Chapter 68

Dante entered the match under the same conditions as Urich. He thought that the act of dropping his shield to make the playing field even was a very honorable action.

‘He’s insulting me.’

Urich’s interpretation of the action was not the same. To him, the fact that a warrior wasn’t fighting with everything he’s got was a sign that he looked down on his opponent. If Dante was taking Urich seriously, he should never have done what he just did. A warrior should always fight with all his might; regardless of how badly injured his opponent is.

‘You think you can beat me with one hand?’

Urich’s laughter sounded like it was coming from scratching the inside of his throat. Power surged in his grip.

“Kylios, charge.”

Urich said as he kicked Kylios’ side.

Clop.

The horse began its charge and picked up more and more speed.

Creak.

Urich gripped his lance tightly as his upper body stood tall and proud.

“Woah!!!”

The crowd erupted as the two knights charged at each other without a shield.

‘He is mad. He’s charging like that even though he doesn’t have a shield to block my attack. In fact, he’s not even thinking about dodging my lance.’

Dante thought as he looked at Urich, who was charging straight at him. Attack was the only thing in Urich’s head. Urich’s unwavering resolve seemed to shake even the air in the arena.

‘Going against that and trying to match his attack would be suicide.’

Dante twisted his lance. He was trying to parry Urich’s attack and stab his heart at the same time. It was an incredibly skillful move. Though his appearance gave him the nickname ‘Knight of Flowers,’ Dante was one of the best knights in the Velado Kingdom, more than good enough to be a member of the Order of Imperial Steel.

Criiiing!

The two lances scraped past each other. Dante pushed back against Urich’s lance with all his might, and all he could manage to do was slightly deflect the path of Urich’s lance. A counterattack was not possible.

Crunch!

The impact was enough to destroy both lances. The two knights rushed to their ends to pick up a new lance.

‘His strength is immense.’

Dante tested his tingling fingers one by one. If he had his guard down, he would have been finished.

‘I can see why the warriors lost to his sheer strength alone. No simple technique can best that man’s size, strength, and bravery.’

However, Dante’s technique was by no means simple. He had put his name forth in the Hamel Jousting Tournament to win and bring the glory of victory back to his Kingdom.

‘What was that, just now?’

Dante wasn’t the only one shocked. Urich felt Dante’s lance wrapping around him like a snake, and even managing to deflect his attack. It was a sticky spear technique that resembled the feeling of intertwining and rolling around in bed with a woman.

Dante, though he may have been an asshole, was a skilled knight. Urich cracked his neck from side to side and glared at Dante.

The spear technique of the jousting competition had a lot of differences from the real thing. Since jousting had only been around for five years, it was difficult to find someone who had mastered the spear technique specific to it. But Dante was one of those people. He was a seasoned knight who had already been in multiple jousting tournaments.

‘I don’t know what that was, but that technique felt dirty.’

Urich assessed his new lance. After replacing their destroyed lances, the two men grabbed the reins and straightened their posture. Urich used his immense grip to spin the tip of the jousting lance.

‘Dammit, that’s making me dizzy.’

Dante focused on the tip of the lance which Urich had been shaking and rotating.

Clang!

The two men clashed with Urich coming out on top this time. His lance had scraped past Dante’s helmet.

Deng!

Dante felt his vision shake as his helmet flew off his head after its contact with Urich’s lance. Dante looked back at his flying helmet as he squinted one of his eyes.

“This is boring. It’s like child’s play. Next exchange, you better come at me like your life depends on it. Straighten your back and come at me with everything you’ve got. I’ll return the favor.”

Urich said to his opponent. This wasn’t the jousting match that he wanted. He wanted something hotter, something more exhilarating. He wanted to feel the catharsis of the moment of a true, honest, and all-out exchange with the other knight, but this opponent was full of tricks and gimmicks.

There was a moment in a warrior’s time when their mind turned white and pain, rage, and hatred all faded away into the background. Beyond fear, there was ultimate pleasure that was waiting for them.

Click, click.

Urich wiggled his fingers and loosened his joints. His whole body was itching as he felt himself becoming a beast desperate for a stimulus.

“Entertain me. This is the final match.”

Urich’s eyes darted at Dante. Dante felt a chill run down his spine.

Thirsting for a battle and becoming addicted to the adrenaline that was only produced when walking the fine line between life and death. It wasn’t something that a normal person could handle. It was a feeling that no average man could ever relate to. The path to becoming a first-class warrior was no different than becoming a madman.

