Chapter 32 : They Will Write History

Chapter 32: They Will Write History

The provocation had been effective!

“Ha? The Count sure has no sense....”

“How’s a city supposed to function when Experts are treated like this?”

“Looks like he’s still a bit immature.”

Each of the Experts made a face and threw out a remark.

As the Experts stepped forward on their own, the elite warriors withdrew to the back, clamped their mouths shut, and glared at me.

As expected of Roberland’s warriors.

Even in front of the city’s ruler, they were utterly unrestrained.

But,

Did they even realize who they were messing with right now?

“One word.”

I lowered my voice. I hadn’t exactly shouted, but with my aura mixed into it, my voice rang like a bronze bell and seized the air around us.

“Just try saying one more word.”

Silence—

It became deathly quiet.

Maybe because they were so wild by nature, their danger detection skills were on par with wild animals.

‘Quick on the uptake, at least....’

I had been planning to grab one of them and make an example out of him...

But either way, I had already crushed their spirit, so now it was time to give them an outlet.

Roberland’s warriors were so damn fiery that if you kept suppressing them, they would just snap back no matter who their opponent was.

I dispersed the momentum I had unleashed and spoke in a lighter tone.

“Of course, if someone has the skill, I should recruit them right away. If they really have the skill, that is. Gepetto, come out.”

“Yes!”

A silver-haired youth stepped up over the rubble of the Lord’s Keep and came to stand by my side.

Gepetto Soroa.

Nineteen years old.

The younger brother of Catch Soroa, who had recently lost his motivation.

I placed a hand on Gepetto’s shoulder and locked eyes with the Experts.

“He just so happens to be a Mid-grade Sword Expert. If any of you can defeat him, I’ll take you in on the spot, no questions asked. How about it?”

At last, the stiff faces brightened.

“Whoa— so the Count does know how to do the right thing after all.”

“But isn’t that test a bit too easy? He’s about the age of my nephew.”

Well. Easy or not, they would find out for themselves soon enough.

“Count! But am I supposed to fight that kid too?”

While the atmosphere seemed to be one of general acceptance, a warrior raised an objection.

‘Ah, a High-grade Expert.’

There were six High-grade Experts here—the strongest warriors gathered in this place.

“Of course, someone else has to face the High-grades. I can’t let you fight a Mid-grade and lose face, can I?”

Everyone nodded as if in agreement... though I figured they’d change their minds a little later.

“Katrina. You take on those six.”

“Yes, sir! I’ve been waiting for this!”

Katrina stepped forward, her mane-like orange hair rippling.

As she unleashed her aura without restraint, admiration spread across the faces of the High-grade warriors.

“Wow.... At that age, she’s already Peak-grade?”

“They say the new Count’s siblings are all geniuses, and it looks like it’s true....”

They muttered among themselves before asking Katrina,

“How will the evaluation work? Last twenty exchanges or more? Something like that?”

Katrina burst out with a hearty laugh.

“That sort of picky rule is no fun! Just... all of you come at me! If you beat me, all six of you pass!”

At those words, the expressions of the High-grade Experts twisted.

“Isn’t that a bit too much confidence?”

“Does she think she’s Lord Zahir of a hundred victories or something....”

“Hey, young lady. Don’t fool around, take this seriously. From the look of it, three of us would be more than enough to beat you, so what are you talking about?”

Normally, once one could draw out Aura Threads, they were considered Peak Experts.

But even among Peak Experts, there was a vast gap in skill.

An ordinary warrior who had just reached Peak would struggle to defeat three High-grades at once, while a seasoned and gifted one could easily defeat ten High-grades.

In their eyes, Katrina was just a rookie.

Step, step.

But Katrina didn’t care and sauntered toward them.

Her sword was already drawn.

I had told her to keep her sword drawn in hand at all times, twenty-four hours a day.

“Well.... She’ll come to her senses once she takes a hit.”

“Let’s not hold back.”

Only then did the High-grade Experts each draw their weapons and square off against Katrina.

I leisurely folded my arms.

‘Alright, let’s see who I should watch first.’

On one side, Gepetto was facing challengers one by one. On the other, Katrina was facing all six at once.

The result was obvious, but a fight was always fun to watch.

*         *         *

The Soroa Family was famous for their refined and lightning-fast swordsmanship.

Uncle Burson once reminisced that the fastest swordsmen in all Banroa always came from the Soroa Family.

Gepetto Soroa’s swordsmanship was the same.

His strikes were so fast, it was hard to believe he was only a Mid-grade Expert.

His steps, advancing and retreating, were ghost-like, appearing and disappearing.

And this guy—

Should I say he was strangely immersed in himself? It had the effect of rubbing people the wrong way.

Dodging a challenger’s strike with ease, he stabbed like lightning and said a single word.

“Slow.”

Wearing an openly bored expression, he added another.

“That was dull.”

The next opponent was no different.

Clang!

