Chapter 2076 – 2076. The Fallen Empire
“How dare you insult me?! I challenge you to a duel, you goblin bastard!”
The sudden sudden acceleration drew the attention of the people around him. Cotton sighed, but then shouted in a voice full of rage.
“Such cheeky! Do you think I would be afraid of a duel?!”
Duels between knights were common in the Empire, so no one stopped us. Everyone watches with interest. Even Count Morch did.
The place for the duel was created in an instant. The center of the banquet hall was emptied into a circle.
Before the duel began, Count Morch spoke to the two of us.
“War is right around the corner. I have no intention of insulting the duel of the Lords… I want you to do it in moderation. It is forbidden to take the life of another person or cause serious injury such as cutting off a limb.”
I furrowed my brow. The plan to fairly kill Cotton or something in a duel went awry from the start.
“Dismissal. It’s not a duel, it’s sparring, isn’t it?”
“Sir Daycott. Please understand me.”
“If rumors circulate that I engaged in sparring rather than a duel, my honor will fall.”
“That won’t happen. I will vouch for this duel in my name. It was an honorable duel. Don’t you guys think so too?”
Count Morch asked the people gathered around him. Of course, their answer was fixed.
“It is as the Count said.”
“This duel is honorable. We acknowledge it.”
I couldn’t help it when things turned out this way. Look at cotton As if he seemed to know that his life was precious, he quietly prepared for a duel.
‘It can’t be helped.’
I clicked my tongue and put on the armor with the help of the servants. I held the longsword in my hand. Cotton held up a greatsword in both his hands, unsuitable for his short stature.
“Let the duel between Sir Cotton and Sir Daycourt begin!”
“Waaaaa!”
Listening to the cheers of the crowd, Cotton and I leaped at each other at the same time.
Kaaaaang!
The sword collided with the greatsword, and a shockwave rang out. It was heavier than I thought.
‘Not only did the sword contain mana… Physical training is also at a considerable level. I never thought he would receive my power like this.’
My physical abilities are slightly below the average of A-class hunters. In other words, this little knight in front of me is an A-class hunter in terms of strength alone.
It was much stronger than I thought.
‘How about swordsmanship?’
Walk forward with swords facing each other. In any battle, distance is extremely important. In particular, being close to the sword was not unconditionally advantageous. If you stick closely, there will be no room to swing the sword. In the case of the great sword, it was even worse.
Cotton seems to have sensed my intentions right away, kicking his ground and stepping back to open up some distance. The movement was pretty odd. It felt like I was moving my body with the greatsword as the axis.
I immediately clung to him and swung my sword.
Cotton was in a hurry to defend against the consecutive falling sword attacks. Even if his strength was to some extent equal to mine, his speed could not keep up.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“To push that Sir Cotton by force… That’s great. Is it a greatsword wearing the mask of a longsword?”
“Strength is power, but look at his swordsmanship. There are no gaps. You’ve reached the level with swordsmanship alone. A knight equipped with both strength and skill… That’s great. I don’t know why I haven’t had a letter of office until now.”
“I, Sir. Hasn’t the outcome of the duel already come out? Lord Daycourt is completely overpowered, so why is the duel not over?”
“Stupid bastard. That’s why you can’t get out of the seed. Those two haven’t done their best yet. I didn’t even use a sword. Oh, Lord Cotton’s mood has changed. Is he thinking of writing a secret? From now on, open your eyes and watch carefully. You don’t often see Lord Cotton’s secrets.”
“Biggie…”
“Okay. A knight without secret skills cannot be called a knight.”
“Quaaaaa!”
Cotton groaned. Mana burst out of his body. I was swept away by mana and had no choice but to fall back. Red black smoke rose like a haze on Cotton’s greatsword. However, my gaze was not on the great sword, but on his left shoulder.
This is because an elongated third arm sprouted from his left shoulder. Cotton’s third arm drew a long sword from its waist. The red sword shimmered in the sword as well.
“Sir Daycott! I’ll admit it! You are a great knight! Please try to stop my rain!”
Cotton runs. A greatsword in both hands and a longsword in the third hand. Looking at that posture, the system is caught. It’s never a random run. Instead of backing away, frightened by Cotton’s bullish momentum, I plowed forward.
[Uses a moment. Stacks Remaining: 11]
Cotton didn’t react right away to my quickened movements.
Cut off Cotton’s greatsword with a sword wrapped in blue swords. Cotton’s greatsword and mine rose simultaneously over his head.
Cotton’s third hand moved. I put a blue sword blade on my left gauntlet and blocked the sword.
Then, using the left leg as an axis, give strength to the right leg. Paper weave. The cerebral palsy gathered in the right leg.
[Uses a moment. Stacks Remaining: 10]
An exploding roundabout kick! The right foot hit Cotton right in the stomach.
“Gagging!”
Cotton flew backwards and landed on the floor. He flinched and then stopped as if he had passed out. It was so powerful that he would have died if he hadn’t had the armor.
Count Morch immediately jumped in and declared:
“The winner of the duel is Sir Daycourt!”
