Chapter 112: Tournament (4)

Yuri had fought countless battles and committed innumerable killings, but all had been against orcs.

Therefore, this could be considered his first time killing a human in this life. However, he felt no emotional disturbance.

In his previous life, he had built mountains of corpses fighting the Empire.

He knew that if he didn’t kill, he would die. He had long since abandoned excuses.
If someone stood in his way, all he could do was cut them down.

On the contrary, the group of hooded men, who knew nothing of Yuri’s circumstances, were deeply shaken.

“…”

According to the intel they had gathered, the third prince of Briol had never killed a human. That’s why they assumed he would hesitate when facing people.

It was a misjudgment. That kind of attitude couldn’t be attained with just one or two kills.

It was clear that either he had killed many without their knowledge, or he was a natural-born psychopath.

The leader of the hooded group spoke.

“Nothing changes. Stay calm.”

Although the rule was not to speak during a mission, he raised his voice intentionally to control the others.

It seemed he would have to intervene personally.

“I’ll go first. Stay calm.”

Although the third prince had been unexpected, he didn’t consider him a major threat. He had full confidence in himself.

Since being taken in by that figure from the imperial court, he had been trained solely to kill. The members accompanying him were the same.

He recalled the report he had received just before the assault. According to the data, much of the glory attributed to the third prince had likely been achieved by the knights Laurent and Raymond.

He too believed that.

It was impossible for a boy under twenty to have fought orcs like that. That’s why he hadn’t participated in the tournament, fearing exposure of his lack of skill.

“Attack!”

The leader signaled with his hand and charged. The third prince stood still, his sword hanging down.

The leader began by moving his sword brilliantly and chaotically. Among the blurred images of the blade, Yuri shouldn’t have been able to distinguish the real one.

At the same time, the others surrounded the prince looking for an opening.

At that moment, the leader felt a gust of wind brush his cheek. At first, he paid it no mind, but the wind began to intensify.

His clothes began to flap violently. He finally realized a whirlwind was forming around the third prince.

The current pulled like a black hole.

“…!”

He was startled for a moment, but responded calmly. Instead of resisting the flow, he tried to use the pull to approach the prince and stab him.

However, upon hitting the vortex, his clothes were shredded to pieces.
He screamed instinctively.

“Don’t get close!”

But it was too late. One of the members entered the area of the whirlwind and was thrown like a rag.

The lower half of his body was completely destroyed, and only his torso survived. Crawling while spilling his organs, he died shortly after.

The scene was so horrific that even the leader stopped for a moment.

“What’s wrong with you?”

The third prince approached with a calm expression. Around him, sword energy swirled as if it were alive, centered on the sword hanging on his shoulder.

It wasn’t simply wind. It was a storm of sword energy composed of mana.

The leader murmured unintentionally.

“Incredible…”

The whirlwind was composed of small vortices, which in turn were formed by even smaller spirals. They spun like gears, sometimes in the same direction, sometimes in opposite ones, creating a mix of harmony and conflict.

During that process, its destructive power multiplied exponentially. Anything that entered was utterly shredded.

It was astounding.

The third prince’s apparent calm had completely shattered all his expectations.

“Wait!”

He pulled the others back and carefully observed the third prince. A bead of sweat ran down his cheek. Was he exhausted?

Though unexpected, it wasn’t a problem. Such a destructive technique must come at a high cost to the user.

It was clear he had used his most powerful technique from the start because he knew he couldn’t last in a drawn-out fight. A risky move.

An attempt to intimidate the enemy by exaggerating his abilities. He was strong and cunning.

Perhaps the battlefield feats weren’t false after all. But that was it. He was still not even twenty.

He lacked time. It was impossible he had reached a level capable of stopping them.

The leader advanced and gave another signal. The others followed cautiously. Once again, the fearsome whirlwind expanded.

The leader feinted forward then retreated. That way, he forced the prince to waste more mana.

Little by little, Yuri began to step back. Finally, the tip of his sword dipped slightly downward.

“Now!”

At his signal, the members waiting around moved in unison, surrounding Yuri and his guard. The hunt had just begun. Taking down an exhausted enemy was a simple task.

The leader gave another signal, this time to execute the War Wheel formation.

It consisted of taking turns attacking to wear down the enemy until he collapsed on his own.

Yuri and his guard had their backs to each other. Their voices were heard.

“Do it right.”

“Be careful.”

Perhaps they were trying to remain calm, because they showed no signs of agitation. The leader smiled.

Their loyalty translated into benefits for the Empire. If he managed to kill such a brilliant prince, he would be helping the Empire’s future.

Even if the king of Briol got angry, it didn’t matter. No one could match the numbers of the Empire’s Ten Greats.

“All for His Excellency…”

When he gave the order to attack, the group members began lunging one after another. The third prince and his guard didn’t fall easily. They defended well against each attack, and even occasionally countered and killed one of the enemies.

However, the numerical superiority was clear. Every time the wheel of death spun, the third prince’s fate crept closer to death.

When the wheel formation stopped, the two of them would already be corpses.

He was in no rush.

***

Yuri deactivated the spinning whirlwind and focused on the hooded figures rushing toward him, all while casting glances at the leader.

He didn’t like the expression visible through the mask. It was a look that admired others’ effort—condescending.

“Hey, Jared.”

