Around that time, a rumor was spreading about Roman Dmitry all over the continent.
“Did you hear the rumor?”
“What rumor?”
“The Valhalla Empire is holding a festival to honor the souls of warriors again this year, and they chose Roman Dmitry as the opponent for Barbossa, the Twelve Swords of the Continent. It means that the Valhalla Empire acknowledged Roman Dmitry’s existence. If Barbossa is defeated, the continent’s first highest Ranker, excluding the empire, will be born.”
At first, there was news informing people of what had happened. Word spread quickly among the people that Roman Dmitry was dealing with Barbossa, but at some point, the contents of the rumor changed a little.
Despite getting the invitation, Roman Dmitry hadn’t responded yet, and the slight delay fueled questions about Roman Dmitry.
“He must be scared.”
“He must be. He is a completely different swordsman from what Roman Dmitry has dealt with so far. Even though he defeated Continental Rankers like Butler, Count Nicholas, and Gustavo, they were definitely lower Rankers. In fact, even if they attacked at the same time, Barbossa would not be defeated. It is clear that Roman Dmitry is talented, but dealing with that man is impossible.”
“As expected, people talk about Roman Dmitry as if he is the best talent on the continent, but the continent is full of monsters worse than him. Roman Dmitry is just a frog in a well.”
The people expressed their disappointment.
Roman Dmitry—the reason he was immediately recognized by the people was because he had never avoided fighting. In the fight that started with Homer and so on, Roman Dmitry was the underdog every time, but contrary to the expectations of the people, he proved himself by defeating the opponents.
However, this time, he didn’t move to fight. He understood the opponent, but they couldn’t help but feel disappointed with his different attitude from the past.
The rumors escalated, with words mocking Roman Dmitry. Even though there was still quite a bit of time left before the festival, people were thinking that Roman Dmitry had escaped.
And such rumors soon reached Roman Dmitry.
‘Valhalla is blatantly making their move.’
The intention of the rumors was clear. These rumors didn’t escalate normally, but it was Valhalla that was leading this situation in this manner.
If Roman Dmitry agreed to the fight, they would inform the people that Roman Dmitry would fall from Barbossa, and they would raise the status of their empire using a revenge story.
Conversely, if he refused, rumors would spread, tarnishing his reputation. People would ridicule Roman Dmitry’s choice of avoiding the fight, as the rumors say, and it would only be a matter of time before people would consider him a coward.
Valhalla had its methods. Even though the fight between Roman Dmitry and Barbossa made no sense, they deliberately did that and laid a plan that Roman Dmitry would have a hard time refusing.
The situation—Roman Dmitry didn’t like Valhalla’s intentions.
Did they create the situation? Did they do so by spreading rumors? No.
From the start, Roman was going to accept the invitation, but their confidence in Barbossa’s victory was annoying him.
That evening, Kevin went to see Roman Dmitry.
“My Lord, can you tell me why I am excluded from the party going to Valhalla?”
During the trip to Valhalla, soldiers, including Chris, were included. The rest would stay in Dmitry, but the problem was that Kevin was in the Dmitry group.
Kevin, as usual, didn’t speak against Roman. He wouldn’t even hesitate if Roman asked him to jump into the fire now, but he felt a little confused this time. It was like he was excluded from the people he could trust.
Going to Valhalla was full of risk, but despite knowing that, Roman didn’t want to take him.
The special training in preparation for Valhalla—Kevin stubbornly went through it. He endured it all to help Roman Dmitry, so being excluded from the party wasn’t something he had expected.
He could accept it if Roman said he couldn’t trust Kevin’s skills. It was true that Chris was stronger, and he even felt angry about it, but he wasn’t going to fail his Lord. However, he just wanted to know the reason.
At Kevin’s question, Roman Dmitry said,
“This trip to Valhalla will be a dangerous one. Kronos and Valhalla. For those seeking to take their revenge on me, this public departure to Valhalla is a golden chance to take my life. All of them will definitely move. I know they will try to hurt me in one way or another, but I have no choice but to accept the plan that Valhalla has set for me.”
It wasn’t a compelling reason. His reputation didn’t matter, and Roman was already willing to go to Valhalla right from the start.
“In the future war, we will have to win impossible fights. We did well until now, but dealing with empires like Kronos is a different thing. Then, how would the soldiers react to meeting the Twelve Swords on the battlefield? The value of the name and title they hold will shrink their morale, and fear will spread. Therefore, only one thing is needed. To show them that the Twelve Swords aren’t absolute and make them believe that even the Kingdoms’ Alliance, including Dmitry, can defeat them, I decided this is necessary.”
Barbossa would be the stepping stone for that. It wouldn’t simply end with leaping to a higher rank by defeating someone that strong, but it would serve as a reason to boost the morale of the soldiers in the future war.
A war couldn’t be won alone. Even if Roman Dmitry was one in a hundred, his win would be a win for all those who followed him. And now that he was leaving for Valhalla, Roman Dmitry had an obvious reason for leaving Kevin behind.
