Chapter 44 – Chapter 5

After arriving at the camp where the Margrave’s troops were stationed, the Wolf mercenaries settled down outside the camp and took a break.

Lillian, who was summoned as a mercenary captain, went to the barracks inside the camp, where the middle-aged commander seemed to have a certain rank within the unit, and was asked several questions.

What is the enemy’s strength? Did you see that Munratel fell? If so, how did you capture it?

He must have already received a report from the spy sent to Moonratel, but cross-validated just in case.

And when he reported the same content as the spy who returned alive, he nodded his head and tried to end the question.

“There is one more important story.”
“An important story? Something?”
“Something left the party in the greenskin area, but on the way back to Munratel…”

Lillian announced the existence of a heterogeneous orc that was rational and used powerful magic.

‘To take revenge on the kingdom of the dead, Akina Marquis must not suffer more damage than necessary.’

Currently, the 1st and 2nd princes are in a civil war, but according to rumors, the 2nd prince is gradually winning.

It doesn’t matter who takes the throne, but if you recover from the wounds of the civil war, you will try to get the territory of the kingdom of Luciarkenel, which has ‘black soil’.

The war between the Kingdom of Harlot and the Kingdom of the Deceased would naturally happen.

However, if the elite troops of Akina Marquis receive great damage from heterogeneous orcs, the probability of revenge success is also low.

“Heterogeneous Orcs… I had my doubts, but with this I can be sure.”

Even the Marquis of Akina was suspicious of the existence of a strange siege weapon introduced by the Greenskins.

“We are on a mission to supply materials and hire mercenaries, as the advance party sent by the Count. Sooner or later, an official with a contract will visit us, so let’s know that.”

After giving one-sided notice, the commander waved his hand and signaled to go.

It seems rude and rude, but even so, the commanding officer was kind enough to speak with goodwill.

It is not an exaggeration to say that among the nobles he has met, he is kind enough to be in the top 1%.

It was thanks to Lillian’s taking care of the information she didn’t say and bowing her head herself, but it’s a case where she ‘luckily’ looks at the commoners well as she has been rough as a subordinate of the Marquis.

‘I realize again and again that nobles are unlucky.’

As her princess, she took this for granted.

However, when I became a mere mercenary and suffered directly, my liking for the nobles was shattered.

Anyway, Lillian returned to the mercenary group resting outside the camp and gathered all the mercenaries.

“The troops of the Margrave of Karaiden have moved to subdue the Greenskin troops. They are in charge of supplying materials and hiring mercenaries as the advance team.”

She explained the situation to her men.

“Then we will also receive a mercenary contract.”
“If we fight under Akina Marquis, victory is certain!”
“Akina Marquis fights so well?”
“Of course! He’s an excellent commander, and he’s the mighty of Origin!”

A mercenary from the Western Continent saw it as an opportunity to grab a piece of the job of Akina Marquis of the trinity of a martial artist, an outstanding commander, and a powerful person in Origin.

In particular, Akina, who knows the importance of mercenaries because she is a Marquis, does not openly use them as a meat shield like other noble commanders.

‘The power of Origin… How strong are the strong people in this world… ?’

New strong people and new skills that can be stolen and learned from strong people are expected…

‘I’m looking forward to it?’

Kaicent found himself looking forward to learning a new skill.

At first, I was desperate to find Dang Seol-young and to become strong in order to survive in this harsh world, but at some point I felt a pleasant excitement.

When he was embarrassed by himself for being happy about learning the art of killing opponents, Frederick lightly tapped Kaicent on the head.

“Huh? F, Frederick?”
“There’s no need to be nervous. If it’s Akina or Marquess, no matter how strong the alien orcs are, they can win.”

Frederick comforted Kaicent, thinking that the reason why Kaisent was hardened was the fear of alien orcs, the fear of going through a large-scale war for the first time.

“The heterogeneous orcs used strange weapons, but that’s the same for us. Well, you haven’t seen our world’s ‘regular army’ so far, so there’s nothing strange about being nervous.”
“Regular army… Is it…?”
“Everyone, pay attention! Kaicent has never seen a regular army in our world, so I’ll take responsibility and punish those who ruin the fun by explaining in advance!”
“Ah, that’s right. Kaicent doesn’t know the equipment of the regular army, right?”
“I’m looking forward to it. What kind of reaction will you see if you see our weapon?”
“Honestly, it’s a job where several worlds are mixed…”
“Shut that bastard!”

The mercenaries were filled with an atmosphere of anticipation of Kaisent’s reaction.

Even though it was just a while ago that I was astonished at the bizarre weapon of the heterogeneous orcs that captured Munratel in an instant, the atmosphere was reversed at the name Akina.

