The Grand Duelist

"I'm glad that sir still recognizes me." Kayn respectfully bowed at Joseph's direction.

"So you really are that Kayn, but why are you..." 

"Of course, we came here to help you, sir!" Kayn exclaimed.

"Yes, that indeed is the case, sir!" Kayn's comrades nodded their heads in agreement.

"To help me? Wait, how do guys even know that I was in trouble?" Joseph asked in doubt.

Kayn and his brothers lightly chuckled before saying: "You really were gutsy earlier, sir... The fact that you intervened in an execution that is being witnessed by the King himself is basically the same as slapping the face of the King. Doing something like that... You definitely are crazy and..."

"Too cool!" The buff men exclaimed, taking the words out of Kayn's mouth as they all chuckled at the same time.

But Joseph didn't laugh along with them.

Instead, he wore a serious expression on his face as he said.

"But you guys... If I recall correctly, don't all of you have something to do in Reinhardt?" Joseph said with uncertainty.

Kayn nodded his head and replied: "That is indeed correct, sir. We do have something to do in Reinhardt. Specifically, we came here to take revenge against a certain noble. But we didn't expect that the noble whom we hate the most is also your enemy, sir!"

"In that case, since we have a common enemy..."

"Isn't it better for us to help each other? We planned on interrupting that fat-ass's plan on completing the production of Unhindered Sword by messing up with the materials that he gathered on his front yard..."

"But since sir had already messed up that bastard's plans, we ended up riding sir's coattails..."

"In other words... Sir, you inadvertently took revenge against that noble for us!"

Kayn's brothers nodded their heads and they revealed gentle smiles on their faces as appreciation for what Joseph did against Duke Heathrow. But Joseph couldn't smile along with them for he felt somewhat strange staring at these buff men staring amicably at him with kind smiles on their faces.

When combined with their identities as bandits, Joseph felt quite complicated.

But...

'That fat bastard sure has a lot of enemies...' Joseph inwardly snickered in derision at Duke Heathrow.

Afterwards, he turned to face Kayn and his brothers and said in concern.

"But you guys... Are you sure that you are going to help a wanted man like me? If you do that then that will be the same as colluding with a traitor. In other words, all of you would also be branded as traitors like me! Are you sure that you can afford to do that for my sake?"

The men stared at each other for a moment before they simultaneously chuckled.

Kayn was the one who replied to Joseph's question.

"We really appreciate sir's concern to us, but we have already decided. Since sir gave us so many riches back then, our lives right now aren't really that bad. Although we want to maintain our status quo. That doesn't mean that we will forget about our promise back then..."

A sincere light flashed on Kayn's eyes. His brother also stared seriously at Joseph.

"Promise?"

"Yes, sir... Don't you remember me saying that I will serve you once I am done with what I must do? But to tell you the truth, I actually want these brothers of mine to live peacefully as commoners since the wealth that sir gave to us is enough for them to live for several lifetimes."

"But..."

Kayn revealed an awkward expression. He made a sidelong glance at the burly men beside him before continuing:  "These brothers of mine... They are too stubborn... They are saying that whenever I go, they would also follow."

A fierce pat rocked Kayn's body as his brothers' exclaimed.

"What are you saying, Kayn? Do you really think that we can still live a peaceful and normal life? With the number of people that we killed back before we met you, it's already impossible for us to live properly among the common populace..."

"Yes, that is why..."

"You do not have to worry about us! Just let us follow you from now on! If you want to follow sir, then we will also follow you along with sir!"

Kayn was visibly moved upon seeing the determination and sincerity that his brothers displayed. 

Joseph revealed a small smile on his face before he said: "It seems like these brothers of yours really love you, Kayn..."

Kayn awkwardly scratched his head towards what Joseph was saying. Though, he didn't deny what he said.

...

Meanwhile, within Duke Heathrow's mansion. 

Four figures could be seen within the living room of the mansion.

They were the Queen, the Royal Prince, Duke Heathrow, and his Majesty himself.

