Yuri grabbed the nobleman by the collar.
“I’m not going to kill you. I’m not going to kill you.”
“T-That’s not what I meant! What I said was only for the prince’s sake…”
Before the nobleman could finish, Yuri threw him over the battlement.
A piercing scream faded into the distance below.
“Let’s see now…”
Yuri peered down.
True to his word, the nobleman wasn’t dead. Yuri had aimed for a small tree growing beneath the wall and tossed him onto it.
But the tree couldn’t fully absorb the impact.
“Breaking his legs should be enough.”
The nobleman groaned on the ground, both legs completely broken.
“You all agree with that, don’t you?”
Yuri shrugged and turned around.
The soldiers were retreating, weapons forgotten, their eyes filled with fear as they stared at him.
Walking toward the stairs carved into the wall, Yuri continued.
“No matter how worthless you are, there’s a limit. How dare you insult the royal family? Isn’t that right?”
He patted the shoulder of a soldier who had stepped back.
“Hey, you. If someone insulted your family, would you just stand there?”
“W-Well…”
“No, right?”
“No, sir.”
“Exactly. That’s what it means to be human. Even if you have a role to play, you can’t cross the line. Even if it’s your master…”
Yuri glanced up at the castle.
As his gaze landed, someone standing by the window hurriedly hid.
He smirked and scanned the grand fortress from top to bottom.
The imposing walls and lavish architecture clearly showed how much wealth Genard had amassed. Once Genard was gone, a bloody struggle for succession was inevitable.
Yuri descended the stairs beneath the battlement. A sizable force waited behind the castle gates.
Countless eyes fixed on him, but Yuri paid no mind.
He addressed the soldier in charge of the mechanism.
“Open the gate.”
“Y-Yes…”
“Should I do it myself?”
“W-Wait a moment! This is…”
Suddenly, the clanging of armor echoed loudly from behind. A group of knights was rushing toward them.
The captain at the front called out.
“Your Highness, this is overstepping your authority. No matter your royal blood, you cannot act so recklessly. Please respect the Jattery family!”
Yuri ignored them.
“Move aside. I’m opening the gate.”
“But…”
“Do you want to die?”
Yuri’s murderous aura forced the soldier to step back involuntarily.
With practiced ease, Yuri operated the mechanism. The gates began to creak open.
One knight charged at Yuri.
“Your Highness!”
He grabbed Yuri’s shoulder.
In an instant, Yuri twisted the knight’s arm and slammed him to the ground.
He yanked open the knight’s visor and plunged his gauntleted hand inside.
A scream pierced the air.
When Yuri withdrew his hand, the gauntlet was stained with blood. The knight clutched his helmet, writhing on the floor.
The visor closed, hiding the damage inside, but blood continued to trickle through the cracks.
Yuri clicked his tongue.
“Why do you touch me?”
Meanwhile, the gates continued to open. The watching knights drew their swords in unison.
“This is self-defense from now on. Your Highness, I won’t waste words.”
Yuri responded in kind.
Guilty, the infamous warrior who had accompanied Yuri and earned a notorious reputation, now revealed himself, drawing his sword.
Yuri summoned his energy. The spirit blade, honed through countless battles, radiated a fierce aura that twisted the air around him.
The less experienced knights struggled to breathe, gasping harshly.
“This is my final warning.”
The knights froze.
Yuri’s aura was so sharp, none dared to challenge it.
No matter how famous Yuri was, it was unthinkable that seasoned knights, trained their whole lives, would be so overwhelmed.
They realized the truth.
Yuri Briol, third prince of Briol.
The praise that he was a prodigy destined to succeed Fiore was no exaggeration. He had already surpassed Fiore at the same age.
Perhaps he had even reached the level of the Ten Strong.
“This can’t be…”
The captain’s mind raced.
He could no longer see the third prince as a mere child.
He ran through scenarios, comparing this situation to other Ten Strong members.
The Black Knight had come to Yuzes with thirty knights. Or Donchichi had arrived with a pack of ogres.
There was no clear answer.
They might have to gather all of Yuzes’ forces to stop him.
“Captain.”
Some sharp-eyed knights whispered behind him.
“What should we do?”
“His energy is insane.”
“I’m going to die.”
Some knights were already struggling to breathe.
“It’s hard to get air.”
The dense aura crushed their lungs.
The captain looked back. Somewhere in the castle, Genard must be watching, but he couldn’t tell where.
The gates were now fully open.
The knights Yuri led strode in confidently, as if they were the occupying force.
“I don’t want this to drag on. Step aside or die.”
Yuri said, stepping forward. His men followed.
The captain hesitated as Yuri approached. Countless possibilities swirled chaotically in his mind.
If they blocked him now, they couldn’t win. He was an opponent beyond their capacity. But if they retreated, Genard would punish them later.
Should they pretend to fight or just flee?
What would best preserve their lives?
But in this crisis, his reason failed him. Instinct inherited from his ancestors screamed that he must turn and run.
In the end, he stepped aside without deciding.
At that signal, Yuzes’ knights split left and right.
Yuri chuckled softly and passed by. He walked straight through the enemy ranks without a hint of tension.
Yuri and his knights passed every obstacle and entered the castle’s interior.
