Episode 958
Episode 958
"Umm... Senior. I think Ponlig is angry. Is that okay?"
"That just proves you're an outstanding polo player, junior."
Carnella, who had been handing a devil's bone to the Cerberus, answered immediately without hesitation.
"Huh?"
"Look at this enthusiastic attitude. Calming a griffin and making it wait for the match—that means the rider and mount are in perfect sync. Impressive."
Ponlig clacked its beak in excitement.
Among these insane wizards, there was at least one person who understood Ponlig's feelings.
However, Lee Han stared at the senior with a dubious expression.
'Is this guy just spouting nonsense because he's obsessed with the match?'
No matter how he looked at it, Ponlig seemed furious, yet the senior insisted it was just eager for the game.
Only a madman would say something like that.
Come to think of it, Carnella wasn't the right person to ask this kind of question.
If someone asked before a match, "What if Ponlig refuses to participate?" he'd probably reply, "I'll let you transform into a griffin and play instead, junior."
"Junior. Don't think about anything else. When my dog distracts the enemies and breaks through their formation, you just charge in. Got it?"
"But what if Ponlig doesn't want to run—"
Carnella placed his hands on Lee Han's shoulders. His fingers dug in like grappling hooks.
But the truly threatening part wasn't his fingers—it was his eyes.
Carnella's pupils gleamed with madness, not a single blink in sight. It was the same look Professors Ber Mo, Vol, and the alchemist Yo Mo had.
"Didn't I just tell you not to think about anything else? That right there is 'something else.' A completely useless thought. Junior. Your griffin is dying to run. It couldn't even move for a while because of that curse. It's been waiting for the roar of the stadium, don't you think? Heck, it might even go wild, imagining the opposing players are Professor Lightning-Step."
"...Yeah..."
Overwhelmed, Lee Han could only nod.
What could he possibly say in front of a madman?
"Sorry, Ponlig. If you really don't want to do this later, you can tell me."
Ponlig stared ahead with a detached expression.
Rather than risk being misunderstood, it had given up expressing emotions altogether.
Just start the damn match already!
Before the match began.
Angrago and Salko were supposed to be thoroughly enjoying the pre-match festivities from their seats...
But they weren't.
"That's a gargoyle... Holy—that's a Bokabat! Hurry back to your seat, Tutanta!"
"Hmm. What kind of metal is that iron gate made of? To safely contain multiple monsters..."
"Tutanta! Run! What if we're late for the match?!"
"Quiet. It's still a while before it starts."
Salko waved his hand dismissively as he wandered around the underground passages near the stands, looking bored.
Angrago nearly grabbed his own neck in frustration.
Even with rare mounts like the Bokabat appearing, this guy was still obsessing over some ancient building.
'I shouldn't have brought him. This bastard!'
While everyone else was barely able to enjoy the pre-match events, this fake dwarf was downstairs sightseeing.
"Look at that long tail! Do you know what polo players call the Bokabat? The Strangler!"
"Shouldn't something like that be banned?"
The Bokabat, a cunning and persistent reptile-type monster with six legs and a long, flexible tail, was perfect for targeting specific players in matches like these.
They were so rare in the eastern Empire that he never expected to see one here!
"A Bokabat? I never thought I'd see one here."
"Indeed. Though next to a griffin, it pales a little. Who would've thought we'd see such a well-bred griffin?"
The noisy chatter from the open seats above reached their ears.
Angrago's ears perked up at the sound.
"A griffin! Tutanta! They said there's a griffin! There's a griffin! We have to go back to our seats!"
"Einrogard has griffins too, you know."
"Is that the same thing?!"
Salko wanted to say, 'What's the difference?' but Angrago's desperate eyes and expression overwhelmed him for a moment.
"...Fine. We've seen enough. Let's head back now."
"Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!"
'What a noisy bastard.'
The two cursed each other internally as they sprinted up the stairs.
In the arena, several mounts that had been released from their pens were already performing tricks. Among them, the griffin naturally drew everyone's gaze with its innate size and majesty...
"Isn't that Wardanaz?"
"Did Wardanaz come to catch it?!"
Angrago panicked, ducked behind the seats, and cast a spell. As the color of his cloak shifted to blend in with the seats, the surrounding spectators buzzed in surprise.
"No, you idiot. I said Wardanaz is on the griffin."
"What nonsense. Why would Wardanaz...?"
Angrago lifted his head and gaped.
There, amidst gargoyles, hippogriffs, and hellhounds, Lee Han was performing tricks while riding the griffin.
"...Something feels... wrong."
"Is Wardanaz in the Polo Club?"
"He's only a second-year! What kind of lunatics would send out a mere second-year?!"
"But Wardanaz learns magic quickly too."
"...Is that the same thing?!"
Angrago, his logic crumbling, resorted to stubbornness.
Truthfully, even he found it hard to counter.
If he could learn advanced magic, why not polo...?
"That bastard Wardanaz. Why did he hide this from me?"
"It's not like he hid it—you just never asked..."
"Wardanaz! Go for it! You're the pride of Einrogard's second-years!"
Angrago stood up and began cheering loudly. Salko stared at him in shock. 'Does this guy have no shame?' But in the polo arena, such cheers weren't embarrassing at all. Fierce cheering was already erupting from all sides.
-Long live the Granden City Polo Club!
-Einrogard students, use magic! Use magic in secret, I say!
