Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Spendthrift Necromancer (48)

Unorthodox Alliance (2)

“Where can I see those missions?”

“They're posted on a board. But…… even if you're aiming for tenth place, there probably isn't any single mission worth that many points.”

“I still need to look.”

“Then come with me.”

Jang Sam opened the door.

They left the room.

Magnificent buildings stood in rows before them.

“Damn, this place looks expensive.”

“Well, we're the largest organization among the unorthodox factions.”

Then.

Boom!

Something exploded in the neighboring building.

A moment later, part of the wall burst open and a man flew out, blood spraying from his mouth.

Jang Sam's eyes widened.

“Th-That man…….”

“You know him?”

“……

I-Isn't that Fourth Young Master?! Your half-brother!”

Then a figure stepped through the shattered wall.

A woman approached with a murderous aura, cracking her knuckles.

“Where the fuck do you think you're touching, you pervert?”

“……

Huh?”

Kim Minwoo tilted his head.

A familiar voice.

He looked at her face.

“……

Ms. Seo Yerim?”

Her eyes widened when he called her name.

“Mr. Kim Minwoo! You were nearby?”

She brightened immediately.

Only then did he realize who the intruder was.

Sword Phoenix Seo Yerim.

It was her.

“Why are you here?”

“To rescue you.”

“Why?”

“Because if you die, I think Grandpa would be sad.”

Wow.

He knew she adored the Sword Immortal, but he hadn't realized it was this severe.

He was privately impressed.

Then.

Fourth Young Master staggered to his feet and began alternating his gaze between Minwoo and Seo Yerim.

“Hah. Baek Socheon, don't tell me you've even laid hands on the maid who just arrived to serve me?”

“Maid?”

“Don't pretend you don't know, you vermin…….”

Fourth Young Master glared furiously between him and Seo Yerim, apparently under some serious misunderstanding.

He was probably playing an entire affair drama in his head.

Soon, warriors began rushing over in a crowd.

“Fourth Young Master!”

“Are you all right?”

“……

Unhand me! I'm fine. Do you think this body would fall merely from one slap by a maid?”

Oh.

He flew through the wall from a slap?

Seo Yerim's Strength must have reached a truly vicious level.‘Well.’She was an Awakened said to be beyond A-rank.

Her stats obviously wouldn't be anything to laugh at.

The stats she'd accumulated through training alone were probably enormous.

“Ms. Yerim, you're a maid?”

“Ha. I don't know either. Looks like that's the role I got, but they assigned me under some perverted bastard…….”

“If you're going to be a maid anyway, why not become mine? That'd probably be better.”

“……

Is not being a maid at all not an option?”

“Status isn't something you can escape easily, is it? Especially in an era like this.”

Fourth Young Master nodded vigorously at that.

“Vermin, for once you've said something right! How dare a mere maid slap this body? You insolent bitch! I'll twist off all four of your limbs!”

Fourth Young Master drew his sword with blazing eyes.

The warriors' auras turned vicious as well.

Kim Minwoo stepped forward.

“You've been calling me vermin over and over. It's starting to piss me off.”

“What is wrong with calling a lowborn bastard who doesn't even know who his mother is a vermin? Don't you all agree?”

The warriors remained silent.

No matter what, he was still a descendant of the Unorthodox Alliance Leader.

It was one thing for brothers sharing the same blood to insult each other.

For the warriors themselves to directly join in would be absurd.

They weren't even first-rate martial artists, merely second-rate ones.

Still, they could show tacit agreement.

For example, by subtly sneering.

Fifth Young Master had never demonstrated a single worthwhile martial art.

He was nothing but a wastrel who drank every day and called courtesans into his room.

His influence within the Unorthodox Alliance was so weak it was practically nonexistent.

At this level, they didn't need to worry about consequences.

Fourth Young Master would protect them.

Then.

Kim Minwoo looked toward his servant.

“Hey, Jang Sam.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“You saw that too, right? Those bastards were laughing at me.”

“Uh…… well…….”

Jang Sam's eyes darted around.

Looks like he needed the Hand of Truth.

Minwoo lightly gripped the hesitant man's shoulder.

At the completely unexpected grip strength, Jang Sam's face turned crimson.

