The Worst Princes' Battle Over Giving Up The Imperial Throne

There were no ambushes in the cellar.
However, there was a warrior here that made us feel more vigilant to face against than an army of a hundred men.

Iifu was at his highest alertness, holding a staff over his shoulder. Sauran had his prized sword, shaped like a willow leaf,1 unsheathed, and I was poised ready to take my sword out of its scabbard at a moment"s notice.

"Hey, he seems pretty strong."
"For kids holding some toys, don"t you seem to be in high spirits."

Numbers were on our side here. The man with the bandana might have skills, but he was after all, only one person. He shouldn"t be able to withstand our three-p.r.o.nged attack of us brothers.

—That"s only for a three on one.

"You really came…people from the court?"
"But we aren"t gonna pull out "cause of our fellows from the west. You will all die here."

Two people showed, blocking the way forwards. Each were wearing a bandana that covered their face, one of green and the other of yellow.
They were wearing the clothing of the barbarians and were wielding spears.

"We are known as the Wind Lord and the Thunder Lord."
"Now, you must defeat us to pa.s.s. But then our leader will just defeat you!"

Sure, lemme just kill ya in a few seconds.
Before I even had time to unsheath my sword, Iifu and Sauran already sprang on them.

In the tunnel illuminated by the flickering candlelight, the radiance of the blades shone.
Iifu"s staff was stopped by the green hooded man (Wind Lord) and Sauran"s blade was stopped by the yellow hooded man. (Thunder Lord)

—Strong.

To easily block my two brothers" attacks was just inhuman. The only people that could do that, excluding the Imperial Family, was just the Court Tutor and the Field Marshal.2 When I was about to go in to help,

"Go on ahead, Sugen!"

The moment I was going to join in, Iifu called out to me. Right after, Sauran agreed.

"Yeah, these people might have good skills, but we aren"t people who they could hurt. Even a second is valuable now. Go on forwards by yourself, please."
"You sh*ts think we"d let you!?"

The two "Lords" let out their bloodl.u.s.t with their yell, but my two brothers stopped them from doing anything.

"Thanks!"

I used that gap to slip through the Wind and Thunder Lord. I heard them yelling at me to come back, but I"m not the sort of idiot who would.

However, a small odd feeling was welling up inside me.

Those "Lords." They were certainly strong, but for them to be the kidnappers, something felt out of place—

No, this wasn"t the place to be thinking like that.
I had to be quick to save Gattenwo.

"You really came."

At the elusive deepest part of the tunnel, the man whose face was nearly completely covered by a red bandana was waiting.
A muscular huge build. Even if that was all he had going for him, he"d be an excellent combatant, but he was a giant who I could only look up on. The red hooded man was practically a human weapon.

"Where"s Gattenwo."
"Don"t worry, she"s being politely treated as a guest would."

And when I looked closely.
Behind the red hooded man was Gattenwo squirming on the ground, wrapped in ropes, with one of the ropes in her mouth serving as a gag. She was glaring at the hooded man with profound hate.

"How is this "polite"! She can"t even move, and this gag…this is the opposite of guest treatment!"
"MmmMMmm!"

For some reason, Gattenwo was directing her protest to me. Of course, it was because she wanted me to quit talking and hurry up and save her.

"Enough small talk. You gotta beat me to save this person."
"That goes without saying! Don"t blame me if you die!"

I swiped my sword out of its scabbard and lunged at the giant"s chest. I didn"t know if it was because of negligence or not, but he wasn"t even holding a weapon. I would defeat him in one strike, without letting him defend.

"—Do you think that you would beat me while I"m unarmed?"

However.
The hooded man blocked my sword with his bare hands. It wasn"t even a trick or illusion. He simple caught the blade with his hand, not even shedding a single droplet of blood.

"Haiya!"

And with my blade in hand, he threw me at the rock wall with enough force to make me cough a mixture of blood and phlegm out.

