Chapter 67
Urich called Bachman to summon Sven. Admission to the Imperial palace was strict, but the requirements were laxer in the Swallow Residence since it was a place for outsiders in the first place.
Sven entered the palace with two other northerners from the mercenary squad. The northerners’ faces were full of distaste after going through the inspection before entering.
“Does the prince think we’re his lieges? Telling us what to do and all that. It’s pissing me off,” one of the northerners said in the northern language with obvious frustration. Sven brushed his beard and laughed.
“That’s enough. Our leader is Urich, and that’s who we were summoned by. Not the prince.”
“Right, and that Urich, where is he even from? He’s not from the north nor the south.”
The other northerners had always been curious of Urich’s origin. They were barbarians who had spent quite a long time with Urich now, so they knew that Urich wasn’t from the north or the south.
“Shut your mouth. If you really want to know, or you have a problem with not knowing it for some reason, go ask Urich yourself with your axe. That’s the way we do things.”
Sven said as he rubbed his stiff shoulder. He felt his body slowly rusting away. Sven was not a young warrior anymore, and with the way that he had been putting his body through trouble time and time again, his bones ached in the rain like a real old man.
The other northerners respected Sven. His demeanor exuded character. it was clear that he was a man of high status among the northerners.
Creak.
Sven and the northerners entered Pahell’s room where Pahell and Urich were waiting for them. On the table in front of them sat the jade figurine.
“Ah, you’re here. We’ve been waiting for you, Sven.
Pahell said to Sven as he greeted him. Sven was an important man in the mercenary squad as he was the leader of the group of five northerners within the squad.
“Sven, do you know what this is?”
Pahell asked and explained the whole situation to Sven. After hearing the context, Sven’s eyes glared ferociously, but he managed to calm them down in front of Pahell. The same couldn’t be said for the other northerners, though.
‘Of course, they’re upset. This is a piece of their treasure that was stolen by the empire.’
Pahell spoke cautiously as if he were the one who had stolen the treasure of the north. To the barbarians who were yet to convert to Solarism, the empire was still an invader.
“To be honest, I’ve never seen this before, prince.”
Sven looked at the jade figurine. Pahell’s face turned gloomy. If Sven didn’t know what the figurine was, then there was no more hope.
“Do you not craft jade figurines in the north?”
“We do not work with jewelry. Our craftsmen work with wood and wood only.”
The north was rich in quality wood. The northerners mostly resided along their coastline due to the cold climate and fished far and wide in boats made with their high-quality wood. In terms of metal, the northern wood was comparable to steel. Even the nobles of the empire preferred to have their furniture made with northern wood.
“The emperor said that this was brought from the north—that it was your treasure.”
Pahell said as he looked at the jade figure with unusually excellent craftsmanship.
“I said I’ve never seen it before, but I never said I didn’t know what it was,” Sven said with a smile under his beard. Pahell glanced up at his words.
“I’ve been getting fooled by wordplay quite often these days. Tell me everything you know, Sven.”
“Hmm, I’m not sure what it’s called in Hamelian. Oriental artifact?” Sven said after stuttering for a few seconds. Even Pahell didn’t know what that meant.”
“Oriental novelty?”
“Just consider it a treasure from the east, just like in the legends of the north. And this oriental artifact is the only evidence that supports the validity of our legends.”
“The east? The Porcana Kingdom is the most eastern land!”
Pahell was incredulous. Sven shook his head.
“Not according to our legends. One of our ancestors discovered and explored the eastern continent and returned, and this oriental artifact is the proof of that exchange, though it is now a broken sea route.”
“Nonsense, that is merely a legend, and nothing else! At the end of the sea is the end of the world, nothing more!”
Pahell violently disagreed and rejected Sven’s words.
“We northerners do not have recorded history like you civilized people. Our legends are our history, therefore the truth.”
Not all northerners believed in the legend of the eastern continent, but Sven did. He had been on a ship that was supposed to take him to the east, only for it to get wrecked and have him sold into gladiatorial slavery.