The armed knights inside were so startled that the servants scattered in panic.
Yuri swept his gaze over the lavish interior, filled with expensive, extravagant items.
“You’ve gathered quite a lot.”
He said, heading toward where Genard awaited.
Suddenly, Yuri stopped.
Enemies appeared.
As Yuri and his knights climbed the stairs, a group blocked their path above, preventing them from advancing. Another group had appeared behind, cutting off their retreat.
They were trapped on the stairs.
It looked like a strategy designed to contain a powerful opponent like Yuri. The narrow interior limited his movement.
But that was a mistake.
Yuri smiled and stepped forward.
The enemy reacted immediately. The dense sword aura of the blocking knights surged toward Yuri.
Yuri unleashed his own energy. He summoned the spirit blade and layered it with chaotic energy, creating a swirling storm of possibilities on his sword.
He raised the devastating power of the Whirling Vortex Blade.
Swirling patterns appeared on Guilty’s blade.
The vortex swept forward in an instant. The knights who blocked the way initially held firm, but as the vortex’s power intensified, they were pushed back.
They collapsed one by one, falling like dominoes.
Red energy filled Yuri’s vision.
Screams echoed throughout the castle.
Up and down the stairs, the cries rang out.
Yuri slipped through the gap he created and pressed onward.
Many knights in the front line had fallen, but overall, the damage was less than when the imperial army had been caught in the vortex blade.
That meant the knights were highly skilled.
Yuri twisted his mouth.
Despite such strength, Genard had chosen to hole up in Yuzes.
A strong knight’s presence reduces friendly casualties on the battlefield. If only they had all fought alongside him in Bezos, fewer lives would have been lost.
“Such a shame.”
Yuri slung Guilty over his shoulder and glared at the enemies.
The sudden massacre left the knights dumbfounded.
“If you’d fought with me in Bezos, you’d know.”
Yuri’s Whirling Vortex Blade was infamous not only among the imperial forces but even within the Briol army. Once unleashed, the surrounding area was drenched in blood.
It was a technique optimized for sweeping through tight spaces.
But they didn’t know that, which was why they thought to block him on the narrow stairs.
Yuri swung his sword without hesitation.
The disorganized enemies couldn’t respond properly. Yuri’s knights shouted and charged up the stairs.
“Waaaaah!”
Their voices pierced the ears of the trapped Yuzes knights.
Those blocking the retreat stood frozen, helplessly watching their comrades fall.
In close combat, Yuri’s blade never ceased cutting through armor. Guilty sliced through steel relentlessly, exposing the soft flesh beneath in an instant.
Blood splattered across Yuri’s cheek.
“Huff, huff…”
The battle didn’t last long.
Yuri slaughtered like a beast among sheep, and the remaining enemies, broken in spirit, were finished off by his knights.
One overwhelmingly strong warrior—Yuri—had created this entire situation.
The greatest mistake was underestimating Yuri’s power based on old standards.
It seemed that although Genard was colluding with the Empire, their connection wasn’t close enough for him to receive high-level intelligence.
“Let’s go.”
All the enemies lay sprawled on the ground, either dead or in a state close to it.
Yuri paid them no mind and passed by.
Not only Yuri, but the knights following him showed no hesitation or pity. Their hearts had been tempered enough on the battlefield.
This was a scene they were all too familiar with.
After cutting down another group of knights, there was nothing left to fear.
The path to Genard was wide open, rendering the once-feared Jattery family’s influence meaningless.
Yuri had a good idea of where Genard might be.
“Should we split up?”
“No, we move as one.”
Yuri headed straight for Genard’s chambers.
When people are gripped by fear, they tend to curl up in the place they feel safest.
Thanks to the map Asana had drawn, Yuri already had the castle’s layout memorized.
Soon, they encountered another group of knights.
“Drop your weapons, and we won’t kill you.”
The knights were guarding a large door.
Seeing Yuri and his group drenched in blood, they lost their will to fight. Yuri subdued them without much resistance.
Yuri opened the door.
“Hmm…”
An unexpected sight greeted him.
Genard sat perched on the edge of his bed, clad in a steel armor custom-made for his bulky frame, holding an iron helmet at his side.
He looked up calmly as Yuri appeared.
“What are you doing here?”
Yuri asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.
Genard answered briefly.
“Your Highness.”
“Hm?”
“Forgive me.”
The sudden turn of events caught Yuri off guard.
“My judgment was flawed. As a noble of Briol and lord of Yuzes, I feared that if all forces were concentrated in Bejos, Briol might fall into crisis.”
There was a solemn weight to his voice that left Yuri momentarily speechless.
“So, out of nothing but loyalty to Briol, I reluctantly left troops behind in the rear.”
“Ah, I see…”
“I couldn’t just leave Briol—and its royal palace—completely undefended. What if someone with ill intent took advantage of that? While guarding the borders, the enemy could seize the heart of Briol itself. That was my concern. It’s all my fault. My excessive loyalty to Briol was the problem!”
His shameless confession stunned not only Yuri and his men but even the Yuzes knights guarding the room, leaving them all slack-jawed.
“Cough… Your Highness!”
Genard rose from his seat and suddenly dropped to his knees.
“Please, behead me!”