Read Novel Full Chapter 77: The Final Match And The Stakes
Chapter 77: The Final Match And The Stakes
Translator: MarcTempest
Editor: Himanshu02
The sound announcing the start of the final match echoed and the knights began to enter the central arena.
“Huh? Why are there only twenty of them?”
“The regular tournament still has some matches left.”
“So we have to wait for the final match until then?”
As the voices of the spectators reached him, the nobleman who was in charge of hosting the event looked embarrassed.
‘This tournament ended too early for the prime tournament.’
Normally, the final matches of both tournaments entered together and proceeded in the order of regular-prime.
It was natural because the prime tournament, where the best knights gathered, had high expectations.
But the problem that occurred this time was that the prime tournament ended much faster than the regular tournament.
The knights of Eurius and the Golden Lion Knight Order, these two knight orders, had no fierce battles and overwhelmingly crushed their opponents, so the time to reach the final match was shortened.
‘I can’t make the spectators wait idly either…’
The person who ultimately received this awkward report was the emperor. But he asked back with a nonchalant expression.
“Then why don’t we start with the prime first?”
“Your Majesty! Your Highness, but then the reaction of the spectators…”
“What do you think, Grand Duke? I think this tournament has a lot of things to see in the regular tournament as well.”
At the emperor’s question, Grand Duke also opened his mouth without any change in expression.
“I think it doesn’t matter if that’s what your Majesty intends.”
It was a trivial conversation, but it contained various intentions.
‘Didn’t Eurius say he would come out in the regular tournament?’
The final match was essentially a confrontation between Eurius and Grand Duke, and the emperor was more interested in the regular tournament side. It was the same for Grand Duke.
‘The first prince seems to be confident in his skills, but it won’t be easy since I sent a shadow.’
That’s how the final match of the prime tournament started first.
“I hope you have a fair and splendid match.”
“I’ve heard a lot about Count Gilbert’s reputation. I look forward to sparring with you.”
‘A fair match…’
The leader, Heinz, politely shook hands with the middle-aged knight while making a bitter expression inside.
That middle-aged knight was Count Gilbert, the leader of the Golden Lion Knight Order.
He was treated as nothing less than Grand Duke’s disciple externally and was one of the top knights in the empire excluding superhumans.
Sending him out first meant that he had a firm intention not to give up victory to Eurius’ side.
Heinz didn’t have much trouble either. The order of appearance was already decided.
Swoosh.
A knight of small stature slowly moved onto the arena. Eurius’ vanguard was Beatrix.
“Hmm? The one on Prince Eurius’ side is that female knight?”
“The opponent is the leader of the Golden Lion Knight Order, isn’t he? She did show an impressive performance, but does she have a chance?”
A murmur broke out among the audience.
She had proven her skills in the main match, but she was still no different from an unknown knight.
At least in terms of external reputation, it was a difference between heaven and earth.
The emperor also watched the scene with an amused expression.
In fact, he had been quite interested in her since the time of Beatrix during the Northern War.
“She’s from Dios Duke House of Holy Kingdom, right?”
“Yes. She is a knight who Prince Eurius brought as a friend when he went to study abroad.”
“Hmm…”
There were also many people who were curious about the direction of the final match in the audience.
It was mostly about money.
“Does that female knight, who looks like she’ll break if you hit her, have a chance against Count Gilbert? This match is not worth watching.”
“Who knows? After all, Dios Duke House is a famous noble family in the Holy Kingdom.”
Of course, most of them bet on Golden Lion Knight Order, so they didn’t have a good evaluation of Beatrix.
“Geon, what do you think?”
“To be honest, I’m not sure.”
Jegal Hwayoung looked at him with a puzzled expression.
He had never given such a vague answer in this tournament before.
“So you mean they are equally matched?”
“Their martial arts realms seem to be not much different. But if I had to say, that middle-aged knight has an advantage in terms of conditions.”
Jegal Hwayoung realized what he was implying with his evasive answer.
“But with His Highness’ insight, anything could happen, right?”
“That’s right. And the duel of martial artists is full of variables, especially among the experts.”
