Chapter 267: Gift from the King (2)

“You bastard…”

Bleeding, Hasan glared upward in fury.

Bernard’s skill surpassed every expectation he had.

That was why he was biding his time, waiting for the other assassins attacking the King of Briol from the opposite side to arrive.

That group was led by a capable man named Sron.

With him, perhaps they could resolve this situation.

Yet no word had come.

“Huu…”

Hasan steadied his breathing and leveled his sword at Bernard.

Bernard wasn’t unscathed, either.

In the process of killing two assassins, he had taken wounds, but he acted as if they were nothing, advancing with a fierce grin.

To Hasan’s eyes, this man wasn’t sane.

He was someone obsessed with the sword to the point of becoming one with it.

Bernard spoke.

“This is fun. Only when you risk your life can you call it a real fight. Thank you. Because of you, I’ve felt alive again for the first time in a long while.”

“Crazy bastard…”

A strange gleam in Bernard’s eyes crushed Hasan’s heart. Even he, almost numb to fear because of black magic, found himself retreating without realizing it.

“Damn it…”

Hasan once again felt deep hatred toward the Kingdom of Briol. They always got in his way.

That day in his youth, when he was chosen as Georg’s great warrior and felt as though he could soar through the skies, his joy had collapsed when he was defeated by Yuri Briol.

Since then, he had lived for nothing but revenge.

But when he crossed paths with Yuri Briol again, the man was even stronger, forcing him to grit his teeth once more.

And now, he was being stopped by that man’s master.

He would have revenge.

No matter what it took.

He shook his head, breathing heavily. There was no time to keep thinking about unsolvable problems.

He had to find a way out, even if it was clumsy and desperate.

And the only path he could think of was to wait for Sron.

Sron was as skilled as he was.

His original level wasn’t that high, but he had been born with a body that could deeply absorb black magic, surpassing his limits.

In the end, Bernard was the only real threat. Sron would arrive soon.

With that calculation, Hasan decided to stall for time.

“What’s wrong?”

Bernard smirked faintly.

“Are you waiting for the others?”

“…”

“You think your friends will win easily?”

***

Sron, leading the rest of the assassins in Hasan’s place, didn’t flinch when he found a guard standing in front of the king’s chamber.

It wasn’t only because black magic had erased his human emotions—even with a normal mind, it would have been the same.

Because he was strong, and his opponent was weak.

Just as a mantis isn’t alarmed by a passing insect, nothing would change no matter how stubborn the obstacle before him was.

He just needed to kill him.

Sron gave a hand signal.

The assassins advanced silently, surrounding the guard.

“Hmm…”

The guard tilted his head.

“You’re not running even after being discovered… You must be confident. Not ordinary assassins, I take it. I suppose you’re from the Empire.”

Sron didn’t answer.

He simply pointed at the guard and turned his finger, giving the order.

The assassins swung their blades. The sound of steel slicing the air rang out.

But they didn’t cut their target.

The guard had opened the door and slipped into the royal chamber.

“After him.”

Sron darted forward before the door closed. His figure vanished and reappeared inside the room.

His eyes swept the space.

No one was there.

“The king isn’t here. I was late.”

The guard spoke.

They had surely evacuated the king during the distraction.

Sron grabbed one of the assassins by the shoulder.

“Handle him.”

“Yes.”

The order was to kill the guard. Once he gave that task, Sron moved again to search for the King of Briol.

“Find the king.”

He couldn’t have been gone from the start—the messy bed was proof of that.

He had likely fled the moment word of the incursion spread.

Sron leapt out through a corridor window into the open. The assassins scattered in all directions.

Before long, while searching the area, Sron heard the whistle of one of his own.

Recognizing the signal, he and the others changed course.

After passing several buildings alongside his men, Sron spotted the King of Briol being escorted by knights.

He immediately charged. He had to finish before more reinforcements arrived.

But someone blocked his path.

“You shall not pass.”

It was the same guard he had seen in front of the chamber.

Sron frowned.

He was certain he had left one of his men to deal with him—he couldn’t understand how the man was here.

“I killed your subordinate.”

Only then did Sron bother to look closely at him. He didn’t seem strong.

In fact, from his face alone, he could pass for an ordinary man you’d see anywhere.

He even had a poorly shaved beard, giving him a shabby air.

Sron recalled the reports he had read before coming to Briol. With Fiore and Yuri Briol absent, there was supposedly no one in the palace whose skill posed a significant threat.

There were names mentioned, of course.

For example, Bernard, the swordsman who had trained Yuri Briol.

But he had been inactive for a long time and didn’t seem capable of defeating assassins enhanced by black magic.

Black magic had raised everyone in the Empire up by a tier. Hasan and Sron already had strength nearing that of the Ten Greats.

If Yalta hadn’t died, he would have been enough to take one of their seats.

The rest of the assassins were at least on par with an imperial squadron commander.

Black magic had caused a true power inflation.

Meanwhile, the nations outside the Empire had remained at their previous levels, without such enhancements.

That was why Bernard wasn’t even considered a threat. The captain of the royal guard was mentioned in passing, but Sron hadn’t read the note carefully.
They must all be equally mediocre.

