Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 51

51.

I used the Breath of Wind technique to relax.

The Mana Hole’s poison was very irritating, but I erased it from my mind to forget its existence altogether.

I calmed myself.

Becoming an Intermediate Spirit Master had drastically increased my Mana Holes, but I pretended that hadn’t even happened.

‘A realm between Advanced and Supreme Sword Expert.’

I stared intently at Riorden.

He held his sword at an angle and didn’t seem to want to move.

His relaxed attitude, as if he were yielding the first move to me, was palpable.

“Hoo!”

I took a short breath.

The murmuring from below the stage gradually grew louder.

Even though the starting signal had sounded, Riorden and I were only sizing each other up, which seemed to frustrate them.

There were far more people than in the last match.

The throne where Father was watching, and the surrounding seats prepared for the nobles, were also fully occupied.

Interest in me had exploded.

Moreover, my opponent was Riorden, who was considered a favorite to win.

Some probably wanted to see me collapse miserably on the stage, while others seemed to want to confirm whether I had really beaten Chen by luck.

In any case, I was silencing all the existing rumors through this evaluation competition.

The Crown Prince, once synonymous with cowardice and incompetence, had grown to capture everyone’s attention.

‘And if I win here… I can move to the forefront of the succession race.’

My greatest advantage in the succession battle was justification.

The Emperor’s first son!

Moreover, my mother’s status was not low.

Although a fallen noble, my mother was the head of a noble family renowned as a spirit master clan.

She was not the Emperor’s second or third wife, but the first wife who uniquely received the title of Empress.

No one could compete with my birthright in terms of legitimacy, so the only remaining issue was skill.

Until now, I had been subjected to ridicule and insults beyond criticism for my skills and character, but that would completely change today.

I smiled faintly and summoned the spirits.

Riorden also gradually regulated his breathing.

‘A master of practical swordsmanship…’

All I knew about Riorden was the report that Ken and Soris had investigated and reported, and the story I heard from David.

In other words, Riorden was not a ‘character’ I remembered.

I didn’t write about the evaluation competition itself in detail.

I only wrote that Ron Carl Leord had many talented people under him, and most of the talents in his direct organization that supported his power were selected through the evaluation competition.

Besides, the setting was that those talents were easily defeated by Karen and her colleagues.

That was all I remembered. So, it was inevitable that I wouldn’t know about Riorden, who was known as a favorite to win.

A character who wasn’t even given a name by me was standing in front of me as a powerful adversary.

I narrowed my eyes and moved first.

Sylph lightly flew and launched a chain of wind.

Riorden slightly raised his sword.

Clang-!

Watching Riorden block it with a simple motion, I increased the intensity of my attack.

‘Since I gave him the advantage of the first move, I should let him know the price of carelessness.’

In an instant, Sylph multiplied into three, and Undine, Gnome, and Salamander also appeared.

I intended to overwhelm him at once.

I aggressively used the Curtain of Fire.

There was no need to use defensive skills only for defense, and the same went for offensive skills.

All skills could be used in various forms depending on one’s capabilities.

The Curtain of Fire created by Salamander narrowed, putting pressure on Riorden.

And Riorden finally moved.

‘I have to tie him down. I can’t let him gain momentum.’

I entrusted myself to the flow of wind and earth, observing Riorden’s movements as closely as possible.

Ken, as well as Ted’s two knights, and even David, had certain rules in their movements.

In David’s case, the speed was so fast that it was difficult to read the exact rules, but his footwork was definitely different when attacking and defending.

It was thanks to the orthodox swordsmanship that David had mentioned.

The regular movements were efficiently connected, and as his skill increased, he even freely changed the rules to confuse the opponent.

The difficult thing when facing David was that he was not bound by fixed rules.

It wasn’t just once or twice that he seemed to be using attacking footwork but was already creating distance and easily deflecting the spirits’ techniques.

I supplied more mana to Salamander.

The flames intensified, following Riorden.

Riorden exclaimed, “Hoo.”

Perhaps he felt that I was more skilled than he thought?

I couldn’t understand the meaning of the smile on his face, but I didn’t care anymore.

‘Sylphere.’

I immediately summoned an Intermediate Spirit, realizing an even stronger attack.

Sylphere’s presence was definitely different from Sylph and other Lower Spirits.

Riorden also finally infused mana into his sword.

The silver blade turned red.

Gooooo-!

A chain of wind was realized, meeting Riorden’s sword at the center of the stage.

Kwaaaang-!

It was the first explosion since the start of the confrontation.

Riorden approached me like lightning.

I stepped back.

Undine primarily blocked my path, defending against Riorden’s sword that was divided into dozens of stabs.

Bang-! Bang-! Bang-!

I relentlessly launched chains of wind.

As Sylphs constantly aimed for his flanks and back, Riorden spun around once.

Kwaaaang-! Bang-!

“Cough!”

I involuntarily groaned.

The impact transmitted to me from the Sylphs that Riorden had struck while spinning exceeded the level that the Sylphs could withstand.

‘The moment I allow even one attack, it’s over.’

I was vividly feeling the power of Aura for the first time.

