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Since they were reluctantly following orders, their charge was slow, giving me ample time to cast my spell.

“…Expanding wind, Wind Expansion.”

4th Circle, Wind Expansion.

A blast of wind pressure erupted, sending the charging thugs flying in all directions. They tumbled and crashed to the ground, entangled with each other.

Boom—

Thankfully, no one was killed.

I had deliberately chosen a wide-area intimidation spell instead of a lethal offensive magic.

Standing amidst the aftermath of the whirlwind, I looked at Shepiro.

“See that? It’s not a bluff. I’m not the Bulrai you knew, you coward. Now, let’s have a proper duel, man to man.”

I kept my eyes fixed on Shepiro as I spoke, but his expression remained unchanged.

“Attack again.”

“…”

“I’ll tear apart anyone who disobeys. Attack him, all of you.”

This time, even the executives descended from the platform.

Just as the subordinates, who knew their boss’s temper all too well, reluctantly got up and surrounded me…

“Everyone, stop!”

Everyone turned their heads to look at the wall above the iron gate.

There, a long-haired warrior woman stood, overlooking the courtyard, as if she had come to end this conflict.

She gracefully jumped down from the wall and slowly walked towards the center of the courtyard.

“Vice-Commander Daisy.”

“You’re alive.”

Some of the thugs looked at Daisy with tears in their eyes…

I, too, feigned disbelief, my eyes widening.

“…This can’t be. You’re not dead?”

The warrior woman approached me and whispered,

“Brother, saying I committed suicide was a bit much.”

I replied in a low voice,

“I told you to wait. Why did you come here?”

“Shh, I can’t let them all die. I’ll handle this.”

Daisy clenched her fists and roared, looking around.

“Everyone! Brother Bulrai’s words are all true. Step back!”

More than half of the subordinates stopped in their tracks.

“That treacherous Boss Shepiro really did try to take advantage of me. Not only that, he sent me on a suicide mission. Where in the world is there a leader who sends their subordinates to their deaths? What did I always call those kinds of people?”

Suddenly, shouts mixed with screams erupted from here and there.

“A eunuch?”

“Boss Shepiro really acted like a eunuch?”

The warrior woman clenched her fist and raised it high in the air.

“Yes! If Brother Bulrai hadn’t shown mercy, I would already be in the afterlife. Listen carefully, everyone! I’m putting my life on the line now, so the choice is yours. Those with any sense know how the boss usually behaves. Will you bark like dogs under the boss and die, or will you trust me and step back?”

Wow.

It turned out Daisy was quite the eloquent speaker.

In the midst of the ensuing silence, the two dumbfounded vice-commanders suddenly shouted.

“Has the First Vice-Commander lost her mind!”

Without thinking, I raised my hand and shouted,

“I’m the one who’s lost his mind!”

At that moment, one of the executives standing in the corner dashed down from the platform and stood close behind Daisy.

It was Jackson.

“I can’t live like this anymore.”

That was the signal. More than half of the thugs instantly switched sides, and now we had the numerical advantage.

For the first time, Shepiro looked surprised and glanced at Daisy.

“What is the meaning of this, Vice-Commander Daisy?”

“Cut the ‘Vice-Commander’ crap, you bastard.”

“If I’ve wronged you in any way, you should have spoken up. Why would you…”

Seeing me charge at him mid-sentence, Shepiro immediately raised his spear.

Clang—

Sparks flew as our blades clashed, and I used the recoil to leap high into the air, shouting,

“No need for words. It’s one-on-one. If anyone interferes, I’ll burn them to death.”

This is why numbers matter.

With more people on our side, my words carried weight.

I adjusted my posture in mid-air and lunged at Shepiro again.

Clang— Sparks flew once more as our weapons met, and I immediately retreated, glaring at Shepiro.

Strike and retreat.

Strike and retreat again.

I repeatedly charged at Shepiro and then backed away, while he remained stationary, focusing solely on defense with his spear. He never initiated an attack.

“What are you trying to do?”

What I was trying to do was simple.

It was called the Art of Provocation.

But not everyone noticed my tactic.

One of the vice-commanders, who had been watching the fight, seemed to think he had discovered my weakness. As I retreated, he swiftly threw a hatchet from his belt.

With a simple nod, I dodged the flying hatchet and immediately pointed at him with my free hand.

‘Fire Sphere.’

A spear of flames struck the hatchet-thrower’s face, and he was blasted backward as the flames exploded.

“I said no interfering.”

Even though his entire body was ablaze, the fire didn’t spread to the platform.

The executives were startled and backed away, but Shepiro’s expression remained unchanged.

* * *

I continued to use the Art of Provocation, and Shepiro continued to defend.

In a way, you could say Shepiro was also using the Art of Provocation.

But his reason for doing so was different from mine.

He knew he couldn’t defeat me with his own skills.

He couldn’t keep up with my movements, so he remained rooted in place, focusing on defense.

Of course, he also had a Mana Core.

But that was all. In every aspect, he was far inferior to Daisy.

In short, he was nothing special.

Yet, the reason I continued to provoke him was…

‘Because he’s ordinary.’

He was utterly ordinary.

He had an ordinary face, ordinary aura, and even fought in an ordinary way.

That’s why it didn’t make sense.

An ordinary person couldn’t remain ordinary even when their life was on the line.

Even when I used magic.

Even when he realized I wasn’t Bulrai.

He didn’t even ask a single question.

Look at those eyes.

Utterly expressionless.

Not just expressionless, but eyes devoid of any emotion, perhaps from having killed too many.

Do you know who the second most dangerous person in the world is?

It’s those who hide a dagger behind an ordinary face.

Clang—

Once again, our blades clashed.

