Chapter 197
Chapter 197
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 197
Chapter Title: 80. New Rules (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Yuri wrapped his sword aura around himself as he mounted his horse, unleashing a storm-like momentum that swirled around him. The guards manning the gates didn't dare approach, stumbling back in disarray.
Yuri spurred his horse forward.
The beast broke into a gallop.
With him at the lead, thirty knights charged alongside.
"We don't stop until we stand before Genad. Anyone who falls behind gets left behind!"
"Yes, sir!"
Yuri bellowed.
As he cleaved through the gazes filled with fear, sword raised high, a sense of liberation washed over him.
He had returned to protect Brioll and those dear to him.
Yet the very person he sought to protect had betrayed him.
Cedric Brioll.
The warm-hearted brother he had leaned on was nothing but a figment—a madman enthralled by his own genius, wielding black magic.
That truth unraveled the last thread of hesitation in Yuri's heart.
What he had feared losing was already gone.
Thus, he had nothing left to fear.
"Your Highness!"
As Yuri and his knights thundered past the gates onto the main road, knights from Yuges appeared to block their path.
Yuri eased his horse's pace slightly.
One knight stood in the center of the road and shouted loudly.
"Even for a prince, there are laws to uphold! Yuges is the duke's territory! Stop for now and..."
Yuri swung his sword.
Blood sprayed from the man's chest as he crumpled.
"Block me, and I'll cut you down."
He wasn't dead—crawling aside, blood trailing behind him.
Tension surged once more.
Yuri laughed.
"What? You dare stand in my way without the resolve for this?"
When he had come to Yuges before over the Allied Forces veterans' issue, Yuri still had lines he wouldn't cross.
It was respect for Fiore, and perhaps a delusion that gentler, more gentlemanly ways existed.
No, that wasn't it.
Meeting Cedric had made it clear.
There was no compromising with black magic.
Whoever was entangled with it, he would sever and kill. Even if innocent blood flowed, he would bear it without hesitation.
This world had backed him into a corner, so the world would pay the price.
"I am Yuri Brioll. Acting on full authority delegated by King Joshua Brioll of Brioll, I am here as the king's proxy. I come to judge Genad Jeteri for his crimes, so obstructing me is treason."
Yuri spoke calmly as he advanced.
As if echoing his will, his horse marched toward the leveled spears and swords without flinching.
It even lifted its chin higher, strutting with proud arrogance.
"Your Highness."
A knight of considerable age stepped forward.
"We heard you'd fallen, but it's an honor to see you so hale."
"Good to see you too."
"I can guess why Your Highness is doing this, but Yuges is still the Jeteri family's domain, and the Jeteri family holds ducal rank."
"And?"
"Charging in like this helps no one. Not for royal-noble unity, nor practically speaking. This is my personal advice: speak with the duke first. If you do, I'll guide you myself."
Yuri, who had been watching him silently, nodded.
"I appreciate your concern."
"Thank you for understanding."
"I'm concerned for you too, so here's some advice."
"Pardon?"
"Step aside."
Yuri nudged his horse. It strode straight toward the knight.
The knight stood dumbfounded, then thrust out his palm to push the horse's head just before collision.
Before he could, Yuri's sword moved.
"Argh!"
His wrist flew into the air, blood staining the ground red.
In that instant, the forces blocking Yuri's group drew their swords.
In response, the knights Yuri led raised their weapons.
Blades glinted under the sun.
The wristless knight hung his head, supported by his comrades.
"Hey, hey."
Yuri said.
"No matter whose lord they serve, all Brioll knights undergo the same rite."
Yuri savored each gaze fixed on him.
Some hostile, some fearful. Others wavered in between.
He paid them no mind. Having chosen the sword, he would simply crush them.
"Well, knights? Do you remember the duties Brioll knights bear? Is Genad Jeteri worthy of a Brioll knight's loyalty? Or did the pig's gold outweigh your oaths?"
The wristless knight spoke to Yuri in a trembling voice.
"Your Highness, this will cause real trouble. If you..."
"The trouble's already here. The former king vanished, the Empire took Bezoss. While we fought for our lives at the border, you watched from afar and snickered."
"We were guarding the rear. Concentrating forces in one place..."
"So you sat out the Allied Forces too? Who came from Yuges besides Raymond? No knights here?"
"Our enemies aren't just orcs..."
"The rear again? Are you just glorified butt-wipers?"
His knights in the rear burst into laughter at his words.
The calm voice, the aura he exuded, the momentum from his sword.
Yuri dominated the moment.
Such a leader instilled pride in his men.
Yuri said abruptly.
"You know what?"
"Pardon?"
"Genad's colluding with the Empire."
As he spoke, Yuri peered into the knight's eyes.
His heightened senses caught the changes: pupils flickering, mouth agape, muscles tensing around the eyes.
"I-is that true? Do you have proof?"
Yuri swung his sword.
