A Dragonslayer’s Peerless Regression

Chapter 80

It was an enormous gathering of knights.

The faces of Edward and the other participants turned pale as they saw them.

"W-What is that?"

There were banners from the prominent families in the Central Continent, such as the Agamemnon with their golden masks, as well as the Achilles, Hector, and Aegis families, and even the Graham family, which could be considered the true masters of Panthastos.

Purr!

More than ten influential families stood behind Sieg's group.

Edward, who stood before Sieg, found himself at a loss for words due to confusion.

'This can't be happening.'

Though the Draker Martial Tournament was a mini-version of the continent, gauging each family's power, such a massive congregation of knights was unprecedented.

The knights of each family stood respectfully before Sieg and bowed their heads.

"In the name of Sieg Draker, Successor of Agamemnon, the Achilles family responds to the call!"

"In the name of Sieg Draker, Successor of Agamemnon, the Hector family responds to the call!"

"In the name of Sieg Draker, Successor of Agamemnon, the Aegis family responds to the call!"

Other families followed suit, formally reporting their presence to Sieg.

Lastly, the knight from the Graham family, adorned in golden armor, stood before Sieg.

"For Sieg Draker, benefactor and eternal friend of the Graham family, Duke Graham has commanded us to guard you during the martial tournament."

The knight extended something towards Sieg.

"Lady Angelina of the Graham family asked me to deliver this handkerchief imbued with wishes for your victory, Sir Sieg."

The mention of Angelina Graham caused a stir among those around.

Angelina Graham, who had recently made her debut in social circles, was already counted among the continent's most beautiful women.

Receiving a handkerchief from Angelina Graham, who had scarcely any external contact, Sieg became the envy and target of jealousy of other young knights.

Sieg accepted the handkerchief given by the Graham family's guard captain, placed it in his bosom, and bowed his head in gratitude.

"Please convey my thanks to the Duke. Also, tell Lady Angelina that I shall indeed grant her victory."

Even with just the knights gathered behind Sieg, it was enough to overpower a single Knight Order.

Edward, sweating profusely, withdrew to where his knights were assembled.

He ground his teeth as he looked at Sieg.

'Sieg Draker. No matter what you do, you're just a supporting act on my debut stage.'

At that moment, some figures appeared in front of the assembly place for the participants, fluttering the emblem of Draker.

A person rode forward among those clad in Draker's Regalia.

With his appearance, silence befell the surroundings.

A middle-aged man with a face full of large and small scars.

Sieg's gaze fell upon the man on the horse.

'The Scarred Knight. Gareth Draker.'

Gareth was one of the guardian knights of Draker, renowned Red Knight, leading the Black Wolf Company, one of the three major Draker knight orders.

In his past life, he had made an impactful presence during the 3rd continental war, which made his face memorable.

However, Gareth, after Draker's full incorporation into the empire, had voluntarily broken his sword, retreated, and upheld his pride as a knight.

He was a person of staunch integrity and immense pride as a knight.

Gareth spoke as he surveyed the gathered people.

"From now on, the preliminary round of the Draker Martial Tournament will commence. Participants, carry a weapon of your choice and step forward."

In response to Gareth's words, the martial tournament's participants brought forth the spears they had prepared beforehand.

Felix, who was standing behind Sieg, glanced at the spears other participants were carrying.

Most were covered with cloth, concealing their exact shape, but with their long shafts, it was evident they had brought javelins for throwing.

Felix nodded and murmured to Sieg.

"Master. As you predicted, it seems they have made modifications for javelin throwing."

At that moment, Sieg handed something hefty to Felix.

Felix tilted his head in confusion.

"What is this, master?"

"It's the weapon you'll be using to participate."

"What? Where am I participating?"

Sieg gestured with his chin towards the inside where the preliminary round was to take place.

Felix, understanding his implication, shook his head in denial.

"N-No, I didn't even apply for the martial tournament, so what are you saying...?"

