Chapter 100
Chapter 100
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Nobles (2)
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Barad's heart was heavy as he sat in the audience chamber.
An hour ago, a falcon had taken flight.
It was a messenger falcon sent to his dear friend, Hyun-soo.
He hadn't sent it to ask for a way to save Bella.
Sword King Barad had only two people he could speak to with an open heart: Hyun-soo and Bella.
‘No matter how much I struggle, it's useless...’
Sword King Barad had sent several messages to the Church of Ares.
He had told them he needed the Saintess's prayer.
Of course, the Saintess's kidnapping had been kept secret, so it was only natural that he received no reply.
Just then, Marquis Lükburg and the nobles who followed him were entering the audience chamber.
“We greet Your Majesty.”
Lükburg and the nobles. They were the ones who coveted Sword King Barad's throne.
Lükburg and the nobles offered a few words of greeting to Barad.
Then, they got straight to the point.
“I've heard that Vice-Commander Bella will die within a few days. I cannot express how heartbreaking and sorrowful this is.”
A soft groan escaped Barad's lips.
“I, too, have sought counsel from many places to save Lady Bella. However, the priests of every faith have told me that a woman with a fatal illness cannot be saved.”
Lükburg knew exactly how Barad was feeling.
He had also used his information network to grasp the current situation.
“Your Majesty, you know we cannot receive the Saintess's help.”
Barad did not answer.
“It is a reckless endeavor. The Church of Ares itself is far larger and stronger than our small kingdom of Goyad. Furthermore, the Saintess is so noble that her name rivals your own, Your Majesty.”
Lükburg's face was filled with regret, but his voice was not.
“Moreover, the Saintess's prayer is a special power she can use only twice in her lifetime. There is no way she would use a power that can even revive the dead for a mere knight. It would be better saved for when the emperor of the empire falls ill.”
Everything he said was true.
Because every word was correct, Barad could not say anything in response.
“I heard that Your Majesty has sent numerous letters. I also know that you have not received a reply. It is a sad state of affairs. That our Kingdom of Goyad must lose such a great talent.”
A sword genius who might appear once in a hundred years.
Exactly two such people existed in the Kingdom of Goyad; one was Barad, and the other was Bella.
“...Your Majesty, you must make a decision. I hope you will accept Lady Bella's death and quell the people's turmoil by appointing me as your successor.”
Barad had been naming Bella as his successor.
Of course, it wasn't a true appointment.
It was to shut the mouths of Marquis Lükburg and the other nobles.
Currently, there were dozens of potential successors in his heart.
Among them, there was one.
One who had recently captivated his heart the most.
“That man, Hyun-soo, cannot be your successor.”
Sensing this, Lükburg's eyes grew as sharp as a hawk's.
The castle was teeming with his dogs, ones that even Barad did not know about.
“How can you name an outsider, a mere blacksmith, as your successor?”
The nobles chimed in, as if hearing it for the first time.
“Your Majesty, you might as well kill me!”
“How can a blacksmith be named successor in the land of swords!”
“I can almost hear the outcry of the people!”
It was perfect.
Lükburg raised a hand to silence them.
“Marquis Bello says it would be acceptable to grant him a suitable title.”
Barad realized.
Today, Lükburg intended to eliminate all of his potential successors.
One was Bella.
The other was Hyun-soo.
He was trying to pull all of his fangs.
To prevent him from receiving even a minor title.
To ensure he remained a commoner.
Making it impossible to name him as a successor in Bella's place.
“The people might rise up if they hear the rumor. That a commoner has been named as Your Majesty's successor.”
Each sharp word scrutinized Barad.
“If he were to accomplish something that everyone here could acknowledge, then the people could also be persuaded, and so.”
Lükburg drove the final nail in.
“I would like to meet this man, Hyun-soo.”
His intention to eliminate Hyun-soo here and now was clear.
Just then, a reply arrived.
A strange light flickered in Barad's eyes as he read the reply.
He was calm, without a hint of wavering.
