Sitting furthest in the back was a man with the pattern on his clothes was much more exuberant than the other three. He seemed to be the Chieftain.
Valeria addressed the man, saying, "Father, these are the human children I found in the forest."
As Mordred guessed since he heard her say she'd bring them to her father, Valeria seemed to be the daughter of the Superd village chief.
Mordred touched his chest. "Mordred Kingdragon. It's nice to meet you."
Next to him, Rudeus performed a trained deep and polite bow. "Rudeus Greyrat."
The Chieftain said, "Kingdragon? Are you perhaps related to the royal family of the Kingdragon Kingdom?"
"Yes. I'm one of the princes."
After hearing this, the man's expression became momentarily more dignified, but then he frowned.
Valeria said, "Father, what do you plan to do with them? Although they have seen the village, they don't know where it is. They said they teleported to our village because of a Mana Disaster that happened in the Asura Kingdom."
The elders were silent.
The Chieftain addressed Mordred and Rudeus, "Is this true?"
Mordred nodded. "Yes. We ended up here because of a Mana Calamity that happened in the Fiotta region in Asura. I can guess that we're probably not the only people randomly teleported all over the world."
"Is that how it is?... What caused this Mana Calamity?"
Mordred glanced at Rudeus, then said, "We were far from the center when it happened, at one of the villages, so we couldn't see."
The Chief went silent.
One of the elders said, "Can we trust their words?"
"They don't seem to be lying. At least, I can't imagine another way two human children could end up in our village."
"But being teleported to our hidden village out of all places, isn't it too coincidental?"
"If there was a large number of people that were teleported all over the world, like the human boy said, then perhaps not."
"And what about the dragon?" One of them looked at Albion.
Albion shuddered.
"It's my familiar that I summoned after being teleported here."
"Summoned? So you're skilled at Summoning Magic?" The chieftain looked surprised.
"Yes."
"I see. Summoning Magic is a rare craft…"
There was a brief period of silence.
"I can escort them back to their homes," Valeria proposed with an enthusiastic expression.
The chief frowned. He was about to say something but didn't in the end. After a while, he said instead, "We can decide on this later. For now, let's find them a place to stay."
Rudeus dropped his shoulders, seeming resigned to their fate.
Mordred spoke up, "I'm sorry, but I need to leave to find someone."
The chief waved his hand down. "Forget it. If you try to leave, you will become prey to the Invisible Wolves. Stay down for now."
"I can manage."
The Chief frowned.
"Father, Mordred does indeed have the ability to fight the Invisible Wolves and leave. I saw it with my own eyes. He's a human genius."
Hearing Valeria's words, the elders looked surprised.
"He can fight invisible wolves?"
The chief stayed somber. He turned to Mordred and said, "Even if that's the case, we can't let you leave now. What if you reveal the location of our village? You must know the reputation of our race. We will be hunted down."
"So do you plan to keep us here forever? Or will you kill us?" Mordred stared back at the Chieftain as he asked.
"There's no need to kill you, but… we can't allow you to leave the village."
Hearing this, Valeria sent Mordred a sympathetic look.
Rudeus frowned.
Mordred remained unmoved. That much was already to be expected. He said, "Okay, I get it. Then since you want to keep us here by force, how about we resolve it with a duel?"
Hearing this, all the Superds present became stunned.
Rudeus was also surprised.
Perhaps only Albion believed in Mordred's strength.
The Chieftain faintly smiled. "A duel? What do you mean by that?"
Mordred was silent for a while, then said, "One of you, I don't care which, will duel me. If I win, you'll allow us to leave."
"... What?"
All the people present were stunned again.
"Your Highness…" Rudeus muttered worriedly.
Mordred remained firm, his gaze locked on the Chieftain. He still needed a safe place to leave Rudeus and Albion at, and he needed to gain Valeria's trust and the trust of the Superds; showing some of his strength should solve this.
The Chief smiled and said, "That's bold of you. But what if you lose?"
"Then I'll obediently stay and contribute my life to the Superd village."
The Superds were dumbfounded. This kid was just too confident. It's as if he didn't even consider defeat!
The elders chuckled.
"Really, did humans begin to look down on our Superd race this much these days?"
"This boy really thinks he can win."
The Chieftain let out a sigh and said, "No matter how strong you are, you are but a child. If that's how you want to resolve things, then I'll be the one to duel you to get it over with. But don't worry. Since you're a child, I'll go easy on you."
"... That's interesting, coming from a Superd," Mordred said.
Hearing Mordred's words, the elders showed disappointed and depressed expressions.
With this, Mordred hoped to guide the conversation in this direction. After all, even until now the Superds had not yet tried to explain their past crimes, but without them doing this much, he didn't have a base to begin trusting them.
The Chief sighed again. "Sigh. Contrary to what you might believe, us Superds are not an evil race."
Mordred was silent as he looked at the chief.
Rudeus spoke up, "But isn't it true that your race had launched attacks on both enemies and allies during the war?"
