Chapter 72

"Four down, four to go."

I look at my opponent and release a long breath. Lyon, Georg, Ferid and Galleon. They are dangerous combinations. My mana is almost gone, but I still have my rune. However, I have a feeling it will not be enough for me.

You know what? Fuck it. I will try my best.

"Let's start our last dance!"

I grin and dash forward. Just like always, Galleon blocks me, and this time Georg and Ferid immediately attack us. With a wave of my hand, a wall of ice appears around me to block both of them.

I widen my eyes when I feel a presence coming from my back. I grit my teeth when a sharp weapon manages to damage my armor. I look back and see Lyon attacking me. I forgot that she is a former assassin. Masking her presence is something she can do.

"Soaring Bolt!"

I scream and release twenty balls of lightning that explode. It is good enough for me to create some distance. After gaining some distance, I activate my water rune.

"Ice Spike!"

Seven Ice Spikes appear in front of me and fly toward my opponents. However, the massive ice spike was destroyed before it could even reach them. Georg is the one destroying them. I block his sword and quickly move away from him.

However, before I could even make a distance between us, Ferid appeared next to me and swung down his sword. I barely manage to block his attack, but my body gets thrown away a dozen meters because of the impact.

What a monstrous strength.

"Kindness drops."

I can feel my body healed, and my energy is back. Sadly, this spell cannot restore my mana. I continue to charge forward with my body healed and my stamina restored.

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|3rd POV|

Sialeeds, who watches from the side, looks at the arena with a frown on her face.

"How long since they start fighting?"

"Almost two hours now."

Sialeeds nods at her sister's words. It has been two hours of fighting, and the people in the arena still fight as if they have not fought for two hours.

"It is sad to see Lyon fall earlier." Sialeeds says, "I want to see her keep fighting."

"Fufufufu. You cannot blame her, sis. She is an excellent fighter but she is still young and her stamina cannot be compared to those four."

Standing in the arena are four people, Georg, Ferid, Galleon, and Jacob.

"Yeah," Sialeeds nods her head. "They are really monsters."

"Hey! You can't call them that!"

Princess Lymsleia suddenly shouted. Among the spectators, she is the most excited to see the fight. Even after two hours, she never once complained.

"Fufufu~ Are you defending your betrothed's honor?"

Queen Arshtat laughs a little and decides to tease her.

"Mother!"

Sialeeds can only look at her little niece with a smile that hides her true feelings. She wants to tell Jacob to take her away so they can live just the two. However, she also knows the noble will make things worse for both of them.

The noble will have a reason to hunt him down, and she doesn't want that.

*BOOM*

She snaps from her thoughts when she hears another explosion. When the ash disappears, the people can see Jacob still standing in the middle of the arena. However, his entire body is full of wounds, and he is panting.

Jacob looks at the three monsters in front of him and smiles a little. The three of them did not get out of the fight unscathed. He can see their armor is almost gone, and their body is full of wounds.

He grins and stabs his sword on the ground before saying.

"I give up. I don't think I can beat you all."

Hearing his declaration, Ferid gives a big grin and says,

"Bwahahahaha! What a great fight! It's been a while since I had this tough fight."

Jacob smiles and walks toward them with his hand in front of him. Ferid grabs it and gives him a tight hug.

"Welcome to the family, Jacob!"

"Thank you, Ferid."

"Come on! We will celebrate this victory!"

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After the fight, the royal family made a feast for me. All the nobles are invited to the feast, and I hear them whispering behind my back.

It looks like the noble that watches me grumbling while accepting me as a suitable person to be the commander of the Queen's Knight. I guess power is something respected in this country. As long as you are powerful, people will accept you to an extent.

"You are not enjoying the feast, Jacob?"

I look back and see Sialeeds bringing me a glass of wine. I take the glass and say.

"Thanks. As for your previous question, I enjoy it."

"You don't need to lie, you know?"

"Well… It was fine but I cannot stand the other nobles."

"Fufufufu. Are they bothering you? Threatening you perhaps?"

"No. They licking my boots too much for my comfort."

"Ah, that kind of thing. Yeah. They sometimes get too far in their words. Too much honey is something I cannot stand."

"Yeah."

I take a sip of my wine and say.

"How is the princess?"

"She is tired and decided to go to bed early."

"Ah, today's event is tiring for her, huh?"

"Yeah. You know that she is cheering for you the entire time, right?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. She even defends you against some of the nobles who think that you are cheating."

"Cheating, huh? I take offense to that."

"Of course! You are a warrior. You need to take pride in your progress. Even Ferid, who is known for his humbleness, is proud of his power."

Fair enough. While I'm not bragging about my power, I don't like when people talk shit about it. I earned it. I train for it and kill many monsters to earn where I'm right now.

"I see. I guess I can see that."

"Yup. Anyway, congratulations."

"Oh? For what?"

"For officially betrothed to my niece."

I take a sip of my wine and look at the star in the sky.

"Truthfully… I don't want it."

"Oh? Is my niece not good enough for you?"

I can hear Sialeeds' fake angry voice.

"She is a good girl. However, my heart will always be with someone else."

I look her right in the eyes and say.

"I want you, Sialeeds."

I hold her hands and continue to look her right in the eyes. I can see her face get redder every second before she puts her head on my chest, hiding her face.

"Me too, Jacob. However, we cannot get together because of our promise. You want to change the people from the inside and I need to stay neutral in politics. We cannot be together."

"At least… Stay with me tonight."

"En."

Both of us stay on the balcony for the rest of the night with the warmth of each other to shield us from the cold wind. That night, I made a promise to take her as fast as possible on my journey.