“You saw it, right?”

“Y-Yeaaagh! I saw it! This Jang Sam saw it clearly with both eyes!”

“Good job.”

He released Jang Sam's shoulder.

That secured the witness.

Then he drew his sword.

“A subordinate mocked his master. He has to die, right?”

“You vermin, have you finally gone insane……?”

Minwoo extended a hand toward the sneering Fourth Young Master.

At that moment.

“Huh?”

“What the hell is this?!”

Nearly thirty warriors recoiled in horror.

Hundreds of white bones were clutching wildly at their legs.

Stab!

“Aaaargh!”

Weapons thrust in from every direction, killing five or six warriors in an instant.

“B-Block them!”

Mana bloomed over the warriors' swords.

Their weapons swung in multiple trajectories.

Martial arts.‘Around Level 200.’Being Murim martial artists didn't give them some absurd strength outside normal standards.

They used mana and swung weapons like everyone else.

They simply did it in a somewhat more refined manner.‘Then they can't win.’The current Skeleton horde averaged Level 51.

They were covered head to toe in the Magic set items he'd prepared beforehand, and Bone Replacement had pushed their average stats far higher.

They'd also accumulated a decent amount of combat experience.

Hundreds of Skeletons like that had begun an ambush directly beneath their feet.

There was no way thirty mediocre warriors could handle them.

Wounds multiplied across the warriors' bodies.

Counterattacking the Skeletons caused another problem.

Even when killed, they revived and immediately struck back.

Fourth Young Master urgently pointed toward Minwoo and shouted.

“Necromancy! Kill the caster first! Baek Socheon! Stop that bastard!”

The warriors who had knocked away the Skeletons charged with savage expressions.

At that moment, Cedric, who had been waiting quietly nearby, swung his spear.

The warriors snorted and raised their weapons.

Bam-bam-bam-bam!

The heads of the five charging warriors burst like fireworks.

The warriors who had been about to follow froze in their tracks.

One move.

That alone told them enough.

“My god…….”

“A-A master!”

The Skeleton wielding a spear.

That creature, half again as large as the other Skeletons, was an extraordinary master.

A terrifying master so far above them they couldn't even be considered opponents!

Every second-rate warrior fell.[Level increases by 1!]

Only one person survived.

Fourth Young Master.

“Jang Sam.”

“Y-Yes!”

Jang Sam stared blankly at the sea of blood before him.

Minwoo asked.

“Can I kill him?”

“Uh…… I don't think the Unorthodox Alliance Leader would like that…….”

“Really?”

“Yes. Killing warriors like these isn't a huge issue, but directly killing his son, Fourth Young Master, would be a little…….”

“Got it.”

Minwoo nodded and approached Fourth Young Master.

His body had already been stabbed by so many weapons that he looked like a torn rag.

“Make him kneel.”

The Skeletons disarmed him and forced him to his knees.

Minwoo grabbed him by the hair and met his eyes.

“Hey.”

“E-Eek……!”

The smell of urine filled the air.

The floor beneath him was visibly wet.

“Why do you think we fought?”

Fourth Young Master's eyes darted around.

Minwoo slapped him.

Three or four teeth rolled across the floor.

His eyes widened, apparently shocked by the overwhelming force.

“Didn't hear me?”

“I-I heawd! I-I was wong! I-I didn't know my pwace!”

“You won't act up again, right?”

Nod!

Fourth Young Master nodded desperately.

“You bastard, where do you get off answering with just a nod? No manners.”

Smack!

Minwoo slapped him again.

Another three or four teeth rolled across the floor.

“I-I won't! R-Reawwy!”

Tears streamed down his face.

Finally, he seemed properly repentant.

“That maid's coming under me. That's okay, right?”

“T-Take her! I'll g-give her to you!”

He had consent.

Now it was time to settle accounts properly.

“Good. But your big brother was really upset earlier, you know? You called me vermin.”

“I-I was wong!”

“I know, I know. But you still need to pay for what you did. Let's just cripple your legs and call it even. You're lucky I'm not killing you, right?”

“N-No!”

“Tsk. Want your arms crippled too?”

“Uuuugh……!”

