This Bastard is Too Competent

Chapter 103: The First To Go

Chapter 103: The First To Go

First come, first served? 

The people behind the suspicious act of brainwashing the Bahara soldiers were instantly fired up. 

“Get out of my way! I-I’m first!” 

“Don’t make me laugh! You get out of my way!” 

They came rushing toward Ian to kneel first. 

But it didn’t go their way. 

It was because the knights who were keeping watch at the side kicked their legs on Ian’s signal. 

Puck! 

“Aaargh!”

The first one to run rolled on the floor. 

The others paused at the sight. 

“Wh-why are you doing this! You clearly said first-come, first-served…”

They did not understand why the knights were getting in their way. No, they instead turned to look at Ian, who had given the order.

Ian smiled.

“I did say that. But I have no intention of accepting someone who is not helpful.”

“!?” 

“I will take that back if you give me helpful information, though.”

They glanced at each other for a moment. 

But Ian didn’t wait for them. 

“I’m bored waiting. Soldier, just kill them all!” 

“Yes, Your Highness!”

“N, no! Please wait!”

Ian’s words changed the situation. 

Everyone opened their mouths to show they should be helpful to each other. Thanks to that, Ian was able to dig out quite a bit of information.

According to them, the national evacuation order had currently been issued in Balrog.

The capital was empty and various traps were being set up. 

In other words, Kaistein’s troops could have been massacred in an instant if they marched as they were.

‘I don’t understand why the evacuation order was issued, but…’

In any case, it was clear that the current Balrog was no different from a lion’s den. 

Then Nathan asked. 

“What will you do?”

“Hmm…”

“It’s hard to pick a specific person who helped us the most.”

“Then I’ll have to kill them all. Ah! Save the person who opened his mouth first. I have another thing to ask.”

“!?” 

Ian and Nathan’s conversation utterly froze them. They had never imagined that he would really kill them. 

But there was no more information left to tell. 

Things and tools needed for brainwashing, their missions, and the situation in the capital—they had spilled out everything. 

In the end, all but one person fell at the hands of the soldiers.  

“Sa, save me!”

“I told you everything!”

A sword hung over their heads, ready to execute those who betrayed the people of their country right in front of Bahara’s soldiers.

Slash!

Those who betrayed the country were beheaded one by one.

Now there was only one left.

Promised to keep him alive, Ian was about to ask about the king of the Balrog he didn’t know about.

It was then. 

“Your Highness! We have a situation!”

The soldier in charge of contact came running with an urgent look on his face. Then he delivered a pressing message to Ian. 

“It’s the First Princess, no, the supreme commander’s call for rescue! It’s an emergency!”

“What?”

“Currently, more than half of the First Legion are down, and their defense is barely holding on!”

“!” 

Ian was greatly taken by surprise. 

What kind of people were the First Legion of the First Princess? It was a force built by nobles of powerful authority with all their might. The soldiers and supplies were close to perfect.

And now, more than half of those people were defeated?

“Speak clearly. Tell me what is going on!”

“I, I didn’t listen closely to that. It’s just that the supreme commander stated that…”

The soldier whispered into Ian’s ear. 

“She will hand over her merits. She only asked to please come help her.”

“!” 

Ian doubted his ears. 

She was none other than his sister who wanted to become a king more than anyone else. She was also the one who planned and proceeded with the Northern Expedition. That kind of person was willing to give up on merit? 

‘Could it be that the situation is that dire?’

To the point that she cared more about her life than her own merits? 

She even contacted him, whom she hated, to ask for help.

It must be that dire a situation. 

It was then. 

Beep—

A sound was heard from Ian’s pocket. No, it wasn’t from him only. 

Beep— Beep—

All the knights’ pockets began to beep in succession.

It’s a receiver that was distributed to the main fighting powers in advance before the war began. It had only one use. 

Fiosen shouted in a fluster.

“This is a request for help! The First Princess has sent a request for help to the entire army!”

Now, everyone’s face tensed up. 

This receiver couldn’t be used as a prank. It was an item that should never be used unless it was a desperate moment. Thus, this could only mean that the situation must be undeniably serious. 

Ian’s face stiffened. 

“Hurry up and deal with that. And we must depart at once.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

It was then. 

The last surviving prisoner of war screamed. 

“I, I know what’s going on!”

He shouted in a strong voice as if to appeal to Ian that he was useful. 

Ian walked toward him. 

Thud thud.

Ian asked in a cold voice.

“Speak.”

“Th, that’s…”

Under his chilling stare, the prisoner finally opened his mouth with a trembling voice. 

