39. What will you do?
Joo-in had been on good terms with the knights all this time.
Most of the knights had reached out to him first.
‘They approached me on their own before I could even pretend to be friendly.’
It was thanks to his training and achievements with the Sword King.
They visited him every day, asking to spar with him.
Some knights even volunteered to be his personal escorts just to get a little closer to him.
That Joo-in had just been insulted as a slave by a mere count.
And not just any count, but Count Sanderson, who seemed to be after his family.
The knights of the Edmer family could no longer stand it.
Clang!
Their swords surrounded Count Sanderson and his knights, ready to cut their throats at any moment.
‘If you move, you die.’
Count Sanderson, who had read the murderous intent correctly, gritted his teeth.
“What is the meaning of this? I am Count Sanderson. Of the North… No, before that, do you not know how much support money I gave to the Edmer family’s knights? The Duke of Edmer’s family does not know grace…”
“Shut up! How dare you be rude to the late Duke’s guest.”
“Absolutely unforgivable!”
Murderous intent overflowed from the knights’ eyes.
Of course, they were knights who knew the identity of the protagonist.
However, that did not matter much.
‘He is not just a mere slave. He is a great man that even the late Duke would acknowledge.’
‘Not only did he ignore Lord Protagonist, but he dared to draw his sword in front of the late Duke without permission.’
The knights’ anger was justified.
However, they were not the only ones who were angry.
No matter how angry they were, it was nothing compared to this man.
“Get down.”
“……!”
At that murmured voice, the hearts of those in the banquet hall sank.
Thud!
A tremendous murderous intent erupted from the Sword King.
Overwhelmed by the murderous intent, the entire banquet hall shook as if an earthquake had struck.
Count Sanderson could not lift his head, as if his head was being crushed.
“In front of me… how dare you draw your sword at my guest.”
It was no different from ignoring the name of the Sword King.
Soon, his sword was slowly drawn from its scabbard.
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His overwhelming presence, which could not be compared to murderous intent, made it impossible to even breathe.
However, the Sword King did not swing his sword right away.
“It is extremely contemptible, but you are also my guests. So, I will punish that recklessness with one of your knight’s arms.”
No matter how much of a Sword King he was, he could not arbitrarily cut off the arm of a noble appointed by the king. However, the arm of a single knight would be enough as an example.
Just as the Sword King’s sword was about to cut off the knight’s arm.
“Please wait a moment, Your Majesty.”
“……!”
The protagonist blocked the Sword King’s sword.
The sword, which seemed like it would fall at any moment, stopped in mid-air.
“Why are you stopping me? Wasn’t that bastard insulting you, and even threatening your life?”
What do you mean by life?
People were buzzing, but the protagonist smiled faintly.
“What crime can a knight have for following his lord’s orders? If there is a crime, it is only that he followed a foolish master.”
“……!?”
Count Sanderson’s eyes widened at the humiliating words.
He wanted to shout out of anger right away, but the changed atmosphere around him came first.
The other nobles were in an uproar.
“That… imbecile.”
“To dare speak to the one who accompanied the late Duke no less…”
“And they even call him the hero of the age. To such a person…”
“That man, the fox of the north? Who on earth came up with that nickname…”
The nobles of the north, and indeed all the nobles of the continent, had cold gazes.
Most of them looked at Count Sanderson with pity.
The count shouted at the Knight King.
“Do you know what kind of past that man with you has?”
He intended to say that Joo-in was a heinous criminal and terrorist who had killed the warden of a slave camp.
That he was no hero.
At that, the Knight King’s eyes flashed.
“The past, you say. Ah, do you perchance wish to hear the tale of how he saved my successor? Or perhaps of how the one who sought to succeed me was the owner of an illegally operated slave camp?”
“……!!”
This wretch, could it be that he knew everything?
That he had targeted Aiden, and that he had illegally operated a slave camp?
No, that couldn’t be…
“You’ve looked at the ledgers well. You’ve done your research.”
Damn it.
Joo-in smiled at Count Sanderson’s distorted face.
‘Yes, I knew you would turn out like this.’
No matter how cunning a bastard is, if his nature is fundamentally dirty, he’ll show his true colors.
He had scraped at that wound ever since the slave camp.
He knew that if he scraped at it again here, in front of everyone, he would surely come out.
‘Even a weakling like you won’t be able to escape here.’
But it wasn’t weak enough to end with this.
He hadn’t asked the Knight King to leave Sanderson to him for nothing.
Joo-in deliberately spoke as if to dissuade the Knight King.
“And would it not be a shame to stain such an auspicious day with blood?”
“Auspicious?”
