Chapter 198
Chapter 198
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 198
Chapter Title: 80. New Rules (3)
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Yuri grabbed him by the collar.
"I won't kill you, I won't kill you."
"Wh-what I said was only for Your Highness's sake..."
Before the noble could finish, Yuri hurled him down from the ramparts.
A tearing scream faded into the distance below.
"Let's see..."
Yuri peered down.
As he had declared, the noble hadn't died. From the start, Yuri had aimed for a small tree growing at the base of the wall.
But that tree couldn't fully absorb the impact of the body crashing into it.
"A broken leg or two should be just right."
The noble lay groaning on the ground, both legs shattered.
"You all think so too, right?"
Yuri shrugged and turned to look behind him.
The soldiers were backing away. They stared at him with eyes full of fear, not even thinking to draw their weapons.
Yuri walked toward the stairs carved into the ramparts as he continued.
"Even trash has to know its place. Who do they think they are, insulting the royal family like that? Don't you agree?"
Yuri patted the shoulder of one soldier who had recoiled sharply.
"Hey, you. What if someone insulted your family? You gonna just stand there?"
"Th-that's..."
"No?"
"No, sir."
"Right. That's what makes us human. Even if you have a role to play, you don't cross the line. No matter if your master..."
Yuri looked up at the castle.
As his gaze reached it, someone standing by a window hurriedly hid.
"...is watching to see if you're doing your job properly or not."
Yuri chuckled and scanned the castle from top to bottom.
The grand structure encircling the ramparts clearly showed just how much wealth Genad had amassed. Once Genad was dead, blood would surely flow over succession rights.
Yuri descended the stairs to the base of the ramparts. A considerable number of soldiers waited behind the gates.
Countless eyes turned toward him, but Yuri paid them no mind.
He addressed the soldier in charge of the mechanism.
"Open the gates."
"Uh, uh..."
"Should I do it?"
"W-wait a second. I mean, this is..."
Meanwhile, the clanking of armor grew loud from behind. A group of knights was rushing over belatedly.
The knight commander at the front spoke up.
"Your Highness. This is overstepping your bounds. Even as royalty, you can't act so recklessly. Show some respect for the Jeteri family!"
Yuri ignored them.
"Hey, move. I'm opening the gates."
"But..."
"You wanna die?"
As Yuri released his killing intent, the soldier instinctively stepped back.
Yuri deftly operated the mechanism. The gates began to move.
One of the knights charged at Yuri.
"Wait, Your Highness!"
He grabbed Yuri's shoulder.
In that instant, Yuri twisted the knight's arm and slammed him to the ground.
Then he flipped open the visor and shoved his gauntleted fist inside.
A scream echoed out.
When Yuri pulled his hand free, his gauntlet was drenched in blood. The knight clutched his helmet and rolled on the ground.
With the visor closed, no one could see the ruin inside. Blood just kept seeping from the cracks.
Yuri clicked his tongue.
"Told you not to touch me."
By then, the gates were still opening. The watching knights drew their swords in unison.
"From here on, it's self-defense. Your Highness, no more warnings."
Yuri responded in kind.
Guilty, now infamous far and wide for always being at Yuri's side, slid free of its sheath.
Yuri gathered his energy. The aura of Heart-Soul Severing, tempered through countless battles, enveloped the air around him.
The weaker knights struggled to breathe, gasping raggedly.
"My warnings end here too."
The knights froze.
The energy radiating from Yuri was far too sharp for them to oppose.
No matter Yuri's reputation as a nobody, it didn't make sense for seasoned knights with lifelong sword training to be so utterly overwhelmed.
The knights realized the truth.
Brioll's third prince, Yuri Brioll.
The praise that he was a genius to succeed Fiore was wrong. He had already surpassed Fiore at the same age.
Perhaps he had even reached the Ten Strong.
"No way..."
The knight commander's mind raced.
They could no longer see him as a mere young third prince.
He imagined other Ten Strong in this situation.
The Black Knight leading thirty knights into Yuges. Or Donchichi arriving with a pack of ogres.
No answers came.
They might need to muster every soldier in Yuges to stop him.
"Knight Commander."
Quick-witted knights whispered from behind.
"Wh-what do we do?"
"His energy is insane."
"We're dead."
Some knights complained of breathing difficulties.
"Can't even breathe properly."
The dense aura crushed their lungs.
The commander glanced back. Genad was surely watching from somewhere in the castle, but he couldn't tell where.
The gates now stood fully open.
The knights Yuri had brought charged in with high spirits, looking like they already owned the place.
"I don't want to drag this out. Step aside or die."
Yuri strode forward as he spoke, his group following.
The commander hesitated as Yuri drew near, countless scenarios swirling in his head.
Blocking him meant defeat. He was an enemy they couldn't handle. But retreating would mean punishment from Genad later.
Pretend to fight and then flee? Or just get out of the way?
What would serve his career better?
But in this crisis, his reason failed. Ancestral instincts screamed to turn tail and run.
In the end, he stepped aside without deciding.
