Chapter 328: Throwing Weight Around.

Chapter 328: Throwing Weight Around.

‘I gave a nice speech but now I need to actually do it...’

Not much time had passed since the knights invaded his home. First, it was thieves or bandits, then it was a murderous Lich and finally, he upgraded to the scariest of enemies, the nobles. All of them chose to attack his home where he just wanted to be left alone. If it wasn’t for all those people then he would have no use pursuing power.

Roland never really was the adventurous type nor did he want fame or glory. Having a place to call home with a small number of friends was what he was pursuing. He never understood people that pushed for multiple friendships or relationships with many partners. To him there was something lost during such a pursuit, there was also no time in the day to foster that many bonds.

This was why his anger was reaching the zenith. Almost everyone from his limited friend group had been attacked by the armored men. Their leader was still in the city and probably at Arthur’s estate forcing him to sign over the rights to the dungeon. This was something that he had already expected and had prepared for. However, he had not expected something like an attack on his home to transpire.

What should have happened was a transfer of ownership to another brother with Arthur remaining a figurehead. His life was not supposed to change much and while this was happening he would use this time to really build himself up. The armor that he was putting on was still the old model as he had no time to innovate. His ascension to tier 3 had been short-lived as not even a week had passed since that day.

‘It probably won’t be as easy as with those tier 2 knights...’

After the whole predicament with Agni was over he had taken out his rage on the remaining knights. Some of them had made it out alive and he had no intention of chasing them down. They were left alive for a reason, to send a message to their leader about what they did. If he eradicated them with no survivors then the other party could claim that it was without just cause. He wanted to have people see them running through the streets to Arthur’s estate while he got mentally prepared for what he was about to do.

‘I don’t know Emmerson well enough to form a strategy but I don’t think he will run from the duel.’

Roland had made up his mind of becoming a head knight. The only real requirement was to be at an advanced level past the tier 3 ascension trial. There were no class limitations in becoming a noble's Knight, even a battle mage could do it if the noble gave them the title.

‘I don’t think Arthur will refuse either...’

This was all of course a scam. He did not get knighted nor did he swear his fealty to the young noble. Luckily such things weren’t forced on paper so if Arthur followed his lead, everything would work out. It was the only part of his plan that was really shaky as it was possible for Arthur to reject his proposal. If such a thing occurred then he would need to go ahead with his backup plan and reveal his last name. By being a son of a Baron he had similar rights to his own possessions and still had a justifiable cause for killing the men.

‘They could have waited a few weeks...’

After setting his helmet onto his head he looked to the side. There he saw a small coin-sized piece of metal. It was quite shiny and looked to be made from a crimson substance. It was a piece of red mythril that he had processed from the ores he took from the dungeon. This would be the basis for his new armor in the future but making it wasn’t easy. Without his new Forgefire Control skill it would have burned a hole in his current smelter.

Fitting runes into the metal wasn’t easy either and required a lot of force. Then there was the problem of developing a whole new runic system of spells. He needed to base everything on tier 3 rune designs that he wasn’t totally an expert in. There were so many new spells and effects that he needed to practice with. Having a few months for all the trials would have been truly a blessing.

Now on the other hand he needed to quickly get rid of Emmerson and start preparing. This was probably only the start of it all, even after this knight commander was gone others would quickly show up. What he needed to do now, was to show that he couldn’t be easily defeated.

‘I can’t let anyone think that I’m an easy target or there will never be an end to it. They say that first impressions matter the most for a reason...’

Finally, he grasped a shield from the side along with his hammer staff. None of the golems would be joining him in this fight as they needed to guard his home once more. With the help of his skill, he managed to restore them to a functional state but they lost a quarter of their original fighting potential. The skills to repair everything through magic weren’t perfect and with too many uses all of his runic products would eventually break down.

“Are you really going to fight their commander?”

“Yes.”

After marching out of his underground workshop he encountered Elodia. She was tending to the sleeping Agni that had not woken up. The procedure he went through where he was blasted with divine energy and then electricity wasn’t something normal. Roland didn’t really know how long he would remain like this but the more he looked at him, the more angered he became.

“Is there really no other way? What if something happens to you? That commander can’t be weak and you’ve just advanced...”

“Perhaps there is... perhaps he’d even apologize to me and give me some gold as an apology... but sometimes there are actions that are inexcusable.”

“I see that you have made up your mind already but... why are you wearing that?”

“Oh, you mean this? Well, I’m playing the role of a Valerian Knight so I needed to look like one...”

