Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Meeting Kren
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Knights are superhumans, but the mechanisms of their own bodies are not greatly different from those of ordinary humans.
If they do not eat or drink, they cannot maintain their bodies or exert strength, and if they do not breathe, they suffocate and die.
Physical damage is the same; even if they have a bit more tenacity than average people, the fact that they die if a vital spot is destroyed does not change.
In other words, the moment Arsen snapped Zanak's neck, Zanak's life was already over.
"Wasn't that the sound of a neck breaking just now?"
"I think I heard it too."
In the silence of the spectators unsure if the match had been decided, Arsen did not relax and twisted Zanak's neck once more with force.
Even then, he obsessively checked for several seconds to make sure Zanak would not come back to life before finally loosening his arms and standing up.
Zanak's corpse, with its neck twisted at an eerie angle, sprawled out like a broken stuffed doll.
Only then did the spectators begin to cheer.
"Arsen of Belluan has won!"
People always go wild for the emergence of a new powerhouse.
They shouted that a fearsome strongman had appeared, that Zanak, who roared in his hands, had been defeated.
There was no sorrow for the death of the defeated powerhouse.
"He still looks young."
"Wasn't it a one-sided fight?"
"Who would he need to fight for an exciting match at that level?"
Amid the excited chatter and cheers of the crowd, Arsen carefully removed the cotton from his ears.
Only after the foreign sensation was gone did sounds properly reach him.
‘Looks like preparing in advance paid off.’
It was the simplest and most efficient countermeasure one could think of upon knowing the opponent's ability.
It was not without drawbacks, so Arsen had to remove his helmet, which obstructed his vision, to compensate for his hearing loss with sight.
He tried to interpret what the opponent said by reading their lips as much as possible, while mumbling vague responses to gloss over it.
He had wondered if going this far was necessary, but thinking of Zanak's roar at the last moment, it had been an extremely wise decision.
‘No matter that it’s his specialty, what kind of sound was that...’
Since he had wrapped around Zanak in close contact, Arsen had to endure the roar closer than anyone.
It was an enormous sound that made his bones vibrate, so he could not even imagine the horrific state he would have been in if he had heard it without blocking his ears.
It only looked like an easy win because Anun had provided information allowing him to analyze and study the opponent in advance; he was far from an easy foe.
He was truly one of the renowned powerhouses of this city.
"Brother!"
"Are you alright?"
Bazkal, Rino, and Anun came running to check on him.
Arsen nodded calmly in response, then walked toward where Zanak's subordinates were gathered.
He declared to them, who were standing dazedly beside Zanak's corpse with its broken neck, that he would exercise the winner's rights.
"This duel is my victory, and by duel custom, all the loser's armaments belong to me. Do you agree?"
Zanak's subordinates wore dissatisfied expressions but did not raise any objections.
Wherever one went, unspoken rules had to be respected, especially when the opponent's strength was superior.
Arsen spoke to them once more as they remained silent.
"If you have any complaints, say them here and now. There's nothing uglier than changing your words later."
Naturally, they had nothing more to say.
So many people had already witnessed the duel’s outcome. There was no ground for protest since Arsen had not used any unfair means like help from comrades.
"Then I'll take that as agreement."
Shortly after, two of Arsen's soldiers brought Zanak's gear.
Relic armor and axe, necklace, bracelet, earrings.
With a mage attached to verify, it was not hard to identify which of Zanak's possessions were relics.
He instructed them to secure the items for now, then asked the soldier who had searched Zanak's body.
"Are you sure there's nothing left?"
"We've searched everything except his clothes, Captain. Should we check his undergarments too?"
"No, that's not necessary."
If it were wartime or an ambush outside, it might be different, but since this was a fair duel in the middle of the city, he had to preserve at least minimal honor.
Defiling the corpse to that extent would tarnish Arsen's reputation. He did not want to do it emotionally either.
Arsen first secured the acquired items and watched as Zanak's subordinates, dressed in shirt and pants, loaded Zanak's corpse onto a stretcher.
It was truly pitiful that even the corpse was not respected after death, but ultimately, it was the karma he had brought upon himself.
At that moment, the only knight among Zanak's subordinates—seemingly the leader—spoke curtly to Arsen.
In an ambiguous tone that could be either a warning or advice.
"Don't think this is the end. We're the Blood Axe, and we don't give up easily."
Before Arsen could respond to the lame declaration, someone else answered from behind.
"Is that really true?"
Zanak's subordinate turned around in surprise and shouted.
"Sir Rasur?"
Rasur, who had been standing among the spectators, was approaching.
Rasur, who looked around as if patrolling the area, spoke.
"This doesn't seem like the time to say it's nice to see you. I'm curious, but is what I just heard the official stance of the Blood Axe?"
As Zanak's subordinate could not respond, Rasur continued pressing with a good-natured smile.
"I heard why this fight happened. You challenged him to a duel, got killed, and now you're talking about retaliating as an organization because you can't accept the result? Isn't that utterly disgraceful? It's not proper etiquette toward a guest either."
"Sir Rasur, what I said earlier was just..."
"Should I go ask that old man of yours directly? Isn't he getting senile?"
"...No, sir."
Zanak's subordinate fidgeted as if dealing with a much higher-up.
Thanks to the two conversing with Arsen in between, Arsen got to enjoy this calm scolding from the best seat, like watching a show.
Until Rasur suddenly threw an arm around Arsen's shoulder.
"Besides, this Sir Arsen here is someone our excavation team is highly interested in. Even Kren has a lot of interest in this young knight. Do I need to explain more?"