In a single breath, he knocked aside his foe’s sword and pressed his own blade to the man’s neck, then spoke.

“Predictable.”

After a dozen exchanges, he cut the straps of his opponent’s armor and added yet another.

“Not a bad skill.”

That scornful tone, combined with his young age of nineteen, carried terrifying weight.

The defeated warriors all trembled with shame.

“Damn it! By a mere nineteen-year-old...!”

“Kill me...”

Because of the nature of swift swordsmanship, the matches ended quickly, and warriors who didn’t want to be humiliated gave up on challenging him, so it all wrapped up in no time.

I watched the scene with satisfaction.

‘Truly talented, as I said.’

For warriors below a certain level, Gepetto’s fast and refined swordsmanship was nothing short of cheating.

It was hard enough to even react, and even if they did, his refined sword forms instantly ensnared them, leaving them helplessly defeated.

Of course, against a truly seasoned and gifted warrior, his relatively monotonous forms could become a weakness...

But at the very least, by overwhelming the sixty Mid-grade warriors gathered here, Gepetto had proven that his talent was the real thing.

Meanwhile, Katrina—

“Number 3! I can see your footwork! Number 3!”

—was rampaging.

Like a lion leaping into a flock of sheep.

She had tagged each of the six High-grade Experts with numbers and was thrashing them one by one with frightening skill.

“Number 1’s so damn weak, even if a rabbit rammed him, his ribs would snap. So damn weak, Number 1!”

Smack! Crack!

All the while running her mouth nonstop, she lashed at the warriors’ cheeks and rumps mercilessly with flashing strikes.

‘She’s improved a lot.’

After I taught the siblings ancient swordsmanship, Katrina had been the second-fastest to grow stronger.

Maybe because she was such a battle maniac, her understanding and experience with the sword were high, her stamina was immense, and her training volume overwhelming, so of course her skills had grown rapidly.

And the only one who had grown even faster than Katrina was Gepetto’s older brother, Catch Soroa.

‘But that guy still looks frail.’

Catch didn’t have much talent for aura, but thanks to the relentless basics he had built up from childhood and his outstanding sword talent, he was absorbing ancient swordsmanship quickly.

Just a bit more and he might even be able to draw out Sword Energy... but he still looked unsteady and feeble.

While my thoughts had strayed for a moment, Katrina’s duel was rushing toward its end.

One High-grade warrior, beaten so badly, finally turned tail and tried to run.

Katrina’s eyes rolled back as she chased him down.

“Number 5! You damn duck of a man! A warrior, running away?! You duck bastard!”

Spewing curses, she finally caught up and smashed her sword flat down on his crown.

Behind her, warriors who had already been beaten senseless lay collapsed one after another.

And with this—

all the warriors who had opposed my policy had tucked their tails.

The people of Roberland generally had rotten personalities, but at least once they lost in skill, they didn’t openly complain.

Well, not to your face, anyway.

I looked down at the warriors whose spirits had been crushed and gave the order to wrap things up.

“Now, move the stones. If you don’t want to, then shut up and go back quietly. Begin!”

The warriors hesitated for a moment.

“Ah, hell! The pay is twelve Dallon!”

As soon as one of them jumped in, the others rushed toward the rubble after him.

Among the elite warriors and Experts, some still couldn’t swallow their pride and spat on the ground before leaving.

“Damn….”

“An Expert like me, reduced to manual labor….”

“Ugh…. It’s for ancient weapons. Ancient weapons. I must endure.”

But the majority of the warriors eventually began moving stones.

That was how big and tempting the carrot I had dangled was.

However,

I could guarantee this…

The bigger the carrot, the harder the struggle to seize it would be.

The warriors gave it their all.

In their own way, they were swallowing their tempers and silently following my instructions.

If someone else had seen it, they might have called it a miracle. Roberland’s warriors showing this kind of restraint?

Like ants, they worked diligently.

It was almost touching to see.

“Goddammit!”

But the magical moment eventually came to an end.

“How much longer is this going to go on?! Answer me, bastard!”

Well, of course—

The sun had risen high and was already setting, yet I still hadn’t announced the end of the trial.

The warriors grew suspicious, and eventually furious.

“When the hell does this end?!”

“....”

“You’re not answering?!”

The aides who assisted with the trial never opened their mouths.

I had strictly warned them that if they spoke, they’d answer to me.

“Are you mute?! Why won’t you say anything!”

“Hey, you bastard!! Get over here!”

Disruptive warriors started cropping up one after another—

“Urk! Ack!”

“Aagh! Stop! I’m sorry!”

—and they were promptly beaten senseless and driven out by my siblings and the elite warriors.

“Ha… I don’t care anymore.”

“Let’s just empty our heads.”

“Just one more step… one more step….”

The trial, carried out with deliberate harshness to the very end, finally ended long past midnight.

Only those who had endured to the finish remained.

Out of 20,000 applicants in total—

7,000 passed.

