Chapter 165

Yuwon and the Marquis finally reunited. As if he could not believe Yuwon’s sudden appearance, the Marquis’s face was dyed with shock.

“Y-Your Highness…! How are you here…?”

“What’s so surprising? I merely came to retrieve my people.”

Yuwon answered the Marquis’s question with ease, as though the Colbus standing opposite him did not even exist. Reduced to a mere onlooker, Colbus did not miss what reached his ears and murmured it back.

“Your Highness…?”

This was a powerhouse who had driven back Colbus’s moves with nothing but a single umbrella. The moment it was revealed that this unidentified monster was Yuwon, Colbus’s eyes flashed fiercely.

“…So you are Yurion Aphahiel.”

“Are you still here?”

Yuwon replied as if Colbus were not worth the slightest concern. At that, the Marquis, worried for Yuwon, urgently warned him.

“Your Highness! Please be careful! That man may be stronger than even Marquis Bradman, the Empire’s Greatest Sword!”

At the Marquis’s desperate shout, Yuwon said nothing, only letting a faint smile rest on his lips.

‘No, that’s wrong, Marquis. He has already surpassed the Empire’s Greatest Sword. Even if Marquis Bradman were fully alive, he would not be his match.’

Instead of voicing that answer, Yuwon slowly turned his gaze toward Colbus, whom he had ignored until now.

“Right. I am Yurion Aphahiel. What is your name?”

In the very heart of enemy territory, Yuwon leisurely asked the enemy his name. Faced with such composure, Colbus’s expression hardened. He answered in a stiff tone.

“Colbus Seral.”

“Colbus… Colbus Seral….”

Yuwon repeated the name and quietly stared at Colbus, as though engraving both name and face firmly into his memory.

Colbus did not avert his eyes from Yuwon’s gaze, meeting it head-on. As a result, the attention of both men naturally converged on each other.

They stood there in silence, examining one another’s eyes. Yuwon, Colbus, and even Marquis Carson—overwhelmed by the pressure between the two—said nothing. Only a strange silence hovered.

That gaze. That bearing. That presence!

They said that experts recognized experts. Colbus, a swordsman who had already far surpassed the level of ordinary masters, perceived Yuwon’s true nature and felt genuine admiration.

‘How can a man who looks younger than me possess such eyes…!’

After the master he had served passed away, Colbus had set out into the world with resolve. In the more than ten years since, he had never once encountered someone he truly felt was his rival—but Yuwon before him was different.

‘Ipalim was by no means a weak man either. Now that I have seen the Fifth Prince in person, I finally understand why he failed. If this man is the opponent, even I cannot be certain of victory…!’

The thought that he might lose. The tension that soaked the hand gripping his sword hilt with sweat. Colbus shuddered at that alien sensation.

Colbus had been unable to find an enemy in the entire world who could stand against his blade. Yet now, nearly ten years later, a worthy rival had appeared before him.

It was not only Colbus. Yuwon, too, was filled with awe.

‘Just what kind of power does this man possess…!’

Yuwon was not someone who could comfortably let his expression change before an enemy, but this time he could not suppress the stiffness that came from surprise. His face hardened.

‘He is not a dragon borrowing a human form like my teacher. If he were, the instinct I honed after encountering dragons would have already told me. Then is he another legendary demi-human…? No, that’s not it. This man is unquestionably human. To think such a person existed in this world….’

From the start, Yuwon had vaguely sensed that Colbus was no ordinary strongman. But after examining him seriously, Colbus proved to be far stronger than Yuwon had imagined.

‘…Marquis Bradman and Ipalim are insufficient as his opponents. Even if Marcellus were to return alive, he would not be able to defeat this man.’

Shock followed shock. As far as Yuwon knew, even Marcellus—the strongest in this world—would be unable to win against him.

Of course, the current Yuwon was stronger than the three men he had just thought of. Even so, he could not confidently claim victory in a direct clash with the man before him.

‘…It’s not the climate. It’s him. I must surpass him.’

Colbus Seral—a man with common brown hair and rare black eyes woven together in a peculiar harmony. Yuwon instinctively knew that the man he had met for the first time today would become an obstacle on his path.

A fated rival encountered in an unexpected place. A violent whirlpool churned in both their minds.

‘This man cannot be entrusted to anyone else. To reclaim the throne, he is an opponent I must someday face myself.’

‘There have been countless rumors about the Fifth Prince, but to think he was to this extent… As long as this man lives, there is no empire my lord dreams of. If not me, then no one can do it. I must cut him down…!’

