[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 80
It was a group of horsemen of an overwhelming scale.
Seeing them, the faces of the other participants, including Edward, turned pale.
"W-What's that?"
There were the insignias of the Agamemnon clan with the golden mask, the Achilles, Hector, and Aegis clans, all influential clans of the central region, and even the Graham clan, the defacto rulers of Phantasia.
Whoosh!
Not just one clan, but a dozen influential clans stood behind Zeke and his party.
Edward, who was in front of Zeke, was flustered and speechless.
'N-No way.'
Although the Draker Martial Arts Tournament was a microcosm of the continent where the power of each clan could be measured, it was unprecedented for so many horsemen to gather at once.
The horsemen of each clan stood before Zeke and bowed their heads respectfully.
"Following the order of Sir Zeke Draker, successor of Agamemnon, the Achilles clan has answered the summons!"
"Following the order of Zeke Draker, successor of Agamemnon, the Hector clan has answered the summons!"
"Following the order of Zeke Draker, successor of Agamemnon, the Aegis clan has answered the summons!"
Following them, the other clans also reported their summons to Zeke.
Finally, the horsemen of the Graham clan, clad in gold-decorated armor, stood before Zeke.
"For Sir Zeke Draker, benefactor of the Graham clan and eternal friend, Duke Graham has ordered us to escort you during the tournament."
He offered Zeke something.
"Lady Angelina of the Graham clan asked me to convey this handkerchief, imbued with her wishes for your victory."
The mention of Angelina Graham caused a stir in the surroundings.
Angelina Graham, who had recently made her debut in society, was already considered the most beautiful woman on the continent.
Zeke, who received a handkerchief from Angelina Graham, who had almost no contact with the outside world, was the envy of other young knights.
Zeke accepted the handkerchief from the captain of the Graham clan's guards, put it in his pocket, and bowed his head in gratitude.
"Please convey my thanks to His Excellency the Duke. And also tell Lady Angelina that I will surely bring her victory."
The horsemen behind Zeke alone were enough to overwhelm an entire knight order.
Edward, sweating, retreated to where his horsemen were.
He gritted his teeth as he looked at Zeke.
'Zeke Draker. No matter what you do, you're just a sideshow to my debut.'
It was then.
A dozen figures appeared in front of the assembly area where the participants were gathered, waving the Draker banner.
Among those wearing Draker uniforms, someone rode forward on horseback.
Everyone fell silent at his appearance.
A middle-aged man with a face full of large and small scars.
Zeke looked at the man on horseback.
'The Scarred Knight, Gareth Draker.'
Gareth was one of Draker's guardian knights and a red-rank knight, leading the Black Wolf Unit, one of Draker's three major knight orders.
Zeke remembered his face because Gareth had been active on the front lines during the Third Continental War in his past life.
However, after Draker was completely incorporated into the Empire, Gareth broke his own sword and went into seclusion to preserve his pride as a knight.
He was a man of strong character and pride as a knight.
Gareth looked at the gathered people and said,
"We will now begin the Draker Martial Arts Tournament preliminaries. Participants, come forward with one weapon each."
At Gareth's words, the tournament participants stepped forward with the spears they had prepared.
Felix, standing behind Zeke, examined the spears the other participants were carrying.
Although most of them were covered with cloth, making it impossible to see their exact shape, it was clear that they had brought javelins with long shafts.
Felix nodded and whispered to Zeke,
"Master, as you expected, they seem to have modified their spears for javelin throwing."
Just then, Zeke handed Felix something heavy.
Felix tilted his head.
"What is this, Master?"
"It's the weapon you'll be using in the competition."
"What? Where am I participating?"
Zeke gestured towards the area where the preliminaries would be held.
Felix shook his head at those words.
"No way, I didn't even apply for the tournament, what are you..."
At the same time, Zeke pulled out an application form with Felix's name on it.
"Huh?"
Felix, who had come along thinking it was just an outing, realized only after arriving that he was a participant.
