Chapter 162. Friends grow up fighting2021.08.21.
After the first match was over, the glorious final 8 players entered the arena. The man with the most insignia was Sir Kishio Lantalion. The 18-year-old was a promising prospect who was knighted this year, the same jockey as Enrique.
‘Actually, those three are abnormal, but I also became a knight pretty quickly.’
Since the heir to the family was his older brother, Sir Rantalion’s only option was to become a knight. Fortunately, swordsmanship was right for him, and he had been in and out of the Imperial Knights from a young age as a squire of the Imperial Knights. He had grown up listening to the sound of a genius, and was even appointed a knight, so his pride soared to the sky.
‘I am the winner this year.’
Sir Lantalion was a man who knew his subject. He was also a strategist. I wasn’t at all sure I was going to win the first match against those little monsters. If you want to increase your odds even a little bit, you must first stock up on strength and then hit the opponent who is tired of fighting among themselves.
“Sir Rantalion. Please nominate an opponent for the first tournament.”
Therefore, there is only one suitable opponent.
“I’ll take someone named Zeke.”
It was wisest to deal with that little boy who seemed to have no special skills besides being quick!
“Boo. What a pity, Kishio Rantalion!”
“Picking out the weakest guy, are you still a knight!”
Boos poured out, but it was already expected, so I didn’t care at all. Sir Lantalion approached Zeke with a leisurely gait. I thought it was small even when I saw it from a distance, but it was smaller when I stood right in front of it. Will it come to the waist?
“Please take care of me, Zeke.”
The boy nodded without answering Sir Lantalion’s greeting. Thinking he was a taciturn and strange guy, he said what he had been thinking for a while.
“No matter what, isn’t it polite to show your face to your opponent?”
Shaking my head. Zeke shook his head and took a step back. It seemed that he had no intention of taking off the helmet that had completely covered his face. Sir Lantalion, whose proposal was suddenly rejected, thought as he stepped back in embarrassment.
‘It’s inevitable that the helmet comes off during the game, so it shouldn’t matter.’
Whether it was a scarred face or a vicious face inside the helmet, I vowed to see it and defeat it. After that, selection of opponents went smoothly. The second man with the badge also aimed at Zeke, but since his order was taken away, he chose Young-shik, who he considered easygoing. There are four remaining opponents. Among them was Aidan Enrique Oscar, a leading candidate for the championship. Next, a young knight with a lot of badges exclaimed cheerfully.
“I want to compete with Count Aserad!”
The crowd cheered at the spirit of the young knight.
“okay. You must risk your life to become a knight!”
“Where do you do well!”
But, unfortunately, no one expected his victory…. It was a common thought among the audience that nothing extraordinary would happen unless Aidan played an out-of-field loss like last year. As Aidan was pointed out as the opponent, the remaining Enrique and Oscar naturally became opponents of each other.
“You did the same last year, so I’m sticking with you again this year, Enrique.”
“It won’t be easy this year. I am now on the same line as you.”
After declaring that he was not competing with Emily, Enrique took a serious look at what he liked best and was good at. It wasn’t bad to sit at the head of the desk and review papers and handle housework in an honest manner. Because it was a good fit. However, Enrique wanted to face the world with a sword, not a pen. So, he dreamed of becoming Emily’s sword who would lead the family, and furthermore, becoming a proud knight of Ermano. To do so, the first step was to be knighted. It is twice as difficult to be ordained at a young age than to be ordained a knight when one is old. Since I was young, I had to meet the expectation that I would be a genius, so I used to think that I had to deal with sword skills so that I did not meet the qualifications. In fact, among the new knights who received their first knight ordination, there were very few who could handle swordsmanship, but they had to meet the conditions to be ordained at a young age. Last year, Oscar did the hard work, and this year, Enrique did it.
“A confrontation between Prince Enrique and His Highness Prince Oscar. Who will win?”
“The two of you are swordsmanship mates. Last year, Your Highness won, but maybe this year will have a different result?”
With this, the bracket for the tournament was completed. A break was given to inspect the barriers to protect the audience seats in preparation for stadium maintenance and unexpected accidents.
“It’s not too late. Place your bet!”
“1 gold to Count Aserad!”
“I am to Prince Oscar!”
Amid everyone’s expectations, the curtain on the second round has finally risen.
***
The first match of the tournament was a match between Sir Lantalion and Zeke, a commoner participant.
“Zeek, do your best!”
“Kishio Rantalion! Do not lose face as a knight!”
The two stood facing each other in the cheers like fever. Sir Lantalion, a corpse except for his breath, proudly declared.
“My goal is to take off your helmet and win.”
“…”
“Hmm. He is a very quiet man.”
Sir Lantalion glanced at Zeke again. I was really small in stature. In addition, I didn’t know it was a bare-bones match earlier, but the sword I was holding was a rusty iron sword that made me wonder if it had been trimmed.
“Ugh. Are you planning on sparring with that sword?”
If you get scratched, it’s tetanus. In a different sense, Sir Rantalion was very nervous as he felt the crisis of his life. Of course, I never thought I would lose. Sir Lantalion proudly drew his sword. Lantalion, a famous sword passed down from generation to generation, shone brilliantly under the summer sunlight. Last but not least, the significant difference in equipment. Victory seemed to be in sight before it even started. Those who like to bet started betting on how many seconds Zeke would last.
“Start the game!”
With the sound of a whistle, the first match of the tournament began. Sir Rantalion was not the type to let his guard down easily just because his opponent was easy. So, I did my best to be vigilant and prepared. In contrast, Sieg only moved the rusty steel sword to his other hand and grabbed it.
“Could it be ambidextrous?!”
