A Dragonslayer’s Peerless Regression – 68



Episode 68

Draker Martial Arts Tournament.

It literally meant a fighting tournament hosted by the Draker family.

However that does not mean that only those belonging to the Draker family could participate.

Any young knight who had been promoted to Purple Knight for less than five years could participate.

In fact it could be said that it was a match to select the next generation of rookies who will lead the continent.

Zeke nodded after hearing Gaju’s words.

“All right.”

The head of the household looked at Zig and asked.

“Are you saying you will win?”

“yes.”

It was a short answer but Arthur could feel Zeke’s will contained within it.

He said with a snicker.

“Good. I hope I can award you the winner’s medal on the last day of the competition.”

Zeke nodded.

Arthur stood up with a satisfied expression on his face.

“And I prepared your graduation gift.”

He came carrying a box from the desk.

“Open it and see.”

Zeke opened the box Arthur had prepared.

His eyes widened as he checked the contents.

‘What is this…?’

Inside the box were a metal plate and documents.

Zeke was surprised to see the metal plate.

This is because it was none other than a loss of rights to the territory.

Zeke asked in surprise.

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“Are you saying that you will give me the land?”

Arthur nodded.

“Yes. I have decided to give you the northern territory of the Duchy of Troy which you have taken control of this time.”

‘A gift for graduation Youngji.’

Even if one were to be knighted it was a different matter from obtaining a fief.

Even the smallest fief could be used by a knight who owned it as a title of ‘lord’.

In effect he was given a title of nobility.

Even if you are a knight of the Draker family you must be a high-ranking knight to receive a fief.

It was quite a groundbreaking thing to give territory to Zeke who had just become a full-fledged knight.

Zeke thanked Arthur.

“I will do my best to live up to your expectations.”

“A manager will come to you soon to take care of the estate management so ask him for more details. In fact professional managers will take care of the management so you don’t have to worry too much.”

“Thank you for your consideration my lord.”

Zeke finally left the head office carrying the oriental tea that Arthur had prepared for him.

‘I never thought I would become a lord at this age.’

Indeed Draker was Draker.

As he was leaving the summer castle feeling a little dazed someone approached Zeke.

“You busy disciple.”

Duke looked a bit tired.

“Master what are you doing here?”

Then the Duke groaned.

“Ugh. I came to Atlas to rest comfortably next to you but Arthur caught me and I’m just doing my work for nothing.”

“Isn’t the teacher retired?”

“I retired as a knight but my position as a Draker was still alive and I was caught.”

“You’ve been working for 10 years so you can work a little.”

“Look at what he’s saying. Who would call Arthur his son? Okay let’s go home quickly before the leeches catch us.”

Duke took Zeke and hurried back to the mansion.

As soon as he arrived he took off his boots and uniform and lay down on the sofa.

“Whew now I feel like I can live. Home is the best.”

“This is my home.”

“What belongs to the student also belongs to the teacher you rascal.”

The Duke said sipping the liquor his servant had brought him.

“So why did Arthur call you? I heard it was to congratulate you on your graduation but I don’t think he really called you just to congratulate you.”

“I received a graduation gift.”

“Graduation gift? Well he’s good at giving gifts. Sometimes when I see him I get confused as to whether he’s a journalist or a politician.”

The Duke asked pouring wine into his glass.

“So what did you give them? Usually they give them swords or armor or something like that.”

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“I have received the spirit.”

“Yeah Yeongji is good too… What? What should I take?”

“I received a fief north of the Duchy of Troy.”

The Duke was so surprised that he didn’t even notice the wine overflowing from his glass.

He barely came to his senses.

“Wow you’re already receiving a fief at your age. Arthur must be very happy. And if it’s the Duchy of Troy even in the north the taxes won’t be bad.”

“This was the area where I carried out my mission. The villagers were all nice people and the atmosphere was peaceful.”

“Isn’t that a good thing? Just having the title of knight and becoming a lord are two completely different things.”

Zeke nodded and said.

“There is one more thing.”

“You got more gifts?”

“No. I guess you could call it a mission. I was told to participate in the Draker Martial Arts Tournament and win.”

Duke’s face darkened as he heard Zeke’s words.

“It’s the Draker Martial Arts Tournament.”

As the Duke poured his glass in silence Zeke asked.

“Why is that Master? Is the level of the martial arts competition that high?”

Then the Duke shook his head.

“No. Judging by your skills alone Zeke it won’t be difficult for you to win.”

“But why do you have such a bad expression?”

“If it’s a competition based solely on skill then there’s no problem at all.”

The Duke said putting down his glass.

“Have you ever seen a Drake wrestling tournament Zeke?”

“I heard that it is a competition held once every five years. I have never had a chance to watch it because I have been so focused on my studies and advancement from the cradle to the Academy Valhalla.”

The Duke nodded.

“Then you might not know. The Zeke Draker Martial Arts Tournament is not just a simple martial arts tournament.”

“What do you mean a martial arts competition isn’t a martial arts competition?”

The Duke said with a serious expression.

“It is a battlefield of families disguised as martial arts tournaments.”

Zeke looked puzzled at Duke’s words.

“Are you saying there is corruption in the martial arts competition?”

“The very concept of corruption is not accepted. Any power that can be mobilized is permitted. Even that is included in determining the winner.”

“oh my god.”

Zeke was troubled after learning the truth about the Draker Martial Arts Tournament.

At first I thought I could just somehow win but if Duke made that kind of expression it didn’t seem like it would be that easy.

