Offer a Tribute and Become an Archmage - Chapter 161



Only Noblemtl

Episode 161.

“Woooooooooooo!”

The monthly salary of a private soldier in this era is at most about twenty copper coins. Even that varies greatly. It is determined arbitrarily based on which master one serves and how valuable one is.

This lord may serve you for five copper coins, while another may give you ten copper coins.

But a silver coin?

It’s half a year’s or a year’s worth of your salary.

Are you so blind that your eyes don’t turn?

Of course, it was right to roll over and rush in.

Boom! Boom!

The soldiers’ fists are pointed at each other.

There is no particular reason.

The enemy of the lord is one’s own enemy, and the money of the lord is the truth, but to the private soldiers, they only saw each other as money.

If you hit this guy’s counter, silver coins will fall, but the guy who doesn’t fight is an idiot.

“Ahhhh!”

“You bastards!”

There was no thought, but as the fists were exchanged, cursing began to flow. When the strength was lacking, they bit and scratched, and it was easy to see someone kicking the groin.

‘This is a mess.’

There has never been a mess like this.

Even Ronobe, who had been filled with excitement, calmed down a little when he saw this mess.

I calmed down and looked at the situation calmly, then shouted.

“I’m telling you to hit it like this!! Like this! Just throw a left hook like this!”

There was no way that the soldiers could hear Ronobe’s voice, which was calming them down and giving them advice.

5 to 20.

Naturally, the number of Ronobe’s private soldiers was inferior. They were still soldiers with some experience, while those brought by Ronobe had only arrived in Hopper a few days ago. They were not the ones that the Aden Guard Captain had trained for a month, nor were they the ones who had been in the dungeons.

These were the guys who were dragged into the battlefield as soon as they arrived at the real Hopper.

It was because the first four members that Aden trained were reluctant to give up.

Anyway, that’s why it was weak.

Just a week ago, he was a village serf or just a worthless thug.

It was natural that he was weak.

“You guys! Don’t fall down! Use your spirit to endure even a fist! Do you intend to embarrass me!”

“Kill him! No, don’t really kill him! Throw away the wooden bowl!!”

Benald and Ronnove shouted and boosted the morale of the soldiers.

Even though his forehead was torn and bleeding, Benald was furious and shouted at him to kill him, and Ronobe was swaying as if he should step forward and beat him up right now.

Because the Hopper soldiers started to fall one by one.

“Get up! If you don’t get up now, you’ll starve to death!!”

The shouts of Ronobe and the Daryl soldiers did not rise. Numerical superiority is an absolute power that cannot be easily overcome.

It is also the power of absolute numbers that are close to the truth of the world.

“Liam!! If you fall down too, I won’t let you stay still! You’ll get three years’ worth of laundry as a penalty!!”

But there are those who overcome it, and in this fucking fight, Liam is one of them.

It is truly a school of thought among the military.

A unique existence.

Even though he was the best of the best in the gap between the knights, Liam’s position was a little different among the private soldiers.

“Come in, come in, you motherfuckers!”

Despite being covered in blood, Liam beat up one of Bennold’s men after another.

There weren’t any flashy techniques or anything like that in the fight.

If you get hit once, hold on and hit twice.

It’s a fight over how long you can do it.

It was a battle of wits and passion.

“Don’t be scared! I’m the only one left anyway! There’s no point in going to Daguri! Let’s go!”

“Die!!”

“Let’s kill them! Let’s kill them!”

But as time passed, corpses (passed out) piled up next to Liam.

Liam looked like he was going to collapse, but he didn’t.

Ronobe thought that the reason was that Liam’s efforts in swinging his sword and training without a single day of rest were what created this, and that the magic powder (a crushed rock infused with magic) that he fed him built the foundation.

“It’s worth the money!”

Now, the fights between private soldiers have become a fight of pride between the nobles, not an emotional one. If the private soldiers lose, it is like losing to him. Ronobe seemed to understand a little why rich people get involved in sports culture and form teams.

