Strength Against Strength, Power Against Power

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Translator: Ruby

 Chapter: 48

 Chapter Title: Strength Against Strength, Power Against Power

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Mordon's pupils shook.

"Why do you have that......I clearly heard you were an Inquisitor?......"

Oh ho. Did he come after doing some preliminary investigation?

Then it seemed he had appeared quite deliberately.

To crush me with force.

But if he was going to do background research, he should have done it properly, it seemed he had stopped halfway.

"I wonder why you thought I could only be one of the two."

"Th, that's because in all of history, no one......has held both positions simultaneously......"

"You're looking at it now. With your own eyes."

"......!"

Right.

There were always guys like this everywhere.

Whether it was strength or power, they used what they had to suppress and belittle others.

Guys who felt superiority, that is.

So rather, my very existence as a stronger person would be frustrating to him.

'But to think there were cancer-like bastards like this mixed in with the Seven Knights too.'

The end times, the end times.

Such words naturally came to mind.

Because guys like this were mixed in with the Seven Knights, even when the Great Invasion happened, they couldn't respond properly and collapsed so easily.

Even though they generously distributed authority to the Seven Knights, they were just playing power games.

The moment I was thinking how absurd it was.

Mordon rolled his legs backward to free his bent arm.

Then jumped backward, spun his whole body in a large circle, and launched his heel toward my head like a crack shot.

Whoong!

I was quite surprised that such an agile movement could come from that giant bulk.

With that clean movement, Mordon's twisted arm was freed, and I had no choice but to raise my arm to defend.

He had accomplished offense and defense in one move.

Even a rotten fish is still a fish.

Was this still the Seven Knights after all?

Thud.

The heavy impact felt on the arm I defended with.

'Even though my muscle strength was enhanced, it's still this much?'

There was no major damage, but the thought that this was a somewhat cheat-level physical ability crossed my mind.

If it weren't for the Phoenix Potion, this attack would have been fatal even to me.

It was too fast, so I blocked with my right arm instead of my left.

Fortunately, I had just leveled up one stage a moment ago, what incredible luck.

Now, since I had taken one hit, it was my turn.

I swung my left arm concisely, aiming for that guy's jaw.

With the thought of putting him to sleep in one hit.

Woong!

But Mordon surprised me once again.

He raised his arm again to defend against it.

Kwang!

Of course, I had no intention to kill either, so unlike with Horaik, I controlled my strength.

Mordon raised his right forearm for primary defense, and endured by supporting his right arm with his left arm.

'This, if I take it easy thinking I won't kill him......it'll take some time?'

In the worldview of Paogat, such humans occasionally existed.

When the blood of giants from the distant past was mixed in, or in the case of ancient bloodlines.

There were monsters whose basic physical strength itself was fantastical.

'Most player characters were guys like that though.'

It was natural since they had to be protagonists who could endure the demon apocalypse after the Great Invasion......

It seemed Mordon was also a descendant of such a bloodline.

The exchange of offense and defense, one each.

As the air rapidly became fierce, Mordon's adjutant and my adjutant Diaz intervened.

"Lord Mordon. No more than this."

"Lord Rohan. How about stopping around here?"

Mordon was in a low posture with his knee half-bent, looking up at me with a growling expression.

I looked down at him and smirked.

Though it was only one hit each, at least the victory and defeat in this place was clear.

I gave him a warning.

"If there's no valid reason, I'll continue the investigation Jephron was conducting."

"......It would be better if you didn't?"

"You're strangely obsessed?"

I narrowed my eyes and examined his expression.

"......"

At that, Mordon took a step back.

He stood up straight again and spoke.

"......I'll return for today. But I've clearly warned you. It would be good to keep it moderate."

And then, not showing his back until the end, he slowly backed out of Marco's laboratory.

***

Crack!

Having returned to his quarters, Mordon ground his teeth.

