The Grand Duelist

"I've been wanting to tell you this the whole time, but you do know that you are only wearing your underwear right now, right?"

The woman who spoke was Vanessa, the wife of the representative of the Pro-NPC Alliance that Joseph saw back then within the television, Jun Santos.

"Uh..."

Joseph scratched his head in embarrassment when he realized that he was indeed wearing nothing but his underwear.

"Well, no worries. I've seen enough of that thing and I don't think that you can defeat my husband in that department." 

Vanessa ambiguously said as she chuckled.

A shiver ran down Joseph's spine as he hurriedly covered his nether regions with both of his hands.

"But still, the Kingdom really went too far this time... I can't understand how did they get the courage to actually kidnap the disciple of a Legend."

"They really are too bold... Thankfully, nothing happened to his disciple or else we might witness the end of a Kingdom..." Vanessa lightly chuckled at the end of his sentence.

"The end of a Kingdom?"

"Yes... Legends are called Legends for a reason. They are incredibly scary when they are angry..." 

"They are scary when they are angry? You've seen the anger of a Legend before?" Joseph asked in doubt.

Vanessa turned to look at him and smacked his shoulder: "Surely, you jest? Of course, I haven't! Though I did read several historical publications that described the might of an angry Legend."

"Oh? Can you describe it for me?" Joseph's interest was piqued. 

Vanessa stared at him for a moment before she chuckled: "I am not usually this friendly to strangers. But since you helped people like us in such a sincere manner to the extent that you'd risk becoming a traitor of the Kingdom of Nether, I can say that you really are a good man..." 

"But... I think it's far better for you to read about how strong Legends really are instead of me telling you about it. After all, I am not really that good and I lack the ability to tell a compelling narrative." A wry smile escaped Vanessa's lips and Joseph turned to look at her with a light smile.

"Is one of your dreams include being a writer, ma'am?" 

Vanessa chuckled, "Leave out the ma'am. Just call me Vanessa, I hate that kind of pleasantries, you know?"

Joseph nodded: "Well if you say so..."

Vanessa smiled and she continued: "Yeah, to tell you the truth. My dream really wasn't to become a wandering vagrant like this with Jun. I always wanted to be a writer. But sadly, I truly lack the creative imagination necessary to make a compelling enough narrative. In other words, I'm a bad writer."

Joseph inwardly sighed.

Complicated emotions flashed on his face...

Earlier in his life, there existed some days when he dreamt of becoming something, or someone. But unfortunately, reality gave him a harsh slap on his face.

With the death of his parents, he found himself unable to accomplish most of his dreams.

However...

"But are you giving up, Vanessa?" Joseph smiled.

Vanessa stared at him for a moment before she revealed a wide smile.

"Of course not! I'm not giving up! Even now, I'm still writing as a hobby! Do you want to take a look at what I have written?"

Joseph chuckled in response to Vanessa's answer, "Oh, you're still writing? Hehe, let me take a look."

Vanessa nodded and she was about to take some things out inside the hidden compartment of the carriage when suddenly...

A fierce voice reverberated outside, and the carriage was harshly stopped...

Almost sending the unconscious Alice rolling downwards if not for Joseph's quick response of stopping her in time.

"Do you bastards dare open up that carriage? The honorable person inside the carriage is a Princess of the Kingdom of Burning Heaven!"

"Knowing that, do you bastards dare?!" 

Jun Santos's angrily screamed.

The players of Crimson stopped in their tracks.

They were stunned by what they had heard...

'The Princess of the Kingdom of Burning Heaven?'

If what Jun Santos said was true, it would really be bad if they did offend her!

After all, the Princess of the Kingdom of Burning Heaven was a well-known spoiled brat, they wanted anything other than offend her lest they die not knowing how they died!

"Inside the carriage is the Princess of the Kingdom of Burning Heaven?" Vladimir asked in doubt.

"Yes, that is right! Knowing that fact, do you still dare on forcefully opening the carriage and stopping us here?!" Jun Santos replied.

This time, a feminine voice spoke up and replied: "How could the Princess of the Kingdom of Burning Heaven be here?"

"You're clearly lying! Open that carriage up!" Hearing what she said, Joseph who was in the carriage took out his Rapier of Grandeur and Beauty in preparation for a battle.

"So you are saying that I am lying? Bloodstained Lilium? Okay, fine! Go ahead, open that carriage up. If you think that you can endure the consequences of offending the Princess of the Kingdom of Burning Heaven, then feel free to do so!"

