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Chapter 77

“Dentuso! Galano! Pack your things! An opportunity for us to return to the noble society has come!”

Their parents, excited by an unexpected invitation from a distant relative in a viscounty, were soon caught up in a tragic turn of events. They had all been invited with great courtesy, only to be used as scapegoats in a war with a neighboring territory.

It was only a partial success for their betrayers—both brothers survived, but their parents were shattered to pieces when their carriage tumbled down a cliff.

“...Brother, what do we do now?”

“I don’t know.”

His eyes filled with slight sorrow and burning anger, Dentuso glared beyond the forest. The Gregorio Viscounty had deceived them with sweet lies, leading them into a trap where they were attacked by soldiers disguised as raiders from the neighboring territory.

Unlike Galano, Dentuso’s sharp mind quickly unraveled the truth from the scant clues.

“Mother only knew how to indulge in vanity and luxury, and Father was always drunk, only knowing how to brag. They dreamed too big, but they didn’t deserve to die like this.”

“Are you going to take revenge?”

“Yes, Dentuso replied, gripping the short spear strapped to his back. “It doesn’t seem that difficult.”

Dentuso was a genius—his talent, too great for a fallen noble\'s son, was coming to the surface as he mastered the family\'s unique spear arts, Maelstrom, at an unparalleled speed.

Galano, under his brother’s tutelage, also progressed faster than others could have. While Dentuso was a self-taught genius, Galano was gifted when it came to following the path laid out for him, making significant progress by following in his brother’s footsteps.

Just like that, years had passed.

“Uarghhh!”

“You’ve become a count since the time we were gone. You really have a knack for this, Viscount Gregorio. Do you know who we are?”

“No... No, I don’t...!”

“Of course not. There’s no way you’d remember the faces or even the names of relatives you once used and discarded.”

Dentuso beheaded the shocked Count Gregorio, and with that, they had finally exacted their revenge, fifteen years after their ruination.

Dentuso kicked the severed head away, heaving a sigh.

“We’ve killed an important noble, so we can’t stay in this country any longer. Where shall we go?”

“Brother, if we head far south, we’ll reach a place called Atlantis! They say there are no nobles or kings there!”

“A land without social ranks, huh? Sounds like there’s more freedom there.”

The two brothers set out on a long journey, boarding a ship bound for the Atlantis Maritime Alliance. There, their real adventure began—a life on the seas where they had to prove their worth through their skills alone. This life of freedom and adventure suited them well.

Soon, Dentuso was invited to join the Rank A expedition team, Aquamarine, and became an official member. Galano, determined to follow his brother into Aquamarine one day, diligently trained with his spear. Following in his brother’s footsteps had always worked for him, and he believed it always would.

However...

“Aquamarine, which successfully sealed the Great Rift Charybdis, suffered significant casualties.”

The faith he had held like a religion collapsed overnight. His brother did not return; he had been swallowed by the sea he had once thought magnificent and beautiful, and he would never show Galano the way ever again.

Rumors of conspiracies by the Council of Atlantis and involvement by Bermuda circulated, but Galano, having isolated himself in his room, couldn’t bring himself to pursue any of them.

“Brother...”

There was no answer.

“How do I go on living now?”

With no more footsteps to follow and no trustworthy back to lean on, Galano was utterly lost. His future seemed dark and blurry.

Eight years had passed since then.

***

“Uwaaaah!”

“Gwaaaaah!”

“Bwaaah!”

Awakened by the screams seeping through the window, Galano rubbed his eyes and sat up. The half-empty bottle of liquor he had left on the table spilled onto the carpet, soaking it. The pungent smell of alcohol filled the room, but he was so accustomed to it that he didn’t notice.

With the clarity of a strong man in the Ninth Degree External Force Tier, the blurry fog in his mind quickly dissipated.

“...What’s all that noise? Are they slaughtering pigs or something?”

The thugs, who had taken to calling Galano boss and big brother, seemed to have brought in a pig. While he enjoyed eating pork, there was no reason to slaughter it in the yard.

More temperamental due to his hangover, Galano stormed out, kicking the door open and making his way to the entrance in a few strides. He then shouted, “Shut up, you bastards! If you’re going to slaughter a pig, do it somewhere else! Or at least kill it quickly... What the hell?”

He was left speechless by the unexpected sight. The burly men he had always found unreliable were being beaten up by a pretty-looking young man.

The boy used his fists, feet, elbows, and knees, skillfully employing his entire body to strike them repeatedly. While he avoided causing serious injuries or fatal wounds, the relentless blows would surely knock them out.

The dazed thugs collapse one after another in the order they had been hit.

“Should I just kill them? If you want, I can,” Leonard asked in case these thugs were not Galano’s underlings.

Galano was startled by Leonard’s question, shaking his head vehemently. Despite his rough exterior, he had grown attached to these thugs and didn’t want them dead. He was so shocked by this scene that the lingering effects of the booze wore off completely.

He then noticed Frances standing behind Leonard, smiling bitterly. Seeing her, Galano’s eyes widened in surprise

“...Frances? Is that you?”

