Chapter 202: Balak the Champion
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 202: Balak the Champion
The southern continent is a prosperous land. Even the soldiers in the small city of Monju are armed with long, short-sleeved chainmail.
The spears pointed at me glinted sharply, seemingly forged from high-quality iron. They carried arming swords at their waists as sidearms and had small, pot-lid-shaped shields slung across their backs.
Add a horse to the mix, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them knights.
Not that they're difficult opponents. The problem is that I can't reveal my superhuman strength.
‘My superhuman strength stands out too much.’
No matter how skilled a knight is, it's difficult to build a reputation without a defining trait. In contrast, a knight known for sheer, brute strength will gain fame far more quickly than one of equal skill. The countless nicknames I've earned are proof of that.
Why else would so many knights go out of their way to hunt trolls and ogres? It's because titles like 'Troll Slayer' or 'Ogre Slayer' are surefire ways to boost their renown.
‘And in a knight's world, fame dictates how you're treated.’
Alright, let's think this through. What would happen if rumors of a champion with superhuman strength reached Vivian's ears?
Especially if her spies on the western continent have already reported that I'm in seclusion? She would immediately suspect that I'd come to the southern continent alone to assassinate her.
If that happens, I'll lose the advantage of a surprise attack and end up surrounded in the middle of enemy territory. What seemed like a golden opportunity would instead be tightening a noose around my neck.
‘Meaning, I have to hide my strength.’
The problem is, under that constraint, even I would have a hard time facing dozens of well-armored soldiers.
There's one more problem. If I win too easily, Baron Allanton might get other ideas.
Someone who can overwhelmingly defeat twenty elite soldiers? Even I would use a man like that as an instrument of war, not just a champion.
That's why, knowing it would be ineffective, I swung my sword at an enemy soldier's chainmail.
Sparks flew with the screech of metal on metal. I immediately feigned a look of dismay and took a large step back.
The soldiers, on the other hand, advanced another step, smiling as if victory was already theirs.
The encirclement tightened. As I pretended to look around frantically for an escape, the mayor spoke, his voice dripping with smug satisfaction.
“Give up! Even a master champion like you is powerless against twenty soldiers!”
There are two schools of swordsmanship. One is armored combat, which targets the unprotected parts of an opponent's body and uses one's own armor to engage in close-quarters fighting. This style, which frequently incorporates wrestling, is meant for the battlefield.
Dueling, on the other hand, assumes no metal armor is permitted, so the entire body is a target. A duelist would naturally struggle against an armored soldier. Just as I demonstrated a moment ago.
They must have seen me and thought I was the very model of a swordsman who has only ever known the world of duels and trials by combat.
‘The complete opposite of my true self, a veteran of the battlefield.’
Judging by the reactions of the mayor and the soldiers, my ruse seemed to have worked. I kept the dismayed expression on my face and glared at the mayor.
“Aren't you afraid of the consequences? You're defying a trial by ordeal, a judgment permitted by the Lord, to carry out a personal vendetta.”
“Hmph! Scared now, are you? How foolish! Justice without power is meaningless! Who would blame me for killing a mere foreigner!”
The mayor shot a fierce look at the spectators. Those who had been watching with disapproval quickly averted their gazes, afraid to meet his eyes.
This incident may have shaken his position, but it was far from enough to bring him down. That must be why Baron Allanton was staying quiet.
Step, step.
The soldiers stepped forward again. They were now close enough to reach me with their spears. The mayor turned back to me and was about to shout, pointing a finger.
“Get him—”
Before the mayor could even finish his sentence, the waiting soldiers thrust their spears.
That was my cue. I slapped a spear shaft with the flat of my blade. Spears are weak to lateral force, so I could deflect it even while holding back my strength.
From there, I closed in along the spear shaft. The startled soldier reflexively tried to back away, but my sword was a little faster.
“N—”
My sword plunged into his open mouth, of all places, piercing through his palate and into his brain. The weight on my sword instantly grew heavier. He was dead.
It was too early to be relieved. With my sword still embedded in the man's skull, I twisted my body, swapping positions with him. At the same time,
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A loud clang echoed as spearheads struck chainmail.
“Shit!”
It was easy to see the shock on the faces of the soldiers who, in trying to stab me in the back, had instead run their dead comrade through.
I seized the opening and lunged at the soldier right next to me. The distance was incredibly short.
The enemy soldier took a step back and swung his spear hard, a threatening attack meant to push me back and create distance.
Why would I fall for such an obvious move? Instead, I ducked low and pressed forward. The spear shaft whistled over my head.
Having slipped past the soldier's armpit, I immediately twisted my body and swung my sword. The blade, propelled by the rotation, sliced through the back of the soldier's thigh, an area unprotected by his chainmail.
“Aargh!”
The soldier instinctively dropped to his knees.
