Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 45 (Part 1):

The chaser was futile; the employee’s warning to quickly leave the village because the trackers would soon be on his heels was in vain.

The next day, Helmut killed five trackers and buried them in the ground. Despite it being his first murder, he felt no particular emotion.

Helmut realized that, from the perspective of being enemies, the lives of beasts and humans were equal to him. He had simply killed an enemy.

Helmut felt no sense of belonging to the human race.

Rather, he felt closer to monsters, experiencing a sense of alienation as if he was floating alone in a world filled with humans.

This feeling intensified after leaving the Pace Mercenary Corps to be on his own. When would this feeling dissipate?

‘Black Hawk, was it?’

Each enemy had the skill level comparable to a third-rank mercenary. A group capable of sending such individuals was no ordinary organization.

However, five silver-medal mercenaries were not enough to face a swordsman who could manifest the Vis. Especially if that swordsman could move unaffected by the deep darkness.

‘I did handle it well, though.’

He would need to be careful about disposing of the gains from combat. So far, he hadn’t moved with the intention of erasing his tracks.

But from now on, he would have to. Killing to silence them was also intended in that direction.

Helmut intended not to leave behind anything that could cause trouble in the outer world until he reached his destination.

‘If they still pursue me despite hiding my tracks.’

Then he could only hope for enemies more challenging than this.

A subtle excitement rose within Helmut, and he clenched his fist.

Deep within his heart, a seed of darkness wriggled and slowly grew.

*

‘Damn it, how did those guys survive that?’

Tariq Mercenary Corps’s Paul was not in a good mood. It was easy for him and Max, both second-rank mercenaries, to break through the encirclement and escape.

The problem was the head beast, which did not stop them.

Because it chased easier prey behind them, they could escape the pursuit.

After running at full strength and escaping the forest filled with demonic beasts, they breathed a sigh of relief.

‘The rest must be dead.’

Paul and Max were convinced. They decided to lay low for a while before slowly returning to the Tariq Mercenary Corps.

It was an inevitable situation. They had managed to escape with their lives by running away during the fight, and they had excuses ready for needing time to recover.

But an unexpected event occurred. Just as they were resting in the first village they arrived at, it became noisy outside.

A bad premonition made them leave their room, and they discovered a familiar sight—four carriages and the appearance of the Pace Mercenary Corps!

‘How could this happen?’

Panicked, Paul and Max immediately left the inn and fled the village.

Afterward, there was an argument between them. But they were now accomplices. Blaming each other was pointless. They needed to think about what to do next.

They decided to recover and contemplate their next steps for a while.

Looking back, perhaps joining forces with Max to silence the surviving Pace Mercenary Corps members would have been better.

They were the survivors, after all, and depending on how it’s explained, breaking the contract could be justified.

But even if they ambushed, there was no guarantee of victory. It was already too late.

Many witnesses in the village saw them. It would be too risky for two second-rank mercenaries to massacre all the villagers.

“Was that guy from the Pace Mercenary Corps, Phien, capable enough to take down the head beast alone?”

“Perhaps the beast had a clear weakness.”

“Our mercenary lives are over.”

Max muttered despondently. The Tariq Mercenary Corps leader would not forgive them.

The Butan Trading Company would also spread the word that they abandoned their client and fled. As a large trading company, they would prevent them from setting foot in the mercenary world again. There was no turning back.

But there was a new path.

“How about joining Black Hawk?”

Max’s eyes widened at Paul’s suggestion.

Black Hawk was a dark organization of a higher caliber than a mere gathering of thugs.

Mercenaries, thieves, and assassins who had abandoned their clients gathered there, forming a Corps that undertook illegal and morally reprehensible tasks that regular mercenaries wouldn’t touch.

Operated with secret branches and connections to the power elite, no one dared to mess with them lightly.

For people like Paul and Max, Black Hawk was the best option.

“We have connections there. Two second-rank mercenaries like us will be a valuable asset to them.”

“If it’s Black Hawk, they’ll pay well for assignments.”

With no better options, Max nodded.

Together, they sought out a Black Hawk branch and made contact.

“Welcome. Two second-rank mercenaries, in times like these when it’s hard to find skilled individuals, we are grateful you’ve decided to join us.”

A man with half his face covered by a black beard kindly greeted them.

His name was Anton, the branch manager of Black Hawk in the Kinan Kingdom.

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