The Knight King tilted his head.
The other nobles tilted their heads as well.
“Are you referring to the birth of the hero? There is nothing else of note, is there?”
“Is there another auspicious occasion that we do not know of?”
They had gathered here in the first place to witness the well-being of the Knight King and the Edmer dukedom.
At the same time, it was to confirm the birth of the hero.
The invitation hadn’t mentioned anything else, had it?
But Joo-in smiled.
“Could you please focus on me for a moment?”
Was it because a storm of blood had nearly erupted in the banquet hall?
Unbeknownst to them, the nobles were all turning to the protagonist.
‘Good. I have their attention now.’
In fact, what came next was crucial if he wanted to clear the achievement by surviving.
Besides, there was something the protagonist had been thinking about all this time.
How could he quickly stop the Demon Lord’s rampage?
How could he instill a sense of crisis within the continent’s inhabitants?
It was time to put that method into action.
“I would like to take this opportunity to ask a favor of everyone gathered here.”
A method that would only work at this moment.
“Please open the Forbidden Zone.”
“……!?”
Everyone’s eyes widened at the protagonist’s words.
This was because the Forbidden Zone he spoke of was none other than…
The Forbidden Zone of the North.
It was the place where the Demon Lord and Hero that the Demon Lord served had met their end.
A land cursed by the miasma that had flowed from the Demon Lord’s corpse.
A place where even the previous Duke, known as the Great Knight King, could not approach due to the potent miasma.
It was also the place where the Demon Lord, who could not be completely eradicated, had merely been sealed away.
The nobles’ uproar grew louder.
“You want us to open that Forbidden Zone?”
“Why?”
“Opening that place would be madness.”
The Forbidden Zone was that dangerous.
No wonder the remains of the Hero who had defeated the Demon Lord were still there.
They hadn’t even been able to give him a proper funeral.
The miasma emanating from the Demon Lord’s remains was so potent that simply approaching it meant certain death.
That was why it had been sealed off to prevent anyone from going there carelessly.
One of the nobles who knew this spoke up cautiously.
“To officially open that place, you need not only the permission of the Edmer dukedom, but also the royal family’s approval. Of course, the temple would also have to…”
“Fortunately, there is a prince here from the royal family.”
“……!?”
It wasn’t just the royal family that had come.
Someone from the temple had also appeared.
“Third Prince? And Bishop? What do you think?”
“Er… Well, you see…”
“That…”
Both of them seemed reluctant to open the Forbidden Zone.
However, this was a request from a man who might be the Hero of this era.
And they had received orders from above to do as he asked.
‘Give him whatever he wants as much as possible, but make sure he’s on our side.’
They couldn’t refuse.
Besides, there was also the precedent of Count Sanderson.
‘We shouldn’t make the late Duke mad for no reason.’
‘I thought he was weak… He’s gotten stronger. We must never make him our enemy.’
The other envoys thought similarly.
Thanks to that, the other conditions needed to lift the seal were not necessary.
“The desert kingdom also permits it.”
“The great tribe of the plains also permits it.”
“The children of the earth also agree.”
“The sea’s…”
Exactly nine out of nine forces agreed.
Most of the envoys here were those entrusted with authority from the leaders of each force.
With their permission, there was justification for lifting the seal.
Not just a majority, but with the exception of the fairies of the sky island who did not attend the banquet, they had the consent of everyone.
‘This should be enough to prevent anyone from complaining later.’
It was possible because everyone was desperate to become acquainted with the hero of the age.
‘Now, we can enter.’
However, the envoys’ expressions were not bright.
To be honest, they did not want to permit the lifting of the seal.
They agreed because the hero Joo-yeon wanted it.
“Why on earth do you want to go there?”
“There is nothing but death there.”
“Even the hero’s companions left his remains as they were.”
That was how dangerous it was.
“The devil’s… no, the Demon King’s weapon could spread across the continent. Do we really need to risk that?”
“Could it be a trap? Are you trying to lure the demons and destroy them all at once, using the lifting of the seal as bait?”
They said that, but their expressions were doubtful.
That place was dangerous, but on the other hand, it was a land full of things that could make money.
Count Sanderson also looked at Joo-yeon.
‘I can see right through that slave. Everyone would hate that in the first place.’
This was Joo-yeon’s self-inflicted wound.
No matter what he said, his image wouldn’t improve.
However, Joo-yeon said something unexpected.
“How long can we leave it like that?”
At that, the Knight King’s eyes shook violently.
He knew exactly what Joo-yeon wanted to say.
“Surely the reason you want to lift the seal is…”
“That’s right. The remains of your close friend, the hero. Isn’t it time to let him rest?”
