The Outer Castle1.
This is a place where ordinary citizens live.
Unlike outside the castle, it was not a slum but had well-made streets, restaurants, and a plaza where people could rest.
In particular, the statue of Hephaistos, located in the center of the square, was a symbol of Dmitry.
'It's noisy.'
The surroundings were noisy.
A large crowd was coming and going, and it was crowded with people selling things and others trying to buy stuff from them.
Roman walked down the street.
Of course, there were many people who recognized Roman.
Most of the people of the Dmitry family live in the inner castle, but Roman often goes out of the inner castle for entertainment and other things.
While outside, it wasn't just once or twice that Roman made a scene.
People whispered at Roman's appearance, but they did not walk up to him and talk to him.
What? Courtesy to the lord's family?
It isn't something that involves Roman.
Dmitry's people respected Baron Romero but didn't respect his fool of a son the same.
'Since I, Roman Dmitry, the target of revenge, am roaming the streets without a single guard, the Blood Fang should soon get to know where I am.'
It was the actual reason I came here.
Roman had deliberately wandered the streets with Hans.
It was the appearance he had deliberately shown before, but when he judged that his location had been exposed to a certain extent, he left Hans at the restaurant to be safe.
Hans had done enough for his role.
Hans' absence was used to make them careless and also because I had no intention of putting him in danger.
'If the Blood Fang is a group that attacks even nobles as the rumors say, now is the perfect opportunity for them to get revenge.'
Roman's outing today was no accident.
After Roman was assigned by his father to take care of Blood Fang's affairs, he stayed in his room alone to get to know them well. In reality, their power was not that strong. The Dmitry Knights were enough to deal with them, but the problem was that it was impossible to eradicate the whole Blood Fang at once. So, people didn't usually touch Blood Fang. This was because if you touched them but did not deal with them properly, you would have to live with the fear of being the target of revenge for the rest of your life.
An intangible force.
Therefore, Roman made a plan.
If you can't find them first, you just have to make them come to you.
"The fish is fresh today!"
"Southern silk for only one gold!"
"Move quickly, Max!"
It was crowded with people.
Roman walked between them, slowly calming his emotions.
'Today is the day the Dmitry Knights will conduct regular training. Since the number of guards has been significantly reduced compared to other times, even if something happens in the outer castle, they will not be able to respond quickly. As the Blood Fang, you wouldn't want to miss a day like this. It's not a common opportunity to see Dmitry's young master, who just goes out on a whim, wandering the streets without a guard on a day when the Dmitry Knights are training.'
That's correct. It's a bait.
Roman had presented himself as an attractive bait.
He used this method quite frequently in Murim as well.
Even the great assassins, who showed no traces, naturally turned on their eyes and rushed in when they saw loopholes.
'Three in the back.'
Slowly, he gained a tail.
The people who watched from afar at first were now openly pursuing him.
'Now, I'm tempted.'
Naturally.
Roman turned and walked into a quiet alley.
It's the direction of the entertainment district that Roman loved very much, so there was no suspicion in the eye of the pursuers.
He gently waved the bait.
Let them take the bait.
Roman hid his true feelings and disappeared deep into the alley with a cold expression.
- - -
"Captain of the Knights, Jonathan! Knights' Commander, Jonathan!"
Jonathan, who had been instructing the Knights for a long time, frowned at the sight of Hans running towards him.
"What's going on?"
"The, the young master is haa… in… haa."
"Speak slowly."
Hans could not speak properly as he was gasping for air.
Rushing here from the outer castle made his face pale, but it was more important for Hans to warn others of the danger to Roman's life.
"Young Master Roman is in danger!"
"The young master is?"
"Yes! The young master went out to the outer castle without a single guard, and it seemed like he was trying to fight with the Blood Fang. We never know what will happen if we leave him like this. We must find the young master as soon as possible!"
Hans's voice was very intense.
It was a voice that actively appealed to how dangerous Roman's situation was, but Jonathan responded as if he was confused and had heard something absurd.
"I think my ears aren't working properly. Now, are you saying that Young Master Roman, who can't even use a sword, let alone aura, went out alone to the outer castle to fight Blood Fang?"
"That's right!"
"That sounds really absurd."
Jonathan grinned.
He has been a knight of Dmitry since Baron Romero received the Dmitry estate and has experience teaching Roman and other young masters of Dmitry. The other young masters showed excellent qualities as swordsmen. In fact, they made rapid progress and advanced to the capital, but Young Master Roman was an exception.
He was weak, even among the weakest candidates.
Above all else, his cowardly heart was a big problem.
He sat on the floor and shivered if he saw a bit of blood, so Jonathan decided that Roman had no talent as a swordsman.
His head is stupid, and he doesn't know how to use his body.
The evaluation of being a fool initially originated from the Knights Templar.
To say that Roman went out to fight Blood Fang, it was natural for Jonathan not to believe it.
"There is no time for this! We must save the young master!"
Hans ran wild on the road.2
Jonathan didn't like it, but he couldn't ignore Hans' words.
'There was also a special order from the Lord.'
A few days ago, Baron Romero summoned Jonathan and ordered him to help Roman. Although the knights of Dmitry and Jonathan did not like Roman very much, they could not refuse the orders of the lord they followed.
If what Hans said is true, the stupid fool caused a seriously huge problem this time.
Why the heck is a guy who doesn't even know how to use a sword doing something like this?
Jonathan cried out.
"Right now, all knights, go and get armed."