Ian’s gaze sharpened at his words. 

“They are monsters that Arak, the current king, brought from outside?”

They were the ones who brutally slaughtered the royal guards and soldiers.

Those monsters tore them alive, killed them, and ate them.

“Th, they were monsters that couldn’t be harmed with either a sword or a spear. Even the Great Warriors fell under their onslaught.”

“Hmm….”

They were different from the brainwashed soldiers. 

They were monsters from birth. 

“I, I know their weaknesses, though. Of course, I saw it from the side.”

He began to recount what he saw. 

But then, Ian tilted his head. 

“But how do you know all that?”

“That, that, that…”

The prisoner stuttered. 

But it was strange no matter how much Ian thought about it. It was too vivid and detailed as if he witnessed it in person.  

Then Chief Antum stepped in. 

“Come to think of it, aren’t you the right hand of the previous His Majesty? Everyone else is dead. How come you survive?”

“Th-th-that’s…”

“Don’t tell me you… betray His Majesty? Was it not enough for you that you dare run that slick tongue again this time?!”

“It, it’s a misunderstanding! I just want to live…”

Ian grasped the situation right away. 

In a word, this man betrayed the king and leaked the information on the next succession to the throne to Arak. Not stopping at that, he even brainwashed the soldiers and one of the five chieftains.

He was the kind of person Ian hated the most. 

Ian pointed his finger down at the soldier. 

“Execute him. Not only did he betray his king, he also betrayed his people. We don’t need trash that even betrays his new master.”

And thus fell the merciless order. 

The soldier in charge of the execution did not waste a second. As if sympathizing with the Bahara soldiers, he struck down the sword violently. 

The traitor hurriedly shouted. 

“Wa, wait a mi—!”

Slash! 

But his scream was in vain. 

Ian never intended to let him off the hook no matter how much he screamed. 

The chieftains raised their voices in shock at the sight. 

“He must have more information to dig up.” 

“If he is in that position, he obviously would know more…”

But Ian remained unmoved. 

“People who have betrayed once will betray again. Rather, I will see with my own eyes and judge for myself.”

The chieftains bowed their heads at his words. It was a sign that they would follow Ian’s wish. 

Right at that moment. 

Woong! 

Faith hummed once again.  

It kept making feisty hums as if bugging him to get rid of them. Ian didn’t know why, but it was clear that there would be a reward for taking care of them.

Whoosh!

The First King’s cloak was also sending him signals. 

But that wasn’t the reason Ian wanted to get rid of them.

‘Somehow, my heart is telling me I have to defeat them here.’

That physiological repulsion was also one other reason. 

He wanted to wash this sickening feeling he got from those black eyes clean. 

Thus, Ian climbed on Blue Emperor and shouted. 

“All troops, march!”

For some reason, something didn’t feel right. 

***

“What? Request for help?”

The Fourth Prince beamed upon hearing the messenger’s words. 

He couldn’t stop himself from having such a reaction. 

‘This is an opportunity. An opportunity to take all of my sister’s merits!’

The First Princess was the supreme commander of the Northern Expedition.

If he could save her and intercept her most important feat in the Northern Expedition, it would not be a dream to win first place in the competition.

‘I still haven’t been able to make a single merit. This is a godsend.’

He didn’t even have time to use his specially prepared weapons. He had no chance because, for some reason, the enemy locked themselves up and would not come out. 

The fight was dragged out, and he tried to achieve merit in any way but only to suffer damage. 

Naturally, he welcomed the request for help with open arms. 

The prince ordered at once. 

“Quickly reorganize your weapons! I must go to my sister—no, the supreme commander, now!”

It was quite the distance, but it didn’t matter. 

If he used a shortcut he discovered recently, he could reach there faster than anyone else.  

‘I’m the only one who’ll save her and take all the merit for myself.’

But he was not the only one who thought so. 

“Sister… asked for help?”

It’s Louis, the Third Prince. 

He was also looking at his pocket with surprise in his eyes, as were the knights. The emergency signal was still blaring nonstop. 

The knights looked amused. 

“The quality of their troops is different, so our supreme commander must really be in danger.”

“Wouldn’t it be tough to face the Bahara warriors with just a few soldiers? What should we do, Your Highness? Will you go and rescue them?”

“Hmm….”

Louis pondered for a moment. 

He had already won a great victory in the plains and was about to head to Balrog. He honestly had no desire to ignore the request for help. If he set off right away and became the first to occupy Balrog, he would achieve great merit.

However, if the commander died, he would not be able to handle the aftermath. 

