I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills - Chapter 23

[EP.23] Lawless Zone Bandits

‘Ignis.’
T h i s was c o p ie d f ro m kin g m t l. o r g

From Kraush’s sword, which he harshly struck against the floor of the carriage, sprang forth bluish flames. Given that Ignis was the flame of a higher deity, it also possessed the power of purification.

‘Which means…’

Swish!
T h i s w a s c op i e d f r o m k i n g m t l.o r g

The sliced black humans were engulfed in flames and melted away instantaneously.

‘It means they’re extremely vulnerable to it.’

Without hesitation, Kraush began to move deftly through the black humans. The merchant woman quickly grabbed a staff and began smashing the black humans, seemingly handling herself just fine.

“Crimson Garden.”

However, with this number of black humans around, there must have been an un-purified source of world erosion nearby.
T h i s w a s co p i ed fr o m k ing m t l . or g

[It’s 300 meters in a straight line.]

That wasn’t too far away.

“Hey, I’m going to eradiate the source of world erosion creating the black humans. Hold them off till then.”

“Okay! Please take care of it!”

Kraush immediately drew aura under his feet. Then he kicked off the ground with explosive force.

As Kraush ran, the number of black humans increased. But against Kraush’s Ignis, they could do little. He swiftly reached the heart of the forest, and his eyes caught sight of a clump of world erosion.

The sight of the black liquid, intermingled with the trees, spurting gas intermittently was obviously that of un-purified world erosion.

“Shall we absorb it?”

Crimson Garden, following behind, perched on a tree branch and asked.

“Yes, good timing for it to appear.”
T h is w a s c o p i e d f r o m k i n g m t l. o rg

T h is w a s c o p i ed f ro m k i n g m tl . o r g
Without any hesitation, Kraush extended his hand towards the world erosion. Then, a black energy began to flow up into Kraush’s hand.

Inside Kraush’s body was already present a world erosion attributed to the extreme blood poisoning technique. Since there was no particular resistance to the absorption, Kraush let out a breath of air.

Thankfully, due to his sixth sense, no madness ensued. With this, no more black humans would be created.

That was how Kraush made his return.

“Kraush.”

Kraush halted his steps at the call of Crimson Garden. Between the trees, a few people were seen accompanying the merchant woman. They were surrounding her, and she was brandishing her staff threateningly.

“Get lost before I mess up my carriage by laying your filthy hands on it!”

“We’re all friends passing through the lawless zone, aren’t we? Helping each other out.”

“Yeah, and while you’re at it, how about playing the part of my woman beneath the sheets too. He-he.”

They were clearly bandits.

But not average ones. For them to roam freely in the lawless zone meant there must have been at least one skilled fighter among them.

“This’ll work out well.”

Meanwhile, Crimson Garden let out a chilly laugh.

“As an exercise for the blunt sword technique, they’re just perfect.”

Kraush, thinking he had chosen a good master, cracked his neck, preparing himself.

“I agree.”

Let’s get a proper warm-up before heading to the martial arts tournament.

＊ ＊ ＊

The band of outlaws that typically preyed on carriages passing through the lawless zone numbered a total of eight.

Among them, the leader Orele eyed the merchant woman and swallowed his salivation.

Women were a rarity in the lawless zone, and he had been starved of female company for a while. This one seemed like a delectable meal.

“Hey, I’m up first, guys.”

“Typical, boss. Always so greedy. Don’t go hogging her.”

“As if it’s any of your concern, you fools.”

He swung a huge axe with ease, demonstrating his formidable strength.

The merchant woman, noticing this, seemed tense.

The bell warning approached, distracted by the black humans, had been her mistake.

Now the band had approached this close while they were unprepared.

She could have dealt with the other bandits, but with the leader Orele there as well, it would be too much for her to handle alone.

Thud—

It was at that moment that echoing footsteps resounded.

The merchant woman recognized the identity of those steps and her face brightened.

The bandits, noticing her reaction, belatedly looked behind.

“Huh? A kid?”

There stood a boy on his own.

In the moment one bandit registered his confusion…
T hi s w a s c op i e d fr o m k in g mtl. o r g

Thunk!

