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Chapter: 52

Did he think his turn had come? The captain of the soldiers approached as if accepting an order.

I turned my head to look at my dear friend, Commander Heo, with the captain of the soldiers right in front of me.

Heo Seokgyeom\'s eyes were filled with surprise. Having sparred with me before, he would have recognized that my skills had improved even further since then.

I also glanced at Commander Yoo.

Yoo Geung was also surprised. But it was slightly different from Heo Seokgyeom. There was no sign of agitation.

Rather than pure surprise, it was pride and respect. It was impossible not to understand the reason behind it. It seemed that I had already secured a place within Yoo Geung\'s heart.

I don\'t even expect recognition as a lord yet.

Still, as a human being, I had now risen above the level of a mere wastrel.

Even if it wasn\'t perfect.

I felt like I had taken a step forward.

* * *

Lord Son Cheon Geum of Wolhan Fortress watched the wastrel prince\'s every move without missing a single moment.

They had definitely called him a wastrel . The Prince Ikwon he saw with his own eyes didn\'t seem to be as bad as the rumors made him out to be, but he thought that such rumors couldn\'t be entirely false.

For example, the gossip about his laziness and poor demeanor, or the anecdotes about how he was repeatedly defeated in duels by his half-brother, Prince Jaean, who wasn\'t even of military lineage.

He imagined those things had some truth to them.

But it was different.

The wastrel prince had already defeated three soldiers. And he didn\'t even show any signs of fatigue.

Of course, they were just ordinary soldiers. The renowned generals of Wolhan Fortress hadn\'t revealed themselves to the prince yet.

However, even those soldiers were veterans who had survived battles against the magical beasts.

They weren\'t insignificant opponents that could be easily defeated just because someone had swung a sword a few times.

The prince had easily subdued those formidable opponents.

And he achieved victory.

Son Cheon Geum looked at the prince\'s subordinates.

They were proud of their prince.

Was he too young? If he hadn\'t developed the ability to judge people, he wouldn\'t have been able to sit in the position of Lord of Wolhan Fortress in the first place.

The prince\'s subordinates, as seen by his eyes, looked up to their master despite him being called a wastrel.

But they weren\'t afraid.

Awe without fear.

More pride than reverence.

Are the soldiers of Wolhan Fortress fixated on the prince because he has become their common enemy?

Are they excited because the prince is defeating their enemy?

If that\'s the case, Son Cheon Geum could do the same. He could always stand on the front lines, fighting, and if that\'s what it took to win the hearts of Wolhan Fortress, he was more than willing to be at the forefront.

But was that really all there was to it?

For how many long years had he fought for Wolhan Fortress? And what did he have to show for it now?

Even a unanimous decision from the Council of Elders seemed like a dream. He had excellent generals and a large army, but that was it. Had he ever experienced being truly recognized as their lord?

Who am I, and why am I standing here?

Am I lacking something?

Why can\'t I... earn the respect that even that young, wastrel prince easily gained...?

Son Cheon Geum began to be consumed by melancholy.

However, he wasn\'t given much time to indulge in his thoughts. The wastrel prince raised his sword, and his opponent, the captain of the soldiers, also raised his.

"I should ask your name too. What\'s your name?"

"My family name is Jung."

"How many years have you been a warrior?"

"I joined as a soldier when I was 15, and 14 years have passed since then."

The prince nodded. He was smiling, but his eyes were fierce.

What had the prince of that age experienced to have such a fierce gaze?

The prince exhaled briefly and began his attack. His sword lunged forward cunningly. The captain\'s tense arm bulged as he parried the prince\'s sword. His eyes shook like a boat on waves, noticing the change in the prince\'s attitude compared to when he was facing the previous soldiers.

Clang!

The wastrel prince\'s sword and the captain\'s sword clashed. It was a completely different scene from the previous duels. It seemed he was finally starting to show his true skills.

Clang, clang!

Every time the blue sparks of metal flew and the metallic sounds resonated loudly, it felt like his stomach was churning.

The situation intensified. It seemed like something serious could happen at any moment.

If the prince were to get injured while sparring with the soldiers, the responsibility would fall entirely on him. But he wasn\'t worried about the future. He was captivated by the spectacle of the moment.

It wasn\'t a particularly grand spectacle. It was similar to the feeling of watching acrobats or trained animals perform tricks.

The only difference was the fighting spirit.

If it weren\'t for the smile on the wastrel prince\'s face, would he have intervened and stopped the duel? The prince was laughing, unable to contain his excitement.

His chest felt tight, as if his fighting spirit was spreading to him.

Son Cheon Geum glanced at the military officials from the capital again. He was also curious about their skills. He wondered if the swords of the capital were as strong as the prince\'s, and if the reputation of Wolhan Fortress, known for having the coldest and sharpest swords, would now fade into history.

While the northern wall held back the magical beasts, had the swords of the south been further honed under the warm sunlight?

