Chapter 31

The Swordsmanship Genius Possessed by a God — Chapter 31

_________________

Allen was not in a particularly good mood.

There were two reasons.

The first was that his physical training, which was almost finished, had been interrupted.

And the second was that these fellows who had shown up uninvited were looking down on his squad members.

‘They're my men now, after all.’

Even while running, he had caught bits and pieces of their conversation.

Kasar, leader of the First Squad.

From what Allen had learned upon being appointed a squad leader in the Flying Sword Division, the First Squad had the best performance record and the greatest abilities in the division.

A squad that was the exact opposite of the Second Squad.

‘Is that why I don't like the look in their eyes?’

The way they looked down on his squad members.

They had even openly tried to poach his deputy leader.

And they had done so knowing full well that Allen had just arrived as the new squad leader.

It was an insult not only to the Second Squad but also to Allen himself.

“What kind of trouble are you causing, showing up here uninvited? I don't think that's very courteous, First Squad Leader.”

“Haha, there seems to be some misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding?”

“I merely stopped by to pay my respects after hearing that the renowned Second Young Master had become the new leader of the Second Squad.”

“Then you should've offered your greetings and left. Instead of picking a fight for no reason.”

“That was my intention at first, but...”

Kasar's narrow eyes curved into crescents.

His gaze swept over the members of the Second Squad, who were struggling to their feet.

Tsk. Kasar openly clicked his tongue and spoke.

“Seeing them in this state, I simply couldn't overlook it as a fellow member of the Flying Sword Division.”

Perhaps feeling ashamed, Bigra lowered his head, his face turning red.

Apparently, he was embarrassed about having fallen over earlier.

However—

“Did you do something wrong? Why are you lowering your head?”

Startled, Bigra reflexively raised his head.

“There's nothing to be ashamed of. If anything, you should be proud. It means you gave it everything you had.”

Allen took a long step toward Kasar.

Neither Kasar nor the other members of the First Squad accompanying him showed any signs of having broken a sweat.

They looked nothing like the Second Squad, whose members had pushed themselves to exhaustion throughout the morning.

“Wasn't this morning supposed to be group training?”

“We replaced it with individual training today.”

“So it was rest, not training.”

Allen looked over the swordsmen of the First Squad with an expression of contempt.

They were a complete contrast to the Second Squad, who had spent the entire morning training themselves into the ground.

“Is it dirty and shameful for a swordsman to train until he's drenched in sweat and vomiting? Does elegantly practicing swordsmanship make you look impressive and refined?”

“Because it's more efficient.”

“Efficient?”

At Kasar's answer, Allen twisted his lips into a smile.

“Aren't you just dressing up laziness with a fancy word?”

“...”

“You should be ashamed. Ashamed that you've grown complacent and stopped improving as swordsmen. And ashamed that you mocked swordsmen who worked up a sweat as filthy and pathetic.”

Displeasure appeared on the faces of the swordsmen he had rebuked.

None of them seemed able to find a rebuttal.

Nevertheless, there was only one reason their expressions remained full of resentment.

They disliked being lectured by the Second Squad, whom they considered beneath them, and its leader.

“Thank you for those wise words. They've certainly opened my eyes.”

And Kasar felt the same way.

Perhaps that was why.

In the middle of a conversation about their laziness in training, Kasar brought up something entirely unrelated.

“But did you know? The Second Squad is going to be disbanded soon.”

“...!”

The members of the Second Squad looked startled.

The Second Squad was going to be disbanded?

It was the first time any of the squad members had heard of it.

At that moment, sensing the confusion among the squad members, Mary shouted angrily.

“That hasn't been confirmed yet!”

Apparently, Mary, as deputy leader, had already heard something about the matter.

“No. It's already more than eighty percent decided. Otherwise, why do you think your previous squad leader ran away? He must have realized there was no hope with such hopeless squad members.”

At the mention of their former leader, the squad members' expressions darkened.

They began to wonder whether the rumors about the Second Squad's disbandment might actually be true.

“If the Second Squad is disbanded, you'll probably be distributed among the other squads. So, Mary, I'm telling you to transfer to our squad while you still can. Otherwise, you might end up in the Fourth or Sixth Squad...”

“Ah, so that's what this was about.”

Kasar looked puzzled by Allen's words.

What did he mean by that?

“What are you talking about?”

Allen did not answer Kasar's question.

It was hardly something worth explaining to a fellow like him.

Because this was a matter involving his father.

‘So that's why he pushed me into this squad.’

Allen thought about why he had been assigned to the Flying Sword Division's Second Squad.

At first, he had assumed it was simply because the squad leader position was vacant. He had also considered that his brother being the division commander might have been the reason.

But that wasn't it.

‘Does he want me to save the Second Squad from being disbanded because of its poor performance?’

Thinking back, Allen had been scheduled to join the Second Squad as an ordinary member, regardless of who its leader was.

His appointment as squad leader had merely been an impromptu decision Axion made after evaluating Allen's abilities highly.

“That's an easy problem.”

Whether he was an ordinary member or the squad leader,

There was only one thing Allen needed to do here.

“You're saying the Second Squad will be disbanded because its performance record is inadequate, right? Then we just need to improve our record.”

“...Do you think it'll be that easy?”

“It doesn't look particularly difficult.”

Allen's gaze swept over the swordsmen of the First Squad standing behind Kasar.

“Even those lazy fellows over there can do it.”

“What?”

“Now, listen here...”

The indignant First Squad members stepped back.

Their squad leader, Kasar, had raised a hand to stop them.

Unlike his agitated squad members, Kasar actually grew calmer at Allen's words.