Urich taunted Dante as he spread his arms wide open. He pointed to his heart with his thumb as if he was guiding Dante to his heart, showing him where the target was.

Crunch.

Dante gritted his teeth. He prepared himself for the last exchange of the mounted round after he received his new lance and put on his dented helmet.

‘His mounted bouts are fully reliant on his strength and power, probably because he lacks the experience. However, there is no doubt that he is a supreme warrior.’

Dante hated to admit it, but he quickly came to the realization.

‘Once we go into foot battle, my chances become very slim.’

He accurately estimated his opponent’s ability. It was quite obvious that Urich was going to dominate him as soon as they were both off their horses.

‘I have to knock him off in this last exchange.’

Dante gripped his lance tightly as he pulled on the rein. The horse, reacting to the pull, charged.

Clop.

It was the third exchange, and the crowd was more than satisfied with the rare entertainment. They were the ones who would have been disappointed the most if the final had ended without any special events.

“Noya, who do you think will win?”

Emperor Yanchinus was spectating the match under a shade.

“If I knew that, I would have become a fortune teller, not a warrior.”

Ferzen shrugged as he nodded at the commentary that he was receiving from his servant.

“But Noya, you’re the knight above all knights. Shouldn’t you at least have an idea?”

“A battle is decided by two things: First, their skills, and second, the will of the heavens. Even those who spend their entire lives with a sword can die from a blind spear and arrow. It means that no matter how good one’s skills are, they can always die if luck isn’t on their side. The idea that skills will always bring you victory is just wishful thinking and a delusion.”

Ferzen had witnessed it time and time again. There were always knights with great swordsmanship dying in vain. No matter how hard you train and hone your skills, they don’t guarantee your longevity. Luck, whether bad or good, had to be in play.

“That’s why people call you the knight who was blessed by Lou. You’ve managed to survive all those years on the battlefield, right?”

Yanchinus chuckled.

“There’s no way of knowing whether that’s a blessing or a curse, ohoho,” Ferzen spewed some blasphemous words without much thought.

“In my opinion, that barbarian is going to win. I can feel something similar to bad luck. Maybe… momentum? A halo? Something like that. Every now and then I see people like him.”

It wasn’t an idea that could be explained by reason, but something that could only be felt by intuition. Yanchinus took one look at a person and analyzed the type of person they were, and his first impressions were often accurate. People like him were called ‘people with a good eye for people.’

A ‘good eye for people’ was one of the skills required to be a ruler, not to mention the head of an empire. No one person, no matter how brilliant they may be, could rule an empire alone. They need the ability to filter and control those around them.

“If that’s what you say, Your Majesty, then so be it, ohoho.”

Ferzen laughed as he patted his own back. Was it the emperor’s blood? Or was it the throne of the emperor that made a man like that? Ferzen had served all three emperors, and all three of them were equally monstrous men.

‘I guess I’m an old monster myself.’

Ferzen wasn’t in the position to comment on others. It was bizarre that someone who lived off their sword, like himself, had survived for so long. They should be lying dead on a battlefield somewhere.

Ferzen turned his attention back to the fight. Two blurry figures clashed with each other, followed by a loud thud.

“Woahhhhh!”

The cheers grew even louder as the two knights simultaneously fell off their horses after exchanging their final mounted blow.

Squirm.

Dante and Urich felt the sky spin as they both staggered to their feet after probing at the ground with their fingers.

‘Not bad. That was a pretty ballsy charge.’

Urich saw Dante’s desperate charge, and he faced his lance.

Ruffle, ruffle.

Urich felt the aching sensation in his side. He had intended to dodge the attack by tucking Dante’s lance underneath his armpit, but in a split second, Dante managed to change the trajectory of his lance and scraped Urich’s side.

Although they had both fallen off their horses, Dante was the winner of the mounted round. Urich had lost his balance after falling victim to Dante’s maneuver, and because of that, Urich’s lance had only grazed Dante.

‘That hurts.’

Blood stained Urich’s white clothes. It seeped through the fabric and bloomed like a rose.

‘I can’t tell how bad it is because of the clothes, but it hurts a decent bit.’

Urich endured the pain and drew his sword. He was facing his opponent with only one hand.

“Kagh,

spit.

”

Dante was also a mess, unfit for his nickname Knight of Flowers. His helmet was dented, and his feather-covered attire was smothered with dirt after rolling on the arena ground.

‘Did I break a bone?’

Dante was limping after hurting his leg from the fall. The pain made him want to scream. It was unlucky.

‘It’s only a jousting match. Let’s just forfeit.’

