Chapter 208
Chapter 208
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 207. The Final Weapon (2)
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Today.
The Rustium Arena hosted a tournament to select the Empire's Greatest Swordsman.
And exceptional talents took the stage, putting on dazzling displays in the arena.
But those matches were soon all forgotten.
Because...
"No way..."
One man had crushed all the Black Knights as if smashing through a dojo.
"An unbelievable event has unfolded!!"
The referee's voice echoed through the circular arena.
As if commentating the finals, he shouted with more passion than ever before.
"Defender Knight Veil is pressuring Black Knights Captain Lin with overwhelming momentum!!"
The crowd went wild at the sight of the Black Knights—unofficially the Empire's top fighting force—being pushed back.
However, the Emperor still gazed down at the Black Knights Captain with a disinterested look.
*How strange, Leon.*
No matter how displeased he'd been with his son's conduct lately, he was still the Empire's leading heir.
Seeing him crumble so easily wasn't a good look for the nation.
*He's holding out better than the former captains, sure, but it's not honorable—it's just pitiful.*
Gilbert and Liam had put up a fine fight.
But that was merely my consideration.
Former captains I'd clashed with before.
As their junior, I'd guided them to the end with as much honor as possible.
"No way... You were holding back against Liam and Gilbert too...?"
But this fake captain in front of me was different.
Even after my final act of mercy, the Crown Prince had tried to deceive me.
He must have thought we could end in a draw and call it even.
He wanted to hide their last 'weapon.'
But.
*No, that's not going to happen.*
Today, I would expose all the rot in your hearts.
In front of everyone.
――――――.
I raised Irina's longsword with one hand.
Then, twisting my shoulders fully, I brought it down hard.
Toward the fake captain's neck.
"...!!"
He raised his blade to block the incoming strike.
But the moment they clashed.
Chaaang―――!!
The shock twisted his wrist, making his lips tremble.
"What strength...!"
He'd certainly cut down plenty of foes on the battlefield.
Over four hundred fifty kills, no less.
But none of them had ever unleashed monstrous power like this.
*Clench those teeth tight.*
I pressed forward with the locked blades, stepping in with my lead foot.
His sword let out a shrill scream.
*Your mana might slip out by accident.*
"Grk...!!"
He staggered wildly, pushed back by my force.
In that gap, I spun in a circle while shoving.
Then swung the longsword to slash his chest.
――――――.
His dress shirt tore in half.
Yet even then, he didn't defend with black mana.
As if he had no fear of death.
"Hoo..."
He barely avoided a fatal wound and staggered back to create distance.
Panting like a beast, he glared at me.
"How many men did you have to kill to gain that kind of power?"
He measured strength by the body count.
He was that accustomed to slaughter.
*You judge power by the lives you've taken?*
"Of course. Nothing more precise than that..."
The fake captain wiped his face with the back of his hand.
Then he raised his greatsword again, his trembling lips curling into a sneer.
"And I'm dying to know how much stronger I'll get after killing you!!"
He charged at me, madness keeping his shaky legs moving.
His mental fortitude made it clear why Leon had sent him out.
Even if he wasn't true captain-level in skill.
However.
That was all he had.
*Fine. Let me show you the difference in weight between your blade and mine.*
A duel can't be won on willpower alone.
You need the skill to match it.
――――――.
I thrust my sword toward the sky.
Then, I concentrated the white aura flowing through my body at the tip.
White streams gathered in the air, emitting a menacing glow.
The crowd and the Emperor watched the bizarre sight in stunned silence.
*Veil's made up his mind.*
The Emperor watched fondly, as if seeing his younger self.
Then he spoke to his son beside him in a mocking tone.
*Leon. I get why you'd hide your ace and try to solidify your position.*
“...”
The Crown Prince closed his golden eyelids at his father's words.
He took a deep breath, composing himself coldly.
*If you send out the real captain now and lose, your claim to the throne crumbles.*
"Father... This is completely unforeseen. Who could've predicted a guy like that would show up?"
Leon's blue eyes flashed.
He glared murderously at me—the man who'd tricked him into buying mithril, ruined his weapons, and swept through his Black Knights.
*Then you shouldn't have given anyone reason to suspect you.*
Leonhardt pierced his son with a meaningful gaze.
