Chapter 389

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

It’s one of the most famous proverbs from the Code of Hammurabi.

What it basically means is to retaliate in kind, a concept close to “self-defense.”

If someone punches you, then you punch them back. It’s surprisingly reasonable.

But considering the time when the Code of Hammurabi was established, it’s quite a progressive idea.

Back then, it was still the age of barbarism, just blossoming into civilization.

If someone punched you? Then it would be fine to kill them in return in those times.

So, the essence is not to respond too violently but to handle the situation within the realm of ‘self-defense.’

The reason I threw shade instead of throwing punches despite being dissed by a bunch of thugs was precisely because of this.

“W-What did you just say?”

“Isn’t that our language…?”

The thugs were completely caught off guard by my slick comebacks. They looked like they’d taken a solid hit.

Not only did I speak Tartar fluently, but I also slapped back with witty insults, so they must have been stunned into silence.

The locals around us seemed surprised too, their eyes wide as they glanced over.

While they weren’t exactly stepping in to stop anything, you never know how quickly things could heat up.

“Did you think I wouldn’t talk? Just blurting out nonsense with that mouth of yours.”

“W-What? You bastard…”

“Feel sorry for your girlfriend—she must have two buttholes. It must smell like poop when you kiss her.”

*Pfffft!*

A local who had been quietly observing let out a spew of his drink at my outrageous words.

It seemed like the other locals were having similar struggles, desperately holding back laughter.

A few were even openly laughing, which could be quite humiliating. But if I exploded over that, it would be a loss for me.

“This guy’s really pushing it!”

A thug sitting to my left shot up. I just watched him in silence.

His face was all red and blue, indicating he was really furious. He was basically the one who’d lost this game.

But hey, this is Tartar. It’s a land of real men, where civilization and barbarism collide.

I too slyly stood up and casually stared at the thug. He seemed to have some muscle because his physique was decent.

As the atmosphere grew tense, another thug rose to glare at me. The shop was now filled with a dangerous aura.

“W-What’s going on? Sivar!”

As if he had sensed the ruckus, Godin rushed over. He seemed to be having a tough day today.

I shot a glance at the thugs and then explained the whole situation to Godin, not skipping a word.

“So you were insulted?”

“Yeah.”

“Ugh. This is a real mess… why do things have to get so bad?”

Godin looked flustered. It’s true, the thugs’ actions were damaging to our national dignity.

But ironically, it also indicated that Tartar had become a civilized nation. In the past, you wouldn’t have had to worry about a smashed head.

Of course, even in a civilized nation, an eye for an eye still applies. Especially because it’s that kind of era; if there’s a ‘witness,’ self-defense could stretch further.

“…The academy will handle this later. Just take it easy.”

“Sure.”

“Seriously, to think they’d go as far as to ignore me. Do they want to die?”

-Crack!

Suddenly, the central thug seemed to have taken offense. He lunged forward, grabbing my collar.

At that moment, the atmosphere turned even more hostile. Godin patted my shoulder and left.

Meanwhile, the locals began watching us like it was the most entertaining show in town.

Even with my collar grabbed, I looked at the thug with my signature indifferent gaze. Oh, so now he was a dumb blonde.

Plus, with those tattoos on his shoulder, it’s obvious he was a thug. A tanned, blonde thug.

“Hey there, sir.”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yeah, you. The one watching.”

“Are you asking if I’m ignoring you?!”

I was, in fact. So just keep it down.

I called out to the local who was watching, still fixated on the thug.

The local glanced at the thug before nodding and speaking up.

“Can I hit him?”

“You’re allowed to hit him… according to the newly established law, since he posed a threat, it’s fine. Oh! And since he insulted you first, you can double it.”

“What are you talking about?!”

Before the thug could finish his thought, I acted first.

Just like he grabbed my collar, I seized his face.

My hands were so huge that it was easy to grab him. Slowly lifting him made the thug start to squirm.

“Y-You bastard!”

“Do you even know who we are?”

-Shooosh!

Now the thugs were pulling out daggers. The scope of self-defense just widened.

I pulled out my weapon but stared at the hesitating thugs. Their morale was too weak.

Instead of coming to attack me, they looked like they just wanted to protect themselves. It raised a question.

“That’s strange.”

“What’s strange?”

“Tartars are always up for a fight.”

