Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: The Poison Trap
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Please take good care of me.
With casualties on both sides, the atmosphere at the duel site was as hostile as could be.
Belluan's men exuded an arrogant, provocative air, while Atar's forces writhed in mounting rage—it wouldn't have been surprising if they clashed right then and there.
Now, only the final match remained.
"Well then, Ramun, you're up. Think you can win?"
"Of course."
"Their next opponent is likely the strongest in their camp, so don't let your guard down. Not that I've ever seen you do that."
Leaving Palato's advice behind, Ramun picked up his favored shield and sword, slowly urging his Jin forward.
Amid cheers from everyone in the Belluan camp, a knight stepped out from the opposite side.
It was Batayan, the knight who had represented the Atar territory.
The two knights stood about ten meters apart, staring each other down without so much as a twitch.
After a stretch of silence, Ramun spoke first.
"Fancy us getting a chance to fight like this."
"Yeah."
Batayan gave a curt reply as he extended his long spear forward, gauging the distance.
It was still too far to reach, but the gesture alone conveyed his aggressive intent clearly enough.
"I heard the knight who just died was your little sister. Is that why you're pissed? In a duel, you've gotta be prepared to die—that's just childish."
"I've made my peace with it, and I see it as a fair death. But that doesn't mean I can't be angry about losing family."
Ramun clicked his tongue lightly as he listened to Batayan's voice.
It carried a heavy undercurrent of anger, but there was no sign of him losing control or his reason.
With no opening for provocation, Ramun deemed further talk pointless and charged at Batayan on his Jin.
Batayan met him head-on at full speed.
The clash between the two camps' strongest warriors began—one that might decide the entire dispute.
* * *
While everyone focused on the final duel, Arsen returned to camp and headed straight for Eloise.
Eloise was meekly hiding behind two soldiers under Arsen's orders.
Spotting Arsen dismounting his Jin, she waved.
"Ah, Sen! You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"
"Not at all. Everything okay here?"
"Yeah. I've just been hanging out here."
Arsen crouched down to meet Eloise's eye level, slipping his body between the soldiers.
Then, Eloise whispered softly.
"You saw that guy just now, right, Sen?"
Catching her meaning, Arsen inwardly clicked his tongue. He had hoped she hadn't.
"Yeah."
"He's so gross. He didn't have to go that far. I heard about it, but seeing it with my own eyes..."
Eloise trailed off, biting her lip hard and trembling. It was as if she saw herself in that mage from moments ago.
Arsen gently took her hand in silent encouragement.
His gauntlet of metal and leather wouldn't transmit any warmth, but it seemed to comfort her anyway—her shaking eased a bit.
"Lord Luden said it's partly due to religious reasons, so it's hard to understand. Not that it makes it right."
The indigenous Rha faith around Belluan territory was quite mild and neutral as religions went.
This worship of an absolute being without defined form barely touched on mages, sometimes even portraying them positively.
That was why the educated class in Belluan distrusted mages but didn't view them overly negatively.
In contrast, places with anti-mage religions saw acts close to witch hunts.
Some territories outright killed mages instead of enslaving them—what more was there to say?
Seeing Eloise calm down a little, Arsen got to the real reason he'd come.
"Get ready. Once this fight ends, things are probably gonna get real."
"But I thought we were settling it with duels."
"That's what we said, but neither side can easily give up the black star iron. Conflict's likely."
By local standards, black star iron was the most precious material humanity could process.
With high strength, anti-magic properties, and mana sensitivity, it was the ultimate for knights' weapons and armor.
A single knight equipped with black star iron gear could take on five with lesser metals—the advantages were immense.
Belluan had enough to outfit one or two knights, but that also meant they couldn't properly arm more if their numbers grew.
Losing Lenoc's armor was a prime example—hardly a surplus.
The reserves were unknown, but based on precedents, administrators estimated enough for five knights. No way they'd abandon that.
"If fighting breaks out, don't leave my side no matter what... You brought what Lord Luden gave you, right?"
"Yeah."
Eloise pulled out what she'd hidden under her robe.
It was a palm-sized wooden rod, rounded at the end, with a blue crystal embedded in the middle.
"Don't use it unless it's life or death. It'll make it hard for me to protect you after."
"Got it."
"And if things get dire, fire off a flare—don't forget."
Eloise giggled and shook her head at Arsen's nagging.
"Seriously, you're not my mom."
Even as she said it, she was glad for his worry—her face softened.
If she could see herself, she'd probably cringe at how foolish she looked.
Not wanting to show that expression, Eloise quickly bowed her head.
Seeing it, Arsen thought she was too tense and tried to reassure her.
"No need to stress too much. All-out slaughter benefits neither side, so they might concede the duels and back off..."
Just then, cheers erupted from behind.
'The match is over?'
Arsen stood and looked toward the duel site. Neither knight was dead or badly hurt—they were simply withdrawing.
The rain had stopped, sunlight now gleaming off their sparkling armor.
