Chapter 202

Ironblood Party leader Marcus was not originally a direct descendant of a high noble.

The previous Marquis Instromentum had a younger brother, and he was the illegitimate child made with that brother’s slave.

Having shown magical talent at a young age, he caught his father’s attention and was allowed to live in the mansion, but he had always been treated like a halfwit.

“He’s not a noble.”

“That’s why his eyes are just black and his ears aren’t long, right?”

“They say he won’t become a Sword Expert… then he can’t even be a knight.”

“Hey, illegitimate child.”

“……Yes, miss.”

His father loved his mother, but his mother died giving birth to him, and his father could neither hate nor love him.

No, he loved him while hating him.

“Was there nothing unusual today?”

“Yes. It was a good day.”

‘Even with all those bruises showing.’

He could not be expelled, but he was not embraced either.

However, humans are creatures of adaptation, and Marcus, who had a pureblood human mother, was closer to being human compared to his cousins who had heavily mixed heterogeneous blood, allowing him to adapt in some way.

“Hey, illegitimate child.”

“Yes, miss.”

“……Teach me some magic. You’re good at it.”

“Why can’t I… No. I understand. I can teach you that much anytime.”

“Right. That’s how it should be.”

“By the way, miss.”

“What?”

“Do you want to learn magic from a lowly illegitimate child, or do you want to learn magic from your half-brother Marcus?”

“Uh, um?”

“…….”

“…….”

He relied on his innate intelligence and magical talent, neat appearance, and eloquent speech to integrate somewhat among his half-siblings.

Then, when he turned 13, his father rebelled against the Marquis Instromentum.

“Rebellion!”

“Protect the young lords!”

“Kyaaah!”

In the process, the direct line of the main house was completely shattered, and the vassals and collateral relatives who hurriedly came only saw the illegitimate child.

“I can’t pledge loyalty to something like that.”

“Let’s just put him somewhere for now.”

“Even though his succession priority is ahead of that kid.”

“Who would recognize that?”

“…….”

Marcus was locked up in a room.

“In the end, power is paramount.”

He melted silver utensils to create silver wires and a curtain rod to reproduce an ancient magic firearm.

“Please, spare me.”

“Your words are too short.”

“Please spare me!”

“Not interested.”

And he shot everyone who mocked him to death.

“What should I live for now?”

The only remaining retainer bowed and advised him.

“Please do what Your Excellency can do.”

Regardless of everything, he had lost the family he had managed to blend into.

The vassals and collateral he had trusted were gone too.

The grand house of Instromentum belonged solely to him.

Marcus was 14 years old.

* * *

“If I can do it, I will. Yes, I can, so I will.”

Four mechanical knights thrust their swords toward Valenciaunos.

Crash!

The heavy body covered in metal plates and mechanical devices shot out like a bullet from an arrow.

The knight pointed his sword forward, and the sword was infused with mana blades, electrical currents, and the spell ‘Blade Storm.’

It was a strike sufficient to end the legend of Valenciaunos in one blow.

“Damn it!”

He stepped in a diamond shape, dodging the charge of the first mechanical knight.

Swoosh!

But the second mechanical knight didn’t miss that exact spot and threw a ‘Thunder Net.’

The half-collapsed tent’s sky was covered in a lattice pattern.

Screech!

And the third knight charged up from the ground.

Like the first knight, it was a massive strike with a sword aimed forward, covered in all sorts of magic.

In an instant, Valenciaunos gritted his teeth.

‘I can’t die in a place like this!’

What Marcus said about doing what he can was not only his phrase.

He sparked the imperial swordsmanship with the vertically torn eye of the dragon.

The imperial swordsmanship, contrary to its name, was closer to a mana control technique that blended well with swordsmanship.

Of course, it required a sword to realize its true potential, but a swordsman of that caliber could manipulate mana as if he had a sword even without one.

“Ugh!”

What should have become a mana blade twisted at his fingertips and collided, blood bursting forth from under Valenciaunos’s nails.

