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Thanks to the bountiful yields from his fertile lands and the trade city of Jarud, the House of Baron Chetas had long been one of the wealthiest in the Crovence Kingdom. He also commanded considerable military force, with seven hundred soldiers and fifty knights under his command. Although his title was not high, he had significant influence among the nobles due to his familial ties with the aura user, Sir Grandiad.

He was also a long-time rival of the neighboring House of Baron Galin.

Despite being neighbors, the two houses never had a good relationship. The traditional noble House of Baron Chetas did not recognize the newly risen noble House of Baron Galin, which was of merchant origin. They despised them, calling them lowly scoundrels who had bought their title with money.

This sentiment spread to their subordinates, resulting in frequent minor conflicts between the two houses. Each time, the weaker House of Baron Galin would swallow their pride and retreat, preventing a full-blown war.

The real problem arose after the Crovence War of Succession.

To pledge loyalty to the new king, Yubel II, many nobles gathered in the royal capital, Crothin. Among them were Berant, the heir of Galin, and Jacques, the heir of Chetas.

During the civil war, Baron Chetas, relying on Sir Grandiad, initially declared neutrality before belatedly joining Yubel’s forces. In contrast, Baron Galin supported King Yubel from the start and was proudly counted among the king’s meritorious retainers. As a result, the status of the two houses changed significantly.

Upon meeting his long-time rival Jacques in the capital, Berant thought,

“Now, there’s no reason to be intimidated by the House of Baron Chetas anymore!”

Thus, he behaved confidently and nobly towards Jacques, unlike his usual demeanor.

However, to Jacques, Berant was still nothing but a lowborn. Seeing Berant’s changed attitude, Jacques was furious.

“This lowly scoundrel doesn’t know his place!”

Naturally, a quarrel ensued. Words were exchanged, tempers flared, and it eventually led to a duel.

The problem was that Jacques, caught off guard, was killed by Berant’s sword.

Dueling among nobles was common, and it was customary to accept the outcome of such duels.

But when do things ever go according to logic?

“A lowborn from Galin dared to kill my son! I will annihilate every last bloodline of Galin from this land!”

Baron Chetas, having lost his heir, was extremely agitated and mobilized his forces. Even King Yubel II’s mediation was to no avail. Having just ascended the throne and recently fought a civil war, the king’s authority was not what it used to be.

And Baron Chetas had his own justification. He couldn’t recognize his opponent as a noble, so he couldn’t acknowledge the outcome of the duel either.

Baron Chetas, who had mobilized all his troops and spent a vast sum to hire over a thousand mercenaries, immediately invaded Baron Galin’s territory.

No matter how much he was elevated to the rank of a meritorious subject, Baron Galin’s power hadn’t grown immediately. It was a grim situation for Baron Galin, who had no time to strengthen his forces. His wealth and military power couldn’t match Baron Chetas.

In less than a week since the territorial war began, Baron Chetas’s army had swept through more than half of the territory. The other nearby nobles, who usually lived like brothers, were of no use. Even when asked for help, they all pretended not to see, fearing Sir Grandiad, the Aura User behind Baron Chetas. Negotiations were attempted under humiliating conditions to preserve the family, but even that was rejected.

It was when Baron Galin was seriously contemplating suicide in the desperate situation of his territory being brutally trampled.

A lifeline of salvation came from an unexpected place.

A tremendously large, thick, tough, and solid, golden lifeline.

* * *

A field in Baron Chetas’s territory where the cold wind blew.

Hundreds of mercenaries were being scattered in all directions by a single man.

“Chain Strike Blast!”

Golden aura poured out, piercing shields and crushing armor. The large mercenaries were scattered like fallen leaves in all directions.

The man charged among the mercenaries, exploding the aura from his entire body.

“Hyaaa!”

The golden aura became a storm, pushing back the mercenary group. The storm was accompanied by dozens, hundreds of punches and kicks, pouring down on the mercenaries’ heads.

Limbs were broken, muscles burst, flesh was torn, and the world turned entirely red. Screams echoed, filling the field.

“Ugh!”

“Aaah!”

“Spare me!”

These were the mercenaries hired by Baron Chetas. Once triumphant, ravaging Baron Galin’s territory mercilessly, now they were in a position of repeated retreats, pushed back to Baron Chetas’s territory.

All because of that golden giant in front of them.

“Fist King Rafenhardt!”

Garland, the captain of Baron Chetas’s knights, stood at the rear, gritting his teeth as he watched him.

“Why did that damn bastard suddenly get involved in this!”

Garland looked around the battlefield. The mercenaries’ morale was visibly breaking.

It was natural. Who could possibly maintain their courage against such an overwhelming monster, radiating golden aura and impervious to spear and sword?

However, there was no retreating from this position. By the book, the leader, Garland, should step up and quell the opponent’s might, but to be honest, he was just as terrified.

‘How am I supposed to face such a monster!’

Instead, he threw bait to the mercenaries.

“Listen up, everyone! I will give a thousand gold coins to anyone who can inflict even a small wound on him!”

A thousand gold coins was no small amount, even for the wealthy Baron Chetas. But Garland, having no authority, made this bold promise. After all, now was not the time to worry about such details. He could always deny it later.

“A thousand gold coins?”

“If it’s just inflicting a wound!”

Though they couldn’t help but know it was a lie if they thought calmly, the mercenaries’ expressions changed at the mention of a thousand gold coins. As expected, they seemed to think shallowly, as men who lived by the sword.