I immediately wrapped my arm around his neck. My sword was so close to his throat that the base of the blade left a thin cut on his skin.
“Who wants to die next!”
The sudden hostage situation made the soldiers hesitate.
“Damn it. If I'd known this was going to happen, I would've worn my full gear…!” the hostage muttered. It seemed he owned a pair of chainmail leggings.
He probably hadn't worn them because, unlike the top which could just be thrown on, they were cumbersome and a burden to wear.
They had to be connected to a garter belt to support their weight at the waist, and they covered the feet, causing immense fatigue during patrols, which was their main duty.
So, once soldiers had some experience, they often skipped the leggings. It had probably been quite comfortable for him until now, but since the price was his life, he could hardly call it a gain.
“Regret always comes too late.”
“Shit…”
The hostage’s body tensed. He knew what the mayor would choose between his life and revenge for his son.
“Tsk.”
Having anticipated this, I immediately slit his throat. A fountain of blood erupted from his neck, spraying the faces of the opposing soldiers and painting them crimson.
“You—!”
“When you try to kill someone, you should be prepared to die yourself.”
I gave him no time to respond and immediately targeted my next victim. I slapped away the reflexively thrust spear with my sword, followed its path up, and slashed the soldier’s hand.
“Agh! My hand—!”
Because I was suppressing my strength, it was only a deep gash, but it was enough to make the soldier drop his spear and try to retreat.
Before he could, I cut his thigh. Remembering his comrade’s fate, he forced himself to stay upright, but it was useless. An unarmed soldier was nothing but prey.
Thrust.
My sword drove up under his chin.
“Gurgle…”
The soldier collapsed, gurgling on blood, a look of disbelief on his face. It was then that the mayor, who had stepped back to observe the situation, gave his order.
“You idiots! Use your swords!”
The long reach of a spear is effective against a stronger opponent, but on this confined dueling stage, it had actually become a disadvantage.
At the mayor's command, the soldiers dropped their spears and drew their arming swords and shields.
The shields were a particular problem. Though they were small, no bigger than pot lids, they were sufficient to defend their unarmored arms.
‘The mayor knows a thing or two about combat.’
Then again, it was rare for any man in this harsh world not to.
“Die!!”
A shield provides a psychological boost as well. Three soldiers, protecting one side with their shields, thrust their swords at me simultaneously.
However, it was clear they hadn't practiced coordinated attacks, as all three blades were aimed at my neck. I brought my sword up to the point where their three swords intersected.
“What—!”
Three swords were stopped by just one. No matter how hard the soldiers strained, my sword didn't budge.
And why would it? I had used the structurally strongest part of my sword, the base, to block the very tips of theirs.
“You don't even know the basics of swordsmanship.”
With a smirk, I twisted my sword and forcefully parried their blades. Then, moving in an arc, I repositioned myself so that the three soldiers, who had been in a horizontal line, were now in a vertical line from my perspective.
The moment the three soldiers in front of me were reduced to one, I swung my sword again.
“Gak.”
“Samuel!”
The soldier collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
Enraged by his comrade's death, another soldier charged me. But his sword never reached me. Mine, however, reached him.
I had used the roughly 10cm difference in length between an arming sword and a longsword.
It might seem like a small difference, but isn't it always the small details that separate life from death?
“Gurgle…”
My longsword lightly grazed his neck. The result was anything but light. The wound gaped open, and a fountain of blood erupted.
The soldier frantically dropped his sword and shield to clutch at his neck, but the bleeding showed no signs of stopping.
The third soldier, who had hesitated, also met his end on my blade. If he had just followed his comrade and charged, he might have lived a little longer.
I moved without rest, preventing them from surrounding me. At times, I used the bodies of the dead as obstacles to restrict the enemy's movement.
After two more fell, a wave of unease spread through the soldiers. I didn't miss the opening and cut down two more.
“Only half of you are left now.”
The twenty soldiers had been reduced to exactly ten. The remaining soldiers glanced at the mayor and began to inch backward.
“How can he be… without a single scratch…”
The dueling stage was piled high with corpses. The blood they shed had stained the platform crimson, but none of it was mine.
The mayor, who had been muttering in bewilderment, finally gritted his teeth and shouted.
“Don't fall back! That bastard is tired too!”
“Pant. Pant. I still have enough strength left to take your heads.”
In truth, I was only pretending to be tired. I'd been swinging my sword with minimal force, and besides, my high stamina stat meant I couldn't get tired even if I wanted to.
Despite the mayor's urging, the soldiers hesitated. Disobeying the mayor would land them in deep trouble, but that only mattered if they were alive.
A brief silence fell as the standoff continued.
Clap. Clap.
Baron Allanton, who had been watching with an intrigued expression, began to move. Instantly, all eyes turned to him.
“Mayor. That's enough, don't you think?”