Zeke and Liam grabbed Felix, who was trying to escape, and dragged him inside.
The horsemen waited outside the stage, and only the participants lined up to prepare for the preliminaries.
Just then, a loud noise came from backstage.
Rumble!
A giant target that looked like a siege weapon was installed in the middle of the stage.
The participants tilted their heads as they looked at the target, which was made of several layers of thick steel plates.
'Did they install that beyond the mountain?'
Then Gareth spoke.
"The preliminary event is the strongest thrust. The more steel plates you pierce, the higher your score."
Most of the participants were surprised and looked dumbfounded.
They had been told that it was a long-distance javelin throw, but the preliminary event had suddenly changed.
"N-No way!"
"The strongest thrust! We can't properly exert force with these javelins!"
The participants had brought javelins that had been modified to be light and long for throwing long distances.
Seeing this, Edward and the participants related to the Siemens clan grinned.
They knew the preliminary event in advance, so they could prepare the appropriate spears.
'You're all just my stepping stones anyway.'
Edward whistled and took out the spear he had prepared in advance.
It was a modified spear with a heavy shaft made of iron and a sturdy blade, designed to maximize force.
Edward expected an easy victory.
It was then.
"W-What's that?"
The other participants exclaimed in surprise as they looked towards Zeke and his party.
They had also brought spears with heavy shafts and sturdy blades, just like Edward.
What Zeke had asked Catherine for was not a javelin for throwing, but a spear for thrusting.
Felix, holding the heavy spear, asked Zeke,
"M-Master, did you know about the preliminary event?"
Zeke shook his head at his question.
"I just thought those Siemens bastards wouldn't tell us the preliminary event so easily."
Moreover, Zeke had encountered Edward Siemens in his past life.
Edward, with his sadistic personality, preferred to kill enemies by directly wielding a spear rather than throwing it.
Zeke didn't think such a person would choose javelin throwing as a preliminary event.
He naturally ignored Edward's glare.
Gareth raised his hand.
"Come forward with your weapons as your names are called!"
The participants who had prepared javelins for throwing had no choice but to take the spears they had brought and stand in front of the target.
Since the qualification for participation was purple rank or higher, everyone could imbue their weapons with Aura.
However, simply coating a weapon with Aura didn't mean it could pierce the steel plates.
Thud!
As excessive Aura was imbued to add strength, the spear shafts often broke instead, and the force couldn't be transferred to the target.
The participants who had only practiced throwing for distance couldn't even make a scratch on the target made of solid iron.
"Hup!"
Clang!
The best they could do was pierce one steel plate, and that was only if the participant had decent Aura control.
After a while, it was Reina Draker's turn.
The spear Reina had prepared was an ordinary one.
This was because the Turunn clan didn't distinguish between javelins for throwing and spears for thrusting.
Reina stood in front of the target with her spear.
Then, she channeled her Aura.
Woooong!
A clear vibrating sound echoed from the spear.
She stepped forward powerfully with her front foot and thrust the spear.
Crack!
The spear, coated with Aura, pierced through four thick steel plates.
"Hmm..."
Although it was the best result so far, Reina had a dissatisfied expression.
Next was Felix's turn.
"Whew."
Felix, standing in front of the target, held the spear with a serious posture.
Felix, who had mainly learned traditional swordsmanship, had also been taught spearmanship to a high level by his grandfather.
Felix put all his weight into the spear and thrust it deep into the target.
Crack!
The spear, imbued with Aura, pierced through three and a half steel plates.
"Ugh..."
Felix returned to his usual languid posture and slumped down next to Zeke, seemingly drained of energy.
It was soon Liam's turn, and he immediately stood in front of the target with his spear.
He pierced three plates, slightly less than Felix.
Seeing that he lost not only to Reina but also to Felix, Liam resolved to train harder.
The next participant stepped up.
"Is it finally my turn?"
