Chapter 13 - The Banquet of Blades
The Banquet of Blades
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Translator: Dusky90
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: The Banquet of Blades
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"......!"
At Otto's words, the expressions of the Lota Territory’s knights, including Camille, turned grim.
‘Did I really just hear that?’
Camille couldn’t believe his ears.
But he hadn’t heard wrong.
“How about handing over your Lordship and leaving at this point? Surrender quietly. That’ll be easier for both of us.”
Otto said to Michael.
“Surrender...”
Michael responded, his face now icy cold, completely different from how he’d looked until now.
“You’re telling me to surrender? To someone like you, who isn’t even fit to be a Lord?”
At that moment.
Swoosh!
The knights of the Lota Territory, including Camille, sprang to their feet and drew their swords.
‘Is this why he told us to come in full armor?’
Only then did Camille realize the reason for the order.
“How did you know?”
But Michael—no, Condor—looked at Otto without flinching and asked him.
“There hasn’t been much interaction between my Ort and your Lota, has there? Did someone there knew my face?”
“What’s with you? We met all the time, didn’t we? Feels like it was hundreds of times.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Let’s just say... there’s something like that.”
Otto gave a bitter smile.
‘We met a lot. We sure did meet a lot.’
Condor, following Pizero and Nazrak, was one of the most troublesome villains early in the game.
He was also the final hurdle to overcome before gaining full combat power through awakening.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I have no memory of meeting you, Otto de Scuderia.”
“Yes, yes, of course you wouldn’t.”
“Insolent bastard.”
Condor rose from his seat.
“This will be the last time you and I ever cross paths.”
“Is that so?”
Otto turned to look at Camille.
“Camille! I choose you!”¹
".....?"
“I said I choose you?!”
“What exactly do you mean by that?”
“Ah! I’m telling you to fight him!”
“…Got it.”
Camille felt annoyed for some reason, but for now, he stepped toward Condor.
“Camille. I’ve heard you're too good to be stuck in the Lota Territory. Rather than suffering under that fool, how about becoming my vassal?”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
Camille swung his sword at Condor.
“Not so fast.”
Condor pulled out the sword he’d hidden beneath the table and confronted Camille.
And at that moment, a fight erupted in the banquet hall.
The Orth Territory’s officials and attendants who had attended the banquet suddenly drew their weapons and launched an attack on Otto’s group.
* * *
A battle that broke out suddenly.
Otto, without panicking, watched the situation while being protected by the knights.
“Waaaaaaah!”
“The Lord is in danger! Take control of the banquet hall!”
“Cut them all down!”
The Lota Territory’s knights who had been on standby.
And the carefully selected elite soldiers of the Lota Territory stormed into the banquet hall to subdue Condor’s group.
‘It’s not like this is my first time getting ambushed.’
Condor was notorious for deceiving players in countless ways and leading them into traps.
Ambushing the player during a banquet was one of his well-known tactics.
That’s why Otto had shown up to the banquet in full armor from the beginning.
He’d also made sure his knights and elite forces were standing by ahead of time.
He had suffered countless meaningless deaths at Condor’s hands before, so he’d taken precautions in advance.
“You’re even more impressive than the rumors said.”
“Shut up.”
“Your skills are definitely wasted in Lota.”
“Only Lota is worthy of having me.”
Meanwhile, Camille and Condor traded barbed words while locked in a fierce, close-quarters battle.
However, Condor clearly held the upper hand in strength.
As time passed, Condor began to overwhelm Camille.
“Sir Camille!”
“Watch out!”
In the end, the knights of Lota, unable to just watch any longer, were forced to step in and strike at Condor.
‘He can’t be taken down by brute strength. No way.’
Otto watched the fight while keeping track of the time.
‘He’ll make a run for it at the 5-minute mark. It’s been 4 minutes and 30 seconds. Just 30 more seconds…’
Exactly thirty seconds after that.
“Regrettable, but…!”
Condor gave a powerful swing of his sword, forcing Camille and the knights back.
“I’ll see you next time.”
With that, Condor launched himself toward the window.
Crash!
The window shattered into pieces, and Condor vanished without a trace.
“Let him go.”
Otto called out to Camille, who was about to chase after Condor.
“But…”
“Chasing him would be too dangerous.”
Otto tried to console Camille, who looked regretful.
“That’s likely another one of his traps.”
“Understood.”
“You did well.”
Otto patted Camille on the shoulder and gave him encouragement.
“You weren’t at your best. Don’t take it too personally.”
“I know.”
Camille nodded in response.
“But it’s also true that he’s much stronger than me.”
“True enough.”
“So… what do we do with them?”
Camille pointed to the subdued people of the Orth Territory and asked.
“There’s no reason to kill them. Just throw them in prison.”
“These are the ones who tried to kill the Lord.”
“I know.”
“They deserve to be executed.”
“I know.”
“But you’re still choosing to be merciful?”
“Do I look like I’m being merciful?”
Flinch!
Camille was taken aback by the chilling look on Otto’s face.
“Killing them would only increase resentment. Condor is probably hoping I’ll kill them.”
“So that’s… what this is about.”
“Killing them would only play right into Condor’s hands. And besides…”
Otto added.
“No need to go out of our way to hunt them down and kill them.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I told you. When people start making irrational moves, they’re bound to become pathetic.”
“So you're planning to force Condor into making a desperate mistake?”
“That’s right.”
Otto nodded in agreement.
“What we need to do isn’t kill Condor. It’s to lead him into doing something that makes him lose the people’s support.”
“Ah…!”
Camille let out a truly sincere sound of admiration.
Because he never imagined, not even in his dreams, that Otto had thought things through to that extent.
