LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 28
Chapter 28: Assassination Game (1)
‘I’ve been deceived.’
He was momentarily enraged, but there was no time to be angry about being tricked.
Beatrice was in danger.
Argos ran with all his strength.
‘I should have stayed in position no matter the situation. Damn it.’
It was already too late for regrets.
Professionalism and personal matters. He failed to distinguish between them.
No matter how close a friend he was, he should never have moved while on duty.
That was a fundamental rule, yet he failed to uphold it.
Argos felt overwhelmed by the thought of being hated by Beatrice.
“Beatrice! Are you safe?!”
He shouted as he quickly ascended the stairs.
Had the situation already been resolved?
No sound could be heard.
Around him, a few cadets groaned in pain.
It was undoubtedly Beatrice’s doing.
Argos finally reached the top of the stairs and was able to see the situation.
“This, this is….”
And he saw it.
A scene he couldn’t believe unless he witnessed it with his own eyes.
“Bea…trice?”
It was as if he were looking at a painting of hell.
Beatrice was covered in blood.
But that wasn’t all.
Blood splatters were everywhere around her.
However,
It was clear at a glance that none of it was hers.
Around her, dozens of cadets lay bleeding and collapsed.
‘W-With her alone, all of this…?’
She was exhausted, her sword hanging limply as she leaned against the wall.
Her ragged breathing was evidence of a hard-fought battle.
Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.
Even in her weary state, Argos didn’t think he could defeat Beatrice right now.
Her presence was majestic, and she was beautiful.
Argos was overwhelmed by her aura.
“Argos. You’re too late.”
Beatrice spoke with a faint smile.
Argos thought he would never forget this moment.
Perhaps, even until the day he died.
**
“All of this…”
The victors had to wake up.
“She defeated all of them alone?”
As soon as they grasped the situation, they were dumbfounded.
Beatrice had defeated a total of thirteen losers by herself.
It was impossible to doubt since… they had seen it with their own eyes.
And they were still seeing it—the blood-soaked losers.
“What in the world happened?”
“…They stormed in, so I captured them. It was tough controlling my strength not to kill them.”
Beatrice spoke in an indifferent tone.
Of course, controlling her strength wasn’t difficult at all.
Without mana, even if she used her full power, they wouldn’t have died.
‘I can’t lose face.’
After all, no matter how impressive an achievement, it wouldn’t be recognized unless she spoke about it.
‘Still, it was dangerous.’
Beatrice recalled what had happened earlier.
When she saw them swarm like ants, her vision darkened.
No matter how much of a Sword Emperor she had been, she lacked confidence.
Without mana, it was the worst of the worst situations.
But surrendering and damaging her pride wasn’t an option.
Even in that chaos, she devised a strategy to defeat them all.
‘…It’s fortunate the passage was narrow.’
Though it could hardly be called a strategy.
Her position had been exceedingly advantageous.
Two simple facts stood out.
The central entrance passage was narrow.
It was a staircase, and the enemies were coming up from below.
In battles, the higher ground is always advantageous.
With her unmatched knowledge of swordsmanship, Beatrice used this fact thoroughly to secure victory.
Though it hadn’t been easy.
“A-Amazing. I knew you were strong, but… I didn’t imagine this level.”
The cadets gazed at Beatrice in newfound awe.
Her achievement was nothing short of astonishing.
Whether they thought well of her or not.
They had no choice but to acknowledge her.
At the same time.
‘We mustn’t provoke her.’
They resolved never to challenge Beatrice.
**
“Ugh.”
Early in the morning, Beatrice woke up.
“I’m dying… I overdid it yesterday.”
She first checked her mana.
It was completely drained.
The shock from yesterday had not yet subsided, so recovery was far off.
She had used every last bit of it, so it was expected.
Recovery would take quite some time.
And that wasn’t all.
“There’s no part of me that isn’t sore…”
It was excruciating muscle pain.
She could barely hold a spoon in this condition.
[Still, it was splendid. Young Beatrice.]
Yet Beatrice had no regrets.
She had gained much from yesterday’s ordeal.
The most significant gain was mana.
Last night, Beatrice had pushed her mana to its limits.
As a result, she experienced depletion and couldn’t use mana for the time being.
But mana grows the more it’s used.
Once she recovered after a few days, her mana capacity would nearly double.
[But be cautious.]
“Yeah.”
[Young Beatrice, you’ve been pushing yourself too hard lately. You need some time to stabilize.]
Solid’s words were true.
Beatrice’s physical condition wasn’t normal.
Of course, once she recovered, she would be stronger than before, but that was only after recovery.
If she overexerted herself again now, it could take over a year to regain her condition.
Beatrice knew this well.
“I know. Yesterday, I had no other choice.”
The enemies had been meticulous.
It was clear they had spent a long time preparing.
They had used Silence Magic to prevent anyone from waking and isolated Argos, the most dangerous individual.
At that point, there had been only one choice.
Surrender quickly.
Or somehow fight and win.
The result was obvious.
As the Sword Emperor, she couldn’t run away with her tail between her legs.
Her pride wouldn’t allow it.
‘Thankfully, there were no high-level individuals.’
Even for her, if someone of Argos’s caliber had been among them, she would’ve faced severe trouble.
Luckily, the losers were unbalanced enough to live up to their name.
[What will you do from now on? With this system, you’ll have to keep fighting.]
“I’m not a fool.”
She smirked as she put on her uniform.
“Fighting isn’t the only thing I’m good at.”
Leaving those meaningful words, Beatrice quickly finished dressing and stepped outside.