And with composed eyes, Barad spoke.
“Very well. Hyun-soo is on his way, so let us wait.”
“I look forward to it. I wonder what kind of man this Hyun-soo, whom Your Majesty trusts so deeply, will be like.”
Of course, they were just words.
Just then.
Barad sensed unfamiliar presences.
His senses were exceptional, on a different level from ordinary people.
‘Assassins.’
Several assassins were hidden in the ceiling.
They were not men hidden by Marquis Lükburg and the nobles before him.
The Kingdom of Goyad was a small vassal state, and many sought to bring it under their control.
Thus, such incidents were quite frequent.
Barad quickly wrote a reply to Hyun-soo.
A single falcon soared swiftly into the sky.
***
The Red Dragon Squad was a group of assassins trained by the Praham Kingdom.
Operating in the Praham Kingdom and across the continent, the Red Dragon Squad's assassination success rate was extremely high.
Brock, the vice-commander of the Red Dragon Squad, had come leading nine assassins.
He had infiltrated the castle to assassinate Sword King Barad.
The relationship between the Goyad and Praham Kingdoms was so poor that war could break out at any moment.
They were also a mutual threat to each other's kingdoms.
Vice-Commander Brock gave a hand signal to his squad members hidden in the ceiling.
‘Wait.’
For some reason, Barad seemed to have many uninvited guests today.
At the very least, the Red Dragon Squad intended to wait until all those nobles had left and night had fallen.
Brock smiled.
‘Is it just a rumor?’
It seemed Sword King Barad hadn't noticed them yet.
Of course, their stealth was special and formidable.
They were men who had learned nothing but how to hide their bodies and assassinate their targets.
Perhaps that was why he thought it was natural for Barad not to notice them.
Of course, that was nothing but arrogance.
***
Until Hyun-soo arrived, Lükburg and the nobles sat in the guest room, chatting.
“Level 120, you say?”
One noble, hearing this for the first time, had a look of disbelief.
“To think, a man like that...”
A noble who supported Marquis Lükburg, Raeng was utterly flabbergasted.
What had started as simply agreeing with Marquis Lükburg had now become genuine.
“I can just picture the state he'll be in.”
“How can a blacksmith become His Majesty Barad's successor?”
An image of a level 120 outsider flashed through their minds.
Clad in the shabby armor and unremarkable equipment used by commoners.
And since they had just shed the title of 'beginner,' they were all still clumsy-looking.
They were nobles.
“Well, well. So he's the kind of whelp whose head would fly off with a single word from me.”
Hearing this, Lükburg laughed.
“A fine idea. If there's even the smallest flaw, we'll use it as a pretext to bring him down.”
Clumsy outsiders.
They have so many weaknesses.
Just then.
“The outsider named Hyun-soo has arrived.”
Lükburg and the nobles walked quickly to the audience chamber.
It was certain now; they could finally realize their plan.
‘A clumsy outsider...’
Marquis Lükburg was delighted.
He thought about how he should torment the man.
Entering the audience chamber and standing near the king, he looked down the corridor.
*Clack, clack.*
From beyond the corner of the corridor.
The sound of multiple footsteps could be heard.
Then, the faces of Marquis Lükburg and the nobles turned deathly pale.
*Whoooosh-*
A sudden gust of wind blew in, violently rattling the windows.
An unknown pressure bore down on them, the metallic scent of blood tickled their noses, and the dozens of windows on both sides of the audience chamber trembled violently.
*Rattle, rattle, rattle, rattle-*
Something was coming.
And Lükburg recalled the words of a subordinate he had once heard.
‘When you face a Calamity from the Church of Calamity, strange things happen. They say the scent of blood tickles your nose, and your surroundings grow turbulent as if a storm has arrived.’
Remembering this, Lükburg...
The issue was no longer about who would become the successor.
The most evil Church of Calamity in the world!
A Calamity might be coming here.
Trembling, Lükburg tried to shout.
‘A Calamity is coming!’
