Chapter 255: This place is ours. (2)
The innkeeper stared blankly at Ghislaine. The knights and hunters, too, blinked in disbelief, thinking they must have misheard.
If you’ve come to the inn, you should either check in with Billy or get the heck out; what do you mean by “check in”?
Then Ghislaine clicked his tongue in annoyance and said, “What are you doing? Everyone hurry up and pack your things and vacate the room.”
The innkeeper was dumbfounded. Does this punk know who I am while pulling this nonsense? Is it because he has a few more guys? So, he asked for confirmation.
“Do you… know who I am while saying such things?”
“I came to get a room; do I really need to know that?”
“Pfft, pfft! This guy’s a nutcase, what the hell?”
The innkeeper burst into laughter. The hunters watching were doubled over laughing too.
“Is this guy insane?”
“They seem like fresh newbies, but they should at least recognize their opponents before acting.”
“Bwahahaha, sometimes you get guys who are completely oblivious to reality!”
Kaor scanned the surroundings and asked Ghislaine, “What are you up to right now?”
“What do you think? I’m looking for accommodation.”
“Have you completely switched over to robbery now? Well, it fits you… But if you’re going to form a band of robbers, at least give me a heads-up so I can prepare myself mentally!”
Kaor was rambling on.
In his mercenary days, he had a reputation for being a mad dog with a terrible temper and causing a lot of accidents.
However, he had never resorted to robbery, even when times were tough. That was a matter of a man’s pride.
He might have overcharged clients, but that was all part of the game.
Ghislaine replied to Kaor’s rambling with an indifferent expression, “You scared again, huh?”
“I’m not scared!”
Kaor snapped back. Ghislaine chuckled and continued, “All these guys are robbers too.”
“…?”
“This place isn’t a lawless zone for nothing. It started with nothing.”
“Really?”
“Somebody took what someone else had started, then someone took that, and they’ve been taking from each other continuously. Look around well. Does this place look like a well-run inn?”
Kaor and the knights looked around at her words. In the dim, grimy old building, countless dried bloodstains were left all over.
Only then did Kaor squint his eyes and nod.
‘No murders allowed?’
That’s the principle, but it won’t happen in reality. In a place filled with criminals, murder is bound to happen. That’s impossible to avoid.
Officially, no one’s dead, but unofficially, there are likely quite a few corpses.
Crack, crack.
The knights cracked their necks and loosened their bodies. The hunters around had suspicious glints in their eyes.
The innkeeper, after laughing heartily, turned to Ghislaine and said, “Ten gold pieces per person.”
Ghislaine smiled back and asked, “Is that the lodging fee? That’s too expensive, aren’t you just overcharging me because I’m an outsider?”
“Are you trying to pull a fast one on us?”
“No, it’s the price of your lives.”
The innkeeper shook a small bell in front of him.
Ding-dong, ding-dong.
Then, the sound of another bell ringing came from the other side.
Ding-dong, ding-dong.
Soon the ringing stopped, and a crowd of hunters shuffled down from upstairs.
Clank!
A door in the floor opened, and more hunters crawled out. They were all armed.
The innkeeper looked around at the hunters and said, “Hey, hey. Put away the weapons for now. If you kill this many, the kingdom will have to intervene. Just make them half-dead and let them out. They can figure out how to return or starve to death by themselves. Oh, and take everything that can make money.”
Even in lawless zones, there were minimum rules. They didn’t kill indiscriminately. While it was common to seize by force, each faction kept each other in check to avoid going too far.
If too many hunters left without being able to endure, the remaining ones would ultimately end up in danger as well.
So, they set their own principles and maintained order among themselves. The kingdom would only intervene in the worst situations.
But those who rampaged without understanding how the world works were usually dealt with under the guise of education. To maintain discipline, an example needed to be made.
The hunters nodded and raised their clubs or clenched their fists. There were about 200 of them. The first floor of the spacious inn was packed.
It was enough numbers to turn rookies into half-dead.
As the hunters surrounded Ghislaine and the knights, the innkeeper fiddled and said, “What’s up? Looking like nobles, huh? If you don’t want to be left with a humiliation you’ll remember for life, how about you resolve this with money? Or shall we have a go at it?”