The emperor, who was watching from the stands, was also somewhat doubtful.
‘Does she want to face Gilbert head-on?’
The emperor acknowledged Beatrix’s skill. But that was different from the outcome of the match.
‘She has achieved remarkable feats at this age, but Gilbert has the upper hand in terms of compatibility and experience.’
Being a woman was not a big disadvantage for knights who could use force.
They might lack basic physical strength or endurance, but they had the benefit of being light and flexible.
But when the realms were similar and the opponent had more experience, the difference in basic physical conditions was significant.
‘She might fight evenly or even have the upper hand at first. But eventually, she will run out of steam and fall behind.’
The emperor thought that Gilbert, who was cunning, would have the advantage if he dragged the match into a long battle.
“Beatrix Dios.”
“Golden Lion Knight Commander Gilbert. I hope for a good match.”
Gilbert had the Grand Duke’s request and he was not careless, but he also did not doubt his victory.
‘He told me to focus on defense and drain her strength.’
Shriek!
As soon as the match started, Beatrix’s body disappeared as if it vanished.
She closed the distance of several meters in a blink of an eye and thrust her sword fiercely.
‘She’s fast. But not fast enough to escape me!’
But Gilbert was also one of the best knights in the empire. He quickly assumed a defensive stance, as he expected her move.
He moved smoothly like flowing water, as befitting one of the best knights in the empire.
Clang!
From the start, there was a fierce explosion and the match went as the emperor predicted.
Beatrix used her main weapon, speed, to attack swiftly.
Gilbert defended skillfully against her attacks.
Every time their swords clashed, a loud shockwave shook the arena.
Jegal Hwayoung scowled and opened her mouth.
“I can’t see it clearly with my eyesight, but it looks like a close match. But won’t she be at a disadvantage if she raises her pace like that from the beginning?”
But Jegal Geon, who was watching closely, finally gave a definite answer.
“I think His Highness’ side will win.”
“…?”
She looked surprised when Jegal Geon confidently declared the result of the match.
“Did she hide her skill or something?”
Kwaah!
Before she could finish her sentence, another explosion erupted in the arena. The one who staggered back was Gilbert.
‘Damn it…’
Gilbert spat out curses in his mind as he fended off her attacks.
He was not supposed to be pushed back so much by Beatrix.
‘I got caught up in her pace completely. How can such a thin arm deliver such a heavy blow?’
Beatrix’s attacks were much stronger than in previous matches. Gilbert was caught off guard by her unexpected power and his posture collapsed in an instant.
Of course, the emperor’s insight was not completely wrong.
Gilbert and Beatrix were both martial artists who were close to superhumans, and their realms were not much different.
Jegal Geon saw Gilbert being pushed back while barely blocking her attacks and lowered his head as he answered.
“I don’t know exactly either, but unlike His Majesty, I think my insight is not wrong this time. It’s not her achievement as a martial artist, but maybe she revealed some hidden trump card.”
The reason why Beatrix could perform well this time was because of her core.
The reason why it was not revealed until now was because of Eurius’s request.
“Rize, please refrain from using your core until the finals. That will be the key to your victory.”
Core was one of the characteristics of players.
Even if they were inferior in basic physical conditions, they could overcome that difference by amplifying their core.
That was why the emperor’s prediction was off. No matter how great his insight was, he could not foresee that unless he could see her stats like Eurius.
‘Your Grace, I’m sorry.’
Gilbert, who had been losing all along, closed his eyes tightly.
He could not avoid a blow that hit his chest.
Boom!
“Cough!”
Gilbert’s armor crumbled like a cookie and he spat out blood. He rolled on the floor of the arena without any strength.
The arena fell into silence for a moment.
The ordinary spectators could not analyze the fight between the high-level knights.
To them, it looked like Gilbert was just pushed back recklessly and then knocked out.
As soon as the silence was broken, the stands became noisy and chaotic.
“Wow! That was amazing!”
“Long live the First Prince!”
“Damn it… I invested a lot in the Golden Lion Knights this time!”
Despite the commotion, Jegal Hwayoung was deep in thought.
“My lady?”
