Anagin Chronicles

Chapter 041. The Forest Brotherhood (2)

Including the methods of becoming a god, there were three major types of cultivation.

Tacheon: Reaching the heavens by being granted divinity by a god.

Yeokcheon: Stealing the blessings of the gods by devouring people.

Jacheon: Reaching the heavens through one's own power.

Among these, the most common and orthodox method was Tacheon.

The most immoral and condemned method was Yeokcheon.

And the most peculiar and enigmatic method was Jacheon.

Unlike Tacheon, where one is chosen by the god at the Delphi Temple, or Yeokcheon, which involves devouring people, the method of Jacheon itself was never concretely known.

This was why the practitioners whom master and Anagin had met were skeptical about Jacheon.

Ascending to the heavens using one's conviction as a compass was more akin to a vague, unrealistic method than a concrete one.

And yet Paia, a mere bandit—well, more precisely, Longbald—claimed he could explain it.

“Firm values! The drive to consistently act upon them! That’s the first step of Jacheon. Like killing a hypocritical practitioner, or collecting wealth by any means necessary—things like that!”

Walking at the front, Paia gave a little taste of what Jacheon supposedly was.

Following after him with Sphinx, Anagin asked,

“How do you even know that?”

“What? You followed us all the way here, and you still don’t trust me?”

Paia grinned at the sight of Anagin, who had said he wasn’t interested in the Forest Brotherhood, yet still came along.

He clearly found the act of dragging Anagin here to be quite entertaining.

“I didn’t say I don’t trust you. I’m asking how you learned it.”

He wasn’t just saying that to say it.

The explanation itself had been oddly convincing.

Both Tacheon and Yeokcheon had clear rules. Divine blessing, stealing blessings—both were understandable and logical.

Even if Jacheon was peculiar and unknown, it too should have its own rules.

Viewed from that angle, what Paia said sounded strangely plausible.

Following one’s beliefs as a compass to rise to the heavens… that did line up with that vague, cloud-chasing description.

What Anagin was curious about was the source of such information.

Because no matter how he thought about it, this wasn’t the kind of knowledge a bandit would normally come across.

Paia thought for a moment before speaking.

“…I’ll tell you later. Someone who wants to be full on the first spoonful is basically a thief, right?”

Not a satisfying answer, but Anagin accepted it.

He doubted he’d get more by pressing him now anyway. He’d probably hear it once he met Longbald.

It was troublesome, but for now, Anagin decided to follow the Forest Brotherhood’s lead. He didn’t have anything urgent to do.

“You actually trust him?”

Sphinx whispered as she moved up beside Anagin.

He shrugged.

“For now.”

“Hmmm…”

“What now?”

“This whole thing is getting too big. What if someone sees you like this? What would they think?”

“That I’m working hard to become an excellent practitioner?”

“Please answer like a sane person.”

“That the Practitioner Killer made friends with the Forest Brotherhood?”

“You know it well! Are you trying to make me mad on purpose?”

“You only noticed now?”

From beneath her robe, Sphinx glared at him with her golden eyes.

Seeing her unique vertical pupils glinting like blades, she seemed quite energized.

It was amusing, but he decided to stop here.

“Alright, alright. Why is it a problem? Me hanging around the Forest Brotherhood.”

“…If things go wrong, your infamy might spread not only in this region but everywhere.”

When Sphinx first heard the nickname Practitioner Killer, she hadn’t been too shocked. She’d decided it wasn’t a big deal.

And with good reason—many practitioners caused trouble in one region and simply restarted in another.

It wasn’t unusual. Honestly, how many well-behaved people choose to be practitioners? It was stranger if that kind of person didn’t cause trouble at some point.

So, leaving a region and starting fresh wasn’t frowned upon.

“Causing trouble there doesn’t mean he’ll cause trouble here,” was the general thinking.

But there were exceptions. One of them was the Forest Brotherhood.

A massive union of bandit groups spread throughout all Hellas, at odds with every kingdom and free city. Getting entangled with them was extremely dangerous.

Like walking into a village divided between the Red and Blue factions and loudly picking one color for your clothes.

“Especially if you’re seen together with people who slit the throats of the Aoi Family. It’ll give credibility to the rumors that you’re hunting practitioners on purpose.”

“That’s strange. Back when I went to the Aoi Family, you didn’t object that strongly. You even assumed I’d end up fighting them.”

“That was… I thought I could talk you out of it once we got there. Something like ‘do it moderately and then let’s move on.’ I didn’t think it would end up like this.”

“You don’t like it?”

Sphinx looked around. Bandits of Paia’s group were encircling them.

“I don’t like it. Never mind the danger, just being involved with bandits is unpleasant.”

