Chapter 261

Chapter 262. You Want to Fight Dirty? Fine by Me (2)

“Prince Jordic, you are the only hope of the Baydant family.”

Jordic, who had been in seclusion for training, looked at the man who had suddenly appeared before him, spouting nonsense.

His name was Nether. Jordic knew the name, but they had never met. He was a close aide to Brother Bolos.

“What nonsense are you—”

“It’s the last will of Prince Bolos.”

“……?!”

At the mention of a will, Jordic’s eyes widened. Did that mean Bolos was dead?

Nether had returned to the Baydant family immediately after killing Bolos. He had kept Bolos’s death a secret and had come to Jordic first.

“This is the will of Lord Bolos.”

Nether handed Jordic a parchment, his face pretending to hold back tears. Jordic snatched it and read it immediately.

– Jordic. If you’re reading this, I’m no longer alive. I won’t waste words. I have many younger brothers, but you, Jordic, are the only one fit to be the family head. Please, in my stead, make the Baydant family a prestigious house and fulfill the wishes of our father, me, and our ancestors.

It was unmistakably Bolos’s handwriting, and his blood seal was clearly stamped.

“…….”

*Crunch.*

Jordic crumpled the parchment without hesitation and glared at Nether.

Nether tensed. Jordic’s face was dry, like desert sand, not a single tear in sight.

Jordic asked, “Who killed my brother?”

“Keter of the Sephira family. He assassinated Prince Bolos.”

“Can you prove it?”

“There’s no evidence, but there are many witnesses. Many family heads saw Prince Bolos and Keter arguing.”

“So, even with the family heads watching… Keter killed my brother?”

“No. He didn’t kill him openly. He used poison, a cowardly method. I’m sorry. I tried my best to neutralize the poison, but… Keter used such a tricky poison that there was no time to act.”

Nether’s eyes reddened, tears threatening to fall.

*Clang.*

Jordic silently pulled out his spear from the wall. The eerie aura emanating from the spear made Nether’s skin crawl.

‘An artifact? And a high-grade one at that.’

Nether had been hired by Bolos and knew everything about the Baydant family, but this spear was something he had never seen before.

‘Jordic. He’s a promising talent. To reach 5-Star Master in less than a year… With that artifact, he could even face a 6-Star Grandmaster.’

Of course, even so, it seemed impossible to defeat Keter. But Jordic wasn’t the only 6-Star powerhouse in the Baydant family.

Though they lacked a 7-Star Prime, the Baydant family had several 6-Star experts. They were more than capable of taking on the Sephira family.

“Prince Jordic, no, Lord Jordic. The Family War begins in three days.”

Nether already knew about the Family War. He had planned it with Bolos.

The Baydant family’s target was, of course, the Sephira family. They had secretly prepared for the Family War, with the Tiger Cavalry being their trump card.

Even Jordic, who had been solely focused on training, was surprisingly aware of the Family War. He had heard about it from Sword Dragon Rajis at the Southern Sword Tournament.

Moreover, the Baydant family wasn’t alone. Most families in the Southern Region would support them with knights.

On the other hand, the Sephira family, lacking information, would be caught off guard by the sudden Family War.

It was no exaggeration to say that the entire Southern Region’s families would face the Sephira family alone. Both in numbers and quality, the Baydant family would overwhelm the Sephira family, who were unprepared.

But Jordic didn’t smile. While the goal of victory was achievable, something felt off, and it angered him.

‘At the very least, I will defeat Keter.’

The humiliation he suffered in Hakoz Village and the despair he felt at the Southern Sword Tournament.

Jordic had trained relentlessly, disregarding the toll on his body and mind, to surpass Keter.

As a result, he had reached 5-Star Master in a short time, but that wasn’t enough.

Keter’s divine power at the Southern Sword Tournament was already at 6-Star level. To defeat him, Jordic needed to reach 6-Star as well.

But the wall to 6-Star was too high. The gap between 4-Star and 5-Star was nothing compared to this.

Just as he was about to give up, an elder of the family approached him and handed him a spear.

“This spear is called Gungnir. It has the power of ‘certain hit.'”

Jordic, hidden in the shadows, asked the elder, “With this spear, can I defeat Keter and the Sephira family?”

The Baydant family elder was from the Moon Beast Tribe, a race known for their foresight. Jordic expected a positive answer.

“Gungnir is not a spear to defeat the Sephira family. It is a spear to protect the Baydant family.”

