Chapter 5: I Am Knight Lee Han (3)

Yord Decker was a talented prospect that graduated from the Swordsmanship Department in the Academy. He was the top of his batch.

As a son of a lowly knight family, he didn’t really have a proper title, however, he was confident that his swordsmanship skill was better than even those who came from noble families. After all, if that wasn’t true, he wouldn’t be able to become the top student in the Swordsmanship Department, a place that was teeming with talented people.

That was why he was especially proud of his swordsmanship, and believed that he could become the best knight in the Order of the Silver Lion, the best Knight Order in the kingdom.

I know there are many formidable seniors here, but they shouldn’t be at a level that I can’t overcome. In five— no! In two years, I’ll overcome them all!

Due to his particularly strong success-oriented tendencies, he set a goal to become the vice-commander of the Third Order of the Order of the Silver Lion, one of the three battalions that the Knight Order had.

Considering that the current leader of the Third Order was one of the only three Aura Users in the kingdom, he still had a long way before he could overcome him, that was why he set his goal to be the vice commander first for the time being. In order to achieve that goal, he had to do everything he could to catch the commander’s eye.

Senior Lihan…

That was why, the senior called Lihan or Lee Han or whatever, caught his eye. He heard that the senior was a former soldier who became a knight after the knight commander noticed him. He also heard that he was someone quite different from the other knights in the Order.

Yord was quite puzzled when he first heard about him, though. Because from what he heard, that senior was someone who didn’t even know the most basic of ‘Combat Techniques’. As everyone knew, the difference between those who had learned Combat Techniques and those who weren’t was as big as the difference between a cat and a lion.

There’s definitely something up about him, though. After all, despite all that, he remains a member of the Order after all these years. I should never put my guards down against him.

Yord didn’t have any hostilities against him, of course. Though he was someone who came from a knight family, he didn’t have a proper title nor land, so he wasn’t in a position to discriminate against anyone. If anything, he sympathized with Lee Han.

But, at the end of the day, sympathy was just sympathy. That feeling still wouldn’t stop Yord to use him as a stepping stone to his advancement.

That was why…

Please don’t think that I’m a heartless person, Senior.

Although Yord never considered him as an easy opponent, he was confident that he wouldn’t lose against him.

──However, it took less than five minutes for him to realize that those thoughts were nothing but arrogance.

“Heok! Keheok…!”

“C’mon, try a little harder. I haven’t even warmed up yet.”

“Heok! Keheook!”

“…Your stamina is dogshit.”

It couldn’t even be called a spar, his opponent just had been playing with him.

Meanwhile, Jake and the other knights were watching the match between the newcomer and Lee Han with their full attention. Suddenly, everyone clicked their tongues simultaneously.

Spiteful bastard.

Look at him, he’s joy toying with that poor guy.

…He’s still the same.

Tap, tap!

At the start, Yord was the one who attacked first. Maybe because he used Illusionary Swordsmanship based on Swift Swordsmanship, his sword was quick and everchanging. His technique could fool the eyes of its spectators; even some knights could only frown at its display, knowing that they had no way to block that sword.

Though, this much was expected, as he was someone who was at the top of the Swordsmanship Department in the Academy. If his origin wasn’t from a humble family, his skills would have gotten him to join the Second, or even the First Order instead of the Third.

Unfortunately for him, his opponent was a bad matchup for him. If he had chosen to fight with every other knight, he’d definitely show a good result, or at the very least, showcase an impressive performance.

That guy just blocked every single attack from that newcomer…

Until now, Lee Han had only been showing a defensive stance, blocking or redirecting all of Yord’s flashy attacks. Seeing how he hadn’t launched a counterattack would probably make some people think that he was being pushed back. But after seeing him blocking everything for five minutes straight without receiving any clean hits, those people would definitely change their minds.

Moreover, it was clear that the attacker was already sweating profusely, while the one on the defense didn’t even show a hint of fatigue. Actually, he didn’t even break a sweat. Seeing how he didn’t back down in the face of his opponent’s onslaught, it was clear that he was just toying with his opponent.

