Chapter 213
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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Chapter 213: Helian Tournament (2)
***
“The Knight of the Iron Wall was defeated?”
“His shield was completely shattered? That’s the shield that even withstood the blow of an ancient golem!”
The audience could only be in awe.
Sir Jose Brendan, the Knight of the Iron Wall, was a fairly famous knight within the empire.
While there might be stronger knights than Jose Brendan, there was no knight who could pierce his shield.
True to that evaluation, Jose Brendan’s shield had never been broken once.
Even among the knights who had defeated Jose, there was no one who had pierced his shield. They had all won by exploiting his weaknesses or using trickery.
But Damien had shattered Jose’s shield in one blow.
“Perhaps a new legend is about to be born…”
The majority of the spectators looked at Damien with awe-filled eyes.
However, not everyone was like that.
“So what? He still can’t beat Archbold and Bradley, right?”
Some spectators were busy belittling Damien.
“No matter how great he is, he’s just a knight from the kingdom! He can’t possibly defeat a knight from our empire!”
“That’s right. And Archbold and Bradley are such great knights!”
But their arguments were quickly buried.
“Those two don’t seem to be as good as Damien Haksen.”
“That’s right. Damien Haksen shattered the Iron Wall’s shield in one blow and even cut him with his long sword.”
“It was all over in the blink of an eye, literally.”
This was because the battle Damien had shown was so impressive.
He had crushed Jose Brendan head-on without any trickery or strategy.
“…Ugh.”
In the end, the spectators who had been trying to belittle Damien had to shut their mouths.
“It seems like the winner of the Master Class event has been decided after all?”
Everyone agreed at someone’s words.
***
“Truly astonishing.”
The Emperor of the Empire, Howard Adelard, was genuinely impressed.
As the Emperor, he had met many knights, but he had never seen a knight like Damien.
“Did that young man just become a Master Class?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. It’s undeniable, as it was said by the Sword Saint himself.”
The Imperial Guard standing beside the Emperor replied.
“Did the Imperial Supreme Sword and the Sword Saint show such a performance in the tournament too?”
The Imperial Guard, who stood by the Emperor’s side, was also a Master Class. Despite appearing young, he was actually quite old.
Unlike the Emperor, the Imperial Guard had personally seen the Imperial Supreme Sword and the Sword Saint participate in the tournament.
“If I may evaluate the two, they also showed an amazing performance in the tournament, but they couldn’t win as quickly as Damien Haksen did.”
The Imperial Guard’s words made the Emperor exclaim in wonder once more.
The two knights had an immense reputation. The number of legendary feats they had accumulated was like the grains of sand on the beach.
“Take a good look. Perhaps the world will revolve around that man in the future.”
The Emperor spoke to his children sitting on either side of him.
The prince and princess stared at Damien with varying emotions in their eyes.
“Damien Haksen… Damien Haksen…”
The Emperor seemed to be trying to remember the name.
Suddenly, the Emperor’s brows furrowed slightly.
“…Damien Haksen?”
***
Damien entered the waiting room, leaving behind the cheers of the crowd.
“Brother! You are amazing! You won the fastest out of all the matches that took place today!”
“What the heck? How did you do that just now? How did you break his shield?”
As soon as he returned to the waiting room, Michael and Veronica rushed over to him.
Michael, needless to say, and even Veronica, who was only interested in killing people, were bombarding him with questions.
“Damien Haksen!”
Then, another voice was heard. Rachel was running towards him.
“What’s up, I thought you were watching from the stands.”
Rachel had come as a spectator since she was not competing today. It was said that she had been assigned the best VIP seat, befitting the successor of Duke Lichteawer.
“How could you just sit there after seeing something like that!”
Rachel pushed her way through Michael and Veronica and stood in front of Damien.
“More than that, what was that just now? How did you do it? Why didn’t you show me when we were sparring?”
“…If I did that to a High-Class knight, you would be dead.”
“I don’t care? If I could die from such a tremendous blow, it would be a blessing!”
“This is crazy.”
