This Bastard is Too Competent
Chapter 217: What Kind of Show Will You Put On?

The leader of the assassins had been dealt with, and Ian’s sword now pointed menacingly at the remaining ones.

“Well then, what will you do now?”

The assassins exchanged glances before nodding in silent agreement. Then, without hesitation, they charged at Ian.

“Kill him!”

Nathan couldn’t help but chuckle at their recklessness.

“Of course, these guys aren’t the type to be reasoned with.”

“Then handle it, Sir Nathan,” Ian ordered.

Nathan’s grin widened. This time, he had Ian’s permission to unleash his full power. Suddenly, his oath began to shimmer.

[Swift]

The fastest man in the kingdom vanished in an instant. But this time, something was different.

‘Am I really using my oath like this?’

Even he was surprised by the change. It wasn’t just about raw speed anymore. By incorporating rotation into his once-linear movements, he generated a powerful gust of wind, throwing the assassins off balance.

“Ah… Avoid him!”

“Don’t get close!”

“But we can’t even see him—aaah!”

The violent winds made it nearly impossible for the assassins to keep their footing, while Nathan’s relentless flurry of sword strikes rained down upon them. They had no means of countering this new onslaught.

This was the power Nathan had gained. It resembled what Duke Lavaltor’s Tempest must have been in its early stages.

‘This alone makes risking my life worth it.’

He realized that this newfound ability had awakened when Ian had flung him into the air. As he moved faster than ever before, a thought crystallized in his mind.

‘I must infuse speed into everything, not just my body.’

Whether it was moving, swinging his sword, or even the moment his blade struck and rebounded, every action was empowered. As a result, fierce winds swept around him like a tempest.

The assassins quickly grasped the situation.

“Don’t waste time on him! We can’t win!”

“Remember our mission. No matter what, we must kill the Seventh Prince!”

Abandoning their fight against Nathan, several assassins broke away, acting as decoys as they rushed toward Ian and the Seventh Prince. However, Ian was already prepared.

“Sir Galon.”

“Yes, my lord.”

At Ian’s command, the stoic Galon stepped forward. The assassins’ expressions stiffened at his imposing presence.

“Be careful.”

“We don’t know what kind of power he’s hiding.”

Galon stood resolute before the assassins, his Invincibility oath having undergone a transformation since fighting alongside Ian. Strengthened by his unwavering conviction, his Invincibility had evolved. The assassins gripped their weapons tightly, ready to attack.

“If you don’t move aside, you’ll die!”

“Don’t get in the way—just die already!”

They unleashed every trick they had—poisoned weapons, daggers laced with deadly toxins. But…

“I will never fall, nor will I yield.”

The moment Galon activated his oath, their attacks became meaningless. The thrown weapons rebounded back toward the assassins.

“Ugh!”

“W-Why are our own attacks coming back at us?!”

“The poison—why isn’t it spreading?!”

But that wasn’t all.

Bang!

With a crushing force, the assassins were slammed into the ground. It felt as if gravity itself had turned against them.

“M-My body won’t move…”

“What is this…?!”

This was Galon’s new power. Though he himself remained affected by the oppressive gravity, his sheer will allowed him to move freely within it.

“Those who stand in my lord’s way shall be eliminated.”

With unshakable resolve, Galon swung his sword.

“Arghhh!”

“Urgh!”

The assassins fell in an instant. Watching this, Nathan pouted.

“Hey, that’s unfair! How come you have two new abilities?”

“Well, perhaps you should serve our lord with even greater devotion,” Galon replied calmly.

“I already serve him plenty!” Nathan grumbled.

Even in the midst of danger, he remained as playful as ever.

By now, only a handful of assassins remained—the ones who had bypassed Galon and Nathan, targeting the nobles instead. Realizing they had no way out, they exchanged desperate glances.

“Damn… If it’s come to this…”

“There’s only one option left.”

Each assassin pulled out a suicide bomb.

“If we can’t kill them, we’ll die together!”

“You all will perish here!”

Ignoring the knights, they rushed toward Ian and As. But their attempt was short-lived. As if he had anticipated it, Ian spoke in a calm voice.

“Kneel.”

