◈ 436. [Side Story] Coming people (2) At
this point, many heroes are dispatched as messengers according to my ‘Ruined King’ plan, and the Crossroads is a little empty.
Beginning with the new priest, Zenith, other unexpected guests began to arrive.
Doo doo doo-!
North Gate of Crossroads.
Standing in front of the open door, I stared at the series of soldiers running from afar.
Defeated Army –
No matter how you look at it, it was the appearance of an army that lost in a war.
The soldiers’ shattered armor was clotted with blood, their equipment was damaged, and their wounded horses were crippled.
But only the eyes.
still shining brightly.
The torn flag fluttering in the wind, held high by this army, belonged to my brother Lark.
An army under the direct command of Lark. Imperial Army 1st Corps.
It was their remnant.
chuck! chuck! chuck!
With the theme of defeat, each movement is amazingly orderly.
A knight stepped forward in front of this crowd lined up in front of the North Gate of the Crossroads.
It was an old knight with a terrifying impression with scars all over his body like a tattoo. One eye seems to be blind, and it loses focus and glows white.
The old knight got off his horse with a heavy motion and bowed respectfully to me.
“Meet Your Highness, Prince Ash. I am Metallic, the commander of the 1st Heavy Knight Division of the 1st Corps of the Imperial Army.”
“Nice to meet you, Metallic.”
Metallic bowed politely once more and I nodded lightly. Metallic continued.
“I believe you know why we are here.”
“I guess it’s not difficult.”
Now that the news of Lark’s execution is spreading.
That the remnants of the army he led came to me without surrendering to Fernandez.
That would mean they haven’t given up yet and are looking for someone else to fight with.
“The question is whether I can live up to your expectations.”
“His Highness Larc said.”
Metallic stared at me with bloody eyes.
“If trouble comes to you, lead the rest of the army and go to His Highness Ashe. Trust in Highness Ashe and hand over command of the army to him.”
“… .”
“You said that Her Highness Ash was the only person who could stand against Her Highness Fernandez. Therefore, I believe that you will be able to fulfill my humble expectations.”
“What are your expectations of me?”
Metallic responded immediately.
“Revenge.”
“… .”
“An eye for an eye, this death for a tooth. A requiem for His Highness Lark. revenge for him. That is my only purpose and expectation.”
In other words, killing Fernandez is the purpose of this old knight.
“… Welcome, Metallic.”
I stood aside silently and pointed at the open north door with my hand.
“Clean up your wounds and recover your body. You will have to return to the battlefield soon.”
Metallic bowed deeply, mounted his horse again, and led his troops into the Crossroads.
Lucas, who was standing behind me and watching this, looked at the vague moans.
“… To think that the 1st Corps was defeated so thoroughly.”
“But you survived and came under my command like this.”
Although defeated and shrunken in size, it is the 1st Corps of the Imperial Army, which can be said to be the most elite of the elite among the Imperial Army.
The level of training of ordinary soldiers is extremely high, and above all, they are good at war with humans.
Considering that most of the soldiers in Crossroads are proficient in fighting against monsters, their joining is very timely, considering that they are inexperienced in fighting their fellow humans.
‘You can also hear about the techniques Fernandez uses on the battlefield. It will be useful in many ways.’
And with their joining, the existing barracks finally reached their capacity limit.
The construction of a new barracks is urgent. I’ll have to order it soon.
***
And another new guest came.
While I was out to meet the 1st Corps, I stopped by the mercenary guild and heard a loud noise from inside.
I turned to Lucas and shrugged.
“Has there been a drinking party?”
“Rather… Sounds like a fight scene.”
When I opened the door and went inside, it was a spectacle.
“catch!”
“Kill that bastard!”
The mercenaries were entangled among themselves, grabbing their collars and punching each other. I clicked my tongue while watching the gang fight scene that became a mess.
“It looks good. Yes, if you are a mercenary, you should play like this.”
But it didn’t end with punching, and when I saw a few excited people pulling out blades, I screamed loudly.
“There!”
The mercenaries, who turned to me at my cry, immediately lowered their blades in surprise when they realized who I was.
We were still staring at each other and holding our breath.
Entering the mercenary guild, I frowned.
“You guys didn’t come here because you wanted to be employed in this city, did you? By the way, would you use it if you had an accident like this before hiring?”
“… .”
“Why did you fight? Let’s hear why.”
Then, a mercenary, holding a knife, shouted while pointing at the inside of the guild.
“That woman was inviting people to play poker! But you swept all the boards by yourself!”
“Hey, did you pull out your sword for just that? When you play poker, you make money and you lose money.”
“Ha but!”
After that, I had to keep my mouth shut.
“Isn’t 20 consecutive wins strange?”
“… .”
“How can you do this to four cards, full houses, and straights every time you draw a hand! That woman must have cheated!”
I turned my gaze to the direction the mercenary was pointing.
Then- I was sitting there.
An overturned table in the center of the guild. A place where trump cards and dice and other things were scattered.
A woman dressed in a bowler hat, suit, and coat sits casually on a chair with her legs crossed.
‘SR grade!’
A purple light shimmered behind the woman’s back.
Opponent’s rank and outfit… … More than anything else, I guessed the identity through the trump card, and I laughed.
“This is where the big man came.” I pulled a
chair
and sat down in front of her, chinning her.
“Miss Violet. Aren’t you a famous gambler?”
Then the woman whose name was called- Violet lifted her bowler hat and looked at me.
