Assassin Sword Family Ronan Chapter 273

Episode 273. The Square Pebble

Scorpion Leader, Netu.

Also known as ‘red scorpion’.

He was a long-term prisoner who spent ten years in a hot spring prison.

Before being imprisoned, he spent four years in a first-class prison in the western part of the continent, and was then transferred to a first-class prison in the eastern part. After spending four years there, he came to Yeolji Prison ten years ago.

Although he had spent nearly 20 years in a first-class prison, like most prisoners, he once dreamed of a bright future.

‘The Supernova of Leureta’. That was the nickname that always followed Neto before he was imprisoned.

What kind of place was Leureta? It was a mecca for mercenaries. Not only was there a systemized competition among mercenaries, but the Lilic Imperial Family also recognized their skills.

Not just anyone can be called a Supernova in Leureta. That nickname is only given to mercenary groups that have the potential to grow into one of the top five mercenary groups in the future.

In fact, the Netu Mercenary Group grew rapidly right after its establishment. The story of when it rose to 20th place in the mercenary group rankings is still talked about to this day.

If the first failure of the Netu Mercenary Group had not been their last, they might have become one of the top five mercenary groups by now, 20 years later.

The first and last failure.

Of course, even in a place like the mercenary sanctuary, failing a single request doesn’t lead to the mercenary group being disbanded. Even if you fail a royal request, it won’t be that damaging.

The problem was that the last commission accepted by the Netu Mercenaries was from the Imperial Family. In that case, the story would have to be different.

Even now, 20 years ago, the five major mercenary groups kept putting it off until they finally reluctantly accepted the imperial commission. They could make a lot of money if they just completed it, but that wasn’t the important part.

The imperial commissions were incomparably difficult, and if they were not completed, they came with heavy responsibilities. If they failed, the mercenary group would be disbanded, and if they were to even survive, they were lucky.

In the end, Netu was ruined because of the imperial commission. He was intoxicated by the nickname of Supernova and accepted the imperial commission that even the five major mercenary groups avoided, but he failed miserably.

It was a blessing in disguise that he escaped death. All of the members of the mercenary group were executed directly or indirectly, but the leader of the group survived. Furthermore, he enjoyed some good fortune in the hot prison where he had taken root.

5 star aura.

Certainly, a 5-star level would be enough to make a name for itself on the continent. The ‘Wind of the Fighting’, the ‘Annihilating Musician’, etc. The level of famous prisoners was around that level.

If you ask if that means 5 stars are an unattainable level, that’s not the case.

Even in the two first-class prisons he had been through before Yeolji Prison, there were ten prisoners of similar level to him.

Although the other average figures are higher than other prisons, it is a rare prison for 5-star prisoners. Thanks to this, Neto was enjoying the feeling of being a predator that even ‘Leureta’s Supernova’ could not feel.

however-

‘I knew this day would come someday… … .’

Now, Netu is trying hard not to let the surprise show on his face.

It didn’t go well. The face looked surprised, if not bewildered. It was something I couldn’t even imagine until I woke up this morning. It was happening right before my eyes.

“Khuuuuk!”

His confidant, the ‘White Scorpion’, was falling apart so miserably that even Netu wondered if it was a dream.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

A young convict with brown hair and slightly tanned skin. A one-day-old rookie convict commonly referred to as a rookie, he was overwhelming the white scorpion.

‘That guy, his name was Barton, right?’

There were two new recruits who came in yesterday. One had blue hair, and the other had brown hair. I learned overnight that the two were arrested at the scene for attempted murder of the Kainist royal family.

The crime was so serious that he could only be in a first-class prison, but the details of his arrest were unknown. So we did not know what kind of power he displayed until he was surrounded by the royal guards.

It was natural that the prison guards who secretly leaked information about prisoners did not hear about it.

Still, I wasn’t worried about the initiation ceremony. I didn’t think anyone would be stronger than the White Scorpion.

White Scorpion was a three-star Auror who had once been a member of the Knights Templar. He was a prominent figure even in the Yeolji Prison, where most of the soldiers were one or two stars.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The eyes of that white scorpion were full of fear.

“… … .”

Netu recalled just 15 minutes ago.

Before this disaster could occur, as soon as Grandbird placed the transport ship at the mining site on the edge of the desert, the Scorpions quickly pushed the prisoners into the tunnel.

