Chapter 426

The official reason for the King of the East, Anu, coming to the Border Guard was Martai, but, of course, he had another motive.

“Has Naurillia gone mad, or is it the newly crowned king who has lost his mind? I need to figure that out. But first, I want to see the so-called Demon Slayer’s face.”

Anu made his name at eighteen by hunting lions on the eastern plains. Before he turned fifty, he had gathered his people and founded a nation in the East—a hero in his own right.

Yet, he had one bad habit.

Whenever he found someone promising, he wanted to take them back to the East. He had an insatiable desire for talent.

That wasn’t necessarily a misfortune for those he took.

“Do you regret becoming my brother? Then you’re free to leave!”

After all, wasn’t he known across the continent for his boisterous nature?

Once they were brought along and had gone through enough, they inevitably became people of the East.

They would fall for his charm, become intoxicated by his ambition and dreams.

His dream was grand, soaring, and absurd, yet he was in the process of making it a reality.

By now, every frontier of the East had felt his touch, his presence.

Since the age of eighteen, he had thrown every moment of his life into pioneering the East.

Anyone who knew his life and saw him in action would have no choice but to acknowledge his magnetism.

‘He’s a bit stubborn and headstrong, though.’

His tan-skinned lieutenant, Asaluhi, adjusted his turban as he mused.

No matter what anyone said, he respected his king—a man as bold as he was free of lingering regrets.

Asaluhi believed his duty was to fill in the gaps left by his king.

“Let’s go see him. The man who dreams of slaying demons.”

By now, Enkrid’s rumors had twisted somewhat, but the King of the East held no prejudice.

A lunatic obsessed with killing demons?

That was possible.

Martai was just an excuse. He was clearly after talent.

Several recent events in the East had kept the king frantically busy, but now was a period of respite. The timing was perfect.

Getting to the Border Guard, making an excuse to enter the city, and finding this Enkrid fellow would be no trouble at all.

Even making it into the inner training grounds of the barracks wasn’t difficult.

“You mean anyone can request a duel, and it’ll be accepted? No exceptions?”

At Asaluhi’s question, the soldier scrutinized the two men but didn’t seem inclined to stop them by force.

If they had made it this far, it wasn’t as if a soldier could stop them anyway. A direct order had been given by the general:

Don’t interfere. Let them through.

Whether they were assassins or challengers, if they couldn’t be stopped, there was no need to get in their way.

Of course, there was a small addendum—if a soldier truly wanted to fight, they wouldn’t be stopped. But soldiers who were desperate to brawl were exceedingly rare.

The soldier spoke with the intent to let them pass.

“That’s correct.”

Anu laughed heartily and strode inside first. The soldier didn’t block him. Had he been a fresh recruit, he might have hesitated, but as a veteran, he understood well enough.

These were men who had already passed Frokk and Meelun, the ones guarding the city.

The general had also said, “If you’re not confident you can take down Meelun, don’t even think about picking a fight.”

“Well, that’s a bold young man.”

The king muttered as he passed the soldier, walking forward without any special restrictions.

The soldier watched the man, thinking, for some reason, he looked oddly excited.

The king stepped into the training grounds.

‘Interesting.’

A thrill surged within him.

As he watched the Demon Slayer, he briefly revealed his presence, and his opponent’s fighting spirit ignited.

It had been a long time since he felt this kind of battlelust.

And it was such a clean, refined will to fight.

Normally, he wouldn’t immediately resort to violence, but his opponent’s sheer presence stirred something in him.

“I don’t know why, but…”

To be exact, he simply liked the man’s stubbornness. That was why he moved first.

***

And so, the King of Eastern Mercenaries stayed in the battalion.

‘Let’s see now.’

The king cast his gaze over the gathered soldiers, his desire for talent flickering to life again and again.

First, there was Rem.

‘Good instincts.’

Rem wielded two axes, his skill far from ordinary.

