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Chapter 31

“Did you find the brat?”

Gillip asked his subordinate,

He was holding an axe with a menacing look in his eyes.

“He seems to be in here. We should find him soon.”

“Find him quickly and bring him to me. I’m going to split his head in two with this axe.”

As the leader of the Black Crows appeared, the auction house became unsettled.

Whenever Gillip showed up, bloodshed followed.

“Who had the guts to cause trouble?”

“Must be some clueless noble kid trying to act tough.”

“It’s been quiet for a while.”

“Who’s going to end up dead today?”

The auction house patrons were curious.

It was another spectacle for them.

Seeing the Black Crows catch a noble brat was always a source of amusement.

At the same time, it reaffirmed the Black Crows’ dominance.

In the Fresia Empire, who would dare to mess with nobles?

Only the Black Crows, who ruled the underworld of Philaec, could treat nobles with such disdain.

“Huh?”

“Did you feel that vibration just now?”

“I didn’t notice anything.”

“Maybe I imagined it.”

The auction house patrons were confused.

“Could it be the secret room?”

When Gillip felt the vibration from below the floor, his subordinate quickly approached him.

“We found him. It looks like he’s in the secret room.”

“You need a code to open that door.”

Gillip frowned.

It was a place that regular patrons could never access.

Only those with deep ties to the Black Crows could enter.

“How did he get in?”

In a corner of the auction house, they reached the door to the secret room.

Even as they arrived, the question remained.

“Should we go in?”

“Wait here.”

While they waited by the door, a huge man known as the Third Brother hurried over.

“Big Brother, I’m sorry. Because of me….”

“Don’t worry about it. It seems we need to reestablish the Black Crow exchange’s reputation. Don’t worry about it. From now on, we’ll verify identities more thoroughly.”

“Yes, Big Brother.”

With a clinking sound, the wall split open.

Gillip smiled slyly.

“Let’s see whose kid this is.”

A young man in his early twenties appeared from the secret passage.

He was followed by a female knight and a familiar face.

“What’s going on here? Why is that fighting dog coming out with them?”

Gillip was taken aback at the sight of Mikhail.

The slave trapped in the secret room was a top-class combat slave.

The prison was made of special black iron that couldn’t be destroyed, even with mana..

Yet Mikhail, who had been locked up, was now out, which meant the prison had been breached….

“You broke the iron bars? They were made of black iron!”

As Gillip stood in shock, a bald giant pointed at Kane and shouted.

“Big Brother! It’s that bastard!” .

“Quite a crowd,” Kane muttered with a glint in his eyes.

As Kane remained unfazed, Gillip stepped forward.

“Which noble family do you come from?”

Instead of splitting Kane’s head open with his axe as expected, Gillip began to extract information. Knowing Gillip’s nature well, Kane did not give him the answer he wanted.

“What’s it to you?”

“So I can decide whether to kill you or let you live.”

“And who are you to judge that?”

Kane’s tone was highly provocative. His disrespectful attitude clashed with his seemingly innocent face, causing Gillip’s facial muscles to twitch.

“Do you know where you are?”

“The stronghold of the Black Crow exchange, isn’t it?”

“Yet you come out so fearlessly. You must be from a quite impressive family. Which one?”

“And if you knew?”

“If it’s a family that meets my standards, I might just let you go.”

“That’s a rather tempting offer.”

Kane smiled brightly. It was a smile that lit up the surroundings, but Gillip’s expression hardened.

‘Damn it. How can a smile be so full of menace?’

Hidden within the smile was a lethal intent. One of the abilities Gillip had gained from his rough life in the underworld was a keen sense of danger. He could instinctively gauge how dangerous someone was. Now, that sense was warning him.

But then came words that shattered that warning.

“I’m from the Rehinar Family, also known as the Guardian family.”

Gillip’s face, which had been rigid, twisted into a grimace at Kane’s words.

“What did you say? Rehinar? Did I hear that wrong?”

“You heard correctly.”

“The ruined Rehinar Family? That place?”

“It seems so.”

“Answer me again. Are you really from the Rehinar Family?”

“Is there more than one Rehinar Family?”

Kane answered confidently, showing no signs of intimidation despite being surrounded by the Black Crows.

“So, you’re saying you’re the infamous dullard young duke. Unbelievable.”

Kane’s nickname was well-known in the whole empire.

There was no need to think further.

“You piece of trash, how dare you mess with the Black Crows? Kill him.”

Gillip ordered in an irritated tone. The Black Crows rushed at Kane simultaneously. The bald giant also moved to avenge his earlier humiliation.

* * *

‘I need to crush their spirit right from the start to make things easier for myself,’ thought Kane.

The Black Crow Exchange, despite its notorious reputation, had its uses. They held a tight grip on the dark trade markets, occasionally producing valuable artifacts. In the past, Kane had utilized Gillip to obtain useful information for free, although it always came with Gillip’s furious outbursts.

‘The Black Crows’ combat power is equivalent to beginner 3rd class. They are as strong as the Holy Sword Knights.’

For an organization ruling just a small part of the underworld, they possessed excessive power. Moreover, Gillip Aches was a Mid-Tier 3rd class Knight.

‘Their tenacity surpasses even the Holy Sword Knights, so I need to thoroughly crush them so they won’t dare to challenge me again.’

Kane activated [Blue Tiger’s Breath (D-)]. Although the Phoneix’s Breath was superior in destructive power, the Blue Tiger’s breath with its smoothness and speed, was more suitable for dealing with these rough types.

‘First, that guy.’

