334

Episode 334 I really wanted to try this. (3)

Maybe Jake bounced off of it once. If that's the case, I can let it slide.

Claude said, not hiding his frustrated expression.

"Why? I told you that if you join our mercenary group, we won't interfere with you, we'll give you a lot of work, and we'll give you a lot of benefits. If it's a gain, it's a gain. There's no harm in it. People should play in the big picture."

Jake also knows that there is nothing wrong with what Claude says. He has also been involved in several businesses in Penrith.

The pay was higher than other places, and they paid on a set date. But there was a reason for refusing.

'The Earl of Fenris is a warmonger. That's for sure. And from what I've heard, he's not a normal person.'

The County of Digald, the County of Cavaldi, and the County of Desmond. He fought three major wars in just a few years. In a word, he could be called a conquering monarch.

Besides that, most of the things he did were things only a crazy person would think of.

If you go under the wing of such a person, you never know when your life might be in danger.

'You're not on good terms with the Duke, are you? No matter how much the pro-Prince faction supports us, if a civil war breaks out, we'll be dragged in without any choice.'

Although war is said to be the biggest opportunity for mercenaries to make money, there are fewer mercenaries willing to take part in dangerous wars than you might think.

Even if you participate, you will stick to the side where victory is certain, or at least join the side where there is a chance of winning. However, if you go under the Earl of Fenris, you will be caught up in it without even being able to make that judgment.

Jake, a cautious mercenary, didn't want to get involved in something like that.

"We have no intention of doing that. It is a bit uncomfortable to talk about this, sir."

"Really? You really don't have any thoughts?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Ugh… … Okay, I'll take my leave for today. See you next time."

Jake gave his usual cocky grin as Claude backed away meekly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Next time, I'll give you a cheaper price, so please don't bring up things like this."

"I'll see you again soon."

Claude, who had retreated like that, came back the next day with hundreds of soldiers to find Jake.

"What does this… … mean?"

Jake glared at Claude as if he was displeased.

I wasn't particularly scared. If I were to use force here, it would obviously damage Earl Fenris's reputation. If I did something like that, it would be harder to persuade other mercenary groups.

Jake, who had a lot of experience, couldn't have been unaware of that. That's why he was still acting cocky.

Claude also said as he pushed the soldiers back.

"Don't worry. I didn't come here to threaten you with soldiers."

"So what's going on this time?"

Then Claude cleared his throat a few times and shouted loudly.

"I, Claude, will ask Jake, the leader of the Bigfoot Mercenaries… … for 'Moriana's Recognition'!"

A duel in the name of the Goddess of War, Moriana. This was the method used by Giselle when she beat up Kaor and persuaded him with force.

Now Claude has declared that he will fight the mercenary leader with his weak body.

Wendy was the first to look at Claude with a bewildered expression. The soldiers who followed also looked dumbfounded.

If we were to compare the weakest men in the territory, Claude would definitely be at the top of the list. He was so busy that Wendy even carried him around when he was too busy and had no strength. He was practically a newborn baby.

But would someone like that fight that rough mercenary? He's not just any ordinary mercenary, he's the leader of a mercenary group.

No matter how small the mercenary group is, the leader is not just anyone. It is a position that can only be held by those with a minimum level of military force and experience.

While everyone was dumbfounded, Claude took a step forward and shouted.

"What are you doing! You have to face off! This is something you can't avoid!"

Jake also stepped back in confusion.

"What… What are you talking about? That's a bet between mercenaries. It's not something you should be doing, General."

"I am the commander of the Fenris Mercenary Corps. If I belong to the Mercenary Corps, I am a mercenary."

It's far-fetched. It's far-fetched, but the justification itself is plausible. In fact, the Fenris Mercenary Corps has officially reported its establishment as an organization and has registered with mercenary guilds in various regions.

"Uh, uh… … ."

Jake didn't know what to do. He could turn a skinny kid like that into a blood cake in one go.

