The Strongest in Our Neighborhood - Chapter 62

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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 (62)
Jang Gain’s eyes lit up as he watched the Wyvern take to the air.
“Look—a Wyvern spotted us and is heading this way. Should we take it down?”
“That one’s too small. What about that bigger one in the distance?”
“Ah, you’re right—those behind it are definitely larger. I’ll chase this one off then.”
A low growl rumbled from Sabel Tiger’s throat.
At that moment, Sabel Tiger lowered his stance toward the incoming Wyvern, baring his teeth.
“Wait—Sabel, are you actually planning to hunt that Wyvern?”
Jang Gain had already anticipated the tiger’s next move from his posture, so he dismounted without interfering and stepped back several paces.
“Even for a Giant Sabel Tiger, a Wyvern’s no easy prey. Those nests carved into the cliff? The Wyverns carved them with their beaks and talons. A peck from that beak can shatter stone.”
Aleingde Mir, who had also retreated behind him, spoke with a note of concern, but Jang Gain chuckled.
This was a Sabel Tiger that crushed and devoured ogre skulls harder than steel.
“Sabel’s more than capable—that’s why he’s doing it.”
The Wyvern, which had been circling above their heads at a height above the peak, suddenly dove at Sabel Tiger like an arrow.
A piercing shriek split the air.
Sabel Tiger had timed his strike and leaped to meet it, but when the Wyvern flapped its wings to dodge, Sabel Tiger’s body twisted hard in midair—and from the momentum of that twist, he shifted direction by roughly ten meters and continued his pursuit.
With a sharp crack—
The Wyvern hadn’t expected the wingless tiger to follow it through the air like that and couldn’t react in time. Sabel Tiger’s raking paw struck its head, tearing one side into four bloody gashes.
“Extraordinary! How is a Sabel Tiger without wings moving like that in the air?”
Aleingde Mir watched as Sabel Tiger raked the Wyvern with his front claws and twisted his body once more from the recoil, his jaws closing around the creature’s neck. He shook his head in amazement.
“I’ve been teaching Sabel various combat techniques whenever I get the chance. Most demonic beasts won’t stand a chance against him now.”
As Jang Gain spoke, the Wyvern with Sabel Tiger’s jaws locked around its throat thrashed its wings and crashed into the forest, splintering trees as it fell.
A series of piercing shrieks echoed through the gorge.
And as if startled by the sudden commotion, dozens of Wyverns launched from the gorge all at once and began circling overhead.
“Bring me that one—the largest.”
Aleingde Mir pointed to the biggest Wyvern among them, and Jang Gain drew his sword.
“Just the head intact?”
“The head’s what I need immediately, but if you can clean it up and sever the neck properly, the body would be usable too.”
“Understood.”
In one smooth motion—
Jang Gain swung his blade, and a Sword Aura erupted from the tip, cleanly severing the enormous Wyvern’s neck in a single stroke.
The Wyvern, still airborne, fell toward the ground with its severed neck, its eyes blinking as if unaware of its own fate.
“Wow! Even I don’t find Wyvern hunting easy, but one slash and it’s done! A Sword Master truly is something else.”
Aleingde Mir cast magic on the falling Wyvern’s head, suspending it in midair above the ground before opening a Sub-space and storing it within.
A faint hum resonated through the air.
Moments later, the headless body, still flapping its wings, plummeted to the earth. The other Wyverns, witnessing this, panicked and suddenly soared high into the sky, fleeing far into the distance.
* * *
“Just a Baron’s title… Well, the rank itself isn’t what matters. What matters is being recognized as a Lord of the minority clans in the Crerarion Mountain Range, so I suppose I should be grateful.”
After receiving word from Earl Johansen, Jang Gain was traveling toward Sublan, where the Kingdom’s capital lay, to receive his Baron’s title—riding atop Sabel Tiger.
Accompanying him were Mage Laila Frang, his master Aleingde Mir, Knights Leodosn Terra, Dimitrion Marshal, Eldom, Violet, and Ingram—seven in all—plus Jasllan Milley, Johansen’s eldest son, who had joined their party when they passed through the earl’s domain, along with his retinue.
Jasllan Milley, having heard Jang Gain’s muttering, opened his mouth with a somewhat awkward expression.
“The truth is, my father petitioned His Majesty, arguing that if you truly are a Sword Master, a Baron’s title alone would be insufficient—that the Kingdom should support your territory directly and grant you tax benefits to strengthen relations.”
“But Earl Johansen never mentioned any such petition to me.”
“He made the petition, but His Majesty was displeased with it, so he couldn’t pursue it further. That’s probably why he never told you.”
“Then all I can expect from meeting the King are the title and territorial lordship?”
“You can also receive a tax exemption. However, direct Kingdom support is now off the table.”
“Well, I didn’t have high hopes for that anyway, so there’s nothing to be done. Instead, I should tell him that if war breaks out later, I’ll only fulfill my obligations as much as he’s willing to support me—so he shouldn’t feel aggrieved about that.”
“Y-yes, that’s fair.”
Jang Gain turned his gaze from Jasllan and looked out at the vast plains stretching toward the horizon, where countless people labored in the fields.
They were all farmers, yet the farmers of the Baron’s territory differed from those in the Earl’s lands, and the farmers here near the capital of Sublan were different still.
‘Farmers can have expressions so at ease. It really does seem like a much better place to live here.’
The occasional carriages that passed were mostly passenger vehicles rather than cargo wagons, and in the distance, beyond the city walls, he could see tall buildings of a sort rarely seen even in Zhongyuan.
“Ah, speaking of which, Lord Jang.”
“Yes?”
