Imperial Guard - Chapter 85



Only Noblemtl

“Pour your wrath into the divine power! With the power of Gaia, you will destroy the evils of the continent! Like this!”

Kwaaaaang-!

Carlson’s divine sword strike split the steel dummy in two in the training grounds.

The Knights of the Silver Cross also opened their eyes wide at the divine power of tremendous power.

“Wow, that’s amazing. As expected, this is Sir Carlson, the hope of the Knights of the Silver Cross.”

“I heard that every night, he comes to District 4 to vent his anger. He must be judging the evildoers who torment the people of the Empire!”

Even the Knights of the Silver Cross, who at first did not recognize Carlson, now recognized him.

Carlson did not discriminate against others based on their origins or age, and he taught the divine power sword fairly even to those who looked down on him.

Carlson was a more sincere knight than anyone else.

“Shit.”

“Yes? Sir Rael. What did you just say?”

“It’s nothing.”

Rael chuckled as he watched Carlson teaching the Holy Power Sword to the Knights of the Silver Cross.

Strange stories began to circulate within the order, and at some point Carlson became the hope of the Knights of the Silver Cross.

I even hear that he goes to District 4 every day to judge the wicked.

‘That’s going gambling, you idiots.’

I wanted to tell the truth to those Knights of the Silver Cross right away, but I held back for the sake of Carlson’s image.

Even though Carlson is stupid, he’s a good person.

“Like this! This is how you do it!”

“Carlson, don’t break too much of the training grounds equipment.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, sir.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. I know best that you are working hard in training.”

Even Captain Marco looks at Carlson with warm eyes.

That must mean that the divine power of the sword is great.

‘It’s really interesting.’

Carlson, who had been a supporting actor, had suddenly become the center of the church.

If Rael hadn’t been there, he would have been killed by the heretics.

It felt strange that Rael had changed the predetermined future with his own hands.

“Rael. How do you feel about attending the Divine Power Sword Training?”

“Oh, Captain. It certainly seems impressive. Carlson is a guy who does it when he has to.”

“I was worried at first, too. But now, I have become a knight better than anyone else. Rael. It must be because you have been teaching me well.”

“Haha, no, sir.”

Rael smiled at Marco.

If you think about it, this guy used to be crazy just looking at the demons, but now he’s become very gentle.

This one must have quite a bit of its own share.

‘What? Am I saving the church at this point?’

Suddenly, that thought occurred to me.

If there was no Rael, the crippled empire and the crippled sect would have suffered enormous damage.

‘Fuck, I can’t even charge you for it.’

But it was frustrating because there was no way to prove it.

“Hmm···.”

Meanwhile, Marco stared at Rael’s back.

The one who killed the demon Basolod recently.

Marco was convinced it was Rael.

‘As expected, Rael, you are an amazing swordsman.’

That’s because from the first time I saw Rael, I felt an aura similar to that of the Thousand-Year Sword Master.

The energy was growing stronger and stronger, and now its sharp momentum was reaching Marco.

Marco trusted his instincts and was convinced that it was Rael.

“Thank you for always honoring the name of the church, Rael.”

But I had no intention of bringing it up.

All he cares about now is working for the church.

I thought that in order to help the church, it would be better not to touch Rael.

‘But… I’d like to have a fair fight at least once.’

At times like these, I began to resent the position of Commander of the Silver Cross.

He himself represented the Knights of the Silver Cross.

There is nothing to be gained by beating Rael, and losing or even just beating him could damage the image of the church.

So, when you have to endure, you have to endure.

Marco turned his head, swallowing his regret.

“That’s all for today’s training. The rest of the time, you can do some independent training. If you have any questions, feel free to come to me.”

Just as training was ending.

Carlson came over.

“Boss. Thank you for your hard work!”

“Thank you for your hard work, Carlson.”

“Yep! Oh, Brother Rael! How is my training?!”

“It’s cooler than I thought.”

Lael looked at Carlson with a smirk.

He smiled broadly at Rael’s compliment, wondering what was so good about it.

“Hahaha! Brother. From now on, please treat me more politely. This is my position in the church.”

“Carlson, you’re great, but Rael is the next warrior. What are you talking about to the next warrior?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, sir.”

“···You’re not the next warrior.”

Rael sighed at Marco’s words.

I don’t know why the religious bastards are so anxious that they can’t make themselves into warriors whenever they see them.

That spot should be reserved for Lucas.

Thud, thud.

“May Gaia bless you… All the warriors representing the sect are gathered here. It’s amazing.”

At that moment, a priest with a kind face approached.

“Cardinal Angelo. Gaia-men. It’s been a while.”

“Hehe, I came here because I have something to tell Captain Marco… Sir Rael, Sir Carlson. Could you step aside for a moment?”

“Yes, of course. Let’s go. Carlson.”

“Okay, brother. Let’s eat.”

