bookpower Chapter 178 : Chapter 178
Chapter 178 : Chapter 178
General Milton of the Jerpan Archipelago.Until just before the spar with the envoy from the Plank Kingdom, he had planned to fight ‘moderately.’
Because his goal was not to win the spar.
His real goal was to deliberately show the strength of the Plank Kingdom.
However.
Boom—!
‘…This is no joke. The strength. It’s like an ogre.’
At the envoy from the Plank Kingdom who brought down his sword on him, Milton felt he was being pushed back by pure strength.
Boom— Boom— Boom—!
“Ugh…”
The man named ‘Hark,’ said to be the fourth or fifth strongest among the envoys from the Plank Kingdom.
His appearance, honestly, was not knightly. His belly protruded, his clothes were shabby, and his stance for holding the sword was unruly.
‘But. He’s the real deal. His skill is…!’
He was swinging that heavy greatsword as if it were nothing, without losing his balance.
It meant that he was not just strong.
‘Many. Real battles. This knight. Has experienced!’
Boom—!
Milton, who had once again received Hark's heavy attack, created distance to regain his stance.
Hark, slinging his greatsword over his shoulder, asked Milton.
“Are you kidding me right now?”
“What. Do you mean?”
“I’m asking why you’re not fighting with all your might. Are you looking down on me?”
‘Not fighting with all your might.’
At those words, the knights and soldiers of the Jerpan Archipelago who were watching the spar from the side began to stir.
No matter how they looked at it, Milton seemed to be doing his best. And despite that, he was being helplessly overwhelmed by Hark's monstrous strength.
Like the crowd, Milton was also surprised.
‘Did he notice? That I. Was holding back.’
“…What do you mean. I am doing my best.”
“Don’t give me that crap. You are trying to fight ‘moderately’ right now.”
“……”
“I don’t know the reason. Whether it’s because you can beat me easily so you’re fighting half-heartedly, or because you don’t want to hurt me, an envoy, or because your body condition is not good so you have no choice but to fight moderately. But—.”
Thud!
Hark forcefully slammed his greatsword on the ground and continued speaking.
“If you continue to fight half-heartedly, I won’t hold back either. Fight with the resolve to die. I didn't cross that distant sea to play around! I am a knight who has received an order from the great King!”
After Hark's terrifying shout, he immediately rushed at Milton.
His pot-bellied body was surprisingly fast.
Boom—! Boom— Craash—!
At Hark's attack, which was much heavier than before, Milton clenched his teeth.
‘…Seriously. I have to. Fight properly. I could die. This man. Has decided. To kill. Me!’
As he felt his life threatened.
Clang—!
Milton also began to fight properly. He unfolded the swordsmanship he had honed in real battles for a long time.
‘That man. Pushes forward. With strength. So I. Will endure. With skill.’
No matter how strong Hark was, there must be a limit to his stamina.
Milton’s strategy was to endure until Hark’s stamina ran out and then take the initiative.
But then.
Boom— Boom— Boom—! Boom—!!
“Kuh…!”
Does this pot-bellied man have no limit to his stamina?
Even though he was swinging the greatsword with all his might, his strength continued to grow stronger. Naturally, his speed also increased.
‘…Strength. Is draining. From my hands!’
To lose strength in his hands while blocking the opponent’s heavy attacks?
Milton couldn't believe it. Especially since he had great pride in his sword.
‘Any later. And I will lose. I must aim for a moment. To counterattack!’
As he was thinking that, and as Milton was aiming for a moment.
“Haha! That’s enough!”
A man said as he walked over, pushing the crowd aside. Knights and soldiers followed behind him.
“General Milton, what is this disgraceful display? At a time when we should be treating the envoys with comfort, you are having a spar at the port.”
“…Lord Harak.”
“Yes, it’s me. I came as soon as I heard the news that an envoy had arrived from the Plank Kingdom.”
Lord Harak's castle was about a three-day journey from the port. The fact that he was here now meant that one of the knights or soldiers at the port had reported to Harak early on.
Harak passed by Loa and spoke subtly.
“Why is the woman who will be my wife in a place like this? This is men’s business, so please return. If you want to stay and pour me a drink when I enjoy the banquet with the envoys, then you can stay.”
“…My lord, I have my father’s permission to—.”
“Yes, I know. That you came here with the Grand Lord’s permission. But I’m telling you to leave now that I, a ‘real’ lord, am here. I have already sent a letter to the Grand Lord saying that I will receive the envoys.”