A sword flying in a straight line impaled his head.

T h i s w a s c o p ie d fro m k i n g m tl. or g
Instant silence surrounded them as none had expected the young boy to throw a sword and kill a bandit.

“Dammit, an enemy! Kill him!”

Orele reacted quickly, befitting a leader.

He realized the boy was no ordinary person.

Opportunely, the boy had thrown his sword and was unarmed.

Seizing the chance, two bandits charged at him.

But the boy showed no sign of fear, merely lifting his hands.

In an instant, the sword he had thrown earlier was back in his grasp.

“Thought I was weaponless?”

The sudden presence of the sword startled the bandit.

And in that moment of confusion, the boy’s sword stabbed precisely into the bandit’s neck.

The efficiency of his movements was too much for an average bandit to handle.

Immediately after, the boy swung his sword at the jaw of another bandit charging from the side.

The bandit, struck by the blow, convulsed as his brain rattled, sticking out his tongue before collapsing to the ground.

The boy mercilessly drove his sword through the bandit’s head.

Swoosh—

The trees sway gently with the blowing wind.

An unpleasant tension spread among the remaining bandits.

Suddenly appearing out of nowhere, three men were slain in an instant by the boy.

The mood had turned on its head solely due to that.

“I’ll take the front. You guys, secure the woman properly.”

In the end, the leader Orele slowly stepped forward.

His muscular build was so great compared to the boy, the outcome of the fight seemed predictably clear.

But Orele did not underestimate the boy.

His instincts were telling him.

That the boy was not to be trifled with.

“You think you can handle it?”

Kraush looked at him, casting off the blood from his sword, nonchalantly.

“It’s gonna be tough for you alone.”

“Ha-ha!”

Orele let out a boisterous laugh.

“I could crush a runt like you with my head.”

T hi s w a s c o p i e d f r o m k i n g m t l .o r g
“Great, let’s see whose head gets crushed first.”

The moment Kraush said that, Orele was first to stomp the ground.

Thud-thud-thud!

The rumble of his large frame reverberated across the entire field.

Charging like a wild buffalo, Orele coated his axe with a red aura.

The smoky aura undulating around the axe showcased that he was an expert-level fighter.

Utilizing the momentum of his charge, Orele swung the axe at Kraush’s waist.

Shing!

In that moment, Kraush’s sword filled the space and thwarted the axe’s course.

But Orele had greater physical strength due to his size, so Kraush’s body was pushed aside, slightly lifted off the ground.

Orele’s eyes glinted.

Based on Kraush’s previous show of strength against the other bandits, his prowess seemed not so formidable.

Moreover, his aura seemed a tad weaker than Orele’s.

‘The guys earlier were caught off guard by his appearance.’

They wouldn’t have been defeated so easily otherwise.

Orele’s axe split the air, clashing repeatedly with Kraush.
T h i s w a s c opied f r o m k i n g m tl . o r g

Bang, bang!

Amidst the consecutive attacks, Orele was certain.

He was the stronger one.

Moreover, the boy’s sword was slow.

So slow, in fact, Orele wondered how it managed to block his axe.

“Where did all that big talk go from before!”

Orele spewed out threats as he swung his axe wildly.

Kraush seemed to have no time to respond and just continued to block the axe.

“Hmph.”

Orele thought he needed to finish this quickly.

He didn’t particularly enjoy tormenting the weak unless it was a woman.

His plan was to end this fast so he could enjoy his delicious prize.

His axe began to swing even more ferociously.

The noise produced as the sword and axe met was enough to deafen.

And so, one minute passed.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

“Huff, hu—?”

Orele’s heavy breathing resounded.

He was still swinging his axe.

It had been his intention to finish it with the next strike for what felt like the hundredth time.

Yet Kraush remained unscathed, while Orele grew increasingly exhausted.

‘What’s going on?’

Kraush’s sword movements were so obviously slow to the eye. It indicated a lack of force and aura behind them.

Indeed, each time Kraush clashed with the axe, his figure wobbled.

Nonetheless, whenever Orele swung again, Kraush’s sword was suddenly there in position.

