Chapter 195

The very next moment he spoke, as if something had heard his call, it flew in with a whooshing sound!

Pfft!!!

The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh rang out, accompanied by splattering blood. Theresis opened her eyes and saw the mercenary lying on the ground, still in the posture of swinging his knife at her.

However, he saw that the other person's back had been pierced by a broken spear, completely taking away his life.

"You called a little too slowly. Remember to call me next time if there's a special situation... Hmm, but it's much better than the previous times."

"At least you've realized that asking for help isn't shameful."

Zuo Jian the remaining half of the spear in his hand and nodded, seemingly with some satisfaction.

"I just..."

"Don't just say 'it'. If you get less injured, Theresa will worry less about you, right?"

"If you feel ashamed of doing this, then find a way to become stronger. Swallow your complaints and turn them into motivation to move forward."

Zuo Jian glanced at Theresis, who was silently wiping away bloodstains, and seeing the other's expression, he knew that Theresis had taken his words to heart.

Theresis... is perhaps much more mature than I imagined. Is it due to his surroundings? Even without me, his innate impulsiveness would have been tempered by the realities of this place into the calm and composure he should have.

However, there might be some unspeakable costs involved in the process.

I hope this can help him in some way.

But speaking of which...

Theresis had been following him out to find these mercenaries for 'training' for some time now. If he wasn't mistaken... by following behind him and constantly fighting those mercenaries who were risking their lives, Theresis's swordsmanship was also improving rapidly.

But...

Why does he seem more and more pathetic each time?

Alright?

Zuo Jian lowered his head and weighed the broken half of the spear in his hand.

The quality was much better than the sword in Theresis's hand; it was very heavy, and the forging level was also far superior to the weapons in the hands of the mercenaries he had seen before.

Have the mercenaries gotten stronger?

He thought about it, then turned around and went to the withered tree next to him.

At this moment, a Sarkaz man with a thick beard was leaning against a tree, looking disheveled and covered in blood, making it hard to imagine what kind of fierce battle he had just gone through.

Zuo Jian forward and placed the remaining half of the spear beside the man.

"Cough cough..." The latter coughed up a mouthful of blood, watching as his weapon was easily snatched away, broken, and thrown by the 'monster' in front of him, while he leaned against the tree, unable to even struggle.

"Aren't you going to kill me?"

He slightly opened his eyes and looked at Zuo Jian standing in front of him.

Can you guarantee that you won't do anything wrong after you leave?

Zuo Jian simply walked up to him, squatted down, and calmly met his gaze.

"Hehe... hehehahaha... cough cough... damn it, if I said I could, would you believe me?" The bearded man seemed to have heard something amusing, laughing as he teased Zuo Jian.

"Won't."

To this, Zuo Jian answered with almost no hesitation.

"Even if I believed you, the people you killed probably wouldn't believe me either."

"Haha, really? Then why did you ask such a stupid question? Why don't you just do it?"

The man glared at Zuo Jian, revealing an ugly smile.

"I don't care about the answer to that question, but I think there must be someone who does."

"For example... yourself."

"As for why I haven't made a move, it's because I still have some questions for you. Once you've answered them, I'll let you leave more easily."

"Heh, so that's the reason. What if I said, 'Go to hell, I won't say anything'? What are you going to do? Chop off my fingers one by one to force me to tell you?"

The man tilted his head slightly, his gaze indifferent.

"... If you don't answer..." Zuo Jian stood up and picked up the longsword that had fallen to the side.

"Then I won't wait for your answer; I'll give you a quick one now."

"It seems that that intelligence isn't that important to you. Well, someone as strong as you, who's practically a monster, wouldn't—"

"No, intelligence is still very important, but I think you deserve at least a swift end."

"After all, I don't think anyone would willingly become a mercenary who lives on the edge of a knife."

Zuo Jian raised his longsword, pointing it at the man's neck, ready to strike, when the latter suddenly spoke.

"Wait a minute, if you put it that way, I suddenly think that living a little longer isn't so bad." He grinned and shouted at Zuo Jian.

"However, I have one condition."

Seeing the change in the other party's attitude, Zuo Jian pondered for a moment, put down his longsword, and spoke.

You can name your terms, and I will decide whether to agree or not based on the circumstances.

"I have a cigarette in my jacket pocket. Take it out and light it for me."

Zuo Jian was stunned for a moment, then stepped forward and pulled open the man's blood-stained shirt, where he indeed found a crudely made cigarette that was half-stained red.

Incidentally, there was also a crude lighter.

He did as the other man instructed, lit the cigarette for him, put it in his mouth, and then asked him a question.

"Then what?"

"That's all, you can ask now."

That's it?

"Heh, that's it."

The man chuckled, then stared intently at Zuo Jian.