Not only Harak's words, but also his tone was insulting.
But Loa could not get angry. Right now, she had to solve this situation wisely rather than getting angry.
‘Lord Harak is a man who will do anything to start a war. For him to want to deal with the envoys… he might deliberately provoke them to incite a war. Furthermore, he might even attack the envoys.’
If that happened, all her efforts and intentions would be for naught. That must not happen.
‘But… I’ve already lost the initiative.’
That’s right. Harak, who had passed her, was already in front of the envoy from the Plank Kingdom, greeting them.
Swoosh—.
Harak greeted the envoy from Plank with an elegant gesture that was somewhat unfitting for a man.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, envoys from the Plank Kingdom. I am Harak Kess, the most trusted lord of the Grand Lord of the Jerpan Archipelago, Hideon Tyrrell.”
—…….
“Who is the representative of the envoys? Is it the one who fought on par with General Milton?”
Since Harak had just arrived, he thought the man fighting Milton was the representative of the envoys.
Since he was skilled enough to face the man known to be the strongest in the Jerpan Archipelago, he naturally thought he was the representative.
But then.
“It’s me.”
The man who had been sitting casually on a nearby wooden crate came over, his long black hair flying.
“I am the representative of the envoys, Ronak.”
“You are the representative of the envoys…? Then who is the one who fought with General Milton—.”
“He is my subordinate. Before that, he is a knight of the great King, King Leonardo.”
“……”
“So what is this situation? I heard the Grand Lord’s envoys were those two.”
When Ronak asked, pointing at Milton and Loa, Harak smiled.
A somewhat forced smile.
‘The one who fought on par with General Milton is a subordinate? Then does that mean this man is stronger? He looks strong, but not that strong.’
It could be a disguise.
The real representative could be the pot-bellied man who fought with General Milton, and to hide that, this man named ‘Ronak’ could be pretending to be the representative.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter anyway.’
The reason Harak had come here was to induce ‘carelessness’ in the envoys from the Plank Kingdom.
‘Attacking the Plank Kingdom is a foregone conclusion anyway. We are already preparing for it, and it cannot be undone. So what I have to do is show our weakness to make the Plank Kingdom careless.’
Lord Harak had quite a bit of experience on the battlefield.
That’s why he knew how effective the strategy of making the opponent careless was.
Harak spoke with a smile and tone that could be seen as a bit servile.
“First of all, I apologize. Our ‘subordinates’ did not know the etiquette of treating envoys and committed this rudeness.”
Saying ‘subordinates,’ Harak pointed at Milton and Loa.
At that, Milton frowned slightly, and so did Loa.
“If you permit me, from now on, I, Harak, will attend to you. I have also prepared carriages in advance.”
“Carriages? Where are you planning to take us?”
“Haha, you don't need to be so wary. I'm just planning to take you to an inn. To a ‘luxury inn’ where there is nothing you can't have, and you can do anything.”
“A luxury inn…”
Ronak trailed off for a moment and then smiled as if in anticipation.
Grin—.
When he smiled, the long scar on his face, a wound from a kraken, widened hideously.
To Harak, who was seeing the scar for the first time, it was terrifying.
“If it's an inn where there is nothing I can't have and I can do anything, then I shall go. I hear the women of the Jerpan Archipelago are very beautiful.”
“Ha, haha! Is that the rumor in the Plank Kingdom? Then I will do my best not to disappoint you. Please come this way.”
Harak spread his hand and guided Ronak forward. The action was as if a small country was serving the envoy of a great power.
At that action, Ronak walked with a cheerful step.
On the outside, Ronak seemed to be just looking forward to Harak's hospitality.
But inside, it was different.
‘This bastard is trying to make me careless. I can feel it from his expression and tone. The typical atmosphere of someone who is about to backstab.’
That’s right. To Ronak, Harak’s ploy was too obvious.
To Ronak, who had created a pirate crew on his own and ruled the southern seas, and later dealt with and recruited numerous bandits.
‘The reason he’s trying to make me careless is… to make it seem like the Jerpan Archipelago is weak so that we won’t prepare for war.’
But that would be useless.
Because the great King was already preparing for the invasion of the Jerpan Archipelago.
‘As His Majesty said, it seems the Jerpan Archipelago is preparing for war. For now, I should just play along and observe the situation. More than that…’
Glance—.