"That…"
The Chief said, "It is true, but it was all due to Laplace's scheme. He betrayed our trust and gave us cursed spears that made us go berserk and attack anyone on sight. We were also victims. At the end of it all, we were so far gone that we attacked our own settlement and nearly wiped out all of our own people."
"What?…" Rudeus was shocked.
Mordred was silent.
The Chieftain continued, "Because of this, the reputation of the Superd race was forever stained. We were chased away from the Demon Continent and spread all over the world. We were persecuted wherever we went, at times chased by knights or the military, day after day. And so we sought a safe haven, a land where humans couldn't tread and where the Superds could live… Finally, we found this forest. It's a forest surrounded by invisible monsters, a place that humans stay away from."
The Superds all showed faces of disappointment and resignation.
The Chieftain said, "That's why I cannot allow you to leave. Even if it seems that you're trustworthy, we cannot take this risk. We are the last that remains of the Superd race."
Rudeus was silent for a while, then, "Even if it's all true… Will you really keep us here forever?"
He was anxious. Forever was too long! A couple more years and Sylphy will be of legal age already. He can't stay here forever!
After all, he worried he won't get another chance at getting a girl to like him while the Superd women here are way out of his league at a single look. The Superds' past was pitiable… But he had his own problems. He finally had an opportunity to lose his proof of being a Wizard, so why did all this have to happen to him?!
'Oh no, Sylphy…' Rudeus just realized that Sylphy might have also been swept up in the Mana Calamity and teleported to a strange dangerous place. Because of Mordred's calmness, he simply hadn't thought of that before, thinking they're special or something.
The chieftain said, "I am sorry. I would like to bring you back to your homes, but we cannot take this risk."
Mordred could imagine why – during the months long trip it was inevitable they'd figure out where Superds live. It was impractical to somehow escort them back home without them learning at least the approximate location.
"Is what you said all true?" Mordred asked while looking at the Chieftain. He then looked at Valeria.
Valeria said, "I wasn't around back then, but it's the truth. My father isn't lying to you."
The elders were silent, their faces once again showing helplessness.
Mordred said, "If it's true, then I can say this – I have no hatred for your Superd race. Even if I win the duel, I promise I won't reveal the location of your village."
The elders heard this and were once again amused. Some of them laughed.
"You're still on about that duel, child? Fine then, let's get it over with." The chief looked resigned.
…
Mordred and the rest went out of the conference hall.
"Your Highness, are you sure about this?..." Rudeus asked Mordred worriedly on the way.
Having to fight a Superd warrior was terrible enough, but fighting the Superd Chieftain of all things at 9 years old? It's like jumping past killing slimes in the starting location to challenge a dragon. Only a brokenly Overpowered Protagonist could do that.
Mordred smiled. "Don't worry. I have confidence."
"Ooh…" Rudeus still didn't know what to think. He wanted to cheer for Mordred to win, but what if they lost? He knew that Mordred was strong, but there were limits to how strong he could be at just 9 years old.
The group soon reached the village square. This attracted a lot of attention from the surrounding Superds as they began to watch the proceedings.
The chief turned to Mordred and said, "We'll duel here. If you win, I will allow you to freely leave the village. If you lose, you must resign to spending the rest of your life here."
"That's fine."
After speaking, Mordred unsheathed Ascalon.
"You're going to use a sword?" The chief looked surprised. Carrying a sword as a back-up weapon was normal, but he still thought Mordred was a summoner – a Magician.
"I'm a Magic Swordsman."
"I see. That's why Valeria called you a human genius." The Chieftain readied his spear. "Vulk Superdia. You can summon your spirits first."
"Mordred Kingdragon."
After the introduction, Mordred raised his left hand and his Magic Power stirred. A dark cloud began to form over his palm.
"Hm? A Cloud Spirit? And no Magic Circle?" Vulk showed a surprised and confused look but still didn't move.
He didn't attack. It was as if the chieftain felt that whatever Magic was thrown at him, he could deal with it. As if he wanted to show Mordred the wide gap between them, or doing anything else would not display the strength and pride of the Superd race in full.
Mordred felt relieved. Although he could win in other ways, he kept pouring his Mana into Shock.
Shock was very effective yet one of the most unlethal spells in his arsenal. If the target was fairly strong and had Battle Aura, it would only stun them through nerve paralysis and wouldn't kill them.
For this reason he called it 'Shock' instead of using Rudeus's name of 'Electric'.
Electric was a lame name anyway.
That spell cost twice as much Magic Power as a King rank Lightning, but by the time they reached the village Mordred had already recovered more than enough fuel to cast it, on top of what he already had.
"I'm attacking."
Once the dark thundercloud reached a satisfying point, he sent out his attack.
With a loud explosion, a purple electric current shot out from his palm, flying straight at the Chieftain.
Vulk wanted to defend himself with his spear, but the speed of the lightning strike was so fast he could barely budge.
