Many heroes were dispatched as lions according to my 'Fallen King' plan, and at this slightly empty moment at Crossroad.
Starting with the new high priest, Zenis, unexpected other guests began to arrive.
Dudududu-!
North gate of Crossroad.
Standing in front of the open gate, I quietly watched a series of troops rushing from afar.
Defeated Army-
They clearly looked like an army that had lost in war.
The soldiers' broken armors were clotted with blood, their equipment was damaged, and their injured horses limped.
But their eyes.
Still shining brightly.
The flag this defeated army was holding high, fluttering long in the wind, belonged to my brother, Lark.
Lark's direct army. The 1st Legion of the Imperial Army.
They were its remnants.
Click! Click! Click!
Despite being a defeated army, every single one of their movements was incredibly precise.
One knight stepped forward in front of this group lined up at the north gate of Crossroad.
He was a fierce-looking old knight with scars all over his body like tattoos. One of his eyes seemed blinded, unfocused, and glaringly white.
The old knight dismounted with a heavy motion and bowed deeply to me.
"I greet Prince Ash. I am Metallic, the commander of the 1st Cavalry Knight Division of the 1st Legion of the Imperial Army."
"Nice to meet you, Metallic."
Metallic gave another polite bow, and I lightly nodded in return. Metallic continued.
"I believe you know why we have come here."
"It's not hard to guess."
With the widespread news of Lark's execution.
The fact that the remnants of the army he led did not surrender to Fernandez but came to me.
It means they have not given up yet and are looking for another to fight alongside.
"The question is whether I can live up to your expectations."
"His Highness Lark said."
Metallic looked at me with a fierce gaze.
"If anything happened to him, he ordered the remaining army to be led to Prince Ash. To entrust you with the command of the army."
"..."
"His Highness said you are the only one who can stand against His Highness Fernandez. Therefore, I believe you can easily fulfill my humble expectations."
"What are your expectations of me?"
Metallic replied immediately.
"Revenge."
"..."
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, death for death. A requiem for His Highness Lark. Revenge for him. My purpose and expectation are only that."
In other words, killing Fernandez is the goal of this old knight.
"...You've come at the right time, Metallic."
I stepped aside in silence and pointed to the open north gate.
"Heal your injuries and recover. We'll soon be heading back to the battlefield."
Metallic bowed deeply again and then remounted his horse, leading his army into Crossroad.
Lucas, who was standing behind me watching this scene, let out a faint groan.
"...That 1st Legion, to be so thoroughly defeated."
"But they survived and have now come under my command."
Although defeated and reduced in size, it's still the 1st Legion of the Imperial Army, considered the elite of the elite.
The training level of ordinary soldiers is extremely high, and more importantly, they are skilled in warfare against humans.
Considering that most of Crossroad's soldiers are adept at fighting monsters but inexperienced in fighting other humans, their joining is very timely.
'I'll be able to hear about the tactics Fernandez uses on the battlefield. They will be useful in many ways.'
And with their joining, the existing barracks finally reached their capacity limit.
The construction of new barracks is urgent. I should put in a request right away.
***
And then, another new guest arrived.
While I was out to meet the 1st Legion, I decided to drop by the mercenary guild, where a noisy ruckus was coming from inside.
I turned to Lucas and shrugged my shoulders.
"Is it some kind of drinking party?"
"More like... it sounds more like a fight."
As I opened the door and stepped inside, it was a sight to behold.
"Catch him!"
"Kill that bastard!"
The mercenaries were entangled with each other, grabbing by the collar and punching. Looking at the chaotic scene of the brawl, I clicked my tongue.
"Looks good~ That's how mercenaries should play."
But when a few, agitated, started pulling out their blades, I shouted loudly.
"That's enough!"
The mercenaries, recognizing me, hurriedly lowered their weapons in surprise, still glaring at each other and breathing heavily.
Entering the mercenary guild, I frowned.
"Aren't you here wanting to be employed in this city? But if you cause such trouble even before being employed, how can you be useful?"
"..."
"Why did you fight? Let's hear the reason."
Then one of the mercenaries, still holding a blade and breathing heavily, pointed inside the guild and shouted.
"That woman! She invited people to play poker, and then she swept the whole game!"
"Hey, drawing a sword over that? When you play poker, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose."
"But, but!"
The next words even made me shut up.
"Isn't 20 consecutive wins a bit strange!"
"..."
"How can she keep getting four of a kinds, full houses, straights, every time she draws? That woman must be cheating!"
I turned my gaze in the direction the mercenary was pointing.
There she was- sitting there.
At the central table of the guild, overturned. Amidst scattered playing cards and dice.
Sitting nonchalantly with her legs crossed, a woman dressed in a fedora, suit, and coat.
'SR grade!'
Behind the woman, a purple hue flickered.
Recognizing her rank, attire, and especially through the playing cards, I chuckled.
"A big shot has arrived."
Creak-
Pulling a chair to sit in front of her, I gestured at her.
"Miss Violet. Aren't you the famous gambler?"
At the mention of her name, the woman- Violet slightly tipped her fedora and looked at me.
Well-maintained long hair of a light violet hue. Eyes showing under the brim of her hat, a deep violet color.
A woman of violet like violets- thus called Violet. But she is more famous for her nicknames.
