Dawn broke.
The sun was rising.
I had pondered throughout the night. Should I interfere with what’s happening in the trading city Arkan?
Or I could just ignore it all and head straight towards the ‘southern region,’ Count Rubelt’s territory.
But that didn’t sit well with me either.
There was a risk of running into Belrak’s lackeys scattered around the city, potentially disrupting my journey.
It irritated me.
The very situation that annoyed me was annoying in itself.
Gelmore.
Perhaps it was because I unexpectedly ran into him.
“I think there are too many bad guys! Duke Yuma.”
Cloney, who had restored her health with the tonic of sleep, said this after grasping the situation.
And her words became the driving force that moved Yuma.
There were clearly bad guys around.
And it didn’t seem impossible to stop them.
Yuma walked towards Meidel, the innkeeper tied to a chair at the door.
“Yikes!”
Meidel gasped upon seeing Yuma.
“Is there a city guard?”
“Y-yes, there is!”
“How many of those are Belrak’s henchmen?”
“About half! Half!”
‘So half still follows Gelmore, huh.’
Yuma’s mind spun rapidly.
“Guide me to the guard.”
To avoid inconveniences, it would be simpler to handle it with his own hands.
*
The sun rose, but it was still dark inside the building.
The mayor of Arkan, Gelmore, arrived here at Belrak’s summons.
Gelmore’s blue hair was terribly disheveled.
“…Brother.”
That’s because his younger brother lay on the floor, looking like a bleeding mess.
“B-Belhelm! I need Belhelm… Belrak! Belrak!!”
Gelmore’s younger brother Demure crawled on the cold floor, pleading like that.
Gelmore gritted his teeth, glaring at Belrak in front of him.
Belrak arrogantly tilted his chin, crossing his legs.
“Mayor Gelmore, how was it? The pleasure district I’ve created. Didn’t you see it clearly with your own two eyes on your way here?”
Gelmore frowned deeply.
As the drug dealer and underground king, Belrak was right. The trading city Arkan was now saturated with the drugs planted by the man standing before him.
“Thanks to your exceptional business acumen, the drug business is thriving effortlessly. You just had to distribute the drugs along the trade routes you’ve laid out.”
“Well, the drug business has become incredibly lucrative, you know. All I had to do was distribute drugs along the trade routes you’ve set up.”
Belrak summoned him to this place.
The nightlife of Arkan that he witnessed on the way here far surpassed Gelmore’s imagination.
People twisted in every way, searching for drugs.
One person crawling on the ground looked up and the words he uttered were etched in Gelmore’s mind.
“Gelmore…? Shit, I’m seeing our Mayor! No way! Mayor! You’re fucked! Hehehe! Everything belongs to Belrak now! The ones running this city, they’re all soaked in Belrak’s drugs! Hehehe!”
“Honestly, meeting you here is completely pointless for me. The city’s law enforcement, the merchants that form its backbone—more than half are all my clients, friends, and my underlings!”
Belrak grinned, revealing his yellowed teeth as he looked down at Gelmore.
“I don’t expect much from you, Gelmore.”
Finally, Belrak got to the main point.
“You can continue doing everything you’ve done so far; it really doesn’t matter.”
Gelmore’s eyes were on his brother, crawling on the ground, but his ears were keenly tuned to listen to Belrak’s every word.
“However, one more person will now be giving you orders. That would be me, Belrak. If you comply, I’ll make sure your brother doesn’t die and will continue to receive the drugs to avoid going insane.”
Gelmore finally met Belrak’s snake-like gaze head-on.
“Are you telling me to become your puppet?”
Belrak twisted his mouth.
“To put it more harshly, yes, that’s one way to say it.”
Swoosh—
The sound of Gelmore drawing his sword echoed in the air.
“I’ve heard enough of your bullshit; I can’t stand it any longer.”
Of course, it wasn’t just Gelmore’s sword that was drawn.
“The Mayor may not be a noble, but he is a semi-noble appointed directly by His Majesty, the Emperor. Someone like you has no right to give orders.”
The knight Haros, standing beside Gelmore, radiated a deadly glare.
A vivid aura flowed from his sword. Haros was a knight of the highest sword expertise.
A blue flame of aura bloomed vividly.
Strangely enough, Belrak showed no sign of fear whatsoever.
