The King of Orote was furious—he had never encountered such blatant disrespect before.
His anger was contagious, and even his knights shot hostile glares at the Vengeance Knights.
At first, the knights of Briole were taken aback by Yuri’s behavior, but when Orote’s side showed open hostility, they instinctively growled back.
A tense, deadly atmosphere settled over the place.
As both sides lined up before the dueling grounds, the King of Orote spoke.
“They say Briole is the land of knights, but this is beyond rude. Such behavior is more fitting for bandits…”
“Oh, enough talk. Just prepare the banners.”
“Profit…”
“Sorry, but we don’t have time. Please understand.”
The King of Orote glared at Yuri, then suddenly cracked a sly smile.
“So, you want to complete the Conqueror’s Chronicle, huh? But it won’t be that easy.”
“Yes, yes.”
“I said it won’t be easy.”
“Understood. Let’s get this over with.”
“Ugh…”
Yuri turned around. The four knights who would step into the Conqueror’s Chronicle nodded.
“We do this as planned.”
“Yes!”
Yuri’s strategy was simple.
Trust each member and their skills.
Since the enemy might try to manipulate the order, Yuri and Jared were randomly assigned to positions one, two, or three, and the remaining three were randomly placed in the leftover spots.
Because the order was drawn by lot, even their own side didn’t know the sequence.
Orote, on the other hand, tried to catch Briole off guard by placing their strongest knight in the first position.
Usually, the ace is placed last, so they likely thought they could secure at least one guaranteed win.
But the Vengeance Knights’ formation defied convention.
“Oh, this is good.”
“Looks like their strongest is also number one.”
By chance, Yuri was assigned first.
The opposing knight’s face turned pale.
His name was Norris—the strongest knight of Orote, known as the Thornblade Swordsman.
There was a story that since childhood, he had trained by striking thorny branches with a wooden sword until their surfaces were polished smooth.
With a grim expression, he drew his sword.
“I expect a fair fight.”
“As do I.”
Despite all the earlier noise, Yuri refrained from taunting once on the dueling ground.
He had only dropped formalities to speed up the duel, not to insult.
“Begin!”
At the start, Norris lunged forward.
Just as they had tried to disrupt the order before, this unexpected charge was meant to throw Yuri off.
“Oh…”
But surprise attacks only work if the opponent can’t respond in time.
Yuri was faster in every way.
Even when Norris’s blade came close to his face, Yuri still had time to react.
“Ugh!”
“Good try.”
Though Yuri had been rude to Orote, he still felt a twinge of guilt and decided to teach rather than finish Norris off immediately.
Yuri’s sword danced, shifting dozens of times, probing for openings.
Anyone watching closely would have gleaned some insight by following the sword’s path.
“…!”
Norris, a knight hailed as the best in his country, widened his eyes as he realized Yuri’s intent.
“This is…!”
Yuri was breaking down Norris’s techniques and offering his own counter-strategies.
Norris watched as his swordplay was systematically dismantled.
Unimaginable, intricate sword patterns unfolded one after another.
“Watch closely.”
The spirit blade of Yuri’s Soul Slash left multiple afterimages in the air before fading like a dream.
It was brief.
But it was enough.
Norris dropped his sword.
“I concede.”
“Sir Norris.”
Yuri draped his cloak over Norris’s shoulder.
“Well done.”
Norris stared into the air for a moment, still digesting the sword paths Yuri had shown, then bowed respectfully.
“I’ve learned much.”
“I, too, admire your courage. That’s what being a knight is about.”
Yuri meant it.
From the moment they stepped onto the dueling ground, Norris must have sensed defeat. The gap in skill was too great.
But he never gave up. He didn’t hold back or act timid. He gave his all, leaping forward to seize even the smallest chance.
Yuri respected that spirit.
“If I were you, I wouldn’t have done as well. Excellent work, Thornblade Swordsman, Sir Norris.”
The duel ended on an unexpectedly warm note, leaving both sides’ knights looking confused.
They weren’t used to the sudden shift in atmosphere.
Fortunately, Jared was up next. He quickly broke the tension.
“Is that all you’ve got? Hahaha!”
After defeating his opponent, Jared laughed heartily, hands on his hips.
The knights’ eyes blazed again. Orote’s side even spat curses.
Jared smiled slyly as he stepped down.
“Better this than an awkward warm moment, right?”
“…”
Perhaps due to the heated mood, the third knight, Tirvo, lost. His opponent was Orote’s second strongest.
“I apologize for tarnishing Briole’s honor. I will atone with my life…”
“Pay with money, not your life.”
“Huh?”
“You’re a count, right? Must have plenty of money. You’re the heir?”
“Yes. Hehe…”
“Good. Pay with money. I hate all that tragic stuff. Give me something material.”
But there were no surprises.
The next knight, Guiness, defeated another Orote knight, sealing the Conqueror’s Chronicle victory for Briole.
Three to one.
A solid result.
“That knight was incredible. His swordsmanship was lightning fast.”
“They say Briole is the land of knights, and these are terrifying warriors…”
“They look young but are amazing.”
“We lost, but they fought well…”
Orote’s knights whispered among themselves as they eyed Guiness.
Yuri glanced at Simon and Guiness anew.
He had underestimated them, recalling their weak performances in the allied forces before, but here in a foreign land, they were treated as formidable warriors.
“You’ve grown a lot. Still not enough, though…”
“Haha, we’re no match for Your Highness.”