It wasn’t. Zeke just switched to the other hand because the sword was heavy. When Lord Rantalion refused to attack first because he was too cautious, Zeke was the first to move. Lord Rantalion felt as if he had seen the glare of eyes shining in the eye sockets of the helmet that covered Zeke’s entire face. Zeke’s attack followed right after! Kang.
“…?”
Everyone doubted their eyes and ears at the shallow sound.
“what…?”
The most perplexed was Sir Lantalion. Kang. it’s a kangaroo Not a bang, not a boom, but a kang… that’s right. Sieg’s attack with all his might was too weak. Lord Rantalion’s expression hardened.
“…Are you kidding me?”
clapping, clapping, clapping. Zeke shook his head vigorously, but Sir Lantalion’s pride was damaged. He tried his best to respect the opponent and fought the duel, but the opponent ignored him and did not show his strength properly.
“Good. I will treat you with more sincerity.”
Inside the helmet, Zeke screamed.
***
“Isn’t this a one-sided fight?”
Those were the words from someone in the crowd. I didn’t say anything, but the atmosphere became more solemn because everyone thought so. In fact, even the people who had been arguing that Zeke might be hiding his powers have become mercenaries. It was not a lie when Sir Lantalion said that he was a promising new knight. With the traditional sword technique of the Ermano Empire, which he had mastered in basic skills since he was young, he faithfully blocked the opponent’s retreat. Even in the midst of that, it was commendable for running away swiftly. However, the appearance of avoiding the narrowly looked dangerous indeed.
“That son of a bitch…”
At Esteban’s voice, who was sitting at the top of the table, Gustaf, the aide, was startled and looked to the side. Esteban was glaring at the stadium with uneasy eyes.
“Your Majesty the situation…?”
“It is a very boring game. boring.”
“Yes?”
Gustav was sweating profusely as he looked into Esteban’s eyes. Isn’t it too engrossing for a person who says it’s a boring game? Gustav deduced based on where his eyes were headed, who was the unfortunate person in Hwang Sang-je’s eyes.
‘Zeke?’
Esteban’s eyes were fixed on Zeke, who was struggling. Zeke’s swordsmanship was sloppy. He was nothing more than an ordinary person who had only learned how to swing and slash.
“What on earth was the patron family thinking when they let that guy go?”
“Did you say Mei was also a family?”
The rumbling grew louder. The support for Zeke has long since disappeared. Zeke’s actions began to slow down, as if he had run out of power before he knew it.
“Your running around like a rat is over, Zeke. Take off my helmet and laugh at my sweaty, insignificant face!”
Far from being exhausted, Lord Rantalion, who was still brisk, thrust his sword at Zeke, who was cornered. Is the first game finally over? It was just when everyone expected it.
‘Sword skill?’
A soft light wrapped around Zeke’s rusty iron sword-.
“Eight!”
The famous sword Rantalion was split in two. silence. The tip of Zeke’s rusty iron sword touched the opponent’s neck while the rest of the audience, as well as Sir Lantalion, were shocked.
“The family’s Lantalion sword is the Lantalion sword…!”
Zeke pressed the sword, which had become an ordinary iron sword, on Lord Lantalion’s neck. as if it were being urged. Lord Rantalion’s body stiffened. Right now, it’s just a rusty iron sword, but if that sword were to become immortal, its neck would be cut in pieces like the famous sword Lantalion.
“Ha surrender…!”
first match.
“Zeke wins!”
It was Zeke’s victory.
***
“Isn’t he really scary? Even though he has skills like that, he deliberately catches the opponent off guard and finishes them off in one blow.”
“It feels like swordsmanship is not as good as ordinary people. Yes… I’ve heard of it. When you reach the level of swordsmanship, even those basic skills become unnecessary.”
“You’re saying that he’s so brilliant that he looks like a novice to us criminals.”
Although the first game was over, the enthusiasm in the crowd did not go away easily.
“Is that really black magic…? The feeling was different, but something was different…”
Sir Rantalion muttered, perhaps in shock of defeat, and his fellow knights patted him and comforted him. The second match started immediately after the pitch was cleaned. Two boys climbed onto the pitch in the scorching sun.
“Whoaaaa!”
The shouts were roaring as if they would tear at the ears. It was Hermano’s proudest talent, Oscar Alle Donovan and Enrique Javier, dressed in light armor. Having been trained by the same teacher, the knight Lisandro, the two had the same swordsmanship. Will the Oscars win, as they did last year, or will the reverse play unfold?
“Start the game!”
The two did not need to talk. Because the conversation with the sword was a conversation with sincerity. Since he already knew his opponent better than anyone else, a search battle was unnecessary. bang! The swords wrapped in swords collided. Snuggle Geek-. An unpleasant sound came from the interlocking blades.
After a brief fall, they collided again. bang! Kwakwang! The destructive swordsmanship that had not been seen in the previous duel between Zeke and Sir Lantalion caught the attention of the audience. After competing more than ten times, the two spread the distance. As in the beginning of the game, no one’s breath was disturbed yet.
“Wow!!”
The two boys stared into each other’s eyes amid tremendous cheers.
‘How much training did he have?’
‘As expected of Oscar.’
It was different from last year. We were surprised at each other’s ability to become stronger by one or several stages compared to that time. Their beliefs made them stronger. The boys’ confrontation continued. Bang Kwagak-! The stadium, which had been fine, was destroyed in an instant, and the stones that flew toward the spectator seats collided with the large-scale barrier spread across the whole area and disappeared. A thick cloud of sand and dust obstructed the view. With their eyesight blocked, they only sensed each other’s location and exchanged battles.
‘Where are you?’
We need to locate Enrique. Oscar quickly raised his senses and was wary of his surroundings. It was then.
