〈 Intermission (2) 〉
Dracal, the free city of Outerica.
The large city, located in the border area between the Azerion Empire in the center of the Aeon Continent, the Republic of Zephia in the east, and the southern desert region, was bustling with people coming and going even today.
Although the city was built on barren land that could not even be farmed, its geographical location as a transportation hub and the location of the headquarters of a mercenary guild with branches throughout the continent had enough merit to offset such disadvantages.
‘Is this really Dracal!’
The group that had just entered the city was also one of those who came here under his influence.
Merchants who came a long way to trade with several wagons and a number of mercenaries they hired.
‘It’s so big. It’s on a different level from the cities I’ve seen so far.’
Among them, Billy, a new mercenary who left the area where he was born and raised for the first time through this trip, was busy looking around the area, admiring the scenery of Dracal, which he had only heard about.
There were almost no cities near my hometown, and even the fairly large cities I passed through couldn’t even be compared to this place.
“Hey Billy! Come to think of it, this is your first Drakal, right?”
“Huh? Yes yes!”
At that time, a mercenary who had come here with him approached him while he was lost and tapped him on the shoulder.
Billy, who was particularly large and strong among his peers, was a senior in his class who had a great influence on his entry into this industry.
If it weren’t for him telling all kinds of epic stories in the village and creating illusions about the outside world, Billy would still be feeding the cows and plowing the fields.
‘If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been hired for this long-distance commercial trip.’
Of course, due to my limited experience, I signed a contract as an errand boy doing small tasks rather than as a formal mercenary, but isn’t that how you start learning everything?
Thanks to that, he was able to expand his horizons into the wider world, so it wasn’t a bad thing for him either.
“This guy is completely dumbfounded. Come this way! “The upbound escort is over and you’ve been paid, so take a shot at the place where I kill you!”
“yes! Thank you, senior!”
Moreover, as someone from the same generation, he probably felt a sense of responsibility and took care of Billy in many ways, so he was able to adapt to the job faster than expected.
Like now, taking them to famous restaurants in various places and buying them food is the same.
Although he was a bit pretentious, he wasn’t a bad person.
“If you come to Dracal, you must come here!”
That’s how I followed my senior to the meat restaurant ‘Ogre’s Table’.
As expected, it was a very satisfying meal, just as he had said…
Once his stomach was somewhat full, Billy was able to leisurely look around, and a group of people came into his eyes.
Four men and women occupying one table and devouring meat at an incredible speed.
As he was glancing at them, he could not contain his curiosity and asked his senior a question in a low voice.
“Hey, senior. But those people…?”
Actually, I was so distracted after arriving in the city that I put it aside, but it was something I wanted to ask from the beginning.
Because he, a native of the Republic of Zefia, had never seen anything before on his way here, there were people wearing very unique clothes walking around all over Drakal.
“…huh? Ah, Southern warriors. “If you get into a fight, it’ll be annoying, so don’t stare at me for no reason.”
“Southern warriors?”
Billy glanced at them again with a new look at his senior’s insignificant answer.
A uniform that clearly exposes the muscles and tattoos of the upper body of both men and women, and is decorated with the skin and teeth of a magical beast that appears to have been hunted directly.
They looked like the barbarians we had only heard about in stories.
“Just in case, don’t say you’re a barbarian in front of them.”
The moment Billy, who was annoyed by that, turned his eyes to his senior.
“Ah, those dirty barbarians have made me lose my appetite.”
“Wow, the smell of a hillbilly.”
“Giggles, those barbarians crawled all the way out here to get something to eat…”
Puck—! Wajangchang—!
“Keck!”
“You bastard!”
“Hey hit it!”
There was a commotion where the southern warriors were eating.
The corner of the restaurant became a complete mess as four southern warriors and more than ten mercenaries clashed.
“…Because that’s how it happens.”
The senior sighed and slowly got up from his seat.
I had barely finished eating and I was thinking of leaving because it would be bothersome if I stayed like this and got caught up in the situation.
“Tsk! Oh, I’ve been waiting for it for a while and it worked out well. Let’s see the end this time!”
“You barbarian bastards are wondering where this is! “Go back to your country!”
