But he could not, for the life of him, contain the curiosity welling up inside him. He was dying to see the left-hand sword art that was said to have defeated a Master. In the end, the king made his decision and looked at Krovitz with a solemn expression.
“If it is true that he can face a Master, then it would be acceptable for our side to send out someone of Master level, would it not?”
Krovitz nodded without the slightest hesitation.
“That is so, Your Majesty.”
“Very well. Then let us hold a friendly match.”
“As you command.”
Krovitz was smiling broadly. He was already certain of Gerald’s victory.
‘For the sake of face, they won’t be able to put forward a widely known Master. Gerald has already defeated Albert. Therefore, victory is ours.’
Krovitz could not contain his joy as he imagined how greatly the Duke Knights’ prestige would rise through victory in this match.
“I am Mirt of House Reinbecker, attached to the Tezeros Royal Guard Knights. I hope for a fine bout.”
“Please call me Gerald. I have… no family name.”
Royal Guard Knight Mirt was not surprised even after hearing Gerald’s answer. He, too, had heard that the Duke Knights’ selection standards were governed strictly by skill. Thus, there was no reason to be surprised even if his opponent was a former slave or a foreigner. Moreover, more than half of Tezeros’s commoners had no family names.
Mirt calmly settled his emotions and picked up a wooden sword. He had already steeled his resolve.
‘I must win, no matter what. If I lose before His Majesty the King, who is watching in person, I will never be able to hold my head high again.’
He was one of the promising Sword Masters even among the Royal Guard Knights. Having reached Master at the relatively young age of forty, he was not widely known to the outside world, but his skill was genuine.
He quietly traced back the path he had walked. Born into a wealthy noble house, he had devoted himself to the sword with his family’s full support for twenty-five years now. Talent for the sword and bone-grinding effort had been necessary, but more than anything, without his family’s support, it would have been impossible to reach this place…
Behind Mirt’s rise to his current position lay the devoted sacrifices of his family. To place Mirt in the Royal Guard Knights, his father had poured in more than half of his fortune. So vast an amount that his house, once famed for its wealth, had visibly declined.
Thus, after he succeeded in entering the Royal Guard Knights and was able to learn Tezeros’s own mana cultivation method, which he had dreamed of, the rest fell to Mirt. He had to train day and night, stand out, and thereby repay the sacrifices his family had made for him.
Beside Mirt were many Royal Guard Knights who thought the same way. But the goddess of fortune chose Mirt. The path of a Sword Master could not be declared attainable through talent and effort alone. That was how difficult it was.
Yet Mirt had happened upon enlightenment and was able to enter the path of a Master. There had been bloody effort as well, but it could not be said that luck had not followed him. The road that unfolded afterward was smooth and straight. Once Mirt joined the ranks of the Masters, of whom only twenty-nine existed in Tezeros, tremendous wealth and power became concentrated in House Reinbecker.
Prestigious houses that had never so much as glanced at them before competed to form ties of friendship with House Reinbecker, and countless public officials voluntarily offered conveniences without even being asked. Within only a few years of Mirt becoming a Sword Master, House Reinbecker was able to regain its former wealth. The amount invested in Mirt had returned more than doubled.
Mirt had now become the unquestioned pillar of House Reinbecker. And he now stood at the greatest crossroads of his life. Because the prosperity of his house could continue only if he defeated the Duke Knight before him, said to use a strange left-hand sword art, Mirt silently composed himself.
‘I must never underestimate my opponent. I must win this time and earn His Majesty’s favor.’
This match was no different from a gamble for Mirt. If he lost, not only would his family’s honor fall to the ground, but he would also fall out of the king’s favor. In that case, promotion would be impossible.
Conversely, if he won, a definite reward awaited Mirt.
In return for raising the prestige of the Tezeros Royal Guard Knights, he would surely be granted the abundant fruit of promotion. He might even be appointed squad captain. For that reason, Mirt quietly waited for the signal announcing the start of the duel.
“This is troublesome.”
Gerald was thinking somewhat differently from Mirt. Of course, Gerald was not the kind of man to refuse a match that had suddenly arisen. A duel with a Sword Master was something he had always wished for, so Gerald had intended to enter the bout gladly. However, Krovitz had given Gerald a rather absurd request.
“Fight as you see fit. But do not defeat your opponent too absurdly. The best outcome would be to end the bout in a draw after gaining the upper hand, but if the situation does not allow it, you may take him down.”
The Duke Knights who heard those words wore expressions of disbelief. To tell a Paladin about to duel a Sword Master to fight while holding back…
By common sense, it was certainly incomprehensible. But Krovitz trusted Gerald’s swordsmanship to that extent.
“Of course, I too would prefer you to win overwhelmingly. However, in a situation where we have come to request troops, it would not look good if we caused Tezeros’s dignity to plummet. Approach the match with the mindset of simply showing them the level of the Duke Knights. Do you understand?”
Remembering Krovitz’s request, Gerald silently gripped the handle of his wooden sword. Once he held the sword, his fighting spirit surged like a tide. The king of Tezeros and Krovitz were busily preparing to watch from the seats of honor. When the king of Tezeros gave the signal, the duel would begin.
Many knights had gathered at the dueling ground. Not only the Duke Knights who had come as part of the delegation, but also the Royal Guard Knights and some members of the Capital Knights in charge of escort duty had been fortunate enough to participate as spectators. The king of Tezeros, who had been watching the dueling ground with a tense expression, finally gave the signal.
“Begin the match.”
