Mavros Territory, Karudia.
In the center of this wealthy city known as the Iron City, there was an extravagant estate covering a vast area, with numerous artificial hills, gardens, and even streams inside, looking like a small resort.
Meanwhile, at the deepest part of this resort-like luxurious estate stood a grand manor, only slightly smaller than a castle.
Such an extravagant estate and manor in Karudia was clearly none other than the residence of the Hadyth family, the ruler of Karudia.
In the eyes of Karudia's citizens, this was the ruler's territory, the home of a major noble with deep ties to the lord of Mavros Territory, which made anyone who saw it only secretly think not to mess with them.
However, this untouchable family received terrible news today.
"What did you just say?!"
In a spacious room inside the manor, a middle-aged man sitting at the head of the room suddenly stood up, shouting in shock.
He looked dignified and well-dressed, his hair neatly combed to the point that every single strand seemed perfectly in place.
He was Lydon Hadyth, the current head of the Hadyth family, the current Count Hadyth.
At this moment, however, this ruler of Karudia, whose status was far above that of an average count, looked both furious and shocked.
He truly couldn't help it.
"You're saying my son is dead?! Felix is dead?! You're spouting nonsense!"
Lydon glared at the messenger kneeling in the room and shouted in disbelief, making the messenger tremble in fear.
"M-My lord, this is the news we just received from the knights who were guarding the young master. W-We've confirmed it multiple times and even tried to contact the young master using a communication magic crystal, but we never received a response."
"No... It can't be... Impossible..."
Lydon muttered in disbelief as he felt shocked and furious, looking like he had lost his mind.
"Wasn't he traveling with Grandmaster Nibald?! How could he possibly be dead?!"
"Right! Wasn't the Lightning Sword Saint with him too?! He was accompanied by the strongest swordsman and the strongest magician, so how could he just die like that?!"
"Speak! What the hell happened?!"
Lydon roared furiously toward the messenger.
"W-Well... a-actually..."
Sweating under Lydon's crazed, bloodshot stare, the messenger forced himself to explain everything he had just heard from the knights.
When Lydon learned that Felix had actually been killed by Riezel, and even beheaded in front of so many people as a public display, he started trembling all over.
*BANG!*
In the next second, Lydon slammed the table in front of him, shattering it into pieces.
It was clear that this count wasn't just some greedy noble who only knew how to enjoy luxury but was also a powerful swordsman, proven by the sword that hung at his waist, faintly emitting magical energy.
Suddenly, a fiery aura of magical energy surged from Lydon's body.
"RIEZEL BRYNHAAAAAART—!!!"
Lydon shouted in rage, his eyes bloodshot.
"HOW DARE HE?! HOW DARE HE?!"
Lydon never would have thought that sending his son to get closer to Grandmaster Nibald would lead to his son's death. Just this morning, his son was here, greeting him, and now he was suddenly gone.
What made it ridiculous was the reason for his son's death was simply because of a female attendant.
Riezel Brynhart actually killed his son over an attendant?
Just because of that, he killed his son, his own flesh and blood?
"He's out of his mind!"
Lydon panted heavily, his anger and grief nearly overwhelming him like a storm, threatening to crush him.
"M-My lord... th-the knights also said that the Lightning Sword Saint left a message for you."
Seeing Lydon shaking with fury, the messenger continued with a trembling voice, making Lydon's bloodshot eyes turn to him.
"What did he say?"
Lydon's voice was deep, like a wounded beast.
Seeing his lord like this, the messenger swallowed nervously and, after a long pause, he finally managed to speak.
"H-He said you owe him an explanation. If you don't give him one, he'll come to Karudia to take it himself."
Hearing this, Lydon instantly fell silent, but the magical energy around him grew more violent, and the pressure he released was so intense it felt like it could crush everything nearby.
Feeling the pressure, the messenger's face turned pale with fear.
Suddenly, a flash of swordlight sliced through the air before the messenger's head fell to the ground.
Lydon stood before the now headless corpse of the messenger, his eyes wild with madness.