A few mounted mercenaries brandished their spears and charged at Repenhardt, their eyes gleaming.

“Hiya!”

No matter how famous an aura user, the Fist King he was, the opponent was standing on the ground. With the force of a charging horse, inflicting a small wound shouldn’t be impossible!

“Dieeeeee!”

The cavalry raised a cloud of dust as they thrust their spears from all directions. Repenhardt glared at them, muttering coldly.

“Those who trade lives for money…”

Repenhardt evaded the thrusting spears, weaving between the mounted soldiers with flawless evasive maneuvers. He had diligently trained against Rus, Tashid, and Atilka. Now, he could easily avoid attacks of this level at will.

“Even if your lives are deemed worthless, you can’t complain!”

With a shout, Repenhardt leaped into the air.

In an instant, he was eye-to-eye with the mounted mercenaries and extended his fist. The powerful hook, infused with aura, crushed the heads of the mercenaries all at once.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The horses, carrying their headless owners, whinnied and began to flee across the battlefield. Behind them, heavily armored mercenaries appeared, wielding axes and hammers.

“Just one hit!”

“Just one hit is enough!”

“Then it’s a thousand gold coins!”

Driven by greed, the mercenaries launched a simultaneous attack.

“Foolish men!”

Repenhardt vaulted over the mercenaries’ heads and planted a kick firmly into the ground.

“Avalanche Kick!”

With an explosion, his right foot struck the ground, making it tremble.

Boom!

The wave of aura overturned the surface of the earth, spreading out in a circle. Like a massive avalanche, the wave of earth engulfed the mercenaries. Dozens of mercenaries positioned nearby were buried in the dirt and swept away.

After pulling out his buried right foot, Repenhart raised his fist into the air. A thunderous shout erupted towards the mercenaries.

“Did you really think you could harm the Fist King with that?”

It was overwhelming, truly overwhelming power. One of the mercenaries, struggling in the dirt, let out a scream.

“Damn it! This wasn’t part of the deal!”

In the end, the terrified mercenaries began to abandon their weapons and flee. Watching this, Repenhart raised his right hand and gestured. Immediately, a group of cavalry appeared behind him. It was the Antares Knights led by Sir Asrael.

“Antares Knights! Take care of the remnants of the enemy!”

As soon as the order was given, Asrael drew his sword and shouted.

“Charge! Show your bravery to our lord!”

“Waahhh!”

With the loud sound of hoofbeats, thirty knights simultaneously charged towards the fleeing mercenaries. That wasn’t all. Another group of knights was fiercely charging from the mercenaries’ left flank.

“Don’t fall behind, Knights of Galin! This is our war!”

“They trampled our families! Kill them all!”

Already enraged from having their territory trampled, they attacked Baron Chetas’s forces with a vengeance, like beasts.

In an instant, Baron Chetas’s forces collapsed, turning into chaos. Desperate, Garand turned his horse around and shouted.

“Retreat! Everyone, retreat!”

Leaving the fleeing forces of Baron Chetas behind, Repenhart returned to the camp. Siris approached him, handing over a large jacket and cloak.

“Well done, Lord Repenhart. Now, put something on. Just looking at you makes me feel cold.”

It was the middle of winter when the lake was frozen over, yet Repenhart’s imposing upper body was completely exposed.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Repenhart accepted the clothes.

“Ah, yes. I should.”

“Even if you’re well-trained and don’t feel the cold, why do you go around like that? It’s the middle of winter.”

Siris pursed her lips as she watched him put on the clothes. Repenhardt scratched his head.

“Well, after living like this, it’s just more comfortable…”

Repenhardt sighed deeply inwardly. Talking about it made him feel self-conscious.

‘Ah, somehow I ended up perfectly following the path of the Gym Unbreakable successor. But it really is comfortable, what can I do?’

Living like this, he naturally realized something. It wasn’t for nothing that the previous martial artists of Gym Unbreakable wore only vests or cloaks even in the middle of winter. It was easy to take off or put on, cheap to buy, and easy to repair when torn, so he naturally preferred it.

Siris complained as she draped the cloak over Repenhardt, who was now wearing a vest.

“Even so, you should wear something decent. It’s unsightly.”

“Unsightly… that’s harsh, isn’t it?”

Repenhardt pouted. Did Siris prefer slender and thin men over muscular ones? Well, most women did prefer that type.

“Hmph!”

Siris stuck out her tongue and looked away. As Repenhardt was putting on the cloak, he suddenly remembered and asked.

“Ah, by the way, how was my speech? Did I sound like the Fist King? I tried to act appropriately as a martial artist, but I wonder if it came across that way.”

“That, that speech?”

Siris chuckled inwardly.

To be honest, she nearly died of embarrassment listening to it. Saying “Did you really think you could harm the Fist King?” himself?

However, the so-called ‘bold’ shouts that martial artists made were always like that. There was nothing to nitpick about, so Siris agreed readily.

“Yes, you seemed enough like a successor of Gym Unbreakable. It was splendid.”

“Whether that’s a compliment or an insult…”

Just as Repenhardt was feeling confused, Baron Galin approached. Dressed in heavy armor like a knight of the battlefield, Baron Galin bowed his head respectfully, his expression filled with gratitude.

“I don’t know how to express my gratitude, Lord Repenhardt. Without you, today’s victory would have been unimaginable.”

Repenhardt, expressing humility, responded calmly.

“I only did what was necessary as an ally.”