Chapter 152 : Small City Raun

“Chung! It was an honor to see you!”

“Chung!”

The captain of the East Gate Guard of Ironheart and his knights maintained their posture without moving, swords raised.

A treatment that was only burdensome for me, who held no particular position in the kingdom.

Naturally, the surrounding gazes gathered.

“That person is the…….”

“The Black Knight…….”

“He looks really young…….”

Woongseong woongseong.

It was both ticklish inside my chest and burdensome.

‘Heua.’

All of this was because the king, who had declared an all-out war on the Demon Cult, had designated me as its spearhead.

– I promise unwavering support to the prime contributor who has found and exterminated the servants of evil, the Black Knight Muno Drasen, and his family.

– Furthermore, if he achieves similar merits in the upcoming subjugation of the Demon Cult, a reward no less than that will follow!

‘He said I could stay out of it, but this just makes me stand out even more. Damn it.’

Well, I understood.

In the past few days, a stench befitting a giant city was slowly starting to emerge in Ironheart.

The fact that the protective and purifying barrier of Ironheart, which the spirits had guarded, was broken was something the citizens were also feeling in their skin.

The king had continuously promoted me and the Dragon Sword Duke to quell the anxiety of the people and divert their attention.

‘If it benefits the family, then it’s good for me, I guess.’

There was nothing to lose.

I had once again confirmed in my fight with the Hydra that the Demon Cult bastards were my sworn enemies.

‘The Exeo family, Ryut Exeo. And…… Exlam.’

I repeated the name I should have originally had in this life and the name of my enemy.

I strengthened my resolve once more.

But it seemed my expression didn’t look very good.

“……Sir Muno? Has something gone wrong by any chance?”

“Ah, no. It’s just that I feel I am receiving an undeserved courtesy.”

“Haha. Next time, I will prepare an even more impressive greeting.”

“Pardon?”

“Because I believe you will achieve even greater merits.”

The sparkling eyes of the East Gate Guard captain were incredibly burdensome.

‘It’s too much.’

Far too much.

Therefore, Muno chose the path of quickly moving away from the gate.

“Keep up the good work!!”

Tudadadadada.

Only after getting quite far away could I escape the pressure of the pouring gazes and let out a sigh of relief.

Kung.

A pleasant echo spread from the chest plate I lightly tapped.

Over the past ten days of getting hit a lot and eating a lot, my body had become much tougher.

The efficiency of Chain Devourer increasing tenfold was a bonus.

It had now reached a level that was quite usable even in actual combat.

‘I thought the term ‘combat-compressed muscles’ was just a joke.’

Of course, it wasn’t achieved easily.

After exhausting the body through repeated training that would have crippled or killed a normal person, I used the power of gluttony to super-recover beyond that.

The repetition of that process brought about definite improvement in skill, no, in physical growth in a short period of time.

Above all.

‘I’ve also figured out the direction of my growth.’

That fact boosted my confidence.

To the point where I felt a slight gratitude towards that demon.

‘Ah, no.’

That old man definitely enjoys beating people.

I don’t know if he heard it, but I gave my thanks, so that should be enough.

“Eugh…….”

Burururu.

– Puhahahaha! The feeling of hitting you is so satisfying!

My body trembled as I recalled the Dragon Sword Duke who had beaten me while bursting into mad laughter.

So I tried hard to change my thoughts.

‘The Demon Cult has a high probability of laying low for the time being. Even if they don’t, the royal family is actively searching for them, so I just need to wait too.’

Thinking that, I missed Drasen and my family, and also…….

– Knight of the Gale, Karina. Is writing a legend of victory in the Contest of Virtue, Knight’s Grand Tournament.

……I also wanted to meet the blonde female knight who should be returning to the capital around now.

‘The path you wanted, I hope you’re doing well, right?’

However, the urgent matter right now was to find Rauel.

‘I hope you’re not overdoing it. Please.’

– I think I’ll only be a hindrance here.

The dark face that had spoken while biting her lip came to mind again.

And the note she left behind.

– ……I intend to retrieve the artifact I left behind in Aslan…….