“What do you mean…?”

“The future has changed. The Baydant family must stop expanding and focus solely on protecting itself.”

Jordic couldn’t understand. For nearly 50 years, the Baydant family had worked to bring down the Sephira family and become a prestigious house.

But now, they were supposed to stop and retreat? It made no sense, neither logically nor physically.

But before Jordic could ask more, the Moon Beast elder disappeared.

“I’m getting tired too.”

The Moon Beast Tribe, once overflowing with confidence, could no longer see the future clearly. All prophets had lost their abilities. They couldn’t foresee the future accurately anymore, and without knowing the cause, they couldn’t fix it.

The last thing the Moon Beast Tribe foresaw was the Baydant family’s crisis and Jordic’s refusal to heed their advice to retreat.

What came after, even the Moon Beast Tribe couldn’t foresee. The fate of the Baydant family and their own.

But they couldn’t just sit back and do nothing, so they handed over their treasure, Gungnir, to Jordic. After all, if the Baydant family fell, so would they.

Though Jordic didn’t know the details, he could feel it too. The Baydant family’s decline.

It wasn’t just Jordic. All the Baydant family’s vassals felt it. This was all thanks to Bolos and the Sephira family.

The previous family head, Patra, had disappeared without a trace. How could that be possible?

Thus, Bolos had almost forcibly taken the position of family head and began to manipulate the family as he pleased. Especially, he spent an enormous amount of the family’s wealth to bring down the Sephira family.

The original plan was to crush the Sephira family decisively in the Family War.

“We must break the Sephira family’s pride before the Family War begins!”

Bolos had insisted, ignoring all objections from his vassals, and spent money recklessly. And it all failed. The only saving grace was that the family’s military remained intact, but morale had hit rock bottom.

And now, in the midst of all this, Bolos had been killed by Keter…

‘It’s for the best.’

Jordic thought to himself. Though they were brothers, they weren’t particularly close.

In fact, when he saw the will Nether gave him, he suspected it was a forgery. Even if the handwriting was perfect, Bolos would never use honorifics with him. He began to suspect it was all Nether’s scheme.

Jordic’s head hurt. Just thinking about the Family War was enough to give him a headache, and now he had to deal with Nether too.

But he also felt that Nether genuinely wanted to bring down the Sephira family, so he decided to clear the air.

“Sir Nether. I know you are the leader of the Tiger Cavalry. Though your employer, Bolos, is dead, can you still fight for the Baydant family until the end?”

“Of course. I also wish to avenge Prince Bolos.”

Now, there was no turning back from the Family War. They had already received too much support and resources to bring down the Sephira family.

And the changed Sephira family would never leave the Baydant family alone.

‘Regardless of what the Sephira family does, Keter will never let us be.’

Like it or not, a full-scale war with the Sephira family was inevitable. Jordic forced down a sigh filled with worry and headed to the family head’s office.

There, he announced Bolos’s death and declared himself the new family head.

The vassals didn’t oppose him. They too believed Jordic was the only one who could replace Bolos.

Thus, the day of the Family War announcement arrived, and Jordic immediately called a meeting. Though ambushing the Sephira family was a cowardly act unbefitting a knight, Jordic, now the family head, steeled his resolve.

‘No matter the means, we must win the Family War against the Sephira family.’

The Baydant family was aligned with the Crown Prince. They were well-versed in the rules of the Family War.

A family that received a Family War proposal could not refuse.

However, a negotiation period of up to three days was given. During this time, the two families could negotiate new rules or adjust the schedule. ‘When and where to fight. No ambushes.’ That sort of thing.

After three days or the end of negotiations, the Family War would begin. From then on, it would be a fight to the death until one side was completely destroyed.

“Phew.”

Jordic, who arrived at the meeting room first, calmed his trembling heart in the empty room.

No matter how resolute he was, he was only twenty-seven. He had spent most of his life learning the spear. He had never taken family head lessons or experienced war.

But Jordic knew that if he, as the family head, showed nervousness or lack of confidence, the vassals’ morale would drop. So he tried his best to appear composed.

However.

“…What’s going on?”

He hadn’t checked the time, but Jordic felt at least ten minutes had passed. Yet, no one had come to the meeting room.

Sweat dripped from Jordic’s forehead. Had he mistaken the meeting time? Or were the vassals ignoring him? All sorts of thoughts flooded his mind.