-How dare you suggest such underhanded tactics!
-Stop fighting! Any more and you'll be ejected from the arena!
In the stands where rowdy spectators gathered, mud and stones were already being hurled over who would win. The situation escalated so badly that guards and knights had to rush in to separate them.
"Tutanta. Wardanaz is only a second-year, but he was practically forced to compete."
"I doubt Wardanaz was forced to compete..."
Salko was skeptical.
No matter how pushy the seniors were, he couldn't imagine them breaking Lee Han's will and forcing him to participate.
But Angrago was certain.
Given the Einrogard Polo Club's recent dismal record, Lee Han must have been forcibly recruited!
"He definitely went out because of the griffin! We have to cheer for him! Who else will?!"
"...You're right. That's true."
Salko nodded.
Had Angrago been the one competing, he might've slyly molded mud to throw into the arena instead of cheering—but with Wardanaz, it was different.
If they didn't cheer for him, who would...?
-Who's that student riding the griffin?
-They say he's a direct descendant of the Wardanaz Family.
-Hah! A Wardanaz showing interest in polo?
-A noble family can enjoy polo too, can't they?
-You clearly don't know what the Wardanaz Family is like.
-Isn't he the student who defeated the Magic Criminal last year?
-Or was it the Basilisk?
-Wait, wasn't it an Anti-Magic Zealot?
"...Seems like we don't even need to cheer."
"Shut up! It's starting! Long live Einrogard!"
With the blare of trumpets, the beat of drums, and the roar of dragons, the polo match began.
The Granden City Polo Club, their formation tight and disciplined across the vast arena, left spectators breathless.
A true master exudes intimidation just by standing still.
Angrago gritted his teeth.
"How much training did they go through? To form such a perfect formation right off the bat!"
"Is that really impressive?"
"It's extremely impressive! With defense that solid, it's hard for us to attack first!"
"Then should we wait?"
"The Einrogard Polo Club's defense is weaker than their opponents'—we can't afford to wait!"
"...?"
If both their offense and defense are weak, doesn't that just mean they're plain weak...
BAM!
-Student Wardanaz charges forward on the griffin!
"Y-you... That seems way too reckless?!"
Angrago screamed. It wasn't just Angrago—murmurs erupted from all around.
If the opponent has no openings, you should chip away at them steadily and disrupt their formation. Charging in alone like that would only get you surrounded and crushed.
Even Carnella, who was trying to coordinate with his junior, was caught off guard by the unexpected charge and hesitated for a beat.
"Junior! You're too fast! The rear is completely open—"
The moment Lee Han entered their territory, players rushed at him from all sides. A gargoyle leaped up from the undefended rear.
GRRRR!
A murderous flame flickered in the griffin's eyes.
Even when facing an enemy they'd despised for centuries, they probably wouldn't have been this bloodthirsty. The gargoyle instinctively faltered under the overwhelming majesty exuded by the King of the Skies.
THUD!
A massive lion's hoof kicked the gargoyle away with such force that it tumbled head over heels...
SCREEEEEECH!!!!!
Even after that brief clash, the griffin's fury didn't subside. A terrified hellhound was sent flying by a body slam from the griffin. A bokabat, trying to sneak in a tail strike, hastily retreated after getting pecked once.
Lee Han, clinging to the griffin's back, was utterly bewildered.
'...'
Why the hell is it acting like this?'
As an experienced swordsman who'd seen his fair share of battles, Lee Han didn't fall off despite Ponlig's rampage. He skillfully maintained his posture and held on tight.
But internally, he was baffled.
Ponlig was being way too enthusiastic.
Was it angry? Or did it just really love polo...
"...I never thought I'd witness such perfect unity between man and beast in my lifetime."
Hadagak, the defender, stared at Lee Han with a mix of fear and awe.
He'd thought he had the opponent completely figured out, but he never expected their formation to collapse like this right from the start.
"I apologize for underestimating you, young Wardanaz. My meager knowledge of griffins pales in comparison to the bond between you two..."
"Move aside!"
Before Lee Han's shout even finished, the griffin charged at the next opponent.
Hadagak swiftly steered his hippogriff to the side. He had no intention of facing the enraged griffin head-on.
"...Don't tell me it's scared?!"
Hadagak, who'd been observing his opponent, was startled when he finally noticed his own hippogriff's condition.
He'd been so focused on the enemy that he'd failed to realize his own mount was acting strangely.
"Remember our training! We've faced far more terrifying and powerful monsters before!"
......
Despite its master's encouragement, the hippogriff hesitated.
It had indeed encountered monsters more fearsome than griffins—but never a griffin carrying such a terrifying presence as the one before it now.
"No need to clash head-on. Dodge! It can't keep up with your movements! It's exhausted too!"
The hippogriff barely mustered its courage.
The advanced acrobatics and feints it had trained with its master were difficult for a straightforward enemy to follow.
The feint—pretending to dodge sideways before changing direction using the spring in its hind legs—was something the griffin, worn out from taking down multiple foes, could never hope to match...
BAM!
As if refusing to be fooled twice, the griffin panted heavily but still managed to brake sharply, chase, and ram into the hippogriff again.
Its sheer physical prowess made it clear—no tricks mattered when it could crush its enemy with overwhelming might.
The griffin Lee Han was riding right now was the most fiercely determined griffin in the entire history of the Empire!