Chapter 235
Chapter 235
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 235
Chapter Title: 92. Overlord Banner (3)
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It was the first time he'd encountered someone acting so rudely, and the king of Oroto was furious.
His anger spread like a contagion, causing even his knights to glare murderously at the Vengeance Knights.
Brioll's knights, who had been taken aback by Yuri's behavior at first, instinctively snarled back as soon as Oroto showed open hostility.
A tense, murderous atmosphere formed.
With both sides lined up in front of the dueling grounds, facing off, the king of Oroto spoke.
"They say Brioll is a nation of knights, but you're utterly lacking in manners. Acting like common bandits..."
"Ah, you're all talk. Just prepare the flag already."
"You...!"
"Sorry, but we're short on time. Please understand."
The king of Oroto glared at Yuri before breaking into a smirk.
"Fine. You want to complete the Overlord Banner, right? But that's not going to happen."
"Yes, yes."
"I said it's not going to happen."
"Got it. Let's just fight already."
"Tch...!"
Yuri turned to look behind him. The four knights who would step up for the Overlord Banner duel nodded.
"Follow the plan."
"Yes, sir!"
Yuri's strategy was simple.
Just trust each other and trust their skills.
To prevent the enemy from scheming with the order, he'd randomly assigned himself and Jared to three random slots out of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, then randomly placed the other three in the remaining spots.
They'd drawn lots, so even their allies didn't know the order.
In contrast, Oroto had tried to exploit Brioll's blind spot by placing their strongest knight first.
They were betting on the usual tactic of saving the ace for last, guaranteeing at least one win.
But the Vengeance Knights' lineup defied common sense.
"Oh, perfect."
"Looks like their first is their strongest too."
Thanks to the lots, Yuri had coincidentally drawn first place.
The enemy knight's face paled.
His name was Norris, Oroto's strongest knight, known as the Swordsman of the Thorn Tree.
There was a famous story that as a child, he'd trained by striking a thorn tree with a wooden sword until its surface was smoothed out.
He raised his sword with a stiff expression.
"I look forward to a fair and honorable duel."
"Likewise."
Unlike his earlier noisy taunts, Yuri offered no provocations once he stepped into the dueling grounds.
He'd only discarded etiquette to speed things up; he had no real intent to insult.
"Begin!"
The moment the duel started, Norris lunged forward.
Just as they'd twisted the order beforehand, this was meant to throw Yuri off with an unpredictable charge.
"Whoa..."
But ambushes only work on foes who can't react in time.
Yuri was faster than Norris in every way.
Even after Norris's sword was nearly upon him, Yuri had time to spare.
"Tch!"
"Good attempt."
Though he'd been rude to Oroto, Yuri felt a twinge of remorse, so instead of an instant takedown, he decided to drag it out a few seconds and offer some guidance.
Yuri's sword targeted Norris's openings, shifting forms dozens of times.
Anyone watching would gain some insight by following the path of Yuri's blade.
"...!"
Norris was no slouch; he was a top knight of his nation. He realized Yuri's intent and widened his eyes.
"This is...!"
Yuri was breaking down Norris's techniques and demonstrating counters.
Norris clearly saw his swordsmanship being dismantled in every conceivable way.
Exotic paths Norris had never imagined unfolded one after another.
"Watch closely."
The sword aura of Heart-Soul Severing Yuri unleashed left multiple afterimages in the air before vanishing like a dream.
It was brief.
But it was enough.
Norris dropped his sword.
"I concede."
"Sir Norris."
Yuri slung Guilty over his shoulder and said,
"Well fought."
Norris stared into space, still replaying Yuri's trajectories, before bowing to him.
"I've learned something today."
"And I admire your courage. That's what a knight is all about."
This was sincere.
From the moment they stepped onto the field, Norris had sensed defeat. The gap in their realms was too vast to miss.
Yet he hadn't given up or played passively. He'd charged forward, giving his all for even the slimmest chance.
Yuri respected that mindset.
"If I were in your shoes, I couldn't have done what you just did. Impressive. Sir Norris, Swordsman of the Thorn Tree."
The duel ended on such a heartwarming note that both sides' knights looked baffled.
They couldn't adjust to the sudden shift in mood.
Fortunately, Jared was next, shattering the awkwardness in an instant.
"Is that all you've got? Haha! Hahahaha!"
Jared struck down his opponent, then threw his head back in laughter, hands on his hips.
The knights' eyes blazed once more. Curses flew from the Oroto side.
Jared grinned as he stepped down from the field.
"Better than getting all sappy and awkward, right?"
"..."
Perhaps due to the overheated atmosphere, their third fighter, Tirbo, lost. His opponent was Oroto's number two.
"I'm sorry. I've tarnished Brioll's honor. For this sin, I'll pay with my life..."
"Pay with money, not your life."
"Pardon?"
"You're a count's heir, right? Must be loaded."
"Yes. Heh heh..."
"Good. Money it is. I hate dramatic stuff. I prefer tangible rewards."
But there were no further upsets.
Gines struck down the next Oroto knight. Thus, the Overlord Banner duel ended in Brioll's victory.
Three to one.
A solid result.
"That knight's got insane skill. His swordplay was like lightning."
"Brioll truly is a nation of knights. Terrifying bunch..."
"He looks young too. Impressive."