* * *

“It seems that the Crown Prince is very different from the rumors.”

At the words of a certain noble, Beregon chuckled and chimed in.

“Rumors are just rumors.”

Beregon was well aware that Ted had instigated Chen as a kind of venting for his knights’ defeat.

It was true that he had also reported the process to his father through Silon, but what was surprising was Arun’s condition.

The Snake Poison Guild had created poison using diluted Five-Colored Snake Venom.

Arun had clearly ingested that poison.

But he was fighting perfectly fine.

‘It doesn’t seem like he has detoxified it.’

The eyes of a Sword Master allowed him to see what others could not.

Beregon accurately read that Arun had not yet neutralized the poison through the flow of mana.

Beregon glanced at Ron and said.

“Even if His Highness the Crown Prince were to lose this match, it is certain that his skills have improved remarkably.”

Ron answered indifferently.

“Is that so?”

There was boredom in Ron’s eyes.

Beregon turned his gaze back to the match.

‘Is he not interested, or is he pretending not to be?’

He was the Emperor who cared more about the evaluation competition than anyone else, but now he seemed to be annoyed by everything.

Beregon narrowed his eyes.

The sight of Sylphere flying in the sky and scattering chains of wind was certainly befitting of an Intermediate Spirit Master.

‘To have that level of skill even after taking poison.’

Above all, Beregon was surprised by Arun’s combat sense.

Arun’s combat sense, who had almost no practical experience, was so outstanding that it could be called innate.

Riorden was a master of practical swordsmanship and mainly used unconventional attacks, but Arun was responding without hesitation.

“Riorden is pushing hard. I heard that that friend is glimpsing the Master realm with practical swordsmanship alone, and he is certainly amazing.”

That was Austin’s assessment.

Beregon chuckled.

“Is His Highness doing alright?”

It was a subtle way of scratching at Austin’s insides. Austin replied without showing any emotion.

“What wouldn’t be alright? It is difficult for a knight to even wield a sword if one arm is missing, but a mage only needs to hold a staff with one hand.”

Beregon consoled him.

“Evaluation competitions are always dangerous. His Highness’s matter has become unfortunate.”

Austin shook his head and feigned ambition.

“It is not good that the Seventh Prince was injured, but isn’t the Crown Prince’s remarkable development a blessing for the Empire? As a member of the Imperial nobility, I was pleased that the Crown Prince finally seemed to be showing his abilities.”

Beregon no longer scratched at Austin’s insides.

Ron’s voice echoed briefly.

“The Crown Prince didn’t just mention appointing the winner as the commander in the Great War for no reason.”

All the nobles looked at Ron at once.

He was the master of absolute power, and the nobles’ goal was to reduce that power in any way possible.

Trying to reduce the scale of the evaluation competition in any way possible was also to weaken the Emperor’s power even slightly.

However, regardless of all that, the Emperor’s judgment of ability had never been wrong.

Knight, mage, spirit master, it was the same for anyone.

If the Emperor declared who was stronger, that was the truth.

Such an Emperor was now implying Arun’s victory.

Not only Austin but also Beregon’s eyes trembled uncontrollably.

Ron smiled.

What shone in Ron’s eyes was curiosity.

“The Crown Prince’s condition is not normal. It’s poison. About half of his Mana Holes are being consumed by poison. And yet, he’s setting traps against Riorden.”

Soon, Ron laughed, “Heh heh.”

Beregon flinched.

It had been a long time since the Emperor had laughed out loud.

It was the enjoyable smile he had with the words he had said to himself, who was known as one of the Sword Masters of the continent, when the Emperor was only in his mid-twenties.

‘He is worthy of receiving a sword strike.’

Beregon bit his lip tightly.

Arun had become strong enough to be recognized by the Emperor.

The fact that he was only an Intermediate Spirit Master was not important.

The Emperor had seen through the fact that Arun’s talent would not end at that level.

The conviction that he would grow to the point where he could share swords with himself was also hidden in that smile.

What the Emperor enjoyed most was meeting an opponent who could go all out.

The conquest war was also part of finding an opponent.

If one country was driven to ruin, someone among them would surely fight the Emperor with all their might.

The Emperor liked that battle more than anything else.

‘The Crown Prince… is he that good?’

Beregon also highly valued Arun’s talent, but he didn’t think he was good enough to receive the Emperor’s recognition.

“Tell the Western Lords that a Commander-in-Chief will be sent down soon. Also, make Arun Carl Leord’s flag.”

Now everyone flinched at the Emperor’s words.

This was a declaration.

That this victory would be the Crown Prince’s.

Beregon’s eyes darkened.

‘There can be no loyalty to two generations. I, the Empire, and the world do not want another Ron Carl Leord.’

At that moment, Riorden staggered greatly.

Ron concluded.

“He fell into the trap. To be defeated by a mere Gnome [an earth spirit]. Heh heh heh, but that’s how elaborate the Crown Prince’s trap was.”

Ron then got up from his seat.

There had never been a time when Ron had left the evaluation competition without watching the match to the end.

That was the first time it had happened, and thanks to that, the words he had said a little while ago became more credible.

Arun’s victory.