Ten seconds passed. Enough time that, had they crossed swords instead of gazes, dozens—no, hundreds—of exchanges would have occurred. Yuwon broke the silence first.

“…So it was you. The reason Gion could usurp the throne.”

Objectively speaking, Gion was inferior to Yuwon. That was not Yuwon underestimating him—it was simply fact. Aside from the day Gion launched a surprise attack on the heart of the Empire, there had not been a single moment when Gion’s schemes managed to hinder Yuwon.

He had wondered how someone of merely that level could usurp the throne. Now, the answer stood before his eyes.

At Yuwon’s remark, Colbus replied in an even tone.

“So the rumors that the Imperial Family’s sword is not the Second Prince but the Fifth Prince were not groundless.”

“…?”

“Not the sword of the Imperial Family, but the sword of the Empire—that would be more accurate. As expected of the master of the White Dragon Sword chosen by General Geiorn.”

Dant Ser Geiorn. In other words, Tang Seogyeom. The hero who had played the greatest role in elevating this world’s backward swordsmanship to its current state.

Calling him worthy of the White Dragon Sword was the highest praise Colbus could offer Yuwon. Yuwon returned it with a smile.

“You flatter me. Then… today is neither the time nor the place. Let’s leave it at that. We’ll meet again anyway.”

As if his business was concluded, Yuwon tried to quietly leave with the Marquis in tow. Of course, Colbus did not let him go.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Who says you can?”

“You wouldn’t want things to get noisy, would you? It sounds like you’re eager to announce that the enemy leader walked straight into the heart of the military camp.”

“Nonsense. If I capture you here, this war effectively ends now. It seems you’ve forgotten where you’re standing.”

Colbus’s stern warning continued, but Yuwon did not budge. Instead, he returned the warning.

“After the commotion just now, shouldn’t you reconsider why no one has come to check the Marquis’s residence? Do you really think I came alone?”

There was no need to specify who had come with him or how many. It was enough to imply that there were capable allies worthy of standing at Yuwon’s side.

“On the way here, I noticed the night wind was quite good… If a fire were to break out somewhere around here, it wouldn’t be easy to put out until everything burned to the ground.”

Yuwon had no desire to harm innocent civilians if he could help it, but there was no harm in words. He added threats he did not even intend, lending weight to his statement.

“…I see.”

Having given a measure and received a greater one in return, Colbus lowered his tail before Yuwon’s threat. Seizing the momentum, Yuwon pressed the negotiation without delay.

“If you return the Marquis, I will quietly leave tonight. We can each get what we want without reddening our faces—there’s no need to see blood. Don’t you agree?”

Of the Empire’s seventy thousand troops, fewer than half truly pledged loyalty to Gion. Many had been forcibly conscripted under the banner of the Empire’s will. Did Yuwon really want bloodshed? Not at all.

“…You’ll give me what I want?”

“If the Marquis disappears like this, the position of Supreme Commander will naturally fall to you, the Vice Commander. That’s what you desire, isn’t it? Or should I say, what Gion desires?”

“….”

Faced with Yuwon’s precise deduction, Colbus fell silent. Only his stiffened face spoke for his thoughts.

“Gion’s intention in appointing you Vice Commander is obvious. Honestly, there’s something to be grateful for. If he hadn’t appointed you, I wouldn’t have rushed here to retrieve the Marquis so urgently. So now, I’d like an answer.”

At Yuwon’s urging, Colbus sank into contemplation.

‘The problem is this Fifth Prince. I… cannot be confident of defeating him in a direct confrontation right now. If I were to be cut down by him and the camp were subjected to fire….’

If flaming arrows rained down upon the camp where seventy thousand soldiers slept, an enormous loss of strength would occur in an instant, without even the chance for a proper battle. With drinking water already scarce, the only way the Imperial Army could counter a fire attack was to rely on the Mage Corps.

‘Rather than that, it’s better to send them away now and proceed with the planned siege in the South. And no matter how many allies we have, I am the only one who can face this man. There is too much to lose.’

After much deliberation, Colbus raised the white flag first.

“…Go.”

Receiving the answer he had been waiting for, Yuwon smiled.

“Thank you. For escorting the Marquis this far.”

Yuwon led the Marquis and walked proudly out of the residence. As Yuwon passed by Colbus, Colbus spoke.

“We’ll meet again soon.”

“I’ll be waiting. Next time, let’s stop wasting breath and match what we’re each good at.”

The outcome of a true clash between Yuwon and Colbus remained unknown. But this time, it was Yuwon’s victory—and Colbus’s complete defeat.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep