I Became a Crazy Swordsmanship Instructor in the Game - Chapter 72:

“This is the best part of this business. There’s plenty of time to rest in between like this.”

Mercenary Captain Bottom said to Owen, the youngest member of the mercenary group, as he sipped his whiskey. While Philip, Lisriel, and the rest of the party were handling their mission within the Elphenia Forest, the mercenaries and the porters waited at the campsite.

Since there wasn’t much to do, all they could do was drink and eat while idling away.

“By the way, I envy them. By now, the noble prince is probably having a good time with beautiful elves, right?”

When Owen’s jealous expression hinted at his envy, Bottom let out a deep sigh.

“Just envy them. Only envy. The moment you’re jealous, your life goes downhill. Do those noble folks ever appear ordinary? I’ve never heard the story of someone fending off an ogre in my entire life. Do you know what that means or not?”

‘No, fuck it. I could be a little jealous, but why the lecture?’

While Owen thought that, he nodded his head.

“I’m not sure.”

“It means you feel strong enough to pity the ogre. You’re a fool. What do you think when you see an ogre getting beaten to a pulp on the street?”

“Well… um… wouldn’t it be scary?”

“Yeah. Ordinary folks might think that way, but a smart guy with his brain working would wait until the ogre is thoroughly defeated, then they’d extract blood or take tendons and leather. Of course, someone with a really sharp mind would just run away.”

In response to Bottom’s words, Owen chuckled.

“Why run away? The ogre is dying.”

“Oh, you idiot. That’s why you are here and that noble is having fun with the elves. Think about it. The fact that the ogre is dying like that means something that put it in that state is nearby, right? Anyway, if there’s someone who pities the dying ogre so much that they’d even apply a potion to its wounds or something, what kind of person would that be?”

After a moment of contemplation, Owen offered his answer.

“… A crazy person?”

Bottom agreed.

“It might be a crazy person. But if it’s not someone truly insane, then even if the ogre suddenly regains its strength and attacks them, it wouldn’t matter. It’s a person who wouldn’t mind. To put it roughly, it’s like setting a trapped fox free. It’s just out of pity.”

Even though he had spoken so much, Owen continued to gaze at Bottom with an expression that seemed to ask, “So what should I do then?”

‘Looks like this brat is an idiot. He’s pretty good with a blade, so I was thinking of grooming him to take over the mercenary group.’

Bottom, who had wanted to retire quickly, sighed as he thought he needed to find another successor. In his view, Owen was destined to meet his fate on some mission once he built up his skills.

“Never mind. This brat. Where’s Masha? Where did she go?”

When he mentioned the name of the only female member, Owen tilted his head.

“I think she said that she was going to pick flowers.”

“She probably went to take a shit. A woman who lives on swordplay and eats like a warrior is talking about flowers. I got it, she must have gone somewhere to laze around. Don’t waste time drinking and sleeping. Got it?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Ugh, jerks.”

Owen and Masha had been mercenaries brought up by Bottom since their days as little brats.

While he didn’t cherish them enough to sacrifice his life for them, Bottom hoped that they would live well, if possible.

With a mouthful of whiskey, Bottom suddenly saw a group approaching in the distance.

“What the hell?”

They didn’t look like a band of thieves. Even though there were only about five members in the mercenary group, they had better equipment than the thieves, so they could handle more than twice their numbers.

At a quick glance, the group seemed to be in the same profession. Well-equipped mercenaries had come to the campsite from above.

There were about twenty of them, and he could even see Masha tied up among them.

Bottom immediately spat out his whiskey and grabbed his axe.

“Hey, you bastards, who are you?”

He was the most well-known mercenary in the Academy area, so there was no reason to be intimidated by some inexperienced newcomers.

As the leader among them stepped forward, he instead threw a question back without giving an answer.

“Are you mercenaries hired by Lisriel Joseph?”

Bottom tightened his grip on the axe and spoke.

“If you want to ask something, let our girl go first and then ask. Damn it. If you want an axe in your skull, just keep blabbering.”

The mercenary leader only smirked in response to Bottom’s threat.

“The country bumpkins are a filthy bunch, it seems. Looking at these raggedy scoundrels, they don’t seem worth much trouble. Just wipe them out. Idiots.”

As he drew his sword, Bottom swiftly reached for a throwing axe at his hip like lightning.

Utilizing the power and recoil from his waist, he possessed the ability to throw with enough lethality, even without exerting much effort.

With a powerful spin, the axe, which had absorbed plenty of rotational force, flew toward the head of the mercenary in front. The man yelped and ducked to the side.

The axe missed him and embedded itself deep into the neck of one of the mercenaries, signaling the start of the battle.

“Charge in! You idiots!”

“Form up! Gather together! Let me do something!”

The mercenaries responded to their commanders’ voices, albeit much faster than Bottom’s smaller mercenary group. Owen, who couldn’t even wear leather armor, cursed and armed himself with a sword as he approached Bottom.

“What’s happening? Captain?”

