Chapter 436: Duel (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 436: Duel (2)
“...What the hell is with that idiot?”
Marquis Kailix muttered under his breath as he watched Kang Hyun-woo, who had appeared out of nowhere to demand a duel.
Single Combat.
It was a form of duel where knights fought one-on-one on the battlefield to boost their army's morale or to prevent unnecessary losses.
But in a situation like this, where one side had a clear advantage, there was no reason to accept.
Although the Eustaff Empire had suddenly withdrawn, it was actually a good thing for Marquis Kailix.
He had long since seen through their intention to exert influence over the Orsia Duchy—no, the Orsia Empire—and make him a puppet emperor.
For them to walk away on their own accord under such circumstances was the best possible outcome for the marquis.
“Tell the archers to turn that bastard into a porcupine right now.”
“Y-You can't!”
“Hm?”
At Marquis Kailix's command, his advisor, Viscount Lias, hurriedly stepped forward.
“What do you mean, I can't?”
“This is an opportunity!”
“An opportunity?”
Marquis Kailix frowned, displeased by Viscount Lias's audacity in obstructing his command.
Seeing this, Viscount Lias swallowed nervously.
He knew that a single slip of the tongue here would completely block any path to future advancement.
“...The conscript army's morale has hit rock bottom after last night's raid. If a battle breaks out in this state, it's obvious we'll suffer unnecessary losses. Not only would that lead to massive casualties in the subsequent siege, but it could also delay the entire war. However, if we win this duel, we can boost their morale in an instant.”
“And if we happen to lose? How do you plan to take responsibility then?”
“We can use our winning card.”
“...Our winning card?”
Viscount Lias's lips curled into a smile.
“Do you not recall the adventurer you recruited a few months ago, Your Lordship?”
“Hmm...”
At those words, Marquis Kailix seemed to ponder for a moment before slowly nodding.
“Not bad. Go and bring Drake.”
“Yes, sir!”
In truth, it didn't matter to Marquis Kailix whether the conscripts lived or died.
He had brought them along to use as meat shields on the front lines in place of his elite soldiers.
However, the duel itself held a certain interest for him.
The Noble Faction was currently in a state of some confusion. A large number of nobles from the Neutral Faction had joined them, creating a situation where everyone was wary of each other, trying to solidify their own positions.
In such a climate, there was no guarantee that some scoundrels wouldn't try to usurp his position.
Therefore, using this duel to display his military might was by no means a bad choice.
Furthermore, he needed to send a warning to the nobles, as he planned to weaken their power and elevate the authority of the imperial family after ascending the throne.
“You summoned me, Lord Marquis Kailix.”
Marquis Kailix looked at the man entering the tent.
He had coppery skin that looked as if it had been forged in fire, a massive frame that one had to crane their neck to look up at, and an oppressive presence like that of a high-level magical beast.
His name was Drake Uldran.
A warrior from the northern barbarian tribe, the Esteban.
He was originally a Star-Silver rank adventurer active in the Oselan Water Kingdom and the Tiselvania Federation, and was also widely known as one of the Continent's Top 10.
“Cut off the head of that insolent fool and bring me victory.”
“Can I do as I please with the rest of the body?”
“To break the enemy's morale, mince him as finely as possible and throw him to the beasts as feed.”
The moment Marquis Kailix's order was given, Drake's demeanor changed completely.
The absurdly thick killing intent leaking from him made the soldiers, excluding the marquis, turn pale.
“I will obey.”
*
The only reason Kang Hyun-woo, who never usually wore armor, had challenged the rebel army to a duel was because of the Grand Duke's request.
It went without saying that the vast majority of the rebel army was composed of men in their late teens to mid-forties.
In this world, men of that age group represented a labor force that women could not replace.
For the duchy, where people were starving to death in various territories due to a severe drought, they were an indispensable and precious resource.
Fortunately, using Lavinia's memories, he had succeeded in finding and removing the artifact Malefis had used to cause the drought. However, an immense amount of manpower was needed to deal with the nationwide food shortage and restore the territories devastated by war.
Desperate for any help they could get, the Grand Duke had indicated a policy to secure manpower by reducing sentences or replacing imprisonment with penal servitude for those who had joined the rebellion, depending on the severity of their crimes.
The problem was that a direct clash between the duchy's army and the rebels would result in at least tens of thousands of casualties.
If that happened, the duchy would suffer an enormous loss.