“Why can’t I beat that one guy!”

Unlike Ronnobe, who was throwing punches into the air in jubilation every time Liam knocked down one of the guys, Benald was dying.

It felt like a waste of money to give money to those guys when the private soldiers I had worked so hard to build up fell like autumn leaves, and it felt like all my investments had been for nothing.

That hurt more than the wound on my forehead.

Like Ronobe, Benald was a noble who had nothing and became a wizard. He invested in private soldiers as soon as he earned money, but when twenty men could not defeat five, he was about to burst.

“Dru and Druke.”

It was all his fault.

Liam stood firm, his eyes wide open and glaring, and taunted the five remaining soldiers.

Tremendous mental strength.

That mental strength and toughness were the ultimate requirements for a private soldier.

If the knight is the sword, the soldiers are the shield.

What a meat shield needs to be good at is having a non-falling mat.

That alone was enough.

Liam was good at it, Bennold’s men weren’t.

That was the exact difference.

‘I’m tempted.’

I coveted that man, no, that private.

Liam flinched as Benald unconsciously took a bite, then got hit in the face and staggered back.

“No! Don’t fall down! Get a grip, man!”

Liam fell over and picked up a handful of dirt from the floor.

“Ahh!”

“You cowardly little bastard!”

“Well done! As expected, he’s a real man from Sist!”

Benny was also a man who would nod his head in agreement with the Sist.

It was a very wise cowardice.

Liam’s mud-slinging had two guys screaming in the eye, and he never missed a moment.

He kicked their ankles, knocking them both down, then climbed on top and punched them. Every time his heavy fist landed on their faces, the private’s corn was sprayed, but he didn’t care.

Because Liam was also out of his mind.

He was almost in a state of selflessness, and he threw a punch while his soul was gone. His body was already in a state of collapse, and he was in a state of pain. It seemed as if his mind had already left his body and flowed somewhere.

‘It’s a strange feeling.’

It’s clear that you’re moving your body, but it feels like you’re not moving. In reality, you’re swinging your fist, but your mind feels like it’s floating.

He threw a punch, but it felt out of balance with the invisible fist. No, not out of balance, but out of sync. Liam felt like he had a few more arms floating around him.

‘I can’t use my strength properly because my arms are split into several pieces.’

I didn’t even know what I was thinking or what I was feeling.

My body felt heavy, as if I was throwing a punch in a dream, and my arms felt like they were struggling in water, with a lot of resistance.

I just hated this feeling.

Liam tried to somehow fit these arms together, but it was difficult.

“Liam! Next door! There’s another one!!”

A moment of heavy, dull emotion, as if I was struggling in a pool of stagnant water.

“This son of a bitch is going to kill our kids!”

Bam!

The last of Benald’s men kicked Liam in the side.

It was such a strong force that I lost my breath for a moment and threw up everything I had eaten.

His body was telling him to collapse, but Liam opened his ribs, took a deep breath, and exhaled to get up.

“That monster.”

“That’s only for those who are watching us… not me.”

A knight looking at each other with his arms crossed and a wizard shouting at each other.

These are the monsters. They are just soldiers who are just trying to be wherever they go. They are just aspiring knights who want to become knights but can’t, and are just chasing their dreams.

That was him.

“Your eyes look like they’re from the old days. Those eyes. Those are the eyes of those who desperately wanted to become knights. I’ve seen those eyes a lot. Do you know what happened to all of them?”

“…”

“They’re all dead. Those who want to become knights don’t care about my body.”

Like a moth throwing itself in front of a flame, such people fly no matter how much of a crisis they face.

“You’re mistaken. You think that if you do that, you’ll become a knight. You think that a ray of light will come to you.”

“Come on, you fucking punk. You’re big and distracting, but you talk a lot.”

The nameless private captain chuckled.

“Do you know why I came out last? Because I’m weak? No, I waited until you were completely exhausted. Does that mean I’m weak? No, I’m the strongest here.”

