Episode 142
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“Now, everyone, pay attention! I have a very surprising story for you all today!”
On a street corner in the city, a man was shouting at the top of his lungs. A robed woman was about to walk away, leaving behind the crowd of people who were crowding around him.
“Today, I stand here after witnessing the splendid exploits of the Empire’s greatest genius, the ‘Black Prince’, in the War of the Roses!”
The woman’s steps stopped for a moment at that name. She turned her head. The man there was a street storyteller. A traveler who made a living by listening to rumors he heard while wandering the world and adding his own details to those stories.
“You’d better look forward to the story I’m about to tell you. There aren’t many lucky people in this street who have witnessed the fierce battle between the Holy Sword and the ‘Black Prince’ up close and personal!”
“Are you saying that you really saw those two fight?”
“That’s right! It happened when I was following the constellations and setting foot on the land of the Duke of Lancaster! Hmm, ahem ahem.”
After saying this, the storyteller paused, and several people took out a few coins from their pockets and put them in the basket in front of him. Only then did the storyteller cough again and raise his voice like an actor.
“Ahem, so speaking of the bloody battle there, it was in the midst of thousands of knights from both sides facing off in York and Lancaster! Right then! Two men, representing each side’s forces, stepped onto the plain and fought one-on-one… … .”
People began to flinch in fear or clap their hands as they were drawn to the voice that seemed to vividly describe the war scenes at that time.
A storyteller’s job is to sell stories. The most captivating and engaging stories that will sell. And for the Storyteller’s Guild, of which he is a member, there is no more certain check for success than the heroic tale of the Black Prince.
But for women, this was nothing new.
The stories of the rich are always exaggerated, and I was so used to the fact that ‘Dale’s fame’ was spreading like that.
“A fierce battle unfolded between the Seven Swords of the Continent, the sword of the Holy Swordsman, without any hesitation! The heavens and the earth shook, and thousands of soldiers held their breaths in a clash!”
Before long, a crowd of people had gathered there, leaving no room to step. A woman quietly turned around among them, hiding her crystal-colored hair under her hood, leaving behind an unknown longing welling up in her chest.
* * *
At that time, Northern Demon King’s Territory.
Officially, the two bloodlines of the Imperial family were putting their feet on the ground for the cause of the ‘Great Demon Alliance’, which was being advocated by Saxony and Lancaster.
“You have come all the way to such a miserable place.”
The Viscount of Saxony, who ruled the Demon Territory along with his father, the Duke of Saxony, opened his mouth.
“Because I have expanded the military fortress that my father built to combat the threat of the demons into my castle, even though it may be a bit shabby, please understand… … .”
“Oh, there’s nothing more to say.”
But before Dale could finish speaking, the 7th Prince Modred intervened.
“I don’t need to explain it in detail, because you can tell that it is a shabby and insignificant castle.”
“… …Is that so?”
Dale bowed his head, oblivious to the rudeness.
“More than that, why do you think this body came all the way to this remote rural area in person?”
It was at that moment that Modred stopped walking and turned his head towards Dale.
“I want to see for myself the talent of the ‘Black Prince’ that the idiots of this country are talking about so much. How about it? I’m so embarrassed, I don’t know where to put myself.”
“I am truly sorry.”
“Then take out what you have.”
“… … Take it out, what do you mean?”
“Are you asking me what that means? It’s a sword.”
Modred said, placing his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.
“No, it wasn’t a sword? Take out everything, be it magic, artifacts, or anything else.”
Sling.
Before Dale could even answer, the prince’s sword hanging diagonally on his sword belt glowed with a chill. Silence fell for a moment. Even the world’s most powerful black knight could not hide his bewilderment at his reckless and indiscriminate attitude.
“… … .”
Dale remained silent without answering. In the silence, his artifact, the Shadow Cloak, began to flutter.
“Hoo.”
“I will follow the prince’s orders.”
Dale drew his pitch-black magic sword, his shadow cloak fluttering, his actions framed as an unavoidable obedience to orders.
“Okay, then try clearing away all the obstacles around here.”
Modred adjusted the hilt of his sword and spoke. Dale, who understood the meaning, glanced at the people around him and nodded.
The people on both sides retreated immediately, and Dale and the prince stood facing each other with their swords in hand. Dale glanced at the fifth princess, Kiara. She was maintaining her silence with a cold expression, as if her earlier attempts to stop her younger sister’s rudeness were meaningless.
“I hope that the title of the Empire’s greatest genius isn’t a fake.”
Modred spat out coldly.
“I can’t take responsibility even if your balls fall off.”
“Why are you doing this?”
So Dale asked back, boldly, without backing down an inch.