Tartars are a martial people, and generally, ‘manners’ are built into their foundation.

They already know that lacking manners will get your head broken. So crossing the line doesn’t happen easily.

But these guys were different. Even with daggers drawn, they seemed more focused on defense, their eyes flickering with fear.

“You guys… you really haven’t fought before, have you?”

“Y-You’re just joking…”

“Coward. Idiot. Weakling. Fool. Moron.”

I unloaded a barrage of insults, delivering the final blow.

“Cut off your balls. You’re not even real men.”

“Ahhhhhh!”

One thug, having seemingly lost all sense, lunged for me. He was attempting to stab me with his dagger.

Some locals rushed in to help, but they were too close behind and it was too late.

Well, being late didn’t matter that much.

-CRACK!

His stab didn’t harm me at all. In fact, the dagger shattered into pieces.

“Ahhh!”

It looked like he hurt himself instead from the recoil. I stared at the thug, who was gripping his hand in pain.

Next, I shifted my gaze to the other thugs. Their pupils were shaking like in an earthquake.

“Did you stab me?”

“Ugh! Ugh!”

By the way, I was still gripping the blonde thug’s face, who was gasping for air as my arm was squeezing tight.

In the chilly atmosphere, I spoke coolly.

“It’s self-defense, right?”

What I meant was I was really about to mess them up.

Still holding the blonde thug’s face, I moved my other hand. The one who’d tried to stab me first was my target.

-Thud!

“Ahhh!”

Instead of his collar or face, I grabbed his hair, dragging him along. He was thrashing violently, but it was no use.

As I stepped out the door, the scorching heat welcomed me warmly. To my surprise, the locals were stunned too.

‘I sure hope it rains.’

I wondered if my wish to beat someone up on a rainy day would come true.

First things first, I had to finish the job. I tossed the blonde thug and the other goon to the ground.

They didn’t seem able to get up for a while; clearly, they couldn’t handle the pain. Meanwhile, the locals began murmuring.

“What’s going on? That’s the brother of the Bark Tribe chief, isn’t it?”

“Did he cause some trouble? What’s he doing like that?”

“Isn’t he a foreigner… tsk tsk.”

From the locals’ chatter, it seemed he was quite a notorious thug. A brother of the tribe chief.

No wonder he didn’t seem like he had much fighting experience; he was probably riding on the chief’s coattails. Makes sense.

Moreover, he’s likely never messed with anyone stronger than him—especially since I’m a foreigner.

‘Do I really look that frail?’

Maybe to the Tartar people, I seemed that way. My unique physique made my muscles feel solid.

The blonde thug certainly appeared muscle-bound on the outside. But muscles aren’t everything when it comes to strength in this world.

“Ugh… You bastard…”

Of all the thugs, the one whose hair I was gripping was the first to regain his bearings. The blonde thug rolled around clutching his face.

I watched the groggy thug rise up and immediately swung my leg.

I didn’t want to see him standing straight.

-Crack!

“Gah!”

But I must’ve kicked too hard, or maybe he was just weaker than I thought because I heard an unusual sound.

Looking down at where I kicked, his calf was bending in a direction it shouldn’t bend. It seemed like he’d really broken a bone.

“Gahhh! Ahhhhh! Ahhhh!”

The most painful injury in the world is a fracture, and the thug screamed while clutching his leg.

What a girly scream, really. When he was acting tough earlier, where did that bravado go? Quite the sight.

In this moment, I decided to show some kindness. I stuffed cloth into his mouth so he could scream to his heart’s content.

Just so you know, it wasn’t my own cloth; it was the thug’s. Thanks to that, his noise fell into muffled silence.

“Hey there, young man.”

“Huh?”

At that moment, a local approached me. I blinked in surprise, staring at the local.

He was the one who had kindly explained things to me before. Was he here to watch the show?

“Here you go.”

“Huh?”

He then nonchalantly dumped another thug onto the ground. I blinked in disbelief.

This truly is a land of men mixed with barbarism. They know manners in all sorts of ways.

“Just don’t be too rough. Keep it reasonable, okay?”

“They threw insults at me first.”

“Then just rip out their tongues and be done with it. Especially that guy—he’s a real piece of work.”

The local pointed at the blonde thug, who definitely had a history of mischief.

Seeing that the other locals weren’t stepping in to help but only watching from a distance, it must be karma.

