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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Teottry
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“Are you just going to let this go?”
The legitimate heir of Dressten had attempted to break the alliance. As the head of the family, the Count had a responsibility to manage his heir.
Count Dressten’s affable smile hardened.
“What do you want?”
Nobles rarely apologized, even when their mistakes were clear. At most, they would offer a vague expression of regret, much like modern nations these days.
Instead, material compensation was the norm. They valued their honor above all else.
“What can you offer?”
The burden of deciding the compensation fell on Count Dressten. After all, I didn’t know what he possessed.
It was unlikely that I would receive a suitable compensation if I tried to decide myself.
So, I left it to him. That way, he wouldn’t be able to offer a paltry compensation, lest he tarnish the reputation of his noble family.
Count Dressten sank into thought, his face troubled.
I turned my gaze to the resumed match.
‘Aaron is beyond the Count’s control.’
The important question wasn’t why, but how.
Even a legitimate heir could lose his head if he fell out of favor with the head of the family. And yet, Aaron had openly defied him.
He wouldn’t have done so, unless he was certain that the Count couldn’t touch him.
‘Is Aaron’s power way greater that even the Count can’t control him?’
While a lord wielded absolute power in his own territory, there were times when he couldn’t even choose his own heir.
For example, when the lady of the house’s influence was equal to or greater than the lord’s.
A wife with a higher social standing and a substantial dowry would inevitably exert a powerful influence over the family’s affairs.
‘Come to think of it, Aaron was raised by his mother’s family.’
Just then, my eyes met Aaron’s, who was watching me from a corner of the spectator stands.
Unlike the Count and his second son, who resembled each other like two peas in a pod and had a foxy look, Aaron had sharp eyes that gave him a predatory aura.
Of course, his constantly darting eyes were a blemish on his otherwise an intimidating appearance.
“I’ll be responsible for your army’s supplies during the expedition to the Northern Continent.”
I was almost impressed by the Count’s conclusion.
It was a hardly clever move.
Objectively, supplying an army was a huge loss. An army was a purely consumptive entity, and the costs were astronomical. So, on the surface, it seemed like a perfect apology.
However, a closer look revealed a meticulous calculation.
If the number of troops I mobilized was small, the loss would be minimized.
On the other hand, if it was large, the loss would be significant, but it would also be a great help to his own goal “the expedition to the Northern Continent” so it would be a gain for the Count.
In other words, he would lose the battle but win the war.
Not only that…
“Supplies…?”
“Aren’t you facing financial difficulties recently? This compensation is in consideration of that.”
Count Dressten was warning me. He knew my situation.
I had deliberately feigned a relaxed attitude to avoid being led by the nose, but he was a formidable opponent. In the end, it was a draw.
“I’m grateful for your offer.”
I decided to accept. I was, in fact, facing financial difficulties.
Having changed my plan to a show of force, my original plan of earning money through ransoms in the mock battle had gone up in smoke.
“I’m Count Dressten.”
Count Dressten extended his hand again. I finally shook it.
“I’m Allen.”
We stood side by side in front of the railing and watched the match.
The match had devolved into a chaotic brawl. The weapons were blunted and wrapped in cloth and cotton.
And since everyone was wearing at least chainmail, the match was dragging on.
The spectators were clearly bored. Some were even yawning. It was a stark contrast to my previous match.
Count Dressten also quickly lost interest and focused on me.
“What happened with the King?”
“He expressed his displeasure at my marriage alliance with Dressten. Using Duke Aaron to try and break the alliance was a warning to choose a side.”
“So you’ve decided to become his enemy? That’s not a good outcome for me either.”
Count Dressten’s goal was the throne of the Northern Continent. A conflict with Bronce II would hinder his plans.
“Nothing has changed. Our promise will be kept.”
“It won’t be easy. The King won’t stop suspecting you until he’s certain you’re on his side. As his long-standing rival, I know him well.”
He seemed to want something. I finally turned to face him.
“What would you have me do?”
“There’s a way to make the King trust you.”
“And what is that?”
“Before I tell you, I need to confirm something. Are you going to continue with what you were doing just now?”
