Chapter 128 - I Will Go Cause a Mess and Come Back (4)

Maximilian quietly observed the people in the banquet hall.

At first, it was just a gathering to hear news about his missing older brother, but as they talked, it somehow turned into a discussion of state affairs.

He was told that his brother, whom they thought was merely running for his life, was wreaking havoc inside the empire. For the kingdom, the possibility of war breaking out could not be ruled out.

Someone mentioned that his brother's actions were a matter that could lead the empire to pressure the kingdom and even escalate into war.

Another said that since the empire had already officially declared the incident as an affair between knights, they would have no justification to intervene directly.

"Since when did the empire care about justification?"

And his royal father stated that if the empire made up its mind to start a war, justification wouldn't matter in the slightest.

At those words, the people shut their mouths as if on cue.

Because everyone knew of the empire's shamelessness.

Just as the anxiety over war was heightening, the Prince of Dortmund, who claimed to be his brother's friend, spoke up.

"Even if they want to nitpick, they still need at least some excuse."

He asserted that the empire would never be able to track the delegation's movements.

"They don't know that the Azure Sky Knights intervened. Since they traveled by flying through the sky, their tracks cannot be traced, and because they cannot be traced, it is impossible to connect the chaos occurring in completely unrelated places with the kingdom's delegation."

The prince also dismissed the one-in-a-million chance of magical tracking, stating that a skilled Mage had already taken measures.

On top of that, he said that they selected targets to deliberately create enough confusion.

When asked what that meant, he replied that they were picking a few territories unrelated to the knighthoods that had pursued them and causing an uproar there.

"They decided to collect the armor and swords of their pursuers and leave them at the scenes as evidence, so if luck is on our side, it might even spark a conflict between the imperial princes' factions."

"What a brilliant plan!"

Marquis Bielefeld said, slapping his knee.

The marquis continuously voiced his admiration, saying that while a few measly swords and pieces of armor wouldn't be enough to move the empire's nobles, it would be more than enough to make those suspicious bastards distrust each other even more.

The anxiety that had filled the banquet hall slowly cleared away before completely vanishing.

With the feared possibility of war dispelled, those present, including his royal father, began to speak of his brother's exploits.

It was astonishing that a knight who accumulated mana in his heart had defeated Paladins who had achieved completion by refining a Ring.

"His Highness had previously shown incredible abilities whenever he was in danger. His Highness called it the power of the Poem of Martial Deeds."

The one-eyed cavalry commander from Ballorhard mentioned the ability his brother possessed.

It was a story Maximilian also knew.

He had also experienced the Poem of Martial Deeds and the War Poem several times during the past war in the North. When the Knights of Winter conducted resonance training to sync with the War Poem, he had even joined them.

But that was all.

He hadn't thought deeply about it beyond that, considering it a power he had no connection with.

However, it turned out that wasn't the case.

He learned this through the Prince of Dortmund.

He was told that this ability, which was beyond special and truly wondrous, was actually a power passed down through generations in the Royal House.

But the Royal House of Leonberk had actually abandoned the mana of the heart several generations ago and began accumulating mana in the Ring.

Maximilian absentmindedly looked at his royal father.

He saw his royal father's face with his eyes squeezed shut and a stiff expression. His royal father also looked to have received just as massive a shock.

They had tried so hard to escape the empire's clutches, but in reality, the royal family had thrown away the greatest potential it possessed with its own hands.

It would have been stranger if he hadn't been shocked.

"His Highness was always regretful about it. He always said that while forgetting the legacy and adopting the Ring was an unavoidable trend, what was lost because of it was truly immense."

As if sensing the feelings of the two royals, the one-eyed cavalry commander spoke in a heavy tone.

He said that it would become a great power if fully achieved, but achieving it was close to impossible. That was why his brother hadn't forced other knights to accumulate mana in their hearts.

"Wait a minute. I feel like I just heard something very hard to understand."

That was when the Prince of Dortmund interjected.

He was perplexed, stating that he naturally thought his brother had inherited the family's legacy.

"Then how on earth did Adrian inherit the legacy?"

No one could answer that question.

Because no one knew.

