There was no one that did not known of the conflict between the Ardenburg Kingdom and the Noctane Kingdom. Every season the two would be engaged in a feud for territory, so it was nothing new for the citizens here.
It was also true of the last war. It was a similar case where four regiments of each nation was deployed, but in truth, the battle was actually carried out by medium to small scaled troops.
They were sporadic battles, so there were victories along with defeats. The war was lasting around the two-month mark, with somewhat even casualties on both sides, but if anyone were to see the result, they would know who had reigned superior over the other in this battle.
'The 627th Battle of the Ar-Noc War.'
There was an astonishing six hundred and twenty seven battles previously fought between the two kingdoms, and an ongoing conflict that looks to continue to tally up a considerable number of battles even more.
Despite that, the war had become quite a hot topic for a long time in the capital city Adesden of the Ardenburg Kingdom.
"Those cheeky Noctanes! So they wagged their tails in our borders only to be struck down!"
"How nice. For a while, they won't be able to look over this way."
Usually, both sides would always emphasize that they were the ones victorious after the end of a battle. However, it was clear that this time there was a true victor.
'The Cavalry that Targets Cavalry; Sastane Cavalry were annihilated.'
The bain of all cavalry which targeted other cavalry were instead devoured per se.
That was the great achievement of the battlefield, and an overwhelming victory by itself.
For general citizens who did not know of the military matters, they naively thought that they had chased away some annoying flies, but for the nobles, it caused an uproar within the court.
"For those terrible demons to be eradicated, the Kingdom must be on an upslope."
"Exactly what you're saying. Those horrible Sastane which has plagued our countless troops… it's a bit late, but it's such a relief to be able to resolve our frustrations."
The nobles knew better than anyone else how infamous the Sastanes were by name and how many losses they had suffered due to them. It was because whenever the front lines were penetrated, the nobles would be dealt with severe losses of horses and equipment.
Thus, they celebrated in delight towards this meaningful victory.
"To be able to no longer hear that cursed name anymore, it's truly satisfying to be able to soak in this moment."
Everyone was of the same thought as they honestfully laughed and smiled. They continued to swear and insult those hellish Sastanes, and cursed the Noctanes in their discussions.
"I heard that a Stranger earned the greatest feats this time?"
"I've also heard the same. He's flaunted an amazing display of skills and performed substantially against the opponents on the front line."
"The Royal Family cherishes these Strangers, but it seems that they have finally repaid them with what they were bestowed. I was worried that the Royal Family were rewarding them without receiving the proper compensation."
Amongst the conversation, the greatest hot topic was that of the Stranger who lead the Spearhead.
"Anyhow."
One of the noblemen caught the attention of other nobles with a smile.
"I've heard some interesting news."
The other nobles who hesitated for a moment began to partake in the joyous conversation.
"I've heard that the Stranger whose achieved these amazing feats was assigned the lowest Rank."
"You must have misheard. I've been lead to believe that the Elementalist, and the Knight of the Royal Family played immense roles. All of them are ones whose received Ranks of at least Intermediate."
The Basic Strangers were existences whom couldn't even receive the title of Knight Bachelor. So for such a trivial existence to be able to face off against those terrible Sastanes and achieve a great many feats was hard to believe for several people.
The nobles smirked from the news, causing the noble who had said this to continue.
"It's no wonder why you don't believe that a Stranger of the lowest Rank was able to display such eye-catching achievements in such harsh battlefields. However…"
Despite retorting, the noble held a brief moment of leisure. Rather, his face looked as if he was belittling the other nobles internally.
"What if the Rank appraisal of the Royal Family had wrongly evaluated him? Although it's a rare occurrence for the intelligence of the Royal Family to not hold influence everywhere, but isn't it possible that even they might be able to overlook such a matter?"
"It is frustrating. Please speak in a straightforward manner."
Sensing that there was another tidbit of new information, the nobles intuitively asked. The noble with a pleased expression continued to ramble on before speaking towards the main point.
"This is a particular case where the Stranger who had changed classes. There was one who was assigned the lowest rank due to a foreign class called a Dragon Rider. Since it was a class so ambiguous of being either a Rider or a Knight, it was then why the Royal Family had assigned him the lowest rank.
The nobles who had spent their lifetimes in the political circle grasped the situation immediately and answered.
"So the Royal Family made a mistake."
"Correct. The Stranger who should've received the highest Rank was given the lowest one, and in turn sent towards the brutal front lines due to an ambiguity of the Class."
The looks of the nobles changed, becoming even more excited.
"Even if we were to assume that there was no change in the Stranger's loyalty for the Royal Family, as you may all be aware of; the race of Strangers do not tend to know service and devotion. It is difficult to expect loyalty from people like them."
"He'll probably feel disappointed from this."
"In fact, he might have some remorse against the Royal Family."
The nobles continued to roll their eyes as they talked.
"So what is that Stranger's name?"
Due to their curiosity, one of them spoke without any aristocratic qualities, causing the person to speak of this first reply with a sense of superiority.
"Kim Sunhyuk. That is the name of the Stranger."
The man laughed cunningly as he soke.
"A mistake of the Royal Family is also a mistake towards us nobles. Before this Stranger releases his grudge outwardly, isn't it our role to step forth and comfort the Stranger so that the Royal Family wasn't able to properly tend to it?"
"A reasonable proposition. We must take care of him well. Even if our warehouses were to diminish, it is necessary to negotiate with him to be loyal to the Royal Family."