“Hehe, my dear knight. Do you think I’d just jump into this mess without investigating Gelmore’s knight who’s always by his side?”
Belrak didn’t shy away from Haros’s fierce eyes.
“Knight Haros Geller. The third son of the fallen Geller noble family. There’s no need to fear a knight from a family that’s lost everything.”
Haros Geller was furious.
His anger had reached the very tips of his hair.
“You filthy half-breed!”
The blue blade of his sword blazed even more fiercely.
Belrak turned to look at the massive man standing behind him and deeply bowed.
“I’m begging you.”
It was a situation that was bound to raise questions.
Even for Gelmore, the mayor. Belrak, who had acted arrogantly toward him and the knight, was now showing such respect to someone who appeared to be his subordinate.
An aged voice, bearing the weight of time, emanated from that man.
“…Just keep your promise.”
“Of course, elder.”
Thud—
The unidentified man took a step forward.
Haros’s face went blank as he beheld the man’s face and his well-defined, muscular upper body.
The man’s imposing presence was evident from every inch of him.
He was nearly two meters tall.
His hair flowed like a lion’s mane in white.
And a deep scar marked his left eye.
Haros fixed a steely gaze on the old man.
“…Why are you behind someone like that?”
The old man responded softly.
“To witness the ultimate essence of the sword.”
Haros scrutinized the old man’s eyes.
No matter how he looked at it, it was utter madness.
The ultimate essence of the sword?
There was no way that could be realized beside that swine of a man.
“So you’re just a senile old fool!!”
That desperate cry echoed through the building.
Haros stomped the ground firmly and advanced.
Swish──!
Their swords clashed simultaneously. They exchanged places.
Swish────────thud
The one who fell was Haros.
The red blade energy emanating from the sword held in the old man’s right hand was undeniable.
A clear indication that he had reached the level of a Swordmaster, a Master of the Blade.
With an overwhelming gap in power, the old man dispatched Haros effortlessly and sheathed his sword with an impassive face.
Mayor Gelmore couldn’t believe what had just happened.
The lifeless body of Knight Haros was captured in his cold gaze.
“As long as the second Sword God, Chronos, is behind me, no one will disturb me here, Mayor Gelmore.”
“The second of the former Empire…?”
At Belrak’s words, Gelmore stared blankly at the old man, the second sword god of the former Empire, Chronos.
Why is such a monster one of Belrak’s minions?
*
“Craaack!”
Duke Yuma tossed the innkeeper Meidel across the room.
Yuma arrived at Arkan’s Guard with Cloney.
His purpose for being here was simple.
He needed guides to lead him to Belrak and meat shields to protect him.
Creeeak—
Yuma opened the gate of the guard.
A man and a girl were already causing a scene at the entrance of the enforcement squad since morning, so all eyes were drawn to them.
“What the hell are you?”
The atmosphere among the guards was already hostile before Yuma even opened the door. Of the total 70 guards, half of them had already become Belrak’s subordinates.
Everyone knew that today was the day to tighten the noose around Gelmore’s neck. So the supporters of Gelmore and Belrak were coldly watching each other in the oppressive air.
Yuma took out a golden seal from his pocket.
“I am the representative of the First Princess Brigitte.”
He casually dropped it onto the table.
“I am Yuma, the Princess’s Sword. I have unintentionally obtained information that half of you have fallen under the command of that scoundrel Belrak.”
“Hah! The representative of the Princess? The Princess’s Sword? You think bringing that stupid little token will mean anything?!”
Schwing!
One intimidating guard drew his sword. Yuma lazily countered the attack with a dagger.
Clang!
“Huh?”
A purple scythe appeared in the man’s sight.
Swish!
And that was the last thing he saw. The head of the brutally beheaded guard thudded to the ground.
Not one of them had seen Yuma attack; they all stood frozen in place.
“As the representative of the First Princess, I command you.”
Yuma spoke again.
“Any of you who consider yourselves as Arkan’s guards, not Belrak’s dogs, kill the Belrak dogs beside you right now.”
A chilling atmosphere filled the guard station.
“Prove your loyalty to the Empire.”
Those words resonated with one of the guards.
Swish!
The guard who drew his sword shouted with veins popping from his neck.
“Kill Belrak’s dogs!”
Swish! Swish!
The sound of drawing swords followed.
The Arkan guards lunged at Belrak’s dogs.
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