Chapter 13: The Warrior’s Backing
“Has the test already ended?”
Kellyburn glanced at before speaking.
“Mikelan, report truthfully what you saw.”
“Yes, my lord. Leon subdued Ryan without even using a weapon.”
“…Your disciple?”
Surprise flickered across Kellyburn’s face.
“Mikelan, how many in your unit are stronger than Ryan?”
“Countless. However, among those his age, none have been able to stand against him.”
At that, I opened my eyes wide. I knew Ryan was strong—but I didn’t expect Mikelan to evaluate him that highly.
I suddenly grew curious about my own level. Ryan had the appearance of a young man just stepping into adulthood. anwhile, I was only fifteen—at least three years younger than him.
Yet, Ryan was said to be unmatched among his peers. And he wasn’t even an ordinary soldier, but a soldier trained under a ducal household. The thought gave a strange feeling.
Kellyburn seed to be thinking the sa thing. He looked at with an unreadable gaze, then smiled faintly.
“It seems Count Withers from the frontier has sent quite a useful gift this ti. Just as well—the rules of the Territorial War have changed, so this works out nicely. Leon.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“Tomorrow’s Territorial War has been simplified under His Imperial Majesty’s command. A five-on-five tournant. His Majesty, wishing to minimize the casualties from prolonged wars between territories, has decreed that each household select five representatives to fight in a duel.”
I understood what Kellyburn ant. In short—he wanted to fight tomorrow.
And it would be a simple one-on-one duel. Much easier than fighting on a battlefield where one might be struck down at any mont.
“Don’t let your guard down. The Wilhelm Marquisate is renowned as a family of magic. The mages they raise are strong enough to handle ten soldiers with ease.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“That alone won’t be enough.”
Kellyburn’s expression turned grave.
“His Majesty ordered that, for fairness, the participants in the tournant must be of the sa age group. Your opponent will be a twenty-year-old from the Wilhelm Marquisate. And twenty—that’s the age that represents a family’s future.”
“I see.”
“This isn’t sothing to take lightly. Because twenty represents the future of a house, the Wilhelm family will surely send out one of their finest. It will be a difficult fight.”
Kellyburn emphasized “difficult” again and again, as if doubting . I understood his concern.
This was a tournant where each house’s representative fought for honor—but I wasn’t truly one of Kellyburn’s people. It was only natural that he’d feel uneasy entrusting with such a task.
So, I raised my hand and spoke.
“Your Grace, I have sothing to say.”
“Speak.”
“I’m fifteen. Am I even allowed to fight soone in their twenties?”
“…?”
A look of confusion spread across Kellyburn’s face.
“You’re… in your teens?”
“Yes. I’m fifteen.”
“…Mikelan. Didn’t you say we were short on a teenage representative?”
“That’s correct, my lord.”
“What a perfect coincidence. Just the right talent has appeared.”
A satisfied smile spread across Kellyburn’s lips—one of relief, as though a lingering headache had just been cured.
Ti passed quickly, and the day of the Territorial War arrived.
I rode in a carriage following Kellyburn. Inside were five of us, including him and myself. Judging by their solemn expressions, it was clear that all of them were participants who would face the Wilhelm Marquisate.
But sothing puzzled . The tournant was supposed to be five-on-five.
Yet there were only four combatants in the carriage. One was missing. I asked,
“Your Grace, don’t tell … you’ll also be participating in the tournant?”
“Does that sound strange?”
“It’s… unexpected.”
Kellyburn nodded slightly, as though he understood my confusion.
“A minor trick. The Wilhelm Marquisate will likely employ the sa strategy. Most of our opponents will probably be rcenaries. Now, think—what do you suppose would happen if a rcenary dared to injure a noble, even in a Territorial War?”
“…I see.”
A simple yet clever ploy. While the Territorial War allowed killing, that privilege had its limits.
Could a common rcenary truly dare strike a noble?
Even if the rules excused it during the war, the threat of retaliation afterward would keep them in check.
And Kellyburn wasn’t so low-ranking noble like a baron or viscount—he was a duke.
No rcenary, no matter how reckless, would dare lay hands on a duke.
‘That ans we’ve practically secured one guaranteed win.’
Now, the problem lay with the remaining matches.
As for myself, I wasn’t too worried. Even if the opponents used the sa kind of trick as Kellyburn, I still held the standing of a mber of the Elphrel royal bloodline.
Though I had never thought of myself as royalty, the Empire certainly saw that way.
I decided to make use of that misconception.
As I organized my thoughts and strategies, we arrived at the battlefield.
I stepped down from the carriage and looked around.
‘Just an open plain. Nowhere to hide.’
Strange. The Wilhelm Marquisate was a fad house of magic. Even if their team consisted mostly of rcenaries, at least one of them should have been a mage.
‘But this kind of terrain puts mages at a huge disadvantage. Do they have sothing hidden up their sleeves?’
Just as that thought crossed my mind—
“It’s been a while, Duke Kellyburn.”
A calm, elderly gentleman across the field greeted us with a genial smile.
I looked closely at him. White hair, neatly kept beard—an age where retirent would have been no surprise.
‘Is that Marquis Wilhelm? He doesn’t look all that strong on the surface.’
