The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 102

14. Selection: The Revived Scoundrel

I received a unique quest as soon as I returned from the Elven Forest.

[Quest Activated!]

[Quest Title: Royal Consort Selection Ceremony]

[Objective – Prevent Charlie Hilton from being selected as the royal consort. Also, prevent the Elden Royal Family from being incorporated into the Calon Empire.]

[Reward – Undetermined]

It was a tricky mission, so I pondered how to solve it.

The first step was to identify the weapons I had.

– Heavenly Demon Sword. Druid.

– Loyal companions.

– Pilgrim, Riang, Northern Army.

These words alone gave me strength, but unfortunately, they weren’t very useful in this quest.

Instead, other keywords came to mind.

– Slave Trade Contract

– Secret Letter with the Elves

The Hilton family’s ill-fated relationship, which began with the territory war surrounding Albus Castle, continued all the way to the royal consort selection ceremony.

Currently, I have quite a bit of evidence that the Hilton family has been breaking numerous laws and engaging in dirty dealings behind the scenes.

With the help of Mayor Yuron, whom I befriended in the process of overcoming greed, I could obtain the slave trade records of Countess Hilton.

I also had Count Hilton and Great Elder Richard’s letter (with the Count family’s seal clearly stamped on it), which I acquired during the attack on the Elven Sanctuary, so I could bite the Hilton family even now.

Therefore, my primary plan was to argue that Charlie Hilton was not qualified as a candidate based on this evidence.

To summarize my feelings about this plan in one sentence:

‘It’s usable, but somewhat weak.’

Politics is originally like that.

No matter how solid the evidence, if you lose in the power struggle, even valid evidence becomes fabricated.

On the other hand, if you take the initiative, even rumors are disguised as truth.

I heard from Marquis Lloyd that the royal family’s power struggle was unfavorable, with the anti-imperial faction at 4 and the pro-imperial faction at 6, but recently, Duke Arnold turned, widening the gap to 3 to 7.

In this situation, even if I presented evidence to the King as soon as I arrived in the capital, Fontano, there was a 99% chance it would be glossed over.

Moreover, Elden was a representative feudal kingdom, and the royal family had long lost power due to the pressure from the nobles, hadn’t it?

‘I have to time it well.’

Life is about timing.

There’s a reason why this saying exists.

I had to hide my weapons until the decisive moment to see the light.

“I’m so clueless in this area.”

I scratched the back of my head.

If I had known this would happen, I would have joined a campaign and done some electioneering.

First, I needed to go to the capital, assess the atmosphere, and figure out how things were going before I could make a plan.

* * *

All the luggage was loaded onto the carriage bound for Fontano.

The group was smaller than during the Elven War.

Sion and Campbell, who had become like gum stuck to me, and the baby dragon Coco, hidden in a gourd, were coming along.

“Be careful.”

Marquis Lloyd, who came to see me off at the inner gate, hugged me warmly and said.

“You’ve done so well so far, so I have expectations, but honestly, it’s a difficult task. You can’t stop a burst dam with the palm of your hand. Eight hundred years is a long time to hold on. This is also a change according to the flow of time.”

Even my father admitted that changing the outcome of this royal consort selection ceremony was virtually impossible.

“What will you do if the royal family bows to the Empire?”

“I’ll have to see when that happens. I don’t want to think about things that haven’t happened yet.”

“I understand.”

I turned around to get into the carriage.

That’s when it happened.

Marquis Lloyd, who had followed me, handed me a small, unidentified object.

Wondering what it was, I opened my palm and saw a golden key revealing its presence.

The key itself was pure gold, and the silver tassel tied to the end made me intuitively realize it was an extraordinary treasure.

“I suddenly remembered when you said you were going to the capital, so I took it out of the secret vault.”

“What is this?”

“If you go to the Elden Royal Palace, there will be a library. It’s one of the best archives on the continent, storing records spanning eight hundred years.”

“Could this key be the entrance ticket to that place?”

“That’s right. There are only a few people in the kingdom who have this key. I barely got it from my brother Alfonso.”

It was a good gift.

