Chapter 237: Chronicles of the Tyrant King (5)

Yuri raised his sword and took a step forward.

The knight named Joseph, who had come out as his opponent, moved nervously to match Yuri’s movements.

Both of them circled around the combat arena in an instant.

When Yuri thrust his sword, Joseph quickly retreated backward.

Perhaps because of the earlier threat, Joseph watched him with the tension of a bristling cat. He silently moved his lips, as if considering surrender in case of emergency.

Yuri smiled and spoke again.

“That was a joke. Don’t be so nervous.”

“Y-Yes…”

“Alright, here I come.”

Yuri moved forward naturally and swung his sword. He didn’t use much strength, so the other man was able to block without difficulty.

The exchange of blows between Yuri and Joseph began.

The level Yuri displayed was so moderately appropriate that Joseph started to believe he was doing a good job.

From time to time, Yuri launched stronger attacks to keep him tense.

Meanwhile, he lifted his gaze toward the knights of Konzed waiting in the back.

The one standing in the center.

Inside his body, the dark energy remained crouched.

As soon as the duel ended, that thing would quickly return to attack the remaining knights of Briol. If he didn’t eliminate it soon, they could lose the Chronicle of the Tyrant King, and Simon might be seriously injured.

Yuri looked again at Rail.

He hadn’t met the king of this country yet, so he couldn’t be certain, but at least that minister named Rail must have known about the black magic trick.

Yuri gripped the hilt of Guilty and changed his movement pattern.

His senses sharpened to the maximum. What he was about to attempt, even with his skills, wouldn’t be easy.

But Yuri was determined to do it.

He carefully observed all of Joseph’s movements and also analyzed the formation of the knights behind him.

He calculated Joseph’s level, the others’ level, and all his possibilities.

Then it began.

He launched a wide slash with his arm, aiming at Joseph’s shoulder. Joseph stepped back, but their swords clashed forcefully.

“Urgh…!”

The impact must’ve been significant, because Joseph grabbed his wrist. Yuri watched him while spinning his sword a few times. Then he pushed him toward a corner of the arena.

The process repeated—Yuri attacked and Joseph blocked.

At first glance, it looked like Yuri was cornering him and Joseph was skillfully defending.

Eventually, Yuri pinned him down. Joseph had nowhere left to escape. His face turned pale.

Yuri widened his eyes.

His vision entered the mental domain again. He saw Joseph moving desperately, and the knight with the dark energy remained still behind him.

The moment Yuri captured lasted just a fraction of a second. He took advantage of everything aligning perfectly and left an opening on purpose.

Joseph noticed and quickly moved toward the edge. He believed he was freeing himself on his own, unaware that Yuri had created the space deliberately.

Yuri aimed his sword.

Joseph, by reflex, raised his own, and the two blades clashed. After so many impacts, Joseph’s wrist was already injured.

His sword trembled slightly. He had to endure the blow in an awkward position, barely escaping the corner.

His face twisted.

Yuri kicked him in the thigh, and Joseph collapsed partly from the pain.

Then Yuri brought his sword down vertically, and Joseph reflexively raised his sideways.

The swords lifted. Yuri swung his again.

Joseph, paralyzed with fear, dropped his sword and rolled forward to escape.

The sword, now ownerless, was struck violently by Guilty. And then, something unexpected happened.

Joseph’s sword spun from the impact, flew in a different direction, and pierced the chest of one of the spectators.

The one who fell was the knight who had the mass of dark energy in his body.

Blood gushed out.

The spiritual slash aura contained in Guilty transferred to Joseph’s sword, and that energy shredded into a thousand pieces the black magic dwelling in the knight’s body.

The remaining white spiritual light faded into the air along with the dark energy.

The knight of Konzed fell. Everyone was stunned.

“Ah…”

The others rushed to administer first aid, but it was already too late. The sword had pierced his chest. It was an instant death.

Yuri raised his hands.

“Well…”

He frowned as if regretting what had happened and looked back and forth between Joseph and the fallen knight.

“Running away with your sword in hand…?”

For a knight, that was a great humiliation. Moreover, because of that, another had died. For Joseph, it had to be a terrible blow.

He stared at the dead knight with disoriented eyes, then ran toward him.

Yuri muttered.

“Joseph, defeated outside the field.”

Of course, everything had gone according to Yuri’s plan. He had aimed at Joseph’s wrist to weaken him, taken control of the sword at the perfect moment, and redirected it to kill the host of the black magic.

There were no obstacles left for Briol.

Yuri shrugged as if he truly regretted it and looked at Rail.

“An unexpected accident… What a shame.”

Rail had a completely bewildered expression.

“T-This, this is…”

“The Chronicle of the Tyrant King accounts for these cases, right? An accident can’t stop it. Name the next knight, Rail.”

Perhaps because similar cases had occurred before, the rules included such situations.

Even if a non-participant suffered an accident, the tournament had to continue.

No damage claims could be made if a stray sword caused injury.

“It’s one to three now. So, two more duels remain, don’t you think?”

“…”

Yuri, despite a knight having just died, calmly demanded the continuation of the tournament.

Of course, Rail couldn’t refuse. They quickly removed the knight’s corpse, and amid the general confusion, the tournament continued.

The two remaining knights, still shaken, were easily defeated by Jared and Simon.

