I Became the First Prince

Start Normally, Finally Be Extraordinary (3)

Uncle had a habit of talking about it.

Double Chains are better. Mana hearts can only withstand the power that a single ring could contain.

It seemed like he was not exaggerating.

The moment my sword clashed against Dunham’s, I realized it. My stomach grumbled. It was different from when I dealt with Uncle. At that time, I was using the [Poem of the Dragon Slayer]. Now, however, I could only use [Poem of the Dalian], an ordinary poem.

[Dalian Poetry] could not protect me from the strength of the two rings resonating within each other.

I pressed down the rumbling inside me and exhaled loudly.

I could see Dunham’s face through the black light shining from his sword.

His eyes were like a hawk’s eyes staring at its prey.

Bang-!

The moment our swords met again, I felt another wave run through me. But instead of folding, I endured and swung my sword again. Dunham’s sword blocked it before my silver-lighted blade reached him.

“Ha!”

I caught my breath, then spun, my sword making a half-turn slash. Surprisingly, Dunham was also there, his sword in a vertical position blocking my attack.

Bang-!

Iron against iron; mana against mana.

Bang-!

The inside of my body heated up as if I was on fire. The heat excited me.

Bang-!

I was deaf. It’s probably because of the mana bursting out of me.

“…!”

Dunham’s mouth moved, but I couldn’t make out what he is saying.

I cannot hear him.

I could only hear the sound of our swords clashing. Even that seemed to come from far away.

I was on fire, but strangely, my head was cold.

My sword was constantly moving as if I wasn’t holding it. Now, I could not even feel the shock whenever our swords met.

Am I tired? Did I run out of mana?

I saw Dunham’s eyes. They were filled with speculation.

Why can’t I feel the wave anymore?

Even when I thought hard about it, I couldn’t come up with an answer.

In the meantime, my sword kept moving.

Bang-!

At one point, I felt my skin tingle.

I saw Dunham raising his sword.

It was in slow motion. I saw the faces of the onlookers, among them Adelia and Arwen.

It was ridiculous to see the girls with both their mouths open as if they were expecting my next move.

When I moved my eyes again, I saw a flash falling from the sky.

My sword moved by itself, just enough to block the beam of light falling from the sky.

As the beam of light touched my sword, my sword suddenly glowed more intensely.

At that moment, I felt a dull sensation. The shock rocked my intestines. I clenched my teeth.

Bang-!

Dunham’s sword could not stand against Twilight.

Dust scattered as it crashed to the ground.

Then, my sword bounced up, turning towards Dunham’s shoulder.

A silver line appeared in its trail. One second later, bright red blood splattered.

“…!”

Dunham’s mouth was wide open.

When I pulled back the sword, blood splattered again.

Then, I found myself behind Dunham, hitting his back with my sword, and kicking him behind his knees.

Kwap-!

He knelt, but he grabbed the opportunity to pick up his sword. Then, he spun, swinging his sword as strong as he could.

Huh-!

When I opened my eyes, Dunham was flying in the air.

Then, another knight appeared.

And another. And another. Each had a completely different face.

I didn’t know who they were, but they were rolling on the ground when I saw them.

“Next!” I yelled. I could feel the heat in my face.

Slowly, the world returned to normal.

I began to hear the crowd.

“Petton passed out!”

“Oh my God, he won again!”

“Five straight wins!”

My chest was heaving. My mana heart was exhausted and empty, and I could feel my muscles twitching from time to time.

My heart seemed as if it was going to burst. My mouth is dry. Every time I breathed, my lips seemed to crack.

The insane cheering of the knights had brought me back to my senses.

I remembered everything.

I beat Dunham, and after that, I competed against four more knights.

I won against all of them.

When I realized that, something flashed in my mind.

“While competing for a hundred times, I endured a thousand waves.”

“I will be proud even in front of a larger wave.”

Through the haze of my mind, I heard a low tune.

“Now, I lift my sword.”

A new verse.