"We lost, but he fought well..."
Oroto's knights whispered among themselves, eyeing Gines.
Yuri glanced anew at Simon and Gines.
He'd underestimated them inwardly, remembering their frailty in the old Allied Forces, but here in a foreign land, they were hailed as powerhouses.
"You've grown a lot. Still seem lacking to me, though..."
"Haha, compared to you, Your Highness, we're sorely lacking."
"We need to train more."
They only seemed lacking by Yuri's standards. Simon and Gines were now recognized as the Vengeance Knights' top fighters after Jared—action leaders, essentially.
"Well done, Gines."
"Thank you. Heh heh..."
Once things settled, Yuri approached the king of Oroto and bowed politely.
"Please forgive my earlier rudeness."
"Hmph..."
"I knew it went against etiquette, but we were pressed for time."
"Even so. Acting like thugs..."
"Yes, my apologies."
The king of Oroto still looked miffed, but he soon had a retainer hand over the flag.
"I heard roughly from that Anavas king."
"Pardon?"
"Empire this, black magic that—nonsense I couldn't follow, so I tossed the communication orb."
"Ah..."
"Seems you've got your reasons. Go ahead and complete the Overlord Banner. It means a lot to our alliance, so it'll lend weight to your words. Then I'll listen seriously."
"Understood."
"Tch, now take this and scram."
Yuri passed Oroto's flag to the knights behind him.
He bowed to the king once more.
"Your Majesty, we're in a hurry, so we'll depart immediately."
"Without even sleeping?"
"Yes. We still have many nations left to challenge."
"You're serious."
The king of Oroto burst into laughter.
"Fine. Give it a shot. If you've got the skill, rudeness becomes confidence. I might even witness the Overlord Banner before I die."
With that, the Vengeance Knights left Oroto and continued challenging nations to Overlord Banner duels.
Their momentum was unstoppable.
Yuri and Jared never lost, and the other three won most of their matches.
The worst was three to one; most were shutouts at three to zero.
The number of flags the Vengeance Knights carried had grown noticeably.
"Whew..."
But the toll caught up; the entire order was exhausted.
Riding nonstop without rest, camping rough every night, their stamina was draining.
So before heading to the next nation, Yuri called a camp halt to let everyone recover.
"Your Highness."
"Hm?"
"May I sit?"
"Sure."
Yuri, who had been sorting the flags they'd collected in front of the tent, nodded. Jared sat beside him.
"What is it?"
"I heard something odd from that Grigio guy we fought today."
"What?"
"Well..."
As Jared continued, he glanced at the flags Yuri had laid out.
"But seriously, do these even fit together?"
"Yeah, tell me about it."
The Vengeance Knights had gathered seven flags so far.
They still needed nine more, but seven was a decent haul.
Yet no matter how he arranged them, they didn't form a cohesive image.
Yuri, who had been waving a flag around, looked at Jared.
"So, what happened?"
"Ah, right."
Jared said,
"He mentioned there might be other outsiders joining the Overlord Banner duels besides us."
"Sure about that?"
"Not certain. He just let it slip. Said he heard from a friend in another country that some unfamiliar knights showed up, and warned me to be prepared."
"Hm..."
"And there were five of them. Suspicious timing, right?"
Yuri looked down at the flags, then gathered them up.
"Probably the Empire."
"You think?"
"The alliance has always been close to the Empire, so word spreading fast isn't surprising. They're sending knights to interfere with us."
"Then..."
"The Overlord Banner duels might get tougher from here."
Thinking back to the last great war, things had been too easy.
"Time to stay sharp. They might even be collecting flags themselves, just like us."
"That far?"
"The Empire's been quiet lately, but they're not sitting idle."
Yuri gazed toward the Empire.
The cold northern wind blew.
For some time now, an ominous aura had emanated from the northern skies. A crawling unease prickled his skin.
Yuri thought of Cedric.
He hadn't stopped. He was surely plotting in the shadows.
Rolang and Cori wandered the continent aimlessly.
Rolang was a master swordsman, and Cori could use magic, so they had decent ways to earn coin.
But both were hideous to behold, so people kept their distance.
Unable to mingle with humans, they scraped by on occasional bandit hunts or beast slaying jobs.
"This area's the Small Nations Alliance."
Cori, walking ahead, said. Rolang didn't reply.
"Not the Empire or Brioll. No ties to us, so it should be fine, right?"
"Shut up."
"Heh heh..."
The two trudged along unpaved roads toward the Small Nations Alliance.
At first, Cori had only thought of returning to Brioll, but traveling with Rolang changed his mind.
"What if there's no work here?"
"..."
"Help with farming or something?"
"Ridiculous."
Rolang actually responded, for once.
"You think anyone would accept these ugly mugs? Haven't looked in a mirror lately, half-orc?"
"..."
"Yeah, keep your mouth shut and walk. You're annoying."
After walking some more, a carriage appeared behind them and soon caught up.
Wearing hoods that hid their faces, the driver—who hadn't seen them—called out cheerfully.
"Hey, where you folks headed?"
Cori clutched the edge of his hood and replied.
"T-to the Small Nations Alliance."
"Which part?"
"Uh... well..."
"Ah, you're wandering vagrants, huh."
He pointed to the carriage behind him.
"Got room. Want a lift to the nearest village?"