## Chapter 326 – The Martial Artist Bastards
What the hell is that bastard doing over there?
My immediate reaction was bewilderment.
Why on earth would a senior instructor from the Martial Artists Guild be beating the crap out of some lowlife criminals to the point of near-death?
Did those thugs say something sexually harassing? Even aside from that, it didn’t seem like he’d have any reason to be in the slums in the first place.
Could it be?
Could Lizette also be a Judge Dredd?!
Beating up criminals for the sake of justice was the only explanation.
But if she was Judge Dredd, her attire wasn’t the usual martial arts uniform; she was wearing plain clothes.
Her outfit revealed most of her skin and figure, making it a bit provocative and not very Judge Dredd-like… Anyway, Lizette’s face and fists were practically covered in blood.
The crimson blood, combined with the professional assassin vibe emanating from her eyes and her wild red hair, made her look like a common thug rather than an instructor to anyone who didn’t know her.
And she was actually hitting them.
“Huh? If you don’t have money, you should make some. Don’t you think?”
“Sis, please…! It’s barely been winter, so collections are…”
“You little shit, making excuses. Just take the beating, you bastard.”
—Thwack!
“Kghaaack!”
She grabbed the fallen thugs by the scruff of their necks and lifted them up, like reeling in fish at a fishing spot, then delivered merciless punches to their abdomens.
I know how much those hurt because I’ve been hit by them.
It wasn’t a punch that some back-alley thugs could handle. They’d probably die soon. It didn’t seem like they’d have money for treatment either.
Just as my suspicion that she was Judge Dredd was about to turn into certainty, I heard the thug mention collections.
Collections… There was a distinctly ominous atmosphere.
“…”
But it probably had nothing to do with me.
No, it was nice to see Lizette, but seeing her like this just made me want to go my own way.
This was definitely not running away.
I should just take a detour because it’s annoying.
Avenging myself on Lizette could be done next month, not necessarily today. And my stamina wasn’t at its peak right now. I needed to abstain from sex for at least two days to recover fully.
But I can’t help it unless I’m sleeping outside.
Well, there’ll be another chance someday.
I quietly tried to slip away.
But then—
“Hey, you there. What are you peeping at? I know you’re there, you little rat. Come out.”
Lizette called out to me.
…Alright. If she called me, I had to go out.
I immediately stepped out from around the corner and revealed myself.
“Isn’t that Lizette?”
“Huh? Oh. You’re that bastard from back then, aren’t you? Nice to see you in a place like this. How’s your ass doing?”
“Screw your ‘doing.’ How’s your gym doing?”
“What a rude little bastard.”
I waved my hand while making small talk and surveyed the surroundings.
—Groooan…
—Kgh… !
All I could hear were the groans of the fallen men from all directions. Because of the violence, the homeless and poor had long since disappeared into the alleys.
Apart from the pained groans, the atmosphere was generally quiet.
While checking my surroundings, I also properly examined Lizette’s appearance.
She had straps attached to the back of her hips, holding what looked like a vicious claw, probably her signature weapon. Looking closely, it was a brutally sharp bladed claw.
It looked like a weapon that only murderers would use.
There was no way something like that could be used for anything other than killing.
Since she had a weapon, if a fight broke out, it wouldn’t end like last time. I’d have to fight for my life, and the result would be mutually assured destruction at best.
“What were you doing here, anyway? I was just passing by and heard some fighting, but I didn’t expect to see you here. What, is beating people up your hobby? You really live up to your looks.”
“Seriously, do I have to hear that kind of crap about my looks from someone like you?”
With the scars on our faces, she and I looked almost the same.
“We’re pretty similar, you know.”
“Don’t talk nonsense, you thug.”
Lizette chuckled and looked down at the thug wriggling on the ground.
—Squish!
She immediately stomped on one of their backs, as if filled with rage. “Kwaaek!” A scream like a duck’s came out.
It was like she was playing with a rubber duck toy.
—A toy for children that makes a sound when squeezed.
Was she treating human lives like toys?
“Alright, you guys get lost now. If you don’t meet the quota next time, you’re really dead, you vermin. Remember my words.”
“Yes, yes! We’ll keep that in mind, Sis!”
“Thank you! Thank you!”
“We’ll definitely meet it!”
The thugs, as if saved by those words, picked themselves up with their bloodied bodies and quickly left the scene, supporting each other.
Among them, one with a split lip and a black eye came towards me.
It seemed I was blocking the way.
I was about to move aside immediately when,
“Get out of the way, don’t block the path!”
The guy reacted before I could, snarling and swearing.
“Huh? What, get out of the way?”
“…Uh?”
In an instant, rage surged, and I ended up drawing my sword. Did this bastard not learn manners from his mom?
“Why the hell are you suddenly giving me shit, you little shit? What? Get out of the way? Didn’t your mom teach you to say ‘Excuse me, please let me pass’?”
“Ah, no, that’s… I mean…”
He stammered in shock as I pointed the tip of my sword at his abdomen, his face paling. In the adventurer industry, being ignored and letting it slide is no different from being a pushover.
If you don’t repay rudeness with immediate retaliation, you can’t survive in this cruel other world. How dare this back-alley vermin talk back to the Heavenly Demon Kim Kat?
This was a case where even executing him without trial would be legal.
“I, I, I. I’m sorry! I misspoke!”
Seeing him try to make excuses, finally coming to his senses, I was seized by a rage that seemed to turn my mind blank.
“Why did you misspeak!!!!!! My sword also misspeaks!!!!!”
“Uwaaaaaaa!! Please don’t do this!!!”