"Are you joking… Weapons are but a decoration. True strength comes from the body."

The hooded man cast off his shirt and went half-naked. He stood straight up and put his arms straight, showing the full breadth of his wingspan. Yes, he was a.s.serting his dominance through a T-pose. His many scars only accented his dominating nature.3

In that same T-pose, he flexed his muscles and said,

"Now come, Sugen! Show me the most of your weapon!"
"You didn"t have to tell me, f*cking kidnapper!"

Clenching my teeth, I leaped at the hooded man and swung my sword with all my might, doing an overhead swing.

"Oh! You got more spirit than before! But you"re still too young!"

He blocked my decapitating attack by just crossing his arms and taking the blow. His skin was of a hardness that I would only expect of steel.
With a sweep, he knocked my sword out of the way and swung that arm at me. The pure speed of it made the wind whistle in its path.

—I"m dead if that hits.

By pure reflexes, I ripped my sword out of its trajectory and brought it before me as a shield to block the swinging arm.

And the blade shattered as if it was dirt.

"Argh!"

I instantly cast aside the sword and used my arms to defend, but even so, I nearly died. My body was flung into the rock once again, and all I could see was red.

"Seriously…? It"s already over? Borin". Is this really one of the Emperor"s children?"
"F*cking…"
"Then again, you really helped me by coming. Honestly, I didn"t know if the self-proclaimed Fifth Prince was anyone important. I captured you, so I can go send some demands to the court. —I"m done with Gattenwo."

He turned his back to me and walked to Gattenwo.

"…Wait. What are you going to do with Gattenwo."
"I don"t need her as a hostage, so what else but disposal?"

The moment I heard those words, I jumped on his back, ignoring the agony flowing throughout my body. I sent out a fist flying towards his face, but it was tragically stopped with one hand. But—

"Huh, you"re still moving."
"Don"t screw around…Do you know who that person is. She"s the person that"s to become the next Emperor…?"
"Idiot. How would a fake prince have the qualifications. Is the court just going to ignore that?"
"Even then!"

I kicked his flank. It was a kick that could destroy stone, but it barely had an effect on my opponent.

"It"s what we siblings decided…! She"s already our very important sacrifice…sister!"
"Wait a moment, do I see a dirty underlying motive?"
"MmMMMmmm!"

I ignored the hooded man and Gattenwo"s reb.u.t.tal.

"I will f*cking destroy anyone who dares to lay a hand on her!"

This was the resolution of someone who decided to become a big brother, even with an ulterior motive.
I kicked the ground to shorten the distance between us. I elbowed him in the stomach, but it was me who felt my arm getting numb. With the opening I showed, he clasped his fists together and hammered down on my head.

Pain and my vision swimming. It didn"t matter. Thanks to him, I was attached to his chest.

A punch was not something that only could draw power from the arm. I used the ground as a springboard to give my fist power.
It allowed me to draw power from my legs and waist, where the strongest muscles in the human body were. And right now, my opponent"s jaw was right above me. The place that was easiest to hit the brain from.

"Eat this, f*cking animal!"

A direct hit.
The strength that would make any normal skull explode only made the man stagger back. With a likely concussion, the giant"s steps were uneasy. And right here—he didn"t fall down.

"Heh heh…Pretty good attack. But you still have ways to go before beating me."
"Then I"ll keep hitting you with the same strength as that last attack. Until you collapse."

Until then I wouldn"t die even if I was killed. With that conviction in my heart, I clenched my fist, but

"I think that"s enough, father. If you go any further, Sugen might really die."

From behind me came the sound of footsteps. There were a total of five people/
There was Iifu and Sauran. Ryausha, who should"ve been guarding the entrance. And also the two enemies, the Wind Lord and the Thunder Lord.

"F-Father…?"

But what was more important was the word that Iifu had just said. I rubbed my eyes and took a closer look at the red hooded giant.
The face behind the bandana that he just threw off was—

My dad. The Emperor.