The Priest of Corruption

Red Bear Mercenary.

“T-Then, I’ll wake up the others while you get ready.”

“You don’t have to. Me alone is enough. Let my party sleep a little longer.”

***

The leader of the Red Bear mercenary corps with over 100 members, Sajita Porgon, was someone who believed in intuition. And that intuition saved his life many times. Born into a dying aristocratic family, he received nothing from his parents except his intact body. Of course, he was satisfied enough with that. At least he didn’t have any problems surviving.

Sajita lost his mother when he was 14. It was of starvation, and his father had long since frozen to death. He left their crumbling house, carrying only the seal of the family given to him by his dying mother. After some time, he became a mercenary.

One day, while he was surviving through fighting, he caught the eye of the squadron commander of the Red Bear mercenary corps. And like that, he became a newcomer to their team.

He was quite good at martial arts. To be precise, he was the kind of person called a genius. Sajita chose the spear and the shield as his own weapons because he was a man who knew how to value his life.

15 years was the time it took for Sajita to reach his seat as the next leader of the Red Bears, following the death of the previous leader following a battle. Of course, he took the position not because he was the strongest in the corps but because of the Porgon blood that ran through his body. The fact that the blood of aristocrats ran in his veins proved a huge advantage in the mercenary industry.

Huge mercenaries like the Red Bears needed expensive quests to cover the cost of their maintenance. Usually, the clients of these expensive quests were often nobles, who preferred talking to other nobles rather than commoners. Naturally, according to the client’s preference, the leaders of these large mercenary groups were usually those who inherited a noble bloodline.

Sajita Porgon became their leader not because he was the strongest but because they had no one to negotiate with the aristocrats.

***

Bang!

Sajita, smacking the desk, let out a growl.

“Damn bastards.”

He had sent them for reconnaissance a day early, but they couldn’t even stand that and came back drunk and beaten. Although he was a mercenary, he was angered by the state of these bastards. They weren’t this bad when the squadron commander was still alive.

He ground his teeth until they squeaked.

‘It’s all because of Pelguin, that bastard!’

Due to the squadron commander’s sudden death, the mercenary corps’ power naturally passed to the deputy commander, Pelguin. He might not have been bad as a vice-captain, but he was too dissolute, arrogant, and greedy to lead them. The Red Bears were naturally influenced by his temper and grew closer to a circus of miscellaneous government officials rather than warriors.

Sajita was confident in battle but hopeless in the politics needed to govern this kind of group. Rather, he invested most of his time in training, so he had no friends in the mercenary corps.

But once he cooled down and buried himself in a chair in the temporary barracks, he remembered their most recent request. This winter had been strangely peaceful. That meant that their financial condition was rapidly deteriorating. The only people concerned about this fact were the leader himself and the financial officer.

Time and time again, he tried to speak to Pelguin, but he responded with a carefree attitude.

“Spring! Don’t bother me like a girl with problems that will be solved easily by themselves in spring! Naturally, there are no requests in the winter, so why are you making such a fuss, huh?”

After saying that, Pelguin, as usual, took his money and left to find a brothel.

While the financial situation of the mercenary corps neared collapse, he was offered a high-priced request from Ilech, an acquaintance of the squadron commander. The content of the request was simple. It was just to kidnap a woman with silver hair and golden eyes. Although it was clear that the silver-haired and golden-eyed woman was of the Irmel family, Pelguin quickly accepted.

Sajita tried to object, but he recalled their miserable financial situation and eventually swallowed back the words.

The client specified where the woman’s party would be and that it was very close to where they were stationed. Of course, that was why it was commissioned to them. So Sajita selected a few fast people and sent them for a reconnaissance mission in advance. Those fucking drunken bastards were beaten like idiots and then captured by the village vigilantes.

However, as if one of the many gods decided to help, one of the idiots handed over to the vigilantes said that he clearly saw the woman who beat them had silver hair and golden eyes. It was a good thing; they found their target. However, even though it was obviously a good thing, Sajita was anxious.

“Haah. I don’t feel good about this.”

After receiving this quest, he continued to have trouble sleeping and had no appetite. Just like the leader, he was respected the day before his death.

One of the mercenaries entered the temporary barracks, lifting the cloth.

“Sajita! Only one priest came without the woman! I told Pelguin, and he told me I should speak directly to you, not him.”

He was obviously the leader in nominal terms, but no one called him a leader. Sajita stood, arming himself.

“Where is the priest? He wouldn’t come here just to provoke us, right? I’ve said it many times, but that priest isn’t ordinary…”

“Aahh! Get off! I said get off me!”

There was the sound of swords being drawn in unison with a scream.

Damn bastards. They all fell asleep while he explained the quest, and now they caused trouble? Sajita sprinted out of the barracks.

The priest, dressed in white and wearing a benevolent smile, was holding a mercenary by the head with a single hand. However, Sajita tried to calm the situation before admiring his formidable power.

“Hey! Sheathe your swords, everyone! Take back your swords!”

Judging by his superhuman strength, it was clear that this man was Priest Marnak, famous for being the great enemy of the evil god. If even half of the rumors were true, it would be terribly stupid to clash like this now.

The excited mercenaries didn’t readily obey Sajita’s orders. He hurried to put himself between them.

“Sheathe your swords now!”

The mercenaries finally obeyed as Sajita clenched his teeth and growled. Now it was time to deal with the priest’s business. Sajita turned around and spoke in the most friendly voice he could manage.

“Is your name, by any chance, Marnak?”

