Black Badger - Chapter 428



Only Noblemtl

428. Old Tales, Horse Race (2)

The sound of a horn announced the participants’ entry.

This is my first time seeing a horse race.

I looked down at the stadium, holding my hands behind my back as was customary. I still didn’t see any familiar faces.

The men, each with their own workhorses, came out and stood on the flat dirt floor.

Two lines were drawn magically on the dirt floor.

Those who stand in front of it.

The servant horses stand in front of the servants as if to protect their masters. Each person was allowed to bring up to three servant horses throughout the competition. The competition was conducted in a way that those who did not lose even once advanced to the finals, but during this time, changing servant horses or adding additional servant horses was prohibited.

If all of your servants die in the first match, you automatically lose.

Even if all three servant horses were judged to be injured and unable to participate in the next match, it was an automatic loss.

By the way, the condition for winning a match is to render the opponent’s ‘main servant’ incapacitated for 10 seconds.

Even if the opposing team’s missionary is unable to play, it is considered a win.

Although it was against the rules to intentionally attack a servant instead of a servant horse.

If there was no intention to cause harm, then it wouldn’t be a particular problem… .

This is worrying.

The part that said ‘intentionally’ was subtle.

There is a high possibility that biased judgments will be made.

This was the part we were most concerned about in Kairos’ first game.

Kraaaaak!

Those who attend the horse racing competitions long for victory.

There is no limit to the types of monsters that can be served, so the servants grit their teeth and serve deadly and gigantic monsters.

Kuung!

That’s why the Condemned are fighting a bear-like monster twice the size of a human right before their eyes.

A condemned person.

I narrowed my eyes at the vile monsters I had encountered so many times in the village.

I feel sick.

I felt a physiological disgust at the goat-like creature with both eyes blocked by cloth.

When I saw a creature with a human-like body but a goat’s head, my eyebrows furrowed involuntarily.

Phew!

“Wow!”

“Whoa!”

“yes!”

“Teddy!”

The game will go on, whether or not.

The condemned man swung the huge hammer he was holding.

Amidst the crowd’s excitement, the bear-like creature was struck by a hammer and fell to the ground.

The bear’s master cried and called his servant.

“Teddy! Teddy!”

The verdict is in favor of the guilty.

The winner with his fist raised and the audience cheering.

Wow!

I sighed as I watched the audience screaming as soon as the winner was decided.

What is it that you find so funny that you watch it so intently?

There were many people among the reporters who had a negative view of the missionary, and for a moment, I thought I knew why.

It wasn’t always nice to see the ministers fighting with their minister horses at the forefront.

Even though most of them are aggressive and cruel monsters that are meant to be exterminated.

Kairos seemed like a good guy… .

[The next players are coming up!]

As I looked down at the stadium with a frown, the game continued.

The matches were played one after another. As I heard, when a rookie with no skills appeared, the matches were either too fast or boringly slow. If a reckless attack was ordered, the result was immediately determined, or the result was not determined because the player was running away.

If it gets too long, the match master will put a stop to it by putting a loudspeaker spell on the neck.

After determining the winner and loser of the game by imposing various restrictions, the next participants were introduced.

“Brabant! Brabant! Brabant!”

Among them, the famous ministers were definitely noticeable.

The atmosphere changed as soon as they came out. People were terribly excited, and even the nobles who had been lazily lying on their seats and eating grapes straightened their posture.

I guess the one who came out this time is like that too.

“Arsenia!”

Even the monsters they bring out have quite a reputation.

I looked down to see the man called Brabant waving his hand.

A human-shaped bull named Arsenia stood up with a loud thud, kicking up a dust storm.

The roaring cheers gave away their fame.

Although he seemed less famous than Shane, who finished the game in one minute two games ago.

Shane was probably the winner of last year.

I guess this missionary was a runner-up or something.

“Arsenia! Break it!”

Who is this guy’s unlucky opponent?

I looked down at the blond man smiling proudly and thought.

“Destroy all three of them!”

That monster looks as strong as the Condemned One.

Looking at the man called Brabant, he didn’t seem to have a soft hand. I watched him calmly as he repeated the gesture of cutting his throat with his thumb in response to the cheers.

I heard that that kind of theatrical attitude is one of the reasons for its popularity.

In my eyes, it doesn’t look so good because it seems overflowing with confidence, almost arrogant…

[Oh, unfortunately Brabant’s opponent is a complete newcomer.]

A competitor walked out from the opposite side of Brabant.

[The name of the historian is Kairos!]

Kairos.

I saw the red flag walking out calmly.

And the dazzling orange eyes that make it impossible to hide one’s origins.

Kairos was wearing his usual clothes.

And I was alone.

“hmm?”

Even though I felt something, I was momentarily confused.

Because the servant horses were not visible to the naked eye.

“her?”

I squinted my eyes and only then did I grasp the situation.

I wasn’t the only one who was so surprised. Everyone in the audience let out a sound of bewilderment. The commotion spread along with the flow of people. Some people got up from their seats to get a better grasp of the situation.

I see Kyle standing across from me spitting a curse word out of his mouth.

That makes sense.

I let out a hollow laugh as I watched the missionary standing calmly in front of the white line.

Who brings out such tiny creatures?

Kairos appeared, as per the regulations, accompanied by three demons.

I didn’t even know the name. A flying creature that usually traveled in groups, white and tiny, like human lungs. A large silkworm-like creature that liked to crawl underground.

And then he brought out the slime.

One of the nobles raised his voice.

“How rude!”

A thunderous roar resonated throughout the stadium.

“What do you think of the missionary game!”

The commoners quickly sat down at the sound of the angry voice.

But the person who actually heard the yelling was indifferent.

I watched in amazement as Kairos raised his head and looked up at the noble.