The knight's head hit the ground.
A life snuffed out in an instant.
The scene felt surreal somehow.
But Yuri and his knights showed no reaction. They had seen death aplenty on the battlefield. No dramatic foreshadowing—just death upon the swing.
That was all.
Yuges's knights, however, wavered greatly.
The gap between the two groups sharpened.
"You knew."
Yuri muttered, kicking the severed head. It rolled to a stop at the Yuges knights' feet.
"Tell me. Was this guy close to Genad?"
"Th-that..."
"Answer, and you live."
"Y-yes, sir."
No one had seen Yuri swing. It meant his realm was beyond challenge.
Rumors of the nameless Yuri Brioll had spread far.
With numbers even, no knight dared stand against him.
The Yuges knights stammered.
"H-he's a knight the duke favors. They dine together often..."
"I see."
Yuri turned his gaze.
"And you?"
"W-we're nobodies. Knights in name, but we never see the lord."
"True. We're just collecting pay."
"Soldiers, basically. The duke doesn't care about us."
They scrambled to explain.
Yuri nodded.
"Step aside, then?"
"Y-yes, we'll move."
They parted left and right. The road to Genad's castle lay open again.
In the empty avenue, only the corpses—minus hand and head—remained.
Yuri remounted.
"Clear that."
"Yes, sir!"
One Yuges knight dragged the body off the road; another kicked the head away.
No strong bonds evident.
Yuri's rear knights clicked their tongues at the sight.
"Let's go."
As he passed the Yuges knights, Yuri said.
"Next time we meet, I won't let you off so easy."
Words that might sound like bravado, but overwhelmed, they just averted their eyes with awkward smiles.
Yuri spurred ahead once more.
As he accelerated, the rest kicked their mounts to follow.
These knights had all fought the Empire at Bezoss, but not as one unit. Awkwardness lingered.
But trailing Yuri, they were bonding into one.
It was the difference a leader like Yuri made.
With Yuri Brioll, they would walk paths others wouldn't. Not smooth, but more honorable than any other knight's.
That conviction bound them to him.
"Your Highness."
Someone called.
Not Jared, Simon, or Ginnis. A new recruit.
"Are we going to capture Genad?"
"We are."
"What if he resists?"
Yuri laughed at the question.
Jared laughed, then Simon and Ginnis.
Laughter spread.
Soon all laughed—even the questioner.
"Hey, what's your name?"
"Abel, sir!"
"Abel, why ask what we know?"
"Just testing, sir."
Thirty knights off to nab a duke.
Kill if he resists.
Absurd.
But with Yuri, it felt routine.
"Promise: I'll fight at the front."
"Yes, sir!"
"To the end, with you all."
No one here doubted what kind of man Yuri was.
They had all fought the Empire at Bezoss, heard or seen his rampage firsthand or secondhand.
"Then let's go snag that piglet."
"Yes, sir!"
The castle loomed ahead.
Yuri leaned low, wind resistance fading.
The horse surged faster.
Yuri and his band hurtled toward Genad's castle.
Yuri stood before Genad's castle within the domain. Word had spread—the gates were shut tight.
Genad was nowhere in sight.
Yuri crossed his arms, gazing up at the walls. A few knights peered down.
"Open the gates."
He pulled out a signal flare as he spoke.
"I am Yuri Brioll. Here as the king's proxy to judge Genad Jeteri."
No response.
"Genad!"
Yuri shouted.
"Come out!"
Finally, someone appeared atop the wall and replied.
"Your Highness."
A familiar face. Yuri dredged his memory. Not sure of the exact title, but one of the nobles who trailed Genad.
"What's all this commotion?"
Sneer laced his expression.
Yuri realized from his look: Genad had no intention of cooperating.
"The Empire's taken Bezoss, yet here you are harassing allies. Nothing you can do to the Empire, so venting on your own side?"
Openly taunting Yuri.
Yuri narrowed his eyes.
"Yuges swears loyalty to Brioll's royals, but your recent moves are suspicious. As fellow lords, we're concerned. We're watching the situation—why keep harassing us?"
Yuri's knights growled, glaring daggers.
They itched to kill him.
But the walls were too high.
Yuri asked calmly.
"Fine. What's suspicious about the royals?"
"The king and crown prince vanished together, didn't they?"
"And?"
"Probably fled in fear of the Empire, or surrendered..."
Yuri dismounted.
The noble kept prattling.
"Go back for now. As esteemed Brioll nobles, Yuges deeply worries over this. Until it calms, we won't..."
Yuri broke into a sprint.
The non-knight couldn't fathom what Yuri was doing.
So he continued casually.
"...step forward, as I said."
In that moment, Yuri kicked off the ground and leaped.
A height impossible for most knights—but not Yuri.
He soared like a bird, landing lightly on the parapet.
Eye to eye with the noble.
Sensing doom, the noble begged instinctively.
"Please spare me."