“Wow, your swordsmanship is amazing. What is it called?”

“Heok! Heok!”

“No, wait, don’t answer that now, you’ll run out of breath if you do.”

“Keeeeuuuuk!”

If people other than the knights were to hear those words, they would probably find them condescending. But, the knights knew better. Lee Han was sincerely praising the newcomer.

Though, if anything, it only made it even more humiliating to the recipient.

That still traumatized me…

Anyone who had fallen victim to Lee Han would know. He wasn’t a genius who’d dismantle his opponent’s swordsmanship, nor was he a master who’d overpower his opponent with experience and skill.

Instead, he…

Would just watch the attack and block it…

That, or he’d react to the attack before blocking it.

The ridiculous thing about this was that he was able to block his opponent’s attacks by merely observing them. No matter what the direction the sword traveled to, or what change the wielder made, he just watched everything until the very end and ‘blocked it’.

For anyone who walked in the path of the swo— no, to anyone who knew martial arts, that was truly an absurd thing to do. Of course they knew well that attacks from swords, spears, or arrows could be blocked, but that didn’t mean one could just look at the attack and block it.

If there was someone who thought otherwise, they were most likely a foolish dweeb, someone who had never held a sword before, or a dumb idiot who only knew how to talk.

What Lee Han did was similar to acrobatics or a show. After all, he was able to accomplish simple, yet unbelievable things. To do the things that he had done, one needed to be able to move their body to their wish.

That was why…

“Haa… Why did he even offer himself to be humiliated like that…?”

Jake shook his head, feeling sorry for the newbie.

Meanwhile…

Yord was clearly out of breath, and his mind was in a complete disorder. He felt a great urge to lie down right now, even though it was the dirt floor below him. The more he started to panic, the more he felt like he was going crazy.

What the hell is this person?!

Was he amazing? Experienced? Or skilled?

Neither. He wasn’t even the type of person that Yord ever saw when he was studying in the Swordsmanship Department in the Academy.

Rather, he was just…

Strong.

He was strong.

His skill was anything but good, and it didn’t seem like he had learned any special swordsmanship skill or anything.

And yet, he was this strong.

“Urk!”

Whiiiirrr-!

Yord flailed his body, struggling, as he performed his Eight Illusionary Swords again. Since it was an Illusionary Swordsmanship, he produced everchanging movements with his wrist and feet, making it as if he had multiple swords in his hands. At the end of his Eight Illusionary Swords, his sword wasn’t the only thing that created such an illusion, his body too.

But, such a flashy and mysterious technique didn’t work on his opponent at all. It was clear from ‘Senior Lihan’s reaction; he was observing Yord’s movements until the end. Normally, whenever he was flinging his body around like this, his opponent would be too confused to react, but it wasn’t the case with the guy in front of him.

His eyes keep looking at me.

Though Yord could escape his eyes a few times, they could still ‘capture’ him in the end. The worst thing here was that his opponent wasn’t only looking at his sword, but his body too. Using that information, he was able to predict his next move and block his incoming attack.

Kwaang-!

It wasn’t like his sword lacked force behind it or anything. He had learned Combat Techniques, so his physical ability could be considered equal to ten soldiers. But, even such a power was easily blocked by his opponent. He didn’t even flinch after receiving Yord’s blows, only silently blocking it, and staring at it as if he found it interesting.

That was the moment when Yord felt as if his heart was being crushed. A heavy sense of despair that he had never felt even when he was sparring against his father enveloped him. He felt helpless, as if the swordsmanship he had practiced for twenty years, all his efforts, were being denied at this very moment.

And that feeling crushed him.

“You’re taking this too lightly, don’t you think?”

“…Pardon?”

“I said, you’re taking this too lightly. You challenged me to a spar because you thought you could win, didn’t you?”

“W-What…”

His words were like sharp thorns that stabbed him from all directions. Yord didn’t even have time to correct his expression as he continued to be pricked by those thorns.