Thus, they needed a realistic way to secure manpower while avoiding a reckless frontal assault, and that method was a duel.
Of course, winning a duel wouldn't end the war, but it would at least break the enemy's morale.
The Grand Duke had judged that this would allow them to secure the enemy's surrender with relatively few casualties.
'...But why is he making me do it?'
Kang Hyun-woo sighed, lowering his helmet's visor.
He had resolved to end the war quickly, but he hadn't meant by stepping onto the front lines like this.
His plan had been to infiltrate the enemy's rear once the battle started and identify the rebel leaders.
But before he left the mansion, a secret letter from the Grand Duke had thrown his plans into disarray from the very beginning.
The letter contained the absurd request for him to fight in a duel and break the enemy's morale.
Naturally, he had intended to refuse at first.
However, after seeing the sentence at the end of the letter—'My wife, who passed on before me, was a soft-hearted woman'—he found he couldn't bring himself to refuse.
It was a clear implication that Amelia would be sad if too many people died needlessly.
“Hoo... If he wasn't my father-in-law.”
In truth, the Grand Duke hadn't wanted to ask Kang Hyun-woo either.
Why would he do something that would earn the resentment of his only daughter?
But the duchy's army was not in a position to be picky.
With many of their best knights having fallen in the war, they had no suitable talent to put forward. Moreover, Baron Bipolun, who could be considered their winning card, couldn't leave his post as the Grand Duke's guard.
Besides, Count Alestro was the commander-in-chief of the duchy's army.
By process of elimination, only Kang Hyun-woo was left.
However, he had no intention of sending his future son-in-law to his death.
Though their acquaintance was brief, the Grand Duke was certain.
No matter who the opponent was, Kang Hyun-woo would not lose.
Fwoosh!!
At that moment, an immense wave of killing intent poured out from the rebel side, directed at Kang Hyun-woo.
It was a blatant provocation.
“Took you long enough to show up, and you make such a noisy entrance.”
Pat, pat.
Kang Hyun-woo brushed the dust off his shoulder and raised his sword.
The full plate armor, which he was wearing for the first time, was cumbersome, but he liked the design enough that the discomfort was tolerable.
Kang Hyun-woo watched the man approaching in the distance with an intrigued expression.
He seemed even larger than Dermier.
'Coppery skin, a giant axe held in both hands, tattoos covering his entire body... Could he be an Esteban?'
He remembered hearing about them from Sylvia once.
The Esteban, the northern barbarian tribe known as the continent's strongest warrior race.
Before the Eustaff Empire unified the north, they were one of the most powerful forces there.
But now they had been subjugated by the empire and were said to be sold off as combat slaves across the continent.
In fact, Kang Hyun-woo had fought an Esteban warrior before, in Wavel's underground auction house.
'His name was Fredegard Kubel, I'm sure of it.'
He suddenly remembered the token he had received from him.
He'd said his tribe would welcome him if he showed them the token, but this didn't seem like the right time or place to try.
Besides, he had no intention of joining hands with the Esteban.
While Kang Hyun-woo was momentarily lost in thought, Drake had already closed the distance between them.
He looked down at Kang Hyun-woo and twisted his lips into a smirk. It was a clear sneer.
“You're small.”
“And you're ridiculously huge.”
“Any last words before you die?”
Kang Hyun-woo raised his middle finger at Drake.
Drake had no way of knowing what it meant, but he could tell from Kang Hyun-woo's gaze alone that it was an insult.
“Kuhahaha!!!”
As Drake let out a booming laugh, soldiers hundreds of meters away clutched their heads, complaining of headaches.
“Fiery. Like a true warrior. I am Drake Uldran. And you?”
“Kang Hyun-woo.”
“Hmm... A unique name.”
Drake Uldran.
Kang Hyun-woo knew that name.
One of the Continent's Top 10, and a Star-Silver rank adventurer, of which there were fewer than five on the entire continent.
Of course, being one of the Continent's Top 10 didn't mean they were the strongest on the continent.
It was just a nickname given by enthusiasts. As proof, neither Baron Bipolun nor Dermier were included in the current Top 10.
“Hmph!!”
Drake swung his axe at Kang Hyun-woo.
There was no warning.
CRRRRAAASH!!!
Kang Hyun-woo, who had dodged the attack using Formless Step, glanced at the ravaged surroundings.
He hadn't even used aura, yet the power was simply absurd.
Drake smiled with interest, seeing Kang Hyun-woo effortlessly dodge his surprise attack.
