Imperial Guard - Chapter 104



Only Krnovel

The day after the teachings of the Sword Dragon, Rael shook his head as he looked at the packed audience of the Yongbongjihoe.

“It’s the end of the world. The end of the world. What fun is there in catching demons that people are gathering like this… Tsk tsk.”

I could never understand why those uncivilized medieval people loved bloodshed so much.

“Brother Rael. I heard that this event will be really fun. I heard that so many nobles came that the commoners could hardly enter.”

“Fuck, so that means I got pushed out too. Then what about the people who can’t see it?”

“If you can’t see it, then you can’t see it, so what can you do?”

“···.”

Rael nodded to Carlson’s firm words.

If you think about it, that was a natural thing in a world without TV.

“By the way, brother. Did you hear that? I heard that there’s a party among the top 8 participants after the demon catching event ends.”

“···Why do these kids like parties so much? Are they possessed by a ghost who can’t party?”

Rael complained, but he actually understood.

In a world without smartphones or computers, the best form of entertainment is gathering together and drinking.

“I really enjoy parties. I get to meet new people.”

“Haha, and parties mean free drinks, right? I feel good when I can’t drink when I’m on stage.”

Lucas and Carlson seem to be enjoying the party.

Rael smiled at them.

“That’s all well and good, but where would you find a knight who would say something like that in the middle of a church congregation?”

Rael looked around.

The place where Rael and Carlson are now is the viewing area provided to the church’s believers.

With the nobles taking up the audience, Rael had no choice but to be kicked out to this place.

‘Anyway, you fucking bastards.’

If you are an honorary knight, you are considered a semi-noble, but how many nobles must have gathered for you to be pushed out?

Still, thanks to the believers who gave up their seats, I was able to sit here.

If it weren’t for them, the disaster could have happened, with Yuri either sticking to the pitch or coming to play outside the stadium.

“Haha, you’re here. Sir Rael. And Sir Carlson and Lucas too.”

As Rael was resenting the nobles, a handsome man walked among the believers.

It was Cardinal Bernando whom I hadn’t seen in a long time.

I tried to avoid running into them as much as possible, but today I couldn’t help but run into them because I was sitting among the clergy.

“Congratulations to all three of the Empire’s heroes for advancing to the quarterfinals. Carlson and his friends, who use the name of the sect, are all showing outstanding skills, so this is Gaia-sama’s blessing. Gaia-men.”

Bernando looked at the three heroes of the empire, feeling Gaia’s blessing.

Excluding Velen, who is already a member of the Knights of Kamen, the three heroes are the most outstanding young men in the Empire.

So, we need to build up our friendship with Gaia in advance.

“Okay, this is the symbol of the church. If you visit a nearby branch, we’ll give you some for travel expenses, so take one.”

Bernando put the token into Samgeol’s pocket with a pleasant expression on his face.

It was a bribe, the most basic of the basics of friendship.

“Huh? Huh?”

His touch was so quick and natural that even the kind Lucas had no chance to refuse and had to receive the sign.

“Ah, especially Sir Rael···.”

Bernando approached Rael with a smile.

He whispered to Rael.

“Don’t forget that Gaia’s blessings are with you on your journey. Hehe. If you need anything, come to me anytime.”

Knock. Knock.

Bernando patted Rael on the shoulder.

After asking the strongest person in the church, Captain Marco, he said that the one with the highest chance of winning the Yongbong branch is Lord Rael.

Your judgment in investing in advance was correct.

Bernando turned around, smiling contentedly.

“Oh, yes. Thank you.”

Rael blinked at the sight.

I had already let go of the burden of being a warrior… but that person was still a burden.

Especially, if you try to be friendly and speak informally to others in private, no matter how you look at it, you are no different from a neighborhood thug rather than a priest of a religious order.

“Your Majesty, you are truly a man of consistency. Gaia-men.”

Carlson made the sign of the cross as he watched Bernando stagger away.

“Carlson, is that considered a compliment?”

“I am a member of the religious order, so I can’t badmouth the number two person in the order, right?”

“···So why isn’t that person cut out of the cardinal position?”

I appreciate him giving me money every time, but I’m not sure if he’s positive about the future of the church.

“Lord Rael. The Demon Hunt event is about to begin!”

“Oh. Really?!”

At Lucas’s words, Carlson turned his gaze towards the stadium.

In the stadium stood an imperial nobleman.

“Who was that?”

“I am Maven, the eldest son of the Samuel family. I heard you are at the entrance to Graduate School.”

“Oh.”

Lael looked at the stadium, seeming interested in Lucas’ explanation.

Maven was standing in the center of the stadium, and a thud! thud! sound could be heard from in front.

It looks like the stadium doors are opening and a demon is entering the stadium.

“Are you really going to fight head-on? Are there no safety devices?”

“The priests of the church are on standby with the Knights of Carmen. If an emergency occurs, they can save you as long as you keep your neck attached.”

“Even if I live, I will still be socially dead.”

If a nobleman with nothing but pride were to be beaten by a devil in front of countless people… that alone would be a stain on his knightly career.

Boom! Boom!

After a while.

The door opened and a grumpy looking fox entered the arena.

“It looks like shit.”

The civet, covered in a hard shell, was so large that it could swallow a human whole.

“Sir Rael. It’s the Giant Centipede, Lieutenant Masu! This is my first time seeing it in person.”

“Lucas. How do you know all the demons?”

“I learned it in the Academy’s Introduction to Mathematics course.”

“If you just look at what you learned, can you tell the name right away?”

“Because I am the top student at the academy.”

“aha···.”

Even though Rael graduated from a modern high school, he doesn’t remember everything he learned… That’s why he didn’t want to talk to smart people.

However, despite the unpleasant feeling, I could tell that the information Clara had obtained was not wrong.

