Chapter 271 – With Love (4)

Charge.
That word made Choi Han's serious expression become even more serious. He activated his aura even stronger this time.

"T, t, this-"

The Action Leader could not speak properly.
That thing that looked like a snake, no, a dangerous devil, was definitely aura.

'Why is a sword master appearing in a back alley like this?'

The Action Leader's eyes started to move quickly.

The enemy numbered approximately 20 people.
It was a very small number.
There were around 100 people in this base right now, so based on numbers, their side had five times as many as the enemy.
However, the enemy had a sword master with them.

"Branch manager-nim, don't they seem to be the real Arm?"

The Action Leader did not respond to the chief's question, however, he had reached the same conclusion in his mind.

Arm was the Eastern continent's greatest ruler of the underworld.
Even the Mostue minions knew about Arm. That was why it was possible to think, 'Arm would have a real sword master within their ranks.'

Of course, he had also thought that they might not be the real Arm.

'Then why would a sword master put on such a shabby outfit and pretend to be Arm?'

A sword master was guaranteed to have a high rank no matter where they went.
Why would someone like that use such a weird tone while speaking and wear such shabby clothes to come here?

It was the moment that the Action Leader's mind was becoming a complicated mess.
Cale heard a voice in his head.

– Human! Human!

It was Raon's voice.

– Human! I will do good deeds too! I will save the Eastern continent!

'He's such a selfless Dragon.'

Raon was a completely different Dragon than the one that Cale had read about in 'The Birth of a Hero,' that ended up going berserk.

'Well, I guess that is Raon Miru.'

It was like how he was not the real Cale Henituse, but was now Cale Henituse. It was the same type of thing.
Cale nonchalantly responded to Raon.

"Go find the money."

At that moment, the bandits who were with Cale flinched and looked toward him. The former bandit leader showed the greatest reaction.

"Ah, I'm not talking to all of you. All of you just charge forward."

Cale casually ignored the bandits' responses. The bandits and the bandit leader wondered who Cale was talking to if it was not to them, however, they did not ask.
Cale ignored the bandits and continued to speak.

"Find the jewels as well."

Find money and jewels.
Raon responded to Cale's comments.

– Human! Are we taking the bad money from the bad guys? I thought you were weird these days, but you really are a good person!

Cale casually added on.

"I'll give you three gold coins."

Silence filled Cale's mind for a moment. However, an excited voice soon returned.

– …I'll do it! Human, I'll work very hard!
"Take On and Hong with you as well. All three of you will get three gold coins each."
– Human, just wait! I am great and mighty, so I will be able to find it quickly! I will find everything!

The Dragon that was the greatest detection device in the world started to move.
The enemy started to move as well. The Action Leader shouted one more time, however, his expression was now calm and determined.

"Are you really Arm? Why are you ambushing our branch like this?"

Cale was about to respond. Unfortunately, Choi Han, who had received the command to charge forward, was a bit faster. He took one step and confidently answered back.

"We. Are. The. Real. Arm."

'Aigoo.'

Cale subconsciously put a hand to his forehead while the only person who was not shocked by this quickly moved.
Mount Leeb's former bandit leader stepped in front of Choi Han and shouted. His action looked effortless, however, his eyes were looking back and forth at the masked Choi Han and Cale before quickly figuring out what to do.

"Ahahahaha! You stupid bastards! Can't you tell by looking at us?"

The former bandit leader pointed at the white star and red stars on his chest and shouted.

"We are the Real Arm! We came to destroy you! Kahahahahah!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!
The former bandit leader who was almost as large as Toonka ran toward the gate. He was so energetic that the entire ground was rumbling. The Action Leader who was shocked by the former bandit leader shouted to his crew.

"Close the gate!"

Screeeech- boom!
The members who were near the gate quickly closed the gate. They were able to act so quickly because they had been anxious about how Arm had been growing their influence these past few months and had been prepared.

"Perfect! They will not be able to crash through the gate!"

The Action Leader immediately pointed to three members.

"You, you, and you! Immediately go to the boss, the first branch manager, and the Mercenaries Guild! Tell them about what is happening!"

A sword master had appeared.
It would not be enough to just get a battle squad over.
It was at that moment.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

He could still hear someone running from outside the iron gate.