“When a person is cornered, they’re bound to make irrational moves. We just have to wait until then. It might be a bit bothersome, but I’ve got everything figured out, so don’t worry too much.”
“Understood.”
Right then, a notification popped up before Otto’s eyes.
[Notification: Camille’s feelings have changed!]
[Notification: Camille’s affection toward you has changed from 'Pity' to 'Expectation'!]
The more Otto demonstrated his skills, the more Camille’s favorability steadily increased.
* * *
Meanwhile, after a successful escape, Condor made his way deep into the mountains and regrouped with his main forces.
There, the Orth Territory’s knights and 500 soldiers had set up camp and were waiting for him.
“Unfortunately, the assassination didn’t go as planned.”
Condor gathered the knights and spoke.
“Otto de Scuderia. He’s very different from what I’d heard.”
“Is that so?”
Allen, Condor’s most trusted knight, asked with a hint of surprise.
“What was he like that caused Your Lordship to fail the operation?”
“It was like he knew about the whole operation in advance.”
“Otto… that infamous scoundrel did that?”
“Seems like rumors can’t be trusted after all. He wasn’t so much a notorious scoundrel as he was more like a seasoned swindler.”
As he said that, Condor ordered strong liquor and bandages to be brought so he could tend to his wounds.
Even someone like Condor couldn’t avoid getting at least minor scratches during the fierce battle at the banquet.
“Grrk… So much for the easy assassination… we’ll move on to the next phase.”
“I’ll get everything ready right away.”
Condor had prepared various plans to take back his territory.
In short, the clash between Otto and Condor was just getting started.
* * *
A few days passed after that.
“Camille.”
“Yes.”
“Condor’s men might try sneaking in at night, so keep a sharp eye on this secret passage.”
“Understood.”
Camille didn’t ask how Otto had found out the location of the secret passage.
Because he knew Otto would just brush it off as a 'trade secret' and not explain anything anyway.
That night.
“Move quietly. Infiltrate quickly, eliminate Otto de Scuderia, and incite the territory’s people to riot. Understood?”
“Yes! My lord!”
Condor tried to sneak into the Orth Territory through the secret passage, bringing his knights and soldiers with him.
But suddenly.
“They’re here! The enemy’s here!”
“It’s Condor! Don’t let him get away!”
Right after they emerged from the secret passage, the Lota Territory’s army ambushed Condor and his forces.
It was almost like they knew Condor’s group would strike tonight…
“Retreat! Retreat! Fall back quickly!”
In the end, Condor couldn’t even enter the Orth Territory and had to flee in haste.
“Not bad at running away.”
Standing atop the castle walls, Otto smiled as he watched Condor’s forces flee.
“Condor’s combat power is so great that the enemy didn’t suffer heavy losses.”
“Doesn’t matter. Causing damage isn’t the goal.”
Otto shrugged his shoulders.
“The night wind is cold. Let’s go inside. It should be quiet for a few days.”
“Yes.”
Several more days passed after that.
“They said the merchant caravan wants to stay here for a short time. We’ve confirmed they regularly travel this path.”
Camille reported to Otto.
“Oh, that? That’s Condor and his men.”
“Huh?”
“The merchants are all actually knights from the Orth Territory, and there are soldiers hiding in the wagons too. Round them all up and throw them in prison.”
“Got it.”
Camille went along with Otto’s orders, choosing to trust him for the time being.
As a result.
“Let me go! You damn Lota bastards!”
“Arrghhh!”
Otto’s guess had been right.
It turned out that all roughly 50 members of the merchant caravan were actually knights and soldiers from the Orth Territory.
“What?!”
Condor was furious upon receiving the report that the operation had failed again.
“Damn it! Immediately make the territory’s people start a riot!”
However, that operation ended in failure too.
“M-My lord… The ones meant to stir up the locals… have all been forcibly drafted into the Lota army and sent off to fight monsters in the northern mountains.”
“What…?”
Condor found it hard to believe the report.
The identity of the people who were supposed to incite the territory’s residents was a secret known only to Condor and his loyal knight Allen.
Yet only they were the ones forcibly drafted into the Lota army?
Something felt off.
Condor had the feeling that Otto could see right through his thoughts.
And the conclusion drawn from that feeling was none other than [Suspicion].
“Allen! Where is Allen?!”
Condor immediately summoned Allen.
“Yes, my lord. You called for me?”
“I trusted you, Damn it.”
“Sir? I don’t understand what you mean all of a sudden…”
“You were the only one, aside from me, who knew the details of the plan.”
“N-No, my Lord! I swear, I’ve never betrayed you…”
“You filthy traitor!”
“Gahk!”
Condor’s blade swung down, severing Allen’s neck in a single stroke.
Because of his suspicion, he ended up personally cutting down the knight he trusted the most, the one most loyal to him.
“Everyone… Hear me…”
Furious, Condor lifted Allen’s severed head, his eyes burning with rage, and issued a chilling warning to his men.
Completely unaware that he had made the wrong call and unjustly cut down Allen.
“Anyone who betrays their Kingdom… will meet a wretched end like this… Do you all understand?!”
“Yes! My lord!”
Condor’s men trembled with fear at the brutal and merciless sight before them.
‘Otto de Scuderia, that scheming bastard… he’s probably full of himself right now… but things will change from here on… now that I’ve purged the traitor in our midst… you won’t be a match for me anymore.’
Condor ground his teeth in frustration at the thought of Otto’s face.
Unaware that he was being toyed with in the very antlion trap Otto had set, sinking further into his own downfall…
** ** **
TL/N:
1. Pokemon Ref.