[Vol. 7] Chapter 262: The Arena of Two Choices
"I once trained under the Swift Wind Sword Saint. It’s no secret that he personally taught me. Without enough skill and talent, why would the Sword Saint even look at me?"
"The Emperor, that old man, made me and Carinvega compete here. If we didn’t have similar strength and background, how could we even stand on the same stage?"
"The [Empire’s Two-Colored Lotus], Carinvega, is incredibly talented. I admit I don’t have her almost monstrous intelligence. So why are we seen as having similar value?"
"You think that today, by sending away all the [Lionheart Society] members and opening the defenses to let you in, I was giving up? Fool. I was only avoiding pointless deaths and unnecessary risks. As for you..."
He no longer hid the smile on his lips. A true warrior’s pride, fighting spirit, and sharp sword energy burst out like a raging storm, tearing the air apart!
"A coward like you, who doesn't even dare show their real face and can only move in the shadows. If you want to kill me, show some real skill, or have the people backing you come here themselves!"
"Slash!!!"
Even without any obvious movement from him, the next moment, a slash of sword energy had already cut the wooden table in front of the red-haired man cleanly in half and shot straight at the woman.
The deadly feeling of death rushed at her so fast that every pore on her body felt like it was standing on end. But she couldn’t react at all.
It was too fast!
This speed and power were beyond what a normal human could possibly have. Even though she realized the danger, her body simply couldn't move in time to dodge or defend.
This guy... Xiluo Frederick… How much strength had he been hiding all this time!?
"Pffft!"
The next second, the woman’s body was sliced cleanly down the middle, like a piece of paper cut by a sharp blade.
Blood sprayed everywhere as she collapsed heavily to the ground.
Xiluo didn’t relax at all. Still holding his sword with one hand, he stepped over the broken remains of the table and came to the body. His face remained cold as he looked down silently, as if waiting for something.
And sure enough...
"Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle..."
Soon, the blood that had spilled across the floor began to bubble and churn. Thick, dark gray mist rose from the blood, which moved like a living thing, quickly crawling back into the body. And then, all of it vanished without a trace.
After that, the gray mist turned into a glue-like substance, reconnecting the two halves of the body.
The woman, who should have been completely dead, suddenly twitched and slowly moved again.
But now, all of her disguises had faded away. She revealed her true self, a girl named Orluk. Surrounded by swirling gray mist, she let out a furious roar that almost sounded like she had lost her mind!
"Damn it! Don’t think... don’t think this is over! Anyone who dares hurt Her Highness, I won’t let a single one of you go!!!"
"Whoosh!"
Xiluo didn’t waste any words. Without a second of hesitation, he swung his sword again. A flash of light cut Orluk’s body into several pieces.
But even while her body was still in the air, the gray mist pulled the pieces back together, making her completely unharmed!
"You've really... turned into a terrible monster," Xiluo muttered, watching coldly. "I wonder what my dear sister would think if she saw you like this... how sad."
Outside the room, even more masked assassins rushed in, completely ignoring how strange Orluk looked. Taking a deep breath, Xiluo tightened his grip on his sword.
"Fine then... it's been a while. Let’s make some real noise."
……………………………………………
Some time later, outside the headquarters of the Lionheart Society.
A girl with black hair and a white robe floated down lightly from the sky. She folded the pure white wings on her back and stood before the palace-like building, which looked calm from the outside but was actually pouring out thick smoke from within. She looked around carefully.
"Whoa, so many souls are floating in the air... looks like they had a pretty intense fight."
"The timing’s just about right. Lucine should be arriving soon too. Time for me to join the show."
The Austre Empire had two main goals for holding this tournament.
First, they wanted to crush all rivals in the competition and win the championship, showing the whole world how strong and unbeatable the Austre Empire was.
With that momentum, they planned to attract more allies in an increasingly divided world, and at the same time, weaken the morale of enemy forces.
To make sure of victory, the Emperor had personally sent the [Empire’s Two-Colored Lotus], the royal princess Carinvega, who was seen as nearly "unstoppable."
But this was not the real, most important goal.
The war the Austre Empire was about to start would be like nothing seen before. A world war that would spread across every corner of the Origin Realm.
Unlike the smaller fights during past expansions, this time, if the Austre Empire truly wanted to rule the world, they needed a powerful reason. One that could inspire people and justify a long, hard war.
In short, the Austre Empire would claim that they were forced to go to war because their sovereignty and dignity had been violated first.
They would say they were only fighting to get justice, not acting like the unreasonable invaders they used to be.
At first, this might sound a bit unnecessary. But the problems caused by the Austre Empire’s past reckless expansion still troubled them even today.
If they tried to expand across the whole world in the same way, the backlash would only grow much worse.
They clearly didn’t want to make the same mistake again.
That’s why having a "right reason" was very important for this war. Unless the Austre Empire’s real goal was not to rule the world, but to destroy it completely.
Now, think about it, if one of the Emperor’s most talented sons or daughters were to die during this tournament, a tournament meant to symbolize peace, and if there was "evidence" that the attacker came from an enemy country, wouldn’t that be the perfect reason to start a war?
Everything the Empire set up in Sainz, including causing chaos and distracting the city’s defenses, was just a fake attack.
Their real goal was to use the opportunity to send strong assassins to kill a member of the royal family inside the city, and then frame a rival country, one that was also taking part in the tournament.
Once that happened, the Austre Empire’s troops, who were already moving under the excuse of "military exercises" , could immediately launch a real attack, surround Sainz, and arrest the leaders from many countries who had gathered there.
They would say it was to "capture the assassins," but in reality, they would be taking these leaders as hostages.
Don’t forget, this is happening inside the Austre Empire’s territory. No matter how independent Sainz might seem, it would be impossible for them to openly fight back against the Empire’s army.
Once the Austre Empire caught these people, they could make up whatever story they wanted about who the assassins were and which countries were involved.
This way, the Austre Empire would completely control the start of the war.
They could even use it as a chance to tighten their grip on Sainz, the "country within a country", and strengthen their hold over the entire northwestern economy. It would be a huge victory for them, achieving many goals at once.
And the price for all of this?
Just the life of a single royal family member... and a few of their own people.
It was, without a doubt, a clever and ruthless plan.
Thinking about it, Violet couldn’t help but curl her lips in a slight sneer.
She felt a bit curious about the Emperor who had created such a cruel plan, even though she had never met him.
"Even a fierce tiger won't eat its own cubs, yet this man is willing to kill his own children to reach his goals... In a way, I guess that's a kind of skill too."
With a silent complaint in her heart, the priestess ignored the many souls of the dead floating up into the sky, souls only she could see, and calmly stepped into the ruined building.