Chapter 31: Lahan (2)

“……”

Queen smiled.

Because Carl answering simply by removing his mask served as response.

Meanwhile Dirsen looked startled at Carl’s sudden action of taking off the mask.

“You’re younger than I thought. But why did you suddenly remove the mask?”

“You are disqualified at the moment you fail to notice the meaning.”

As Carl sighed lightly and shook his head, Queen and Second sprang up simultaneously as if by prior agreement.

Queen moved toward the figure in white robes, and Second charged at the spear‑wielding spearman.

Clatter.

Carl remained seated, extending his hand toward the neatly arranged dining utensils.

He picked up the knife, sliced the steak, and lightly savored its taste.

There was no poison.

A fact he had identified when the food had been served.

If it had been him, he would have hidden a silent poison needle of the Empty Mountain Poison  variety, exploiting such carelessness.

As Carl leisurely began his meal, Dirsen observed him with an intrigued gaze.

‘Has he resigned himself? No, is it confidence? Does he believe in his own power?’

Dirsen gave a wry smile at that bold demeanor.

The force he had prepared did not end with those three.

He had also deployed skilled subordinates throughout the interior and surroundings of the restaurant.

So they would never escape this place.

Soon they would realize the harsh reality and fall into despair.

Dirsen sipped the wine, anticipating that moment.

Thud─!

In contrast to the peaceful dining table, fierce battles raged on either side.

Second, launched like a projectile, swung her fist with ferocious momentum into empty air.

Although she struck nothing visible, the compressed air became a heavy mace and surged toward the spearman.

“……”

The spearman twisted adeptly and avoided the invisible blow.

Then he exploited an opening and with the sharp tip of his spear targeted Second’s heart.

Second, likewise, narrowly evaded the spearhead.

They missed by the thickness of a sheet of paper—an exhilarating fight unfolding without collision.

Clang!

Meanwhile Queen and the white‑robed fighter were locked in an intense clash without giving an inch.

Their relentless swift blade strikes canceled each other out, sparking bright yellow flames.

“……”

Carl focused on his meal without even glancing at his subordinates.

After emptying his plate, he smelled the aroma by raising the wine glass, then with graceful gesture he tilted the glass.

Finally, after finishing his meal, he looked up and offered Dirsen a faint smile.

“Excuse me. I didn’t eat earlier because I came out immediately. Isn’t all of this done just to survive?”

“……Interesting.”

Dirsen burst into a hearty laugh.

He had been in the shadows for a long time and had never met this type of person before.

Usually they either flatter him or stay wary—but only his father and Tourga treated him so dispassionately.

“……”

The fight beside them was similar.

He thought NOX would be easily subdued, but the nature of the fight was dragging on.

Apparently he needed to elevate NOX’s strength a bit more.

‘Even better.’

No owner could fail to rejoice upon confirming that the blade they would soon possess was sharper than expected.

Tap.

Carl finished his meal, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and spoke to Dirsen.

“Originally, we planned to use your approach as a pretext to threaten you or leak to Tourga’s side to sow discord within Lahan. That would create an opportunity for us to dig in.”

“Hmm.”

“But I had intended to give power up to a certain degree. Because both your side and ours need a variable to break through the current situation. …But I never expected you to be such an idiot. I can now understand why the boss of the organization did not announce his son as successor even while bedridden.”

“Provoking me is pointless. Nothing will change anyway.”

Dirsen pulled up the corner of his mouth and stood up.

Then the middle‑aged swordsman behind him stepped forward and said.

“Amazing. Everyone was curious about your identity, but I did not expect you to be such a young man.”

With wrinkled hand he stroked his chin and looked at Carl with interested eyes.

‘Even though exaggerated, I did not expect such a rookie whose down is not even gone yet.’

Even allowing for slight exaggeration, he could not deny that Carl was quite talented.

But the same applied to the middle‑aged swordsman.

He was Dirsen’s hidden card, hired to plunge a blade deep into Tourga’s heart.

Unlike the fresh-faced youngster, he had crossed countless battle lines and warfields.

“They call him Shin‑Jen.”

“Carlos.”

“Carlos, is it? …Wait a minute. The name of the youngest of the Leipzig family who entered Bayern as top of theory this time was …”

Shin-Jen’s eyes widened.

Dirsen, who had been in the back, did the same.

That the leader of an underworld organization turned out to be a noble of the Empire.

And not just some low-ranking noble, but a bloodline of Count Leipzig, who guards the border?

“Running the organization is a small hobby.”

“For a hobby, you’ve stepped in too deep. Dirsen, it looks like we’ll have to revise the plan.”

“Seems that way.”

At Shin-Jen’s words, Dirsen nodded.

Originally, they intended to capture NOX’s leader and take over the organization, but things changed if nobles were involved.

Once the employer gave the green light, Shin-Jen sat across from Carl with a thud.

“It’s my first time cutting down a noble.”

“Confident, are you?”

“Hahahaha! Boy, it’s good to be confident, but the world is bigger than you think. Where you believe the sky ends, there’s always a higher sky.”

“I’ve had enough of your pitiful advice. I’ve no reason to listen to an old man who’s been peddled around now that he’s aged.”

