Chapter 131: Only Strength

Rumors were spreading endlessly.

Many mercenaries belonging to mercenary groups were moving towards the Machinery Castle.

“You’re going too?”

“The commission fee is generous, and now’s the perfect time to join. I hear you can even see that Rayrn from the rumors?”

“Oh, really?”

“They say it’s only once a month, but if you time it right, you might see him twice. There are things to learn too.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

Not just individual mercenaries, but entire mercenary groups were on the move as well.

Their reason for moving was singular: to become stronger.

Continuously. And persistently.

Many mercenaries arrived at the Machinery Castle. Even those who stopped by the Merchant Castle only had a delay of a day or two at most.

“Wow… there are so many.”

It was a castle in name. Everyone knew that the actual Merchant and Machinery Castles were built as fortresses.

But the Machinery Castle that appeared in the mercenaries’ eyes was more magnificent than they had ever imagined.

Just the towers rising high, you could see several. They were one of the famous sights Rayrn had created, modeled after the Magic Tower.

“They say magic pours down from there when monsters appear?”

“I heard it spews fire in an instant, like iron heating up…”

“…That’s insane.”

Towers that pour out magic on their own.

Walls that rose so high it was hard to imagine they were built not long ago. And the town built behind those walls.

‘It’s similar to the Royal Capital. It was planned. Still, it’s amazing.’

It was a sight no one imagined could be created in a fortress.

Well, you could probably build it. But maintaining it would surely be difficult for anyone. Because monsters would rush in and destroy it as soon as it was built.

This was none other than the Northern Fortress, known as a monster paradise. The funny thing was.

“They’ve never once suffered a monster invasion?”

“Yeah. They say if any come, it’s only small-scale. And even those small-scale ones are quickly exterminated. Besides those towers, they say the graduates from the academy go out for real combat? There are even authorized mercenary groups.”

“It’s strange. A castle full of mercenaries, not soldiers.”

There were soldiers too, but the number of mercenaries, even at a glance, was enormous.

It felt like there were more mercenaries than soldiers. Yet, the castle was running smoothly without any problems.

For Hansen, a mercenary who had come all the way from the Royal Capital for the academy, this was an unimaginable sight.

‘Does this make sense?’

He had never once seen a place that operated like this. No, it was a sight he thought he would never see in the future.

All.

The funny thing was.

“Wow.”

“Where do I go to register for the academy?”

Mercenaries and others who, like Hansen, had just arrived at the Machinery Castle.

‘They must have been here from the beginning.’

They were known to have been here even before the Machinery Castle was established.

Hellhound. Buster. Abyss Mercenary Group.

They were the mercenary groups that were all the rage in the Royal Capital.

They had left the Royal Capital and moved to House Ofern when Rayrn visited, along with the administrators.

Hansen, until then, had thought they would return to the Royal Capital after finishing their commission a while later, but they never came back.

“Did they go and all get killed?”

“Why wouldn’t they? It’s common for a rural lord to do that.”

“Hmm. But that Ofern is different, isn’t it?”

“Eh. That’s a noble family too, why would it be different?”

They treated the three mercenary groups as dead.

Everything gathered in the Royal Capital. People, goods, culture, everything gathered in the Royal Capital. It was also the place with the most things to enjoy.

To not return to that wonderful Royal Capital?

He thought they must have been cheated out of their commission fees, killed and wiped out, or forcibly bound against their will by the lord’s coercion. But that wasn’t the case.

“……They’re different.”

Their eyes were overflowing with power. Eyes brimming with pride.

Mercenaries who could die tomorrow having pride? They had the eyes of knights.

Moreover, their equipment was different from what they had in the Royal Capital.

‘Was it true that House Ofern supports equipment if you make a contract with them?’

The equipment, which looked sturdy even at a glance, was the kind that was hard to obtain even if you spent a considerable amount of money. It might have required several years’ worth of commission fees right away.

Among mercenaries, there were some crazed about equipment who poured years of commission fees into gear.

But they were a minority.

Most were busy spending lavishly once they had some decent equipment. Since they could drop dead tomorrow, they preferred spending over saving.

The three mercenary groups from the Royal Capital were the same. There was no way they suddenly started saving now.

Then, that equipment…

‘They definitely received support.’

It was clear they received equipment by contracting with Ofern.

But the important thing wasn’t equipment or the like. What was truly important was the aura emanating from them, more than the pride in their eyes.

‘……They’re strong.’

They were indeed strong enough for rumors to spread in the Royal Capital.

The Hellhound Mercenary Group had a reputation for being strong in the Royal Capital from the start. Especially their leader, Maren, was strong enough to be considered knight-level.

But the others weren’t.

Even Hansen was confident he could take down a few mercenaries from the group.

But now?

‘……I can’t. What on earth happened?’

He couldn’t confidently say he could win in a one-on-one fight against them.

Their aura was different. The rhythm they moved with was different.

That was the scent. The scent of the strong, felt instinctively.

While he was stuck in the Royal Capital, the other mercenaries at the Machinery Castle had become strong.

‘Just what…’

Until he arrived at this castle.

Hansen had felt a bit of anxiety. He wondered if he was wasting time during the period it took to come to this Machinery Castle.

