Vol 4. Chapter 105: Ghost Star Flame Corps

Faced with the group that had drawn their blades against them and was attempting to rob them, Saiboke-Baniya, acting as the butler, remained completely unmoved. He merely stared coldly at the bald man before him.

As it turned out,

Saiboke-Baniya’s judgment had been absolutely correct. There really was no need for them to personally deal with the trash in front of them.

Or rather...... this trash had never been prepared for them in the first place......

“Charge! Protect the Big Big Boss!!”

The next instant,

accompanied by a deafening roar, several crimson figures suddenly descended from the sky beneath Saiboke-Baniya’s complicated gaze, wrapped in surging battle aura.

Like destroyers of the earth, they crashed violently into the ground.

Boom—!

The earth shook, and countless clods of dirt and shattered stones flew into the air. The terrifying impact sent numerous bandits flying. Even Saiboke-Baniya and the surrounding Black Rose Knights had to exert themselves to restrain the panicked horses beneath them while directly releasing magic power and sword aura to disperse the dust rushing toward their faces......

Under normal circumstances,

the landing of four Fifth-Tier powerhouses and one Sixth-Tier powerhouse would not have produced such an exaggerated effect.

However,

these five fellows who had just landed were clearly not normal powerhouses.

Compared with ordinary humans, the five of them were just a ‘little’ larger.

Standing more than ten meters tall, with muscular bodies as sturdy as dragons and clad in heavy armor of red and black, the five immediately gave everyone present an intense sense of oppression the moment they appeared.

Compared with these enormous fellows, both the bandit group surrounding them and the luxurious carriage not far away seemed utterly tiny and insignificant.

......

Looking at the five steel cans that had suddenly appeared and staring at the emblem on their heavy breastplates that resembled a roaring evil spirit, Saiboke-Baniya raised his brows slightly, revealing an expression that said everything was exactly as he had expected.

“Sure enough...... it’s them......”

Lady Karina’s subordinates, those idiots from the Ghost Star Flame Corps......

--

Over the years,

because relations between the Sadik Empire, the Crimson Leaf Empire, and the Snow Night Empire had never been particularly harmonious, it had been extremely difficult for the Black Rose Family’s intelligence network to develop within those two great empires.

Fortunately, the development of the Ghost Star Flame Corps had encountered no such obstacles.

Therefore, a large portion of the intelligence the Duke obtained regarding the Crimson Leaf Empire and the Snow Night Empire came from the Ghost Star Flame Corps.

Generally speaking,

the Black Rose Family had cooperated with the Ghost Star Flame Corps quite a few times.

However, Saiboke-Baniya had always remained wary of these partners.

Unlike the Black Rose Family, most members of the Ghost Star Flame Corps were mercenaries recruited by Lady Karina, capable local thugs, adventurers whom Lady Karina had beaten into submission, and similar people.

The composition of the organization could only be described as a mixed bag.

Every member had joined for a different reason, and saying that each of them harbored their own motives would not be an exaggeration.

Overall, these people were currently still submitting to Lady Karina’s authority.

But whether they might start entertaining crooked ideas in the future was something no one could know.

Their loyalty undoubtedly deserved a question mark.

Under such circumstances, Saiboke-Baniya naturally could not completely regard them as comrades. Keeping some vigilance was necessary.

Besides that, there was another very important reason Saiboke-Baniya disliked these mercenaries.

Namely......

Compared with the elegant members of the Black Rose Knights, the people of the Ghost Star Flame Corps were far too crude, rough, and completely devoid of elegance......

“Enmm......”

Looking at the scene ahead, Saiboke-Baniya could not help frowning.

The five members of the Ghost Star Flame Corps who had shouted that they had come to provide assistance charged straight into the crowd of bandits immediately after descending from the sky without saying another word, beginning a completely one-sided massacre.

An ordinary bandit group naturally had no chance of resisting trained mercenaries.

For a time, as heavy fists and enormous meteor hammers swung again and again, the forest path was instantly covered in blood and entrails......

Screams rang out continuously as flesh and blood flew everywhere.

The thick stench of blood even drifted over from the distance, causing Saiboke-Baniya to raise a hand and cover his nose.