Looking through an archive with eight hundred years of history was not an easy experience.

Considering that even the mighty Calon Empire had a history of less than three hundred years, it was a treasure of considerable value.

“Thank you. I’ll use it well.”

“I’m not giving it to you, I’m lending it to you. You have to return it after you go.”

“Of course. I’ll really be going then.”

With a nonchalant expression and a wave of my hand, the Marquis, with a faint smile, reciprocated.

The carriage began to move with a clatter.

Slowly heading towards the capital.

* * *

Blue Falcon Mercenary Captain Rakan and Riang Guardian Vice-Commander Aiden did not participate in this journey.

From the start, I had to meet many nobles, so Aiden, who was from Riang, was out of the question, and it was a burdensome position for Rakan, who had high martial prowess but low status.

The act of leading the mercenary团 [mercenary group] and the Guardian Army to the capital could be seen as a sign of impure intentions, causing unnecessary suspicion.

Sasha was also stuck in the Elven Sanctuary.

She must be busier than anyone else, dealing with the mess that Great Elder Richard had made.

Anyway, it was a trip with only Sion and Campbell for the first time in a while.

If I had to pick a new point, it would be the addition of the baby dragon Coco.

In fact, Coco had been in the gourd in the Dragon Egg state for a long time, so you could say we had been traveling together all along.

The good thing about being with close people is that you can train as much as you want without worrying about what others think.

Sion and Campbell crossed swords after breakfast, crossed swords after lunch, and crossed swords after dinner.

“I don’t know why you’re so weak when you eat so much every day.”

“Isn’t the maid’s legs shaking because of that?”

“Are your eyes getting worse now?”

“My eyesight is good.”

“I’ll acknowledge you if you block this attack.”

The spot where the mana sword passed was a mess, as if a beast had swung its claws.

That’s how skilled Sion and Campbell had become.

When I first saw them, Sion and Campbell were both sword users, but this was the fastest rate of development in the Arnia continent.

“Haa!”

“Ugh!!”

But they are not satisfied.

Because I am next to them.

Sion and Campbell, who saw me charging alone against hundreds and thousands of elves in Molt Territory, continue to train hard to catch up with me, who is getting stronger every moment.

I also silently support them from behind, knowing that Campbell, who always laughs heartily, and Sion, who doesn’t show much emotion, are working hard, even splitting their sleeping time.

“Kyu! Kyu kyu!!”

“That damn lizard!”

“Kyuuuuu!!”

The monotonous atmosphere of training is occasionally refreshed by the hatchling Coco playing pranks.

Coco only interferes with Campbell when Sion and Campbell are sparring, and it’s quite fun to watch.

I also started my training.

First, I checked the new skills I gained as I became an intermediate-high level druid.

——————–

1. Wood Control

-Bind (★★★)

-Wood Golem (★★★)

-Wood Spear (★)

-Giant Wood (★)

2. Stone Control

-Stone Lance (★★★)

-Stone Shield (★★★)

-Stone Golem (★★★)

-Stone Spear (★)

-Giant Stone (★)

3. Wind Control

-Instant Step (★)

-Haste (★)

4. Life Control

– Shared Vision (★)

– Taming (★)

——————–

List of skill sets I currently have.

I confirmed that the number of summoned golems increased from 4 to 10 in the last war with the elves.

[Bind]

As the 3-star upgraded Bind unfolded, a tree root popped out.

The difference from before is that the tree root has sharp thorns, so if it’s not a capable person, they will die if they get scratched.

It has become more destructive against the lower ranks.

This thorn effect was also applied to Stone Lance.

In the case of Stone Shield, the area has been widened, and many famous and solid inhoeseok [a type of Korean stone] stones have been mixed in.

I also checked the new skills, Giant series skills and Spear series skills.

First, from the Giant series.

[Giant Wood]

[Giant Stone]

In my left hand, tree trunks gathered to create a hand larger than my body, and in my right hand, pebbles gathered to form a huge palm.

Just swinging it lightly seemed like it would blow away a squad of ten people in an instant.

“So that’s how these skills are activated.”

Right now, it only gathers in my hands, but in the future, stronger and tougher materials may gather all over my body.