Frederick comforted Kaicent and at the same time ordered a break while changing the atmosphere to liveliness.

“Mingming, come here.”

Kaicent, who had enough time to relax, called the tamed crow.

The crow that was saddled on the roof of the carriage flapped its wings and landed stably on the back of the owner’s outstretched hand.

As he tore off a piece of bread he had leftover and held it out to the crow’s beak, the crow bit down and comforted his neck, swallowing it at once.

“Caw-claw-“
“Thirsty? Wait a minute.”

Feeling thirsty from the tamed crow, he took out a canteen and sprayed it on his cupped palms to make it pool.

Kai Sent, who filled the crow’s belly, interacted with the pet by stroking his head and back.

Kaicent, who had been with Ming-Ming, who had been his friend since birth, named the crow he had Tamed Ming-Ming and treated it like a pet to fill the emptiness after losing Ming-Ming.

A crow that has been tamed but not completely distracted by its owner’s affable personality.

“Mingming, I’m so afraid of myself changing these days.”
“Cut?”
“Two months ago, I couldn’t imagine fighting someone risking my life, but now I’m happy that I can learn a powerful skill that can kill an opponent…”
“Cow…”
“I heard from my eldest sister that my dad told me that I was the only one who could threaten his position. That said, I have a talent that makes even my dad nervous.”
“Cut.”
“Am I going back to ‘as it was’ now? If I were to go back to ‘as it was’ perfectly, what would happen to me now?”

Of course, a crow with an intelligence of about 6 or 7 years old could not answer such a philosophical question.

However, she felt that the core of her heart was relieved a little just by releasing her unspeakable concerns to the pet she interacted with.

“Even so, I can’t stop here. If I don’t find Seol-young and take revenge on the bastard who forcibly tore me and Seol-young and killed Mingming…”
“Caw! Caw! Caw!”
“Ah, ah. I’m sorry, Mingming.”

Thinking of the man who attacked them, he unknowingly bursts into life, calming the frightened Ming-Ming.

“It was hard listening to boring stories. I’ll set you free, so come and play. If you go inside, be careful because they might shoot you.”
“Caw~”

The crow, Ming-Ming, gave a long cry and flapped its wings as it flew high into the sky.

As warned, they don’t even go far to the camp where the margrave’s troops are stationed.

‘I have no choice but to accept it if the path of finding Seol-young and getting revenge leads to things going back to normal. She may be able to give up everything and make a living doing something far from fighting, but I think she will lose something precious that she can never get back.’

If he gives up on finding Seol-Young and avenging her, he will lose something precious that cannot be described in words.

Even if you have to become your ‘original’ self, you can never lose ‘that’.

Having made up his mind like that, Kaicent walked around moderately and spent time chatting with the mercenaries.

“Get out of the way!”
“Where is the leader of this mercenary group!”

After a while, a knight who led a group of soldiers shouted at the mercenaries and started looking for the leader.

“I am Wolf, the leader of the Wolf Mercenary Corps.”
“It’s an employment contract.”

The knight unfolded the piece of paper with the seal of Count Karaiden on it to Wolf.

After accepting the contract, Lillian began to read the contents of the contract carefully, and the article that disapproved of it gave a loud shout.

“Ugh! Count Akina personally carved the seal, so why are you looking at it like that!”
“Sorry. We don’t have enough food, so we want to check the period.”
“Tsk! Anyway, ignorant mercenaries. It’s basic common sense to always have plenty of food.”

‘You old bastard.’

Lillian, who had often negotiated with such high-pressure articles, began to read the contract quickly, cursing inwardly and making excuses that worked most of the time.

Even with excuses, if you look at them for too long, they yell at you for not trusting them.

Fortunately, the contract did not show any traces of mischief, so he was officially hired by the Marquis unit while signing the contract.

No matter how intact the margrave’s forces are, I don’t want to be openly betrayed.

“Oh, and the forest over there is our unit’s hunting ground. If you enter and are mistaken for prey and attacked, there will be no reward, so know that.”

The knight gave a final warning and returned to the camp.

“Sheesh. That bastard’s ignorant mercenaries.”
“How can the repertoire of old knights not change?”
“No, to be honest, wasn’t this the orthodox old school? Even the tone of voice had a strong old-fashioned feel?”
“Puhahahaha!”

After confirming that the knight had completely disappeared, the mercenaries used him as a joke while talking behind his back.

“Make a camp! Move!”

The Wolf mercenaries, who had been staying close to the Marquis’s camp, settled down a little further away and began building a camp.