“What…! This is a city matter!”
The once-imperious mayor now looked troubled. His power was great, but it was only valid within the city's walls.
The baron smirked.
“Then how many more citizens must be sacrificed for your personal revenge before you're satisfied? Besides, your revenge isn't even justified, is it?”
“…This is a matter for our city!”
He was saying that not even a baron had the right to interfere in the internal affairs of a city with autonomy.
The corner of the baron's mouth twitched, like a hunter who had just seen his long-awaited prey fall into a trap.
“Yes! The problem is autonomy! Unqualified fools stole that autonomy from me under the pretense of building a better city!”
That was a distorted version of the truth. The city had only managed to bring him to the negotiating table after a conflict that escalated to war and cost many lives.
Monju had gained its autonomy in those negotiations by paying an enormous sum.
The baron turned to the citizens and continued.
“And what is the result? The leader who should have led the city with fairness has defied the Lord's word and defended a sinner! As a result, several innocent citizens have lost their lives.”
He pointed to Hugo's wife, who was still weeping beside Casino's body.
“And is that all? By protecting a man who coveted another's wife, the social order has been thrown into disarray! Look! A woman who, far from being ashamed of having an affair with another man, comes before everyone to announce it to the world!”
He turned back to the mayor to conclude his speech.
“When the process is flawed, the result is likely to be flawed as well! You cannot deny that all these tragedies occurred because an unqualified man came to rule this city!”
“What are you trying to say!” the mayor shouted, gritting his teeth.
“It's simple. When there's a problem, it's human nature to fix it. But this city has made no effort to correct itself, despite the ample opportunities I have given it. Therefore, it is time to return everything to normal.”
“Are you saying… you're going to revoke our autonomy! Is that truly your intention!?”
“Booo—!”
The citizens, finally understanding the baron's intent, began to jeer.
“You have no shame! You bear responsibility as well! Was it not you who elected this mayor? And you had plenty of time to right this wrong during the eight trials by combat that took place!”
After openly mocking the citizens, the baron paused for a moment before continuing.
“But you did nothing.”
The mayor took a step forward.
“We paid a great price to obtain our autonomy! If you wish to take it back, then you must return the price we paid!”
The mayor was no pushover. He knew the greedy baron would never return the money, even if he had it.
‘In the end, the mayor was the one who won the last conflict over autonomy.’
I stepped forward just as Baron Allanton's face soured, frustrated that his well-laid plan was stalling.
“My lord Baron. May I say a word?”
Baron Allanton, in no mood for interruptions, looked displeased.
But I met his gaze directly and waited. He had no other options, and besides, didn't nobles enjoy these little unexpected turns?
In a world with few forms of entertainment, nobles who had experienced almost everything were always hungry for new diversions. This situation was just another example.
The baron composed his expression and said, “Who could say that the champion who enacted the Lord's will and justice is unqualified to speak! Furthermore, you are a party to this controversy…”
I offered a slight bow of thanks and faced the mayor.
“As the baron pointed out, you, Mayor, have committed countless sins. Yet you have used your power to avoid taking responsibility for any of them. You even ignored the result of a trial by combat, which the Lord himself witnessed.”
The mayor glared at me as if he wanted to kill me, but I ignored him and continued.
“The baron wishes to see justice restored in this land. The mayor will not admit to the sins he has committed. In a situation like this, there is only one way left.”
Baron Allanton, catching my intent, smiled.
“A duel, you mean?”
I nodded and pressed the mayor with my gaze. The mayor seemed to consider it for a moment before turning to his soldiers and shouting.
“Whoever steps forward as my champion, I will give his family enough wealth to live in luxury for three generations! This is a vow I make on my name, so do not doubt it!”
Unexpectedly, the mayor was trying to choose a champion from among his soldiers. He couldn't possibly think one man could succeed where twenty had failed.
‘Is he planning to lose?’
Perhaps he just needed to escape the current situation, no matter the outcome.
He still had a firm grip on the city, and he was a better politician than Baron Allanton. He probably thought he could recover later.
However…
“Well! Why is there no answer!”
No matter how the mayor urged them, not a single soldier stepped forward. He had lost their trust in this affair, and Baron Allanton's intervention had shattered his absolute authority.
‘It is not good that destroys evil, but a greater evil.’
The flustered mayor turned his head toward the citizens by the fence.
“I will make my champion my adopted son! I will bequeath everything I have built to him, so step forward now!”
He was so flustered that he was offering a meaningless reward for a position that was certain death.
Naturally, no one responded. Instead, having witnessed the mayor's weakness, they seemed to have made up their minds, sending him cold stares.
The mayor faltered and took a step back. The heat of the moment had finally subsided, and reality was sinking in.
I curled my lip into a smile and said, “How does it feel to be in the shoes of the one who stood opposite you?”