But he finally succeeded in activating the imperial swordsmanship.

Imperial Swordsmanship Level 4, Self-Destruction.

Imperial Swordsmanship Level 5, Asa.

Awakening and consciousness intensification that puts his subordinates at risk were simultaneously manifested, and Valenciaunos’s pupils expanded for a moment.

Snap!

The third mechanical knight was right up in front of him.

The blade intertwined with blade storm, electrical currents, and mana blades was infinitely cold.

Without hesitation, Valenciaunos charged at the mechanical knight.

He grabbed its thick wrist, tripped its strong ankle, and as he turned his body, he bent low.

Sword wrestling honed over 40 years showed its best synergy when combined with Asa.

Crash!

The mechanical knight, over 2 meters tall and weighing several hundred kilograms, spun around and collapsed to the ground.

Valenciaunos stepped on its breastplate and seized its sword.

“Ugh!”

The sword, Black Tear, was more than three spans longer and weighed three times as much, but at least it was a sword.

He reflexively summoned a mana blade and swung it up.

Slash!

Just before it reached his head, the electrical net was cleanly cut.

“Hah, hah.”

Valenciaunos exhaled roughly, looking at Marcus.

He was staining his dazzling platinum hair with blood dripping from his temples, but a cruel calm had reappeared on his enchanting face.

Marcus coldly stared at the mechanical knight lying beneath his feet, and the knight, attempting to rise, threw a steel fist at Valenciaunos.

Valenciaunos smirked wickedly and precisely struck down his sword toward the knight’s elbow joint.

The mana blade and incantation flames were thickly woven into that strike.

Crack!

In a single blow, gears splintered, steam escaped, and chains broke.

“Aaah!”

The mechanical knight screamed from within its helmet, and red blood flowed between its armor.

“Finally.”

Valenciaunos smiled warmly, and Marcus clenched his teeth.

The remaining three mechanical knights wrapped their swords in mana blades and their steel fists in magic.

* * *

“I must retract my praise for being daring.”

“Do as you please.”

Marcus gritted his teeth, and Valenciaunos unnecessarily extended his finger, cursing.

The curse was so vulgar that it was hard to believe it came from someone of royal blood, and the mechanical knights doubted their own ears.

Valenciaunos wildly swung his sword while casually inquiring about the well-being of his parents and family.

“Hahaha!”

The mana blade was not an ordinary mana blade.

He was a swordsman trained in imperial swordsmanship for 40 years, capable of compressing the quality of mana to the extreme regardless of quantity, and moreover, he had dramatically increased the amount through the Spirit of Valor.

Add to that his peculiar sadism and cruelty, delicate strikes, and swift steps, and it was a nightmare for the massive mechanical knights.

Crack!

The first knight’s strike chopped at Valenciaunos’s sword.

Originally, it should have broken the sword and cut down the wielder, but the Bandit Duke easily deflected the attack to the side.

“Hah.”

And then he spun the sword around, aiming directly at the knight’s armpit.

The first mechanical knight twisted its body, attempting to deflect the attack.

It was because it saw Valenciaunos’s sword carving through their metal plates.

Swish.

But this time, his sword slipped with no power and flowed off the first knight’s metal plates.

“Huh?”

‘I’ve been had.’

Valenciaunos ducked swiftly while maintaining the momentum of his charge, dodging to the side of the first knight.

At that moment, the second knight’s strike and the fourth knight’s sword strike ignited.

“What are you doing?”

“You should’ve stopped him from escaping!”

“No, that’s… Damn it!”

The first knight felt fear for the first time from the Bandit Duke.

That monstrous laugh was not just bluster; it was real skill.

‘Coordinating attacks is harder than people think. To strike without interfering with each other, it requires long practice. We’ve been working in tandem for decades, and that bastard disrupted it all in an instant.’

