Chapter 208: New Establishment, Team 6 (3)
Theo touched the blue light with his fingertips and muttered softly.
‘Lodi, no matter how I look at this…’
『Maybe it’s because I’m weak. I’m not sure. Should I brew some tonic and drink it?』
It was unlike Lodbrok to act frail.
A hollow laugh escaped him.
‘Don’t tell me this is because I asked you to pull out a rib?’
『I think I’m getting dizzy too. Oh, I see! My heart hasn’t fully recovered yet, so I must be anemic. Oh dear, oh dear. I’d love to grant your request, but if I pull out a rib, I might lose too much blood.』
‘That won’t make me go easy on you.’
『Do you even understand how dangerous anemia is? If the blood loss is too severe, even a dragon can die!』
‘Then I’ll just transfuse my blood into you. It just so happens that as I awaken as a Dragonborn, my blood seems to carry dragon traits too.’
『Yooouuu wickeeed braaat.』
‘Alright, alright, just confirm this for me. I’m right, aren’t I?’
『Yeah. It’s definitely a trace of a <Relic> being used.』
In the end, Lodbrok’s voice was sulky.
But the aftermath of this situation wasn’t something to be taken lightly.
‘Another unsealed Relic appearing after the Dragon Spirit’s Cursed Blade… And the fact that the Gardner side is using it means Kindred must be involved too.’
Theo hadn’t been particularly interested in the Soaring Dragon Battle.
But now, he strongly felt he needed to meet Kindred.
Before that, however, he had to rescue Selperd and Arin's group, who had gone missing.
“The Gardner family’s goal is quite simple.”
Bracken spoke, his eyes cold as ice.
“To enthrone Kinkarnon.”
“Are they plotting a coup? Or are they planning to assassinate or subdue me to force me out?”
Suppressing the White Armored Dragon Cavalry, which served as Theo’s limbs, and riding the momentum of a victory in the Soaring Dragon Battle—that could be a plausible move.
What would come after that, though, was uncertain.
And as expected.
Just as Theo suspected, Bracken scoffed lightly.
“Forcing out the heir personally designated by Kyle? Where would they even find such an innovative method?”
“Then what is it?”
“I don’t know the exact details either. However, I’ve heard that they plan to grant Kinkarnon the <qualification>.”
“Qualification?”
“Yes. The qualification to ascend the throne.”
Qualification.
Theo had little clue what that might entail.
Did they intend to achieve some grand accomplishment to reignite the competition for the throne?
‘Or… does it have something to do with this blue light?’
If that ‘Qualification’ is Tied to the Relic of the Primordial Dragon...
If the ‘qualification’ was related to using the Relic of the Primordial Dragon, things would become much more complicated.
Just as the Mad Dragon Emperor had done, Kinkarnon might have learned how to forcibly unseal a relic.
“I heard the Blood Wolf Swordsmen of the Gardner family fled somewhere—do you know which direction…?”
Theo was about to ask the Chief Inspector when—
Suddenly, the Patrol Swordsmen parted, making way for Judgment Knights clad in yellow attire.
“We are from the Judgment Hall.”
“We received a report that Gardner’s swordsmen were ambushed. We request your cooperation in the investigation.”
They were wary of Theo’s presence, yet they skillfully positioned themselves to ensure the White Armored Dragon Cavalry members couldn’t easily slip away.
‘They made the first move!’
Theo was already aware of the incident—how Selperd’s group had been dining with Gardner’s swordsmen before the sudden explosion. The Gardner swordsmen had then muttered something unintelligible before disappearing.
So now, it seemed Gardner had gone to the Judgment Hall to file a report, attempting to pin them down.
‘But why?’
Theo couldn’t immediately grasp their reasoning.
With no evidence, even if they reported the incident, the White Armored Dragon Cavalry would only undergo a brief investigation before being released.
Framing them was impossible.
Yet they went ahead with this?
What was their motive?
‘Just to buy time?’
That was the only thing that came to mind.
‘They must be trying to hide something during this delay!’
