Chương 94

Piaro knelt in the red dirt of Kesan Canyon. The absolute despair that had kept him rotting in this miserable wasteland for years was finally breaking. He wiped his grimy face with his dirty hands, taking a slow, shaky breath.

"Elysia... Winfred... they are waiting for me," Piaro whispered, his voice cracking. He looked up at Rudra.

"If what you say is true, Duke Rudra, then my life belongs to you. I will follow you to Stormbreak."

"Glad to hear it," Rudra smiled, leaning casually on his heavy bone staff.

"But before we hit the road, I actually have a favor to ask of you." Piaro slowly stood up, brushing the dirt off his rags.

"A favor?"

"You are the strongest swordsman on the continent," Rudra said with genuine, honest respect.

"I hit things with a stick. My foundation is heavy, but my transitions are rough. I lose momentum when I have to change directions. I need you to teach me how to swing better." Piaro looked at the young Duke, then down at the jagged bone staff. The battle-maniac inside the broken knight evaluated the request.

"Your raw physical control is impressive," Piaro noted calmly.

"But you rely entirely too much on the natural weight of the weapon to pull you forward. If an enemy breaks your rhythm, you are completely wide open. I am not accustomed to a staff, but the principles of momentum and martial flow are universal." Piaro picked up his rusted, chipped sword from the rocks.

"I will spar with you. Two hours every single day, for the next three months. I will beat the sloppy habits out of your posture." A bright golden window immediately flashed in front of Rudra. [Quest Generated: Fun and Enjoyable Training!] [Difficulty: S] [The strongest swordsman on the continent has agreed to personally temper your foundation. Endure his rigorous, uncompromising spars for two hours every day. Clear Condition: Spar with Piaro daily for 3 months. Reward: Advanced Staff Mastery +4.] Rudra stared at the glowing blue text. His red eyes practically sparkled. Advanced Staff Mastery plus four?! Rudra cheered internally. Getting a single level in Advanced Mastery required swinging his staff tens of thousands of times against high-level monsters. It was a brutal, year-long grind. This quest literally let him skip the agonizing wait and practically guaranteed he would finish Phase 4 of his Staff Saint quest.

"I accept!" Rudra said instantly, totally ignoring the fact that getting beaten up by a Named NPC for two hours a day was going to be pure torture.

"I will instruct you," Piaro said, his expression suddenly darkening. The calm, observant aura around him vanished, replaced instantly by a toxic, suffocating hatred.

"But I have one absolute condition for my service, Duke Rudra. Asmophel must die." Rudra stopped smiling. The sheer density of the murderous intent rolling off the beggar was heavy enough to make the air feel thick.

"I intend to tear him apart with my own hands," Piaro hissed, his knuckles turning white around his rusted hilt.

"But I cannot enter Titan. The Imperial capital is crawling with guards, and my face is too recognizable. If I step foot inside those walls, the Emperor will send an army to crush me before I even reach Asmophel's manor. I need you to be my agent of revenge." Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. A heavy, dark red system window popped up in Rudra's vision.

[Quest Generated: The True Traitor of the Red Knights] [Difficulty Level: SS] [Piaro and his men were framed and branded as traitors by Asmophel. Due to that, he lost his men and family and had to flee. Now Piaro has no intention of forgiving Asmophel. However, it is virtually impossible for Piaro to get revenge himself. Piaro has made you his agent of revenge. Quest Clear Conditions: Kill Asmophel, the former vice captain of the Red Knights. Quest Reward: Piaro's affinity will reach the peak. Quest Failure: Level -6.] [Would you like to accept the quest?] Rudra looked at the absurd failure penalty. Dropping six whole levels was a catastrophic loss for any top-ranked player. Most people would have panicked and declined. Rudra didn't even blink. He tapped 'Accept'.

"I hate noble backstabbers anyway," Rudra said earnestly.

"Plus, Elysia already made me promise to help her tear the Empire down. Asmophel is definitely on the menu." Piaro let out a shaky breath, his burning eyes dulling just a fraction.

"Thank you." Rudra nodded. But as he looked at the ragged swordsman, his Insight stat flared. He casually rested his hand on the hilt of the Great Lord's Sword strapped to his waist.

"Character Observation," Rudra muttered under his breath. A detailed, translucent blue window popped up. [Name: Piaro] [Age: 39 Gender: Male] [Class: Swordsman/ Hermit] [Title: Great Swordsman - The closest person to becoming a sword saint in this age. - When a blade type weapon is equipped, attack power will increase by 40% and attack speed by 10%. - This effect is applied separately from the Sword Mastery skill effect.] [Level: 367] [Strength: 2, 038 Stamina: 1, 380 Agility: 1, 910 Intelligence: 530 Leadership: 812 Indomitable: 824] Skills: Trap Installation (C+), Empire's Swordsmanship (B), Overwhelming (A), Empire's Military Tactics (A+), Great Swordsman's Enlightenment (S+), Supreme Swordsmanship (SS), Fated to Perish (??). A descendant of a prestigious bloodline in the Saharan Empire, he was born with a natural talent for swordsmanship and military tactics.

He joined the knights at a young age and became a captain in only 12 years. In the following 5 years, he succeeded in winning a lot of achievements. However, he was wrongfully branded as an imperial traitor by Asmophel and forced to flee. * Currently, this person is suffering from a severe sickness of the heart. He has lost his original nature and all stats are reduced by 20% from those shown in the status window.] Rudra swiped the window away, frowning slightly.

The stats were absolutely terrifying, but the debuff at the bottom was a massive red flag. Piaro wasn't just angry. He was completely consumed by a toxic, blinding trauma that was actively destroying his mind and heavily nerfing his power. Seeing a proud, legendary hero broken and consumed by such agonizing pain twisted Rudra's stomach. I can't just let him suffer like this in the dark, Rudra thought, his heart felt genuine sympathy for the man. He needs to remember the people who are waiting for him.

He needs to heal.

"Alright, partner," Rudra said gently, tossing a piece of dried meat to Kratos, who caught it with a happy squeak.

"Before we start our three-month boot camp, we have to handle the most important rule of my caravan." Piaro blinked, slightly confused by the sudden change in tone.

"What rule?" Rudra dropped his heavy Protean Crafting Cauldron right into the red dirt with a loud thud.

"Nobody travels on an empty stomach," Rudra smiled warmly, pulling out his cooking knife.

"Have a seat. I'm making dinner."