"I......I tucked my tail?......To that one scrawny bastard? Does this make any sense!"

The chair he kicked in anger flew to the wall.

Kwang!

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

It collided and shattered into pieces.

It was a scene that showed at a glance how tremendous that monstrous strength was.

Despite having such a strong body, right now his right arm was trembling and he could barely lift it.

When he looked at his arm in the mirror, the exact spot that was hit had a bruise so deep it was black rather than blue.

He had definitely raised his guard properly, and the opponent seemed to swing carelessly.

'And yet it's in this state......'

If this had really hit his jaw, it might not have been a knockout but his jaw flying off.

Enough to suspect whether he had been trying to kill him.

He couldn't believe it.

And he couldn't acknowledge it.

'If I had just used my authority......victory would have been mine!......'

He had not gone all out.

That was what Mordon thought.

Meanwhile, the holy knight assistant who stood by his side also found the scene he had witnessed earlier just as unbelievable.

He shook his head looking at the completely shattered chair pieces on the floor.

'How did he block that monster's strength?......'

Were all the Seven Knights originally like that?

He ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠couldn't know.

Originally, members of the Seven Knights weren't people you could easily encounter.

'If they're all like that, it would really be chilling. But that can't be......'

Mordon had once been evaluated as the strongest in terms of strength among the Seven Knights.

It couldn't be wrong since none other than Haint, the Archbishop of the holy land Straun, had said so.

He was the only person who knew all the members of the Seven Knights.

'I can't understand what's going on.'

In any case, despite that, Mordon's adjutant was inwardly pitying Rohan.

'Because strength isn't determined by power alone. Lord Mordon is never lacking in ruthlessness either. He touched the wrong person.'

Moreover, Mordon hadn't even used his authority yet.

It wasn't over yet.

Mordon was a ruthless human who had climbed all the way from the bottom to the Seven Knights from the beginning.

Of course, that absurd monstrous strength and durability were the foundation......

But aside from that, he was a Mordon who had never once shown a retreating appearance in any situation.

'Another person is going to die......'

And the prediction didn't miss.

Mordon turned around with eyes full of killing intent and shouted.

"Hey! Immediately send word to Count Soleon! That I'm coming to visit! I need to make a deal using the Immortal Order......"

"Understood, Lord Mordon."

Even as he answered, the adjutant clicked his bitter tongue.

***

I was sitting in my lodging, clicking my bitter tongue.

If it were up to me, I wanted to crush that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bastard Mordon's limbs right away so he could never hold a sword again.

Thinking what difference was there between demons and this bastard.

However, how could one live doing everything as one pleased?

But ironically, right now in my head I was tapping a calculator on how to cause trouble.

Also, guys like this needed to be dealt with to prevent recurrence.

'For all of humanity, I need to work hard.'

With a righteous heart.

'Let's see......what methods are there to legally smash this guy's head shoulders knees and toes knees and toes completely?......'

But as I was thinking such thoughts, I suddenly became curious.

'Why is this bastard so desperately blocking the search?'

It didn't make sense.

Logically, what reason could there be to block it?

And he didn't look like the kind of guy who would answer if asked......

'If it were me. If I were him, why would I have interfered with myself?'

I decided to reason from his position.

'If I were......Mordon, hmm......if someone was after what was already my prey, I'd be displeased.'

But a reason to capture the Immortal Order?

Seeing that he didn't announce it publicly, it wouldn't be an honorable reason.

'A way to gain profit by confining the Immortal Order. A way for the Seven Knights to gain profit......Ah!'

As I kept turning my head, one plausible speculation came to mind.

According to Diaz's words, he hadn't become one of the Seven Knights for free either.

'She said his performance was good. Especially against undead.'

But actually, before the Great Invasion, undead weren't that common.

Mordon had defeated quite a large number of those uncommon undead.

'It smells fishy. It smells......he deliberately tied up the Immortal Order and raised undead.'

