Duke Pendragon

Shoosh! Boom! Kakang!

There was a steady stream of blows and strikes.

The desperate battle caused an uproar of strong winds with every clash, which was filled with strong killing intent and spirit. The eyes and ears of the audience were made dizzy with the insanely quick exchanges and the furious blows. The audience held their mouths agape in awe, and they dared not blink even for a moment, for the fear of missing out on the incredibly fierce, fast battle.

But one man, Raven, quietly observed the black tiger’s revenge slowly proceeding. The frantic battle’s outcome was already determined. The predator would eventually succeed in avenging his lost children. With his two bloody fists, he would make sure that the title of heir to the great territory of Alice would be transferred to someone else.

Woosh! Boom!

“Gah!”

Raven became even more certain when he saw Morgan struggling against the constant barrage of Argos, which rushed at Morgan like a wild torrent.

Morgan was a strong knight. His swordsmanship had been honed by long years of training and practice, and he was very adept at controlling his spirit.

But Argos was stronger. The paladins of the Tiramis Temple spent decades training without distractions, except for the time they spent eating, sleeping, and praying. They stood on the side of justice according to the teachings of their god, who enforced justice with a scale, and fought repeatedly, again, and again. Although they numbered few due to the weak influence of the Tiramis Temple, they were all monsters on a different level from regular knights. Argos was distinguished even among the members of the Tiramis Temple, and constantly regarded as one who was close to the top.

Even Baltai, the commander of the demonic army, took a step back in front of Argos. But no matter how strong one was, one sword could not fight off multiple swords. Argos was called invincible in a one-on-one confrontation, but wars were different from duels. When trained soldiers and dozens or hundreds of ferocious monsters surrounded the warrior, they were bound to eventually get tired after a while, no matter how strong they were.

Moreover, Argos was a fighter who fought with no armor or shield. This worked to his great disadvantage when he fought on battlefields where hundreds of arrows and spears flew all over the place. So in the end, Argos died. The wounds of the heart, having failed to enact complete revenge, and the wounds of the body gained from the battlefields overlapped. The old fighter met a miserable end on the battlefield.

‘But… here, now, you are invincible.’

Raven was convinced as he continued to observe the black flashes. Argos’ punches and kicks beamed towards his opponent, overwhelming Morgan’s defenses and threatening to crush him.

Morgan Louvre would die today. Even now, the fight, which was neither short nor long, was nearing the end. Morgan kept swinging his sword in an attempt to create some distance between him and his opponent.

Swoosh!

It was a simple, yet mighty blow that contained a fierce spirit -- one which even other experienced knights would fear. But the old fighter did not budge from his place. His eyes radiated a red, half-crazed energy. Argos seemed like a man who was determined to die. He ignored any oncoming attacks and focused only on attacking. This resulted in him accumulating many small and large wounds, his clothes torn and dyed with blood.

“Oooooohhh!”

“His Grace Morgan is pushing back the old tiger!”

The crowd roared. It was obvious that Morgan was in a dominant situation, standing there without a scratch. In reality, however, Morgan felt pressured beyond imagination as he faced the wounded beast. A sudden turn of the sword aimed for the waist of Argos’ stretched-out arm. But as if he had been waiting for this moment, Argos slapped the blade with his palm.

Clang!

The expected sensation of cutting human flesh did not come to realization, and a clear sound of metal resounded along with a light impact. Morgan hurriedly recovered his sword and took a step back.

“Dammit…”

Morgan bit his lips as he observed Argos’ bloodied gloves.

The problem was with those gloves, which were composed of an unknown material. The palm of the glove, the back of the glove, and the metal knuckles blocked all of his attacks, which contained his spirit. It was possible in theory, but it was an unimaginable difficult feat to block the attacks of a trained knight with one’s hands.

It had not been evident when Morgan observed the battle between Louis and the old man from afar. A part of the reason was because of how quickly the match had ended, but it was also due to the old man’s unbelievable skills.

“Ha… Hoo..!”

Morgan emptied his mind and no longer underestimated his opponent while taking in quick breaths. Argos also stepped back to regain control of his breathing after unleashing a storm of attacks.

Argos’ sweat poured down like rain, and his shoulders moved up and down as he heaved in and out. The torn clothes and the blood made him look even worse.

‘Good. I’ll end the battle with the next strike, old man.’

Nevertheless, Morgan did not let his guard down. If he could not beat a bare-handed old man, his life was over. Even if he continued his father’s position and became a High Lord, today’s disgrace would follow him forever.

‘I’ll aim to cut off one of his limbs for now.’

Morgan revised his original plan, which was to end the old man instantly by piercing his heart or throat with a single strike. When he had attempted to do so, his movements had become unintentionally large, and now, he finally came to realize. If he aimed for a limb, just as he had done a moment ago, he would surely win the battle. For a fighter who had no armor or a shield, having a limb cut off meant defeat.

‘And then I’ll cut off your neck, old man.’

Morgan drew in a large breath, then lifted his sword vertically. He was preparing to launch a series of his strongest attacks that earned him a place as one of Alice’s strongest knights. Even if it failed to take the old man’s life, Morgan was confident that he could take a limb at the least.

But even with the change in Morgan’s stance, Argos stayed unmoving, glaring at Morgan with a ferocious expression. He clenched his fists tightly.

The spirits of the two men manifested strongly once again. As the spirits were about the clash...

“Die!”

Morgan advanced and wielded his sword like a storm with a cruel smile on his mouth. The sword created four identical images that each pushed towards Argos’ four limbs.