"Aagghhh..."
Vulk's body shook as he was electrocuted. In the next moment, he dropped to the ground, paralyzed, his spear dropping out of his hand.
The eyes of the watching Superds went perfectly round. "What?..."
Even Rudeus opened his mouth, shocked. The Superd chieftain was down, just like that!
In front of them, Mordred shot out from his spot. Red lightning exploded and he instantly accelerated with sword in hand.
In the blink of an eye, he arrived before the chieftain and placed the tip of his sword at Vulk's throat.
Vulk was still unable to move, but he could see the blade at his neck.
The Superds watched this with shock.
Rudeus was amazed. He knew that Prince Mordred was OP, but he never witnessed him in action before, so he didn't know what to expect.
Not only was that Thundercloud Spell shockingly strong, but also Mordred's running speed was incredible. He was way faster than Paul, fast to the point to his eyes it looked as if he teleported!
Mordred coated his sword with dense Battle Aura and gently pulled the blade across the Chieftain's neck, cutting the skin and causing a little blood to come out.
It was only a few seconds later that Vulk regained control of his body. Looking up at Mordred, he muttered, "Ah. I… Lost?"
"You allowed me to freely cast my spell. If you're dissatisfied, we can fight again."
Vulk along with the other Superds heard this and were stunned.
Rudeus was taken aback, before bellowing inwardly. 'What? Why? No, no, no! Don't be arrogant! Just take the win!!!'
The Chieftain slowly stood up and seemed to be hesitating.
"Father, you've lost! You won't go back on your promise, will you?" Valeria called out.
Vulk ignored her and looked at Mordred. "Since you said this yourself, then let us fight again."
"What?..." Valeria was stunned when she heard this. She then bared her teeth in anger. "Father, is this the pride and honor of the Superd race you've always talked about? Do you have no shame?"
Vulk let out a sigh and told her, "It isn't about honor or shame. It's about the survival of our race. So what if I behave dishonorably? Our reputation is already stained beyond comparison."
"I can't believe this," Valeria muttered.
Mordred ignored all this, saying, "First, let me heal you."
He extended his hand and placed it on Vulk's shoulder, as far as he could reach.
Green light shone, flowing through his body, and instantly healing the cut, only leaving behind the blood.
Vulk touched his neck with an amazed expression. "Was that Silent Healing Magic?"
"Yes."
"I see. And what was the magic you used earlier?"
"It's a spell I developed. I call it Shock."
Vulk was shocked. "You created a magic spell?"
"More like just modified an existing one."
"That's still incredible. It was probably not Summoning Magic. Your spell was so fast I could not react to it and my protective Battle Aura could also not stop it. How old are you, boy?"
"I'm nine."
"Are you human?"
"Yes, I'm human. As far as I'm aware…" Mordred hesitated at the end of his sentence. Technically, he was also a dragon, but he felt he should probably not say that. As the king's son, he should not be one.
"Then are you a Blessed Child?"
"Yes."
"I see, I see. That explains it. It feels as if I'm seeing young Laplace again."
"I don't know if I should feel honored…"
Vulk showed a bitter smile. After that, he let out a sigh and said, "Us Superds only want to live in peace. I would feel bad about hurting a young talent like yourself, but since you proposed a rematch, let us duel again. This time I won't hold back."
"Then I won't hold back either." After speaking, red light flashed around Mordred and a complete suit of armor appeared on his body.
It was not Mordred's armor that he summoned, but the armor that he acquired from defeating Artoria. He felt it would be more comfortable to wear every day and would make him look more like a just and trustworthy hero.
"What?" Vulk was surprised.
The other Superds and Rudeus were as well.
In the meantime, Mordred himself was positively surprised as he looked down at his summoned armor.
The suit of armor he wore was more complete than the female Artoria's, covering nearly his entire body. Rather than Artoria's armor, it seemed to be the armor belonging to male Arthur Pendragon, also having a hood. It even had a helmet, but he simply didn't summon it.
But there was more. The armor's color theme was changed from blue to red and black as if to fit him; Mordred really liked this change.
"What was that? Is this a kind of Summoning Magic?" Vulk asked, his face still full of surprise.
"Something like that." Mordred plainly smiled; it was a good enough explanation.
His armor was in truth not summoned but created with Mana Burst, using Magic Power. He didn't care about the cost to make the armor because he could convert it back into Mana for his own use at any time and the cost was insignificant given his reserves and recovery.
Mordred added, "I have many ways to kill you, but to defeat you without hurting you is a bit difficult because I never fought a spear-user before... Don't worry about being injured. I can use strong Healing Magic."
After speaking, he sheathed Ascalon behind his lower back and summoned Clarent into his hand instead.
He could imagine that Hitogami would really want to probe his trump cards and find out more about them, but there were a few things that he planned to take out anyway – Clarent and Arthur's armor. He can tease him with those.
He'd take out Clarent eventually anyway, so the time was as good as any.