Chapter 49: The Vengeful Spirit

Evan’s aura concentrated in his hand.

The skill he had used on the Bertrand Field, Aura Explosion.

But now, he could wield it in the form of Lee Han’s Third Form skill.

Evan increased the density of the aura within his capacity.

As the densely packed aura gathered in his hand, it grew heavier.

He then channeled the condensed aura through his sword.

The weight of the sword became noticeably heavier.

Meanwhile, Arzel raised his aura to strengthen his body.

Yet, from his aura came a strange and unsettling energy.

An ominous, alien sensation.

“Stop him!”

“That crazy bastard!”

At that moment, shouts erupted around them.

Everyone was shocked by Arzel’s use of aura.

All eyes fixed on Arzel.

Yurdan tried to intervene, but it was already too late.

Arzel charged at Evan with full force.

Whoosh!

Arzel’s wooden sword traced an arc, flying toward Evan’s neck.

It was a clear killing blow filled with murderous intent.

Yurdan, stunned, clenched his teeth in despair.

Crash!

An unexpectedly powerful explosion erupted.

Arzel’s wooden sword whipped through the air, missing Evan completely, and instead Evan struck Arzel’s back.

Arzel collapsed to the ground from that single blow.

Thud!

“Gah!”

For a moment, the surroundings fell into complete silence.

Everyone stood dumbfounded, only able to stare at Evan.

Amidst the lingering silence, Evan motioned to the nine knights standing around blankly.

“What are you waiting for? Your turn.”

The nine knights swallowed their dry saliva and began exchanging uneasy glances.

[Fighter’s Spirit skill activated.]

[Stamina consumption reduced by 50% for 15 minutes.]

[Strength and endurance temporarily increased by 50% while aura is active.]

Evan was experimenting with various techniques against the knights.

Fighter’s Spirit and Blow were the rewards he had earned.

[Blow skill activated.]

[From now on, all hits increase in strength proportional to the number of hits landed.]

A system marker, visible only to Evan, appeared.

[Attack count x1]

[Temporarily increased attack speed x1]

[Temporarily increased strength x1]

He felt his power growing in his body.

Evan’s eyes gleamed as he spun around.

The wooden sword sharply cut through the air.

Smack!

The blade struck the opponent’s side, which had recoiled.

His sword swings grew faster than before.

[Attack count x2]

As the marker stacked, his strength and attack speed further increased.

Fueled by momentum, Evan did not stop attacking.

[Attack count x3]

[Attack count x4]

With each successive hit, the destructive power and speed of his attacks increased further.

“Argh! Stop!”

The opponent had no choice but to endure Evan’s relentless assault.

Evan pressed the attack until finally, a message signaled the end.

[Attack count x10]

[Final attack deals 150% additional damage.]

The core of the Blow skill: the enhanced finishing strike.

Without hesitation, Evan swung his wooden sword at the staggering opponent.

Whack!

“Ugh!”

The opponent screamed and collapsed on the spot.

Evan turned to the remaining knights and beckoned them forward.

They still hesitated.

“Come on, next!”

***

‘Is this how the legendary Vengeful Spirit must be?’

The knights were filled with dread.

And in everyone’s hearts, a shared question lingered.

‘Is that really the Count’s notorious berserker?’

From beginning to end, the gap in skill was overwhelming.

No one had managed to land a meaningful hit on Evan.

More terrifyingly, Evan showed no sign of exhaustion at all.

The rumored berserker was nowhere to be found here.

“Stand up. I said training won’t end until someone beats me.”

Evan’s voice was sharp and cold.

The knights sitting on the ground jumped at his tone.

“…Sorry.”

“We were wrong!”

They pleaded desperately with faces begging for mercy, but it was useless.

Looking around for help, they found that the onlookers had already dispersed to attend their own affairs.

They had wisely fled before the trouble could spread.

“Captain, I think they’ve reflected enough by now.”

Yurdan, unable to watch any longer, approached Evan and spoke with a calm tone.

Though Yurdan tried to keep a polite voice, even he was astonished by Evan’s skill.

‘These knights are battle-hardened veterans, yet he utterly dominated them.’

Evan was no amateur in swordsmanship.

He moved with the proficiency and flexibility of a knight who had fought on countless battlefields.

There was no lack in his skill as a knight.

It was only that his command over his subordinates was beyond what was normal.

Evan smirked and spoke.

“Is that so? You think that’s enough?”

“Yes. They should have learned their lesson now.”

Yurdan gauged Evan’s expression carefully.

When Evan finally sheathed his wooden sword, Yurdan sighed in relief.

“They should realize now to never… again…”

Evan cut Yurdan off and addressed the nine knights.