“Whoever tries to go there will just fall to their deaths at the end of the world. The eastern continent is merely a legend of the north. It’s not real,” Pahell bluntly denied all possibilities. Urich picked up the figure and shoved it in front of Pahell’s eyes.
“Pahell, I don’t know much about this place you are talking about but look at this closely. Do you think the northerners made this? Don’t think of what you’ve seen in your books, just look at it and think for yourself. This is proof.”
Pahell’s eyes were quickly drowned in fear. He had never even imagined the eastern continent.
‘Beyond the sea is the cliff called the Edge of the World where all the seawater falls like a waterfall…’ Pahell muttered to himself.
“No, this can’t be. This is blasphemy. Lou said that beneath the cliff of the world live the beasts that uplift the earth, and they survive on the falling waters only…”
Pahell was confused. One of the northerners standing behind Sven laughed.
“The eastern continent? I also think it’s bogus. It’s tough to say this myself, but we northerners are braggarts. We exaggerate our exploits. It’s possible that our ancestors just found a deserted island and called it the eastern continent.”
Sven frowned at the northerner’s words.
“You say that even after seeing that oriental artifact with your own eyes?”
“Do you have proof that that’s actually from the east? You only think so because that’s what you’ve been told.”
Even among the northerners, the existence of the eastern continent was heavily debated. Some said that it was simply an exaggerated legend.
‘The emperor’s intentions.’
Pahell’s eyes widened.
‘It can’t be.’
He finally saw through Emperor Yanchinus’ intentions. Pahell’s hands trembled.
“You made me finally realize what the gift that the emperor wants is. Thank you, Sven.”
Sven’s eyes widened as well. He clenched his fists.
“Of course! Yes, yes yes, that’s it!”
Sven exclaimed in excitement. His eyes shone like a child’s.
“But that can’t be. It’s practically a suicide mission. I would be shoving my loyal people to their deaths!”
Pahell yelled in despair, contrasting Sven’s excitement and liveliness.
“I think my job here is done. I can’t believe that even this goddamn empire can be useful sometimes, how amazing.”
Sven belched out a laugh as he slammed the door behind him as he left the palace. The booming voices of the northerners were clearly heard through the shut door.
“The emperor, like Sven, believes in the existence of the eastern continent. And he wants me to explore it. It’s something that only the coastal kingdom of Porcana can do. This is a national project that no one knows how long it will take to complete. My uncle’s reign can only be ten or twenty years, at most, whereas I can be around for at least twenty to thirty years, if not more, as long as I don’t die. That’s why he chose me.”
The key to a successful national project was the support of the king. With a change to the throne, it was not uncommon for projects to be overturned due to various political circumstances or just a simple whim of the king. For example, as soon as the previous emperor passed, the current emperor, Yanchinus, scrapped the Subjugation of the Remaining Barbarians and implemented his Barbarian Inclusion policy.
“What’s the issue here?” Why not just do it?” Urich said from beside Pahell.
“This is the emperor’s words we’re talking about here—we can’t just pretend like we’re doing it. We would actually have to construct a ship and research the plan. Do you know how much that would cost? And what happens after we actually build the ship? I have to select and send my own lieges and crew to practically kill themselves. What if there is no eastern continent? What if the end of the world is waiting for its next prey with its mouth wide open? Honestly, I don’t even believe in the eastern continent, so I know that they’re all going to end up falling to their deaths. I would be sacrificing my own people just to fulfill the pointless ambition of the emperor! And on top of that, the priests will criticize me for going against the will of the sun god Lou,” Pahell said with his body trembling.
“But I thought you wanted to be king? Are you going to give up on that just because you’re scared of this? You know what, just live the rest of your life as a stablehand in a barn somewhere in the empire. It sounds like that’s just about all you’re made for. Go polish the saddle that the emperor’s ass will touch. Go mad.”
Urich sneered, leaning back in his chair. Pahell snapped his head up and glared at Urich.
“You don’t know the fear and despair that I’m facing right now. You have no idea.”
Urich grinned as he rested his chin on his hand.
“Pahell, I’m from the west. I’ve crossed the line between life and death.”