But can you really make it with rice cakes?

'There is a reason, so no one can say anything… … .'

If you invite a fight and then lose, the loser will only become a laughing stock. You won't be able to say anything to yourself.

Still, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Jake said, waving his hands.

"I refuse."

'My reputation won't suffer if I refuse.'

Avoiding it won't be a big deal. Who would bet against a mercenary group like this?

But Claude was more persistent than expected.

"If you do that, I'll really spread rumors? Even if your subordinates understand, will other people really? They'll always pick a fight or laugh at you? If you go to another region, they'll chase you and spread rumors."

"profit...."

Jake gritted his teeth. Claude had a point. There was no way that the rough mercenaries would consider their opponents' situation and make fun of them. It was certain that they would pick a fight or mock them at any moment.

'There's no one who wouldn't do something when they have something to tease. If you want to pick a fight, you can use it.'

People who don't know much about Claude would really think he was avoiding them because he was scared.

If that happened, it was obvious that his reputation would decline and his work would decrease.

That's the way rumors are. It's easy to spread false information, but it takes several times the effort to correct it.

In other words, it meant that he had to waste his energy on useless things and suffer.

'Is this kid really crazy… … . Should I kill him?'

As Jake's eyes slowly began to look murderous, Wendy grabbed Claude's sleeve and said.

"What are you doing now? What kind of competition is this when you can't even fight!"

"Oh… … Are you worried about me? It's been a while since I've seen you so excited?"

"Are you kidding me? Cancel it right now."

"There is no cancellation in a fight between men. I am not a gambler who fights a losing battle."

Claude, a slave of 278 years, spoke grandly and swung his sleeve away. Then he strode out.

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Wendy was momentarily dumbfounded by his absurd behavior and could do nothing but stare blankly at him.

In a situation where everyone was dumbfounded, Claude held out his hand and said.

"What are you doing! Hurry up and tie it up!"

The mercenaries approached and tied Jake and Claude's hands as they stood there awkwardly.

They also had a look on their face as if to say, 'Something is not right' while tying them up, but the atmosphere flowed strangely.

Two men looked at each other, holding daggers.

They were almost twice as big. Jake seemed to be about a head and a half taller.

'Really! Why is it always like that!'

Wendy had no choice but to take out her dagger. She planned to rescue Claude by force when the attack began.

Miuna Gouna is the general manager of the territory and an important person. Without that person, the territory wouldn't run properly.

Jake glared at Claude and stroked his dagger.

'What should I do? Should I inflict some pain on him so that he surrenders?'

Since I couldn't afford to fight him, I could just poke a few holes in his body. He was a guy who I strangely wanted to kill, but I didn't have the confidence to actually kill him.

It was obvious that if I killed the commander-in-chief of the Great Territory, even if I won, my life would be tiring.

'Ha, I really got caught up in a weird guy… … .'

If you're going to hurt someone, you have to be careful. As Jake was calming down and carefully considering where to stab them, Claude whispered softly.

"Jake, 38 years old. Captain of the Bigfoot Mercenary Corps."

"...?"

Why are you suddenly calling my name? Claude continued talking while Jake tilted his head.

"He always pretends to be a cheerful guy, but it's all an act. He's actually a very cautious and careful person."

"...?"

"I started working as a leather craftsman in the East when I was 15 years old and fell in love with the charm of leather."

"S, no way… … ."

Jake's face turned pale. Now Claude was spilling his secret.

"After that, I loved leather so much that I once wore only leather underwear… … I made a leather whip and asked the woman I was seeing at the time to beat me with it, but she immediately kicked me out."

"Okay, wait a minute!"

"When rumors spread, he fled north and joined the mercenary world. After that, he would hide his identity and go out secretly every night, asking people to beat him with leather in exchange for money… … . The reason he became a mercenary was because it felt good to be beaten… … . The name of the leather whip he made himself is 'Release.' The place he hid the whip was… … . The most recent one was two weeks ago… … . Oh my, what kind of man is this? He's always careful about what others think, so he's careful."