But simultaneously, Sieg slickly pulled out the application form with Felix's name on it.

"Gasp!"

Felix, who had come along feeling like it was just a field trip, realized on the spot that he was an actual participant.

Sieg and Liam grabbed Felix, who was attempting to flee, and dragged him inside.

The knights awaited outside the stage, while the participants lined up, preparing for the preliminary round.

Then, a loud noise echoed from behind the stage.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A huge target resembling siege weaponry was installed at the center of the stage.

The contestants cocked their heads in confusion upon seeing the multi-layered thick iron-plated target.

'Did they put it over the mountain?'

Then Gareth spoke up.

"The preliminary event is 'Thrust as Hard as You Can'. The more layers of iron you pierce, the higher your score will be."

This sudden change left most participants stupefied.

They were clearly expecting it to be a javelin throwing, yet suddenly the preliminary event had changed.

"No way!"

"Thrusting with this spear? There's no way to exert strength properly!"

Participants, having brought modified light and long javelins to throw farther, were in disbelief at this new challenge.

Those related to Zimmens, including Edward, and the participants, smirked.

This was because they had been informed of the preliminary round event in advance and had prepared the right kind of spears.

'After all, they are all extras in my show.'

Edward whistled as he took out the spear he'd prepared.

It was a modified spear with a weighted iron shaft and a sturdy blade, designed to impart maximum force.

Edward anticipated his easy victory.

At that moment,

"W-What is that?"

Other participants exclaimed, astounded as they looked toward Sieg and his companions.

Sieg's group had also brought spears with heavy shafts and resilient blades, similar to Edward.

What he had requested from Katherine was nothing other than the spears prepared not for throwing but for thrusting.

Felix asked as he received the heavy spear from Sieg.

"Master, did you know about the preliminary event?"

To his question, Sieg shook his head.

"I just figured that the Zimmens would not easily share the preliminary event details."

Moreover, Sieg had encountered Edward Zimmens in his previous life.

With his sadistic personality, Edward preferred to wield the spear shaft directly to kill his opponents rather than rely on throwing.

He had thought that Edward wouldn't choose a javelin throwing event as the preliminary round.

Casually ignoring Edward's glare, he had moved on.

Gareth raised his hand.

"Step forward with your weapon as your name is called!"

Participants who prepared javelin spears stood reluctantly with prepared spears in front of the target.

Since the criteria for participation involved being a purple knight or higher, everyone could clad their weapons with aura.

But just covering a weapon with aura didn't mean the metal plates could be pierced.

Thump!

With excessive aura applied for extra power, the spear shaft broke, failing to convey force to the target.

Participants, who had only trained for long-distance throwing, couldn't even scratch the solid pure iron target.

"Huuup!"

Thunk!

A participant with decent aura control managed to pierce through one layer of the iron plate, which was considered a good result.

After a while, it was Reina Draker's turn.

Reina had brought an ordinary spear with her.

The Turunn family didn't differentiate between throwing spears and thrusting spears in the first place.

Reina approached the target with her spear at the ready.

Then she began to channel her aura.

Woooong!

A resonant hum from her spear filled the air.

She took a powerful step forward and thrust her spear.

Crash!

The aura-clad spear pierced through four thick iron plates.

"Hmm..."

Though it was the best result so far, Reina looked somewhat dissatisfied.

Next was Felix's turn.

"Huuu."

Felix stood in front of the target and grasped his spear with a serious demeanor.

Primarily trained in traditional swordsmanship, Felix had been taught spear techniques at a masterly level by his grandfather.

Felix channeled his entire weight into the spear and thrust deeply into the target.

CRUNCH!

The aura-charged spear pierced through three and a half plates.

"Haa..."

Felix returned to his relaxed stance as if drained, plopping down beside Sieg.

Liam's turn came shortly after, and he took up his spear and approached the target.

He pierced through slightly less than three plates, a tad fewer than Felix.

