Chapter 229 – But it’s more comfortable here? (3)

It became completely quiet at that moment. However, that silence was soon broken by someone's loud laughter.

"Hahaha! You're going to capture me and beat me up? Ahahaha, ah, you are really funny bastards."

Boom.
The large axe on his arm slammed down onto the ground. The bandit leader started to glare at Cale.

"I hate weaklings who boss other people around the most."

He was from somewhere that kept slaves locked up and made them fight.
The Gladiator Arena.

It was the place where he had to fight against his sworn younger brother. His younger brother had made him smile up to the day of the fight.

The bandit leader had to survive in the arena since he was 12 years old.

The bastards that made him fight against his sworn younger brother were weaklings who only gave orders with their fingers.

"It feels good when I kill those types of bastards!"

His large body started to move.

"Gasp!"

The bandit who Cale was consoling gasped after seeing the bandit leader heading over toward him with the large axe. The axe was the size of an average adult.
It was the symbol of the bandit leader's immense strength as well as a source of fear for the others. Even merchants would get scared when they saw this axe.

'A, am I going to die? Do I need to dodge?'

All sorts of thoughts clashed in the bandit's head as he felt his body freeze up. However, he heard someone's voice at that moment.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

The bandit turned his head.
He could see a look of being unfairly judged on the face of the red-haired man.

'He thinks it is an unfair judgment?'

The bandit found it to be odd, but Cale truly felt that he was being wronged.

'Only sit back and give orders?'

Cale wished he had such a life. Why would he come all the way to the Eastern continent if he could live that way? He would roll in bed and never get up.

Cale was more emotional than ever from feeling wronged as he reached his hand out.

Baaaaang!

A loud explosion echoed through the mountain.
The bandit looked forward with his jaws dropped in shock. He could see Cale. He could also see the shield coming out of Cale's body.

The axe was blocked by the shield.
It did not manage to even leave a tiny scratch on the shield.

The bandit leader put some more strength into his hands.
He could see the red-haired man looking at him from the other side of the shield. He didn't know if this shield was made of magic or something else, however, his palm became numb the moment his axe struck it.

He was born with a naturally gifted body. That was why he had never felt pain nor did he never have enough strength. He was even able to win against most middle-grade knights. However, he felt that his strength was lacking for the first time in his life.

The corners of his mouth started to go up.

"Hehehe."

He could see the cold gaze of the man on the other side of the shield.

Yes, it was this feeling.

Gladiator.
There was something that allowed someone like him who could originally not even lift a sword to rise up from the bottom.
It was not his gifted strength but this sensation.

The type of excitement you feel when you are walking on a tightrope.

In the end, he had killed that sworn brother of his. He had felt sorrow as well as excitement the moment he killed his sworn brother. There was the sorrow that he was now alone. However, there was the excitement that he had won against his sworn brother who was stronger than him.

He had realized that he was a crazy bastard.

"Hehehe."

A bright smile appeared on his face.

"You weren't a weakling. You were strong as well."

He could see the red-haired man opening his mouth to speak.

"You can't even reach his ankles."

'What?'
Cale continued on as the bandit leader's eyes became full of confusion.

"I feel sorry for Toonka."

'Who?'
The bandit leader started to frown as his opponent was talking about someone else when he was standing right there. He raised his axe once more.
It was at that moment.

He felt something behind his back.

He started to get the chills.
The bandit leader flinched as he twisted his body.
However, he was already too late.

"Ugh!"

His large body tilted to the back. There was a hand in a white glove that was choking him. The man with the white glove easily pulled his body forward. The bandit leader tried to resist, but it was futile.

He turned his gaze to the side. He could see a man's gaze as his body fell to the back.

There was coldness and annoyance in the gaze.
The man looked spotless as he held a greatsword in his gloved hands.
The man calmly asked the bandit leader a question.

"Have you washed lately?"
"What bullshit- ugh!"

