novelraw Chapter 201 : Chapter 201
Chapter 201 : Chapter 201
Chapter 201 : Persuasion(?)
The King of the Kingdom of Trey was assassinated, and a new king was enthroned.
And I heard that this king was not even a legitimate son of the royal family.
On top of that.
- Having the mission to go to the Kingdom of Trey as ordered by His Imperial Majesty and create a system friendly to our Empire.......
If the ones who committed that act were the Evil cult and the Imperial Royal Family plotting together.
"If your guess is correct, the new King of Trey might already be under the influence of the Imperial Royal Family."
"Yes. If so, we might get falsely accused for bringing the Great Warrior's body for no reason."
"And you still want to go?"
"It is just a hypothesis. And even if it is true......."
"Even if?"
"Right now, who in Trey can stop us?"
As Muno said that with a grim smile.
Imadi and Lauel showed similar smiles.
That was why.
"!@#!!@#!"
Even when a fierce-looking warrior approached, shouting with a serious face.
"!@#!!"
They could smile even when other soldiers and warriors rushed in from all sides.
The only opponent to be wary of in this Great Hall right now was the bearded warrior approaching him from the front.
But even he.
"Sir Imadi, let's not kill them."
"Of course. I know that much."
It was not a big problem for a Seven-Star-level fire user who had gathered heat from the desert.
"&@!@?"
The moment the beard noticed the strange energy and raised his scimitar, it was already too late.
BOOOOOOOOM!
When the beard was slammed into the castle wall by the tremendous heat burst without even being able to scream.
RUMBLE.
CRASH CRASH CRASH.
The afterstorm hit the Great Hall and made the entire royal palace tremble.
And through that gap.
THWIP THWIP THWIP THWIP.
Lauel's arrows poured down.
WHISHHH.
CRACKLE.
Muno's greatsword became a blade whip and swept through the surroundings.
Naturally.
"Aaaagh!"
"Kugh!?! @&!@"
"Keuk!! &@#!"
Screams were heard from all directions along with voices that sounded like curses.
Everything happened in an instant.
The lower-ranking Corporeal Arts users and soldiers retreated in unison, injured by Muno's blades and Lauel's arrows.
"!@#!!"
"!@#!!@!"
The limping warriors and soldiers realized the situation and stepped back.
Even those who tried to stand up.
"Stop moving. If you move any more, I will burn you all."
They froze facing the flickering flames before their eyes along with Imadi's chilling voice.
A show of force that could be fully understood even without understanding the language.
It was the same for the ministers who did not participate in the battle(?).
"@!#$!@#!"
"!@#!@#!"
A commotion broke out in the Great Hall, but there was not much emotion anyway.
'No one is dead. This is satisfactory.'
Because it was a fully expected situation.
On the other hand, Muno quickly approached the King, who had frozen as if he had not expected this at all.
As he reached out his hand.
"Hiiik! &@#!!"
The King shouted something while stepping back with a pale face.
However.
"As expected......."
CLATTER.
The iron chain extending from Muno's hand headed not for the King, but for a man with a pale impression who was trying to blend in among the ministers.
CRUNCH.
"Co, cough!"
The man was lifted in front of the King with his waist and neck strangled.
Looking closely, he could tell for sure.
A white person, not of the desert people here.
And.
"Double Veil. Are you from the Evil cult? Or the Empire?"
"Cough. !@#!@"
It felt ridiculous that the guy was babbling in the Trey language.
"You know the common language. Don't you? If you don't, just die like this."
CRUNCH.
The moment the iron chain tightened around his waist even more.
"I, I am, just, a vassal......!"
Only then did the guy speak up.
"S-Such, outrageous acts, will definitely become an international issue......!"
It seemed his audacity had opened up as well, but there was no problem.
Since this guy could not be trusted anyway.
"Interpreter! Come and translate for His Majesty the King! Hurry!"
"Ye, yes......? !@#$&!?"
The interpreter, who asked back in bewilderment, babbled incomprehensible words in his native tongue as if panicked.
He looked completely out of it.
Then.
WHOOSH.
"Hot......!"
Imadi's flame slightly singed his buttocks, bringing his senses back.
"......I, I'm coming!"
As the interpreter dashed in front of the King, seemingly forgetting royal etiquette, Muno moved the iron chain.
CRUNCH.
"Ugh!"
"Now. Your Majesty, I would like to ask you one thing. Did you know that this guy is a magician?"
He brought the lifted guy's face right up to the King's eyes.
It was truly a rude act that did not observe royal etiquette, or even basic human courtesy.
However, the pale-faced King did not say a word.
"!@#!@……"
"@#!@!……"
Even at the interpreter's following words, he gritted his teeth and shook his head.
"H-He says he doesn't know! He says it is the f-first time he is hearing it!"
But Muno saw it clearly.
That the King's brown eyes trembled severely before giving that answer.
It meant he knew.
However.
'Right. It has to be that way.'
He did not set out to solve this with force without any plan in the first place.
He did it because he was confident he could handle the aftermath.
- The Kingdom of Trey, while hostile to the Empire, accumulated wealth through intermediary trade between the Empire and the East.......
In fact, the neighboring countries of the Empire were bound to harbor indelible historical scars entangled with the Empire.
This is because they were the countries that suffered the most damage when the Deus Kingdom, originally a small country, accepted magic and grew terrifyingly.
Naturally, they were all hostile to the Empire, which in other words meant they were hostile to magicians.
'Even if he knows, he has to pretend he doesn't. Unless he wants to become a king who sold his kingdom to the Empire and fall.'
Muno smiled as kindly as possible at the King who was shamelessly brazen.
"Yes. I thought you would say that. So I will show you the evidence."
He did not bother waiting for an answer.
