The Bastard Swordsman Of The Imperial Guard [EN]: Chapter 139

Going back a bit, to when the top four matches of the Dragon Phoenix Tournament had concluded.

Bellen opened his eyes in the healing ward of the Carmen Knights.

“…”

Bellen frowned, feeling the unyielding stiffness of his muscles.

An unprecedented pain weighed down his body.

It had been over a week since he was confined to the sickbed.

The gap between Raelle and Bellen was vast.

“Damn it…”

However, more agonizing than the physical pain was his mental state.

The captain of the Carmen Knights’ First Division had failed to win the Dragon Phoenix Tournament.

This wounded his pride and crushed the self-esteem he held as a knight.

‘What exactly did I lack?’

Bellen had walked a path befitting an elite noble.

In that process, his dream of knighthood was prioritized, but there were times when he had to set aside his knightly duties for the sake of the Empire.

Everything was for the Carmen Knights and the Empire.

‘The Dragon Phoenix Tournament is over… but it’s still okay. Nothing has changed.’

Bellen barely managed to suppress the shameful memory of his defeat in the Dragon Phoenix Tournament.

He was the proud captain of the First Division of the Carmen Knights, the best knight order in the Carmen Empire.

He couldn’t be broken just because he had experienced failure.

‘From now on, I just need to walk a path that is not shameful for a Carmen Knight.’

Bellen resolved as he got up from the healing ward.

It had been almost a month since the Dragon Phoenix Tournament ended.

However, there was no next opportunity for Bellen.

After the Dragon Phoenix Tournament, he was completely sidelined by the Carmen Knights.

“He was always acting up too much.”

“He was always pointing fingers as if he was something special, but he couldn’t even beat a commoner knight? Unbelievable.”

The Carmen Knights criticized him, but Bellen didn’t care.

He thought they would acknowledge him if he showed them results.

“Bellen.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“From today, you will be the captain of the Fourth Division.”

“… Me, the Fourth Division?”

The Fourth Division of the Carmen Knights.

It was a high position, but for someone who had been the captain of the First Division, taking on the Fourth Division was a humiliating demotion.

“I will not entertain any objections. This is a decision for the good of the Carmen Knights, so follow it.”

But when even Gideon turned his back on him,

Bellen’s heart was broken once again.

‘Is this the knighthood I desired?’

Bellen let out a hollow laugh.

After graduating from the academy, he devoted all his time to the Carmen Knights.

What he wanted was only one thing.

To become the knight he had dreamed of as a child.

He wanted to become an honorable person carrying the name of the thousand-year-old Carmen Empire on his back.

This was the result.

‘The righteous knight I had in mind… did not exist.’

Only then was Bellen able to shed the misguided notions that had filled his head.

The knighthood he was trying to protect was flawed from the start.

There was no knight in the Empire like the one Bellen had imagined.

Everyone pursues their own honor and success.

In that flow, what was wrong was not the world, but himself.

“…Today’s training will be conducted autonomously.”

Several months had passed since the Dragon Phoenix Tournament ended.

Bellen, who had ordered autonomous training for the Fourth Division, went out into the streets.

The atmosphere in the Empire was quite tense recently.

The saintess and hero of the Gaia Order had appeared, and with the war against the demons imminent, the Carmen Knights had to lead the training as representatives of the Allied Forces.

‘It’s none of my business anyway.’

Once, he thought he was the protagonist of the Empire, but Bellen was just an ordinary knight.

His life was stained with a sense of defeat.

But at that moment.

– Long live, long live, long long live!

The Demonic Cults, who had been rampaging across the continent, appeared in the Empire.

‘A terror attack…?!’

Bellen drew his sword without realizing it.

The fire in his eyes had already faded, but the last vestige of knighthood in his heart instinctively told him to save people.

‘Damn it. Where are the Carmen Knights at a time like this?’

Bellen bit his lip.

The Carmen Knights, who should have been protecting the capital of the Empire, were away from the capital for the training of the Allied Forces.

Bellen, who had been excluded from the training, had to protect the people of the Empire.

‘I have no choice. Even if it’s just me….’

Bellen gripped his sword tightly.

Could he defeat those Demonic Cults alone?

If he ran away now, he could save his life.

Would that really be a wrong decision?

At the moment Bellen was agonizing.

Whoosh-

Overwhelming divine power covered the streets.

“…!”

The hero of the Gaia Order, Raelle.

He was in a higher position than anyone else, yet he appeared before the Demonic Cults without any hesitation.