‘As expected, it’s a suicide.’

Thanks to Clara, we were able to learn about all the evil the Empire had prepared.

He was one of them.

Kaang-! Bang!

Rael watched the fight between the giant civet and Maven with interest.

Originally, the most fun fights were the ones where people got into fights with other people.

“Brother Rael.”

“huh?”

“What are they doing?”

Carlson frowned as he watched Maven swing his sword in the arena.

There was no greater embarrassment than that of a graduate struggling with a mid-level demon.

“Hey, that one was originally a great monster.”

Intermediate-level demons are slightly weaker than mid-level demons.

To catch the mid-level demon, one graduate entry is needed, so Maven is fighting well against suitable enemies right now.

“Didn’t you say that the participants can decide the level of the demons in the event? If the intermediate demons are like that, then I think I can challenge the high-level demons?”

“Top-ranking demon? Hmm… I guess you can try it.”

To catch one top demon, you need three or more mature graduates.

Although it is weak compared to the upper-level demons that require more than ten fully-grown graduates, it is clearly a strong monster in absolute terms.

Unless they are mutants like the Three Heroes of the Empire, the level of a fully-grown Graduate is usually a level that a talented swordsman would have to practice swordsmanship for decades to reach.

‘Still, Carlson is quite strong… and since divine power and magic are in conflict, I think he should be able to deal with him.’

Rael nodded.

If Carlson can do it, there’s no way Lucas or himself can’t.

Come to think of it, these three are strong people who deserve to be called the Three Heroes of the Empire.

‘···No. Let’s not think positively about the title of ‘Three Heroes of the Empire.’

I will never be fooled by this fucking world.

Rael looked at the stadium with that thought in his mind.

After a fight, Maven eventually captured Lieutenant Ma Su and received applause from the nobles.

The same thing happened after that.

Most of the quarterfinalists barely managed to subdue the mid-level demons.

Among them, only Kyle was able to capture the lieutenant demon without getting hurt.

With that level of skill, it seemed like he could challenge even high-level demons.

“Was he that strong?”

Lael looked at Kyle curiously.

I wonder if this is the guy who hit me and was on the verge of death when we first met.

“···Brother Rael. Isn’t Kyle also the grandson of Sword Dragon? It’s not that you’re a monster, it’s that Kyle is weak.”

“That’s right. Sword Dragon was sad. He was born in the same generation as us.”

“Haha. But isn’t Kyle a master of the pupil? They say he gets stronger as time goes by, so we’ll have to watch him more.”

“It’s a boy···.”

If you think about it, the sword dragon’s magic seems to have been very pure.

It seems like that’s because he’s been practicing the Dongjakong for a long time.

“Yes. In particular, wasn’t your domain, Sword Dragon, truly amazing? I really want to experience that feeling of your body filling up with yang energy at least once.”

“···I feel dirty.”

Rael narrowed his eyes as he recalled the realm of the Black Dragon.

As Carlson said, my body began to fill with yang energy and I felt a surge of strength, but as a side effect, I also felt strength in other areas.

No matter how much I think about it, this is an area that is of no help at all when fighting.

‘Besides, when I think about the fact that the cause was the sword dragon’s magic, I get excited because of the sword dragon… No. Let’s erase such dirty memories from my head.’

Rael erased the image of the dragon’s stamina palace that came to mind.

There are some things in the world that you don’t necessarily need to know.

“Oh, bro. That bastard is here. He’s the one who stole your career.”

“You deliberately put the three of us after Velen.”

Rael shook his head at the Empire’s childish tactics.

Perhaps Belen thought that if he could subdue the demon with overwhelming force, the three heroes of the empire who would catch the demon next would be undervalued.

It’s a really stupid idea, wrong from the very beginning.

[I want to face a higher level demon.]

A moment later, Belen’s words echoed throughout the stadium.

Kuuuung-!

At those words, a huge roar erupted from across the stadium.

It was the cry of a superior demon.

“Brother Rael. Are you a high-ranking demon?”

“Right. Let’s watch it for a while.”

Thud-. Thud-.

Lael looked at the top demons entering the arena.

It had a body like a giant lizard, wings, and was covered in thick scales.

A demon that looks similar to a dragon at first glance.

That was someone he knew.

‘It was a cockatrice.’

Kyaang-!

Belen immediately ran towards the cockatrice.

He parried the cockatrice’s sharp claws with his sword and cut off its poisonous breath.

Rael nodded after reading the secret contained in the sword technique.

‘It’s neat.’

It was my first time seeing Velen’s sword, but I couldn’t deny its skill.

A test of that level would be enough to put up a decent fight even if you were to confront him directly.

thud-!

After ten minutes of fighting, the cockatrice’s body fell to the ground.

Belen turned around, saluted in the direction of the royal family, and left the arena.

It was a clean victory, without any major injuries to the body.

“As expected, it’s Sir Belen. He’s amazing!”

“You defeated the top demon all by yourself! It was true that you were standing right in front of the Sword Master’s wall!”

Praise poured in from the nobles as well.

The same goes for the church.

Amid the surprise of the priests, Carlson opened his mouth.

“That’s certainly impressive, Brother Rael. Isn’t it your turn now?”

“Okay. I guess I should go soon.”

Rael saw the sight and got up from his seat.

And then I remembered the demon that Belen had just faced.

‘It took about 10 minutes. Hmm, I think 5 minutes would be enough.’

Rael smiled.

It was a feeling I had never felt before, showing my true strength in front of so many people.

Because I always wore a mask and hid, or only used my powers in places where there were no people.

The thought of not having to hide my strength gave me a strange sense of liberation.

‘I don’t feel bad.’

Now is the time to spread your wings.

This was a chance to show the world the skills of a prosecutor named Rael.