Chapter 194 : Family Reunion (1)
Family Reunion (1)
'Huh?'
As Louis entered the audience hall, he sensed a presence.
At first, it seemed to carry a sinister energy, but in the end, the presence faded away and he could no longer feel it.
'It feels like someone was here...'
Because Louis retained the senses of the Chaos Dragon, surpassing those of a human, he could detect even those hidden from sight.
But judging by the fact that the sensation faded halfway through, it was certain someone had been here but then completely vanished.
'Whoever it was...'
There was no need to worry about this right now. He had an important deal to make at the moment.
"Pleasure to meet you. Who among you is Kaid, of the East Continent's Thousand Sword Society?"
"That would be me."
Kaid, who had traveled together with Louis, knelt before the king.
Yugwang and Louis did the same, and Rio, who had been standing absentmindedly, only knelt after Louis pressed down her head.
"You've brought quite a few companions."
"Yes. We brought what you requested from the East Continent."
Kaid received the manual from Yugwang and handed it over to the king.
"Is this the manual containing the secrets of the Blood Sword Technique?"
"This is considered a treasure in our East Continent. It shouldn't remain here too long, so I'd be grateful if you could return it as soon as possible."
Hearing the way Kaid spoke, Louis smirked and whispered to Yugwang.
"That brat. He speaks more respectfully than I expected."
"He's the eldest son of our continent's greatest family. He's received that sort of education from a young age."
The king took the manual from Kaid, his face lighting up with joy.
"Hohoho. With this... the long-awaited wish of Woodrock, unaccomplished for centuries, may finally come true. Could you deliver a message to the East Continent right away?"
"What message would that be?"
"Tell them that I, the king of Woodrock, have finally obtained the Blood Sword Technique."
Kaid found himself puzzled upon hearing this.
He'd wondered since the outset what the king intended to do with the Blood Sword Technique.
"May I ask what you plan to do with it?"
So he asked.
"Didn't they tell you that I am a descendant of the Blood Sword Technique's original user?"
"I'm aware of that. But this is the first time Woodrock has asked to borrow the manual."
If he had never tried to borrow it before, why now? Naturally, he found it suspicious.
"No doubt, it's a question a mere messenger like you would want answered. The reason is simple. The time has come to perform a grand ritual using the Blood Sword Technique."
"A grand ritual?"
"Yes. A ritual that will unite this continent as one."
A ritual to unite everything as one?
On hearing that, Louis let out a silent laugh and poked Kaid in the side.
Taking this as a sign to keep probing, Kaid swallowed dryly and pressed on.
"I'm curious as to the nature of this ritual."
"That's not something you need to know."
"No, we do need to know. Our family head asked us to find out."
"The Thousand Sword Society?"
Of course, Kaid made this up on the spot. The king, sensing something odd, asked further.
"I doubt your continent would ever bother with such questions."
"What do you mean?"
"Hmm..."
The king studied Kaid suspiciously. It seemed strange that he would keep pressing a question he should never be asking.
"Do you really need to know that badly?"
"...... Yes."
"Then let me ask you something. Did your side send me any sort of letter?"
"If you mean this, here it is."
Besides the manual, Yugwang produced a letter addressed to the King of Woodrock.
This letter had been written by the Emperor of the East Continent's Imperial Court.
Upon receiving it, the king opened the letter and gave a wry smile.
"Hohoho. So they haven't changed at all, just like me."
He looked at Kaid with an expression of relief.
"As long as I received the manual, the rest didn't really matter."
"What do you mean by that...?"
"I'll put it simply."
Suddenly, the king drew the sword at his waist and swung it at Kaid.
Sensing clear killing intent, Kaid instinctively drew his sword and assumed a defensive stance.
With his innate talent, Kaid was able to fend off surprise attacks and assassination attempts with ease.
But the king's sword strike was heavier than expected, sending Kaid flying across the room.
Thud!―
"Young master!"
When Kaid crashed into the wall of the audience hall, his attendant Yugwang was shocked.
"What do you think you're doing!"
"What am I doing? This is an order from your Imperial Court's Emperor."
"What?"
Wondering if this was true, Yugwang examined the letter.
Normally, such a letter could only be opened by the recipient, but once open, anyone could read it.
"Huh?"
But the page was blank. No words at all, only an incomprehensible drawing.
"What is this..."
"You errand boys probably don't know. This drawing is a code passed down for centuries between Woodrock and the East Continent's Imperial Court."
"A code?"
Passed down for centuries? Naturally, Yugwang couldn't understand its meaning.
But if it was truly a code exchanged between kings, he could say nothing.
"That guy's codes never change, even now. Makes them easy to recognize—luckily for me."
"I... don't quite understand what you're saying."
"There's no need for you to understand."
The king pointed his blade at Yugwang as well.
"You'll all die here."
Boom!―
Yugwang caught the king's descending sword in time. He tried to deflect or parry it, but the force of the strike was far beyond his expectations.
"This land of Woodrock borders the demon realm. Occasionally, monsters from the demon realm are found here. If you, the ruler of such a land, think I'm weak, you're gravely mistaken."