No matter how much he coveted the king's throne, this was a different matter entirely.
And the only person who could save them here was the Sword King.
But his whole body trembled like a leaf, and he couldn't speak.
Just then, a man in a long, rain-soaked brown coat walked in, rounding the corner.
With every step he took, a dark aura seemed to shimmer from his feet.
The sigil of Calamity was engraved on the chest of the robe he wore.
He wore the Coat of Calamity, but he was not a Calamity.
And there was something even stranger.
Beside him, a dozen or so figures clad in tattered robes were walking into the audience chamber.
“I have come to see you, Your Majesty.”
“Hyun-soo, you've finally arrived.”
“...!”
A considerable shock enveloped the chamber.
Looking at them standing before the audience chamber's door, he spoke.
“Are there so many who aim for Your Majesty's life?”
*Flinch-*
Without prompting, Lükburg and the nobles felt a simultaneous pang of guilt.
How could he say such a thing so openly, no matter how insolent he might be?
He was nothing but a commoner.
Lükburg looked at the people he had brought with him.
Robes that looked like literal trash, the kind you'd find discarded on the street.
Soaked with rainwater, they dripped dirty droplets onto the floor.
‘He's made a lot of preparations.’
But it was laughable.
He finally realized.
Everything was a scheme concocted by him and Barad...
Just then.
The man in the coat walked further inside and stood in the center.
“I'll count to three.”
The dozen or so figures in tattered robes stood guard around him.
“One.”
Lükburg and the nobles couldn't understand what he meant.
“Two.”
In that moment.
*Swoosh-*
An unknown presence paralyzed the thoughts of Lükburg and the nobles.
Assassins.
There were assassins hidden above.
They couldn't hide their astonishment.
This was bad. They might all die.
And the moment the man said, “Three...”
The assassins struck simultaneously, and screams erupted from the nobles.
“U-uaaaagh!”
“N-no!”
Soon, Marquis Lükburg's eyes widened.
The assassins who had been rushing toward Hyun-soo and the nobles.
All of them were frozen in mid-air, in the very posture of plunging their daggers.
Lükburg's eyes trembled as he looked at the dagger aimed at his throat.
‘A s-stun...? Or telekinesis?’
Ten assassins, floating and frozen in the air.
One assassin was stopped with his dagger poised before Hyun-soo's neck, while another was frozen mid-stab at his side.
All the assassins strained with all their might to strike, but an irresistible force prevented them from getting any closer.
The man, Hyun-soo, slowly raised his hand into the air.
The motion looked like it was in slow motion. The moment he lowered his raised hand.
The swords of those in tattered robes flashed out once in perfect sync, then returned to their sheaths.
*Click-*
*Shhhk-*
‘I-in a single strike!?’
*Thud, thud, thud.* The assassins' corpses fell to the ground.
Only then did the man slowly bend his knee and smile at Barad.
“Have you been well?”
“I have.”
Barad smiled warmly.
Then, Barad deliberately prompted him.
“You've come a long way.”
One of the robed figures.
She pushed back the hood of her rain-soaked robe, revealing a face as radiant as the world's light. She smiled brightly.
“We had to come.”
Lükburg and the nobles took a step back without realizing it.
The others who pushed back their hoods along with her.
The ten most elite paladins of the Church of Ares. And the woman who had revealed herself.
The noblest person in the world, Saintess Aria.
Hearing her say they had no choice but to come, Barad asked, though he already knew.
“And why is that?”
“Because my benefactor, Hyun-soo, asked it of me.”
Lükburg realized.
‘No...!’
They had said it themselves. That he needed to perform a deed the people would acknowledge.
He had just performed such a deed.
He had saved the lives of eight of the kingdom's highest nobles, and furthermore, he had saved the king.
He could hear the people's voices.
‘They say that man saved the king!’
‘Is that all!? He saved eight nobles!’
‘Ah, a hero for troubled times!’
Yes, Lükburg was certain of one thing.
‘Today, he will become a noble.’