Jun Santos crossed his arms in front of his chest. His comrades behind him revealed confident and mocking smiles on their faces.

Witnessing their confidence, Lilium and Vladimir couldn't help but falter.

The latter swept his gaze at the unassuming carriage and found it ridiculous that the Princess of such a prosperous Kingdom would use such a dilapidated carriage.

But...

It really does make sense that the spoiled Princess of the Kingdom of Burning Heaven would use such a carriage. After all, she was known to be a tiger that often acted like a pig to eat the wolf.

There was even one incidence when a particular player offended her. In return, that player got imprisoned for at least three months.

Crippling his ability to keep up with his peers and in return, that player who was a member of a powerful guild within the Kingdom of Burning Heaven got kicked out of the guild, and even now. It was unknown whether that person was still playing Victory or not.

Knowing that.

Vladimir didn't really know if he could handle the anger of such a spoiled Princess. 

However...

'Fuck it, I can just say that I am only following the orders of Duke Heathrow. If I make him as my scapegoat, there's no way that the Princess could prosecute me if it really is true that she's in there...'

Vladimir swept his gaze at the smiling members of the Pro-NPC Alliance.

Afterwards, he signaled to the members of the Crimson Guild who then moved and slowly surrounded the players from the Pro-NPC Alliance.

It was clear what their stance was...

If it was found that the Pro-NPC Alliance was lying...

Then, an all-out war could occur here!

The players who had nothing to do with both sides slowly crept away from the vicinity. No one had the intention of getting caught up on the crossfire between the two.

Vladimir and Lilium slowly walked towards the carriage. The other players of Crimson readied their weapons, while the players from the Pro-NPC Alliance couldn't help but shiver.

Although the smile on their faces remained confident...

The sweat that drenched their backs made it clear what they were feeling.

"Sa tibuok kalibutan... wala nay pinakagwapo... ang sulat ra'y pinakagwapo diri..." Vanessa chanted.

Magical runes surrounded her and the aura of frost emanating from her body decreased the temperature inside the carriage.

Joseph stared nervously at the door.

Amidst this silence, he could hear footsteps slowly approaching the carriage. And it was clear that those footsteps didn't come from friendlies, instead.

They originated from their enemies...

"Point..." Joseph whispered.

A barely imperceptible brilliance materialized at the tip of his Rapier.

As the footsteps approached the carriage...

Joseph predicted that his attack would be ready by the time that his enemies opened the doors of the carriage.

The standstill soon reached a crescendo. Only to be suddenly interrupted by a desperate scream.

"Sir, stop! Stooop!" 

Everyone jolted when they heard the scream. 

Vladimir frowned and turned to look at the person who screamed.

"What?"

The name "Crimson" floating above the head of that person made it clear that he was a member of the Crimson Guild.

But that wasn't the point here. What's important was the message that he carried with him.

"Sir! I confirmed that the Princess of the Kingdom of Burning Heaven was discovered to be missing for about several days already! There's a huge chance that she may have sneaked out of the Kingdom to witness the execution of the Legendary Blacksmith!" 

His words astonished everyone, including those from the Pro-NPC Alliance.

Particularly Jun Santos who inwardly screamed, "What the fuck?! Such a good coincidence can exist in this world?!" 

But of course, on the outside. He maintained a calm and composed facade.

But right now, after hearing what the player had said...

He turned to look at Vladimir and Lilium. 

"Are the two of you convinced now? Or the two of you still want to offend the Princess?" A challenging smile appeared on his lips.

Vladimir's eyes narrowed into slits. Lilium's expression turned cold.

But in the end...

The two could do nothing other than permit the passage of the Pro-NPC Alliance towards the exit of the Capital City, Reinhardt.

The procession of the Pro-NPC Alliance continued, but before Jun Santos could leave...

He advised both Vladimir and Lilium. 

"It's good that both of you didn't forcefully open that carriage. Else, once this Kingdom is destroyed by that Legend as revenge. The two of you may not have a place in this world anymore..."

"Thankfully, both of you aren't that dumb." He chuckled at the end of his sentence before turning to look ahead, not even glancing at Vladimir and Lilium anymore.

Vladimir glared at Jun Santos. 

Lilium's face now looked as cold as a thousand-year-old icy cavern.

These two looked like they wanted to teach Jun Santos a lesson. But knowing their priorities, it was far better for them not to go into conflict with other forces...

