“I’ve come to make a deal, Saber Master.”

Lee Taebaek said it again. The sound of him swallowing was thick and heavy.

“The Gang Alliance’s leader was planning to stab you in the back. Telling you this is my retainer fee. I’d like to discuss what comes after.”

He was pretending to be calm, but in truth, his heart was racing. This was a gamble with his life on the line. Any ordinary person wouldn’t even be able to meet the eyes of a member of the Ten Wings.

Yet even someone who wasn’t ordinary would feel the same. Lee Taebaek kept his head fixed toward the Saber Master, rolling only his eyes slightly.

Two elite 0th Battalion members from the Resistance had rolled their eyes back and fainted. He’d used that to vicariously experience the gap between himself and the Saber Master.

I still can’t win.

Keep reminding yourself, Lee Taebaek. Courage and bravado are separate. Stepping forward in a situation like this is courage; swinging your sword recklessly is bravado.

See yourself objectively. Even if victory is impossible, at least you might survive.

“…….”

Saber Master Muyachi tilted his head slightly, staring at Lee Taebaek. He was looking, but if only he’d lower that sword a bit.

The Saber Master was probably designed by one of my team members.

What a brutal design. A suit paired with the Chamado—what an eerie combination. It sent chills down his spine.

And now, quietly tilting his head like that, he looked just like a drawn psychopath.

“So you’re Lee Taebaek.”

The Saber Master finally spoke. For some reason, a sinister smile played on his lips.

“You’re different from the image I imagined.”

“Sorry to disappoint.”

Lee Taebaek shot back without backing down. He’d just buffed his Mental stat. He had confidence in a battle of nerve, at least.

“I thought you’d look more manly. The first time I saw you, I thought you were a flat-chested woman.”

“I’d love to stop hearing that I look like a woman.”

Lee Taebaek’s bold attitude seemed to please him. It must feel fresh to the Saber Master.

Of course. Who would talk back to a lofty member of the Ten Wings like this?

Normally, people would bow their heads or keep their distance. That was the fate of the strong. Since most were weaker than him, he was naturally isolated. Survival benefited by natural selection, but society rejected him. Even among fellow Ten Wings, tangled interests made it hard to build bonds. In short, he was lonely by nature.

By design, the Saber Master likes those brimming with spirit.

The public image of the Saber Master was ‘taciturn.’ But his true personality was different. He enjoyed chatting, in his own way. Of course, with the premise of ‘someone worth talking to.’

This was a gamble possible only because he knew the Saber Master’s tendencies as a developer. Wouldn’t a possessor make active use of prior knowledge?

“I heard a snake had infiltrated the Resistance, but you’re no snake. More like a dragon’s tail.”

Saber Master Muyachi withdrew his killing intent and sneered. He even dropped the raised Chamado to the ground. The oppressive air pressure on his shoulders lightened.

Halfway successful.

There was no time to celebrate. The Saber Master had started to probe.

He tore his gaze from the Commander-in-Chief and the 0th Battalion members and fixed it ahead.

“Do you know what I encounter most while doing this kind of work?”

He tossed out the question. Lee Taebaek hopped off the Red Hare and replied.

“What’s the point of saying it? It’s killing people, right?”

“No.”

The man called the Mercenary King was approaching. The Commander-in-Chief and 0th Battalion members froze in place. Lee Taebaek had signaled them not to move.

A mere squad member ordering the top boss and their direct unit around. What an outrageous insubordination.

I need to minimize variables.

Better a reprimand than letting his carefully planned scheme unravel.

Fortunately, the Commander-in-Chief obediently followed his instruction.

The Commander-in-Chief nodded and stepped back.

The 0th Battalion awkwardly created distance from the scene. The Saber Master lost interest in them and ignored them.

“It’s the client stabbing me in the back.”

He continued.

“When I first started this work, eight out of ten plotted betrayal. After some time, it dropped to six. Then to three. Eventually, almost none. Do you get what that means?”

“Mercenaries become safer from backstabs the higher their reputation climbs.”

He removed his mask and gripped the Para Blade.

“It also means you’ve turned every client who targeted your back into guests of no return.”

“Correct.”

The Saber Master laughed heartily. Then he swung the Chamado horizontally.

Space itself was sliced diagonally.

A fierce sword wind rushed at his face. Before his bangs could even scatter, the dense vinyl greenhouses all collapsed.

Immediately after, the Saber Master unleashed his aura.

The thinly exposed steel frames crumpled flat. In an instant, his field of view cleared. As if this district had always been flat land.

Insane.

Lee Taebaek’s pupils contracted. Blood pools began to well up here and there. The low-growing plants seemed to drink the blood spilled from the meat crushed under vinyl and debris. There looked to be at least a hundred corpses.

Magnostrom was hiding in the greenhouses, waiting for the moment.

