‘Cloud..’

Neria was moved to tears on seeing the face of her childhood friend she had not seen in a really long time. She wanted to run up to him right away and greet him, saying hello.

But she didn’t deserve it, she didn’t have the strength in her.

All she was allowed to do was to look at him from far away.

– Look, look!

As he walked in, the nobles began to murmur among themselves.

– Who is that person? Really handsome..

– Which family is he from? Shall we speak with him after a while?

Some of the young aristocratic girls who were attending the Imperial Social Banquet for the first time spoke admiringly about his appearance.

But most of the nobles put him down.

– Well, isn’t it the Incompetent Hero? He has been hiding for months, did he finally decide to come out?

– The Incompetent Hero? Why is he called that?

– You don’t know? Though he’s all slick and shiny on the outside, but from inside—weak, weak to the core. Even though he’s a Hero.. um, maybe he is even weaker than the newly recruited knight in my house?

– Well, maybe. But anyway, he’s a Hero.

– Really? Heh, it doesn’t matter how high the name goes, but the lower blood will always be of those lower runks.

– Of lower bloodline.. I..see.

Some even openly raised their voices as if to make other’s listen.

Cloud didn’t care about them and their gossips.

He just looked around once.

He didn’t see the one he was looking for.

‘Looks like she hasn’t arrived yet.’

He let out a small sigh and sat down in a suitable place. After he got a drink from the waiter, he ordered the dishes and started dinning elegantly.

Gis looked at him and grinned.

“Man, our hero is eating alone. He must be lonely. Well then, I will be the one accompanying him.”

Gis ambled towards Cloud with a smile on his face and sat down next to him. He patted him on the shoulder and said something.

Watching this, Lorian smiled.

Gis’ behaviors are like childish pranks, but it’s different if the person being targeted is Cloud.

For Lorian, the scene where Cloud and Frillite were shoulder to shoulder was still present in his eyes.

‘She’s not a person that likes of you can touch with those lowly hands.’

It would be really nice to make you come to your senses properly at this point.

While was Lorian thinking so.

Quang-! Clink-! Clink-!

Gis’ face was planted onto the table.

The plates on the table broke and fell down, making a clattering noise.

Cloud raised his left hand, which grabbed onto Gis’s hair.

The dull-witted expression of Gis who could not understand the situation was engraved into the eyes of the nobles.

Quang-!

His face was once again planted onto the table.

Silence fell over the place, all over this Imperial Social Banquet.

* * *

Gis’ actions were no different from usual. He approached Cloud with a lighthearted attitude and mocked him. He draped his shoulders, disturbed his meal, and undermined his dignity.

If it was the usual ‘accommodating’ Cloud.

– Haha, first tell me kiddo, you did the things I asked you to do the last time? Or, do you want to show off what an unruly orphan like you has become, punk?

He would have accepted it as a fun game in a jovial tone. Because that would be more fun.

However, for some not so good reason, Cloud was not feeling very well right now.

Cloud grabbed onto the back of Gis’ head with his left hand and slammed it down on the table.

Quang-! Clink-! Clink-!

—followed by a loud noise.

Because of which, Gis could not understand the current situation for a still second.

Cloud lifted his head.

Everyone’s figure who was attending the Imperial Social Banquet came back into Gis’ sight.

Astonishment, surprise, bewilderment.

The nobles were looking at him with such emotions.

Quang-!

It wasn’t until the second time his face was planted onto the table that Gis understood the present situation.

Heat ran all the way up to his head.

‘T-This trash?!’

He didn’t know what this p**sy bastard was thinking, but he knew that he was going to make him regret it.

Gis grabbed Cloud’s wrist, which was pressing down on his head.

He tried to throw it off..

‘What kind of power is this..!?’

He couldn’t even shake it.

Ogre’s Glyph.

Cloud using it had a higher strength stat than Gis. Although it wasn’t a huge difference, it was enough for Cloud to subdue Gis.

‘What the hell is happening..!’

Gis groaned inwardly and swung his hand towards Cloud’s throat.

