Chapter 248 – Second Place.

“Stop, that’s enough. Get that man a healing potion.”

The voice of the Knight Lieutenant echoed through the temporary sparring ring. On the ground lay a man clutching his wounded shoulder, blood spilling out where he had been stabbed. Even though the weapon was not particularly sharp, it had connected with the man’s head, causing some bleeding.

“Yes, sir.”

‘These humanoids aren’t that strong…’

The victor stood still, a few scratches marking the surface of the heavy plate armor that covered him from head to toe. It was Rusty, concealed within the suit that hid the hollowness inside him. He had just defeated another D-ranked opponent and advanced to the finals of this sudden competition.

‘Just as I expected, that woman will be my opponent.’

The fighters he had faced so far were nothing special. Even though he had not yet reached D plus rank, he was capable of defeating most humans at that level, and so was that woman. If things continued like this, he would likely secure victory, but that was not the plan he had agreed on with his guides. Now he would have to do something he disliked. He would have to lose.

‘Losing on purpose… I don’t like it.’

His guides had not forced the decision on him, but he understood it was safer this way. Becoming the leader might grant him more access to the noble district, yet it was better to keep a lower profile. A position as second in command, or even as one of the mercenary captains, would be enough for now. From what he had observed, the men under Varkas enjoyed more freedom than the leader himself, and that was what he wanted.

The wounded man was dragged away, groaning as a potion was forced between his lips. The bleeding slowed almost immediately as the alchemical liquid took effect. Around the courtyard, the remaining mercenaries shifted, their earlier arrogance fading after witnessing the fights.

“Who do you think will win?”

“My money is on the She Cat.”

“She’s strong, but the Steel Fortress will take it.”

“Want to bet on it?”

“You’re on.”

As always, the adventurers and mercenaries began placing bets. He had earned a nickname thanks to his fully armored form and his methodical fighting style, using a large oval shield and a mace to grind out slow victories. This form limited his full strength, but against these opponents, it had not mattered. The woman he was about to face was different. She was the real challenge, and even if he fought at full power, she would probably give him a challenge.

Across the ring, the Knight Lieutenant watched him in silence. His attention rested on both fighters, as if weighing their potential. Eventually, he called for both Rusty and Galiena to step forward, and the chatter among the betting men faded.

“So you’re the last one. Are you going to bore me, too?”

The woman stood as confident as before. She had overwhelmed every opponent with sheer power and ferocity. No matter the tactics or fighting styles she faced, she remained victorious. Now it was his turn.

“Final match. Begin!”

Rusty stayed silent, maintaining his stoic persona. Even though his possession skill had improved, he preferred not to speak to other humanoids while keeping his disguise intact. This entire competition was already a risk, as many eyes were watching his every move.

He had been forced to increase his weight throughout the earlier rounds. Without it, any skilled fighter would have noticed how unnaturally light his movements were. Soon, the knight gave the signal, and as expected, the woman charged forward with the ferocity of a tiger.

Her axes slammed into Rusty’s shield, which held firm for once. Blow after blow rained down, and he blocked each one. His goal was not to win, but that did not mean he would make it easy for her.

As expected, her strikes were powerful enough to send vibrations through his frame. Still, he did not give ground. Instead, he pushed forward. His shield deflected one of the axes, and he stepped in to strike with his mace, an attack the woman barely avoided.

“The shebeast is faltering!”

One of the adventurers shouted, drawing an immediate reaction.

“Who are you calling a shebeast!”

Her rage surged. Her eyes turned red, and her muscles swelled. Rusty had seen her use this ability against other opponents. Now he felt its full force directed at him. Her speed and strength increased as she entered a semi-berserk state.

The change was immediate. Her next strike came faster, heavier, and far less controlled. The axe crashed into Rusty’s shield with a force that echoed across the courtyard like a hammer striking an anvil. Dust rose around his boots, and the ground beneath him cracked under the pressure.

‘A skill similar to Twilight Embrace, but focused purely on physical enhancement.’

