Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 119

119

‘Huh?’

Flying through the air, Yuren’s consciousness flickered for a moment. He quickly regained his senses, the intense sunlight stinging his eyes, and recalled the events that had just transpired.

Evan hadn’t bothered defending against his spear aimed at his side; instead, he chose to attack, and he succeeded.

It was a simple fact, yet utterly absurd.

‘He was faster than my spear?’

Even though he was controlling his mana to match his 5-star knight days, it shouldn’t have been possible.

Back then, he was among the top three fastest black knights. Aside from the commander and vice-commander, no one could wield a spear faster than him.

But it had actually happened.

And…

‘He deliberately reduced his power at the last moment!’

Yuren slammed his spear into the ground.

Shwaa- Crack!

Using the spear as leverage, he regained his balance and landed nimbly on the arena floor like a cat.

He noticed his helmet and broken teeth.

Yuren glared at Evan, his eyes twitching.

“Oh dear, such a handsome face, what a pity about the missing teeth. And your helmet came off too; shouldn’t we stop the duel?”

Evan taunted.

Yuren spat out blood and gripped his spear.

That was answer enough.

“Don’t worry. I’ll try to avoid your face.”

The way to win the duel was clear.

The opponent becomes incapacitated, surrenders, or the opposing side’s 7-star knight, who was on standby, judges that the duel cannot continue and intervenes.

Evan didn’t seem to think he would lose at all.

Yuren thought he knew why.

‘A knight hiding his skills, and a crown prince, no less.’

He couldn’t be a 6-star knight.

Body, mind, and mana.

If any of those three are lacking, one cannot reach the level of a 6-star knight. The human body is usually completed around the age of 20.

Of course, some people are born with bodies that develop faster, but even then, 16 was too early.

Still, it was only a matter of time before the crown prince reached the realm of 6 stars. His vessel might not be complete yet, but it was clear that he was already overflowing with content to fill it.

‘Another one like the prince.’

The world is wide, and monsters are plentiful.

-Yuren, if there is a knight during the duel who is judged to be hiding his skills, make sure to leave him unable to use mana ever again.

Charles’s words echoed in his mind.

He never went back on his word. Not even if the target was a crown prince instead of a regular knight.

Yuren glanced at the 7-star knights of the Lionel Kingdom.

It would be very difficult to carry out the prince’s orders without using aura and avoiding their eyes.

‘Not impossible, though.’

At the decisive moment, he could unlock the body’s restraints. Like the moment his spear pierced Evan’s heart.

“Come on, hurry up and ‘educate’ me again.”

“······.”

The crown prince’s composure must come from the delusion that he knows all the forms of the Black Flame Spear. He just needed to use ‘that’.

As long as he didn’t use aura, there would be no problem.

It would just be written off as an unfortunate accident during the duel.

***

Yuren’s cold gaze felt like it was touching my heart.

It felt strangely throbbing.

I could clearly read his thoughts.

Taat-!

Yuren shot off the ground. He was gripping the spear extremely short.

‘He’s going to use Black Dragon Cannon?’

The superior spear technique Black Dragon Spear, which Charles created to complement the Black Flame Spear. Its first form, Black Dragon Cannon, is the fastest thrust I know, targeting the opponent’s vitals.

The scary thing about Black Dragon Cannon is that the spear, fired like a bullet from close range, targets the vitals faster than a mana cannon.

But.

‘That’s only when you’re in range.’

Ching-! Ching-! Kkaang─!

I maintained a precarious distance with a relaxed expression, deflecting Yuren’s spear.

“Kuh.”

Yuren gritted his teeth.

He must be going crazy.

So close yet so far, his tongue must be parched.

“Kuaaaat!”

Shwaaek- Shwaaeeeek-

The speed at which Yuren moved his spear increased.

A speed that a normal 5-star knight could only achieve by consuming their life force. Was he planning to claim he had burned his life force after the duel?

