Bloodhound’s Regression Instinct

Chapter 42

Yan’s eyes lit up with a double-edged look as he stared at the antique-like sword.

“What a damn piece of junk.”

[How interesting. It doesn’t seem like an Egosode, but it’s a weapon that chooses its master.]

Yan spat saliva on his palm and rubbed it.

His eyes were filled with venom.

“Let’s see who wins.”

He reached out his hand again toward the antique-like sword.

Zap!

-You are not worthy.

“Ugh.”

A stronger rejection reaction than before covered Yan’s palm.

The tingling sensation turned into a sharp pain that reached his shoulder.

Yan was not one to blink an eye at any pain, but this was not in the category of ‘any’.

The pain was enough to turn his mind white.

“I can handle this.”

But Yan was not at the level of giving up with the target in front of him.

He bit his teeth hard again.

And then he reached out his hand again toward the grip.

[Crazy. Are you blind by greed? I didn’t see that. Tsk tsk]

Momon knew that Yan had volunteered to go north to find Ascalon.

Momon sneered in his head, but Yan didn’t care.

Zap zap!

-You are not worthy.

A much more powerful spark came up his hand.

But Yan clenched the grip harder with the momentum to break it.

Crack.

One thing he realized in the pain that numbed his mind.

‘It’s heavy.’

It was not just heavy. It was stuck to the floor as if it was one with it.

Whoosh.

“Let’s see who wins!”

Yan pulled up his mana.

Thud.

His arm began to grow and the sleeve he was wearing burst.

Zap zap zap!

-You are not worthy.

“Ugh!”

Yan’s eyes turned red and the sparks from the sword started to hit his whole body over his arm.

As a result of wrestling with the sword for a long time.

“Damn it, damn it!”

Yan let go of the grip and snapped.

“I don’t have time to go now, but I’ll take it with me next time I come.”

Yan gritted his teeth and made a vow that was not a vow.

No matter how legendary the sword was, how could a mere sword do this?

His arm and shoulder were still tingling from the sparks from the sword.

Yan turned his body away from the sword without looking at it.

And then he picked up some swords and daggers that he could use as substitutes and wore them on his waist.

Cruel came over to his side, holding his nose, and asked if he had chosen the weapon he would use.

“What’s this smell?”

The smell of gunpowder vibrated in the warehouse full of oil and iron smells.

Yan was annoyed by the rising irritation and wondered if he should squeeze Cruel’s head once.

He turned his body sharply.

“Why are you like that?”

Cruel frowned at the sight of Yan leaving him with a glare.

But he couldn’t help shrinking his body.

* * *

The trainees who had gathered weapons from the warehouse headed to the main gate of the Beowulf castle.

There was a knight squad riding black horses in formation.

Whether it was because of their presence or Hans, Cruel, who had become meek, asked Hans with difficulty.

“Um… what do we have to do?”

“It’s a barbarian hunt. You have to bring back ten tribal flags that each tribe puts up.”

“Huh?”

The northern part of the empire was known for the constant invasions of the barbarians.

But Cruel, who was a central noble, and Charl, who only knew a little about the word ‘barbarian’, tilted their heads.

The north had never lost to the barbarians once.

And weren’t they literally ‘barbaric’ tribes?

At Hans’ words, a slight disappointment and relief crossed Cruel and Charl’s faces.

Yan licked his tongue inwardly as he watched them.

‘They’ll come to their senses when they get hurt once.’

Barbarians.

The empire despised and ignored them as barbarians.

‘But that’s because Beowulf has been strong for generations, so they couldn’t show their strength.’

For example, in the kingdom that was not far from the northern part of the empire, they prepared themselves and fought every time the barbarians crossed the border.

Why?

It’s nothing.

They were as barbaric as they were belligerent.

And the ‘chiefs’ who led them were strong enough to make Yan uncomfortable.

‘And by now, their king…’

Just before Yan’s thoughts ended, Hans opened his mouth.

“I guess you people from the center don’t know the fear of the barbarians well.”

He muttered in a low voice.

“Why the north is known to be harsh, why the northerners are cold. You’ll find out this time.”