“It’s nothing. I’m just glad that our investment was successful.”
She had trusted Eurius and put half of the annual operating budget of the Azure Dragon Upper Branch in the capital as a bet. It was a huge amount of money that she could not ignore even from her position.
But she did not look very happy, so Jegal Geon asked her with a curious expression.
“Should I have bet everything?”
And her small murmur was drowned out by the noise.
“Then we will start the second match.”
The second match was started by Eurius’ side sending out a knight first.
‘His Highness told me to finish this quickly, right?’
The knight who came out was Heinz.
His opponent was Hendrix, the vice-captain of the Golden Lion Knights.
He was also a well-known knight from the Grand Duke’s side, but Eurius thought that Heinz was at least half a level above him.
Heinz was also a person who had an extraordinary talent from the beginning and had trained diligently under the guidance of Carlos, the superhuman Duke, and himself.
The Northern War had given him enough practical experience to melt his insights.
‘He can’t handle him unless he’s Gilbert, let alone a vice-captain!’
Since Gilbert, who was considered to be the sure-win card of the Grand Duke’s side, had lost, the situation was already tilted.
The Azure Dragon Upper Branch had been confident that their investment would succeed because they were sure that Eurius’ side would win with a hundred percent probability if they passed the first match.
Puff!
“Kugh!”
“Stop! The winner is Sir Heinz!”
Hendrix did his best, but he could not break through Heinz’ iron-like defense and suffered a deep wound from his counterattack.
He had no choice but to admit defeat.
It was not a satisfying victory like Beatrix’s case, but he also defeated a knight who had a much higher reputation than him in front of everyone.
“The winner of the Prime Tournament is the First Prince’s Knights.”
With the announcer’s declaration, the arena had to stir again.
The General Tournament was usually less recognized and lower in level than the Prime Tournament.
But this result changed the final match of the General Tournament into an important match that would decide the overall winner.
“Is this really going to be an overall victory for His Highness?”
“Nah, no way… The record of the General Tournament was overwhelmingly in favor of the Golden Lion Knights.”
“What if it happens?”
***
“Heh… This is really an unexpected result, huh? It’s good for me since it’s Eurius’ knights, but the Grand Duke was unlucky this time.”
He said it as if he was consoling him, but anyone could see that the Emperor was barely holding back his joy.
“I’m disappointed with this result, but it was nice to see young knights doing well.”
The Grand Duke answered, barely keeping his expression.
The Prime Tournament was the most prestigious event in the Royal Martial Arts Competition.
Losing it was already a blow to his reputation.
‘But I can’t give up on the overall victory.’
He winked at Dmitri and his shadows who came out for the General Tournament from afar.
‘I have to be careful this time. If I save Dmitri for last, I can handle whatever tricks the Prince has.’
In fact, his most outstanding knight was not Gilbert, but Dmitri.
Of course, the officers of his shadows who were also deployed were at least master-level knights.
‘No matter what trick he uses this time, he won’t be able to do anything.’
Meanwhile, Eurius called Cain before the final match of the General Tournament began and talked to him.
“This is something I’m only telling you…”
Cain, who had been listening with a nervous expression from the beginning, jumped up when he heard Eurius’ words.
“I have to face a master-level knight?”
“That’s how it turned out. I didn’t plan on this, but it seems like the Grand Duke is up to something…”
“That’s…”
“But it’s not completely hopeless!”
Cain widened his eyes at Eurius’ words.
It was true that he had grown rapidly recently, but reaching the master level was still a long way off.
“First of all, the opponent has eyes too, so he won’t use his full power as a master-level knight, right?”
“That’s true…”
But Cain did not look very confident.
Of course, the big criterion that distinguished a general knight from a master-level one was the typification of force.
But naturally, such a skill was restricted in the General Tournament.
If the opponent did not use the force control that only a master-level could do, he might be able to hold on well considering his skills. But winning was a different matter.
Eurius chuckled here.
“That’s why I have something for you to do with me for a while.”
Shiver.
Cain felt a familiar chill for a moment.
He had a feeling that something very unfortunate was going to happen to him.