Chapter 334: This Is Something I Really Wanted to Try (3)

Maybe Jake was just playing hard to get. If that were the case, it could be forgiven.

Claude, unable to hide his frustration, said, "Why? Even if you join our mercenary corps, we won't interfere with your work. We'll give you plenty of jobs and benefits. It's all gain, no loss. People like you should think bigger."

Jake knew Claude wasn't wrong. He'd participated in several Fenris ventures before.

The pay was higher than elsewhere and always delivered on time. Yet there was a reason he was refusing.

'The Count Fenris is a war fanatic. That much is clear. And just from the rumors, he doesn't seem normal.'

The Count had waged three large wars within just a few years—against the Digald County, the Cabaldi County, and the Desmond County.

In other words, he was a conqueror.

Looking at the other things the Count had done, most of them seemed like the ideas of a madman.

Joining under someone like that could mean risking his life at any moment.

'And he's hostile with the duchy? Even if the Royalist faction supports him, we'd have no choice but to be dragged into the civil war.'

While war presented mercenaries with the opportunity to earn the most money, not many willingly joined dangerous battles.

Most only joined conflicts where victory was assured or at least seemed possible.

But under Count Fenris, they wouldn't even have the luxury of making that decision.

Jake, who was unusually cautious for a mercenary, didn't want to get involved in something like that.

"We're not interested. These kinds of discussions make us uncomfortable, head butler."

"Really? You're sure you're not interested?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Fine… I'll step back for now. Let's talk again another time."

As Claude backed off, Jake flashed his signature smug smile.

"Well, I'm sorry about this. Next time, I'll take on some work for a lower fee, so let's avoid this kind of talk, shall we?"

"You'll be seeing me again soon."

The next day, Claude returned with several hundred soldiers.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Jake scowled at Claude, clearly displeased.

Still, he wasn't exactly scared.

If Claude were here to threaten him with force, it would only tarnish the reputation of Count Fenris.

Such a move would make it difficult to win over other mercenary corps.

Jake, being experienced, understood this and maintained his arrogant demeanor.

Claude gestured for the soldiers to step back and said,

"Don't worry. I didn't bring soldiers to threaten you."

"Then what's the reason for this visit?"

Claude cleared his throat a few times, then shouted loudly.

"I, Claude, hereby challenge Jake, leader of the Bigfoot Mercenary Corps, to a duel under the name of Moriana!"

A duel in the name of Moriana, the goddess of war.

This was the method Ghislain had used to subdue Kaor with sheer force.

Now, Claude was declaring a duel against a mercenary leader with his frail body.

First, Wendy looked at Claude in utter disbelief.

The soldiers who had followed him wore similarly bewildered expressions.

In terms of physical strength, Claude was undoubtedly one of the weakest people in the territory.

At times, when he was too tired or busy, Wendy had even carried him on her back. He was practically a newborn in strength.

Yet here he was, challenging a rough mercenary leader. Not just any mercenary, but the leader of a mercenary corps.

Even small mercenary corps leaders required minimum strength and experience to reach their positions.

While everyone was dumbfounded, Claude took a step forward and shouted again.

"What are you waiting for? Accept the duel already! Isn't this something mercenaries are supposed to take seriously?"

Jake, taken aback, took a step back.

"This… This is a mercenaries' wager. It's not something a head butler like you should be involved in."

"I'm the head butler of the Fenris Mercenary Corps. If I'm part of the corps, I'm a mercenary too."

It was absurd.

But the reasoning was somewhat plausible.

The Fenris Mercenary Corps had been formally registered with several regional guilds.

"Uh… uh…"

Jake didn't know what to do.

Someone as weak as Claude could be crushed in a single blow.

But could he actually do it?

Sure, the duel was legitimate, and no one would blame him if Claude lost his life.

However, Jake didn't feel right about it. He waved his hands dismissively and said, "I refuse."

'Refusing won't damage my reputation, right?'

Refusing wouldn't really hurt his pride.

After all, who would wager their mercenary corps in a duel against someone like this?

But Claude was more persistent than Jake had expected.

"If you refuse, I'll spread the word. Your men might understand, but others won't. They'll mock you and pick fights wherever you go. I'll follow you and make sure everyone hears about it."

"Ugh…"

Jake gritted his teeth.

Claude had a point.

Rough mercenaries weren't the type to let an opportunity to tease someone go.

They would definitely use this as an excuse to provoke him.

'If they want to pick a fight, they'll use this as an excuse…'

On top of that, people who didn't know Claude might actually believe Jake was afraid.

His reputation would drop, and he'd lose potential jobs.

Such rumors were easy to spread but difficult to dispel, requiring much more effort to correct.

'Is this guy insane? Should I just kill him?'

As murderous intent began to seep into Jake's eyes, Wendy grabbed Claude's sleeve and whispered, "What are you doing? You can't even fight, so why are you challenging him to a duel?"

"Oh, are you worried about me? That's sweet. It's been a while since you've shown this much concern."

"Are you kidding me? Stop this nonsense right now!"

"There's no canceling a man's duel. I'm not one to back down from a losing battle."

Claude dramatically pulled his sleeve free and walked forward.

Wendy, momentarily stunned by his absurd behavior, could only stare in disbelief.

Amid the collective confusion, Claude held out his hand and said,

"What are you doing? Tie us up already!"

Reluctantly, the mercenaries stepped forward and tied Claude's and Jake's hands together.

Their expressions showed they felt something was off, but the atmosphere had already taken a strange turn.

The two men faced each other with daggers in hand.

The size difference between them was almost double.

Jake towered over Claude by a full head and a half.

'Why does it always come to this?'

Wendy reluctantly drew her dagger, ready to intervene if the fight became dangerous.

