Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 118

With the help of engineers and mages, the sparring arena was quickly set up.

The platform overlooking the arena, where the Crown Prince’s inauguration ceremony had taken place, was transformed into a viewing area for delegations and nobles from around the world. A giant magic screen was placed in the sky so that the kingdom’s citizens gathered in the square could vividly see the knights’ sparring.

Adol Smith, the knight representing the Kingdom of Lionel, was the first to step into the arena, taking a deep breath.

‘I’m the first one out here.’

He replayed the earlier squabble in his mind.

‘I’ll go out first.’

‘Hmph, who says so?’

‘Well, I’m the strongest here.’

‘That’s a joke.’

‘You want to try me?’

‘I’d be glad to.’

Berok and Sophia of the Azure Lion Knights both wanted to be the first, but Evan ended their argument with one sentence.

‘The order will be decided by drawing lots. Oh, and I’ll be the last one to go out, so if you have any complaints, beat me and say it.’

Adol briefly recalled that moment, shook his head, and looked forward. A black knight with a somewhat youthful face was warming up.

‘I heard he just became a Black Knight this year, right?’

Adol’s eyes went to the spear he was holding. It had a shape as if flames were burning.

He knew it was optimized for wielding the Black Flame Spear, the symbol of the Black Knights, just like his Moontear Glaive, which was made to unleash the Lunar Light Spear Technique.

Tension didn’t ease easily.

It was natural.

Even among knights, a major accident could occur the moment they let their guard down during magic-infused sparring. How much more so in a place like this, representing the nation?

The kingdom’s two 7-star knights and 8-star mage Fran, and the Black Knights Commander of the Empire were ready to intervene at any time, and several high priest-level clerics were also on standby, but accidents could happen in an instant.

There could be knights who were seriously injured or even killed.

‘Come on, don’t think so negatively.’

Adol slapped his cheeks with both hands to shake off his worries. If he was so worried about his life in a sparring match, he shouldn’t have become a knight in the first place.

‘The knights of both countries, please prepare!’

At Count Royce’s voice, Adol put on his helmet and gripped the Moontear Glaive with both hands.

***

‘Let the sparring match between the knights of both countries begin.’

‘Waaaaaaaah!’

With Count Royce’s declaration and the roar of the crowd, the sparring began. Sitting next to the King, I focused on the two knights’ sparring.

Clang! Clash-! Clang─!

The sound of the Black Knight’s spear and Adol’s Moontear Glaive colliding echoed through the square. The crowd’s mouths were open at the speed of the two weapons, which was hard to follow with the eyes.

However, there was something they could clearly see.

‘Oh oh!’

‘He’s good!’

‘Go, Adol!’

It was clear to anyone that Adol was superior.

Swoosh- Ting!

Swoosh- Clang!

Adol’s Moontear Glaive easily defended against the Black Knight’s spear, preempting the path of the spear before it could gain proper power.

And the failure of an attack soon meant allowing an opening.

Swooshing- Thwack!

Boom- Clang!

‘Kuh.’

The Black Knight was busy blocking Adol’s relentless Moontear Glaive. The two had clashed in the center of the arena, but the Black Knight was constantly being pushed back.

I couldn’t see his expression because he was wearing a helmet, but the Black Knight’s face must have been distorted with astonishment.

I briefly recalled the time when the knights were selected.

‘Frankly speaking, the probability of you guys winning against the Black Knights in your current state is one in ten.’

The knights’ hurt expressions when I said that… So I smiled and continued.

‘That’s because you don’t know anything about the Black Flame Spear Technique they use. But if you understand the spear techniques they use as much as you understand the Lionel Guardian Swordsmanship, the story is different.’

In the ‘future,’ I had spent every night researching the weaknesses of the swordsmanship, spear techniques, etc., used by the Hamel Empire knights.

The Black Flame Spear Technique used by the Black Knights was no exception.

‘Waaaaaaaah!’

‘Go, Adol! You’re so cool!’

The Black Knight, who had been constantly pushed back, stepped back and stretched his spear behind him.

‘The stance of Purgatory.’

The 7th form of the Black Flame Spear Technique. The moment the spear entangled in threads of magic strikes the ground, the spear energy [qi or life force] that surges from the ground tears the opponent apart.

Fing- Whoosh.

The threads of magic that the Black Knight drew from the spear rotating at high speed in his hand soared like flames.