Having lost even to Felix—not to mention Reina—Liam resolved to train harder.

As the next participant rose for their turn.

"Finally, my turn."

With a scoff, Edward Zimmens, who had been watching others with arrogance, stepped forward with his spear in tow.

"Hmph. These iron plates are nothing."

With a firm grip on his spear, Edward began to charge his aura.

Wooooong!

His spear was visibly engulfed in a thick aura.

This was proof he was on the verge of ascending to a blue knight.

"Haaaat!"

With a tremendous shout, Edward thrust his spear into the iron plate.

Crash!

The roaring sound echoed as Edward's spear pierced through six plates.

He drew back his spear, resuming his arrogant expression.

"My condition isn't great today. Normally, I would have pierced through all ten."

Edward glanced at Sieg, sneering, then returned to his original place.

Sieg barely paid attention to Edward.

Instead, he focused on another participant.

'Elin Sabrina.'

While surveying the participants at the arena, one particularly stood out to Sieg.

A female knight whose face was hidden under a hood and cloak.

'Judging by her breathing, gait, and the aura she exudes, she is definitely no ordinary knight.'

A knight with such skills surely would have a name that was known, yet the name was unfamiliar.

'Could she be participating under an alias?'

"Sieg Draker."

Sieg's turn finally came.

Sieg averted his gaze from the female knight Elin and stood up.

He then took out the spear shaft he had prepared.

But something seemed off.

"There's no spearhead?"

It was literally just a shaft.

Sieg inserted his sword, Bahamut, into the shaft.

Click!

It had been custom-made to fit Bahamut, so there was no issue in mounting it.

Edward mocked the spear Sieg held.

"Haha. Can you even wield a spear like that properly?"

Bahamut, being a claymore, was larger and heavier than a normal sword.

With the additional shaft, it became an unwieldy and lengthy spear.

Sieg stood before the iron plates as the judge questioned him.

"Are you sure you want to use that spear?"

Sieg nodded and took his stance aimed at the iron plates.

Then, he gathered his energy and assumed the stance of the Dragonslaying Art.

Woooooong!

Dragonslaying Art - True Dragon Sword Art

8th Chapter, 3rd Verse

Dragonscale Thrust

Crash! Crash! Crash!

With a tremendous roar, Sieg's spear pierced through the iron plates.

The fact that such a powerful thrust could be executed with a heavy and lengthy spear was astounding.

Furthermore, Sieg had not even used the aura blade.

The judge counted the number of iron plates Sieg's spear had penetrated.

"All ten have been pierced!"

Despite the disadvantageous conditions, he pierced through every single plate.

Edward wore an expression of disbelief, while Reina glared intensely at Sieg.

Sieg shrugged his shoulders and, holding Bahamut, returned to his spot.

The event's managers removed the penetrated iron plates and replaced them with new ones.

Then the female knight, Elin Sabrina, who had caught Sieg's attention, stepped forward.

It was her turn.

But no spear was in her hand.

The judge questioned Elin.

"Where is your spear?"

Elin then quietly drew a sword hidden beneath her cloak.

The judge looked at Elin and commented.

"Are you going to thrust with a sword?"

It wasn't impossible, but it was indeed a disadvantage compared to using a spear.

For a sword was typically used more for slashing than thrusting.

Suddenly, Elin began walking backward instead of approaching the target.

The judge, bewildered, called out to Elin.

"Elin Sabrina! Are you withdrawing from the match?"

At that moment, Elin suddenly turned around and flung her sword towards the target.

Crash! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!

Her sword drilled through the iron plates, embedding deeply within.

The judge, astonished, inspected the iron plates and shouted.

"Eight plates have been penetrated."

Had she used a spear instead, she could have possibly matched Sieg's ten.

Elin turned her head toward Sieg and then removed her hood.

Seeing her face, Sieg was utterly astonished.

It was a face he knew well.

'Helen Draker.'

She was the 4th direct descendant of Draker.