I Became the First Prince

Chapter 231

No One in this World Does Not Dream (1)

Arwen fell out of my arms and ripped the hem of her dress roughly.

‘Pwap!’

I blocked off her front. In my hand was a short sword that I didn’t know I had drawn. Carls and my knights ran up and surrounded me. I looked at them, then turned my head. Suddenly, the king and Maximilian were surrounded by a wall of knights. The old marshal and Siorin were desperate to calm the confused envoys and nobles.

The palace knights drew their swords and went to guard those who attended the banquet.

And Eli, with his hair tangled and his dress all messed up: “Damn. If only my body were stronger. At least I can get a stiff drink now.”

Even with his messed-up look, Eli was having fun as he mouthed off. One moment later, the smell of alcohol stabbed into my nose.

“Eli!” I called out to him.

“Eli!”

After I added energy to my shout, Eli, who had been spouting gibberish, turned to me.

“Form a description of the situation,” I ordered him.

“While I was in the hall, my heart became bored, and I went for a walk in the garden. Then, I saw someone suspicious, pursued them, and was ambushed.”

We were in the middle of the kingdom, in the royal palace where the monarch lives, and at a time when foreign dignitaries were visiting. Security was several times tighter than usual.

But there was an unknown enemy? I didn’t sense any signs.

“Three of them I saw with my own eyes. One of them directly attacked me.”

Eli was a man who had risen to the level of Master. Even if he had faced three foes, it would be amazing if only one of them had managed to batter him into such a poor shape.

My expression distorted. “What kind of guy-”

At that moment, I heard the low sound of footsteps.

‘Crrshh’

A sound of sharp metal scratching over a floor pierced into my ears. I turned my head, and someone appeared from beyond the door that had been completely smashed. The figure wore dark armor and dragged a bloody greatsword over the floor, as if on a grim rampage.

‘Chik!’

He stopped right in front of the door to the banqueting hall, then glanced inside.

“Halt there!” the palace knights warned him as they raised fierce energy.

The black knight did not even budge in the face of the sharp energy emanated from over a hundred knights. I wanted to add my power to theirs, but then, I froze on the spot. I didn’t see anything: no characteristics, age, name, none of it.

I checked it several times, but the results did not change. Even with my power of [Judging], I could not determine the knight’s identity. The meaning was clear: the black knight’s level was not below mine.

‘Shh!’

The black knight started advancing again. Even if he wore heavy iron armor, I heard no footsteps as he moved.

‘Krsschhk!’

All I could hear was the sound of his greatsword scratching over the floor.

“Stop.”

Seeing such an impostor, I warned him. “That’s far enough.”

Uninvited guests weren’t welcome to take a single step into the hall.

“It’s him that attacked me. So be careful, your Highness,” Eli warned me in an uncharacteristically tense voice. Instead of answering Eli, I stared at the Black Knight. He also stopped and looked at me quietly. It was a very alien gaze, as if an empty suit of armor was staring at me. I couldn’t feel anything, so well was the guy hiding his energy. The Black Knight didn’t show any hint of being hostile, even after he had made Eli a ragged mess.

At first glance, his ghost-like presence resembled the dead, but he was by no means dead. I didn’t feel the spirit peculiar to the undead emanate from him at all. It was obvious that he was human.

Yet even I, a Sword Master who had reached heroic levels, could not detect his energy. I again tried using my power, and as expected, his identity could still not be determined.

As I gave strength to my eyes, I found a clue that might identify him: his black armor was scorched. Then his gaze suddenly settled on me, and I frowned. His blade was too blunt to be called a sword; it was a dull blade with a clunky form that was strangely familiar to me. After pondering for a while, I finally found the answer.

“Surely?”

I widened my eyes and looked at his sword. No way for it to be… That great sword was definitely something I knew well. Though not as old as me, it was still a relic with a fairly ancient origin. Depending on the age, this cursed sword was called either Red Lunar Eclipse or Gloomdark.

But the first name the sword ever had- “Verduisterung!”

It was the darkness that covered the moon.

‘Karree!’ The cursed moonsword cried as if it was very happy that I had uttered its name.

“Oh shit!” I gritted my teeth and grabbed onto the nape of Eli’s neck.

