Lord of Rot

Through this Knightly Tourney, Leech had come to realize that nearly every lord had at least a few Transcendent Knights under their command. These men possessed power that surpassed ordinary people, meaning a regular Knight was guaranteed to lose, no matter how exquisite their technique.

Brute force wins the day!

The age of Transcendents had arrived.

He was sure the other lords had realized this as well.

After a few more rounds, it was Leech’s turn to enter the lists again.

His opponent was, just as expected, Wild Horse Chaotic Stone.

They nodded to each other from a distance.

”Hah!”

Leech’s warhorse charged forward, his lance quickly dropping from its upright position to point straight ahead.

The tips of their wooden lances met with precision.

BOOM!

As they passed shoulder-to-shoulder, their lances clashed, sending splinters flying.

In the hands of a Transcendent, a wooden lance was hardly as strong as one’s own fist.

They tossed aside their broken lances, rode to the ends of the tourney grounds, and were immediately handed new ones.

”Hah!” Gripping their lances, the two men wheeled their horses around and charged at each other once more.

Most of the previous bouts had been Transcendents overwhelming regular men. Now, the clash between two supremely powerful Transcendents showed the spectators a truly spectacular battle. The sheer power they unleashed was enough to thrill the crowd and get their blood pumping.

This time, both men consciously avoided letting their lances collide.

The previous impact had made them both realize that the most fragile thing about them was, ironically, the wooden lance in their hands.

THUD!

Wild Horse Chaotic Stone’s lance struck Leech’s shield first, yet Leech barely swayed in the saddle.

His expression changed.

’That shouldn’t be possible!’

Leech returned Wild Horse Chaotic Stone’s shock with a smile as his own lance struck his opponent’s chest a moment later.

It seemed one strike followed the other, but the impacts were nearly instantaneous. To an ordinary person’s eyes, they had struck each other at the same time.

Wild Horse Chaotic Stone was sent flying, soaring over half the tourney ground before crashing heavily to the dirt.

Leech, however, only swayed slightly.

He rolled over, got to his feet, and gave Leech a nod of sincere admiration.

He had realized it during their exchange: Leech wasn’t as fast as him, but he was so immensely strong that he could simply use brute force to overcome skill. He didn’t need any special techniques.

And that was to say nothing of the fact that Leech’s horsemanship was vastly superior to his own.

Wild Horse Chaotic Stone had to use his Extraordinary power just to fight on horseback, wasting even more energy to overcome his poor horsemanship.

Leech, on the other hand, could not only use his Extraordinary power but could also channel the power of his mount.

”Sir Leech Clarence is victorious!”

After leaving the field, Leech immediately held out his hand to Sidor Sea Water, demanding his money.

Sidor handed two pouches, ”twenty-two Jinri and fifty Silver Moon,” into Radish’s hands.

Sidor Sea Water was surprised by Leech’s combat strength, but he wasn’t about to get upset over such a small sum. The Golden Thorn Sword Clan was extraordinarily wealthy, after all.

It was rumored that their family’s golden horses even shat gold, and while it was just a rumor, some people believed it without a doubt.

”You still didn’t use that other power of yours?” Sidor asked.

”No, I did use it,” Leech said. ”Wild Horse Chaotic Stone is very strong. If I hadn’t, I would have been the one sent flying.”

Sidor Sea Water said, ”I’m guessing you’re going to bet on yourself to win the next match, too. All of it.”

Leech replied, ”I’m discovering that I’ve fallen in love with jousting.”

Soon, it was time for the final match.

Leech would face Philip.

After a nod, the two men charged.

Philip knew Leech’s strength was nothing to scoff at. He immediately unleashed his full power, activating a golden light around his body. The dazzling flash made Leech squint instinctively.

’You damn high-beamer!’ Leech thought, leveling his lance to strike. ’I have to teach him a lesson.’

The lance shot straight for Philip’s chest, but the explosive golden light radiating from him acted like a suit of armor, completely blocking Leech’s strike.

At the same time, Philip’s lance struck Leech in the chest.

His dragon-bone plate armor absorbed the vast majority of the damage.

CRACK! CRACK!

As their lances struck each other’s bodies, both weapons shattered.

In fact, it was their warhorses that were nearly thrown off balance and brought down.

