God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 91: Episode 18 _ Defense is National Power(2)

3.

"As long as it’s not a proposal like I’ll give you something if you win, let’s hear it."

Simin’s steps halted.

The Emperor played the card he had prepared.

"Considering you made the knights stronger, and in many ways, I thought that since you are making great contributions to the Empire as an adventurer, you needed a position. For us, it gives us one more card to show to other kingdoms, and at the same time, it’s a good opportunity to create a justifiable reason for giving a noble title to an adventurer."

"That’s none of my business."

A plausible story.

But Simin wasn’t tempted.

The things he had already received were things that couldn’t be taken back.

He received the noble title and territory for curing the princess.

If the Emperor tried to take them back, citing those reasons, Simin, as an adventurer, could simply take back the solution to the princess’s problem.

He wouldn’t like it, but what could he do?

If getting backstabbed while sitting still felt like dying of injustice, he had to do at least that much.

Knowing him, the Emperor also nodded.

This guy was someone who would do that and more.

"I’m not saying I’ll take it away, but that you should participate for additional rewards. Anyway, no one will have even the slightest expectation that you will win, so you just have to do moderately well and come down. The reason for participating is to use this occasion to announce your promotion in rank to the continent."

"Hmm."

Simin fell into thought.

When focused on winning, it was certain there was no reason to participate, but hearing it like this, it seemed okay.

Didn’t he say he would raise the rank!

At best, it would be one step, but being a viscount would still be better than being a baron.

Considering that no player had received an Imperial title yet, there might be a corner to exploit players.

’Since I don’t have anything urgent...’

At most, he would just wander around hunting grounds with the rabbits and earn money.

Since there were no rich people entrusting enhancements to him yet.

He had ripped off the Specialists plenty a while ago.

"I have a condition instead."

"Speak."

So he took the bait.

It was a bait he had no choice but to take.

"I will participate. But it would be embarrassing if I get eliminated too ridiculously, so let me fight with my tamed monsters."

"...Fine."

The Emperor, who pondered for a moment, nodded.

A scene that originally couldn’t be seen in knight duels would unfold, but the purpose of the Knight Tournament was primarily a place to evaluate the military power between each kingdom.

There was no law that strictly said only knights had to come out.

As time passed, it had just become an established formula as it was proven that swordsmen were stronger than mages and knights were stronger than mercenaries in one-on-one duels.

It wasn’t strange for an adventurer to fight in an adventurer’s way.

"Then I just have to participate tomorrow, right?"

"That is correct."

Even if he did, he didn’t think the result would change.

The Emperor smiled as he watched Simin withdraw with light steps.

What would change?

He was an adventurer at best.

He showed something that captivated him, the Emperor, upon his appearance, cured the princess, and the sight of him raising the knights a step further was, strictly speaking, his charm as an adventurer.

There is no correct answer that charm equals martial power.

’It will be worth seeing when he gets beaten up and eliminated in the preliminaries.’

The Emperor stretched and laughed.

Simin would naturally think of the Knight Tournament as just a sparring match where they swung swords and asked after each other’s health.

Just by not telling him that it was actually a violent competition where one or two people suffered fatal injuries and couldn’t hold a sword again every year, he felt proud as if he had already won one victory.

Bestowing a title?

If he could just screw him over, he could give something like that as much as he wanted.

It was a proposal full of conspiracy, but Simin, who had figured out the scheme, accepted it.

* * *

The next day.

Behind Simin, who walked confidently toward the Emperor at the opening ceremony announcing the start of the Knight Tournament, were 99 rabbits and a Gold Dragon.

The rabbits, who had quickly moved the byproducts to the territory, followed behind!

Radiating crimson auras wildly, they showed a spirit that didn’t lag at all, even when compared to the numerous knights gathered from the continent.

"...Hereby, I officially appoint Adventurer Simin as the Lord of Rich Territory, and in recognition of his contributions so far, appoint him as a Viscount."

[A position has been created.]

[You have acquired the position ’Viscount of the Zen Empire’.]

[You have acquired the title ’The First Viscount!’]

Benefits like being able to increase soldiers and appoint direct knights dizzied his eyes, but he waved his hand and dismissed them all.

That wasn’t what was important right now. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"...I declare the opening of the Knight Tournament."

"Long live His Imperial Majesty!"

"Long live His Imperial Majesty!"

Opening!

He met the participation requirements and received the reward he wanted, but it started now.

’Damn old man. Did he think I wouldn’t know he’s trying to screw me over somehow?’

He accepted even knowing it.

Even if he got hurt participating, or even if he died, he had nothing to lose.

The cooldown for the Necklace of Revival was up, and getting cursed at a bit by other nobles or knights was nothing to him, who had a thick skin on his face.

Besides, if he felt offended, he had a territory now, so he could just take personal revenge.

Instead, there was quite a lot to gain if he just took a little risk.

’He said if I win, it’s a sword the Emperor personally bestows.’

Where would that sword come from?

There was no way he would give the sword the Emperor used himself.

Nor would he bet the Symbol of the Empire on a tournament where no one knew who would win.

The safest bet would be things stuck in the warehouse.

Among them, if he trusted the Imperial Knights, he would take out a sword stuck deep in the warehouse.

Naturally, if he sold it to players, he would be able to get a huge price.

’...Though it will be hard.’

Because he received permission to be with the rabbits, it was worth aiming for, and there was a possibility.

"Then, we will now begin the preliminary matches!"

A voice amplified by mana resonated among the thousands of knights.

4.

The matchups were all luck.

The first opponent decided that way was a knight he was seeing for the first time!

Good news for Simin.

