Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Master of the Lake (2)
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It was resolved now, but the nobles of the Arcana Kingdom had racked up quite a debt in the Pinia Kingdom.
And Pinia had used debt collection as an excuse to push for a marriage with Raisha.
'These bastards trying to legally steal away my kingdom's strategic asset.'
Anyway, unlike with the Hessin Principality, these guys needed to be shown who's boss.
So, unlike the Hessin subjugation, this time he assembled a proper knight order and mobilized.
They were fully stocked with war supplies and even formed an airship fleet for the journey.
Dozens of massive airships carrying troops.
Looking out from the royal flagship at the center of the fleet, his chest swelled with pride.
'So this is what it feels like to be a ruler.'
Just one command from him, and this vast army moved in perfect unison.
During the holy site expedition, the entire kingdom had mobilized... but the pressure had been so intense back then that he hadn't had a moment to savor this thrill.
'I'll help with the subjugation and snag some territory in return. Put on a show of force with the slave gladiator giant robot too.'
Help with a 10, take back at least 50.
Let the world know his kingdom was thriving.
And spread the word that it was better than the Empire.
He watched Windeller training alone on the deck.
'Is that the new shield and crossbow he got?'
He must have added parts after seeing how his weapons grew along with him in giant form.
Not bad combat sense.
'Planning to make active use of the shield? Just slicing everything with an Aura Blade would be faster.'
He tore his eyes away from Windeller, who was diligently training, and checked on Baron Caron next.
Caron had young soldiers gathered around him, chatting idly.
Any other knight might seem like a veteran easing the pre-battle tension, but that guy...
'He's just bored.'
He'd expected him to bring a concubine or two, but to his credit, Caron had come alone.
Caron noticed his gaze, shot to his feet, approached, and dropped to one knee.
"Your Highness, thank you for granting me this chance to earn military honors!"
"They say Pinia is full of beauties. If you find a lady you like, let me know. I'll pull some strings."
Filling Caron's share of merit rewards with Pinian noble ladies would be quite the bargain, right?
But Caron shook his head.
"I have only the twelfth slot left now."
"...? What do you mean?"
"The maximum number of women this humble servant can love equally is twelve. Only the final spot remains open."
"...? With your stamina, you could easily handle over a hundred."
"Even with eleven now, I mix up their names, ages, and conversations, making them feel neglected.
My brain can't keep track if it goes beyond twelve.
Your Highness, so for this final twelfth spot, whom should I choose? I'd like some serious relationship advice..."
So, running out of memory capacity?
Still, realizing his own limits put Caron in the upper tier of idiots.
After listening to Caron's ramblings for a while, he said,
"Go with Lady Cobetson."
"Pardon? I'd like to hear your reasoning."
"Seems like you're most drawn to Lady Cobetson but overthinking it because it's your last concubine spot."
"Hearing your words, I realize I've been seeing Lady Cobetson as my final twelfth wife! Thank you! Long live Your Highness, my lord!"
Caron returned to his spot beaming with joy.
Relieved his final dilemma was solved, he practically danced back, shoulders bouncing.
The atmosphere in Barmion Imperial City had been tense throughout.
They'd lost two Swordmasters in the super-giant earth dragon monster subjugation.
The Emperor maintained a milder demeanor than usual,
but to the ministers and courtiers, he looked like a bomb ready to explode at any moment.
"Duke Trapford's warriors are reliable, but where on earth has Duke Windeller vanished to?"
"Disappearing from the middle of the battlefield right under the noses of all those knights and mages. What's the reason?"
"A Swordmaster could fool everyone and slip away from the battlefield whenever they wanted."
All sorts of speculation flew around,
but everyone believed Windeller had vanished on his own.
"Looks like Duke Windeller faked his disappearance to drive up his own value."
"Duke Windeller's ambitions aren't small."
"With the Empire's sole Swordmaster absent, if monsters rise up everywhere, His Majesty will have no choice but to yield more to Duke Windeller."
That was exactly why the Emperor's mood was at its worst.
At such a critical time, pulling stunts to raise his price.
In that situation, a request for aid in subjugating the Hessin Principality arrived, but the Empire couldn't spare any forces.
They'd lost a third of their knights in the Caron territory monster subjugation, and barely managing the devastated lands was overwhelming enough.
Amid all that, strange reports started coming in.
"An unidentified Swordmaster appeared in the Hessin Principality and subjugated the monsters."
"Could it be Duke Windeller?"
"No. This Swordmaster's an idiot who can't say anything but his own name, and he has the ability to grow enormously huge."
At first, the Empire's nobles dismissed it as absurd rumor.
A Swordmaster who could grow to over 80 meters tall?
Impossible.
But the fragments of rumors piling up showed clear consistency.
Finally, the Emperor commanded,
"Investigate this knight of unknown origins called Mister Chuck Jun down to the last detail! Spare no resources of the Empire!"
The Hessin Archduke had tried his utmost to cover it up,
but the Empire had taken note of 'Lord Mister Chuck Jun'.
After two days of flight, they arrived near Pendragon Lake.
Hundreds of kilometers away, an endless horizon visible even from the skies.
Even Canelian let out a wow in awe.