Perhaps thanks to the fact that several of the mercenaries created mana halls, building camps became much faster than before.

It’s near the military camp, so it’s safe, but a different kind of orc could do something, so I made a wooden fence and put it around it just in case.

“Hey, Kaicent. Help me.”
“Yes.”

Kaicent helped Bex, who was in charge of cooking, to hang up ingredients that needed to be dried or separate ingredients with dangerous expiration dates.

After making a campsite, the Wolf mercenary corps ate a hearty meal with meat that had a short shelf life.

The mercenaries, who had to eat dry bread and beef jerky, were delighted with the hot food they ate after a long time.

The atmosphere was completely restored through such a meal, and the Wolf Mercenary Corps took a break and enjoyed the last leisure before a large-scale battle.

After some time, another mercenary group hired nearby began attacking the camp.

Since the world of mercenaries is rather narrow, Lillian tried to simply greet and exchange information with other mercenaries.

As expected, they pretend to know each other as if they were mercenaries who fought together in the past, and the story begins to bloom.

‘It seems like there won’t be anything to do for a while.’

I think I’ll have a leisurely time like this until the greenskins attack first.

Kaicent felt that it would be a waste to spend this leisure time in vain.

There was a small forest nearby, so he decided to train there and cautiously headed towards the forest.

“Huh? Kaicent, where are you going?”
“I’m going to practice magic in the forest for a while. You can get hurt in a place where there are people.”
“That forest? But isn’t that knight a hunting ground occupied by the margrave’s army over there?”
“You don’t have to worry because I’ll be practicing secretly outside. If I get caught, I’ll be fine.”

Seeing him completely immersed in the mercenary world now, the mercenaries around him couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“Puha! It’s completely on our side.”
“That’s right. The first time I saw it, it was cute because it was stupid.”
“Ugh…! Don’t talk about the old days!”
“Don’t get caught and have a good time.”
“Do not worry.”

Kaicent cautiously approached the forest, glancing at the Marquis camp.

‘It would be fine if we came this far.’

Perched on the border between the inside and outside of the forest, he fashioned a sword out of mechanical gloves.

It’s not a lie that he wants to practice magic.
However, he wanted to practice Kenneth’s swordsmanship as well.

Lillian’s strong swordsmanship does not suit his physique, and there is also a set form or length of sword his gloves can make.

The walls get bigger and harder the more energy is poured into them, but swords and shields do not have such a function.

Perhaps because he knows that Kai Sent is a coward, he only focused on one function.

‘Honestly, I’m reluctant…’

Currently, there is no swordsmanship better than Kenneth.

‘I think it will be traumatic in a different way from ‘that man’.’

What would have happened if Lillian hadn’t helped.

Kai Sent struggled to shake off the tingling sensation in his buttock and straightened his stance.

‘First of all, I need to know how to use all the weapons I have.’

Now, he is in a position to calmly use his bow and magic from the rear, but the more new knowledge Kai Sent gains and the more he learns new strength, the more he realizes that he cannot defeat ‘that man’.

At the time, the man was injured and exhausted.

Even so, he instinctively sensed that he still couldn’t beat him as he was now.

You must be proficient in close combat, mid-range, and long-range combat, and you must be able to use magic proficiently in close combat.

Of course, he was afraid of close combat, so he said he would fight mid-range or long-range combat, but the enemy would notice it and approach him, so he couldn’t neglect how to fight in close combat in preparation for the worst.

‘My father did too.’

-This applies not only to fighting, but also to other fields.-
-If you want to become strong, don’t dig a single path, but acquire many kinds of knowledge.-
-Use a sword to know the strength of your fist, and use a fist to learn how to use your legs.-
– Knowing various concepts is the shortcut to becoming strong quickly. –

To put it simply, let’s say you sell watches.
Merchants who know knowledge about watches and those who do not.
Who Can Sell Watches More Efficiently?

Of course, the one who knows the watch well.
This is because they know the strengths and weaknesses of the watch and know the exact value.

It is said that when his father lived in the old dimension, he reached a new level through something called enlightenment.

However, in the end, this enlightenment was only about learning a new ‘concept’ and being able to use martial arts more efficiently.

He said that if you learn various concepts from the beginning, you can quickly become strong without realization.

However, they also warned that shallow knowledge and concepts are not very helpful, so be careful.

‘First, build experience and knowledge about swordsmanship.’

I don’t use it instinctively like when I fought Kenneth, but I make it with knowledge and experience properly and accumulate it.

Having set a goal like that, Kaicent began to practice Kenneth’s swordsmanship in his head.

‘…’

He didn’t even know he was being watched by someone.