The Returned Sword King Decided to Become a Tyrant Episode 14
To change the future (4)
“Oh, an assassin?!”
Why did the assassins come?
There were many places that I could guess. Rather, it would be a lie to say that I had no idea.
It’s not like I didn’t expect this kind of development.
The first prince who left the palace without an escort and the only attendant who had no affinity for swordsmanship.
Finally, given the backdrop of a cemetery with few people due to strange rumors, it wasn’t all that strange that assassins would come looking for them.
“I guess now is the best time.”
The sight of the assassins hiding and waiting to attack, as if they would not tolerate even a single variable, was quite impressive.
Even the flies were crying without even noticing the change.
At that level, they weren’t just some random people who had come looking for fortune telling.
‘At least the elite assassins of the Assassination Guild.’
In fact, even the positions where they stood were organized, so you could guess the level.
There are five hidden in the back.
Eight in a fan shape in front.
Four strike teams targeting the flank.
There were a total of seventeen assassins stationed there.
I muttered in a low voice as I pushed the Baron back.
“Since I’ve already been caught, why don’t I show myself?”
“… … .”
“Tsk. How foolish.”
Still, the silence flows.
Are you still trying to keep up the act even after being told you got caught?
Well, even so, it’s not like you can come out of hiding and confront him with just a single word.
I glanced around the cemetery and sighed.
“Two behind the tombstone in front. Three on the tree. Five who took the invisibility potion… … .”
“… … .”
“Can you tell me the rest of the locations?”
“You saw through our hiding… … This is surprising.”
A strange voice came from somewhere and echoed through the fog into the cemetery.
It was clearly a skill that had been honed for a long time.
Although it was made so that I couldn’t guess the direction or distance, my gaze was focused precisely on one point.
“That’s a useful hiding place. You seem to be a captain or something?”
“… … Allen Esteban, you’re a greater man than I’ve heard.”
“I will take that as a compliment.”
A man wearing a black hood appeared from the fog. It was the owner of the voice.
It seems that since everything about each other has been discovered, they thought that hiding was no longer of any use.
“I was confused because I lost track of it from the middle, but it was worth waiting.”
Losing track of someone means going into hiding.
I said with a snicker.
“Are the rest of the soldiers not going to show themselves?”
“Huh. You have great insight, but you don’t seem to have the brains to grasp the situation. Otherwise, you’re just bluffing.”
It’s a confident attitude even though you’ve been caught by your assassination target.
That is why you came here with the bold ambition of assassinating the prince of a country.
It was just laughable.
“What if it’s neither?”
“How stupid. Even though I was surprised by the unexpected situation, the fundamental situation of being prey has not changed.”
“Well? At least I don’t think I’ll be hunted by cowards who hide and wait for their chance.”
You might be thinking, objectively speaking, that it’s not a very good situation.
Of course, the source of that confidence will not be their skills or a surprise attack coming from out of the fog.
“You have such confidence, even though you’re carrying a load. It’s hard to believe that you’re going to die soon.”
“her.”
“Please don’t think badly of us. Aren’t we beings who move for mutual benefit?”
The burden they were referring to was Baron Vidor, who had no fighting ability.
I don’t even have the strength to protect myself, let alone fight against it.
In an emergency, it was clear that they would become hostages and only hinder the battle.
……really?
Do you really think so?
I felt a little bit embarrassed and burst out laughing.
Then, the man’s eyes revealed through the hood narrowed.
“What’s so funny?”
“Haha. This really looks funny.”
It was an even funnier story because I knew he was actually a funny guy.
“You’re so confident even though you’re carrying a load? You’re just showing off?”
The word confidence refers to the feeling that you can do something well.
Likewise, bluffing refers to a person with nothing but superficial show of force.
So, I couldn’t help but feel ashamed.
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“But you know… … do you need confidence to step on an ant and kill it?”
The left hand still holds the scabbard slung at his waist.
They are ants.
They are so small that they cannot even climb on your shoes, so even if dozens or hundreds of them crawl around, they pose no threat.
A test subject just to measure my newly acquired powers.
“I don’t know who sent it, but I’m grateful it came at such a time.”
“… … What?”
“Be sure to thank me from the afterlife.”
The right hand holding the sword handle moves slowly.
