“Who are they?”
The people around the first Mercenaries Guild building were confused by the people suddenly shooting up from underground.
However, the reaction from the Mercenaries Guild"s core members was different than the others.
“N, no!”
“How can this be! How could something like this happen?!”
Their eyes started to fill with astonishment and chaos.
It was breaking down.
The secret location of the Directory, the most precious cultural heritage in the Mercenaries Guild, no, possibly the entire Eastern continent, that important location was breaking down.
“Leader!”
The leader of the Mercenaries Guild"s core members could not react to his subordinate who was desperately calling for him.
‘…Does this make any sense?’
It was because of the question in his mind.
‘They"re destroying this place?’
They had rushed here knowing that people had infiltrated the location.
However, they never expected someone to destroy this place.
There was a simple reason for it.
“…They’re going to bury the Directory like this? They’re going to get rid of it? These people?”
‘Why?’
The Directory was a cultural heritage with significant value, something that could give anyone in possession of it a large amount of power and influence.
The Mercenaries Guild was always wary of someone aiming for the Directory.
In fact, there were many people who wanted to steal it.
However, they had never worried about it being lost.
What kind of crazy lunatic would destroy close to 1,000 years of records?
And all of it at that?
“…Leader! The Directory, is the Directory going to disappear?”
But crazy lunatics like that had appeared.
“No.”
The a.s.sistant Leader vigorously shook his head. However, his eyes pupils were shaking in fear as he did that.
“I, I"m certain they moved them to a different location before destroying the building.”
The a.s.sistant Leader’s gaze headed toward the Leader.
“R, right?”
However, the response came from someone else.
“It would take at least half a year, no, a full year to carefully move all of those books!”
Although only the Mercenary King knew the path to the Directory, the leaders of the Mercenaries Guild had some vague knowledge of the location and pathway there.
The Mercenaries Guild was somewhere where strength equaled influence.
The core members were part of the leaders.h.i.+p.
“…Either that or they moved it with magic. However, we only detected four spells being cast. There is n.o.body in this world who can teleport or move all of those books into a spatial dimension with just four spells!”
That was the thought on the minds of all of the core members here.
That was why their eyes were full of astonishment and chaos.
The Mercenaries Guild"s people were not the only ones in a state of chaos.
“…Squad Leader-nim, shouldn’t we figure out what is going on?”
A member of Arm’s Second Battle Brigade cautiously asked his superior, Atures Poeff.
The squad member moved away from the Mercenaries Guild"s forces while observing the area nonstop.
‘…The first Mercenaries Guild building is crumbling.’
He was looking at the Mercenaries Guild members who were looking at the crumbling building with astonishment and disbelief with an odd gaze.
Both the core members and the mercenaries who came later all stopped and blankly stared at the building that had been a symbol of their organization.
It was at that moment.
He heard his superior, Atures Poeff start to speak.
“…How is that person here?”
“Squad Leader-nim?”
Atures Poeff.
He was a talented a.s.sa.s.sin who used to hold a high position in the Poeff household, one of the former Five a.s.sa.s.sin Households in the Eastern continent.
The squad member heard Atures Poeff being anxious for the first time in over ten years.
‘No, he’s not anxious.’
He sounded scared.
‘That cold and cruel Squad Leader-nim is scared?’
He subconsciously turned his head toward where Atures Poeff was looking.
Atures was not the only one who was looking in that direction.
All of the forces around this area were looking at the crumbling wooden building and the two individuals.
First was a middle-aged to senior old man whose hair was white.
Next to him was a man with a greatsword who seemed to be in his thirties.
‘I can at least tell they are not on our side.’
The squad member continued to look around.
‘…They are not on the Mercenaries Guild’s side either.’
That meant that these two men were part of a different faction.
Who would be able to so confidently reveal themselves after destroying the Mercenaries Guild"s original branch?
It was at that moment.
His Squad Leader, Atures Poeff started to speak.
At the same time, Crock, the leader of the Mercenaries Guild’s core members started to speak as well.
Both of their voices were shaking.
“…Molan.”
Both of them just said one word.
Atures was in his late forties while Crock was in his early thirties. There was no way that the two of them did not know about these two individuals.
The atmosphere in the area became different the moment the two of them said that word.
“Excuse me? Molan?”
The younger people sounded confused.