At that, Charl and Cruel swallowed their saliva.

Clap!

Hans clapped his hands loudly and refreshed the atmosphere.

“There’s a saying that hearing a hundred times is not as good as seeing once. Black Armor Knight Commander.”

A middle-aged man in black armor bowed his head.

One of the three knight squads in the Beowulf ducal house, the Black Armor Knight Squad.

It was a famous knight squad for having all the knights ride black horses and wear black armor.

It was the lowest in the knight squad ranking of the Beowulf ducal house, but it was not inferior to the representative knight squad of any earl house.

“Yes.”

“Show them a demonstration of hunting the barbarians with the ‘guests’.”

“You might get hurt.”

At the Black Armor Knight Commander’s words, Cruel snorted.

“If I get hurt by those barbarians, I wouldn’t have such a shame.”

At that, Hans looked at the trainees, including Yan.

Lorena looked full of ambition, Cruel had a confident expression, and Charl had a nervous face.

But.

‘I don’t know about that guy.’

He couldn’t figure out Yan’s inner thoughts.

‘Anyway, I’ll find out what kind of guy he is when I hear from the Black Armor Knight Commander later.’

When Hans gave a hint to the maid who was standing quietly next to him, she handed each of the trainees a bag.

“I packed some emergency food and things you need to survive, but I hope you don’t have to use them.”

The trainees, including Yan, took the bags and put them on their backs.

The Black Armor Knight Commander, who was in formation next to them, ordered his men to put the trainees on the horses and shouted.

“Black Armor Knight Squad, all troops will march!”

And so, the second test began.

* * *

Barbarians.

It was a word that meant and despised the minority tribes living on the border of the empire.

But that word would soon disappear.

Because a ‘king’ who would unite them into one alliance would appear.

Warrior Alliance Kingdom.

They ignored it as a kingdom made by the barbarians themselves, but this Warrior Alliance Kingdom would become a powerful nation that threatened the empire in the future.

‘They must be slowly absorbing the barbarians into the alliance.’

‘The King of the Barbarians’, Vila.

The strongest creature on the ground.

One of the five enemies that threatened the empire in the future.

A tremendous physique and strength.

And the ability to instantly destroy the opponent’s skill after seeing it only once was nothing but terror to those who had visions.

Yan had also failed to assassinate him when he was a special commander, despite spending a huge amount of money and manpower.

But at this point, Vila’s existence was not big, so there was not much information or records about his past in the special squad.

That’s why Yan didn’t know exactly where Vila was now.

‘I hope I don’t run into him.’

The Black Armor Knight Commander, who was at the forefront, shouted.

“Everyone, gather up!”

At that, the knights tied their horses and gathered around the knight commander.

Yan and the other trainees followed the knights.

The place they arrived was in the middle of a mountain range covered with snow.

The Black Armor Knight Commander blocked the blizzard with his arm and checked the number of knights.

And then he explained the hunting operation.

“There are ten barbarian villages that the rangers have searched around here. So we’ll split into ten groups and surprise them. The group leader will be in charge of the order.”

At that, the Black Armor Knights moved smoothly.

Cruel and Charl lost their way and fidgeted, and the Black Armor Knight Commander said with a blank face.

“Guests, join the group you want to join. And the lady, please come with us.”

Yan joined the third group.

The reason was nothing.

The barbarian village assigned to this place was the farthest tribe from the current location.

He thought he would have more opportunities to explore the area because the distance was quite long.

“Me, me too!”

“…Me too.”

Cruel and Charl followed Yan, who was trying to join the back of the third group.

Cruel’s face was quite stiff, as he didn’t know it would be this serious, and Charl’s face was gloomy, as she couldn’t follow Lorena.

That was when.

“I’ll join the third group too.”

Lorena declared that she would join the third group with the trainees.

The Black Armor Knight Commander looked at her with a bewildered face.

“Lady, it would be much safer to go with us…”

“No.”

Lorena’s eyes were on Yan.

“I’m going to the third group.”

At her appearance, the Black Armor Knight Commander sighed deeply.

He had watched Lorena grow up since she was young, and he knew that her stubbornness was not ordinary.