It was slowly becoming difficult to keep up with his speed.

‘I should stop playing around here.’

I slightly brought Heart Piercer to the edge of Black Dragon Cannon’s range.

Yuren’s eyes widened, and a smile formed on his lips.

The moment his spear, gripped short, was ‘fired’ at my heart.

‘Evan Style Lionel Imperial Swordsmanship, Form 3, Flash.’

The fastest thrust among all the martial arts I know—swordsmanship, spear technique, archery, throwing knives—aimed at the tip of Yuren’s spear as it was being fired.

A technique possible only because he was certain that he was aiming for my heart.

The colliding spear and sword shattered, scattering fragments in all directions.

Yuren’s expression was one of shock.

The missing tooth made it strangely funny.

Kkakagagagang─! Clang!

Belatedly, the sound of the sword and spear breaking echoed through the arena.

Weaponless, I grinned and punched Yuren directly in the face.

Imperial Fist Technique, Form 1, Nuclear Punch.

I just made it up.

My attack accurately struck Yuren’s face, and I pleasantly heard the sound of his nose breaking and teeth being knocked out.

***

-Sir Yuren Kreutz of the Hamel Empire has lost consciousness! His Highness Crown Prince Evan Lionel is the victor!!

-Waaaaaaa!

-Long live His Highness the Crown Prince!

To the Lionel Kingdom’s people, who didn’t know Evan’s true intentions, it was a victory that made their hearts pound.

Even the 7-star knights of the Lionel Kingdom, Galad and Derek, who were on standby to stop the duel at any moment, were twitching, so how much more so the commoners.

Evan took off his helmet and bowed to the audience.

Charles briefly met his eyes, smirked, and turned away.

Charles’s eyes darkened.

He had met countless knights, so-called geniuses, in the Hamel Empire, which has the largest population in the world. The exact number isn’t even statistically captured.

None of them were satisfactory.

At best, the three commanders of the Imperial Knights. He somewhat acknowledged them. But they were just born earlier.

Charles was confident that he could make them all kneel within the next 10 years.

But.

‘The frog in the well… was me.’

Defeating the Black Flame Spear could be understood as the spear technique being leaked. But blocking Yuren’s Black Dragon Cannon was a different story.

It was an unknown technique.

Blocking it meant it was solely Evan’s power. Although it was still being improved, his own spear technique was miserably defeated by Evan.

To think he would meet someone who would ring alarm bells in his head in a small country with a land and population that didn’t even reach half of one province in the Hamel Empire!

-The last contender from the Hamel Empire! Sir Monsna Yorick is coming up!

Monsna, like Yuren, was a 6-star knight.

He, too, would not be a match for Evan under the restriction that he could not use aura.

‘His compatibility is bad.’

Monsna was among the top in the Black Knights when it came to pure power. But no matter how strong you are, it only matters if you can hit.

There was no way Evan, who had easily avoided Yuren’s spear, would allow his attacks.

Charles’s eyes, watching Evan pick up his sword, resembled those of a beast.

A beast never lets a young beast that could grow up to be a threat survive. In Charles’s eyes, Evan was a lion just before adulthood.

It wasn’t too late yet.

He could kill him now without much effort.

He could kill him, but…

‘How do I kill him?’

He could easily kill him, but there was no way to kill him.

Charles frowned at the contradictory situation.

The Emperor of the Empire was still going strong, having had his 58th princess just two months ago. Above him were more than 10 princes ready to tear each other apart at any moment.

The events that had taken place in the Lionel Kingdom so far were already difficult to manage.

His mind was busy searching for a way to kill Evan. No suitable method came to mind.

‘If that guy had come with me, he would have come up with a good plan.’

His bag of tricks, who was probably out drinking with women at a tavern in the capital at this very moment.

Less than a friend, more than a subordinate.

Klaus Lovitz, the eighth son of the prime minister.

One of the very few people who knew that Charles was an 8-star knight.

