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156. Engagement – Chapter

Leo Dexter knelt down.

As the winner of the Letii Tournament, he addressed Prince Petra de Klaus with respect.

“I was but a mere novice in swordsmanship, known as ‘Divine Ability.’ I’m deeply honored by your praise.”

Leo deliberately suppressed his pronunciation, mispronouncing his skills as ‘Divine Ability’ to indicate that he lacked the capacity to respond as a true paladin.

Cheers erupted.

The citizens of Manubiul, filling the tournament hall, continued to applaud, blissfully unaware.

Prince Petra de Klaus silently gazed at him, leaving Leo feeling as if a crow’s beak could strike him at any moment, yet he did not lift his bowed head.

The king remained silent. Just as an awkward atmosphere began to settle, Prince Pablo de Klaus, sitting beside him, inquired cautiously.

“Father? Do you have more to say…?”

Mindful of the surrounding gazes, the king waved his hand in silence, seemingly dismissing the winners, and called for a wizard.

Leo let out a sigh of relief. However, upon receiving his sword back and returning to the stage, he shut his eyes tightly as he overheard the king declaring war on the Aisel Kingdom.

What a fool.

Now it all became clear. Why Halpas was present here, why the Austin Kingdom declared war on the Belita Kingdom, and even the origins of the ‘Nine-Day War.’

The king of the Austin Kingdom was likely a paladin as well. With the presence of a black crow, Halpas, there must also be Malhas, its counterpart, the red crow.

The altars found in Barnau, the capital of the Austin Kingdom. Those were drawn by Malpas.

Currently, the kings of the Austin Kingdom and the Aster Kingdom ascended to the throne by killing their fathers who started the Nine-Day War. After splitting the Asran Kingdom in two, they must have amassed power over the past decade and recently began to wage war once more.

This was typical behavior for Malhas, who feeds on the division between victors and losers.

‘So what should I… we do?’

While I have received numerous achievements, I am still merely a swordmaster.

Superior skills compared to an average knight. That’s undoubtedly impressive, but compared to Malhas, who has seized the two northern kingdoms, it meant nothing at all.

“Unexpectedly declaring war… Could it be because the prince flatly refused to go to the Aisel Kingdom last time?”

The citizens, harboring old grievances against the magical kingdom, murmured amongst themselves upon hearing the declaration.

“It seems so. The king wanted to unite the prince with the princess of the Aisel Kingdom, after all. Damn it, how many years has it been since the Nine-Day War…”

But it was still the king’s command. If the king ordered it done, it had to be done.

The citizens, resentfully looking at the prince, forced out cheers, and the Letii Tournament concluded with a grand finale amidst whispers.

Lena Ainar looked perplexedly at the winner, Leo, whose expression had turned completely bleak.

*

“Hahaha! You’re impressive, but your boyfriend is even more impressive! Why haven’t you told me until now?”

On the way back to the inn, Bahatar approached Lena without realizing her feelings.

“Is there anything to say? Our Leo winning? You must have been sure that Uncle Drokza would win instead.”

“Well, I suppose so. Wow, Drokza losing… that took me by surprise. I thought no one could beat him unless they were a knight.”

Bahatar patted the shoulder of his friend Drokza, who was embarrassed.

Lena knew why this uncle held Drokza in such high esteem. She heard it when Leo asked, “What’s the relationship between the Albasete Tribe and Baron Arpen Albasete?”

Baron Arpen Albasete, a swordmaster from the Austin Kingdom and the first barbarian to become a noble, was a friend of Drokza Albasete. They were born in the same tribe, went through trials as great warriors together, and even participated in the Maunin-Leitii Tournament side by side.

However, their paths diverged afterward.

Drokza wished to remain the tribe’s great warrior. He had no interest in becoming a knight, so he rejected the opportunity to knight himself, even after becoming a finalist at the time of the Maunin-Leitii Tournament.

On the other hand, Arpen chose to become a knight. Dreaming of fame, he sent Drokza back and started his life in the knights’ order alone.

At first, he often visited his hometown. He would take a vacation once a year to visit the Albasete Tribe and catch up with his old friend.

But at some point, Arpen stopped visiting home altogether. The last news he sent, before completely cutting off contact, was about the ‘Nine-Day War.’

And everyone knew the story: at the end of the Nine-Day War, Arpen became a swordmaster. He successfully ascended as a noble, becoming the first barbarian baron, achieving his dream of status.

It had been more than a decade since Lena had lost contact with Arpen. Drokza, who had raised his children to be proper warriors, decided he would seek out his friend himself.