“It’s strange coming from you, isn’t it?”

Her eyes flashed again—far more sharply than before. For a moment, Anagin wondered if she felt he was bringing up her origins as a monster.

But when their eyes met, Sphinx calmed down immediately. She understood that wasn’t what he meant.

“…I’ve traveled a lot, and I’ve seen plenty of things bandits do. It’s hard to like them.”

“I haven’t seen it, and I don’t really care. At least not now… Besides, they have something I need. So why wouldn’t I follow them?”

“You’re talking about the cultivation method, right? Honestly, I know a few things too. You could just ask me instead. As long as you don’t make me do cooking duty, I’d teach you.”

“Being taught and discovering it yourself are different.”

Sphinx couldn’t argue with that firm tone.

It was true. Even if the content was the same, what one is told easily and what one discovers personally have different weights.

‘He’s such a strange person. His actions are simple, but every now and then, he says things that leave people speechless.’

Sphinx thought as she looked at Anagin.

Then he added one more line.

“Well, that’s not the only reason, but…”

A meaningful remark.

Sphinx wanted to ask what he meant, but she didn’t get the chance.

They had arrived at Paia’s gang’s hideout.

“Behold! This is our forward base! Pretty cool, right?”

The huge Paia spread his muscle-packed arms and shouted.

It was impressive. Though it looked more like a village than an outpost.

“Boss, you’re back?!”

“Yaak! You’ve returned!”

Inside the wooden palisade walls—roughly cut logs forming a fence—stood a surprisingly organized cluster of huts, and in those huts lived not only bandits but quite a few women as well.

The moment Paia arrived, they all rushed toward him in greeting.

“Boss. Did you have a good hunt?”

Paia didn’t answer with words. Just like he had shown Anagin earlier, he pulled out the string of heads tied together like a necklace beneath the boar hide.

The moment the people saw the severed heads, they erupted.

“Woooooaaaahhhh!!”

A thunderous cheer burst out, and they began chanting Paia’s name.

Paia soaked in the cheering before shouting,

“All the villages under the Aoi Family have agreed to cooperate with us! This means our grand plan has taken its first step, you brats!!”

No one knew what that grand plan was, but they all roared in agreement anyway.

After enjoying enough cheering, Paia ordered preparations for a feast.

“A feast?”

“Yeah! A feast! We’ve got guests, don’t we?”

Paia flashed a wide grin and pointed at Anagin and Sphinx.

“We can’t go looking like cheapskates, right?! Isn’t that so!!”

“Ah, you’re absolutely right. Then we’ll butcher a pig and bring out the drinks.”

“Yeah, yeah! And you brats! Don’t hold back—we can just take more booze from another village anyway!”

“Of course! Of course!”

At Paia’s words, the bandits all nodded and immediately rushed to prepare the feast.

Watching them, Anagin recalled what happened that morning in Pond Village—the rookie bandit who came holding a severed head like it was nothing and tried to threaten him with it.

“Um, e-excuse me….”

Right on cue, the very same rookie bandit approached Anagin, speaking hesitantly.

“Hehe, the boss told me to take care of you two guests… Shall I show you to your lodging?”

* * *

The rookie bandit, having realized his position from the exchange between Anagin and Paia, completely abandoned his earlier bravado and adopted a posture so submissive it bordered on groveling.

“Right here! Here! The best room besides the boss’s own quarters!”

He had used his head in his own way.

Judging from the circumstances, it was almost certain Anagin would join the Forest Brotherhood. The question was, what rank would he end up with?

The rookie judged that Anagin would become at least the boss of one of the bandit camps, or at minimum a problem-solver.

He had reached that conclusion after seeing Paia, the boss himself, hear that a subordinate had provoked Anagin—and yet, instead of attacking, Paia had tried to persuade him.

This was no small matter.

Paia was as fierce as a boar. He had immense pride, and when his subordinates were insulted, he often took it as an insult to himself. He was extremely combative.

And yet that Paia had refrained from attacking and tried to talk things out?

That meant Anagin was no ordinary person.

So the rookie bandit decided to switch his attitude. Better this than stubborn pride that might lead to a terrible end later.

Anagin also picked up on that thought—and decided to make use of it.

“Hey.”

“Y-Yes, sir! I-Is something not to your liking?”

“What’s this ‘grand plan’ they keep talking about?”

Anagin went straight to the point and asked about the “grand plan” Paia had bragged about earlier. It had been nagging at him.

“The grand plan? Why do you ask...?”

“I’m curious. If you don’t want to talk, fine.”

A line filled with warning.

The rookie immediately shook his head. He didn’t want this to turn into future retaliation.

“N-No, no. I’ll tell you. It’s not even a secret anyway.”