—Thwack!
It happened in an instant.
The contempt for the weak, the contempt for criminals, and the contempt for the rude all activated simultaneously, and I unleashed an unstoppable impulse, planting a kick into him.
“—Kghak!!”
A refreshing sensation of impact traveled from my toes. He fell backward, having taken a direct kick to the abdomen.
“This bastard dares to cut out my heart!!!!!! Pay me alimony, you unfilial bastard!!!!!!!!”
“Th, that’s…! I don’t have money! I’m sorry!!”
I immediately started stomping on him indiscriminately, shouting.
“Reprimand!!!!”
“Uhaak!!”
If you don’t have money, show the tenacity to offer your neck!!
“If you don’t have money! Take off your pants, you son of a bitch!”
“Khaak! Kahak! Sis! Please help me!!”
I originally hated these back-alley thugs in the slums to the extreme. It’s all because I suffered a lot when I was a beggar.
Killing these bastards by beating them up is more helpful to the human world. I’m not weak enough to sympathize with their circumstances.
“Let’s! Speak! Nicely! Just die! Die, you bastard without parents!”
“Khak! Sis! Sis, please!”
“You should be looking for your mom at times like this, why are you looking for your sister!!!”
As I was stomping on him, even doing a tap dance, Lizette took a step closer.
“Hey, hey. Take it easy, man. That guy doesn’t have any money.”
She stopped me from dancing by stopping me.
…Come to think of it, Sis.
Could Lizette be part of a gang?
“Do you know him?”
Curious, I let go of the thug, who was almost a living corpse, and asked. He crawled away like a turtle.
“I kind of know him. Anyway, you were a surprisingly thuggish bastard, weren’t you? Why are you beating him up like that?”
She doesn’t seem to remember what she was doing until just now.
“You were just beating the crap out of those guys who ran away earlier. So, what’s going on? Why were you beating those kids? Are you part of a gang or something?”
“A gang? Me?”
Combining the words “beaten-up thugs,” “collections,” and “Sis,” it was speculated that Lizette was a senior instructor at the Martial Artists Guild and a gang leader in the slums.
“How much salary do you get from the Martial Artists Guild to do something like that?”
“Then what is it?”
Does she get paid a lot?
“I was just making some pocket money. Why? Are you interested?”
“Pocket money?”
“Yeah. Pocket money… But are you really having this peaceful conversation with me right now? I remember that our match ended ambiguously back then. Although I was winning.”
What nonsense is this bastard talking about?
“Winning my ass. I would have won if we had gone further. Don’t be cocky.”
“Sure, you would, you little runt.”
“What did you say, you bitch?”
Still, I decided to put away my sword.
If we fought, I was sure that one of us would die. Looking at her again, I could tell for sure. My chances of winning were 50% at best.
It was clear that she was at least one level above me.
I’ll take revenge when I feel like I can overwhelm her. There’s no need to risk my life with a sword fight on a nice day like this.
“Well, I’ll let you off the hook since today is a good day. I’ll postpone the match until next time.”
“Scared?”
“I’m worried you’ll die.”
“Bastard. Look at the way you talk.”
Seeing her chuckle and cross her arms, it seemed like Lizette didn’t really want to fight me either. Yeah. It’s not like we’re having a bare-knuckle fight; we both have weapons, so there’s no need to risk our lives.
“But are you really not going to become an instructor? I think you’d be good at it.”
Then she subtly asked what she had asked before.
“A prosecutor as a martial artist instructor? No way.”
“The guild needs a thug like you.”
“If you need a thug, it seems like you’re enough.”
“No, you little shit.”
“So, what’s this about pocket money?”
I became interested in what Lizette meant by pocket money. She pulled up a box, sat on it, crossed her legs, and explained.
“It’s nothing special.”
According to Lizette, she was just beating up and extorting back-alley thugs for pocket money.
Hearing that she was beating people up and taking their money just to make pocket money made me wonder what kind of criminal she was, but since the thugs were all criminals anyway, it wasn’t a legally problematic story.
“Hehehe, even if it’s just a small amount of money, it’s meaningful to take it directly. Don’t you think? I get free money just by throwing a few punches, so there’s no reason not to.”
She seemed to be enjoying the act of violence itself.
In the first place, these back-alley thugs were the kind of people you could mess with without any consequences if you had the strength. Honestly, with Lizette’s level of power, it seemed possible to crush the entire gang with force.
“…I guess so. Money is best when it’s taken.”
Especially taking money from criminals is the most rewarding thing. Listening to the story, it seemed like Lizette had a decent ideology.
“Right? So whenever I get pissed off, I come here and take care of these kids and extort them. There’s no consequence for just grabbing any bastard and beating them up. If I just break a few places, the tribute money comes in on its own, you know?”
“…”
Seeing her almost bragging, I had various thoughts. Come to think of it, Lizette’s atmosphere itself suited this back alley very well.
Could it be that, like me, she had a grudge against these criminals from the past and was taking small revenge after gaining power?
“You’re a better person than I thought?”
She was someone with a proper ideology that I hadn’t seen in a while.
“I never thought I’d hear those words from a thug like you.”
Lizette’s actions were chivalrous. To borrow the words from the martial arts novels I enjoyed reading, she was nothing short of a knight-errant.
Beating up criminals and extorting their property, and even filling her own pockets, there’s no other way to describe her than as a true knight-errant.
This is probably when you use the word knight-errant.
—Thump, thump.
This…
Hearing that I could receive tribute money just by beating up the vermin in the back alleys, my heart suddenly started to race.
Could it be that I can do this too?