Clap clap clap!
People all clapped.
“I have heard that Sir Daycort is arrogant… You had good reason to be arrogant.”
“In an instant, Sir Daycort sped up. It will probably rain.”
“Didn’t sparks fly from your foot when you turned it? Could it be magic?”
“You fool! Can’t you tell the difference between magic and secret techniques?! There is no law that you have only one secret skill! Oh, don’t tell me just in case. Don’t ask the knight for secrets. That’s as rude as swearing at your parents in the face!”
The fainted Cotton was taken to the infirmary and the banquet continued. Instead of breaking the excitement due to the duel, the excitement actually increased.
Knights who could not fight directly had their servants fight.
“Don’t give up. The moment you lose, you are not my seed!”
“As my squire, offer me victory!”
“You can only use a sword like that?! I didn’t teach you that!”
“Fight! If you truly want to become a knight, do not fear death!”
The banquet became more violent as time passed. The floor was stained red with the blood of the servants, and when he was annoyed by the vibrating blood and the smell of alcohol, Count Morc stepped forward.
“The banquet will end here. Take note that the war is not far away, and have a good rest today.”
So the banquet ended at dawn.
• • •
The next day, I met Cotton. Cotton came to me. Cotton did not come alone. He came with a young woman. She was pretty, but she didn’t feel like a prostitute.
“What’s going on? Didn’t you understand the result?”
“No, Lord Daycourt! I’m here to apologize for yesterday’s rudeness!”
Cotton immediately bowed.
“I thought you were a freak trick. A knight without a letter of office. He thought he was a knight pretending to be a knight. However, the duel showed me that I was wrong. Even if you don’t have a letter of office, you are a knight among knights! For a true knight, the letter of office is not important! Forgive me for my rudeness yesterday!”
I was surprised. I didn’t expect you to come to apologize right away.
“A wordless apology is something anyone can do. Did His Excellency the Count make you do it?”
“No. The Count has not said anything to me. And it’s not just an apology. I heard from your close knights that you like women.”
“It is natural for a man to like a woman.”
“You are right. So, as an apology, I brought my concubine. She will lend it for a week, so she can do as she pleases.”
“… ?”
I couldn’t understand Cotton’s words for a moment. So, I’ll lend you the concubine next to her, so you can take it as you please?
“… Can you lend me her concubine?”
“It doesn’t matter, it’s not where I came from. This bitch is a former slave, so there is no problem with the aftermath. If you get tired of it, throw it away and replace it with another slave girl.”
“…”
The woman’s expression darkened. She said that the fact that a woman couldn’t even squeak meant that she understood her situation well.
“Chemm. Sir Cotton, I accept your apology. You are a knight who knows the truth.”
“Haha. Thank you for accepting my apology! Have a good time. Oh, please don’t break it. Even if it looks like this, it has been a difficult year.”
“Don’t worry. I am a gentle man in bed.”
Haha. Have a good time!”
Cotton indeed gave me his concubine and left. I walked her into my room. The bed creaked.
“Haaaaagh!”
I thought as I listened to the woman’s moans. The Empire is a pretty nice place.
• • •
A few days later, an uninvited guest came to the county of Morch.
Park Soo-ho, the mayor of Veroprine, came along with the mediators of the territory war between the Empire and the Republic. There was a distance from Veroprine, but it seemed that he had used teleport magic to come right away.
The knights, including me, greeted them with Count Morch.
Park Soo-ho didn’t even look at me. He only glared intently at Count Morch. Count Morch also glared at Park Soo-ho with lively eyes.
“I will be straightforward. Let’s postpone the Battle of Yeongji two weeks later.”
“Do I have to listen to you saying that you suddenly came and talked?”
“Hundreds of soldiers died because someone poisoned a well. Furthermore, the poison even contaminated the water supply used by ordinary citizens. We need time to clean the well.”
“Then why should I listen to it? After all, isn’t that your problem? Are you afraid that you will lose in the Battle of the Territory?”
“The citizens of Veroprine suspect you of poisoning the well. If you accept my offer, that doubt will disappear.”
“What a cheeky thing! How dare you disregard our honor! We are not as petty as you guys! Poison the well? What to do Even if we don’t do anything like that, we will win this Yeongjijeon anyway! And you guys If you’re the ruler of a city, don’t act rashly over the death of hundreds of soldiers! The dignity of the ruler is degraded!”
“Only a few hundred?! They all believed in me and chose to take up arms for me! I didn’t become a soldier to die in vain by eating poison!!”
Park Soo-ho burst into anger.
“How dare you raise your voice to say where we are! Killing my son isn’t enough, are you trying to kill me!”
Count Morch was also furious.
Clap. Srrrr.
The knights drew their swords in unison. Except me. I rolled my eyes and looked around, then pulled out my sword a beat later.
A situation where tension is rampant.
“Both of you calm down.”
“Count Morch. Don’t forget the rules of the Yeongji War.”
Intermediaries between the Solite Republic and the Empire intervened.
