The Strongest in Our Neighborhood - Chapter 64

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Strongest in Our Neighborhood (64)
The flower petals scattering in the explosion were shards of sword aura.
Morona Valencia retreated and swung his blade repeatedly, deflecting most of the petals, but a few slipped through—one caught his left ear, another grazed his right thigh.
Despite wearing armor, the metal was sliced clean through, and so was the skin beneath.
‘Insane! If the Duke Yulian and Duke Simeus hadn’t stepped in, I’d have suffered a catastrophic defeat in a single move.’
Through his Qi Sense, he could feel the surrounding energy—the fire spirit had lost some of its power, and he could tell that Court Mage Yulian Naman had hurriedly cast Shield Magic to block the petal shards.
Wheeeeee…….
Then suddenly a violent wind rose. An instant later, a colossal wind wyvern materialized overhead.
“Ack! What—what is that! A high-level wind spirit! Who summoned a high-level wind spirit…… Wait, surely not! That’s impossible!”
Hearing the words tumble from Court Spirit-Summoner Simeus’s lips, Morona Valencia swallowed hard.
‘Creating flowers from sword aura was already absurd enough—but now he’s summoning high-level spirits?’
The wind wyvern was indeed a threat, but Morona Valencia couldn’t afford to dwell on it.
His opponent, the one who had hurled the flower of sword aura, was now condensing an aura far more sinister than before along the length of his blade.
‘A stronger attack than before!’
Then he heard his opponent mutter something.
“So I’m allowed to kill you? That’s reassuring, actually. If you can’t withstand this Chuangtian Blood Extreme, you’ll die—if you can, you’ll live. So, will you?”
Crack-crack-crack-crack…….
The moment the words left his mouth, an aura erupted from the tip of his blade, stretching some three meters, filling every inch of space as it drove forward.
‘No room to dodge! If I don’t collide with it and neutralize it, I’m dead!’
Morona Valencia gritted his teeth, pouring every ounce of aura into his blade.
Crash!
When the two aura-laden blades collided, space itself twisted with the explosion.
First, the sword forged by the kingdom’s greatest master craftsman shattered. Then the Defensive Magic Circle embedded in his breastplate activated, but it couldn’t contain the flooding aura—his breastplate cracked like a spider’s web.
Scrape.
The now-denuded blade traced a deep, long wound from his right chest across to his left flank.
“Gahhhhh!”
Morona Valencia stared at his opponent with eyes that couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
‘I poured every last bit of my power into that blade—and yet the gap between us is this vast?’
Even as his chest split open and death crept in, the shock of that overwhelming difference in power struck deeper than any sense of defeat.
* * *
“What is this!”
King Hwinbarckman Polo, who had been sitting leisurely on the dais before the Training Grounds watching the three-on-one duel, leapt from his seat the moment a colossal wind wyvern appeared and tore the fire spirit summoned by Simeus to shreds.
That fire spirit could hold its own against three knights—yet it didn’t even leave an ember before it was unsummoned.
Then came the sight of Morona Valencia, his chest split from right to left by the Sword Master’s blade, staggering and collapsing; and Mage Yulian Naman blocking the aura that had shattered his shield, only for his magic staff to snap as he was hurled backward—the king found himself momentarily speechless.
“The three pillars supporting the kingdom……”
Whiiiiiiing…….
He’d barely collected himself when the wind wyvern seized Court Spirit-Summoner Simeus in its talons and began to ascend.
Simeus was still dazed from the shock of his own fire spirit being torn apart and unsummoned, unable to mount any defense against the wyvern’s assault.
“Stop—stop at once!”
The king shouted, but the wind wyvern ignored him, ascending dozens of meters in an instant.
“The outcome is already decided! Stop immediately!”
The king cried out again, but the wyvern paid no heed and released Simeus from dozens of meters in the air.
“Ah!”
If he fell from that height, Simeus’s body would likely burst.
Whoosh.
Then the falling Simeus’s descent slowed markedly.
