Chapter 10. You're all dead! You bastards! (2)
Patrick was devastated.
He genuinely clutched his head, agonized, and writhed in torment.
“Damn it, so these were all lumps of money? How many trolls have I caught until now? My money! My mooooneeeey!”
A soldier cautiously spoke to the despairing Patrick.
“You mean you’ve caught others besides this one befo—”
“Hey, you son of a bitch!”
Before the soldier could finish his sentence, Patrick rushed over to Brian, who was still with his head on the ground, and kicked him squarely.
And as he began to stomp on him brutally again, Brian spoke as if he was being wronged.
“Why…. Ugh…. why are you doin— keuk!”
“Why didn't you tell me before, you bastard? Why didn't you tell me that thing was worth money!? Whyyyy!?”
“I thought you knew…. Uwaaak!”
“How would a ten-year-old kid know that?”
“…….”
Then why does a ten-year-old kid catch trolls?
He wanted to say it, but he couldn't bring himself to do so.
“Die! Die! I'll tell Father you died a heroic death, so just die!”
“Aaaak! I was wrong. Keuk!”
The soldiers watched the brutally stomped Brian with miserable eyes.
‘To think I’d live to see the day I feel sorry for that man.’
‘I thought I’d never feel sorry for him even if he were chewed alive by a monster.’
‘He’s amazing. Truly amazing.’
Until now, Brian had found all sorts of excuses to dock the soldiers' pay and pocket the difference.
He even intercepted the consolation money that was supposed to go to the families of the fallen.
The soldiers, who had suffered greatly from Brian's actions, were confident they could clap and mockingly wish him a good death even if he were being munched on alive by an ogre while begging for his life.
But….
“You’re weak. Your character is rotten. You have no tact. Why do you even live? Why are you alive?”
“Aaaak! Save m—.”
“Don’t live! Die. Just die already!”
Even while telling him to die like that, Patrick never hit any fatal spots and thoroughly stomped on him, focusing only on inflicting pain.
Demoted from a 2-star knight to a slave, treated as a rookie within the very army he used to command, and on top of that, being subjected to all sorts of torment and beatings by Patrick.
How could one not feel sorry for him?
‘It would be better to just die cleanly.’
‘So this is what it means for life to be a living hell.’
‘Tsk tsk tsk, this is why people should live righteously.’
* * *
What did Patrick do while the soldiers were training and working?
Others may not have known, but Patrick was by no means idle.
He had been taking Brian and clearing out monsters around the fiefdom.
Diligently, without a single day's rest.
‘Monsters or whatever, in the end, they're just harmful beasts, right? Then I should just kill them all.’
Having come to that conclusion, Patrick had been taking Brian, combing through the forest area around the fiefdom, and killing monsters.
Of course, in the process, the 2-star knight Brian was being worn to the ground, but he didn't care.
Anyway, that’s what he had been doing….
“So all of that was money? Then were goblins, kobolds, and giant wolves all worth money too?”
“You caught giant wolves too? Their hides are very expensive.”
“Keeeeuk….”
Patrick groaned in pain as if he had taken a powerful blow to the heart.
He had caught them. He had.
The problem was that he had caught them by slicing them into dozens of pieces.
‘Come to think of it, that bastard Brian did look at the giant wolf's corpse with a bit of regret back then. Ah…. what a waste. Such a waste. My money.’
It was no wonder Patrick was so regretful.
In truth, although the Baron Schneider family was noble, they were quite poor.
It wasn't that Baron Schneider was extravagant, but there were many expenses to maintain the military force to protect the fiefdom's residents, and the fiefdom's sources of income were only some grain and medicinal herbs from the forest.
On top of that, Baron Schneider collected the least amount of tax among the neighboring nobles.
In fact, if Baron Schneider hadn't lived a frugal life and had lived at the level of an average noble, the taxes on the fiefdom residents would have had to be raised several times over.
“It is my mistake. How many years has it been since I made such a fatal mistake?”
‘Young Master, it's only been ten years since you were born, though?’
The soldier wanted to say something to the lamenting Patrick, but he decided to just watch.
And Patrick said….
“It can't be helped. Hey, rookie.”
“Yes…. Cough…. Did you call?”
The fallen Brian staggered to his feet.
“We have to move more diligently to make up for the losses so far.”
“By that, you mean….”
“From now on, we will double the hunting time and go deeper, so guide the way properly. Got it?”
“Just the two of us, Young Master?”
“Of course. I can't take our precious soldiers to a dangerous place, can I?”
The soldiers listening to Patrick's words were momentarily moved.
Brian, however, was hurt.
Brian said urgently.
“It's dangerous, Young Master. If we go deeper into the fiefdom's forest, monsters that even 4-star knights find difficult to handle sometimes appear.”
“It's fine. It's fine. Even if a truly dangerous moment comes, trust me. I can get myself out.”
“If you get yourself out, Young Master, what happens to me?”
“Huh? Why are you asking me that?”
“…….”
“The great 2-star knight, Sir Brian Erickson, will manage just fine on his own, right? Isn't that so?”
“…….”
“Wow…, you have no conscience. Is a man who has reached the 2-star knight realm now hoping for a ten-year-old kid to protect him? Aren't you ashamed?”
The more Patrick spoke, the redder Brian's face became. And then….
“Cough.”
Brian suddenly collapsed, spurting blood from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
“Whoa!”
“What is this?”
“It's the first time I've seen someone collapse like that. Erick…. No. Rookie. Hey, rookie!”
