Chae-chang!
The bright sunlight from the wide-open window shines on the floor of the practice hall, where small and large shadows sway.
Shiiiiik!
A black flash that literally shoots out from the small shadow! It aimed at the whole body of the large shadow with an unbelievable speed.
But the result was too futile.
Ting!
The large shadow, Duke Dios, easily blocked all the attacks and even knocked away the sword that the opponent was holding.
It was a desperate move, but it was useless.
"Haha, you've improved a lot!"
Duke Dios praised him generously. It wasn't because he was his blood.
Considering her age, it was a miracle-like achievement.
But she, Beatrix, seemed to be very dissatisfied.
She looked at her sword that bounced off with a regretful expression, as if she didn't like it, and the duke looked at her with affectionate eyes.
'He must have been a big stimulus when His highness the first prince came.'
She was talented enough to aim for the best in the continent even without any bias, but after Eurius left, she seemed to be more stimulated and her skills improved at an eye-catching speed.
'At this rate, I might really see a daughter who becomes a superhuman before she turns twenty.'
"Father, please let me do that training too…"
"Absolutely not."
The duke firmly refused.
In fact, Beatrix had reached the same wall as Eurius, who seemed to have faced a superhuman, since a while ago.
"That training is not only difficult, but it is very rare to reach it as fast as His highness! Your brothers didn't either!"
The reason for the duke's refusal was simple.
First of all, that meta-strike was just one of the verified methods, not a training method that guaranteed to break the wall 100 percent.
'And I never want to do meta-strike to Lize!'
Needless to say, the duke who had eight arms never wanted Beatrix to receive the same training as Eurius.
"You are still younger than His highness. And the wall is not something that breaks by trying hastily."
To be honest, when he saw his daughter's talent, he believed that she could break the wall of superhuman within a few years with just the training she had done so far.
'And when she breaks the wall, I have to send a marriage proposal to the empire right away.'
The duke's plan to send his daughter off was this.
'No matter how His Majesty the emperor is, he won't refuse if I send a superhuman as a bride!'
He also became interested in the succession structure of the empire after Eurius left.
So he investigated privately and found out that Eurius's biggest weakness was his lack of military power.
Currently, Beatrix's position was nothing more than a slightly talented daughter of a ducal family, even if she was one of the three great warriors of the continent.
But if she became a superhuman, her status would change drastically.
'And there is no better match than His highness anyway.'
The duke didn't say it, but he had almost decided on Eurius as his son-in-law.
He checked and if there was another love affair, he would have changed his mind, but at least as far as he knew, there was no woman who had any relationship with His Majesty except his daughter.
Meanwhile, Beatrice was also immersed in different thoughts.
'What does he have that the first prince doesn't have for me?'
The feelings she had for Eurius were envy and longing for now.
At an age that was not much different from her own, he had the skills to hurt his father, who was one of the peaks of all the warriors on the continent!
'And he's not like an emperor, he's simple and cheerful and um… something else…'
She didn't realize the identity of those feelings yet, as she unknowingly listed Eurius's good points.
She finally made a decision.
'If you don't know, you should find out.'
"Please don't look for me for a few days. I think I've got a clue."
She said that and locked herself in her room. Beatrix really didn't come out of her room for a week.
But when there was no response from his daughter even after ten days, the duke couldn't help but be angry.
'Is it too early for her to really get a clue?'
In the end, the duke was so worried that he opened the door of his daughter's room and went in.
"…!?"
But there was no one in the room, only a letter on the desk.
"Impossible!?"
The duke hastily opened the letter.
[To my father
I seriously thought about how to get over the wall, but in the end there was only one conclusion. I thought I had to ask him directly. (Omitted) Please forgive your unworthy daughter.]
-Beatrix-
And in the duke's mind, he remembered the story he heard while investigating Eurius's recent news.
"They say that the northern development is having a hard time, so the empire is sending a large number of troops."
"They're also recruiting high-level personnel like knights and commanders."
"…"
The duke regained his composure by putting his hand on his forehead as his calmness that had been polished for over fifty years was about to break.
'Then where did Lize go?'
It only took three days to get from Triforce Kingdom to the Empire by carriage. But it's been ten days already!?
"I'm screwed!"
That was how the duke felt when he experienced his daughter's runaway for the first time at over sixty years old.
…
"A-choo!"
Eurius suddenly felt a chill and coughed.
"Your highness, are you feeling unwell?"
A knight next to him asked with concern.
"No, not at all."
'But I don't feel very good.'
Eurius was feeling a little impatient lately.
'It's good that the northern immigrants are coming more often, but it's too suspicious.'
When Nuada first conquered the north and clashed with the empire, it wasn't common to have such frequent collisions.
'Did this happen because I pushed forward the northern road construction?'
After all, it was like building an advance base in their front yard for the empire, so they must have felt a sense of crisis as immigrants.
'More important than that was the fact that he still hadn't met Nuada.'
Eurius recalled his recent expeditions.
