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"Why haven't Black Wolf and the others come back since yesterday?"
"Who knows? Maybe they caught some fat sheep and ran off to Rikarisu to have fun?"
The flickering torchlight licked the face of the man speaking. A deep scar ran across his eye, adding a fierce edge to his disdainful expression.
Beside him, a tall, round-faced man comically widened his eyes and quickly pushed the torch away from his face, speaking seriously.
"That can't be, right? Boss Leopard has repeatedly warned everyone not to sneak back to Rikarisu under the guise of robbing travelers. They're not that stupid, are they? Could something have happened?"
The scarred man scoffed and switched the torch to his other hand.
"Black Wolf and Gray Rat are both intermediate-level North God Style swordsmen. Sure, Earth Scorpion is a bit weaker, but how could they just disappear while robbing someone? Use your brain, will you? Is all your intelligence in your lower half?"
His voice lowered as he pointed his thumb toward the darkness behind him.
"Otherwise, why would Boss Leopard be in such a foul mood? It's been months. Everyone's tired of robbing travelers. Sure, we've caught a few fat sheep, but the main target hasn't shown up at all."
"Who doesn't know that the kid with the 1,000 gold bounty has already left the Asura Kingdom? It's just that Boss Leopard can't admit it. He boasted to the other bandit leaders that our base is the key to the north-south trade route, with an airtight intelligence network... What a joke!"
The round-faced man quickly covered the scarred man's mouth.
"Keep your voice down! Are you trying to get yourself killed?? Is this something you can just say out loud??"
"...Get your hand off me! Why can't I say it? I've been fed up with that Leopard guy for a long time. If it weren't for his advanced Sword God and Water God Styles, who'd follow him? He got his position by selling his ass to Night Lion. Disgusting!"
"...Tell me more about selling his ass."
The scarred man's expression immediately lit up.
"He's been selling his ass for ages. Every time he goes back to the capital, he spends the night with Night Lion. When he comes back, he's all wobbly, that waist of his... Huh???"
He noticed the round-faced man's stunned expression and suddenly realized that the voice that had just chimed in was unfamiliar. He turned his head in surprise.
Standing beside him was a young man with glasses, looking soft and delicate, who had somehow appeared out of nowhere and was now leaning in, eavesdropping with a sneaky expression.
The three men stared at each other in silence.
The young man, seeing the scarred man stop at the crucial moment, grew impatient.
"What? Why'd you stop? Keep going! What about Boss Leopard's waist?"
The scarred man and the round-faced man finally snapped out of it, drawing their blades and cursing.
"Who the hell are you? New here? Don't you know the rules? Eavesdropping on your seniors??"
"Since when can you lust after Boss Leopard's waist??"
The bespectacled young man blinked, then cautiously replied.
"I'm new here, so I don't know the rules... Someone sent me to call you back. They said Boss Leopard is angry."
The two men exchanged a glance.
"Listen, kid, if you dare repeat what we just said, you're dead, got it? I'm an intermediate swordsman. Cutting down someone like you wouldn't take more than a few swings. If I find out..."
The young man bowed respectfully.
"Got it, got it, seniors~ It's getting late. Let's hurry back!"
With that, he turned and walked in the direction the scarred man had pointed earlier.
The scarred man, seeing the young man's back, immediately dropped his angry expression. He silently exchanged a look with the round-faced man, then stepped forward and slung an arm around the young man's neck.
The round-faced man, following behind, quietly placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and drew it without a sound.
The scarred man tightened his grip, pretending to be friendly with the new "brother."
"Hey, kid, you look unfamiliar... What's your name?"
"I'm Allen. Let's hurry. It's still an hour's walk."
The scarred man's expression darkened.
"...An hour? It's only half an hour... You're Allen? I've never heard of..."
His voice trailed off, and his pupils dilated.
"Al... Al..."
The scarred man struggled to say Allen's name again, but his strength failed him. Even the breath needed to vibrate his vocal cords was gone.
The dark forest swayed before his eyes. The young man named Allen didn't even need to break free from his grip. With just a step forward, he left the scarred man behind.
The scarred man reached out desperately but caught nothing. He instinctively reached for the sword at his waist, but his proud draw-slash technique was useless. He couldn't even move his arm.
At that moment, his vision began to spin on its own:
The bespectacled young man's back rotated toward the ground, the shadows of the trees danced under the moonlight, the leaves flying in the air "jumped" above the trees, the ground shifted, the moonlight that should have been in the sky entered his vision, the moon outside the forest gaps cut through the night sky, and the round-faced man's terrified expression flashed by.
The grass on the ground rustled, brushing against his face. Warm liquid splashed in front of him, carrying a salty, metallic smell.
The scarred man's head rolled to the ground. In the rain of blood, he stared blankly at his headless body collapsing forward, his pupils dimming.
He was dead.
In the blood rain, Allen turned around, his sword dripping with thick blood that fell to the ground.
The round-faced man, holding his sword, stood frozen, trembling like a leaf.
"Allen! You're Allen! Water God Style..."
As he spoke, Allen took a leisurely step forward.
In the next moment, his figure vanished from the round-faced man's sight. The man's mouth hung open, the word "advanced" still on his tongue, when he heard a faint footstep behind him. At the same time, Allen's voice reached his ears:
"The corpses are talking."
The man's heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively tried to turn around.
Then he experienced the sensation of his "vision moving on its own."
His sense of direction and balance disappeared. The moonlight and trees spun rapidly, drawing streaks of white light, creating an oddly beautiful scene.
Allen's figure flashed past in his peripheral vision, a smile still on his face.
'...Silent Blade... He... isn't he just advanced in Water God Style... How...'
Before he could figure it out, his thoughts sank into chaos, never to rise again.
With a thud, the head hit the ground. Allen's footsteps gradually faded, and his low murmur carried on the wind.
"Number five."
Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 105 on my patreon, go check it out and remember that if we reach the goal of 100 power stones I will publish the next chapter.