I nodded. The King had shown that he didn’t yet see me as a threat. If that was the case, I had no choice but to continue, slowly increasing the intensity.
Count Dressten continued…
“Many will die. Enough that it wouldn’t be strange if I added one more to the list.”
“Whose death do you desire? A royal vassal? Or a political rival?”
Count Dressten’s gaze returned to the arena. No, he was looking at the spectator stands.
“Kill Aaron.”
His gaze was fixed on Aaron, who was still glancing at us. The eldest son of Count Dressten.
I remained silent, and he continued in a toneless voice…
“Even with blunted weapons and padding, accidents are common in mock battles. Fatalities are not unheard of. And there’s no need to take responsibility for them. It’s just an accident.”
As Count Dressten had said, accidents were not uncommon in duels, jousting tournaments, and mock battles. And it was customary not to hold anyone accountable.
For example, a knight who had caused the death of a king in a jousting tournament had once been exonerated.
‘The problem is, human emotions aren’t rational.’
Would the victim’s family simply accept it as bad luck or custom?
The knight in the example had fled to another country, fearing retribution, but he was eventually captured, framed, and executed.
It was proof that the families of the perpetrator and the victim would become sworn enemies.
But what if the victim’s family forgave the perpetrator?
They would not only gain a reputation for being merciful, but also place the perpetrator in their debt.
‘This is a trap to ensnare me.’
He intended to use me to eliminate his troublesome eldest son and then use my debt to him to control me.
Count Dressten was trying to use me for his own gain while pretending to help me.
First, he had used Adelia as insurance, and now he was trying to put another leash on me…
He was a ruthless man.
‘They all just want to use me.’
The alliance was a mutually beneficial proposal. If the King and Dressten had been rational, modern thinkers, they wouldn’t have refused.
But the result was the opposite. Like predators who attack at the first sign of weakness, they were putting the law of the jungle into practice.
Perhaps, I was wrong to expect them to think rationally.
In the city of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. That was the way of this era.
‘If you want me to play by the rules of this era… fine. I’ll play.’
I decided to become one of them. They would soon regret making me this way.
“I’ll think about your proposal.”
Just then, a servant approached and informed me that it was my turn.
I didn’t give him a definite answer and turned my back on Count Dressten. I then vented the stress I had accumulated from dealing with the King and Count Dressten in the arena.
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“M-Mercy!”
My warhammer swung towards the head of the enemy soldier who was begging for his life.
Even though the warhammer was wrapped in cloth and cotton, it made a sound like an exploding bomb upon impact with the soldier’s helmet.
The bones that had once formed a human head shattered and scattered.
A headless corpse rolled on the ground. He wouldn’t be lonely. He had plenty of company.
“He’s not human! He’s a monster!”
“It’s the devil! The devil’s advent!”
“Run!!”
The surviving enemy soldiers fled. They even leaped over the arena railing, disqualified, but they kept running.
Overwhelmed by fear, they had forgotten that this was just a mock battle.
“Don’t run! Don’t… Gah!”
The soldiers were in a better position. They could use the excuse of losing their minds to flee.
The knight, who had been forced to hold his ground due to his honor, gasped as he faced me.
He looked around for help, but his comrades, even his lord, averted their gazes.
“Haa…”
The desperate knight was about to surrender. He had chosen his life over his honor. But I had never given him a choice.
-Thud…
My hammer crushed his skull before he could finish his sentence.
The fear that had settled over the arena spread rapidly. On the contrary, cheers erupted from the spectator stands.
“Wooo! Kill him! Kill him!”
“Kill all the honorless cowards!”
The atmosphere on either side of the wooden railing was starkly different.
The few remaining knights, trying to preserve their honor, resisted me, but after two or three more skulls were crushed, they quickly surrendered.
“The undefeated knight, Allen!!”
“The Giant Slayer!! The Skull Crusher!! The strongest knight!!”
“Haa! Sir Knight, take me!”
I didn’t just slaughter them.
My next opponent was a family that played a significant role in the King’s faction.
Knowing this from Jin’s report, I rode my horse towards the enemy camp as soon as the match began.