Ronak slightly turned his head and looked at Loa.
‘That woman and the knight named Milton seem to pursue peace for some reason. Those who pursue peace and those who want war. Are there two factions? Or are only that woman and the knight named Milton pursuing peace.’
Many questions arose immediately.
But Ronak could be sure of the most important point.
‘The reason His Majesty sent me here was to confirm if the Jerpan Archipelago would really start a war. I’ve confirmed that to some extent… so now what I have to do is to check their military strength.’
Ronak thought and slowed his pace.
He then quietly spoke to Rollo, who was following behind him.
“Rollo, later—.”
“I will check their military strength, such as the ships at the port and the soldiers' weapons. You just deal with that bastard named Harak who's using such pathetic tricks.”
“Hmph, it's good that it's easy to talk to you.”
As comrades who had spent almost their entire lives together, Rollo knew Ronak's heart even without him saying much.
After walking with Harak for a few more minutes.
Ronak and the bandit army reached a place where dozens of carriages drawn by two horses each were waiting.
Harak opened the carriage door and said.
“Please get in, we will arrive in about 20 minutes.”
***
Masir Castle, a city near the northern port of the Jerpan Archipelago.
This city, the largest near the port, was peaceful and prosperous even while a civil war was raging in the Jerpan Archipelago.
The reason was not only because food and goods were constantly coming in from the port, but most importantly, this city was recognized as a neutral city by the Hideon and Harak families.
Thanks to that, unlike other cities, Masir Castle suffered relatively less damage from the war, and luxury inns and pubs remained intact.
And now, at one of the luxury inns in Masir Castle, ‘The Butterfly's Temptation,’ a banquet was being held to welcome the envoys from the Plank Kingdom.
—Hahahaha! A toast to our friends from afar, from Plank!
—Cheers!
—Drink up, drink up!
—Oh, this is really delicious.
—Envoy-nim, please try this as well.
In the noisy banquet hall, Ronak was seated at the head of the table.
He too, on the outside, seemed to be enjoying himself, but inside, he was absolutely not.
‘The food doesn't seem to be poisoned. The women they called don't seem to be assassins either.’
Considering that… Harak’s intention seemed to be to make them careless. Not to kill them.
It was then.
“……”
“……”
The gazes of Loa and Ronak, who were attending the banquet with rather expressionless faces, met.
Loa didn't say anything, but Ronak could understand her gaze.
‘Follow me outside, is that it.’
He didn't know why she wanted him to come outside.
But Ronak decided to meet this woman for now. Because this woman seemed to have a different stance from the lord named ‘Harak.’
‘Lord Harak is definitely a man who is trying to start a war. But that woman and the knight named Milton were a bit different.’
Glance—.
Loa stood up naturally and went out of the banquet hall.
“I’m going to take a leak.”
Ronak also said to no one in particular and followed Loa out of the banquet hall.
Scrape— Thud!
After Ronak closed the door, he looked left and right down the corridor. He was looking for Loa.
‘There she is.’
Loa was heading for a bend in the corridor.
Just as Ronak followed Loa and passed the corner of the corridor.
“!”
Ronak flinched in surprise at the woman waiting for him at the corner.
It was a ‘woman’ whose whole body was covered in black cloth, with only her eyes exposed.
Ronak could infer she was a woman from her figure and voice.
Swoosh—.
The woman handed a small note to Ronak and said.
“A letter from Lady Loa.”
—Just that one sentence, and.
Tatata—!
The woman disappeared down the corridor with surprisingly light movements. Like the footsteps of an assassin.
‘A letter? Did she know I would follow her?’
If so, she was no ordinary woman.
‘I should read it first.’
Ronak read Loa’s letter under the dim light of a lantern in the corridor.
Crumple—! Gulp.
He crumpled the paper and ate it to destroy the evidence.
He then turned back towards the banquet hall and thought.
‘You want to stop the war, so you’re asking for a way… is that it.’
The method was simple.
The Jerpan Archipelago should not attack the Plank Kingdom.
‘But it’s not that easy, so she’s asking me. But I don’t know much about that either.’
After thinking for a moment, Ronak finished his thoughts in front of the banquet hall door, before opening it again to enter.
‘I should take that woman to the kingdom. And have her meet His Majesty to hear his wisdom.’
The great King, Leonardo.
He would surely know a way not to start a war.