That broke the dam. Yuges's knights scattered left and right.
Yuri let out a loud chuckle and passed him by. He was walking right into the heart of the enemy, yet showed no tension.
Thus, Yuri and his knights pushed past all obstacles into the castle's interior.
The servants inside fled in panic at the sight of the armed knights.
Yuri glanced around the lavish furnishings and luxuries scattered everywhere.
"You've hoarded quite a bit."
Muttering that, he headed upward toward where Genad waited.
Suddenly, Yuri's steps halted.
Enemies appeared.
As Yuri and his knights climbed the stairs, foes blocked the way above to prevent further ascent. Another group had appeared behind, cutting off retreat.
Trapped front and back on the stairs.
It seemed a strategy tailored to handle a powerhouse like Yuri. He was the biggest variable, but confining him in tight spaces would limit his movement.
But it was a mistake.
Yuri smirked and stepped forward.
The enemies reacted instantly. Sword auras from the densely packed knights bore down on him.
Yuri unleashed his own energy. He activated Heart-Soul Severing, layering Chaotic Energy atop it, random possibilities rippling over his blade.
He summoned the Rotating Vortex Blade, the most devastating force in raw destruction.
A swirling pattern appeared along Guilty's blade.
The vortex of sword energy swept the front in an instant. The blocking knights held at first, but as the vortex amplified, they were pushed back.
They collapsed at once, then fell like dominoes.
Red energy filled the view.
Screams echoed through the castle interior.
Shrieks boomed up and down the stairs.
Yuri slipped through the gap he had carved and pressed inward.
Many of the front-line knights lay dead. But overall, the damage was less than when the Imperial Army got caught in his Rotating Vortex Blade.
Meaning these knights were of higher caliber.
Yuri twisted his lips.
Even with this force, Genad had chosen to hole up in Yuges.
Strong knights reduce allied casualties on the battlefield. If they'd all come to Bejos, fewer lives might have been lost.
"What a shame."
Yuri slung Guilty over his shoulder and glared at the enemy.
The knights stared in stunned silence at the sudden slaughter.
"If you'd fought alongside us at Bejos, you'd have known better."
The Rotating Vortex Blade Yuri wielded was infamous not just among the Imperial Army but even Brioll's own forces. Once unleashed, it dyed everything in blood.
A technique optimized for narrow spaces.
But they hadn't known, so they'd thought to block the tight stairs.
Yuri swung freely.
The disorganized enemies couldn't react properly. Then the knights following Yuri charged up the stairs with roars.
"Waaaaah!"
Their voices pierced the enemies' ears along the stairs.
The Yuges knights blocking the rear stood frozen, watching their comrades die.
In close quarters, Yuri's blade relentlessly carved through enemy armor. Guilty sheared metal repeatedly, stripping the soft flesh beneath in seconds.
Blood splattered across Yuri's cheek in countless droplets.
"Hoo, hoo..."
The fight didn't last long.
Yuri massacred them like a wolf among sheep, and his knights finished off the rest, who had lost the will to fight.
One overwhelming powerhouse named Yuri had turned the tide.
Judging his strength by old standards was their fatal error.
Genad might be colluding with the Empire, but he clearly wasn't getting top-tier intelligence.
"Let's go."
The enemies were all dead or in equivalent states, sprawled on the floor.
Yuri passed without a care.
Not just him—his knights showed no dismay or pity. The battlefield had hardened their hearts.
It was a familiar sight to them.
After cutting down one group of knights, the path ahead opened with no further resistance.
The Jeteri family's prestige rang hollow; the way to Genad was far too easy.
Yuri could guess where he was.
"Should we split up?"
"No, we all go together."
Yuri headed for Genad's bedchamber.
Humans huddle in their safest spot when terrified.
He had the castle's layout memorized from Asana's map.
Soon, he encountered another group of knights.
"Drop your weapons, and I won't kill you."
They guarded a large door.
Seeing Yuri and his blood-soaked group, they lost their fighting spirit. Yuri subdued them without a real fight.
Yuri opened the door.
"Ho..."
An unexpected scene unfolded.
Genad sat on the bed in steel armor custom-made for his massive frame, a iron helmet tucked under his arm.
At Yuri's entrance, he looked up calmly.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Genad gave a short reply to Yuri's amused question.
"Your Highness."
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry."
It was a sudden turn.
"My judgment was poor. As a Brioll noble and lord of Yuges, I believed that concentrating all forces at Bejos might invite crisis to Brioll itself."
Yuri was momentarily speechless at his solemn tone.
"So, out of pure loyalty to Brioll! I tearfully left troops in the rear."
"Ah, I see..."
"We couldn't just abandon Brioll and the royal palace entirely. What if someone else got ideas in the meantime? We might defend the border only to lose the capital from within. That was my fear. It's all my fault. My excessive loyalty to Brioll was the issue!"
His brazenness left Yuri, his men, and even the Yuges knights guarding the bedchamber gaping in disbelief.
"Sob, Your Highness!"
Genad rose and dropped to his knees.
"Take my head!"