Heinrich returned to the lodging, smiling, and patted Gerald on the shoulder.
“You fought really well. To think that you could go toe-to-toe with a Sword Master and even gain the upper hand, Gerald.”
Gerald smiled bitterly and shook his head. He had already received hearty congratulations from all thirty of the Duke Knights. Krovitz also beamed a broad smile and patted Gerald on the shoulder.
“Well done. You have greatly elevated the honor of the Duke Knights. As your Commander, I sincerely thank you.”
Having received praise even from his friend on top of all that, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat bashful. Gerald, who had been mulling something over, looked at Heinrich with a grave expression.
“By the way, do you remember the sparring with the Death Knights?”
Heinrich nodded without hesitation.
“Of course. We fought so many times and took a terrible beating too. Winslet was the worst of all. After getting hit by him, my whole body would ache for days……. Though now, I’m confident I wouldn’t lose even in a one-on-one fight.”
Gerald lowered his voice quietly.
“I didn’t realize it until now, but I think all that sparring has been a great help to us. In the fight earlier, I could read my opponent’s movements. In other words, I could clearly see how he would attack and how I should evade.”
Heinrich’s eyes went wide.
“Is that for real?”
“Yes. Absolutely……. Perhaps those countless sparring sessions with the Death Knights have made us incredibly strong. Don’t you remember? At first, we couldn’t even grasp their attacks and just passed out, but now we can dodge to some extent and even counterattack occasionally, right?”
“Well, that’s true. We still get hit these days, but we don’t go down easily, do we? Especially, it’s rare to get struck without knowing how the attack came, like in the beginning.”
Gerald’s eyes gleamed.
“The Death Knights were far stronger than the Sword Master we fought today. Faster, more precise, and without hesitation. Having fought such powerful opponents, I think we’ve grown stronger along with them.”
“Really?”
“It’s true. Once I thought of it as sparring with a Death Knight, my opponent wasn’t that difficult to handle. He was at best a little stronger than Winslet.”
“But we can’t stand against a Sword Master in real combat, can we? We still can’t unleash a completed Aura Blade after all….”
Gerald grinned.
“That’s true, but think about when we reach Master level too. If we can just defend, wouldn’t we be able to face anyone without much trouble? In terms of pure swordsmanship, we aren’t that far behind a Sword Master.”
“Is that so?”
Heinrich’s face was filled with joy. Honestly, until now, they hadn’t been able to accurately gauge the realm they had reached. But after becoming Duke Knights and going through two sparring sessions, realizing through them that they possessed strength that couldn’t be taken lightly, their shoulders naturally straightened with pride.
“If only we could become Masters…….”
Watching Heinrich swell with anticipation, Gerald cautioned him gently.
“Don’t get too arrogant, though. The road ahead is far more treacherous than the one we’ve traveled……. Sir Damon said so. Once you reach a certain level, it becomes even harder to grow stronger…….”
“Yeah, you’re right. We have to keep devoting ourselves to training and definitely become Masters.”
The two silently steeled their resolve. Heinrich looked at Gerald as if he had just remembered something.
“By the way, did you get permission to go out? You have to duel that bastard Proctor, don’t you?”
“Yeah. I got it.”
“Are you going to hide your identity like yesterday?”
Gerald silently nodded. At the thought of Proctor, his previously pleasant mood turned ice-cold. As if having made a decision, Gerald’s face hardened stiffly.
“I’ll go alone. I think that’s for the best.”
Heinrich shook his head as if to say that was nonsense.
“What are you talking about? We’re friends.”
“But he definitely has made thorough preparations. If he uses poison or something, even your life could be in danger.”
“Don’t even say that. We’re friends. And we’re members of the Kasim Mercenary Corps who promised to die together…….”
“But…….”
Heinrich furrowed his brows and stood up.
“If you try to stop me any further, I’ll take it that you don’t consider me a friend. Let’s get going. Oh, right. Did you tell the Commander about the duel?”
“No. I only briefly told the squad leader.”
Heinrich nodded and picked up a bag containing his overcoat. The two soon left the lodging.
To settle Gerald’s score at Proctor’s mansion…….
“Why aren’t these brats coming?”
Whether out of impatience or not, Proctor kept scowling. The time had come, yet the brats still hadn’t shown themselves. Proctor, who had been looking up at the sky repeatedly to gauge the time, turned his head. There stood a hulking man over two meters tall, wearing a chainmail that looked extremely thick, with his arms crossed leisurely.
He was a muscular man with bulging muscles that seemed about to burst through the gaps of his chainmail, and the sword scar on his face gave him an exceedingly ferocious impression. His name was Tinar. He was also a human butcher who had already killed more than a few men.
Originally, Tinar was a criminal sentenced to death for murder and destined for execution. But Proctor had used his connections to pull him out of prison. In return, Tinar devoted his life to serving Proctor with absolute loyalty.
