The Immortal Genius Spearman(3)
Knock, knock.
Just as he was about to step outside, someone knocked on the door.
A subtle madness flickered in Pucker’s eyes, mixed with irritation.
He’s here.
He wanted to get up right away and grab a bat.
He wanted to beat him at least as much, no, ten times more.
But for now, sitting was all he could do. All Pucker could do was wait.
Swish.
Pucker gestured to Montaul to quickly open the door.
Montaul frowned slightly and glanced at Pucker.
“Hey, Pucker.”
“……?”
“I know it’s urgent, but if you command like that again with your eyes or chin, you might lose an eyeball.”
“W-What?”
“Well, be careful.”
At Pucker’s words, Montaul turned his head towards the door.
“Y-yeah, sorry.”
Too rushed, Pucker seemed to have forgotten who was sitting in front of him.
“Come in.”
“……”
But there was no response to Montaul’s words.
“I said come in?”
Montaul said again with irritation in.
Montaul said repeated with irritation.
“……”
Still no response, Montaul’s gaze turned cold.
“What’s going on…”
“Shh.”
Montaul muttered quietly and drew the dagger hanging at his waist. And…
Swish.
“Swaaaak!”
Suddenly, Montaul swung the dagger he had hastily drawn towards the figure entering the house.
Clang!
A single dagger bounced off the floor, prompting Pucker to exclaim with dismay.
“… Is this a failure?”
Montaul murmured, looking at the boy standing across from him.
Though how he came here is unknown, the fact that he’s alone suggests the mission has failed.
“Are you Damian?”
“Yeah, punk.”
“Punk?”
“Not that pig punk behind you? So, just obediently doing what you’re told?”
“Heh heh, the kid’s got quite a mouth.”
Montaul’s gaze turned cold suddenly. Then he noticed the spear gripped in the boy’s hand.
It was rather rudimentary to call it a spear. It was simply a dagger tied to the end of a long stick.
Montaul chuckled.
“Heh heh, what’s with that toy? You call that a spear?”
“No matter how you think about it, I’m more accustomed to this than a dagger.”
It was Damian who had handled spears for five years.
Where Pucker was, there would be a captain.
Thinking that it was a suitable wooden staff, he tied the dagger to the end.
In fact, it’s inadequate to call it a spear…
‘But this side is much better.’
As expected, there was no one who could be called a captain.
At Damian’s gaze, Montaul whispered softly.
Still, it’s troubling to deal with the followers. ‘There was an unexpected variable.’
Things are getting inconvenient.
Montaul looked back at Pucker and said:
“Hey, Pucker, I’ll have to triple the commission fee. Things are getting serious right now.”
“Three, three times?!”
The amount already agreed upon is substantial.
It is not a demand for a little more.
It’s triple?
Pucker had a puzzled expression, so Montaul looked at the spear held by Damian and said:
“See the blood-stained thing at the end of the stick? Our children’s blood, and the like… If I step back from here, what will you do?”
“You, you bastard?!”
“It’s not a threat, it’s that you’ve given us bad information and we’ve suffered. I want a little compensation.”
“But still, triple…”
“Then I’ll step back.”
Montaul put away the dagger he held in his waist and turned his body. No, in trying to turn it…
Pucker desperately said,
“I, I’ll do it, three times!”
Pucker also knows it.
If Montaul leaves now, he’s just going to die.
Even if he didn’t die, he would suffer more severe injuries than before.
At Pucker’s cry, Montaul’s mouth rose long as he turned his body.
Squeak.
“Negotiation complete.”
With that, Montaul took out the single blade and the long knife hanging from his waist.
It had a form of curved hilt.
Montaul said to Damian.
“I don’t have any feelings. It’s just business.”
“I have feelings. So don’t ask me why and just die,” Damian replied.
These guys spent half their past life like trash.
Montaul’s brow deepened with Damian’s words.
“Bold guy.”
slink!
As Montaul kicked off the ground and charged…
Swish!
Damian jabbed the spear he was holding toward Montaul’s groin.
Though it was an awkward position below the waist—not the neck or the heart—Montaul’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
Montaul was a born fighter and a leader.
‘This kid…?’
Having grown up in the back alleys, he had faced countless fights since childhood to reach his current position.
So he could tell from the first move.
‘Not an ordinary kid.’
An attack coming below the waist was the most inconvenient for the tall Montaul to avoid or block.
If it was by chance, it wouldn’t matter, but…
‘If he did it on purpose…’
Underestimating a thirteen-year-old could lead to big trouble.
Clang!
Montaul lightly deflected the spear that Damian thrust and stomped hard on the ground.
Thud!
In that moment, Montaul’s speed increased.
He extended his left fist toward Damian’s face.
Whoosh!
But the left fist was just a feint.
As Damian reacted to defend his face, Montaul thought…
‘I’ll tear his thigh apart.’
If he could disable one leg, he could toy with him afterward.
Just as predicted, when Montaul threw the punch, Damian leaned back to dodge it.
At that moment…
“This is the real one!”