The current time was 8 a.m.
It was roll-call time.
**
Roll-call wasn’t for discipline.
‘That’s good.’
At least they didn’t assign any pointless tasks.
It seemed they prioritized practicality over ceremony, given the looming war.
“All injured individuals, line up in a single file.”
Reiser and several other knights inspected the cadets’ conditions.
They checked for any absentees and assessed the severity of their injuries.
Particular attention was given to injuries, as the mansion had only one priest capable of limited healing.
Light wounds were merely bandaged, but they meticulously ensured there were no complications.
This was all due to the “surprise attack” incident from the previous night.
“Beatrice, are you unharmed? I couldn’t ask you in the chaos yesterday.”
Argos approached her apologetically.
She gave a slight nod.
“I’m fine. Just some severe muscle pain from moving for the first time in a while.”
Argos was at a loss for words at her comment, considering she had taken down thirteen people and only complained of minor muscle pain.
“There are no issues to report! However… Sir Reiser.”
After receiving the report, Reiser stepped into the center of the group of cadets.
Although there was a podium, he chose not to use it, likely to avoid pressuring the nobles present.
“It’s been a day since your arrival. I believe you’ve somewhat adapted to the rules by now.”
It had been an eventful day.
Even without Beatrice’s sharp instincts, the direction things were headed was obvious.
Endless competition and battles. A place where no one could trust, or be trusted.
“Each of you has different specialties. Some wield swords, while others use magic.”
Reiser paused and looked around at the cadets.
“However, there’s less than a month left until war. In this situation, focusing solely on improving individual combat ability is inefficient.”
It was a valid point.
If a single month was enough to make a difference, it would’ve happened long ago.
Moreover, most here lacked significant talent.
Beatrice watched Reiser with curious eyes, eager to hear what interesting methods he had in store.
“So, His Highness the Crown Prince and Krapos’s esteemed scholars gathered last night for extensive discussions. They deliberated on what would be most efficient and beneficial for Krapos.”
‘So that’s why.’
The grace period from the previous day wasn’t an act of mercy.
It simply provided time to finalize the yet-to-be-designed training methods.
“So, what is it?”
As Reiser dragged out his explanation, a noble raised their hand and shouted.
The weather was somewhat hot, and everyone was already irritated.
“There’s no need to rush. The training will commence immediately, without delay.”
“So, what is this training?”
Reiser smirked.
It was a smile that seemed to mock someone eagerly rushing into hell without realizing it.
“A mock war. Starting now, you will go to war.”
Beatrice initially grinned but then stiffened.
‘…I’m still far from recovering my mana.’
**
It was called a mock war, but after hearing the explanation, Beatrice thought,
‘It’s just a team battle.’
Thirty nobles were split into two groups of fifteen.
Each team was given a flag.
Victory was achieved by capturing the opposing team’s flag, similar to a conquest game.
She had undergone this type of training countless times in her previous life.
It seemed less common in this world, as complaints were abundant.
“Damn it, are they joking? Don’t they realize getting injured during this is a bigger loss?”
“Listening to this makes me feel worse.”
“And they say the rules will be strictly enforced.”
‘Tsk, they don’t get it. That’s what makes it more thrilling.’
They didn’t understand the allure of adrenaline. Beatrice genuinely pitied them.
This mock war had a unique feature.
Duels were permitted during the game.
Winners and losers were blended into teams, and sneak attacks could flip the roles.
In other words, even teammates couldn’t be trusted.
“This sounds fun to me, but everyone’s full of complaints.”
Argos grinned leisurely.
“It’s better than running aimlessly around the training grounds, don’t you think?”
“…Hmph, that’s true.”
“Let’s think positively. It seems like an effective method.”
Argos’s optimistic mindset shone through.
Beatrice yawned lazily and stretched.
[Young Beatrice, once again, I must emphasize: do not overexert yourself.]
‘There you go again.’
[…This is training, not reality. If it seems impossible, surrendering immediately is also a valid option. With your skill, you can always become a “winner” again.]
‘I already told you.’
She glanced at Argos, who was chatting and laughing.
The victor nobles were gathering around him.
‘I’m not just good at straightforward combat.’
She conveyed this thought to Solid and looked at Reiser, who was returning from setting up for the training.
“Have you all mentally prepared yourselves?”
At his words, the cadets turned to look at him.
Even the losers standing far from the victors.
‘He’s about to stir things up.’
The intent was blatant in their eyes.
But for Beatrice, they weren’t much of a concern.
What she had instilled in them last night wasn’t just physical pain but “fear.”
“Now, let’s divide into teams. Gather around.”
The plan was to pair eight victors with eight losers to balance the teams.
Balancing both sides was the best approach for such games.
Beatrice folded her arms, curious to see how Reiser would execute this.
“First, we’ll select the core cadets for each team. To prevent strong individuals from clustering, we’ll choose the two strongest cadets. Those two will take turns picking their teammates.”
Argos would likely be chosen.
His position, reputation, and the cadets who already followed him made him an obvious choice.
Beatrice imagined the scenario with her arms crossed.
‘I’d like to team up with Argos.’
Leadership was more critical than sheer strength in war.
In her view, Argos had leadership qualities.
To make things easier, it seemed best to team up with him.
She couldn’t fight properly without mana anyway.
Moreover, she had established some trust with him, and considering the incident where he abandoned his post, appealing to him should make him choose her.
But—
“Beatrice Cenci, Cadet. Argos, Cadet. Please step forward.”
Beatrice, focused on the forest, failed to notice the single tree in front of her.