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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Teottry
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“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
Janbolt bombarded me with questions as soon as I returned with the handkerchief. I calmly inspected my equipment and replied,
“Don’t overreact. I simply received a token of support from a lady.”
Janbolt facepalmed.
“If only it were an overreaction! You’ve just soiled a prized jewel the Baron has been saving for a marriage alliance! You have no idea how intensely he’s glaring at you right now!”
“It was necessary.”
I wanted to seize everything the Baron possessed. The problem was how. Simply killing him wouldn’t guarantee I inherited his assets. It was more likely to corner me.
A noble’s family tree was so complex that even they themselves could hardly keep track of it. Earl Dressten, the Baron’s father-in-law, would be the first to try and kill me, using the pretext of avenging his son-in-law to seize the Baron’s territory for himself.
Therefore, I needed a justifiable reason. The easiest way was to become part of the Baron’s family.
“You, don’t tell me… You’re planning to use the young lady?”
Janbolt’s forced smile vanished.
“Why? Is there something wrong with that?”
“The young lady has nothing to do with the conspiracy surrounding the Tolbatz manor. She’s already living like a prisoner due to her father, who treats her as a valuable pawn.”
I narrowed my eyes and stared at Janbolt.
“Don’t tell me you have feelings for her?”
“Ha, I just pity her! Anyone who knows her would feel the same.”
She seemed to be kind-hearted, like her mother. That was good news. If she was popular, she could potentially become a valuable ally in the future.
“Don’t worry. She’ll be happier by my side.”
“You bastard…”
Ignoring Janbolt, who seemed to have a lot more to say, I stood up. The Baron, who had been glaring at me, also rose from his seat, signaling the start of the duel.
The knights retreated to the edges of the training ground. I walked to the center, facing the sharp gazes directed at me. I simply smiled.
“Allen, son of Maxim Tolbatz. I’m ready.”
“I look forward to your performance.”
The Baron gestured to a man waiting below the spectator stands. The flamboyantly dressed man walked to the center of the training ground, bowed theatrically to the audience, then pointed at me and announced,
“Allen, son of Lord Maxim, the Baron’s right-hand man, stands before you to prove his prowess! Oh my, what a handsome young knight! But don’t be fooled by his looks! He is the one who cleaved Sir Adrian in two with a single blow! Who will be the one to test his might?!”
“I will!”
A knight stepped forward the moment the announcer finished speaking. He was as tall as me but more heavily built, with a broad frame, as if he had thick bones. He looked strong.
He wielded a flail and a shield. The spiked head of the flail, with its small surface area, was a weapon particularly effective against chainmail.
Combined with his strength, it could easily shatter chainmail and inflict fatal blows.
“Oh! The one who will face the handsome young knight of the Tolbatz family is Sir Maxis, renowned for strangling a lion to death with his bare hands! The Doran family has a long and storied history of unmatched strength!”
So, he was confident in his strength, even after witnessing Adrian’s gruesome demise.
“A family of renowned strength, you say?”
“Hmph, did you think you were the only one capable of splitting a man in two?! Enough talk! I’ll kill you here and prove once again that I am the strongest in this region!”
Before the starting signal was even given, Maxis charged at me like an enraged bear, his flail whirling menacingly as he swung it with a wide arc.
I had already entered my slowed perception of time. I sidestepped the flail, exposing his flank. I immediately thrust my sword.
Maxis, as if anticipating my move, angled his shield. My sword scraped against the tilted shield and slid downwards. He was skilled with a shield.
‘So, he’s not just brute strength.’
He was a knight with the cunning of a fox hidden beneath his bear-like exterior.
“Haa!”
As my sword pointed downwards, Maxis swung his flail upwards, aiming for my flank. I retreated and parried the blow with my sword.
At that moment, the chain of his flail wrapped around my sword. I tried to pull, but my sword didn’t budge.
“Just a strong youngster, after all?”
It was a mistake born from my lack of experience against a chained flail. Maxis, having sealed my sword, smirked. He pulled on the chain, intending to disarm me.
“Huh?”
But the flail didn’t move. The chain connecting the head to the handle rattled, but that was all. Even when he discarded his shield and pulled with both hands, nothing changed.
Maxis didn’t know that I was controlling my strength to avoid breaking my sword again. He hadn’t sealed my sword; I had sealed his flail.
“Shall I show you what this youngster is capable of?”
“You…!”
I pulled my sword with all my might. The flail, which hadn’t budged when he pulled, now flew towards me.
Maxis, refusing to let go of the flail’s handle, was pulled along with it. I greeted him with a kick.
“Gah—”
They say a kick has three times the destructive power of a punch. Then what about a kick powered by the monstrous strength that had split a man in two? Maxis demonstrated the answer firsthand.
His chainmail snapped, followed by the sickening crunch of breaking bones. He collapsed, clutching his stomach, his face contorted in pain as he looked up at me.
I unwrapped the chain from my sword and approached him. He desperately tried to speak, looking at the Baron. He intended to surrender. But why would I let go of such valuable experience points?
Moreover, he was complicit in my father’s death and the Baron’s attempt to seize my manor.
He had to pay. I raised my foot.