“By the Second Young Master's reasoning, the Second Squad's performance will soon surpass that of the First Squad.”

“Oh, right. I heard the First Squad has the best performance record, doesn't it?”

“You've already looked into that as well?”

As though things were working out perfectly, Kasar grinned, his eyes gleaming.

“Then would you care to make a wager with me?”

“A wager?”

“Yes. A simple wager. We'll compete to see which squad has the better performance record this year.”

“Wait a moment!”

Mary hurriedly interrupted at Kasar's words. But just as Kasar had restrained his own squad members, this time Allen stopped her.

Mary hesitantly stepped back, fidgeting anxiously behind him.

‘This is absurd.’

Nearly half the year had already passed.

Under these circumstances, it was impossible for the Second Squad to surpass the First Squad's performance record during the remainder of the year.

But perhaps because of what he had already said,

Allen showed no intention of refusing this difficult wager.

“Leaving the terms of the competition aside, what's at stake?”

“If we win, send Deputy Leader Mary to our squad.”

Kasar had only stated the condition for the First Squad's victory. It seemed the possibility of losing had never even occurred to him.

‘So that was his goal from the beginning.’

Kasar had wanted Mary from the start.

The reason he had visited the training ground, belittled the other squad members, and picked a fight was to bring Mary into the First Squad.

He wanted to poach someone of deputy leader rank before the Second Squad was disbanded.

“That's if your side wins. What if we win?”

“What do you want? Our deputy leader?”

“I'm not particularly interested in that.”

Allen waved his hand dismissively.

“If our performance record is better, we'll take all the achievements your squad has accumulated this year.”

“...What did you say?”

Kasar's voice rose at the outrageous demand.

But Allen's demands did not end there.

“And one more thing. If your side loses this wager, everyone in the First Squad must apologize to my men.”

“Apologize?”

“For looking down on our squad over something as trivial as its performance record. For insulting my men by calling them useless parasites. All of it. You'll line up in front of the Path of the Sword and apologize.”

“...Are you trying to humiliate us?”

“Weren't you the ones who started insulting us?”

It was the First Squad who had shown up uninvited and started a confrontation.

Kasar had nothing to say in response to that.

“If you can't accept these conditions, let's forget about the wager.”

Surrendering all their achievements and lining up in front of the Path of the Sword to make a public apology were both unreasonable demands.

One meant giving up material rewards, while the other meant sacrificing honor.

Nevertheless, Kasar's face was full of confidence.

“Did you think adding such conditions would frighten us? Very well.”

It was then.

[A mission has been registered.]

[Category: Wager]

[A wager has been established with First Squad Leader Kasar. Win the wager.]

[Time Limit: 6 months]

[Reward: All stats +3]

The mission window had appeared once again.

Allen's eyes gleamed.

‘All stats +3.’

Allen had already completed two missions and obtained their rewards.

This reward was by no means insignificant. The increase in stats from a mission was far more noticeable than the effects of consuming most ordinary elixirs.

If possible, he would have preferred to spend all his time completing missions issued by the system.

Kasar, who had looked like an irritating snake just moments earlier, suddenly seemed almost endearing.

“Then the wager is settled.”

“Very well.”

“Let's have the commander serve as our witness. After all, our performance records are at stake.”

“That's exactly what I wanted. I'll need the commander's permission to bring Mary into our squad anyway.”

Kasar snorted and turned around.

“You seem rather carried away with your position as squad leader, Second Young Master. Be careful. That position is a poisoned one.”

The other squad members followed him out.

Once the entire First Squad had left the training ground, Allen turned to face the Second Squad.

‘Are they going to be angry?’

He had wagered their deputy leader without consulting them, so he thought they might be.

“Waaaaaaaah!!!”

In an instant, the entire squad erupted in cheers.

“That was amazing!”

“Graaaaaah!”

“Ah! That felt good.”

“I think I could run some more now!”

“Let's not go that far.”

Their reaction was different from what he had expected.

Allen let out a disbelieving chuckle and asked,

“Why are you acting as though we've already won? What are you going to do if we lose?”

“Then we'll just have to win, won't we?”

“Besides, didn't they say we'd be disbanded anyway if our performance didn't improve?”

“We go on missions where we risk our lives. What's a little wager compared to that?”

“I thought you were just a sheltered young master, but I really liked how straightforward and decisive you were!”

The Second Squad's reaction was simpler than Allen had expected.

They thought first about the possibility of winning and were already burning with enthusiasm.

Allen looked at Mary.

Her reaction was also calmer than he had expected.

“As the squad members said, the Second Squad was going to be disbanded anyway if our performance didn't improve. If that happened, transferring to the First Squad would be the least of our problems.”

“I'm grateful you see it that way.”

“Besides, today you defended the pride of the Second Squad, Squad Leader.”

“Are you all normally this simple-minded?”

“This is our Second Squad.”

They were more easygoing and straightforward than he had expected. Even if their performance was poor, Allen found fellows like these rather likable.

Allen spoke to the squad members.

“Our squad won't be disbanded, and we won't be sending away our deputy leader. I'll make sure of it.”

Allen smiled faintly.

“I'm counting on all of you.”

A proper first greeting at last.

Another round of cheers erupted from the squad members.

Through a single incident, Allen quickly became part of the Second Squad.

And the next day, and the day after that.

Allen conducted group training with his squad members every morning.

Training, and more training.

Amid cries of agony, Allen devoted himself to training longer than anyone else.

Strangely, no missions were assigned.

Unlike the other sword divisions, the Flying Sword Division was excluded from all the family's missions.

And so three months passed.

At last, the Flying Sword Division received a mission involving the Demon Sword.