For all that time, while even the wastrel prince of the capital reached this level, perhaps Wolhan Fortress had been deprived of all opportunities for growth, solely focused on fighting against the harsh winter in front of them.

If the wastrel prince was at this level, what level were the soldiers who accompanied him here?

Son Cheon Geum realized he was shrinking with a sense of deprivation.

* * *

My heart was pounding. It wasn\'t just a feeling; my pulse was actually racing. Sweat ran down my forehead, my lips were dry, and my chest ached. I was getting breathless.

In a brief moment of respite, I caught my breath and gripped the hilt of my sword again. My opponent was just as exhausted, if not more, than me. His face had turned beet red, as if he was waiting for me to declare surrender.

But both against Heo Seokgyeom and Yoo Geung, I was the one who had technically won. My pride wouldn\'t allow me to admit defeat in front of this opponent.

I turned my body, escaping the opponent\'s encirclement, and swung my sword. The blade aimed for his side, pushing against the captain\'s body.

The captain twisted his waist and arched his back, hunching over like a shrimp while glaring at me. Only venom remained in his eyes. He seemed determined not to back down easily, even if he were to become a bloody mess.

Yes, this is the kind of spirit worthy of the harsh winter.

Even though there was no harsh winter, only the scorching sun.

The captain charged again.

"Ugh."

It was around the time I started to get tired. Even though I was clearly moving my body, it felt like I was putting a soul into an empty shell and moving it.

It seemed the effects of the acupuncture point were wearing off. Actually, even this much was more than enough for the effects of mere acupuncture. It was impressive that Soon Gang was a skilled physician, considering he could achieve this just by pressing on the skin with his fingers without any special preparation.

The captain was more exhausted than I was. I raised my sword with all my might and then dropped it downwards. The vertically falling blade gleamed coldly in the sunlight.

Clang!

There was no way he couldn\'t counter this simple move. Of course, I had anticipated it. The captain of the fifty stumbled, regaining his balance, and then swung his sword upwards at mine. A gap was created because of that. I pressed down on the hilt of my sword during that opening.

Thud.

The hilt of the sword, which had struck the captain between his eyebrows, returned to its original position due to the recoil. The whole process seemed to unfold in slow motion. The captain\'s eyes rolled back, and a few drops of blood splattered as if the skin between his eyebrows had been torn.

Soon, with a thud, the captain\'s body collapsed onto the floor. Sprawled out flat, it was the perfect position for a nap.

Ah, I want to lie down too.

"You won again...!"

"His Highness won again!"

A few guys shouted. My head throbbed. The buzzing tinnitus sounded twice as loud as before I pressed on the acupuncture point. My damn sensitive body. I felt like I was going to throw up. I stumbled and eventually collapsed onto the floor.

Then, suddenly, someone\'s hand slipped under my armpit. I glanced up to see who was holding me, and it was Yoo Geung.

"Your Highness."

My vision was blurry, so for a moment, I wondered if it wasn\'t Yoo Geung. But that naive face... it was definitely him.

"Oh, I\'m the prince, right. Yeah."

"You defeated all four warriors!"

Yoo Geung was smiling. Others gathered around him too. Heo Seokgyeom, Lee Gyeon-ui, other military officials, and even... Wolhan Fortress soldiers.

What are they doing? What I did was a sort of hazing, wasn\'t it? Why are they all grinning like that?

Lee Gyeon-ui spoke.

"Congratulations."

He seemed happy. I let out a chuckle. Congratulations for what? It\'s nothing special. Still, maybe because I was born susceptible to praise, a faint smile crept onto my face.

"You defeated four people in a row without taking a break!"

Oh, right, that\'s true. I actually defeated all four of them. Considering how my grandfather used to scold me, I did a great job. Thinking about my little brother, who had no manners, I really accomplished something big.

I leaned on Yoo Geung for support and smiled faintly.

"How dare you touch His Highness\'s body..."

Even though I felt like I was going to puke, I didn\'t feel bad.

I looked up to see the Wolhan Fortress Lord approaching with long strides.

"Your Highness."

I stared at him without replying. He continued speaking, as if she hadn\'t expected a response anyway.

"You have achieved a complete victory."

That\'s right, you\'re right. I nodded.

"I guess I should apologize for beating up your soldier.."

The others let out a collective sigh. The Wolhan Fortress Lord lowered his eyes and simply replied, "Victory is always victory. That is the truth we follow."

I felt increasingly nauseous. I forced a smile and said, "Do you truly believe that?"

"If there is nothing unjust, it is always a righteous victory. If both sides revealed everything they had without any falsehoods or reservations, I believe there is nothing to regret or be ashamed of."

I chuckled and nodded.

"That\'s right."

Beyond the people surrounding me, I could see the captain of the soldiers, who had lost to me, being dragged away. Seeing how no one even glanced at him, it was clear that Wolhan Fortress was a place that was kind only to the victors and quite harsh to the losers.