---

Chapter 228. Kallem (3)

Watanabe, who decided not to draw his sword, spoke to the man who had fallen on his backside.

“Hey, you.”

“…What?”

“Have you ever flown in the sky?”

“What did you say?”

Swish!

In an instant, Watanabe Yosuke’s right arm blurred from the opponent’s sight.

To Yoo Ji-han’s eyes, he saw the figure of Watanabe throwing a punch from behind to the front.

Boom—!

With a straight and powerful punch, a tremendous shockwave erupted.

The man who responded to Watanabe was sent flying far backward.

“Gagagh…!”

A punch released with just a small amount of mana.

That alone was enough to send a person’s body flying.

“Muahahaha! I hope that was a good experience for you!”

The fallen man’s companions gasped in shock.

It was a scene so unbelievable that they could hardly trust their own eyes.

Following this, other heroes twisted their shoulders or cracked their necks.

“I was getting bored, so this works out nicely.”

“Just before dying, I guess I could throw a punch as well.”

“Hey! I called dibs on that one!”

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

In the middle of the desolate wasteland.

Only the sounds of heroes alleviating their boredom echoed loudly.

“Chirp chirp! It seems like everyone’s feeling a bit restless.”

Chilla scratched his chin while watching the one-sided violence unfold.

*

“Can’t you even hold your hands straight?”

“Ugh!”

“Yikes! I’m so sorry!”

The bandits, kneeling on the dirt ground, held their arms high in response to Kim Si-hu’s intimidation.

With dark bruises around their eyes, blood streaming from their noses, and broken front teeth, they looked utterly pathetic.

“Better than hitting a sandbag.”

“Stronger than I expected.”

“Could I hit them just one more time?”

On the other hand, the Kallem Expeditionary Force wore satisfied expressions, as if they had enjoyed a good fight.

The muscular bandits were perfectly suited for hitting with bare hands.

Park Jae-kyung showed them the pictures of Yoon Do-ha he was holding and asked,

“Have you seen someone who looks like this?”

“…No, we haven’t.”

“If you don’t want to die, think carefully.”

“U-uh, we really haven’t! Absolutely not!”

Despite the lethal threat, the bandits shook their heads.

After asking several times with the same response, Park Jae-kyung showed a disappointed expression.

“It seems the Guild Master prefers to operate without revealing his face.”

The presence of a person named Yoon Do-ha could not help but stand out in any world he ventured into.

The bandits who were merely taking hits were at a level he could have easily handled alone.

The fact that such a presence had not been widely recognized outside meant he had not acted publicly yet.

“He could be quietly somewhere, you know?”

“No way.”

“…”

In response to Yoo Ji-han’s question, Park Jae-kyung shook his head firmly.

“Given Kallem’s context, if something displeases him, he wouldn’t hesitate to overturn an entire city.”

With a curious and playful nature, Yoon Do-ha would surely cause some commotion even after arriving in Kallem.

That was the conviction of someone who had been his companion for a long time.

“Thank you for rescuing us!”

“I truly appreciate it!”

The people who had been captured by the bandits expressed their gratitude to the heroes.

Yoo Ji-han approached a man who seemed to be their representative and asked,

“Who are you?”

“We are from the Yogo Guild.”

“Yogo Guild?”

They were people transporting items with a cart from a guild called Yogo.

Unfortunately, they had encountered the Mesper bandit group and were in danger of having their goods stolen.

Then the Kallem Expeditionary Force happened upon the situation.

“Do you happen to have a map?”

“Yes! Here it is!”

Yoo Ji-han eagerly checked the map presented by a man.

It resembled the general map that Fran had sketched out.

“Where are we located right now?”

“We should be right above here.”

The man pointed to the middle of the map with his finger.

Now that Yoo Ji-han was able to properly set the direction, he let out a sigh of relief.

—What’s wrong?

“Ah, nothing!”

—Is this your first time seeing a spirit?

“W-well, it is…”

The man glanced nervously at the Sylph.

Chilla, on the other hand, looked at them curiously.

“Chirp? What’s going on?”

“…Are you really human?”

“Chirp! I am human… Ugh?!”

Min Yu-ri blocked Chilla’s attempt to introduce himself with her arm.

There was no need to cause unnecessary confusion through Chilla’s presence.

“He’s a friend who always wears animal skin due to a special religion.”

“Sounds like some kind of magic!”

“It’s similar.”

“Excuse me, but who are these remarkable individuals?”

“Oh, well, that is to say…”

“It’s suspicious to see so many people with unusual abilities gathering together…”

The Kallem Expeditionary Force was so powerful it seemed to raise suspicion by existing without reason.