The king referred to those he acknowledged as his ‘brothers,’ a tradition dating back to when he first entered the East with a band called the ‘Ochre Turban Brotherhood.’

That tradition had since become ingrained.

Even among his brothers, skill of this level was rare.

Not unheard of, but rare.

The East was a harsh land, no less than the Demon Realm. Such was the nature of the wild frontier.

Giant beasts roamed freely, and there were creatures far more dangerous than them.

If that were all, it would have been manageable. But there were flying monsters, demons that toyed with humans…

The East was the East.

Even so, Rem was a standout. Even by Eastern standards, he was rare. And he wasn’t the only one.

What about Audin?

“Let’s test it with raw strength!”

During a spar, they locked hands in a contest of pure might.

‘Stronger than a Bloodhide Bear?’

Anu was impressed. More than anything, this man—this bear in human form—wasn’t just relying on brute strength.

‘I’ve seen plenty of strong men before.’

He had tried to twist the man’s wrist subtly, only for Audin to display intricate technique.

Strength was one thing, but to have this level of skill alongside it?

He was among the finest even among Anu’s own brothers.

And then, there was Ragna.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Those with outstanding talent were called geniuses.

This one was undeniably a genius.

A mass of raw, god-given ability.

The man instantly mimicked and replicated every technique he saw.

His fundamentals were solid.

Wielding a black greatsword, his swordplay was both swift and heavy.

An ill-prepared knight wouldn’t stand a chance.

All of this ignited Anu’s greed, though it did not truly surprise him.

Exceptional instincts.

A tempered body.

Terrifying talent.

Rare, yes, but not something he had never seen before.

So he wasn’t exactly surprised.

That didn’t mean he didn’t want them.

There was even a beastkin with remarkable potential.

And the half-giant, Teresa, caught his eye just as much.

Even the others—Lophod and Pel, the shepherd—each one awakened his desire for talent.

‘This is fun.’

Anu felt excitement once again.

And there was one more presence that stood apart from the rest.

“A mage too, huh?”

Esther, in human form, glanced at the king once and then dismissed him entirely, as if he didn’t even exist. She showed no interest at all.

That could have been remarkable on its own, but what truly fascinated Anu was something else.

Among them all, there was one leading these people.

‘Defeat.’

What did it mean to lose?

Anyone with a certain level of skill bore a high degree of pride.

They were all the same.

Neither Rem, nor Ragna, nor Audin could escape this category.

And yet, what was this?

‘What is with this guy?’

A single man overturned all that negative energy.

“Can we spar?”

Losing meant denying one’s own skill.

Before ambition, the first thing one felt was defeat. That lingering sense of loss burrowed deep, gnawing away at a person like the whispered temptations of a demon.

Such was the nature of negative emotions.

Especially for those who were utterly broken before him.

Anu had accepted his opponent’s stubbornness, but he had not done so kindly.

He shattered every technique the man threw at him.

And yet—

“Are you busy?”

His opponent charged at him again. And again.

Defeat consumed a person. The greater the skill, the stronger the feeling.

But not this man.

Anu didn’t particularly like the concept of "junior knights," but even by that standard, this one was remarkable.

Even among his brothers, he might make it into the top ten.

And yet, such a skilled man didn’t care about losing.

‘Does he have no pride?’

Or perhaps he possessed something even greater than pride.

Anu recalled his own past defeats.

It hadn’t been pleasant. But he had no time to dwell on them.

He had to keep moving forward.

And this man was the same.

That familiar scent—Anu could recognize it.

“Fine, let’s spar.”

King Anu nodded.

His opponent, unbothered by the thought of losing, took up his sword.

Enkrid lost. Anu won.

The result was never going to change.

“Thank you.”

The words came from the loser’s mouth.

Seeing the ambition and heat in his eyes, Anu knew—losing wasn’t meaningless to him.

He was simply dreaming of something greater.

“I will pioneer the East.”