And it was likely related to the relic.
Which meant it might have something to do with Selperd’s group suddenly going missing.
“There are many eyes watching here. Will you accompany us to the Judgment Hall?”
“I am It Bolseman, Squad Leader of White Armored Dragon Cavalry's 2nd Team. A Rescue Flare was fired, and we were the ones whose members went missing—so why are we the ones under suspicion?”
“We are simply acting on the report we received. Gardner’s side filed the complaint, and we confirmed eyewitness accounts stating that Young Lord Diego fled while gravely injured. This is merely an investigation to determine the truth, not an attempt to place blame on the White Armored Dragon Cavalry.”
“We need to find our missing members.”
“Do you have any information or evidence regarding the whereabouts of the missing members?”
“That… is still under investigation.”
“So, you have nothing. In that case, you’ll have to come with us to the Judgment Hall. We will conduct a separate investigation at the scene, and if we discover anything, we will share it with you immediately.”
It Bolseman bit his lower lip tightly and stole a glance at Theo.
He knew all too well that if they tried to force their way into finding Selperd’s group here, it would lead to a direct conflict with the Judgment Hall.
It was a maddening situation for them, but the Judgment Hall had to follow its procedures.
And in Winterer, the words of the Judgment Hall carried absolute authority.
In the end, Theo stepped forward.
Step!
A simple footstep.
But.
[‘Skill: Drake Fear’ has been activated, sending ripples throughout the surroundings.]
Thanks to the skill Theo had subtly unleashed, the entire area became filled with his overwhelming presence.
The Judgment Knights unconsciously took a step back.
It wasn’t just Theo’s intimidating aura—it was also the weight of his title as the Young Lord that made them tense up.
Of course, they remained respectful, but they did not revoke their decision.
No matter how remarkable the Young Lord was, he was still just that—a Young Lord. He held no authority to impose sanctions on the Judgment Hall.
Such was the independence of the institution.
They took pride in their status as Judgment Knights.
“I will comply with the investigation.”
“Theo!”
“Young Lord!”
The members urgently turned to Theo, but he raised a hand lightly to stop them.
“However, there’s no need for all of us to be taken to the Judgment Hall, is there?”
“That…”
“No, there is not.”
As one of the lower-ranking Judgment Knights hesitated, a superior officer swiftly stepped forward and nodded in agreement.
“We also need to conduct our search as quickly as possible. Additionally, the White Armored Dragon Cavalry will be filing a separate complaint against Gardner.”
“Is that as the Young Lord, or…”
“It’s a formal accusation in my capacity as the leader of Squad 6 in the White Armored Dragon Cavalry. Selperd Gardner, Arin Negatives, and three others are my direct subordinates. That should be qualification enough, shouldn’t it?”
One of the rights held by a direct superior was the ability to take various measures to protect their subordinates.
By subtly assigning them to Squad 6, Theo had actively exercised that authority.
The Judgment Knights realized that Theo knew far more about the laws of Ragnar than they had expected.
“Diego Gardner, who claims to be the victim, has long been one of the perpetrators who abused Selperd Gardner. Even after Selperd Gardner left the Gardner family and enlisted in the White Armored Dragon Cavalry, Diego frequently used his maternal family as leverage to threaten him. Because of this, Selperd Gardner was always tormented. There is a chance that this time, too, he resorted to blackmail and intimidation.”
“Do you… have evidence?”
“If you request the data from Black Snow, they will provide it. The facts have already been confirmed through multiple cross-verifications.”
“……!”
The pupils of the Judgment Knights shook violently.
If what he said was true, this was not a matter to be taken lightly.
Even if Selperd was originally from the Gardner family, his current affiliation was with Ragnar. A knight family member threatening someone under Ragnar’s protection was an outright insult to the great house.
It could even be treated as a serious crime.
‘If this is true, this is a disaster!’
‘Gardner would have directly challenged the Young Lord’s authority!’
‘Kinkarnon, who is behind him, might get dragged into this too…!’
The issue could escalate into a political struggle over the throne.