Or so he thought.

Sron asked,

“Who are you?”

“Me? You don’t know me?”

“…”

“Of course, that’s normal. But this is the royal palace of Briol. And if someone here is protecting the King of Briol, obviously it’s the captain of the guard.”

He introduced himself.

“I am the captain of the guard, Saned.”

Sron frowned.

He had thought it was the unexpected appearance of a master, but it turned out to be exactly what the report had mentioned—the captain of the guard.

Saned had never stood out publicly, nor had he earned much fame on the battlefield. Ever since joining the guard, he had spent his entire life rotting away in the royal palace of Briol.

By contrast, Sron and the assassins had undergone brutal training, mastering killing techniques capable of slaying masters on par with Imperial squadron commanders. On top of that, with the aid of black magic, they had reached a level close to the Ten Greats.

That was why he had never paid any attention to guards whose sole job was to stand watch over palace gates.

Sron came to his own conclusion.

“Looks like you let your guard down.”

“What?”

“You’re an idiot. Letting yourself be stopped by a mere guard.”

“Mere? Capturing and killing assassins like you is, by nature, the work of the royal guard.”

Sron didn’t respond and looked away.

At that blatant disdain, Saned snorted through his nose and raised his sword.

“Damn bastards…”

At Sron’s signal, the assassins charged.

The sound of clashing weapons rang in the air.

Sron gave another order.

“All of you—release the restriction.”

The King of Briol was getting farther away. As assassins who had sharpened their blades for this very day, they no longer had any reason to conceal their power.

The assassins’ bodies swelled, transforming into muscular, inhuman figures.

Their forms, modified by black magic, could unleash explosive strength for a short period.

They would finish off this insignificant captain, then kill the King of Briol. With that in mind, Sron also pushed his body beyond its limits.

With a voice now coarse from the transformation, he gave the command.

“Get past that guard. I’ll go after the king.”

“Ha, damn you…”

Sron ignored him and ran straight toward the monarch.

But in an instant, the captain was in front of him again. Sron couldn’t grasp what had just happened and reflexively swung his sword.

Saned blocked the strike, and with a harsh crack, sparks flew between their blades.

Sron backed off, his eyes widening.

The aura emanating from the other’s sword was heavy.

Something didn’t add up.

While Sron was thinking this, Saned spoke.

“Yes, times have changed.”

He said it as though talking to himself.

“It’s a very strange era.”

With each word, the cuts of his sword grew stronger. At first, Sron could block them easily, but gradually, he had to tense his muscles and watch the captain’s every move.

“Monstrous knights have appeared, and His Highness, who was once a child, has become stronger than me. It’s absurd, but that’s how it is.”

The assassins attacked Saned instead of Sron.

The captain’s blade traced a smooth trajectory—it was like he was dancing.

That undulating sword scattered every attack aimed at him while simultaneously grazing the openings of his enemies.

Saned closed his eyes and then opened them again.

A dazzling burst of sword energy erupted from his body.

“W-what the hell…?”

Sron understood. From the very beginning, the information had been wrong.

That almost unknown captain of the Briol guard was, in reality, a swordsman as strong as the Ten Greats.

Sron was unsettled.

“You’ve been hiding your strength all this time?”

Saned let out a laugh.

But Sron felt no urge to laugh. He had never received any intel that Saned was this powerful.

In the plan he’d been given, the captain had been described as an unremarkable knight—at best, equal to an Imperial cavalry commander, if not weaker.

To him, it hadn’t been worth paying any attention.

However, the Saned before his eyes was different.

Even with his emotions heavily suppressed, the unexpected turn of events was throwing his instincts off balance.

That was why he glanced around, hoping for Hasan.

“Maybe so.”

While Sron was still off guard, the captain advanced, spinning his sword in circles.

“I’ve gotten stronger too.”

“How…?”

“I thought I’d be upholding the tradition of the captain of the guard, but His Highness Yuri followed in the previous monarch’s footsteps. So I gritted my teeth and trained again. You see this sword?”

Saned raised his weapon.

“The day I became captain of the guard, His Majesty Fiore Briol, the former king, handed it to me personally. When I received it, I swore I’d live my entire life for the royal family of Briol. I will live for Briol, and if I die, I will die for the royal family. That is the spirit of the royal guard.”

By then, Sron was already overwhelmed by his presence.

Saned smirked wickedly.

“I’ll tell you something. It may be obvious. Because of my shortcomings, that tradition was broken in my generation, but originally…”

Saned moved. His step seemed like a casual stroll, but to Sron, it was as if a giant was closing in.

There was no choice left.

Sron broke another of his internal restrictions.

Seeing his body swell even further, Saned chuckled and went on.

“Since ancient times, Briol has been the nation of knights.”

“Shut up!”

“To raise our lord above all others and protect him from rats like you, there has always been a need for a knight stronger than any other.”

“Shut your mouth!”

“That’s why, traditionally…”

In the end, Sron couldn’t bear the pressure any longer and charged at him.

Saned raised his sword with a grin.

“The captain of the guard of Briol is the strongest in Briol.”