Gabriel’s defeat sank Viscount Conrad’s heart. A reality that he had never considered when he was assigned to the McBurney group was in front of him.
“… T-This is not real.”
His voice trembled.
Gabriel was a 3-star swordsman.
He thought that the difference in the aura alone would be enough to overwhelm the opponent, but McBurney’s aura was like a candle swaying in the wind. It didn’t disappear, even when it collided with Gabriel’s aura.
Sothing was definitely wrong.
He couldn’t accept the fact that McBurney used aura and that he actually blocked the approach of Gabriel or that McBurney was just a one-ard swordsman who defeated him.
‘Ahh.’
It felt like the world was falling apart for him. In this tournant, the pride of the Northeast Nobles’ Alliance was at stake. Although he didn’t reveal his aspirations to win, people knew what happened between him and Roman.
‘It is done. With this, our status will fall to the ground.’
The venue now had a festive atmosphere.
The underdog’s victory.
At first, people who were just noticing them before were now openly talking about them.
“Roman Dmitry has completely overtaken them.”
“The Northeast Noble’s Alliance is all mouth and no actions. Roman sent out just six of his n, and those people sent out a dozen of their n, but the victory was sothing they couldn’t gain against Roman.”
“It is over. The area to the northeast belongs to the Dmitry family now.”
Their voices were stabbing his heart. He wanted to shout, to scream, but everything around him felt too shocking for him to even move.
‘Since when did the Dmitry family get this strong?’
Six swordsn. Not a single one of them was weak. And even his 3-star aura swordsman, Gabriel, lost against McBurney, who was the weakest.
If so, how strong were they?
Chris was at a level he couldn’t approach, and he wasn’t confident that anyone could defeat Kevin and the others.
This felt creepy. These six weren’t the only n Dmitry had. They had many more who didn’t participate in the tournant.
Moreover, Roman Dmitry himself didn’t participate. It was the mont when he could feel how great the existence of the monster who ruled these swordsn was and how strong he had to be to defeat Butler.
‘Our alliance touched a monster. Being hostile to Roman Dmitry will only shorten our lives. If we wage a war against that monster and his n, victory can never be guaranteed even if we borrow power from the Central Governnt.’
It was all according to Roman’s plan.
Although he didn’t directly step in, Viscount Conrad realized the power of Dmitry.
“… Viscount Conrad. How are we supposed to act now?”
Asked a noble.
Viscount Conrad, however, spoke back, annoyed.
“Do I really have to spell that out too? We are done! Since the swordsn on our side have been eliminated, there is no reason for us to stay here, so let’s get out.”
It was a clear one-sided defeat.
With Viscount Conrad in the lead, the nobles left the place.
All the competitions were over. The result was a one-sided stomp. Roman Dmitry, who only had six swordsn, won with all six of them.
Rumors started circulating. People talked about how strong the swordsn who initially represented Roman Dmitry were.
“But you know, when we talk about it, Roman Dmitry’s n weren’t always that strong. Although Chris is called a genius, Kevin and the others didn’t even know how to feel mana, let alone use aura. But then they ca here. The conclusion is that talent isn’t everything but it is Roman Dmitry who made them great!”
It was a plausible thing to say. One instance may be a coincidence.
Everyone would understand the developnt of soone as talented as Chris, but the developnt of other swordsn was sothing that wasn’t common to see.
Pooky and Volcan were common rcenaries on the battlefield; Kevin was just a slum boy, and Henderson was a farr from Lawrence.
Finally, McBurney, the one-ard swordsman whom everyone doubted.
Apparently, people who were ordinary one year ago followed Roman to the Southern Front and ca back as different people.
The rumors were wild. At so point, people were getting convinced.
“There is always a strong swordsman in a prestigious swordsman family. A person with strong force enough to gain fa all over the continent and the ability as a leader to nurture the others who follow him. Roman Dmitry is one such case. Born into a family with no sword skills, Roman Dmitry rose to the level of a ranker with his own effort. Do you realize what that ans? It ans that Roman Dmitry is the first and strongest swordsman who will lead Dmitry into a prestigious family. By following him, even a slum boy can beco a swordsman, and the sooner one settles down in Dmitry, the more secure their future will be.”
This wasn’t nonsense. There were families famous for their swordsmanship.
All of them had one notable person who beca famous, like Roman Dmitry, who made his family famous. Dmitry would be no different.
Roman Dmitry. He produced talented people. Not only was he good, but he also proved his ability to nurture young people under him.
“From now on, the route of the people from the northeast will beco clear. If one wants to succeed as a swordsman, then swear allegiance to the Dmitry family.”
