Episode 80
The sight was overwhelming.
Edward and the other participants turned pale at the sheer number of riders.
“What… what is that?”
Among them were the banners of the Agamemnon family, known for their golden masks, as well as the powerful families of the central region like Achilles, Hector, and Aegis. Even the banner of the Graham family, the de facto rulers of Pansthas, was present.
A thunderous sound echoed as the riders, representing not just one but over a dozen influential families, stood behind Zeke and his group.
Edward, standing in front of Zeke, was at a loss for words, utterly bewildered.
‘This… this can’t be happening.’
The Draker Martial Tournament was known as a microcosm of the continent’s power dynamics, but never before had so many riders gathered in one place.
The representatives of each family approached Zeke with respectful bows.
“At the command of Sir Zeke Draker, heir of Agamemnon, the Achilles family has answered the call!”
“At the command of Sir Zeke Draker, heir of Agamemnon, the Hector family has answered the call!”
“At the command of Sir Zeke Draker, heir of Agamemnon, the Aegis family has answered the call!”
One by one, the other families reported their presence to Zeke.
Finally, a rider from the Graham family, clad in golden armor, stepped forward.
“On behalf of the Duke of Graham, who considers Sir Zeke Draker a benefactor and eternal friend, I have been ordered to guard you during the tournament.”
He handed something to Zeke.
“Lady Angelina of the Graham family has sent this handkerchief, wishing you victory.”
The mention of Angelina Graham caused a stir among the crowd.
Recently introduced to high society, Angelina Graham was already hailed as the continent’s most beautiful woman.
Receiving a handkerchief from the reclusive Angelina Graham made Zeke the object of envy and jealousy among the young knights.
Zeke accepted the handkerchief from the Graham family’s captain and tucked it into his coat, bowing in gratitude.
“Please convey my thanks to the Duke. And tell Lady Angelina that I will ensure her wish for victory is fulfilled.”
The riders behind Zeke alone were enough to overwhelm an entire knightly order.
Edward, sweating nervously, retreated to where his own riders were gathered.
He glared at Zeke, gritting his teeth.
‘Zeke Draker, no matter what you do, you’re just a sideshow to my debut.’
Just then, a group of figures appeared, bearing the Draker banner, and approached the assembly of participants.
A man on horseback emerged from among those wearing Draker’s uniform, silencing the crowd with his presence.
His face was a tapestry of scars, a testament to countless battles.
Zeke recognized the man on horseback.
‘The Scarred Knight, Gareth Draker.’
Gareth was one of Draker’s guardian knights, a veteran leading the Black Wolf Order, one of the three great knightly orders of Draker.
Zeke remembered him from his past life, where Gareth had fought valiantly at the front lines during the Third Continental War.
After Draker was fully integrated into the empire, Gareth had retired, preserving his pride as a knight by laying down his sword.
He was a man of integrity and immense pride in his knighthood.
Gareth addressed the gathered crowd.
“The preliminary round of the Draker Martial Tournament begins now. Participants, step forward with your chosen weapon.”
At Gareth’s command, the participants, who had prepared their spears in advance, stepped forward.
Felix, standing behind Zeke, observed the spears brought by the other participants. Most were wrapped in cloth, but their long shafts suggested they were designed for throwing.
Felix nodded and whispered to Zeke.
“Master, it seems they modified their spears for throwing, just as you predicted.”
Zeke handed Felix something heavy.
Felix looked puzzled.
“What’s this, Master?”
“It’s the weapon you’ll be using in the tournament.”
“What? I’m not even registered to participate!”
Zeke gestured towards the area where the preliminaries would take place.
Felix shook his head in disbelief.
“But I didn’t even sign up for the tournament…”
At that moment, Zeke casually pulled out a registration form with Felix’s name on it.
“What the…?”
Felix, who had come along thinking it was just a day out, realized he was actually a participant.
Zeke and Liam grabbed the reluctant Felix and dragged him towards the arena.
The riders waited outside the stage, while the participants lined up to prepare for the preliminaries.
Suddenly, a loud noise erupted from behind the stage.
Boom!
A massive target, resembling a siege weapon, was set up in the center of the stage.
The target, made of multiple layers of thick iron plates, puzzled the participants.
‘Did they set that up beyond the mountains?’
Gareth spoke again.
“The preliminary event is a test of strength. The more iron plates you pierce, the higher your score.”
The announcement left most participants stunned.
They had expected a spear-throwing contest, but the event had suddenly changed.
“This can’t be happening!”
“Piercing with force? These spears aren’t even designed for that!”
The participants had brought lightweight, elongated spears, modified for distance throwing.
Edward and the participants associated with the Siemens family smirked.
They had been informed of the preliminary event in advance and had prepared accordingly.
‘You’re all just extras in my show.’
Edward whistled as he retrieved his prepared spear.
It was a modified spear with a heavy iron shaft and a sturdy spearhead, designed to maximize force.
Edward anticipated an easy victory.
Then, a commotion arose among the participants as they looked towards Zeke’s group.
“What’s that?”
Zeke’s group had also brought spears with heavy shafts and sturdy spearheads, similar to Edward’s.
Zeke had asked Catherine to prepare spears for piercing, not throwing.
Felix, holding the heavy spear, asked Zeke.
“Master, did you know about the preliminary event?”
Zeke shook his head.
“I just figured the Siemens wouldn’t reveal the event so easily.”
In his past life, Zeke had encountered Edward Siemens.