“Yah!”

Eli yelped at my sudden behavior, but regardless of his protestations, I looked at his body. His clothes were crumpled and dirty, but fortunately, there were no cut or stab marks.

“Well, your Highness? Why grab me all of a sudden?” Eli asked me.

“Is there a place where his sword cut you?” I demanded.

“There are no such wounds. Before we could even compete with swords, I was beaten- All of a sudden, caught by surprise. The coward rushed me from behind.”

Normally, I would have scolded Eli for his words that did not fit the situation, but now, I was just relieved. Truly, if the moonsword had hurt Eli, he wouldn’t be able to so deftly run his mouth.

“Why the hell did you do that?” he again asked.

“It’s a cursed sword that severs the soul from the flesh. It can affect you just by passing close by.”

Hearing my words, Eli tried hard to maintain his shrewd composure.

“Okay? The owner of that sword is still a coward.”

He looked at me, then shot a fierce glance at the black knight.

“You wanted to attend a banquet? By what right? Those who are not qualified cannot attend this banquet.”

The black knight’s shoulders shook as he heard my words. His face was not visible, but I could see that he was laughing at me.

“There is only one person who can discuss qualifications with me.”

The black knight spoke for the first time.

“And that is not you, Adrian Leonberger.”

His voice was dull and gritty as if stones were grinding within his throat. He spoke a hateful language that I thought would never be heard again in the center of the kingdom. It was the Burgundy Imperial Language.

“Why is an imperial knight here?”

“No way! They’re ignoring the recent treaty!”

The nobles had barely regained their composure and now wondered about the identity of the black knight. The envoys exchanged whispers with firm faces. Everyone was more than a little agitated.

“You are a knight of the emperor?”

I spread my energy as I stared at him, calming down those who were beginning to panic.

“Gloriously so,” said the black knight, not shaken at all by my challenging gaze. He merely scratched his magical sword over the floor, again and again.

“The only true ruler in this world, Lord of the Continent, Holy Emperor Ortega de Burgundy, is the name of the one I serve.”

At that moment, ominous waves spread all over the place.

‘Klingle klingle,’ the great chandelier started rattling.

‘Kliin!’ All the windows of the banqueting hall shattered at once. Glasses and plates placed on the tables shattered with loud noises, drink and food splattered in all directions.

“Ahhhh!”

Emissaries and nobles screamed.

“The sword of the imperial family,” the black night said softly amid all that noise. “Head of the Nightmare Knights.”

The presence of the man, which had been faint, emerged like a tsunami and pressed into the banquet participants.

“Penta Knight, Morte de Morte.”

Panicked screams erupted from all over.

“Is this enough of a qualification for me to attend the banquet?”

The palace knight commander and his knights roared fiercely as they created energy, which soared from where they stood toward the ceiling- ‘Qaup’ it met the mighty energy of the Nightmare Knight and dissipated into nothingness.

‘Shuck!’

In the midst of the turmoil created by Morte, I took a step forward.

“Once, my introductions were long and tremendous,” I said as I met his gaze.

‘‘Isn’t it mine, either those high halls, or that dignified throne?’’

‘‘There is nothing that is not my seat.’’

I softly recited [Poetry of the Defeated King].

‘Go-oh-oh’

I, the king who had usurped the Warlord, was now standing up to the black knight.

The chandelier, which had been shaking as if it would fall right away, creaked as it returned to its position. The nobles and envoys who screamed quickly regained stability.

“The Emperor’s Dog: there are no words that better suits your introduction than this one title,” I said as I felt Morte’s malicious energy pushed to the edges of the banqueting hall. “The Emperor’s Dog is not permitted to attend this banquet.”

The black knight stood and looked at me, then spoke softly.

“I should have killed you back then.”

“When?”

“The reason you were able to finish your modest mercenary career safely was because his Imperial Majesty showed mercy.”

This time, I was surprised. I didn’t expect that the emperor knew of my past, of when I had concealed my identity to fight in the war for Dotrin. But my surprise was merely surprise, nothing more.

If there was one thing I did know- “You can try to now.”

I knew that Morte wouldn’t easily best me at present. Yet, for the first time in my life, I faced a Penta Knight, and his power was greater than I had expected.

