Chapter 156. Engagement – Neck
Leo Dexter knelt down.
As the winner of the Retii Tournament, he respectfully spoke to King Petra de Klaus.
“It was just a trivial ‘new power’ that had just taken up swordsmanship. I’m merely touched by your high regard.”
Leo deliberately suppressed his pronunciation. By mispronouncing his skill as new power, he indicated his inability to respond as an apostle to the king.
Cheers erupted.
The citizens of Manubil, filling the tournament hall, were still applauding without understanding anything.
King Petra de Klaus quietly stared at him, wondering what to think. Leo felt as if a raven’s beak would immediately pierce his crown, but he did not raise his bowed head.
The king was silent. As the slightly awkward air began to flow, Prince Pablo de Klaus, sitting next to him, cautiously asked,
“Father? Anything more to say…?”
Aware of the gazes around him, the king waved his hand without a word. As if to say that was enough, he dismissed the winners and summoned a wizard.
Leo sighed in relief. But after reclaiming his sword and returning to the stage, he tightly closed his eyes upon hearing the king’s declaration of war against the Kingdom of Eisel.
Foolish man.
Only now did he understand why Halpas was here, why the Kingdom of Astin declared war on the Kingdom of Belita, and even why the ‘Nine-Day War’ happened in the past.
It was highly likely that the king of the Kingdom of Astin was also an apostle. Where there was a black raven, Halpas, there would be Malphas, the other half of MalHas and the red raven.
The altars found in the capital of the Kingdom of Astin, Bernoulli, were drawn by Malphas.
The current kings of the Kingdoms of Astin and Aster killed their fathers, who waged the Nine-Day War, and ascended to the throne. They split Aslan into two, built up power over ten years, and recently started another war.
MalHas, who thrived on fomenting conflict and preying on the victors and vanquished, would have done such a thing.
‘Then what should I… what should we do?’
Although he had received various accolades, he was still only a mere swordsman.
Much better than the average knight. That was certainly remarkable, but compared to MalHas, who had seized the two northern kingdoms, it was truly nothing.
“A sudden war… could it be because the prince refused to go to the Kingdom of Eisel last time?”
Citizens whispered quietly, covering their mouths at the declaration to strike the magical kingdom that had held grudges for generations.
“Looks like it. The king tried to marry the prince to the princess of the Kingdom of Eisel, didn’t he? Damn. How many years has it been since the Nine-Day War?”
Still, it was the king’s order. If the king commanded to extract nails with bare hands, that was the way it had to be done.
Resentfully eyeing the prince, the citizens forcibly cheered, and the Retii Tournament concluded amidst murmurs.
Lena Einarrr puzzledly looked at the champion, Leo, who had a completely forlorn expression.
* * *
“Hahaha. You’re great, but your boyfriend was even more amazing! Why didn’t you tell me till now?”
On their way back to the lodging, Bahaatar struck up a conversation, oblivious to Lena’s feelings.
“Is there anything to say? Even if I said our Leo would win, you’d have insisted Uncle Droksa was stronger.”
“Well, that’s true. I was surprised Droksa lost. I thought no one could beat this friend if not a knight.”
Bahaatar patted his embarrassed friend Droksa on the shoulder.
Lena knew why this uncle held Droksa in such high regard. She heard it when Leo asked, “What is the relationship between the Albacete tribe and Baron Arpen Albacete?”
A Sword Master of the Kingdom of Astin and the first to become a noble as a barbarian, Baron Arpen Albacete was a friend of Droksa Albacete. They were born in the same tribe, underwent the trial of the Great Warrior together, and even participated in the Maunin-Retii Tournament together.
But their paths diverged afterward.
Droksa wanted to remain the Great Warrior of the tribe. Uninterested in becoming a knight, he refused the opportunity even after placing in the Maunin-Retii Tournament.
On the other hand, Arpen chose to become a knight. Dreaming of success and honor, he sent Droksa back and began life in the knighthood alone.
Initially, he often visited his hometown. He took a leave of absence at least once a year to visit the Albacete tribe and reminisced with friends he hadn’t seen in a while.
But at some point, Arpen stopped coming back. Occasionally sending letters, his news completely ceased with the ‘Nine-Day War’.
As everyone knows, at the end of the Nine-Day War, Arpen became a Sword Master. As the first barbarian to become a baron, he succeeded in his ambition.
