Chapter 166 – Cairo’s First Sword (1)

It was a shocking sight.
His face which showed confidence looked odd with his sunken cheekbones and blood flowing down his swollen nose.
Zeron’s eyes were out of focus.
He didn’t even think about looking at Roman Dmitry’s face, and even as he spoke of his surrender he was trembling like a lost child.

“… this.”

“Go to Zeron!”

Count Gregory’s people stormed to the stage.
Zeron was a person Count Gregory cherished the most, so he couldn’t handle anything going wrong with him.
It was a scene he couldn’t accept despite seeing it with his own eyes.

Even when Zeron was still on stage and the people were speechless about what just happened, Zeron was being treated.

People said that the matches would be different starting from the 10th ranker.
This wasn’t just some mere lie, Zeron was someone who proved his worth all the time.
So it didn’t make sense for him to lose like this.

People would have heartily applauded if Zeron had knelt at the end of a fierce battle, but their minds couldn’t accept such a one-sided match.

And Roman was standing tall on the stage.
While everyone was silently watching, Roman looked around the crowd.

‘The plan has been laid out.’

The fights until now were just appetizers for his plan.
Cairo was a small nation.
At least at this moment, he thought to imprint on everyone what kind of existence Roman Dmitry was.
Roman said,

“To be honest, I am a little disappointed.
One year ago, I declared this.
What do you think was the reason? I didn’t need time to hone myself.
I just wanted the rankers in Cairo with whom I would be dealing in the future to be ready.
And this is the result that I see.”

He wasn’t polite to the losers.
He ridiculed Zeron.
Roman openly emphasized how terrible a swordsman he was.

“I found out after defeating Zeron, the 10th ranker.
Other than Count Nicholas, there is no one who can handle my sword in Cairo.
Therefore, I will omit all the meaningless steps.
Three days later, in the same location as today, I will face the rankers from the 9th to the 2nd in order.”

At that moment, people were shocked.
What did it mean? They heard it with their own ears, but they couldn’t understand it.

“And I will defeat them all and then challenge the first sword of Cairo.”

Roman’s words shocked everyone.
It was Roman Dmitry who showed them outstanding sights, but these words were too much.

It was certain now.
Roman Dmitry wasn’t an arrogant man, rather he was a madman.

Cairo was in a mess again because of Roman’s declaration.
Defeating the rankers in order from the 99th to the top itself was already a huge accomplishment, but he said that he would deal with the top rankers one after another.
This was shocking.

And the protagonists of these remarks gathered in one place.

“… what do we do? To be honest, I am thinking of surrendering.
There isn’t much difference in Zeron’s skills and mine, and didn’t Roman Dmitry take him down with an overwhelming force?”

Bruno, the 9th ranker, said.

On that day, Bruno watched the match.
He went there to find out more about his opponent and prepare in areas where he was weak, but when he saw what happened, he was terrified.
This wasn’t someone he could deal with.
In a fight where his defeat was clear, he didn’t want to make a harsh decision and end up like Zeron to save his pride.

The man sitting across from him, Oscar, the 2nd ranker, said,

“But still, you cannot surrender.”

“Mr.
Oscar!”

“There is no one following the King’s side here.
So if we let Roman Dmitry take on Count Nicholas, the result is effortless and beneficial.
But Roman Dmitry mocked Zeron.
He cut him down in front of everyone while saying that he wasn’t worthy of the top 10 rankings, and then he declared war, saying that he would take all of us on the same day.
This problem isn’t so simple.
If Roman Dmitry loses to Count Nicholas, people will mock us for being cowards for surrendering and giving Roman Dmitry the second place without a fight.”

It was a matter of pride this time.
From the moment people’s eyes were focused on them, they couldn’t step back.

“… so you want to deal with Roman Dmitry?”

It was the 5th ranker who asked.

Everyone here was offended by Roman’s words.
However, keeping their personal emotions aside, there wasn’t a single person who wouldn’t acknowledge the skills of Roman Dmitry.
He was a monster who made his way from the 99th rank to the 10th.

Witnessing Roman Dmitry defeat the rankers of Cairo without even taking a rest, Cairo’s rankers began to respect him.
They were sure that Roman Dmitry was a talent the nation should be proud to have.
Everyone acknowledged him, even though he was young.

And Oscar said,

“Yes.
We have to directly deal with him.
That’s why I called you all together.
I don’t have the confidence to defeat him, and I am cautious about this proposal because it forces you to sacrifice a lot, but please make sure that Roman Dmitry gets as exhausted as he can when he reaches for me.
The compensation will be guaranteed by Marquis Benedict, whom I serve.
And if we join forces like this…”

The look in his eyes changed.
It was his pride of being 2nd.
Knowing that Marquis Benedict wanted Roman, he didn’t want Roman to pass through.

“I will risk my life to defeat him.
And in front of everyone, I will say that if it wasn’t for you all, I would have never won.”

Hearing Oscar’s words, the rankers looked at each other.
They didn’t like the role of being the sacrifice.
If it weren’t for Roman’s taunt, they wouldn’t have even gathered in such a place.
But now that their plan was laid out, their pride wasn’t allowing them to step back.

“We will follow your plan.”

“Roman Dmitry, Let’s show that guy the reality.
What? Knock us all down in one day? I promise that I will end him before he even reaches Mr.
Oscar!”

“You are right! Let’s join forces!”