Unsure whether it was truly not a secret, the rookie bandit explained what the grand plan was.

“They’re going to found a country. In Anapik. A country of the Forest Brotherhood.”

“……”

“……”

Both Anagin and Sphinx were stunned into silence.

Anagin because he simply felt nothing in particular. Sphinx because it was too ridiculous for words.

“I’m just curious, is founding a country something you can do easily?”

“Of course not! Are you seriously asking that?

“I’m just repeating what I heard, sister.”

The rookie bandit slyly addressed Sphinx as “sister.” Normally, she would’ve snapped at that, but there were more urgent matters at hand.

“No wonder it felt off. I should’ve realized back when they attacked the practitioner family…”

Sphinx sighed at her own carelessness.

Sometimes bandits did raid practitioner families for treasure, rare magic tools, or artifacts, but it wasn’t common.

It was far too dangerous. Considering that bandits typically preferred safety and caution, it was an unusually aggressive move.

So if these bandits had raided a practitioner family, there must have been a reason—something greater than mere wealth.

“But to hear they want to found a country… that’s just absurd…”

“It’s not entirely absurd, sister. Our boss is really smart… he joined because he thought it seemed doable.”

Having chosen his path, the rookie bandit committed fully.

By being polite, he hoped to score points with Anagin, while also explaining the grand plan thoroughly so he could score points with Paia later as well.

“Anapik is unclaimed land anyway, isn’t it? If our Forest Brotherhood sets up a figurehead in front and offers real protection from behind while collecting taxes, isn’t that a country already?”

According to the rookie’s explanation, it wasn’t exactly a “normal” country.

But strangely, that made it sound even more plausible.

A hidden state ruled from the shadows… It did fit the Forest Brotherhood surprisingly well.

Anagin raised his hand.

“I’ve got a question.”

“Y-Yes, sir! Go ahead!”

“You said the boss joined because he thought it was doable, right?”

“Yes!”

“Then that means there are people who didn’t join?”

Listening silently until now, Anagin immediately pierced the critical flaw in the story.

Just as he pointed out, the plan to establish a country in Anapik was not a plan of the entire Forest Brotherhood—it was only the plan of a portion of them. Those in the region bordering Anapik.

Thinking about it, it was only natural.

The Forest Brotherhood was a massive organization spread across all of Hellas. But at its core, it was still an alliance of bandit groups.

Of course, that alone was an incredible accomplishment. It was practically impossible to unite 108 separate bandit factions across such a vast land.

If not for “one eccentric” and “a mysterious source of funding,” the Forest Brotherhood would never have been born…

In any case, the point was that the Forest Brotherhood was enormous, and because of that, unified decision-making rarely happened.

Each group mostly went about its own business, cooperating only when necessary.

Anagin had picked up on that weakness from the rookie bandit’s explanation.

“Yes, that’s right. Still, the number’s pretty big.”

“But wouldn’t it still be too much? There must be practitioners and practitioner families in Anapik as well.”

“No need to worry! You saw this morning, didn’t you? Practitioner families aren’t as impressive as people think! Just like Boss said, they’re all weaklings.”

The rookie bandit said confidently. Anagin couldn’t quite deny it either. The Dolos Family had been mostly weak as well…

Only the family head and Spanich had been worth anything. And even those two weren’t on Anagin’s level.

“With you joining us, Sir Anagin, the one they call the Practitioner Killer, everything will be much easier.”

“I haven’t said I’m joining yet.”

“Ah…”

“And it’s the practitioner families that are weak. Practitioners themselves might not be.”

“Haha! There aren’t many noteworthy practitioners in Anapik! Well, aside from one troublesome guy that showed up recently, but that’s been taken care of. Just some decrepit old man…”

“…Old man?”

Anagin asked, feeling a sharp unease.

Someone… came to mind.

Perhaps interpreting his reaction differently, the rookie eagerly continued.

“Yes! Some old geezer started yelling he couldn’t stand watching anymore, so he rushed at us, but the boss cut him down! Burned his whole village too, and now we’re searching for that old man’s grandson and granddaughter.”

“Grandson… granddaughter…?”

“Yes! What were their names again…?”

While the rookie was trying to remember, noisy voices and laughter erupted outside.

The rookie bandit stepped out to ask what was going on.

“What’s happening?”

“They caught the brats! The grandson and granddaughter of that old fool who defied us!”

“Oh, is that so? It’s nothing, then. Anagin, sir. Nothing to worry about. Just a couple of brats. The ones I mentioned.”

“…The old man’s grandchildren?”

“Yes, they’re not—”

“—Take me to them.”

“Pardon?”

“Take me to them. I want to see their faces.”