Roaring Heroes Battle the Overlord (Ainz)

Chapter 93: Advice

"What do you want to discuss?" Barrett's senses heightened. From his past experience, whenever old Tony showed up unannounced, it was never with money—only with trouble, often bringing danger to his life.

Old Tony paused for a moment, then got straight to the point. "The Warrior Captain tournament is reaching its climax, and they're about to select the finalists. There's a powerful contestant from the second prince's faction named Schroeve Dahlsen. His strength has been unnaturally boosted, and we couldn't stop him. I'm worried that Brain won't be able to defeat him."

"You need to have faith in Brain. Isn't he the strongest swordsman in the Re-Estize?" Barrett said, puzzled. "Besides, what does this have to do with me? I'm not even participating in the Warrior Captain selection, so don't drag me into this."

Old Tony pulled out a piece of parchment from his pocket and unfolded it. "I'm not trying to drag you in. I just want to ask you to replace an adventurer and face Schroeve Dahlsen in a duel."

"Don't joke around." Barrett flatly refused. "I saw Schroeve's winning streak at the casino—he's a killer who's won dozens of matches. Anyone who duels him either ends up dead or crippled, and you say you don't want to drag me into this?"

Old Tony chuckled awkwardly. "Didn't you once take down an ancient frost dragon? Since you can do what ordinary folks can't, I thought I'd come to you."

"That dragon was a moron; its brain had been smashed long ago," Barrett snapped. "I just got lucky and took advantage of it.

"And I've never participated in the Warrior Captain selection. My rank is zero—how could I possibly face Schroeve? Don't tell me about impersonation or anything like that; as the tournament progresses, the rules get stricter. The Re-Estize's bureaucrats might be foolish, but they're not blind—they'll definitely catch on."

Old Tony was confident. "As long as you're willing to fight, there's a way. There's a rule in the tournament called the 'challenge system.' Anyone can challenge a contestant, and that contestant has the right to accept or refuse. If they accept, they can duel. If the challenger wins, they take the contestant's rank and spot."

Barrett understood Old Tony's scheme. They could arrange for an adventurer to pretend to duel him and deliberately lose, allowing Barrett to step onto the arena and face Schroeve.

"I'm not getting into this mess. Schroeve Dahlsen's real name is Slam Daguerre, right? A mercenary known as the 'Lord of Death.'" Barrett asked; he had heard of Schroeve's reputation from Wind Blade Yaso.

"Exactly. He's been hired by the Re-Estize's nobles to compete," Old Tony nodded. "You might have heard about his notorious assassin brother in Baharuth, but I heard he was recently killed by someone."

Barrett thought to himself that he had a hand in that brother's death too. Better to avoid trouble; he had no intention of provoking someone like Schroeve.

"Are you really going to refuse?" Old Tony looked a bit disappointed. "For the medical fund, our companions have sacrificed too much. Five adventurers died in the qualifying duels, and several others were injured or disabled.

"If we can defeat Slam, Brain will definitely be elected the Warrior Captain, and the Adventurer's Guild's contract with Princess Renner will come into effect. Don't you want official support from the Re-Estize when you get injured in the future?"

"Old Tony," Barrett said, turning the tables and staring him down, "you've gotten in too deep. Have you forgotten the adventurer's code? Adventurers aren't mercenaries. Mercenaries kill people; adventurers slay monsters. The power struggles of nobles and royals are not our concern."