The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Chapter 259: Are We Fighting Today? (2)

Doncard, flustered, grabbed his nose and stepped back.

He had clearly seen the approach and tried to throw a punch at the right timing, but at some point, that guy vanished from his sight.

Just as he turned his head in surprise, a shockwave hit him, and blood spouted from his nose.

‘What is this? Did he suddenly get stronger? Strong enough for me to miss his movement?’

This didn’t make any sense. It felt as if he was possessed by a ghost.

Thinking it was just a coincidence, he tried to engage again, but each time, Kaor skillfully dodged and counterattacked.

Whenever he attempted to evade, Kaor was on him in an instant, attacking as if he had predicted his every move.

For some time now, Doncard was solely focused on dodging or blocking the incoming attacks.

Puh-uck! Puh-uck! Puh-uck!

Kaor was annoyed but also felt a strange thrill.

‘Damn, that lord really is a monster.’

When he moved as Ghislaine instructed, the opponent’s attacks automatically missed. It felt as if he succeeded in every attack, knowing where the opponent would evade.

The precise timing that clicked together was absolutely astonishing.

It was more than just admiration. The more he moved, the more he sensed something.

‘Wait, I’ve already mastered this, right? I’ve dummied it down but still can’t use it properly!’

He knew all about the opponent’s movements when they attacked and how to counter them, and how to respond. In fact, all of this was something Kaor already understood.

The more they fought, the more familiar those things felt within his body.

Just like when he fought the Knights of Cabaldy, a bit of leisure allowed him to utilize what he had learned effortlessly.

Ghislaine’s advice came pouring in.

– That guy will start panicking and become more reckless in his movements. Those who only know to rely on improvisation usually do this. With their level dropped, fight according to what you’ve learned. Normally it should flow out naturally without thinking, but since you’re not there yet, you need to be conscious about your moves.

‘Tch, I already know that.’

Kaor felt a surge of frustration at Ghislaine’s condescending tone.

Indeed, the lack of training was a problem. He had to keep at it until it was fully ingrained in his body.

However, Kaor was searching for a quick route to becoming stronger as soon as he felt somewhat accustomed to his training.

Otherwise, he’d just drink and complain about life.

But in real battles, he couldn’t properly use it anyway.

Puh-uck! Puh-uck!

Kaor grinned. He felt as if he could soar through the air.

The attacks against him didn’t connect, while his own attacks landed perfectly on the opponent.

This selfish kind of battle was exactly to his taste.

But Doncard wasn’t exactly an easy opponent. He quickly snapped back to his senses and began to retaliate with all his might.

Puh-uck! Puh-uck!

“Ugh!”

“Guh!”

Both of them got hit in the face simultaneously and staggered back. Kaor’s techniques weren’t fully mastered yet, so he inevitably missed the timing of his attacks or got his movements tangled.

Ghislaine had stopped advising at some point.

Still, regaining his confidence and composure, Kaor focused and charged at Doncard.

Suddenly, observing the two fighting evenly, the expressions of the onlookers turned skeptical.

“Wow, he’s fighting really well out of nowhere!”

“What happened? Did he hide his skills?”
“What the hell happened? Is he hiding his skills?”

“Maybe he was just testing the waters?”

The spectators started to show more and more interest.

This is how fights should be. A one-sided victory might be satisfying, but it lacks excitement for the viewers.

The people began to cheer with renewed enthusiasm. Those who made a living by slaying monsters wouldn’t dislike a good fight.

“Wow! The red-haired guy fights well!”

“Give Doncard a kick!”

“Or just let them both die fighting!”

Many were dissatisfied with Doncard. They merely tolerated him as a necessary evil, crushed by the logic of power.

Yet there were those who genuinely cheered for Kaor. For Hunters, it didn’t matter who won; they were both unfortunate.

Gah! Gah! Gah!

The punches from both fighters grew fiercer. As Kaor’s momentum surged, Doncard gritted his teeth, trying to deflect his attacks.

‘Damn it… why is this guy suddenly…’

Kaor’s momentum was increasing steadily. If he lost, he’d have to leave this place. Who knows how long it would take to establish himself in another region and build up his power again?

No, it was even questionable if he could leave safely. If it got out that he lost to these new guys, the others wouldn’t just sit back and do nothing.

‘There’s no choice… I have to draw blood for real…’

With a sly move, he staggered back while pretending to regain his stance and discreetly pulled out a small blade from his waist.

Hiding the blade between his clenched fingers, Doncard wore a sly grin.

This was how he had killed many stronger opponents before. Just kill first; he can figure out the cleanup later.

‘It’s been a while since I got to use this…’

He’d get cursed out for it, but he didn’t care since he was already known as cheaty and dirty. His other nickname was ‘The Beast of Ironcliff.’