Roland had taken one of the Valerian banners that he had stashed away in his workshop and attached it to his neck. It didn’t look too great as he didn’t have enough time to figure out the right dimension or the correct way to attach it to his armor. Luckily Elodia was here and noticed that it wasn’t really positioned well.

“Give me a moment, you can’t really show yourself to the public like this.”

“He must be lying why would a Commander from the Valerian order be here?”

The knight that remained at the entrance gate was almost foaming at his mouth. The soldiers that were here were composed of people from the city. It seemed that all the other knights from Theodore’s side were busy somewhere else. He could do nothing more than to rely on the manpower that was given to him but it wasn’t working. Even less after Roland activated the skill that he learned during his tier 3 trial.

“I said, MOVE!”

The armor that he was wearing started glowing and showing off various runes that were inscribed onto the metal. A suppressive wave of energy washed over the entire area causing people's knees to buckle. It was his Runic Suppression skill that informed everyone about his tier 3 status. No one that was gathered here could resist the pressure that was coming from his armored form and soon the situation shifted.

“W-welcome Sir. Knight Commander!!”

“M-make way for the Commander!”

Some of the guards had probably figured out who was under the armor but they could not be sure. Sometimes rumors about Roland being something more than a runesmith circulated throughout the city. After the Lich was defeated some even believed that he had killed it himself. With this information and the knight covered in runes, they could only move. It did look like this man belonged to the Valerian household so there was nothing that they could do.

No one could say anything, they just watched him strut through the area with everyone moving to the sides. It was a strange feeling for Roland, it was as if he had finally gained the recognition that he was owed. Perhaps some people would be ecstatic to be given this treatment but he wasn’t. Putting himself in the spotlight wasn’t something that he enjoyed after this day was over he would probably need to get used to this type of treatment.

“I–is he gone?”

“W-who was that? I thought I’d suffocate...”

“Is that what a tier 3 person feels like?”

“I thought I would die...”

“Could that have been Wayland the Runesmith? The armor looked familiar.”

"The Runesmith? You must be joking, I'm sure that the Runesmith probably just made that armor."

Only after Roland had left the entrance gate and vanished behind the corner did the people gathered there dare to speak out. They were all suppressed by his new skill that didn’t discriminate between individuals. Even some high-level adventurers that were mixed into the crowd could not keep from sweating. Some of them were already running towards the adventurer guild to tell the news of the maddened knight that was stomping towards the Valerian villa.

Their conversations didn’t really go unnoticed as all of Roland’s senses were enhanced after achieving his new class. This included his hearing through which he could hear them talking from afar. He could only increase his pace while the people continued to speculate about his arrival. Soon enough his goal became clear as he was storming for Arthur’s estate where all of the other Knights were gathering.

‘Just as I expected, they won’t just let me through that easily but it doesn’t matter...’

“Hey what are you...”

“S-stop him...”

“H-how?”

When going through the main gate he encountered some of the proper Valerian knights. Some stood in his way and were even able to somewhat resist his suppressive skill. Even when they did there was no way to stop him. Even simple mana spells were enough to send them flying to the sides. All arrows, ranged attacks and magical bombs that they came equipped with could not get past his shield.

“Get out of my way.”

Finally he was there at Arthur’s Villa but he did not see the owner anywhere. It seemed that he was either inside of his home or somewhere keeping Emmerson busy. He was aware of some of his schemes but it didn’t seem that any of the platinum adventurers that he previously met had arrived. There were no other tier 3 class holders in the vicinity, only one fit the bill and was also showing up on his map.

“Knight Commander Emmerson, you’re the leader of these knights right? Come out, unless you’re too scared to face me in a proper duel.”

He shouted loudly while enhancing his voice with a runic spell. The large dot that represented his enemy was quick to react to his taunts. He wasn’t alone though, a lot of the armored men he arrived with were also here. They were quick to come out from the sides to encircle his location and probably waited for their leader to give them the order to attack. Even if it was Roland, he wasn’t sure if he could take this large group of people alone.

‘So that’s him? He looks big... might be a strength type... or a defensive one.’

Finally, he saw the man who he would be facing. He exuded a certain aura and carried himself to fit the image of a Knight Commander. The armor that he was wearing looked bulkier than the one Roland came equipped with. The sword on his right side was also quite thick and the shield on the left would not be easily broken.

However, this did not stop Roland from taking a few steps forward, this man had to go down. The way he carried himself spoke more than words. It was certain that this man had gone through his share of hardships and managed to come out on top. It didn't seem that he was that ratted by this forced encounter or the duel either. Roland didn't show any fear either, instead, he activated his analyzing skill to see if perhaps he could gain some data about his new opponent.

'Level Two hundred fifteen, This might not be as easy as I assumed.'