Particularly the Pro-NPC Alliance.

After all, even though their so-called Alliance only had a few members.

All of their members were within the Top 50 of the Universal Rankings.

It wasn't wise to offend them this time.

"I will remember this..." The two inwardly swore before disappearing from the vicinity. They were too embarrassed to stay for they felt that their faces were directly slapped and smeared with dirt by the Pro-NPC Alliance.

Meanwhile within the carriage...

Noticing that their journey had continued without a hitch.

Joseph heaved a huge sigh of relief.

Even Vanessa wore a light smile on her face as she terminated her prepared spells.

Afterwards, she turned to look at Joseph and said.

"We really were lucky. If a battle happened while we're still within the Capital, what we have done for you would be in vain and we wouldn't be able to achieve anything before being branded as a traitor of the Kingdom."

Traces of fear and anxiousness could be seen on Vanessa's face and Joseph couldn't help but bitterly smile when he saw it.

"I must really thank the Pro-NPC Alliance for their help. It is rare that such a strong organization has such a sense of altruism." Joseph clasped his hands together and gave his sincere thanks.

Vanessa blinked at him and said: "Is it weird?"

Joseph honestly replied: "Yeah, it is weird."

Joseph didn't know how he would describe the actions of the Pro-NPC Alliance.

It was because an organization needed a place for their base, in other words...

A headquarters.

The Kingdom of Nether could be considered as a popular headquarters for all sorts of guilds, but what the Alliance did was basically betraying the Kingdom.

By helping a traitor like Joseph, they would most certainly be branded as traitors themselves and in return...

Losing their foothold within the Kingdom.

"You don't have to worry. All of us here have no ill intentions towards you nor towards this young woman. But you can also say that if not for this young woman, we wouldn't even help you in the first place..."

Joseph nodded his head and smiled: "The Pro-NPC Alliance is really kind..."

Vanessa merely smiled at what he said before she replied: "The Pro-NPC Alliance isn't as altruistic as you think. If we didn't have the intention of leaving this Kingdom in the first place. I don't think that we would've helped you escape from this place..."

"Even though we are the protectors of NPCs such as myself. The reward is too low in contrast to the punishment of being branded as traitors."

Joseph frowned, not because of what she said, but because of the fact that Vanessa recognized that she was an NPC.

But Vanessa misunderstood his frown as she said: "Don't be too disappointed at us. It's not like we are not willing to help NPCs such as myself, but we are not stupid..."

"If we think that helping a particular NPC is extremely dangerous to our well-being, we would think twice about helping that NPC. After all, you can only help someone if you are safe yourself..."

Joseph nodded in understanding.

What she was saying was basically the same as when the oxygen masks in airplanes dropped.

You must wear them yourself first before you helped someone wear their own oxygen mask.

In other words, one must prioritize their own safety before the safety of others. 

He didn't plan on criticizing them for that.

But what intrigued Joseph was the fact that Vanessa seemed to be self-aware that she was an NPC.

But before he could even ask anything about it...

Joseph realized that Vanessa was a master of short talks. He was too entertained with what they were talking about to the extent that Joseph even forgot the concept of time.

By the time that their conversation was done.

The sun was now hidden, replaced by the unsettling darkness of the night.

Vanessa excused herself and took a nap by leaning on the walls of the carriage.

In contrast to Vanessa's exhaustion, Joseph looked lively.

Amazement could still be seen on his face...

Earlier, he confirmed out that every player of the Pro-NPC Alliance was really married to an NPC. 

"So a player could actually marry an NPC? I thought that Mervin, that guy was just lying!"

"But what about having kids? Could a player have a kid with an NPC? Wait, I remember that Michael poking fun at Eagie saying something along the lines of having a kid or something... Hmm... This is interesting."

Joseph looked like he was deeply thinking about something. But he was actually just imagining scenes that would probably not happen to him.

But oh well, what's the harm of dreaming about something? Joseph thought to himself. He then proceeded on blankly staring ahead of him, fantasizing...

But while he was in the middle of his fantasies...

Bang!

An explosion rang out, shaking the entire carriage and forcefully awakening Joseph from his trance.

Joseph hurriedly held the unconscious Alice in place, while Vanessa directly had her head slammed on the walls of the carriage.

She awakened from her sleep due to the pain and anger could be seen on her face.

But before she could complain.

A fierce voice reverberated just outside the carriage...

"Enemy attack!" 

... alerting everyone about the presence of enemies.