The hunters were experienced in real combat, having honed their skills by hunting monsters. They were on a different level from ordinary soldiers.
Most of them were at least as skilled as minor knights, and some could even use a bit of mana.
Ghislaine surveyed them and smirked.
Boom!
He grabbed the innkeeper’s head and slammed it down into the wooden bar table.
The table shattered, and the innkeeper’s head cracked as he fainted from the sudden attack. The hunters paused in shock.
Ghislaine looked around and spoke again, “Huh? Wasn’t this just getting started?”
“Ha ha ha ha!”
Kaor laughed heartily. He felt like he understood why the lord had brought him here.
Now that he thought about it, this was perhaps the place that suited him best.
Having spent time with some decent people in the territory, he realized he wanted to imitate them. His pre-existing feelings of inferiority and insecurity had only grown under their influence.
But upon reflection, he didn’t need to do that.
“A crazy dog should live like a crazy dog. There must be a role suitable for a mad dog.”
He didn’t need to awkwardly follow the goody-two-shoes. Kaor had always openly said that ‘the bad boy’ was the coolest.
He kicked the closest hunter and shouted, “Bring it on! You bastards!”
With that shout, the hunters snapped back to their senses and charged.
“Let’s wreck them!”
Bam!
As both sides collided, chaos erupted. Objects shattered without mercy.
The Knights of Penris also broke chairs and swung whatever came to hand. For those who had lived as mercenaries, this situation was very familiar.
Boom!
“What the hell?!”
Despite having way more numbers, the hunters began to fall back as the knights could all use mana.
But the hunters who had risked their lives hunting monsters didn’t just stand there doing nothing.
Here and there, hunters who had learned mana defended against the knight’s attacks. While blocking attacks or taking advantage of other knights being hit, a few hunters managed to retaliate against the knights.
A few took the chance to attack the knights while others were busy blocking.
Maybe it was because they often cooperated when hunting monsters, but their timing was impeccable.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
As a result, the knights gradually sustained wounds and some even fell, getting trampled in the chaos.
Meanwhile, Ghislaine managed to slip away from the fray and was watching from a corner.
“Hmm, good. This is part of my training. I can get close to the hunters quickly.”
If he was going to stay here for long, he needed to make a name for himself and establish a hierarchy. Ghislaine thought this situation was perfect for building friendships and quickly claiming an inn.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Hey, you bastards! Do you know where this is? Ugh!”
“I don’t care! Just die, you idiots!”
Shouts and curses filled the air as the fight escalated.
Since they weren’t using weapons, those who fell would sometimes get back up and attack again. So, the punching became increasingly ferocious.
One by one, people began to break something and fall out of combat.
“Damn! I’m the strongest! You old man can’t beat me!”
“What the hell are you saying! I’m still young, you brat!”
The one who displayed excellent skill in this brawl was Kaor. Like a mad dog, he furiously struck down anyone who dared to challenge him.
However, having been teamed up on by some fairly skilled hunters, one of his eyes was slightly swollen, and he had a gash on the back of his head that was bleeding.
Without a sword, it was hard to kill or subdue instantly, so he had no choice but to allow several attacks.
But relying on his unique ferocity and the skills he had built up over time, he took down the hunters one by one.
Bang! Bang!
In the midst of the fight, it was only natural for his eyes to go wild. A fierce killing intent began to radiate from Kaor.
“Graah!”
Kaor mercilessly trampled the fallen and bit down on his opponent’s neck. He did not hesitate if he saw the opportunity to break limbs.
There was no mercy in his hands. The crazy dog image he was once known for was making a return after a long time.
Covered in blood and going wild, the hunters began to back off in fear.
“What the hell is this guy? He’s a brutal bastard.”
“Could they all be real knights?”
“Everyone pull back! Let’s evade and regroup!”
The remaining hunters quickly dashed toward the door.
The tide had already turned. Their opponent was stronger than expected. In a situation like this, they needed to escape first.
But they couldn’t leave.
“You could come in as you pleased, but you can’t leave like that.”
Ghislaine stood at the door.
One of the hunters shouted, “It’s just one guy! Just stampede him!”
“What are you saying?”
Wham!
With a swift punch, Ghislaine sent the charging hunter crashing to the ground with his neck snapped. It looked like he was half-dead, foaming at the mouth.