Clack. Clack.
The knights were sorted in a row.
Jonathan looked down at Hans with a fierce expression on his face.
"Guide me to where the young master is. In our land, it is unacceptable to dare to touch Dmitry's young master."
- - -
Step. Step.
The sound of footsteps echoed through the alley.
The men who quietly followed Roman's footsteps revealed their true colors as they entered the isolated space.
Step. Step.
"This is the Blood Fang's revenge!"
It happened in an instant.
A man rushed at him instantly and stabbed Roman with all his might with the dagger in his hands. A surprise attack suddenly occurred without warning. Ordinary people would have been helpless in this situation, but Roman's reaction was quick.
Swish.
Roman dodged to the side by a hair's breadth.
Then, he grabbed his opponent's arm with his armpit and snapped it.
Crack.
"Aaaaaaaaah!"
The man screamed.
When he dropped the dagger in his hand due to the pain in his bizarrely broken arm, Roman caught the falling dagger and stabbed the man in his neck several times.
Instantly, blood gushed out like a fountain.
With a pale face, the man hurriedly tried to stop the blood from spurting from his neck, but there was nothing he could do about the blood seeping between his fingers.
"Shit!"
"This son of a bitch!"
The men's expressions changed.
They pulled out their weapons and attacked Roman at the same time.
Swish!
Weapons were swung from all sides, aiming for Roman's life.
The sharp blades shone brilliantly in the sunlight, but they did not achieve their purpose and only ripped through the air.
The men's faces suddenly hardened.
If it was the Roman they knew, it didn't make sense for him to make such moves and dodge the attacks without much effort.
Smack!
"Keuk."
Roman's kick explosively hit the man's stomach.
The man tried to counterattack with a distorted expression of pain, but Roman escaped the attack range with a quick movement.
Sensing his opponent's location quickly, Roman's fist pierced his face.
His head spun around.
Blood dripped from his mouth, and his teeth splattered on the floor like corn.
Soon.
"Kuak!"
Another man's scream was heard.
While the man who had been beaten could not come to his senses, the dagger that Roman threw stuck into his thigh.
The men were lying on the ground.
In an instant, three people were defeated.
The two men, who were still alive, were startled by the sight of their dead companion with a hole in his throat.
'How can this be? Is this really Roman?'
The intel was incorrect.
No, their general knowledge was wrong.
As far as they knew, he was never the kind of person who could produce an outcome like this.
"Is it just you guys?"
Roman's voice was dull.
Roman wiped the blood off his face as if nothing had happened, and he looked around to understand the situation.
There are no other enemies.
At least, Roman's senses were saying that.
'There is no one capable of avoiding my senses in Blood Fang.'
In the next few days, Roman made a leap in physical development in just a short period of time.
It was impossible for ordinary Murim members, but nothing was impossible for the Heavenly Demon who stood at the top of Murim.
The Heavenly Demon Arts.
Murim's best breathing technique developed Roman's body quickly just by breathing.
Only the Heavenly Demon and the Heavenly Demon Arts could make such a miracle possible.
It would take a considerable amount of time for Roman to reach a satisfactory level. Still, even if he recovered only 0.1% of his original strength, there would be no problem while dealing with Blood Fang.
Roman was holding his breath.
In his lower abdomen, some mana reacted.
Roman's body, which was far from the ideal state, was already accumulating mana and entering a new state.
"If… if you kill us, you won't be safe either!"
"We are the Blood Fang!"
The men were desperate.
Since they were terrified, they tried to destroy Roman's will with words.
"You've already tried to assassinate and threaten me. Are you just stupid, or is that all you have to say?"
Roman squatted in front of them.
Then, he cut their legs once more with a dagger.
Slash!
"Kugh!"
"Only answer the questions asked from now on. If you answer me honestly, I'll give you a special chance to change your ways."
"What kind of—Ahh!"
Smack!
"Just answer my questions."
Roman looked into their eyes.
The people, who were terrified, did not dare to look into Roman's eyes.
How to take care of an organization?
It's actually pretty simple.
When you cannot know their true nature, you will figure out the leader at some point if you kill them one by one from the bottom.
Roman laughed.
"Who is your superior?"
The conversation was short.
The Blood Fang gang tried to keep the information secret, but they immediately gave out the information as soon as the torture began.
He cut off the knuckles of the fingers.
They could not hold out any longer when their eyes were being gouged out.
"There is a pub called Dawn's Dew. We… we get our missions from there. If you say a special code, that's when they give you a mission, so we don't know more about it."
"Good. You should just have told me something like this first."
"Then, are you going to spare our lives?"
"No, the only way to rehabilitate garbage is death."
Stab!
He pierced the man's heart with a dagger.
There was no guilt.
The Heavenly Demon Cult was a place of survival of the fittest.
Showing mercy to the enemy was not a virtue of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
Roman wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve and walked back into the bustling streets.
'One by one.'
Roman started laughing.
He knew that he wasn't a good person.
His heart was pounding.
The feelings he could not feel when he reigned supreme in the world came alive after a long time and stimulated his senses.
While the Dmitry Knights went wild, Roman walked alone towards the lair of the Blood Fang.
The Castle was divided into the Inner Castle and the Outer Castle. The Inner Castle was for most rich and high-class people, while the ordinary citizens lived in the Outer Castle. Outside the castle, there were slums where poor people lived. ↩️
It means that Hans behaved in an uncontrollable manner. ↩️