Chapter 34: Training (2)

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Training (2)

Within the silent expanse of the subterranean cavern, Kirito sat beside a crude wooden table, immersed in deep calculations regarding his upcoming rendezvous with Queen Mika on Alex Island. He was weighing every single move, analyzing every conceivable possibility to ensure he retained absolute control throughout this perilous political chess match.

Right at that moment, boisterous and chaotic sounds suddenly echoed in from the training courtyard outside, shattering the quiet and pulling Kirito from his train of thought. He frowned slightly, his expression briefly flashing annoyance at the ill-timed interruption.

It turned out that three newly brought-in kids were rebelling outside, swarming in to gang up on Akai in defiance of the lockdown. Even though Akai fought resiliently, going three-on-one against kids fighting desperately for survival caused him no small amount of trouble and scrapes.

"Drink that silkworm cocoon right into your belly this instant!" Akai dodged an attack as he barked coldly.

A shaggy-haired kid glared angrily, throwing his head back to roar: "We aren’t some stupid tools for you guys to control easily! Don’t even dream of making us drink that monstrous thing!"

Hearing the commotion, Kirito let out a weary sigh. Right after the earlier purge and massacre, he should have directly forced all the kids to swallow the controlling silkworm cocoons from the very start. Entrusting authority to Mimi, Akai, and Haruto to make the others drink them themselves in order to reinforce the three kids’ prestige was a sound strategic move, yet it easily gave rise to unexpected situations due to their lack of experience.

Kirito sprung to his feet, flicking his arm out with decisive speed. His striking speed was so fast that even his shadow wavered from failing to keep pace with his motion’s amplitude.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Three sharp Kunai sliced through the air with terrifying force, burying themselves straight into the thighs of the three rebelling kids.

Thud!

The heavy impact instantly caused all three to collapse onto the ground, clutching their bleeding thighs as they shrieked in agonizing pain:

"Ah... damn it! It hurts so much...!"

Kirito leisurely stepped out from the porch, every step landing on the ground bearing a heavy, chilling killing intent that caused trembling, enveloping the entire space and making the three rebelling kids shiver with terror.

"You haven’t tasted real pain yet, so you don’t know what fear is, do you?" Kirito growled, his eyes sharp as butcher blades sweeping across each pale face.

"Swallow the silkworm cocoon into your belly right now, or die right here."

Overwhelmed by the crushing pressure of the terrifying killing intent, the three children panicked and crawled towards Akai, stammering in plea for mercy:

"I... I’m sorry! Don’t kill me... We’ll drink it right now!"

With that, they hurriedly snatched up the silkworm cocoons from the ground, swallowing them down in utmost fear.

Kirito strode up before the most stubborn white-haired kid, grabbing his collar tightly and roughly jamming his hand into his mouth, dragging out an intact silkworm cocoon hidden beneath his tongue. It turned out this fellow intended to pull a fast one.

"Akai, go command everyone to assemble here immediately!" Kirito ordered in a tone that brooked no refusal.

Obeying the order, Akai immediately lowered his head and ran off to summon the others.

When nearly all the children in the cavern had lined up neatly in the courtyard, the scene before their eyes made them hold their breath. The white-haired kid who had hidden the silkworm cocoon earlier was tied securely to a wooden cross erected in the middle of the yard.

"This is the example for anyone who dares rebel and flout the rules. He dared to conspire against me by refusing to swallow the silkworm cocoon," Kirito stood proudly before the crowd, his voice chillingly flat.

"Therefore, anyone who hasn’t drunk the cocoon yet should voluntarily step forward and confess right now. Since this is the first time, I will generously overlook it and not impose harsh punishment."

The kids looked at Kirito right now no different from a grim reaper or a demon wielding absolute power. Fear spread rapidly through every pair of eyes.

In truth, with his sensory abilities, Kirito had long since known who had swallowed it and who hadn’t via the internal parasite inside their bodies. He did this merely to test their loyalty and observe their level of fear.

"I... I’m sorry, my lord... I haven’t drunk it..." Two kids raised their hands tremblingly in panic.

"Please spare our lives..."

Kirito nodded slightly, his expression unchanged. "Very well, honesty is acknowledged. Akai, bring the medicine for those two to drink right now."

Right after that, Kirito swung his sword in a neat slash through the air.

Thwack!

The sharp blade flashed a cold light, clean slicing off the head of the stubborn white-haired kid on the cross. Fresh blood spurted in torrents onto the ground amid the deathly roars. The scene was so bloody that all the kids clamped their mouths shut, trembling without anyone daring to emit even the tiniest whimpering cry.

"This is the fitting punishment for anyone daring to defy. Memorize that firmly in your heads. If you obey docilely, you will have plenty of food and clothing; but if you dare rebel or disobey orders, death is the only path."

Haruto swallowed hard, immediately stepping forward to shout out in reassurance and establish authority: "Yes, sir! We obey absolutely!"

Instantly, all the remaining children chorused in unison with fear deeply etched into their minds.

