Ch.104Conquest Battle (2)

The firmly closed reception room door opened.

The reception room, which the imperial family had directly prepared saying “rest comfortably,” was excessively spacious and luxurious for just a few people to sit in, but considering the individuals occupying it, perhaps not so much.

Because it was far too small to contain three transcendents.

The moment the door opened, Charon let out a hollow laugh and muttered, “Finally gracing us with your presence,” while Juel silently turned around. There stood an old man who had just opened the door and entered. Yes, he was an old man.

If the world considered old men to be wise individuals who preserved the flow of time and possessed ancient wisdom…

In the world of warriors and mages, “old man” was merely a word referring to those who had been defeated by the passage of time. Not an object of respect, but of ridicule and mockery. After all, once one reaches the level of Sword Seeker, they become completely free from aging.

Free from aging.

The body fixed at its prime.

Lifespan greatly extended.

So, in their world, “old man” was just a term for losers who had grown old without reaching the level of Sword Seeker. But there are always exceptions in the world.

“……”

The old man standing there now was such an exception.

The old man’s hair was snow white. If Juel’s white hair was like beautiful silk, the old man’s hair was coarse like sand rolling across a wasteland. And not just his hair. The wrinkles covering the old man’s face and skin clearly showed the passage of time.

But that was it.

The old man’s back was not hunched. His shoulders were not curled inward, and his eyes were not clouded. He was not swept away by the flow of time, but a giant who stubbornly held his ground within that flow. That was the impression Najin received from the old man.

He was actually quite robust in build too.

“Make way.”

The Empire’s Sword Master, Gerd, opened his mouth.

“Would you move aside. Juel. Charon.”

At his call, Charon shrugged and rose from his seat. He had enjoyed himself enough and conversed enough. Juel also silently stood up. Both respected Gerd.

This was the Empire.

Gerd was a pillar of the Empire.

Although transcendents stood on equal footing, it was their custom to give Gerd the highest respect at the heart of the Empire. Conversely, at the main churches of the Order of the Sword and the Order of Sacred Blood, Charon and Juel respectively were accorded the same respect.

It was an agreement to reduce friction between transcendents. Following that rule, Juel and Charon gave up their seats.

“Don’t frighten him too much, Lord Gerd.”

Charon muttered as he left his seat.

After Juel and Charon departed, Gerd lightly waved his hand. With just that, the smell of alcohol vibrating in the room evaporated. The air cleared in an instant.

“This place is too cramped.”

Gerd muttered.

Before Najin could respond, Gerd raised his foot and stomped on the ground. As the heavy sound echoed with a boom.

Swoosh.

Something was painted over the scenery of the reception room. Najin’s eyes widened. Like splashing paint over a completed picture, a new landscape was being overlaid on top of the reception room.

Despite the closed door, wind swirled around.

Najin frowned at the swirling wind. His hair fluttered violently. After the rushing wind came a flash. When Najin slowly opened his eyes, it was no longer an enclosed reception room.

A wide-open prairie.

There was a prairie stretching all the way to the horizon.

2.

The footstep sound echoed with a boom.

Then, mana erupting from inside the reception room shook the building. As those standing outside the reception room couldn’t withstand the mana and collapsed one by one, only two people responded to that mana.

Star of Sword Charon and Executioner Juel.

Both turned their heads simultaneously. Both drew their swords simultaneously. Not a judgment but an instinctive reaction. After drawing their swords, the two realized this was outside the affected area and exhaled briefly.

“That…”

Charon frowned.

“He’s going too far with his domain. Always such a nasty old man.”

“I agree on that point.”

Juel responded expressionlessly.

“Unfolding a sword domain at the core of the Empire is clearly illegal. Even though the Empire’s First Angle has extralegal authority, this is an abuse of power. It’s an act that can be held accountable depending on the circumstances.”

“The problem is who in the world would hold the Empire’s First Angle accountable.”

“The Sun of the Empire could.”

“The Sun of the Empire probably permitted it. That old man is that kind of person.”

Looking extremely displeased, Charon shook the tip of his sword. The scenery clinging to the blade’s tip scattered into the air. Juel also shook off the scenery with a similar motion.

If that space had tried to swallow even these two, Juel and Charon would have swung their swords without hesitation. This was clearly a provocation and preemptive attack.