I nodded and walked over to the blonde thug. Before walking, I asked the local for a favor.

“Can you take care of that noisy one?”

“Not gonna do more after he stabbed you in the gut?”

“Then just give me a moment.”

-Thud!

With that said, I stepped right on the thug’s right hand. Ensuring he could never grasp a weapon again.

-Crack!

“Uuuughh!!!”

As his hand bones shattered, the thug’s eyes bulged. With cloth in his mouth, he couldn’t even scream.

Having dealt with one, I had to handle the blonde thug next. After him, I’d take care of the thug the local had dropped.

Just as I confidently stood before the blonde thug, he had finally pulled himself together and desperately shouted.

“Y-You! Do you even know who I am?! Do you know?!”

“Wow! How pathetic! Now that you’re losing, you’re pulling rank!”

I intentionally yelled loudly so that bystanders could hear.

The crowd began whispering, demeaning the blonde thug. Most of the remarks were highly insulting.

Questions like when did a Tartar become so pathetic, and that the chief’s name was disgraced, etc. There was not a shred of supportive comment.

It seemed the blonde thug realized the atmosphere was not in his favor, as his complexion turned pale. Not one ally stood by him.

Now, there was only one thing left. Ensuring he’d never utter another vulgar word again.

“You’ll regret this! My brother is…!”

“The tribe chief?”

“Y-Yeah! My brother is…!”

“If you’re the chief’s brother…”

I forcibly pried open the blonde thug’s mouth. The jaws can’t be stronger than my hands.

As his mouth opened wide, I slipped my hand inside and grabbed his tongue. The last step was just to cut it off.

“I’m the princess’s boyfriend.”

“Ugh! Ugh!”

That’s the expression he makes that says don’t talk nonsense. He probably doesn’t believe it.

But what can he do? It’s all true. There are even rumors circulating at the academy.

“Stop! Freeze!”

“Hmm?”

Just as I was about to cut his tongue, a stern voice pierced my ear.

I looked up to find men in blue turbans approaching me. They even wore armor, so they were clearly the guards.

“We’ve come due to the commotion. Which country do you hail from?”

“I can speak Tartar.”

“You know our language? What a rare experience.”

The guard captain’s expression softened for a moment before tightening back up.

“It’d be best to stop whatever this is. If you don’t comply, I will arrest you.”

“This guy insulted me first.”

“Do you have a witness?”

If there’s a witness, then I have one. Instead of replying with words, I glanced to the side.

The local who had helped me remained there, and when our gazes met, he easily recounted the whole story.

“Not just me; all the people inside the shop know. This guy spoke very insulting words.”

“What did he say?”

“Can you lend me your ear for a moment?”

When the guard captain nodded, the local cautiously leaned in.

After hearing all the details, the guard captain’s expression turned solid as he sighed deeply.

“…While I can overlook many things, using a weapon cannot be easily dismissed. So what do you plan to do now?”

“I was going to cut his tongue out.”

“Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!”

Ah, for crying out loud, why’s he flailing around like this, not a fish.

As the blonde thug started to squirm, I slammed his head to the ground, signaling him to quiet down. That did the trick.

In the meantime, the guard captain listened to me and received something from his subordinate. It was quite a hefty book.

The guard captain flipped through the book for something and then spoke to me.

“According to the newly compiled law, there is a fitting punishment for those who spew slander.”

“What is it?”

“Cutting off their tongue.”

-Crack!

Upon hearing those words, I immediately tightened my grip. The crisp sound echoed as the blonde thug’s struggles intensified.

What good are his struggles now? I tossed the half-cut tongue to the ground. It was so slippery and disgusting.

“Ewwww! Aahhhh!”

The thug flopped around like a fish, holding his mouth. Though I kept it shut, blood continued pouring out.

The guard captain stood there, looking somewhat dazed at the sight. His subordinates were no different.

I wiped my saliva and blood-stained hands nonchalantly, standing up.

“Is that all?”

The guard captain sighed before quietly stating.

“However, you must pay a fine.”

“What? Why?”

I couldn’t wrap my head around it and asked back. The guard captain pointed sternly at the ground.

On the floor lay a half-cut tongue, sitting there like a piece of trash. It was revolting just to look at.

“Littering.”

“…”

“In Tartar, that includes body parts. There are many fights, it seems.”

I paid the fine without protest.

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