The Strongest in Our Neighborhood - Chapter 41

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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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Strongest in the Neighborhood (41)
“The demon’s life force is stubborn, but it won’t last much longer. I’d say it’s about to die.”
Jang Ga-in laughed awkwardly at the scorn in Layla’s eyes.
“Ha ha, I do have a conscience. I wouldn’t squeeze the last copper from a dying creature. How about 280 gold?”
“It looks like it’ll be dead in about five minutes, though?”
“Then I’ll hurry it down to 250—”
“…….”
“Sigh! I was just trying to sell it while it was still alive, but I suppose that won’t work.”
While the two of them haggled over the dying creature, the demon’s eyes blazed crimson.
“Grrgh! To be mocked by such insignificant insects! Umbarterimyra!”
As Jang Ga-in’s expression turned puzzled, the demon fixed its blazing gaze on Saber Tiger and chanted an incomprehensible incantation.
Grrrowwwl…….
When the demon and Saber Tiger locked eyes, the beast’s gaze wavered for a moment, but it quickly returned to normal and simply turned its head away as though dismissing the matter entirely.
In that instant, the demon’s eyes widened in shock.
“What? Why won’t it obey my command? Umbarterimyra!”
The demon chanted the incomprehensible incantation again, and Saber Tiger turned its head toward the creature once more—but when it glanced at Jang Ga-in, it turned away again with the same indifferent expression.
“This… this can’t be! How can a monster refuse my orders? Umbarterimyra! Umbarterimyra! Umbarterimyra…….”
Jang Ga-in watched as the demonic energy pouring from the demon’s eyes seeped into Saber Tiger’s ears, but he couldn’t help but smile.
“Eldom bathes this one in Spirit Power whenever he gets the chance. You think a wretch like you, barely clinging to life, could influence it with the dregs of your demonic power?”
“This is impossible! Controlling monsters is my divine right, granted to me by the King—” Gack!
Jang Ga-in twisted the spear through the demon’s heart, destroyed it, then wrenched the weapon free. The creature spattered blood everywhere before crumbling like rotten straw.
“I was trying my best to keep you alive and sell you whole, but oh well. Looks like I’ll only get 200 gold out of this. You will still pay me 200 gold, won’t you?”
“200 gold is a fair price. Once I return to my territory, I’ll give you the value of a High-Ranking Demon’s Arm plus the price of this Kolpon.”
“Understood. But tell me—why do mages buy demon corpses for such high prices?”
“They’re used as materials for various experiments, research, and alchemy. And they’re particularly useful when creating Chimeras.”
“Chimeras? What’s a Chimera?”
Jang Ga-in tilted his head, and Layla’s expression turned exasperated.
“You don’t know what a Chimera is?”
“No. As I mentioned before, I’m from quite a distant place, and you were the first mage I’d ever met, remember?”
“Ah, that’s right. To put it simply, a Chimera is a magically-created creature made by stitching together the bodies of multiple monsters to create something far more powerful.”
“By stitching monster bodies together? How? Could you explain in more detail?”
“For example, you might combine the head of a Saber Tiger—whose teeth are a formidable weapon—with the body of an Ogre, which is synonymous with toughness, to create a far stronger magical creature.”
“If you remove the Saber Tiger’s head and attach it to an Ogre’s body, wouldn’t both of them die?”
“Ordinarily, yes. But don’t there exist creatures that don’t die even when their hearts stop and their heads are severed?”
When Jang Ga-in heard this, he recalled the High-Ranking Demon’s Arm he still possessed, still alive.
“You mean something like the High-Ranking Demon’s Arm I have.”
“Exactly. Strangely enough, demons don’t decompose and continue to live even after their heads are severed and their hearts destroyed. And over time, their hearts can regenerate and they return to life—or a severed head can grow a new body.”
“What? Really? How is that even possible?”
“Many mages and sages are researching how it’s possible, but it hasn’t been explained yet.”
“Oh! Then this Kolpon I just killed by shattering its heart will come back to life eventually?”
“It will. That’s why, in ancient times, whenever a demon was killed, it was always burned without exception, and any remaining bones were ground to powder, then purified with holy water.”
“They were very thorough in their destruction.”
“They had to be, or it would return someday.”
“So when you attach an Ogre’s body to a Saber Tiger’s head for a Chimera, if you use a demon’s body, will both the head and body come back to life?”
“Once you connect the blood vessels of the demon’s body to the monster’s blood vessels and perform various magical procedures, both the head and body will revive. Then, using Brainwashing Magic to enslave it, the Chimera is complete.”
“Ah, I see. But wouldn’t the Chimera become a demon in that case? Or couldn’t a more powerful demon seize control of the Chimera?”
“To date, there have been no cases of a Chimera becoming a demon or the brainwashing being broken.”
“Really? Then, could you make Chimeras yourself?”
“I still lack the knowledge to manage it alone. My master is the one currently creating them.”
Jang Ga-in’s eyes widened suddenly.
“How many Chimeras has your master made?”
“When I last visited, I saw that he possessed three.”
“I’m so curious about Chimeras that I’d really like to meet your master someday.”
“I’ll ask my master, and if he permits it, I can arrange a meeting.”
“Thank you. Please do ask him. I’m curious about both Chimeras and alchemy.”
“Of course.”
* * *
The demon Jakpuri descended into the lightless underground and bowed his head toward the place where darkness gathered thickly before speaking with caution.
“Sbalwain Zelato. What is it that you’ve summoned me so urgently for?”
Flash.
In that moment, two eyes gleaming red light appeared where the darkness had been gathering.
