The Frontier's Greatest Warrior (9)
The two men watched the scene unfold in silence.
"Hey, Lycaon. Did things really turn out this well?"
The man let out a long whistle.
"I never thought I'd see something like this in my lifetime."
Lycaon shot a glance at the stunned man. "You must have been impressed by the skill you saw."
The man standing before him was the most talented archer among Lycaon's own recruits.
He was the only gladiator in the Empire who could draw his bow during arena matches.
Going into battle with a bow was practically suicidal. The fights themselves began at close quarters, where arrows were lethal.
The man was a performer who enjoyed that deadly gamble.
Among the toughest gladiators the Empire had ever produced, he represented everything that was not considered truly "manly" in a weapon.
Many gladiators had feared facing him, because to die by his hand meant dying by an arrow.
Dying to an arrow was a fate reserved for beasts. At least that was what the Empire believed.
Before Lycaon stood the archer who had slaughtered the bravest gladiators like animals. His fearsome record proved his talent beyond doubt.
"I'd love to hear your thoughts, Orion."
The gladiator hunter. The giant hunter, Orion. That was the man's name.
"It was impossible. I never imagined anyone could shoot like that."
Hitting a distant target? Anyone with decent archery skill could manage it. But if the bullseye was no bigger than a single bean?
"It wasn't just a lucky shot. He calculated the exact angle where the arrow shaft would split. If it hadn't, the splintered arrow would have sunk into the bull's body. With his life and reputation on the line, he couldn't have left it to chance. It was calculated. It was skill."
It wasn't impossible.
-Only so close to impossible.
With enough practice, he might have repeated it perfectly. But here, in the Northern Highlands, the wind howled like it wanted to tear them apart.
-Far distance. A target the size of a single bean. Gusts strong enough to make even clothes flap wildly.
He had to judge distance without preparation, calculate the wind without error, and allow no margin for mistake.
And the chance had come only once.
"Even if you brought every human in the Empire, they wouldn't have hit it."
Orion let out a genuine sigh of admiration.
"So that's why. If you say so, it must be true."
"That was the Khan's bow and arrow. What a show."
It really wasn't something Lycaon saw every day.
"The emperors should be afraid. It wasn't just some baseless fantasy."
That fear had been passed down through generations.
For example, the emperor who once marched to conquer the Steppe. He suffered a crushing defeat in the Empire's history, then died not long after, his cause unknown.
His death was blamed on steppe insects, or on drowning in wine until his belly burst. Endless rumors swirled.
Lycaon recalled a different theory.
The rumor that he heard about the Steppe's great army crossing the Wilderness into the Empire and died of a nervous breakdown from sleepless nights.
"Maybe."
It might have been true. But.
-What he truly feared was not the army, but that elf woman.
If she made up her mind to kill someone, she really could kill anyone.
A woman of that caliber was hunting for lives. Even the Emperor of the Empire wouldn't have slept easy.
The Emperor would have wanted to avoid the shame of dying by an arrow.
"A woman who shouldn't have been treated as an enemy."
"Don't worry. She's locked away in the Wilderness."
"The stage where the leader should have shone was stolen by the Khan of the Wilderness. Did the plan fall apart?"
"Expecting the best outcome in any situation is foolish. The world is full of variables. Since it was an unexpected success, this is more than excellent."
His leader, Attila, had performed beyond expectations. Lycaon’s goal of spreading his name across the centaur world would be achieved.
What he had protected today was not the honor of a juvenile successor.
-It was a stage where the king attended.
Attila had protected the reputation of the centaur race in front of the king. The seed lords would be deeply grateful.
"You didn't hire that orc, did you?"
"Of course not. This outcome was beyond my expectations."
Lycaon shrugged. Orion didn't doubt him.
"If I had hired him, I wouldn't have stopped at killing the successor. I would have asked to kill our leader next."
"...What?"
Orion looked doubtful he had heard correctly.
-That's a rebellion.
Lycaon saw Orion's face and began to explain his true thoughts.
"I acknowledge the orc's skill. Killing a centaur warrior in open combat is no small feat."
He wasn't a normal orc. In other words, an orc gladiator. A real survivor who had lived through countless battles.
-That's the technician.
He had heard the stories. Old orcs who survived decades were called technicians.
"But I don't think he could kill the leader."
"Well, he's a monster."
"He would have failed to kill the leader. His infamous name would have become the leader's reputation. The leader would have gained fame, and the seed lords and centaurs would have rejoiced greatly."
He could have reached his purpose faster in Ainuwail.
Lycaon scratched his chin. His eyes were as dark as the bottom of a well.
"The orc would have died without completing the mission. Naturally, his mouth would have been sealed. There would have been no need to pay a success bonus. Only an advance would have been required."
"Then what if the leader died?"
"I have no choice."
Lycaon answered without a hint of worry.
"Perhaps I misjudged the man's skill."
From his expression, it was clear. He was willing to send assassins at any time, without feeling any guilt.
Orion, who had come to understand Lycaon to some extent, clicked his tongue.
"He doesn't seem like a person at all."
If he had been sent out of hatred for Attila or to seize his position, he wouldn't have said such a thing. Hatred and greed were ugly, but they were natural emotions in people.
But Lycaon hated neither Attila nor coveted his position. He didn't judge situations by emotion or right and wrong.
He judged only by necessity.
If necessary, he would send an assassin to his superior as early as tomorrow.
"Such a man was a soldier. Be grateful to the leader who created a place for you even knowing what kind of person you are."
Lycaon let out a snicker at the archer's words.
*
"So, how was it?"
Vesta replied with sparkling eyes.
"It was amazing."
"Oh? It was worth rushing ahead."
Ashtien brushed Vesta's hair back with her fingers.
"Who's next?"
"Ushun. But the schedule is strangely overlapping, so I might not get to watch it."
He was curious about how Ushun would fare against a centaur, but it was quite disappointing.
"I will go watch Ushun's match."
"Please do. Ahor."
"Will you come to watch my match?"
"Yes. I plan to cheer too."
"That might be a little difficult..."
The women chuckled at Vesta's remark.
"We somehow managed to see your first match."
Since they had been planning for him to shoot the final arrow, he probably wouldn't have gotten to watch otherwise.
"Whether it was because they wanted to beat him or not, the number of participants was higher than usual. If they had stayed until the end, they might have missed your match."
He had wanted to shoot early and leave, but thought better of it.
"Thinking of it, I can't be a Khan and disrupt the rhythm of the other participants."
But he looked quite bitter, as if he hadn't expected this to happen.
"Don't get hurt."
"Don't worry."
Vesta smiled confidently, and Ashtien's expression softened.
"Bia is coming. She must be here to warm up."
Following Ashtien's gaze, Bia walked over just as she said.
"Yes. I had Bia as my sparring partner while you were gone."
Since the match itself was against a centaur, she had no one else to practice with.
"Go on."
"Yes."
"Before that, just a moment."
Ashtien called Vesta over and bent down to match his eye level.
Her beautiful golden eyes filled his entire field of vision.
Ashtien pressed her forehead to his.
"May victory follow my warrior."
When Vesta heard those words.
-This is the first time.
He was sure he was the first gladiator blessed by the fairy queen. He had that conviction.
--- REMINDER: All system notifications, comments, letters, status windows, and special in-universe content MUST use styled
blocks with inline CSS from the templates. Never output them as plain
text.