine shares that were supposed to go to Baron Mogoya Daparon.”
Hearing Dimitrion’s proposal, Jang Ga-in unconsciously licked his lips at the enticing suggestion.
“Hmm! Money instead of death… Well, it’s better to hold gold than to have blood on your hands. But would the baron really give up the mine shares just like that? Even if it’s the price for sparing him, he won’t want to give them up easily.”
“The reason Baron Jabedra would yield the mine shares to Baron Mogoya Daparon is because he cannot handle a territorial war.”
“So you think that if I, having defeated you, threaten him, he’ll hand over the shares?”
“He may not grant 50 percent like Baron Mogoya Daparon, but if you demand 20 or 30 percent, there’s a high chance he’ll comply.”
“Right. Either way, I can get some shares out of this.”
“Yes.”
“Wait. Did you perhaps mention the Centron Mine just now?”
At that moment, Ingram approached and asked.
“Yes, the Centron Mine, as I said.”
“Ga-in, the Centron Mine is a mine our tribe once developed in secret before human hunters discovered it and took it from us.”
Jang Ga-in’s eyes widened in an instant.
“Oh, is that so?”
“Several of our village elders were captured by those human hunters and became slaves working in the Centron Mine. Please help us rescue them.”
“If such a thing happened, of course we must help. And now I have another justification to demand the baron grant me a stake in the Centron Mine.”
“We’re already so grateful that you rescued the teacher and the village children—I’m sorry to ask for something so difficult on top of that.”
“Not at all. In fact, having this justification means I can pressure the baron more effectively. I’m heading to see him now—come with me, Ingram.”
“Very well.”
Not long after, Jang Ga-in set out toward the baron’s castle, bringing Ingram and Dimitrion with him.
Thud-thud-thud……
As they rode, he noticed the guard captain ahead of them, racing forward.
Jang Ga-in let out a soft laugh at the sight.
‘Slipped away quietly just now, did he? Off to report to the baron, no doubt.’

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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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