Chapter 128

Chapter 128

Indeed, listening to Lowe’s words made Aden think that such an assumption was valid.

No, for Lowe and others, there was no clearer speculation than this.

The weakling who used to lose even to a puppy had suddenly become a Sword Master in a year. It was more realistic to think that he had been secretly training under the Mercenary King for a long time and hiding his strength.

‘Indeed, our martial arts school does learn Sword Aura quickly…’

Aura was ultimately a force created by mana internalized within a warrior, maximizing their life energy.

Most mana users became more adept at handling Aura by sensing their life energy keenly through battle and training.

And people are best able to sense their vitality when they are on the brink of death.

In other words…

‘If you keep surviving near-death experiences, you can use Aura.’

Aden’s eyes became distant as he recalled the past.

Striking a scarecrow endlessly until he collapsed from exhaustion, nearly dying.

Being forced to climb a cliff where one misstep meant instant death, only to be pushed off once he reached the top.

Being locked in an iron cage with a monster that hadn’t eaten for a week, among other things.

After enduring countless hellish days of various trainings, mastering Aura in a short period—that was the Mercenary King’s training method.

‘The most screwed-up part is that even though it feels like you’re going to die, they never let you actually die…’

They had piles of top-tier Holy Potions and numerous herbs and recovery agents to restore his strength, making death impossible.

Because of this, Aden once suspected that his master, Balkan, might be Talos in human form or a priest of the Slaughter Cult.

-…Even Talos wouldn’t do such crazy things, Aden.

‘Well, that’s a bit disappointing.’

However, to others unaware of these details, it would simply appear as though his master had taught him well, making him strong quickly.

Anyway, as Aden’s silence prolonged, Lowe awkwardly added,

“You don’t have to tell me, Sir Aden. I’ll wait until you want to reveal it.”

Seeing the determination in Lowe’s eyes, Aden realized it would be difficult to brush it off.

He nodded.

“Yes, I learned the Mercenary King’s swordsmanship, Lowe.”

Aden revealed only a part of the truth.

Although Lowe’s theory of ‘the weakling hiding his strength’ was completely wrong, it was true that Aden had learned the Mercenary King’s swordsmanship.

At Aden’s answer, Lowe’s eyes widened for a moment before he nodded as if he understood.

“I knew it. So, Sir Aden is indeed the savior mentioned in Priestess Lunia’s prophecy.”

“…Perhaps?”

“Of course, Sir Aden. Not only are you the Apostle of Prophecy of the Sacred Fire Order, but also the savior in the Slaughter Cult’s prophecy. It means that even the gods recognize Sir Aden’s worth and honor.”

Once again, Lowe looked at Aden with eyes full of respect.

“Indeed, Sir Aden.”

“…”

‘Indeed, Sir Aden?’ What does that even mean?

Aden felt bewildered by Lowe’s attitude.

But just then,

Screeeeeeeech-!

A deafening sound, like nails on a chalkboard, rang out from somewhere.

Boom! Boom!

Then came the sound of explosions.

The knights were bewildered.

“What in the world…?”

“Is it an attack by the Unknown?”

“A thief using bombs!”

“Everyone, do not panic and stay at your posts! Our duty is to guard the annex!”

As the knights of the Viscount’s family became agitated by the loud alarm and explosions, the Knight Captain calmed them down.

Lowe looked puzzled as he saw Aden drawing Baalzebul from its scabbard.

“Sir Aden? Why are you drawing your sword…?”

“Someone is coming.”

Aden sensed someone approaching through his intuition.

Soon, the presence revealed itself.

“Huff, huff! This is bad, very bad!”

It was none other than Viscount Gula Heride.

He was running frantically, barely able to control his large frame.

Appearing before Aden and the knights, the Viscount panted heavily as if he was about to collapse.

“Viscount!”

“Viscount Heride, what has happened?”

“Huff, huff! The, the jewel…!”

The Viscount, catching his breath, cried out with a despairing expression and tearful eyes.

“The Unknown has infiltrated the place where the real Tears of the Azure Sky are! He is dismantling the barrier!”

“……!”

“Viscount! What do you mean by this!”

Aden’s expression hardened, and the commander of the viscount’s knights asked in astonishment.

Aden grabbed the viscount by the collar and shouted.

“What, the real jewel? Then what’s in the annex…!”

“Th-that is fake. I thought there was no way anyone would suspect that the item guarded by the master would be fake, so I hid the real one in a place only I know, but now…”

It meant that the Unknown had figured out where the real jewel was and targeted it.

“Please, I beg you! The thief hasn’t escaped yet! Please!”

No matter how one looked at it, it was absurd for someone to act so recklessly on their own.

Aden clicked his tongue and threw the viscount, who he had by the collar, to the ground.

“Lowe, let’s go!”

“Yes!”

The commander of the viscount’s knights also shouted.

“Everyone, head to the source of the explosion! Leave only a minimum number of troops behind!”

Aden, Lowe, and the viscount’s knights all hurriedly ran off.

In an instant, they were gone.

Only about a dozen knights and the viscount, who had been thrown to the ground by Aden, remained at the annex.

“Viscount! Are you all right!”

One of the remaining knights approached to support the viscount.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine…”

The viscount, supported by the knight, barely stood up.

But as the knight saw the viscount’s face, he found it strange.

In this situation, the viscount should have been feeling humiliated, angry, or despairing.