Yoo Ji-han looked at the other heroes, pondering before saying,

“We are people from a faraway nation.”

“A faraway nation…?”

“Across the sea and over the mountains, it’s a place called Earth. You probably haven’t even heard the name before.”

“Ah! You are from an uncharted continent! Sometimes people come from such places.”

Their origin being an uncharted continent allowed for a vague evasion of details.

The man who had regained his clothing taken by the bandits spoke politely.

“I am Alo from the Yogo Guild.”

“I’m Yoo Ji-han.”

“What a unique name! Thank you once again for rescuing us.”

Alo bowed his head toward Yoo Ji-han.

He had a genuinely grateful attitude for being saved.

“Where is the Yogo Guild headed?”

“We are going to Raquaid.”

Kallem is the name of a world as well as the name of a continent.

In Kallem, there are three forces that dominate the continent: Leron, Maz, and Kabuum.

Raquaid is one of the major cities of the most populous Leron.

“If it’s alright, may we accompany you to Raquaid?”

“Really?”

Alo revealed his joy at Yoo Ji-han’s suggestion.

He had been anxious about not being able to hire useful mercenaries before departing to Raquaid.

With people who had easily dealt with the burly bandits, he could trust them completely.

“If you accompany us, I will surely repay you handsomely!”

“That sounds great. Let’s go together.”

“Yes!”

“However, before that, I have to ask…”

Yoo Ji-han pointed to the kneeling bandits.

“Do any of these guys have a bounty on their heads?”

*

Mesper is a bandit group active near the border of Maz in Leron.

They began as a ragtag group of vagabonds who formed together out of desperation.

However, once a retired mercenary in his 40s joined them, the atmosphere changed.

He selected the relatively useful ones among the vagabonds and trained them hard.

Those trained vagabonds then turned their abilities to raiding activities.

“Why aren’t they coming back?”

Mes, the retired mercenary and leader of Mesper, frowned, thinking of his subordinates who hadn’t returned even after the appointed time.

“Maybe they went to the city?”

“More likely they went off to drink.”

“It was me who decided who would go visit the city next.”

“You think those guys would keep that?”

“Bwahahaha!”

In Mesper, everyone viewed the others as trash.

They speculated that the missing bandits were likely toasting to success after a successful raid.

Since there were no entertainment facilities at Mesper’s base, they enjoyed themselves in the city instead.

“Tch! This time I really need to give them a stern warning.”

Mes clicked his tongue and took a sip from a bottle of red wine stolen a week ago.

The slightly sour and bitter liquid wet his tongue and throat.

As an item distributed only to nobles, it boasted quite excellent flavor.

‘I remember when I could only look at this thing.’

For someone who was once a mercenary, the wine that nobles drank was beyond his wildest dreams.

A single bottle of wine was equivalent to several months of his earnings.

But now, enough wine was stored in the warehouse to drink for an entire month straight.

Of course, it was all stolen goods.

“Hey! Did you know our reputation is rising lately?”

“That means we’ve been eating well.”

“I think it’s about time to move.”

“I’ve been looking into that as well.”

When raiding consistently in a specific area, rumors are bound to spread.

And Mesper, with a raiding success rate of 92%, had become one of the most feared bandit groups among local guilds.

Their known name raised the price for mercenaries naturally.

However, it was becoming increasingly necessary to move before the risks grew larger than they already were.

“We’ll wrap things up here within two weeks, so everyone get ready.”

“Understood!”

Gulp! Gulp!

While his subordinates cheerfully chatted, Mes sipped on his fine wine.

At that moment, he was enjoying luxuries unbefitting of his position.

“Boss! Someone’s coming from over there!”

“Is it the guys who went to the city?”

“There seem to be quite a few of them…”

“Uh-oh? Those guys are all tied up!”

“…?!”

Approaching Mesper’s hidden base, which is hard for outsiders to find, was the Kallem Expeditionary Force, having captured the bandits.

“Arm yourselves!”

Tat-tat!

Feeling uneasy, Mes armed his subordinates.

As those who trained daily, their movements were swift.

When the approaching enemy got close, he spoke in a low voice.

“Who are you?”

“We heard there was a pile of cash here.”

“…A pile of cash?”

Mes frowned.

They hadn’t raided cash in quite a while.

“There’s no such thing.”

“No, there is.”

“What?”

With a wry smile, Yoo Ji-han pointed to Mes’s head.

“Right here. A pile of cash.”

“Chirp! It’s collection time!”

 

---