"Wouldn't it be nice to reveal your tribe and name if you're such a renowned warrior?"
"Ha ha ha! You're quite a sensible warrior. I am from the Red Anvil tribe…"
Thud.
"Hmm… I am from the Blue Moon tribe…"
Thud.
"I am from the Thunder Hammer tribe!"
Thud.
'Oh come on! Can't you send someone else besides these guys?'
Eurius felt like he wanted to complain to the sky about his misfortune.
He knew there were many tribes in the north, but he didn't expect it to be this hard to find Nuada.
'It would have been nice if the stats showed more detailed information.'
Unfortunately, the stats he saw only showed him the name and characteristics of his opponents when he was in close range.
All the people he had met so far were from tribes he had never heard of in his previous life.
'And it's too suspicious that I haven't even heard Nuada's name.'
Nuada was a superhuman.
He was the only superhuman who had appeared in the north for nearly two hundred years. It was impossible that such a strong man wouldn't stand out in his prime.
'Something has definitely changed.'
This had something to do with one of his actions after he returned.
"Your highness! We can see the village."
'Oh right. I need to focus.'
Eurius snapped out of his reverie on top of his horse.
'Meeting Nuada is important but saving my people is the first priority.'
"Heinz Knight! Take charge of the second squad. We'll break through from both sides as usual and strike at their monsters."
'I hope I can hear some information about Nuada this time…'
He prayed earnestly as he plunged into battle with the immigrants again.
As he slashed through the clumsy enemies while running forward, Eurius heard a strange voice.
"You think you can stop me? I'm a warrior personally chosen by the Great Chief!"
The owner of that voice was clearly a leader among them. He had an imposing physique and wielded a spear that was over two meters long. He resisted the knights' siege by using his spear's long reach.
'Stats window!'
[Dalos]
Job: Senior Warrior
Strength A Agility B Intelligence C+ Spirit B+ Force Aptitude B- Force A
Disposition: Aggressive, Loyal
'He's quite a strong one.'
That was Eurius' honest assessment. He was at the level of a master-class warrior in the continent.
In fact, he was holding his own against several knights who surrounded him. He used his spear's long range to fend them off.
'It will cost too many lives if I leave him to Heinz Knight or someone else.'
Eurius sensed the energy of the battlefield on the opposite side with his warrior's intuition.
'The breakthrough is delayed over there. It will take some time for Heinz Knight to come here.'
He decided to face the enemy leader himself.
This meant that there was a formidable warrior on the other side as well.
'Then I'll have to take care of him.'
He would have to reveal some of his power if he was at the master level, but that was something the knights could understand.
Eurius immediately charged at the enemy leader and shouted.
"Step back. I'll handle him."
"Your highness! He is a tough opponent. Be careful."
The knights obediently moved away.
It wasn't the first or second time that Eurius faced an enemy leader alone, and the knights had gradually realized that Eurius' power was much stronger than what was known.
'He'll be fine.'
The scattered knights attacked the barbarians around them to create space for Eurius.
"You look like a brat. Are you the leader of these foreigners?"
The warrior Dalos, who was in high spirits, raised his spear and stabbed straight at him.
Bang!
But his spear couldn't even pierce Eurius. He felt a numb shock in his hand and lost his balance.
Eurius had pushed him back with a single blow of force blast.
'What!'
Dalos sensed danger for a moment, but surprisingly, his opponent didn't attack again even though he had exposed a perfect opening.
"I have one thing to ask you."
"…!?"
He could have attacked again, but his opponent spared him. This was a negotiation for his question.
"What are you curious about?"
His tone was no longer contemptuous of Eurius.
The north was the land of warriors. Once he saw Eurius' skill, he had to treat him with respect even if he was an enemy.
"What did you mean by the word Great Chief earlier?"
"If you're asking me to tell you where the Great Chief is, I refuse!"
"That's not it."
Eurius shook his head and asked what he wanted to know.
"Is the Great Chief's name Nuada by any chance?"
"Nuada?"
Dalos shook his head. He felt like he had heard that name recently, but it wasn't his Great Chief's name for sure.
"I don't know who he is, but I'm certain that's not his name!"
Eurius couldn't help but be puzzled.
'The north is the land of warriors. But how can there be a stronger warrior than Nuada? Someone else is the Great Chief?'
He asked again.
"Are you sure?"
"I swear on my warrior's honor that this is the truth!"
Dalos thought he had repaid a favor with this.
"Then let's start again! I won't underestimate you this time."
'Hmm?'
The fight didn't last long. Eurius' sword shattered Dalos' spear and pierced his chest in less than ten moves.
"Gahh."
Eurius paid his respects inwardly.
'Well, he answered me nicely, so I showed him some of my skill. Don't feel too bad about it.'
He didn't want to use force, but his power was already at the level where he could easily handle a master-class warrior.
But that wasn't what mattered right now.
Eurius muttered to himself as he surveyed the situation.
"Where on earth is Nuada at this point?"