‘It wasn’t just the head of the household ordering it.’

Then the Duke said to Zeke.

“Zeke let me get straight to the point. Without a sponsoring family it would be difficult to properly compete in a martial arts tournament.”

When the story of the sponsoring family came up Zeke’s expression also darkened.

It also made no sense that Drake had achieved such success without a sponsoring family.

Zeke asked Duke.

“Isn’t it enough with just the Master’s connections?”

The Duke shook his head.

“Even if I can somehow handle the practical aspects the political aspects of the martial arts tournament are beyond my reach. After all I have been away from my family for a long time.”

The implication was that there had to be a sponsoring family somehow.

To begin with Duke also started out as a commoner and rose to the rank of Black Knight thus creating the Draker legend of dirt spoons so he was far from being a patron of the family.

Zig’s head started to spin as problems arose in unexpected places.

‘This is something I’m really weak at.’

In my previous life I was used to rolling around and fighting but I had no affinity for politics.

The Duke said gulping down his drink.

“I’ll look up some of the families I know so let’s take a look. There’s still some time left until the martial arts competition.”

Zeke nodded.

He went into his room to rest for a while and then tried to practice again.

But as I entered the room someone came into the room.

“Decker?”

Decker the attendant approached Zeke.

“Your Majesty I have something to tell you.”

When Decker suddenly appeared and made a serious expression Zeke was taken aback but decided to listen to him first.

“Yeah. What’s going on?”

“I heard you talking to Duke earlier. I heard you’re going to the Draker Martial Arts Tournament.”

Zeke nodded.

“That’s right. But the Master said that it would be difficult without a sponsoring family.”

After thinking about what Zeke said for a moment Decker said to Zeke.

“Your Majesty please take a look at this.”

Decker suddenly drew his sword.

Woohoo!

A sharp aura blade was created from his sword.

Zeke knew that Decker was a Blue Knight but he pretended not to know.

“De Decker. Was it the Blue Knight?”

Then Decker said

“I know you already noticed.”

Zeke looked embarrassed at Decker’s words.

‘Anyway you’re quick-witted.’

Decker bowed his head to Zeke.

“Thank you my lord for believing in me without doubt even though you knew I was a Blue Knight.”

Zeke was slightly stung by Decker’s words.

This was because I had a slight suspicion that he might be a spy sent by one of my direct brothers on the other side.

Decker opened his mouth slowly.

“Actually I was a knight belonging to Draker.”

‘As expected. He wasn’t just an ordinary servant.’

“Why are you suddenly saying this Decker?”

“It is to bring up the story of your maternal grandmother.”

Zeke frowned at Decker’s words.

‘Mother.’

Zeke had little memory of his mother.

Because he died as soon as he was born.

As a child he was raised by his nanny and at the age of seven he was immediately placed in a cradle and spent his childhood training with other Draker blood relatives.

There was no way that a person like Zig would have any memories of his mother.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever brought up the subject of my mother. When I was little no matter how much I whined to my nanny it was no use. Besides that no one ever talked to me about my mother.”

Then Decker said

“I was the knight who protected my lady.”

“You were your mother’s bodyguard?”

“Yes. It was a mission I received after becoming Drake’s senior knight.”

Zeke was surprised to hear that Decker was Drake’s senior knight.

I didn’t think he was of average skill but I never thought he would be given the rank of a high-ranking knight.

Decker continued speaking slowly.

“There is a reason I never brought up the subject of Madame within Draker.”

“What is the reason?”

“It’s because of your family.”

“Your mother’s family? Wasn’t your mother a commoner?”

Decker shook his head.

“Your Majesty’s house… was once the most powerful of the Draker bloodlines. Even more so than the Thurns or Siemens now.”

Zeke was surprised by those words.

“But why doesn’t anyone remember now? No it’s more like no one wants to talk about it.”

“That’s because bad rumors have spread about that family.”

“What? A bad rumor? Just because of something like that?”

Zeke was dumbfounded.

I couldn’t understand how such a huge family could be wiped out because of just one bad rumor.

But Decker said with a serious expression.

“To be exact I was afraid. I avoided them saying they were a cursed family.”

“A curse?”

Curses definitely existed.

Even the Scorpion Clan we encountered in the south use curse magic to kill and harass people.

But the curse Decker was talking about wasn’t that kind of thing.

“What kind of curse is this?”

“The children of the family are dead.”

“The kids?”

Decker nodded with a serious expression.

“Yes. Pregnant women gave birth to stillborn babies and the babies died before they were five years old.”

“Without exception everyone?”

“Only the mother of the young master Madam survived and grew up.”

Zeke made a dumbfounded expression.

‘They were afraid because of the curse… Well it was worse when they were in the North. The people there are particularly weak to superstitions.’

Sometimes these superstitions were more powerful than the magic of the black magician.

It starts out as simple curiosity but as strange things start to happen people start to question.

Doubts turn into fears over time.

Then Zeke looked at Decker and said.

“Decker are you telling me to make that cursed family my patron family?”

Decker nodded.

“Once upon a time it was the most powerful family in the central region. And you Young Master are qualified to be the sole successor to that family.”

“Hmm.”

The most powerful of the Draker bloodlines but now forgotten by anyone.

It was a perfect place for a djink who only needed to take the name of the patronage family.

Zeke asked Decker.

“So what is your mother’s family name?”

Decker opened his mouth slowly.

“The name of that family.”

He spoke in a clear voice.

“This is the house of Agamemnon.”