* * *
The day of the jousting finals dawned. The crowd packed the stands to see the two finalists of this prestigious competition.
The knight sponsored by the royalty of Porcana: Urich the Armor Breaker.
“Woahhh! Urich! Urich!”
The men in the crowd cried his name. So far, Urich had lived up to all the expectations that had been set by his nickname ‘Armor Breaker.’ He had lifted a jousting spear with a single hand, and he had pounded a knight through his armor to knock him out.
“Gyaaaah!”
The women in the crowd, which was quite a large portion, screamed toward the opposing knight. The husbands of those women frowned at their swooning wives.
“Dante! Dante!”
“Please look at me, Dante!”
The women cried out. Dante was the name of Urich’s final opponent.
Dante the Knight rode onto the arena ground with his helmet not on his head but tucked to his side. He looked at the ladies and smiled. His face underneath his slicked-back hair grabbed the attention of the crowd. He was a man with soft but bold features.
‘Dante the Knight of Flowers.’
‘Knight of Flowers’ was the nickname of Dante. He was a knight from the western kingdom of Velado. He competed not for riches or to be picked up by the Order of Imperial Steel, but purely for his own honor.
“We don’t have any wandering knights in the final this year,” the nobles said among themselves.
Both Urich the Armor Breaker and Dante the Knight of Flowers were knights clearly committed already. No matter how badly a noble wanted a knight, one who already served a master was unattainable due to the matter of honor. Even if the knight wished to change masters, they would forever be stamped as dishonorable knights who chased money over loyalty.
“Well, this tournament has been going on for five years already. It’s no surprise that all the skilled wandering knights have already found a home. The ones who haven’t, well, they’re probably not worth looking at.”
Each year, the quality of the wandering knights declined, and the famous knights treated winning the tournament as one of their trophies.
What started out as a competition to find the hidden gem wandering knights soon became a platform for knights to heighten their honor.
“I want the Armor Breaker to win, even though he’s a barbarian,” one of the nobles said as he watched his wife’s behavior along with the other noble wives.
“Please win, Sir Dante!” The wife called out. She was already won over by the Knight of Flowers.
“Same here. For some mysterious reason, I don’t like that Knight of Flowers guy. Even my mistress insisted on seeing this match.”
The noblemen clinked their bronze cups and laughed.
“Eh? He’s supposed to be a warrior with a face like that? He’s got a pretty face.”
Urich rode into the arena as he lowered his visor. He stared at Dante’s face through the slit in his helmet.
Dante waved at the crowd before putting his helmet on. The moment the helmet came on, the arena was filled with disappointed groans of women. Dante’s attire was unusually flamboyant, with feathers like a peacock. Even his helmet was decorated with red tassels.
“Huh? What’s wrong with the Armor Breaker’s hand? He’s not holding a shield.”
The crowd noticed Urich’s defenseless left hand that was wrapped in bandages. Even with the bandage, it was obvious that his hand was swollen and puffy. His festered and swollen hand didn’t even have a glove on it. The crowd figured out that he was injured.
‘Dammit, Urich. You really had to do this with your hand like that.’
Phillion anxiously shuffled his feet. He was sincerely worried about Urich.
Clop, clop.
Urich and Dante slowly advanced toward each other on their horses. As they crossed each other, they lightly nodded to express their mutual respect.
“Looks like you’ve hurt our hand, Sir Urich,” Dante said in a voice that was as soft as his look. It was a beautiful voice that would surely melt the hearts of countless women.
“I only need one hand to beat you,” Urich said with a chuckle which echoed inside his helmet.
“This is a place where we fight for our honor.”
With that, Dante returned to his spot. Before the match could begin, Dante suddenly raised his left hand high.
Thud.
Dante dropped the shield that was in his left hand.
“This is where we fight for our honor. I want this match to be fair, so I will make this an even fight!” Dante exclaimed, erupting the crowd in cheer. Even the men were now crying out his name.
Dante had declared that he would fight on the same terms as Urich, without his left hand and a shield.
“That bastard… he’s got a death wish.”
Amid the cheers, only Urich scowled ferociously.
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