Everyone called him a king in public, but behind his back, they wouldn’t stop calling him a beast.

Nobody noticed when Doncard drew the blade. In fact, folks only realized he used it after his opponent was dead. That was how discreet Doncard’s movements were.

Of course, Ghislaine was watching it all with an amused expression.

Once he was ready, Doncard signaled to his followers behind him with a few hand gestures.

‘Get ready.’

It was a signal to attack as soon as he killed the opponent.

He had asked for a one-on-one duel to avoid significant damage, but it was better to sweep the place clean even at some cost than to leave after losing.

‘This guy seems the strongest, so taking out the rest should be easier.’

Gah!

Doncard purposely moved in close to take a hit from Kaor’s punch. By suddenly narrowing the distance, he minimized the impact and braced himself.

Then, with all his might, he thrust his fist into Kaor’s abdomen.

Thud!

“Huh?”

Kaor’s face suddenly showed surprise. Something was digging into his belly, and the sound was subtly different.

While he flinched, Doncard aimed for Kaor’s neck.

Slash!

“Ugh!”

He barely dodged but felt his neck sliced, blood gushing out.

Only then did the searing pain hit him as Kaor stumbled back, clutching his neck and abdomen.

When he pulled his palms apart, they were stained red. He had been cut.

“That bastard hid a knife?”

Kaor looked at Ghislaine with a bewildered expression. There was no way that monstrous Lord hadn’t seen that.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Life’s a real battle. If you get complacent just because you can throw a punch, that’s what happens. I figured you wouldn’t die from it right away, so I didn’t warn you. Ugh, you really can’t fight at all.”

“……”

Frustrating as it was, she was right. Had the blade been poisoned or slightly larger, he might’ve been dead.

The onlookers stood still with expressions that seemed to say ‘of course’.

There was no weapon visible on Doncard’s punches. Essentially, if it’s not visible to the eye, that was all that mattered.
It meant that just not getting caught was enough.

“Oh no! Damn it! You little shit! You’re worse than Alfoy and a chick!”

Kaor didn’t say anything about being cowardly or pathetic. He thought that in a fight, there was no such thing.

It was even funnier to try to fight by the rules in a place notorious for being a lawless zone. Hadn’t he been beaten by Ghislaine last time for saying let’s fight by the rules?

It was better that the opponent was being sneaky. Kaor was quite accustomed to these kinds of dirty brawls.

Whoosh!

As Kaor swung his fist, Doncard dodged with a smile. As he moved in to throw another blade-like punch, Kaor laughed.

“Have some of this.”

Whoosh!

“Ugh!”

Doncard closed his eyes and stepped back as the sudden burst of red powder spread.

“You cowardly bastard! What did you sprinkle on me?”

He was terrified it might be poison, but it wasn’t. It was just so spicy that tears streamed down his face, and he couldn’t open his eyes.

In a hurry, he tried to channel his mana to protect his eyes, but it seemed the powder had already gotten in, causing an excruciating sting.

Kaor, still with a laughing expression, said, “Oh, my tasty seasoning pouch burst by mistake. What a blunder.”

What he had burst was the ‘Spicy Attack Seasoning Powder’ that Belinda had given him.

― You have a lot of anger, so you need to eat spicy food often to relieve stress.

― What’s this?

― ‘Spicy Attack Seasoning Powder’. If you’re at a disadvantage in a fight, just toss it in their eyes, and it works. You can’t fight, right?

― I can fight just fine! I don’t need this crap.

Though he said that, he stashed it away in case he felt like eating something spicy. He had secretly taken it out from the belt pack at his waist and tossed it.

Doncard, unable to see properly, swung his fists wildly. In doing so, the blades peeked out from his punches.

“Uh? This guy pulled out a knife? Did you all see that? He drew first!”

Chuckling, Kaor drew a dagger from behind his waist and threw it right away.

Thwack!

“Gah!”

The dagger embedded itself straight into Doncard’s chest. Doncard continued to flail his blade wildly as he stumbled back.

If it had been quiet around him, he might have sensed a presence and dodged, but amidst the crowd’s jeers and cheers, that was nearly impossible.

He tried to pull the dagger from his chest, but Kaor moved faster.

Whoosh!

“Gah!”

Kaor swiftly pulled out a stiletto hidden in his boots and stabbed Doncard in the belly. Kaor was just as underhanded as Doncard was.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Kaor stabbed Doncard in the belly several times.

Doncard swung his blade wildly with his bleeding fist, but Kaor easily dodged and continued his assault.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

“Cough, cough!”

In the end, he stabbed him carelessly without regard for the parts—neck, chest, belly, arms, legs—leaving Doncard covered in blood.

“Stop….”

If this continued, he would definitely die. Doncard was shedding tears from the unrelenting pain and barely managed to open his eyes.

What kind of seasoning was so lethal!