‘I don’t know what it is, but…….’

She must have thought it would have been helpful if she had it during the battle with the Hydra.

And if it’s such a treasure, the Aslan ducal family must also value it highly.

‘To think she’s going to steal such an item.’

Even for Rauel who had undergone her fifth evolution, the first thought that came to mind was that it was reckless.

– In Raun, a small city near the Aslan territory…….

‘Please don’t do anything rash, Rauel.’

As the uneasy premonition seeped coldly into my chest, my steps across the field also grew faster and faster.

‘A distance that takes ten days by horse, I’ll cut it in half.’

Just 5 days later, I came to face the small city of Raun, my destination.

Paaaaang.

‘There it is!’

The moment my two legs, which had been running without restraint, applied the brakes.

Geugeugeugeugeuk.

My body, boasting a massive weight, dug into the ground and slid for over ten meters as if on ice.

“Hoo…….”

It’s smaller than I thought?

Wiping the sweat from my forehead as I looked at the walls of Raun from a distance, I didn’t approach the wall, but instead slipped into the forest beside the main road.

If I considered this to be practically Aslan territory from here on, I needed to prepare.

Until now, I had come straight towards Raun, avoiding cities and people while displaying my skills as a camping expert(!), so Aslan couldn’t possibly know of me.

‘Still, my armor and appearance are too conspicuous.’

So I needed a countermeasure.

I took out a small silver rod from my bosom.

The consumable artifact I used before when entering Erundel, Coloring.

It was a disposable consumable with only a color-changing effect, yet it cost a whole gold coin.

Even then, I could only get one because there were so few in stock.

‘If I had asked the royal family……. No, this is my business. And it’s not like there aren’t other ways.’

Just by changing the color of my armor like when I entered Erundel, the image of the ‘Black Knight’ would be laundered.

But with the king seriously making me a hero, that alone was unsettling.

So.

“This is the right thing to do.”

Padeudeuk.

Uuuung.

The light that leaked from the broken silver rod seeped into my hair.

Soon, my black hair was dyed gold.

“Hmm…….”

The blonde hair reflected on the blade felt very awkward.

‘To think I’d dye my hair like this, something I never did even in my past life.’

But it was necessary. In the Iron Kingdom where black hair was rare, it was also becoming one of my symbols.

Fortunately, just changing my hair color changed my impression drastically.

‘Then, now for the armor.’

Chwareureuk.

I retracted the armor and formed it into black bands on my arms and legs.

“Hmm……?”

The feeling of the wind on my casual clothes, which I had worn underneath for the first time in a while, wasn’t as bad as I thought.

‘It feels a little empty, though.’

The armor was like a part of my body, so it had a sensation similar to actual touch, but it was still different from the feeling of soft, bare skin.

‘Ah, this is not the time to be lost in sentiment.’

“Hoo…….”

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and focused my mind.

And I detected the metals deep within the earth.

After extending a virtual neural network under my feet as much as possible, I detected and marked every last bit of minute iron content.

‘Oh, someone buried a weapon here. Good.’

And…….

Now!

“Heup!”

Pouring out all the mana in my body at once, I pulled all the metal content within a detectable range of several hundred meters under my feet.

Kwadododododok.

‘I’m counting on you.’

The spirits of metal gathered from all sides, the owners of a small and lovely presence invisible to the eye, sent a positive wavelength.

Kwadeuk, kwadeuk.

Jjeojeong.

The lump of metal gathered on the drawn ‘Blade’ gradually grew in volume.

‘That’s enough.’

The giant’s sword, which had been growing, stopped its growth according to my will.

In that state.

“Transform.”

Kwadododok.

Along with a low voice filled with will, the Blade distorted its form and began to cover my entire body.

And it hardened into a certain shape according to the image in my head.

And soon.

“Good!”

A half-plate mail that covered my heart and vital spots on my upper body, along with some lower body armor including greaves, was completed in an instant.

Tang. Tang.

‘This is usable.’

When I struck it with my fist, the strength was not bad for something made in a hurry.

The color was also moderately faded, clearly looking like a second-hand item.