“Stay still. You'll get hurt worse if you move.”

He carefully placed both of Fourth Young Master's ankles together.

Then.

“Fifth Young Master, are you truly going to stomp them?”

A voice came from behind.

Minwoo turned his head.

An old man stood there staring at him.

“Who are you?”

“Hoho. Have you already forgotten this old man's face? I am the Second Elder. You've certainly made quite a scene.”

Behind the chuckling old man, a tremendous amount of mana rose.

One glance told Minwoo enough.‘A real master.’At least Level 400.

The genuine article.

“Elder. What will you give me if I don't step on them?”

“What? Why should I give you anything?”

“Then I'll step on them.”

Crunch!

He stomped both ankles without hesitation.

The bones seemed to have shattered completely, leaving the ankles hanging limply.

Fourth Young Master's face went slack as he lost consciousness.

Minwoo tossed his face against the floor.

“Damn…….”

He looked at the Second Elder, who was blinking in disbelief.

“Why are you looking at me like that? It's not like this is some stuffy orthodox sect.”

“True enough…… Well, never mind. That's not what matters. Fifth Young Master, you'll need to come with me.”

“Why?”

“The Alliance Leader has summoned you.”

“Let's go.”

He needed to meet the Unorthodox Alliance Leader at least once anyway.

Minwoo walked over to the Elder.

“Follow me.”

The Elder's figure glided rapidly away.

Minwoo didn't have any movement art like that, so he wasn't quite as fast.

He simply had to use brute technique to keep up.

Fortunately, it was manageable.

After Kim Minwoo and the Elder left.

Seo Yerim stared blankly ahead.

Everything had ended before she'd even gotten the chance to do anything.

That left her dumbfounded.‘……

Why is he so strong?’Those warriors from earlier.

And Fourth Young Master too.

Inside a C-rank Gate, they'd have been strong enough to appear as a boss and its underlings.

Yet one gesture from Kim Minwoo had completely crushed them.

Even the Skeletons were far beyond what she'd imagined.

Ordinary summons actually knew how to fight.

And Cedric was even worse…….‘Even I'd need some time to take him down.’If their physical abilities were equal, she would lose without question.

His spear technique was that refined.

A monstrous summon.

That was why she couldn't help growing suspicious.

The picture had been that of an ordinary civilian forcibly sucked into a Gate and needing rescue.‘Don't tell me he schemed from the beginning because he wanted to enter?’From loitering around the Gate entrance, to possessing this much strength yet simply going Huh? Huh? before being lightly pushed forward.

It felt like he'd deliberately arranged everything because he wanted to enter.

“……

No, seriously, what am I supposed to do after he leaves me here alone?”

Then.

The servant called Jang Sam had somehow approached her and was clearing his throat.

“Ahem! A pleasure to work with you. I am Jang Sam, Fifth Young Master's one and only loyal servant. Young Master relies upon and follows me greatly.”

“……

Ah. Sure.”

“You said you were a maid, yes? You and I may have similar status, but seniority depends on when one began serving. Senior would be appropriate—though that sounds stiff, so you may also call me Big Brother. Big Brother Jang would be perfectly fine…….”

“Excuse me.”

“You called?”

“Stop lowering your voice like that for no reason. And what do you mean, Big Brother? How old are you?”

“T-Twenty.”

“Twenty, not forty?”

“F-Forty? What are you talking about……?”

“I'm twenty-two, so just call me Big Sis. You're weak as hell, so what senior treatment are you trying to get…….”

“What? What did you just say……?”

Then Jang Sam's eyes widened.

Her hand had already reached his throat.

A chilling sharpness radiated from that hand.

Jang Sam's heart seized.‘S-Sword energy in her bare hand?’This maid was a master.

A master on a level an ordinary person like him couldn't even imagine!

“Am I wrong? In murim, isn't the stronger person the older brother or sister?”

“……

You're correct, Big Sis.”

Come to think of it, she'd sent Fourth Young Master flying with a single slap.

Jang Sam's attitude naturally became respectful.

“Guide me. I don't know where I'm supposed to go.”

I don't know either…….

Jang Sam swallowed the rest and started walking.

For now, it seemed best to simply go wherever his feet took him.