Besides him, rugged men armed with various weapons were milling about, numbering roughly around a hundred. They were the members of the Lotus Mercenary Corps. Though they were called a mercenary corps, what they did was quite far from mercenary work. Their primary duties under Proctor’s orders were murder, kidnapping, torture, and destroying evidence.
Each and every one of them was an expert in that field. Watching them, Proctor put on a repulsive smile as if to say they were reliable.
“I trust you’re prepared to erase those brats without a trace?”
Tinar, who had been looking around with a scowl, spat out in a husky voice.
“Don’t worry. Within an hour, I’ll cleanly erase every trace that those bastards ever existed in this world.”
“I’ll leave it to you, then.”
As he was nodding, chaotic footsteps were suddenly heard. Shortly after, one of the guards keeping watch at the main gate appeared.
“They’re here. They’re at the main gate right now.”
Proctor smiled thinly and gestured with his eyes. Tinar hurriedly looked around at his subordinates and gave orders.
“Everyone, to your positions…….”
The Lotus mercenaries hastily dispersed. The mercenaries hiding their bodies in the gaps between buildings held their breath, waiting only for the pitiful prey to arrive.
“Are you ready, I presume?”
Seeing Gerald who had arrived, Proctor put on a repulsive smile.
“Of course.”
“The warrior who will fight in your stead?”
The moment Gerald finished speaking, Tinar stepped forward.
“It’s me, brat.”
Seeing Tinar, Gerald’s eyes widened. His opponent was bigger than he had thought. Tinar was much larger and more imposing than even Kasim, so Gerald had to look up at him for quite a while.
“Filthy big, aren’t you? Surely you weren’t chosen for your size rather than your swordsmanship?”
“Keh-heh. The brat sure talks a lot.”
Tinar let out a gloomy, bizarre laugh and picked up his weapon. It was a Sword Breaker nearly as long as Gerald was tall. It was an exotic sword with a blade shaped like a saw; though it had the marvelous utility of being able to break an opponent’s sword, it was also an extremely cruel weapon.
Wounds inflicted by this weapon did not result in clean cuts but tore flesh out whole, making treatment extremely difficult. Though mercenaries were fond of using it, it was not widely adopted because it was difficult to wield.
However, it was not a weapon unfamiliar to Gerald. That was because the Sword Breaker was a weapon that Kasim, the captain, had favored in the past. Kasim had wielded the Sword Breaker expertly and earned considerable fame in the mercenary world. But as he began to learn swordsmanship in earnest, he had to change weapons. It was due to Damon’s advice.
“Exotic swords aren’t very good for learning ascending swordsmanship. Not only do they restrict the execution of forms, but drawing up an Aura Blade with them takes twice the effort.”
It was advice born from Damon’s experience. Recalling how drawing aura into the hojo, an exotic weapon, was far more difficult than with a longsword, Damon had offered this counsel, and Kasim discarded the Sword Breaker he had cherished for so long. And now, to see a Sword Breaker here again……. Gerald recalled words he had heard in passing from Kasim long ago.
“If you ever face an enemy wielding a Sword Breaker, be careful not to let your blade get caught in its teeth. If you make a mistake, your sword could break or you could lose your weapon.”
“Must I be careful even after becoming a Paladin?”
“Tha……t’s not necessary. If you’ve drawn up an Aura Blade, the Sword Breaker would break instead.”
Recalling Kasim’s warning, Gerald put on a sardonic smile and drew his sword.
“No need for idle chatter. Let’s get straight to the duel.”
Tinar let out a coarse guffaw.
“An impatient brat, aren’t you? Fine. Follow me.”
Tinar turned and strode toward the back garden. Gerald and Heinrich followed him without hesitation. As he walked, Proctor stealthily turned his gaze to the side. Seeing black shadows moving cautiously atop the wall, a deep smile spread across Proctor’s lips.
‘Heh-heh-heh. Brat. The day you’ll disappear for good from this world is not far off.’
The place where Gerald and Heinrich were led was a back garden enclosed by high walls on all sides. Seeing various items piled up, it seemed to be a place used as a warehouse. A strange gleam flashed in Gerald’s eyes as he looked around.
‘Just as I thought.’
Since he had become able to wield mana, Gerald’s eyesight and hearing had improved drastically. To his ears, the breathing of dozens of people had reached him. And the sounds of hems brushing and footsteps resounded thunderously, impossible to forget even if he tried.
Outwardly, they might have seemed to be moving cautiously, but they could not escape Gerald’s ears. However, Gerald pretended not to notice and looked at Tinar before him.
“Shall we begin then?”
Tinar nodded without hesitation.
“Let’s. Brat.”
Seeing Tinar raise the grotesque-looking Sword Breaker, Gerald slowly drew his own sword as well.