One day, his brother suddenly displayed such an ability. Everyone simply assumed that his brother had mastered it on his own by reading old books.

They looked at each other, but no one opened their mouth.

"It didn't just fall from the sky or rise from the ground. The fact that no one found it strange and didn't even ask about it later..."

The Prince of Dortmund was extremely flustered. Maximilian was just as flustered.

Thinking about it now, he knew nothing about his brother. Except for discussing battles or state affairs, he had never really properly talked with him.

He only realized that fact now.

He looked at his royal father. His royal father was also perplexed.

"His Highness was always one of few words."

Marquis Bielefeld, who had frequented the 1st Prince's Palace every day, also expressed his awkwardness.

"The only person who had candid conversations with His Highness was His Excellency the former Count Ballorhard..."

"Where is he right now?"

At the Prince of Dortmund's innocent question, the entire room completely froze.

The royal family also bore responsibility for the former Count Ballorhard's death, and because of that, no one could readily step forward to answer.

"He died in battle against the Warlord."

In the end, Ballorhard's cavalry commander stepped up and answered the prince's question.

"Warlord? Are you talking about the greenskin race's war monarch?"

The prince was severely startled. He was so surprised that he even lifted his rear off his seat.

The cavalry commander briefly summarized and explained the war against the Warlord that took place in the North.

"This is driving me crazy."

The Prince of Dortmund scratched his head vigorously.

He could hardly believe the appearance of a Warlord, the fact that a Knight of the Ring had blown off one of the Warlord's arms, or that the kingdom's knights had defeated the Warlord.

Depending on how one heard it, it could sound like a remark looking down on the kingdom, so Marquis Bielefeld gently stepped forward to point this out.

However, the prince paid no mind. He simply kept spouting what he had to say.

This time, no one pointed out his rudeness.

"I'm guessing that the former Count Ballorhard you mentioned, who blew off one of the Warlord's arms, must have been a Penta knight."

The term 'Penta knight' carried that much weight.

There were countless knights who devoted themselves to weaving five rings, but those among them who truly achieved a perfect five were extremely rare.

It was to the point where even in the empire, overflowing with Paladins, their very existence was said to be uncertain.

That was how supreme the state of a Penta was, and knights who achieved it were rare.

But to think the former Count Ballorhard who died in battle was a Penta knight.

It was completely unbelievable. However, there was no choice but to believe it.

Just as the prince said that one could not inflict a fatal wound on a Warlord without being a Penta knight, there was the past record of the kingdom's Silver Lion being defeated even after launching a joint attack with hundreds of knights.

GLUG.

His royal father downed the wine he hadn't touched until now in a single gulp. As if that wasn't enough, he chugged the liquor straight from the bottle.

It was a sight of his royal father that Maximilian had never seen before.

Because his royal father was someone who neither enjoyed nor relied on alcohol.

Even a royal father like that must have found it hard to endure without drinking right now.

They only realized there had been a giant in the kingdom after losing him, so everyone's feelings were no different from his.

The one-eyed cavalry commander looked at the ceiling with reddened eyes, and Marquis Bielefeld tightly shut his eyes in silence.

Maximilian also just let out heavy sighs.

"It finally makes sense now. That power I saw that day was a power hard to handle without possessing a certain level of status. Since he accomplished the feat of slaying a Warlord, he was able to use that level of power."

Whether they did so or not, the Prince of Dortmund was still immersed in his own world.

"Even so, it makes no sense to master a legacy cut off several generations ago all on his own."

The prince's appearance as he nodded and muttered to himself, only to quickly shake his head again, looked just like a madman.

A Poem of Martial Deeds and a legacy were things that inevitably deteriorated over generations even if everyone worked together and put in effort,

saying that learning a legacy that was severed several generations ago entirely alone was impossible.

He continuously muttered to himself.

His royal father, who had emptied an entire bottle of wine, finally spoke up. It was an extremely somber tone.

Saying that the prince's transformation began after he narrowly escaped death by stabbing the Founding King's divine artifact into his own stomach.

The Prince of Dortmund, who up until then had been lost in his own world talking to himself, asked if that was perhaps the Dragon Slayer used to slay the Mad Dragon.