But the space was limited to inside that door. Though still unpleasant, there wasn’t really any grounds for formal protest. Charon exhaled deeply and sheathed his sword. There was only one reason Gerd would do something like this.

‘He wants to see the bottom.’

Charon had experienced it too. That old man was the type who, when facing someone talented, had to scratch at their bottom and confirm it with his own eyes before he could be satisfied. That’s why he had warned him not to frighten the boy too much.

“As expected, he didn’t listen at all.”

Charon clicked his tongue.

While the old man’s reverent attitude toward the sword was admirable, his personality was not something he wanted to respect. A psychopath who knew nothing but the Empire and the sword. Charon shook his head, confirming the accuracy of his previous assessment.

“This is why they say I’m the most normal one.”

“Excuse me? What did you say?”

“……”

Charon silently looked at Juel.

One was a murderous fiend obsessed with blood. The other was a psychopath who knew nothing but the Empire and the sword. Being lumped together with them made him feel newly aggrieved.

“Nothing.”

“I see.”

Charon sighed and trudged away. As he walked, he glanced back and smiled.

‘Looks like he wants to see what he’s got…’

Thinking of Najin, his unofficial disciple whom he had taught swordsmanship a few times, Charon snorted.

‘It won’t be that easy.’

That youngster wouldn’t be so easily exposed.

If he underestimated him, he might even take a hit. With that thought, Charon left. His help didn’t seem particularly necessary anyway.

* * *

When he blinked, what appeared was a vast prairie.

Najin took a deep breath. Even the air was different from before. It meant this wasn’t an illusion. Or perhaps it was a high-level hallucination magic, but…

-That’s not it.

If such trickery had been used, Merlin would have seen through it. So only one possibility remained. The exclusive domain of transcendents who had reached the level of Sword Master. The sword domain, called by many names. Something Charon had once told him about.

Painting one’s mental image over the world.

And thereby standing in one’s own world.

Najin exhaled his held breath and looked ahead. There stood the master of this world. Gerd was staring at Najin with cold, sunken eyes.

“You’re not surprised.”

“I’ve experienced too many surprising things lately.”

Najin immediately countered.

For some reason, he felt he shouldn’t be suppressed. Najin composed his breathing and stood straight. Exit? Way to escape? Probably impossible for the current Najin.

‘He doesn’t intend to kill me.’

The Empire’s First Angle was the Emperor’s sword.

He would never commit an act contrary to the Emperor’s will. And it didn’t seem like the Empire’s Emperor would agree to something in front but arrange this behind the scenes. There would be no need for such tricks anyway.

So then.

“May I ask the reason?”

Najin looked directly at Gerd.

Meeting his gaze, Gerd spoke.

“The Emperor said. That the Empire would watch over you.”

“I remember. That’s what he said.”

“And I am the first pillar of the Empire. When the Emperor speaks of the Empire, I am included.”

It wasn’t wrong.

But it wasn’t right either. Najin frowned. There was no benefit in being too aggressive in front of the Empire’s Sword Master, but it didn’t feel right to just bow his head either.

“What have I done? I don’t think I’ve done anything yet. Aren’t you moving too quickly?”

“Better than being too late.”

“What do you want to see in me?”

“What you’re hiding.”

The old man pointed at Najin.

“You didn’t show everything to the Emperor. I sense it. The fact that you’re hiding something. I need to see it.”

In short, he was saying he wanted to see what Najin was capable of.

Seeing someone speak so directly about this, Najin couldn’t help but laugh. Why does everyone I meet seem desperate to see what I’ve got?

-A genius, by nature, invites the envy and jealousy of others…

‘Merlin did the same thing.’

-I’m… a bit different… it wasn’t jealousy. I had to confirm, and I apologized later…! Hey, are you going to be this resentful?

‘I’m joking. I know.’

As Merlin grumbled in a hurt voice, Najin narrowed his eyes. Something I’m hiding? Of course there was. But it was something he could never show.

‘Is he someone I can reason with?’

From what he could see, he seemed more normal than Juel at least. Najin carefully selected his words one by one.

“Everyone has at least one secret they keep. A trump card has value precisely because it’s hidden.”

“A fair point.”

“So I cannot show you.”

“You don’t deny that you’re hiding something?”

“Would there be any point in denying it?”

Gerd nodded.

As if pleased with the answer.

