Doom looked slightly dazed, as if everything that had just happened had been an illusion, yet it had also felt utterly real.
"What an incredible strike!" The Champion Swordsman stepped forward and excitedly gripped his shoulder. "You had perfect command of the timing, launching the most effective attack at the most appropriate moment."
The sweeping blow made the short-legged Ork lose its balance. Doom then used the momentum, adding the force built up by his body's rotation. As the Ork fell forward, its left fist swung upward, smashing through the fragile facial bones and destroying the brain's central nervous system.
It was a sight to behold. With simple techniques, he had achieved the most straightforward result.
Harlan slapped him on the shoulder with his large hand. The tremendous force brought him back to his senses, and he finally realized that he had returned to reality.
"Little runt! Little runt! Little runt!"
His keen senses returned. The whistles of the Orks rang in his ears, along with their incessant cheers.
"Champion Swordsman." The Ork's blood trickled down Doom's face. He revealed a gentle yet chilling smile. "Has your impression of me changed?"
"Doom, Third Prince." Haran's expression grew solemn, and his movements became extremely formal.
He covered his chest with his left palm and bowed slightly to Doom. "I am ashamed that I looked down on you. I shouldn't have judged you by the standards of an ordinary person."
This was a warrior's way of understanding, representing "speaking from the heart." It was the most sincere form of body language.
"I accept your apology," Doom said. Then, using both hands, he helped Harlan's tall body up and looked straight at his handsome face, torn by battle scars. "But you don't need to take it to heart. I am an anomaly beyond your understanding, a special existence that has never appeared before."
"If you were a normal member of the Nul People, your judgment would have been completely correct."
"You mean..." Harlan was astonished that Doom could so effortlessly lift him despite having far greater strength than someone of the same build. After thinking it over, he was relieved. "Do I need to learn more about you so that I can make more accurate judgments in the future?"
"It's not just you who needs to learn." Doom's gaze swept across the Night Watchers at the edge of the arena, and his voice carried considerable authority. "Everyone needs to learn."
"I am Doom Norwick, the third son of the Norwick Dynasty. I am destined to walk the path of a warrior. You must get used to me and understand me before you can fight alongside me."
The youth was brimming with heroic spirit. He showed no pride in his victory, calmly stating a fact.
The Night Watchers were astonished by the youth's dazzling confidence, by the open and unrestrained radiance that emanated from within him.
The proud warriors were infected by it. There was no contempt in their eyes as they solemnly spoke in unison. "Then we'll await you on the battlefield, Doom Slayer!"
At the edge of the arena, King Norwick kept nodding. He wholeheartedly approved of this son.
"Look at him." King Norwick turned his head and whispered into Queen Daisy's ear. "You raised him well. He's intelligent and knows exactly what he wants."
"He proved himself through his actions, striking at the locals' 'distrust' of outsiders while quickly integrating himself into the warriors' ranks."
"He knows that he will enter the battlefield in the future and is destined to become a leader. The Night Watchers will take what they saw and heard today to the battlefields far away in the wastelands. In the end, everyone will know that there is such an extraordinary prince."
"He will make people instinctively place their expectations in him. Even upon meeting him for the first time, some will believe in him without hesitation."
"He will become a legend passed from mouth to mouth, a person watched by all."
King Norwick kept speaking, and the satisfaction in his eyes grew increasingly pronounced. He liked this son who had descended from the heavens.
Before meeting him, he had held only a hazy expectation. After meeting him, his affection was plainly visible.
"Just don't tell me you think he's too calculating." Queen Daisy's lips curled up. Her smile was gentle, while the pride in her eyes could not be concealed.
"He's excellent." King Norwick rose, took his wife's fair hand, and pulled her up with great courtliness.
"Calculation is a manifestation of wisdom, and calculation used for the right purpose is a good thing. The enemies he will face in the future are ones we have never encountered before. To defeat them, both strength and wisdom are indispensable."
"Sometimes, we have no choice but to compromise. We must be more ruthless and cunning than our enemies to defeat them."
"Come, my queen. Let us witness his victory and the Guardian's oath."
Queen Daisy rested her hand on King Norwick's armored arm. Together, the two of them embodied the romance of iron and roses—unyielding yet gentle, stern yet elegant.
"Champion Swordsman! Haran Ogilvy."