Claude spilled Jake's embarrassing secrets.

Jake felt dizzy. If word got out about this, he would never be able to show his face in this place again.

'I have to kill him!'

Claude spoke very quickly before Jake, whose face had turned pale, could move.

"I'm going to keep all of this in writing. I'm going to tell my younger siblings who know. If I die, rumors will spread all over the place today."

The younger brother he knew was Lowell. Jake had no choice but to look around and whisper strongly.

"Your Majesty! Why not just meet me and talk privately?"

Then Claude answered with a bright smile.

"I really wanted to do this in front of people. That's why I brought a lot of soldiers to watch."

'Oh, is this guy really crazy?'

Do you mobilize hundreds of soldiers for something like this? Just to show off?

Jake gritted his teeth. His breathing was ragged and he was covered in cold sweat. He felt like he had been caught by some crazy guy, and he was really bad at it.

"What, tell me more? Aren't there other fun things besides this? Wow, you're really… … ."

"lol...."

Jake shook his head and laughed awkwardly. If rumors really got out, he'd be buried in society.

People wondered why the two didn't fight and just kept talking like that.

The mercenary who was standing a little way away raised his hand and shouted when the two seemed to have stopped talking.

"start!"

Normally, their daggers should move right away. However, Jake was unable to move his dagger, just shaking his hand.

Claude said with a strangely cool expression.

"Not coming? Then I'll go first. Yup!"

He was really pathetically slow as he swung his dagger, and his movements were messed up.

But Jake couldn't dodge the attack. He just got stabbed in the chest.

Phew!

It was shallow. The force was so weak that the dagger couldn't even penetrate Jake's chest muscle. All that came out was a drop of blood.

If Jake were to swing his dagger in this state, Claude's neck would be instantly slit.

Everyone was looking at the two of them nervously. Wendy immediately ran out. But Jake, whose lips were trembling, suddenly shouted.

"Ugh, ahhh!"

Jake immediately fell down with a very awkward cry. Then he spoke again.

"I, I lost! Stop it! This, this is how strong I can be! I think I'm going to die! Ah! You're the Sword Master!"

Everyone opened their mouths and looked dumbfounded. Why did they surrender so easily after being attacked like that?

But Claude said it with an arrogant expression as if it was natural.

"Ugh, this is so petty I want to die."

Then he tried hard to cut the rope that bound his hands with his dagger. However, no matter how hard Claude tried, the rope would not break easily.

Wendy quickly came over, cut the rope, and said.

"What is it? What did you do?"

"I've done this over a hundred times."

"...."

It was secretly well known that Giselle said that when she fought Kaor. Claude followed suit. He really wanted to try it.

Claude, who had untangled all the rope from his arms, squatted down in front of the fallen Jake and spoke.

"Are we together now? I won't steal the mercenary group. All you have to do is come under the Fenris mercenary group. I'll give you a lot of work, so pay the tribute on time. And also information about the surrounding area."

"Well, of course. Since I lost, of course I should do that."

People looked at Claude as if he was curious. No one could have imagined that such a weak person could defeat the leader of the mercenary group.

The same goes for the mercenaries belonging to the Bigfoot Mercenary Corps. They thought that their leader had lost on purpose.

Anyway, Fenris is already swallowing up the North, so there's no point in stretching it out. So I thought he was just trying to make up an excuse.

The truth is that only three people know: Claude and Jake… no, even the spy officer Lowell, who has been gathering a lot of information.

Claude took out mercenary groups operating in the North in this way.

"Whew, this is too easy? I wonder if our lord is doing well."

Claude smiled leisurely.

Since most of them were small mercenary groups anyway, appropriate persuasion and threats worked very well.

If they don't listen, just whisper an embarrassing secret. That was Claude's specialty.

While things were going so smoothly in the North, Jiselle entered a city in the West with her entourage.