"GOOD! VERY GOOD!"
Lydon's roar echoed through the room.
"HE WANTS AN EXPLANATION, HUH?"
"FINE! I'LL GIVE HIM ONE!"
"I'LL USE ALL THE POWER OF THE HADYTH FAMILY AND DELIVER THAT EXPLANATION TO HIM PERSONALLY!"
Lydon was furious, but he understood well that Riezel wasn't someone he could take on alone.
Even though Riezel was just a seventeen-year-old youngster who had only recently been promoted to Sword Saint, no one would underestimate the youngest Sword Saint in history at this point.
He had already proven himself with his achievements in the royal capital.
He instantly defeated Albert Borley, the next-generation Sword Saint of the Borley family, who was known as the best swordsman just below Sword Saint.
He also set up an arena in front of the Frenzel residence in the royal capital, challenging a thousand swordsmen every day for a whole month without a single defeat. Among those who lost to him, there were many Sword Masters—even expert Sword Masters like Lydon appeared from time to time, but they all lost.
Needless to say, they had all proven that as a new Sword Saint, Riezel's strength was the real deal, without a shred of falsehood.
A flash of lightning meant defeat—this reputation had already spread so far and wide that even in Mavros Territory, located at the border of Jinas, his name was known by everyone.
Lydon didn't consider himself weak, and even compared to Albert, he didn't think he was that far behind. But if even Albert was defeated in an instant, then challenging Riezel himself would probably end just as badly.
Knowing this—
'I have no choice but to ask my brother-in-law for help.'
Lydon pulled out his communication magic crystal.
In the past, whenever Lydon needed his brother-in-law's help, he always went through roundabout ways to make his request.
He had no choice.
Even though his brother-in-law was powerful, his personality was extremely overbearing, which made him feel uneasy around his brother-in-law, making him not dare to anger him.
Because of this, whenever something came up, Lydon would usually first contact his elder sister and have her sweet-talk her husband into helping him.
However, Lydon couldn't wait this time.
*Buzz—*
As the communication magic crystal in Lydon's hand vibrated and emitted a bright light, a subtle wave of magical energy quickly traveled across space to a distant location.
Lydon waited quietly until a voice came from the magic crystal.
"You actually contacted me yourself?"
Saying this was a deep, steady, and incredibly domineering voice.
It was none other than the voice of the current head of the Mavros family, the lord of Mavros Territory, and one of the current era's Sword Saints of Jinas—the Guardian Sword Saint, Raven Mavros.
"Brother-in-law!" Lydon exclaimed, his eyes turned red.
"Call me Marquis Mavros." Raven replied coldly. "How many times do I have to tell you? Whether in public or in private, that's how you should address me."
It sounded harsh, but that was the principle Raven lived by.
In Raven's mind, he was first Marquis Mavros, the lord of Mavros Territory, the Guardian Sword Saint who guarded the kingdom's borders, and only after all that was he Lydon's brother-in-law.
Since the Hadyth family was a vassal of the Mavros family, it meant Lydon was technically Raven's subordinate. Raven didn't want to give the impression that he would show favoritism to his relatives, so he always insisted that Lydon treat him as someone to whom he owed his loyalty, no matter the situation.
Lydon usually respected that because he knew Raven didn't like it any other way, but this time he didn't have the luxury to care.
"Brother-in-law! Felix is dead!" Lydon choked up with red-rimmed eyes.
Upon hearing this, Raven fell silent, and after a long pause, he finally spoke again.
"What happened? Explain it clearly."
Under Raven's questioning, which didn't carry even the slightest hint of emotion, Lydon began to recount the whole incident.
He didn't embellish anything or exaggerate the details and just told Raven the plain facts. In his opinion, the fact that Riezel killed his son over an attendant was already so absurd that there was no need to exaggerate it.
And so, Lydon told Raven the whole story with tears streaming down his face, even mentioning that Riezel was planning to come to Karudia to confront him.
"..."