Despite being outnumbered thirty to one, the enemy was clearly nervous.
Still, mindful of their honor, the commander slowly approached me, keeping his distance, ready to retreat at any moment.
“W-What is it?”
“How about a one-on-one duel? You can choose your champion.”
“This is a mock battle…”
“So you refuse?”
“Ahem, who said I refused?”
The enemy commander didn’t refuse. It was the only way to preserve their honor while minimizing their losses.
Of course, the knight chosen as the champion was seriously injured and would need a long time to recover, but it was a better outcome than the previous opponents.
I deliberately went easy on the families that sided with the King, and the atmosphere grew strange.
“The families that are at odds with the King are being slaughtered! This is clearly the King’s plot!”
“That must be why he held a mock battle after so long!”
“The King has revealed his ambition!”
“But Sir Allen and the King seemed to be at odds just a moment ago?”
“That was all an act to deceive us!”
“Of course! I was wondering why a knight who seemed so close to the King’s sister was opposing him! It was all to deceive us!”
The nobles were already wary of the King’s ambition.
The fact that the families opposing the King were meeting such a tragic end was bound to arouse suspicion.
The murmurs that started in a corner of the spectator stands spread like wildfire throughout the arena.
It was exactly what I wanted.
“I-I don’t know what you’re thinking, but stop! If you continue, you’ll become a public enemy!”
Aaron, whom I encountered in the waiting area, stammered. He was my next opponent.
He knew that even though he had conspired with the King, he wouldn’t receive the same treatment as the families in the King’s faction.
“I know.”
I admitted it right away. The King would never want me to inflict losses on the nobles who were hostile to him.
He didn’t have the power to go up against the whole aristocracy yet. The nobles, needless to say, were the same. Basically, I was turning both sides off.
“Y-You know that, and yet you’re doing this? It’s not too late! Stop this nonsense and bow down to the King. He’ll protect you.”
“The King will protect me? He’ll offer me as a sacrifice to appease the nobles. You, of all people, who have been a mere pawn, should know that.”
“So, you’re going to continue this suicide mission?”
“A suicide mission? Stopping now would be the real suicide mission.”
“What…!?”
“Kill one man, and you’re a murderer. Kill ten thousand, and you’re a conqueror. Kill a million, and you’re a god. If a god were to destroy a family before their very eyes, who would dare to oppose him? All a weak human can do is resent.”
I smirked.
Aaron’s Adam’s apple bobbed nervously. He looked at me with trembling eyes and raised his voice.
“Nonsense! If the affected noble families join forces, you’re finished!”
“Who will bell the cat? The affected families, who have witnessed my strength firsthand? They’ve suffered heavy losses and won’t be able to act rashly. If they fail to eliminate me, their families will be ruined, and if they succeed but suffer heavy losses in the process, they’ll meet the same end.”
“Not everyone is a coward!”
“The problem is, I’ll be leaving for the Northern Continent soon. And they think my actions are the King’s plot. If I were them, I would take advantage of my absence to deal with the King.”
They would be reluctant to provoke me into returning from the Northern Continent. On the other hand, the King would need my strength to counter the nobles who were targeting him.
He couldn’t afford to ignore me, even though he knew it was my doing.
“That’s impossible…!”
“You think so? I wonder if you’ll say the same after seeing this.”
I passed by the stunned Aaron and stood in front of the arena railing.
A family from the King’s faction and a family from the opposition were facing each other. The latter’s momentum was fierce.
“Kill them! Kill them all!!” They were blocking the enemy’s blunted, padded weapons with their armor and ganging up on them.
They removed their opponents’ helmets and smashed their faces with their unpadded iron gauntlets, They were obviously intent on killing.
The knights went a step further, dismounting their opponents with a lance charge and then breaking their necks with wrestling moves.
It was a scene of madness.
“The war has already begun.”
They couldn’t trust me?
Then I would create a situation where they had no choice but to trust me.
Even if it meant a war that would result in thousands, even tens of thousands, of casualties.
I wouldn’t hesitate.
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That’s the MC that I’m proud of…
TFTC