Damien looked at Rachel with a dumbfounded expression.
Despite her appearance which suggested she was raised in luxury, her words and actions were not much different from Veronica’s.
He couldn’t help but think that she might be the same type of person as Veronica.
“Ah, by the way, Damien. Are you interested in making more connections on the empire’s side?”
“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
Before Rachel could answer, there was a sudden commotion outside.
– Is it certain that Damien Haksen is here?
Get out of the way! That man has already been marked by our family!
A letter! I just need to deliver one letter!
The footsteps were not of two or three persons. At least several dozen people were approaching this place.
“This is the perfect time to make connections. What do you want to do?”
“I’m too lazy to do it.”
Damien answered immediately.
One connection with Rachel was enough. Besides, he didn’t like politics or making more connections, and it would only be a hassle.
“Then I guess I’ll have to help you. Did you hear that, David?”
“Yes, my lady.”
A man answered coolly. He was Rachel’s attendant, he always followed Rachel like a shadow.
“Everyone, please follow me.”
David said, leading the way. The group followed Damien into the depths of the Colosseum.
David guided the group through a secret passage inside the Colosseum.
The secret passage was connected to a civilian house outside the Colosseum.
Thanks to this, Damien was able to return to mansion without encountering any other nobles.
However, the nobles’ obsession was persistent. In a short while, they all gathered at the mansion.
“We came after hearing that Sir Damien Haksen is here!”
“Just give us a little of your time! It won’t be a bad conversation for either of us!”
“A letter! A letter! Just one letter!”
However, the nobles were blocked by Lichteawer’s soldiers and could not enter.
Thanks to this, Damien was able to relax comfortably.
***
The next day, the group entered the Colosseum through the secret passage, just like yesterday.
The area around the Colosseum was teeming with nobles looking for Damien.
Today, none of Damien, Michael, or Veronica had matches. So they headed for the stands instead of the waiting room.
“You can use this one.”
Rachel guided the three to the VIP seat she had been assigned.
The VIP seats were divided into sections, befitting a place only for high-ranking nobles.
“Damien, I have a match today, so please watch me carefully. If you see any problems, please let me know!”
“Okay, I got it.”
Rachel was the only one of the three who had a match today.
“Absolutely! Absolutely!”
After giving her instructions, Rachel went down to the waiting room.
Damien sat in the VIP seat and watched the matches. The middle-class matches ended, and the high-class matches began.
“Brother, it’s Lady Rachel.”
Rachel’s match began.
Michael watched Rachel’s every move without missing a beat. It seemed that his words about getting revenge for Rachel in the competition were sincere.
As expected, the match ended with Rachel’s victory.
Rachel dodged her opponent’s attacks with ease and pierced their shoulder with her rapier to claim victory.
“Rachel! Rachel!”
“Lichteawer!”
The crowd erupted in cheers. Rachel put her hand on her chest and bowed to the crowd in response to their cheers.
Then, her eyes met Damien’s. Rachel gave him a smug look.
“Well, well.”
Damien chuckled.
“Brother, are you going to be out for a while?”
“I’m going to go get something to drink.”
Michael and Veronica took advantage of the break between matches to leave their seats to get food.
Then, someone sat in their seats. Damien instinctively looked over.
A man he had never seen before was sitting in their seats.
He looked to be in his late 30s. He had a thick mustache trimmed like a bull’s horn.
“Truly worthy of being the successor to the Duke Lichteawer. She have great talent.”
The man said, crossing his legs.
“Damien Haksen, please excuse my rudeness. I took the liberty of intruding because I wanted to talk to you directly.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Archbold Geller.”
It was a name he had heard before.
He was the man Rachel had said was the most promising candidate for the win.
As a Master Class swordsman who wielded a sabre, he was known for his exceptional skills.
“Do you have business with me?”
“Not particularly. I just came to see the most dangerous competitor.”
Archbold Geller’s eyes darkened.
“I didn’t think there was anyone to be wary of besides Bardley Heath, but… a monster like you suddenly appeared.”