A great warrior couldn’t simply leave the tribe at will, so he gathered his friends under the pretense of participating in the Maunin Tournament.

Unfortunately, upon reaching Barnau, he learned that Baron Arpen Albasete was off at war. Discovering from the baron’s butler that the Maunin Tournament wouldn’t take place due to the war, Drokza decided to participate in the Letii Tournament instead, thinking he might find Arpen upon his return if the war ended.

“What about you? Why don’t you try wielding a sword? Who knows? Maybe you will become a swordmaster. Honestly, our skills were quite similar back then.”

“Stop with the nonsense. Wielding a weapon doesn’t mean I’ll improve my skill. Besides, that friend Arpen liked axes, even after becoming a knight. I heard he switched to a great sword now, though…”

Drokza shrugged, playfully acknowledging Bahatar’s joke. After watching the tournament, he leisurely walked back to the inn, just like all the citizens dispersing around him.

By the time they reached the inn, the sun was setting…

At that moment, Leo felt a chill and turned around. He discovered a masked knight striding toward him.

What the hell.

Quick on his feet, Leo panicked and pushed back. Turning to Lena, he shouted, “Run away!” before he began to sprint down the street.

“Leo! Where are you going?!”

There was no time to answer.

Surely, the king wouldn’t send a knight this soon. I thought if I stayed out of trouble, I’d be safe, but it seemed Malhas regarded my presence as an invasion of his territory and intended to kill me.

Moreover, that knight sent by the king was likely a swordmaster. If my previous achievements were not a fluke, he was a monster I could never hope to face.

Here we go again.

As Leo collided with people blocking his path, he lamented his fate.

He had tried to avoid every possible crisis. But with just one encounter with the king, everything had come crashing down.

If only this emblem wasn’t present…

Leo cursed the mark of Barbatos imprinted on his palm.

“Hey! Isn’t that the winner from earlier?!”

The citizens returning home recognized Leo and erupted in applause. There were even warriors whistling, declaring how cool he had been today.

Amidst the fleeting cheers and support, Leo felt an indescribable loneliness.

They knew nothing. They had no idea what was happening in this kingdom.

And Leo was just one ordinary man, running away from that overwhelming evil.

Turning back, Leo wondered if he had created any distance as his breath became ragged, but the petite knight was already closing in.

“Ugh! Damn it!”

Grinding his teeth, Leo turned. As he did, he drew his sword with all his might and swung it.

– Clash!

The masked knight easily blocked the strike. The instant Leo’s blade made contact, the knight twisted his weapon.

Sword Breaker.

A sword so thick it resembled a wooden stick, forged to maximize its strength. It was specialized for shattering an opponent’s sword or testing the durability of weapons.

The knight brought it down again and again. With a surface as hard as wood, the knight clashed, and the moment they met, the knight subtly twisted his blade, causing cracks to emerge in Leo’s sword.

“Ugh!”

Feigning a downward strike, Leo discarded the sword he had received as a prize from the tournament. As the knight deflected the spinning blade, Leo drew his own sword.

[ Achievement: Bound Item, 0/3 ]

[ Sword – Not Destroyed. ]

– Clang!

The knight’s mask shook. Just from a single clash, Leo’s sword’s hardness was gauged, and the knight adjusted his grip.

He aimed the blunt side of the blade at Leo, intending to incapacitate him.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Wasn’t that guy the tournament winner today? Why is he being attacked by a royal knight? Did he do something wrong?”

The citizens, lying in the street, murmured. However, the knight in the mask hesitated at the sight of the royal knight’s uniform, and soon, their mouths fell agape.

Oblivion Blade.

The weapon in the knight’s stance erupted with a blinding white light. The impurities on the sword’s surface turned to ash and fell, and the citizens realized who he was.

“That’s Count Modred!”

“Isn’t he the head of the royal guard? My goodness. That man must have committed some grave error before the king.”

“What’s going on? What on earth are you doing?”

At that moment, the suspecting man presumed to be Count Modred finally spoke. His words were mumbled; no one could understand a single word, but the citizens were convinced.

It was a well-known fact that the count, who lost half of his jaw during the Nine-Day War, could hardly speak. Perhaps sensing the miscommunication, the knight nodded and furiously swung his sword down.

– Crack!

But it was blocked. The undestroyable sword of Leo stood firm against the Oblivion Blade.

The knight, startled, paused, but his expression was hidden behind the mask.

Of course, that wouldn’t change the momentum of the battle. Even having nullified the Oblivion Blade, the gap between the swordmaster and Leo was immense.