It had been over ten years since communication with Arpen ceased. Having raised his children into full-fledged warriors, Droksa decided to go see his friend himself.
Since a Great Warrior couldn’t absent himself from the tribe at will, he used the excuse of participating in the Maunin Tournament to gather his friends.
Unfortunately, when they arrived in Bernoulli, Arpen Albacete had already gone to war. Through the butler of the baron’s mansion, Drokza learned that the Maunin Tournament would not be held due to the war, so he decided to participate in the Retii Tournament instead, not wanting to return empty-handed. He thought that perhaps the war would end by the time he returned, and his friend would be back in Bernoulli.
“Why don’t you try picking up a sword too? Who knows? You might become a sword master. Honestly, your skills weren’t that different.”
“Ridiculous. Changing weapons doesn’t automatically improve skills. And even our friend Arpen preferred axes and clung to them even after becoming a knight. Though I heard he switched to a greatsword recently…”
Drokza shrugged and humored Bahaatar’s joke. After watching the tournament, they walked leisurely towards their lodgings, just like the scattering citizens. By the time they reached their lodging, the sun was setting…
At that moment, Leo, sensing a chill, turned around. He saw a masked knight striding towards him.
Damn it.
Leo, quick-witted, recoiled in horror.
“Leo?” Lena called, looking back. “Run!” Leo shouted and started running down the street aimlessly.
“Leo! Where are you going?!”
There was no time to respond.
Who would have thought the king would send a knight so soon? I thought they’d leave me alone if I didn’t get too close, but it seemed MalHas considered my intrusion into his territory a serious offense and intended to kill me. Moreover, the knight sent by the king was probably a sword master. If his legendary accomplishments weren’t exaggerated, he was a monster Leo could never hope to face.
I’m screwed again.
Leo lamented his fate as he collided violently with people blocking his way. He had tried to avoid every crisis, but just one encounter with the king had resulted in his downfall.
If only it weren’t for this mark…
Leo cursed the Barbatos mark on his palm as he ran.
“Oh, look! Isn’t that the champion from earlier?”
Citizens returning home in groups recognized Leo and applauded. Some warriors even whistled and shouted that he had looked great today.
Amidst the cheers and encouragement, Leo felt indescribable loneliness.
They have no idea what’s happening in the kingdom right now. And Leo, too, was just one person who had to run away after encountering this massive evil.
Leo looked back. Wondering if he had distanced himself, he turned his dimming vision due to heavy breathing, but the small-framed knight was closing in.
“Ugh! Damn it!”
Leo gritted his teeth and turned back. As he turned, he drew his sword and swung it with all his might.
– Clang!
The masked knight easily blocked it. Realizing what the knight’s weapon was, Leo noticed the knight twisted his weapon.
A Sword Breaker. A thick, sturdy sword designed to break or contest the durability of the opponent’s weapon.
The knight struck with it repeatedly. As he continuously collided with it, twisting the sword slightly each time, Leo’s sword began to crack.
“Damn it!”
Pretending to strike downwards, Leo threw the sword he had received as a reward from the tournament. While the knight deflected the spinning sword, Leo drew his own sword.
[ Achievement: Bound Item, 0/3 ]
[ Sword – Indestructible. ]
– Clash!
The knight’s mask shook. Just from one clash, the knight seemed to gauge the hardness of Leo’s sword and adjusted his grip on the hilt. He used the unscarred back of the blade to aim at Leo.
“What’s going on?”
“Isn’t that the tournament winner from earlier? Why is he being attacked by a royal knight? Did he commit a grave offense?”
The citizens covering the streets murmured. But seeing the uniform of a royal knight on the masked figure, they hesitated, then their mouths gaped open.
Aura Blade.
The knight’s weapon, as he took his stance, blazed white. Impurities burned off, and the citizens recognized who he was.
“It’s Count Mordred!”
“Isn’t he the head of the royal guard? My goodness. That man must have seriously offended the king.”
“Who knows? Maybe he stole the king’s treasure or something. Why else would the captain of the royal guard be here?”
Then, the man presumed to be Count Mordred opened his mouth. Though his words were incomprehensible, the citizens were convinced. It was well-known that during the Nine Days War, the count had lost half of his jaw and could hardly speak. Feeling the failure to communicate, the masked knight nodded and irritably swung his sword downwards.
– Clang!
But it was blocked. Leo’s indestructible sword stopped the Aura Blade.
The knight hesitated in surprise, but his expression was hidden by the mask.