“Where is your country and my country in the damn drakal?”
“I’ll make you cum!”
The reaction to the gang fight, in which more than 15 people were involved and harsh swear words were exchanged, was extremely calm.
I just shake my head and walk away as if it happens all the time.
In the first place, this Dracal itself was no different from a ‘country of mercenaries’, so it was not a day or two for such a conflict to arise.
How scary is it that mercenaries who go beyond simply being rough and turn into thieves in remote places have gathered together in one place?
It was an everyday event born of uncontrollable blood, bravado, pride, and stamina all intertwined.
“Let’s just go. By the way, they are also big on distribution. “If there is a fight inside the store, the losing party will have to pay full compensation.”
Unless it was a one-sided assault, that was the unwritten rule for conflict in Dracal.
Along with ‘do not use weapons’ and ‘do not kill others on purpose’, it was something the mercenary guild paid attention to, so it could not be ignored.
Perhaps that’s why the employees seemed to not consider the fight a big deal.
On the contrary, some people watch with interest and bet among themselves on who will win.
The restaurant owner also stopped working for a moment and kept a close eye on who would pay for the replacement cost of the old fixtures.
Squeak—
But before Billy could leave with his senior.
Suddenly, the door of the store opened and another barbarian… no, a southern warrior entered the restaurant.
“ok? what? “What’s wrong with the atmosphere here?”
***
A man with a massive physique that is at least a head taller than most men, and with flashy tattoos that overwhelm other southern warriors.
“What are you doing in a restaurant, blowing dust?”
He looked at the gang fight going on with frowning eyes and clicked his tongue in disapproval.
That’s all I have to say about the fight.
“Owner! Here’s a special grilled assortment for 30 people!”
He casually threw an order to the restaurant owner who was watching from one side, then trudged towards the fighting arena.
Then, taking advantage of his numerical superiority, he tapped the shoulder of one of the mercenaries who was in the midst of winning and spoke kindly to him.
“Friend there? It’s nice for you guys to hang out with each other, but now I have to eat, so stop…”
“What are you? …Huh? “This bastard is also a barbarian!”
But the response to that kindness was rudeness.
The mercenary, in the midst of the heat of the fight, did not think much and threw a decisive punch at the person who had spoken to him.
Pow!
Although it was a bare hand, it had an aura inside, so it was a powerful attack that would instantly break a normal person’s bones.
It explodes on my bare abs.
Popping—
Immediately afterwards, a terrible sound came from the arm of the attacker.
“…Kwaaaak!”
“what? what!”
“There are barbarians behind you! “Rob got hit!”
“Is this their support?!”
Several of the mercenary’s colleagues reacted to the scream and turned around.
Thanks to three times the number of people, there is still plenty of room to spare.
Right now, dealing with one more barbarian who had cowardly ambushed me from behind was nothing.
“…That person can’t be.”
“yes? “Do you know someone who is a senior?”
However, contrary to the reaction of the mercenaries involved, those who were watching the scene from the beginning from a place away from the battlefield could sense that something was unusual about the situation.
Because they were able to clearly see with their own eyes what had crushed the arm of the auror-inhabited mercenary.
“…is that possible with just the semi-elasticity of the bare body? “Huh, it’s not some kind of super-sized monster…”
The mercenary’s level wasn’t low either.
A veteran who was treated as an elite in a large mercenary unit and would have hunted many monsters was incapacitated by Zepul with a single attack of his own.
“Ouch!”
“What is this!”
“stop! stop!”
And the mercenaries who followed him in to take down their opponents were no exception.
Immediately after attacking someone who was standing still in the excitement of battle, these big guys were rolling around on the floor, clutching their shattered body parts as if they had made a promise.
One of them, who had been using his Aurors with all his might, suffered internal injuries and even spit out dead blood from his mouth.
As the situation progressed to that point, the attention of those who were fighting fiercely in the front lines had no choice but to turn to that direction.
The rough exchange of attacks became passive and soon even entered a lull, with the distance between the two sides dropping by a few steps.
They were wary of each other and glanced sideways toward where the commotion was coming from.
Properly recognizing variables on the battlefield was a matter directly related to survival.
