Ch.268268. The Strong

“Hehehe.”

The sight of him tearing into meat over a pool of blood resembled a hunter enjoying his spoils after finishing a hunt.

However, considering that the blood on the floor was human, it would be more fitting to call him a vampire rather than a hunter.

Perhaps the only fortunate thing was that he wasn’t eating human flesh.

The Blue Shield mercenary group had launched a surprise attack, but Lanhart and the hunters had countered them flawlessly, completely annihilating their enemies.

Particularly impressive was how Lanhart chased after fleeing enemies, refusing to let them escape.

It’s truly a rare sight to see a person running faster than a horse.

“Hey, Black Mage.”

Lanhart, who was eating meat atop a horse corpse impaled by a spear, called out to me.

I was looking after Soho and merely turned my head slightly to look at him.

When I responded with my eyes, telling him to speak, he waved the meat in his hand and asked,

“How was that just now? Do you still think I’m a man who can’t handle the power of the ancient dragon?”

“If you’re looking for my approval, you’d better give up.”

I had no intention of acknowledging him. I’d heard that mercenaries value their pride above all else, and this seemed like a shallow attempt to restore his wounded ego. But…

Lanhart’s eyes filled with seriousness as he posed an objective question to me again.

“No, it’s not about seeking approval. You seem different from other Mages I’ve met.”

“……”

“Since you seem to know a lot about guardian deities, I’d like to hear your perspective.”

“You would?”

He wasn’t bowing his head or abandoning his pride. He was simply using me as another tool to strengthen himself.

‘How amusing that I’m giving advice to a man who wants to kill me.’

It was quite ridiculous, but I didn’t hold back my words. After all, we had to travel together to Norsweden.

“Using the ancient dragon’s power in the first place is reckless. Right now, the power is so small you won’t even notice it.”

“Hmm.”

“But as time passes, the dragon’s power will eat away at you. I don’t know exactly what side effects there will be.”

“I’ve heard that guardian deities weaken when they lose the place they’re protecting.”

“You can’t necessarily specify it as just a place.”

“Oh, now that’s interesting.”

He strokes his chin, subtly asking me to tell him more. Even that gesture carried a certain weight.

“Sorry, but I don’t see any reason to say more.”

I didn’t want to tell him about the people of Setima and their angel.

I didn’t want Lanhart to use their story to fulfill his own greed.

“Is that so?”

Lanhart snorted and stuffed more meat into his mouth. He chewed the meat heartily and didn’t ask me anything more.

From his demeanor, I surprisingly felt that he was acknowledging me.

He seemed to view me not as a subordinate but as an equal because I stood my ground against him.

So this time, I asked him:

“You didn’t eat it to use the ancient dragon’s power, did you?”

“……”

Slowly, very slowly, his gaze fixed on me. There was no pointless excuse like “what are you talking about?”

Staring at me intently, he smirked.

“Are you using some mind-reading magic?”

“It just doesn’t seem like you ate the ancient dragon simply to become stronger.”

“Hmph, remarkable.”

He strokes his chin again. It seemed to be his habit when thinking.

“It’s the first time I’ve met a man who asserts his presence so strongly with just a few words.”

“That wasn’t my intention.”

A moment of silence.

Lanhart, still smiling, pondered before honestly confessing.

“Yes, I didn’t eat the ancient dragon merely to gain its power.”

Merely an ancient dragon.

How many people in this continent could refer to a guardian deity like that?

“The reason I ate the guardian deity was to create a vessel within me like they have, so I can consume souls.”

“……”

“You probably already know what my goal is?”

He mutters ecstatically, as if already seeing millions of souls before his eyes.

“A truly immense power unseen anywhere on the continent. I don’t know how Deus Verdi plans to use it, but I will devour it.”

Like the forbidden fruit before Adam and Eve, Lanhart licks his lips, imagining the sweetness it would bring, even knowing he shouldn’t eat it.

“Deus said he would put them to sleep to save the continent.”

I reminded him, but Lanhart snorted in response.

“How can you believe that? Who knows what else he might do with that vast amount of souls and the mana contained within them?”

“……”

“I don’t trust him. Deus Verdi will surely be blinded by that power and cause an accident someday. I’ll just do it before he does.”