'He's not stopping?'

It was the moment the Action Leader's pupils shook.

Baaaaang!

A loud noise filled the area.
At the same time, a part of the iron gate warped.

Anybody could tell that it was the mark of an axe. A piece of the steel broke off from the impact of a large axe. They could hear loud laughter coming from outside the gate.

"Kahahahaha! The Real Arm only charges forward! We will destroy anything in our way! We will only charge forward, forward I tell you! Kahahahaha!"
The Action Leader subconsciously commented back.

"You damn crazy Arm bastards."

At the same time, someone else let out a quiet gasp of admiration.

"Oh."

It was Cale.

'He really is a witty one.'

Cale was very satisfied with the former bandit leader's actions. This was how you made a mess.
Choi Han also realized something while watching the former bandit leader. The former bandit leader who was about to swing at the iron gate with his axe one more time peeked over while trying to see Cale's reaction when he made eye contact with Choi Han.
Choi Han commented the moment they made eye contact.

"Now I'm getting a feel for it."

'A feel for what?'

It was before the former bandit leader could ask that question.

"Move."

"Gasp."

The former bandit leader gasped as he quickly moved. He gasped once again after seeing what happened, however, nobody else could hear it due to the noise.

Baaaaaang!

The black aura's explosive noise tuned out everything else in the area.
This violent aura that was different than the calm aura from before destroyed the iron gate.

Pssssssssss-

Wind and the remaining pieces of the iron gate fluttered in the air.
The iron gate that once existed was no longer part of this world. The former bandit leader urgently got up and looked around at the area that was completely silent and quickly started to speak.

"Uh, uh, ahahahaha! Can you see how strong we are?"

The Action Leader could not hear the former bandit leader's words at all.
He had heard about sword masters but had never seen one in person. He had seen a highest-grade expert, however, they were nothing compared to sword masters.

The Action Leader looked, not at the laughing former bandit leader, but at the masked sword master, the man who wore an outfit with a single red star on it and started to speak.
He had a serious expression on his face.

"We have the Leeb-An mercenaries backing us. Aren't you worried?"

Leeb-An City was one of the few free cities on the Eastern continent. The Mercenaries Guild located there was a meaningful one to all of the mercenaries on the Eastern continent.

Arm was naturally stronger than each individual mercenary.
Although the Mercenary King was located in the western part of the Eastern continent, mercenaries were usually weak compared to the other forces of the continent. This was because it was mainly made up of people who did not properly learn any martial arts or sword arts.

However, mercenaries existed for battle.
They were even used in wars between kingdoms.

There were no wars without mercenaries. Mercenaries were one of the roots of any war. That was why even Arm could not openly aim for the Mostue faction that was close to the Mercenaries Guild.

But the Action Leader was now facing these bastards who called themselves the Real Arm and ignored the mercenaries. The sword master who made eye contact with him was walking toward them in a straight line and answered the question.

"History can always be rewritten. There is no fear in the path of a legend."

Cale looked toward Choi Han and was a bit amused.

'I guess his acting isn't completely terrible now. He's improved a bit.'

However, the former bandit leader who was extremely sharp understood the meaning behind Choi Han's words.

'He's serious! He's completely serious! Who did I end up getting involved with?'

The former bandit leader became a bit sad. However, he followed along as best as he could.

"Yes! We, the Real Arm, will create a legend! Kekekekeke!"

Cale changed his evaluation of the former bandit leader. This punk was someone who was necessary for the Real Arm. Cale was satisfied that he found someone useful that could be placed in many different roles.

– Human! I completed the mission! I found it! There's a safe in a secret room!

'Oh.'

– I also took off the safe door! I, Raon Miru, am great and mighty! We're rich!

Cale listened to the location Raon was telling him as he slowly started to walk.
He was naturally walking straight forward as well.

The Action Leader watched the enemy coming closer and slowly stepped backward as he shouted at his crew.

"…Everybody come inside the building! We will persist until the reinforcements arrive!"

He had chosen to hide in the building after seeing the sword master's strength. He had determined that, no matter how strong the sword master was, he should not be able to destroy the building that was stronger than the iron gate.

Of course, they could easily destroy the building, however, Cale didn't want to do that.