-Why are you going to that small country? There are already many people looking at you with suspicious eyes, Prince Charles, why don’t you just go drink with me.

He didn’t like the idea of Charles going to the Lionel Kingdom to see Evan. That’s why he had left him behind, which he now deeply regretted.

While Charles was thinking that.

The duel between Evan and Monsna was heading towards its end.

Booom─ Monsna’s spear shaft missed widely.

Wiiiiiiiiing─!

Evan’s sword emitted a strange cry.

‘Aura?!’

The members of the delegation who knew how to handle swords, including Charles, widened their eyes and jumped to their feet.

‘No! It’s swordsmanship.’

It wasn’t ordinary swordsmanship.

That thing rapidly swirling around the sword was similar enough to aura to be mistaken for it.

Kwaang! Kkakagagang-!

A roar that was hard to believe came from a clash between a spear and a sword echoed.

Crack- Ujijik.

-Ah! Sir Monsna’s spear is breaking!

After that, it was one-sided.

Peok! Peok! Peok!

-His Highness the Crown Prince is unilaterally beating Sir Monsna! Sir Monsna! He’s curled up and getting hit.

Peok! Peok! Peok······.

-Ah! His Highness the Crown Prince is withdrawing his sword. Sir Monsna, he wasn’t moving at all. It seems he has lost consciousness.

Charles closed his eyes.

The faces of the insects who would whisper about him and the Black Knights after returning to the Empire came to mind.

-Hehehe, serves them right.

-The Black Knights? If they don’t have the skills, they have to be barbaric and cruel.

-Prince Charles! What kind of disgrace did you suffer in a small country like Lionel!

-I wonder if we should keep the Black Knights, who have tarnished the Empire’s honor.

Tuduk.

Charles thought he heard something tearing in his head.

It was the string of reason.

Fortunately, it didn’t completely snap. The proof was that he didn’t jump into the arena and behead Evan.

Still, thanks to that, he made a decision.

He had to crush him.

Even if he couldn’t kill him.

‘At the very least, I have to make him unable to use mana ever again.’

He slowly rose from his seat as instructed by his instincts.

***

An unexpected situation occurred.

((Crown Prince, he wasn’t a 5-star knight. The Black Knight’s spear surrounded by swordsmen can’t be broken unless it’s aura.))

My original plan was for Charles, who had lost face because of the Black Knights’ miserable defeat in the gauntlet match, to change the lineup for the captain’s match and step up himself.

I didn’t expect him to suddenly object, saying that I wasn’t at the 5-star level.

((I have never used aura.))

((But you can display skills equivalent to aura. Or can’t you?))

Charles slowly came down from the platform and entered the arena. He picked up Monsna’s broken spear that was lying there.

((Is this how you do it?))

Wiiiiing─

A thread of mana began to spin from the broken spear in his hand.

((It’s only this much because I’m not used to it. It’s a technique that you don’t need to use unless you’re a crown prince who ‘deliberately’ hasn’t embraced the sixth star because your body isn’t complete.))

How did he know that I deliberately wasn’t reaching the realm of 6 stars?

Was he just guessing?

Charles swung the spear a few times and nodded.

((Even a decent 6-star knight can’t even imitate wielding a weapon while maintaining this state. But if the crown prince can handle this technique to this extent, he can sufficiently fight a 6-star knight even if he can’t use aura. Or can’t he?))

No matter how I looked at it, it seemed that if I answered ‘yes’ here, the captain’s match would be between him and me.

I glanced at Reina.

Her efforts to train for two months for the duel with Charles would disappear in vain.

But.

I couldn’t miss this opportunity.

((I can’t say no. However, that’s only if I use my sword instead of this.))

Originally, I was going to stop at revealing that he had surpassed the ‘7-star’ level through Reina······.

Now that it’s come to this, Charles Hamel, I’ll reveal all the secrets you’re hiding to the world.