episode_0020

“Kkeuaek! Keuheok! Kulleok! Kuhulleok! Keuheok!”

Fighter-class Kyle spewing out near-death breaths and groans of pain after being slammed into the ground,

Kyle was driven to the ground, enduring Eugene’s powerful tackle power plus his own forward momentum,

and even his own 100kg weight.

As a result, only the whites of his eyes were visible, and he was continuously gasping for breath.

Fortunately, the ground here is dirt, not asphalt.

And because Kyle is a runner-level Awakened One, not just a regular body, he was able to maintain his sanity without passing out.

‘His striking is great, but his grappling skills are nonexistent, just like these fighters’ combat skills.’

Eugene looked down at Kyle, who was in a miserable state, with an indifferent face.

During his pilgrimage, Eugene met many fighter-class mercenaries and adventurers.

Through that experience, Eugene had already grasped their grappling incompetence.

And the reason they were like that was because,

fighter-class Awakened Ones here have developed mainly through numerous close-quarters battles involving heavy equipment for a long time.

So, if a one-on-one unarmed fight were to occur,

at the same runner level physique, Kyle would just be Eugene’s meal.

“Completely defenseless, so guard passing is nothing, it’s just a piece of cake.”

Hoeheeek! Teoeok!

The fact that he didn’t pass out due to his strong body seems to be a misfortune for Kyle.

If he had passed out, the fight would have ended immediately,

but since Eugene confirmed that Kyle was still conscious, he would beat him up even more.

Eugene quickly moved Kyle’s awkwardly sprawled legs and immediately took the mount position.

Eugene’s overly calm position control,

In his past life, Eugene was so talented in mixed martial arts that

the manager stuck to him, trying to raise him as a professional fighter.

But Eugene refused because he just wanted to enjoy it as a hobby.

ㅡPueoeok!!

“Kkeueok!!”

As soon as the perfect mount position was created, Eugene punched Kyle in the face without hesitation.

Then two punches, three punches, continuously hammering him.

A merciless fist and a ruthless expression,

Eugene’s appearance felt very deliberate.

This isn’t a gym sparring session, but a real fight, isn’t it?

In other words, now that he has chosen a public duel, Eugene is planning to show more than just suppression.

‘From now on, I’ll make you lower your eyes and piss your pants just by looking at my face, to the point where even the surrounding spectators feel fear.’

He is targeting not only Kyle, who is pinned down, but also other mercenaries who are watching.

In his previous life, Eugene fought a lot because of his victim mentality from his orphanage days.

He started exercising after leaving the orphanage to channel that aggression in a different way.

Eugene, who has plenty of experience in street hierarchy competition,

knows that he must deal with it decisively and calmly when the opportunity comes.

‘I’m going to die at this rate…!! I’m going to die…!!’

Struggling! Struggling! Struggling!

Eugene hit Kyle’s face just enough so that he wouldn’t pass out,

and to the point where he was struggling with extreme fear and pain.

As a result, as Eugene intended, Kyle, terrified, struggled and writhed as if trying to escape in a pathetic state.

Spin!

Was it because of that effort,

Kyle succeeded in turning around,

and thanks to that, he was able to avoid getting hit in the face.

“I’ll finish you off now, you womanizing bastard.”

Ssuuuuuuk!

It wasn’t.

It wasn’t that his efforts worked, but that

Eugene deliberately loosened the mount position to induce Kyle to turn his body.

It was a position change to take the back mount,

and as the intended back mount was completed, Eugene fearlessly inserted his right arm under Kyle’s chin.

Kkwaaaaaap!

“Kkeueeeeet!! Keaek!”

Then Eugene performed the rear-naked choke, the most stable finishing technique.

Eugene’s right arm, which had dug under Kyle’s chin, wrapped around the carotid artery of the guy’s neck,

and as soon as the left-hand additional grip was completed, strong choke pressure was applied.

Kyle, who was devoured by such a perfect technique,

let out a miserable scream like a hunted beast.

“Kkeueueueueut…!”

Chuuuuuuuk…!

Since Eugene possesses semi-pro level mixed martial arts skills,

his choke immediately blocked the air supplied to Kyle’s brain.

Thus, after a few desperate survival screams echoed, Kyle’s legs and hands drooped like a corpse.

He passed out.

Several seconds after that appearance, an even more shocking scene unfolded at the place where the ruthless match had ended.

Jjoreureureureureuk…!