“…Sir Raelle.”

Bellen widened his eyes as he watched the hero of the Gaia Order, who was at the forefront of fighting the Demonic Cults.

After the Dragon Phoenix Tournament, he thought that the knighthood he had in mind was wrong.

But what was wrong was not knighthood itself.

Bellen had simply been making excuses for his own shortcomings.

‘That is true knighthood….’

Only then was Bellen able to find his true conviction.

If the world was wrong, he had to take the lead.

‘…I was not wrong.’

He was just lacking courage.

Watching him, Bellen realized the true meaning of the knighthood he had been pursuing.

After the paladins who had arrived had swept away the Demonic Cults,

Bellen recalled the scene on the street from his lodgings.

“Sir Raelle….”

His image lingered in Bellen’s mind.

If his knighthood was not wrong, he could learn from Raelle as he walked the right path.

“…Let’s go see him.”

Bellen rushed out of his lodgings.

The face of the knight, who had been overwhelmed by a sense of defeat for months, was now filled with hope.

*

“I sincerely hope that I can be of some help to Sir Raelle.”

Bellen bowed his head deeply after finishing his story.

He knew it was a nuisance to come so suddenly.

Bellen was a member of the Carmen Knights who had tried to kill Raelle.

He would have no grounds for complaint even if Raelle turned him away.

“…It’s a very heartbreaking story, but how can you help me?”

“Yes?”

“I understand your mindset, but what can you do for me?”

Raelle stared intently at Bellen.

At first, he thought Bellen was trying to get revenge, but he was taken aback when Bellen suddenly came and confessed his change of heart regarding knighthood.

‘I don’t particularly like this guy, but I don’t want to be hostile now.’

To be honest, Raelle wasn’t very interested in Bellen right now.

He was the one who stole his chance at recognition, but now that Raelle has become a hero, it doesn’t matter who killed Baslerod.

So, if Bellen’s story isn’t helpful to him, there’s no need to listen to it.

“…”

For Bellen, coming to see Raelle was also an impulsive act.

However, he did not come to see Raelle without any thought.

“Before Sir Raelle was appointed as a hero, I heard that the commander made a mistake during a sparring session with Sir Raelle.”

“That’s right.”

Raelle quietly waited for Bellen’s next words.

“…Sir Raelle. I don’t think that was a mistake. Because it had happened before.”

Bellen swallowed and took out a sword from his chest.

The sword Bellen used in the Dragon Phoenix Tournament.

He had never touched it until now, trying to forget the defeat of that day.

In other words, the traces of that day remained intact on the sword.

The Lonely Poison of the Black Dragon that Bellen used is a potent poison created by worms that feed on the corpses of dead dragons.

It couldn’t have disappeared just because it had been neglected for a few months.

It was the only piece of evidence left among the many things that the meticulous Gideon had done.

“This is…? Sir Raelle. I sense an ominous energy.”

Lucas frowned as he looked at the sword.

Even to his senses, it didn’t seem like an ordinary sword.

“The Lonely Poison of the Black Dragon. It is a potent poison that can only be obtained from the corpses of extinct dragons, and it is something that an ordinary knight can never obtain. That day when I competed with Sir Raelle in the Dragon Phoenix Tournament… it is something that the commander gave me.”

Bellen bowed his head deeply.

It was not easy for him as a knight to directly confess that he had used poison.

However, he had to do this to grow further.

“The Lonely Poison of the Black Dragon… I see. I thought the sword was suspicious. The Carmen Knights were also in charge of inspecting the weapons that day, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. But there will be no knights who know this story.”

Weapon inspections could be suppressed with Bellen’s authority.

That’s why this sword was the only evidence.

“I’m sorry. Sir Raelle. This is the only help I can offer.”

Bellen bowed his head once again.

And Raelle nodded as he received the sword he had handed over.

‘Not bad?’

With this sword and the data prepared by Beggars [an information guild], he will be able to bring Gideon down.

The lack of evidence could be covered by the revelation of Gaia [the goddess of the Gaia Order].

“Hey. Bellen.”

“Yes. Sir Raelle.”

“You said you wanted to understand knighthood? From now on, you will be a witness to the hero who received the revelation.”

“Yes?”

Bellen blinked.

*

The Demonic Cults that appeared in the imperial capital.

And the disappearance of some of the Vanessa Kingdom delegation.

The continental allied forces, whose preparations were almost complete.

It was only natural that another meeting would be held due to these various events.

Raelle entered the venue, recalling his meeting with Bellen a few days ago.