But he wasn’t.

Hadn’t those who were on the same level as him become several times stronger?

‘The rumors were all true.’

Just as the rumors said, the academy at the Machinery Castle might produce strong individuals.

If he could just become stronger. If he could just possess skills several times superior. Then.

‘……I can do it.’

Believing he could achieve what he dreamed of, Hansen stepped towards the academy. The sight he saw there was.

“Next!”

A sight he could never have imagined.

Whoooosh-

A man with a massive build swung a sword as huge as his frame.

A two-handed sword. A heavy weapon so cumbersome that you could barely swing it even with two hands.

Those who actually used two-handed swords were rare.

Only those born with tremendous strength from birth, or those who knew how to handle aura, barely used them.

Usually, they lacked the ability for continuous movement.

Therefore, those who used two-handed swords enjoyed obliterating their enemies in a single strike.

If they couldn’t smash their opponent in one blow, they were the ones who got smashed.

The sword swung with immense force!

“Oh? Still holding on?”

The opponent facing him looked slender compared to the mercenary wielding the heavy weapon.

No, it was more accurate to say he looked agile.

But even if he was fast.

‘Too slow!’

In Hansen’s view, he shouldn’t be standing there so leisurely.

If he acted that carefree, he wouldn’t be able to dodge the sword. Heavy weapons were slow, but once they gained momentum, they became faster than anything.

At this rate, he’ll be crushed.

“No!”

Was someone going to die? He shouted without realizing.

But it was a useless act.

“I told you it’s slow, didn’t I?”

The man moved slowly, but had already escaped the range of the two-handed sword.

Having evaded the sword’s attack range, he instantly planted his left foot. And in that moment.

Kwaaaang!

‘How?’

Even Hansen, famous for his good instincts, missed the incredibly fast hand movement that produced a massive roar.

He didn’t know how he did it. Or what method he used. He only knew the man swung a hand made of nothing but blood and flesh, without any weapon.

Since he swung his hand at the sword, it should have been the hand that shattered, but.

Crunch

It wasn’t the hand, but the sword that crumpled.

‘Aura!? At that age!? No, setting that aside…’

Had there ever been a fist fighter who used his hand like that? Not that he knew of.

But this was just the beginning.

“You showed spirit. So I should give you a reward. Watch carefully. This is the body movement you need to remember.”

Swwweeeek-

The man shot forward like an arrow. Slower than before.

But the one with the two-handed sword couldn’t dodge. He could see it, but it was too fast to avoid, and even if he tried, the man wasn’t allowing it.

It was clear the man was coordinating and controlling this entire situation.

And with force.

Whooosh-

Crunch! Kwaaaang!

“Gaaaah! S-stop!”

“Engrave it in your body. Hoden learned this way too.”

“…Keugh.”

He skillfully rained a baptism upon the mercenary with the two-handed sword. A baptism of fists.

The mercenary who received that baptism endured with spirit, but there was ultimately a limit.

Kuuuung-

He had no choice but to kneel.

Seeing that sight, none of those present dared to laugh.

They only maintained silence.

Whether their skills were low or high. Everyone who came here were mercenaries. Even if they weren’t mercenaries, they had some skill.

That’s why they could come all the way to the Machinery Castle in the far north.

If they were weak, they would have been killed by threats before even reaching this place.

Bandit groups, robbers, monsters. Even fellow mercenaries. The threats to kill a moving mercenary were countless.

Among those who arrived amidst all that, could there be any weaklings?

The one kneeling before their eyes was the same. Definitely not weak. He was strong.

And he was easily brought down.

‘…I can’t handle that. How on earth?’

He didn’t even know how he did it. Even if he used aura, he had never heard of it being used that way.

Since he didn’t know how it was done, he couldn’t even imagine how to respond.

If that man’s fist came at him? Hansen had absolutely no confidence he could block it.

He would run away before that man even raised his fist.

‘Because I have to live.’

Honor or whatever didn’t matter. What honor do mercenaries have? Running away was simply the best option.

But he doubted if even running was possible. The speed the man displayed momentarily was a speed his eyes couldn’t even follow.

Many of the mercenaries here were likely in the same situation as Hansen.

‘They probably didn’t even see it.’

No, there were plenty who probably didn’t even sense it.

At least Hansen had superior innate senses. With those senses, he had survived until here and become strong, so no one could deny that.

It was a wondrous sight.

“Hehe. Quite a crowd, huh?”

That wondrous sight. Even after creating that silence, the man just smiled lightly as if he had done nothing special.

“Welcome to the Machinery Academy! The one thing you will learn here is strength. Only strength.”

“…Ah…”

Strength.

There was no other word that pounded the chest like that.

It was childish, but it was a word that would make any man’s heart race at least once.

Thump thump.

For some reason, in the heightened atmosphere, just as Hansen’s heart was pounding.

“Of course, you’ll pay the tuition properly!”

…It seemed his excitement died down a little.

‘I will learn.’

One thing was certain. Until he obtained the strength he desired here, Hansen planned to put down roots.

Many entered the academy with one heart.

The one most pleased by this sight was, of course.

“Hehe, good. Perfect.”

Rayrn, who had created this sight himself.