If he used the Immortal Order that way, it was possible.

Additionally, items like the Immortal Order's claws had bonus effects against undead too.

'He could have advantageously raised his performance. However......this is still only circumstantial evidence.'

Rather than circumstantial evidence, accurate physical evidence was needed.

Something definite that couldn't be denied.

For now, I thought I should proceed with what I had to do while finding evidence.

I couldn't stop all my plans.

'Since the Immortal Order search has been resumed......then now how should I handle the Immortal Order's claws......'

As I was gauging the future situation.

Knock knock knock.

A knocking sound came.

And then a voice followed.

"Sir Rohan. Are you there? It's Jephron."

I walked out and opened the door.

But, it wasn't only Jephron who had come to find me.

"Have you been well? Sir Rohan."

"Knight Commander Vincent?"

Vincent, the knight commander of the Black Iron Knights who had fought together in the battle with Horaik, was standing behind Jephron.

Moreover, with his face deeply hidden by a robe.

It was obvious he had come hiding to avoid people's eyes.

But his expression wasn't very good either.

Since I wasn't a person without sense, I let both of them inside for now.

"Come in."

"Yes."

"Excuse us."

My room wasn't particularly spacious, so we roughly found suitable spots and sat down.

As soon as he sat, a sigh came from Knight Commander Vincent's mouth.

"Huuu......"

What?

What kind of matter is it......making people anxious.

He paused for a moment, then carefully opened his mouth.

"I apologize, Sir Rohan."

"An explanation would be nice."

"......Haven't you had an encounter with Lord Mordon recently?"

"That's right."

Of course I had.

It was just yesterday.

"Actually, that Lord Mordon visited my lord, Count Soleon."

"And so?"

"Count Soleon will soon officially request Sir Rohan to stop the search. Along with an eviction order asking you to leave the city. It will probably arrive by tomorrow already."

Knight Commander Vincent's face hardened seriously.

For me too, since it wasn't pleasant news to hear, my expression wasn't good.

"Does that person called Mordon have that much ability?"

"I didn't know either but......it seems quite a lot of bribes went to our lord. So, he could hardly refute......I'm ashamed, Sir Rohan."

"......"

I crossed my arms and leaned back against the chair.

'So this is how you're coming at me?'

Perhaps thinking I was quite upset, Jephron added words.

"Sir Rohan. Sir Vincent is a knight who has served Count Soleon his entire life. He's a person who came all the way here with internal information with only the heart to look out for Sir Rohan, so I hope you won't blame him too much......"

At that, I shook my head.

"I'm thinking of it gratefully."

At my words, Knight Commander Vincent's face improved even if slightly.

"Thank you for saying so."

"Not just in words. Thanks to you, a way to respond came to mind."

"......What? This quickly?"

"Strength against strength, power against power."

I nodded ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and looked at Jephron.

"Can you request a meeting with Count Gargent?"

"Huh, huk! D, do you have connections with that person?"

At that name, both Jephron and Knight Commander Vincent became surprised faces.

"To think even the Prime Minister would have an acquaintance with Sir Rohan......"

"I don't."

"......What? What? Wh, you don't?......"

At my answer, both their expressions filled with confusion.

It wasn't a lie.

I had no connections at all with Count Gargent.

Not yet, that is.

"Well......the Prime Minister, that person won't meet you at all unless there's a valid reason that would catch his interest. Even if I request a meeting in my name, it won't be different."

At that, I raised the corners of my mouth.

"He'll definitely come out. If you convey the words exactly as I'm saying now."

Unable to predict at all what words would come out, the two focused their gazes on my mouth.

I slowly recited the words to convey.

"There's a necklace that would be to the liking of young ladies these days."

"......?"

"What does that......"

The two still didn't know the meaning of those words.

But I was certain.

If these words were conveyed, Count Gargent would definitely come out.

Because what was subtly revealed in the original work......

'I already know......his weakness!'