“So these are...... the giant warriors from the Third Squad that Lady Karina mentioned before? What a bunch of barbaric creatures.”

Saiboke-Baniya muttered in disgust.

At the same time, the old butler also noticed the expressions on the bandits’ faces.

These bandits did not seem shocked by the appearance of the Ghost Star Flame Corps.

What shocked them was the fact that the members of the Ghost Star Flame Corps had attacked them......

It seemed,

these people from the Ghost Star Flame Corps had deliberately called the bandits over to stage a robbery, then planned to appear and rescue Yumo in order to earn her favor......

Sigh.

Unfortunately, their acting skills were truly unbearable......

Watching the emotionless movements and line-reading-like dialogue of the Ghost Star Flame Corps members, Saiboke-Baniya, as a professional, could not help revealing an expression of disdain.

At the same time, the old butler helplessly turned his head toward the black-haired girl who had stepped out of the carriage.

Judging by the deep furrow between the black-haired girl’s brows, Lady Yumo was clearly rather speechless about this performance as well.

“What...... the hell are they doing?”

Yumo looked somewhat baffled.

Although the acting textbooks she had studied contained plenty of deliberate flaws inserted by Saiboke-Baniya, the knowledge she had learned overall was still genuine.

Naturally, she was not going to be fooled by the clumsy acting of these Ghost Star Flame Corps members.

And so,

after the five heavily armored giants effortlessly crushed and disposed of the bandits before half-kneeling in front of the carriage to claim credit from Yumo, Yumo tilted her head with an expression caught somewhere between laughter and exasperation.

“I’m saying...... what exactly are you doing?”

“Huh?”

The praise they had imagined never came, leaving the five heavily armored giants rather confused.

After exchanging glances, the armored giant in the lead raised a hand and scratched his head before speaking in confusion.

“B-Big Big Boss, we...... we came to help...... to help take care of the bandits......”

“Take care of the bandits?”

“Yeah, yeah! We saw bandits attacking Big Big Boss’s convoy, so we rushed over as fast as we could to rescue you!”

“Rushed over? From the woods next door?”

“Y-Yes...... from the woods next...... Huh?? Big Big Boss...... you knew?”

The heavily armored warrior suddenly became tongue-tied and stared blankly at the petite black-haired girl in front of the carriage.

Lady Yumo helplessly covered her forehead.

“Come on, you five...... you’re such huge lumps of iron, and you’re wearing red armor. Even if I couldn’t sense you...... I could still see you, okay?”

As she spoke, a trace of anger gradually appeared in Lady Yumo’s crimson eyes.

After glancing from the corner of her eye toward the bloody mess of a battlefield not far away, Yumo reached back and pulled Yuan’er behind her.

Although scenes filled with splattering blood should have been commonplace when dealing with Abyss Demons, Yuan’er had originally been human, and at present she was still only a child.

For the sake of Yuan’er’s education and healthy future development, Mother Yumo did not want her child being exposed to fighting and killing at such a young age......

Therefore,

Yumo could not help feeling somewhat displeased with the Ghost Star Flame Corps, who had suddenly appeared before her and brutally wiped out the bandit group.

“You’re the people Karina sent to meet us, right? Didn’t your commander tell you there was a child in the convoy? Doing something like this will scare a little kid!”

“S-Sorry, Big Big Boss......”

Faced with Yumo’s sharp gaze, the enormous heavily armored warriors lowered their heads somewhat guiltily.

The air briefly fell into an awkward silence.

Fortunately,

that embarrassing atmosphere did not last long.

The next instant,

amid a surge of blue lightning, a streak of blue electricity suddenly shot over from the distance and landed precisely atop the head of the Sixth-Tier armored warrior.

As the lightning and magic power dispersed, a lively young man with short pale-blue hair gathered into a single braided ponytail abruptly appeared within Lady Yumo’s field of vision.

Although he was young,

judging by the evil-spirit emblem on his clothing, this young man was also a member of the Ghost Star Flame Corps.

Moreover,

judging by the dense magic power surrounding him, which was approaching Mid Seventh Tier, as well as his rather elaborate uniform, his position within the corps was clearly not low.