He couldn’t fantom what means this loser bastard used to make himself stronger, but one’s vital points are unavoidable to not be defended. If Cloud’s throat was caught, and he stumbled, he was going to get out of this.

‘Take a taste of hell, b!tch.’

Don’t think it’ll end up as easily as last time.

However, his vow couldn’t come true.

The moment he saw Gis’ right hand move, Cloud lifted his hand from Gis’ head and pulled his body back.

Gis’ hand cleaved through the empty air.

Before his hand could retrieve itself back, Cloud grabbed Gis’ neck with his right hand. Without giving him a chance, using the power of his whole body, he whanged Gis’ body on the floor.

Crrrak!!!

A different level of impact from when Gis was thrown on the table resounded in the whole surrounding.

“Kuh..!”

The impact Gis’ body suffered was also different from when he was thrown on the table. He felt jolted all around, but it felt the worst in his head.

Mild concussions.

Gis couldn’t stand up straight, and that moment was enough for Cloud to get on top of him.

He smacked Gis’ stomach, followed by his buttocks.

He interlocked Gis’ elbows along with his knees.

Leaving no room for resistance.

In terms of the beast world, he bit on the neck of the prey.

The game was already over.

If it were someone else.

Gis is also a beast, the one you can consider as a viper.

Even if you bite his neck, his spleen will remain. Gis rolled his tongue and pulled out the saliva he had hidden in his gums.

It was not just saliva.

But, Cockatrice poison with dried saliva.

Cockatrice’s poison is so poisonous that it is only used on enemies one dearly wishes to kill.

Therefore, it is a poison that should never be used against another Hero, but the current Gis did not care about that.

There was only one thought in his mind, to bite, chew and defeat the person in front of him.

He waited for the timing.

And the moment Cloud was about to slam his fist..

– Spit!

He spitted on the face. Cloud’s face turned back.

‘Done. Bastard, now slowly go to hell.’

Gis’ face rose for a smile.

He soon succumbed to embarrassment.

The saliva he had spit was sandwiched between Cloud’s closed teeth as Cloud looked at him with his head lowered.

If Gis was a poisonous Salmusa [1], Cloud at this moment was a Honey Badger [2].

– Spit.

Cloud’s spit bounced off the marble floor. Gis looked at the saliva that was thrown out with empty eyes, while Cloud continued with moving his fist.

What followed was unilateral violence by the strong.

The people at the Imperial Social Banquet, all looked at each other, totally overwhelmed by the sight.

Cloud bashing Gis.

It was something no one could have ever imagined. The realism never came.

Meanwhile, Neria came back to her senses.

‘Oh, no..!’

She undoubtedly felt good for Cloud as he thrashed Gis.

But, Cloud has no political foundation. There may be Gis’ own fault in this, but the most important thing right now is that there are too many eyes as witness.

Even those who saw it are, at least, high-ranking nobles of the Empire, those who normally considered Cloud to be an unworthy Hero.

What kind of aftermath will come to him when this situation gets over..

Neria came up with a terrible thought and ran up to Cloud.

“Cloud, I know that you’re angry, but calm down. Please?”

Cloud didn’t stop despite her earnest tone.

“Cloud! Please, calm down!”

Neria grabbed Cloud’s arm and tried to pry him away from Gis. But his body didn’t move. Not knowing what to do, Neria felt her emotions floating in turmoil, as if she was gonna cry.

“What kind of fuss is this!!”

Cloud’s fist halted still at the loud shout that came from the entrance of the hall.

A figure came striding in, tearing through the crowd of nobles who were watching the fight.

“It’s Gis again, you... Cloud..?”

The one who just shouted was none other than Frillite.

Seeing her, Cloud looked at her and greeted her with a calm smile.

“It’s been a while, Frillite.”

[1] Mamushi, also known as Salmusa, is a venomous pit viper species found in Japan.

[2] As fearless predators,?honey badgers won’t hesitate to take down scorpions or venomous snakes for dinner. Even a bite or sting from its prey, such as the highly venomous Cape cobra (Naja nivea), can only temporarily knock out a honey badger.