“Yes.”

“Do what I told you.”

“Understood.”

After a brief whisper, Jared slashed the leg of one of the attacking hooded men. The enemy, trained like a proper assassin, didn’t even groan. He simply swung at Yuri to force him back and slipped back into the wheel formation.

Another hooded attacker lunged at Yuri. It was annoying.

It was clear they intended to use their numbers to crush him slowly but surely. So far, about five had died… fifteen remained.

“And when are you going to do something?”

“Right now!”

Jared, with effort, drove his sword into one of the hooded men’s hearts. But he stabbed too deep. As he struggled to pull it free, another enemy charged at him, putting him in danger. Yuri stepped in and saved him.

Jared muttered.

“My acting was incredible, right?”

“You nearly died for real.”

“No, that was part of the act too.”

Exactly.

They were acting. Pretending to barely hold on in a tough battle, defending with difficulty and counterattacking only occasionally, aiming to kill or wound legs.

All for one single reason: to prevent anyone from escaping.

If they crushed them from the start, some might flee. So they feigned being at their limit to lure them into fighting with full commitment.

And the strategy was working perfectly. Just looking at the confident gaze of the leader was enough to know what he was thinking.

First, he thought: “His fame must be exaggerated. He’s probably just a kid.”

Then: “He’s better than I thought. But he must be exhausted from using that technique.”
And now: “He’s tired. If we keep pressing, we’ll win.”

Yuri could almost read his mind.

“Haa… haa…”

Exaggeratedly gasping, he dodged the attack of one hooded man. Guilty’s tip slid up his arm like a snake and pierced the enemy’s throat.

It was an artistic move—so unexpected that the leader and others were left speechless.

Yuri took the opportunity to cough hard.

“Cough, cough.”

Pretending that he had strained his body and damaged his energy channels, he coughed as if spitting blood. He didn’t bite his tongue, since he didn’t feel like bleeding for real, but this was enough to sell the illusion.

Just as he expected, the hooded men looked at each other with triumphant expressions and charged again. They were simple. They may have been trained, but they weren’t true assassins.

“Hey, scared? Then disappear already!”

With that shout, the hooded men attacked more aggressively. Yuri kept defending and counterattacking occasionally, always aiming at the legs.

Gradually, the wheel formation began to slow down. Yuri murmured quietly to Jared behind him.

“How are you doing?”

“No problem.”

“We’ll keep acting until that guy catches on.”

“Yes, understood.”

After a while, the leader began to sense something odd. By now, they should have been falling, but the third prince and his guard, though staggering, were still standing.

And now and then they made absurd moves to eliminate another member.

Less than half remained. Those still alive were all limping.

With that thought, he looked over his people and was shocked.

“Ah…”

The only one still mobile was himself. The meaning of that realization froze him.

“No way…”

“Just now figured it out?”

Yuri stood up straight and charged into the wheel formation. Two hooded men tried to block him, but Yuri swung Guilty and cut them down.

One died instantly; the other survived but could only crawl due to his leg wound.

Yuri looked at the stunned leader and smiled.

“I didn’t want any of you to get away.”

“Im… impossible…”

“Now it’s your turn to run with a panicked face, right?”

“Tsk…”

He couldn’t stay there. His instincts screamed danger.

Yuri Briol, the third prince of Briol, was a monster far worse than he had imagined. Not just in swordsmanship, but also in strategy, deception, and execution. He surpassed him in every way.

Pretending to be weak to cripple his enemies. Who the hell does that?

Now, the only thing on the leader’s mind was warning his superior. He turned and tried to escape from Yuri.

But after just a few steps, something sharp pierced his calf.

“Ahhh!”

He rolled on the ground. Falling face-first into a rock, his teeth broke and blood spilled out.

“Urgh…”

Touching his leg, he felt a knife lodged there. As he lay on the ground, he heard his comrades’ screams behind him.

“Ahhh…”

The ones worn down by attrition weren’t Yuri and Jared… it was them. They were about to be wiped out.

Fear overtook his eyes.

“Hey.”

In the silence, only the third prince’s footsteps could be heard.

“Let’s make this easy.”

Yuri sat next to him, resting his hips on the ground. Then he pulled off his blood-covered mask.

“Ah…”

Yuri winced at the sight of teeth falling from his mouth.

“Oof, that’s rough. Hey.”

“…”

“I know a guy who can fix that really well, you know?”

“…”

“But anyway, doesn’t matter. You don’t want to be tortured, right? If you go back like this, they’ll kill you anyway.”

“…”

“Just tell me who sent you and I’ll let you live.”

“…”

“Come on, make it easy. I don’t like spilling blood.”

Yuri pulled the knife from his calf.

The leader just trembled in pain, gritting his teeth to avoid groaning.

“Wow, not even a grunt. That’s manly.”

Yuri patted him on the shoulder.

“Impressive. You’re tough, hooded buddy. Let’s start with names. What’s yours?”

“…”

“Hey, don’t leave me talking to myself…”

“…”

“Really not going to say anything?”

“…”

“Hmmm…”

Yuri spun the knife still in his hand. Then he slid it and slashed his eye.

The eyeball burst from the sudden cut. The man clutched his face, writhing.

“Aaaagh, my eye!”

Yuri grinned widely.

“Oh, finally going to talk.”