"Are we playing hide-and-seek?"

The former bandit leader started to sweat after hearing Cale's comment.

* * *

Cale was leisurely walking down the corridor of this building that was located in the corner of Leeb-An City.

"Ugh!"

"Mm."

He worried a bit after seeing a Mostue branch member gasping before falling down. However, he could not stare at this person for a long time.

Another member jumped out of one of the rooms to Cale's side. He had been aiming for an ambush, however, he was instantly faced with Choi Han.
Choi Han quickly hit the member in the back of the neck and made him faint.

He then grabbed the fainted member by the collar and threw him back into the room before closing the door as if it had never opened in the first place.

Bang!

'…He's not joking.'

Choi Han quickly took care of anybody who popped up and got in their way of charging forward. At the same time, he was abiding by Cale's order not to kill anybody and only making them faint or breaking an arm or two.
That was why Cale was concerned.

'This is too easy.'

It shouldn't be this easy.

Cale was currently on the highest floor of the building.
However, he did not hear much fighting happening down below.
It could not be helped. Cale had left everyone else outside the building.

Only Choi Han was with Cale as they walked through the building. Once he saw the Action Leader escape toward the building, Cale told the bandits to pretend to break in for about five minutes before returning to the inn.
Why?

'We need to move quickly.'

They needed to loot the place and run before the reinforcements arrived.
That was why they needed to quickly take care of the enemies. It might be reasonable to ask if it would have been faster if Cale brought the bandits in with him, however, Cale already had some reliable children with him.

Inside the quiet building.

"Meeeeeow."
"Meeow."

Two kittens popped out of the white fog.
On and Hong.

The two kittens who had gone with Raon had used their fog and poison in order to spread a paralysis and sleeping poison throughout the building once the Action Leader escaped into the building. The Action Leader's decision to escape into the building without knowing about this was the worst decision ever.

Screeeech. Screeeech.
Cale was walking through the wooden corridor. There was only one door left in front of him. Cale had made On and Hong spread the sleeping poison slowly on purpose.

He wanted to give the strong individuals and the ones in power enough time to escape to the top of the building.
Those people needed to all faint from Choi Han's hands.

Screeeech.

Cale stopped walking. On and Hong slowly stepped back and hid inside the darkness.
Choi Han lifted his foot into the air once Cale turned toward him.

Baaaaang!

The door broke down with the kick.
Cale walked forward again once the obstacle was removed, allowing him to see a person inside.

"N, no!"

The branch manager was shaking in fear.
His eyes were focused on Cale and Choi Han who were wearing the same black outfits. Choi Han had his black aura around him as he stared at the Action Leader with his black pupils.
White fog was slowly entering the room from behind the two of them.
The Action Leader who had been the first to escape to the top floor had watched his subordinates fall to the ground on his way up.

"You, you-!"

The branch manager could see the white fog slowly turning red.
This red color was giving him an ominous feeling.

'You, d, devil-like bastards!"

It didn't matter if they were from Arm or not anymore.

'Will I be able to survive?'

A sword master and poison. He could not help but be full of fear. The branch manager could see the man with reddish brown eyes who was protected by the sword master crouching down in front of him.

"The devil?"

He seemed to be upset after being called the devil. He then continued to speak as if it was an unfair assessment.

"We are people who love peace and justice."

The branch manager feared this man who was speaking bullshit. Why?
It was because the red fog got closer and closer to him as the man started to smile more.

However, he could not move.
The sword master's black aura was at the tip of his neck.

"Oo, oo, oo-"

The fog reached up to his neck.
The branch manager was filled with fear when the man with the reddish brown eyes suddenly started to walk. The branch manager's eyes opened wide.

Baaaaang!

A small explosion soon occurred.

"H, how did he know about that!"

He was so shocked that he even forgot about the poison in front of him.
Cale, the man with the reddish brown eyes, stood by a wall in a corner of the branch manager's room when a mana orb suddenly appeared and destroyed a portion of the wall.
A small room appeared from behind it.

A secret room.
It was a place that only the boss and the top five ranking branch managers knew about.
It was a place with all sorts of documents and dirty money.

The enemy had accurately aimed for that spot.
The branch manager made eye contact with Cale.

'A mana orb. Is he a mage?'