He didn’t define Deus as evil. The concept of good and evil didn’t seem particularly important to him.

Whether one has power or not.

Just that.

The determination to seize power that someone would inevitably use.

Sensing his burning obsession with strength, I asked him:

“Why are you so fixated on power?”

Did he have some other goal?

Simply becoming stronger was arguably a futile goal, as the standard for strength was difficult to measure.

At my words, Lanhart laughed and slapped the horse he was sitting on with his palm.

“Hehe, why am I fixated on strength? Look at the strong ones of the world.”

Unexpectedly, Lanhart raised the bone from the meat he had just eaten and pointed at the stars high above.

“Like those stars, many strong ones illuminate this continent! Aah! Among them, there will be a place for this Lanhart, and there will be a place for you too!”

For the first time, excitement filled Lanhart’s voice, and with a somewhat excited expression, he continued:

“They became strong for various reasons. The Divine Warrior Hanso to protect the empire’s land!”

“……”

“The guardian deities to protect something they guard from the world!”

Lanhart’s booming voice spread in all directions, drawing the attention of the other hunters.

“Someone because they lost a loved one! Someone because they admired a strong person who protected them! Someone else for family revenge! Money! Or honor! Kuhahahahaha!”

In the middle of speaking, Lanhart burst into laughter, saying he couldn’t hold it in.

His resounding laughter spread to the other hunters as well.

“Kuheuuuu! Yes! Good! There are reasons! To be called strong requires painstaking effort, and to endure that effort, one needs a reason!”

“……”

Lanhart nodded vigorously, pounding the horse with the bone in his hand.

“What bullshit.”

His voice, which had been mixed with excitement and laughter, became cold and calm, with a hint of disgust.

“Those are all just means to an end. They pursue power for what they want to do or have to do, but power itself doesn’t become the goal.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Just look at me.

I saved the continent and provided a place for souls to rest.

In truth, I didn’t have much reason to learn necromancy beyond that.

But Lanhart didn’t like that.

“How dare they call themselves strong with such a mindset! Those who only see power as a means to an end, criticizing those who purely pursue power as having no reason—how truly shameless!”

There is no reason needed to pursue strength.

If anything, becoming stronger itself is the reason, purpose, and result.

“I, Lanhart, need nothing else. Revenge? Honor? Wealth? Kuhehe! I’ll give them all! Ah, I don’t need them!”

Lanhart threw away the bone he was holding and looked at me. From his gestures, tone, and expression, I could feel that he regarded me as a worthy opponent.

Then, raising his index finger, he declared:

“Unfortunately, the title of strongest in this continent is reserved for only one person.”

“……”

“I, Lanhart, will claim it.”

The lion who loves struggle turned his gaze to look beyond the horizon.

The land where cold has arrived.

Preparations to head to Norsweden were complete.

* * *

“Ah, it’s cold.”

At the top of the Norsweden mountain range.

Inside an outpost built by the Verdi family, Findenai shivered.

Despite having some resistance to cold, the chill at the summit of the Norsweden mountains was something she couldn’t get used to.

As Findenai put tobacco in her mouth, the hunter’s captain, Weilbelter, hurriedly took out a lighter from his pocket and lit it.

As she smoked the tobacco with familiarity, Findenai suddenly wondered if she had been smoking too often lately.

‘He probably wouldn’t like it.’

If she smelled too much of tobacco, he might dislike it.

“Ah, damn it.”

Having such thoughts made the taste of the tobacco in her mouth suddenly deteriorate.

Waiting for a man who might never return, or might not even be able to return, made quitting smoking seem overwhelming.

Findenai threw the tobacco directly at Weilbelter. He momentarily looked upset at having the tobacco thrown at him, but…

“What, got a problem?”

Faced with Findenai’s boldness, he ultimately couldn’t say anything and shrank back.

Findenai asked Weilbelter irritably:

“Hey, when are those bastards coming?”

“Ah, they should be here soon. There’s an incredible horse called the Blood Demon that’s extremely fast.”

“Haah……”

She didn’t know how many would come or how they would arrive.

“Hurry up and get here. I’m bored.”

With the determination to kill anyone who set foot in Norsweden, Findenai sighed.