Chapter 114

The duty of a martial artist is to save the weak and eradicate the wicked. Eliminating these parasitic scum is the true mission of a warrior. I extended my arm in gratitude to the masters who taught me martial arts. The enemies, thinking they could stand against me, swung swords and spears… but in the face of true martial prowess, those were nothing more than rotten twigs.

Hoyeongryu Nachaljang.

A lethal strike that rotates the joints and delivers a one-hit kill.

“Kyaaaak!!! My shoulder! My shoulder!!!”

Niko Ryu Kongou’s Iron Chain Strike.

The ultimate strike launched by contracting the leg muscles.

“My ribs!!! F*ck!!! Kyaaaak!!!!”

Pacheon Tusagyeok (Heaven-Shattering Strike).

A technique that paralyzes the opponent’s muscles and nerves.

“My… my body!!! F*ck, my legs won’t move!!!”

And finally, the finishing move—Nine Lives.

A rapid flurry of strikes layered upon each other. To be precise, I modified it by chaining Nachaljang and Inch Punch nine times in a row.

This was my original creation, [Werner-Style Nine Lives: The Head of the Bastard Who Kills Passersby].

“Ughhh…!”

The sensation of soft entrails stimulated my touch. The mining union chairman, Kyoshu, whose abdomen I had pierced, groaned and spoke to me.

“You’ll regret this… Do you know who’s behind us? You won’t even know what hit you…”

“I knew it.”

“What…?”

“The scale of this nonsense was too big for a mere union chairman. I wondered what you were relying on… Turns out, the Black Round Table was behind it, stinking up the place.”

Just as you can’t hide the stench of trash, you can’t hide the stink of these bastards.

And the scale of the incidents was too large for a mere union chairman. Unless they had some powerful backing. A guy over 40 wouldn’t dare propose to a count’s daughter without some serious support.

The only thing that bothers me is… Count Holstead must have known about the connection between the mining union and the Black Round Table. Yet, he acted like he didn’t know. I came to help him, so why would he lie…? Thinking about it, the mansion was small but had many rooms, yet he only gave us two guest rooms. Plus, he told us not to enter the other rooms…

“Anyway, forget about him being suspicious… Let’s deal with you first. What deal did you make with those bastards?”

“Deal? What nonsense…”

“Don’t play dumb, you scum. Those bastards aren’t a charity for evil. You must have made some stinking deal with them.”

“Even I, the union chairman, don’t know about that… So…”

“Let’s stop pretending. I just realized you’re not the real chairman.”

“…You’re sharp.”

Someone who could negotiate with the Black Round Table wouldn’t casually show up at the investigation site. Plus, this guy didn’t seem capable of dealing with them. So, he’s a fake, and the real chairman must be somewhere else, negotiating with the Black Round Table.

“Look, I already know everything, so let’s cooperate with the arrest. Let’s not make this harder than it needs to be.”

“Hmph, figuring it out doesn’t change anything.”

I can’t understand why these guys act like this. It’s not like we’re in some warring states era. If they just cooperated, I might have spared them.

But I never spare lives for such trivial reasons. My pride as a torture artist wouldn’t allow it. My hands, driven by anger, move only to sever life. No other emotions are permitted. There’s no mercy in my hands. That would insult both the enemy and myself.

“Can I rearrange your guts?”

I plunged my hand deep into his stomach and stirred. I moved his intestines, swapped his liver and gallbladder.

“Kyaaaak!”

“Now, do you feel like talking? Or should I swap your eyeballs and stomach?”

If only he had talked earlier, it would have been better for both of us. But no, he chose the worst path.

“Why do you bastards always keep your mouths shut and make everyone suffer? Did they teach you that in some school?”

I slowly brought my index finger to his right eye.

“Please… spare me…”

Finally, overcome by fear, he decided to spill everything. Fear and violence are the most effective treatments for amnesia. If someone claims they don’t remember, violence and fear are the cure.

And so, I saved another amnesiac today.

“Now you feel like giving proper information, huh?”

“Yes… I’ll tell you everything I know…”

Then, the cry of a hawk struck my ears. Yes, hawks are always the answer for such trash.

There’s a lot to know, but prioritizing information and structuring questions is crucial. After a cold analysis, I asked the most important question.

“Hey, you bastards… First, where’s the bathroom?”

I drank too much coffee this morning. Plus, the abandoned building we were in was so old that I couldn’t figure out where anything was. Forget information, my bladder was the priority.

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“So, the information you got is… the mining union is colluding with the Black Round Table, and they’re interested in something hidden in the Holstead family’s iron mine?”

Glacia showed no interest in the information about the bathroom in the abandoned building.

“Yes. And since the contract period is almost over… time is running out. Even if we request reinforcements from the Imperial family, it might be too late.”

The mining union tried to secure their survival by linking the chairman to the count’s daughter before the Black Round Table’s protection vanished. They must be desperate now that the count’s daughter is dead.

“Then we have no choice but to visit the iron mine.”

“I agree.”

Glacia spread out the map of the iron mine and started biting her thumbnail, deep in thought. Was she trying to come up with a strategy?

“Lord Werner and Lorcha, please investigate inside the mine. Airi and I will wait outside, blocking anyone trying to enter or leave.”

Airi protested loudly.

“No, I want to go in with Master! If I stay outside with you, we’ll just fight!”

Airi’s analysis was spot-on. Even I thought they’d just fight if left alone. But Glacia stood firm.

“You can’t go all out when you’re with Lord Werner. Ideally, Lord Werner and I would go inside, but if we do, you’ll cause a scene.”

“But…”

“Fine, how about guarding the mansion? I can handle the outside alone. I never expected much help from you anyway…”

“Fine! I’ll go! I’ll go, okay?”

Lorcha was silently staring at the map. I wanted to tease her, so I put my hand on her shoulder and spoke.

“What are you thinking about?”

“F*ck, you scared me!”

Her elbow strike hit my philtrum perfectly. Was she also a practitioner of Jeet Kune Do? It hurt like hell.

“Ow, my philtrum… Ugh…”

“Sorry…”

“No, it’s my fault for startling you. But what were you thinking about?”

Lorcha seemed uneasy, like an elementary student who hadn’t done their holiday homework the day before school started.

“You… stick close to me tomorrow.”

“Why all of a sudden? Are you scared of bats in the cave?”

“No, it’s not that… Tsk… Forget it. Just remember that. I’ll handle the rest.”

Lorcha clicked her tongue and headed to bed first. Honestly, she seemed annoyed and angry, but with that face, it was just cute. If a guy acted like that, I’d immediately hit him with Nachaljang.