“W-Wait—”
Those were Maxis’s last words.
Crack.
With the sickening crunch of twisting bone, his neck snapped. One side of his face caved in, revealing white bone.
I wiped the blood and other unidentifiable fluids from my boot on the ground and calmly looked around.
The spectators, including the Baron, and even the knights who had been cheering for Maxis, watched me in stunned silence.
I chuckled.
“I trust this isn’t the end.”
Despite having defeated several knights, I hadn’t leveled up due to the many levels I had already gained. I still needed more experience. The Baron, too, would be eager to cull his less competent vassals.
The Baron subtly nodded, and the announcer, sensing his cue, returned to the center of the training ground. The man who had earlier praised my looks and youth now avoided my gaze, his face covered in sweat.
“Like father, like son! He has surpassed his father in prowess! However, we have yet to see his true potential! Who will be the next to challenge him?!”
No one stepped forward. Everyone now knew that my strength was far beyond ordinary, and some seemed to have realized it wasn’t just brute force.
The Baron’s expression soured as the knights continued to avoid my gaze. When the announcer’s taunts proved ineffective, the Baron finally spoke.
“Begins!”
“Yes, My Lord.”
A knight clad in chainmail, a magnificent purple surcoat, a belt, and a cloak stepped forward. He was a handsome man with long hair tied back in a ponytail, his helmet tucked under his arm.
The announcer exclaimed,
“Sir Begins, the Baron’s champion, enters the arena! Beloved by the gods! The undefeated knight, victorious in countless trials by combat! Begins of the West Wind!”
The crowd roared its approval. Among them were Baroness Adelia and Usebia. A surge of irritation coursed through me. Oblivious to my feelings, Begins approached with a smile.
“I won’t be as easy as Sir Maxis.”
“I doubt there’s much difference.”
“I didn’t expect you to. A youngster like you wouldn’t have the discernment to recognize true strength.”
Begins raised his sword and pointed it at me. It was similar in length to a longsword but with a thinner, sharper point, clearly designed for thrusting. It seemed light, as his movements were swift and agile.
I tensed. A champion was a specialist in duels, one-on-one combat. He was likely the most skilled opponent I had faced yet.
And he was.
“Haa!”
The moment the starting signal was given, Begins charged, his thrust as fast as a flash of light, even in my slowed perception. It was the fastest sword I had encountered so far.
I twisted my body, stepping back diagonally and swinging my sword outwards, intending to deflect his attack.
With my monstrous strength, I should be able to open his guard, creating an opportunity for a counterattack.
However, his sword felt too light when our blades met. There were no sparks. It wasn’t simply because his sword was light; the smirk on his face was proof of that.
‘A trap?’
As I realized this, he closed the distance. His sword, using mine as a fulcrum, rotated 180 degrees. The tip was now pointed over his shoulder, the hilt towards me.
My sword was now being pushed outwards. The greater danger was the pommel at the end of his hilt, now aimed at my face.
The sharpened point of the pommel confirmed that this wasn’t an improvised move. What had initially appeared as a dot was rapidly growing larger. A direct hit would be fatal.
‘If it connects, that is.’
He was a seasoned champion, skilled in unconventional and deadly techniques. However, it seemed he had never faced an opponent with strength like mine.
That was his undoing.
I focused all my strength into my grip. His sword, which had been pushing against mine, faltered and slowly began to give way. His eyes, visible beyond our locked blades, trembled.
He tried to pull back and retreat, but it wasn’t easy to disengage his sword, now hooked onto mine.
Meanwhile, the pommel aimed at my face missed, passing harmlessly under my right arm. His sword, unable to withstand my strength, began to press against his own shoulder.
“S-Stop…!”
His sword dug into his chainmail. The chain connecting the blade to the hilt buckled and twisted under the pressure of my strength. Unsatisfied, I pushed harder. The chain snapped, revealing the cloth beneath.
“A youngster, you say? Who’s the youngster now?”
“Damn it, sur—”
Before he could utter the word “surrender,” I stepped forward diagonally and lifted my sword. Sliding along his blade, my sword grazed his throat.
“—render.”
His severed head finished his last word as it fell to the ground. The cleanly sliced neck rolled across the floor. His headless body, spurting blood, collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut.
“Kyaa—!”
Ignoring the screams of the startled women, I looked down at the wide, disbelieving eyes.
“It seems you lack the discernment to recognize true strength.”
There was no reply.
No other knight dared to challenge me. The announcer didn’t bother trying to goad or encourage them either.
Steam rose from the blood on my sword. I casually flicked it off, sheathed my blade, and bowed towards the spectators.
The Baron, who had risen to his feet, slowly began to clap. Having finally witnessed my true strength, he had decided to use me rather than kill me.
The other spectators followed suit, their applause filling the hall. Among them was Usebia, her gaze fixed on me as she clapped more enthusiastically than anyone.
Meeting her gaze, I wiped the sweat from my brow with the handkerchief she had given me and grinned.
It was a bright smile, incongruous with the blood-soaked training ground, but Usebia didn’t seem to think so. Her face flushed crimson.
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Bruh it turn out to be gore in this chap😮💨