“…Molan? Is it really Ron Molan?”
On the other hand, the people who had been here for over ten years could not hide their astonishment as they focused their gazes on the older man.
It was at that moment.
“Gasp! Step back!”
The two men on the roof shot up into the air.
“Step back!”
“Retreat!”
Both Crock and Atures started to shout.
However, the others were already moving before they said anything.
It could not be helped.
b.o.o.booboooooooooom-
A loud explosion shook the area.
“Aaah! G, get down!”
“W, what the…!”
The ground was shaking. The people in the rear quickly ducked. The ones who had retreated gulped in shock.
Boooooooooooom-
It was being gobbled up.
Yes, it looked as if the original base was being gobbled up by the ground.
It was not just being destroyed.
The Mercenaries Guild had been slowly buying the land around the original Mercenaries Guild base.
That was how they prevented other buildings from coming into the area and left the area around the Mercenaries Guild empty.
“…Leader-nim, I don"t think there is a reason to go any farther back.”
Crock could not say anything back to his subordinate as he continued to look forward.
The wooden building and the empty area around it.
That area created a large circle and crumbled down.
“…Huh?”
One of Arm’s members looked inside that large circle before he flinched.
“…Furniture? A desk?”
He was looking at least 10 meters down. He could see dirt, rocks, and the debris from the wooden building. He could also see hundreds of large pieces of furniture such as desks in there as well.
This new ditch showed everything under the sun without hiding anything.
That was the reason for it.
“Perhaps? Squad Leader-nim!”
The Arm member had a good idea about the true ident.i.ty of this location.
“…I see.”
Squad Leader Atures whom the squad member was looking at, nodded his head.
“That was where they kept the Directory.”
That was why the Mercenaries Guild people had been rus.h.i.+ng and that was why they were all extremely shocked right now.
Atures Poeff"s gaze started to move.
“Ron Molan.”
The squad member who also turned his gaze started to shake.
‘When?’
A portion of the Second Battle Brigade that had come with Atures had stepped back to this location to dodge the crumbling ground.
There was an average looking house located here.
And on top of that house’s roof…
A man with white hair was looking down at the Arm members from this house that was not very far away from them.
“Patriarch-nim, you are still just as stealthy.”
Squad Leader Atures started to speak to the man who was in his sixties in a friendly manner. However, his demeanor changed as the old man stared at him without saying anything.
“Your stealthiness must have been what let you escape back then. Just like a d.a.m.n rat.”
Fifteen years ago.
That was when the majority of the Molan household was killed.
They were only unable to find the bodies of Ron Molan, the patriarch, and his son, Beacrox Molan.
“You ran away so well that we couldn"t find you.”
Atures started to sneer.
“I thought you were scared and hiding. What wind brought you here? Are you tired of living?”
Tap.
Someone jumped across some roofs and landed behind Ron. Atures looked at him and continued to speak.
“Your son still seems to have a long life in front of him. Long time no see. I went to visit your place a few times when you were young. Do you remember this uncle?”
Atures smiled brightly with his teeth showing.
He heard a benign voice at that moment.
“Yes, Atures. Is that why you killed all of your own family members?”
The smile disappeared from Atures’s face.
Atures Poeff.
He had once been someone from the Poeff household, one of the Five a.s.sa.s.sin Households.
He was the one who took charge in killing the Mercenary King’s friend, Glenn Poeff"s family.
“You have no response.”
Atures could see the benign smile on Ron’s face.
However, Ron’s cold eyes did not look benign at all. Those cold eyes looked toward Atures who was down below looking up at him.
“It looks like you are the scared rat b.a.s.t.a.r.d, not me.”
It was at that moment.
Ron let out a quiet chuckle.
His hand then moved.
“Ugh!”
A small groan soon followed.
Atures"s gaze started to move.
“…S, Squad Leader-nim.”
It was the person Atures had with him on this operation in place of his a.s.sistant Squad Leader.
There was a small dagger right in front of that person’s foot.
He had been stealthily moving toward the building where Ron was located.
Atures could see the shocked squad member as he heard Ron"s soft laughter in his ear.
“Your subordinates seem even more like d.a.m.n rats.”
Atures bit down on his lips.
He noticed it the moment he saw Ron.
No, he noticed it the moment he saw Ron"s body.