Rusty dug in, reinforcing his stance. The impact traveled through the shield and into his frame, rattling the hollow interior of his armor. It was not enough to damage him, but it forced him to adjust.

A relentless barrage of blows rained down on him, yet he did not take a single step back. An ordinary person would have dropped their weapon or shield by now. Their wrists would have shattered and their will broken, but he stood firm, determined to prove his guts to the onlookers.

“He really is a fortress. How is he managing to take all of those blows? Is it some kind of defensive skill?”

“I don’t know, but that she-beast isn’t relenting. She only seems to be getting stronger and faster by the minute.”

The adventurers watched in astonishment as an immovable object met a seemingly unstoppable force. Galiena’s axes blurred as they rose and fell, each strike fueled by growing fury. The red in her eyes deepened, and her breath turned into low, animalistic growl. She was trying to break him, and Rusty let her.

‘This should be enough, right?’

Compared to the other brief clashes, this fight had already stretched on for five minutes. He had focused mostly on defense, though he managed to slip in a few strikes with his mace between her attacks. To him, it was enough to prove his worth as a vanguard and to show that he could stand against their new mercenary leader.

“Wait, his defense is crumbling. Is this it?”

Soon, the tide of battle began to shift in her favor. He finally started stepping back, his legs beginning to quiver. To the onlookers, it seemed he was being pushed back by the sheer force of her assault. Yet she was nearing her limits as well. Sweat covered her body, and her muscular frame twitched as though the skill she relied on was beginning to falter.

Then, with a powerful strike, his oval shield was knocked aside. He seized his mace with both hands to block the twin axes, and for the first time their clash became a direct contest of strength. The pressure forced him down until he dropped to one knee. The blades edged closer to his neck, and just as they touched the metal, he spoke.

“I yield.”

As the words left him, those who had wagered on him groaned in disappointment. Others cheered for the woman, and the knight lieutenant raised his hand to end the bout.

“That’s enough!”

For a brief moment, it seemed Galiena might ignore the call and finish the strike, tearing off Rusty’s helmet with a fatal blow. But at the last instant, the red in her eyes faded, and the tension in her body eased.

“You yield…?”

She muttered in a strained voice. It was clear she was exhausted, and perhaps even surprised by her victory, but after a few moments she recovered.

“Of course you yield!”

The woman straightened and raised her axes into the air. The weapons were chipped from striking the shield so many times, but she did not seem to care. After letting out a victory roar, a smile spread across her face as she savored the win.

“You’ve lasted longer than the rest. You aren’t half bad. What’s your name?”

She tossed the damaged axes aside and extended a hand to help Rusty up. Compared to the other mercenaries, she seemed to respect his strength, and he took the offered hand before replying.

“It’s Edmund.”

Rusty did not expect what came next. After pulling him to his feet, she raised his arm into the air and shouted a battle cry. She was cheering with him, pleased to have found an opponent close to her own level. It was a surprising sight. Most of the previous mercenaries had been cruel, and none of them would have reacted this way. The cheers, however, did not last long.

“Silence!”

The Knight Lieutenant’s voice cut through the courtyard like a blade. The noise died almost instantly, though a few stragglers coughed or muttered before remembering where they stood.

“You have proven your combat ability. Barely. Consider yourselves lucky. If we were not so short-handed, none of you would qualify for this position.”

Galiena lowered Rusty’s arm, though the grin on her face remained. She did not seem bothered by the reprimand. She simply rolled her shoulders, as if already eager for the next fight. Rusty, on the other hand, felt confident that his performance had earned him a good position without fully revealing his abilities.

The Knight Lieutenant stepped forward, his gaze sweeping across the remaining D-ranks. They were ordered to stand before him, all twenty of them, with the victor in the middle. His eyes moved from one face to another before he finally spoke.

“Galiena.”

She grinned slightly as she waited.

“You will serve as acting mercenary captain.”