They couldn’t exploit their swordsmanship’s traits or strengths because the difference in skill levels was staggering.

The swordmaster twisted his blade at every collision, likely a habit he had of aiming to break swords, utilizing the recoil to unleash a shocking speed of continuous strikes.

Leo was being pushed back severely. With {Swordsmanship.3v: Bart Liu} he merely managed to protect his torso and head. Deep lacerations decorated Leo’s ribs and thighs.

“Ugh!”

I’m going to die like this. Leo sensed his impending doom, but he did his utmost.

There was no reason to die prettily. He had to survive somehow… and escape from here with Lena.

Yet, stumbling backward, he soon found himself with no route to escape. The second military facility of Manubiul, once a fortified haven, stood in his way.

It was a canal.

Unlike the moat encircling the castle walls, the military use of the canal did not involve stopping enemy attacks.

Instead, it served to divide enemy positions surrounding the castle or push the enemy back outside the canal, flowing awkwardly at the castle’s periphery.

While it currently functioned as the waterway for what was now the capital of Manubiul, at any given moment, toxins could be released, or as long as the lunar gate was defended upstream, the ambiance could shift into a flood.

Normally, someone fleeing would rejoice upon discovering such flowing water, but Leo hesitated.

Falling in there would mean death.

Even if the water wasn’t that high, floundering above its slow current, if this knight jumped in, he would undoubtedly be met with a blade.

– Clang!

Perhaps realizing that, the swordmaster crashed his sword against the resilient one of Leo’s.

He planned to push Leo off the ledge.

In terms of strength, Leo, with his larger physique, had the upper hand, but he couldn’t deflect the swordmaster’s blade.

Scratch, scratch, scratch—the eerie sound echoed. If he misstepped and let his weapon slip, he could easily find the knight’s sword cutting through his neck.

For now, he could stall with sheer strength. With injuries on his thighs and ribs, he wasn’t sure how long he could hold out.

The two men’s bodies pressed tightly together. Leo looked up through the gap in the knight’s mask and saw eyes blazing with fierce intensity, and suddenly, an idea struck him.

{Barbatos’ Bracelet}

If I cast [Enthrall Eyes] on this guy, maybe I could temporarily hold him in check?

But this was a consumable… I could only use it three times in total, as indicated by the three beads on the bracelet. And all its uses counted cumulatively.

Fortunately, my current sword wasn’t blessed… but could this guy, whom Halpas clearly commanded, really fall under my enchantment?

Even as his body leaned closer to the low railing, Leo’s mind raced. Then,

“Leo!”

Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, Lena dashed out. The moment the swordmaster’s eyes turned to Lena, Leo sensed there was no escaping anymore.

“Look at me!”

Leo’s eyes turned red. One bead connected to the bracelet shattered, flooding the color into Leo’s eyes.

‘Please. Please. Please.’

Leo anxiously observed the knight’s condition, but…

“Huff!”

The swordmaster’s Oblivion Blade flared fiercely, blindingly bright. Realizing someone dared to cast enthrall upon him, he intensified his assault.

This cannot end well…

– Szzzzz! Clang.

At that moment, the swordmaster spun around. Pulling back his Oblivion Blade that collided with Leo’s sword, he swung in a reverse motion.

“Leo! Are you okay?!”

They had narrowly avoided falling, but Lena’s sword, dashing toward the swordmaster, was easily severed. Having lost her will to fight, she was left trembling, holding only the severed hilt.

“Lena! You too, run away!”

The swordmaster ignored Lena, now disarmed. With terrifying speed, he swung his sword, shoving Leo back violently. Then,

“Ah!”

“…?!”

Lena, who had been trembling, suddenly steadied herself. Throwing aside the hilt that remained, she shouted.

“How could I leave you behind?!”

With that, she lunged toward the swordmaster.

– Whoosh! Crash!

Lena, arms spread wide, collided with the swordmaster. The swordmaster tried to evade, but Lena’s arms wrapped around his torso. As the railing broke, both the swordmaster and Lena plunged into the canal.

“Lena! No!”

Leo, barely hanging from the railing, reached out. He swung his arms to catch Lena’s falling legs, but in his grasp…

…it was her hair.

The recently swung Oblivion Blade had sliced through Lena’s neck. A falling body and a head on a different trajectory caught Leo’s attention, the hair secured by the scrunchie he had bought for her.

With trembling hands, he hoisted Lena’s lightened form up. As her tightly bound hair revolved around the axis of the scrunchie,

[ Lena has died. ]

A message popped up. Her face was obscured before it quickly faded away.