LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 98
Chapter 98
The Forever Frozen Land of the North, the Frozen Land of Extreme Cold.
In winter, monsters descended southward to escape the deepening cold and hunger, and humans endlessly fought to protect their land from these monsters.
A young man who vowed revenge for his sister devoured by a monster picked up a shield.
He died.
A man who wanted to earn merit to feed his sick mother and siblings grabbed a spear.
He also died.
A knight blinded by revenge after losing his comrades and family to monsters swung his sword at the enemy before him.
He, too, died.
An old knight, with a heart worn out from numerous losses, beheaded a monster.
He also died.
As much as the snow piled up, so did the deaths, and the scent of blood spread with the frost-laden northern winds, only to freeze.
It was upon the corpses and blood of countless humans and monsters that the seven knightly families rose, forming the Grand Duchy of Syres, with the Syres family, known as the blessed bloodline, at its center.
The land where the frost of the northern winds and the pride of the knights lived and breathed, at the entrance of the Grand Duchy of Syres, the carriage carrying Aden’s party entered the gateway city.
Despite the early morning, the streets of the Grand Duchy were crowded with people who had passed through the gateway.
Lowe looked around and exclaimed.
“It’s crowded with people. They all seem to have come from outside, like us.”
“The martial arts tournament is just around the corner.”
The Syres Martial Arts Tournament.
It was a competition that began long ago to honor Zeka Syres, the founder of Syres, who defeated the disaster-class undead, ‘Queen of Winter.’
Those who sought to earn fame by winning the martial arts tournament hosted by the Syres Grand Duke family.
Nobles who came from afar to watch the martial arts tournament.
Merchants and gamblers who came to do business with such people.
During this time before winter, various people flocked to Syres.
Because of this, the Syres Martial Arts Tournament was famous as one of the top events on the continent.
‘On this day, even the citizens of the Grand Duchy put aside their work to enjoy the tournament.’
In winter, they fought monsters, in spring, they made preparations.
In summer, soldiers and knights trained, and citizens raised crops and livestock.
And when autumn came, they prepared for the coming winter with the harvest, and to relieve the tension from the upcoming harsh winter, they enjoyed the festival to the fullest.
As a result, so many people gathered and came out into the streets.
“A festival sounds fun. Right, Choco?”
Elise asked.
– Woof woof!
Choco nodded and barked in agreement, sticking close to Elise by the window to look outside.
Next to her, Cassie, who was reading a book bought in Kartan City, frowned slightly.
“Could you move the dog away a bit? I don’t really like dogs.”
– Whimper, woof woof!
Choco made a gesture as if to say, “Look who’s talking,” and barked.
Since becoming a spiritual beast, this dog had grown quite cheeky.
“As expected, you’re a cat person….”
“Young master, I’m not a cat, I’m from the cat-people tribe. I just don’t like dogs, it’s just my preference.”
Well, it might not be entirely unrelated.
Suddenly, Elise’s stomach growled.
Everyone turned to look at Elise, whose face turned beet red.
“That, that wasn’t my stomach!”
The saintess tried to lie blatantly.
Priest Bali smiled warmly and laughed heartily.
“How about we stop by a restaurant and eat something first? But with so many people, I wonder if we can find a place.”
Aden thought back for a moment and then said.
“There’s a place nearby with good food that isn’t very famous. Let’s go there.”
It was a restaurant Aden often visited in his past life.
In the future, the world would be half-destroyed, and the place would be gone, but it should still exist now.
At Aden’s words, Lowe blinked.
“Huh? How do you know such a place, Aden?”
“It was recommended by the Maedala Guild Master. Let’s go.”
They left the carriage at the storage near the gateway and walked to the restaurant.
Though it wasn’t a very famous place, it was quite crowded thanks to the festival.
Fortunately, there was still a table available for Aden and his party, and they sat down.
As they discussed what to order from the menu, Aden reviewed his plan.
‘To catch the Thunder Knight, I need a lot of preparation.’
He was a sword master and the next grand duke candidate who would be known as the Knight King in the future.
To deal with him, Aden needed to be at least of equal or greater level.
‘But I’m still just a semi-master.’
A semi-master was a mana user who had reached the wall of becoming a sword master but hadn’t crossed it.
To reach the wall, he had consumed numerous spiritual herbs from the secret library of the Sacred Fire Order’s headquarters.
To break through the wall and become a sword master, he needed special elixirs that increased quality, not just quantity.
‘I need to participate in the Syres Martial Arts Tournament.’
The Syres Martial Arts Tournament.
The winner of the annual competition received an elixir and the right to take anything from the Syres Grand Duke family’s treasury.
That elixir would be enough to reach the realm of a superhuman, a chance he couldn’t miss.
‘And this martial arts tournament is even more special. The Winter Queen will soon awaken.’
The Winter Queen.
An undead king-class entity, known as the Banshee Queen, that the founder of the Syres Grand Duke family had fought and defeated in ancient times.
The Winter Queen, just by her presence, turned the Frozen Land of Extreme Cold into her territory, creating a dungeon.
– Hoho, a dungeon created by a monster? That’s an interesting fact, Dragon Slayer.
Some wizards argued that dungeons were defense mechanisms created by the world to prevent beings with great power from disrupting the order.
Others rebutted that they were just nests created by monsters.
Whatever the truth, it was certain that sometimes monsters with powerful auras turned an area into a dungeon.
Like the Forest of Death in Sedus County, where the Basilisk resided.