* * *
"I'll say it again: we surrender. It's our loss."
As Batayan calmly declared defeat and retreated, Ramun steadied his ragged breathing.
The duel had been fierce.
Batayan's skill was on par with Ramun's—outstanding, and he even had a threatening regeneration ability to boot.
It fell short of Ramun's own special trait, but even accounting for that, it had been an even match with no clear winner.
Yet midway through, Batayan suddenly pulled back and loudly conceded.
Neither the onlookers nor Ramun himself—the fighter—could make sense of handing over victory like that.
In his usual emotionless tone, Ramun pressed him.
"What's your angle?"
"No angle. I just figured I'd lose if we kept going. This match is ours to lose. We're pulling out."
Ramun racked his brain desperately at Batayan's attitude but couldn't fathom his intent.
Especially from someone who'd been furious over his sister's death moments ago—this was no normal reaction.
But he couldn't order an attack right then either.
Striking an opponent who'd declared defeat and retreated offered no honor or gain.
"So you're giving up the meteorite and withdrawing?"
"Naturally. Congrats, northerner. You won it fair and square in the duel."
As Batayan turned and headed back to his lines, Ramun agonized over ambushing him but eventually sheathed his sword.
Securing the black star iron without bloodshed was the best outcome.
Suspicious as it was, he wasn't keen on gambling in a situation offering safe profit.
Cheers rang out from the Belluan camp as Ramun returned.
"Great work, Lord Ramun!"
"Those fools must be terrified of your prowess, Lord Ramun."
Glancing at the Atar camp, Ramun saw them dismantling tents around the meteorite and preparing to withdraw.
Soon after, they packed up and marched south.
A remarkably smooth resolution.
Finally, Ramun made his call.
"Set up facilities for a long-term stay around the meteorite. Palato, keep watch on the surroundings. They might come back."
"Got it."
"Thoroughly check around the meteorite!"
* * *
"Are you alright, Lord Batayan?"
"Fine. More importantly, my orders?"
"Perfect. We've already dusted the area around the meteorite with plenty of tigerwhite poison grass powder. With the rain stopped, it'll activate soon."
"They know nothing about the local flora, so no way they'll prepare for it."
Tigerwhite poison grass was a local toxic plant. Ground to powder and scattered on the ground, it vaporized in sunlight, releasing potent poison gas.
Not enough to fell knights, but devastating to soldiers or average squires.
Batayan's lips curled in satisfaction.
"Stay sharp. The moment your nose picks up the poison scent, we attack."
"Understood."
It was this knight's heightened sense of smell—sharpened by his trait—that had detected Belluan's approach.
A nuisance in castles or towns, but invaluable outside.
"Alright then..."
Gazing north, now out of sight, he muttered with venom.
"I'll claim your life myself, Arsen."
* * *
The Belluan expedition began setting up camp near the meteorite.
Eloise rode with Arsen on his Jin to the site.
"Wow, it's huge."
"They said to heat and extract it with spells. You confident?"
"Never done it, but Luden said it's not hard."
Soldiers unloaded large metal vats from wagons and placed them beside the meteorite.
Eloise dismounted, stood by one, stretched her fingers, and cracked her neck.
"Alright, let's begin."
"Yeah."
Eloise touched the meteorite with both hands. Moments later, dark blue liquid oozed from it.
Black star iron, liquefied by a heating spell.
It flowed like sweat, guided by simple telekinesis into the vat as if through an invisible pipe.
"Not too tough?"
"Not yet? A few hours like this might tire me out, though..."
As Eloise replied, harsh coughing echoed from somewhere.
It was so eerie and violent that everyone turned— a soldier was vomiting blood.
"Cough..."
"What the hell? What's going on?"
As Ramun demanded answers, another soldier cried out in alarm.
"The ground! The ground's color is changing!"
The change was too dramatic to miss—even before he finished, all eyes were on the dirt.
From lifeless gray soil, white mold-like growths sprouted.
Several watching soldiers started coughing up blood.
"Poison."
Someone muttered it, and Ramun ground his teeth, bellowing.
"Everyone, pull back from the meteorite now! Head north!"
Arsen immediately scooped up Eloise mid-extraction, hugging her tight as he fled the whitening ground.
She yelped in surprise, but there was no time to mind.
Once clear of the poison zone, Arsen shook Eloise's dazed shoulders.
"Elly, snap out of it. You okay? Feel alright?"
"Wait, dizzy... Not sure if it's the poison..."
Clutching her head like a migraine, Eloise touched her neck and focused.
A blue glow later, her pale face returned to normal.
"...Phew, good. Seems the purification spell Luden taught me works on this. You okay, Sen?"
"Fine. Probably not strong enough for knights. The others look okay too."
While soldiers fled the meteorite in panic, Arsen scanned around.
Considering the enemy had been fine here recently, the culprit was obvious.
And whoever pulled this wouldn't just vanish.
Proving him right, Palato's shout rang out.
"Ramun! Atar forces are approaching again!"