『The rating of [Dalian Poetry] has increased. 』

『[Dalian Poetry] has changed from [Ordinary] to [Extraordinary]. 』

Messages popped out one after another.

『[Dalian Poetry] has become [Poetry of the Duel].』

Only a few hours after arriving at the Templar Knights’ fortress, I got what I was hoping for.

I turned around slowly. It felt like there was no strength left in my body.

“Your Highness!”

At that moment, strong hands caught me. The unfamiliar hands supported me gently as I sat down.

Weakly, I tried to turn my eyes to whoever it was that helped me.

It was a stranger. A stranger wearing the uniform of the Templar Knights.

There was a strange expression in the knight’s face that I didn’t see from them before…

Respect.

“Your Highness,” the knight smiled, revealing white teeth. “I salute you for your victory!”

Shouts suddenly erupted from the crowd at the knight’s words.

“Honor the sword of His Highness the First Prince!”

“Honor for that duel!”

“Salute for His Highness’ victory!”

The Templar Knights raised their sword as they cheered at me. The men who acted like they wanted to eat me were now looking at me with admiration.

Then, I heard a heavy voice.

“They have a simple nature…”

It was York Willowden, the Commander of the Templar Knights.

“Swords and victories. Nothing else makes them enthusiastic.”

At his words, I looked around again.

Some smiled at me and gave me thumbs-ups; others were in energized discussions about the five victories; others were giggling at their fallen colleagues.

As I stared at them blankly, I heard Uncle talk to me.

“You must have thought they would be resentful…”

I nodded.

I was finding it strange that they did not raise their swords against me to restore their honor and fame.

“A fair defeat is more valuable to them than an ugly victory. As long as someone gave their all, winning or losing is not important. Losing is not dishonorable.”

York Willowden nodded. “The fame of the Templar Knights does not fade after a few defeats in sparring.”

“But Dunham may be a little resentful,” one of the knights joined in, “because he will be giving his prized sword to His Highness!”

The other knights laughed and made fun of their colleagues.

Certainly, the Commander and Uncle were right. The knights seemed to be excited about the battles they just watched rather than being upset about being defeated.

“Arwen…” I called for her, who promptly strode over and stood beside me.

The knights’ mood seemed to dampen a little as they watched it.

They are poor guys stuck in a secluded fort, waiting for the day their swords could be used.

The only flower they had, the Arwen they loved, was now coming with me.

I laughed.

One thing hasn’t changed. The spirit of revering the strong has remained the same.

* * *

After that, I stayed in the fortress for two more days and continued competing with the knights. Some of them were knights that I hadn’t seen on the first day, while some were there to get Dunham’s sword back.

Of course, I won all the battles against them.

I faced everyone, even those who were high-ranking knights amongst them. I earnestly accumulated verses for my poem.

Finally, it was time to go.

“See you next time,” I told York Willowden and the knights after I got on my horse.

“Safe travels, and see you next time, Your Highness.”

I paused and remembered something I had to ask York Willowden.

“Please keep everything that happened here a secret.”

He looked confused. “Wouldn’t it be helpful to tell others about it?”

Of course, his words were true. But now, I was familiar with having the reputation of an idiot. It didn’t bother me. It didn’t matter to me.

Instead of answering, I lifted three fingers to York Willowden and counted them down one by one.

“First, they wouldn’t believe it.”

“Second, if they believe it, they would want to fight me.”

“Third, it’s all going to be a headache either way.”

York Willowden chuckled. “Alright, I am willing to do that.”

I turned around. The greetings were over.

The court knights, Adelia, and Arwen, followed me. Uncle was already ahead of us.

“Uncle!” I yelled at him as I tried to catch up.

“Do you have anything to say?” he slowed his horse.

“The banquet.”

“What about it?”

“Can we make it sooner?”

Uncle looked at me with a puzzled face.

“How soon?”

“As soon as possible.”

He furrowed his brows. Then, he added.

“Like… as soon as we return?”