’His ”high beams” aren’t just for blinding people; they’re for both offense and defense,’ Leech thought as he reached the end of the lists, took a new lance, and wheeled his horse around. He watched Philip, who had also re-armed, charge toward him. ’These wooden lances aren’t strong enough. I can’t break through his defense.’

No matter how many times they charged, the result would be the same.

”Hah!”

He urged his horse faster, and just as they were about to meet, he suddenly tossed his lance aside.

The nobles in the stands gasped. How could a Knight fight after discarding his lance?

Red Rose even clenched her hands nervously.

The young blonde woman beside her said, ”I thought you weren’t interested in Philip? Why so nervous for him all of a sudden?”

”I’m not,” Red Rose said, shaking her head.

The blonde woman, however, said with excitement, ”I prefer Baron Porcupine. I really want to see him beat Philip to a pulp!”

Back in the arena, the lance-less Leech had already closed the distance with Philip.

Facing the oncoming lance, he shattered it with a single sweeping punch. Then, hanging sideways from his saddle with one leg, he threw a punch at Philip.

Though enveloped in golden light, Philip sensed the danger and immediately raised his shield to block.

PUNCH! Leech’s fist tore a hole straight through the iron-banded hardwood shield. Its momentum barely lessened, it slammed into the golden light surrounding Philip.

He couldn’t break through. Instead, it felt like his fist had sunk into a mire.

Leech immediately mobilized the hidden Extraordinary medicinal power within him, unleashing a second surge of force.

CRACK!

The golden light around Philip shattered like crystal. He took the full force of Leech’s punch and tumbled from his horse.

Meanwhile, Leech used his superb horsemanship to swing himself back into the saddle.

To the onlookers, it didn’t look like Leech was riding a horse at all; he was practically dancing, moving any way he pleased, in any posture he desired.

Not only that, but his warhorse moved in perfect concert with him.

In the space of two or three breaths, the match was decided.

Leech watched Philip climb to his feet, a fist-shaped dent now imprinted on his breastplate, and thought, ’That’s what you get for flashing your high beams. I’ll be sure to smash out your headlights!’

He reached up, grabbed the hardwood shield still strapped to his arm, and ripped it off.

”The champion of the tourney, Sir Leech Clarence!”

The crowd erupted in applause and cheers.

They had witnessed a spectacular fight, so spectacular that... wait, Baron Leech always defeated his opponents in one or two moves. Was the gap in strength really that massive?

The ”Golden Stallion,” Pine Leopold, boomed, ”Sir Leech, you have given us a magnificent battle!”

Judging by his exhilarated expression, Leech’s fight had truly thrilled him.

”You are the champion of this tourney! The glory and the gold are all yours!”

The glory of the tourney champion came in the form of a laurel wreath.

But Leech was only interested in the bag of Jinri.

However, he also knew of the champion’s unwritten rule.

To share his glory with a lady.

Here, there was arguably no one more qualified than Red Rose.

Giving it to her wouldn’t cause any misunderstandings. If Leech were to give the wreath to Johann Pine’s wife, her husband would probably try to kill him.

’Giving it to the flat-chested blonde girl next to Red Rose might also work,’ he thought. ’Her family crest is a rearing warhorse, so she must be Philip’s sister. But I’m worried Philip might misunderstand and think I’m trying to court her. No need to express goodwill right now.’

Leech rode his horse toward the viewing stands, took the laurel wreath from a nearby Soldier, and looked up at Red Rose. ”Beautiful Miss Evangelina, this is the glory I have won for you.”

Red Rose glanced at her father, then walked to the edge of the stand, her face blushing.

The height difference between the stands and the tourney grounds meant that even on horseback, Leech was still a head shorter than her.

She took the wreath from Leech with her left hand, cradling it in her arms, and then presented her right hand to him.

Leech removed his right gauntlet, gently took Evangelina’s hand, and lowered his head to press his lips against it. When he looked up again, they shared a smile.

In a very soft voice, she said, ”Thank you. I love this gift, but I’m looking forward to the other one even more.”

After putting his gauntlet back on, Leech turned his attention to what was truly important.

Five hundred Jinri!

When he thought about the mere fifty Jinri he had earned over the past year, Leech felt tears of joy welling in his eyes.

But his determination to develop his domain and focus on agriculture had never wavered.

Whether it was plunder from invasions or prize money from tournaments, these were not sustainable sources of income.

It was fine for earning some extra cash on the side, but if he were to rely on it to make a living, his father, Lieder, was a cautionary tale.