The branch manager recalled the mana orb and questioned the man's identity, however, that was not the issue. He peeked at the red fog before urgently starting to shout.

"How did you know about that! Unless someone tells you about it-"

The Action Leader suddenly stopped talking. ( Really don't like how the author switches back and forth between Action Leader and branch manager, but what can you do? ) He recalled what he had just said.

'Unless someone tells you about it.'

Yes, this was someplace you could not know about unless someone told you about it.
Only the boss and the top five ranking members knew about this place. The top seven ranking members originally knew about it, however, two of them had died in battle against Arm when their territories had been lost.

"Perhaps?"

'Is there a spy within our ranks?
A spy within the top five ranking members, or perhaps even the boss?'

The branch manager who was the fifth ranking member and also an Action Leader looked toward Cale whose eyes started to curl up from smiling.
Cale looked toward the branch manager and told him the truth.

"You're right. Someone told me."
– He's right! I told him! I am the great and mighty Raon Miru! I did not do it faster than usual because of the three gold coins! I did it faster because I am even greater now!

Cale could hear Raon's voice, but the branch manager could not. The branch manager started to become suspicious of the other ranking members in their organization.

Cale was aiming for this.

That was why he had not killed anybody. The Mostue faction would slowly get destroyed soon enough. Furthermore, it would start a war between the mercenaries and Arm.

Cale whispered to the branch manager who would play an important role for them in the future.

"Sleep tight."
"Ugh."

The red fog covered the branch manager's face.
His body became paralyzed. There also seemed to be sleeping poison as he slowly lost consciousness. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was Cale entering the secret room.

He lost consciousness while being angry about the spy and these Real Arm bastards.
That was why he could not see what happened next.

Click.

Cale took off the door to the safe in the secret room.
It fell off easily thanks to Raon already breaking it in advance.

"Hmm."

Cale had to work hard in order to prevent the corners of his lips twitching in joy.

– Human, it's gold! Jewels! There's a lot of gold coins too! The bad guys had a lot of money!

There was quite a bit of money.
There were especially a lot of gold bars.

– But human! Didn't you say this was the weakest branch? Does that mean we will take a lot more money from the bad guys?

Cale's mind was filled with Raon's voice, as well as someone else's voice.
The owner of the Fire of Destruction commented in a low voice.

– Throwing away money. An honorable way of throwing away money.

The corners of Cale's lips slowly went up.

– A happy way of throwing away money.

Cale could no longer hold it in after hearing the Fire of Destruction's voice.

"Hahahaha!"

He was happy.
Cale laughed out loud for the first time in a long time. He was excited. It was always fun getting free money.

– Human! You seem happy!
– A happy way of throwing away money. Hehehehe.

Raon and the Fire of Destruction's voices became beautiful background music for Cale. Cale happily listened before speaking to Choi Han and the children averaging nine-years-old.

"Retreat."

They destroyed the door and filled the building with poison.
One of the Mostue branches had been looted in less than 25 minutes. However, the reinforcement and Mercenaries Guild members who arrived too late would see that nobody was severely injured or killed.
However, they could see the branch manager's bloodshot eyes.

"W, we need to catch those devil-like bastards!"

The branch manager also met with boss Mostue and informed him of the spy. Something big was about to go down in Leeb-An City's underworld.

* * *

Forgetting about all of that, Cale was wearing a simple yet clean white shirt and beige pants while smiling brightly the next day.

"Aigoo, aren't you that young man from last time?"

The grandmother who owned the bakery near the inn remembered seeing Cale a few days ago. Although he had taken over an inn with a sketchy past, she remembered having a good impression of this young man who said that he would try his best.

"Are you finally opening the inn?"

Cale, who looked like he had grown up a bit wealthy but was wearing simple clothing, respectfully grabbed the grandmother's hand.

"Yes, grandmother. We will open this afternoon."

The bakery grandmother could see the < Hope and Adventure Loving Inn > behind Cale that was decorated for its grand opening.
Cale was standing in front of the inn.

Today was the day that they opened their first inn in the Eastern continent, as well as the Real Arm's first base.

– The human is smiling like Saint Jack! Now we will make money through this inn!

Cale pretended to be an earnest inn owner as he listened to Raon's voice.

***

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]