Dmitry. A blacksmith family with low birth. It was the mont when Dmitry’s reputation, which even the nobles didn’t recognize, began to change little by little.
After the tournant, Roman summoned his n.
“Everyone has been through a lot.”
Last month, everyone had worked so hard. There was no clear standard or order to win the competition, and the subordinates who didn’t know how strong they were had to clench their teeth.
The result was an overwhelming victory. Without a single crisis, they completely overwheld the swordsn of the Northeast Alliance.
And for them, he wanted to say sothing.
“You guys decided to follow for your own reasons. So people needed my strength, and so swore allegiance because they had no other option. Actually, the reason doesn’t matter. Whatever the reason you chose to co here, if you weren’t worth it, I wouldn’t have accepted you in the first place.”
He spoke the truth. A relationship was a necessity. When the other person said he needed Roman, he was ready to accept them if they were worth it.
“I do not like complicated relationships. Human emotions that cannot be explained in words can lead to a so-called strong relationship, but I believe that the perfect relationship—one that doesn’t require sacrifice—is one in which both parties have sothing to offer. You have sothing you want from . We have actually achieved sothing, and we can only hope that this will continue in the future. No matter how much ti passes, I will always remain the person you were looking for.”
Heavenly Demon Baek Joong-hyuk.
It was like that ti.
In order to survive that world, he couldn’t rely on human emotions and ford solid relationships by giving and receiving benefits.
“So of you may wonder why I say this. After swearing allegiance to , I have heard that many people have doubts about their abilities. So co from the slums, so never touched the sword, and so have only one arm. They look down on their own skills, even when no one criticizes them. So I gave you my way. If you were judged of no value to be my people, even if you were a perfect swordsman, you wouldn’t be given a chance with . You are my chosen people. I, Roman Dmitry, decided that your existence was needed by , and I accepted you.”
A relationship of need, even if there was a cost to pay. If Roman decided to believe in them, he would give them a chance.
“So, don’t doubt yourselves anymore. Today’s result proves your potential, and knowing that you will surely win, I laid this plan against the nobles. From a month ago, that competition was the first ntion of it, I never once doubted you. It didn’t matter which of you participated.”
At that mont, he thought of the faces of his n and the fight on the Southern Front.
His n admired Roman even more because of that, but on the other hand, they thought Roman Dmitry could do anything on his own.
In the battle up the mountains, Roman wasn’t accompanied by anyone. It ans that he couldn’t trust anyone but himself, and that burden stayed on his mind.
But now he trusted them. There was no doubt that the words that he needed them made his n happy.
Smile.
Roman smiled. The faces of his n were unique. Seeing everyone’s red faces as they tried to suppress their emotions wasn’t so horrible.
“I will give you all ten gold as a reward and three days of vacation. I want you to fully enjoy it and be relaxed both physically and ntally.”
At those words, the n no longer tried to hold back their emotions and cheered out loud.
“Thank you!”
“It is such an honor to have you as our Lord!”
“I will be loyal for the rest of my life!”
Today is the day.
In order for his subordinates to express their emotions freely, Roman didn’t hide the smile on his face too.
The next day, Roman called Lucas.
“As a result of examining the plan of the nobles, there seems to be no special movent. They t once after the tournant, but they didn’t plan anything else except for coming and going. It is expected from them. They gave up on confronting Dmitry due to the Lord’s indirect warning throughout the tournant. Perhaps until the chance arises, they will not rebel against what Dmitry is doing.”
Viscount Conrad’s mansion. The n who brought the tea and delivered the food were mbers of the Intelligence Guild and passed on the information to Lucas.
The Northeast Nobles’ Alliance. They raised the white flag. However, Roman knew that it was just a temporary thing.
“There is no perfect work in the world. No matter how strict the rules are, those who oppose them will always have a different idea. In that sense, the northeast nobles can be called evil. People who walk a different path than and do not like will join them and build their own power. If it were you, how would you handle this?”
“… to block that variable, I think cleaning them is the right thing.”
“It isn’t a bad thod either. If there were enough talents and resources to replace the northeast, they would choose that way. But now there isn’t enough ti. In a situation where we do not know when conflicts will arise with the Central Governnt, we will have to minimize the sacrifices here.”
From the start, Roman envisioned the plan in stages.
Stage 1. Provoke the northeast.
Stage 2. Make them see the reality.
Then what was Stage 3?
“Lucas, move on to Stage 3.”
“Yes.”
Use barbarians to control barbarians. Contrary to its general aning, Roman Dmitry was thinking of moving as the barbarian himself.
With this plan, the Northeast Alliance will rethink everything about the Dmitry family.
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