Roaring Heroes Battle the Overlord (Ainz) - Part 1 (Chapters 1 to 200)

Chapter 83: Martial Arts Competition

After the ambush incident, Princess Renner's journey had to be cut short, and the accompanying team packed up and headed back home. The escort mission for the Last Defender of the Way adventure party also came to an end.

It was around 4 PM, with the sun hanging low on the horizon. At the capital's city gates, the two groups parted ways. The Royal Knights clustered around the princess as they headed toward the main palace hall, while the four adventurers who'd been trailing at the rear of the group took a different fork in the road.

What the adventurers hadn't expected was that, in the moment of farewell, a knight clad in magisteel plate armor and wearing an arched barrel helm rode out from the group and blocked their path. The knight dismounted, removed his helmet, and cradled it in his arms—it was none other than Grand Knight Wade. With a warm smile on his face, he walked straight toward Sean and Stella.

Sean and Stella couldn't help but take a step back.

Wade flexed his right hand, removed his iron gauntlet, and stowed it in his spatial ring. Facing Sean, he extended his broad palm. Sean paused in a daze, then reached out and shook his hand.

Wade looked at the young man and woman before him, and as they shook hands, he said with deep emotion, "It's all thanks to you two, or I'd have perished in that sea of flames. In that critical moment, you didn't just think about saving your own skins—you risked your lives, running back and forth through the blaze to rescue others.

"You've already got the upright qualities of a true knight! Seeing young folks like you so outstanding, I know the Re-Estize's future is bound to be full of hope!"

"Mm-hmm!" Sean and Stella nodded eagerly.

Wade then walked over to Barrett, full of apology as he said, "I used to have some prejudices against adventurers. When the assassins struck, I not only misunderstood you, but I messed up your fight too.

"Only after this whole mess did I realize that plenty of adventurers carry a sense of honor—you can't lump them all together. But honestly, that elbow strike of yours packed a punch! My jaw's still aching." Wade smiled as he rubbed his chin.

Barrett magnanimously brushed it off, saying it was no big deal, and shook hands with him, a smile on his face. The closer knights got to the royal family, the more pigheaded they were, their minds crammed with all that honor, justice, and fairness stuff, one code after another. But they were also the type of tough guys who owned up to their mistakes and stood tall even after taking a hit.

This high-and-mighty royal grand knight coming over in person to apologize was already way beyond what Barrett had expected. Some knights he'd run into before, when they knew they'd screwed up, would just send a squire to pass on the message from a distance, tossing in a small gift to show they were sorry.

Truth be told, Barrett figured that if Wade really felt guilty, it'd be more practical to just hand over a few gold coins.

The grand knight waved goodbye to the four adventurers, then turned to Sean again and said that if he ever wanted to join the Re-Estize army's archer battalion, he could come find him for a recommendation. He planted his foot in the stirrup and swung back onto his horse, hooves kicking up dust as he galloped off, rejoining the cavalry guarding the princess's carriage.

As they watched Princess Renner's royal carriage disappear into the distance, the four adventurers suddenly found themselves with nothing to do. At Barrett's suggestion, the group started wandering aimlessly through the capital's streets.

They made their way to the West District, passing through ancient high walls that carried the weight of years, when a massive circular open-air building loomed into view. It was a three-story brick-and-stone structure with walls painted a yellowish-brown, like a loop of stiff parchment planted on the ground. From the looks of it, it had to be some kind of arena, like a coliseum.