Knight Lords: Infinite Simulation and the Path of Light

Chapter 135 Let's play around?
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Haven approached Zara, whose expression was cold and whose smile was strange. Seeing the two seemingly at odds, the previously noisy crowd fell silent once more.

"What's wrong, Zara? Speak your choice like a man. The White Lion family is not afraid of any challenge."

As he spoke, Haven took out the White Lion Badge from his storage ring and pinned it to his chest. He then smoothed his stray bangs and looked up at Zara again.

Looking at the boy who was a head shorter than him, Zara felt a sense of unease. This sudden successor of the White Lion Legion was indeed unexpected.

Faced with the heir of this powerful noble family, the usual rules of the game among noble children could not be followed. In the end, their swaggering in the capital was still based on the strength of their families and the influence of their fathers.

In this respect, although the Northern Territory is not particularly wealthy, that is relative to the Southern Provinces. If we divide it by territory alone, Hyland Territory is not only not poor, but quite wealthy on the contrary. After all, the competition among nobles is not about how much gold or resources they have.

The only measure of a noble family’s strength is the power they possess, whether it’s high-end combat strength, top-tier troops, or army size. In this respect, the White Lion family is considered one of the most prominent families or forces in the empire.

However, due to the occasional southward invasions by the northern orc empire, the entire massive White Lion Legion has remained entrenched in the north and has never left.

However, that does not affect the fact that the Northern nobles rank high among all the nobles in the empire. It is only in recent decades, with the Southern nobles gradually developing under the support of the Church, and some other events, that the Northern nobles have become weaker.

"Havent, do you know what you're doing? I advise you not to make trouble for yourself—it's not good for anyone."

Zara, who did not want to clash with the white lion for the time being, could only continue to persuade him with words. After all, in the eyes of this group of people, personally taking charge of the outcome of things was always the last resort, and the education they had received over the years was never to put themselves in danger.

Seeing Zara neither moving aside nor saying what she was going to do, Haven rolled his eyes so hard they almost reached the sky. These guys are so indecisive.

"You're not just all talk, are you? Or are you afraid of embarrassing yourself in front of so many people? Stop dawdling."

Let me repeat myself: if the Magic Guild's enforcement team has any objections, they can come to me anytime. If you personally have questions about this matter, I can give you two options: one is to follow our Northern ways, where you defeat me, and then this matter will be handled as you say.

Secondly, you can choose any method, and I will comply. Similarly, if you win, then this matter will be handled as you say.

"Or you can get out of my way. I don't have time for this childish game."

Zara's face darkened completely after Havent's merciless words. Feeling the scorching and stinging gazes of the crowd around her, a strange emotion slowly arose within her.

'That damned barbarian from the North, since you're so ungrateful, don't blame me. No matter how powerful you are, once you come to the capital, you have to follow the rules of the capital.'

If I don't show you how powerful I, Zara, am today, then tomorrow everyone in the capital will be able to climb over my head and trample on me.

"Hehehehehe~ Young Master Haven is quite the big talker. Since that's the case, I might as well play with you too, so you don't think that we guys from the capital are just a bunch of cowards who only know how to talk but not how to fight."

Hearing Zara's words, Haven, who originally just wanted to leave quickly, suddenly perked up. Right? That's more like it. A real man should fight for real. All this talk and rambling is not efficient at all.

Seeing Havent suddenly perk up and start moving around, Zara's preconceived notions of the barbarity of the North were reinforced. Originally planning a duel between nobles, she silently changed her mind after seeing Havent's actions.

"Hehehe~ Havente, this is the capital city. We are all nobles. We can't act like two lowly commoners with no status and fight in the street over some trivial matter. That would be an insult to our noble status."

Hearing that the other party had no intention of fighting, Haven instantly lost most of his interest. After all, he still vividly remembered the scene of the other party's aggressive behavior that drove Ilya to her death. If he could punch that annoying face of the other party, that feeling would be very satisfying.

"No, I don't want to fight. I remember that the Imperial History records that sword fighting was very popular in the capital, and every nobleman was proud to have scars on his face from sword cuts."

Seeing Havent's slight disappointment, Zara inwardly grumbled once again about the barbaric atmosphere of the North.

"Hehehe~ Havent, that was a long time ago. It was because of the incorrect atmosphere of the nobles that a large number of outstanding noble children were injured or killed in their best years. So this bloody method disappeared quickly after the Mad King's death."

Since you're planning to play, I can play with you—some games that the nobles of the capital play.

After saying that, he glanced at him and, seeing that Haven did not refuse, his face once again showed that expression of complete control.

“Ethan! I’ve only been back for a short time. What’s the latest trend in the capital? I’d like to try it with Mr. Haven.”

The young nobleman who was summoned by Zara immediately scurried out from the crowd and stood beside Zara like a lackey.

“Young Master Zara, you’re right. You haven’t been gone for very long. In the past two years, not many new things have come out in the capital. They’re basically all the games you played before you left, like Gwent, War Fortress, and the game of the same name, as well as some gambling games, like the ones you used to play.”

Hearing Ethan's words, Zara nodded slightly and turned to look at Havent.

"You all heard that, Haven. Let's pick one from here. Of course, as the master who has always lived in the capital, I'll leave the selection to you."

At this moment, seeing that something new was happening, the people who had been ruined by Ilya's death put the bad things that had just happened behind them. Compared to the scheming, plotting, and even the fact that they had been unknowingly used, they were now completely forgetting about the previous events.

The rivalry between the eldest son of the Imperial Minister of Finance and the heir to a powerful noble family in the North is clearly more interesting. Rihanna, who was gradually pushed to the edge by the surging crowd, stared blankly at Havent and Zara, who were surrounded by the crowd, while holding Ilya's already cold body.