The man in question bowed politely and respectfully toward the VIPs.

“I put my soul on the line when I say this: I take this game more seriously than I could ever take it more seriously.”

“But why do you bring such insignificant things here?”

The nobleman, who had suddenly risen from his seat, snorted.

His voice was unnecessarily loud, and his taunts resonated throughout the stadium.

“Are only monsters like that living in the grasslands?”

The audience burst into laughter.

Some didn’t understand what he was saying, some froze at his words, but most just laughed along without thinking.

Either to please the nobles, or simply because his mischievous mockery was amusing.

I managed to control the anger that was welling up in me.

He fixed his gaze on Kairos so as not to glare at the nobles.

I admire Kyle for not running off to that noble.

“no.”

Surprisingly, Kairos was still calm.

At this point, it was nothing short of amazing.

“I will show you a good game, Baron.”

Ray Renouard recognized him right away.

You seem to be only interested in monsters, but strangely enough, you remember the faces of nobles so well.

“Sit down and don’t act rude.”

The series of events ended with a lukewarm mediation by the financial authorities.

“Is there a rule that says you can only bring out monsters that look cool?”

The Baron was powerless against the Archduke.

As soon as he sat down with a displeased expression on his face, the competition began.

I looked down at the stadium, ready to intervene at any moment if anything happened.

No matter how I look at it, it seems like Brabant will be overly aggressive… .

[The match begins!]

puck!

Kkieeeek!

what?

The bull holding the spear covered his eyes.

The attacks continued in a panic-inducing manner.

Thud thud thud!

“This coward!”

Phew!

The game ended faster than expected, as the fly flew by so quickly that it was hard to see and poked the bull’s eye.

He repeatedly hit me in the eye, blocking my vision.

Even though I swung the hammer around with my eyes closed, it was too fast to hit.

The bull, staggering in pain, lost his balance and fell to the ground as the silkworm monster struck his heel and rose from the ground.

thud!

“wake up!”

Then I got stuck in the slime for 10 seconds and couldn’t move.

“Get up now!”

It ended so pointlessly.

Everyone is going crazy.

In the meantime, the match master was the first to come to his senses.

[Kairos Victory!!]

“Wow!”

The audience, having regained their senses, shouted.

“What is that?!”

“It’s just a trick. It won’t work twice.”

“Fight fair and square!”

The words poured out as soon as victory was confirmed.

The Baron is angry and swears from the VIP box.

I saw Kairos, who was smiling slyly despite his anger, with his mouth open, and giving his closing remarks.

He greeted the laughing nobles politely and then shook hands with Brabant.

Of course, I was rejected outright.

Kairos only gave a bitter smile.

After bowing his head and greeting, the man naturally picks up the demon and turns around to leave.

What are you planning to do with the match tomorrow?

I watched the red-faced man walk away with a disturbed heart.

Now that we’ve shown our weaknesses, that method won’t work in the next game… .

***

Those worries were quickly proven to be unfounded.

The competition usually lasted from 20 to 25 days. The number of days varied slightly depending on the number of participants, but the participants played one game every other day.

A series of horse races that continue until a final winner is determined.

The person who has been the center of attention this year is definitely Kairos.

Both internally and externally.

Brabant, who had been defeated by Kairos on the first day, held ill feelings and launched a surprise attack at night.

It was fortunate that we had called Kairos to our barracks in case something like that happened. Kyle personally beat up Arsenia and Brabant. Kairos had to stop Kyle, saying that it was enough.

Of course, rumors spread.

Whether it was because of the rumors or the strange servants, the second game of Kairos was even more crowded.

Nobles who were not expected to attend, such as Archduke Meyerbold and Jacques, also showed up again.

In the second match, which was so crowded, Kairos won a great victory.

I thought I won the same way.

Kairos used slime to receive spells fired by enemy monsters and then returned them in a flashy manner.

This is the first time I’ve ever seen a slime attack like that.

“Wow!”

This time the people cheered.

He raised his fist, saying he didn’t know slime could be this powerful.

“The first game wasn’t a fluke!”

The third game wasn’t a fluke.

There were no cowardly victories. There were no defeats. Kairos won victory after victory with small, nameless creatures.

I let out a silent exclamation of admiration as I saw the number of people supporting Kairos increasing.

It’s just amazing how we win every game in a different way.

They say he’s a newcomer, but is this something?

I should have known when I saw the skills of the Bambi-Ik-Joo.

As the game entered its second half, the crowds started to increase significantly on days when Kairos played.

The nobles also heard the news and their numbers increased one by one.

The Archduke even left after Kairos’ match was over.

In fact, it means that the detective came to see how things were going.

Kyle, who had been watching the series of events with weary eyes, commented on the day when Kairos confirmed his advancement to the semi-finals.

“Why is that guy always at the center of rumors?”

It seems like there was quite a bit of chaos in the tribe… .

It’s not that there was no sabotage.

When they were cornered, there were those who took out the fourth demon, and those who pretended it was a mistake and tried to poison Kairos.

In reality, it is rare to find someone who does not resort to trickery.

But in no situation did I need to step forward.

Because Kairos responded before I could even jump onto the pitch.

Have you trained for times like this?

You’re good at coping.

In any case, such responses added luster to the dramatic victory of the missionary.

His name swept through the zodiac like wildfire.

It was to the extent that on the day of the semi-finals, the Emperor, the Lord of the Tower, and the High Priest appeared side by side.

There were also counts and marquises.

It’s not even the finals… .

The semi-finals were a crowded one, with people standing cramped up next to their seats.

“Will that rookie be able to survive until the finals?”

While waiting for the game to start, Kishis, who was appearing on the field for the first time, approached and spoke.

“I’ve heard some strange rumors.”

I stared intently at Ja-an.