“No, that can’t be.”

The vassals were loyal and had all agreed to his becoming the family head. It couldn’t all be an act.

“Something’s clearly wrong.”

Just as Jordic felt a strange unease.

*Bang bang bang!*

“Lord, Lord! Are you alright? I’m coming in!”

A family guard suddenly burst into the meeting room. The fully armed knight sighed in relief upon seeing Jordic unharmed.

“Why haven’t the vassals come, and why are you rushing in?”

When Jordic asked, the knight replied with a troubled expression.

“That’s… all the vassals have been kidnapped.”

“……?!”

“The knight captains are safe, but their families have been taken. They were threatened that if they didn’t come immediately, their families would be burned alive…”

“Every single one of them?”

“Yes…”

*Bang!*

Unable to contain his rising anger, Jordic punched the wall.

“Who dares to mess with the Baydant family?!”

“It’s the work of the Assassin Guild. Thankfully, they were only kidnapped, not killed. They don’t have the guts for that. They left a message saying they’d release them if we paid the ransom.”

“Why would those scum suddenly target the Baydant family? And the ransom? How much do they want?!”

“Five thousand gold per person.”

“Grrr!”

A vein popped on Jordic’s forehead. Five thousand gold. It wasn’t an amount they could easily part with, nor was it too large, making it oddly realistic.

“Only the vassals were kidnapped? What about the others?”

“We’re still checking, but it seems others were taken too. We’ve significantly increased the family’s security and are searching for any hidden assassins.”

“Phew…”

Jordic took a deep breath. He didn’t know why the Assassin Guild had suddenly targeted the Baydant family, or why now, but he had to stay calm. The vassals weren’t dead. They were just kidnapped, and they could be saved by paying the ransom.

Just as he was trying to calm himself, a butler came running in, handing Jordic a parchment.

“L-Lord. A collector from the Infinite Bank has arrived.”

“A collector from the Infinite Bank?!”

Before the butler could finish, a man in a black suit and a bowler hat appeared at the end of the hallway.

The Infinite Bank’s collectors were infamous for collecting debts from anyone, no matter who they were. Even if the debtor was penniless, or even the emperor himself.

But why had such a collector suddenly come to the Baydant family?

It wasn’t for a debt. As far as Jordic knew, the Baydant family had never borrowed money from the Infinite Bank.

“Let’s see what this is about.”

Jordic unfolded the parchment and his eyes widened.

“T-This is…!”

Though old, Jordic immediately recognized the handwriting.

It was from the events in Hakoz Village, the contract he had made with Keter.

– Jordic El Baydant, representing the Baydant family, agrees to transfer the amount of ‘30,000’ gold to Keter El Sephira.

This must be completed within one month as stated in the contract, and in case of non-compliance, Keter gains the right to claim ten times the amount, ‘300,000’ gold, as per the contract’s terms.

Additionally, Keter agrees to keep the Baydant family’s secrets in exchange for the aforementioned amount.

His blood signature was clearly stamped, leaving no room for denial.

And that wasn’t all. The contracts he had made to save the Silver Leopard Knight Corps were also attached.

And the contracts clearly stated that if the payment wasn’t made within one month, they would have to pay ten times the agreed amount.

“T-This…!”

Jordic felt wronged. He had indeed signed it, but he hadn’t been in a position to pay.

‘But I was imprisoned by the Sephira family at the time. I couldn’t pay this money!’

After being released, he had honestly forgotten about the existence of these contracts.

After all, it had been a desperate situation at the time. But as they say, the mind changes when entering and exiting the bathroom, and after the problem was resolved, he had completely forgotten about it.

But even so, if Keter had pressed for the money, he would have paid. He had no intention of breaking the promise outright.

But Keter hadn’t pressed, and now, after all this time, he had sent the Infinite Bank’s collector to demand the money.

To send a collector, the debtor must have failed to pay for over half a year, and now was exactly that time.

‘Could it be… he planned this from the beginning?’

Jordic’s trembling hands checked the last page of the parchment. The total amount the Baydant family had to pay was…

– ‘2.59 million’ gold.

“Gah!”

The amount was seven times more than he had imagined, and Jordic felt like fainting.

Then, a person came to mind. The one who had hired the assassins to kidnap the vassals. It had to be him.

“Keterrrr!”

Before the Family War even began, the Baydant family was on the brink of bankruptcy.