Off-beat steps, elegant yet delicate swordsmanship, strikes that were sometimes powerful and sometimes weak, flames obscuring sight and heating the body.

All of it was executed under Valenciaunos’s calculations.

“This won’t do.”

Marcus wrapped a purple mana blade around his estoc and joined in.

Valenciaunos chuckled playfully.

“What difference does it make if one more illegitimate child gets involved?”

However, inwardly, he sighed and cursed.

‘Damn it! Damn it! Destructive magic. The fact that it’s usable as a magic tool is impressive.’

Destructive magic is a branch of magic dealing with pure force, manipulating spells such as telekinesis and force fields.

Jeilliris’s favorite spell, Spear of Wrath, was also a destructive magic spell.

Slash!

Marcus thrust his estoc into the air, and a colossal stab surged forth, shimmering in violet.

Valenciaunos tensed and swung his great sword to cut through the violet energy.

“Damn it!”

Crash!

He struck down with considerable force, but the violet energy burrowed into Valenciaunos’s body.

“!”

He gritted his teeth and stifled a moan.

Blood burst forth from his eyes and nose, flowing down in streams.

Destructive magic was incredibly powerful but consumed a lot of mana, making it difficult to defend against.

It felt like all the scales that wrapped his body like armor were being ripped away.

“Push forward!”

The mechanical knights raised their swords again, and even the knight who had fallen previously aided the fight with spells inscribed on their armor.

Every time Valenciaunos attempted to dodge their attacks, Marcus’s thrusts exploded.

“Ugh!”

“Hahaha!”

At that moment, a retainer rushed over and shouted at Marcus.

“Your Excellency! Urgent news!”

Marcus’s refined face contorted in anger as he shouted.

“Can’t you see the situation right now? Why isn’t anyone coming while I’m like this? Do you know how much I’ve tried to hide my tension?”

“It’s just that… Uargh!”

Valenciaunos screamed midway, but the retainer ignored him and reported.

“The Great Lords are retreating. They are managing to hold on for now, but it won’t be easy.”

“!”

Marcus’s expression fell.

While Valenciaunos evaded the mechanical knights’ swords, he was fuming.

“You’re in a pickle, but they’re not.”

“Valenciaunos!”

“You were the only desperate one, whether negotiating with the church or the Great Lords. You probably thought it was a win-win for you, and objectively, it was, but you thought the other lords wouldn’t know you were benefiting?”

* * *

Grace Kimmelion Gremoryus, a great noble from the outskirts of the Central region with beautiful black hair adorned with a black iron crown, calmly issued an order.

“Have the Golden Knights retreat.”

Her loyal retainer complied with the command, and the banner knight who received the order signaled to the knights.

Grace sank back into a soft chair, twisting her face.

It was true that she wanted to take revenge on those wicked, inhuman twins.

But she could not stake everything on it.

She was a great noble ruling over 200,000 citizens and millions of subjects who depended on her to feed them, educate their children, and find them partners.

She could not burn them all for the sake of revenge.

She could distinguish between what would be good if it happened and what really would happen.

With neatly tied reddish-brown hair and chilling azure eyes sparkling sharply, Signain Elzenus Proihait smiled cunningly as she instructed.

“Order the Golden Knights to come back. Don’t clear the path from the front, and don’t fight fiercely either. We can’t know how things will unfold once we escape first.”

She believed that befriending the strong was a virtue, and currently, the capital was teeming with strong individuals.

However, no matter what, the supreme strong was Jeilliris.

And to Signain’s eyes, the only priest who could sway that languid demi-god’s mind was Valenciaunos.

‘Of course, I have to befriend that side. I was planning to tempt them this time, but Cariosa is just too strong. Of course, I have no intention of giving up!’

Meanwhile, there were lords who were not watching cautiously.

The lesser nobles from the southwest, accompanied by their horror black-bird cavalry, blocked the retreating forces of the mechanical knights from Instromentum.

At that moment, a swarm of sharks from the eastern region bit into their flanks.