“Hit the nail on the head, didn’t I? Well, I assume you’ve heard the rumors about a knight in the Third Order who used to be a soldier and didn’t know a single Combat Technique. You thought that you probably could somehow win against that kind of guy, right?”

“T-That…”

“Oh, I’m not scolding you, so don’t make that kind of expression. What I’m trying to say is… You probably felt it a minute after we started sparring, right? Something like, ‘Huh? This guy isn’t simple,’ right?”

“…”

His words were all true. Whether it was a sword fight or a fist fight, after a minute of sparring—no, as soon as they met each other, people could easily gauge whether their opponent was strong or not.

As soon as Yord crossed swords with the man in front of him, he felt as if he was facing a boulder. He also realized that he had made a terrible mistake. His opponent wasn’t an easy one, but a quite formidable one.

“Good, at least you noticed that, but still… How could you still do something like that after you noticed it?”

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You brat, stop pretending to not know! If you knew that I wasn’t an easy opponent, you should’ve risked everything and tried to end the fight in a single blow. You should’ve come in with the swordsmanship you’re most confident in and the ‘determination’ to win with any means necessary.”

“…”

“And yet you just kept jumping around while panicking on your own.”

“!!!”

Hearing that, Yord’s expression turned blank, as if someone had just hit him in the back of his head. That was how big of a psychological shock that he received. After all, his senior’s words were so accurate that he couldn’t even try to refute them.

Just as he said, Yord knew that his opponent was significantly stronger than him. And yet, he still just ran around without even preparing for a single strike, even though it was clear that his opponent didn’t even break a sweat and saw him as a non-threat.

When he realized that a wave of shame came over him. He knew that his opponent was strong, yet he still let his arrogance get the best of him. He started to admonish himself over how stupid and pathetic he was

I should’ve just hit him with all my might before I fell into despair…

As soon as he realized that, he felt refreshed.

“…Please forgive me, I have shown a foolish appearance in front of you.”

“Seems like it was worth explaining it to you. It’s great that you aren’t a complete idiot.”

“Yes.”

Yord answered resolutely before raising the tip of his sword straight ahead.

He felt thankful to the man in front of him. After all, he went out of his way to enlighten an arrogant and selfish guy who ended up wallowing in despair because of his own actions.

And so…

Woooong-!

“I will do everything I can.”

“Oho.”

His opponent openly showed his admiration. No, actually, all the knights who were watching him showed their admiration.

Yord’s body and sword trembled, as if creating a resonance. His sword lacked a sharp edge, but his blade seemed undoubtedly sharp right now.

Sword Resonance.

A phenomenon that occurred when the sword wielder and their sword created matching wavelengths. It was a sword technique that only a very small number of talented swordsmen could demonstrate.

In some cases, a Sword Resonance would have its destructive power increased, enabling its wielder to defeat opponents even when they had difference in skill.

For a swordsman, it could be called a killing blow.

Yord stretched his sword out as his senses were heightened to the limit. All that was left was his ‘resolve’ to cut his opponent down without any concern for his current physical strength, mental strength, or whatever would happen next.

Whirrrr-!

And then, his sword moved faster than what he had been showcasing in the spar, reaching right in front of Lee Han’s nose in the blink of an eye.

Extreme Swift Swordsmanship.

Yord abandoned his Illusionary Sword, which was like a breaking ball in baseball, and tried to win solely with speed.

And then…

“Good, good.”

While smiling, Lee Han watched his movements until the end.

Kwaaaaang-!

Rumble-!

“Ruthless bastard.”

Everyone saw the sight.

Even though the amazing newcomer showed off his swordsmanship and tried to end the sparring on a great note…

“…Cough.”

His effort was in vain.

Yord bounced off the ground three times, as if he was a rock bouncing off the water surface, before crashing into a wall. His body trembled for a while before he finally fainted.

Meanwhile, the man who used a human’s body to play skipping stones was…

“Phew… That feels good.”

Smiling brightly at the sight with a refreshing expression on his face.