Chapter 161.1 – Banquet of Swords (4) (1/2)

Only half a chapter today, not because the chapter is long, but because I spent too much time playing Genshin due to the new events released today, hahaha.

In Pleaides, there were several titles commonly used by the entire continent.

Great swordmaster, a title referring to a swordsman who had reached the top.

Archwizard, a title for a 6-stars or higher wizard.

The great swordmasters in the Sälen Kingdom were ten in number.

They were called the Ten Great Swordmasters.

Masters of the sword that the Sälen Kingdom were proud of.

There were all strong. It was not an exaggeration to say that they were considered as tactical weapons in war, and were superhumans who had surpassed the limits of a normal human.

But that didn’t mean all of them were the same.

There were those who were superior even among the Ten Great Swordmasters.

‘But they cannot ascertain or prove on who is more superior.’

The reason why was simple.

Because the use of the most reliable verification method was prohibited.

‘The Ten Great Swordmasters cannot fight against each other.’

Each and every one of the Ten Great Swordmasters were valuable tactical weapons.

The damage would be seriously tremendous if any of them were lost.

‘The Ten Great Swordmasters are superhumans.’

If they had a match to determine on who was stronger, and both sides did their best in the fight, one side was bound to be crushed.

They would be destroyed.

‘Because of this reason, it became impossible to directly rank the Ten Great Swordmasters.’

But people did not give up.

After all, it was human instinct to rank those who were stronger.

‘Sword Saint.’

This term referred to swordsmen who had reached the stage of the so-called ‘becoming one with the sword,’ and was particularly used for outstanding great swordmasters.

There were only three among the Ten Great Swordmasters who held the title of Sword Saint, and the number of sword saints in the whole continent had never exceeded ten.

‘Rhun Froud.’

The Sword Saint of Light.

A monster of the sword, who at a young age, rose to the position of great swordmaster and eventually, a sword saint in his early thirties.

He was the strongest swordsman in the Sword School, the pride of Duke Spencer, and it was for this reason that he was called the First Sword as he ranked first in swordsmanship in the Sword School.

‘Some say that he’s the strongest among the Ten Great Swordmasters, but…’

That was still something unknown.

Fights among the Ten Great Swordmasters were forbidden.

‘Even in the game, none of the Ten Great Swordmasters fought with each other.’

But if Jude had to give a reason on why he wanted to know on what was unknown, and excluded a bit of his own interest in it, the reason would be…

‘Because my father belonged to the Ten Great Swordmasters.’

Count Bayer.

A swordsman who was a great swordmaster.

Jude unknowingly made a bitter smile and saw what was in front of him again.

Before he knew it, their distance from Rhun Froud had narrowed.

‘The Sword Saint of Light.’

A handsome man with long dark blue hair who seemed to have come out of a beautiful painting.

But he didn’t have a beautiful face that could be mistaken for a woman like the Ghostblade Kamael. Neither was he a cheerful guy with a masculine and bold appearance like Landius.

To describe him, he was a handsome man with a sharp look.

However, he didn’t give off a cold impression because of his business smile and the playfulness that lingered in his eyes.

Rather, Rhun Froud was like the neighborhood older guy one was familiar with.

“Yo!”

He approached them like those good-for-nothing neighborhood guys as he slightly raised his hand and greeted them, gathering the attention of everyone who were looking elsewhere.

“Nice to meet you all.”

It could be said that First Sword’s sudden appearance and greeting confused the prospects from the north and south, but not for the prospects from the royal capital.

Because they already knew that the man who had just appeared in front of them was none other than Rhun Froud, the Sword Saint of Light.

“I greet the Sword Saint of Light.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet the Sword Saint of Light.”

As the prospects from the center courteously greeted him almost at the same time, the prospects from the north and south also hurriedly rose from their seats and respectfully greeted him.

For those who walked the path of the sword, the Ten Great Swordmasters were people they envied, but among these great swordmasters, the First Sword was special.

‘Because he is young.’

He achieved the title of great swordmaster much earlier than others, and even climbed to the position of sword saint.

A young genius.

He was a person who shined like his nickname ‘Sword Saint of Light.’

And he was a very handsome guy too.

Like young fans who had met the idol singer they admired, all the prospects looked at him with sparkling eyes and blushing faces, and some of them even felt dizzy.

But Jude didn’t act like that.

The same was true for Cordelia.

And that fact once again stimulated First Sword’s curiosity.

He brightly smiled as he walked past Lucian, who didn’t know what to do and was wondering if he should talk to the First Sword or walk away.

‘Here he comes.’

First Sword.

The key solution they needed to prevent the genocide of the royal family.

‘We need to get close to him.’

They did not need to control the First Sword.

They only needed one thing from him.

They needed the First Sword to attend the founding celebration. In the game, he was not present at the ball, so they needed to somehow make him stay in the royal palace now.

That was enough.

‘Of course, it would be nice if he helped us further.’

The best scenario was to have the First Sword defeat the Lord Protector.

So Jude made a friendly smile, but it was only for a short moment. His eyes soon turned ice-cold unknowingly.

Because the First Sword who was walking towards Jude had suddenly turned to Cordelia.

“Your beauty is truly like that of a rose. I am called Rhun Froud. May I know milady’s name?”

First Sword gently kissed the back of Cordelia’s hand and smiled softly, making Cordelia blush a bit.

Even if his lines were nothing but foolish remarks, First Sword’s handsome face and sweet voice made his words sound beautiful, and it was the first time Cordelia had received this kind of greeting from a man other than Jude.

‘Come to think of it, why is this my first time?’

I’m the daughter of a count, right?

At the time Cordelia was lost in her thoughts again…

“I am Jude Bayer from the family of Count Bayer. This is Lady Cordelia Chase, my fiancée.”

When Jude suddenly stood next to Cordelia and greeted naturally, Cordelia blinked her eyes before she widely smiled.

“I am Cordelia Chase from the family of Count Chase. It’s an honor to meet the Sword Saint of Light.”

Jude had told her that they had to get close to the First Sword.