“How long has it been since I summoned you? And only now you arrive?”
“I went some distance to procure the corpse of a child who never even tasted mother’s milk, all for your sake.”
“And how many children’s bodies did you manage to obtain?”
“I have brought eight of them so far.”
As Jakpuri opened the coffin and withdrew the bodies of children who appeared to have been dead for only a few days, Sbalwain smacked his lips with satisfaction.
“Excellent! Such desperate yearning for life is abundantly present! With eight bodies, I can restore my arm to normal and recover my strength sufficiently. You’ve labored well.”
“Thank you. But why did you summon me so urgently?”
Jakpuri tilted his head at Sbalwain’s uncharacteristic impatience.
“Did I not tell you through the communication device? The one who severed my arm is coming here now.”
“You said the maximum distance at which you could sense the arm’s location was one hundred kilometers, so I thought even if he came by horse, he wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow.”
“I thought so too, but in mere hours the arm’s position drew rapidly closer, and now I sense it from only twenty kilometers away.”
Jakpuri’s eyes widened in an instant.
“Twenty kilometers? At that distance from here… he must have nearly reached the Outer Castle.”
“Indeed. So go at once and command the Count, whom you’ve made into a puppet, to fight him.”
“I understand. But what distinctive features does this man have? You fought him, so you’ll recognize him on sight, but the Count and I know nothing except that he’s a Master-Class warrior.”
“He’s coming on the back of a Saber Tiger, and he has a mage of roughly 4-Star Rank in his company as well.”
“A S-Saber Tiger? A man with such tremendous martial prowess and taming ability as well.”
“The last time I saw it, it was a large Saber Tiger, but now it has taken the form of a Giant Saber Tiger, the kind you only see near the Demon Realm.”
Jakpuri’s eyes widened once more.
“A Giant Saber Tiger should be impossible to tame, as it ranks equal to a mid-tier Demon Beast…”
“I thought the same, but it seems the Saber Tiger has some special taming ability. He rides one nonetheless.”
“A Master-Class warrior commanding a Giant Saber Tiger… we’ll need to mobilize all of the Count’s Household’s forces to take him down.”
“The more humans who die, the easier it becomes to open a Gate to the Demon Realm. In fact, this works out well!”
“Once the battle between him and the Count is finished, I’ll sweep up whichever one survives.”
“A fine plan. With these corpses you’ve brought, I can fully restore not just my arm but my strength as well. After that, I too shall join in the slaughter.”
“Understood.”
“Go now.”
“Yes.”
As Jakpuri rose from his seat, Sbalwain withdrew a child’s corpse from the coffin and began to feed.
* * *
“Saber, play in this forest until I call for you.”
Rumble, rumble…
After the Saber Tiger nodded in understanding and vanished into the forest, Layla finished retching and drank a potion to settle her churning stomach.
“Phew! I never knew until today that the gastric juices from digesting food were yellow!”
“How is your stomach now?”
“As you can see, dreadful. How are you so unaffected, Ga-in?”
“Riding Saber doesn’t make me particularly dizzy.”
“How is that possible? My head was spinning. Do you have some secret technique?”
“I suppose it’s just from riding so often.”
“I see… that must be nice.”
“Once your stomach settles a bit more, shall we continue?”
“Could we rest for about five more minutes?”
“Walking will help settle it.”
“Sigh… very well.”
Layla sighed and, as they walked, asked something that had been on her mind.
“By the way, why didn’t we ride the Saber Tiger directly to the Count’s Territory?”
“Saber is too conspicuous. I’m planning to slip in quietly and slip out the same way, so I left Saber behind.”
“But earlier, didn’t you speak as though you were about to have a confrontation with the Count over the Centron Mine?”
“That was my original thought, but it would mean getting too much blood on my hands. Instead, I plan to visit the Count’s quarters at night and negotiate discreetly.”
“The Count is guarded by Expert-Class Knights, and the captain of the guard, Bedola Barr, though not quite as formidable as Leodosun Terra, is still a tremendously powerful warrior.”
“Do you believe such men could stop me?”
“Of course not. But I’m not sure a discreet negotiation will be possible under those circumstances.”
“I haven’t invested much effort in Specialized Techniques, but I’ve still learned enough. And that level of skill is sufficient for me to meet the Count discreetly.”
“Specialized Techniques? What exactly do you mean by that?”
“They’re techniques designed for specific missions—concealing your movements without being detected by enemies, tracking a criminal’s traces, shadowing targets unseen, that sort of thing.”
“So you’re saying you can deceive all of the guard knights with such techniques and meet the Count?”
“Yes.”
“Honestly, that’s hard to believe. A knight’s senses are far sharper than ordinary people’s, and the Magical Alarm I’ve set up can’t be ignored.”
Jang Ga-in shrugged at the doubt in Layla’s expression.
“I’ve learned how to dismantle Magical Alarms from the elders.”
“R-really?”
“Look—the checkpoint of the Outer Castle is visible in the distance. If I show you how I slip past the guards unnoticed, would you believe me?”
“Yes, I suppose that would be convincing.”
“Then please enter the castle first, Layla. I’ll slip in discreetly and find you.”
“Find me? How will you know where I am?”
“Your aura is distinctive. I’ll locate you easily once I’m inside.”
“Even with keen senses, distance makes it difficult, doesn’t it?”
“Which is why you mustn’t venture far once you’ve passed through the gate.”
“Understood. I’ll go in first and wait for you.”
“Yes.”
Layla headed toward the gate with lingering doubt written across her face, and Jang Ga-in slipped into the crowd of people waiting in line for inspection.

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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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