“……!”
The Hero and the Paladin King were exceptionally close.
They even boasted of their friendship by sticking together throughout the game.
Then, he would be the one who would want to retrieve the Hero’s remains more than anyone else.
That was the reason why he had spoken in front of the people.
‘I can hear the sound of the Paladin King’s favorability rising.’
He could tell even without checking the system window.
Even the Death Knights praised the protagonist’s will to take care of even the Hero of the past.
“If that is the case, then we should help.”
“How can we help?”
The gazes that had been looking at him with displeasure changed.
The protagonist smiled.
With this one conversation, the protagonist was able to exert a huge influence not only on the Paladin King but also on each of the Death Knights.
Of course, that was not all he would gain.
‘That thing is there.’
＜Holy Sword＞
A sword that only he could use along with the Hero’s remains.
It was the item that the Demonkin feared the most in the world.
‘The Paladin King has the key to get to that place.’
That’s why the Demonkin bastard joined hands with the Duke, to take away the key to get there and take the Holy Sword from the inside.
Of course, it was absolutely impossible to obtain this Holy Sword from the beginning.
‘That’s why I’ll use a fake.’
By now, the temple would have kept a replica of the Holy Sword.
It was a fairly capable sword, but it was considerably inferior to the original made by God.
‘I have to gather my companions at the very end and go to the Forbidden Zone to get the real Holy Sword…….’
That too was incredibly hard.
By that time, the Demonkin would have fully risen and would be sweeping across the continent.
Naturally, the seal of the Forbidden Zone would also be easily broken.
‘And those bastards will use the Demon King’s flesh.’
If we don’t stop them in time, there will be a terrible incident where two Demon Kings are born.
The past Demon King who has been revived and the new Demon King.
It was naturally a difficult task to face two guys called Demon Gods at once.
Many of the party members had died, and it was so difficult that it was fortunate if only one person survived.
‘I won’t let that happen this time.’
Now that his life was at stake, he had to be more careful.
Above all, if his guess was correct… this was also a chance to gain new power.
So he turned to the last person.
The Paladin King.
The permission of the Northern Wall family, who were guarding the Forbidden Zone, was needed.
If it were any other bastard, he would have gone in without anyone knowing and laid his hands on the Holy Sword. However, the protagonist was different.
So he asked the Paladin King politely.
“Will you open the Forbidden Ground?”
“…….”
Of course, there was no way the Knight King would refuse this offer.
He would have wanted to properly see off his best friend’s end.
However, it would be disappointing to just end it like this.
“Oh, right. In order to open the Forbidden Ground, I’ll need an observer. May I appoint that person myself?”
What? He was going to appoint the observer himself?
Joo-Yeon smiled at those who were flustered.
“It seems like I would need someone who could speak about me in a cold-hearted manner, don’t you think?”
Joo-Yeon pointed at Count Sanderson with her eyes.
Count Sanderson raised his voice as if flustered.
“W…… Don’t be ridiculous! Why would I go there!”
The Forbidden Ground was a dangerous place where you could die if you made a single mistake.
Count Sanderson threw a tantrum as if to say that there was no way he could go.
However, it was useless.
“Choose. Will you become the observer? Or will you pay the price for the disrespect you showed to the former Duke just now?”
“……!”
Count Sanderson’s eyes shook greatly.
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Joo-Yeon, who was looking at him like that, smiled as if he couldn’t escape.
Observer?
Are you kidding me?
In fact, nothing was more precious than the Count’s own life.
However, Joo-Yeon was a warrior.
‘Besides, I’ve already declared my intention to collect the remains of the previous warriors.’
If he were to pay the price for his disrespect here, he would have to cut off at least one of the Count’s knight’s arms.
What do you mean by that?
‘You’re bragging that you cherish your own life more than your knight.’
If that happened, Count Sanderson’s honor would fall to the ground.
No knight would follow his banner.
‘It would be better to go to the dangerous Forbidden Ground. At least there’s a chance of survival there.’
No matter how much money he had, it was useless.
If the rumor spread that he had abandoned his knight like a pair of old shoes, no knight would stand under his banner.
Then, the Sanderson Dukedom would easily collapse, not to mention the ordinary Viscount.
No soldiers would be able to win against knights.
‘You know better than anyone what will happen inside the Forbidden Ground.’
As proof of that, Count Sanderson’s fists were trembling.
So, Joo-Yeon smiled broadly.
“What will you do?”
Even without saying it, the answer was clear.
“Then, I will head to the Forbidden Ground tomorrow.”
Frozen Earl Sanderson’s face was a sight to behold.
Joo-Heon laughed.