Chapter 707: Support Troops

Chapter 707: Support Troops

At one point in time, mercenaries were viewed as tools for war and used as such. In exchange for cash, they would die for those that hired them, sometimes even becoming their meat shield.

All of the empires and kingdoms across the continents paid no heed to the mercenaries, until an incident happened. A member of the imperial army fought against one mercenary, which resulted in the death of the imperial army soldier.

Upon investigation, the imperial army soldier tried to take advantage of a woman and take her home. However, the mercenary that witnessed the scene tried to scare the soldier away, only for it to end up in a physical brawl that cost the life of the soldier.

However, the empires and kingdoms from all over the continent were of the same mind and declared this:

—We will use this as an opportunity to teach those rough and unruly mercenaries a lesson.

Afterward, an era of slaughter, the Mercenary Hunt, began.

Any mercenary that did not join the ‘Latona Mercenary Alliance’, created by several kingdoms and empires, was labeled as evil and killed. However, the Latona Mercenary Alliance was not favorable to the mercenaries. A deeper look at their system and one could see that the Alliance prioritized the imperial and kingdom armies, and even forced the mercenaries to become tools of war.

The world had turned into one where mercenaries were persecuted. It was quite ironic. All they wanted to do was earn money. Since most of them had a family to support, they went to the battlefield to kill and be killed. However, they were treated as if they were dirty.

‘I was born in such a world. However, I met a hero.’

Venteio clearly remembered how mercenaries were treated like dogs. Although he was nothing but the lowest of mercenaries, he still hoped to straighten and correct this world.

Venteio was considered the lowest of the mercenaries, with poor swordsmanship and poor physical conditions. However, he started to change after meeting that man.

Prior to the man’s appearance, there was a former Mercenary King, who had become the dog of the empires and the kingdoms and burned at least 5,000 mercenaries at the stake. The man dethroned the former King, and created the ‘Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship’, spreading it for all the mercenaries that did not use any system when practicing swordsmanship, archery, spearmanship and the likes.

‘He is a legend.’

At first, the mercenaries under that continent united and flocked to his side.

‘He is a myth.’

Over time, mercenaries from around the world started to gather around him.

‘News of their victory spread all over the world.’

News about how mercenaries, who had always suffered defeat, won against the empires and kingdoms that persecuted them spread and allowed the mercenaries to stand tall and proud. Those who had nowhere to go started to flock together until millions of them had gathered and bowed to him.

***

Standing at the center of the battlefield was Brod.

“Master...”

Brod smiled bitterly at Venteio when he made eye contact with him.

***

The first time Venteio met Brod, he was training alone in the training grounds after lights out and was blaming himself for being weak. While trying to catch his breath on the ground after collapsing, he heard a murmur in his ears.

—Simple, fast and accurate. You know where to attack the enemy but you don’t have enough strength in your body.

The man slowly appeared from the darkness, a smile on his face as he looked at the exhausted Venteio. From that night onward, Venteio continued to hone his swordsmanship and increase his physical strength under Brod’s watchful gaze.

—Why is such a great and outstanding man like you, Sir Brod, wasting your time watching over someone like me?

Brod looked up at the sky and smiled lightly after hearing the question.

—It’s a pleasure for me to spend time with the young man that will become the Mercenary King in the future.

—...!

—You’re the only one, you know?

—...Yes?

—The only one that trained every single night for two straight years.

That was the first time that someone recognized Venteio. After all, in everyone else’s eyes, he was just Wimpy Venteio, Foolish Venteio, or Porter Venteio. The other party was the Mercenary Emperor that had united all of the mercenaries in the world, the one that led their victory against the various kingdoms and empires, ended the ‘Mercenary Hunt’, and was hailed as a legend.

Venteio, however, could not fully comprehend the complexities of the Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship despite learning under Brod’s tutelage. So, using his own understanding, he transformed the skill into something that he could call his own. After completing the first chapter, Venteio immediately headed to where Brod was, delighted to report his progress.

—Master!

However, no one was there when he had gone to Brod’s quarters. He was also not in the place where he usually gazed at the stars in the sky. Brod completely disappeared overnight. It was as if he was nothing but a mirage, an illusion that did not truly exist.

Then once again, the mercenaries’ era of slaughter began. A new mercenary king arose, and grew friendly with the kings and emperors, and banned everyone that used the ‘Mercenary Pinnacle Swordsmanship’. However, even if that was the case, there were still plenty of them that silently continued to train in the skill all throughout the continent.

Over the course of time, the memory of the man that they hailed as Mercenary Emperor grew blurry. As for Venteio? He followed his will and aimed to become the Mercenary King, uniting the mercenaries from the four continents once again. Soon, they would elect the Mercenary King, their continent’s supreme ruler. And Venteio would be the one to sit on that throne.

