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Chapter 17: The Legend of the Player
About 200 years ago from current time, the continent was in a chaotic era of war, where numerous countries competed for power and territory.
But there were people who ended this war and brought peace to the continent. They called themselves ‘players’.
And among these players, there were some who left the greatest achievements and carved their names in the history of the continent.
The great warrior who split the sea and the mountain with a single sword, [Sword God] Scharnos the Great!
He founded the Scharnos Empire, a huge country that almost unified the central and southern parts of the continent.
The second one was a mysterious martial artist who came from the eastern continent across the sea, which was considered an unknown region until then. He was proficient in all kinds of weapons, [King of All Weapons] Lee Cheongmun!
He was a staunch ally of Scharnos the Great, and later returned to the eastern continent and was revered as the founder of a legendary martial sect.
And finally, the [Great Saintess] Dimia of the Medit Church, who had an overwhelming healing power that could revive even the dead.
If the first two brought peace to the continent with their overwhelming force, the greatest achievement of the saintess was to restore and stabilize the ruins after the war.
She gathered the three major churches of the continent to establish a new country near the Scharnos Empire for the sake of ordinary people suffering from war and the church that was infringed by authority.
The Holy Land, where not kings but popes of the three major churches ruled!
That was the birth of Triphos Kingdom, which was called an inviolable and neutral area in the continent.
But what did these players do after that?
Surprisingly, they all disappeared suddenly a few decades later after achieving all these feats. Not only those three, but all players vanished from the continent at once.
People speculated that they were actually messengers of God, or mysterious saviors from a new continent beyond the east, but as time passed, they became legends.
“Your highness, please take care of yourself.”
“Haha, it’s just a trip to the capital of the kingdom. It’s not even as far as the northern part of our empire. Don’t worry too much.”
Triphos Kingdom was a small country in terms of size, but it was not a country to be ignored.
First of all, there were two superhumans representing the kingdom.
[Crusader] Duke Dios
[Executor] Archbishop Galeus
Two of the three strongest superhumans in the continent were in the kingdom. And there was also the influence of the three major churches that affected the whole continent.
[God of Healing] Medit Church
[God of War] Mars Church
[God of Wisdom] Odin Church
These three churches were like spiritual pillars for all continental people.
Committing a crime in the kingdom was worse than suicide. It was an offense to all continental people.
That’s why even Emperor Theopold II agreed to send Eurius, his first prince, to study abroad in another country.
The emperor looked quite satisfied.
‘If Duke Dios guarantees his safety in his house, there’s no reason to refuse!’
Emperor Theopold II also had high expectations.
‘With Prince Eurius’s ability, he will surely achieve good results at that Savior Academy. Yes, he must!’
“Your highness, this is a letter for my friend, who is the dean. If you show him this letter, he might give you some convenience even though he is a stiff guy.”
“Thank you. I will bring back good grades this time.”
But that wasn’t important.
Eurius took care of his letter before leaving and thought hard.
‘Why did Duke Dios send me a letter?’
Emperor Theopold II didn’t doubt Duke Dios because he probably heard this somewhere.
‘He just wants to build a good relationship with someone who will become emperor someday! I don’t need any more swordsmanship lessons, I just need to build my career.’
Eurius had already received lessons from a superhuman in his empire for almost a year.
No matter how much higher Duke Dios’s rank was than Count Calos among superhumans, it didn’t guarantee that he would teach better.
Maybe Emperor Theopold II thought that Eurius accepted it quickly because he was young and impressed by Duke Dios’s reputation.
But what Eurius thought was not such a problem. It was his adjective as an outstanding young man. No matter how he thought about it, there was no reason for that.
‘No, his daughter’s talent is the best in the continent, why does he need another young man now?’
As far as he knew, Duke Dios was not in a situation where he would want to see an outstanding young man with a good swordsmanship.
‘Is he just calling me out of personal interest?’
‘Well, it’s rare to see a first prince who has nothing but swordsmanship.’
He put his doubts behind and Eurius got on a splendidly decorated carriage that was heading to the kingdom.
‘Anyway, it’s not bad to meet Beatrix sooner than I expected.’
He originally planned to visit her after he had a solid foundation.
Of course, it was a lie to say that he had no expectations. But the reason why he decided to go to the kingdom was not because he wanted to see his old lover soon.
‘If Duke Dios is the father of Beatrix, maybe he can provide me with a clue to break through the wall of superhumans.’
With a little excitement and anticipation, the carriage departed for the kingdom with a tight escort.
…
Duke Dios’s house in the kingdom.
“Did you succeed?”
“He answered surprisingly quickly. He seemed quite impressed by your reputation, Your Grace.”
“Ho.”
The duke stroked his chin. He had achieved his first goal.