Finally, in his partially opened eyes, the face of his opponent came into view. At that moment, Doncard felt the fear of death for the first time in his life.

‘This bastard… is smiling….’

His eyes were rolling back. The grin that bared his teeth looked just like a mad dog.

“I-I lost….”

“Who decided that? Our lord doesn’t let those things slide. I thought I’d try doing it too.”

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Ignoring those words, Kaor grabbed Doncard by the collar with one hand and kept stabbing at him.

It was refreshing. All the stress he had built up was finally melting away.

Just as Belinda had said, ‘spicy seasoning’ was the best for relieving stress.

Thud.

After stabbing enough to feel somewhat relieved, Kaor let go of Doncard’s collar, and he collapsed right there.

“Ugh, cough….”

Doncard crawled on the ground, drenched in blood, struggling to shout.

“Kill these bastards! Hurry!”

But none of his followers moved. They merely looked down at Doncard with cold expressions.
It was just that.

This place was one where the logic of power took precedence above all else. The words of Doncard, who was already on the brink of death, were nothing more than nonsense.

Especially since he had lost even after drawing his weapon first.

“U-urgh! Quickly! Before everyone dies….”

Suddenly.

Kaor climbed onto Doncard’s back, which was crawling on the ground, and grabbed his neck and head.

“Just die, you punk. Don’t embarrass yourself.”

Crunch!

With a swift twist, Doncard’s neck snapped, and his tongue lolled out as life slipped away.

“Huh….”

Taking a deep breath, Kaor stood up and roared.

“See! You bastards! When I fight, I win every time! I’m the strongest! Anyone who insulted me earlier, step forward!”

It was a declaration of victory that was absurdly childish, yet the crowd cheered.

“Wow! The red-haired guy won!”

“Beating that Doncard is impressive!”

“Looks like he really knows how to handle monsters! He’s no ordinary guy!”

With the crowds cheering, Kaor seemed energized, and despite bleeding profusely, he kept showing off.

A moment later, pushing through the throngs of people, the Knight of Turian and his soldiers approached.

The Knight hissed upon seeing Doncard with his neck twisted.

He placed a hand on his sword sheath and expressed annoyance.

“Here, murder is prohibited, and you go and commit murder immediately? This complicates things….”

He said it was complicated, but his expression was still indifferent. In truth, he looked like he couldn’t care less if someone lived or died. But with so many witnesses, it would be awkward to brush it aside.

“Tsk tsk, if you’re going to kill someone, at least do it quietly. Why gather together for this nonsense? Hey, arrest him.”

As the knight gestured to the soldiers following him, Kaor growled.

“Hey, do you not see me bleeding? That guy drew his weapon first!”

The hunters nearby also chimed in to support him.

“Hey, that’s right, Doncard did draw his weapon first. You know how fights go!”

“Since when did you care about such things? Why not just go back to your paperwork?”

“If you interfere with self-defense, it’ll be a mess. Isn’t this supposed to be a place where there’s no interference?”

Still, the knight remained unresponsive. After spending enough time here, such jeers became insignificant.

Then Ghislaine whispered to the knight as he threw an arm around his shoulder.

“If complaints arise among the hunters over such matters, it could lead to bigger issues. The law was originally created to prevent criminals from being captured or executed by nobles, thus reducing the number of hunters, right? If you arrest the victor, it’ll be a big loss, won’t it?”

The knight pondered, licking his lips a few times before nodding. It made sense. If all the hunters agreed, there was no need to drag anyone away.

“I’ll classify this as an accident that occurred during the duel, so everyone, be careful moving forward. Also, with Doncard gone, let’s all keep the fighting to a minimum. Unless you don’t mind getting killed by monsters.”

With that, the Knight of Turian and his soldiers turned to leave.

Leaving behind the cheers of the onlookers, Kaor staggered into the inn.

Honestly, he was so exhausted that he just wanted to collapse and sleep.

Ghislaine playfully tapped Kaor’s shoulder and praised him.

“Wow, you actually fought quite a bit today, huh? You struggled at first, but not bad.”

“…Well, I usually perform well.”

“Anyway, good job. I guess he was the boss around here, huh? Now that he’s taken care of, living here should be much easier. Let’s make sure to rest well today.”

“Phew, good news. Then let’s head out for hunting starting tomorrow. One day of rest is all I need.”

“Nope, we’re not going hunting tomorrow either. Hunting was originally supposed to wrap up today.”

“Why not?”

Kaor and the knights looked at Ghislaine with confused expressions.

After tirelessly repeating hunting and training without a break, suddenly not going was strange. It wasn’t like Ghislaine was the type to consider Kaor’s injuries.

Indeed, their assumption that there was another motive was correct. Ghislaine grinned and said.

“Because the Monster Wave is about to begin.”

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