Then, I thought that a strategy of moving myself as a golem or giant would be possible.

Next is the Spear series.

[Wood Spear] [1/3]

[Stone Spear] [1/3]

I was very satisfied with the spear technique.

One wooden spear and one stone spear, each made of long spears, were summoned and floated in the air.

Connected to my consciousness, the spears moved quickly as I wanted.

“Throw.”

Swaeak!!

The quickly flying spear accurately hit the target.

The destructive power was at the level of the black magic bullet that Necromancer Raul had fired, and if the skill level increased further, the number of summoned spears would also increase, and the spear itself would become stronger.

Anyway, it was an effective long-range attack method.

Judging from the numbers on the system window, the maximum is three wooden spears and three stone spears, but in the future, I will pour stone spears like rain like Merlin.

‘Although he is an incarnation, the battle with Merlin was a great help.’

The development direction of the Druid skill showed a tendency to imitate and strengthen the techniques that Merlin used last time.

The Giant skill was also a skill that Merlin showed in the battle with me, and the Spear skill was the same.

In a way, he has become a milestone for skill upgrades.

Lastly, the Taming skill.

You can roughly predict what kind of skill it is from the name.

Just in time, there was a cute squirrel eating acorns while passing by the street, so I cast the Taming skill.

[Taming]

It feels like a thin thread is connected between soul and soul.

No matter what command I gave, the squirrel obeyed.

“Put down the acorns and do a quick march to that ginkgo tree. Start.”

The squirrel acted as I said.

After that, I tried taming various animals.

As a result, taming was easy for small animals, but a message appeared that taming was impossible for larger animals or those with higher intelligence.

[Taming]

[Shared Vision]

Another useful feature I discovered was the Taming + Shared Vision combo.

When I first used the skill combo on a squirrel, the squirrel moved in the direction I wanted, and I even felt what it was seeing and hearing in real time.

I ended Shared Vision and Taming.

The squirrel tilted its head as if nothing had happened and ran away with the acorns into the bushes.

To conclude about taming, it was a skill that was ambiguous to use in battle, but it was useful in terms of utility and good in many ways.

I finished checking the Druid skills.

This time, I drew the Heavenly Demon Sword and swung it.

I have not been neglecting sword training and have been doing it every day without fail.

If I don’t do it for just one day, thorns don’t grow in my mouth right away, but my head gets noisy.

-Hey kid! Why aren’t you using the sword today?

-I’m bored to death.

-If you’re not going to train, leave the sword to the maid.

It’s much more fun to torment this perverted old man with the sweat on my hands than to satisfy his desires.

Of course, my swordsmanship also improves in the process.

I swung the mana sword according to the forms taught by the Heavenly Demon, then stopped and sat down.

-Why are you stopping?

“I’m going to look at the secret book my father gave me.”

The secret book given by Marquis Lloyd.

I heard it was written about the domain [a swordsmanship technique].

Swordmasters can basically activate the domain, so I became curious.

I opened the book and read the contents, and there was an amazing theory written there.

[In order to create a domain, you must first consider the background and origin of the weapon called the sword. Why did humans use swords?

To make a living. To hunt. To make food. As time passed, they deviated from the one-dimensional purpose, and swords for pure combat began to emerge.

The sword is an extension of the body. If you know the vital points of a person well, you can achieve a similar effect to a sword with your fist. Nevertheless, the reason for using a sword is that you can derive definite results with less power. The range becomes longer.

However, as the advantages of the sword were certain, the disadvantages of the sword were also certain. The sword, which became an extension of the body to increase the range, showed a clearly disadvantageous appearance when it encountered a weapon with a longer range than itself.

Therefore, humans constantly trained to overcome this, and through painstaking efforts, they invented a masterpiece called the mana sword.

There is an important point here. All of this process started from the concept that the sword is a part of the body.

So the masters of the sword came up with one novel idea. If the sword is an extension of the body and the range can be extended with the mana sword, what would happen if it was extended to infinity?

The hypothesis soon leads to experimentation, and numerous trials and errors are transformed into proof and results. The mana sword, which consisted only of points and lines, expands to a surface and builds a ‘domain’.

