Revenge of the Iron-Blooded Sword Hound Chapter 372

Revenge of the Iron-Blooded Sword Hound Chapter 372

[Translator – Clara]

[Proofreader – Lucky]

Chapter 372: Solitary Confinement (2)

The old man who revealed his name as ‘Angagoumang’ seemed to be bored, continuously talking to Vikir.

“It feels like I’ve been trapped in this solitary confinement for several years now. Let’s see, every time I count 60 seconds in my mind, I draw a stroke in my heart. It’s already surpassed three million strokes...”

Hearing Angagoumang’s words, Vikir couldn’t help but roll his tongue inwardly. Even for Vikir, who had experienced all sorts of hardships, 100 days in solitary confinement felt burdensome and suffocating.

‘But being imprisoned here for years? It’s unbelievable.’

Though it was the words of a stranger whom he had never seen and would never see again, being a fellow prisoner in solitary confinement, Vikir couldn’t help but find it somewhat credible.

“How did you manage not to starve to death all these years?”

“Oh, well, every other day they throw some stale bread crusts into the hole.”

“But wouldn’t the amount of available water be insufficient?”

“You can suck the dew from the air.”

Vikir momentarily closed his mouth. Dew? In this scorching space? But the old man Angagoumang was casually imparting the survival techniques of this place.

“Well, you can survive without eating bread crusts. It’s about slowing down your metabolism to an extreme level and slowly breaking down the accumulated nutrients in your body.”

“...”

“Oh, youngsters these days, they tend to strive too hard to live. Too much passion can become poison. Sometimes it’s good to take a break like this and reflect on life rather than constantly running. Living like a rock, like water.”

Despite the old man’s casual ramblings in the quiet back room, Vikir couldn’t help but pay attention. It was the infamous solitary confinement of Nouvellebag. Wasn’t this figure claiming to have been trapped here for more than a few years?

‘If someone hasn’t gone insane after being trapped here, they must have been a notorious criminal.’

Perhaps that person had already gone insane, but who knows.

Afterward, Angagoumang continued to talk to Vikir.

“You sound like a young lad. What landed you in a place like this?”

“Crimes don’t discriminate by age.”

“Oh, that’s a fair point. So, why were you imprisoned? Care to answer an old man’s question?”

“Political assassination.”

Vikir answered briefly. Upon hearing this, the old man chuckled.

“You did a good deed, so why were you imprisoned? Did you upset some powerful family?”

“Well, one could see it that way.”

“Oh, dear, dear. You were a hunting dog for them. It’s the nature of things; when a rabbit falls into the mountain, you cook the hunting dog. It’s an eternal truth.”

Angagoumang casually added a few words at the end.

“I seem to know where you come from. Baskerville?”

Vikir felt a bit embarrassed. And Angagoumang seemed to see through Vikir’s hesitation as he chuckled with malicious laughter.

“Haha, I guessed it right. Only a cruel family would send a loyal hound like you to a place like this. There aren’t many families cruel enough to do so. At best, it would be an Iron blooded sword family or a Poisionous Family.”

“Do you know about Baskerville?”

“As one does. Our family was once part of the Iron Blooded Sword Family too.”

Vikir pondered for a moment on Angagoumang’s words. Baskerville may be regarded as the pinnacle of the sword families now, but it wasn’t always so. Before the unification of the empire, there were at least four sword families with higher renown than Baskerville.

Bahamut. Jiz. Sade. Nibelungen.

Baskerville was a slightly inferior clan compared to these four families. In fact, until then, they were nothing more than a family-type mercenary group wandering the continent without a decent territory.

Nevertheless, after a while Baskerville was added to those four families, making it one of the five major sword families.

The old man Angagoumang chuckled as if reminiscing about those times.

“Back then, our family was also renowned as a prestigious sword family. But since my time, I’ve laid down the sword, so the lineage of the sword must have ended from then on. ...Hmm, or perhaps the entire family disappeared?”GEtt the latest novels at novelhall.com

“Didn’t you have any descendants?”