The long, well-groomed hair is light purple. The eyes that can be seen under the brim of the hat are deep purple.
A purple woman like a violet – that’s why she’s called Violet. However, rather than this name, it is more famous as a nickname of this side.
Miss Gamble.
Miss Fortune.
Miss Holdem.
A gambler who eats opponents on the gambling board and goes on a rampage.
“… I came to this city because there is a casino.”
Violet shrugged her shoulders calmly.
“They said it was still under construction, so I took my anger out here because the steam was leaking.”
He wanted to play at the gambling table so much that he heard about the casino that hadn’t even opened yet and came in advance.
“It’s good to vent your anger, it’s good to gamble, and it’s good to wait for the casino to open.”
I winked at the smashed table.
“You can’t cheat. Give the money back to this poor mercenary right now.”
“Why should I? I just followed the rules of poker properly.”
Violet chuckled.
“I was so lucky that I only got good cards, and that unfortunate friend ‘accidentally’ and ‘unluckily’ only got bad cards. Overturning the outcome of a fair game… … No matter how much you claim to be the lord of this city, you have no right to do so.”
“okay. You have no right to do that.”
I also laughed face to face.
“If only the game was really fair.”
“what?”
“Would you like to play a game of poker with me?”
I straightened the overturned table, picked up the scattered cards, collected them into a package, and handed them to her.
“If I win, give the money back to that friend.”
Violet snorted as if it was absurd.
“under… What if I win?”
“I’ll give you anything you ask for.”
“… ?!”
“First of all, 100 times the money that friend lost. Shall we bet that much on the stake?”
Everyone was taken aback when I suddenly bet a large amount. In particular, Lucas, who was standing behind me, was almost jaw-dropping.
But I don’t gamble without winning.
I smiled leisurely and nodded to Violet.
“why? Were you scared? Are you afraid that even your base will be revealed?”
“… Don’t overdo it, lord.”
Violet smiled with her mouth twisting and snatched the trump card pack from my hand.
“Good. Let’s play a round. Please keep your word instead.”
“I always follow the words that come out of my mouth.”
Poker in this world is similar to Texas Hold’em on Earth.
Each player receives two individual cards and places five joint cards on the table.
Combining five of these seven cards to create the strongest hand possible and see the winner.
Poof! Poof! Poof!
She shuffled the cards like water and laid out two for me, two for herself, and five in the center.
And as soon as I pick up the card –
keying!
Under her fedora, her purple eyes flashed and cast a spell.
Purple magic air currents spread throughout the area, distorting reality like a haze.
The gambler that this is her… … no.
The driving force behind Violet’s winning streak in gambling.
The illusion realm – [Violet Zone].
The entire space is converted into her domain of mind control, and people cannot distinguish between reality and her phantasmagoria.
Within this realm, she has been manipulating the game to her liking.
but.
“… ?”
My passive skill [Indomitable Commander] completely nullifies mental abnormalities.
I can’t get her genjutsu to work at all.
Chaeng-Grang-!
[Violet Zone] could not even be developed and was nullified.
The rest of the Mercenary Guild here didn’t even notice what had happened.
However, Violet and I clearly recognized that we were exchanging a single attack.
That’s my overwhelming victory.
“uh… uh?”
Violet’s face, which had been maintaining her poker face for a while, relaxed in a daze. Even the mouth is slightly open.
“What is this… My ‘John’ won’t work… … ?”
“Have you done all the tricks?”
I smiled leisurely and picked up my deck of cards to check.
“There are many people in the world. Among them, there are many people whose shallow numbers do not work.”
“… .”
“Hmm, the hand is pretty good… Shall we raise the stakes?”
I smiled as I checked my cards and common cards.
“I’ll bet on that amount plus a year’s budget for this city.”
“… .”
“What more can you bet, Violet? I think the weight of the stake should be right… … .”
Violet closed her eyes tightly and flipped her two cards face down.
“… I lost.”
The victory was won coldly.
“Here is the money you stole from that person earlier.”
“It’s good to see you conquering.”
I took the money bag Violet gave me and threw it at the mercenary holding the knife earlier.
The mercenary who quickly received it seemed to be bowing down to me.
Violet stuttered and asked me as I stood up from my seat.
“What was the card?”
“huh?”
“What was your hand that made it come out so strong?”
I snapped my fingers and showed my two playing cards. Violet examined it and opened her eyes.
“… What’s this.”
Violet jumped up and shouted at me.
“You’re a dog trash!”
It was.
He didn’t even have a minimum genealogy, and even as a basic card, he was trash. If you were sane, you shouldn’t bet that much.
“But I won.”
Bluffing is also a skill.
I grinned, and Violet’s expression became absurd.
Of course, in reality, I didn’t do this because I was crazy or a gambler… … It was a kind of ‘strategy’ based on information from the game.
‘Violet increases the power of magic, but on the contrary, if the magic is destroyed, it has the characteristic [Overconfidence] that causes it to be confused.’
that’s what you believe in
After the illusion was destroyed, she fell into a state of confusion and lost the ability to deal with my bluffing. So easily defeated.
“If you rely on genjutsu or something like that, you will never be able to win a real match. Violet.”
She may have been a consummate con artist, but she was not a strong gambler.
And I may not beat a gambler, but I can crush a cheater.
“The casino will be open in two weeks, so enjoy yourselves in this city until then.”
I waved my hand and left the mercenary guild.
“In the meantime, I’ve developed my real poker skills a bit more.”
“… .”
Violet just stared blankly at me from behind.