Swoosh- Crack!

The spear pierces the earth.

The solution is simple.

‘Waaaaaaaah! Crescent Moon Fall!!’

You just have to jump at a very ‘perfect’ timing.

Adol, who had developed a bad habit of shouting the form names while sparring with Vernon, pounced on the Black Knight. The sight of him falling from the sky resembled a crescent moon.

Even though he was wearing a helmet, I could feel the Black Knight’s embarrassment.

It was only natural, since Adol’s attack accurately pierced the fleeting moment when it was difficult to recover the spear. At the 5-star level, he would never be able to avoid Adol’s attack.

Swoosh- Thwack!

The Moontear Glaive struck the Black Knight’s helmet head-on.

‘Keugh!’

The Black Knight collapsed like a kite with a broken string.

If it hadn’t been for Adol’s consideration in slightly reducing his power and striking with the side of the Moontear Glaive instead of the blade, it wouldn’t have been strange if the Black Knight had died on the spot.

While the clerics and healers who had rushed to the arena were examining the Black Knight’s condition, Adol took off his helmet.

His tousled hair was wet with sweat, and he smiled brightly at me.

‘Waaaaaaaah!’

‘Adol is so cool!’

After nodding in response to Adol, I looked for Charles.

I was curious what kind of expression he would have, since he had been going on about what confidence I had to request a friendly match against the Black Knights yesterday.

He was looking at Adol in the arena with a constipated expression. I couldn’t tell if he was avoiding my gaze knowingly or if he really didn’t notice.

***

Adol maintained his superiority throughout the second match against the Black Knight. Charles watched the scene, biting his lip.

He accurately grasped the weaknesses of the Black Flame Spear Technique.

‘Was that the source of Evan Lionel’s confidence?’

He felt Evan’s gaze on him. Charles tried to ignore the gaze.

‘As soon as I return to the Empire, I need to track down the past and present Black Knights’ activities.’

The Black Flame Spear Technique had been leaked.

In such detail that even the weaknesses had been researched.

That was the only way he could think of it.

‘The winner is once again Adol Smith of the Kingdom of Lionel!’

‘Waaaaaaaah!’

While Charles was thinking that, even the second Black Knight who went up was defeated by Adol without much effort.

And then the third match began.

‘Once again, Adol of the Kingdom of Lionel takes the victory!’

‘Adol is the best! Isn’t Adol going to sweep them all by himself?’

‘He looks a little tired?’

‘Adol is putting his helmet back on!’

‘Looks like he’s going out for the fourth match!’

‘Waaaaaaaah!’

Charles bit his lip and looked at the fallen Black Knights.

It was an indelible disgrace.

The fact that three Black Knights had fallen one after another to one knight from the Kingdom of Lionel would surely be talked about for a long time among the Imperials, dirtying his ears.

Charles looked at the fourth Black Knight who was coming forward. A handsome man with fine facial features and long hair; only a few people within the Black Knights knew that he was a 6-star knight.

‘The fourth runner from the Hamel Empire is Yuran Krigs! Adol Smith of the Kingdom of Lionel is still up!’

‘Waaaaaaaah!’

‘Go, Adol! Let’s go for the all-win!’

‘The game is over, Evan Lionel.’

Like any martial art, the moment the Black Flame Spear Technique reaches its peak, the weaknesses cease to be weaknesses. Trying to exploit the weaknesses could lead to falling into a fatal trap.

Yuran was a Black Knight who had reached the 6-star level, unlike the three Adol had faced before.

The weaknesses of the Black Flame Spear Technique that the Lionel knight had been exploiting would now become a fatal trap waiting for its prey.

Thinking that, Charles looked at Evan.

‘He’s smiling?’

Evan was looking at him with a smile, as if looking at a cute little kid.

***

‘Will the kingdom’s knight, Adol Smith, be able to win the fourth match! Let the sparring begin.’

Count Royce, who was supposed to proceed from a neutral standpoint as much as possible, began to utter nationalistic remarks at some point.

He had become intoxicated by Adol’s performance, who had been continuously defeating the Black Knights.

But.

‘Unfortunately, Adol has been defeated. I guess he was too tired?’

Adol’s performance ended here.

He was defeated in the sparring match, eventually falling on his butt after being toyed with by the spear of the Empire’s Black Knight, Yuran.