Suddenly, Shepiro turned and started to run.

He swiftly crossed the platform and dashed towards the opposite door.

“Coward!”

I was reminded of a gang leader from my younger days, notorious for his cowardice.

I knew Shepiro wasn’t truly running away.

The fruits of my Art of Provocation were slowly ripening.

* * *

Shepiro quickly crossed the platform and headed for the backyard.

He moved remarkably fast, as if he had practiced running away his whole life.

Even when I reached the backyard, his subordinates were still struggling to catch up.

Shepiro jumped over the backyard wall and continued running for a while before stopping in a secluded open space and turning around.

“Let’s settle this here.”

“Sounds good.”

“Come at me.”

Shepiro beckoned me with a flick of his hand.

But as planned, I simply chanted from a distance.

‘Fireball.’

Boom—

As he was pushed back, he said to me with an expressionless face,

“What are you doing?”

Boom— Boom— Boom—

I didn’t answer and continued to shoot fireballs from afar.

“Come at me like you did before.”

“Why would I?”

“I said, come at me like you did before.”

“Oh, why would I?”

It was time for the true value of the Art of Provocation to shine.

Shepiro was waiting for the moment I charged at him to unleash his secret move, but I had no intention of getting close.

Ranged attacks were the best strategy against someone standing still.

Shepiro kept glancing behind me, his expression growing increasingly urgent.

“You look like you need to poop. Want me to come at you like before?”

“Yes.”

“No. If you thought I’d only use the Art of Provocation, you’re mistaken. Why are you so impatient? Is there something your subordinates shouldn’t see?”

“…”

Shepiro’s face, which had been expressionless until now, finally contorted. He kicked off the ground and charged at me.

I quickly retreated, opening all four of my circles and casting ‘Fire Sphere.’

It was the same spell, but with vastly different firepower.

As I guided the massive spear of flames towards Shepiro…

His chest flashed open, and something shot out with lightning speed, piercing through the Fire Sphere.

Crack—

Then, a sharp pain near my throat.

The tip of a black dagger, the size of my index finger, protruded through my compressed Air Shield.

Shepiro muttered in surprise,

“…You blocked it?”

“I knew you had something up your sleeve.”

As I looked down at the dagger, I heard the sound of footsteps.

I looked up to see Shepiro, who had quickly assessed the situation, running away frantically.

‘Hmm.’

I extended my right index finger and aimed it at Shepiro’s fleeing back.

Four circles spun, burning brightly.

“Wind that pierces a single point, Piercing Air.”

Whoosh—

“Cough!”

Almost simultaneously with the blast of air from my fingertip, a hole appeared in Shepiro’s back, and he collapsed.

I approached him and found him dead.

I opened his chest and found a small, cube-shaped box inside.

One side was empty, which is where the dagger must have been launched from.

I could sense traces of mana on it.

It seemed to be a type of magical weapon that imbued mana into the projectile upon firing.

“Brother!”

Daisy, who had caught up at some point, looked down at Shepiro and sighed.

“…That bastard is dead.”

“He was nothing special.”

“You did well.”

I nodded and briefly examined the black dagger.

It wasn’t an ordinary dagger if it could pierce through my 3rd Circle Air Shield.

“This is a dangerous toy.”

“What is it?”

“It’s what that bastard used. The bounty hunters were probably taken down by this too. It would be hard for most people to block.”

I had prepared for a hidden move by casting Air Shield beforehand, but this was slightly unexpected.

Most people would have died even if they had anticipated it.

It was definitely a dangerous weapon if it could pierce through my Air Shield even after I compressed it to the front.

“Let’s go.”

I put the dagger in my pocket and returned to the headquarters with Daisy.

* * *

Daisy quickly took control of the situation.

One of Shepiro’s vice-commanders had burned to death, and the other’s head was swiftly severed by Daisy when he tried to incite the subordinates.

After that, everything went smoothly.

In the first place, very few of the subordinates were truly loyal to Boss Shepiro.

Moreover, the situation was resolved smoothly partly because Daisy had the trust of the subordinates.

Daisy gathered the subordinates, relayed the events in Khaoto and my identity with some exaggeration, and then quickly took control of the situation by giving them various tasks.

She was a capable woman.

All I did was stand on the platform after everything was under control and shout,

“From now on, this place is the Dark Sojungi Mercenary Group.”

“Yes, sir!”

That was it.

It was a bit unpleasant to hear the mercenaries shouting “Yes, sir!” like crazy, but I didn’t bother correcting them.

After all, if it bothered me, it was my problem, not theirs.

Once things settled down, I gathered the executives, just like I did in Khaoto, and started a meeting.

I informed them about the mercenary group’s purpose and the plan regarding Bayern. I left matters like tributes and other issues to Daisy.

She knew the ins and outs of Leon better than I did, so I figured it was the best course of action.

I’m a man who trusts his subordinates.

There were no major issues during the meeting, but towards the end, Daisy made a suggestion.

“Brother Ruin, would it be possible to change the name of the mercenary group?”

I was momentarily taken aback but managed to maintain my composure and said,

“Isn’t Dark Sojungi strange?”

“Ah… the sound of it is a bit… And it doesn’t seem that different from Dark Soul.”

“…Anyone else have anything to say?”

“No, but why do you keep laughing?”

I suddenly burst into laughter again, covering my mouth with my hand, and then, unable to hold it in any longer, I chuckled and laughed.

“Hahahaha!”

The other executives, who had heard about my personality from Daisy, also started laughing uncontrollably.

“You guys find it funny too, don’t you?”

“Ehahahaha! Yes, it’s funny!”

I nodded while laughing.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

It was time to see the money that bastard Shepiro had accumulated.

———