"That bastard... We were so close in accomplishing our goals, yet an unknown puny ant actually dared to ruin our plans?! I would never forgive that bastard!" Duke Heathrow exclaimed in fury.

His expression distorted and he fiercely slammed his fist on the table in front of him when he reached the end of his sentence. 

Such a crude display of emotions made the eyes of his Majesty, Oliver Oligarch narrow.

"Order your knights, and make sure that they do not hurt any strand of Alice's hair." His Majesty, Oliver said in a serious manner.

Duke Heathrow revealed a frown and replied: "But your Majesty... What you are asking my Knights and the others to do is extremely hard!"

"Capturing someone alive may not be a problem for them, but capturing someone alive without injuring even a strand of their hair? That is incredibly difficult, your Majesty! Please reconsider!"

Duke Heathrow's defiance angered Oliver and he fiercely replied: "Did I stutter when I gave you my orders on what I want to happen, Heathrow?"

"How dare you be so brazen to oppose me! Do you really think that I have forgiven you about what you did regarding the kidnapping of Krid's disciple?!"

Oliver's fierceness astonished everyone within the area, including the Knights who were stationed near the entrance of the mansion. 

The Queen looked like she wanted to say something.

But before she could open her mouth to speak...

The Royal Prince was even faster than her as he said: "But father, your order really is too unreasonable! Duke Heathrow is just doing his job... Giving him an incredibly difficult task such as that doesn't seem right!"

"Shut the fuck up, you unfilial brat! You do not have the right to speak while the adults are talking!"

Oliver snapped at the Royal Prince and the latter couldn't do anything other than close his mouth and snuck close to his mother.

The Queen visibly trembled when she saw was what was happening.

She took her son into her bosom and calmed him down before saying: "Oliver! Why are you treating your son like this! He's only speaking out about the injustice of your ridiculous order to Duke Heathrow! Why are you angry at him? You should be ashamed of yourself!"

The Queen's expression distorted, looking hysterical as she ranted at the King.

But to everyone's astonishment.

The King whom they thought, that could never lay a hand on the Queen, suddenly raised his hand and fiercely slapped the Queen right on her face.

"You shut up! Do you even understand the ramifications of injuring the disciple of a Legend? Kidnapping Alice was already bad, yet all of you even have the desire to do something against a Legend's disciple? Are you guys mad?" 

Everyone turned silent, astonished about what they heard... 

But Duke Heathrow broke the silence and dropped another bomb.

"It looks like you aren't that stupid, your Majesty... But if you want to keep your status as the King of this Kingdom. It is better if you do as I say like what you always did..."

"You..."

"Impudent!"

The Knights stationed near the entrance of the mansion readied a stance and looked like they were about to rush at Duke Heathrow and punish him for the crime of sacrilege against the King.

But before they could even take a step forward...

Their heads suddenly disconnected from their necks and a fountain of blood burst from their severed heads.

"Ah..." The Queen paled from shock. 

"You..."

The attacker was revealed to be a middle-aged man clad in black.

The sword he held in his right hand shone in a crimson radiance.

"That Divine Art... You're someone from the Empire of Truedawn?!" Oliver reeled in shock.

"Heathrow... You were colluding with the Empire? Are you mad?!"

Connecting the dots, Oliver finally realized why Duke Heathrow acted so bold and active these past several years. His growing connection and influence with other nobles weren't actually the primary reasons why he became so bold...

It was actually because he was colluding with the Empire!

Conspiring with the Empire? Had he gone senile?! 

But... 

Ever since Oliver hatched the plan of getting Krid at all cost.

He knew that something like this could happen...

He knew that there was a huge chance that the Empire would intervene with his plan.

One of the reasons why Oliver turned a blind eye on what Duke Heathrow was doing was because of the fact that the two of them had common goals.

Since they had the same objectives, wasn't it better for them to cooperate? 

But right now, it turned out that Duke Heathrow was actually a double agent...

Not only that, he actually dared to conspire with the Empire! 