WHOOSH.
"Kahak!"
As the demonic energy, about 3-Circle level which was barely a mouthful, was absorbed, the guy tied in the iron chain began to tremble.
Then soon.
PSHHH.
He became a corpse emitting a rotten smell along with black smoke.
THUD.
"Ugh! !@!@#!@!"
Seeing the corpse fall in front of him, the King unwittingly climbed onto the throne and shouted something like a scream.
And Muno slowly knelt on one knee looking at such a King.
THUMP.
"I will greet His Majesty the King of Trey once again 'properly'. I am 'Black Knight' Muno Drasen. As one who hunts magicians, I discovered and brought the body of the great Seven-Star, the Great Warrior of the Desert, Lord Marte, while chasing them."
SLIDE.
He even removed his helmet and smiled at the King.
"I 'report' that I have disposed of the magician, the spy of the Empire, who had infiltrated right next to Your Majesty."
"!@#!@#"
As the pale-faced interpreter relayed the words to the even paler-faced King.
"!@#!?!"
"!@#!?!"
"!@#!?!"
Magician, spy of the Empire.
Those sensitive words spread among the watching ministers and soldiers in their own language.
And when the King's face, which had turned blue, began to change color to white again.
Muno recalled what Imadi had said.
- With force, you can cause a scene, but you cannot persuade.
- But if the new King is really connected to the Empire, no persuasion will work anyway.
- In such a worst-case scenario, we have no choice but to show force and coerce him.
Those words seemed to fit.
'He doesn't seem to be under magical influence, so it looks like he cooperated voluntarily.'
The presence of other magicians was not felt in the Great Hall either.
So.
"You must have been surprised by the somewhat violent report. However, since it was to deal with 'the enemy of us all', I hope you understand with a generous heart."
He spoke slowly and forcefully in a loud voice.
So that not only the King in front of him but also the troops and ministers gathered in the Great Hall could hear.
"I was worried that the ones who assassinated Lord Marte would escape if I did not hurry."
Muno's black eyes stared clearly at the King's terrified brown eyes.
"You will understand, Your Majesty?"
That the Evil cult is the enemy of us all, and the organization that assassinated the Kingdom's great Seven-Star.
He nailed it down in an official setting so that even if it was a connection the King had made himself, he would be forced to cut it.
"!@#!@$!!@#"
And beside the interpreter who was frantically translating those words.
- If not, you are finished now. You know that?
Muno conveyed the meaning with his eyes.
And.
The brown eyes full of fear, completely different from the strong gray eyes of King Lockhart Iron I of his homeland, eventually began to nod slowly.
* * *
"Even if you created such a situation, he is the King of this country. There is every possibility that he will use other tricks behind our backs."
Muno smiled bitterly at Lauel's words.
"Right. That could be possible."
"It's not just possible......."
"Lady Lauel. That's why I even made that communication, didn't I? Don't worry too much."
"Still, there is a limit to what the distant Iron Royal Family can do. Moreover......."
"Stop it, Lauel. That's enough."
"Lord Muno......."
"The King won't be able to do anything right away. Not yet."
Muno did not take Lauel's concern seriously.
Because he had already confirmed that the King of Trey was a terrible coward.
'No matter how humiliated he feels, he will be too scared to do anything right now.'
He didn't say it out loud because it was just a gut feeling, but fortunately, Lauel did not refute any further.
Muno, who smiled bitterly at her again, only then shifted his gaze outside.
The sky filled with countless stars beyond the horizon.
The group was looking out at the chilly desert night scenery, completely different from the day, from the warm guest quarters on the high floor of the royal palace.
"Let's rest a bit, Lauel. Honestly, it's tough for you too. Even if Sir Imadi helped, you came all this way enduring the desert heat and cold in that outfit."
"That is true, Lady Lauel. I don't know about you two, but this old man is dying. I need some time to rest."
It was not a joke; the group's schedule was tough even for the current Muno.
It had been nearly a month since they ran without eating or sleeping properly, only to strike the body or head of the Evil cult.
Even though they controlled the heat with the borrowed fire spirit, it only lowered the temperature from boiling to death to bearable.
"Let's recover our bodies first and think about what comes next. Anything more is impossible."
"Is it...... hard for you?"
"Yeah. I guess your endurance is better than mine. Definitely."
"I am......."
"Since the royal family is preparing a bath, let's wash and rest. We need to think about what to do next anyway."
While chasing the Evil cult, he came across an unexpected fact.
Something that might make the world even more chaotic now.
It seemed that accepting that fact and setting a direction again could only be done with some leeway.
Did his exhausted expression work?
Lauel bit her lip and nodded.
"......Yes."
"Good! Then it is decided, right? Sir Muno, Lady Lauel. No taking it back! I won't move for at least two days."
Even the Spirit Master, who said he would create unforgettable history in his remaining life by killing mages, declared a strike for a while due to the forced march.
Muno sighed with a mix of worry and relief, and nodded.
"Let's rest too."
"......Yes."
It should be fine to rest for a while to reorganize.
It is a chaotic world, but.
'It's not like I have to save the world.'
No, even if that were the case, he had to rest now.
The desert night was beautiful but too cold, and the desert day was hell.
THROB. THROB.
The skin all over his body, stripped of armor, burned as if he had suffered mild burns.
Once he decided to rest, his body, which had been tired from head to toe, seemed to become even more tired.
However, even that night, Muno could not rest completely.
Because an unexpected obstacle was waiting for him.
"T-That Spirit Master said, th-that you two are a couple......?"
GRIND.
'T-This damn old man......!?'
Looking at the bed sprinkled with colorful petals and the fancy bathtub prepared in the room for 'two people', Muno had no choice but to grimace.