Leon countered with the lazy look he'd inherited from Rozanna.
"Suspect me? I have no idea what you're talking about."
Father and son turned to the arena together.
They witnessed the long sword gathering aura, morphing into a mace.
*That boy will make it clear soon enough.*
Like divine judgment, the mace plummeted toward the fake captain's head.
The moment that intense light crashed into his jagged longsword.
Kwaaang―――!!
A thick cloud of smoke billowed up in the arena.
Dense enough to obscure all vision.
When it finally cleared.
The crowd's eyes bulged.
They couldn't close their gaping mouths at the unprecedented sight.
――――――.
The arena floor, paved with flat, sturdy granite tiles.
Right in the center, it had caved in.
Not just a slight dip.
The ground had collapsed completely, as if struck by a meteor.
In the deep crater lay the fake captain's body, embedded like a gravestone.
He lay motionless, seemingly unconscious.
“...”
But his mana hadn't faded.
Even unconscious, his body instinctively leaked it out.
*Tenacious.*
The Black Knights had done so much filth; no sane man could survive it.
That's why he could spew mana like this without realizing, surrendered to madness.
I withdrew the aura from my sword.
Then, I started down the slope to snuff out his mana myself.
But before I could.
Someone faster than me intervened from behind.
――――――.
A woman I'd never seen before.
Dressed in a black uniform, she approached the fake captain, long hair flowing.
She groped his nape with her rough, bandaged hand.
“...”
Her fingers were shredded—hardly fit for a woman's touch.
But the moment they met his skin.
"Hngh..."
Finally, the blue-black mana pouring from his body extinguished.
"Rest easy."
The Black Knight made their special hand sign, snapping her fingers.
She waved lightly, summoning the medics to carry him out.
――――.
The medics rushed into the arena.
They hesitated at the deep crater, then slid down like a playground slide.
Grunting, they hauled the unconscious man up the incline.
"Sorry about that, Sir Veil."
Calm, low voice.
A far cry from the excited man who'd watched me earlier.
"Risto was my second-in-command. He led the Black Knights' vanguard."
*Vanguard... That explains the toughness.*
She bowed her head slowly at my offhand remark.
Expressing gratitude for saving her subordinate.
"I'm the Lin you've been looking for—the current Black Knights Captain."
She looked up, revealing a bandage-wrapped forehead.
Dark circles under her eyes, chapped lips with sores.
*She really was injured...*
I stared at the uniformed woman.
Her black eyes, unfocused like mine.
She felt familiar, like someone who'd fought deathmatches on the battlefield hundreds of times.
"The Crown Prince ordered me not to fight no matter what, but I had to protect my man."
A rapier hung at her waist, similar length to mine. Clearly standard-issue, nothing fancy.
But seeing it, I realized.
*This one's the real deal.*
On the battlefield, even famed blades wear out and break.
So soldiers use cheap gear and loot enemies' weapons to keep fighting.
"Pardon me a moment."
Lin turned.
In an instant, she climbed out of the crater and shouted toward the VIP seats.
"My apologies, Your Majesty. I am the current head of the Black Knights—Lin Canary."
I looked up at her retreating back.
Black hair gently draping her hips.
Her figure was sleek and beautiful, like a statue of the goddess of war.
*Camilla after ten years of training would look just like that.*
*Strange. I was told the captain who just got carried off was the one.*
The Emperor eyed the captain coldly.
*Does that mean you and the Crown Prince lied to Us?*
Any other woman in her early twenties would freeze under that gaze.
But her black eyes blinked calmly.
"No, Your Majesty. If you'll give me the chance, I'll explain fully."
She was different from the Black Knights and Crown Prince's cronies I'd met.
Lin, black hair covering one eye, requested softly and earnestly.
The Emperor realized she stood apart from the other Black Knights.
*Speak.*
"The Crown Prince hid me because I'm injured and couldn't fight."
Lin swept back her bangs before the crowd.
Revealing a bloodstained bandage.
"My god... It does look serious..."
Rozanna, back in the VIP seats.
She covered her mouth, pitying her in a mournful voice.
"Leon. What have you been doing while your knight order's captain ended up like that?"
The Empire's First Consort scolded her son.
The Crown Prince stared at his mother, momentarily dumbfounded.