The rankers were bustling with enthusiasm.
They cried and cheered about overthrowing Roman Dmitry and began to make plans all night long.

Exactly three days later, Roman appeared at the promised place and waited with the crowd gathering, and soon the rankers appeared.

“Oh!”

“From Bruno to Oscar! They really showed up! From the 9th ranker to the 2nd!”

“I never thought they’d respond to Roman Dmitry’s taunt! If this happens, then the winner cannot be predicted.”

After the fight with Zeron, people asserted that Count Nicholas was the only one who could defeat Roman.
But dealing with eight swordsmen at once was a different thing.

And they weren’t just some beginners.
They were rankers who had great reputations all over Cairo.

Everyone on the Western Front was proud of Bruno, and didn’t he show a strong presence against the powerful Kronos Empire?

The eight swordsmen appeared one after another.
And as Roman was looking at them, he recalled the report he received days ago.

‘The faction of the nobles led by Marquis Benedict is gathering troops, and perhaps their purpose is me and not a rebellion.
If I decline Marquis Benedict’s offer, he seems to be willing to take this to the extreme.’

It was a predictable move.
What was the reason for the nobles’ faction to be trembling now? It might be difficult to touch Kronos or Valhalla with their force, but they were still the group of people who managed to take the third position in the nation’s power system, and they had even driven the royal family’s faction to a corner.
Even in the Cairo Kingdom, they were able to create an atmosphere where everyone followed their words.
It was interesting.

The rankers in front of him didn’t side with the royal faction, so they decided to join forces while following the words of another faction.
This was the reality.
Unless they sided with the royal family, everyone turned to the nobles’ side.

‘The power system in Cairo will not allow me any more time.
This will be a road with a dead end.
Will I eat them, or will they eat me? At the crossroads, I will have to choose.’

He smiled.
This was the moment that he had been patiently waiting for.
The peace had lasted too long, and Roman didn’t like it very much.
It was the start of the finale.

Tak.

Roman went up to the stage.

No more questions and no more answers.
From now on, it was time for him to show them the reality.

At first, it seemed like a plausible plan.

‘Roman Dmitry will try to end the fight soon.
In a situation where he has to deal with eight rankers, he will want to avoid a long-term battle.
The arrogant brat made a mistake.
If we hadn’t united, we might have rushed to him like moths to a flame and fallen one after another.’

Bruno had one purpose—to defend.
After raising his aura to protect his body, he was going to drag out the battle for as long as possible.
He didn’t have the confidence to win.
But if he was determined and persevered, he was confident that no matter how great the difference in their skills was, he would be able to tire out Roman.
But….

Slash!

‘…?!’

The moment he blocked Roman’s attack, Bruno’s eyes widened.
This was different from what he had expected.
His sword, wrapped with aura, should have blocked the attack from Roman Dmitry, but his sword split into two.
This was a shocking scene.

Bruno felt something pierce his chest without even having a chance to counter.

Puak!

Blood splattered.
He didn’t die, but the sword did go through his chest, and Bruno collapsed.

“Next.”

Silence fell.
Those who expected a fierce match went speechless upon witnessing this.
But still, this was the first match, and Bruno was the 9th ranker, so they thought it would be different.

Kang!

The sword bounced.
The 8th ranker also tried to block Roman’s attack, but just like Bruno, his sword was cut in half, and he barely blocked it.
This was the best that the 8th ranker could do.

Roman’s fist dug into his stomach, and he slammed his face on the floor as he coughed out everything.

“Next.”

One minute.

The third one, the 7th ranker, went up looking nervous and didn’t hold on for long, as his mind was already giving up.

Puak-

It was purely overwhelming.
Roman’s aura showed destructive power that couldn’t be blocked by his 5-star aura, and no matter how much he tried to block him, he couldn’t prepare for the next counter.

The 7th ranker had also spent a significant amount of time in the spotlight.
He wasn’t the type to fall down like an unknown swordsman, so when he lost, the people were silent.

“Next.”

The fourth person.

The fifth person.

The sixth person.

The matches continued.

The plan that they put together all night long had no meaning as every one of them was collapsing.
As time went on, people’s faces turned pale.
The result must be in line with common sense for them to show admiration, but this was too intimidating for those watching.

Everyone here didn’t know much about Roman.
Baek Joong-hyuk, the Heavenly Demon, took over the body of Roman Dmitry, and was equipped with the power to defeat Butler in a very short time.

And how long was it? Just barely a year’s time.
And the move that shocked people was only the result of his short time of training.

And he spent the last year not giving out much information about himself.
People only remembered the Roman from a year ago, but the present Roman had undergone many changes.

And when he made this plan, Oscar and the others were just small puppies that he didn’t even have to think much about.
No matter how strong they were, they were only frogs in a well who weren’t even listed in the continent’s ranking.

Puak!

The 3rd ranker collapsed, and as he fell to the ground bleeding, the shocked faces behind him could be seen.

“… T-This makes no sense.”

Among them was Oscar, who was now looking pale.
He was speechless as the sun rose in the middle of the sky, despite having declared that he would win at any cost against Roman if the others exhausted him.

The fight started at noon, but the sun was still in the middle of the sky, and the stage was already full of blood marks.

Only then did he realize that Roman Dmitry was a monster that Cairo couldn’t handle.

“Next.”

This was a death sentence.

Hearing Roman’s voice calling out to him, Oscar tightly closed his eyes.