『The request you made to Black Dragon before is finally paying off.』
‘We needed to thoroughly investigate our squad members anyway.’
When establishing Squad 6, Theo had asked Black Snow to investigate everyone he deemed necessary.
He had to understand their lives, values, ambitions, and needs to lead them properly in the future.
Among those investigations, Selperd’s family circumstances had also come to light.
And now, Theo had seized upon that very detail to turn the tables.
『With the scale of the situation this large, even if they had some hidden scheme, they’ll be caught in their own trap. A brilliant move, hahaha.』
‘We can’t afford to waste time on petty accusations. It’s better to expand the situation so that even the Judgment Hall can’t act recklessly. If they were planning something, they might end up caught in their own web instead.’
“Will you go to the Judgment Hall in our place, It?”
“I… will.”
It Bolseman quickly realized Theo’s intent and nodded gravely.
He was beginning to suspect there was a political conspiracy at play that they had not yet uncovered.
In the end, the Judgment Knights had no choice but to back down.
“Gorito and Hanata, assist me.”
“And?”
Theo nodded.
“I know where they went.”
If they had truly used the artifact, then they were already within the palm of Theo’s hand.
* * *
The former site of the Central Intelligence Bureau was now the stage for an intense Soaring Dragon Battle.
Of course, the ones stirring up the biggest storm were the former six major candidates.
-Whoa! Another one-shot, one-kill! How does she even use stealth techniques in such an open space?
-Lezé! Lezé!
-Noona! Take meee!
Lezé displayed skills worthy of her title, Black Reaper.
The moment she stepped into the sparring arena, she activated her stealth technique. While her opponent wandered, unable to find her, she struck their blind spot, knocking them unconscious or pushing them out of bounds.
As a result, many of her matches ended with a single swing of her scythe.
Naturally, the audience’s cheers were deafening.
But—
-Lezé-nim is incredibly strong, but…
-Still, Kinkarnon-nim is amazing too. I don’t think this is something to compare.
-Just standing there, he exudes that kind of pressure…
Even as Lezé basked in the crowd’s cheers, a few scattered comments made her frown slightly.
‘This is seriously pissing me off.’
She turned her gaze toward Kinkarnon, who was sitting on the waiting bench, drinking water.
A wall she had never been able to surpass, no matter how hard she tried.
She had thought she was finally catching up, but he was still too far ahead.
Unlike herself, who actively utilized stealth techniques, Kinkarnon barely showed any techniques in battle.
He simply stood there and swung his sword.
A sequence of simple movements, yet the sheer presence they carried was overwhelming.
Even the remaining challengers kept stealing wary glances at Kinkarnon.
Dominance.
The Soaring Dragon Battle was gradually becoming a match between Kinkarnon and everyone else.
‘Ansio… That fox is probably going to stick to Kinkarnon’s side completely.’
She spotted Ansio walking gracefully toward Kinkarnon. Behind her was the Conquering Dragon (Master).
So, they weren’t even bothering to hide their master-disciple relationship anymore?
Ansio would likely offer her surrender and allegiance in exchange for a deal with Kinkarnon.
Lezé had no way of predicting how that would turn out.
‘I have no idea what they’re thinking over there.’
She shifted her gaze elsewhere.
Among the few remaining challengers, there were some who were still hiding their true identities.
A woman with a small frame, wearing a mask with a playful expression.
Those with keen eyes had already figured out her true identity, but since she showed no intention of revealing it herself, no one openly mentioned it.
Her skills were exceptional, to the point where some cautiously speculated that she might be Kinkarnon's only true rival.
And on top of that, she was essentially part of Theo’s faction.
Whether intentional or not, the Soaring Dragon Battle had effectively become a political proxy war between Theo’s faction and Kinkarnon’s faction.
Lezé was the only one here without a faction.
It was a lonely fight.
‘That doesn’t mean I can afford to lose.’
Lezé gripped the Grim Reaper tightly.
It wasn’t over until it was over.
What mattered most was an unyielding heart.
She truly believed that.