“You're not going to call that cowardly, are you?”
“Of course not.”
-!!!
“?!”
In that instant, Drake's eyes widened at the killing intent erupting from Kang Hyun-woo. He had never felt an aura this intense, not even in his own tribe.
With the exception of one person.
A typical knight would have been terrified into retreating or would have already surrendered.
But Drake was different.
Rumble-!!
The tattoos covering his body began to glow red, and a formidable fighting spirit started to boil up from within him.
The Esteban, the continent's strongest warrior tribe.
They were warriors born for endless struggle.
The blood-soaked battlefield was their home, and life-or-death battles were the only way they could prove their existence.
RUMBLE!!!
A red Aura Blade formed over Drake's axe. The sight brought back memories of the previous night's battle to Kang Hyun-woo's mind.
Immediately after, Drake charged.
BOOOOM-!!!
A small crater was carved into the spot where his axe struck. But Kang Hyun-woo was already gone.
“I won't let you escape!!”
Drake immediately gave chase.
A relentless barrage of attacks, too fast to follow with the eyes, rained down on Kang Hyun-woo. It was an agile movement that belied his massive frame.
Whoosh!!
A death line was drawn along the red trajectory.
Seeing Kang Hyun-woo constantly dodging without even attempting to counterattack, the soldiers on both sides had starkly different reactions.
“Barbarian!! Kill him already!!”
“A duel with those skills? Just die already!!”
“Hahaha!! Did he become a knight with his running skills?”
Amidst the rebels' jeers, a satisfied smile spread across Marquis Kailix's face.
He had spent hundreds of gold coins to recruit Drake. And yet, the man was an insolent bastard who showed not an ounce of respect for him, his lord.
But watching him overwhelm the enemy knight, he couldn't help but feel that the hefty investment had been worthwhile.
“Die!!”
Drake roared and swung his axe with all his might. The formidable power created a gust of wind.
But once again, it failed to even graze Kang Hyun-woo's armor.
Despite the cheers erupting around him, a look of bewilderment began to spread across Drake's face.
'W-What in the world...?'
Kang Hyun-woo's movements weren't particularly fast.
And yet, all of Drake's attacks missed by a paper-thin margin. It wasn't as if he was getting lucky, either.
The gaze from behind the helmet was fixed on the tip of the axe the entire time.
'...Is he reading all my moves?'
Grit-
Drake couldn't accept it.
Some knight from the south, not even the north, was completely outclassing him?
As a proud Esteban warrior, it was an unacceptable humiliation.
Just then, Kang Hyun-woo looked at Drake, who had suddenly stopped attacking, and spoke with a disappointed tone.
“Don't tell me you're already done.”
“?!!”
FWOOSH!!!
In that instant, the tattoos covering Drake's entire body flared crimson. At the same time, his energy began to skyrocket.
The tattoos of an Esteban warrior were not mere decorations.
They were a medium that allowed them to burn their life force—their innate energy—to gain power.
“You little rat!!”
BOOM!!
Drake kicked off the ground and charged.
His speed was incomparable to before.
But Kang Hyun-woo simply watched him leisurely and slowly raised his sword.
[Extreme Blood]
Crrrack-
In an instant, Kang Hyun-woo's muscles swelled dramatically.
At the same time, his left eye behind the helmet began to glow faintly, revealing a strange pattern.
It was Foresight.
Normally, he would have felt an excruciating pain as if his eyeball was burning, but it didn't matter right now.
[Extreme Blood
Grade: Epic (Growth Type)
Temporarily increases muscle strength significantly.
Significantly increases stamina consumption.
You no longer feel pain.]
The trajectory of every attack Drake would make was clearly visible.
Just as he had been doing, Kang Hyun-woo dodged every one of his attacks by a hair's breadth and instantly closed the distance.
Drake looked at the sword that was suddenly at his neck and opened his mouth in disbelief, but he couldn't finish his words.
-!!!
Immediately after, fresh blood scattered into the air, and his vision flipped 180 degrees.
Kang Hyun-woo caught the falling head and slowly took off his helmet.
Faced with the shocking scene that had unfolded in the blink of an eye, none of the hundreds of thousands of people present could easily speak.
A heavy silence descended upon the rebel camp, which had just been filled with cheers and jeers.
In that silence, Kang Hyun-woo muttered softly.
“Next.”
That single word echoed across the entire Eastern Plains.