Chapter 5
Chapter 5
“Will you talk? Who ordered this?”
“Puh!”
As expected, there wasn’t even a single intention to cooperate.
“Well. I didn’t expect much anyway.”
Crack.
I loosened my fingers casually.
Then I walked toward the bald man who looked the most arrogant among the two.
“You really don’t plan to talk?”
“Hmph.”
He shrugged his shoulders arrogantly.
“Alright. Don’t regret it.”
“Kid. Torture isn’t something so ea—”
Crack!
“Ugh…!”
“Hmm? What did you say?”
I twisted his finger joints as he tried to talk nonsense, staring at him coldly.
“I was just surprised… ugh!”
Crack. Crack. Crack.
I kept breaking his fingers joint by joint, calmly and without pause, until he opened his mouth properly.
“Grrrgh…”
“You still don’t plan to talk?”
I shifted my gaze to his foot.
Since I had already broken his fingers, it was natural to move on to his toes next.
That was basic interrogation progression.
This is how you gradually build fear.
They watch their own body fall apart every time they refuse to speak.
No need for anything flashy like blades.
“W-wait…”
“What?”
“I’ll talk… just… wait…”
“Hey! You’re giving up just from that? Even if you die anyway, you should at least think about your employer first—”
Bang!!
“Ghk?!”
“Shut up. He’s talking.”
I punched the interrupting one in the head and turned back to the other.
“So. Start talking.”
“Our employer is… the Third—”
Stab!
A dagger flew into the back of his head before he could finish.
He died instantly.
The other assassin collapsed as well, already dead.
Looks like they came faster than expected.
The Third Prince’s hunting dogs.
These were elite assassins secretly raised by the Third Prince.
They eliminate anyone inconvenient for him, without hesitation or mercy.
“Bold move. Killing them while they’re being interrogated.”
I expected this.
And honestly, I wasn’t even targeting the assassins in the first place.
I was waiting for the hunters who would come after them.
What could these low-level pawns possibly know?
The real information would be with the hunting dogs… or the Third Prince himself.
“Be grateful you’re still alive, commoner. If you were my target, you would already be lying like them.”
“Hmm. Then I’ve made my decision.”
“I’ll capture you.”
He scoffed.
“Capture me? You? A top academy graduate? Don’t be ridiculous. Even if you reached intermediate aura, not all are the same—”
“Yeah. Not all are the same.”
“You’re also intermediate, aren’t you?”
He flinched.
So he finally noticed.
“Not bad. You’re not ordinary.”
“I’ve fought plenty like you before.”
He drew his sword.
Now he saw me as a serious threat.
If he didn’t kill me here, I would become a problem for his master, the Third Prince.
“Regret your arrogance in the afterlife.”
“Pretty sure that won’t happen.”
“You talk too much!”
Boom!
He kicked off the ground and lunged at me.
No aura on the blade.
He was trying to kill me silently so that aura detection wouldn’t alert others.
Fast.
I’ll admit that much.
Most knights wouldn’t react in time.
But I’ve dealt with faster before.
Mercenary work taught me that.
And my father’s friends used to train me in ways far worse than this.
So this level?
Child’s play.
Tap.
“…?!”
I caught his sword between my thumb, index, and middle finger.
“You’re too straightforward. This won’t even scratch me.”
“You bastard!”
He finally released aura.
If I hadn’t let go, my fingers would’ve been cut off.
“So you do use aura.”
“I’ll kill you quickly and escape.”
Now it’s a race against time.
For him.
“The longer I hold you, the worse it gets for you.”
“Damn you!”
Clang! Clang!
“Stop calling me ‘that bastard’. I do have a name, you know. Damian. My parents worked hard to give it to me.”
I casually blocked his attacks with aura.
My hand stung a bit.
He was around academy top-rank level, using aura properly.
Still—
Compared to real veterans, this was nothing.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
His attacks got faster.
So did mine.
But no matter how he changed angles or added feints, he couldn’t break through my defense.
And the more he fought, the more obvious his panic became.
Even through the mask, I could feel it.
Soon, his attacks became sloppy.
Only focused on killing blows.
That only made him weaker.
Inexperienced.
Plenty of real combat experience, but no true life-or-death battles.
Just a hunting dog raised safely inside the palace.
Of course he’s like this.
This isn’t a fight between equals.
It never was.
Grab. Bang!
I stepped inside his opening, grabbed his neck, and slammed him into the wall.
“Ghk…!”
“Captured. Finally. That was tiring.”
I exhaled.
I held back to keep him alive, so I was already sweating.
Kind of thirsty too.
Cold water would be perfect right now.
“Aura detected inside the palace! Move in!”
Crash! Bang!
Soon after, Imperial Knights rushed into the underground prison.
“What is going on here…?”
“Oh, seniors.”
“Wait… are you Sir Damian?”
“Yes.”
They looked confused at the scene but relaxed slightly after seeing me.
Until—
“Two Imperial Knights are dead… and that masked man?”
“I have reason to believe they were assassins disguised as knights assigned to protect Princess Yuria Rosehill. They were eliminated by this group.”
“Is that true, Sir Damian?!”
“Yes. These two in knight uniforms are assassins, and this one I captured appears to be their handler, likely sent to silence them after failure.”
“So you captured a witness along with eliminating the assassins?”
“That is correct.”
“But can we really trust that?”
One knight spoke up suspiciously.
“Are you suggesting Sir Damian staged this?”
“That’s not impossible. He only just arrived yesterday.”
“It is also true that aura was used.”
Suspicion was natural.
But—
“The Commander himself can confirm my identity.”
A voice cut in.
“Sir Damian is the son of Siegmund the Giant Slayer.”
“What?! Commander!”
He arrived.
With his confirmation, the tension eased immediately.
“I felt aura. Of course I came. Good work handling this situation so quickly.”
“It is my duty as a knight assigned to protect the princess.”
With the Commander’s backing, no one could question me further.
Only one knight still looked dissatisfied, but it didn’t matter.
“And the captured one?”
“I intend to interrogate him and trace the mastermind.”
“Good. Report everything to me.”
This was perfect.
With the Commander involved, I might actually be able to remove the Third Prince entirely.
Which means—
One major branch leading to the Crimson Empress route just got cut early.
◈
“So this is true?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Commander Jerome Krypton nodded before Emperor Persia Rosehill.
“Maximus… did this?”
A cold killing intent flashed in the Emperor’s eyes.
“And this was discovered by a newly recruited knight?”
“Yes. His name is Damian.”
“Reward him. What is his background?”
“Son of Siegmund the Giant Slayer.”
The Emperor turned sharply.
“That Siegmund?”
“Yes.”
“Ho… I never expected his son to join the Imperial Knights. A man who once rejected nobility so firmly…”
“He was always a man without greed.”
“I suppose I owe Siegmund a debt then.”
The Emperor chuckled softly.
“Arrange a meeting. I would like to see this Damian myself.”
“I will prepare it, Your Majesty.”
“Make sure the boy does not feel pressured.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”