Edward, with his sadistic tendencies, preferred wielding a spear directly rather than throwing it.
Zeke doubted Edward would choose spear-throwing as the preliminary event.
He ignored Edward’s glare with ease.
Gareth raised his hand.
“Step forward with your weapon when your name is called!”
The participants who had prepared throwing spears reluctantly took their places in front of the target.
All participants were at least purple-ranked knights, capable of imbuing their weapons with aura.
However, simply enveloping a weapon in aura wasn’t enough to pierce the iron plates.
Thud!
In an attempt to add more force, the excessive aura caused the spear shafts to break, failing to transfer power to the target.
Participants who had only practiced throwing couldn’t even scratch the solid iron target.
“Hup!”
Thwack!
A participant with decent aura control managed to pierce one iron plate, which was considered a good result.
Soon, it was Reina Draker’s turn.
Reina had brought a standard spear, not specifically designed for throwing or piercing.
The Turn family didn’t differentiate between throwing and piercing spears.
Reina stepped forward with her spear and summoned her aura.
Vroom!
A clear vibration resonated from the spear.
She took a strong step forward and thrust her spear.
Crash!
The aura-infused spear pierced through four thick iron plates.
“Hmm…”
It was the best result so far, but Reina seemed dissatisfied.
Next was Felix’s turn.
“Whoo…”
Standing before the target, Felix assumed a serious stance with his spear.
Though primarily trained in traditional swordsmanship, Felix had also received advanced spear training from his grandfather.
Felix channeled his weight into the spear and thrust it deeply into the target.
Crash!
The aura-laden spear pierced through three and a half iron plates.
“Phew…”
Felix returned to his usual relaxed posture and slumped down next to Zeke, exhausted.
Liam’s turn came shortly after, and he stepped forward with his spear.
He managed to pierce three plates, slightly less than Felix.
Realizing he had been outdone by both Reina and Felix, Liam resolved to train harder.
The next participant rose.
“Finally, my turn.”
Edward Siemens, who had been watching with a smug expression, stepped forward with his spear.
“Hmm. These iron plates are nothing.”
He gripped his spear and summoned his aura.
Vroom!
The aura on his spear was visibly intense, indicating he was close to advancing to a blue-ranked knight.
“Haah!”
With a powerful shout, Edward thrust his spear into the iron plates.
Crash!
A thunderous noise echoed as Edward’s spear pierced through six plates.
Retrieving his spear, he wore a smug expression once more.
“My condition’s a bit off. On a good day, I would’ve pierced all ten plates.”
Edward glanced over at Zeke, flashed a sly grin, and then returned to his original spot.
Zeke, however, paid little attention to Edward. His focus was elsewhere—on another competitor.
“Elyn Sabrina.”
As Zeke surveyed the participants in the arena, one in particular caught his eye: a young female knight, her face obscured by a hood and cloak.
“Her breathing, her stride, the aura she exudes—she’s no ordinary knight.”
With skills like hers, he should have heard her name before, yet it was unfamiliar.
“Could she be using an alias for this tournament?”
“Zeke Draker.”
Finally, it was Zeke’s turn. He tore his gaze away from the mysterious Elyn and stood up, retrieving the spear shaft he had prepared. But something was amiss.
“Where’s the spearhead?”
Indeed, it was just a shaft. Zeke fitted his sword, Bahamut, into the shaft with a click. It had been custom-made for this purpose, so there was no issue attaching it.
Edward sneered at the sight of Zeke’s makeshift spear. “Heh, can you even wield that thing properly?”
Bahamut was a claymore, larger and heavier than a typical sword. Adding a spear shaft made it an unwieldy polearm.
As Zeke took his position, the judge asked, “Are you sure you want to use that spear?”
Zeke nodded, then assumed a stance facing the metal plates. He gathered his strength and adopted the Dragon Slayer technique.
Vroooom!
Dragon Slayer Technique: True Dragon Sword Style
Chapter 8, Verse 3
Dragon Scale Thrust
BOOM!
With a thunderous roar, Zeke’s spear pierced through the metal plates. It was astonishing that he could deliver such a powerful thrust with such a cumbersome weapon, and he hadn’t even used an aura blade.
The judge counted the pierced plates. “All ten plates have been penetrated!”
Despite the disadvantage, Zeke had pierced through every single plate. Edward looked on in disbelief, while Reina glared at Zeke with sharp eyes.
Zeke shrugged, shouldered Bahamut, and returned to his seat. The tournament staff replaced the pierced plates with new ones.
Then it was Elyn Sabrina’s turn. She stepped forward, but she wasn’t holding a spear.
The judge asked, “Where’s your spear?”
Elyn drew a sword from beneath her cloak.
“You’re going to thrust with a sword?” the judge inquired.
It wasn’t impossible, but it was certainly more challenging than using a spear. Swords were typically for slashing, not thrusting.
Suddenly, Elyn began walking away from the target, not towards it. The judge, confused, called out, “Elyn Sabrina! Are you forfeiting?”
In that moment, Elyn spun around and hurled her sword at the target.
CRASH!
The sword pierced through the metal plates and embedded itself deeply.
The judge, astonished, examined the plates and announced, “Eight plates have been penetrated.”
Had she used a spear, she might have matched Zeke’s ten. Elyn turned to look at Zeke and removed her hood.
Zeke was taken aback. He recognized her face.
“Helen Draker.”
She was the fourth direct descendant of the Draker family.