Vote for Your Knight! - Chapter 22

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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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Vote for your knight!
Chapter 22
Kusto’s blue eyes widened at the unexpected question.
“Are you the type to hold a grudge?”
David’s brow furrowed.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what?”
“I’m asking why you didn’t join my team, since you’re not going to lead anyway.”
“That’s my business.”
“What business?”
Kusto flinched.
‘This conversation is getting strange.’
He cleared his throat and pushed off from the tree.
“I didn’t want to join your team because I’d be in the way of your followers. Dmitri at least I knew, so I picked him. That’s all there is to it.”
“Is that so?”
“It is.”
David was opening his mouth to say more when—
“Ahhhhh!”
A scream erupted from David’s team base.
“David, we should check on that.”
“We should.”
David rushed toward the base.
Kusto approached the trap where Kilmen was missing.
“You bastard! Let me out!”
Kusto crouched before the trap, his lips curling upward.
“Your team pays the ransom, and I’ll set him free.”
* * *
David’s base was in chaos when he arrived.
Countless deer monsters were rushing in without restraint.
They were targeting one participant in particular—the one playing the hunting dog role.
After felling one menacing monster, David asked Pierre, who was in the middle of using the Whip Technique.
“What happened?”
“That person was taking out the Bait Scent when they accidentally spilled an entire pouch all over themselves.”
Bait Scent was meant to be used only a handful at a time to be safe.
But having dumped an entire bag on themselves, it was only natural that the monsters who caught the scent would go berserk.
Moreover, the frenzied deer monsters were now crushing the ones David’s team had already caught.
“How are we supposed to handle this? We worked so hard to catch those deer!”
Another follower playing the hunting dog role lamented as he spoke.
David clenched his jaw.
“Let’s save our teammate first. Never mind the rest.”
With that order, David rushed toward the team member in danger.
A good catch required minimal wounds on the body.
But David didn’t hesitate—he cut down the monster.
With fluid grace, yet sharp and swift!
The wound gleamed red like a ruler-straight line.
Time passed.
He defeated the monsters faster than expected.
His teammates, especially the hunting dog participant who had spilled the Bait Scent all over themselves, caught their breath.
“Th-thank you, David.”
“Let’s hurry to the river and wash off.”
“Yes.”
As David went down to the river with them, he spotted traps set in various places and his eyes widened.
‘These aren’t traps we dug.’
Several deer monsters that had been running toward them were caught and tangled in the traps.
Now that he thought about it, given how powerfully the Bait Scent had spread, the number of monsters seemed fewer than he’d expect.
‘Did these traps end up blocking them?’
Of course, they weren’t set to protect them, but rather to steal some of the spoils.
Soon the owner of the trap appeared.
It was Dmitri.
He recognized David and gave a stiff nod of acknowledgment.
“You created these traps. All of them.”
Dmitri shook his head.
“It wasn’t me. It was Kusto’s idea.”
“Kusto?”
That man again?
Dmitri seemed to have said all he intended to say. He drew his bow and dispatched the monsters inside the trap, then disappeared with a teammate who emerged moments later, carrying their kill.
“But that was our catch—shouldn’t we go after them and get it back?”
The hunter with the hunting dog role spoke with frustration.
“They caught it, so it belongs to them. Let’s go wash up in the river instead.”
“But all the monsters we’ve caught so far……”
“It’s fine. We’ll catch more.”
David comforted the hunter and headed toward the river.
* * *
Raphael was deeply bewildered by what unfolded before him.
Kusto and Morris had appeared with Kilmen bound tightly.
“Where have you been?”
Team leader Joan was about to explode in anger, but upon spotting the Recording Orb, he lowered his voice.
“We were worried about you.”
Then he brazenly shifted his tone.
Morris smiled faintly.
“Kilmen fell into one of our traps.”
“So you brought him to us? That’s kind of you, but why bind him?”
“You know that when knights engage in a team battle, there’s a price to be paid for retrieving a prisoner captured by the opposing side, don’t you?”
“A prisoner…… a price?”
The team leader played dumb, though he clearly understood.