Of course, that didn’t mean the tide of battle had turned. Even though the Aura Blade was rendered useless, the gap between the sword master and Leo was enormous.
Each swordsman’s unique characteristics or strengths and weaknesses didn’t even come into play. The difference in their level of swordsmanship was just too immense.
The Sword Master would subtly twist his sword with each clash, likely out of a habit to break the opponent’s blade, using the rebound to continue attacking at an unbelievable speed.
Leo was hopelessly overwhelmed. Barely managing to protect his torso and head with the {Swordsmanship.3v : Bart Style}, Leo’s shoulders and thighs were torn to shreds.
“Ugh!”
If it continued like this, he’d die. Leo foresaw his destiny but gave it his all.
He had no reason to die honorably. He wanted to survive somehow, to take Lena and escape this place.
But as he kept retreating, he eventually found nowhere else to run. The second military facility of the impregnable fortress of Manubil blocked his path.
It was a canal.
Unlike a moat that surrounds or lies inside the castle wall, the military utility of a canal wasn’t to prevent enemy attacks.
Its purpose was to divide the potential enemy camp around the fortress or to push them beyond the canal, letting it flow through an ambiguous position around the fortress.
Although it now served as the waterway of the capital city, Manubil, it could be poisoned, or, if the upstream gates were guarded, it could flood the city overnight.
Usually, someone trying to escape would rejoice at finding flowing water, but Leo hesitated.
If he fell in there, he’d die.
It wasn’t that high, but if he floated up and floundered in that slow-moving water, the knight would just jump down and stab him.
– Clang!
The Sword Master, aware of this, clashed his sword meticulously with Leo’s, aiming to push him off the railing.
Although Leo had a slight strength advantage due to his bigger build, he couldn’t fend off the Sword Master’s blade.
A chilling scraping sound. Pushing incorrectly could turn the blade back and strike his neck.
Just holding on was the best he could manage. How long his injured thighs and shoulders could last was uncertain.
The two men’s bodies were pressed close. Leo glimpsed piercing eyes burning through the gap in the helmet, and something came to mind.
{Barbatos’s Bracelet}
Could he perhaps stall this guy by using [Eyes of Enchantment]?
It was a one-time-use item, with only three beads on the bracelet, allowing three uses in total across all scenarios.
Fortunately, the Sword Master’s weapon wasn’t consecrated… but would someone under Halphas’s command fall for the enchantment?
Even as his body leaned precariously over the low railing, Leo’s mind ran quickly. Then,
“Leo!”
Lena burst through the murmuring crowd. The Sword Master’s eyes turned to Lena at that moment, and Leo felt an impending sense of doom.
“Look at me!”
Leo’s eyes turned red. As one of the beads on the bracelet shattered, its red essence rushed into Leo’s eyes.
‘Please. Please. Please.’
Leo anxiously watched for a reaction from the knight…
“Hrggh!”
The Sword Master’s aura blade flared blindingly bright, realizing someone had dared to cast an enchantment on him, pressing the attack even harder.
At this rate, he’d fall…
– Swooosh! Clang.
At that moment, the Sword Master turned sharply, extracting his aura blade as he swung backward.
“Le-Leo! Are you okay?”
Though he avoided falling, Lena’s sword, which she had charged the Sword Master with, was cut in half. Trembling with fear, she held only the hilt of the severed blade.
“Lena! Run away!”
The Sword Master no longer paid attention to the disarmed Lena. Swinging his sword fearsomely fast, he pressed Leo to the brink. But then,
“Ack!”
“…?!”
Lena, who had been trembling, suddenly became calm. Throwing aside the broken sword handle,
“How can I leave you behind?!”
Yelling, she charged at the Sword Master.
– Whoosh! Crack!
Spreading her arms as she leapt, Lena enveloped the Sword Master. Though he tried to evade her aura blade, her arms locked around his torso. The railing shattered, and both fell into the canal.
“Lena! No!”
Leo barely managed to grasp the railing, extending his hand to catch the falling Lena. He swung his hand, trying to grab her leg but clutched… her hair instead.
The recent swing of the aura blade had sliced through Lena’s neck. While her body fell differently, her head ended up in Leo’s hand, held by the hair tie he had given her.
Lifting the now-lightweight Lena with shaking hands, her head spun around, anchored by the tightly bound hair, and in that moment,
[ Lena has died. ]
A message appeared. Covering Lena’s face, it quickly faded away.
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