Chapter 449 - For Honor!
The Arena of Honor was only a way for nobles to settle scores without restoring to grand-scale violence. They would either fight themselves or choose one of their knights to fight on their behalf to determine the victor in an argument, and the loser would have to compromise.
"From what I gathered," Manager Ma sat beside Arthur. They were given a booth to watch from as soon as they verified their identity. "The feud seems to be between two nobles who had agricultural lands."
"Don't tell me..." Arthur had an ill feeling, and true to his expectations, the shouting of the referee summarized the event.
"We gather here today under the invitation of Count Aaron and Countess Elisa to determine the one worthy of holding on of the ten Blessing Spirits gifted by the Ghost Runemaster."
The crowd cheered, mainly consisting of the two counts' houses and followers. Arthur felt apologetic that his little stunt in Contracts City would bring such aftermath.
At that time, he used the identity of the Ghost Runemaster to make himself valuable to the kingdom by making sure that he was the one holding the artifacts. However, after killing a noble and meeting with Solomon, Arthur had to appease some of the noble's rage by giving three out of the ten artifacts.
These people would be surprised to know how many artifacts that Arthur wanted to sell next month. At that time, it would only be the beginning of the agricultural age of Freda and this world.
"Before the duel begins, fought by the brave knights of the two counts," the middleman explained. "It is important to give a little introduction. The Blessing Spirits are the first artifacts to appear that enhance vegetation, and whoever holds them from those with agricultural estates is destined for honor and wealth. However, it was hard to decide who got them. A simple stocktaking revealed that Countess Elisa has provided more crops than Count George, so it was decided she would be..."
"Just shut up and start the fight!"
One of the drunk nobles shouted as he slammed down his mug. Arthur found the young man a bit loud, but he honestly had no interest in hearing the lengthy tale. All he wanted to see was how things would be handled.
"We all know the feud," said a man as he waved his hand, sitting straight behind one of the fighting knights. "Start the fight."
"As you wish, Count George," the sweating man nodded and retreated, raising a flag between the two carrying the emblem of Freda. "Let this fight begin, for your honor!"
As he said that, the man waved the flag upward, and the two armored knights came face-to-face with each other. They didn't rush into battle and opted for elegance and caution.
As the two knights stared at each other, their bodies were coated with mana, ready to be unleashed. They wore blue and red, each corresponding to their lords' heraldry. Arthur was amazed that they didn't seem to hold anything back, and it was bound to raise some casualties.
"One of them is going to die," muttered Arthur as his golden eyes scanned the arena. The tiles were swept clean, but he could feel the blood that had seeped in between them.
"These kinds of matches are hard to come back from because the honor of a knight can't sustain letting down his lord," Ma explained as he went through some records of his. "These two knights are the Chosen of their lords, and they are the strongest. It seems they are ready to fight for the death, as they had written their wills before the battle," Ma sighed as Arthur's frown deepened.
"They are gambling with their knight's lives at stake," he muttered as his fist clenched. The fight began after the knights took a stance, each unleashing their most powerful attacks from the beginning.
There was a whistle, a flash of light, and the crying of the arena. Then, the clinking sound of metal striking against metal rang in the ears of the audience as the two knights' weapons collided.
"For honor!" the red knight pushed forward as he roared, and the blue one lost his footing. Then, with a slash of his sword, the knight slashed apart the blue armor of the unsteady knight, and it traveled behind the knight to strike the walls of the arena.
Rubbles fell around the arena, but the fight didn't cease. Blood gushed out of the armor, but the blue knight used this chance after the attack to strike back.
The arm flew in the air, creating a beautiful arc of blood that splashed over the arena. The bleeding ceased under the power of surging mana, which covered the red knight.
"What honor?" Arthur stood up from his spot, and Ma panicked. "They are simply forced to fight to the death for the selfish gains of their lords."
"Seika! Please, I beg of you to calm down. Don't do anything reckless! We are already everyone's enemies!" Ma almost cried his eyes out.
"You need to learn one thing, Manager Ma," Arthur stopped walking and turned around to glance at the panic-struck man. "You follow my commands, not the other way around. If I want to cause mayhem, then you need to follow, not to stop me."
His voice lost its previous kindness and patience, and it reminded Manager Ma of the Seika who beheaded a nobility using his hand. As he met the gaze of the Seika, he bowed down and gave his deepest apologies.
"You are right, My Lord. Please forgive me," Ma said. "I was too disrespectful. If you want to burn the world, then I will simply clean its ashes."
"That is the kind of manager that I hired," Arthur said as he turned around and left the booth, descending the stairs of the arena.
He passed through hallways full of nervous knights, and they turned to him, alert. They were about to rush in to stop him, but an older man raised his arm to stop them.
"You must be the one-armed Seika of Living Beings," the old man said with eyes full of hostility. "Why are you here? There is a battle of honor going on."
"I am here to stop it," he said without stopping his march, and the old knight simply stared at him.
"You will be offending every knight out there," he growled.
"Good," Arthur smiled. "You fools need to relearn what honor is, and I will gladly help you."
When they were close to each other, the aged man allowed him entry into the arena. When Arthur passed by, the man muttered something.
"There is no honor in dying."
Arthur was glad that at least one of these knights had a brain, but he knew that the system didn't allow them. Most people were brainwashed using pretty ideals called honor and virtue.
The doors to the caged arena were thrown open as Arthur walked out, passing the rubble on the ground. All eyes turned to look at the newcomer, who stopped the bloody fight to the death.
The blue and red knights paused, staring at the one who disturbed their fight. Both of them were bleeding from every spot of their bodies, looking a step away from dying.
"Kill him now!" Count George roared, ordering his blue knight to take the opportunity to strike the distracted opponent. Arthur scoffed at the name of honor being used in this kind of place.
The blue knights answered to his lord's commands and struck at the neck of his opponent. In response, the red knight stabbed into the blue knight's chest, both aiming to end the fight.
As victory and defeat were about to be decided, both knights froze. A gush of power overflowed from within Arthur's body to cover the arena, making the nobles apprehensive.
"Sadistic bastards," muttered Arthur as he ascended the arena, looking at every noble gathered here. "If you want to fight, then come down here yourselves and fight."
"What are you doing, Seika of Living Beings?" rose a man from the audience, and it was no other than the Duke of Contracts. "This is an honorable duel between two nobles to solve an argument. Are you here to disturb the traditions of this kingdom?"
"Disturb?" Arthur laughed as he turned toward the man, his voice containing boiling rage. "I have no intention of doing only that. I am here to abolish them altogether."
"The audacity!" rose Count George from his seat. "How dare you insult us, boy? Do you think that owning land will make one a god? Know your place!"
"Seeing you, I guess owning land makes one a pig. An ugly, sadistic, and pathetic pig asking to be slaughtered."
His words rang deeply in the arena, and those who witnessed the last time Arthur stood up to a noble shivered. Count George also looked afraid, and his knights rushed to surround him.
"Ha," Arthur laughed. "If I want to take your life, then you wouldn't even know that I did," as he said that, his mana exploded to cover the two knights. The amputated limbs rose in the air and attached to the knights, and Arthur muttered a single word.. "Heal."