In order to create such a domain, I also became a humble traveler following in the footsteps of my ancestors. It feels like climbing a breathtaking cliff for hundreds of years.

Thinking of the sword as a body and expanding it to the domain, the whole body must be connected to the space, so the process of connecting the gears inside the body with the gears of the world and meshing them together is necessary.

To do this, you must first recognize the gears that exist in the world and understand how they work, and you must also continue to take care of the gears inside.

The process of connecting the two is not easy either, but to do that···(omitted)]

After this, there were so many ghost stories that I couldn’t understand what they were saying even if I read them.

However, the Heavenly Demon, who read the secret book with me, seemed to understand it roughly.

-This guy made a mistake. Once, your father said that the elders of this sect would be suitable. But the concepts in his head are quite solid, so I can give him the position of Dharma Protector or Vice-Leader.

“I don’t understand even if I look at it. Can you give me a clue?”

-Hey, you! I explained it every day, but where did you go then and now you’re asking for clues? I told you the contents of that book in much more detail in the past.

“Did you?”

The Heavenly Demon’s frustrating emotions can be felt all the way here.

-Ugh, I’m so frustrated. The words you use are different, but what you’re saying is the same! I told you about the concept of the macrocosm and microcosm and explained which bloodlines were in charge of which parts of the universe in the past. If you connect all three dantians [energy centers in the body] and complete the Three Flowers Gathering at the Summit, then unite with the macrocosm and achieve the Five Qi Harmonization, you will create a domain even if you just breathe. You idiot with a small head!!

Is this that?

It feels like Lionel Messi is scolding me for not being able to score because he can dribble past five people and shoot.

-Anyway, it seems like your father explains it much more easily and understandably than I do, so refer to this secret book for sword training in the future.

“I understand.”

I became a little arrogant after reaching Sword Expert Advanced in a short period of time.

I forgot that there were still ninety thousand miles ahead.

The world of swordsmanship was vast and wide, and in it, I was just a tiny creature.

I strongly gripped the hilt of the Heavenly Demon Sword with the mindset of regaining my original intention.

-Come to think of it, there’s something I forgot to tell you last time.

“What is it?”

-I have been pondering about your internal energy.

Is he talking about the Three Elements Mana?

Green Mana + Blue Mana + Dragon Blood.

It was made up of these three elements mana, but recently, as the green mana was strengthened, it was reorganized into a two-element mana, which is a green mana + dragon blood/blue mana alliance.

-The conclusion I have come to is this. You are currently in a very dangerous situation.

“Really?”

-The energies collide with each other, causing qi deviation [a disruption of the body’s energy flow], that is, the qi flows backward, causing you to become an idiot or lose your life.

I was dumbfounded by the unexpected answer.

“But I don’t have any difficulties in operating mana, and I don’t see any negative signs.”

-That’s because your level is shallow. As your level rises in the future, the difference in energy will become the seed of conflict and collide inside.

“It’s difficult. Do you know of a solution?”

The Heavenly Demon, who had been hesitating for a while, opened his mouth.

-First, the three energies must be balanced, and second, there must be an opportunity to unite them into one in a balanced state. This is not a problem that can be solved simply by repeated training, but requires various opportunities and heavenly luck.

This is why they say that talent is given by heaven.

The saying that luck is more important than effort has never resonated with me as much as it does today.

-Instead, if you succeed, you will achieve a great development that is incomparable to others. Every martial artist has a different way to become stronger, but they say that the end is the same. If you overcome the difficult path you have chosen, you might be able to lick the soles of my feet.

“I don’t really want to lick the soles of your feet.”

I was aware of the problems of the two-element mana and vaguely grasped how to solve them.

All processes take time.

With the end of the continent approaching every moment.

I had a feeling that I would achieve my goal only if I solved all the problems that had befallen me.

“I’m dizzy.”

My head is foggy as if I had complicated thoughts.

I wonder if there is a sandbag to relieve stress.

I was just kicking pebbles with my toes when Sion, who had come up to me, bowed.

“Young master.”