Overpowered Sword Chapter 63

Level up with swords (63)

It was a few days later.

After the attack by the magic bandits, the Storm Troop continued on without incident, and reached the city they had planned to be their next stopover.

The fortress city of Balkas.

A land that protects its borders, beyond a desert area that is almost like an empty land. It is a territory directly governed by the Margrave and is granted independent military authority. Perhaps that is why the size of the castle was incomparable to other fiefdoms.

Leon was greatly amazed as he looked at the view.

“This is my first time seeing such high walls… ?”

Its form was completely different from the Free City of Blaine.

Unlike Blaine, which had only two layers, the walls of Balchas were made up of three layers, and the deep moat was also filled with water, giving it a great advantage in siege warfare. The castle where the archers roam is also cleverly placed.

As a rule of thumb, the height of the outer wall was 15m, and the two layers of wall behind it also seemed quite high.

If you try to break through it using standard methods, you have no choice but to pile up a mountain of corpses first.

“Yeah, that’s pretty high.”

Karen, on the other hand, had a displeased expression.

To her, who could leap over the castle wall in one leap, the wall was nothing more than a sight to behold.

No matter what the gold castle wall is, its defensive power is ultimately only demonstrated when dealing with an army. In order to stop strong people who had reached A rank, masters of the same level were needed.

Karen, who was looking at the top of the castle wall with narrowed eyes, unknowingly relaxed her fingers as she memorized the locations of several people.

‘It’s a bad habit, really.’

As it is a border area, there were quite a few high-quality articles.

There is one person that even she should not go head-to-head with, and there are six other talented people to watch out for. The body that has lived as an assassin unconsciously seeks out dangerous elements.

The problem may be that I remembered old memories when I killed the mole. You can forget the past, but you can’t erase it.

“stop!”

And the Storm Troop arrived at the checkpoint in front of the castle gate.

The guard captain who stopped the carriages received several documents, read them, then approached the merchant and spoke to him.

Looking at their friendly expressions, it seemed like they knew each other.

“It’s been a while, Arnold.”

“Haha, how have you been, Captain?”

The two shook hands without hesitation, then walked together and looked around at the long line of carriages.

It was a formal, visible inspection.

The guard captain just looked through the baggage on the wagon or looked to see if anyone was wearing suspicious clothing, and then let them pass. It takes several hours to properly inspect a procession of this size, so they just pretend to do it.

“Pass!”

Soon, the carriages began to move slowly again.

“It’s much bland than I thought.”

“All inspections are like that. “It’s not even a war situation.”

Since it was a border city, it was as if they were just pretending, and they often let everything pass for just a handful of silver coins.

Since the wages of the guards were low, they had to take bribes, and this became a custom. If there was at least one driver stationed there, things would have been a little different, but not now.

As Leon watched with a slightly dejected feeling, the owner of the merchant, Arnold, came straight to the two carriages.

“I plan to stay here for about three days. What do you two plan to do?”

Leon, who looked puzzled at those words, asked back.

“yes? “How do you do it?”

“You can stay in the accommodation we have prepared for you, and if you have anything else to do, you can come back just before departure. “Do you have any business?”

Then Karen thought for a moment and raised her right hand.

“There is something I want to find. “I will use the place you have prepared for me as accommodation, so just tell me the location.”

“All right. If you go about three blocks to the left on Jungang Street, you will find a tavern called ‘Song of the Mountain Goats.’ The accommodation right next door is rented by us. You two can use the large room on the top floor.”

The two people blinked quietly, looked at each other once, and then looked back at Arnold.

Even though it was not a strange word, the tone was subtle.

Leon opened his mouth and asked that question.

“Is it by any chance one room?”

“Yes, wouldn’t you be more comfortable that way…?” ?”

I never thought even the owner of the top would misunderstand their relationship. Rather than making excuses, I was at a loss for words because it was so absurd.

Leon, who had suddenly been booked a room with a woman, blushed, but Karen, on the contrary, giggled and poked his side.

“What, why are you so shy? What did you expect? huh?”

“Oh really!”

Leon couldn’t stand it any longer and jumped out of the carriage, and only then did Karen look back at him with a giggle.

Even though he is a hero, Leon has just completed his coming-of-age ceremony and is closer to a boy than a young man. His refreshing reaction was just a joy to Karen, who had gone through all the hardships of childbirth.

Arnold also barely understood the relationship and scratched the back of his head.

“Did you do something rash?”

“Ahaha! Well, it’s okay. “I think I’ll probably have to go around at night anyway.”

It was a simple matter of finding one more room, but Karen sent Arnold away without making that request.

As he said himself, there were times when he wandered around at night, and there was also an ulterior motive to make use of this opportunity. A warrior always has a strong comrade, and just because he was his first comrade, there was no way he would be able to follow him around forever.

It was Karen’s opportunity to prove her skills and value.

‘I’ll make you think that you can’t do it without me.’

As a trusted ally rather than a notorious assassin, Karen takes action for someone else for the first time in her life.

Light and darkness coexist everywhere.

The fortress city of Balkas was no exception. There are things that a warrior, a representative of light, cannot do, and there are roles that Karen, a resident of darkness, can take on his behalf.

The view of Balkas outside the window had a different flavor from Blaine, but what she saw in her eyes was different.

‘-found.’

There is a landscape that only those who have lived in the shadows can see.

Karen’s eyes glowed eerily as she found the mark.

* * *

“Whew, what is the assassin doing?”

When Leon, who had escaped Karen’s tickling, grumbled, El Cid responded with an annoyed voice.

[Isn’t it a bit like that for you to run away while acting like that?]

“talent? what is that?”

[…] Did you grow up in a monastery?]