His gaze and expression made it clear—this was the difference between them.

Thud!

Once again, the assassins collapsed to the ground, their faces filled with confusion as they stared at Ian in disbelief.

“What is this…?”

“Is this the same ability that guy Lon had…?”

But it was different. The ground hadn’t cracked, and no crushing force weighed down on them. It was as if they had simply obeyed his command.

Yet Ian had already lost interest in the subdued assassins.

“Sir Galon, they are carrying suicide bombs. Secure them first.”

“Understood.”

With his Invincibility power, Galon swiftly confiscated the bombs. Now disarmed, the assassins were easily restrained.

Meanwhile, Ian smiled to himself.

‘I didn’t expect that to work… but it actually did?’

[You… What did you just do?!]

The helmet’s voice rang out in shock. Ian had just used a Word of Command—not on knights bound by an oath, but on ordinary people. Yet Ian remained unfazed.

‘I simply applied the command in a slightly different way.’

[What?]

‘I combined it with the power of Humility from the Seven Virtues.’

[What the—?!]

The helmet was utterly stunned. Ian possessed only a mere fragment of the power of Humility, and yet he had used it to amplify his command?

[That’s impossible! If you do that, you could lose all of Humility’s power! And if that happens, the Royal Roader’s strength could be in danger!]

‘Well… somehow, it worked.’

Ian wasn’t joking. As the power of the Royal Roader grew, the nearly extinguished Humility within him was slowly being restored—though only to a fragmentary level. By fusing this otherwise insignificant power with his Word of Command, he had managed to enhance its effect. Ian quickly analyzed the situation.

‘It’s called Humility, right? And I’m showing a bit of courtesy here. So that must mean the power of Humility inside me has strengthened.’

[…]

Of course, the helmet didn’t respond.

[‘You? Humble? I’d sooner believe that Nathan is in love with the First Princess.’]

That was how absurd the idea seemed.

Regardless, Ian’s sharp gaze swept over the disarrayed banquet hall.

“Now that the assassins have been dealt with, shall we wrap this up?”

His attention shifted from the defeated assassins to the nobles—specifically, the subordinates of Leon.

“Prince As, may I handle those men as well?”

“O-Of course! Do as you see fit!”

“Good. Then let’s end this.”

As Ian’s eyes gleamed with determination, Nathan and Galon stepped forward. The nobles, realizing their predicament, wore grim expressions.

“Oh… Lord Leon…”

Despite their feeble resistance, they were swiftly subdued.

***

Crack!

The glass in Leon’s hand suddenly cracked. His brow furrowed as he stared at the shattered pieces—he hadn’t even touched it.

‘Something is wrong.’

He could sense it—something important was being obstructed. Then—

“Lord Leon! We have a problem!”

“What is it?”

Ceres rushed into the room, his voice urgent.

“The plan to assassinate the Seventh Prince has failed.”

“What?”

“We’ve lost all contact with the assassins, and the soldiers we deployed separately are now engaged in battle at Santamo’s castle gates.”

“…”

“However, the knights and soldiers under the First Imperial Princess remain in position. Not everything is lost yet.”

Despite the reassurances, Leon’s piercing gaze remained cold. Something felt off.

“Ian… Where is he right now?”

“Well…”

Ceres hesitated before responding cautiously.

“After investigating, we discovered that the Second Princess is currently in the Garcia Duchy. It appears she has been orchestrating things from behind the scenes.”

“What?”

The room’s temperature seemed to drop instantly as Leon’s expression darkened. His voice was cold.

“I received reports that he was at the Duchy.”

“I apologize. It seems he skillfully concealed his movements. Even our spies within the royal palace were completely deceived.”

Under Leon’s piercing glare, Ceres lowered his head. Slowly, Leon reached for the hilt of his sword.

“Then… that means he’s in Santamo?”

“We haven’t confirmed that yet—”

Swish!

A sharp arc cut through the air as Leon’s sword swung.

A head fell to the floor.

Blood sprayed as the lifeless body collapsed, the severed head rolling away.

“M-My Lord…!”

Ceres flinched but soon realized—he was still alive. It wasn’t his neck that had been severed. It was the subordinate standing behind him.

Drip. Drip.