That didn’t mean I would lose easily; if I had to fight, there was no reason to avoid it. No, in truth, I rather wanted to fight. A new vitality circulated through my body, a feeling that had been somewhat suppressed by my recent boring daily life.

A fierce fighting spirit arose in my heart. I really wanted to know: how great was the power of a penta-chain knight, a power I had never faced before? What kind of might was hiding within this guy who talked so leisurely during a battle of energies? Does he deserve to be the master of Verduisterung?

My skin was tingling, my heart pounded. Both my feet trembled as if they wanted to charge over the floor right away.

“Woo,” but I forcibly settled my boiling spirit. This was the middle of the royal palace, and there were those I had to protect behind me. It would be insane to fight with all my might here – at least for now.

When my spirit had barely been marshaled, the black night told me, “I have a great desire to do that, but unfortunately, I cannot. His Imperial Majesty has no intention of breaking a promise made by his own blood.”

“The guy who hid like a thief and made a bloody mess of a champion of the kingdom talks too much,” Eli said, who wasn’t even bleeding much. He was clearly not grasping the situation. His words passed my ears by.

“He must know,” said Morte, “if I had wanted to harm him, he would’ve become nothing but a lump of meat.”

Eli again swore, expounding upon the subject of the cowardly surprise attack, saying that the imperial had to be taught a lesson. Of course, the black knight did not respond, and neither did I.

“Let’s hear it then,” I asked the black knight, “What is the reason for the emperor, who said he would not break his son’s promise, for sending you here?”

“My business is with people other than you,” Morte responded, suddenly taking on the role of a messenger. His helmet rattled as he scanned the banqueting hall.

“It is with those who dare not worship the masters of the world.”

Morte’s gaze fixed on the exact spot where the envoys were gathered.

“The vain dreams your masters have will end in a nightmare.”

The envoys were terrified and looked very uncertain.

“And the nightmare has already begun.”

All the envoys gathered could speak the imperial language, and not one of them was stupid enough not to know what the words of the black knight meant.

“Are you going to declare war on the whole world before your own civil is over!” one of the envoys shouted loudly.

“There is no reason not to do so,” the black knight responded as if the matter was insignificant.

His gaze focused on more of the envoys.

“You have to earnestly hope that there will still be a place to go back to.”

Those envoys who met Morte’s eyes grew pale.

“But on the other hand, you won’t even get the chance to return,” the black knight rattled off again. “Hand them over. If you do so, then at least, as long as the treaty is maintained, the Leonberg Kingdom will be able to face the same tomorrow as yesterday.”

I laughed at him. “Before I do that, you will have to find a way to save your own life,” I mocked the knight.

Despite my direct provocation, Morte was still confident.

“If you stand against me, at least half of those gathered here will die.”

I had no guarantee of victory or defeat. If we collided here, as he said, many people would die. That was obvious; it was also something that wouldn’t happen.

“You are so overconfident in yourself. That’s your mistake.”

He had to learn: the kingdom was no longer such a fragile state that Empire’s agents could come and go any time they wanted. Also, the royal family wasn’t forgiving enough to let the heart of the kingdom be violated twice.

‘Kudangtang!’ there came a sudden, harsh noise. Figures in burnished black iron armor rolled over the floor, making their entrance. Their armor looked a little less flashy, but the basic form of it almost mirrored that of the Nightmare Knight. Behind them, a middle-aged knight, also in black armor, appeared.

“The encirclement is complete, we have the hall tightly covered. This can’t happen every time there’s a banquet. I have nightmares when I hear that a feast is being held these days.”

“Count Willowden!” the nobles shouted as they saw the Templar Commander.

The black knight stared at me quietly. His gaze seemed to ask what changed by the appearance of a quad-chain knight onto the scene. So, I opened my mouth and told him.

“There are many important folks who haven’t arrived yet. For you, this banquet is just beginning.”

Even at that moment, I sensed a powerful energy heading toward the hall at high speed. It was unlike the insidious uninvited guest’s energy, who had so openly bared himself. It was the grand spirits of knights who had reached completion.

Needless to say, the first distinguished guests of the banquet were the kingdom’s champions.

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