Eugene was still on Kyle’s back, maintaining the choke grip,

and a meaningful liquid was pouring out of Kyle’s body, who was lying face-up and unconscious.

It was none other than urine.

Kyle, who fainted while feeling a threat to his life, ended up pissing his pants.

“Wh, what a miserable sight…”

“Gulgeok…!”

Only when the takedown was successful

and the mount position pounding landed,

did the surrounding spectators cheer with excitement.

But the atmosphere changed from the finishing process onwards.

Eugene’s appearance, mercilessly cooking Kyle, who was screaming and thrashing, like a cold-blooded killer,

plus Kyle’s face, which was handed over to him and choked to suffocation, turned the mercenary street duel atmosphere into a chilling slaughterhouse, not a dopamine-fueled gambling den.

And then Kyle’s piss, like the crowning glory,

anyone who knows combat would feel a chill down their spine as if they were being subjected to it.

As a result, the duel site, where about 100 spectators had gathered, was filled with silence.

It meant that Eugene’s charisma had overwhelmed everyone in the audience there.

Seueueuk…!

Tuk tuk! Tuk!

Eventually, Eugene looked down at Kyle, whom he had knocked out, with a nonchalant expression,

brushed the dust off his clothes, and got up from his seat.

“Y, you son of a bitch!!!”

“I’m going to kill you, you bastard!!!”

Teoeok! Teok!

There were those who broke the silence of fear at that moment.

Kyle’s mercenary団 companions.

They grabbed the hilts of their waist swords as if they were about to rush at Eugene with angry faces.

“Stop!”

Then a heavy and weighty voice put a stop to that action.

“The winner is not cheering in any way. Then don’t you tarnish this fair duel through retaliation either!!”

Cheoeok!

The advisor of the Red Fox Mercenary團,

Ivan, the shield-axeman from the Bronze level mercenary團.

When Kyle’s companions tried to draw their swords, Ivan immediately poured out a stern rebuke and strode forward.

“If you refuse that, I, the shield-axeman Ivan, will face all of you.”

Kuuuuuung!!

Then he slammed his huge ax head into the ground.

In formal duels, there is an unwritten rule that even the winner does not perform a ceremony on the spot when the match is decided.

In name, it’s courtesy,

but in reality, it’s to prevent additional disputes in the duel site where the combativeness and dopamine are heightened.

Eugene heard about the unwritten rule through his encounters with numerous knights

and adventurers during his pilgrimage, so he also did not perform any special ceremony.

Thanks to that, a situation was created where Ivan, the strongest man in name, could step up.

So, Ivan declared his intention not to forgive anyone who tarnished the fair duel and

entered suppression mode against Kyle’s subordinates.

“Cheeet!”

“Damn it! What are you doing, you idiot, put your sword away. And take care of Kyle.”

Everyone here knows that Ivan is an ex-user,

and in the end, Kyle’s companions backed down.

“Hyung! You were great.”

“Oppa, you worked hard!”

“Oh, yeah. Thanks for cheering me on, everyone. Let’s go to the tavern.”

Thomas and Marie welcomed Eugene, who was walking towards them, with as much restraint as possible.

Eugene also reacted to their appearance with a slight smile.

“I’m back.”

Smiling!

Then he gave Jeanne, who was behind them, an even brighter smile and greeted her upon his return.

“Y, yeah, good job…”

Then Jeanne, as if she still had the lingering effects of her anxiety,

stuttered her words with a slightly blushed face.

As such, the Red Fox Mercenary團’s victory ceremony at the battle site was simple.

“Looking at Kyle’s expression, the choking situation came out perfectly! Wow~ I can feel that Eugene really understands the human body!”

But inside the tavern, it was 180 degrees different.

Even though it was getting late and many mercenary tavern customers had left,

the Red Fox Mercenary團’s table was boisterous as if the real race had just begun.

Peter, the mercenary团’s medic, trembled with Eugene’s rear-naked choke’s perfection and enthusiastically recited his impressions.

“Since the class is a class, I also know quite a bit about choking, but wow… Eugene hyung’s choke is really artistic.”

“Right, Thomas? It was amazing, wasn’t it?”

Thomas was the same.

Since he is an assassin class, Thomas is quite skilled in surprise-oriented choking and grappling.

But what Eugene showed was systematized one-on-one grappling,

and Thomas couldn’t help but admire the high degree of completion of the technique, even imitating the choke shape.

“The way he psychologically suppressed people was also extraordinary! When I saw that, I wondered if that friend was really in his early twenties. It was really amazing. He’s a great talent.”