Soon he lowered his posture and began twisting his waist as if he was about to draw his sword.
A distance still more than 30 meters.
The contradictory and deformed fighting stance was laughable, but no one present even thought of moving a single muscle on their face.
That moment.
“Wh, what… … .”
Fear? Horror?
The assassin felt a strange sensation stirring his instincts and looked around.
“… … !”
The world was black and white.
It certainly wasn’t the fog blocking out the sunlight.
hour.
What if there was a world in a black and white photograph that was fixed forever?
At this moment, it seemed as if time had stopped. The only one standing there was the First Prince, holding a sword.
All I could do was listen to the words coming out of his mouth and fall into despair.
That was the end of the assassin.
“The noble who sent you will be sent away soon.”
Woof woof woof!
A sword swung with all its might cuts through space.
Where the sword passed, a beautiful red afterimage bloomed, clearly engraved in the air like a picture.
Although he only swung his sword once diagonally, the result was by no means light.
“… … !”
One blow.
Graves and tombstones. Fog and assassins.
Everything in the path was split in half.
Perhaps it even appears as if it is still in good shape.
I would never have believed it if it hadn’t slowly fallen sideways.
“This makes twelve.”
Time, which seemed to have finally stopped, has returned to its original state.
But the world still stood still.
Because the bodies of the assassins who had escaped death by being positioned in the rear were shaking to the point where they could no longer move.
They were usually trained to deal with death, but if they were to touch the primal instincts of humans, it would be different.
The same was true for the Baron, who was watching the situation.
“… …Oh my god.”
I can say with certainty that this was the first time in my life that I had ever seen such a scene.
Surprising? It was difficult to express the situation with just those words.
Even the word impossible did not fit the current situation.
Sword Master.
Great people who have transcended the human category and reached the realm of superhumans.
His superior was a man of immense strength.
“That… … can’t be possible… … .”
Even though I said it myself, I couldn’t help but shake my head.
Because I wasn’t that stupid that I couldn’t believe it even after seeing it with my own eyes.
How that was possible was not really important in the current situation.
“If anyone moves, I will kill them immediately.”
It was a split second.
He also subdued the innkeeper. He also passed the Baron and approached the assassins who were hiding.
“Damn it! This is different from what I said!”
One assassin tried to run away in fear, but I was quicker than him.
“Tsk.”
Swoosh-
The lump of flesh that collapsed on the ground with its upper and lower bodies separated could no longer be called an assassin.
A spurt of blood soaked the bodies of the other assassins, but none of them moved.
It would be more accurate to say that he couldn’t move.
“Okay. Just stand there.”
I smiled and approached the assassin on the far left.
Then he took off the mask himself and opened his mouth.
“You. Which assassination guild are you from?”
A face I’m seeing for the first time.
The blue eyes that shook pitifully were so pitiful.
“Father, please just let me live!”
“If you tell me where you come from.”
“I, I have a wife and children and a sick old woman… … .”
“Phew.”
Phew!
The assassin, who had been stabbed in the heart, collapsed on the spot without saying a word.
I roughly wiped the blood off my face and walked towards the next assassin.
“You. Which assassination guild are you from?”
“That, that… … .”
“If you don’t want to answer, then don’t answer.”
Phew!
It was a hand that did not have even a shred of mercy.
The bodies of the two remaining assassins began to visibly shake.
The stench of urine stinging my nose was unpleasant, but my smile still remained.
“next.”
“I am a member of the assassination guild of the commercial city of Adela!”
I got a very satisfactory answer.
But it was still not enough.
“Then who commissioned the assassination?”
“… … .”
“Tsk. Your learning ability is lacking.”
Phew!
This left only one assassin left.
I approached him with a brighter smile than before.
“Who commissioned the assassination?”
“I’ll tell you everything! Everything about this request!”
“You are very cooperative.”
I nodded my head in front of the guy, crossing my arms.
“Now tell me.”
“Well, it started a week ago with a certain attendant who came to the guild.”
“and?”
“That man said that the noble he serves needs top-class assassins… … .”
The assassin, who had been catching his breath for a moment, continued speaking.
“In exchange for giving me a fee of 100 million gold, I said that I would not be able to turn back once I heard about the assassination target.”
“Wow. One hundred million gold each?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“That’s interesting.”