The tunnel was a dead end, and the Imperial Army had formed a siege around the mine, so escape was impossible.

Prisoners who entered the mine shaft under the control of the Scorpions. Before each of them entered the mining site with a pickaxe, the White Scorpion, as always, went into an initiation ceremony.

Until then, the two young men had been standing behind the old and small prisoner, ‘Wooksin’, and just staring blankly.

‘Okay, you want to hit me once?’

To the white scorpion who was shouting and picking a fight, Barton responded like this. Then he added:

‘What happens to you if I beat you? Will you leave the Scorpions? Can I be a Scorpions member?’

Of course, Barton wasn’t the only one who responded this way. Everyone else was in a mess and trembled at the sight of the white scorpion the next day. That was the ending that both the white scorpion and Netuna had always expected.

This time it had to be done that way too… … .

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Now, the white scorpion’s eyes were empty. It had lost consciousness with its eyes open after being beaten all over its body.

‘That guy Barton might threaten my position.’

Looking at his former confidant, who was unconscious and trembling, Netu thought so.

Looking back on the short fight, Barton’s level would be 4 stars. It seems overwhelming to be a single gap, but that was the difference between 3 stars and 4 stars to begin with.

If there was one silver lining, it was that Barton didn’t seem to be a five-star like himself.

However, given his young age, the fact that he could challenge Netu at any time was an unavoidable threat. If he reached 5-star within 10 years, then Netu would be powerless.

‘Let’s sort out the situation first.’

Netu approached the two people with his pack on his back. Looking closer, the white scorpion’s condition was even more serious.

“So this is what happens in the end… … .”

“What are you?”

“I am Netu, who was entrusted with controlling mining labor by the warden of Yeolji Prison.”

“Oh, you’re the leader of the Scorpion Group or something, right?”

“… That’s right.”

“The scorpion babies have been waiting for us since morning. I tried to blow one up this morning, but this seems more effective.”

At those words, the bald and balding members of the Scorpions in charge of the new recruits flinched.

“It was a necessary procedure because mining work is so dangerous. Even before me, the Scorpions have always maintained order in the mining area like this.”

“You talk nonsense even though you have a mouth full of holes.”

Barton grabbed the white scorpion by the scythe and threw it away. With a thud, the white scorpion fell to the ground. The prisoners trembled as if the initiation ceremony had turned into a funeral.

After a while, Barton looked around with sharp eyes, as if looking for someone.

“Since things have come to this, you and your colleagues will be excluded from this mining operation.”

Netu said. He didn’t expect the white scorpion to be so helpless, but he had to start by taking care of it.

“And since you have defeated the Scorpion’s leader, you have earned the right to be exempt from all future labor. The Scorpion, the Black Fox, or the Spearmen. Choose one of these forces. You can become a member of that.”

“Is that the open prison method?”

“Yes, instead of controlling other prisoners, they are exempted from labor. That is a tradition that has been tolerated by past wardens.”

“What if you don’t like it?”

“what?”

Netu’s eyebrows twitched. It was an unexpected reaction.

“Hey, Scorpion Head. Do you know how we got into this prison?”

“… … .”

“We came here because we failed in our attempt to kill the royal family.”

Then Barton looked around once more. There was a strange piety in his eyes.

“Why do you think he did that? Because he hated the Kainist royal family? No. If there was any other royal family in front of him, he would have done the same. Me and my comrade Luke Roane. We did it because we were disgusted by those who thought they were special, like you.”

Then Barton coughed for a moment. It was clear that he had been waiting for this opportunity, as if he was speaking in a speech-like tone.

“Yes, a world without nobles or royalty and only commoners would be impossible. We failed too… … .”

It wasn’t awkward. After showing off his overwhelming power in defeating the white scorpion, he was shouting at the leader of the scorpion group, so it seemed even more appealing.

“But just because I became a prisoner, do you think I’ll give up everything and receive special privileges? Huh?”

At that moment, Barton’s gaze turned to his colleague Luke for a moment.

To the other prisoners, the sight seemed like they were looking at a comrade who had shared their dream of revolution and reaffirming their beliefs.

In fact, that wasn’t the case at all.

-Damn it, Rubin. Is this right?

Kuhn’s speech was full of disgust at the revolutionary beliefs he was expressing.

-Not bad. What should I say? Some kind of… revolutionary thug.