Miss Gamble.
Miss Fortune.
Miss Hold'em.
A genius of gambling, wreaking havoc in the gambling world, devouring her opponents.
"I came to this city because I heard there was a casino."
Violet shrugged nonchalantly.
"They told me it's still under construction, so I ended up venting my frustration here."
She must have been so eager to gamble that she came early upon hearing about the not-yet-opened casino.
"It's fine to vent, to gamble, to wait for the casino to open, but..."
I gestured towards the ruined table.
"You shouldn't cheat. Give back the money to this poor mercenary friend right now."
"Why should I do that? I played fair and square, according to the rules of poker."
Violet smirked.
"I just happened to be lucky to get good hands, and this unfortunate friend ‘coincidentally’ ‘unluckily’ kept getting bad ones. To overturn the results of a fair game... Even if you are the lord of this city, you have no right to do that."
"Right. I don't have that right."
I too smirked in return.
"If that game was truly fair, that is."
"What?"
"Care to play a round of poker with me?"
I righted the overturned table and gathered the scattered cards into one deck, extending it towards her.
"If I win, you give the money back to that guy."
Violet scoffed as if the idea was preposterous.
"Ha... And if I win?"
"I'll give you whatever you want."
"...?!"
"For starters, 100 times the money that guy lost. Let's start with that as the bet."
Everyone was startled when I suddenly proposed such a large amount, especially Lucas who stood behind me, almost dropping his jaw.
But I don't gamble without a chance of winning.
I smiled leisurely and gestured to Violet.
"What? Getting cold feet? Afraid your true colors might show?"
"...You're too full of bluster, Lord."
Violet, twisting her lips in a smile, snatched the deck of cards from my hand.
"Fine. Let's have a game. But you must keep your word."
"I always keep my word."
The poker in this world is similar to Earth's Texas Hold'em.
Each player gets two private cards, and five community cards are laid on the table.
The goal is to make the strongest possible hand using five of the seven cards.
Flick! Flick! Flick!
She shuffled the cards smoothly and dealt two to me, two to herself, and then laid out five in the center.
And as I picked up my cards-
Kiying!
From beneath her fedora, Violet's purple eyes flashed as she activated a spell.
A purple magical flow spread across the area, beginning to distort reality like a mirage.
This was the power behind the gambler, or rather, the 'cheat' Violet's winning streak.
Illusion Domain - [Violet Zone].
The entire area turned into her mental domination zone, making it impossible for people to distinguish between reality and her illusion.
In this zone, she manipulated the outcomes as she pleased.
However.
"...?"
My passive skill, [Unyielding Commander], completely nullifies mental status abnormalities.
I am immune to her illusion.
Clang-!
[Violet Zone] couldn't even fully deploy before being nullified.
The others in the mercenary guild didn't even realize what had happened.
But Violet and I clearly knew that we had just exchanged blows.
And that I had overwhelmingly won.
"Wha... what?"
Violet, who had maintained a poker face until then, looked utterly baffled, her mouth slightly agape.
"How can this be... My 'Zone,' it didn't work...?"
"Done with your tricks?"
I smiled leisurely, picking up and checking my hand.
"There are all kinds of people in the world. Among them, some are immune to your shallow tricks."
"..."
"Hmm, pretty good hand... Should we raise the stakes?"
After checking my cards and the community cards, I grinned.
"On top of the earlier amount, let's bet this city's budget for a year."
"..."
"What can you bet more, Violet? Seems fair to balance the scales of the bet..."
Violet tightly closed her eyes, then flipped over her two cards and pushed them forward.
"...I concede."
The game ended anticlimactically.
"Here, the money I took from that man."
"Admitting defeat suits you."
I took the purse Violet handed over and threw it to the mercenary who had been wielding a blade earlier.
He quickly caught it and bowed deeply to me.
As I stood up, Violet asked hesitantly.
"What was your hand?"
"Huh?"
"What was your hand to make you so confident?"
I flicked my fingers, showing my two private cards. Violet examined them and her eyes widened in surprise.
"...What is this."
Violet, who had kicked her chair back and stood up, yelled at me.
"It's a trash hand!"
Indeed, it was.
Not even a minimum hand ranking, and as a basic hand, it was garbage. Anyone in their right mind wouldn't bet such an amount on that hand.
"But I won."
Bluffing is also a legitimate skill.
I grinned, and Violet's face turned to one of utter disbelief.
Of course, the reason I did this wasn't that I was crazy or a gambling expert... but based on information from the game, a kind of 'strategy'.
'Violet has a trait, [Overconfidence], which increases the power of her illusions but, conversely, she falls into a confused state if her illusion is nullified.'
I bet on that.
When her illusion was nullified, she fell into a state of confusion and lost the capacity to deal with my bluff. That's why she was easily defeated.
"Relying on things like illusions, you'll never experience a real victory. Violet."
She might be a competent cheat, but she wasn't a strong gambler.
And while I might not win against a gambler, I can demolish a cheat.
"The casino will open in two weeks. Until then, enjoy your time in this city."
I waved my hand and left the mercenary guild.
"In the meantime, try improving your real poker skills."
"..."
Violet stood there, dumbfounded, watching me leave.
--TL Notes--
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