But the viscount, raising his head…

Smirked.

He grinned widely as if he had caught a big fish.

“This is too good to be true! You fools! Hahaha!”

It was at that moment.

The viscount’s body suddenly swelled up like a balloon and then burst.

Bang!

“Aaaah!”

“The viscount exploded!”

“He did look like someone who might burst one day…”

“Hey, you idiot! What are you saying at a time like this!”

Swirling, swirling-

Then, within a radius of several dozen meters, everything was covered in white smoke.

“Cough, cough!”

“What is this smoke…?”

“Ugh, I suddenly feel sleepy…”

The knights who inhaled the smoke started coughing and then staggered, one by one, collapsing to the ground.

Soon, there wasn’t a single knight standing within the smoke-covered field.

There shouldn’t have been.

But strangely, among the knights kissing the ground, there was one person standing on two legs.

Right where the exploded viscount had been.

“Hahaha! This is too easy! Everyone, sleep tight!”

He was dressed in black nightwear from head to toe, wore a white mask on his face, and had a dagger at his waist.

The thief, Unknown.

Despite having robbed more than a dozen noble families, no information about his identity had ever been uncovered.

This was all part of Unknown’s plan.

First, he had infiltrated Viscount Heraid’s room, knocked him out, and hidden him away, disguising himself as the viscount.

He even found the viscount’s secret ledger.

The secret vault where the viscount had hidden the blue Tears of the Azure Sky was protected by a strict barrier.

Unknown had used this.

First, he set off a bomb to draw attention. He subtly tampered with the alarm to go off at the right moment.

Then, pretending to be a panicked viscount who had his hidden jewel discovered, he ran to the annex.

“What? Fake jewel? Do you really believe that! Hahaha!”

Unknown laughed heartily and drew the dagger from his waist.

“Well, you have no choice but to believe it. Right, Seere?”

At those words, Unknown’s dagger vibrated in response.

-The demonic sword Seere confidently declared, “Of course, my abilities are top-notch!”

72 Swords Seere.

Unknown had coincidentally acquired this dagger and, with even greater luck, managed to form a contract with the demonic sword Seere.

And Seere taught Unknown various techniques.

Disguise techniques, bomb-making methods, stealth techniques, trap disarming skills, and so on…

Moreover, it possessed numerous miscellaneous powers, making it extremely useful.

One of Seere’s abilities, the ‘Power of Deception,’ was what deceived the knights and Aden Remes.

This power had a high chance of deceiving others as long as the situation wasn’t absurdly unreasonable.

Because of this, everyone believed Unknown’s words and ran towards the direction of the explosion sound.

There, they would find the unconscious Viscount Heraid embarrassingly tied up, along with his openly displayed corrupt documents and double ledgers.

Seeing that he had even embezzled the salaries of his servants, it would be fortunate if he didn’t get beaten to death by them.

-The demonic sword Seere rebuked its contractor, saying, “Why do you always do such vile things…?”

“Hehe. So what? Honestly, you enjoyed it too, didn’t you?”

-The demonic sword Seere expressed agreement through silence.

“See, you’re no different.”

-The demonic sword Seere changed the subject, saying, “Stop bragging and hurry up with the theft! Before everyone comes back!”

“Alright, alright. Hehe.”

By the way, Seere had a peculiar way of speaking, so when asked about it, it responded with the bizarre answer that it was its own identity and should be respected.

Unknown decided not to worry about it, as the very concept of a talking dagger was strange enough.

Unknown moved smoothly among the sleeping knights and entered the annex.

And then exclaimed.

“Wow! Amazing! There’s so much here! It’s a treasure trove!”

-The demonic sword Seere nagged, “Don’t get distracted and focus on the target!”

He asked Seere with a voice full of subtle anticipation.

“There’s so much here, let’s just take a little more. Just a bit. No one will notice. Okay?”

-The demonic sword Seere excitedly declared, “A true phantom thief never steals anything but the foretold treasure!”

“Tch, fine. As if you’re any better.”

Unknown was tempted by the pile of luxury and valuable items but decided against it, knowing he would suffer the indignity of being lectured by his dagger for three days and nights if he even stole a single coin.

The target, the sapphire ‘Tear of the Blue Sky,’ was protected by a strict red barrier.

“Oh? They even put up a barrier? Hehe. But this is too amateurish.”

He gripped Seere in reverse and brought it to the part inscribed with the spell.

Then, a black aura formed at the tip of the dagger, and Unknown used it to delicately alter the surface of the barrier’s spell.

After about 30 seconds of modifying the spell.

“Great. It’s done.”

Chiing.

The red barrier protecting the Tear of the Blue Sky vanished effortlessly.

Despite the astronomical amount Heraid had spent to set up the barrier, it only took Unknown 30 seconds to dismantle it.

It was an impressive display of disarming skill.

Unknown picked up the Tear of the Blue Sky.

Then he burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! Even the master is no match for this Unknown! Haha!”

-The demonic sword Seere mocked the foolish sword master, saying, “You’re absolutely right!”

“Sorry for being so trivial.”

“…!”

-…!

Suddenly, hearing a voice from behind, Unknown turned around in surprise.

“Gasp! You, you are…!”

He gasped in shock.

Standing there was a nobleman with black hair and black eyes, holding the black sword Baalzebul, who resembled him—Aden Remes, grinning with a twisted smile.

“Let’s see your face this time, Unknown, you perverted bastard.”