The Bastard Swordsman Of The Imperial Guard [EN]: Chapter 85

< Dragon Phoenix Assembly >

“Infuse your divine power with rage! With the power of the main god Gaia, we shall destroy the evils of the continent! Like this!”

KWA-AAAAANG!

Carlson’s divine power sword aura cleaved the steel training dummy in two.

The Silver Cross Knights widened their eyes at the incredible power of his divine energy.

“Incredible. He truly is the hope of the Silver Cross Knights, Sir Carlson.”

“I heard he goes to District 4 every night to vent his anger. He must be judging the wicked who torment the people of the Empire!”

The Silver Cross Knights, who initially hadn’t recognized Carlson, now acknowledged him.

Carlson didn’t discriminate against others based on their background or age. He even taught the divine power sword aura to those who had scorned him, treating everyone fairly.

Carlson was a paladin more sincere than anyone else.

“Bullshit.”

“Excuse me? Sir Raiel, what did you say just now?”

“It was nothing.”

Raiel watched Carlson teaching the divine power sword aura to the Silver Cross Knights and chuckled in disbelief.

Strange stories had begun circulating within the Order, and before he knew it, Carlson had become the hope of the Silver Cross Knights.

He was even rumored to be going to District 4 every day to judge evildoers.

‘He’s going there to gamble, you idiots.’

He wanted to tell the Silver Cross Knights the truth right away, but he held back for Carlson’s sake.

Even if Carlson was an idiot, he was a good person.

“Like this! This is how you do it!”

“Carlson, don’t break the training ground equipment too much.”

“Ah, I’m sorry, Commander.”

“There’s no need to apologize. I know best how diligently you’re training.”

Even Commander Marco was looking at Carlson with warm eyes.

That must mean the divine power sword aura was truly amazing.

‘It is fascinating, though.’

Carlson, who had been a minor character, was now becoming the center of the Order.

If Raiel hadn’t been there, he would have been killed by the Inquisitors.

It felt strange that Raiel had changed the predetermined future with his own hands.

“Raiel, what do you think of the divine power sword aura training?”

“Ah, Commander. It’s definitely impressive. That Carlson guy is capable when he puts his mind to it.”

“I was very worried at first. But now, he has become a knight more outstanding than anyone else. Raiel, it must be because you gave him good guidance.”

“Haha, not at all, Commander.”

Raiel smiled at Marco.

Come to think of it, this man used to go crazy at the sight of demons, but now he was very gentle.

He must have played a significant role in that as well.

‘What, am I saving the Order at this point?’

The thought suddenly occurred to him.

If Raiel hadn’t been there, both the pathetic Empire and the pathetic Order would have suffered tremendous damage.

‘Damn, I can’t even charge them for it.’

But it was frustrating because there was no way to prove it.

“Hmm…”

Meanwhile, Marco stared intently at Raiel’s back.

The one who killed the demon Bathold recently.

Marco was certain it was Raiel.

‘As expected, Raiel, you are a great swordsman.’

He had felt an aura like that of the Heavenly Demon Sword Lord from the first time he saw Raiel.

That energy was growing stronger, and now the sharp force was reaching even Marco.

Marco trusted his instincts and was sure it was Raiel.

“Thank you for always raising the name of the Order, Raiel.”

However, he had no intention of bringing it up.

Currently, he was only interested in serving the Order.

To help the Order, he thought it was better not to provoke Raiel.

‘However… I would like to have a fair duel at least once.’

At times like this, he resented his position as the Commander of the Silver Cross Knights.

He represented the Silver Cross Knights.

Even if he won against Raiel, he would gain nothing, and if he lost or only matched him, it could damage the Order’s image.

So, he had to be patient.

Marco swallowed his disappointment and turned his head.

“Training is over for today. Use the remaining time for autonomous training. If you don’t know something, you can always come to me.”

Just in time, the training ended.

Carlson approached him.

“Commander, you’re working hard!”

“You’ve worked hard, Carlson.”

“Yes! Ah, Brother Raiel! How is my training?!”

“It’s more impressive than I thought.”

Raiel chuckled and looked at Carlson.

He smiled brightly at Raiel’s compliment, as if he couldn’t be happier.

“Kuhaha! Brother, please treat me with more respect from now on. I’m at this level in the Order.”

“Carlson, it’s true that you’re great, but Raiel is the next Hero. What nonsense are you spouting to the next Hero?”

“Ah, I’m sorry, Commander.”

“…I’m not the next Hero.”

Raiel sighed at Marco’s words.

Why were the Order guys so eager to make him a Hero whenever they saw him?

He had to leave that position for Lucas.

Step. Step.

“May Gaia’s blessings be with you… All the warriors representing the Order are gathered here. It’s a miraculous thing.”

At that moment, a clergyman with a benevolent face approached.

“Cardinal Angelo. Gaia-men [Followers of Gaia]. It’s been a while.”

“Haha, I came to tell Commander Marco something… Sir Raiel, Sir Carlson. Could you excuse us for a moment?”

“Yes, of course. Let’s go, Carlson.”