Blood trickled down Leon’s sword as he turned his cold gaze toward Ceres.

“Forgiveness is given this once.”

“I will definitely… I will find out his whereabouts.”

As Leon flicked the blood from his blade, he murmured coldly,

“Find him. And make sure to kill him.”

“Yes, my lord.”

With a hardened expression, Ceres hurriedly left the room.

***

The chaos in the banquet hall had finally settled. The assassins, along with the nobles and officials identified as traitors, had all been taken into custody. Those suspected of being Leon’s subordinates were set to be interrogated by Ian and his knights. Soon, the banquet hall would be restored to its former grandeur.

Prince As cautiously approached Ian, his voice filled with gratitude.

“I truly don’t know how to thank you…”

His expression was one of genuine emotion. It was inevitable. If not for Ian…

‘I would have died here. And history would have remembered me as the foolish prince who held a banquet in the midst of war.’

But because of Ian, everything had changed. Not only had the enemies been subdued, but corruption had also been purged from within. Even Sang, who had once been a thorn in his side, was now fully on his side.

‘Now, both Santamo and I will have the opportunity to grow even stronger.’

It wasn’t just that. The prophecy he had once dismissed as nonsense was proving to be true. As couldn’t hide his excitement.

‘The prophecy was real. He truly is the one who will guide my path.’

His eyes gleamed with admiration as he looked at Ian, who met his gaze with a calm smile.

“But it’s not over yet.”

“W-What do you mean?”

“There are still threats lurking outside. You still have enemies who seek your life, don’t you?”

“Ah! You mean my sister?”

“Exactly. And her forces should be nearby as well.”

A flicker of unease crossed As’s face. He hadn’t expected his sister, rather than the Second Prince, to be the one making a move against him. Surely, she would have targeted the weakened Second Prince instead. Yet he quickly regained his composure and asked,

“What should I do?”

“You’ll need to work with Sang to track them down. And more importantly, you will step into the forefront of the succession battle.”

“!?”

As’s eyes widened in shock. He had spent his life surviving by keeping a low profile, staying out of the ruthless power struggles of the royal family. Now, Ian was telling him to step into the spotlight? To risk his life in the battle for the throne? Instead of outright rejecting the idea, he hesitated, choosing to ask,

“Why?”

“Because we need to shift the enemy’s focus onto you.”

“Wait… you want me to act as bait?”

For a moment, As was speechless. The Second Prince and the First Princess wielded enough power to split Cantum in two. Facing such formidable enemies, acting as bait was nothing short of gambling with his life.

“That’s too dangerous—”

“No, it isn’t. They won’t come after you.”

“Huh?”

“You’re not a tempting enough target. Not yet.”

Ian had already seen through Leon’s strategy. In order to fully revive the Seven Sins, a large-scale war was necessary. However, intelligence from Sang confirmed that, so far, the conflict between the Second Prince and the First Princess had only resulted in carefully controlled skirmishes—something that could only be orchestrated by Leon.

‘That man is plotting something much bigger. I need to disrupt it.’

While Leon sought to expand the battlefield and escalate the war, Ian intended to dismantle his power base from the shadows. A smirk played on Ian’s lips.

“Alright then. Let’s restart the banquet.”

“The banquet?”

As looked confused. The main purpose of the banquet had been to lure out and eliminate their enemies in one fell swoop. Was there any reason to continue it now? Ian answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“You need to show them that you’re still standing. And we need to make it seem as if nothing happened.”

That wasn’t the only reason.

“You mentioned that there are commoners who have been waiting for this moment. Are you going to let them down now?”

“…I see your point. In that case, I’ll have the banquet resumed immediately.”

Nodding, As left to make the necessary arrangements. Meanwhile, Ian…

Of course, that’s not my only reason.

‘If the assassins and soldiers Leon had sent suddenly disappeared, yet the banquet continued as if nothing had happened…’

Leon would inevitably become suspicious. He would want to know what had transpired—enough to send his men to investigate just how As had managed such a feat. Ian had no intention of making it easy for them.

And once he dealt with them too…

‘I wonder what kind of expression Leon will make this time?’

A mischievous grin spread across Ian’s face.