“I’ll call it a day for now. We’ll resume tomorrow. Of course, before we’re assigned next week’s mission.”

Everyone was left speechless, staring at Evan.

“C-Captain…?”

Not only the knights but also Alan and Reynold, who had been watching, swallowed hard.

‘I never thought he’d show that much.’

Though it was satisfying to see Evan thrash them, the longer it went on, the more pitiful it seemed.

“I’ve never seen the young master like that before.”

Reynold’s words made Alan nod.

“We’d better be careful too.”

***

It had already been over a week since Evan arrived here.

True to his promise, Evan continued training against the ten subordinate knights under his command.

Until he could beat them.

In the end, those ten had to endure a living hell.

Today’s training barely ended when the group was assigned a mission.

Now, before heading out, Evan’s group was preparing their gear.

Arzel, one of the knights who had been thoroughly humiliated by Evan, still wore a scowl that clearly showed his displeasure.

Yurdan sighed as he approached him.

“You fool. I told you to always be cautious when using your strength…”

Arzel said nothing at first but then replied with veins bulging in his neck.

“That arrogant bastard. I’ll kill him.”

He was still bitter about being beaten without resistance by Evan.

When this guy lost control, nothing could stand in his way.

Fearing something serious might happen, Yurdan tried to reason with him.

“…Hah, you lost even after using that power, didn’t you? Hold back for now. The time hasn’t come yet. Wait until you can unleash your full strength, then take your shot.”

“Understood.”

Arzel slowly calmed himself and nodded.

Yurdan sighed again and continued.

“There will be a light patrol in the Kalida Region for today’s mission. That person should be nearby as well, so don’t miss your chance to take care of about four enemies. Others will be busy on other fronts, so don’t make mistakes.”

“Leave it to me.”

Arzel strapped his sword to his waist and stood up.

***

Evan led the knights as they climbed the mountain range.

“This is a route frequented by merchants, so there are hardly any monsters around here. Seems they gave us a light mission for the first one.”

Yurdan explained the mission to Evan as they walked.

Yurdan led from the front, taking full control of the situation.

In practice, he was naturally performing the tasks Evan was supposed to do.

As if he had done this several times before.

‘Smart move. From the side, it looks like he’s training me to learn the ropes naturally.’

Evan decided to observe how Yurdan would behave.

“From here on, splitting into groups of three or four for patrols is more efficient.”

At a fork in the path, Yurdan said to Evan.

Evan nodded.

“Got it. Let’s split up for patrol then.”

“Yes, then…”

Yurdan quickly took the initiative and divided the men according to his plan.

“I and the Guard Knights will stay with the captain, and the rest will be divided like this.”

Though it felt suspicious, Evan didn’t express any objection.

With Yurdan expertly maneuvering the knights, the mission began.

Evan scanned the surroundings along the path.

Occasionally, he saw other groups carrying out patrols just like his own.

Soon, Evan sensed an unusual aura.

‘What is this?’

A dull, grim energy.

As one gifted with Holy Power, Evan could feel the unease clearly.

The energy spread throughout the area.

‘Something has happened…’

At that moment, five knights approached from ahead.

Yurdan waved lightly at them.

“It seems they’re switching shifts and returning from their mission.”

“Alright.”

Evan nodded lightly, showing no interest.

Yurdan exchanged casual greetings with them and prepared to pass by.

“What? They finished quicker than expected?”

One knight replied naturally to Yurdan’s comment.

“Well, it was simple. This kind of thing is nothing to us. The others should finish quickly too.”

“Understood. Good work. You’re dismissed.”

The exchange was ordinary, but Evan sensed something off.

More precisely, from the passing knights.

‘Who are these guys?’

Evil auras, which Evan had sensed moments ago, emanated from them.

Evan used his spiritual sight to check their status.

…They all had Chaos Values.

However, only three shared a value of 1, and their alignments were a mix of good and evil.

It was a form he had never seen before.

‘What happened?’

Evan checked the other two knights who had been talking to Yurdan.

Their Chaos Values were 20 each, and their alignment was purely evil.

‘These two were already villains, and the other three must have just recently been influenced by something.’

There was something unknown at play here.

Evan’s eyes narrowed.

***

In a remote forest.

Yurdan pointed toward a flag planted in the ground.

“This is the last checkpoint. You can return from here. Good work on your first mission.”

He smiled at Evan.

But Evan didn’t move.

He answered only with silence, scanning the surroundings before slowly reaching for his sword at his waist.

“I’ve thought it was suspicious since we arrived…”

Drawing his sword, Evan aimed it at Yurdan’s neck and spoke.

“What are you really?”