Without the black magic, it was all too easy.

Thus, Briol won three to one.

Yuri approached Rail, who stood there in a state of shock. When Yuri placed a hand on his shoulder, he flinched and then lifted his head.

“Will you give us the flag?”

“Ah, yes…”

“And earlier I mentioned we’d stay the night here. Is that possible?”

“Of course.”

Rail forced a smile.

“Konzed does not mistreat its guests.”

***

Lodging was assigned to the members of the Order of Vengeance, and they were even offered bathing facilities.

The unit relieved the fatigue accumulated from so many days of travel with hot water.

Yuri, who was the first to finish getting ready, called Jared.

“You realized something was wrong, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

Yuri explained what had happened earlier. When he mentioned that the black magic energy moved between bodies and had targeted Tirbo and Guinness, Jared let out a disbelieving laugh.

“That’s really grotesque. Is that why you killed that knight?”

“Yes.”

“Your Highness is impressive for pulling it off.”

“Of course I am.”

Yuri crossed his arms and continued.

“Anyway, we have two options. Either we rest and leave… or we turn Konzed upside down. Which do you prefer?”

“Turn it upside down?”

“That guy, the minister, was the one who handled everything, right? So the problem lies with the king. Either Rail manipulated the king in collaboration with the Empire, or the king himself conspired with them and ended up like that.”

“Ah…”

“The Empire’s influence in Konzed runs deep.”

“I see. So the choice is to ignore it due to lack of time or to strike Konzed directly, right?”

“Exactly.”

“In my opinion…”

Jared stared into space, calculating something.

“We’ve been moving really fast. We’ve got more time than we thought.”

The Order of Vengeance was collecting flags at an unprecedented pace in the history of the tournament.

They rode every day, collecting one flag per day, sometimes even challenging two kingdoms in a single day.

At that rate, they could complete the mission within the one-month deadline without issue.

“Let’s check it out.”

“Huh?”

Yuri looked at him, surprised.

“I didn’t expect that. I thought you’d say we should drop it out of laziness.”

“What are you saying?”

Jared shook his head.

“Tirbo and Guinness almost died, didn’t they?”

“Yes.”

If Yuri hadn’t called for surrender in time, both would have been seriously injured or might even have died from that dark energy.

“Let’s go turn the place upside down. We don’t know if something like this will happen again.”

“Really?”

Yuri smiled slyly.

“Then let’s move.”

It was already deep into the night.

Since they had arrived late and finished the tournament at that hour, most of the castle staff were asleep, except for a few servants attending to them.

Yuri and Jared left the room with their faces covered.

They looked for a suitable window, exited, and climbed along the outer wall. Both had already reached a level of skill where they could move their bodies at will.

Yuri climbed up to the upper floor where the king was staying and entered through a window. The corridor was dark and quiet.

Suddenly, a light began to move in the distance.

Yuri turned to Jared and brought a finger to his lips. Then he hid among the columns.

It was a servant carrying a lamp.

He held a tray with a bowl on top and walked down the corridor with the aid of the light, stopping in front of a large door.

Two knights guarded it in the dark. They opened the door, and the servant went in.

For a moment, it was visible that the inside was also shrouded in darkness.

Yuri whispered to Jared.

“That door is big, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“There must be something inside.”

“Do we go in?”

Yuri gauged the distance. He mentally designed the process needed to silently neutralize the two guards, then whispered a basic strategy to Jared.

“Got it?”

“Yes.”

Yuri exited through the window quietly, taking advantage of the darkness. Jared, now alone, took a coin from his pocket and tossed it down the corridor.

A clear metallic sound rang out.

“…”

The two guards looked at each other, and one of them slowly started walking toward the sound.

Jared hid behind a column and waited.

Step by step.

Just as the guard stopped in front of Jared, Jared wrapped his arm around the man’s neck and strangled him.

At the same time, Yuri re-entered through the window on the other side and knocked out the remaining guard who had stayed behind.

Both guards were neutralized without making a sound. Yuri and Jared stood in front of the large door.

“Let’s open it.”

“Yes.”

They opened the door carefully. The interior was dark, but the lamp carried by the servant faintly illuminated the scene.

On a large bed, someone was lying down, while the servant poured something into a bowl.

Jared shivered.

“That is…”

“Yes.”

However, the figure lying on the bed was completely abnormal.

It had a human shape, but the body and head were swollen several times their normal size.

With each breath, a hissing sound escaped along with an unpleasant stench.

The servant, unaware of everything, still had his back turned.

But the figure on the bed had already noticed the presence of Yuri and Jared and rolled its eyes to look at them.

It didn’t make a single sound.

Yuri understood immediately who it was.

It was the king of Konzed.

The crown beside the pillow confirmed it.

Yuri and Jared entered and closed the door silently.

They walked toward the king. Only then did the servant turn around upon hearing footsteps.

“Who… huh?”

Yuri knocked him out with a blow to the jaw and moved him aside.

“…”

The king of Konzed stared at them.

Jared frowned. He couldn’t bear to look at it calmly.

Yuri spoke.

“Your Majesty. I am the prince of Briol, Yuri Briol.”

The king looked at him with a vacant gaze.

Then he moved his lips. At first, it was incomprehensible, but when Yuri brought his ear closer, he clearly understood the request.

“Could you… kill me…?”