Rather, there was a high possibility that his merits would fade.

“We’re going too. I should help my sister.”

“Then we’ll get ready, Prince.”

Regardless, the knights and cavalry he had were invincible.

Then the crucial thing was the fight against time.

“We have to be the first to arrive, so hurry up. That way, I can take my sister’s merits.”

That way, he could boast after helping her.  

He would have many things to ask for from the First PPrincess owing to this. And thus, each successor began to move quickly. 

But they didn’t know. 

That someone was watching them. 

***

“Pour oil on it!”

“Shoot fire arrows!”

The First Princess was fighting fiercely in the castle of Bahara. 

She had no other choice. 

It was because the monster’s attack was terribly relentless.

“Stop it! It’s breaching in!”

“Pour the oil! Don’t let it open its eyes!”

Despite the intense barrage of attacks the soldiers launched, the monster kept trying to enter the castle.

Once it was in, all hell would break loose. 

The troops were fighting with their lives on the line. 

The First Princess trembled. 

“That nasty bastard… Doesn’t it even get tired?”

“But good thing the fire worked. If it wasn’t for that, we would have been beaten long ago.”

Marquis Adelas wiped the cold sweat. He looked exhausted due to the prolonged defense. 

But as he said, it was good news that the fire worked. No, it was more like the monster’s instinctive fear, but either way, it was fortunate the monster was unable to get through the fire and break into the castle. 

If only there was one problem. 

“Your Highness, the oil is running out.”

“Then get firewood even if you have to break down the houses! We have to buy some time somehow.”

“We have already done it. There is no timber left in the castle already.”

“…” 

Even the torches to light up the dark night had all been used up. So, there was nothing left to burn, let alone wood.

Now it was time to throw away the clothes they had on.

The First Princess clenched her teeth. 

“Have you heard anything from my other siblings?”

“We received a message that they’re coming, but…”

The problem was the time it would take. No matter how close her brothers’ positions were, there was no certainty that they would come before the flames died down. 

Even Ian, whose position was closest to her, did not give a response.

The First Princess closed her eyes in dismay. 

‘Well, I would’ve done the same.’

Even if she said she would hand over all her merits, they couldn’t have believed her and come to her aid.

Even if she gave up her merits, they would keep an eye on the situation.

At that very moment. 

“Your Highness!”

The First Princess’s face turned blue at Marquis Adelas’ cry. Her face had been hard until now, but she looked particularly terrified. 

It was inevitable. 

“One more monster has already been spotted at the back door. Both our front and back are blocked!”

However, the new one was bigger and more violent than the existing one. 

The First Princess closed her eyes tightly. 

‘Is this how far I can go?’

Her brother, the Second Prince, who had been clutching her weakness, had finally disappeared. She thought that after enduring humiliation with gritted teeth, she could finally pursue her ambitions.

‘How I’ve attracted the great aristocrats and created a big faction…’ 

It was all only to end up in vain like this. 

And under such a monster at that.

Groooo! 

Boom! Boom!

The walls collapsed from the stones thrown by the monsters. Engulfed in terror, the soldiers completely lost their will to fight. 

The nobles were busy trying to save their own lives. 

The knights did not step out under the excuse of protecting her, but they were in fact hiding.

It’s really over now. 

At that moment, the First Princess let out a bitter laugh. 

‘Maybe… I should have been nicer to him. That way, at least he would have felt sorry for me.’

Right at that very moment. 

Bzzt! 

[Sister, are you there?]

A familiar voice was heard in the First Princess’s ears. 

That was the youngest, Ian. It was evident that he used the emergency communication device. But Ian’s words didn’t end there. 

[You haven’t forgotten your promise, have you? Not only your merits, but your troops will also be mine from now on.]

Before the First Princess could even reply. 

“Your Highness!”

A voice that echoed throughout the castle walls struck the First Princess’s ears. As if possessed by it, the First Princess unconsciously raised her head. 

And she could see it. 

“Th, that’s!”

Just beyond the monster’s back, right where the mountain range ended, the sun was dawning, its resplendence unmatched. No, it wasn’t just the sun.  

Tens of thousands of soldiers, knights, and blue horses were marching under the brilliant light. 

It was such a spectacle that even the First Princess was engulfed in a sense of defeat.

“It’s the Seventh Prince!”

“The reinforcements are here! We’re alive!”

It was Ian and his knights. He pulled out his sword and shouted at the top of his lungs. 

“All troops, charge! Knock down the monsters and save our allies!”

And he began to spur his horse at the helm.