Chapter 235: Chronicles of the Tyrant King (3)

Since no one had ever been so rude before, the king of Orot was visibly irritated.

His anger spread like a spark among the knights, who began to glare at the Order of Vengeance with eyes full of hostility.

The knights of Briol, initially surprised by Yuri’s attitude, began growling in response to Orot’s aggressive demeanor.

The atmosphere turned tense.

With both sides lined up before the dueling grounds, the king of Orot spoke.

“They say Briol is the land of knights, but you’re ruder than common bandits…”

“Oh, talkative, aren’t you. Just get ready to hand over the flag.”

“Tch…!”

“Forgive me, but we don’t have time. I hope you understand.”

The king of Orot glared daggers at Yuri, then let out a twisted smile.

“I see… you want to complete the Chronicle of the Tyrant King. But it won’t be that easy.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“I’m telling you it’s impossible!”

“Understood. Let’s fight quickly then.”

“Tch…!”

Yuri looked back.

The four knights selected to participate in the Chronicle nodded in agreement.

“Just as we planned.”

“Yes!”

Yuri’s strategy was simple. Trust each of them, trust their skill.

Since the opponent might try to manipulate the order, Yuri arranged the turns randomly for a swift outcome.

He and Jared would occupy slots 1, 2, or 3 randomly, while the other three would fill the rest by draw.

Even their allies didn’t know the exact order.

Orot, on the other hand, tried to surprise Briol by placing their strongest knight first.

An uncommon strategy, since the strongest is usually saved for last.

They probably wanted to secure at least one win right from the start.

But the Order of Vengeance’s formation defied all logic.

“Oh, lucky us.”

“The other side’s number one also seems to be their strongest.”

By chance, Yuri turned out to be the first combatant. His opponent’s face turned pale.

His name was Norris, the strongest knight of Orot, also known as “the thorn swordsman.”

It was said that as a child, he trained by striking thorn bushes with a wooden sword until the branches were smooth as silk.

With a serious face, he raised his sword.

“I hope for a fair and honorable duel.”

“Me too.”

Unlike his earlier rowdy behavior, Yuri didn’t provoke at all once he stepped into the arena.

From the beginning, he had dropped all courtesies only to hasten the match, not to offend.

“Begin!”

At the signal, Norris lunged forcefully. Just as they’d altered the order to mislead, he now tried to surprise Yuri with an unexpected offensive.

“Oh…”

But surprise attacks only work against those who can’t react in time.

Yuri was faster in every way. Even when Norris’s sword was already at his nose, he still had plenty of time to act.

“Tch!”

“Nice try.”

Though he’d been rude to Orot, Yuri felt a tinge of guilt. Instead of knocking him down immediately, he decided to give him a few seconds of instruction.

His sword attacked Norris’s weak points in dozens of variations.

If one looked closely, there was something to be learned in those trajectories.

“…!”

Norris, being the supreme knight of his country, immediately understood Yuri’s intent and opened his eyes wide.

“This is…!”

Yuri was breaking down his techniques to show him methods of improvement.

Norris could clearly see how each of his moves was being countered.

Yuri’s sword carved out complex, unimaginable paths.

“Watch closely.”

Yuri’s spiritual sword left multiple trails in the air before vanishing like a dream.

It was only a moment. But it was enough.

Norris dropped his sword.

“I’ve lost.”

“Sir Norris.”

Yuri spoke while resting his sword on his shoulder.

“Well fought.”

Norris continued staring at the air, as if still processing what he had seen.

Finally, he bowed his head.

“I’ve learned a lot.”

“I admire your courage too. That’s how a knight should be.”

And he meant it sincerely.

From the moment he stepped into the arena, Norris must have known he would lose. The gap in their levels was obvious.

He couldn’t have missed it. But he didn’t back down.

He didn’t act like a coward.

He charged in from the start, seeking any opening.

Yuri respected that attitude deeply.

“If I had been in your place, I couldn’t have done what you did. It was admirable. Thorn Swordsman, Sir Norris.”

The sudden cordiality at the end of the duel left knights from both sides confused.

No one knew how to react to the change in tone. Fortunately, the next to fight was Jared.

And he quickly blew away any lingering awkwardness.

“That’s it? Bwahahahahaha!!”

After defeating his opponent, Jared burst into laughter with his hands on his hips.

The knights fired up again. On Orot’s side, some even shouted curses.

Jared stepped down from the arena with a grin.

“Better this than some warm, fuzzy atmosphere, right?”

“…”

Perhaps due to the tension, the third combatant, Tirbo, lost. His opponent was the second strongest of Orot.

“My apologies. I have dishonored Briol. This sin I can only…”

“Make up for with money.”

“Pardon?”

“You’re a count, right? Must have lots of money. Are you the heir?”

“Yes hehe…”

“Perfect. Pay for it with money. I don’t like tragic things. I like material things.”

Even so, there were no surprises.

Next up, Guinness soundly defeated the remaining knight of Orot.

Thus, the Chronicle of the Tyrant King ended in victory for Briol.

Three to one. A more than acceptable result.

“That knight was incredible. His technique was like lightning.”

“Briol really is full of monsters…”

“He looks young, but he’s amazing.”

“We lost, but we put up a fight…”

The knights of Orot murmured among themselves as they watched Guinness.

Yuri looked at them, then at Simon and Guinness.

He remembered them as two scrawny soldiers in the allied army, and had underestimated them because of it. But seeing how they were treated in other nations, he now understood they were recognized as true prodigies.

“You’ve grown a lot… Though you’re still lacking in some areas…”

“We’re still inferior to Your Highness.”