“Understood! Brother, let’s get some food.”

“You’re paying, right?”

“…Why do I always have to pay?”

Carlson looked aggrieved.

Someone with more money than him was always trying to get a free meal. Something was wrong.

“Cardinal Angelo. Isn’t it a story related to these two anyway? These two are trustworthy people.”

“Ah, I said that for the Commander’s sake. If the Commander is okay with it, please come here as well.”

“A story related to us?”

Raiel turned his head and looked at them.

He didn’t know about Carlson, but did he have to listen to the Order’s important affairs as well?

“It’s about the Dragon Phoenix Assembly.”

“I knew it would be about that.”

Marco nodded at Angelo’s words.

Dragon Phoenix Assembly.

A tournament held every four years where young warriors from the continent gathered.

Recently, he had heard a lot about the tournament.

“Dragon Phoenix Assembly? Brother, isn’t that quite a while away?”

“…How would I know.”

Raiel already had a headache.

He was annoyed that such a tournament even existed in this world.

“Carlson is right. The Dragon Phoenix Assembly is still more than two months away.”

The Dragon Phoenix Assembly was usually held just before winter, so there was still about two months to spare.

“Yes. However, a message has just arrived from the Imperial Palace. They want to move the Dragon Phoenix Assembly forward by about a month, so they asked us to postpone the selection of the Hero until after that.”

“…The selection of the Hero? For the Imperial Palace to interfere with the Order’s events. Does that make sense? We must protest strongly.”

Marco frowned at Cardinal Angelo’s words.

He was already angry at the Empire for not properly preventing the demons’ invasion, and if they extended their hand to the Order’s affairs, he couldn’t stand it.

“There is a justification. This Dragon Phoenix Assembly is a tournament commemorating the Empire’s founding emperor, and they plan to hold it on a larger and more splendid scale than ever before. As it is an important event, they ask for the Order’s understanding.”

“…The Imperial Palace has bowed its head first.”

Marco made an uncomfortable expression.

If the Imperial Palace bowed its head first, the Order had to make some concessions.

After all, the Order existed within the Empire.

“Yes. It seems they have another purpose.”

“The fact that they specifically asked to postpone the selection of the Hero means they want to push someone in the Dragon Phoenix Assembly.”

“I thought so too. They’re probably planning to attract the attention of the Empire’s citizens by holding a large event, and then naturally lead the winner of the Dragon Phoenix Assembly to be selected as the Hero.”

Marco and Angelo continued their conversation with serious expressions.

‘Dragon Phoenix Assembly, huh…’

Raiel also listened to their conversation and pondered.

‘For a tournament that doesn’t even appear in the original story, is it larger in scale than I thought?’

From the name, it sounded like a pathetic tournament, and since it didn’t appear in the original story, he thought it wasn’t a big deal… But seeing Angelo and Marco worrying, it seemed to be a bigger tournament than he thought.

“Commander. Is the Dragon Phoenix Assembly that big of a tournament?”

Raiel looked at Marco and asked.

“It wasn’t originally this big. Some knights highly value it as a historically significant tournament, but there are many similar tournaments throughout the continent.”

“…Commander Lane made it sound like a huge tournament.”

“Commander Lane? He won the Dragon Phoenix Assembly. It’s natural for him to highly value the tournament he won.”

“….”

No wonder.

There was no way such a pathetic tournament would be held globally.

It was a fairly well-known tournament, but it seemed it wasn’t a tournament that Lucas would necessarily participate in.

“But… this tournament is different.”

“Why?”

“Since the Imperial Palace is holding it on a massive scale, this Dragon Phoenix Assembly will be bigger than any other tournament. The cancellation of the Celestial Tournament will probably play a role as well. They need to show the Empire’s strength. Moreover, the fact that the Imperial Palace directly mentioned postponing the Hero’s appointment… They’re probably planning to push someone from the Imperial Palace.”

“The Imperial Palace is pushing a Hero? Hmm. That’s interesting.”

This was also the first time he had heard of this.

“Why are you talking like it’s someone else’s problem, Raiel? It’s because of you.”

“No, what did I do?”

“You may deny it, but it’s as good as decided that you are the next Hero, Raiel. The Empire doesn’t like that.”

“…I don’t want to be a Hero.”

Raiel rubbed his temples and felt a headache.

This damn world.

Why won’t they leave him alone?

He didn’t want to be a Hero even if they gave it to him, but he didn’t know why they were making such a fuss.

‘Just how far is this damn butterfly effect going to go?’

Because of Raiel’s existence, the demons’ invasions had increased, the Celestial Tournament had been canceled, and the Empire, wanting to put someone other than Raiel in the Order’s Hero position, had held a larger Dragon Phoenix Assembly.

In the end, it was all because of Raiel.

“It’s a good thing Sir Raiel and Sir Carlson are here. Shall we decide on a knight to represent the Gaia Order in the Dragon Phoenix Assembly?”

Angelo said with a smile.

Both of them were fine to represent the Order, but it wouldn’t look good for the religious group to send many knights, so he was thinking of sending only one.