His royal father nodded in affirmation, and the prince clapped his hands after a moment of thought.

"It is certain!"

He said that there were objects in the world called relics, and that every relic contained at least one legacy.

And he added that if his guess was correct, the Dragon Slayer passed down through generations in the Leonberk Royal Family would also be one of those relics.

"Adrian was undoubtedly chosen by the relic passed down in the Leonberk Royal Family."

It was a rather plausible story even to Maximilian's ears.

He had heard that it was around that time when his brother, who had been causing his royal father headaches just a few years ago, suddenly changed, and that it was after that when he began to distinguish himself by displaying unprecedented abilities.

If it was true that his brother had gained the legacy and power held by the Dragon Slayer, everything perfectly fell into place.

His royal father gave a small nod, saying that must have been the reason for his brother's obsession with the Dragon Slayer.

And he added one thing, saying it was a true relief that a bloodline of the Royal House had inherited the legacy before the wicked empire could steal the Dragon Slayer.

"According to past records, the original form of the legacy passed down in the Leonberk Royal Family is at least Myth grade. It's only natural for the empire to covet it."

To Maximilian, those words sounded exactly like a rebuke of the royal family for forgetting such an incredible legacy. His royal father seemed to share the same thought, as his already dark expression darkened even further.

However, the tactless messenger continued to say what he wanted, regardless of what he or his royal father were thinking.

"Of course, there's no way Adrian truly inherited a Myth-grade legacy. No matter if he did defeat a Warlord and acquire a certain level of status."

He decisively stated that the power his brother inherited would be around the level of a Heroic Poem.

Since Myth grade and Heroic Poem were all unfamiliar standards, Maximilian asked just how much power that was.

"If he inherited it completely without any deterioration, the power of a Heroic Poem is..."

After pausing for a moment, the Prince of Dortmund spoke.

"At minimum, on the same level as a Penta knight."

* * *

The inside of the massive fence known as the empire was far too lax.

The nobles blindly trusted their own prestige, believing that no one would dare to harm them.

They were truly foolish bastards.

Even as they targeted me and the delegation, they hadn't the slightest expectation that I could actually target them back.

Because from their perspective, I was nothing more than the prince of an insignificant, weak nation whom they could trample at any time.

But they needed to learn.

The fact that even an earthworm squirms when stepped on, and even a cornered mouse will bite a cat.

That if you draw a sword, you can also be cut by its blade.

I directly made them realize that fact.

Of course, it wasn't for free.

The price for the lesson was their deaths; I roamed the empire and indiscriminately sliced off the nobles' heads.

Sometimes I infiltrated their bedchambers under the cover of night, and other times I annihilated lords and knights out on excursions.

I truly tore through the empire like a madman.

The imperial nobles who died by my hands alone numbered over thirty, and among them were five great lords of Count rank or higher.

Thanks to that, the empire was turned completely upside down.

They tightened inspections and ransacked every corner in order to find the culprit.

I rode on the back of a wyvern and laughed at the empire's knights and soldiers.

As I was curling the corners of my mouth up like that, a sullen voice was heard.

"Ah, seriously. I told you not to grab my waist. You really have a weird personality."

It was Jean Catherine.

The close aide of the Prince of Dortmund who was tied down by me, and the Vice-Commander of the Azure Sky Knights, he grumbled continuously.

"You've run wild this much, shouldn't you stop now? Seeing how security has tightened recently, it's slowly getting dangerous."

It was an utterly exhausted voice, worn out from roaming the vast empire in every direction for the past few months.

But I paid him no mind.

Right now, I was a lion that had gained wings, and like a knight who had obtained a mythical steed.

"A winged lion, my foot. More like a wild colt off its reins."

Jean Catherine muttered quietly.

I ignored him again this time.

It wasn't time to go back yet. I intended to properly decorate the grand finale before returning to the kingdom.

"Let's go to one last place."

"Where to?"

At Jean Catherine's words, I answered with a smile.

"House Yves Saint."

As a final gift to hand over to the emperor, the marquis's head would be fitting.

"You're crazy! Completely crazy!"

Though Jean Catherine didn't seem to agree very much, of course.