“…the engraving of the Great Warrior?”
“No no! That’s…!”
The first to grasp the situation were southern warriors with the same origin as the variable.
A tattoo so extravagant that it is on a completely different level from the ‘warrior’s engraving’ engraved on their chest.
This was my first time seeing it in person, but I knew what it was before I came here.
“Tuwang’s engraving!”
“The Supreme King of Calcos…?”
The king of the South born after hundreds of years and a leader of the era who brought back into fashion the traditional clothing that was a remnant of the older generation.
Fighting Harley.
That was the identity of the person who suddenly appeared.
‘Fuck…. Why now…’
And although it was a little late, the leader of the mercenary group recognized the other person as well.
Even if the costume itself was similar to other barbarians, the features of the colorful tattoos, majestic physique, and odd eyes were not something that could be dared to be imitated.
There was no word as to where it had disappeared for a while, but I never thought it would suddenly appear like this.
His pupils were shaking mercilessly, and cold sweat was running down his face.
Soon, his gaze turned to his colleagues, who were still unable to properly understand the situation and were just rolling their eyes.
“What should I do? Attack all at once?”
“…Are you crazy? “If you want to die, die alone.”
Of course, there were no more fights.
***
The noisy fight ended dully with one side giving up.
“Hehe… I’m sorry for interrupting your meal. Because of that very slight misunderstanding, a little fight arose…”
“Misunderstanding? Let’s start the fight there first…!”
“Of course!” We will take full responsibility and compensate you! Not only the store’s repair costs, but also their food costs… Ah! Of course, I also interrupted Harley’s meal, so that’s also included.”
The mercenary representative bowed almost pleadingly and forced a smile, and the Southern warriors behind Harley spread their shoulders wide and confidently raised their voices.
Harley nodded indifferently at the other person’s even desperate attitude.
“okay? Are you really okay? “I eat a lot?”
“Uh—of course! Ha ha ha….”
Of course, I had no intention of refusing the offer.
It was a very merciful judgment considering that he had dared to confront that ‘fighting king Harley’, but his evaluation of that group within him was already at the level of a buzzing fly.
There’s a delicious meal ahead of me right now, so I don’t even care about it.
Of course, if you continue to bother me until the end, I will just crush you to death, but if you say you will pay tribute and retreat, there is no need to see more blood, right?
‘In the past, I would have destroyed everything regardless.’
Harley was the embodiment of endless madness and struggle.
However, after attending Kang Hwan-gye and learning the “Gwangje Simgyeol (改),” I was able to gain some degree of discernment.
As a bonus, I was able to moderately control the energy that was always released indiscriminately.
‘Now that I think about it, I never would have even thought of attacking him in the past.’
The moment he appeared, he would have forcibly drawn everyone’s attention and intimidated them.
Of course, even now, compared to ordinary people, the boiling point was much lower—.
‘Those guys are young…’
Harley gulped down his appetite after glancing at the mercenaries who were only looking at him.
Their level was so poor that even that could not be satisfied.
To the point where it would be more constructive to think about whether grilled or boiled meat would be better.
“Here comes the special grilled assortment!”
“Oh oh! The scent is amazing. “Then next is the special assorted boiled pork!”
“Yes!”
Of course, there was only one answer to that concern.
Just eat both.
‘I had no intention of worrying about money from the beginning.’
Above all, didn’t he now have a water owner?
Originally, food eaten for free was the most delicious in the world.
“This makes 20 extra servings….”
“Hmm, that’s great. 30 servings….”
“It’s too bothersome to even say that.” Just take care of everything you have!”
The blood slowly drained from the faces of the mercenaries who did not rush to Harley and were not carried away.
And after a long time, their faces became as pale as corpses.
Dracal’s meat specialty restaurant, ‘Ogre’s Table’, had its highest sales ever, all meat was sold out, and the mercenaries, who were running low on funds, were forced to repay their debt with their own money.
“Well, it’s still a bit lacking, but I’ll leave it here. Enjoy your meal, friends! Hahaha!”
“Ah…ah….”
And the incident became a splendid celebration announcing the king’s return by the witnesses on the scene, and it spread all over Drakal.