“The oath you swore to the Emperor was true. Even if your conviction wavers in the future, for now, you will act to keep that oath. The spirit, the resolve, the resonance of your soul when you spoke that oath. I trust that.”

A friendly tone.

Gerd’s eyes were gentle.

“But this is a separate issue.”

The old man narrowed his eyes.

In that moment, killing intent enveloped Najin. Unlike Juel’s killing intent, which was unconscious and indiscriminate, this was an enormous killing intent aimed at crushing one specific person. Blood rushed to Najin’s eyes.

Tap.

Najin reflexively stepped back and grabbed his sword hilt. And then, as if he had been waiting for this moment, Gerd withdrew his killing intent and pointed at Najin who was holding the sword.

“The posture of gripping a sword. The movement of your hand in an instant. That hand stretched out as you stepped back.”

The place Gerd pointed to with his fingertip.

Najin had grabbed the sword hilt with his left hand, but what Gerd pointed to was Najin’s right hand. And Najin’s right hand was pointing toward empty space. As if about to draw something from the void.

“You add to my suspicion.”

The Empire’s Sword Master exhaled deeply. Standing straight in the swaying prairie, the old man asked.

“Are you the master of Excalibur?”

3.

Are you the master of Excalibur?

The moment he heard that question, Najin wasn’t surprised.

Until now, no one had suspected him, but the situation had changed. Anyone could suspect him now. He had accomplished enough to warrant it.

‘I made a mistake in my actions, but.’

It could still be salvaged.

Najin composed himself and lowered his hand. How should he act? How should he escape this situation? Najin’s mind raced.

The Empire’s First Angle, Gerd.

What kind of person is this old man?

“A man who threw everything away for the sword and the Empire.”

“That old man only values the sword and the Empire. He abandoned his lover, his children, his life, everything.”

Words he once heard from Charon.

Records about Gerd he had read in books. A man who worshipped only the sword and the Empire. So, the sword.

One who dedicated his life to the sword. A swordsman.

Using that as a criterion, Najin pieced together sentences in his mind. From ancient times, figuring out how to survive against the strong had been Najin’s specialty.

The opponent’s interest. Beliefs. Values.

Using them to overcome the situation.

“Lord Gerd.”

“I asked a question. Answer it.”

“Though insignificant compared to you, I am a swordsman.”

Najin smiled.

“Since when did swordsmen put down their swords and babble through their mouths? If you have something to ask, ask with your sword. Isn’t that the way of a swordsman?”

Gerd’s eyes moved.

Though he didn’t open his mouth, his lips moved. Najin didn’t miss that movement.

“Though there’s a difference like heaven and earth between us, aren’t we both swordsmen at the very least?”

Najin roughly drew his sword.

“I challenge you to a duel.”

“Me?”

“Yes, not the Empire’s First Angle, but the swordsman Gerd who has reached the transcendent realm with a single sword.”

At Najin’s answer, Gerd could no longer contain himself and burst into laughter. Najin had not challenged the Empire’s First Angle who was trying to identify variables for the Empire’s safety. He had challenged the swordsman Gerd, who approached Najin out of interest, wanting to cross swords with a talented individual.

‘You want to see my bottom?’

Then try asking with your sword. Isn’t that the way of a swordsman? The boy before him had said as much.

Gerd understood that intention.

Because he understood, he found it absurd; because it was absurd, it was interesting; and because it was interesting, laughter escaped his lips. A duel challenge? To me? How long had it been since someone had challenged him to a duel after he reached the transcendent realm?

“Huh.”

With the laughter, Gerd’s expressionless mask broke. What had been hidden behind the mask was a madman who had thrown away his life for the sword.

Facing the madman, Najin smiled.

“But if it’s just a one-sided trampling, I can’t show you what I’ve got, can I?”

“Correct. Are you asking me to hold back?”

“As long as you don’t use abilities exclusive to Sword Masters, that would be enough.”

Gerd laughed.

“You’re full of tricks.”

“I appreciate you calling it cleverness.”

The Empire’s Sword Master drew his sword. Though the old man was smiling as if enjoying the situation, the moment he drew his sword, Najin felt all his senses stand on edge. It was chilling. Eerie. His instincts screamed.

‘If you’re thinking of exposing what I’ve got.’

But Najin smiled.

‘You must be prepared to be exposed too, Sword Master of the Empire.’