Ron"s body was healthy even though he was in his sixties.
He was also giving off a sharp presence.
It was a presence that only someone who had honed their skills without letting go of the tension in their body for even a moment could have.
“Atures, don"t you agree?”
That was why Atures could not charge toward Ron as soon as he saw him.
“Hmm? A rat who has no brain. How can you have such squad members with you?”
Atures’s gaze headed back toward Ron.
Ron was smiling but his eyes were cold.
“it"s fine if all of you want to come at me at once.”
A portion of Arm’s members looked toward Atures.
However, Atures did not dare to move even after Ron"s provocation. This was the same for his subordinates who had been with him for at least fifteen years.
Ron Molan.
Who was he?
He was someone with enough skills to get rid of the Five a.s.sa.s.sin Households and create just one household.
That was why he was able to escape from Arm"s formidable that even the White Star helped out with.
He had done so even with his son, a young boy who had not learned anything about a.s.sa.s.sination nor stealth.
That person had returned.
He had returned to say the following.
“If you can catch me.”
Come at me if you can catch me.
“And you"ll have to be ready.”
However, the moment you try to fight me…
“We will come to gift you with death when night comes.”
They would have to feel fear every night.
“We will get all of you without missing a single one.”
Cruel things were coming out of the old man’s mouth.
However, what concerned Atures was not that.
‘When night comes, ‘we,’ will-’
We.
That word was concerning to Atures.
No, it was making him anxious.
“…Us?”
That question came out of his mouth and got a gentle response back.
“Fifteen years, that was not time for just all of you.”
Atures’s back became cold as he subconsciously opened his mouth to shout. However, he did not have a chance to say anything.
“Ron Molan!”
Ron turned his head.
There were people charging toward them with veins visible on their faces.
They were, of course, the Mercenaries Guild’s core members.
Leader Crock"s mind was an emotional rollercoaster as he charged toward Ron.
“Long time no see, little kid.”
Crock started to frown after hearing what Ron said to him.
He was the leader of the core members now, however, sixteen years ago, he was just a child lamenting each day in a back alley.
There was someone who had taught that boy how to use a sword.
“Long time.”
Crock could see Beacrox motion at him with his head.
This was someone whom he had learned with for a year.
Crock clenched onto his hand that was holding his greatsword.
He had heard greatsword techniques for one year before entering the Mercenaries Guild as the lowest ranking member. That was why he was able to evade that terrible situation fifteen years ago.
He heard a cold voice.
“You somehow managed to reach the leader position.”
The voice was so cold that anybody hearing it would get the chills.
However, the person speaking was Ron Molan.
Crock knew that this was the real Ron.
However, Crock still pointed his greatsword toward Ron.
He was currently the person who needed to protect the guild as the Mercenary King was not here.
“Ron Molan! Are you the one who destroyed the original branch building?”
He asked Ron a question.
Crock"s actions would change based on his response.
His hand that was clenching onto the greatsword did not shake at all. Fifteen years had turned Crock into a reliable adult who knew the importance of responsibility and duty.
“Haha-”
He could see Ron starting to laugh.
Ron was older, but he was still the same. He still gave off the presence of a cold dagger.
Ron looked at Atures, Crock, and the people following the two of them before slowly opening his arms.
He then calmly started to speak.
“Destroyed?”
People turned toward Beacrox at that moment.
However, Ron continued to speak.
“It’s not fully destroyed yet.”
People’s jaws dropped.
Beacrox Molan.
They could see the magic bombs in Beacrox"s hands.
“No way-!”
“…T, that!”
Ron heard a cute voice in his mind as the fl.u.s.tered people looked at him. Lemonade gramps! The human says to throw the magic bombs when he gives the signal! The human said we need to make sure that not even the slightest traces remain if we"re going to do it! I agree with him, and so do the rest of our family members!
Raon"s excited voice filled Ron"s mind. Of course, I will create a s.h.i.+eld so that n.o.body else gets hurt. Just trust the great and mighty Raon Miru! Got it, good gramps?!
The corners of Ron"s lips started to go up.
He had a cold smile that was far from being benign. We will destroy everything! Just trust me!
Ron looked toward the people looking up at him and started to speak.
“It’s time for the Molans to start again.”
The ma.s.sacred Molan household.
This situation was quite amazing to create their new beginning.