The Indomitable Martial King

[ Chapter 42 ]

Repenhardt and his companions rushed straight to the Rolpein Mansion on the outskirts of Zeppelin. Upon arriving at the mansion, they immediately scaled the wall and made a frontal assault through the main entrance, knocking down any obstacles in their path as they advanced. Indeed, the mansion’s security was no ordinary matter, but it was woefully inadequate to block the path of aura wielders. They penetrated so quickly that the guards had no chance to alert Teriq of the intrusion.

As they ascended to the third floor, a long, spacious corridor came into view. There were no guards. It was uncommon for patrols to reach up to the third floor. Repenhardt sensed Teriq’s presence through his senses. True enough, in one of the bedrooms on the third floor, multiple presences could be felt. Despite the chaos, their emotional state seemed quite peaceful.

“After all, it took less than five minutes to climb over the wall and get here.”

The situation would require someone to go and alert the others, but Repenhardt and his party had arrived faster than anyone could be sent to give warning. Repenhardt smiled wryly as he walked down the corridor. At that moment, a massive shadow appeared in front of the corridor.

It was the Orc Gladiator, Talkata. Excluding the unruly Lantas, he was the strongest warrior in the mansion, naturally tasked with directly guarding Teriq.

Drawing his sword and shield, Talkata growled.

“Talkata stops intruding humans!”

Repenhardt made a slightly troubled expression. It was easy enough to knock out the human guards with a few blows, but dealing with an Orc Gladiator was a different matter. A club wouldn’t suffice; he had to use fists, but there was no guarantee he could subdue him without killing.

Repenhardt suddenly changed his tone and spoke in Orcish.

“O being of warrior blood, the one you guard is unworthy of your protection. Why do you draw your sword for him?”

Surprised to hear Orcish from a human, Talkata’s eyes widened. However, he quickly regained his composure. Gripping his sword tightly, Talkata responded in Orcish.

“I am a warrior, bound by duty. If I were to bend to the whims of the era, how could I call myself a warrior?”

“To live as a slave, is that your will? This man is not your mentor.”

“Even if he is not my mentor, the duty given to me is clear. Fulfilling my duty is the warrior’s way.”

“Even if that duty is forced upon you?”

“Yes.”

A sense of warrior’s pride filled Talkata’s rugged, scarred face.

“O mighty human warrior. My soul already recognizes the greatness of your strength.”

He aimed his sword at Repenhardt.

“Break my sword, human. Then, you shall achieve your purpose.”

Talkata adopted an unwavering combat stance. Repenhardt clicked his tongue in response.

“Ah, an orc remains an orc after all.”

A sword’s duty is never forsaken, even if that duty is misguided. Such is the pride of an orc warrior. Repenhardt, having fully experienced such ironclad promises in his previous life, had attempted to engage in dialogue, though internally he doubted it would be effective.

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‘Ah, these simple-minded brutes…’

They had been reliable allies once, but now they were just a headache.

“Can I subdue him without killing?”

Repenhardt stepped forward, filled with internal unease. Behind him, Sillan murmured with a blank expression.

“Mr. Repenhardt, you can speak Orcish?”

Even Sillan could tell the growling sounds were in Orcish, having seen orc slaves communicate in such a manner. However, humans fluent in Orcish were extremely rare, usually limited to slave trainers who knew a few basic commands at best. Yet, Repenhardt growled as naturally as if he were an orc himself.

Siris murmured with a complicated expression.

“To think he knows Orcish…”

The identity of their enormous companion became even more mysterious. Just when she thought he was merely a pervert, it turns out he was an aura user, and on top of that, he spoke Orcish with a native accent.

‘…Such a curious person…’

As Repenhardt raised his fist and began to approach Talkata, Siris felt disturbed. Until now, she had only followed Repenhardt without actively participating in fights. There was no need to wield a sword without a direct command.

But now, things were different. She felt a strong impulse to join Repenhardt in battle.

It was perplexing.

‘Why am I thinking this?’

She couldn’t understand why such feelings were emerging. Her mind was a whirl of confusion. Naturally, as a Slayer, wanting to wield a sword to charm her master was expected. However, Siris harbored hatred towards the humans who had made her a Slayer, a slave. There couldn’t be such a reason for these feelings.

Yet, she found herself calling out his name unintentionally.

“Lord Repenhardt.”

“Hm? Why do you call, Siris?”

His affectionate response stirred something within her. Struggling to maintain her composure, she gripped her sword.

“I will handle this one.”

Sillan asked in surprise.

“Huh? Are you sure, Siris?”

“This time, the weapon is different.”

Responding confidently, Siris drew her long sword, a weapon previously wielded by Lantas. It was different from the shattered scimitar she had bought, but being of the same category of long swords, she was confident in this domain. Moreover, as a weapon used by an aura wielder, it was a high-quality item made of a mithril and adamantium alloy, enchanted with magic to maintain its sharpness at all times, so there was no exaggeration in saying that there were no disadvantages due to the weapon.

Indeed, Talkata seemed to notice the change in Siris as his expression hardened. The aura she emitted with the sword was different from when she merely held a dagger.

“Weak elf, you’ve grown stronger.”

Talkata, having switched back to human language, looked at Siris seriously. As Siris faced him with her sword, she muttered to herself.

‘Yes, I haven’t settled the score with this one.’

She felt she understood why such a sentiment arose. As a swordsman, being preoccupied with victory is not unnatural, is it?