“Where are you living?”

“···Why do I always have to buy it?”

Carlson looked resentful.

There is something wrong with the fact that people who have more money than you are always trying to take advantage of you.

“Cardinal Angelo. Isn’t this story related to these two anyway? These two are trustworthy people.”

“Oh, I said that because I was thinking of you, Captain. If it’s okay with you, you two can come here too.”

“Is this a story about us?

Rael turned his head and looked at the two.

Even if Carlson doesn’t know, does he have to hear the important news of the church?

“It’s about the Yongbong branch.”

“That’s what it was.”

Marco nodded at Angelo’s words.

Yongbong branch.

It is a competition held every four years where young warriors from all over the continent gather.

There’s been a lot of talk about that competition lately.

“Yongbongjihoe? Brother, isn’t there still quite a bit of time left?”

“···How would I know.”

Rael already had a headache.

He was annoyed that such a competition even existed in this world.

“Carlson is right. There are still more than two months left until the Yongbong branch meeting.”

The Yongbong branch is usually held just before winter comes, so there were still about two months left.

“Yes. However, a message just arrived from the Imperial Court. They said that they will bring forward the Yongbongjihoe by about a month, so please postpone the selection of the warriors until then.”

“···Selection of warriors? The imperial family intervening in the religious order’s events. Does that make sense? We must strongly protest.”

Marco frowned at Cardinal Angelo’s words.

He was already angry at the empire for not being able to properly stop the invasion of the demons, but he couldn’t stand it if they were interfering with the religious order’s affairs.

“There is a justification. This Yongbongjihoe is a convention to honor the first emperor of the empire, and they plan to hold it bigger and more splendidly than ever before. They ask for the understanding of the religious community as it is an important event.”

“···You came in first after bowing in the royal court.”

Marco looked uncomfortable.

If the royal family bows first, the religious order should also make some concessions.

After all, the church exists within the empire.

“Yes. I think there is another purpose.”

“Considering that he insisted on postponing the selection of the warrior, it seems that he wants to support someone in the Yongbong branch.”

“I thought so too. I guess they’re planning to hold a big event to attract the attention of the people of the empire, and have the winner of the Yongbongjihoe naturally be selected as a warrior.”

Marco and Angelo continued their conversation with serious expressions.

‘Yongbongjihoe···.’

Rael also listened to their conversation and was troubled.

‘Is the scale of the competition, which isn’t even mentioned in the original, bigger than expected?’

The name of the competition is ridiculous, and it doesn’t even appear in the original work, so I didn’t think it would be that great… But seeing Angelo and Marco worrying about it, it seems like it’s a bigger competition than I thought.

“Chief, is the Yongbong Branch that big of a conference?”

Rael looked at Marco and asked.

“It wasn’t like this originally. Some articles have praised it as a historic competition, but there are many similar competitions all over the continent.”

“···Chief Rain spoke as if it was some kind of huge competition.”

“Chief Rain? He has won the Yongbongjihoe. It is only natural that he would hold the competition he won in high regard.”

“···.”

somehow.

There is no way such a stupid competition could be held worldwide.

Although it was a fairly famous competition, it didn’t seem like it was something Lucas would necessarily participate in.

“But… this competition is different.”

“why?”

“As the Imperial Family said it would be held on a huge scale, this Yongbongjihoe will be bigger than any other competition. The cancellation of the Heavenly Festival will probably also play a part. They need to let people know that the Empire is still going strong. Furthermore, since the Imperial Family directly mentioned postponing the appointment of the warrior… I think the Imperial Family is probably thinking of pushing someone forward.”

“The royal family is pushing for a warrior? Hmm. That’s interesting.”

This is also the first time I’ve heard this story.

“Why are you talking like it’s someone else’s story? Rael. It’s because of you.”

“No, what did I do?”

“You seem to be denying it, but it’s already been decided that you, Rael, will be the next warrior. The Empire doesn’t like that.”

“···I told you, I don’t want to be a warrior.”

Rael rubbed his forehead and felt a headache.

This fucking world.

Why won’t you leave yourself alone?

I don’t know why you’re being so nosy, even though I told you not to do something like that.

‘How far does this butterfly effect go?’

Because of Rael’s existence, the invasion of the Demon Tribe increased, the Heavenly Festival was canceled, and the Empire, which wanted to place someone other than Rael in the position of the warrior of the church, held a larger Dragon and Bong Association.

In the end, this was also Rael’s fault.

“It’s a good thing that Sir Rael and Sir Carlson are here. Let’s choose a knight to represent the Gaia Church at the Yongbong Branch.”

Angelo said with a smile.

It would be okay to put the name of both religious groups on them, but it would not look good to have many articles from the religious group, so I planned to only have one.

“Carlson, stay strong. I hope you will bring honor to the name of the church.”