Ivan also stuck out his tongue and respected Eugene.

Currently, the combat officer executives of the Red Fox Mercenary團 are all in their early twenties, except for Ivan himself.

Therefore, Ivan actively leads in psychological and political aspects,

but this time, there was no room to intervene except for the last scene.

Eugene’s one-man performance was that perfect.

“Charge Captain oppa, your glass is empty! Please take my glass too!”

“Ah, okay, Marie. Please fill it up.”

Marie had already started calling Eugene ‘Charge Captain’.

It must be because everyone could see that Eugene’s appearance was that of a charge captain charging into enemy lines at the forefront.

Therefore, everyone here has already recognized Eugene as the charge captain of the Red Fox Mercenary團.

Stealthily…!

Eugene drank the drink that Marie poured and glanced at her side.

“Hey, does the leader usually drink this much?”

It was because Jeanne’s drinking was unusual.

It’s not that Eugene usually knows Jeanne’s drinking habits well, but

even when she first came here, she drank moderately and

tried to maintain her demeanor as a leader.

But now, she is accepting and drinking all the alcohol that is being offered around her.

“She usually only drinks a few glasses and finishes~ I guess she’s in a really good mood today? I think it’s the first time I’ve seen her smiling like that.”

Jeanne is in the middle of the U-shaped sofa at the corner table of the Gaia Mercenary Tavern,

and Eugene is seated to her right.

And on the left side of the opposite side is the secular priest Sophia sitting.

Sophia was watching Jeanne, who was drinking as much as she was, and couldn’t hide her curious and surprised gaze.

“It’s good! I feel good! My dear hometown sibling performed wonderfully! And survived! Of course, I feel good!”

Jeanne, her face flushed red and almost out of her mind, rambled, unable to contain her laughter.

“I remember fighting when we were young~ I remember relying on each other~ But it feels good that he grew up so well!”

Jeanne felt that Eugene was supporting her dream.

And she saw him running into danger with that burden instead of her.

Also, he came back safely from that fire, just as he had promised Jeanne herself.

From Jeanne’s point of view, it was a complex and difficult joy,

and she felt that it was difficult to express that joy without alcohol, so she was drinking hard.

In the meantime, Jeanne maintained the hometown senior-junior concept as well as possible.

“Drink moderately, leader. You won’t be able to go home like that.”

Eugene, who vaguely reads Jeanne’s mind,

took care of her in an indifferent but subtle way.

“Oh my, is our hometown sibling worried about their sister? Oh my, how commendable~”

Pat! Pat! Pat!

“…”

Jeanne, who is just happy, even finds that side of Eugene cute,

and she patted his butt while emitting her sister’s greasy aegyo.

As a result, Eugene’s expression quickly hardened.

It gives me goosebumps.

“Oh my, if you do that, you’ll really fall in love, unlike before, leader~ You two will get it on today~”

While working as a mercenary, Jeanne was an iron wall to men.

All she did was pat even her closest friend Thomas on the shoulder,

and when she patted Eugene’s butt, even though he was her hometown sibling,

Sophia reacted with half a feeling of stopping her and half a feeling of encouraging her.

“That won’t happen? Even if you strip me and him naked and lock us in an inn room, nothing will happen between us, Sophia.”

Click! Click!

Then Jeanne tapped her finger with a resolute expression, even though her face was flushed red.

“Oh, come on~ How can nothing happen when you spend time in an inn with a beauty like the leader while naked? Honestly, you’d do it 10 times a night.”

Sophia scoffed, saying it was ridiculous.

An excessive boast from a unique and outstanding talent,

Sophia, who is a spinster by this world’s standards, can’t stand it.

So she made a ring with her left hand and moved her right finger in and out about 10 times, shaking her head.

“Because our Eugene.”

Slide!

Then Jeanne turned her head towards Eugene.

“Doesn’t see me as a woman. It’s been like that since we were young. So that won’t happen. My words are perfect truth, so stop that ridiculous encouragement here!”

Then, with half-closed eyes and a confident expression and tone,

she mentioned that Eugene usually treated her like a tomboyish wild child.

Because Jeanne knows the situation between the two of them better than anyone else,

she clearly stated that such a secret history that Sophia was talking about between the two of them could not happen today, and will not happen in the future.

But about eight hours later, Jeanne

‘Damn it… what did I do with my younger brother!!!!!’

The next morning, she woke up naked in an inn bed and started tearing her hair out.