At the command, the sound of trumpets rang clearly through the dueling ground. At last, the duel had begun.
Mirt took his stance and began to approach cautiously. Usually, in a match like this, it was customary for the superior fighter to yield the first attack to the lesser, but Mirt had no intention of doing so. For one thing, this was a match against a knight from another country, and he felt uneasy because his opponent was said to possess an extremely unfamiliar and powerful left-hand sword art. But that was precisely what Gerald had wanted.
‘Good. I won’t need to make a merely formal attack…’
Following the principle of the left-hand sword art, which sought a counterattack after defense, Gerald calmly assumed a responsive stance. The muscles throughout his body grew taut, and his nerves sharpened to the utmost. Toward such a Gerald, Mirt’s attack began.
“Take care. I am attacking.”
Gerald’s build was rather small. Considering that knights usually possessed well-trained, solid physiques, he was in truth so slender that he could hardly be seen as a knight.
If Mirt, who seemed almost a head taller than him, pressed forward stubbornly with strength, Gerald looked as though he would be unable to withstand it at all. But in reality, that was not the case in the slightest. The knights of Arcadia generally trained their muscles first, and only after reaching a certain level did they cultivate internal energy techniques—that is, mana cultivation methods. Until then, they diligently trained their muscles and increased their strength.
But the process by which Gerald had learned swordsmanship was very different. It followed thoroughly the method by which prestigious sects of the Central Plains trained disciples: learning superior sword arts using internal energy without first training the muscles. Thus, his physique could not help being somewhat small. But there was no problem with that at all. If one could skillfully use qi—that is, internal energy—then it could sufficiently replace muscular strength.
Moreover, Gerald had personally undergone the Great Art of Correction performed by Damon, so his ability to operate mana far exceeded the ordinary level. As if to prove that, Gerald lightly blocked Mirt’s attack.
Thwack.
Considering that their body weights differed by almost double, it seemed an attack difficult to withstand, but Gerald did not even think of deflecting the force and blocked the attack head-on. When the first strike came to nothing, Mirt was slightly surprised. It had been an attack that made full use of his advantage in strength, but his opponent had blocked it far too easily. His stance had not been disturbed at all.
‘To think such a small body can produce this much strength…’
Erasing his surprise, Mirt resumed his attack without wavering. Though his opponent looked infinitely weak on the outside, Mirt knew that he must never look down on him. Simply by becoming a Duke Knight, his opponent had proven himself to be a high-level knight.
“Hiyah!”
With a fierce shout, Mirt’s attacks poured down. Having swung a sword countless times since childhood, the path of his blade was so precise and sharp that no flaw could be found in it. Naturally, it was also imbued with powerful force. Yet Gerald received and turned aside Mirt’s fierce assault without the slightest tremor.
Because it was the attack of a Sword Master, it was tremendously powerful, but Gerald already had experience crossing swords with the commander of the Duke Knights. Above all, because he had fought countless battles against Grand Master-class Death Knights, Gerald’s movements and reflexes surpassed even those of a Sword Master. Gerald silently received and deflected the attacks, waiting only for the moment to counterattack.
Krovitz, who was watching the duel, furrowed his brow slightly.
‘Hmm. He can be considered a notch above Albert. Did he say his name was Mirt? I’ll have to inform the Intelligence Department as soon as we return.’
Discovering the existence of a hidden expert whom the Intelligence Department had failed to identify was an unexpected gain. Information regarding the outstanding Sword Masters a nation possessed was among the highest level of secrets in any kingdom.
Conversely, intelligence departments tried by any means necessary to determine the skill and realm of Sword Masters from other nations. If war were to break out, the power of a hidden Sword Master could not be underestimated. Though he had revealed Gerald’s existence in order to raise the prestige of the Duke Knights, he had been able to identify a Sword Master in exchange, so Krovitz did not consider it a losing trade. Even so, he was coolly gauging the swordsmanship of the Tezeros Royal Guard Knight.
‘He won’t show an opening easily. But there is no need to worry. Gerald’s defensive skill is something I acknowledge as well…’
Krovitz firmly believed that Gerald would not be beaten easily. It was confidence born from having fought him directly. Even Krovitz, who belonged among the highest level of Sword Masters, had only managed to find a way to break through after fighting for nearly an hour, so there was no need to think any further.
The Royal Guard Knight currently engaged in the duel had quite usable skill, but compared to Krovitz, he could be said to be two or three levels lower. Krovitz glanced aside at the king of Tezeros. The face of the king of Tezeros, who was watching the duel intently, showed a flood of conflicting emotions.
At first, when Gerald had been concentrating only on defense, the king’s face had been filled with delight. He had thought the knight on his side had seized the advantage. But his expression changed before long. Though Mirt was continuing to pour out fierce attacks, anyone could see that the Tezeros knight was gaining nothing substantial.
In other words, he was raining down attack after attack and obtaining no result at all. In contrast, the Duke Knight opposing him was defending with extreme efficiency. With appropriate movements and the minimum expenditure of strength, he was effectively blocking the attacks.
‘Good heavens… To think someone like that is a Paladin…’
Because he enjoyed watching swordsmanship matches, the king of Tezeros could tell that the Duke Knight’s movements surpassed the ordinary level. His movements were not inferior in the slightest to those of the Sword Master he faced. On the contrary, the knight on his own side was showing slight signs of fatigue.
‘Please, he must win…’
The king of Tezeros was in a state of anxious suspense. Cold sweat had gathered on his hands from the tension, but the king did not even realize it.