"That's really a lake? Not the sea?"
"The world's largest lake. For now, at least."
"What do you mean?"
"The water in that lake will gradually dry up. The boss monster is creating a dungeon."
As the story progresses, the lake's water level drops until it becomes a small pond dungeon.
A massive pond several kilometers across, but pitiful compared to its former sea-like size.
'The first max-level raid content.'
Lake flooding and monster waves.
This was a quest introducing max-level goals to lowbie users fresh out of the tutorial.
"Your Highness, then shouldn't we subjugate it before it grows stronger?"
Object asked with a serious expression after hearing his explanation.
"With our current forces? No chance."
"Even with me, Professor, Baron Caron, and Sir Chuck Jun?"
"Nope. No chance."
It was a dungeon designed for fifteen fresh level 99s to band together and take down the boss. No way.
No healers either.
Tank in giant robot mode all you want—without DPS, you'd revert before finishing and wipe.
"That's why we need to get stronger."
"Got it."
"Understood."
Good, he'd instilled a sense of purpose in the two women.
How to motivate Caron, though?
Seduce him with a woman?
But he'd filled all twelve slots and declared no more concubines.
Expected him to stuff himself until his gut burst, but the guy drew the line perfectly.
He looked down at the monsters blanketing the ground near the lake.
"Strange. The monsters are too weak."
"Really? But there are so many of them."
Lowbies around level 10, roughly.
Not weird in the story context...
"No matter how many there are, I can't believe a Pinian army let major cities get overrun by trash like that."
Object flinched and asked stiffly,
"Could it be some Pinian scheme?"
"Very possible. They're sneaky like that."
All NPCs except Arcana were sneaky.
That was Dragon Defense canon.
"As you know, Pinia pulled debt shenanigans just to make Raisha their queen."
"You mean the aid itself is a trap?"
"If it were, I wouldn't have come. They might've slipped in some sneaky one-sided profit play, so stay vigilant."
"Understood."
"I'll prepare too."
The King of Pinia was secretly observing the Arcana army from afar.
He'd disguised himself as being in the palace while sneaking all the way to the front lines.
"Your Majesty! We've spotted the elf mage Silvret!"
"Oh? Then Princess Raisha must be with her, right?"
"Why wouldn't the disciple follow her master? She's definitely there."
"Excellent. Splendid."
Arcana royal bloodline.
The lineage every nation, including the Empire, coveted.
But the Arcana royals hadn't married off a single princess abroad in thousands of years.
"Kidnapping's out of the question, then?"
"It would incur the wrath of the ascended divine dragon. Absolutely not."
The King smacked his lips in regret.
"Guess we'll have to secretly convey our kingdom's feelings via letter after all."
"If we offer a relic-grade mage artifact staff as a wedding gift, Princess Raisha will surely flee Arcana and seek asylum with us."
"The key is delivering the letter without the Prince noticing."
"Yes. The Prince will never allow royal blood to leave. Just like every Arcana king before him."
"Oh, looks like their scouts are advancing."
He could see a small detachment breaking off from the main force and pushing forward.
At that moment, the King and his entourage had no idea what was about to happen.
"Your Majesty! L-look over there!"
"What... Aaaah! What in the world is th-that?!"
A giant knight appeared out of nowhere.
A massive knight in ornate, angular metal armor charged forward.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground shook as if collapsing, the tremors reaching them.
The giant knight leaped with all his might, casting a huge shadow over the King's face.
For a split second, the sunset was blotted out.
It felt like the sky itself was flying.
The seemingly eternal leap finally ended.
Rumble rumble rumble!
The giant knight landed and slid forward powerfully on his knees.
The knee slide stretched hundreds of meters, crushing monsters mercilessly.
The edge of the massive metal shield on his left arm sliced through monsters indiscriminately.
The long knee slide finally halted.
The giant knight rose tall and raised his sword high.
As the blade ignited in brilliant aura, the King's legs trembled.
"Aura Blade? And that massive knight is a Swordmaster too?"
The giant knight glared down at the monsters.
Sparks erupted around his armor.
As if a thunder god had descended, immense lightning power crackled around the knight.
Kaboom!
A massive explosion centered on the giant knight.
The King nearly collapsed, barely recovering his vision.
"H-how is this destructive power possible...!"
The lightning blast had charred every monster within hundreds of meters black.
Unfazed by the explosion, the giant knight reignited his Aura Blade and slowly advanced, massacring the monster horde.
"S-stop the letter! Hold off sending it for now!"
"Yes! I'll dispatch a messenger ri— Aaaagh! Your Majesty! The monsters, spooked by that giant knight, are fleeing and blocking our retreat!"
"What?!"
"You must evade! Mages, flight magic now!"
"No! Using flight magic here will alert Arcana!"
"Forgive my disloyalty, Your Majesty!"
The guard knights and mages swiftly cast flight magic and escaped upward.
But.
"Your Majesty! It's pursuing!"
"Did a wyvern lord appear or something?!"
"No! The giant knight! The giant knight is chasing us!"
Thud! Boom! Thoom!
"Aaaah! Higher! Fly faster! If it catches us, the humiliation...!"