A desire rose inside Dante. In jousting, it was common for contestants to forfeit after getting seriously wounded since it wasn’t a place worthy of risking your life.

“But…”

Dante felt like forfeiting this match would be a waste. He had successfully driven his lance into Urich’s side, and it resulted in blood. Urich was certainly heavily injured.

‘This match is almost won. He can’t possibly last much longer with all that bleeding.’

Dante opened his eyes and briefly looked up at the sky.

“Oh Lou, oh my king, glory to you.”

Dante muttered and drew his sword.

Schri—ing.

The sharp metallic sound echoed throughout the arena. Dante and Urich stumbled toward each other.

‘His wound is on his side. That should hinder his movement enough to make it feel unnatural. Well, the same goes for my leg.’

But Dante was met with a quick realization that his assumption was off. As he blocked Urich’s first attack, he felt a crushing impact that almost sent him to the ground.

Clank!

Dante’s legs shook to the brink of collapsing.

‘Dammit, it’s so heavy. Is he even injured?’

Urich attacked Dante’s sword as if he were a machine and one-sidedly pushed him back. Dante was driven back quite a distance before he knew it.

“Pick it up.”

Urich said as he let out a deep breath. He took a few steps back after throwing his helmet on the ground.

“What?”

Dante retorted. Urich pointed his chin at the shield that was on the ground by Dante. It was the shield that Dante had thrown aside at the beginning of the match.

“If you don’t pick up that shield, you are no match for me. That’s the difference between you and me, you get it?”

Urich twirled his sword and plunged it into the ground like a staff. He waited patiently for Dante to pick up his sword.

‘This is a matter of pride. I will not pick it up.’

Dante had no intention to pick up the shield. Instead, he lunged at Urich.

Clunk!

Urich swung his sword and pushed Dante back again, toward the shield.

“…pick it up.”

Urich kicked up the shield with the tip of his foot.

The crowd finally realized what Urich was doing. He was demanding that Dante pick up his shield.

“Hahaha! Noya! Do you see that? Never mind, you probably can’t with those eyes of yours!”

Emperor Yanchinus laughed, holding his stomach. He was on the verge of tearing up from laughing so hard.

“I may not be able to see it with my own eyes, but I think I have an idea of what’s going on, Your Majesty.”

Ferzen said bluntly after the emperor’s tease. Yanchinus shrugged off the dissatisfied tone of his warrior and pulled himself up to the edge of his seat.

“Either forfeit or pick up the shield right now. If you don’t, I will kill you right here. I don’t give a shit about the tournament. You’ve humiliated me, Dante the Knight.

That was Urich’s last warning. Dante swallowed hard after realizing that Urich’s words were not a joke.

“U-ugh.”

Dante groaned. While keeping his eyes locked on Urich, he bent over and picked up his shield.

“Boooo!”

“Was all that stuff in the beginning just bravado?”

“How do you still call yourself a knight!”

As soon as Dante picked up his shield, he was met with a shower of whistles and boos. Even the women looked at Dante with faces full of disappointment.

‘Fuck,’

Dante cursed under his breath.

As soon as Dante picked up his shield, Urich pounced like a beast. He went for Dante’s wrist to make him lose his grip on his sword and kicked into his shield.

Thump!

Dante was knocked back by Urich’s kick and slammed into the wall. His eyes darted toward Urich to watch the attack.

‘This shield is enough!’

Although he had lost his sword, the shield also made a good weapon. Dante tried to catch Urich with the edge of his shield, but Urich easily dodged the attack by leaning his upper body backward.

Thuck!

Urich swung his sword while looking away from Dante with his back bent backward. He had already pictured the course of the attack in his head and was confident that he could land the strike just the way he wanted to without even looking.

Urich’s sword dug in behind the shield and the blunt sword tip struck Dante’s Adam’s apple.

“Kagh!”

Dante screeched as he clasped his throat. The match was over, and Urich was the champion. The trumpeter blew three long blows, and the crowd chanted Urich’s name.

“I will never forget this humiliation. I will remember your name, Urich.”

Dante gritted his teeth and yelled at Urich as he held his bruised throat. Urich glanced at his opponent with a disinterested face and exited the arena. He had lost his interest in the jousting tournament.

‘A fight where one can’t kill.’

In the jousting tournament, it was forbidden to intentionally kill an opponent. Urich quickly learned its limitations and came to the conclusion that this was not a real fight.

“…this isn’t fun anymore.”

Urich missed the real battlefield. It felt like his boiling blood had cooled off.