Then Olivier, a top graduate of the Academy, pushed up his glasses and spoke.
“Abandon him.”
“!”
Everyone was taken aback by the decision’s sharpness.
Kusto shrugged.
“You’re truly going to abandon a teammate? For just five wild boar monsters.”
Just five?
The opposing teammates, who had struggled to capture ferocious wild boar monsters, were stunned.
Five was more than half of everything they had caught so far.
“Olivier is right. Let’s abandon him.”
“He’s just a hunting dog anyway. What does it matter……”
Team leader Joan and another hunter with the hunting dog role spoke.
But Raphael frowned and objected.
“This is a team battle. No one should fall behind.”
“But five wild boar monsters is a significant difference.”
“Even if we gave up all the wild boars, every team member must return safely. That’s what a team battle means.”
“But……”
“You wouldn’t abandon your comrades on the battlefield, would you?”
At those words, neither the team leader nor the hunter could say anything.
Even Olivier, caught off guard by the unexpected charisma, nodded.
“There’s no help for it. Raphael has a point, so let’s negotiate the prisoner’s release.”
In the end, Kusto’s team successfully exchanged the five wild boar monsters and Kilmen.
* * *
“Time is up! All teams, please exit the Boundary!”
Edit’s voice rang out across the forest.
The team members emerged from the Boundary, each carrying their hunted monsters.
“For Group 2, David’s team will likely take first place, don’t you think?”
Mila, seated in the Judging Stand, spoke.
Amont nodded somewhat regretfully.
“I’d hoped Dmitri’s team would be a match for them. It’s unfortunate they drew the rabbit bait scent……”
“If they’d used the captured rabbits as bait, they could have caught more than expected, but there are limits to that approach.”
Ines said coldly.
Soon, attendants brought the judges the tally sheets with each team’s points tallied.
The rankings by zone came out largely as expected.
First place went to the teams that had drawn the deer or wild boar bait scent.
Most of the teams in last place had drawn the Rabbit Bait Scent.
Even if an upset occurred, the best they could manage was fourth.
Amont set aside his disappointment and unfolded the results from Zone 2.
But an unexpected outcome appeared.
“How is this possible?”
Mila exclaimed in surprise.
“Can these standings even be right?”
“Your Highness, might we review the Recording Orb?”
At Amont’s request, Edit summoned a bird.
It was a mechanical bird with a Recording Orb set in its eye.
As the bird regurgitated the orb, footage of Dmitri’s team in action played from the larger-than-expected sphere.
“Impressive strategy. Digging traps around David’s camp to capture deer like that…….”
“They even managed prisoner exchanges. They thought of everything.”
After reviewing footage from the other teams as well, the judges announced the results to the participants.
Zone 1’s results held no surprises.
Then came Zone 2’s turn.
Edit looked down at the five teams gathered solemnly before her and read the results.
“First place.”
Pavel gripped Deni’s and Kusto’s hands tightly in anticipation. Deni quickly pulled his hand away.
“First place goes to David’s team!”
The strength drained from Pavel’s hand holding Kusto’s.
It seemed he had harbored some hope after all.
“Don’t lose heart. There’s still second place to announce.”
Deni consoled Pavel, unexpectedly. Pavel shook his head.
“Teams that got the Rabbit Scent in Zone 1 finished in last place too. We’ll be lucky to place fourth.”
Pavel muttered in disappointment.
“First place David’s team captured twelve Deer Monsters, two Boar Monsters, and seven Fox Monsters, for a total of 169 points!”
“Wahhhhh!”
David’s team cheered in triumph.
Zone 1’s first place had earned only 81 points—this score was more than double that.
Kusto shook his head with disdain.
Despite suffering a crisis from an ambush of Deer Monsters, they still held an unshakeable first place.
David’s contribution must have been substantial.
“Next is second place in Zone 2.”
Edit paused, glancing at the results sheet.
Eager whispers rippled through the group that had drawn the Boar Scent and the group that had drawn the Fox Scent.
The other participants seemed to expect second place would go to one of these two teams.
Kusto set aside his own expectations and waited for Edit’s announcement.
“Second place is……!”

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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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