“Carlson, do your best. I hope you will bring glory to the Order’s name.”

As soon as Raiel heard Cardinal Angelo’s words, he patted Carlson on the shoulder.

“Me?”

“Of course. You’re the hope of the Silver Cross Knights.”

“But Brother is much stronger than me. You sliced through that demon in one strike back then…”

“Hey, I told you not to talk about that!”

“Brother. Cardinal Fernando is talking about it every morning during dawn prayer anyway.”

“This damn…”

Why was that crazy pig cardinal talking about slicing demon heads during prayer time?

Raiel sighed and looked at Carlson.

“Anyway, Carlson. You’re a more suitable person to represent the Order than me. Cardinals and Commander, you’re okay with that, right?”

“I don’t think it would be strange for either of you to represent the Order.”

“Carlson. Have confidence. You are a skilled knight as well.”

“Ah, I understand…!”

Carlson nodded at Angelo and Marco’s words.

He was finally going to represent the Order! Eventually, this day would come!

‘How much is the prize money for winning… I heard even the runner-up gets a lot…’

Carlson clenched his fist, receiving the support of the three.

*

“Sir Raiel. Thank you so much…!”

Lucas looked at Raiel with shining eyes.

The Dragon Phoenix Assembly was in a month.

It was a huge tournament, so he was already interested in it, but thanks to Raiel, he was able to receive a recommendation from Grand Duke [A high-ranking noble, below royalty].

“It’s not a difficult thing.”

In a medieval fantasy where discrimination and inequality are commonplace, there is a huge difference between receiving a recommendation from a great noble or not.

Lucas would probably advance directly to the main tournament without going through the preliminaries.

That was the power of a recommendation.

“More than that, Lucas. There’s something I’m curious about.”

“Yes. Ask me anything.”

“Do you have any plans in about two months?”

He heard that the Dragon Phoenix Assembly in the original story was held in two months.

Raiel was curious about what Lucas would be doing at that time.

“Two months…? Ah, around that time, I’ll be on a deserted island for the academy graduation exam.”

“…The deserted island never fails to appear in the academy.”

Thinking about Lucas spending time with his girlfriends on a deserted island with no one around made him feel a little envious.

That was also a burden that the Hero had to bear.

“Brother Raiel. You’ve never even set foot in the Imperial Academy, have you? How do you know the academy curriculum?”

“There’s a way I know everything, so shut up. And I’ve been inside once, okay?”

He had gone inside once when calling for Lucas.

It was definitely a good place with facilities since it was only for nobles.

‘I now know why the Dragon Phoenix Assembly didn’t appear in the original story.’

The deserted island would be more fun than the Dragon Phoenix Assembly or whatever it was.

Besides, it wasn’t as big of a tournament as it was now.

“Brother. More than that, what are you going to do?”

“Dragon Phoenix Assembly?”

“Yes. Are you going to participate?”

“…I have to go.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Raiel had also made up his mind.

In fact, he was trying to escape somehow… but there was no paradise in the place he escaped to.

Everyone was already thinking about his participation.

If he pulled out here, he would attract more attention, and the Imperial Palace might play other strange tricks, so it was better for Raiel to step forward himself.

And if he really didn’t go, the image he had built up so far and the image of the Second Princess Yuri might be damaged.

If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it.

Raiel smiled and continued.

“And they say they’ll give me money if I beat up nobles legally, so why wouldn’t I go?”

“Oh…. Brother.”

“Yeah?”

“I knew I could talk to you. Haha. I’m going to beat the shit out of those noble bastards too.”

“Yeah. This is a rare opportunity.”

Raiel patted Carlson on the shoulder and nodded.

Of course, being able to beat up nobles was the biggest reason, but there were many things that bothered him about this Dragon Phoenix Assembly.

‘I’m also concerned about the guy the Imperial Palace is trying to push…’

Had he done anything that would be a problem for the Imperial Palace?

He hadn’t done anything at all.

Rather, he had killed the demons who had invaded the capital several times, so he should be praised.

‘There’s definitely an incident I don’t know about. Or… the Carmen Knights might have moved.’

The Carmen Knights were showing different actions from the original story.

There was a possibility that it was them this time as well.

Anyway, the Dragon Phoenix Assembly was not just a martial arts tournament. There was definitely another motive.

He would investigate through Bacchus and the Fighting God, but Raiel was also thinking of showing his face directly.

‘And I can beat up nobles.’

Of course, the fact that he could legally beat up nobles played a slightly bigger role for Raiel.

“Hehe. You bastards. Just you wait.”

“I won’t be lenient either. I’ll let those who don’t know the sadness of dice gambling know the horrors of the world. Hehe.”

“…”

Lucas, who was sitting across from the two commoners who were smiling sinisterly, had a dumbfounded expression.

‘Are they perhaps going to beat me up too?’

No way.

Lucas thought so, but he recalled the two’s usual behavior.

And he came to one conclusion.

The two were good people, but their personalities were flawed.

‘…Just in case, let’s not put down the sword when meeting the two.’

He felt fear and sipped his coffee.