“We still have much to learn.”
Their shortcomings were only in Yuri’s eyes. Simon and Guiness were now recognized as the Vengeance Knights’ second and third strongest, just behind Jared.
They were effectively the squad leaders.
“Well done, Guiness.”
“Thank you. Hehe…”
Once things settled, Yuri approached the King of Orote and bowed respectfully.
“Please forgive the earlier disrespect.”
“Ahem…”
“I knew it was improper, but we had a long journey ahead and no choice.”
“Still, you don’t speak like a thug…”
“Yes, I apologize.”
Though the King of Orote still looked somewhat sulky, he soon handed over a banner through his attendant.
“I heard roughly from the King of Anabas.”
“Huh?”
“Empire, dark magic, all nonsense I didn’t understand, so I turned off the crystal ball.”
“Ah…”
“Seems there are reasons behind it. Try completing the Conqueror’s Chronicle. It means a lot to our alliance, so your words will carry weight. Then I’ll listen seriously.”
“I will.”
“Now get out of here with this.”
Yuri passed the Orote banner to the knights standing behind.
Then he bowed again to the King.
“Your Majesty, we must leave immediately.”
“Not even stopping to sleep?”
“Yes. There are still many countries to fight.”
“You’re serious.”
The King of Orote chuckled.
“Alright then. Show me. If you have skill, it’s confidence, not rudeness. Maybe I’ll get to see this Conqueror’s Chronicle before I die.”
With that, the Vengeance Knights left Orote and continued challenging others to the Conqueror’s Chronicle.
Their advance was unstoppable.
Yuri and Jared never lost, and the others mostly won as well.
The worst result was three to one; most were overwhelming three to zero victories.
The number of banners the Vengeance Knights carried had clearly increased.
“Phew…”
But the toll was heavy.
Riding without rest, sleeping outdoors, their stamina was draining.
So before heading to the next country, Yuri let the entire order rest with an overnight camp.
“Your Highness.”
“Hm?”
“May I sit?”
“Go ahead.”
Yuri nodded as he arranged the banners collected so far in front of the barracks. Jared approached and sat beside him.
“Why?”
“I heard something strange in Grigio today.”
“What was it?”
“Well…”
Jared hesitated, then looked at the banners Yuri had spread out.
“Are you sure these fit together?”
“Exactly.”
So far, the Vengeance Knights had gathered seven banners.
They still needed nine more, but seven was a decent number.
Yet no matter how they arranged them, it didn’t feel like a single picture.
Waving a banner, Yuri looked at Jared.
“So, what’s the matter?”
“Ah, yes.”
Jared said,
“I heard that we might not be the only outsiders participating in the Conqueror’s Chronicle.”
“Are you sure?”
“Not certain yet. It was just mentioned in passing. A friend from another country said some knights we’ve never seen appeared, and told me to prepare for the worst.”
“Hmm…”
“They said there were five of them. Isn’t it suspicious they showed up now?”
Yuri looked down at the scattered banners, then gathered them in one place.
“Probably the Empire.”
“Do you think so?”
“The Alliance has maintained close ties with the Empire all this time, so it wouldn’t be surprising if this news reached them quickly. They probably sent knights affiliated with the Empire to interfere with us.”
“Then…”
“The Battle of the Overlord might get a lot tougher from here on out.”
Thinking back to the last war, it had been far too easy.
“We’ll need to stay on our toes now. It’s possible the Empire will join the fight to rally their own banners, just like we are.”
“Would they really go that far?”
“Though the Empire has been quiet lately, they’re definitely not just sitting still.”
Yuri looked toward the direction of the Empire.
It was the cold north, where a biting wind blew.
For some time now, an ominous feeling had hung in the northern skies. A creeping unease crawled over his skin, pricking his nerves.
Yuri thought of Cedric.
He was far from idle. There was no doubt he was still scheming in the shadows.
Laurent and Cory wandered aimlessly across the continent.
Laurent was a skilled swordsman, and Cory could wield magic, so they had a decent number of ways to earn money.
But both of them were hideous in appearance, so no one dared come close.
Unable to blend in with humans, they scraped by taking on occasional jobs—hunting bandits or beasts—to survive.
“We’re entering the Small Kingdoms Alliance now,” Cory said, walking ahead. Laurent didn’t respond.
“It’s neither the Empire nor Briol. We have no ties here, so it should be fine, right?”
“Shut your mouth.”
“Heh heh…”
They trudged along the poorly maintained road, heading toward the Small Kingdoms Alliance.
At first, Cory had only thought about returning to Briol, but traveling with Laurent had changed his mind.
“What if there’s no work here?”
“…”
“Should we help with farming or something?”
“Ridiculous.”
For once, Laurent replied.
“Do you think people will accept these hideous faces? Maybe you haven’t looked in a mirror lately, half-orc.”
“…”
“Yeah, just keep your mouth shut and walk. You’re too noisy.”
After a while, a carriage appeared from behind and quickly caught up to them.
Laurent and Cory both had their hoods pulled low, so the driver couldn’t see their faces. He called out cheerfully.
“Hey there, where are you headed?”
Cory grabbed the edge of his hood and answered.
“To the Small Kingdoms Alliance.”
“Where exactly?”
“Well, um…”
“Ah, wandering vagabonds with no destination, huh?”
He pointed to the carriage behind him.
“There’s room. Want a ride to the nearest village at least?”