Kirito turned and walked away, leaving the bloody battlefield behind. "Clean up this battlefield and return to normal routines. Mimi, Akai, Haruto, follow me inside."

Seated inside the private office, Kirito faced the three children standing solemnly in wait. He retrieved three intricately carved wooden badges shaped like silkworm cocoons from his inner pocket, placing them on the table.

"These are badges of authority representing me. From today onward, all transmitted orders will be verified through these badges."

"I must leave here for a short while on business. When I return, you are required to expand the scale and increase the headcount within the organization."

Kirito gestured outward, analyzing: "Although the wooden houses I built are somewhat crude and a bit tight in space, a single house has plenty of room for six people to live comfortably together. There are currently sixty houses in total here; your mission is to fill every single one of them with new warriors."

Mimi nodded seriously, affirming on behalf of her peers: "We understand. We will definitely complete the mission assigned by you with excellence, my lord."

Kirito leisurely sipped a cup of hot tea to warm his throat, then continued instructing: "Always maintain the harsh physical conditioning exercises I taught you well, alongside strict purification and selective screening. If the three of you show leniency or softness even slightly, the others will lose their reverence and immediately plot rebellion."

"I suppose the three of you wouldn’t want to return to that state of begging in rags, enduring hunger and freezing outside, would you?" Kirito lowered his voice, emitting a steady, psychologically heavy tone.

Hearing this, all three children gave a start. They naturally understood the ruthless truth of this world: no matter how brutal all the rules and punishments here were, at least this place provided a roof over their heads and full meals. If they were expelled or allowed this base to collapse, they would undoubtedly be forced to return to being helpless beggar children awaiting death amid troubled times.

Haruto gritted his teeth, recalling in his head the harsh days of having to steal scraps of moldy bread and getting beaten half to death out on the streets. The boy raised his head, his gaze resolute to the extreme: "I will definitely do well, and manage even more strictly and ruthlessly than you do!"

Kirito closed his eyes half-mast, satisfied with Haruto’s shift in perception.

"Very well. I’ll return soon to inspect. Do not let me disappoint you in anything here." Kirito stood up from his chair, not forgetting to leave behind a cold warning before departing.

His true objective on this trip wasn’t solely to handle business with Queen Mika, but also serve as a practical test of whether those three kids truly possessed sufficient grit, talent, and ruthlessness to independently manage an underground syndicate in the absence of their master.

Leaving the hidden underground cave tucked in the cliffside, Kirito moved fluidly like a ghost gliding over towering treetops. When night fell, he chose a dense ancient tree branch as his stopping point, crossing his arms and laying back to rest through the night amidst the wild nature.

The next morning, the first rays of sunlight pierced through the foliage. Kirito resumed high-speed travel while leisurely pulling out some dried meat he carried to eat for breakfast to replenish his energy.

"The journey from here all the way to the coast of Alex Island is truly not close at all, consuming quite a bit of stamina."

Along the way, Kirito stopped by a small roadside village to collect extra intelligence from merchants and passersby. Thanks to that, Kirito quickly grasped crucial military information: two powerful generals, Sunny and Yama, had just officially erupted into a large-scale war, leading troops to slaughter each other for territorial dominance.

Kirito strode along while stroking his chin, thoughtfully analyzing the situation:

"The strategic positions controlling Sunny and Yama’s cities lie in deep, remote regions, further away from the spheres of influence of Shinobu, Akaza, or Orochi."

"In particular, the geographical positions of these two factions sit right next to each other, so armed conflict and a war of attrition are bound to happen sooner rather than later. Perhaps the other generals are deliberately standing on the sidelines, watching those two destroy each other so they can reap the benefits."

"Nevertheless, the core and ultimate objective of all general factions right now remains unchanged: finding every means to utterly annihilate Queen Mika’s forces."

After a long journey traversing multiple perilous terrains as the sun reached its zenith, radiating blazing sunlight, Kirito finally set foot upon the breezy coastline. Far out at sea, hazy amidst the deep blue waters, lay target Alex Island.

Kirito walked evenly down the fine white sand, heading toward the boat-docking area where an old, poor fisherman was diligently patching a torn net.

"Hello there, sir? I need to cross over to Alex Island urgently, could you row your boat to take me across?"

Kirito spoke while skillfully pulling out a glittering gold coin, placing it on the wooden basket before the old man. The dazzling golden gleam instantly made the old man’s dim eyes light up with joy.

"Of course, of course! Whenever the young man wants to go, this old man is ready to row you all the way across!" the old man replied with an amused smile.

During the interaction, Kirito’s eyes darted swiftly to observe his surroundings with high vigilance. He silently reached down to touch the seawater to sense the movement of currents and surrounding creatures.

"There are completely no ambushes or assassins lurking on the seabed around here. This old fisherman is also just an ordinary villager, showing no signs of being a professional assassin."

"Could Queen Mika still not have found an antidote method for the toxic worm I previously implanted inside her body? Or is this truly nothing more than a personal meeting for information exchange?" Despite reasoning thus, deep inside Kirito maintained utmost caution, never letting down his guard for even a single second.