“…..!”

In that short moment, Argos’ eyes, which had been burning with rage thus far, sank down coldly. One could not attack four places simultaneously unless they had four different swords. Argos’ vision advanced beyond the limits of a human and identified the real attack among the four shadows that rushed towards him.

Sssh!

Argos entered the storm created by the sword without any hesitation.

‘I won!’

Morgan became sure of his victory as he saw his sword slice through the right arm of Argos.

But…

Puhaaa!

Blood rose like a fountain from Argos’ amputated arm.

“Wooooaah!”

“His Grace Morgan has won!”

The startled crowd exclaimed and some even jumped out of their seats.

“Keugh!”

Argos had his head bowed slightly over Morgan, and he slowly fell to his knees. Blood gurgled out and instantly created a small pool on the ground.

However, Morgan remained unmoving in his posture after cutting off Argos’ arm. He seemed to be relishing in his victory.

“Woaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!”

The crowd burst into deafening cheers, intoxicated by Morgan’s victory. Count Louvre also nodded his head repeatedly with a satisfied expression, and the general shouted with a delighted face.

“The glorious winner of the final battle! The knight of the great territory of Alice, Morgan Louv… Huh?”

The general hesitated in finishing his sentence.

“What’s wrong?”

Count Louvre frowned slightly and tried to reprimand the man.

“T, there…”

Count Louvre turned his gaze towards where the general was gesturing towards with his trembling hand. Count Louvre narrowed his eyes, and it convulsed slightly.

“Ha…. Keugh!”

Argos slowly stood up after covering his arm with a piece of clothing.

“A, argos!”

Leon rushed to help Argos. Now, the figure of Morgan, which had been hidden from the crowd, became finally visible.

The inside of his leather armor, which had been overlaid with thin metal, was empty. And there was nothing in the hole. Blood was flowing like a stream from Morgan’s left breast, whose heart had been completely destroyed.

“Gaaaaah!”

“Kyaaa!”

Screams resounded from all over the place. Morgan stood still like a stone statue, and blood started to surge from his mouth like an arrow.

Thud!

In an instant, his body was covered with blood. Then, the body of Morgan Louvre, the successor of Alice, fell backward like a cut tree.

“D, d, dead! His Grace Morgan is dead!”

“Ugh……!”

“Bweggh!”

The unbelievable sight sent the audience into a frenzy. Some women straight up passed out, and some people retched and let out dry heaves. But it was incomparable to the reactions of the nobles in the distinguished seat, especially the one who was sitting in the middle.

“Uh….Ugh…..!”

Count Louvre’s body trembled heavily and drool flowed down his handsomely grown beard. His son, his eldest son, who would one day take over as the High Lord of Alice, had died.

“Guaaaaaaahhhhhh!”

Count Louvre jumped up from his seat with a beastly cry.

“Kuaah! M, my son…. Ahhhhhh!”

The nobles went into a frenzy at the High Lord’s crazed shout.

“G, get him! Grab that old man right now! Bring that clown bastard as well!”

The general shouted like mad, and the shocked soldiers hurriedly surrounded Argos and Leon.

“B, bring a sword! Aaaah!”

Count Louvre took a longsword from a nearby knight with a half-crazed cry.

“Haa….. Uahh….!”

The deranged count pushed away the knights who tried to support him and clambered down the stairs while holding the glistening blade. No one stood in the way of the High Lord’s hysterical act.

Count Louvre arrived in front of Argos, who was covered in sweat and pale from the bleeding. He raised his trembling hand and pointed his sword towards Argos.

“Haah…! I’ll kill all of you, kuhaha! You will pay with your lowly, dirty lives. You dare…. You dare… my son… my heir…!”

Count Louvre spat wildly and raised his sword. He started to take a step towards Argos and Leon.

“Whose life are you calling vile, and filthy? Lord of Alice!”

A thunderous voice rang throughout the chaotic stadium.

“Keeauh…?”

Count Louvre slowly turned his head. A cold autumn breeze blew through the stadium, and a young man could be seen walking towards Count Louvre with a stern gaze, accompanied by two girls.

“You are…”

It was the young brat who had initiated the clapping and praised the old man after the battle.

“Kuhaha! Right, you are in on it too. I’ll cut off all of your filthy heads today!”

“W, what are you doing! Go arrest them as well!”

The territory’s knights pulled out their blades at the general’s shouts. However, the strange spirit and the sense of dignity that emanated from the young man made it difficult for the knights to approach him. The young man crossed his arms and spoke while staring at Count Louvre with a cold gleam in his eyes.

“Leon Johnbolt is my subordinate. And my subordinate defended his honor, which in turn, is my honor by nominating a proxy to duel on his behalf. But you are calling such people filthy and vulgar? May I take it that you are regarding me as such too, Lord of Alice?”

“What, what…?”

Count Louvre’s eyes glistened. He felt something wrong with the situation, even though he was in a frenzied state with the loss of his son.

“You dirty scoundrel! Who are you to speak such audacious words in the land of Alice!? How dare you spout such nonsense in front of the High Lord!”

The general stamped his foot and roared in outrage.

“Who am I?”

The young man glanced at the general, then threw back his robe that was covering his entire body. Under the autumn sun, the silver-white armor with the conspicuous draconic emblem scattered the dazzling light, the Spirit of the White Dragon spreading in all directions.

“My name is Alan Pendragon. The lord of the Pendragon Duchy.”