The breathless young man immediately began bowing frantically in apology the moment he saw Yumo.

“Sorry, sorry, Big Big Boss! I failed to keep an eye on my subordinates and let these big idiots run off and act on their own! I’m...... extremely sorry!”

While apologizing, the young man repeatedly turned his head toward the lumps of iron behind him, his gaze filled with furious questioning.

He seemed extremely dissatisfied with his subordinates for taking action without permission.

“Please forgive us, Big Big Boss. They just wanted so badly to leave a good impression on you...... that they got carried away, captured a nearby group of bandits, and brought them here to cooperate in this little performance.”

“A performance?”

“Yes, I’m extremely sorry! Lady Karina repeatedly instructed us that we absolutely had to treat you ‘honestly’! And yet these tin cans actually tried to deceive you with an act right from the beginning! I’m truly extremely sorry! I’ll teach them a very harsh lesson immediately!”

As he spoke,

under the uneasy gazes of the heavily armored warriors, dazzling lightning suddenly erupted from the blue-haired young man’s hand, directly transforming into a thunder sword overflowing with killing intent.

The terrifying sight frightened the giants so badly that they anxiously dropped themselves onto the ground.

Although the warriors were wearing masks, everyone could almost imagine the terrified expressions beneath them.

Just as the blue-haired young man was preparing to deal with his ‘insubordinate’ subordinates, Lady Yumo helplessly waved her hand.

“Forget it, forget it. They only wanted to leave a good impression on me, and their acting was so terrible they didn’t fool me anyway. Besides, there’s a child here...... don’t be so violent.”

?!!

“Huh?!”

Hearing this, the young man immediately wore an expression of ‘sudden realization.’

After glancing at Yuan’er, who was peeking curiously from behind Yumo like an inquisitive little baby, he hurriedly dispersed the power of lightning in his hand.

“Sorry, Big Big Boss. I shouldn’t have been so impulsive. I actually forgot that Miss Yuan’er was here too......”

“Forget it. Speaking of which...... what’s your name?”

“Ah, sorry! I’m extremely sorry! I actually forgot to introduce myself!!”

The young man began frantically bowing again in a panic, at a frequency practically comparable to a machine gun.

After his barrage of bows, the young man, whose hair had now become rather wild and flowing, pressed a hand to his chest and formally introduced himself to Lady Yumo.

“Greetings, Big Big Boss! I’m the captain of the Third Squad of the Ghost Star Flame Corps! You can just call me A-San!”

“Hm? A-San?”

“Yes.”

“Why...... are you called that?”

“Ah, th-this...... I suppose you could say it’s a tradition in our Ghost Star Flame Corps. All the squad captains have names of this type. But...... mainly it’s because Commander Karina didn’t want to remember so many people’s names, so she named us like this.”

The young man called A-San awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

“I’m truly sorry for making a fool of myself in front of you.”

“You don’t have to keep apologizing. You sound like a broken record. It’s kind of exhausting......”

“Huh? Is that so? I’m extremely sorry!!”

“......”

......

......

“Enmmm......”

Meanwhile,

sitting in the driver’s seat of the carriage, Saiboke-Baniya narrowed his eyes and thoughtfully observed the blue-haired young man who had practically transformed into the Prince of Apologies.

If Saiboke-Baniya did not already know the fellow’s true nature, his current appearance really would have been incredibly deceptive.

At that moment,

Saiboke-Baniya seemed to understand what these people from the Ghost Star Flame Corps were thinking.

“These fellows are trying to establish an honest, simple-minded image in Lady Yumo’s mind?......”

Then later, based on that impression, they could fool Lady Yumo?

A butcher who killed without blinking, a notorious swindler......

Pretending to be honest and simple?

Pah!

Do they have no shame at all? Not honest in the slightest......

Saiboke-Baniya shot the other party an extremely disgusted eye roll.

However, while he was glaring at the blue-haired young man, several Black Rose Knights behind Saiboke-Baniya seemed to guess what their superior was thinking.

After briefly exchanging glances with one another, they turned complicated gazes toward Saiboke-Baniya.

Um,

Boss......

You don’t really have any right to criticize other people.

Aren’t you the one who spends every day pretending to be some harmless old butler......