Then he nodded, grasping her intent.
"My apologies... The clashes with the southern city-states were so fierce..."
The crowd murmured at the blood-soaked bandage.
Plus the heavy dark circles under her eyes.
She clearly wasn't in peak condition.
"By tradition, when a captain can't fulfill their duties, the second-in-command steps in."
Lin looked up at the Emperor matter-of-factly.
"That's why former captains Gilbert and Liam fought. When they fell, vanguard leader Risto stepped up."
The black-haired captain bowed calmly.
Then sought the Emperor's permission.
"Thus, the Crown Prince followed procedure by sending Risto."
No deception in her words.
Just the bare minimum to defuse the situation.
"However, the nuance that Risto was the captain from the start was indeed a mistake."
She boldly pointed out her master's fault to persuade the Emperor.
"I'd appreciate it if you'd overlook it as a slip from fearing I'd seem to dodge the challenge by citing injury."
Lin raised her head.
Her single visible black eye burned with resolve.
"Instead, as atonement, I pledge to burn my body and deliver a duel worthy of the Black Knights' honor."
She seamlessly volunteered herself while covering for the Crown Prince's lie.
Obvious intent, but the Emperor didn't seem to dislike her.
Youthful face hard to believe as a captain, sincere eyes.
Plain attire relying on skill, no luxuries.
Seeing her, the Emperor and I thought the same.
*Finally, a knight worthy of the title.*
His Majesty glanced at the Crown Prince.
Then sighed deeply.
*Today, your loyal subordinate saved your life, Leon.*
He extended his massive hand.
Pointing at me, standing tall above the crater.
*Sir Veil, what are your thoughts?*
The Emperor's gaze was deeply displeased.
The real captain had finally appeared.
But injured, however slightly.
If I won now, it might not count as fair.
If I lost to an injured Lin?
That was a problem too.
It'd proclaim to all that I couldn't beat her even wounded.
Either way, Leon benefited.
*...*
I glanced at Lin.
Her eyes were strikingly beautiful.
On a different path, she could've been a charming noble lady living happily.
But her pupils, soaked in life-or-death slaughter like mine, had lost their light.
I felt an inexplicable kinship.
*Tricky. I don't fancy fighting the injured either.*
"No need to worry, Sir Veil. Even with one eye, I'm plenty strong."
She'd already analyzed my skills from the referee's seat.
She told me coldly.
"Yes... Quite the dilemma."
A smile finally crept across Leon's stiff lips, seeing his lifeline.
"Win or lose, it won't be a fair fight."
"Lin's prepared well."
Rozanna smiled sensually, satisfied.
*...*
Her left eye bandaged.
Right arm in a splint.
Yet she gripped her rapier, enduring the pain.
"I'm ready."
And that rapier—its edge was honed razor-sharp.
The arena felt like a battlefield.
*What will you do, Veil Mikhail?*
The Emperor asked me flatly.
His face resembled a god delivering trials.
"I'll accept the duel."
As I agreed to the final bout, murmurs rose from the stands.
"But Captain Lin's injured... Is it okay to proceed...?"
"Even if Sir Veil's fought four straight matches..."
I smiled at the crowd's concerns.
Captain Lin scowled, her brows furrowing.
*Here's the deal.*
Because...
I loosened my necktie and wrapped it tightly over one eye.
*For fairness, I'll cover one eye too.*
Then I gripped my two-handed sword with one hand.
The other went into my back pocket.
*And seal one hand.*
Her gaze chilled as I imposed more handicaps.
*If my hand slips out, I'll forfeit.*
"W-What...?"
The Crown Prince furrowed his brow at the unexpected proposal.
But someone was more outraged.
"Are you mocking me, Sir Veil?"
Captain Lin, who'd eyed me like a cold predator.
Humiliation reddened her nose.
A faint flush of life returned to her pale skin.
*Why? I'm making it fair.*
Lin and the Crown Prince's faces iced over at my cheeky tone.
Leon, especially hard-hit, gnashed his teeth like a male lion.
"That bastard..."
*Oh, should I use this sword too?*
I picked up the fake captain's snapped blade from the ground.
Smiling sweetly at the farce's ringleader, I waved it.
*Easier to wield one-handed since it's lighter.*
Thoroughly punishing the injury ploy.