Especially ancient beings like the Winter Queen, who would awaken in the future from the four great wastelands, turned the wastelands into dungeons just by their existence.
Thus was born the first legendary dungeon, ‘The Winter Queen’s Territory.’
If left alone, the legendary dungeon would cause a dungeon break, leading to an unprecedented monster wave.
‘That’s why the Syres Grand Duchy gathered troops to conquer the legendary dungeon.’
The Syres Grand Duke family, the six knightly families, and the new strong warriors from the martial arts tournament participated.
– How did it turn out?
‘How do you think? They failed.’
Of the thousand troops mobilized, nine-tenths lost their lives, and the remaining tenth barely escaped, looking like living corpses.
After that, they attempted several more raids but failed repeatedly.
Eventually, ‘The Winter Queen’s Territory’ caused a dungeon break, and the Winter Queen and her army invaded the Grand Duchy, moving south.
Having already suffered significant losses, the Grand Duchy could not stop the disaster-level monster wave.
‘And at the moment of destruction, the Thunder Knight stepped forward.’
Sylbeta revealed his Blood Knights to the world, leading three hundred Blood Knights to successfully subjugate the Winter Queen.
Thus, he became the new grand duke of the Syres Grand Duchy and the Knight King, receiving unwavering loyalty from the knights and support from the people.
An honorable and noble Knight King.
That was Sylbeta’s destined future.
‘But he’s neither honorable nor noble.’
To inherit the grand duchy, he didn’t hesitate to commit terrorism in the imperial palace and collaborated with warlocks, involving himself in numerous human experiments.
Only after being betrayed by someone he considered a comrade did Aden realize the ugly truth.
‘Once the Winter Queen appears, they will send the winner of the martial arts tournament as the first expedition team.’
Sylbeta would also participate in that first expedition.
A dungeon was a unique and isolated space, perfect for stabbing him in the back.
In a large-scale battle, even a sword master could lose their life if they let their guard down.
Winning the Syres Martial Arts Tournament.
That would be the first step for his revenge.
Aden’s eyes deepened with determination as he firmed his resolve.
“Um, excuse me….”
A waiter approached their table.
“There are no empty tables due to the crowd. Would it be alright if we seated other guests at this table?”
“Well, I don’t mind. What about you guys?”
Aden looked around at his party.
“I don’t mind.”
“Me neither.”
None of them were petty enough to fuss over an empty seat that wasn’t exclusively theirs, so they agreed to share the table.
“Wow! Thank you for sharing your table! I thought we’d have to turn back! Haha!”
A young man, who seemed overly energetic just from his voice, laughed as he approached.
He had a sharp gaze, a masculine and chiseled face, and an air of freshness like a stray cat, making him an impressive handsome youth.
Two more people followed the young man.
“Excuse us, thank you.”
“Thanks, everyone.”
There were three people in total.
A boy, a young man, and an old man, they seemed to be a party with a rather unique combination.
‘They look like mercenaries.’
The lively young man named Rao appeared to be a swordsman, judging by the sword at his side.
It was interesting that he used a half-moon sword, which was not commonly used.
‘The old man is from the tiger-people tribe.’
Despite being an old man with white hair, he had a good physique and exuded a fierce aura, typical of a tiger, giving him an intimidating look.
But the fine wrinkles on his face gave him a kind and bear-like impression.
“Hoho, I didn’t expect to see a cat-people girl here.”
“Hmm, I agree. Didn’t think I’d see an old tiger-people man.”
A tiger and a cat, an interesting combination in many ways.
Aden then looked at the black-haired boy.
‘The boy is… no, not a boy.’
Almost fooled, Aden quickly noticed.
The child named Radell had cut their hair short and dressed as a boy, but from the body proportions, voice, and facial features, Aden realized she was a girl.
Aden’s sharp eyes had caught it, something others would simply see as a pretty boy.
A girl disguising as a boy was not unusual.
In this line of work, a girl’s body could be inconvenient, so hiding one’s gender was common.
‘She must have her reasons.’
Since they weren’t related to him, Aden wasn’t curious about the reasons.
The cheerful young man introduced himself.
“I’m Rao. This is my younger brother, Radell. We heard this place was a hidden gem for food and really wanted to try it, but we couldn’t find a table.”
“Rao, you didn’t need to mention that.”
Radell glared at the young swordsman and poked him in the side.
Whether they were actually family or not was unclear, but they seemed very close.
Aden noticed the item Radell was holding.
“I’m Aden. We’re traveling together. By the way, what’s that instrument in your hand?”
Radell was holding an unusual-looking instrument.
It looked structurally similar to a violin but was distinctively unique.
“Oh, this? It’s called a pipa, a traditional instrument from my hometown. I’m an amateur musician.”
Radell smiled bashfully, and the other two spoke up.
“Hoho, despite being young, she’s an excellent musician. She has a bright future.”
“She’s our mascot and breadwinner. Honestly, she earns more money playing music than we do hunting beasts. Isn’t that amazing?”
“St-stop it, you two!”
Radell’s face turned red from their playful compliments.
Hearing the story, Elise’s eyes sparkled.
“Wow! Big brother, that’s amazing! You’re really incredible!”
“Th-thank you….”
“I’d love to hear you play. It must sound beautiful.”
“…Well, would you like to hear it? I won’t charge you.”
“Really? Thank you!”
Radell adjusted the instrument she was holding and began to play.