Pow!
The bandit leader's body that was falling down was slammed to the side. The side of the greatsword had struck the bandit leader's body, delivering the shock through his entire body.

Baaaaang!

The bandit leader's body slammed against the wooden fence.

"Ahhh! The ground is shaking! Hold on!"
"Hey, hold onto me!"

The bandits who were leaning over the wooden fence held on for dear life as they could not hide their emotions.
Anxiety, shock, and fear.
All sorts of emotions filled the faces of the bandits, but Beacrox did not care as he looked toward Cale. Cale opened his mouth to speak.

"Two more hits."

Beacrox sighed and put on a new pair of white gloves as he approached the bandit leader.

"Ugh."

The bandit leader slowly raised himself up from the ground. There was a giant dent in the shape of his body on the wooden fence. But as someone who was born with a naturally gifted physique, there was not a single injury on his body.
However, his internal organs were still shaken up from the impact.

"What the hell?"

Shock was evident on the bandit leader's face.
His mind was more shaken up than his internal organs that were still shaking from the impact.

He had expected the enemy to be strong. However, he never expected them to be this strong. He looked toward Beacrox who was approaching him and clenched his axe once again. His hands were shaking.

'Why would such strong people show up at Mount Leeb?'

He clenched his fists and started to smile as he pondered that question. He just needed to defeat these strong individuals. He could feel that excitement again if he could do that.

On the other hand, Cale let out a sigh.

"Toonka is definitely the strongest person."

He had expected more from this bandit leader as he and Toonka seemed to be the same type of person, however, this guy couldn't even reach Toonka's ankles.
But that was probably why he was a bandit.

"Young master-nim, isn't Beacrox strong?"
"Why are you asking such an obvious question?"

Cale casually responded to Ron's obvious question as he observed Beacrox.

Ron was talented in using his dagger for assassination.
His son Beacrox was the opposite as he used a greatsword.

The son had created his own path using the knowledge passed down from his father.

He was someone who fought silently, even while wielding a greatsword.
Beacrox's sword style was as spotless and clean as his outfit. His style was fancier than most knights.

It was as if he was beautifully decorating food.
He attacked as if he knew the places on the human body that would hurt the most.
Beacrox's sword style was a combination of all of those.

Baaaaang!

Another loud noise could be heard. Cale could see the axe flying away as Beacrox's palm headed for the bandit leader's back.

Pow!

"That's two."
"Ugh!"

The bandit leader fell forward after being hit in the back. Anger and intense pain were evident in his gaze.
He felt weak. He was too weak.
That was why he recalled what he had done as a young gladiator in order to survive.
He grabbed a handful of dirt before his body hit the ground.

It didn't matter if it was unfair. It was his way of survival.

His body twisted before it hit the ground. The bandit leader made eye contact with Beacrox and his hand started to move. He heard the red-haired man's voice as he did that.

"Huh?"

He sounded shocked.
The bandit leader started to smile.

'Yes, I need to at least do this to deserve the title of Indomitable Ruler!'

The dirt in his hand was flung toward Beacrox's eyes. He felt as if he needed to do this to feel better.
The dirt was thrown into the air as the bandit leader's body hit the ground.

Boom.

He fell with a loud noise, however, the bandit leader laughed on the ground as he looked toward Beacrox who was covered in dirt. The originally spotless noble-like man seemed extremely shabby like himself now.
He heard the red-haired man's voice once more at that moment.

"…I feel sorry for him."

'What?'
It was the moment the bandit leader felt something was off.

"Do you wish to die?"

The dirt-covered Beacrox's vicious eyes glared toward the bandit leader.

"W, what?!"

The bandit leader felt his body turn stiff after seeing the new vicious look in Beacrox's eyes. The large sword pierced the ground next to him.

Puuk.
The greatsword was stabbed deep into the ground as Beacrox's angry eyes continued to stare at the bandit leader.
Beacrox took off his white gloves.

