Cale indifferently observed the tents, warriors, merchants, and other people moving to and from the camp. It made him recall when he was Kim Rok Soo and working different jobs. He suddenly felt tired and had a desire to relax and read a book. However, his face was calm, as usual.
Cale’s gaze once again turned toward Hans as he asked Hans a question.
“Will you rest?”
“I am okay, young master-nim!”
Deputy butler Hans could see Cale speaking to him in his usual self.
“Then let’s work.”
That made Hans feel better. Cale gathered everyone in front of him after verifying that Hans was calm.
Since the Civil War was already over, Cale and crew were able to get to the base in front of the Magic Tower once they showed their identifications. The base was now just filled with people finally getting some rest after the long war.
And the reason they were able to get so far was because Billos had traded materials with the warriors multiple times during the Civil War. They had come under the Flynn Merchant Guild’s name.
However, they were going to do something different starting now.
“We came to meet someone named Toonka today. Make sure you do not respond to any provocations before that.”
Choi Han, who had been quietly listening, started to speak.
“Who is this person named Toonka?”
“Ah, that Bob guy from before is Toonka. Bob is an alias.”
Cale just casually responded to Choi Han as he turned to look at Billos. However, he was able to hear Choi Han’s quiet mumbling as he turned.
“…So it is him.”
“Huh?”
“It is nothing.”
Choi Han responded with a calm expression, so Cale just let it go as he started to speak to Billos.
“Billos, you said you could get to the tent with the chiefs?”
“Yes. However, only about 6 people, including myself, can go.”
“It seems like you made quite a bit of money?”
The fact that he was able to have conversations with the chiefs symbolized that Billos had made a lot of money through the Civil War. Billos just smiled and did not say anything else.
At that moment, the invisible Raon started to speak in Cale’s mind.
‘Now what?’
Cale started to frown.
‘Feeling?’
Cale got the chills and caressed his neck as he ignored Raon’s words.
He then quickly selected the four people who would go with him.
“Choi Han, Lock, Hilsman.”
Cale made eye contact with Rosalyn. She had not said anything after looking around the residence once they arrived. Cale wondered whether she was angry about the death of her fellow mages.
However, what Cale saw in Rosalyn’s eyes was the gaze of a royal princess. Rather than getting angry because of the deaths of the mages, she was thinking about the stupidity of the Whipper Kingdom’s royal family for keeping things as is until the citizens rebelled like this.
“Miss Rosalyn, you’ll be coming, right?”
Rosalyn fixed the large club over her leather armor as she answered.
“Yes.”
The people who would go with him had been decided. Cale decided to leave the rest to Hans.
“We will go somewhere quiet and stay there! I will keep everyone safe!”
Cale could see On and Hong snorting at deputy butler Hans’s words. At the same time, they were asking Cale with their eyes.
‘When will we go to the Magic Tower?’
Cale responded back with a gaze.
‘Just wait a bit.’
They will soon be able to get to the location for the kittens to run wild.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes sir.”
Billos put on a large necklace with the Flynn Merchant Guild crest on it and took the lead. Cale followed behind him.
As soon as they entered into the base, they could feel multiple sharp gazes falling on them.
“Just look forward.”
Everyone looked forward like Cale said. The non-mage faction was made of citizens, knights, and the magic-resistant individuals. Cale’s group stood out like a sore thumb amongst the faction members, who were all covered in blood.
Cale could see the non-mage faction members in front of him as well.
‘I guess they haven’t had enough.’
They wanted war. He could feel the madness and chaos in the air around him. Cale recalled how Toonka had taken control of the Whipper Kingdom royalty and made them his puppets before rushing to fight with the Queen of the Jungle and the Empire.
He took the time to look at the soldiers under the command of a tyrant like Toonka. They did not come up to provoke them or fight with them. They were just mesmerized by Toonka, who they instinctually feared. However, none of them backed away either. They just continued to viciously stare at Cale, who looked like a noble.
“We are here.”
Billos stood in front of a tent. It was not very deep in the base, as Cale had expected. It was only a bit away from the entrance.
“Honestly speaking, the chiefs-.”
“Billos.”
Cale cut Billos off because he knew what Billos was going to say.
The non-mage faction thinks that they destroyed their, ‘rationality,’ but in reality, a different kind of rationality had exploded in its place.
Are only mages smart? Are they the only educated ones?
No. There were many others who were educated as well. The scientists had come under Toonka because they were tired of being suppressed by the mages.
‘They hate magic even more than Toonka does.’
You could just consider them to be crazy. It is even scarier when smart people go crazy.
“Contact them.”
“Yes sir.”
Billos approached the largest tents in the chiefs’ section. A warrior approached him to guide him and watch him.
The chiefs’ tent. There were many more warriors here than the other areas. It was interesting that Toonka had no problem throwing away weak warriors but were protecting these chiefs.
‘That is why he couldn’t become a real hero.’
Cale ignored the sharp gazes of the guards and waited for Billos to come back with the chiefs. He just needed to ask them to meet with Toonka and they would probably welcome it with open arms.
However.
‘Why does my neck feel so cold?’
Cale looked around to see what might be causing this odd feeling. Billos was taking longer than he had expected. It should not take this long to come back with a single person.