The faces of the other nobles laughed, as they all bore that same cunningness as the man who revealed all of the shenanigans.
"Wow! Look at that horse!"
"They look like extremely mighty warriors!"
"With that kind of imposing aura, the rest of the cavalry in the Kingdom all look pale in comparison."
Due to the adulation from the citizens of Adesden towards such a dignified march, the cavalry were completely soulless as a result. Though this triumphal celebration happened a couple of times, the citizens reacted much differently this time. There was a reason. They had never seen cavalry from the outer areas before.
It has been a very long time since cavalrymen assigned to the borders had ever returned to the castle with such extraordinary achievements, the annihilation of the infamous Sastanes.
However, in that lengthy period, the outlook that this cavalry portrayed was completely different from those of the capital.
There was no glamorous armors of which they were accustomed to witnessing. The armors, which squeaked on the ground a lot, had a lot of dust and scratches, and the faces of such men with visors raised were rough featured with each one bearing a scar or two to some degree.
They looked like real warriors, so the citizens were enthusiastically cheering. They continued to scream endlessly appreciating those rough, fierce looks of the cavalry.
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaak!"
But a roar soon interjected in that moment.
"What, what the hell is that!"
"Gu, guards!"
The turmoil happened once they began to notice something at the rear of the cavalry; which was now marching towards them. The citizens in the back were unable to see what was happening in the front, showing a hint of disappointment, and were soon about to follow behind the cavalry.
Kereung.
But they couldn't. Their bodies stiffened in fear due to the low growling. It was like they were facing a wild beast from the mountains, causing the citizens to stiffly turn their heads and find the source of the sound.
"Ahhhh…."
They stumbled on the ground.
There was a beast with a long tail and with large eyes.
Both of its feet was like that of a lizard, and there were wings on its back like the legendary fables, sculptures and paintings that they had often seen and heard of. Each one individually recalled something after seeing that appalling appearance of the beast.
"Mo, moooooooooooom!"
"Kyaaaaaaaaak!"
"A be, beast! Gu, guarrrrrrrrds!"
The people screamed in horror, calling for their families and the city guards as soon an upheaval occurred. There were even some concerned citizens who had escaped the crowds to quickly find the city soldiers to report the existence of such a beast.
"Everyone calm down! That is not a monster!"
The cavalry of the Royal Family appeared in a timely manner to quickly calm the crowd down.
"Everyone open your eyes and look. Isn't there a person riding on top of it! It's a monster, but it's not a regular monster! It's a comrade of Drake Knight Kim Sunhyuk, and he's never going to hurt you!"
Though the uproar did not die down easily, but it wasn't a situation where the city guards proclamation did not have any effect. The people belatedly looked over and saw that a person was mounted on the beast, and soon realized the truth.
"Meet the hero who annihilated the Sastanes, the evil and wicked Noctanes."
"He is the new star of the Kingdom, Drake Knight!"
Fear soon became silence, and a loud cheer erupted once more.
"Wow! Drake Knight!"
"The Kingdom's new star!'
They were amazed at the fact that there was a man who could tame that monstrous beast, and enthusiastically cheered from that announcement. The triumphal adulation for the cavalrymen that had already passed paled in comparison to him as people roared in delight.
"I, I, I…."
Even the nobles who were sitting in the terrace houses of wealthy homes were also surprised. Unlike the ignorant citizens, they already knew of the Drake Knight, but they could not help but become astonished at the sight unfolding before them.
That was how overwhelming the presence of the Drake Knight was. Just looking at those fierce eyes of such a beast, it was hard to believe that a person was able to tame such a creature.
"This was much more than I had thought."
A noble muttered out in shock, which the others quickly nodded to.
"To be able to tame that large monster, it's quite unbelievable really."
"If he were to appear in the battlefield, it's clear that the enemy had lost the battle before the battle had even started."
Thus, the nobles were blinded by greed.
"Meet the hero who annihilated the Sastanes, the evil and wicked Noctanes."
"He is the new star of the Kingdom, Drake Knight!"
"Wow! A Drake Knight!"
"The Kingdom's new star!'
Feeling a little more embarrassed by it all, Sunhyuk lowered his visor. As a result, the sounds were a bit muffled, but he was still unable to rid the blushing red cheeks from the adulation of praises.
"Ahh, I'm going crazy."
The louder the cheers of the citizens became, the more burdensome and embarrassed he was. All these embarrassing titles of Drake Knight this and Kingdom's Star that was causing him to blush heavily.
"Stay still."
He kicked the Drake to release his anger on it, but seeing the citizens, as if he was extremely excited from this, the Drake lowered its head. This appearance caused the citizens to roar in adulation once more seeing how he was dealing with the beast.
"Ughhhhh."
If possible, he would erase that embarrassing title from the world. However, it wasn't like he could change the title of Drake Knight and Kingdom's Star since they were specially assigned to him by the Royal Family.
Powerless in this situation, he just hoped that this turtle-like march would end soon. However, the royal road was way too long.
"Welcome, Drake Knight."
Thankfully, there were no endless paths in this world, and that hellish like triumphal celebration finally ended. At the end of the road, he had finally encountered face to face with the Royal Family that he had only heard of.
TL Afterword:
Calvis: Woah Royal Family time! Also, it's quite funny to see how Ardenburg citizens deem the Sastanes evil, but they're probably heroes in Noctane.
PR Afterword:
T0ngan: Vote for us in NU!
Borderline Masochist: N/A
Translator: Calvis
Editor: T0ngan/Borderline Masochist