Despite her feelings toward Claude, the head butler was an indispensable figure for the territory.

Without him, the territory wouldn't function properly.

Jake, gripping his dagger, stared at Claude.

'What should I do? Hurt him just enough to make him surrender?'

Claude can't fight, so he can drill a few holes in his body. He wanted to kill Claude but he didn't really have the confidence to kill him.

It was obvious that even if he killed Claude, he would have a tiring life even if he won.

'Ha, I got mixed up with a really strange guy….'

There was no backing out now, but he could carefully wound Claude in a way that wouldn't cause lasting harm.

As Jake weighed his options, Claude whispered softly, "Jake, 38 years old. Leader of the Bigfoot Mercenary Corps."

"...?"

Why was he suddenly bringing up Jake's name?

While Jake tilted his head in confusion, Claude continued,

"You pretend to be a bold, manly guy, but it's all an act. In reality, you're cautious and overly careful."

"...?"

"At 35, you worked as a leather artisan in the east and became deeply fascinated with the charm of leather."

"S-stop…"

Jake's face turned pale. Claude was now revealing his deepest secrets.

"Afterward, you became so obsessed with leather that you wore only leather underwear for a while… You even made a leather whip and asked your then-girlfriend to hit you with it, but she dumped you immediately."

"W-wait!"

"When the rumors spread, you fled to the north and joined the mercenaries. After that, you started sneaking out at night, secretly asking people to whip you for money… You became a mercenary because you liked the feeling of being hit… Oh, and the whip you handcrafted, named 'Lilith,' was hidden in… Recently, just two weeks ago…"

"Stop, please!"

Claude mercilessly spilled Jake's most humiliating secrets.

Jake's head spun. If these rumors spread, he'd never be able to show his face in public again.

'I'll have to kill him!'

Before Jake could act, his face ashen, Claude quickly spoke.

"I've documented everything. I've even told my subordinates about it. If I die, this will all come out by tonight."

The subordinate in question was Lowell.

Jake had no choice but to lower his gaze and hiss through gritted teeth.

"Head butler! Couldn't we have discussed this quietly in private?"

Claude smiled brightly and replied,

"I've always wanted to do this in front of a crowd. That's why I brought so many soldiers to watch."

'This guy is insane.'

To think he'd gather hundreds of soldiers for such a ridiculous display, just to show off.

Jake gritted his teeth, his breathing ragged, and cold sweat poured down his body.

It was clear now—he'd run into a complete lunatic.

"What? Want me to share more? I've got plenty of fun details about you. You're quite the character…"

"Heh… No need…"

Jake awkwardly smiled and shook his head.

If these rumors got out, he'd be socially destroyed.

The spectators were puzzled. They couldn't understand why the two weren't fighting but were just standing there whispering.

One mercenary, standing a little farther away, raised his hand and shouted,

"Start!"

At that moment, the duel officially began. Normally, both combatants would leap into action with their daggers.

But Jake's hand, gripping his dagger, trembled uncontrollably. He couldn't move.

Claude, trying to strike a heroic pose, said, "Not coming? Then I'll go first. Hiya!"

Claude lunged forward with his dagger. His movements were pitifully slow and clumsy.

Yet Jake made no effort to dodge.

Instead, he let Claude's dagger pierce his chest.

Thunk!

The stab was shallow. Claude's strength was so weak that the dagger barely penetrated Jake's chest muscles.

Only a single drop of blood trickled out.

If Jake retaliated, even with a single swing, Claude's head would roll.

Everyone watched the scene tensely, holding their breath.

Wendy was ready to leap in and rescue Claude at any moment.

But before anyone could act, Jake suddenly let out a loud, awkward scream.

"Aaaaahhh!"

Jake then collapsed dramatically and shouted,

"I-I've lost! Stop! Such overwhelming strength! I think I'm going to die! Are you a Swordmaster?!"

The onlookers stared, mouths agape, unable to process what they had just witnessed.

How could such a weak attack cause a seasoned mercenary leader to surrender so quickly?

Claude, however, wore a smug expression, as if this outcome was entirely expected.

"Hmph. I guess my strength was just too much to handle."

He then began struggling to cut the ropes binding his hands with his dagger. But no matter how much effort he put in, the ropes wouldn't give way.

Wendy sighed, quickly stepped forward, and cut the ropes herself.

"What was that? What did you do?"

"I've done this over a hundred times before."

"…"

Claude's words mimicked Ghislain's famous line from his duel with Kaor, a story that had become widely known.

Claude had been dying to recreate the moment for himself.

After freeing himself from the ropes, Claude crouched down in front of the defeated Jake and said, "We're partners now, right? I won't take your mercenary corps from you. Just bring it under the Fenris Mercenary Corps' umbrella. I'll send you plenty of jobs. Just make sure you pay your dues on time and share any useful intel."

"O-of course. Since I lost, it's only fair to comply."

The spectators looked at Claude with astonishment.

No one had expected someone as weak as him to defeat a mercenary leader.

The mercenaries under Jake's command were equally baffled.

They assumed Jake had deliberately thrown the fight to give in gracefully to Fenris's growing power.

After all, resisting would only lead to greater trouble.

The truth, however, was known only to Claude, Jake, and Lowell, who had uncovered the embarrassing details.

Through these tactics, Claude quickly brought the northern mercenary corps under Fenris's control.

"Phew, that was way too easy. I wonder how our Lord is doing?"

Claude grinned leisurely.

Most northern mercenary corps were small and could be easily swayed with a mix of persuasion and light threats.

If anyone resisted, all Claude needed to do was whisper a humiliating secret or two.

That was his specialty.

While things progressed smoothly in the north, Ghislain and his close aides entered a city in the western region.

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