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“Ulabis! Ulabis! Ulabis!”
“It’s the Knight of Red Flame!”
“Kyaaa! He’s so handsome!”
After inheriting the Agreta name and becoming the 17th Prince of Thran, Ulabis was the most-like person on the entire continent.
The three great powers had been at a standstill for a long time, like a pool of stagnant water.
And yet, the 50,000 soldiers of Thran repelled the 200,000 strong army of Swallow. Ulabis toppled the goliath that was Duke Altsma and became the first to ascend to the throne by virtue of his knighthood—many knights came to revere him as a hero, much as the people of Thran did. On top of all that, he was a handsome and skilled young man in his own right.
He was known as “Miracle Ulabis” across the continent.
“He’s very popular,” Akshuler whispered.
Iceline nodded. “Of course he is, he’s the prince.”
“They say he’s hotter than hell. Are you going to fight him, by any chance?” Akshuler joked.
“I’m a wizard, not a knight,” Iceline flatly replied.
Ulabis walked right up to the door and then noticed Akshuler.
“Second Mercenary?”
Akshuler silently met Ulabis’s burning eyes.
Mercenaries called Akshuler the “Second” as a mark of respect. He was second only to the absolute reign of Barbarian, the mercenary king.
I see… Akshuler’s expression hardened. As a Master, he could clearly distinguish another Master from the mundane warriors. His reputation as a monster precedes him.
Akshuler saw fire. There was no other way to describe it. Even in the quiet stillness, Ulabis’s furious flames threatened to engulf everything in his path.
If I had to fight him… They weren’t fighting with swords, but their sweat-drenched hands.
If someone asked Akshuler if he was nervous, he would have said “Absolutely not.” As far as he was concerned, it was a win-win situation. Ashuler loved fighting strong people.
“Please pardon my interruption,” was all he said, however. “I’ve heard the rumors about the Prince, but… to my astonishment, you’re even more impressive than they say.”
Ulabis’s expression didn’t change, despite the threat in Akshuler’s tone. Interestingly, the four knights—their armor clearly emblazoned with the crest of Thran—accompanying him reacted the same way. The lack of reaction to an insult towards the ruler of their nation spoke highly of Ulabis’s knights’ mental training.
“You too,” Ulabis said. “You’re better than I expected. I really want to fight you.”
Akshuler broke into a laugh.
“Great.”
“Then excuse me.” Ulabis left Akshuler and Iceline to themselves, shadowed by the quartet of knights.
“Oh my god… the Knight of Red Flame and—!”
“I’ve never seen anything like it! It’s not just the number of participants, but their reputations are bigger than any other Battle in history!”
“Ahh, what are we supposed to do? Ordinary folk like us would be kicked out just for getting too close to them.”
“Shit. Moments like these make me embarrassed to be born completely normal.”
“Don’t be like that. We get to see heroes like this because we live in Reinhardt!”
Akshuler heard them gushing and shook his head. “Come on, let’s go inside.”
“Right.”
While Ulabis and Akshuler were talking, a booming voice filled the inside of the building.
“The drawing for the Master Battle will begin in thirty minutes! If your country’s representative hasn’t arrived yet, we urge you to ready them as quickly as possible!”
The structure was huge, big enough to fit thousands.
Against one wall was a table—a prestigious one to be sitting at, to be sure—with a clear view of the podium. At it sat ten eager young men and women. They were all about 20 years old, an odd thing when most people here were in their thirties or forties.
However, it wasn’t all that strange. This group was assembled by the participant nations as an advertisement to potential investors, and each person was chosen extremely carefully. As the continent’s brightest up-and-coming stars, they were poised to lead the continent, hence their youth.
It was worth noting that they were not a homogenous group, despite the similarity in their standing. It was only natural, given their diverse ethnic backgrounds.
“The Master Battle will be a lot of fun!” a lovely blonde lady exclaimed. “In the Martial Arts tournament, they only used fake skills. You can’t even compare them.”
The square-faced man next to her smiled.
“Princess Terraforce, it seems this is your first Master Battle?”
“Yes! Aren’t you new as well, Shrek?”
“I’m the oldest one here.” He grinned.
Sonna moon Terrafroce, princess of Terra, was already a 4th Class Mage at only 17 years old. Shrek, a mercenary, was already 24.
“Who do you think will win? Prince Ulabis? He’s been acting like he’s the strongest.”
“There’s a prize for winning, right? I agree, it seems like Prince Ulabis is not satisfied with being ‘just’ a Master.”
“Does it matter who wins or loses? Sir Ulabis is on a different level to the rest of the Master Battle. Even the most fearsome of foes was brought to his knees—”
“I can’t listen to this,” someone exclaimed.
“Terra will be powerless forever if they’re all as ignorant as you,” another voice added.
“Wh-What?!” Sonna fumed.
The two boys who spoke had the same brown hair, the same tan eyes, and the same dark skin—identical twins. They were the Logen brothers, Test and Estra, scions of the illustrious Logen clan of the Swallow Empire. The Logens—the 5th Dukedeom of Swallow—were the only other family on the continent who could boast of having two rising stars.
Much of Avalon’s nobility agreed that Joshua would not be able to surpass the Logen twins.
“A random thought, but do you think that mongrel is the best?”
“If that makes them feel better… People from tiny nations do enjoy their fantasies.”
“You— You!” Sonna flushed.
“Stop it. There’s no point in fighting in a place like this.” Shrek sighed and cast his gaze around for anything that could help him resolve this situation.
The Holy Knights of Hubalt remained still, as if it had nothing to do with them. The lone wizard from the Magic Tower was from a non-governmental entity, much like Shrek. The two kingdoms’ men had their eyes on the issue, but intervening now would only make things worse.
The only option left was the man sitting by himself.
“Now that I think about it… There was only one person from Avalon participating in this event.”
A hushed sigh wafted down the table.
“I’ve heard that he, one of the rising stars of Avalon, hasn’t been seen in his homeland for some time now…”
The isolated man slowly raised his head. He looked to be in his early twenties, with bright blue eyes and pale blonde hair. He was huge, with a face just as masculine as his stature.
“Ah! Sir Joshua and Sir Babel are brothers!” Sonna exclaimed.
“Who’s brothers?”
Sonna froze stiff under the man’s gaze. If looks could kill, she’d be dead.
Oh, man… Shrek’s face darkened.
Bavel von Agnus, one of the three rising stars of Avalon, was considered the continent’s greatest talent until he came along. Right now he was suddenly very energetic.
Shrek hastily rose to his feet, desperate to smooth over the situation.
“Thran’s representative, the Knight of the Red Flame, Prince Ulabis, and the mercenary Akshuler are entering!”
Shrek was saved by the gruff, booming voice.