Even the most angry beast is easy to catch if you wait for it to lose its strength.

“There’s no need to rub your body with someone who’s about to die.”

The bastard lifted his leg.

Just like the kick from before, this one seemed to be enough. As if it was his specialty, his posture was stable and his legs were long.

If you confront him, you will get kicked like a whip and hit, and you will not be able to get close to him.

Liam, who was exhausted, had to engage in close combat to seize the opportunity, but the bastard avoided that.

Liam’s chances of winning are significantly reduced by showing that he only intends to cleverly hit and run.

‘What should I do…’

Behind him, Ronobe is yelling at him to win quickly, and in front of him is a veteran who doesn’t want to give up any distance.

A situation where you can’t go back or forward.

Liam took the second best option.

If you can’t go back, you can go sideways. Liam, who had fallen sideways, grabbed a boulder and threw it at the guy.

“Where!”

The bastard dodged the stone easily, but for a moment, my heart sank.

‘when?’

I avoided the stone, but at the same time the stone flew towards me from where I was trying to avoid it.

He pretended to throw just one, but threw two. The guy had no choice but to raise his arms to protect his face, and Liam never missed that moment.

“Eww!”

Liam let out a roar and pounced on the guy. The soldiers watching the dog fight swallowed dry saliva at his movements like a tiger burning its last soul.

“You son of a bitch, you coward!”

“In the shist, the coward is smart!”

Bam! Bam!

Liam and the guy’s souls are sucked out by the regular punches they exchange while rolling around on the dirt floor.

With each blow, my body shook with the shock that rippled like waves, my skin tore, and saliva and sweat spurted out.

‘Again…’

Every time, Liam was overcome by a similar sensation. Time passed slowly all over the world, and the shouting sounded slow. As if he was underwater. And his body didn’t feel like his own.

Many bodies. Many minds.

A shaking body and faint afterimages of bodies trying to escape into the surroundings.

What if we put these together?

‘I have no strength.’

I want to put these remnants together.

But no matter how hard you try, it won’t work.

‘ah…’

Then I relaxed my strength and swung it.

thud-!!

‘Okay.’

Rather, ironically, something that didn’t work out no matter how hard I tried became possible when I relaxed.

I took out all the strength from my body, not just my fists.

The afterimages seemed to have gathered into one. Even without exerting any force, strength filled my entire body as if I was flapping my wings.

“ah.”

Only then did I see the world properly.

The gloomy world sounded bright.

Clear sounds and sensations. A feeling as if a new world is welcoming you.

Before he knew it, the guy who had been rolling around with him had collapsed, and the jubilant Ronobe was spraying potions at Liam.

“Amazing, amazing!! You really know how to earn your keep! Liam!!”

Unlike Ronnobe, who was screaming so loud that his eardrums hurt, Liam spoke with blank eyes.

“Heart, beating slowly.”

It was just nonsense, but I felt it.

My heart was beating slower than before.

Of course, Ronobe had no idea what he was talking about.

“What the hell are you talking about? Here! Here’s a silver piece. Liam, you get two.”

“You said three. What the… f*ck.”

Even when he was in a situation where he felt like he was going to die, Liam took care of his share. Ronobé didn’t panic and made excuses.

“I’m sane. That’s good. I was just trying it out. Inma. Don’t open your eyes like that. Oh my! Seriously!”

“Give me two more coins. If you don’t, I’ll kill you!”

“Tsk… Okay. Got it.”

Ronobe, who was trying to scam a person with a mental disorder, let out an embarrassed laugh. As soon as he heard the answer, Liam fell down. Ronobe hugged Liam and smiled victoriously at Benald.

No need to say much.

Just one word was enough.

“Clumsy lol”

“…!”

Benald was furious, blood flowing again from his torn forehead.

*

That night.

Ronobé looked at Liam, who was sleeping soundly, and smiled.

“It’s a fortune. It’s a fortune.”

Liam definitely got his money’s worth.