She found a convincing reason. Siris’s expression brightened considerably. A sharp, blade-like aura emanated from her entire body.

“Then do as you wish, Siris.”

Though taken aback, Repenhardt readily stepped back. While he was concerned, he intended to respect Siris’s wishes. She was a swordsman, not an object to be coddled and protected within his arms.

Of course, he did not forget to whisper to Sillan in secret.

“Sillan, watch her back. If it seems dangerous… you know what to do.”

“Don’t worry. That’s my specialty.”

Siris and Talkata slowly closed the distance between them. The elf Slayer and the orc gladiator searched for each other’s weaknesses, their sharp blades flashing. Repenhardt quietly watched the standoff before suddenly walking down the corridor. Talkata glared.

“Strong human! Are you ignoring my battle? Are you planning to target Lord Teriq?”

Repenhardt calmly responded in Orcish.

“Your adversary should be the elf maiden before you. To be concerned with me is not showing proper respect to your adversary, is it?”

Talkata, flustered, turned his gaze back to Siris. Repenhardt’s words were perfectly aligned with the warrior’s code. The elf before him was undeniably a strong opponent that deserved a fight with all his might. To be distracted was a grave insult to a strong opponent!

“You are right.”

Talkata shifted his attention away from Repenhardt and began to solely focus on Siris again. Repenhardt shook his head in disapproval.

‘That’s orcs for you.’

The teachings of orc warriors prioritize combat with the strong over the protection of the weak.

‘That’s why they’re quite useful as warriors but absolutely disqualified as guards.’

So, in his previous life as well, the escort troops mainly consisted of dwarves, while the orcs were deployed like assault or special forces units. He passed by Talkata and grabbed the doorknob. At that moment, the sharp yell of Siris echoed from behind.

“Haap!”

Talkata, too, let out a warrior’s roar as he charged forward.

“Kwoooo!”

A fierce clash erupted, sounding the cry of steel. Leaving the fight behind, Repenhardt opened the door.

* * *

Upon opening the door, hell unfolded before his eyes.

Amidst the noxious fumes of drugs, a young man, too shameful to be called a boy, was atop a young elf, moving his hips. Next to him, a fat youth, with his gown loosely undone, exposed himself while receiving caresses from other elves.

Repenhardt’s voice involuntarily turned icy.

“I’ve seen many a vile sight in my life… but this would easily rank in the top three worst.”

Only then did Beret turn his head with a dazed expression.

“Huh? What’s that?”

Even in this situation, those two hadn’t grasped the atmosphere. Repenhardt moved without a word. A large youth, looking formidable, stared at them with a menacing gaze as he approached. Realizing the situation, Teriq and Beret began to panic.

“Who, who are you!”

“Look here! Is there nobody around!”

Both were screaming, their genitals flapping about. Repenhardt scanned the room. At the feet of the two, a young child gasped for air, bleeding from the groin and collapsed on the floor. In a corner of the room, there was also the body of another child, already dead and beginning to stiffen post-mortem.

A sigh escaped him.

“Huh, why are there so many that should not be allowed to live in this world…”

A dense murderous aura filled the room. Merely with that aura, the mentally sensitive elf slaves fainted one after another. Fear filled the faces of Teriq and Beret. When had these well-bred individuals ever faced such murderous intent? They trembled as if they had fallen into the midst of hell, their bodies shaking like aspen trees.

“Talkata! Where are you, Talkata!”

Of course, that Talkata couldn’t hear anything as he was fighting with Siris. Teriq gritted his teeth and looked up at Repenhardt.

“What happened here! How come there was no alarm when an intruder came all the way here!”

Although Repenhardt easily demolished it, it wasn’t to say that the security at the Rolpein mansion was weak. After all, a person who has committed many crimes in life wouldn’t be careless about their own safety.

Teriq had spent a large sum of money to hire as many as fifty guards and even stationed expensive orc gladiators, while also thoroughly setting up various magical defenses around the mansion. This should have been enough to hold off a considerable army, or at least give him enough leeway to escape.

‘Unless it’s an Aura user, it shouldn’t be this easy to break through!’

Teriq didn’t know that his fleeting thought was the truth. No matter how much he fortified the defenses, he hadn’t prepared for an invasion by an Aura user. He wasn’t the king of some country, and he thought that those rare, proud, and arrogant Aura users would never personally come to capture him. And indeed, that was the common sense of this era.

No matter how unbelievable it was, the intruder in front of him was a reality. Trembling with fear, Teriq suddenly shouted with a glimmer of hope.

“What do you want? Money?”

Repenhardt did not answer. Teriq, as if realizing something, shouted again.

“Then is it the market rights? Damn it! It must be the work of the Taoban Trading Company!”

Again, there was no response. Confident in his guess, Teriq slightly relaxed and spoke.

“I see. Listen, how much were you paid? I’ll pay double that. It’s a merchant’s promise. I swear on the name of Rolpein. I can write a certificate right here and now. Or do you want gold? I promise on the name of Rolpein that there will be no retaliation.”

Teriq continued to sell the name of Rolpein, constantly asserting that he was the owner of the second-largest trading company in the principality. Subtly, he implied that if anything happened to him, the Rolpein Trading Company would seek revenge.

However, the intruder’s expression did not change at all. Not even the slightest disturbance was seen at the mention of Rolpein’s name.

“Truly, you haven’t changed at all.”