‘Now, I just hope that this first prince is at least comparable to Rize.’
“Your Grace, how are the suitors today?”
The butler shook his head silently.
“Tsk, I didn’t expect much anyway.”
They were young men with good swordsmanship and decent families from all over the kingdom, but they failed to propose.
‘Where can I find a young man who has a talent that reaches the third stage in his teens, and a good family background?’
The duke didn’t really care about his daughter’s condition. He thought it was an impossible condition. If it was possible, he would have arranged an engagement long ago.
‘But it might be possible to choose a suitable young man and make him close to her.’
The duke tried hard to gather young men with good swordsmanship and decent families and make them close to Beatrix. If they had the same interest, they would naturally become friends and develop feelings for each other, right?
But the result was not satisfactory.
“Your Grace, there is a complaint from the count’s house. How can you treat people like this……”
But instead of getting close, he didn’t even consider young men who could compete with his daughter.
His daughter, who knew his intentions well, drove those young men harshly, and in some cases, made them bedridden.
Beatrix was already seventeen years old! Next year, she would have to worry about being an old maid.
“Rize! Do you think you can do that even when the first prince comes?”
The duke smiled triumphantly.
His daughter was only interested in swordsmanship, but she was not a spoiled child.
As he mentioned before, he would go to the arranged marriage if he had to. But the duke wanted his beloved daughter to have at least a good match.
‘Prince Eurius, the first prince of the empire. If only he could reach a level that would make him a worthy opponent for Rize.’
If he couldn’t find a suitable partner, he would raise one himself.
Of course, the higher the status, the better. So that Riize wouldn’t be able to interfere easily.
When the envoy who went to Emperor Birthday told him about Eurius, the duke didn’t have much hope.
“How talented can he be, even if he is a prince? He doesn’t have the environment to focus on swordsmanship.”
But as he heard more rumors and witnessed his repeated failures, the duke couldn’t help but be interested in Eurius.
And then he heard a rumor that the first prince might come to study at the academy in the capital for a while.
‘It’s better than nothing.’
The Duke of Dios sent out an envoy with a thought.
‘Please, just half! I don’t even ask for the same level! Just half of my daughter’s talent. Your Highness, the first prince of the empire!’
The kingdom was right next to the empire, and especially close to the capital.
…
After three days, Eurius arrived at the Duke of Dios’s residence in a carriage.
“Is this the Duke of Dios’s residence?”
Eurius looked at the small(?) mansion in front of him with a slightly drowsy feeling.
In fact, he and Beatrix had a sudden political marriage in his previous life, so he had never been to the kingdom.
Envoy smiled bitterly and continued.
“The duke is very frugal, so it might seem shabby to Your Highness who grew up in the palace. I hope you understand.”
No one came out to greet him at the humble mansion, despite its reputation as the guardian of the kingdom, but Eurius didn’t care much.
‘He deserves it as one of the three great swordsmen of the continent.’
The Duke Dio of the holy kingdom didn’t make a fuss either when the prince came.
If you are one of the few superhumans on the continent, you don’t need to be overly courteous to anyone, even if they are a prince.
“Oink!”
‘What? What’s that noise?’
As soon as he got out of the carriage and entered the mansion door, he heard a pig-like scream.
Envoy shook his head and said.
“I’ll explain it to you inside. Please come in first.”
Eurius walked into the mansion with a curious expression. But then he saw some people coming this way with something in their hands.
“His face is completely smashed. We’ll have to send him to the temple of healing.”
“I told him not to provoke the princess. Sigh.”
What they were carrying was a stretcher. On it was a man who had fainted with foam in his mouth and his face swollen like rice cake.
‘Ah!’
Eurius finally nodded his head. It felt like all the puzzles were solved.
“Can I go over there for a moment?”
“Your Highness! Please wait!”
Envoy tried to stop him urgently, but Eurius quickly crossed the hallway and arrived at where the stretcher came from.
It was a spacious indoor training hall. And in the middle of it was a familiar face.
Golden hair that shone like gold in the light, and a woman who stood proudly with her waist straight.
‘Beatrix!’
Eurius suppressed his emotions and walked slowly towards the training hall.
“Are you next?”
‘Huh?’
She uttered a short word and threw something at him.
“Whoosh!”
Eurius caught something instinctively as he was shaking with emotion.
It was an ordinary practice sword that knights used.
‘This feels strangely familiar.’
As soon as he received the sword, he unconsciously took a stance.
Shiiik!
The next moment, Eurius saw a blade rushing towards his face.
“Princess! He’s not one of them! No!”
The door opened and envoy ran in with a scream almost like a shriek.
But it was too late. The sword was already in front of Eurius’s neck!
Eurius made a startled expression and shouted inwardly.
‘Hey! You crazy woman! What are you doing from our first meeting!!!’