‘At this rate…’

It was almost as though Orele was intentionally swinging his axe towards Kraush’s sword.
T h i s was c op i e d fr o m k i n gm tl. o r g

No, could that actually be the case?

Was he truly swinging at the sword all along?

Confusion began to mix within his mind.

“Are you done?”

Startled!

Beneath the dark night sky, Kraush’s blue eyes shone chillingly.

His tone wasn’t any different from the start.

Orele swallowed his breath, then gripped his axe till his hand nearly burst.

“Ha, haha, whatever tricks you’re playing, they’re over now!”

He forced a semblance of ease as he shouted.

Seeing this, Kraush lightly flashed a smile.

“Fortunately, thanks to you, I seem to be getting the hang of it, even without my sixth sense.”

Twitch.

The leader’s thick eyebrows moved.

It was as if Kraush was toying with him.

Feeling a major blow to his pride, Orele took a deep breath.

He hadn’t intended to use ‘that’ technique against a kid, but if he kept falling for the boy’s strange swordsmanship, he felt he might go insane first.

Thump!

Without signaling, Orele stomped the ground once again.

Kraush, with his sword hanging loosely, waited yet again for his attack.

Although it felt like willingly putting his head into a snake’s mouth, Orele suppressed his growing fear.

Instead, he gathered his aura more fiercely than ever on his axe.

But once more, Kraush’s languid sword was there to meet his swinging axe.

‘Got you!’

Orele’s eyes flashed.

At that moment, his axe made a peculiar move.

The axe, that was previously aiming for Kraush’s sword, left behind only traces of aura and veered toward Kraush’s side.

Welcoming Hammer Axe

It was his ultimate secret technique.

He would surely split Kraush in two halves right then.

Orele smiled, anticipating the blood spray that would soon burst…

Shiiing!

A harsh metallic clang echoed across the plains as metal clashed with metal.

Blink—

Orele’s eyes shut and opened again.

He couldn’t comprehend what had just happened.

He felt metal, not flesh, against his axe.

“Hey.”

Kraush’s voice resonated lowly.

“Where did you learn that?”

Across from the axe and sword, a glint poured out from his blue eyes.

“Guk?!”

Upon seeing that, Orele’s body shriveled up.

He felt like a small animal cornered by a fearsome predator.

Kraush was frowning because he recognized the dishonorable technique used; it was one from a certain kind of person.

‘Was it around this time that he escaped the Empire?’

Not long ago, the Empire was shaken by a mass murder.

The incident occurred because of a man who had massacred an entire village on his own.

Because of him, the Empire had dispatched a knight order, but the slaughterer had crossed the Empire’s border and eventually escaped.

Kraush wouldn’t normally concern himself with such matters, assuming the Empire would have handled it.

But the real issue lay elsewhere.

‘He had become a servant under the influence of world erosion.’

Just like Bianca during her possession, this man had become a servant of world erosion too.

Berserker Berkman

What he typically utilized was precisely this Welcoming Hammer Axe.

“Are you one of Berserker Berkman’s underlings?”

Orele’s face hardened.

‘It barely mattered whether this man was an underling of Berserker Berkman.’

The real issue was that Berkman would eventually go into hiding in the Starlon Kingdom.

‘And then, he was caught by Charlotte.’

The only reason why Kraush, who didn’t care about the outside information, remembered this was because of Charlotte.

Berkman’s death was a pivotal moment for Charlotte, as it was when she became known across the Empire.

At the age of 16, her solitary overpowering and defeat of a world erosion being’s servant were enough for her tale to be discussed as a heroic saga.

“That’s enough. The flow has been disrupted.”

In that moment, Kraush’s sword moved.

“Huh?”

As Orele registered confusion, his large frame slowly collapsed.

Looking down at his decapitated form rolling on the ground, Kraush moved on with heavy steps.

After all, Berkman was destined to be slain by Charlotte.

There was no need to worry about his underlings.

“Ba-Balheim!”

The merchant woman, who had been locked in struggle with the remaining four bandits, tearfully called out to Kraush.

Seeing this, Kraush clicked his tongue and flared up Ignis on his sword.

Time to finish this quickly and catch some sleep.