“Hmm~ There was one granddaughter. But whether she’s alive or dead, I don’t know. If she’s alive, she’ll probably be older than you. Not quite your mother’s age... more like your youngest aunt or older sister.”

“You’ve lived quite a long life, haven’t you?”

“That’s right. I’ve lived long. Spent my whole life on the battlefield.”

Eventually, the force of Angagoumang clashed with Vikir’s force.

It was an aggression and ferocity unthinkable for an old man on his deathbed, and even Vikir, faced with such relentless onslaught, had no choice but to yield.

‘...To think such a madman exists in this world.’

Even Vikir, through his encounter with Angagoumang in their swordplay, couldn’t help but be struck by a profound shock.

A product of a life dedicated solely to fighting, slaughter, and conflict.

Truly, a war-crazed lunatic.

With every breath, every step, every touch, there was only desire for flesh and destruction. An aura of restless longing to inflict harm. This twisted extreme. A skewed nobility.

Now it seemed clear why this old man was isolated from humanity, locked away in the deepest, most brutal cell of prison.

[A lunatic. Whether demon or human, some types should never be engaged with, regardless of their lineage.]

It was quite a statement coming from Decarabia, who was once considered a demon himself.

At that moment, Angagoumang chuckled and spoke.

“Seems like you’re slightly motivated after sparring with me, huh? Gives me a bit of youthful vigor.”

“Glad to be of help.”

“Indeed, a significant help. Ah! Haven’t felt this way since Winston and Orca. Hmm, maybe even back when I fought the Seven Dukes of Baskerville.”

“The Seven Dukes? Are you referring to figures like Boston Terrier, Great Dane, Isabella?”

“Who? I don’t know those kids. I’m talking about the Seven Dukes of the previous era.”

Given Angagoumang’s age, it was likely at least two or three generations back.

Angagoumang then asked Vikir, “Who is the current head of the Baskerville family?”

“Hugo Le Baskerville.”

“Hugo... Hugo... Who’s that? Some insignificant little shit now holding the title, I suppose. Why didn’t that old stick-in-the-mud Cane Corso inherit the position?”

“...You know Cane Corso?”

“Yeah, I know him. Stern and cantankerous noble. I got into a lot of trouble with him when I was a kid.”

Angagoumang reminisced with a wistful tone, as if recalling childhood games.

“Just thinking about his punishment still makes my spine shiver. Haha, wonder if he’s dead now? Well, it’s only natural given how much time has passed. Maybe he got obsessed with the sword tomb or something, like a foolish old fool.”

“... ”

Vikir remained silent.

The existence of sword tomb, the fact that Cane Corso became a Death Knight and mastered the 9th fang, didn’t need to be mentioned.

...And aside from that, Vikir felt he knew who Angagoumang really was.

Before their regression, the guardians of Nouvellebag had declared they wouldn’t participate in the war between demons and humans. But that was only in the early stages of the Demonic War. As the war progressed, the guardians of Nouvellebag also emerged onto the surface to fight demons, not just to protect humanity but for other reasons as well.

The collapse of Nouvellebag.

With Nouvellebag itself gone, both the guardians and the prisoners had no choice but to come to the surface.

‘The one who caused the collapse of Nouvellebag itself was the warden, Orca.’

Why would the very symbol of Nouvellebag take such drastic action?

There were various opinions on the matter, but one particularly convincing theory stood out: A single prisoner attempted to escape, and Warden Orca took extreme measures to prevent it.

The fact that he collapsed the entire Nouvellebag prison just to stop one person from escaping speaks volumes about how dangerous that individual must have been.

There were differing opinions on who that prisoner might have been, but...

‘It’s probably this person.’

If so, Vikir knew exactly who Angagoumang was and what his true name was.

Considering Vikir’s knowledge of the recent sparring session and the long history of Baskerville, he was even more certain.

Vikir had reached a conclusion.

‘...An individual one should avoid getting involved with if possible.’

There was someone more terrifying and dreadful than a demon right next to them.

[Translator – Clara]

[Proofreader – Lucky]