"You know, a guy like you... will probably spread your name all over this dog shit-like land sooner or later, and your legend will be circulating among mercenaries... Ha, and for a mediocre guy like me to have such a legend light my cigarette before I die, don't you think it's the perfect ending?"

"After all, most mercenaries end up no different from stray dogs on the roadside."

"You don't seem like ordinary mercenaries, or rather, you don't seem like the kind of mercenaries you'd find in this area."

Zuo Jian looked into the other person's eyes and asked.

"Furthermore, it seems you have little interest in this nameless town; rather, it's more like..."

"They came specifically for you?"

The man, with a cigarette dangling from his Zuo Jian, answered Zuo Jian.

"In fact, that's exactly right. Scar Market is offering a bounty on someone who appeared on the outskirts of an unknown small town."

"A bounty?"

"Yes, you're the one who killed all the mercenaries who came here to 'work' during this period, right?"

In response to the question, Zuo Jian slowly nodded.

"Ha, that's it. I don't know what their initial mission was, but for mercenaries, picking off unlucky guys on the road to scavenge for supplies is perfectly normal. I guess that's how they met you... cough cough... and then... and then what happened next is pretty much easier to guess."

"Do you know what it means to slaughter all the mercenaries nearby, or rather, all those troublemakers?"

"It means you're declaring that this place is under your control."

Anyone who causes trouble here will be punished by you... uh... cough... that's an unspoken rule among mercenaries."

"You've probably noticed it too. Since a certain point, the mercenaries coming here have started to get stronger and stronger. It's because you're famous, and in this line of work, being famous is a very dangerous thing."

"In the Scar Market plaza, the bounty on you will probably keep rising, and every guy who accepts the bounty but disappears will have their price tag transferred to you. That's how the mall 'pricing' for mercenaries works."

"But I'm not a mercenary; I'm just clearing out those guys who are trying to harm the town and the surrounding transport convoys."

"Who knows? Even if that's what you think, others might not. From the moment you stepped onto this land, you became part of these rules. Like you said, nobody wants to be a mercenary, but the moment your bounty and price are posted on the notice board, none of that matters."

What will happen next?

"I'm still worth some money. If I don't return with my spoils in three days, the portion of the bounty on me in Scar Market will be added to your head."

"It will probably... attract the attention of even more guys. I hope you won't regret your initial decision to protect this area..."

"I won't."

Zuo Jian shook his head, stood up, looked at the man whose voice was gradually fading, and then raised his sword.

"That's all for now. Finally, is there anything you'd like to leave behind or anything you'd like me to relay?"

"... Let me think about it..."

The man made a thinking gesture, then leaned against the tree and began to speak.

"You ask me if I can stop doing evil in the future... If someone like me could live a peaceful life in Kazdel even without being a mercenary..."

He opened his mouth slightly, his voice very soft, but loud enough for Zuo Jian to hear his reply.

The latter raised his sword, then brought it down.

.

"Is it over?" Theresis stood up and looked at Zuo Jian, who walked out empty-handed.

"It's over, but... it probably won't last long."

"Will new mercenaries arrive here soon?"

"... It's fine."

Theresis turned her head and looked at the man beside her.

"I will find a way to solve it, to address the root cause of the problem."

... Scar Market... I should go there.

(Still haven't recovered my account... So frustrating... I'll postpone the update for another day... So annoying!!)

Chapter Py

Ah... I was so groggy yesterday that I just lay down after finishing my code.

I completely forgot I was supposed to help the big shot in the group with some connections.

Let's dedicate a separate chapter to Python to fill in the gaps.

Below is a brief introduction.

[My Oshi no Ko + mygo worldview]

Kamiya Yuu, who transmigrated into a Japanese music anime, witnessed the destruction of Crychic. Even so, he believed that no one would betray Crychic, until he saw his former comrades abandon him and happily establish MYGO together.

To fight against the inherently evil pink-haired brat, Kamiya Yuu decides to form a new band himself, destroy MYGO, and take his friends back from the blond-haired Anon!

Guitarist Yukinoshita Yukino, bassist Natsukawa Masuzu, keyboardist Kurokawa Akane —a brand new band, assemble! Tools, victory against the band will win back your comrades!

Everyone must come back, not one less, including you...

Toyokawa Sakiko!

--But why are even the tools acting a little strange?!

Chapter Thirty-Two, The Promise

"Pack your things, Theresis, we can go back now."

Zuo Jian approached Theresis, who was resting nearby, carrying a greatsword covered in mud. When Therese looked up, he saw Zuo Jian's disheveled appearance.

"... Is it necessary?" He looked at the earthen mound that appeared Zuo Jian, each raised section of which was stuck with the weapons of the dead mercenaries.

There are no tombstones here, or rather, these weapons, symbols of these mercenaries' blood-soaked lives, are their tombstones.