Disbelief could be seen on Oliver's face as he stared angrily at Duke Heathrow. 

"Now do you understand, your Majesty?" Duke Heathrow revealed a smile of derision as the middle-aged man who decapitated Oliver's knights moved behind Duke Heathrow and stood imposingly with an evil smile on his face.

Oliver directly collapsed to the ground on his knees.

A bitter smile of intense regret emerged on his face as he whispered to himself.

"Brother... If I wasn't so greedy... If I wasn't born with this noble blood... Everything wouldn't have... come to this..."

There was no medicine to regret in this world, Oliver could do nothing other than cry over his spilled milk.

"This is the least that I can do..."

A burst of golden brilliant light exploded from Oliver's body.

When the blinding radiance ended, Oliver was nowhere to be found. 

However, a commotion occurred within the world of Victory.

[The Quest: Capture the Traitor and Escapee has been updated.]

[Capture the Traitor and the Escapee!]

Quest Difficulty: ???

The sovereign of the Kingdom, Oliver Oligarch is angry that a traitor from the Underground Penitentiary for Heinous Crimes intervened with the schedule execution earlier in the day. He has established a Kill Order for that traitor and a Capture Order for the female companion of that rebel.

You, a valid resident of the Kingdom of Nether is tasked to cut down the head of that rebel, and capture his female companion! 

Although this quest is dedicated to Capture and Kill Order. Great rewards are also promised if you report valuable information about the location of that rebel to the Guild Leader of the Crimson Guild, Vladimir!

Note: Finding that particular traitor and his female companion may be like trying to find a needle within a haystack. But rest assured. The Kill and Capture Order will make the identity of those traitors clear!

IMPORTANT: The person marked by the bright orange Capture Order must not be injured in any way or manner possible. If found guilty of injuring the person marked by the Capture Order. The Oligarch Family will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law!

The Capture and Kill Order are markers floating above the marked person's head that cannot be removed nor hidden, their colors are bright orange, and dark red respectively.

Quest Clear Conditions: Kill the Traitor marked with a Kill Order and Capture the Companion of that Traitor marked by the bright orange Capture Order.

Quest Rewards: ??? (Guaranteed)

Quest Failure: Nothing.]

"Stop!" Kayn signaled to his brothers.

"What's wrong?" Joseph stopped on his tracks and he turned to look at Kayn. 

But Kayn didn't answer his question.

Instead, he brought everyone into a secluded spot where he finally explained...

"It's about time for us to have some difficulties, sir." Kayn bitterly said.

Joseph frowned and asked: "Why? Is there anything wrong?"

"It's like this, sir... The primary reason why we managed to escape this far from the Central Square is not only because of my Shadow Domain that hid us all and obscured the word 'Capture'..."

"It is also because of the fact that no one really knew about what the Capture Order looked like."

"But now... Now, that the quest is explicitly describing what the Capture Order looks like. We'll probably have a harder time continuing our journey..."

"But rest assured sir... We'll go and formulate some plans and you can stay here with Madame for now." Kayn glanced at Alice who laid on the ground.

Joseph nodded his head in understanding.

Kayn convened with his brothers.

"This is really... troublesome!" Joseph inwardly sighed. He glanced at Alice who was peacefully wrapped around Joseph's Inquisitor Robe like a fresh spring roll. 

A weird expression appeared on his face as he mumbled to himself.

"Why does she look, so..."

"Delicious?" 

He suddenly remembered that particular scene that happened within the Arena of the Gods, Colosseum. A strange heat appeared within his body and Joseph had to slap himself so that he could awaken from his trance.

"Damn it, what am I thinking! I must focus on the task at hand and accomplish everything that I want to do first before thinking of nonsense like this!" 

When he returned to himself, Kayn and his brothers were finally finished with their quick discussion.

But before they could even get to Joseph and ask him about his opinions regarding their plans.

A crisp voice suddenly rang out.

"So that's the Capture Order?"

A man appeared in the air above Joseph and Kayn's squad. 

"There you are!"