-You should have done this.

-You’ve already caught X’s eye. I’m just trying to make a proper impression while I’m at it.

The two men still had no idea what X looked like, or what his thoughts were. If they had any clues, they would be interested in his actions, including attacking the Kainist royal family.

So, the idea was to see if he was the type of person who wanted a world for commoners only.

-Now just say the last line and pass by Nettu.

-What was the last line?

-‘So stop fooling around and give me your pickaxe.’

Although Kun honestly wanted to throw away his pickaxe and take a nap while enjoying all the privileges, he followed Rubin’s words.

“So stop fooling around and give me your pickaxe.”

So Kun passed Netu and walked through the prisoners. There was a pile of picks and shovels on the floor, and Kun picked one up and grabbed it.

“… … .”

Netu stood there dumbfounded, bewildered by a type of human he had never seen before, while the prisoners looked at the Scorpions.

‘X. Now there’s only one thing you can do.’

At that moment, Rubin’s eyes were quickly scanning the surrounding prisoners. He still couldn’t tell who X was, but he was certain that X was here.

* * *

After that, the labor began amidst the chaos.

The mining tunnels branched out from the first entrance. The prisoners, who were scattered into the tunnels that were divided into small sections like the palm of a hand, dug the ground with pickaxes and searched for any gemstones.

They worked in pairs, and whenever a mana stone was discovered, the scorpion unit members stationed at each intersection would collect it.

“Stop chit-chat and get to work!”

“Yes, yes, that’s right.”

“How long are you going to sit there like that? Lunchtime ended a long time ago!”

Compared to the major incident that occurred in the morning, the attitude of the laborers was no different from before.

The ones who were really shaken were the Scorpion members. They treated the laborers more aggressively than usual. They felt that their prestige was being shaken.

“X.”

Two men standing side by side and swinging pickaxes.

“… … .”

X didn’t answer for a long time.

At this, Kay stopped digging, straightened his back, and quietly watched X’s mechanical digging. After a while, X muttered softly.

“K. I’m thinking. What to do with Barton.”

X was a young man of considerable good looks. At first glance, he looked like a woman, but that couldn’t be the case, since there were no female prisoners in the prison.

“I’m definitely tempted by Barton Colombs. I don’t know about the other one yet.”

“You’ve already memorized the name.”

“Now I have no choice but to memorize it.”

“So you’ve made up your mind to some extent?”

Kay asked cautiously. In terms of appearance, he was about ten years older than X, but there was something strangely similar about him. Anyone who saw the two would think they were brothers.

“Barton said, ‘I would kill any royal family member who came into my sight.’ If that’s the kind of thinking you have, then you couldn’t ask for more. To be one of us.”

“Then approach me right away… … .”

“No, not now. Look what Barton did.”

“That guy destroyed the White Scorpion by avoiding only the weak points we told him about.”

“You beat the white scorpion like that just to show off to us.”

To be honest, I didn’t know that I would win this way even though I had told you about my weakness. No, even if I knew about my weakness, I didn’t think I would be able to defeat the White Scorpion.

Rather, the two thought that it was a question of how much longer Barton could hold out. If he could hold out for more than ten minutes, it would have been fine. That alone would have been worth approaching.

But, he was beyond imagination and his thoughts were in line with X’s. He was a talent that was so necessary that I was suspicious.

“He needs time to figure out who we are and trust us. Right now, I’m just ‘the X who left a suspicious letter’ to him. But the immediate problem is-”

“It must be Nettu.”

Barton’s ideas were in line with theirs, but the problem was that they were too prominent. That must be why he was arrested for rushing at the royal family so recklessly.

“So strong that he was rejected by all three factions… … .”

“All three factions will try to eliminate him. Netu in particular will take the lead in fomenting the situation.”

This would not have happened if Barton had chosen one of the factions as Netu suggested.

“Of course, it’s a decision he can make because he trusts in his own abilities. But he doesn’t know this place yet. If Netou himself steps in, Barton will have a hard time surviving.”

In order to save Barton, he had to reverse his decision not to join any faction.

“K. As soon as I get back to prison, I have to write them a letter. If they don’t listen… … .”

“Still, there is still a way.”

Kay and X looked at each other and nodded. The eyes of those who shared their beliefs.

Of course, they didn’t know.

These decisions that they make based on their numbers are all clearly visible to Rubin.