Marnak replied with a smile.

“Yes.”

“Well, Priest Marnak. Could you possibly release the one in your hand now?”

Marnak glanced at the mercenary, still holding, and released him. The mercenary blushed as he hit the ground and was about to yell.

Smack!

Sajita kicked the mercenary in the jaw, knocking him out.

“Someone come and get him. Hurry up!”

As the stunned mercenary was dragged away, Sajita took his time observing Marnak. Dark hair, which was quite common in the North, and good-looking. However, his dark blue eyes weren’t so common in the North. Marnak met Sajita’s eyes and smiled.

Sajita could’ve sworn he saw a dark green light in Marnak’s eyes for a brief moment. He got anxious, and he got terribly anxious. But after a brief silence, Marnak was the first to speak.

“I want to meet the leader of this mercenary corps.”

Sajita, startled by his soft voice, responded.

“I am Sajita, the leader of the Red Bear mercenary corps.”

Marnak said with a friendly smile.

“Oh, is that so? Great. I heard you have business with my party. I would like to talk to you a bit. The person who greeted me earlier enjoyed showing off his strength, so I had to use some force, but I’m really glad that you seem to be someone I can talk to.”

Was it a little force to lift a man by his head like a toy? Sajita swallowed and quickly moved on from the thought.

“Let’s go to my barracks and talk. The one you see over there is mine. If you go in first and wait, I’ll bring some food.”

The politeness that appeared when talking to noble clients came out of nowhere. Marnak nodded, then slowly moved toward Sajita’s barracks. Watching him leave, Sajita called one of the mercenaries over.

“Have the archers in position.”

About twenty people in the Red Bears knew how to properly wield a bow. They were fragments of the old glory that they nurtured in their heyday.

‘No matter how strong that priest is, as long as he is a human being, we will be able to subdue him with twenty archers.’

Although he was doing his duty as their leader, to be honest, Sajita just wanted to get rid of this quest.

“What the hell is Pelguin doing now?”

The mercenary shrugged.

“He woke up for a moment and then went back to sleep. He drank too much yesterday, you know.”

Sajita barely suppressed the curse that was about to leave him.

“Wake him up right now and explain everything. Okay?”

“Do we have to wake him up? Sajita, you can take care of it yourself. There’s only one person, so what are you afraid of?”

“Shut up and do what you’re told.”

The mercenary shrugged and nodded.

“Okay. I get it. Fucking stop being so angry. Why the hell are you acting like this, huh?”

After lashing out, Sajita silently went to get some drinks and snacks. He hoped to solve the problem through conversation if possible. When he entered the barracks with the drinks and snacks in hand, Marnak, sitting comfortably, greeted him.

“Oh, you’re back.”

“Yes.”

Sajita placed the snacks and drinks on the table and poured a glass for Marnak first. Marnak glanced at the glass full of liquor and pushed it away.

“I don’t enjoy drinking, so I’ll accept the thought.”

“Is that so?”

Does he think I put something? Sajita quickly poured the drink into his glass and drank it, leaving not a drop. He believed that this would be enough to prove he hadn’t poisoned it. He glanced at Marnak’s glass, but the priest still looked at him with a smile. Sajita gave up on making the conversation smoother with alcohol, just as Marnak chimed up.

“I heard you wanted to see us because of a minor argument yesterday.”

“That’s…”

What should I do? Get to the point right away? Or should I test the waters and suggest that our purpose is the woman with silver hair and golden eyes? I really don’t want to fight with this priest. Fuck!

Sajita wasn’t used to dealing with such people, and he was used to breaking people’s heads. Originally, Pelguin was in charge of this, but even though he knew they would definitely come today, he got drunk and slept in.

While Sajita hesitated, the cloth blocking the barracks entrance was torn down, and a giant man with a large beard came in. It was Pelguin.

“Ugh, I don’t feel good and want to eat something spicy. Hey, Priest-hyung…your name is Marnak?”

Marnak nodded.

“That’s right.”

“Isn’t there a woman in your party with silver hair and golden eyes?”

“That’s right, too.”

“Great. Priest-hyung. If you want to watch the sunrise tomorrow, just hand over that woman. You don’t want to die now, right…”

“Carefu-”

Before Sajita could scream, a cold metallic sound followed by cutting flesh filled the barrack.

“Ahhhhhhhh!!!”

Pelguin’s arm rolled across the floor, and Sajita’s back was drenched in a cold sweat. Can we even win? That priest cut off a man’s arm without hesitation.

Marnak looked at Sajita with smiling eyes.

“Indeed, it was too strange. I don’t think I remember saying my name, but you and this person called me by it. It’s like someone knew I was in this town.”

Hearing Pelguin’s scream, the mercenaries began to move.

“Pelguin’s arm was cut off! Run to Sajita’s barracks with all your arms! You bastards! Let’s get rid of that priest who doesn’t know his place! I’m going first!”

The head of the mercenary who ran first into the barracks fell to the floor. Marnak glanced at Sajita as he stood blankly, then trampled on the grunting Pelguin as he sat there in a daze, thrust his Froststeel sword into his leg, and asked.

“Who ordered you to go after us.”

Pelguin shouted in a pathetic voice.

“H-Help! Sajita!”

At that cry, Sajita reflexively drew his spear and shield. And when his eyes met Marnak’s black ones, he stiffened like a frog standing in front of a snake. Without being able to do anything, Sajita closed his eyes tightly and muttered a word from his heart.

“Fuck…”