He wondered who she took after.

“Yes, I understand. If anything happens, please be sure to fire a flare.”

The Black Armor Knight Commander handed a flare to Lorena and the third group leader.

The face of the third group leader who took it felt a determined determination.

The Black Armor Knight Commander got on his horse and shouted in a loud voice.

“Let’s go! If anyone gets hurt, I’ll make them run a hundred laps around the training ground, so get your mind straight and come back!”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

“And if you ever face a ‘chief’, run away with all your might.”

* * *

The leader of the third group was a knight named ‘Sabo’.

He was a fifth-grade beginner who would become the vice-knight commander if the current knight commander retired.

“I hope you don’t underestimate the enemies because of the name ‘barbarians’.”

Sabo spoke to the trainees, especially to Cruel.

“Their level of civilization is nothing compared to the empire, but their strength is not to be ignored. Not to mention the ‘chiefs’ have tremendous power.”

“…Hmph!”

Cruel snorted at Sabo’s words and did not show any sign of agreement.

From his point of view, the barbarians were nothing but uncivilized brutes.

How strong could they be with their strength?

“And you will see some cruel sights, so brace yourselves.”

Charl and Lorena nodded. Cruel still had a somewhat rough expression.

He probably thought Sabo considered him a rookie.

“Let’s go.”

At that, the knights and the trainees, including Yan, got on their assigned horses.

Charl, who had not learned to ride, clung to Lorena’s back.

“Let’s go!”

Sabo led the knights and the trainees and started running through the blizzard.

The cold pierced through the fur clothes and pricked Yan’s skin.

If he had not worn fur clothes that were hard to move in, he would have suffered from severe frostbite due to hypothermia.

Even at this moment, Yan’s hand holding the horse’s reins was trembling.

He had magic to warm his body, but there were ten knights next to him who were sensitive to mana.

It was not a situation to use it recklessly.

“All you can see in Beowulf are mountains and snow.”

A knight next to Yan spoke to him out of boredom.

“It seems like that.”

As the knight said, they did not see anything like a village even after riding for more than ten minutes.

Only mountains and snow covering the soil were full.

“Damn, I should have brought a fur glove.”

Cruel, whose hand seemed cold, held the horse’s reins with one hand and put the other hand in his pocket.

“You’ll get used to the cold and it’ll be bearable.”

Another knight advised with a snicker.

His expression made Cruel’s face flare up again.

It was as if he was mocking him, saying ‘why didn’t you prepare, you have more work to do than me’.

Charl buried her face in Lorena’s back and shivered her hand holding her waist.

On the other hand, Lorena did not have any reaction as if she was used to the cold that seemed to cut her skin.

Yan asked the knight who had spoken to him something he was curious about.

“Do you know anything about the rusty sword in the warehouse?”

If it had been hidden, he would not have asked, but anyone who had entered the warehouse had seen it at least once, as it had been neglected.

“Oh, you mean that weird sword?”

The knight laughed and Yan’s eyes flashed.

“They tried to throw it away, but it was too heavy and no one could move it. Even Hans the steward tried to lift it with both arms, but well… you know the result, right?”

If they had succeeded in moving it, Yan would not have seen the sword.

The knight continued.

“It’s definitely a strange sword, but who would wield such a sword? Oh… come to think of it, I heard that the duke used that sword.”

“But he didn’t put it away?”

“No, he just put it back in its place and ordered us to leave it alone. Anyway, the only person who can lift it is the duke, so we can’t throw it away.”

The Beowulf duke had already tried Ascalon?

No, judging by the order, he must have known about it…

‘But he just left it in the warehouse? Without using it?’

Anyway.

“…Did you feel any terrible pain?”

“Pain?”

The knight shook his head and recalled.

“I don’t think I felt anything like pain. Maybe you gripped it so hard that your palm tore?”

Yan made a grotesque expression at the knight’s words and turned his head.

‘That damn sword gave me that kind of pain?’

Yan slightly lifted the corners of his mouth and thought of another hypothesis.

‘Or maybe the knights of the north have some qualifications?’

He didn’t know which hypothesis was correct, but neither was bad.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter why.’