The size of the ‘Blade’ had also been greatly reduced, becoming something like a bastard sword, slightly smaller than a greatsword or a two-handed sword.

If I controlled the mana, the symbol of the spell, moderately, it would just look like a crude sword.

And with that.

[Second-class Mercenary, Tyut]

An appearance befitting the identification plaque made by ‘El’ was completed.

“Mm. Perfect.”

Looking at the reflection on the blade, it was certain.

Where the figure of the Black Knight, Muno Drasen, had disappeared, a somewhat naive-looking mercenary stood in his place.

Just by changing the two most noticeable features, the person looked completely different.

However, there was one more problem.

‘As expected, my age is an issue…….’

To be precise, my face.

Although I had a large frame, my face boasted the firm skin of a seventeen-year-old who had just passed into adulthood.

No matter if this was a fantasy world, it couldn’t be common for someone this young to be a mercenary.

‘I’ll have to make up a tragic story…….’

Thinking of a suitable excuse, I walked towards the north gate of Raun.

And the subsequent security check was passed so easily it felt anticlimactic.

“Early twenties?”

“Yes? Ah, yes. That’s right.”

“A second-class mercenary at that age……. You have a face that looks like it has quite a story. Keep it up.”

The guard who checked me didn’t harbor the slightest suspicion, and even patted my shoulder.

“A man with a face like that at your age will surely awaken someday and become a high-ranking mercenary. Maybe even a knight? Hahaha.”

……What kind of face is that!?

I wanted to question him, but this wasn’t the situation for it.

‘To think I have a mature face with a backstory…….’

My mother always told me I was handsome.

‘No, that’s not it.’

It’s probably because I camped out a lot. Or maybe because of the dye.

……Damn it.

“Thank, you.”

With an awkward smile, I greeted the guard and slowly walked into the city.

The scenery inside the small city of Raun felt familiar.

Like an expanded version of Drasen?

The only differences were that the weather was a little warmer, and the faces of the people passing by looked a little heavy.

Even so, the fact that there were very few people walking around in the city made me anxious for some reason.

‘Is Rauel still here?’

I came as fast as I could, but 5 days had already passed.

‘There’s no El branch in a small city like this…….’

For now, I had no choice but to search, hoping that the reason Rauel showed her face here was because she had something to do here.

– Do you think that girl will come right away just because you’re looking for her?

The duke’s words also weighed on my mind.

Hoping that Rauel, who left to prove her own worth, wouldn’t, hadn’t, done anything reckless.

I headed towards the market street, where there seemed to be more people.

“……Looking for a half-breed?”

I forcibly suppressed the anger that surged at the innkeeper’s rude question.

“A mixed. blood. individual. I was supposed to meet them in this city, so I was wondering if you had seen them.”

“How would I know about some slave wench like that! If you’re not staying, get the hell out! I thought you were a customer, what bad luck…….”

A torrent of abuse came out of nowhere.

I wanted to smash his face in, but I managed to hold back.

Not that I had any intention of staying in an inn like this, so I turned to leave.

“A freed slave saying they’ll come back, what a stupid fool.”

The owner’s mumble, heard just as I was leaving the inn, made my face scrunch up again.

‘So this is why…… Rauel covers her face.’

I was reminded once again of how tragic her situation was.

‘El said there was a witness who saw someone with a similar appearance.’

It also made me wonder why Rauel would show her face in this city.

I didn’t think it was a case of mistaking her for someone else.

We hadn’t known each other for long, but I trusted the information from the Reid Merchant Guild, El.

‘A mixed-race black woman seen near Aslan. It has to be Rauel.’

I started walking again with a thought that could be either a guess or a hope.

Tadadak.

‘Hmm?’

I heard the sound of footsteps following me from the inn.

I glanced back.

“Hey, pal. You happen to be looking for a skinny half-breed wench with curly hair down to her shoulders?”

Someone spoke to me right away.

“……Hmm?”

“I can tell you if you give me a decent reward……?”

A middle-aged man with a stench wafting from his wide-open mouth and a single silver tooth among his yellow ones grinned and held out his hand.

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