“Your Majesty, did you not send your prince and princess to the cause of the Great Demon Alliance, and furthermore, the cause of Saxony and Lancaster?”
“Yes, and that proud, bloody genius of Saxony… … .”
Just then, Modred opened his mouth and adjusted his grip on the sword.
“Do you know what I did to my one and only teacher?”
At those words, Dale held his breath.
“His tendons were torn to shreds, his Auror Heart was destroyed, and to make matters worse, he spread false information that he had been rescued by that damned Philip… … He must have been held captive and made tormented throughout the Wars of the Roses.”
Only then did I understand the depth of the hatred he was burning towards Dale.
However, regarding the final fate of the Holy Sword, he had already decided to take responsibility at the moment he broke the Holy Sword.
“The murderer of the Master, who would have been too much to kill, is right in front of me.”
I never imagined that the aftermath would come like this.
“… … Isn’t that war?”
Dale answered coldly.
“War is about killing before you die, and getting as much as you can before you kill.”
Without hiding the ruthlessness and cruelty of the ‘Black Prince’ that people gossip about.
“All soldiers who die on the battlefield have parents and children waiting for them, and they also have friends and spouses. Even so, when swinging their swords, no one hesitates to think of the enemy’s family.”
“… … .”
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Modred kept quiet.
“Even if the Holy Sword is a great and respectable teacher to Prince Modred──”
It was at that moment that Dale could not even finish his sentence when Modred stomped the ground and rushed forward.
Kaang!
Their blades clashed. Dale’s sword swung against Modred’s, but Dale did not draw it.
“… … !”
Just a swirling cloak of shadows rose up like skewers, aimed at Modred.
If it had come even 1mm closer, it would have been a fatal blade that would have torn his retina and caused blindness.
“How dare you be so rude to the prince!”
Seeing this action, the Knights of the Iron Cross drew their swords at once. At the same time, the Knights of the Saxon Ravens also drew their swords. The air in the room became cold and stiff, and silence fell like a feather.
A confrontation on the brink of war unfolded.
“Everyone, please leave it at that.”
It was in that extremely murderous atmosphere that the black ball finally broke the silence and opened its mouth.
“Do you think you can touch the prince’s dignity and get away with it?”
A knight of the Iron Cross shouted at the Black Knight, and the Black Knight answered him.
“Can’t you hear me?”
“… … !”
At the same time, the scenery around the convention center began to sink into darkness.
From the darkness, arms stretched out. The Knights of the Iron Cross quickly swung their swords in confusion, but the ‘Arms of Darkness’ grabbed their bodies faster than they could.
“Ahhhhh!”
The knight who shouted at the black ball started screaming. The dark arm was already squeezing the knight’s ankle. The armor was buckling, the ankle bone was breaking, and the flesh was twisted like a twister.
At first glance, it looked like a landscape not much different from Dale’s shadow cloak. However, I could tell. The darkness was different. A greedy and greedy pitch-blackness that seemed to swallow up all the light in this world was engulfing the area.
“As I said, I told you to leave it at that.”
The voice rang out again. It was quiet, but it had an unmistakable, commanding tone.
Even in front of the prince of the world and the greatest organization of knights in the empire accompanying him, without even the slightest disturbance.
“Dale, take away your shadow cloak.”
“Yes, father.”
Dale also disarmed without hesitation. Before him was Modred, struggling in the shadow’s arms.
“Prince Modred.”
The black ball turned its head towards Modred.
“Black Ball, can you let this go right now!”
“No matter how much you are of royal blood, do not think that any rudeness will be tolerated just because of that reason.”
“Yes, what did you just say… …!”
“It means exactly what it says.”
The black ball answered.
“This is my domain, and at the same time my son is here performing his duties as my representative.”
“Who do you think gave you that territory!”
“Your Majesty the Emperor of the Empire.”
The black ball answered. His voice was without a shred of hesitation.
“And as a duke of the Empire, I have the immunities to take legal action to protect my lands, even if they are of royal blood.”
Foodie!
Suddenly, a few crows flew up behind him. In a room where there was no way birds could exist.
At the same time, black feathers fluttered, and the black ball continued speaking calmly.
The air in the area froze. Before I knew it, the room was filled with a cold chill and the fear of death.
“I also deeply understand that Prince Modred regards the Holy Sword as his ‘real father’ and deeply respects it as his teacher.”
“… … !”
As the black ball continued its words indifferently, Modred’s expression froze.
“That and this are strictly speaking separate things.”
The black ball continues to speak calmly. As someone who knows the secrets of the empire that even Dale doesn’t know, he puts a leash on Modred that he cannot go against.
