Reap What One Sow

The knight hands Mason a bunch of bags.

?

"Do you guys not have a storage ring?" I ask.

"Regular knights get a storage ring but we don't." Says Mason. "Just carry it, this is the least we can do anyways."

Those knights are 'entrusting' us with their belongings instead of carrying them with them instead. I know they are trying to bully us but this is plain stupid if you think about it.

I take a storage ring and place all the bags inside.

!

"Tch." The knight clicks his tongue in frustration as he glares at me. I smile.

!

"Fool, watch your back." He says as he turns around to join the formation.

"Why did you do that?" Mason says. "You..."

He sighs. "I will beg him to forgive you later, don't do that again. Pride is worth nothing in our division."

...

I grab onto Mason's shoulder. "You don't need to do that, I can take care of myself," I say.

"Wait-"

"We are now leaving!" Shouts the knight at the front.

...

We start to march slowly out of the dormitory and into the wild.

-------------

The expedition is proceeding smoothly and the knights have arrived at the first destination, the Village of Exodia. It is a small city governed by the Viscount Nelson family.

The group stops here to rest.

The knight I offended just now went straight to me as everyone settle down.

?

Two more knights are following him.

"You, follow me, now." He says.

!

"Wait, I am very sorry about his behaviour." Mason tries to step in.

"No thanks," I reply.

"You... If you don't want to witness hell, follow me, NOW."

The knight draws his sword and raises it. One swift slash down and he stops the blade at my neck.

...

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Fight me." He says.

...

"No."

"What?" The knight is startled by my response. His face can be seen contorting in rage.

"I have nothing to gain from fighting you? Let's do some betting to spice it up."

...

"No problem. I will bet my sword, how about it?"

I shake my head. I have a sword that is 10 times better why would I need your sword?

"Fucking... Fine, I will bet this." The knight takes out an ominous black pen.

!!

That artifact...

I smile.

"Sure, I will bet this," I say as I take out the Neptune artifact from my storage ring.

"That guy is dead hehe..."

"A duel between the captain and that newbie? This isn't even a duel."

The knights all around gossip as they laugh at my foolishness. They step aside to create a space for the duel, many villagers came along to look at the commotion, it is not every day that a duel happens here after all.

The captain draws his sword and assumes his stance. In a stance where one positions their sword upwards near their chest on the right side, the right hand must be gripped above the left, which is called the knight stance.

I beckon him to come at me.

"Your sword?" He asks.

"Don't have one." I lie.

...

"Lend him your sword." The captain says to one of his subordinates.

The subordinate throws his sword on the ground in front of me, I pick it up.

The captain also takes off his armour to reveal himself as a noble. His golden hair is gelled back and he has azure eyes that can charm any ordinary woman.

?

"Now it is fair. The both of us have the same sword and no armour on, I have also suppressed my cultivation the 6th stage of Qi Condensation." Says the captain.

I nod.

"I ought to put you back in your place. Everyone, watch carefully, the difference between those at the Thirty-first division and the first division." The captain says.

"Stop babbling nonsense, come at me," I say.

The captain takes up the offer and appears instantly in front of me with his sword high up. I move my body to the side to dodge the slash and attempt to connect my knee to his stomach.

However, he reacted in time and grab my right leg with his arms. His left arm is over my entire leg while his right arm, holding the sword, is supporting his left.

The captain followed up with a kick to my left leg, attempting to break my balance. But I used my hands as a foothold and thrust my leg upwards, kicking him in the chin.

"Ack!"

The captain jumps back in retreat as I recover myself.

"Bastard... Use your swordsmanship and not martial arts." The captain says.

"This is a duel, not a sword spar," I reply.

"Tch."

He grips his sword tightly with gritted teeth.

A red aura envelopes his sword.

!

"Everyone get back!" One of the knights shouts as everyone shuffles back to safety.

The captain jumped towards me with the sword positioned at his side.

A horizontal slash?

I duck to avoid it. Large energy was sent out from a single slash, damaging the buildings behind me.

"Oi! You are damaging the village." I say.

"I do not care!"

The captain lifts his sword and cuts it down.

!!

I jump back but the explosive impact from that threw me off.

"Fucker-..." I mumble.

The captain smirks and appears behind me, ready to decapitate me.

Tch.

I turn my body mid-air and slash off the arms of the captain.

!!!!

"W-What...M-My arm...? ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

I land on the captain as I kick him away.

"What the hell..." I say. "Just a simple duel, why do you need to go this far?"

"Bastard!!! I will kill you!!! I will kill you!!! You are dead!" The captain shouts.

Noisy bastard...

"Y-You dare cripple the captain?!" Says one of the knights.

"WHY? ALL OF YOU SAW IT. IF I DIDN'T DO THAT, I WOULD HAVE DIED." I shout.

...

"H-He is the son of-"

"I give zero fucks about his status. He was the one who initiated the duel and tried to kill me. He reaps what he sows."

Mina and Julius are both staring at the commotion.

The knights all draw their swords in rage.

I gaze at them.

"Did you know that killing a fellow knight is a forbidden rule? Do any one of you think you will get out of this unscathed? Besides, I didn't kill the captain, he is still alive." I say.

"Ugh..."

The knights sheathe their swords in frustration as they perform first aid on the captain.

I take a look at a small device in my hand, a black box, an item that records visuals and audio secretly.

From the very start, I already felt intense killing intent from the captain, I needed an alibi so I recorded the entire incident, the nobles can't do anything to me as long as I have this.

I pick up the artifact that bastard bet and walk back to my division, all of them are avoiding eye contact with me, I understand why.

I have offended a noble and getting associated with me will get them into trouble too.

...

As for the damages, the army will be responsible.

I go to the inn and my room. It's a tiny room with a small bed next to a window and a drawer.

This...

I look out of the window, someone is spying on me from afar in the woods. No, multiple people are spying on me.

...

I take out the black pen, its name is called Schatten, translated as Shadow in german.

It allows the wielder to temporary manipulate darkness for 5 mins once the wielder clicks on the cap at the end. However, this artifact's real use is only to allow the wielder to hide in a shadow or teleport between shadows, which is very useful for escaping, hiding or offensive ambush.

I click on the pen's cap, now is the right time to use it.

I teleport behind the observers. They are hiding behind a bush and using artifacts to observe. All of them have wrapped their heads with a black cloth and are dressed in black robes and coats.

"S-Sir, target Loi disappeared. He turns into some sort of black smoke and is gone." Says one of them.

"What? Where is he?"

"Here he is," I say.

!!!

"Who's there-"

I slit his throat before he can finish his sentence.

Two of them jolt up and grab their weapons, I decapitate both of them before they can react.

"W-Wait!"

There is only one left, I place the blade of the sword against his neck.

"Speak, who sent you," I say.

!

...

"I-I don't know. I was just curious that's why-"

"You suck at lying, no matter."

I grab his face. Channelling mana to my hand, a dark purple fog emits from my hand and engulfs his head.

!!

"Mmm..m...mm..."

The observer suffocates and struggles as the fog invades his mind. When he finally absorb all of the fog, his mind blanked out and his pupils darkened.

"Tell me, why are you here?" I say.

"To scout the size of the army and confirm the appearance of our core targets."

"Who are your core targets?"

"Loi and Julius."

"Who sent you here?"

"I... Don't know! I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know... I DO NOT KNOW!"

!!

He slides a dagger out of his coat and pierces his throat with it. Black blood oozed out of his wound and mouth.

...

I turn the corpse around to find an X marking engraved on the neck, it is glowing in orange.

This is...Demonic Magic.