The soldiers hastily rushed over to check Brian's condition, and Patrick scratched his head and muttered.
“Bleeding from the seven orifices. It's been a while since I've seen that. Brings back memories.”
He used to see it often in the martial world of his past.
It was a phenomenon often seen in those who talked, traded, or negotiated with Jin Cheon.
‘I wonder if those people from back then are doing well? They shouldn't be. They should all be dead.’
It was a first-class personality that didn't change even after being reborn in a different world.
* * *
Who dislikes money?
Naturally, most people like money.
But in Patrick's case, he had been unusually obsessed with money since his past life.
No, he had no choice but to be obsessed.
First of all, the Twin Dragon Sect was a dirt-poor sect.
It didn't operate businesses like large sects, nor did it receive sponsorships.
The admission fees of a few students were all they had, and that was barely enough to maintain the sect.
In the midst of that, the man called Master was like an incarnation of a pushover who didn't know the value of money and generously spent it to help those in need whenever he got a little.
Under such adverse conditions, Jin Cheon did his absolute best to somehow manage the sect's finances.
If there was treasure here, he would run for it, and if there was spiritual medicine there, he would run for it again….
While the other masters of the martial world wore silk clothes, drank expensive liquor, and sat in places with good scenery, laughing and enjoying themselves, the great hero of the righteous faction, the Radiant Dragon Great Master, was busy making money.
Even after making money, there was another problem.
Junior Uncle, I'm hungry.
Senior Brother, my training uniform is all worn out.
My disciple, do you not feel pity for the plight of the poor?
He thought he was going to go crazy.
In other sects, the Radiant Dragon Great Master was revered as a dragon rising from a humble stream and a great hero of the righteous faction, but within the Twin Dragon Sect, he was just the head of the household who had to work diligently to feed the chirping baby birds.
‘Kuk, just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes….’
Hmm, this was still sorrowful to think about again.
In any case, being that kind of Patrick, he couldn't help but be sensitive about money.
The Schneider family, the family he was reborn into, was noble, but they weren't incredibly rich either.
Rather, they could be classified as poor nobles.
He hadn't paid much attention until now because of many unsettling things, but now that he was stepping up for the family in earnest, the parts where they were troubled due to lack of money started to bother him one by one.
The rusted weapons of the soldiers.
The butler and maids wearing mended clothes.
If you looked closely at the mansion, there were more than one or two places where broken parts hadn't been properly fixed and were just patched up with wooden planks.
‘No. I can't live as a penniless beggar again.’
Since he was born a noble, shouldn't he eat well and live well?
From the moment he learned that monsters were worth money, Patrick's mind was filled with materialism.
“Giant wolf, troll, ogre, dragon. Anything is fine, so find something quickly. Quickly.”
“Young Master. I am not a monster hunter. A 2-star….”
“Find something by the end of today. If you can't, you know?”
“…….”
“You die. You're going to die.”
His eyes were filled with sincerity.
“I will definitely find something.”
In front of Patrick, Brian scoured the forest floor and tree trunks for traces, tracking the monsters.
He too had served as a knight of the Schneider fiefdom for a long time.
He was quite skilled at recognizing monster tracks.
However….
‘Damn it, why can't I see anything. I have to find something quickly.’
That's always how it is.
Things that were everywhere are nowhere to be seen the moment you're actually looking for them.
It's what they call the law of dog poop….
“Found it! Young Master. I found it.”
“Oh? Really?”
Surprisingly, Brian showed quite a competent ability in this field.
However, there was a problem.
He did find tracks, but….
“Young Master. This is a Sa…. Saber Tiger.”
Brian's voice trembled.
He had found something, but he had found something too big.
Saber Tiger.
It was one of the most dangerous beasts among the beast-type monsters, known as the terror of the forest.
Brian, who had discovered the tracks of such a Saber Tiger, trembled in fear, and Patrick….
“Is it expensive?”
He was like this.
Brian hesitated for a moment but soon came to his senses and said.
“Young Master. This is a monster. It's a huge tiger that even hunts and eats trolls.”
“Oh? A tiger? The hide must be expensive, right? It is, right? It's expensive, right?”
“Yes. The hide is expensive, and the fangs are expensive too. It's expensive, but. First, please listen to m—.”
“Track it quickly. If we lose it, you're dead.”
“Young Master. I'm telling you again, the Saber Tiger is really dangerous. It's better to give up on this one and find another.”
“Give up?”
“Yes. This is really dangerous. I know you are strong, Young Master, but you could die if things go wrong. Please, my loyalty….”
“Rookie. Rookie. Our rookie.”
Crack. C-crack.
Patrick cracked his neck from side to side, placed his hands on both of Brian's shoulders, and said with a pleased expression.
“Rookie. Think carefully.”
“…About what?”
“Honestly, what you're worried about right now is not my life, but your own, right? Isn't it?”
“No, sir. I….”
“It's fine. It's fine. It's only natural for a person's own life to be the most important. I don't get angry over things like that.”
“…….”
Of course, he had hit the nail on the head.
If Patrick had said he would catch the Saber Tiger alone, Brian would have enthusiastically cheered him on and thought, ‘Go fight and die.’
But since he had to go along, he had to try and stop him so desperately.
To that Brian, Patrick said with a bright smile.
“But rookie?”
“…….”
“Right now, is the thing threatening your life the Saber Tiger? Or is it me?”
“…….”
“Think carefully. Veeeery carefully.”
“I will track it.”
Brian had no choice but to lead the way, with tears streaming down his face.
From ancient times to the present, violence was truly convenient.