Raven didn't interrupt and just listened quietly. No matter how tragic Lydon's voice sounded or how loudly he sobbed, he remained calm and only listened.
Once Lydon finished explaining everything, Raven finally spoke in a flat tone.
"Lightning Sword Saint... killed my nephew over an attendant? Looks like he really thinks he's so great and unbeatable now."
Even though Raven showed no emotion, Lydon, who knew him well, was certain that his brother-in-law was angry.
While Raven was known for being domineering and strong-willed, he wasn't an unreasonable man and wasn't like other nobles who were constantly worried about all kinds of consequences.
Now that someone had killed his nephew over an attendant, even if his nephew was the one at fault first, if Raven did nothing about it, it would damage his reputation as a Sword Saint.
Understanding this, Lydon took this chance to stir things up even more.
"He's so arrogant! Just because he became a Sword Saint at such a young age, he thinks he can do anything without consequences! He knew Felix was your nephew, but he still killed him without mercy! He clearly doesn't respect you at all!"
Lydon's provocative words, however, didn't seem to provoke any reaction from Raven.
"You said he's heading to Bessare with Nibald, right?"
Raven just asked this one question, which made Lydon quickly reply.
"Yes! Felix mentioned before that he was planning to go to Bessare!"
"In that case, I'll go and meet the Lightning Sword Saint myself." Raven said coldly.
As soon as Raven finished saying this, he ended the communication, causing the communication magic crystal in Lydon's hand to dim.
"Perfect!"
Lydon gripped the communication magic crystal tightly, his face full of joy and anger.
"You're dead for sure now, Riezel Brynhart!"
Just as Lydon shouted in rage, however, a voice suddenly echoed through the room.
"Not necessarily."
Such a sudden voice snapped Lydon out of his emotional outburst, startling him on the spot.
"Who's there?!"
Lydon grabbed his sword and quickly turned his head toward the source of the voice.
"It's me."
A swordsman with a face as stiff as a corpse silently appeared in the room, standing right in front of Lydon.
It was actually Jack.
"It's you?"
Lydon naturally knew Jack.
Jack was someone who had been sticking by his son's side for the past few years, so there was no way he wouldn't recognize Jack. He even knew a bit about the shady dealings between his son and Jack and had chosen to turn a blind eye to it.
For this reason, Lydon was aware that Jack's background was mysterious.
"What are you doing here?" Lydon growled through gritted teeth. "Weren't you with my son? Why is my son dead, but you're still damn alive?"
Lydon's accusatory remark didn't faze Jack at all.
"In that situation, if I'd stayed there, I would've died too." Jack responded with a blank expression. "So, the moment the people I sent were killed, I retreated right away."
"In other words, you just left my son to die?" Lydon asked with a darkened expression, murderous intent beginning to surge from his body.
"You can't blame me, Count Hadyth." Jack, still expressionless, spoke as if he didn't feel a thing. "Even if I had stepped in back then, Young Master Felix would've died anyway. Nothing would've changed. Instead of dwelling on something that can't be changed, how about we talk about how to deal with the Lightning Sword Saint?"
Upon hearing this, Lydon narrowed his eyes.
"You want to go after Riezel Brynhart too?" Lydon asked and held back his murderous aura a bit.
"That's right." Jack replied coldly. "He's already learned some things about us from Young Master Felix and even destroyed a few of our precious specimens. Now, the people behind me believe he might interfere with what we're trying to do, so we've decided to eliminate the Lightning Sword Saint if necessary."
"You really think you have that kind of power?" Lydon asked skeptically. "Even if he's just a kid, he's still a genuine Sword Saint."
"Don't worry, that's our problem to solve." Jack shook his head. "I'm only here to ask one thing—want to join hands? What we want is pretty simple. I'm sure you can get it for us easily, right, Count Hadyth?"
At this, Lydon shot Jack a cold glare and began to ponder.
"Fine... let's join hands."
In the end, Lydon agreed after a moment of pondering, making Jack nod in satisfaction.
"A wise choice."