Seeing that single blow, the charging hunters all halted in their tracks.
Behind them, Kaor and the knights were advancing angrily.
Fifty behind, one in front.
Sure, the one looked strong, but it seemed faster to deal with the front.
“Push!”
At a hunter’s shout, Ghislaine grinned. And simultaneously, his fist launched at the approaching hunters.
Wham! Wham! Wham!
With each satisfying thud that echoed, the hunters fell one after the other. It was a perfectly timed punching spree.
Thud!
The last hunter to fall mumbled to himself.
“Monstrous bastards….”
The inn was filled with heavy breath and groans. Looking down at the floor crowded with fallen hunters, Ghislaine remarked,
“Not bad, right?”
Kaor and the knights laughed. Their hair was a mess and they looked ridiculous, but after such a long time of fighting, their bodies felt perfectly loosened up.
This brawling was certainly different from the blade work on the battlefield. Without spilling major blood, it was more like a game for them. Plus, they could sort out the hierarchy while they were at it.
The knife work was definitely different from butchering. Without seeing large amounts of blood, this was almost a game to them. Plus, they could sort out their ranks while having fun.
Ghislaine looked around at everyone and flashed a grin.
“Now this is our base.”
*
The fallen hunters were all thrown out of the inn. It was no surprise that people were astonished at the number.
With nearly 200 hunters piled up in a state of complete disarray, it was only natural.
Ghislaine strode out of the inn and declared, “This place is ours now. Got it? If anyone has any complaints, feel free to come see me. The lodging fee is 100 gold per day.”
Nods of agreement.
The onlookers nodded their heads.
Arnold, the owner of the inn, was quite a powerful figure in this area. Yet he’d been easily beaten and chased away by so many hunters.
This was a place where strength took precedence over the law. No one dared to oppose or challenge such a strong individual.
“Didn’t Arnold get knocked out? Can you believe he went down so easily?”
“Looks like some idiots showed up. I wonder if they’ll be alright?”
“But still, the newcomers aren’t too shabby, are they? If they negotiate well with Doncard, they could build a substantial power.”
It was rare for anyone to cause such a big commotion right after arriving and showing their strength. At this rate, it seemed they could establish some territory in the fortress.
The crowd didn’t disperse. Their curiosity about the suddenly appeared powerhouses kept them glued to the spot.
Regardless, Ghislaine and the knights were busily cleaning up the inn.
“Phew, it’s finally looking a bit cleaner. No one should live this dirty, you know.”
Ghislaine couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction at the tidier inn.
After finishing the cleaning and resting for a day, Ghislaine gathered everyone. With a base secured, it was time to move quickly.
Ghislaine addressed the group, “Now that we’ve established a base, I’ll clearly outline what we’ll be doing here. Just follow this goal.”
At that, one knight asked, “Isn’t it just about hunting monsters and getting leather? That’s why we came, right?”
“Yeah, but we actually need quite a lot of leather in our territory. Once things are settled, I’ll be heading back, so you all will stay here and send leather and byproducts to our territory.”
The knights exchanged sly smiles. If the lord left, they could just drink and have fun while catching a few monsters. It really felt like a vacation.
So they all enthusiastically shouted, “Yes! We’ll work hard and send it!”
Seeing their enthusiastic response, Ghislaine beamed.
“We’ll also balance training to improve your skills. Hunting monsters will definitely help you get stronger.”
The knights chuckled. They always felt like the lord underestimated them too much.
“Lord! We’re mercenaries. We’ve hunted plenty of monsters before.”
“We’ve also mastered mana. How much can our skills increase just by catching a few monsters?”
“Didn’t we go to the Forest of Monsters too?”
Just hunting monsters every day doesn’t mean skills will improve. If it did, all hunters would’ve become swordmasters by now.
Real battles are called real for a reason; one wrong move can get you killed before your skills even have a chance to improve.
To truly increase your skills, it’s essential to fight suitable opponents consistently. Simply fighting monsters won’t easily boost your abilities.
But Ghislaine had no intention of doing that.
“Just working hard isn’t going to cut it. I’ll set a target amount for you.”
“…What’s the target amount?”
“Bring back 100,000 monsters within six months.”
The knights’ faces turned pale at the absurd statement.
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