‘There is enough evidence.’

With the data collected by Beggars and Bellen’s testimony, the revelation will also be strengthened.

Now is the time to tell others about his plan.

“Raelle. Congratulations. Here, take this.”

As soon as he entered the venue, a familiar voice greeted Raelle.

Rain handed Raelle, who had just arrived, something that looked like a newspaper.

“Commander. What is this?”

“It’s a newspaper published by the Black Crow [another information guild], the largest newspaper company in the Empire. Check it out.”

“Black Crow? Aren’t they an information guild?”

Raelle had a pretty good memory.

Wasn’t Black Crow the Haomun guys who were fighting Beggars?

“They couldn’t beat Beggars inside the Empire, so they turned to the press. Don’t you know? Read some newspapers, Raelle.”

“…How would I know something like that?”

Raelle chuckled and checked the newspaper.

Even before opening the newspaper, he could see a large article title.

[Black Crow Selects Top 7 of the Continent]

“Top 7 of the Continent? What is this?”

“It’s the 7 strongest warriors on the continent. Raelle. Aren’t you excited?”

“…I can roughly guess since you’re showing this to me.”

Raelle opened the newspaper and checked the contents.

Top 7 of the Empire. It was an article worthy of the name.

———————————————

Black Crow Selects Top 7 of the Continent.

1. The Continent’s Greatest Swordsman. [Celestial Slaughter Sword Lord]

2. Carmen Knights Commander. [Gideon Garcia]

3. Vanessa Kingdom’s Greatest Swordsman. [Sword Dragon]

4. Jeongcheon Alliance Lord. [Mucheon]

5. Rain Knights Commander. [Rain]

6. Silver Cross Knights Commander. [Marco]

7. Hero of Exorcism. [Raelle]

———————————————

Raelle chuckled and put down the newspaper.

In front of him was Rain, smiling broadly.

“What are you so excited about, Commander?”

“Raelle. The continent has finally recognized me. Of course, being in the top 7 of the Empire is not a low ranking at all. Keep up the good work.”

Rain patted Raelle on the shoulder and encouraged him.

With Raelle’s talent, he could raise his ranking at any time.

Of course! It will take quite some time to surpass him, who firmly holds the 5th place.

“Geez… Come to think of it, what is the Hero of Exorcism?”

Raelle frowned as he looked at the modifier attached to his name.

He was glad that he was called the Three Heroes of the Empire less often since he became the hero of the Gaia Order, but another terrible title was created.

“The place where you stopped the terror attack had the most Demonic Cults. The reporters who saw you single-handedly suppressing the demonic energy of hundreds of Demonic Cults were all impressed. Ah, by the way, you were ranked 7th thanks to the Soma Association guaranteeing your strength. Be grateful, Raelle.”

“What is that… Haa. Never mind. Yes. Thank you.”

Raelle sighed.

To be honest, Raelle had no idea how strong he was.

Raelle checked the name of Gideon Garcia, who proudly held the 2nd place in the Empire.

‘If I can use Hoicheon [a special skill] now… it would be quite a good fight.’

Hoicheon is not just an effective domain when the surrounding power is strong.

It is also a strong domain when stabbing a dagger into an opponent who knows nothing.

“Commander.”

Raelle closed the newspaper.

“Hehe. Ah, are you talking to me? I’m Rain, the 5th strongest in the Empire.”

“Stop talking nonsense and let’s go in. Didn’t I say I had something important to say today?”

“That’s right, you did. What’s wrong?”

“You’ll know when you come in.”

Raelle entered the venue.

Today, he did not go straight to the Gaia Order side, but walked to where the nobles of the Empire were gathered.

Creak-

When he opened the door to one of the reception rooms used by the nobles, familiar faces were visible.

“Mr. Raelle. You’ve arrived.”

“Yes, Your Highness Yuriel.”

“Congratulations on being selected as one of the Top 7 of the Empire.”

“…Thank you.”

Even the Second Princess knew about the Top 7 of the Continent or whatever.

Was Black Crow that influential?

Raelle and Rain bowed their heads lightly and sat down.

Grand Duke Eric was also sitting next to Yuriel.

“Raelle. Didn’t you say you had something to say?”

Eric looked at Raelle and opened his mouth.

Since they had gathered at his call, he thought he would say something important.

“Yes. I have something to tell you.”

Raelle sat down and looked around.

There were no traces of magic or eavesdropping.

“Today, I will bring down Gideon Garcia.”

Raelle smiled confidently.