The first trial was over.

*         *         *

At dawn, under the bright glow of the Broken Moon,

the rubble had been cleared, leaving an open space in front of the Lord’s Keep where the next trial was still underway.

“One!”

“Two!”

The second trial Ransen had prepared was thrusting a spear ten thousand times.

The survivors followed the count, thrusting their spears in unison.

Even the slightest mistake in form earned them a kick from the side and a shower of curses.

Elite warriors and Experts, imbued with aura, might have managed to endure, but ordinary warriors could not.

They had already long since reached their limits.

After all, they had spent the entire previous day moving heavy stones.

Tremble, tremble—

Their arms shook.

Their legs quivered.

Their clothes were crusted white with sweat, and with all their strength drained, clear liquid streamed from their bodies instead of sweat.

The warriors cast furtive glances up at the ruins of the Lord’s Keep.

There, on the highest point, stood a man with jet-blue hair, motionless.

They truly wanted to ask him—

‘Just how long is this supposed to go on…?’

By then, dawn had broken. A little longer, and they would have endured for a full twenty-four hours.

And yet, there was no sign that the trial would end.

“Where do you think you’re looking! Again! One!”

Even just letting their eyes wander for an instant earned them a kick to the shin.

“Weak bastard! We don’t need trash like you! Ring the bell and get the hell out, now!”

The instructor was vicious. He pressed his mouth right to their ears and screamed.

Their heads rang with pain.

When they were moving stones, the silence had been maddening, but now the instructors were raising hell right beside them.

Clang— Clang—

One by one, more applicants gave in and rang the bell.

‘Ah… that sound… please….’

The sound of the bell kept shaking their resolve.

‘Should I… quit too?’

‘Haven’t I done enough…?’

‘With so many already giving up… it wouldn’t be shameful if I left now, right?’

Clang— Clang—

Only those who were truly stubborn, or truly desperate, managed to endure until the end.

9 a.m.

The second trial ended.

Five thousand passed.

“It’s finally over….”

“I made it….”

The exhausted applicants collapsed where they stood. Then, in their ears, came words they could hardly believe.

“After breakfast, we begin the third trial!”

It still wasn’t over?

How long was this supposed to go on?!

Once again, the instructors offered no explanation.

“Ah… I can’t do it.”

That was the final blow.

Of the five thousand stubborn warriors who had survived the second trial, another thousand’s resolve shattered here, and they quit en masse.

‘A devil.’

‘Whoever devised this trial is a true devil.’

‘Count Ransen… that dog of a man!’

Everyone glared at Ransen, trembling with rage, but when their eyes actually met his, they hastily looked away.

*         *         *

‘Finally, the last one.’

I looked down at the applicants who had survived thus far.

The content of the third trial was specialty evaluation.

Shield, bow, spear, horsemanship—all would be tested.

Naturally, those who already excelled with the shield would earn high scores. But even those who picked up the shield for the very first time today and showed talent would also earn high scores.

The same went for bow, spear, and horsemanship.

In truth, this was the core of the recruitment trials.

‘Since we don’t know where someone’s talent lies, we have to evaluate everything.’

It was a process absolutely necessary to forge rootless warriors gathered from all over into a proper army.

Only by grasping each individual’s talents and specialties could we organize units accordingly and maximize training efficiency.

At the same time, this evaluation also wrung the warriors’ spirit to the absolute limit.

Shield training had begun in the morning, but by the time archery training ended, the sun was setting. Spear training was conducted in the dead of night, and horsemanship training carried on from dawn until the sun stood high at noon.

The applicants had gone through extreme training for forty-eight hours without a wink of sleep.

Elite warriors and Experts, sustained by their aura, might have endured better… yet even among them, many gave in from sheer mental exhaustion.

And so, after forty-eight hours had passed—

I stood before the applicants who had completely collapsed.

They all gazed up at me with pitiful eyes.

‘Don’t tell me… there’s more?’

‘Damn it all… I can’t quit after making it this far. Better to die here than give up.’

The arrogant, cocky looks from before were long gone.

In their place shone sharp, desperate determination, gleaming amidst misery and longing.

I couldn’t help but smile.

This was it.

Wasn’t this one of the most exhilarating moments for a commander?

“Well done.”

The words everyone longed to hear—I had the power to say them. That infinite sense of authority!

“The current number is 3,426. All of you have passed. Thank you… for staying with me.”

Silence. Then a few choked sobs.

And then, thunderous roars.

“Uwaaaaaah! Uwaaaaaah!”

“Guwaaaaaaah! Khaaaaah!”

No words, only primal screams filling the air.

Even the once-proud Experts embraced the ordinary warriors and shouted together.

‘In the end, they’ve been chosen.’

Out of twenty thousand, three thousand four hundred.

Some might think it too few… but I thought differently.

Because these were the ones who had been chosen, refined, and tested—

I was certain.

They would write history.

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