“What a sharp tongue. You didn’t become top of theory at Bayern just for show. So, do you have a clear solution to this situation?”

“Resolve the situation?”

A deep smile spread across Carl’s lips.

“That sounds like something you should be asked.”

Slice─!

The moment he spoke, the table between them split in half.

No—it wasn’t just once.

Dozens of follow-up slashes collided in the center and blasted the split table to dust.

Swish.

Shin-Jen lightly shook off his sword and stood firm, gazing at Carl.

“Too bad. If only you weren’t a noble, you’d be a talent worth nurturing.”

“What’s there to learn?”

Carl let out a dry laugh and spun the sword in his hand.

From beginning to end, Shin-Jen had looked down on him.

‘Such a transparent trick.’

Contrary to his words, Shin-Jen’s attitude was thoroughly cautious.

Even in the Central Plains, it was common for outstanding late-stage masters to be underestimated or ignored.

Young blood and its reactive emotions were ideal for breaking balance and disrupting flow.

Shin-Jen was skillfully digging into that opening.

Unfortunately, he had picked the wrong opponent.

This side was more accustomed than anyone to killing emotions—a true assassin.

Carl twisted his lips and slowly lowered his stance.

‘Pretending to fall for this petty trick might be fun too.’

From his entire body, a tyrannical current began to flow.

The true manifestation of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

As formless mana dyed itself in jet black and spread around, Shin-Jen felt an unknown chill run down his spine.

‘…That’s…’

It matched the accounts from when he had taken down a drake in one blow.

—When the pitch-black torrent surged, everything nearby vanished.

That must be his true power.

For a moment, he wondered if Carl had made a contract with a demon to obtain demonic energy.

Because to have that kind of strength at that age was unbelievable, even for a genius.

‘No, it’s not demonic energy.’

Shin-Jen had crossed many battlefields and fought against demons and devils alike.

Demonic energy was stickier, more viscous, and deeply unpleasant.

It didn’t feel this heavy, murderous, and suffocating.

Szzzz.

Shin-Jen raised his sword with precision.

When a murky blue light surged along the blade, both of their figures vanished simultaneously.

Clang─!

A shockwave from their clashing swords echoed thunderously through the air.

For now, the barrier around the fifth floor was keeping the aftermath from leaking outside, but no one knew what would happen if the battle intensified.

Even Carl wanted to avoid the news of NOX contacting Dirsen getting out.

So both had to restrict their power within the limit the barrier could withstand.

Swish.

While locking blades, Carl twisted his body, sliding along Shin-Jen’s sword and diving into his guard.

Even though it was a light move using his center of gravity, it was too refined to block easily.

Clack!

Shin-Jen pulled his sword inward in the shortest possible line to guard his front, then scattered wild strikes to block Carl’s approach.

Once he gained some distance, the tip of his sword sharply stabbed into the air.

Ssshshshshk!

Blindingly fast slashes filled the space in an instant.

There was no place to run.

From the beginning, the attack had been intended to drive him into a corner, so dodging it was impossible.

Whoosh.

Carl’s response was simple.

Unlike Shin-Jen’s sword, which had been swung at tremendous speed, Carl slowly raised his sword and dominated the space.

The overwhelming pressure from the tyrannical energy of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art suppressed the momentum of the swift blade, and with a single trajectory, all of its path shattered.

“What a crude sword. For something polished over a lifetime, it’s nothing but rough.”

Clang!

The tip of the sword dropped straight and struck the ground.

Having dodged the attack by stepping back a single pace, Shin-Jen spun his sword lightly and deflected the scattering fragments.

“……”

Shin-Jen immediately twisted his head.

Right then, a silent blade thrust from the air, brushing past his face by a paper-thin margin.

He instantly launched a counterstrike toward where the sword had come, but Carl’s form vanished like a mirage, his blade only slicing through empty space.

“Even if someone told me you were an assassin, I’d believe it.”

“Your senses aren’t dull then?”

“Judging by that strange form, it’s not a sword art passed down in the family. Could it be that the youngest didn’t learn a proper sword and stumbled upon some great encounter?”

“A great encounter, huh.”

Carl chuckled at those words.

The original owner of this body had died, and Mu-ak had taken his place.

Now, he even recognized Carl’s personality as his own.

There was no need, nor reason, to separate them.

‘I am simply myself.’

The Unkillable Mu-ak and Leipzig’s Carl were both truths.

So he had no time to waste on trivial worries like an identity crisis.

Shwaaak!

Shin-Jen changed his stance.

Up to now, he had maintained a static style, countering incoming attacks.

Now, he moved proactively, adopting a dynamic rhythm.

Carl instantly widened the distance and retreated, stopping vertically on the wall.

At that bizarre yet rapid movement, Shin-Jen narrowed his eyes.

‘That footwork. If I can seal that, he won’t be able to move.’

The sharpness of his sword was impressive, but the depth within it lacked much.

All Carl could do was launch ambushes like earlier by targeting blind spots.

If he could drag him into a head-on confrontation without giving any openings…

“You seem to be deep in thought.”

“……!”

At the sudden cold breath brushing past his ear, Shin-Jen’s eyes flew open.

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