’As long as it’s not an Imperial Knight. Or a Royal Knight.’

Basically, their levels were high.

Leaving aside talent from birth and all that, since they were knights who had to protect Kings and Emperors according to the game settings, their levels were high, and their skills were outstanding enough that players had to surpass a certain level of strength.

So he had to avoid meeting them from the start.

Eventually, he might meet them, but still, the probability of meeting them among nearly a thousand knights was low.

"An adventurer in the Knight Tournament. I guess it’s true that the Empire has lost a lot of strength these days."

"Huh?"

Simin, who hadn’t given even one percent of his interest to the guy in front of him, lifted his head at the murmuring he heard.

A light mouth babbling from a guy who looked like a weasel caught his eye.

’Is he talking about me?’

"Rabbits. Well, if you aren’t confident in your skills, I guess you have to try hard to become strong in that way at least."

Simin remained silent.

’He is.’

Even after the start of the match was announced, the man stood there with one leg cocked, swinging his sword around with a blatant sneer.

He wasn’t particularly angry.

Why? Because he was right.

It seemed difficult to push through relying on the power of items alone, so he had brought his taming pets along.

However, there was one thing he had gotten wrong.

"I didn’t bring them up here for someone like you."

"What?"

"Where does a bastard from some unheard-of kingdom, who probably bribed his way into knighthood, get off running his mouth? You want a beating?"

"...What did you say? Just now."

There aren’t many ways to win an argument against someone with nothing to lose.

Especially for knights who value their pride above all else—being provoked by Han Simin, a man who would sell his own friends if the price was right, was intolerable.

"Why you askin’? You trembling? But I’m not scared at all. Wonder why? Because bastards who are all talk always fight with their mouths."

"You...!"

The knight charged.

His posture was still crooked, but his level must have been decent given the speed of his movements.

But that was exactly as far as it went.

Han Simin had been studying the movements and swordsmanship of the Imperial Knights for the past few days.

He wasn’t a genius who could steal a technique just by seeing it once, but he wasn’t stupid enough to get hit by the sword of a guy who was at least a hundred times slower than them.

CLANG!

"Knights aren’t much, either."

He had already upgraded his items enough to take a hit from mediocre guys like this and laugh it off.

The tension he felt about facing a knight dissolved.

After clashing with the knight in front of him, he realized that the gap between the rich and the poor was severe, even in the world of knights.

Of course, since it was Han Simin, this might be a scenario only possible for him right now.

But that small scenario was a very big problem for the knight.

"Kyu! Kyu!"

The rabbits didn’t miss the opportunity and pounced.

The knight gasped.

Not only were their levels high, but they also possessed sharp instincts honed from countless battles, the agility to weave through strong monsters, and perfect teamwork as a unified group.

In an instant, the knight’s figure disappeared from view.

"Aaaargh!"

A scream rang out.

The knight officiating the match was flustered.

"M-Murder is forbidden!"

It was a hypocritical remark considering he had looked down on the rabbits too, but anyone who saw the creatures baring their teeth and charging would have no choice but to react that way.

"Huhu. Murder? That’s disappointing to hear."

Han Simin laughed as he pulled back his hammer.

He had thought this mountain was impossible to climb, but through this duel, he saw the potential. Why would he commit murder that wouldn’t even make him any money?

If he got disqualified for no reason, his planned scheme would go to waste.

He watched for a moment before waving his hand.

At that, the rabbits quickly retreated.

The stadium fell silent.

The knight, barely breathing, came into the view of the restless referee.

But he wasn’t in one piece.

His body was covered in wounds.

And he was stripped down to his underwear!

"V-Victory!"

The referee didn’t ask where the fallen knight’s armor and weapons had gone.

’Go ahead, ask. I’ll make you look just like that.’

He was terrified of Han Simin, who was looking at him with eyes that said exactly that.

The flapping of a small butterfly’s wings had begun in the Knight Tournament.

* * *

The Emperor had been chatting with kings from other kingdoms and only got a chance to watch the tournament after some time had passed.

His urgent gaze scanned the vast stadiums.

’He hasn’t been eliminated already, has he?’

The Imperial Knights would make it to the finals on their own; the one he was curious about was Han Simin!

He wanted to see when, how, and where he would get beaten up and eliminated!

"Where is Viscount Simin?"

"He is currently in the preliminaries, Your Majesty. Stadium 69."

His gaze immediately turned to Stadium 69.

Quite a bit of time had passed, yet he was still in it.

’So he does have a few hidden tricks up his sleeve?’

Well, that explained why he had the guts to act so boldly in front of the Emperor in the Empire.

It seems he didn’t just learn a bunch of petty tricks.

Along with a sense of fascination, he saw Han Simin rushing out onto the stadium first.

His opponent was a knight the Emperor didn’t know.

That meant he wasn’t very strong.

Even so, it wasn’t easy to think that Han Simin would win.

However.

BOOM!

The Emperor watched in confusion.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The hammer he swung while rushing forward clashed with the knight’s sword. That wasn’t strange.

But neither side was being pushed back at all.

Why?

Before he could even question it, an astonishing scene unfolded before the Emperor’s eyes.

Before anyone knew it, rabbits had swarmed around the knight!

Ninety-nine rabbits pounced on the knight without a shred of mercy.

The match was over.

The Emperor frowned as he watched the knight, who met his defeat while stripped naked.

"What in the world..."

He had only permitted the participation of taming pets because he was certain that even with them, Simin’s skills wouldn’t reach the level of a knight.

But if it goes like this, won’t the plan go awry?

However, he still didn’t doubt it.

That he would eventually fall.

That the Imperial Knights would not be pushed back by things like that.

* * *