Norwick's deep, imposing voice rang out, drawing out each ceremonial word. "Fulfill the promise you made—"
Doom watched the father he had never met before but deeply admired slowly approach with his mother. He was somewhat awkward and nervous.
Only when he saw the reassurance and approval in his father's eyes did his anxious heart finally settle.
There was no child who did not long for a father's recognition. Even Doom, a Primarch created by the Emperor, was no exception.
To be recognized by one's father and loved by one's mother while growing up was a wonderful thing.
"Bring me a ceremonial longsword!" Harlan called to the Night Watchers, preparing to fulfill the Guardian's oath.
In the Guardian Domain, once a qualified Night Watcher completed all his training, the first thing he did was swear allegiance.
Their first allegiance was to Nul. The Night Watchers would protect its purity and peace to the death. Their second allegiance was to King Norwick, to whom they devoted their loyalty for life.
Most Night Watchers made only two oaths: remaining loyal to King Norwick and guarding Nul.
Only a few would swear allegiance to those who possessed the right to receive it.
Typical examples were the princes of the Norwick Dynasty and the queen, whom they would serve as personal guards. Without endangering Nul or violating the rules of the Norwick Dynasty, they would choose a worthy master to whom they could pledge their allegiance.
Harlan requested a ceremonial longsword to carry out his promise and swear allegiance to the Third Prince of Norwick.
"No need." King Norwick swept aside his cloak and removed the sword hilt from his waist. He used a real weapon in place of a ceremonial one to bear witness to the oath between the two. "Take it, son."
Doom's hands trembled slightly as he received the sword hilt from his father. The hilt was somewhat too large for him at present.
For such a solemn oath ceremony, everyone present found their proper place with precision.
The Night Watchers were military officers. They stood on the left, holding spears that lit up dimensional light blades. The scholars were civil officials. They stood on the right with their hands folded inside their robes, heads bowed and eyes closed.
Queen Daisy wiped the blood from Doom's face, straightened his clothes, and smoothed his disheveled hair.
Everything was ready. King Norwick and Queen Daisy stood behind Doom, one on each side. The civil and military officials stood on either side of him, while Harlan knelt on one knee. Despite his towering body, he could meet Doom's eyes directly.
Doom's expression was solemn. He pressed the mechanism on the hilt, and the King's War Sword shot out a brilliant blue dimensional light blade. He carefully rested it against Harlan's left shoulder.
Haran Ogilvy wore white power armor covered in the scars of battle. He lowered the proud head of the Champion Swordsman and recited the oath of allegiance to the prince:
"By the King's Sword and the Champion's name, with the king and queen as witnesses, I, Haran Ogilvy, hereby swear:
"My blood shall be a shield to protect your safety; my sword shall be an oath to cut down your enemies.
"Loyalty is greater than the soul, and honor heavier than life. Your will is my direction, and your enemies are my sworn enemies.
"This oath shall be forged like steel, and this heart shall remain steadfast like the stars. Until my final breath, until the longsword's blade breaks, my soul shall continue to guard this oath."
After the oath was recited, Doom passed the light sword over Harlan's head, rested it solemnly on his right shoulder, and said, "I, Doom Norwick, accept your oath. I accept your loyalty!"
Neither of them knew that at the moment the warrior made his oath, the Blood God was overjoyed amid the churning Warp.
He loved warriors, and he did not hesitate to bestow his blessing upon that warrior whose soul burned with the same fervor.
"My lord, what is your sigil?" Harlan asked.
Guards who swore allegiance to the royal family would be given a personal sigil belonging to a member of the royal family, symbolizing the oath-bound relationship between the two.
Doom did not have a personal sigil. Under the laws of the Guardian Domain, he was still considered a newborn.
"Doom, how about this?"
Just as Doom did not know what to do, Queen Daisy's gentle voice reached him. She lightly pulled open Doom's robe, revealing the blood-red rune mark on his chest.
"That will do. It was born with me, so it couldn't be more suitable as my personal sigil."
After an unexpected battle, the Champion Swordsman became Doom's personal guard because of the prize of the duel.
It was not until he embarked on the path of conquering the stars that the Champion Swordsman realized the truth. The king and queen had both known that Doom would win, and Doom had known he would win as well.
King Norwick had dug a pit, then happily jumped right into it.
Before you continue