Plop. Plop.
The white gloves were flung to the ground. Beacrox then started to speak to the bandit leader who was looking at him.

"I will not kill you or make you bleed. I will not even torture you."

'What? Torture?'
Beacrox lifted up a finger as the bandit leader looked back at him with shock.

One.
It could have meant the one hit that he still had left, however, Beacrox meant something else.

"One hundred hits. Just endure one hundred more hits."
Cale listened to Beacrox's voice as he turned his gaze to a faraway mountain.
Pow, pow, pow!
The pounding noise sounded like background music that surprisingly went well with the beautiful mountain Cale was looking at.

"Ahhh! Please! Stop! I'm so- ugh!"

Cale could hear the bandit leader's scream, as well as the mumblings of the bandit who was standing next to him.

"See, this is why you should have listened to me. You know nothing."

Cale patted the bandit on the shoulder. The bandit's face went from pale to blue, however, Cale did not pay much attention to it as he looked toward the wooden fence.
The other bandits flinched at his gaze before holding onto the ledge or their weapons. He could see fear and despair in their eyes.

However, the bandits quietly opened the door for them after seeing their leader receive over 50 hits.

* * *

Cale soon became the owner of the best house in the area, the bandit leader's house, as well as the expensive leather seat inside.

"Hey."
"Yes sir!"

The bandit leader who sported two black eyes bowed respectfully as he responded to Cale. Multiple spots on his face were blue from being hit.
However, there were no scratches, blood, nor even broken bones.

Cale took a bite of fruit that one of the sculpting bandits had brought over as he continued to speak.

"You guys are in control of Mount Leeb?"
"Yessiry!"
"Speak properly."
"Yes sir! Hang-nim!" ( Imagine the bandit leader speaking with a twang as he mispronounces hyung-nim and says hang-nim. )
"Why am I your hyung?"
"I'm sorry! Bandit leader-nim!"

'Aigoo, why am I the bandit leader?'
Cale was in disbelief, but just let it go because it was annoying.

"There is something for all of you to do starting today."

The bandit leader gulped as he looked at Cale. However, Cale was looking at someone else. The former bandit leader turned his head to look at the person as well.

It was an old man with a benign smile on his face.
He seemed fit for an old man, however, he gave off the aura of a scholar with a dagger by his side.
Beacrox and Hannah both gave off the aura of a strong person right away.
However, this old man did not seem strong at all.

'Is he a strategist or something? What is up with this weak old man?'

The former bandit leader had a blank expression on his face when Cale started to speak.

"He is our Beacrox's father."
"Father-nim! Nice to meet you!"

The bandit leader smiled brightly as he respectfully greeted Ron. Cale's calm voice continued to speak as he did that.

"I heard that there is an organization that has taken control of the Eastern continent's underworld."
"Y, yes?"

Although they lived in the mountains, they needed to be knowledgeable about the underworld in order to sell their stolen goods. The Eastern continent's underworld had been shaken up because of an organization for approximately the last ten years or so.
Everybody was busy protecting themselves after realizing that there was a new power in control. However, the underworld was something that existed in the shadows, so trade continued to flow quite freely.

Even if a single organization took control of it, it was hard to say it was completely unified.
The underworld was such a place.

"You are called the Indomitable Ruler?"
"Yes sir?"

His intuition as the former bandit leader and an experienced slave gladiator was telling him something.

'I have a bad feeling about this.'

He could see Cale smiling brightly as he had that thought.

"W, why do you ask sir?"

The bandit leader could see Cale's smile as he responded back.

"You will be one of the underworld's rulers starting today."
"…Excuse me?"
"And this is the person who will be your boss."

The former bandit leader could see the cold gaze in Ron's eyes.

Ron Molan.
The last head of the Molan household, one of the top five assassin households in the Eastern continent that was destroyed by Arm.

Cale had brought him back to the Eastern continent.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]