Unlike the privates, Liam is a work of art that Ronobé put a lot of effort into.

Because there is a value to the steady feeding of rocks.

“They say that rocks are expensive.”

Even a rock as big as a thumb can be sold for a ridiculous amount of tens of silver coins. This is because the rock itself is rare and is the main material used in wizards’ experiments.

It is said that even the magical tools like scrolls previously used by the knight Ollakara cannot be made without a rock.

Although Ronobe doesn’t know much about it, the rocks have many uses and are expensive. The one who ground up those rocks and fed them to Liam is him.

It was definitely growing.

No! It would have been difficult if you hadn’t grown up!

“Benny, you sure are going to be a knight?”

Benny, who had been quietly watching Liam, put his hand on his chest and said.

“The only way to determine who has the talent to be a knight is to test their physical abilities. One of them is…”

That’s the heart rate.

“The knights basically had a heart rate more than twice as fast as the average person.”

During intense exercise or combat, they may jump at least 3 to 10 times faster.

A faster beating heart pumps blood faster, allowing you to exert more strength and improve your physical abilities.

“But Liam has a slow heart rate. He’s not knight material.”

“What? Then what is that power?”

“I don’t know either.”

There is only one thing we can guess.

“It means that, contrary to the general articles, they are getting stronger.”

The opposite of the article.

Ronob shrugged his shoulders as he looked at Liam, who seemed to possess some unknown power.

“Anything is fine.”

As long as he paid the price of the rocks he was bringing in, Ronobe didn’t care what Liam did.

Rather, the future was the problem.

“I guess we can treat the soldiers’ bodies with potions, but what are we going to do in the future?”

Benald may have held a grudge.

The soldiers were all injured, their pride was shattered, and their foreheads were broken, so it would be strange not to harbor resentment.

Once I committed it and won, it turned out that I had made enemies for nothing.

If things continued like this, I would have to worry about getting hit in the back of the head if there was a war.

No matter how strong Ronobe becomes, if he gets hit in the back of the head with an arrow, he will die. Well, if it’s an arrow, he won’t die, but if it’s a crossbow, he might die. A crossbow might pierce a bear’s hide.

They might poison your food or do something stupid to torment you.

That’s the world and the nobility.

Even if you are only half a noble, you are still a noble.

Moreover, he is a wizard. He will keep today’s events in his mind for a long time, and every time he forgets, he will come to him in his dreams and kick the blanket away.

If he hires an assassin, it’s Ronobe who will be the troublemaker.

‘Should I kill him?’

Anyway, the magic he uses is mud.

Mud is soil mixed with water.

It will freeze very easily.

If they fight, Ronobe can kill him very easily.

Killing is easy.

The question is, do we really have to kill them?

Originally, it was easy to kill someone, but difficult to save them. This is because once you kill someone, you can’t go back. Since you can’t go back, you have to be careful and make choices you won’t regret.

‘I didn’t commit a crime that deserves death.’

The only thing he did wrong was grabbing Ronobe by the collar. And ignoring him? I didn’t think he deserved to die for that.

Killing a person is a crime. It is even more so if it is an ally fighting in a war. If he were to die in this situation, it would naturally be Ronobe who would be blamed for it.

“Let’s just watch for now.”

For now, I had no choice but to watch.

And that night.

“It’s a surprise!!”

There were those who surprised Gradas’ army.

“Another monster?!”

“No! They are soldiers!!”

They were traitors from the Aulott County who had already smelled it.

Liam opened his eyes as the noise grew louder.

I quickly got up and tried to grab my sword, but I fell down again. Even though I drank the potion, the fatigue from the dogfight still hadn’t gone away.

“Lie down.”

Ronobe commanded, creating a staff out of ice.

“but…”

“It’s okay. You won once.”

This time.

Flutter.

“It’s my turn to win.”

Ronobe left the barracks, his cloak emblazoned with the Gradas emblem fluttering.

End

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From here on, it’s the series version.

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