***

“Keuaaaaaaaack!”

“Uwaaaaaaaaack!”

“Keheoooooooook!”

The Swords of the Gods screamed and shrieked at the bloody red swords that rained down on them. The scene of beings at Level 700 or higher being swept away so easily was nothing short of spectacular.

“Your Majesty, we don’t have much time.”

Summoning Brod here was naturally just based on pure luck. In the end, he would have to go back to where he was. Minhyuk actually felt sorry for always calling him like this.

‘Where exactly are you going, Brod?’

However, Minhyuk was aware of how much Brod cared for him.

“Five minutes. We only have five minutes then I have to go back.”

Just like Luo thought, they would truly not be Brod’s rival if Minhyuk was not here. However, that was when Minhyuk noticed something.

‘Why is his body covered with injuries? And he also looks exhausted.’

Brod looked exhausted from the moment he summoned him here. It seemed like he was fighting something before he got called here. Every nook and cranny of his armor had some sort of damage. There was even blood that had already turned dark, as more continued to flow out.

Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab—

“Ugh...!”

Various weapons pierced through Brod’s body.

‘No...’

Minhyuk sensed a great sense of danger. Brod was his vassal and his friend. He was someone that Minhyuk did not want to lose. One could say that Brod was also one of the people that made the current Beyond the Heavens Kingdom what it was today.

Brod looked back at Minhyuk and said, “...Your Majesty.”

Minhyuk was able to see something in those eyes as he watched the man jump up to the sky.

‘Don’t tell me...’

Minhyuk did not know where Brod had been or what he had been doing. He did not even know what kind of growth he had achieved so far.

‘I can restrain them once I use this power.’

Brod knew that he would also be hit by their attacks the moment he used this power to stop them. However, it was fine. As long as he could protect his king, then it was fine.

“Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship.”

Vwooooooooooooong—

A red energy burst out of Brod’s body as he continued to float in the sky, his head calculating the movement speed of Luo, the most agile among the enemies.

‘The moment I use this power, all of their bodies will be pierced through. However, their attacks will also pierce through me.’

Nevertheless, he still chose to use this power. It was the new chapter of the Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship, something that he had not shown to anyone yet.

“The Wolf King’s Hunt.”

Roaaaaaaaaaaaar—

A roar resounded loudly in the area as a gigantic red wolf manifested from his sword. This wolf would bite down and tear apart the necks of the enemies that surrounded him. Unfortunately, he needed at least 0.1 seconds for the skill to be completed. However, all of Brod’s hopes were dashed when he saw Luo.

“...Luo.”

Luo used his ‘Quick Leap’ and increased his movement speed by four times. Brod’s face turned ugly. He could not bear to look at Minhyuk.

“Brooooooooood!!!”

At that moment, he knew that he would face death. However, his only regret was that he could not protect His Majesty and solve the problem that he needed to solve.

‘Your Majesty...’

Brod slowly closed his eyes. However, unbeknownst to him, someone else was already preparing their own skill.

“Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship.”

He became the empire’s dog to protect the other mercenaries. However, his master had told him this in the past...

—The good thing about being a mercenary is the fact that you can be free.

That was right. They were free because they were mercenaries. After learning from his master, he tried to understand it himself and ended up creating a new Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship.

“Final Chapter. Howling Wolf.”

Awooooooooooooooooo—

While Brod’s wolf was red, Venteio’s wolf was black. The black wolf rushed at Luo and bit his neck.

Crack, crack, crack, crack—

The wolf continued past Luo, devouring two more Swords of the Gods along the way.

Brod slowly opened his eyes only to meet with Venteio’s ones.

“This idiot...”

It seemed like the bastard from back then had already grown up well. However, Brod also knew that Venteio had to live for the empire. The actions that he took would most definitely fan the flames of the empire’s ire. They would most likely get purged once again.

However, Venteio missed him as much as he resented him. So, he could not help but struggle to spit out the words that he wanted to say. “Thank you, my hero.”

“...”

Finally, Brod’s skills, the Wolf King’s Hunt, was successfully completed and activated.

Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash—

The wolf, which was much bigger, much stronger and had much sharper teeth than the black wolf, charged forward and collided with the Swords of the Gods. It was so powerful that it instantly tore apart the armor and weapons that they used.

At the same time, several weapons pierced through Brod’s body. Thankfully, Luo’s attack, which would have been fatal, had been avoided so his life was still secured.

After the five minutes was over, Brod, who was still bleeding all over, disappeared from sight. However, his eyes did not leave Venteio.

‘You will probably die because of me.’

That was what was conveyed in Brod’s look. However, Venteio just responded with a bright smile on his face and uttered the words that Brod once uttered to him, “The good thing about being a mercenary is the fact that you can be free.”