The next knight to go up after Adol was Sophia.

‘Ah… Sophia is out of bounds.’

She, who boasted quick swordsmanship, was only able to defend without making a single attack before falling out of the arena.

A humiliating defeat.

‘Ah, Vernon drops the Great Halberd to the ground. Another victory for Yuran.’

Vernon was the same.

Dropping a weapon during a sparring match was even more humiliating than being beaten and defeated. Vernon eventually dropped the Azure Flame Great Halberd to Yuran’s spear, which relentlessly attacked his backhand and wrists.

Lastly, Berok.

He was unilaterally beaten like a mad dog being beaten.

Relentlessly, to the point where he wouldn’t fall down on purpose.

Before the sparring began, it seemed like Berok had provoked Yuran with something that only he could hear, and it seemed to be because of that.

Swoosh- Thwack!

Berok’s face, revealed as his helmet flew off, was so battered that it was unrecognizable.

If he continued, he might really die. I signaled to Gallard, the commander of the Azure Lion Knights, who was watching the sparring.

He nodded after hesitating whether to intervene or not, then jumped into the arena and stopped the sparring.

‘Kuaaaa! I haven’t fallen yet!’

‘Stop it, Berok.’

‘I can still fight-‘

Thwack-!

Berok lost consciousness and collapsed from Gallard’s clean hand strike.

‘Yuran wins again.’

Count Royce’s bland voice, which had been intoxicated by Adol’s performance until just now. But the subtle resentment hidden within it could not be concealed.

‘That’s the real Black Knight of the Empire…’

‘Were the others just reserves until now?’

The kingdom’s citizens became as quiet as mice.

I got up from the platform and took off my cloak. The armor I had worn while the sparring arena was being set up reflected the sunlight.

People started whispering again.

‘Looks like the prince is really going to go out.’

‘Will he be okay?’

‘But I’m a little suspicious of that Black Knight. Isn’t the difference in level between him and the three Adol faced earlier too great?’

‘That’s right! He’s definitely a 6-star knight! He’s definitely hiding his level.’

‘Where’s the rule that allows such cheating!’

The words I heard while going down to the arena.

There were quite a few people who suspected Yuran’s level, who showed a clear difference in skill from the previous Black Knights.

‘The last runner of the kingdom is the proud Crown Prince of the kingdom, Evan Lionel.’

After stepping into the arena, I glanced at the blood Berok had spilled and opened my mouth to Yuran.

‘To continue to torment an opponent you could have finished off early, you have quite the bad taste.’

‘Unlike the previous knights, he didn’t know his place and kept climbing up. I was just giving him an education.’

‘I see, education… That’s a good word.’

I put on my helmet and drew my sword.

It was an ordinary guard knight’s sword, not [Barisada]. I didn’t want to hear later that I won because of the famed sword.

Yuran also took his spear in hand and took a stance.

***

Charles frowned as he watched Evan point his sword at Yuran.

He had ordered Yuran, a 6-star knight who had hidden his skills, to take the opportunity to make it impossible for any knight from Lionel to use magic again.

But.

‘There’s no knight hiding his skills?’

Charles clicked his tongue.

He had ears to hear.

Yuran, who had toyed with the knights of Lionel, including Adol, who had defeated three Black Knights in a row. There were more than a few people who doubted his level.

It was clearly a losing game for him.

‘Let the sparring match between Yuran Krigs and Crown Prince Evan Lionel begin!’

In Charles’s opinion, Evan had already gotten everything he wanted.

It was clear that after they returned to the Empire, they would drive the public opinion of their country by saying that the despicable Black Knights had participated in the sparring match while hiding their skills.

‘And Evan Lionel, you will be remembered as a brave Crown Prince who faced a 6-star knight without fear.’

It was like he had been happily playing on the playground that Evan had set up. Charles gritted his teeth and watched the scene of Yuran’s spear aiming for Evan’s side.

Evan would struggle to defend against Yuran’s attacks a few times and then retreat at an appropriate point.

Swoosh- Clang!

‘Keugh!’

That was what was supposed to happen.

‘!!’

Why was Yuran flying through the air, who was attacking?

Thud! Roll.

Charles stared blankly at Yuran’s helmet rolling in the arena. Next to it, he saw a small object sparkling in the sunlight.

It was Yuran’s pearly white tooth.