"Guh!"
As the force of the sword pressed down on him, Yugwang's hands and feet trembled.
Muscle-searing pain wracked his body, and he was on the verge of collapse.
Clang!―
Kaid, who had been sent flying earlier, attacked the king again.
The king blocked the strike and released Yugwang.
"Is that... really true?"
Though he struck back, Kaid was deeply shocked.
The thought that the East Continent's Imperial Court had abandoned them was hard to accept.
"Are you saying His Majesty abandoned us? On what grounds?"
He wondered if the king was simply making this up.
If the Thousand Sword Society's top disciples died here, it would surely create diplomatic chaos.
"If we are killed here, all the blame will fall on Woodrock. The local Imperial Court will likely handle the aftermath by purging you."
If the king did this, he'd be the one in true danger.
"No, young master. If you think carefully... there won't be a problem."
"What do you mean, Yugwang?"
"The West Continent, as we know it in the East, is a land where the demon realm exists. The East considers this place suicide to visit, since the demon realm's enhanced monsters roam far beyond our imagination."
Now that Yugwang said it, it was true. The West Continent was known as the most dangerous region in the world.
The demon realm, where monsters—called walking disasters—roamed.
With such an unknown land, barely anyone traveled the West.
"Unless it was under His Majesty's direct order, no one would ever come here. Of course, you weren't afraid only because of your own talent, young master."
Before the journey, Kaid had been brimming with confidence, convinced, "I can handle this alone."
Of course, he hadn't been sent alone—Yugwang had come with him.
"And I found it strange that only the two of us were sent to such a dangerous place. One could say that even a massive army wouldn't be enough. Does this really make sense to you?"
They'd seen how strong the monsters here were when they came by boat.
In hindsight, Kaid realized how foolish he'd been.
He shouldn't have come alone... at least hundreds of soldiers were needed.
It couldn't have been merely to avoid losses that only the two of them were sent.
Lending the most important treasure of their entire continent—why would anyone worry about mere soldiers in such a case?
"We should've suspected something when only two of us were sent, but as members of the Thousand Sword Society, we cannot doubt the Emperor's will."
"Then we really have been abandoned?"
Despairing completely, Kaid sank to his knees.
For the Thousand Sword Society's eldest son, the idea he could be abandoned so easily was unthinkable.
"And one more thing. The demon realm exists on this land, so few would find it strange if we died here."
"You're right. I could just report, 'They died at the hands of monsters,' and that would be that."
With those words, the king swung his sword again.
"So just quietly die."
The king's sword strike came flying. But the dazed Kaid, his spirit broken, made no attempt to defend himself.
"Young master!"
Yugwang hurled himself to shield Kaid, just barely managing to block the king's sword.
But Yugwang's sword shattered.
"Argh!"
As his sword broke, Yugwang was slashed across the chest.
"Yugwang...?"
Seeing Yugwang collapsing with blood streaming from his chest, Kaid trembled.
Betrayed by the East Continent and now losing his sole attendant, he was overwhelmed by terror.
For the first time in his life, Kaid was paralyzed by fear, unable to move as if fainting on his feet.
"I'll send the two of you first. The rest will follow soon enough."
"No, please...!"
"But before that, let me ask: do I look capable of inheriting the Blood Sword Technique fully through this manual?"
Maybe, just maybe, if he answered yes, he'd live.
Anyone might grovel and lie for a chance to survive. Kaid considered this for a moment, but gave a hollow laugh.
"Inherit it? Not a chance."
"Huh?"
"You're disqualified! Even if you inherit it, you'd be nothing but a Blood Sword Technique lackey, not a true master!"
What am I saying right now?
"Unite the continent? Nonsense! You really think just learning the Blood Sword Technique will do that? You're even worse than a brat who only relies on raw talent!"
"Is that your last wish?"
The king's sword slashed at Kaid's throat. In that instant, Kaid foresaw his own beheading.
"Huh?"
But that future never came to pass.
"You've been through enough. There's no need to ask further."
At last, Louis, who had been watching up until now, stood up and spoke.
The king's sword strike was intercepted by Rio, who blocked it with a scabbard.
"You are...?"
"......"
Blocking the king's sword with her scabbard, Rio felt something strange. The king, too, sensed it and frowned at her.
"Young master. There's something I've been wondering since we first set foot in here."
Rio stared blankly at the king's face.
"Is there something about this man and me that's similar?"
Anyone else might've snapped that she couldn't know.
But Louis was different.
With just her sense of smell, she could even sense the relationships between people.
"We're similar. The scent. And even the swordsmanship..."
Not just the scent, but even their swordsmanship was similar. Was that just a coincidence?
"It can't be...!"
The king felt the same.
He immediately grabbed Rio's hand.
In that instant, both their hearts raced, and a red thread seemed to connect their hands.
"I knew it...!"
"Where do you think you're touching?"
The moment the king realized, Rio, annoyed, wrapped her blade in red aura.
The Blood Sword Technique manifested, slicing off one of the king's arms.
"Who would've thought we'd meet again this way."
Even in this situation, the king was awed to find the child he'd abandoned had returned.