“My father says His Majesty wants to personally verify whether you truly are a Sword Master.”
“Ah, is that so? I heard from Lord Dimitrion that the royal palace has the Kingdom’s First Blade, Lord Morona Valentia. That works out well. Honestly, I’ve been curious about the skill of one who bears such a title.”
“His Majesty, upon learning that you visited the Demonic Realm, ordered Lord Morona Valentia, the court Mage Lord Yulian Naman, and the High Elemental Master Lord Simeus to fight you jointly.”
“He learned I visited the Demonic Realm and ordered three of the pillars that support the palace to join forces against me, and yet his reward is merely a Baron’s title and tax exemption?”
“For now, yes. However, both my father and I believe that if you display overwhelming martial prowess before His Majesty, his attitude toward you will change.”
“I see. Well, His Majesty’s approach doesn’t sit well with me, but it’s not as if I can refuse either. I’ll have to face this joint assault from the three of them. Though I can’t guarantee just how overwhelmingly I’ll win.”
“If you’ve demonstrated the skill to slaughter Demonic Beasts and Magical Creatures in the Demonic Realm, you’ll have more than enough strength to overwhelm them.”
“Demonic Beasts and Magical Creatures can be killed without hesitation, but those three men are said to be the three pillars supporting the Kingdom. Winning without killing them is several times harder than killing them.”
Jasllan tilted his head at Jang Gain’s words.
“Why are you trying to win without killing them? Didn’t I just tell you? You must demonstrate overwhelming force.”
“Does that mean it’s all right to kill them?”
“You needn’t kill them necessarily, but if they die because they can’t block your attacks, that’s unavoidable. The truth is, His Majesty’s contempt for you stems from how much he trusts those three men. If you break their strength, how could he possibly continue to look down on you? If they die, His Majesty will only cling to you more.”
“Won’t he grow angry if I use excessive force and kill them?”
“He may rage for a time, but unless he’s a fool, he won’t turn someone who can stand shoulder to shoulder with the strongest of other nations into an enemy.”
Jang Gain felt a subtle shock upon seeing Jasllan’s cold expression.
“Now I see you’re rather ruthless, Jasllan.”
“You’re the soft one, Jang Gain. Three men claiming to be the strongest in your homeland are sharpening their blades, and you’re thinking of beating them without killing them. Do you truly believe His Majesty will grieve even slightly if you’re wounded or killed by their attacks?”
“Now that I hear it, I was indeed soft. I’ve learned much today from your words.”
Jang Gain’s eyes had grown cold.
* * *
“Usually, Mages install Magic Circles at the place where they’ll fight before battle, to create an environment favorable for them. Do you not make such preparations, Lord Yulian?”
As Morona Valentia set down his teacup and asked casually, Yulian Naman let out a soft chuckle.
“Judging from your words, it seems you’re unaware that countless Magic Circles are laid throughout the royal palace.”
“I’m aware that Magic Circles are installed throughout the palace to hinder spatial movement or dispel concealment magic. But wouldn’t such things be useless when fighting in the Training Grounds?”
“At my level, I can synchronize even distant Magic Circles with my mana and utilize them quite effectively.”
Morona Valentia couldn’t hide his surprise at the answer.
“Is that so? I didn’t know such a thing was possible.”
“I’m more concerned about Simeus. There will likely be Magic Circles restricting Spirit movement around the Training Grounds.”
As Yulian Naman and Morona Valentia turned their gaze to him, Simeus, who had been playing with a Fire Spirit hovering above his palm, smiled and opened his mouth.
“I’ve served His Majesty as a Spiritist for over ten years now. At this point, I can dismantle Spirit-restricting Magic Circles in five minutes if I set my mind to it, so there’s no need for such worry.”
“Ah, of course—you’ve hardly been idle all this time. We were needlessly fretting.”
“Even so, this man Jang Gain is a Sword Master who slaughtered hundreds of Demonic Beasts and Magical Creatures in the Demonic Realm. Shouldn’t we at least synchronize our movements among ourselves?”
As Morona Valentia spoke with a somewhat anxious expression, Yulian Naman and Simeus both shrugged.
“Since I’m a Mage, I’m weak in close combat—I can only support you from a distance.”
“Since the Spirits under my command do the fighting, I don’t think there’s any need to synchronize movements in particular.”
“But if the Spirits or magic can’t keep pace with my movements, wouldn’t they end up damaging me?”
“Would we truly be so inept?”
“I say again: the opponent is a Sword Master who crossed into the Demonic Realm alone and slaughtered hundreds of Demonic Beasts and Magical Creatures. I’m quite tense, yet you two seem to be underestimating him greatly.”
“How could we not be tense when facing a Sword Master so rare they’re numbered in the Empire?”
“Are you truly tense? Or do you perhaps think it’s not dangerous at all since you’ll be using magic and Spirits from a distance?”
As Morona Valentia’s voice grew heated, the two men faltered slightly.
“Would we truly think such a thing?”
“That’s what it seems like to me.”
“No. If you don’t believe us, let’s go to the Training Grounds and we’ll show you how precisely we can handle magic and Spirits in sync with your movements.”
“Very well. Shall we go to the Training Grounds?”
“Yes.”
Soon after arriving at the Training Grounds, the three men dismissed the knights who had been training there.
Then Simeus dispelled the magic restricting the Spirits, and Yulian Naman synchronized the surrounding Magic Circles with his mana.
“I’m ready.”
“I’m ready as well.”
“Then I’ll move with full strength, imagining I’m fighting an enemy Sword Master. Please observe my movements first.”
“Yes.”
Once the two gave their assent, Morona Valentia drew the sword from his waist and began moving at high speed.

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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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