As Levi said, they’d dispatched elites. He hadn’t noticed so many hidden presences.

And those elites were annihilated.

For the Saber Master, wiping out a single gang took just one sword stroke. And that wasn’t the only awe-inspiring part.

Lee Taebaek, the Commander-in-Chief, and the 0th Battalion had somehow kept their lives. Even as the Saber Master literally turned the area into a wasteland, he’d spared their necks.

He reflexively fumbled at the back of his neck, feeling a surge of intense emotion.

It was awe.

How could flesh and blood be this strong? The assessment that he had reached the pinnacle of the blade was no exaggeration.

A master of the sword.

“I’ll accept your retainer fee.”

He looked at Lee Taebaek darkly.

“But I’ve already received an advance from Levi. 5 billion won.”

“…Wasn’t that contract nullified…?”

“That’s not how the calculation works. Every mercenary has their code, but I do as much as I’ve been paid. Of course, I won’t get additional pay. So instead, I propose this. I, Muyachi, contract at 500 million per stroke. The advance was 5 billion—price of ten strokes.”

The Saber Master thrust the Chamado forward.

“Endure ten strokes from me, Lee Taebaek. Then I’ll gladly hear the terms you mentioned—for free.”

As the Commander-in-Chief tried to intervene, the Saber Master warned.

“Third-party interference in a mercenary contract means termination. You know that and still step in?”

“Understood.”

Lee Taebaek returned the Saber Master’s cold glance.

“Ten exchanges. I’ll endure.”

“I like the straightforwardness.”

The Saber Master slashed downward through empty air, carving a boundary line into the ground. Deep as a grown man’s height.

“If those guys interfere before ten exchanges end, I’ll kill them all on the spot. Especially the Resistance Commander-in-Chief. If you scheme, I’ll hunt down your Battalion Commanders and slaughter them.”

“Enough threats.”

Lee Taebaek pressed the open/close button.

“Let’s begin.”

The Saber Master let the Chamado hang low. His sword stance was far from any textbook form. One foot forward in a narrow stance, center of gravity shifted ahead.

Lee Taebaek suppressed the urge to flee. If his pulse had a melody, it’d be a funeral march.

The Saber Master flickered like a ghost, then charged lightly. The upward slash as he ran etched into Lee Taebaek’s retinas.

The Saber Master aimed to cleave him from below upward. The charge was barely visible. One leap shook the earth.

Lee Taebaek laid the blade flat, pressing the flat with his free hand. The sword strike surged from ground to sky, clashing blades. Faster than sound.

His vision went black.

Not stars exploding, but total blackout.

What? Dead in one hit? As anxiety surged, a throbbing pain like his hand exploding hit.

I’m alive.

Too early to relax.

Despair started now.

Lee Taebaek blinked repeatedly to regain vision.

The next instant, his pupils dilated like saucers. The city sprawled below. Lights of tangled human desires illuminated the night.

But the scenery was upside down. His gaze naturally dropped. Clouds flowed beneath his feet. He was closer to the sky than the ground.

Gravity yanked him. Stomach acid refluxed. Vomit stung his throat, but he somersaulted midair, landing upright.

Simultaneously, presence erupted ahead. The Saber Master. Where he’d stood, the ground crumbled; his leap brought an earthquake.

Was this human? It transcended the species’ limits.

“The first exchange was just a taste.”

A slash targeting his side. Lee Taebaek crossed umbrella and blade exquisitely to block. The moment blades met, he was repelled.

The Saber Master’s assault didn’t pause.

He stepped off the air, closing distance instantly. The Chamado, a mere point before, stretched out.

Lee Taebaek arched his back excessively. The Chamado grazed his nose bridge. His nose tingled; a mirror appeared before him.

The well-polished Chamado blade reflected his face. The moment he faced himself, he closed his eyes.

HP left at 10,000, all else restricted. No matter. One hit would kill this fragile life anyway.

Recovery nerfed too. Fine. High Faith meant nothing if decapitated.

Sacrificing two stats for extended air time. Can’t match strength? Overwhelm with speed.

Time to open your eyes, Lee Taebaek.

His brain felt like it shrank to baseball size. Multiple activations, but time passed in a flash.

Lee Taebaek flipped midair, spinning. His toe grazed the Saber Master’s wrist like wind.

The Saber Master’s brow twitched, as if he hadn’t expected it at all. Lee Taebaek flashed a triumphant smile.

No chance of victory against the Saber Master. No matter the effort, bridging the skill gap instantly was impossible.

But the condition wasn’t ‘defeating him.’

Endure exactly ten exchanges, somehow.

Lee Taebaek’s brain instantly devised the Saber Master strategy. Squeezing the best from an inferior position—that was the thrill of boss raids.

He’d run countless deductions and reached the answer. And that was…

I go fast.

You go slow.