“Do you fucking get it now? If you don’t want to get screwed, get your head straight. Gather together as much as possible and buy time. I’ll do something.”

As Owen acknowledged, Bottom swiftly retrieved a throwing axe hidden on his hip, thigh, and cloak, leaving only one. It would take just a few seconds to throw six axes.

Two missed, but the remaining four hit the enemies, causing four of them to be taken out in an instant.

Having taken down one earlier, there were fifteen remaining. Even so, the odds were still significantly against them. However, there was something special about Bottom, who had lived as a mercenary until close to the age of forty.

“Ugh, damn it.”

With a battle axe in his right hand, he charged into the enemy lines. It seemed the enemy didn’t even consider using their bows to overpower him.

Several spears aimed at his side, heart, and shoulder. Bottom swung his axe forcefully, deflecting them away.

“Huh?”

The mercenaries were taken aback by Bottom’s extraordinary skill, and fell prey to the ongoing assault. The powerful blow of Bottom’s heavy battle axe shattered their ribs and tore through their lungs.

Of course, Bottom himself wasn’t entirely unscathed during the process. One spear tip that grazed his shoulder ended up gashing his cheek.

“Ha, damn it…”

After uttering a curse, he glared at the remaining mercenaries with a fierce look in his eyes.

The youngest member, Owen, was slightly above the average mercenary level. He was peculiar among mercenaries, skillfully engaging multiple opponents with a sword rather than the more typical spear or axe.

Although he couldn’t penetrate through the enemy ranks like Bottom, the fact that he was holding his own without sustaining significant injuries was already an impressive feat.

“What the hell, you said they’re just mercenaries hired to chase off thieves?”

The leader of the attackers muttered in disappointment. If he had known it would turn out like this, they probably would have fled earlier. However, being on the losing side and having already lost a significant number of their own, they had no choice but to stand their ground.

“Push forward! Use your numbers to push! That guy is injured too!”

At that moment, a dagger flew from behind and embedded itself near the leader’s shoulder blade. The female mercenary Masha, who had been tied up, had managed to free herself and threw a dagger she had picked up from somewhere.

Of course, the enemies weren’t just sitting idly. One of his men in the rear swung a blunt weapon at Masha’s shoulder.

“Aaargh!”

Feeling the excruciating pain as her shoulder was completely wrecked, Masha collapsed on the spot. Bottom flinched upon hearing her scream.

He knew that getting carried away here would make the situation worse, but human emotions weren’t easily controlled.

“These bastards!”

As Bottom started to get agitated and become more frenzied, the tide began to turn against Bottom’s mercenary group. Even though two more of the enemy mercenaries had died, Bottom’s stamina was draining rapidly, his breathing grew labored, and his movements slowed. With about ten remaining mercenaries, they closed in on him.

“Ugh! Captain, do something! We’re going to die at this rate! We’re going to die!”

Owen let out a sound of desperation. Bottom felt a moment of clarity and sighed.

‘… Have I been taking on too many easy jobs lately?’

* * *

“Hmm? What’s that sound?”

Philip and Lisriel were heading toward the campsite where the mercenaries and porters were staying.

As Castler and Privia were both unable to move immediately and needed to stay in the Elphenia Forest for another day or two, Philip planned to inform them that they would have to wait for another two days.

“What’s wrong? You?”

When Lisriel asked, Philip smacked his lips.

“I think I hear sounds of fighting. We need to hurry.”

Philip didn’t wait for her permission and wrapped his arm around Lisriel’s waist, pulling her close to his side.

“Oh?”

If it had been anyone else, she might have screamed immediately, but despite the sudden intrusion, Lisriel wasn’t particularly opposed to it.

Philip quickly moved through the forest trail at a pace much faster than running on smooth ground. Even in this situation, Lisriel, who was feeling some sort of romanticism, soon screamed as branches and leaves hit her head and cheeks.

“Eek! Hold on, Philip. Could we slow down a bit…”

Ignoring her pleas, Philip continued at almost full speed. He soon came face to face with a fierce battle unfolding at the campsite.

“Lis, who could know about this camp?”

Lisriel, who had also opened her eyes wide at the sounds of battle cries and screams, responded while staring at the battlefield with disbelief.

“This is… a place only our Association should know about…? Hurry, figure out something.”

“It must be Deluan Joseph. What could she be planning to do with them?”

Muttering that, Philip drew a sword from his waist. Of course, the sword’s true identity was Neria.

‘Kuwool….’

A cute snoring sound echoed in his mind.

Lately, Neria had been spending most of her days sleeping. Worried, when Philip asked Privia, she simply answered that it was a natural process for Spirit Swords to grow, and didn’t provide much further explanation.

“Feels a bit empty without the grumbling Neria around these days.”

Without the grumbling Neria, life felt slightly lacking, so Philip hoped she would regain her energy soon.

“Stay here and wait. Once the situation is resolved, come over.”

“Got it.”

Philip left Lisriel waiting and rushed into the battlefield.