“It\'s been a long time, Uncle Galano”, Frances greeted him back, meeting his eyes. “Has it been eight years?”

“Has it been that long? I guess eight years have passed already, huh?”

Galano was somewhat familiar with Frances, given that his brother had often taken him along. The two shared a moment of unspoken understanding about the years that had passed.

For some, eight years was enough to completely turn their lives around, while for others, it wasn’t even enough to take a step forward from the day of their ruin.

“I’ll get straight to the point,” Frances said, her expression darkening as if she had seen something in Galano\'s face. "Aquamarine needs new members. Would you join under my command and help rebuild the expedition team?"

For a moment, Galano’s eyes reflected turmoil and hesitation before they settled again. He knew Frances well. She hadn’t given up yet; she was still determined to challenge the sea and the dark forces that had swallowed up Njord and Dentuso, ready to fight once more.

“I...” The man who was no more brave than a kid under twenty, the man who had been unable to take a single step forward since that day, hesitated.

Despite his rugged appearance—grayish hair, scarred and muscular, resembling a seasoned mercenary or adventurer—inside, Galano was still a lost child, unable to move on without his brother’s guidance. He was too ashamed to admit it out loud, and he doubted he could even manage to walk properly if he forced himself to move.

So he decided to run away.

“...I’m no longer thinking of joining any expedition teams.”

“I see... I understand.” Frances looked at him as if she had expected it, but at the same time, with a face filled with sympathy, before turning away without hesitation.

At that moment, Leonard, who had been observing their conversation, spoke up, “Are you lost?”

Galano\'s face hardened like a statue. Leonard’s words struck right at the heart of his internal struggle.

“The path you once considered absolute crumbled, leaving you unsure where to go or what to do, right? And yet you still swing that harpoon of yours because you can\'t let go. That’s ridiculous. A person who has truly given up wouldn’t even glance at a spear.”

“...What do you know about me to say such things, you brat!”

Galano\'s face twisted in shame and anger, and he reached for the harpoon on his back, ready to turn Leonard into a pincushion.

Just as he was about to give in to the impulse, Leonard went on, “Your harpoon head isn\'t well-maintained, but the handle is worn out to the point that it’s smooth. You lack the courage to face your enemies but can\'t admit your own cowardice.”

“...So what?”

“Some might laugh at those who can’t find their own way and call them spineless, but not me. If there’s a captain at the front, there must also be followers at the back.”

Most people fell into the latter category, especially in murim. How many people could reach the Ascension Realm and become Grandmasters who could create new martial arts and establish the foundations?

The majority just followed the paths laid out by their predecessors without much thought, following the scriptures passed down through their sects and clans as well as listening to the guidance of their masters.

Only figures like Bodhidharma and Yuan Yuanzi had carved their own paths. The rest simply tread the paths made by such pioneers.

“Find a new path. There are many roads in this world. Sitting still, grasping at a path long vanished, will only leave you with dust in your hands.”

“You speak so easily...! Don’t talk about other people\'s lives so flippantly!”

The listless man was now gone, and in his place stood a wounded beast, eyes blazing with fury. Galano’s murderous aura, amplified by the might of his Ninth Degree External Force Tier, distorted the very air around him.

“It’s not just speaking that is easy,” Leonard responded calmly, unfazed. “If you want, I can show you a new path.”

“...If you think you can act like that just because Frances is here, that ends now! I dare you to say one more word!”

“You think I can’t? No, words aren’t enough. Rather than words, this would be better.”

Ignoring Galano\'s threat, Leonard kicked a harpoon lying at his feet. Though the weapon differed in form and length from a traditional spear, it could be used with spear arts. If you removed the blade, it became a staff; add a side blade, and it became a halberd; attach a crescent blade, and it became a poleaxe.

As the spear was a formidable weapon against swordsmen, Leonard not only knew various countermeasures against it, but he had also trained extensively in spear arts. Although he was handling it for the first time with this body, he quickly grasped the harpoon’s balance and spun it around.

The harpoon’s blade whistled sharply through the air after just a few rotations, surprising even Galano. As a spearman, he couldn’t help but acknowledge Leonard\'s skill. Only experts could wield a harpoon like that.

In a flurry of precise movements, the eight basic spear movements seamlessly transitioned, breaking and intertwining to create an unreadable pattern. The spear strikes became so rapid and unpredictable that even Galano struggled to keep up.

“Is this enough?”

His moves felt a bit awkward, given that it had been a while since he last held a spear of any kind, but he had already demonstrated enough to educate a shaken man. He used the techniques of the Yang Family Six Harmonies Eight Mothers Spear Art, known for its grace akin to falling pear blossoms. It was also known as the Pear Blossom Spear Art or simply the Yang Family Spear Art.

Although the techniques weren\'t overly complex, they were effective even against Apex Realm martial artists.

“Come,” Leonard invited him once more. “I’ll take you out of the well, you frog, and show you just how vast and high the world truly is.”

“Don’t... be... so... AROGAAANT!” Galano roared.

The two harpoons shot forward like beams of light, marking the beginning of the duel between Leonard and Galano.