I tried to get a better look, sharpening my sight—when our eyes t.
Kwaaaah—!!
A terrifying pressure crashed over . Killing intent—focused solely on —crushed down like a mountain. My body almost staggered from the weight.
It was only when Wilhelm broke eye contact that I managed to regain my composure.
‘He’s strong.’
The most overwhelming aura I had ever felt.
‘Stronger than Reinhardt, maybe?’
No… perhaps not. Count Reinhardt had never shown his full power. The comparison wasn’t fair.
Even what I’d just felt from Wilhelm was probably only the tip of the iceberg.
A shiver of excitent ran down my spine.
Just how far above us did the true strong ones of this world stand?
At the sa ti, my body tingled with exhilaration. In my past life, I had never felt anything like this before. After all, no one had ever gone all out against a third-rate ronin like .
I clenched my fist tightly.
Soday, I too would have power that would not bow before soone of such strength.
And when that day ca, if we were to et again…
“Are you all right?”
Before I knew it, Kellyburn—who had finished speaking with Wilhelm—asked . My entire body was drenched in sweat. He was probably asking if I was physically fine.
I straightened my back as if nothing was wrong.
“There’s no problem.”
“That’s a relief. Things aren’t going very well at the mont.”
“Not going well?”
“Wilhelm has brought an annoying strategy.”
Kellyburn gestured with his chin toward Wilhelm’s side. I turned my head—and what I saw there was—
“…Nobles?”
Wilhelm had composed his entire team of nobles. Every single participant was a mage from the Marquisate of Wilhelm.
Because of that, aside from Kellyburn and , the rest of our team looked visibly uneasy. It was only natural. Even if the battlefield was disadvantageous to mages, the opponents were still nobles.
For common-born participants, it was nothing but pressure.
Only Mikelan—who looked like he’d seen everything there was to see on a battlefield—remained unmoved.
“Fight a noble? Does that even make sense as a rule?”
The thirty-year-old rcenary and the twenty-sothing Ryan could not hide their dismay.
But Wilhelm paid them no attention. Standing about a hundred paces away, he smiled unpleasantly and spoke.
“It seems our side is ready.”
Wilhelm’s voice carried across the plains with a deep resonance. That such volu could co from that aged body—he must have used mana to amplify it.
I turned my gaze toward our opponents. They stared back at us with smug faces, their crooked grins twisted with arrogance.
Kellyburn let out a sigh.
“Leon, you’ll go first.”
I nodded.
The tournant started in order of age—from youngest to oldest. Which ant I would be the first to step forward.
As I walked out—
Soone from the opposite side, a boy around my age, also ca forward.
Like , he was in his mid-teens. He looked at with a mocking smile, full of contempt.
‘Well, of course.’
To him, I was just a common rcenary. And for a rcenary to strike a noble, even in a Territorial War, was unthinkable.
‘He probably already thinks he’s won.’
That was exactly why I thought—this was my chance.
“I am Edonic of House Wilhelm. rcenary, state your na.”
“Leon.”
“Your family na?”
“I don’t have one.”
Edonic snickered, then turned to Marquis Wilhelm and nodded, as if exchanging a silent signal.
With the backing of his powerful house, he clearly believed this battle would end in a one-sided victory.
I chuckled quietly.
Indeed, in this world, backing was everything. Even a pathetic fool like him could act so arrogantly, rely because he carried the na of a Marquisate behind him.
Then Edonic said,
“What are you waiting for, rcenary? Aren’t you going to surrender?”
I stared at him blankly. …Surrender?
‘How irritating.’
I had expected to learn sothing from this. I thought, being a renowned house of magic, they would at least fight honorably.
‘But this duel has neither romance nor fairness.’
I began walking toward him, step by step.
Seeing approach, Edonic frowned.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
He still didn’t seem to understand. I said nothing, continuing to walk toward him.
Then, finally sensing sothing off, Edonic spoke again, his voice slightly trembling.
“You’re not coming to hit , are you? A re rcenary wouldn’t dare strike .”
At that mont, he wrapped his body in a mana shield—his instincts warning him that sothing was wrong.
Feeling safer within his barrier, Edonic smirked.
‘Now there’s no way I can lose. But what’s wrong with this lunatic? Why’s he trying to fight ?’
Behind him stood Marquis Wilhelm himself. Surely this rcenary knew that. So why was he still walking toward him?
I could read his every thought. His face revealed everything. Even without much intuition, anyone could tell what he was thinking.
“Did you know?”
I opened my mouth slowly.
“I have backing too.”
“…Don’t talk nonsense! You’re not seriously thinking Duke Kellyburn will protect you, are you?”
“Of course not.”
I smirked.
“My backing is far greater than Duke Kellyburn could ever be.”
At that mont—
Whoooom—!
An imnse surge of energy burst from my entire body. The grass and soil beneath my feet scattered violently.
It was not the aura of a re rcenary. It was the unmistakable presence of a true warrior.
Everyone present, including Edonic, froze in place.
“My na is Leon, son of Zeke Fritz, the greatest warrior of Elphrel.”
“W-What?”
“They say people call my father the Conqueror King.”
At those words, Edonic’s face turned deathly pale—
KWAANG—!
—and my fist smashed squarely into his face.
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