The king’s gaze shifted to where another wind was cradling Simeus’s body—and he saw Jang Gain with his hand outstretched in that direction.
The wind spirit had tried to kill Simeus, but its contractor, Jang Gain, had saved him instead.
As the king watched in bewilderment, he heard Jang Gain speak to the wind spirit.
“Sillon, I said you could kill the spirit-summoner, not that you had to. What? You’re saying the meaning’s the same? It’s not. Is your hearing a bit dull for a spirit? Sigh, I think we need to have more conversations. Anyway, good work. You can go now.”
With Jang Gain’s words finished, the wind wyvern vanished, and Simeus was gently set down on the Training Grounds floor.
* * *
“How are the three of them?”
Prime Minister Darianmun Slon couldn’t hide his worried expression as he watched Gorden, the chief of the palace healers, cast Heal Magic.
“Duke Simeus and Duke Yulian are gravely wounded but in no mortal danger. Duke Morona, however—I’ll need more time to assess his condition.”
“You mean even after pouring potions down him like water and casting Heal Magic repeatedly, you can’t guarantee he’ll live?”
“Yes. He’s barely clinging to life, but in my assessment, his breath could stop at any moment.”
“Ah! What am I to do? His Majesty places such great hopes on Duke Morona—if something goes wrong, his sorrow will be immense…….”
“I need to focus on treatment now, so if there’s nothing else, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave.”
“Ah, understood. Please save Duke Morona by any means necessary.”
“I’ll do my best.”
As Gorden refocused on treatment, Darianmun Slon left the medical chamber and made his way to the King.
“How is Duke Morona faring?”
The moment the King entered his study, he asked about Morona Valencia, whose condition had been the most grave.
“Even with the highest-grade Potion and Heal Magic, Therapist Gorden says we cannot guarantee his survival.”
“The First Blade of my homeland cannot die like this. Sigh! How did things come to such a pass?”
……
“It must be my fault for underestimating the Sword Master and goading those three into action.”
“Given Duke Morona’s temperament, Your Majesty need not have encouraged him—he would have sought out Lord Jang Gain to test himself regardless.”
“Perhaps, but that doesn’t absolve me of responsibility.”
“How could Your Majesty bear such blame? Moreover, if Lord Jang Gain and Duke Morona had clashed outside the palace Training Grounds rather than within it, the Duke would now be dead, never having received a therapist’s care.”
“That much is true. But that’s merely conjecture about what didn’t happen.”
“Forgive me for speaking plainly, Your Majesty, but a knight who offers his life for his sovereign performs only his sacred duty.”
“I understand that, but this wasn’t the outcome I wanted.”
“Duke Morona will take pride in his loyalty to Your Majesty, even unto his final breath.”
Yet the King’s expression remained clouded despite the Chancellor’s words.
“Nothing but sighs escape me now. When I first heard that Lord Jang Gain had crossed into the Demon Gate and slaughtered hundreds of Demonic Beasts and Magical Creatures, I should have deliberated far more carefully. Had I known a Sword Master could be this formidable, I would never have entertained the thought of testing him.”
“Please, do not torment yourself further. Now is the time not for self-recrimination, but for considering how to make this Sword Master—one who surpasses both Your Majesty’s and my own expectations—truly a subject of your realm.”
The King, who had worn an expression heavy with sorrow, furrowed his brow upon hearing the Chancellor’s words.
“Hmm, that’s true enough. Sorrow is sorrow, but a king must have the wisdom to elevate men like Lord Jang Gain for the good of his nation.”
“Perhaps we should begin by revising the Baron title we had intended to bestow upon him.”
“Granting a Sword Master merely a Baron’s title seems far too meager, even to my thinking. At the very least, an Earl’s rank should be in order, wouldn’t you say?”
“Your Majesty, even the great powers—the Empire and the Allied Kingdoms—grant Sword Masters titles no lower than Earl. If a modest nation like ours were to offer only an Earl’s rank, would such a Sword Master readily accept it?”