“We still have much to learn.”

That Simon and Guinness still had shortcomings was only by Yuri’s standards.

Within the Order of Vengeance, they were already recognized as the strongest after Jared.

In other words, they held positions equivalent to field captains.

“Good job, Guinness.”

“Thanks, haha…”

Once things had settled, Yuri approached the king of Orot and offered a formal bow.

“I ask you to forgive the disrespect shown earlier.”

“Hrmm…”

“I knew I was acting outside the bounds of decorum, but the road I must walk is long. I had no choice.”

“Still… talking like a thug is unforgivable…”

“Yes, I apologize.”

Although the king of Orot still wore a displeased expression, he eventually handed over the flag through one of his ministers.

“I received a message from the king of Anabas, so I have some idea of what’s going on.”

“Excuse me?”

“They were talking about the Empire and black magic and other nonsense, so I turned off the communication orb.”

“Ah…”

“I suppose you have your reasons. Try completing that Chronicle of the Tyrant King or whatever it’s called. If you manage to progress, your story will gain weight, and then I’ll listen seriously.”

“I’ll do just that.”

“Anyway, take this and be off already.”

Yuri handed the Orot flag to the knights behind him. Then he bowed once more to the king.

“Your Majesty, we’re in a hurry to move on, so we’ll depart immediately.”

“You’re not even going to rest?”

“No, we still have many countries to fight.”

“You’re serious, huh?”

The king of Orot let out a loud laugh.

“Very well. Go ahead. When you have skill, it’s not called arrogance, it’s called confidence. Maybe I will live to see that famous Chronicle of the Tyrant King completed.”

And so, the Order of Vengeance departed from Orot and continued challenging kingdom after kingdom in pursuit of completing the Chronicle.

Nothing could stop them.

Yuri and Jared never lost a duel, and the other three knights almost always emerged victorious.

The worst result they ever got was three to one; most of the time, they won by three to zero.

The flags they carried grew visibly in number.

“Pff…”

However, because of this, the entire squad was exhausted. They rode without rest every day and slept outdoors, slowly wearing down their strength.

Because of that, before heading to the next kingdom, Yuri decided they would all rest for one night at camp.

“Your Highness.”

“Hm?”

“May I sit down?”

“Go ahead.”

Yuri, who was comparing the gathered flags in front of the tent, nodded. Jared sat beside him.

“What’s up?”

“I heard something strange today in Griggio, the place we fought.”

“What was it?”

“Well…”

As he spoke, Jared looked at the flags spread out in front of Yuri.

“But first… are you sure these can be joined?”

“I was just wondering the same thing.”

So far they had gathered seven flags. Nine were still missing, but it was already a significant number.

Even so, no matter how they arranged them, they didn’t seem to form a coherent image.

While Yuri sifted through the flags, he looked at Jared.

“So what was it you heard?”

“Oh, right.”

Jared replied.

“Seems like we’re not the only outsiders participating in the Chronicle of the Tyrant King.”

“Are you sure?”

“Not entirely. Someone mentioned it in passing. That a friend from another kingdom had seen some unfamiliar knights. They told me to stay alert just in case.”

“Hmm…”

“They also said there were five of them. Isn’t it suspicious for them to show up at this exact time?”

Yuri looked at the flags and then gathered them all into a pile.

“It must be the Empire.”

“Do you really think so?”

“The Alliance has maintained good relations with the Empire lately. It wouldn’t be strange for them to learn about this quickly. They must have sent those knights to interfere with us.”

“Then…”

“The rest of the Chronicle could get complicated.”

Thinking about it, the previous battles had been too easy.

“From here on, we need to stay on guard. The Empire might be participating too, trying to gather flags just like us.”

“Would they really go that far?”

“The Empire has been quiet lately, but that doesn’t mean they’re idle.”

Yuri looked toward the direction of the Empire. It was north, from where a cold wind blew.

For some time now, the northern sky had given off a foreboding feeling. A chill ran down his spine every time he thought of it.

Yuri remembered Cedric.

He hadn’t stopped.

It was clear he was still conspiring in the shadows.

***

Laurent and Cory wandered aimlessly across the continent.

Laurent was skilled with a sword, and Cory could use magic, so they had no trouble earning some money.

But both had grotesque faces, so people avoided them.

Unable to mingle with other humans, they survived by taking on jobs like hunting bandits or wild beasts.

“From here on is the Confederation of Lesser Kingdoms.”

Cory, who was walking ahead, spoke. Laurent didn’t respond.

“It’s neither the Empire nor Briol. We have no connections here, so we should be okay, right?”

“Shut up.”

“Haha…”

The two of them walked along a poorly maintained road heading toward the confederation.

At first, Cory had only thought of returning to Briol, but after spending time with Laurent, his decision changed.

“What if there’s no work here?”

“…”

“Should we help with the harvest or something?”

“Ridiculous.”

Laurent replied, which was unusual.

“You think anyone would accept a couple of monsters like us? Have you looked in a mirror, half-orc?”

“…”

“Yeah, best shut up and keep walking. You’re giving me a headache.”

After a while, a cart appeared on the road and caught up to them from behind.

Since both wore their hoods up, the driver didn’t see their faces and spoke cheerfully.

“Hey! Where you headed?”

Cory held the edge of his hood while answering.

“W-we’re heading to the Confederation…”

“Where exactly?”

“Uh… well…”

“Ah, I see. A couple of drifters without a destination.”

The driver pointed to the back of the cart.

“Plenty of room. Want me to take you to the next town?”