As soon as Rael heard Cardinal Angelo’s words, he tapped Carlson on the shoulder.

“Yes? Me?”

“Of course. You are the hope of the Knights of the Silver Cross.”

“But aren’t you much stronger than me, hyung? You even cut down the demon tribe with one stroke of your sword at that time…”

“Hey, I told you not to talk about that!”

“Brother. Anyway, Cardinal Bernando says it every morning at the prayer service.”

“What the heck···.”

Why does that crazy pig cardinal talk about the devil’s head during prayer time?

Rael sighed and looked at Carlson.

“Anyway, Carlson. You are a more qualified person to represent the church than I am. The Cardinal and the Dean are okay with that, right?”

“I don’t think it would be strange if either of you represented the religious order.”

“Carlson, have confidence. You are a good enough knight.”

“Oh, I understand···!”

Carlson nodded to Angelo and Marco’s words.

I’m going to represent the church, so this day has finally come!

‘How much was the prize money… I heard that even the second place prize money was huge…’

Carlson clenched his fist as the three cheered him on.

*

“Sir Rael. Thank you so much···!”

Lucas’ eyes lit up as he looked at Rael.

The Yongbong branch meeting will be held in a month.

I was already interested in it because it was a huge competition, and thanks to Rael, I was able to receive a recommendation from His Highness the Archduke.

“It’s not that difficult.”

In a medieval fantasy world where discrimination and inequality are commonplace, there is a huge difference between being recommended by a nobleman or not.

Lucas will probably advance straight to the main tournament without any preliminaries.

That’s the power of recommendations.

“Lucas, there’s something I’m curious about.”

“Yes. Ask me anything.”

“Do you have any plans for the next two months?”

I heard that in the original, the Yongbong branch meeting was held two months later.

Rael wondered what Lucas was doing at that time.

“Two months…? Oh, by then I’ll be on a deserted island preparing for the Academy graduation exam.”

“···Uninhabited islands are always mentioned in the academy.”

I felt a little envious of Lucas spending time with his girlfriends on a deserted island with no one around.

That too must be a burden that warriors bear.

“Brother Rael. You’ve never even set foot in the Imperial Academy, have you? How do you know about the Academy’s curriculum?”

“I know a way to do it, so shut up. And you tried going in once?”

I went in once when Lucas called.

It was definitely a place only visited by nobles, so the facilities were good.

‘Now I know why the Yongbongjihoe didn’t appear in the original.’

A deserted island would be more fun than a competition like the Yongbongjihoe or something.

Besides, it wasn’t a big competition like it is now.

“Brother. What are you going to do about it?”

“Yongbongjihoe?”

“Yes. Are you going out?”

“···I have to go out.”

“Really?”

“okay.”

Rael also made up his mind.

In fact, I tried to run away somehow… but they said that there is no paradise where you run away.

Everyone is already thinking about their participation.

If he gets out of here, he’ll attract more attention, and the imperial family might do something strange for no reason, so it’s better for Rael to step forward himself.

And if he really doesn’t go out, the image he’s built up so far and the image he has of Second Princess Yuri could also get worse.

If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it.

Rael continued with a smile.

“And if they give you money for legally beating up nobles, why wouldn’t you go?”

“Oh···. Brother.”

“huh?”

“As expected, I can communicate with you, hyung. Haha. I also plan on beating up those nobles.”

“Yeah, Inma. If not now, it’s a tough opportunity.”

Rael nodded, patting Carlson on the shoulder.

Of course, being able to beat up nobles is the biggest reason, but there were many things to be concerned about in this Yongbongjihoe.

‘I’m also concerned that there’s someone in the royal family who’s trying to push me…’

Have you done anything that could cause trouble for the royal family?

I didn’t do it at all.

Rather, he should be praised for killing several demons who invaded the capital.

‘There must be something going on that I don’t know about. Or… it could have been the work of the Knights of Carmen.’

The Kamen Knights take a different approach from the original.

There’s a chance it’ll be them again this time.

Anyway, the Yongbongjihoe wasn’t just a simple martial arts competition. There must have been another intention behind it.

I was going to investigate through Bagus and Tusin, but I also planned to see Rael face to face.

‘And you can beat nobles too.’

Of course, for Rael, the fact that he could legally beat up the nobles had a bigger impact.

“Hehehe. You little shits. Go check it out.”

“I won’t let you off either. I’ll show you the fear of the world to those who don’t know the sadness of dice gambling. Hehe.”

“···.”

Lucas, sitting across from the two commoners who were smiling sinisterly, had a shaky expression on his face.

‘You’re not trying to beat me, are you?

There’s no way that’s true.

Lucas thought about that, but then recalled their usual behavior.

And I came to one conclusion.

Both are good people, but their personalities are flawed.

‘···Just in case, let’s not put down the sword when we meet the two of you.’

He sipped his coffee with fear.