Raon’s low voice rang in Cale’s mind as the entrance flap to the tent Billos entered started to move. It looked like a large person was trying to run out.
‘No way?’
Suddenly, Choi Han, who had been standing behind Cale, stepped in front of Cale with a stiff expression.
“Choi Han?”
“I have a bad feeling about this.”
“What?”
Riiip! The tent entrance ripped open.
“I smell it! I smell the scent of a strong person! Muahahahaha! This is perfect! I was so bored!”
A large man covered in blood revealed himself. Behind him was a man and a woman who were slightly smaller than him, but still quite large.
“Sigh.”
Cale let out a sigh.
The crazy person who was covered in blood as if he had showered in mage blood was naturally Toonka. As usual, Toonka was accurately looking at a specific location.
“It’s you!”
He was looking at Choi Han, who was protecting Cale from him. Toonka did not seem to even see Cale behind Choi Han.
“The other ones smell strong too, but you seem to be the strongest! I can’t sleep while smelling such a scent!”
Cale decided he needed to step forward. However, Choi Han asked in a very low voice.
“Is he Toonka?”
“Oh, you recognized him right away.”
Cale just answered Choi Han’s question without thinking, and Toonka pointed to Choi Han at the same time.
“Fight me. Aren’t your hands itching too?”
Cale let out a sigh. Toonka really never seemed to change.
Choi Han would naturally decline as his personality was not one who would fight for no reason. He would definitely not fight with someone he had just met.
Cale tried to walk past Choi Han, who was in front of him. That was when he heard Choi Han’s voice.
“Sure.”
‘What?’
Raon’s voice echoed in Cale’s head.
Contrary to Raon’s excited voice, Cale started to frown.
On the other hand, Toonka licked his lips after seeing the way Choi Han was glaring at him. He only had Choi Han in his eyes and did not see anybody else. Choi Han had the strongest scent here. It was the same scent that made him think of the Whale people who were staring back at him in the Ubarr territory.
“Kekeke, yes, I like that type of gaze.”
Toonka was excited. He felt like he could have a physical fight, one that did not rely on crap like magic.
Choi Han put his hand on the hilt of his blade after seeing the madness in Toonka’s eyes. He was calm, but his gaze seemed like it wanted to chop Toonka in half.
Screech.
A part of the blade came out of the scabbard.
It was at that moment.
Squeeze.
Choi Han felt a strong grip on his shoulder and suddenly got the chills. He had felt this once before.
It was the same pressure that caught everyone’s attention when they were with the Whales. A quiet yet emotionless voice reached Choi Han’s ear.
“Choi Han.”
Cale was looking at him. Cale wasn’t blaming him or giving him a command, but his gaze seemed to be extremely deep. That gaze made Choi Han subconsciously let go of the blade.
Click.
The blade was pushed back into the scabbard.
“Are you trying to fight right now?”
The Dominating Aura was surrounding Cale’s entire body right now. He walked past Choi Han and faced Toonka.
The stench of blood filled his nose.
“Toonka.”
Cale needed to stand above Toonka now. It became a little more complicated, but he decided that he might as well use this opportunity. Cale pushed back his red hair and greeted the blankly staring Toonka.
“Long time no see.”
“You, you ar-“
Toonka did not recognize him right away. However, as soon as he saw the red hair, he thought of a single person. However, this person in front of him was too different from the last time they had met. He clenched his fist. An unexplainable feeling was coming out of this bastard in front of him.
The bastard that shoved him in the ocean and looked down on him, Cale Henituse. His gaze was the same as two months ago. The man he saw two months ago asked him a question.
“Do you want to fight?”
Cale had a calm smile as he asked. However, he did not wait for Toonka’s response.
“Choi Han.”
“…Yes sir.”
Choi Han could not help but nod his head at Cale’s indifferent voice.
“Fight him if you want.”
Choi Han could only answer in one way.
“I will definitely win.”
Choi Han put his hand back on the hilt of his blade. His tightly clenched fist let him feel a stronger desire than before. Cale then turned toward Toonka, who was slowly starting to smile. Toonka then let out a loud laugh.
“Muhahahahahahahha!”
It was so loud it echoed through the base. However, Toonka was still nervous. The person in front of him was definitely weak, however!
There was an aura that dominated this area. Toonka ignored that aura and shouted even louder. He was excited. His body was heating up. Blood, he needed to see blood.
“Let’s fight! Great! Very good!”
In that moment, Raon was scoffing at Toonka as he spoke to Cale.
It was only obvious. Toonka would probably get beaten to a pulp.
Choi Han was not the type to go easy in a fight. Cale looked toward the even crazier looking Toonka, who was laughing like a maniac, and started to speak to Choi Han.
“No need to hold back.”
That made Choi Han start to smile. This smile did not look pure and innocent at all. That smile satisfied Cale and he called over to Toonka.
“Bob.”
The sudden return of his alias from two months ago made Toonka stop laughing. Cale then glanced at Toonka’s subordinates, as well as the warriors who were slowly approaching the chiefs’ tents and the people who were too scared to move. He looked back at Toonka afterward and started to speak.
“Set it up.”
They might as well do it right if they were going to fight anyway.
Teaser