As the runner-up of the previous tournament, Archbold Geller exuded an immense pressure.
“I’m 39 years old this year. This is my last Helian tournament.”
The Helian Tournament had different age limits for each category. While other categories allowed participation up to 25 years old, Master Class was open to those up to 40 years old, due to its extreme difficulty.
The number of matches was also fewer compared to other categories. While other categories had six matches per day, Master Class had only two.
“You, as a knight of the kingdom, wouldn’t know. The Helian tournament is an extremely important event for the Empire’s knights.”
The tournament was held in commemoration of the Empire’s first emperor, and the winner would have an audience with the emperor and receive a title directly from them.
For the Empire’s knights, the Helian tournament held an immense reputation.
“I will definitely win this tournament. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
A faint hint of malice was detectable in Archbold’s voice, revealing how obsessed he was with the Helian tournament.
“Are you here to threaten me?”
“I’m here to give you advice. This tournament is very dangerous, so it’s better to give up beforehand if you can.”
Archbold turned his gaze to Damien.
“You never know. You might unwittingly drink poison or… such an accident might happen.”
Damien laughed at the veiled threat.
-Let’s start the next match! Archbold Geller and Malenka Hibikers, please come up to the stage!
At that moment, the judge’s shout was heard. Archbold stood up from his chair.
“It’s my turn. I ask that you don’t ignore my warning.”
Archbold lightly tapped his foot on the ground and jumped over the audience seats to land on the stage.
“Woah!”
The audience erupted in amazement at the sight.
“Archbold Geller!”
“Win this time!”
Archbold Geller spread his arms wide, enjoying the audience’s cheers.
Meanwhile, another knight came up to the stage. He was the man the judge had called Malenka Hibikers.
“You should make a less flashy entrance.”
Malenka said with a sulky face.
“Your attention-seeking nature never gets better.”
“I think I’m a hundred times better than a stiff man like you.”
“Just shut up and get ready.”
Malenka grasped his sword, taking his stance.
“This time, I’ll crush you.”
“It’s going to be tough, though.”
Archbold Geller slowly drew his sabre and smiled.
“Don’t get careless like last time. You almost lost your wrist.”
“Or have you forgotten how you almost lost an eye to my sword?”
The two men glared at each other, their tension palpable.
Thud! thud!
A strange sound echoed from afar.
Thud! thud!
It sounded like someone was hitting the ground with a cane-like object. The two men turned their attention to the direction of the sound.
A young woman was approaching the stage from a distance.
It was strange, as only participants were allowed to enter the stage, and outsiders were strictly prohibited.
She had a large, cross-like object on her back, covered in black cloth, making it impossible to identify.
However, what caught the attention of the two men wasn’t the object she was carrying.
The woman had bandages over her eyes. And with a wooden cane, she was tapping the ground, taking slow steps.
“Blind?”
Archbold asked in a puzzled tone.
The woman stopped in her tracks at his voice, bowed her head, and said.
“Ah, hello! I’m Everis! H-h-ha, I’m so nervous!”
Everis had covered her mouth with both hands, her face contorted in pain.
Archbold’s expression was incredulous.
“What are the guards doing? Why did they let an outsider onto the stage?”
“Oh, please don’t scold them. I-I-I couldn’t be stopped anyway…”
“What nonsense…”
“I came from Pandemonium.”
Everis’s words made Archbold’s eyes widen in disbelief. He stared at her with an ‘I-can’t-believe-this’ face.
“You, you’re saying… your Master ordered you to participate in the Helian Tournament and die…?”
Everis put down the object on her back, and a heavy thud echoed. When she removed the black cloth, a Two-Handed Sword was revealed.
The blade was relatively thin, but its length was an astonishing 2 meters, twice Everis’s height.
“Oh, it’s fine. If you kill me here, it’s a win for the Empire.”
Everis grasped the Two-Handed Sword with both hands, but the blade was so long and heavy that she couldn’t lift it.
“I-I-I won’t resent you even if you kill me, s-so please don’t…”
***
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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