Chapter 163
Chapter 163
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 163
Chapter Title: 68. Ten Strongest (1)
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Yuri sat at the table in his room, scribbling something down.
Jared, standing behind him, tilted his head.
"What are you writing so diligently, Your Highness?"
"Just organizing my thoughts."
"About what?"
"The Ten Strongest."
"Ah..."
The Ten Strongest referred to the ten most powerful individuals on the continent.
There might be others of comparable strength whose names didn't make the list, but being ranked among them carried immense symbolic weight regardless.
"Number one has to be His Majesty."
"Obviously."
First up was Fiore Brioll.
He was a swordsman with countless legendary tales to his name, unanimously considered the top of the Ten Strongest. As Yuri's father and the king of Brioll, he was their most reliable asset.
"One of ours."
"Well, he's the king, so definitely on our side."
Next was Moyong Chan.
The swordsman had appeared out of nowhere from the East, now a guest under Brioll's protection and Yuri's personal teacher. Rumors even swirled that he was fluent in the continental tongue.
"One of ours too."
"I hear Lord Moyong Chan has been putting Sir Hose and Sir Bernard through their paces lately."
"A most welcome development."
Then there was Gerdt.
Everyone thought he was the monster who destroyed Adelbein, but he had actually been a knight defending the kingdom.
"Gone now."
"Yes, he's out of the picture."
And Inariel.
The lone elf wandering the world, a mage who had earned a spot among the Ten Strongest—a truly unique figure. She belonged to no nation, but she could probably be counted as an ally.
That said, Inariel—who had traveled with them since Joachim—had vanished again before they reached the capital.
"Half on our side."
"She's been helping us, hasn't she?"
"Who knows. And she left before we even got to Brioll."
"Must have had something urgent come up."
"That's why I said half."
"Isn't that a bit stingy...?"
"Fine, two-thirds on our side."
"Perfect."
As for Cruar.
If Inariel was the last elf, then Cruar was the last dragon. Their circumstances differed somewhat, though. Considering Inariel's kin were gathered within the World Tree's barrier, Cruar—the final survivor of his race, a true loner—embodied the end more fittingly.
They had taken him along to revive Kori, whose draconic language had awakened, but there had been no word since.
"He hasn't eaten her, has he?"
"No way."
"With him, it's only one-third on our side."
"So two-thirds against us?"
"Yep."
"Why? He helped with Kori... "
"He's got ties to the Empire."
"He burned down one of their villages and they put a bounty on his head, right?"
"That's what led to the truce."
Cruar had once torched an imperial village, prompting the enraged emperor to slap a personal bounty on him.
When that failed to catch him, the emperor nearly dispatched several of the Ten Strongest himself.
Then Cruar suddenly appeared at the palace and negotiated directly with the emperor.
After that, Cruar never clashed with the Empire again. He even offered minor aid from time to time.
No one knew the details of their agreement, but it led most to classify Cruar as imperial-friendly.
"If not for Kori, I'd count him fully as an enemy."
"Lucky break. Kori's a real charm."
"I miss her. Cruar must be putting her through hell..."
"Her sacrifice is protecting the kingdom."
And then there was the Holy Knight.
A holy knight in seclusion within the Holy Kingdom. With no outward activity, his current status was unknown, but his inclinations made him a solid candidate for an ally against the Empire someday.
No one like the Holy Knight would look favorably on an Empire corrupted by black magic.
"We can peg this one as a potential ally. Relations with the Holy Kingdom have been good lately too."
"Is Larson definitely succeeding the throne?"
"Probably."
"He didn't seem reliable. Lady Sibylla would be much better."
"No helping it."
"Does the Holy Knight obey the king?"
"He's closer to the temple, but the Holy Kingdom's king is nominally God's proxy, so he'll follow if war breaks out."
"That's reassuring. Two-thirds ally?"
"Hm..."
Yuri scratched it out with his pen.
"Gut feeling. Just call him an ally."
"That's awfully convenient reasoning, isn't it?"
"The rest of the Ten Strongest are all Empire. Cut us some slack."
"Yes, sir."
Yuri wrote Yalta opposite the list he'd compiled so far.
"Yalta. Deceased."
The Empire's barbarian Yalta. More suited to the battlefield than duels among the elite, thanks to his complete lack of common sense. Good thing he'd been killed before the war.
No successor had risen yet, leaving the spot vacant.
"Two vacancies now."
"Gerdt's death hasn't leaked, right?"
"Nope. It'll stay as Gerdt for a while. Maybe forever."
Next, the Black Knight.
The masked knight known for obeying the emperor's commands. His origins were a mystery; aside from his deep faith, little was known.
He had appeared out of nowhere, sweeping away obstacles alongside Yalta to establish himself as the emperor's blade. His feats placed him near the top of the Ten Strongest.
"A friend of mine."
"Pardon?"
"We shared our faith."
"Can't you bring him over?"
"He knows where to draw the line between personal and duty. Shame he's the enemy."
Then came "The Northern Tyrant," Donchichi.
Entrusted with the northern forests by the emperor, he lived by his own rules within them. Low intelligence set him apart from other Ten Strongest—he was more monster than rational being.
But his destructive power was immense. Ogres were formidable to begin with, and Donchichi was a freak even among them.
Loyal to the emperor but impossible to control, in his previous life the Empire had simply dropped him into battlefields alone, letting him rampage freely before retrieving him afterward.
Less a soldier, more a weapon.
"An ogre? How big?"
"Big."
"I've never seen one..."
"They live far up north. Not many of them. Donchichi's the biggest."
"How tall?"
"Building-sized."
"Bigger than Cruar?"
"Yep."
"Scary..."