Kane boldly thrust his spear at the giant bald man. The spear cut through the air with a piercing sound, moving smoothly but too quickly for the eye to follow.

Bang!

The air exploded near the giant bald man’s face. He exhaled in relief at the missed attack.

“This is for earlier!”

The giant bald man swung his pot-lid-sized fist, wrapped in mana, at Kane.

“You didn’t dodge. I deliberately aimed off,” came Kane’s cold voice.

The giant bald man felt something was amiss even as he attacked. However, it was too late to retreat.

Thud!

A dull sound followed, and the giant bald man’s body slammed into the side wall.

“Third Brother!”

“Do you know where you are, you bastard?”

“I’ll stomp you, noble or not.”

Philaec had a unique aspect: power equated to law and authority. Even commoners could easily become nobles if they had strength. Although their treatment might differ from pureblood nobles, in Philaec, commoners could wield power equal to nobles.

This was why the Black Crow exchange did not fear nobles.

Kane, fully aware of this, had been provoking them since he entered.

“Don’t get riled up over this.”

Kane reversed his grip on the spear and approached the still-dazed giant bald man who had crashed into the wall.

“This might hurt a bit.”

“You bastard—ugh!”

The giant bald man groaned as Kane’s spear shaft, bent like a bow, struck him repeatedly. The sharp cracking sound echoed. Even though the giant bald man protected himself with mana, the spear shaft pierced through the mana shield and struck his body mercilessly.

“Ugh!”

Blood spurted from the giant bald man’s mouth. Despite his considerable toughness, he couldn’t withstand Kane’s assault.

“That madman.”

“Are you just going to watch? Save Third Brother!”

The Black Crows rushed at Kane again.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

The spear shaft, which had been mercilessly beating the giant bald man, swung around. It moved left and right like a snake, striking opponents. The Black Crows, all in Beginner 3rd class, were knocked down as they approached Kane. Meanwhile, Kane occasionally remembered to strike the giant bald man again.

“Please… stop…”

He didn’t pass out easily this time. It wasn’t due to his incredible mental strength, but rather because Kane beat him just enough to keep him conscious.

Watching from behind, Mikhail muttered to himself.

“Isn’t the Rehinar Family known for its dual sword technique? Why does that spear technique remind me of Hatzfeld?”

Although it seemed like Kane was swinging the spear randomly, there was a pattern, albeit faint.

To the untrained eye, it would appear like he was swinging it wildly.

But Mikhail’s main weapon was the spear. He was of the Pervatz lineage, which rivaled Hatzfeld. His trained eyes saw through Kane’s technique clearly.

“Hey.”

Mikhail called out to Camilla, who was beside him.

“Yes?”

“Is your master’s main weapon a spear?”

“He’s the Young Master of the Rehinar Family. Why would it be a spear?”

“Then what about that spear technique?”

“In my opinion, he probably learned it on his own from the family’s library. The Young Master usually stayed in his quarters or the library.”

“Self-taught…?”

Mikhail’s mind was racing.

‘That spear technique isn’t something you can learn on your own. I’ve never heard of someone mastering a killing spear without real combat experience.’

It was a spear technique drenched in a lethal aura, something that couldn’t be achieved by merely practicing alone in the air.

It was the kind of skill acquired by crossing countless lines of death on the battlefield.

‘The Black Crows are too blind to recognize it, but anyone well-versed in spear techniques would see it. The meaning embedded in that seemingly haphazard spear technique.’

Even within the Hatzfeld family, there were few who wielded a killing spear with such intensity. Perhaps only the Red Spear Knights captain, a 6th class knight, could match it. The killing spear was notoriously difficult to master.

‘A spear technique while being from the Rehinar Family, the Blood Mark meant for Blood Knights, knows Hatzfeld’s spear skills, and can use both fire and water runes—everything about him is contradictory.’’

The more Mikhail tried to understand Kane, the more mysterious he became.

He began to understand, albeit vaguely, where Kane’s confidence in escaping this place stemmed from.

Unconsciously, Mikhail found himself entranced by Kane’s spear technique.

* * *

Thud! A Black Crow member rolled over and collapsed next to Gillip, sprawled out on the ground.

“Ugh.”

Gillip ground his teeth. His subordinates were being ruthlessly beaten and taken down. They weren’t suffering fatal injuries, but they were repeatedly knocked out.

“To think you can’t handle a simpleton like him,” Gillip snarled, feeling a wave of humiliation wash over him. The Black Crow exchange had never faced such a situation before.

He glanced around. The auction guests were gathering, curious about the commotion.

“If I don’t deal with this quickly, the Black Crows’ reputation will be in ruins.”

Gillip decided he could no longer just watch.

“Everyone, fall back!”

“Ugh…”

“We’re sorry, boss…”

The Black Crows struggled to their feet, their bodies battered and bruised, with bones likely broken in various places.

Gillip gritted his teeth and addressed Kane.

“I admit that we underestimated you.”

Kane looked as if this was exactly what he expected.

“We didn’t anticipate your skill, but it doesn’t change the fact that you will die here. Do you know why?”

“No idea.”

“Then I’ll enlighten you. The reason you won’t leave this place is—”

At that moment, Gillip stomped the ground hard. With a loud crash, the floor cracked like a spiderweb. In an instant, Gillip seemed to teleport, appearing right in front of Kane.

“You caused a ruckus here despite only being a Beginner 3rd class knight.”

Despite his swift movements, Gillip’s axe carried immense weight and power.

Clang!

The spear and the axe collided forcefully, sending shockwaves rippling out around them.