Seeing Damian fall into his trap, Montaul swung his knife toward Damian’s thigh.
Swish!
“…What?”
Expecting a sensation of slicing or piercing, he felt the blade cut through empty air.
“I knew the right-hand blade was the real attack.”
He had noticed the fleeting glance Montaul cast at his thigh just before the attack.
The firm grip on the knife was ready for a decisive blow.
Montaul extended his fist, but both the light force and the twist of his waist to the left signaled Damian.
‘He intends to attack my thigh with the knife in his right hand.’
Swivel.
Damian pulled his right leg back and rotated his body clockwise around the axis of his left foot to strike Montaul back with the lower end of the staff he held.
Thud!
“Ow!”
Struck squarely in the back with the substantial staff, Montaul screamed in pain.
He hadn’t expected an attack after successfully avoiding one.
However, even a well-aimed attack from Damian wasn’t fatal due to his thirteen-year-old strength.
Whew!
Montaul twisted his body in disgust.
He was just about to kill the kid.
“I’ll just kill this little punk.”
Turning his body, Montaul spat out curses.
However, before his words were finished…
Swish.
With a chilling sound as if fur bristling, Montaul’s body twitched.
Along with that, a red thread sliced Montaul’s neck.
“Gah, cough!”
Montaul grabbed his neck with both hands, blood spewing from the slashed area.
The fight ended as easily as it started.
Damian looked at the fallen Montaul.
‘He was quite… strong, but…’
Still, he was just a back-alley thug.
Compared to him, Damian had exceptional skills in spear fighting, unmatched even in the kingdom.
He was not at the level of these back-alley guys.
Swoosh.
After finishing off Montaul, Damian looked at the trembling Pucker.
Montaul’s defeat was quite shocking, as he stared at Damian with an expression of disbelief.
“D-Damian. M-My…”
As Damian walked into the house, Pucker, whose face had doubled, turned pale and trembled.
“D-Don’t come! Don’t come!”
His desperate cries sounded as if he had seen a ghost.
However, as the door closed behind Damian, his desperate cries began to turn into desperate screams.
***
“Receipient, Mr. Damian?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve finished everything, 3 platinum 650 gold. 650 gold seems too much, so I prepared it with gems. Would you like to check it?”
Damian nodded at Wilson’s words, who took responsibility for his insurance.
If he received all this money, he would be assassinated as soon as he left the bank.
It’s enough to complete the transaction.
“I’ll leave it all to the Imperial Bank. Oh, and is this depositable as well?”
Damian raised a pouch full of gems.
Wilson looked at him in surprise.
“Th-this gem…”
However, Wilson didn’t ask for a reason.
He didn’t need to ask, as he could roughly guess.
Because he had heard the news last night that Pucker, a loan shark, had died in a dispute with a business partner.
“…After it’s officially appraised, I should cash it and deposit it. Would that be alright with you?”
“Yes, I trust you with it.”
“It’s not precise, but with this amount of gems… it should be around 3 platinum.”
At that, Damian gave a faint smile.
“Yes, please take care of it.”
“Thank you for trusting me with this. The deposited bank is Imperial Bank; you can retrieve it with identification from any branch.”
“Thank you.”
When Damian stood up, Wilson also rose from his seat.
Wilson asked,
“May I inquire where you’re headed now?”
Damian could potentially become his biggest VIP client.
By including the gems from earlier, wasn’t he a VIP customer who deposited more than 6 platinum?
Considering that the monthly living expenses for an average family of 3-4 people are 2-3 gold, it could be considered a huge sum.
Now, with 1,000 gold being 1 platinum, Damian replied to Wilson’s question,
“To… join the military.”
“Military?”
Wilson blinked as he looked at Damian.
It didn’t make sense to him.
Why would someone with so much money voluntarily join the army and endure hardships?
“If you need a place to stay, I could introduce you to a safe place.”
“It’s alright.”
However, in Wilson’s eyes, Damian’s behavior might seem strange.
‘But in five years, the situation will completely change.’
By then, most young men would be forcibly conscripted.
It’s far more advantageous to go early and establish oneself than to be dragged later and roll around aimlessly for even a day.
Moreover…
“I have people to meet.”
“In the military?”
Would a thirteen-year-old boy have people to meet in the military?
Wilson looked at Damian in puzzlement.
“Once you settle in, I’ll get in touch.”
After saying that, Damian immediately left.
And as Damian got into the carriage, he said,
“Please take me to the capital.”
It was a decision made from the beginning.
Although there are reasons for my decision knowing what’s going to happen in the future in 5 years, but that is actually just a trivial reason.
It’s simply…
‘Because this is the only place I can be.’
And I can start over again.
In a completely different way.
I won’t be forcibly enlishted, and I’m not at the late age of 25.
‘My mana hall hasn’t broken either.’
‘My mana hole hasn’t broken either.’
Everything is in perfect condition.
‘This time…’
I will rise higher than anyone.
Instead of being swept away in an era of turmoil…
‘I will dominate.’
Damian’s eyes were shining sharper than ever.
