"Today, he admitted that he is right-handed in the match. That means he had been using his weaker hand all this time while deceiving us." Dwen explained. "Moreover, what's even more absurd is the fact that he wields a different weapon in every match and dresses in ridiculous attires, as if he's mocking his opponents by not taking this tournament seriously,"
The princess' eyes widened as she absorbed this revelation.
Her expression regained its tranquility as she inquired: "Does this mean that his opponent was powerful enough to force him to use his right hand and reveal his true strength?"
"Powerful? Hmph! That Ron Chase couldn't land a single hit on him. He even got his dominant hand fractured in a single attack." Dwen snorted in response to her question, "It was Nightfallen who admitted to using his weaker hand throughout the match, making it fair so that his opponent wouldn't forfeit!"
The princess nodded, absorbing all this information, before asking: "Doesn't this mean that all those rumors about him humiliating his opponents were false? He even went out of his way to make the match fair for his opponent."
"False rumors?" Dwen sneered in response to her query. "No, they were not only true but didn't even come close to revealing his truly humiliating nature. He intended to humiliate his opponent by allowing the match to continue."
"He cleverly and skillfully made it impossible for Ron Chase to forfeit, putting him through the utmost shame possible."
Princess Iris couldn't contain her curiosity as she inquired, "Oh, what did he do to make you say that?"
She had known Dwen for a long time, and this was the first time she had seen that fearful and disgusted look on his face.
Dwen Hesitated before answering: "He stripped him in the middle of the ring, with the entire capital watching, leaving him lying there only in his underwear,"
"What?" She exclaimed in a voice filled with shock. Even she couldn't fathom someone doing this in a tournament match.
Stripping a knight meant robbing him of his honor, and without honor, he could no longer be called a knight.
Ron Chase would now be unable to join a knight order, regardless of how much he improved. This match would be a lifelong mark of humiliation for him.
Dwen nodded solemnly: "Yes, he is an absolute devil when it comes to making his opponents regret fighting him."
A grim expression revealed itself on the princess' face as she questioned in a serious tone, "Then, do you think I would lose to him?"
Dwen shook his head in rejection, "No, Your Highness! I wouldn't dare. I just wanted to inform you that it wouldn't be as easy as you thought to win this tournament and Duke Valentino's support."
The princess smiled as she ordered, "Good. Now, gather information about this Winter Nightfallen. The more information we have, the easier it'll be to defeat him."
Dwen bowed as he declared in response, "Yes, Your Highness. I will commence my investigation at once."
Leaving the room, Dwen left the princess alone. She approached the window, gazing at the view outside.
A serious expression settled on her face as she murmured, "Winter Nightfallen..."
The news about Kaen spread among all the participants, and now he was the one they wanted to avoid the most as their opponent.
At this point, everyone had come to realize that Winter Nightfallen was no mere clown but a mastermind deceiving them while hiding himself in the dark.
The list of potential winners was once again updated, featuring Winter Nightfallen's name.
At present, he was considered the most mysterious contestant with no available information.
No one knew his limits or how much further he could go in degrading others.
These factors instilled terror in the hearts of the other participants, making them reluctant to face Kaen.
However, oblivious to all this, Kaen stared at a screen that had appeared in front of him after the match.
A grim expression dominated his face as he continued to gaze at it.
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*ding*
Congratulations, Mr. Asshole!
[I would like to congratulate you for surpassing my expectations once again. You've outdone yourself again this time, and as promised, here is your reward:
Reward - Hint about demons
One of the priests of the cult of the Demon King Orcus is present in Argenzon. One of his undead Death Knight is participating in this tournament, impersonating a human.]
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"So, does that mean Orcus has started making his move, or is it only his minions who worship him?" Kaen contemplated with a grim expression. "And what could be there motive in participating in the tournament?"
"Instead of wondering about his motive, let's just go and watch the matches." Demios suggested. "We should be able to find that death knight in these matches, right?"
In the arena, Kaen observed the ongoing matches.
After obtaining information about Orcus cult, he paid close attention to every fighter entering the ring.
His goal was to unmask the death knight impostor.
Through the impostor, he aimed to trace his master and ultimately capture his real target.
The cult of Orcus worshiped demon king Orcus, seeking to make him descend into this world to purify the world.
They believed that humans were inherently wicked and deceitful, killing for personal gain without remorse.
Most of their members are humans who have a tragic past and have suffered at the hands of the society.
Their hatred for humans and this world motivated them to join these demonic cults for their personal goals.
Some only joined for power and luxury that the cult provided.
Orcus cult believed only Demon King Orcus can empower them to punish these evil beings called humans.
Now, who is this Orcus they worshipped?
Orcus is one of the seven demon kings who controls the undead. He is considered the god of undead.
He would bestow the ability to reanimate corpses and control them upon his devotees.
The higher the position within the cult, the greater the power granted.
For only a priest, he should only be able to summon a death knight of 5-star level so it wasn't a problem for Kaen.
But the problem was their number, He would be able to summon multiple of them according to whose corpse he use.
Only someone who had reached the level of 4-star or above could be turned into a death knight.
Due to Orcus' demonic power, Death Knights made using a 4-star corpse would rise to 5-star upon their reanimation.
It worked on all the corpse below 5-star.
That means, If you turned a 1-star corpse into an undead, he would be turned into a 2-star level skeleton upon being resurrected.
But there was also a limit to how much power would increase by Orcus' blessings.
Only upto 5-star would the level of a corpse rise, Attempting to elevate a 5-star corpse to a 6-star level wouldn't be possible unless you are the high priest of the Orcus cult.
Beyond 5 stars, the reanimated beings would revert to the same level as when they were alive.
Meaning, a 6-star corpse would be a 6-star death knight upon being turned into an undead.
Although, Dark elemental mage could also turn a corpse into an undead but there was a disadvantage -
The undead reanimated by the mage would be of a lower level than, when it was alive.
This was the reason why many necromancers joins Orcus cult in pursuit of power.
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(A/N - Thanks for reading. ^..^)