My Glitched World Throne System Came Ten Years Too Early!
Chapter 36: The Drug Ring Leader

Chapter 36: 36: The Drug Ring Leader

The shaft of the warhammer exploded into countless wooden splinters.

Roderic ducked down, avoiding the falling metal, before immediately spinning back around with his blades.

The brute’s furious expression instantly froze.

His eyes widened in complete disbelief as he stared at the broken handle still clutched in his hands.

’’But how...?’’

Before he could utter another word, Roderic’s blades flashed through the air.

SHHK!

One sliced cleanly through the brute’s neck, while the other plunged deep into his chest.

The brute staggered back several steps.

No sound came out of his mouth as he desperately clutched his throat.

THUD!

His large, muscular body crashed heavily onto the tavern floor a moment later.

Roderic slowly lowered both hooked blades.

Blood dripped from their edges onto the floor as his chest continued rising and falling heavily.

Complete silence filled the room around him.

Even those who were intoxicated or high had crawled away into the tavern’s corners.

’That was a lot more troublesome than I expected,’ Roderic thought, clenching both blades. ’Fighting this many people with my current strength is nothing but suicide.’

Biting down on his lower lip, many thoughts ran through his mind.

Roderic knew that if he’d had more combat experience, it wouldn’t have nearly taken this much effort.

At the same time, he also knew experience alone wasn’t enough.

’If I’d already mastered the second movement of the Dragon Hook Technique... all three of them would’ve been split before they could reach me.’

For a moment, he couldn’t help but stare at the corpses.

The battle had been a stark reminder for Roderic that, although he’d grown ridiculously stronger, he still lacked a lot compared to those who had remained at the same rank for years.

’I need to keep working hard on myself,’ he thought. ’Especially if I want to form the second aura seal before the territorial war.’

Exhaling deeply, Roderic pressed down on his side, flinching immediately.

It felt like the punch had fractured one of his ribs at the very least.

But the mission wasn’t over yet.

’Everyone seems to be defeated,’ he thought, clenching his jaw. ’Now I just have to instill fear into others.’

Just as Roderic was about to pick up some corpses to drag to the square...

THUD!

A heavy noise echoed out behind him.

Roderic’s eyes narrowed as they flicked back toward the tavern.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

The sound only seemed to be growing louder.

Just then, the wooden floor behind the cashier slowly lifted up.

Roderic reached for his azure hooked blades right away as a shiver ran down his spine.

’What’s this now?’ he thought. ’There was an underground space here?’

A broad-shouldered middle-aged man with short brown hair and a thick beard climbed out from the darkness.

Several large, beast-like scars ran along both of his forearms.

Unlike the others, his clothes were clean and well-made, while a longsword clung to his side.

As the man straightened his back, he let out a deep sigh.

’’So this was what all the noise was about,’’ he said, glancing around the tavern. ’’What a shame.’’

His eyes lingered on Roderic for a few seconds before a smile appeared on his face.

’’Greetings, third young master of House Whitemane,’’ he said, politely bowing slightly. ’’I’ve heard a lot about your recent stories of triumph.’’

The man paused for a moment, his gaze flickering to the several corpses.

’’But it seems those stories weren’t good enough to describe you.’’

Roderic remained completely silent.

He quietly observed the extremely confident man, clearly sensing his formidable strength.

’He’s much stronger than those three first-seal aura users,’ he thought, narrowing his eyes.

The pressure radiating from the man wasn’t quite comparable to that of Rick or Darrel’s fathers... but it wasn’t far off either.

’He must be the leader here then,’ he concluded, taking out his blades.

The bearded man chuckled softly.

’’Now this is quite the troublesome situation.’’

He spread his arms wide while letting out a deep breath.

’’If I kill you here... every knight of the barony will descend on this place,’’ he continued somberly. ’’But if you kill me... you’ll lose out on a fortune beyond your imagination.’’

He slowly pointed toward the open trapdoor behind him.

A smile appeared on his face when he saw Roderic remain completely still.

’’There’s a fortune to be earned through these things,’’ he said calmly. ’’Surely... you’d rather join in than throw all that wealth away?’’

Even now, Roderic didn’t utter a word.

He forcefully pushed the pain from his ribs to the back of his mind as countless thoughts raced through his head.

’It’s a one-on-one fight against a longsword,’ he calculated. ’From the bow earlier, he does seem to know proper etiquette, which could mean he’s from a fallen noble family.’

And if that were the case, he could have techniques of his own.

But even knowing all that, a small smile grew on Roderic’s face.

’I can take him since he’s alone.’

Just because Weapon Breaker didn’t work well in a group fight didn’t mean he’d suddenly lost all confidence in it.

’The moment his weapon shatters, he won’t have anything capable of stopping my earth-grade blades.’

Not to mention, the man didn’t even seem to be taking him seriously!

He’d spoken more about his worries regarding the guards than anything else.

As Roderic lowered himself into a proper stance, the bearded man let out a deep, exhausted sigh.

’’So that’s your answer,’’ he muttered. ’’Looks like I’ll have to move to another village after this.’’

A hint of annoyance and anger flashed across his face.

As Roderic raised both hooked blades, the bearded man slowly shook his head.

’’What a shame,’’ he said coldly. ’’You could’ve grown up to be a talented warrior.’’

He pulled out his metal longsword with narrowed eyes.

’’But you just had to make the wrong choice here.’’