"Not knightly talk, Jared. To a knight, a big enemy just means a bigger target. Got it?"
"You'll handle him then, Your Highness?"
"Watch."
"Yes, sir."
Finally, "The Emperor's Shadowless Sword."
No appearance, identity, or even name known. All that was visible were the corpses of his victims.
He assassinated enemies on imperial orders and vanished like a true shadowless blade.
If the Black Knight was the blade in the light, he was the one in the shadows.
"No clue."
"He real?"
"Some doubt it, but I believe he exists."
In his previous life, the Shadowless Sword never showed himself either.
Key anti-Empire figures simply turned up dead now and then, with no direct proof linking him.
"Might be the scariest one. Nothing known about him."
"Like an assassin."
"Kinda, but he's taken down way too many big shots for that."
The Shadowless Sword had slain a previous Ten Strongest and slipped away, claiming the spot.
No ambush—the scenes showed fierce combat traces.
The odd part? Only the dead Ten Strongest's sword marks scarred the area. The Shadowless Sword left no clues.
A single slash on the throat.
That was his entire signature.
"And those are the Ten Strongest."
"Feels like I know most of them. I've really made it."
"My influence. Admit it?"
"I do."
"He admits it."
To sum up, the current or potential allies among the Ten Strongest were:
Fiore, Moyong Chan, Holy Knight, Inariel.
The enemies or potential enemies:
Black Knight, Donchichi, Cruar, Shadowless Sword.
"Shouldn't we keep Cruar as neutral? He doesn't seem the type to go all-in for the Empire in a war..."
"Assuming the worst case. Better than him popping up out of nowhere."
"Fair. So two spots open."
"Gerdt's will stay filled till word gets out, so one real vacancy."
"If Sir Hose joins, we'd have two more than them."
"True. But there's a problem."
"What?"
"The Ten Strongest aren't everything."
Yuri shrugged.
"This is all just gossip from enthusiasts anyway. Can't neatly divide power into exactly ten."
Combat prowess wasn't something you could slice so precisely.
Transcendent experts like Fiore Brioll aside, borderline cases like Yalta weren't leagues above other elites.
"Sir Hose is strong, sure, but is there a huge gap with the Empire's knight commanders?"
"Hard to say..."
"That's what makes the Empire scary. They have multiple Ten Strongest, plus tons more at that level."
The Empire excelled across the board.
Even if Brioll was a kingdom of knights, the Empire had far more. Every knight commander was seen as a future Ten Strongest contender.
"Don't worry, Your Highness. We're the same."
"Oh?"
"Not Ten Strongest, but we've got Sir Rolang and me at that level."
"Hm..."
"Kidding, kidding. Don't make that face."
"What face?"
"Anyway, we've got you, Your Highness."
"Right."
"Suddenly smiling."
But those opposing the Empire had hope too.
Yuri himself.
By defeating Yalta alone, he'd proven he was already at that level.
A Ten Strongest-level expert unknown to the enemy was a massive strategic edge.
Still, it didn't sit entirely easy.
Yuri hadn't fully mastered his power yet.
Heart Demon.
No telling when it might devour him.
"Done sorting."
"The Shadowless Sword worries me most."
"With Father around, what's to fear?"
"True, but..."
Yuri folded the notes, then unrolled a map.
The Empire's vast territory unfurled, with the kingdoms below it.
He circled the imperial border. Joachim lay there.
"Empire hit here."
"Poison attempt, right? Excuse, of course..."
"Effectively yes, but the emperor truly believes it."
"Huh?"
Yuri recalled Asana's letter.
She'd witnessed the emperor being poisoned.
Not Joachim—likely Yugen or some black magic fiend spiking the drink to provoke him.
By Asana's account, the emperor was already mad before that.
Long exposure to black magic had eroded him into insanity.
"Alloy Mountains are fortified now. Plenty of mountain warfare specialists too. Not worth the cost to push."
"So?"
"Like with Joachim, Empire'll strike suddenly. Aiming for the heart."
Yuri circled four nations.
Liberda, Holy Kingdom, Burzen, Brioll.
Geographically, Liberda was closest, then Holy Kingdom.
"These four block the Empire."
"Yes."
"No sudden hit on Brioll."
Fiore Brioll still stood strong. Even in his past life, the Empire hadn't touched Brioll until Fiore vanished.
Yuri marked the Holy Kingdom.
"Feels like this one, doesn't it?"
"Think so?"
"Excluding Brioll, it's the strongest of the three, closest too. Temples everywhere across the continent."
"Won't the temples resist?"
"That's why strike first."
He was half-convinced.
In his past life, after Joachim fell, the Empire tidied up the Holy Kingdom next.
The emperor even proclaimed himself God's proxy.
"Liberda's no fun for a blitz. Crush Holy Kingdom quick, and it's smooth sailing. Straight shot to Burzen, encircling minor kingdoms."
"Makes sense. You're brilliant, Your Highness."
"Read books."
"Yes, sir."
Yuri tapped the map.
"Holy Kingdom hit, and the rest react at once. Liberda, Burzen, Brioll—plus minor kingdoms."
"Half the continent's front?"
"Exactly."
Yuri pulled letter paper from a drawer.
"Time to call my brothers back."
Cedric and Joshua were due from Franchese.
He'd have preferred letting them study in peace, but no longer feasible.
The continent was spiraling into war.
"Situation's fine."
Far better than his past life, thankfully.
No orc border raids, Joachim held, continent wary of Empire moves.
"Now we wait."
The entire continent was on edge.
Yuri's reasoning was sound, so pundits watched the Empire-Holy Kingdom border closely.
Something was coming.
But the Empire defied expectations.
"Donchichi's smashing Liberda."
Yuri's eyes widened at the messenger's words.