When Leon tilted his head because he didn’t understand what he was saying, El Cid felt his chest tighten even though it wasn’t even there.

In a way, you could say he is like a warrior.

Among the wicked, there are many who bewitch people with lust, so there was nothing wrong with being strong in that area. El Cid was worried about what to do with this innocent guy.

“Hmm, Leon.”

At some point, Arnold came to his side and cleared his throat.

“I did this without knowing much. “I am truly sorry.”

“Ugh, no. “The Lord of the Sangsan merely showed me a favor.”

“But still, hehe.”

It was a topic that was bound to be awkward for both parties.

Leon started talking to get away from the topic.

“Now that I think about it, merchant merchant, what on earth was the cargo we recovered? “I don’t think it was an ordinary item.”

“Well, that part is a secret.”

Arnold, with a bitter smile on his face, soon opened his mouth.

“I can’t just stick to my principles and be ruthless to those who have worked hard for me. “You must keep it a secret.”

“of course.”

“What was in that box… .”

Arnold looked around and whispered in my ear.

“This is Black Crystal (Morion).”

“Black crystal… “This?”

“It’s a fairly rare gem. Because it is a first-class product with no impurities, it is worth almost a thousand gold. “It was something that was personally requested by the lord of Rubena, the next city we would pass through.”

Since something like that was stolen, my complexion couldn’t help but turn pale.

The lord of Rubena is a great noble whose title is equivalent to count.

If someone like the Storm Company infuriated him, there was a high possibility that the entire company would take revenge in the near future.

It was only after learning the circumstances that Leon understood his attitude.

“You couldn’t have missed it.”

“Yes, my life was truly saved.”

Arnold thought of that time and wiped his cold sweat.

He thanked me several more times, then walked away in another carriage, saying he would definitely repay me later.

Before we knew it, the upper procession had entered the city.

“Karen?”

When I returned to the carriage, she was nowhere to be seen.

There was only one piece of paper left with ‘I’ll be back’ written on it, so I could only confirm that it had moved on its own.

He said there was something he wanted to look for and seemed to immediately take action.

And customers came to Leon, who was left alone.

“hmm? Are you alone?”

Mercenaries led by Gustav came to visit him.

Leon shrugged his shoulders and agreed.

“Yes, it looks like Karen has gone somewhere.”

“is it… .”

At those words, the mercenaries’ expressions turned two colors.

Relief and disappointment.

I wondered why emotions that were difficult to coexist were mixed together, but the words that followed resolved my doubts.

“Then, would you like to go to a bar with us?”

For a mercenary, alcohol was one of the few pleasures in his intense life. Something that makes you forget for a moment the moment of clashing with iron in a place where blood and flesh always splash.

The invitation to drink together also had another meaning.

Don’t sit with people you can’t trust, and don’t clink glasses with people you can’t give your back to.

Inviting mercenaries to drink together was tantamount to saying that you trusted the other person. Leon also knew that kind of custom, so he nodded without a single hesitation.

“You bastards! “You’re coming with us, Master!”

As Gustav raised his voice with a smile, the rest of the mercenaries also clung to him as if they had been waiting.

“Oh, you’re smarter than I thought!”

“Please don’t stretch to three bottles like last time!”

“Whoever vomits first pays everything?”

It was an approach that Leon was unfamiliar with.

A person who rubs shoulders, a person who pats the back. At the academy, where there were many people my age, I didn’t have good friendships because I worked hard alone, and the only friend I could call Chloe was of the opposite s*x.

There was no need to say anything to Lian, who had complex emotions in many ways.

‘… It’s not bad, but something like this.’

Although he had become accustomed to silence unintentionally, he was unable to hide the smile that appeared on his face.

Besides, the bar wasn’t far away.

People who arrived at the accommodation quickly unpacked and headed to the ‘Song of the Mountain Goat’ pub on the left side of the accommodation. The five-story building clearly showed the prosperity of the house.

“Anna! A long time!”

When Gustav shouted after kicking in the door, the woman who was counting coins at the table immediately responded.

“I told you not to scream every time I came! “My ears are falling off, you half-ouch!”

“Hahaha, even though you say that, when I come in quietly, you still ask me where I’m hurt. “It would be better to be scolded than to worry you!”

“Noisy!”

The woman named Anna struck him hard on the back, but it had no effect on Gustav, who had not yet taken off his armor.

Anna soon rubbed her palms and turned to the guests.

“Welcome, how many people are there?”

“Fourteen people! “Please put five of us at one table!”

“I didn’t ask you!”

The two people who were bickering like that must have been doing it for a long time, and people saw them drinking as a snack.

Anna glanced at Gustav and immediately called a waiter, set up several tables, and guided them around. 5th floor. In general, this was the place where you had to pay the most expensive amount.

As if that thought was evident on her face, Anna looked back at Leon and smiled.

“I heard this is your first time coming to our store? I got this room today as a service. Please come visit us next time.”

“Ah yes. thank you.”

“You’re so young, but you’re already a B rank. That’s amazing. “It would be nice if a tall Gomtaeng could watch and learn.”

“Who said Gomtaeng?”

The two started arguing about nothing again.

The ‘Steel Claws’ mercenary group, accustomed to the couple’s fights, paid no attention and were busy ordering, and only Leon, feeling awkward in this noisy atmosphere, tipped his glass of water for no reason.

Then, my eyes naturally looked out the window.

Balkas.

The sun was setting beyond the castle walls in the distance. The city is very beautiful when it turns red at dusk.

‘Where is Karen and what is she doing?’

For some reason, his eyes moved in one direction.

Not to a busy street full of lights and people, but to the outskirts of the city where you can’t see anything.

It may just be prejudice based on prejudice.

Nevertheless, Leon was somehow certain.

Karen must be wandering around in the dark.