"Rihanna, how are you?"

"Yes, Rihanna, are you alright? We were so worried about you."

"Rihanna..."

The Imperial Roses girls who had been hiding in the crowd gathered around. Some of the girls who had a good relationship with Ilya had red eyes and tears streaming down their faces. Rihanna, holding Ilya's body, looked at her girls surrounding her with a bewildered expression, a mix of indescribable feelings rising in her heart.

"Sister Rihanna, should we leave now? Ilya can't stay like this forever."

Rihanna snapped out of her daze at Uri's repeated calls, looked at Uri who was covered in blood, and slowly shook her head. "No, I can't leave. This won't end so easily. Besides, this was originally meant for me, and now it's dragged Ilya into it. I can't drag Havent into it too."

With that, Rihanna picked up Illya's body and walked to the long table where drinks were placed. She laid the girl's stiffening body flat on the table, tore off a clean white tablecloth and covered Illya's body. After a few seconds of silence, she turned and walked back to the center of the crowd.

"Zara!!!! What do you want to play?! I'll play with you today!!!!"

While Haven was pondering which project to choose, he heard a voice behind him and quickly turned around. He saw Rihanna walking towards him aggressively, her long hair billowing in the air as her fighting spirit involuntarily emanated from her.

Sensing Rihanna's anger, the onlookers very consciously made way for her.

Standing in the middle of the crowd, Zara looked at Rihanna, who was furious and whose eyes were no longer filled with confusion. She couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. Her carefully planned scheme had been ruined because of this meddlesome guy.

"Rihanna? Are you alright?"

Seeing Rihanna walk up to him, looking a little off, Haven couldn't help but ask with concern.

"Thank you for your help, Haven. I'm fine. I'll handle this now. You don't need to get involved anymore."

Hearing Rihanna's words, Zara couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Compared to fighting the unknown Haven, he would naturally prefer to fight the familiar Rihanna. Although the current situation meant that he could not achieve his expected goal, there was plenty of time in the future, and he would have time to slowly make this arrogant and self-righteous woman lower her proud head.

"No, a man from the North has a word he says, and it's a promise. Sister Rihanna, I'm sorry, but this guy can only play with me for now. As for you two, you can arrange that separately later."

Uri, take Rihanna aside, don't let her interfere with my performance.

Let's play the simplest and quickest game, I'm in a hurry!

Haven called out to Uri standing to the side, then turned to look at Zara standing opposite him.

"How is it? Is it okay? Do you have any questions?"

Zara was stunned for a moment, then revealed a cruel smile. Today was truly an interesting day. In all the years she had lived in the capital, no one had ever dared to speak to her in such an attitude.

"Okay~ Sure~ So do you want to play a simple game of comparing sizes, or blackjack?"

"Let's compare sizes. Since things are like this now, it doesn't seem very interesting if we don't bet on something."

Seeing Havent still looking as nonchalant and carefree as ever, Zara felt a surge of anger. Coincidentally, she had recently learned something new, so she said in a gloomy tone:

“Alright, since Havent you are in such a good mood, I, Zara, am naturally happy to oblige.”

"Is that alright? Then I won't hold back. Let's make a life-or-death bet. If I win, I'll cut off your head. If you win, I'll cut off mine. How about that?"

When the onlookers heard Havent's outrageous bet, they gasped in surprise. Zara's expression froze, clearly not expecting the guy to be so audacious.

"Havent!!! What are you saying?!"

Rihanna, who was being pulled along by Uri, was also taken aback by the bet that Havent mentioned, and her voice became high-pitched and shrill.

Sensing everyone's surprise, the person who had intended to lighten the mood couldn't help but awkwardly scratch their nose. These people were making a fuss over nothing, they had no sense of humor whatsoever.

"Relax, relax, everyone. It seems like no one really wants to go through with this. How about we make a bet? Is that alright?"

As he spoke, Haven raised his right hand and waved it, but clearly no one responded to his choice to back down. His hopes dashed once again, Haven coughed and continued:

"Looks like your hands aren't very good either. You Imperials are playing too conservatively. How about this: if I win, Zara will bark like a dog a few times in front of everyone. If you win, I'll bark a few times. How about that?"

Zara looked at Havent, who was staring intently at her, waiting for her answer, and said with a forced smile:

“Lord Havent, if it weren’t for the fact that the white lion badge on your chest requires bloodline power to activate, I would have thought that some ill-mannered commoner had infiltrated the party. But since you insist on this, I can play along with you. I’m looking forward to the barking of our white lion later.”

"Wait a moment!"

Faced with Haven's sudden call to stop, everyone looked over, thinking that Haven was going to back out. Under everyone's gaze, the determined Haven added another explanation.

"Not exciting enough. Let's play bigger. If I win, I'll slap you. And if you win, I'll do the same."

Zara, who had sensed from the beginning that this guy wanted to beat her up, wasn't particularly surprised when she heard Havent's request. However, she couldn't stand the guy's repeated provocations.

His eyes, like those of a viper, were fixed on Havent, and words that seemed to come out like a chilling wind.

"Alright, since Lord Havent is so eager to teach me a lesson, then of course there's no problem. I'll also increase the stakes: five rounds in total, with an extra five thousand gold coins added to each round. How about it, Havent, are you in?"

Hearing the other person's words, Haven hesitated visibly for a moment, then asked:

"If I don't have that much money on me, can I use something of equal value instead?"

"Of course~ then come on! Haven, show me that it takes real ability to stand up for others."

(End of this chapter)