“Is that so? Yet didn’t you yourself say, just yesterday, that a Baron’s title was appropriate for Lord Jang Gain?”
“Yesterday, yes. But having witnessed his extraordinary prowess, I now understand why the great powers bestow such lofty titles upon Sword Masters.”
“Still, haven’t the Sword Masters of those great powers rendered substantial service to their realms? Lord Jang Gain, by contrast, has done nothing as yet for this nation.”
“Did he not pledge to join us should war arise? That alone will give our neighbors pause—none will dare threaten our borders. Thus, Your Majesty should boldly confer upon him the rank of Marquis, grant him tax exemption, provide him with revenues befitting his station, and further permit him to claim the entirety of the Crerarion Mountain Range as his domain.”
The King, listening to the Chancellor, wore an expression of puzzlement.
“What? You’re saying I should tell him he may claim the entire Crerarion Mountain Range as his domain, rather than territories befitting a Marquis’s rank?”
“Yes.”
“But the Crerarion Mountain Range is ruled by monsters. What fool would be pleased to have that as his domain?”
“Lord Jang Gain has already appointed himself representative of the minority clans dwelling in the Crerarion Mountain Range and requested lordly authority and a title. So we simply tell him he may expand his domain there as he sees fit. This way, Your Majesty needn’t actually grant him royal lands—wouldn’t that be quite fitting?”
“If I were in Lord Jang Gain’s position, I wouldn’t give a fig for such talk. A Marquis’s rank inherently entails the governance of multiple domains.”
An Earl rules a single domain, but from the rank of Marquis onward, one appoints Barons and Counts to govern multiple territories and collects their taxes.
“Then, if he scoffs at such an offer, we graciously bundle together a couple of nearby Baronies and tell him he may govern those territories and collect their taxes as well.”
The King, having heard the Chancellor out, hesitated briefly before nodding.
“True enough—it does no harm to make the proposal. If he finds it insufficient, we can follow your suggestion and add a couple of nearby Baronies. But will he be satisfied with merely two or three Baronies?”
“That’s precisely why we permit him to expand the Crerarion Mountain Range as his domain. Being a Sword Master, he should be capable of driving out monsters and enlarging his territory to some degree, shouldn’t he? Besides, three Baronies would seem quite generous compared to our initial offer of a single Baron’s title.”
“Fair point. Very well—go meet with Lord Jang Gain and ascertain whether he’s willing to accept such terms. If he deems it insufficient, we’ll have to offer more.”
“Understood.”
* * *
After concluding his conversation with the King, Chancellor Darianmun Slon sought out Jang Gain and relayed the proposal.
“Thus, His Majesty wishes to elevate you to the rank of Marquis and grant you dominion over Hailong, which Baron Zabedra governs, Daiaran, which Baron Daparon governs, and Gorgwan, which Baron Isop governs, as your Marquis territories.”
Upon hearing the Chancellor’s words, Jang Gain looked bewildered, his gaze drifting to those nearby—Eldom, Laila, and Dimitrion.
Their faces mirrored his astonishment plainly.
“I understood from Lord Johansen that His Majesty intended to grant you a Baron’s title. His Majesty’s mind seems to have changed considerably after witnessing your duel.”
“His Majesty has come to understand how invaluable you are to this realm.”
“A Marquis who governs the Crerarion Mountain Range and three surrounding territories! Excellent. I accept the rank of Marquis.”
“Then I shall report to His Majesty and set a date for your investiture.”
“Ah! Wasn’t it to be tomorrow?”
“Appointing a Baron could be done tomorrow, but a Marquis? That’s impossible. We must summon the high nobility, including the Duke, to the palace and hold a grand ceremony for your investiture, Lord Marquis Jang Gain.”
“Is that so? Then in how many days might the ceremony be held?”
“Lord Johansen, though the most distant, has already sent Prince Jasllan as his proxy to complete the succession rites, so within a week, the other Earls and the Duke should gather at the palace.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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