Upon hearing that, Zanak's subordinate suddenly bowed deeply toward Arsen.
"I sincerely apologize for the offense earlier, Sir Arsen."
Without waiting for Arsen's response, he began pouring out apologies like a machine gun.
"The Blood Axe fully accepts the result of this duel and will absolutely not seek retaliation in any form. I apologize for my earlier remarks."
He spent quite some time expressing his apologies before finally leaving with the knight carrying Zanak's corpse.
After glancing at this, and confirming that even the spectators who had watched the duel had all left, Arsen re-entered the inn.
At a corner table in the first-floor hall, Arsen shared a drink with Rasur and opened a conversation.
After lightly sharing a glass, Arsen spoke first.
It was a thank-you for the intervention that had supported him moments ago.
"Thank you for your help, Sir Rasur."
"I was just repaying a favor."
Rasur grinned and said.
"Not all goodwill in the world returns as goodwill, but if someone returns goodwill with goodwill, wouldn't the world be better? And right now was a perfect time to repay the goodwill you showed me. It was something that could be done with just a few words, not burdensome at all."
"Not burdensome at all?"
At Arsen's words, Rasur chuckled and took a sip.
"I'm acquainted with the Blood Axe's leader... old man Pammu. Not close, but. That old man was badly burned by Kren—our excavation team's leader—before, so he fears that guy more than ghosts. Now that he's heard Kren is interested in you, he probably won't even step on your shadow until you leave this city."
Arsen nodded in admiration and poured Rasur another drink.
"I didn't know Sir Kren was that formidable."
"He doesn't like showing off his skills, so he only became somewhat famous recently, but he's a powerhouse known to those in the know. If you pick the three strongest knights in this city, he'd definitely be included. And..."
Rasur glanced side to side and whispered.
"He doesn't like bragging about it openly, but he's also blood-related to the leader of the Black Lion, the largest armed group in this city. The current Black Lion leader is Kren's nephew."
Indeed, just mentioning Knight Kren's name explained why the Blood Axe knight backed down.
With personal strength at the top level and deep ties to one of the city's strongest factions.
He was someone you absolutely shouldn't touch if you wanted to live peacefully in the city.
"But their guard captain in their own territory was killed. Will they really let it go completely? They must have their own pride."
"That pride has already been preserved. Backing down upon hearing Kren's name isn't a great dishonor in this city. Besides."
Rasur grinned and continued as if sharing a secret.
"Old man Pammu didn't like Zanak much. He wanted to pass the Blood Axe to his grandson, but Zanak was a famous figure threatening that. If he wasn't aiming for that, why would someone with that level of skill serve as guard captain in such a small group?"
After saying that much, Rasur paused, took a sip of the drink Arsen poured to wet his throat.
"The old man is probably grateful to me and you right now. He's rid of a nuisance, and he has an excuse not to seek unnecessary revenge. It must feel like having a bad tooth pulled."
It might need more investigation or verification, but if what Rasur said was true, there was no great need to worry about conflict with the Blood Axe.
While feeling relieved, Arsen raised one question that came to mind.
"But are you that close with Sir Kren? Enough to lie so openly in public to back me up like that?"
"Why do you think it's a lie?"
As Arsen made a puzzled expression, Rasur laughed and said.
"Kren is my friend, but using a friend's name for a lie isn't proper etiquette. What I said wasn't a lie. Kren really is very interested in you."
"Is that so?"
"When I told him about meeting you before, he said he absolutely wanted to meet you sometime. Now that things have turned out this way, how about going to see Kren?"
After a moment of thought, Arsen nodded.
Joining the excavation team was still impossible, but he had received help like this, and it was a chance to befriend a powerful knight and influential figure.
"Understood. When should I set an appointment and visit?"
"If you're not busy, even now is fine. That friend just returned from an expedition not long ago and is resting."
* * *
The place where Kren resided was in the western district, which had a somewhat quieter atmosphere compared to the eastern district where Arsen's group stayed.
When asked why the leader and vice-leader were on opposite sides, Rasur laughed and answered.
"Kren manages the excavation site in the west, and I manage the one in the east. Since we each lead different sites anyway, having the leader and vice-leader together would be inefficient."
"Isn't it more convenient to manage from the inner district, the center?"
"Setting up a base in the inner district or staying at an inn there is quite expensive. Better to buy one more relic that helps with excavation with that money."
After saying that, Rasur added as if making an excuse.
"Besides, most of our comrades live in the outer districts, so if we leaders live inside all high and mighty, it would feel arrogant. From the perspective of sharing hardships, it would just create unnecessary discord."
It sounded ideal, so Arsen nodded silently.
The inn where Kren stayed looked even more worn and shabby compared to the one Arsen's group was in.
It was a wooden building with a gloomy atmosphere, nothing like Arsen's clean stone-built inn.
"Here."
Rasur stepped forward and opened the door first, and a clear bell rang as people playing what looked like a card game in the first-floor hall turned their heads. Two were knights, three ordinary soldiers.
They seemed to recognize Rasur and stood, bowing their heads in greeting.
"Hello, Sir Rasur! What brings you here?"
"Good to see you, Uska. Is Kren inside?"
"Yes, sir. He's training, I believe."
"That guy never changes. Mind if I go in?"
"Of course. And the person next to you?"
"Someone Kren's been dying to meet."
Rasur said playfully with a laugh, then led Arsen.
This inn was built in a horseshoe shape, with a central courtyard-like space.
The bare, grassless ground proved that this courtyard was used as a training yard.
"Hey, Kren! It's me!"