Some looked disappointed, but no one spoke. After witnessing her strength, none dared object. The Lieutenant’s gaze shifted, settling on Rusty.

“Edmund.”

Rusty inclined his head just enough to acknowledge the call.

“You will serve as her second.”

There it was, exactly where he wanted to be. For a moment, he wondered if it might have been better to win outright and become the leader. Still, this position was enough for now. There was no need to rush. In time, he could rise through the ranks, as that was simply how this humanoid society functioned.

“The rest of the D-ranks will make up the inner forces.”

‘Oh?’

To his surprise, the other D-ranks were not given any official positions in the new mercenary group. It seemed they were either considered too weak or simply not worth the effort. The former leader, Varkas, had maintained several officers close to him. Perhaps this time they intended to leave those decisions to Galiena. Selecting Rusty as second in command might have been deliberate, a way to position him as her successor should she fall or prove disobedient.

“As for the rest of you, you will report to Galiena and Edmund for orders. We will not be holding matches for simple E-ranks. You will prove your worth during the coming orc attack. My men will take you to the barracks. Pick out your weapons and get some sleep.”

The lower-ranked adventurers were not even considered for command. With that, the unnamed mercenary band was established, and the knight lieutenant departed, leaving a few regular knights behind to manage the rest. Everything seemed to be working in his favor, even his status.

Rusty lowered his head slightly as the crowd of adventurers and mercenaries was ordered to follow the remaining knights. In the past, he would not have been able to attempt something like this, but thanks to a skill gained from a recent level up, he could be confident that his status would not be read through.

Normally, the possession skill made others see the name of the deceased person he was inhabiting, along with their original stats, class, and level at the time of death. That meant he would appear as an E-rank fighter named Edmund. With his new skill, however, he could change that.

Deceive Status

Active Skill

Once used, this skill allows the user to alter their status screen, changing their level, stats, and even class as they wish.

Although it was an active skill, it consumed very little mana, allowing him to keep it active at all times. With it, his status now matched that of the other D-ranks around him.

Classification:

Edmund [ Knight L 34 ]

Type:

Human

Class Path:

Fighter - > Heavy Fighter - > Heavy Guard

The class he chose focused on shields and heavy armor. It offered strong defensive capabilities but fell behind others when it came to offense.

“Let’s keep this up.”

Rusty followed the group of D-ranks toward the barracks, keeping pace without speaking. Galiena strode ahead, her axes now properly fitted and slung casually over her back. The chatter of mercenaries faded into uneasy whispers as they passed. Many glanced at Rusty, curious about the man who had withstood Galiena’s full strength and survived.

The barracks were surprisingly well established, at least the ones assigned to the D-ranks. The quarters for the E-ranks and below looked worn down by comparison.

“Are we supposed to stay here?”

“It’s better than the stables I was staying in, so stop complaining!”

Some of the adventurers were not pleased with the situation, while others saw it as an improvement. The knights stopped and directed everyone to their new sleeping quarters. The area included a training field as well as storage for various weapons and pieces of armor once used by the previous Black Hounds. Some still bore blood from the attacks Rusty himself had carried out on their former owners, yet even these were an upgrade from what some of the E-ranks had been using.

“Get accustomed to your new quarters. You will need your rest. Tomorrow, be ready to march. We know it is short notice, but the orcs will not wait for you to settle into your new positions.”

Galiena was given a key to Varka’s old quarters, though he rarely stayed there. Rusty knew that those in power had their own houses, and the sub-leaders were no different. None of them lived in the barracks prepared by the city lord. For now, however, they would have to rest here. Only after proving their strength would they be taken seriously, and everyone understood that.

The orcs were coming, and there was a strong chance that some of them would die in the coming days. They were only a temporary group of fighters without a proper name, and they needed to prove themselves before the baron. To Rusty, however, they were just a stepping stone in his current mission to dispose of the crooked baron and his followers. The first step of his plan was complete. Now he only needed to continue until all of his true enemies were dead.