Anu spoke.

Enkrid stared at him, eyes unreadable.

“We’ll talk about it another time.”

Anu chuckled.

If he could just take all of them back to the East, he would have the time of his life.

***

A few days later, it became immediately clear why the King of the East had come.

“You have remarkable skill. How about joining me on a journey of exploration?”

He sought talent. And he didn’t even bother hiding it.

Rem blinked at the words.

He was in the middle of making a log bench, using a freshly cut tree to get used to his new axes.

Each time he swung, the raw wood split and smoothed out.

Sawdust and wood chips piled up around him.

Anu didn’t need to see more than that.

‘This bastard’s axe-handling…’

At first, he thought it was something he had seen before. But the more he watched, the more evident it became—this one had an extraordinary sense for it.

“If I’m so great, what does that make you?”

Rem asked, his tone flippant. King or knight, he didn’t care. If he did, he wouldn’t be Rem.

“Do you really think you can compare yourself to me?”

Anu shook his head in response.

What was he supposed to do with such a comparison?

“You sound even more annoying than our captain.”

“…Asaluhi, is this an insult? A crime against the royal family?”

It was a joke.

Even if he really did take offense, Rem wouldn’t «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» have cared.

‘I need to visit the West.’

Rem reaffirmed his decision.

Without sorcery, facing the King of the East head-on with his axe felt like a burden. That irritated him.

If he truly fought with all his might, he wouldn’t necessarily lose. He had even learned a few things from their sparring.

But still, something about it left him feeling twisted inside.

‘I have to go to the West.’

The thought settled firmly in his mind.

The king wasn’t a fool. He knew how to poke at people’s weak points.

With Rem, he joked around like a jester. With Ragna, he chose the words that would tempt him the most.

“There are a lot of paths to find in the East. Why don’t you help?”

“You need a guide?”

“Of course.”

“My specialty is finding shortcuts and making new paths. But I’m busy.”

Once Ragna got irritated, he was even worse than Rem.

If he decided not to listen, it was like trying to reason with Audin’s fists. Hard as iron.

The king, however, was tireless. He continued his offers to everyone.

When he saw Dunbakel, he even made a bold suggestion.

“Want to be my daughter?”

“…Why would I?”

Dunbakel responded in Rem’s style.

“Or do you want to be my wife? Sorry, but I have no need for a spouse.”

“What the hell? I hate old men.”

The King of the East wasn’t hurt by such words. He only laughed heartily.

Everyone had the same thought—what kind of lunatic was this king of the East?

But the one who reacted the most was Kraiss.

“Your Highness, King of the East! Is it true? Are there really mountains of gold in the East?”

The king laughed again and said,

“I don’t need you.”

It was clear what kind of people he wanted—warriors who could fight.

His lieutenant, Asaluhi, remained calm, as if this was all too familiar.

***

Ragna watched the two duelists finish their sparring.

‘By shifting the tempo, a simple thrust can look like a grand technique.’

What was technique?

In the end, it was nothing more than cutting and stabbing what stood before you.

Ragna withdrew into himself.

His talent was not just exceptional—it was beyond that. So superior that he wondered if anyone existed with more raw ability than him.

His past fights had only fueled his talent.

Even without a catalyst, he would have continued moving forward. But now, a catalyst stood right before him.

He replayed everything he had learned, cast aside what was unnecessary, and reexamined what remained.

Ragna lay on his bed, staring outside.

The Mad Platoon’s training grounds were directly connected to their quarters, making it possible.

Dust swirled through the air, but the proximity was convenient—at least, according to Enkrid. It had been Kraiss who had foreseen that and designed the layout.

Thanks to that, Ragna could gaze at the training grounds and lose himself in the sword.

And because of that layout, from the outside, it simply looked like he was lazing around in bed.

“That bastard’s slacking off again. Knew it was only a matter of time.”

It was Rem who spoke, having finished making a log bench and now working on a table.