“The risks of this schedule are not limited to me. The fact that I will be exposed to danger from enemies after leaving Dmitry can also be interpreted as Dmitry being in danger without me. That is why I need someone I can trust to remain here. Kevin, I have decided that you are the right person for that. If, by any chance, the enemies come up with some plan, the person who will produce the best results on the battlefield without me is you, Kevin.”
Telling him that he trusted him was enough—the belief that he, and not Chris, was the one who would produce the best results. His discontent quickly melted away, and Kevin, who looked sad, was now clenching his fist with a determined expression.
“Thank you for trusting me. I will do my best to protect Dmitry.”
His face was bright.
Kevin was a very simple human being.
A few days after that, Roman Dmitry headed for Valhalla with his troops. Even with the Warp Gate, they couldn’t directly go to the capital, so the first place they arrived was a city called Paulo, which was near the border.
There was no problem getting in and out because there was an invitation. But from the moment they entered Paulo, Roman Dmitry and his party felt that Valhalla was different from other nations.
“We will conduct a body search for a moment.”
Paulo’s guards skimmed through the invitation and checked all over their bodies, to the extent that it seemed a bit excessive. Usually, people who came in and out from the front could pass through in just 3 minutes. However, it took more than 30 minutes for them to check their luggage.
Of course, during the search, nothing was found. Their minimum armament was acceptable, so the guards opened the way with disapproving faces. And…
“Do not make a fuss inside since Paulo isn’t a city that welcomes outsiders.”
They spat out words like that in the end. Paulo was just like the guards had said. Inside, there were a lot of people with Valhalla’s unique bronze skin, but when they looked at Roman Dmitry and his party, there was distaste in their eyes. Even the merchants didn’t talk to them, and those walking on the sides turned their faces away.
If…if they were warriors, their reactions would be different. Rather than keeping a distance, clashing shoulders and arguing were what Valhalla was known for.
“As rumored.”
It was Chris. Before leaving for Valhalla, he learned more about the nation he would get to experience in the future.
The Valhalla Empire was a fairly closed nation, and unlike Kronos, which grew by accepting other people, Valhalla formed the basis of the nation by being closed off. Just as the lineage of Valhalla was once maintained through incestuous marriages, they rejected people from other races that were different from Valhalla.
And they soon turned into an empire. Some of them had risen in status, but the essence of the empire didn’t change.
‘The race that is said to be the most difficult opponent on the continent is Valhalla. If one isn’t from Valhalla, it is a world where hostility will be justified, so outsiders aren’t welcomed there.’
There was a saying in the world. If it hadn’t been for Valhalla’s closed culture, they might have surpassed the Kronos Empire. While retaining some of their closed cultures, Valhalla had achieved a mighty power comparable to Kronos.
The problem was that, even knowing that fact, Valhalla didn’t send anyone to guide their guests.
An inn in Paulo.
Roman Dmitry made his party unpack in a place that had a shabby look. The other inns didn’t take in outsiders. So after walking in vain, they were finally able to find a place to rest after saying that they would pay more.
And at the inn’s diner, Roman Dmitry went down and drank a cup of tea, which didn’t smell that good.
‘Apart from inviting us, it must mean that Valhalla just decided not to acknowledge my existence.’
Valhalla was unique. They had a culture that did not acknowledge others unless they had experienced them firsthand. Valhalla didn’t intentionally send anyone. They hoped that Roman Dmitry would prove his existence on his own and arrive in the capital, where the festival was happening. It was interesting.
People’s cold stares and disdainful looks were the experiences of all the outsiders who entered the empire. It was then…
“Ah, the taste of alcohol.”
Bang!
From a table away, a drunken man, who was still drinking, looked at Roman Dmitry with a flushed face. His companions were also clearly dissatisfied. From the moment they first entered the inn, they kept watching Roman Dmitry.
“I don’t know where you guys are from, but if you are an outsider, go up and sleep quietly. Do not do arrogant things, and try to be with the people of Valhalla when they eat and drink. I get angry at the sight of you people. As if you had no hardships to go through in life, that fucking white skin.”
The drunk people giggled. He messed around in front of Roman Dmitry. There were soldiers and Chris too, but they didn’t seem to care about them.
“Yah! Didn’t you hear?”
They looked at them. Seeing them calmly drinking tea made the drunk people angrier.
“This bastard continues to ignore people. I am telling you to leave. If you keep sitting on your ass here, I will pull you by the hair and send you upstairs. Is that fine?”
In Vahalla, it was the situation they wanted. Racism was commonly experienced by people from other nations. In response to Valhalla’s intentions to examine their reaction, Roman Dmitry put down his teacup.
“Chris.”
“Yes.”
“From now on, as planned, let the people know that we have arrived in Valhalla.”
“What bullshit is that?!”
A drunk man asked, and at that moment…
Wheik.
Chris grabbed the drunk man by his back, and then…
Bak!
As if to show off to everyone, he slammed his face right into the table.
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