Are you saying that he is a noble with enough wealth to spend a huge sum of 100 million gold?
He asked, stroking his chin at the interesting story.
“So who did you say the client was?”
“The client… … The client… … .”
“hmm?”
His speech became increasingly slurred, and his eyes looked confused.
That moment.
“this.”
I felt something strange and took a step back.
It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, but it turned out to be absolutely right.
“Kuaaaah!”
pop!
The head, which had been gradually swelling, soon shattered into pieces, and the fragments flew into the air.
Fortunately, I was able to avoid a direct hit because I stepped back, but I couldn’t avoid my clothes getting dirty.
I said, smacking my lips in regret.
“Tsk. It was cursed.”
Well, I guess they wouldn’t have missed the bare minimum of precautions against something like this.
It was as expected.
“One hundred million gold… … .”
I shook off my clothes and fell into a brief moment of deep thought.
In the current situation, there were only two types of nobles who could be my enemies: the remnants of those who committed corruption with Asus and were caught, and the idiots whose feet were numb.
Excluding the remnants of Asus who are lying flat on their faces because of the example of Viscount Onoreo, all that remains are the fools who have lost their feet.
But a bunch of idiots with no sense of direction are trying to assassinate me while taking on the risk?
‘It’s impossible.’
If that were possible, the Information Department and all, they would have attacked me and cornered me already during the Aristocrats’ Council.
It is true that it was difficult to expect organized movement from those guys in the first place.
In other words, there was a third party, or rather a third force, that was acting while leaving the nobles trembling in fear.
It was also a new force that was hastily formed in the wake of Asus’ death.
If that was the case, the identity of the force attempting the assassination was obvious.
“I see. It’s sorted out now.”
My lips turned up crookedly.
A force with a leader who has the financial power to spend a huge sum of money, 100 million gold, but who also has a reason why he must act.
I quietly mull over the hypothesis that has come to mind. Perhaps, if I had just a little bit of evidence, I would immediately become convinced.
“Baron Vidor.”
“Ah! Yes, Your Majesty!”
“I’m going back now.”
Now it was truly time to return to the palace.
It was a week before the delegation’s visit.
* * *
The 4th Prince laughed as he read the report.
“So. Not only did you die in vain, you even left behind evidence?”
A beautifully presented polite speech that seems to have been created.
At this, the body of the person who submitted the report trembled.
Because he knew the Fourth Prince’s personality better than anyone else.
“And? The one who stopped my plan was the First Prince?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“That’s a really interesting story.”
Is that an interesting story?
His master, who had always been indifferent to everything, was different after hearing the report about Asus.
That sight was unfamiliar even to the attendants who had been assisting the Fourth Prince until then.
What is certain is that this situation is by no means a fun scene.
“But why did you report this fact only now, after so long?”
“Oh, His Majesty the Emperor has personally controlled the information. That is why the information has been delayed.”
“Your Majesty?”
“I am sorry, Your Majesty.”
The 4th Prince, surprised by the unexpected answer, put down the report and said.
“Okay, I understand. You must have had some intentions. You may leave now.”
“Then I will leave this for now… … .”
“Oh, please wait a moment.”
The attendant, who was trying to quickly leave the place in case the sparks flew to him, trembled at the sound of the 4th prince’s voice calling him.
But what I heard next was truly different from what I expected.
“The first prince of Esteban. Keep an eye on him.”
“yes?”
A gasp escaped the attendant’s mouth, but there was no second explanation.
“And I must see His Majesty the Emperor immediately.”
“Oh, I understand. I’ll let you know in advance.”
“Yes. Okay.”
What on earth are you thinking?
The 4th Prince, who had been staring at the report on the desk for a long time, soon heard the sound of a carriage coming from outside the window and got up from his seat.
Below the report received from the attendant, it seems as if some information about the first prince is glimpsed.
“You think that being indecisive and weak won’t be a big stumbling block?”
A ray of sunlight streamed through the carefully drawn curtains and illuminated his face, revealing a horrifying slash across the prince’s eyes.
My nerves were dead and I couldn’t feel anything, but I thought to myself that the eyes were smiling.
“Who on earth gave me this information?”
Leiden del Carrot.
As the fourth prince of the Carrot Federation Empire and the future emperor, his monologue foreshadowed the bloody storm that would blow through the palace.