Edward Siemens, who had been looking at the others with an arrogant attitude, stood in front of the target with his spear.
"Hmph, a measly steel plate like this."
He held the spear and channeled his Aura.
Woooong!
The Aura gathered in the spear was so dense that it was visible to the naked eye.
It was proof that he was on the verge of being promoted to a blue-rank knight.
"Haaaaah!"
With a tremendous shout, Edward thrust his spear into the steel plate.
Crack!
With a roaring sound, Edward's spear pierced through six steel plates.
He retrieved his spear and put on an arrogant expression again.
"My condition isn't very good. If it were my usual self, I would have pierced all ten plates."
Edward glanced at Zeke, smirked, and returned to his original position.
Zeke didn't pay much attention to Edward.
He was more concerned about another participant.
'Elin Sabrina.'
While scanning the participants after arriving at the arena, Zeke noticed one participant in particular who stood out.
It was a young female knight with her face hidden by a hood and cloak.
'Just by looking at her breathing, gait, and the aura she exudes, she's no ordinary knight.'
For a knight with that level of skill, he should have heard of her name at least once, but it was his first time seeing her.
'Could she be participating in this tournament under an alias?'
"Zeke Draker."
Finally, it was Zeke's turn.
Zeke took his eyes off the female knight named Elin and stood up.
Then, he took out the spear shaft he had prepared.
But something was strange.
"There's no spearhead?"
Literally, there was only the shaft.
Zeke attached his sword, Bahamut, to the prepared shaft.
Click!
There was no problem with the attachment, as it had been specially ordered to be compatible with Bahamut.
Edward sneered at the spear Zeke was holding.
"Kekeke. Can you even lift that spear properly?"
Bahamut was a claymore, so it was larger and heavier than ordinary swords.
With the shaft attached to Bahamut, it became a long spear that was difficult to even lift properly.
As Zeke stood in front of the target, the examiner asked,
"Are you sure you want to use that spear?"
Zeke nodded and took his stance facing the steel plates.
Then he channeled his strength and took the stance of the Dragon Slayer Style.
Woooong!
Dragon Slayer Style, True Dragon Sword Skill
Eighth Stance, Third Verse
Dragon Scale Thrust
KwaKwaKwaKwaKwa!
With a tremendous roar, Zeke's spear pierced the steel plates.
It was surprising that he could execute such a powerful thrust with a heavy and long spear.
Moreover, Zeke wasn't even using an Aura Blade.
The examiner counted the number of steel plates Zeke's spear had pierced.
"A-All ten plates have been pierced!"
Despite the disadvantageous conditions, he had pierced through all the steel plates.
Edward had an expression of disbelief, and Reina glared at Zeke with sharp eyes.
Zeke shrugged and returned to his seat with Bahamut.
The tournament officials removed all the pierced steel plates and replaced them with new ones.
Just then, Elin Sabrina, whom Zeke had been paying attention to, stepped forward. It was her turn.
But she wasn't holding a spear in her hand.
The examiner asked Elin,
"Where is your spear?"
Elin then drew the sword that was hidden under her cloak.
The examiner looked at Elin and said,
"Are you going to thrust with a sword?"
It wasn't impossible, but it was certainly disadvantageous compared to using a spear.
Generally, swords were weapons for slashing, not thrusting.
But then, Elin suddenly started walking backward instead of towards the target.
The examiner, flustered, called out to Elin.
"Elin Sabrina! Are you forfeiting the match?"
At that moment, Elin turned around and threw the sword she was holding towards the target.
Crack!
The sword pierced the steel plates and embedded itself deeply.
The examiner, surprised, checked the steel plates and shouted, "E-Eight plates pierced!"
If it had been a spear instead of a sword, it might have pierced all ten plates like Zeke's.
Elin turned her head, looked towards Zeke, and took off her hood.
Zeke was surprised to see her face.
It was a face he knew.
'Helen Draker.'
The fourth direct descendant of Draker.
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]