26.Rage

“…What?”

 

 

Even Veronica, who should have declared the match over and shouted the winner, froze.

Anyone could see she was an amateur, no, even before discussing fighting, she was just an ordinary woman who seemed completely unrelated, yet her head had been blown off by a sword swung by such a person.

 

Even swinging a giant hammer might not have done that, but just hitting with the sword’s flat side caused this to happen.

 

 

Silence fell around the training ground.

 

 

The Larnar camp,

The Amar camp,

The Princess’s side,

And the nobles and spectators who had flocked from all over to witness this knighting ceremony, all were silent.

 

 

“Hiiiik?!”

 

 

Amidst everyone’s shock, the black-haired woman at the center of the astonishment screamed and collapsed.

Looking down at her blood-soaked body, she trembled, a perfect picture of a village maiden.

 

 

Veronica belatedly regained her senses and declared the black-haired woman the victor.

 

“I, I won…!”

 

Larnar, truly moved that the women’s skills were effective, rose from his seat.

 

“No way!!”

 

 

On the other hand, the Amar side protested, saying it was impossible.

They were certain that woman had used some kind of underhanded trick.

 

 

But it was rejected.

In Veronica’s judgment, her head had simply been blown off by a sword strike imbued with immense power.

There was no room for trickery or underhanded tactics to have been involved.

 

 

In the end, the first match was won by the Larnar side.

 

 

 

“Good job.”

 

 

Siesta approached the woman, who had collapsed with weak legs.

She roughly wiped the sticky liquid from her face and body with a towel and helped her up.

 

 

“Are you alright?”

 

 

Veronica also approached, examining her complexion.

It seemed to be her first kill, so she approached cautiously, knowing it could be severely traumatic.

 

 

The knight from the Amar side this time was a skilled warrior whom Veronica knew by face.

If she had killed such a person in one blow, she was an invaluable asset that could not be overlooked.

Veronica swallowed her thoughts of seducing her someday and helped her to compose herself.

 

 

“Y-yes…”

The woman barely regained her senses and returned to her camp.

Larnar, overjoyed, was seen embracing her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“…What’s going on?”

 

Baron Amar frowned at the sudden sense of unease he felt.

Just a moment ago, everything had been going his way, but suddenly things were starting to go wrong.

 

 

Who on earth was that woman?

No, he knew who she was.

She was a common maiden living in a small village in the Larnar barony, who had been summoned to the capital and granted a knighthood just a week ago.

 

 

Before that, she had never even touched a sword, let alone a farming tool.

In short, she was the ultimate beginner.

 

And that woman had killed his proud knight in one blow.

 

 

Did that make any sense?

 

 

A hidden master?

Even that had its limits.

She looked to be about 20 years old, but hidden masters were usually old men over 60 or 70.

Even if they reached the Expert level at that age and became younger, they would usually look like they were in their 40s or 50s, and only Masters could maintain a youthful appearance in their 20s through a complete transformation.

 

And such a person’s parents would not still be alive, or if they were, they would be on their deathbeds.

 

 

But they were fine.

Her parents were still living in the village, receiving support from the territory and doing relatively well.

 

 

 

 

“Milled…in one hit…!”

 

The knights couldn’t take their eyes off the training ground, their faces filled with disbelief.

 

Milled’s level was Sword Major Middle. He was capable of infusing mana into his body, weapon, and even his clothes, making him a key force in the territory, incomparable to ordinary people.

 

But one hit.

He was hit by a sword swung randomly in fear and died on the spot.

 

 

 

 

 

“Next contestant, please come forward.”

 

As everyone groaned at the unexpected situation, Veronica’s voice was heard.

Before the knighting ceremony began, everyone had been relaxed, but now they were all tense.

 

If there was even one more woman like that, who knew what would happen.

 

Victory or defeat?

What did that matter now? They could die without even swinging their swords.

 

 

“What, what are you doing! The next contestant, go out there!!”

 

 

Baron Amar shouted loudly, feeling unnecessarily anxious.

The knights looked at each other.

 

They wanted to observe the situation as much as possible, unsure of what might happen.

 

 

“…I’ll go.”

Amidst that atmosphere, a man who seemed relatively taciturn and normal stepped forward with a heavy expression.

 

 

His name was Romel Acard, a viscount and the vice-commander of the Amar Knights, with skills ranked second in the territory, at the Sword Major Rising level.

 

 

As he moved, a murmur arose among the knights, the Larnar camp on the other side, and the noble ladies all around.

Milled was strong, but Romel was already recorded in the national registry and treated with respect, regardless of his affiliation or title.

 

Such a person was participating in the second knighting ceremony.

 

 

“Already…?”

“It’s dangerous. This atmosphere.”

 

 

He looked to be around 30 years old, but was actually in his late 40s and had a great deal of practical experience.

 

“We must break through.”

He would lift the sinking atmosphere with a victory.

That was his strategy.

 

 

Although morale had been lowered by the unexpected situation, he would simply raise it.

There were no knights on the Larnar side who could match him.

 

Lloyd might have been able to compete, but he had left long ago, and even the woman from before couldn’t face him with her fragile mentality and his vast experience and caution.

 

 

Of course, if he had known that Yu-eun was mass-producing Expert-level knights, he would never have made such a mistake, but with his knowledge and information, it was the best judgment he could make.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As he stepped into the center of the training ground, a knight from the Larnar side appeared.

 

 

“Hoi!”

“….”

 

 

It was Yu-eun, the unparalleled brat who had not only beaten up the Baron and pretended not to know him, but had even spoken informally to the Princess.

 

 

“I heard you’re pretty strong? That’s why I came out.”

 

 

Yu-eun wiggled his fingers in a friendly yet annoying way.

 

 

“…Please be quiet.”

 

At Veronica’s words, he lowered his hand like a dejected puppy, whimpering, ‘Heeng’.

It was impossible to figure out what kind of person he was.

 

 

 

“I heard you’re about as skilled as Lloyd? By the way, Lloyd broke through to Expert when we last fought. Did you know that?”

“Hmph. What a liar.”

“A liar? It’s true. Anyway, that Lloyd got his ass kicked by my lovely wife, Yuna-ssi. If you look closely, you might still find bruises. It hurt a lot, I bet.”

 

 

He was talking non-stop, even though his words weren’t particularly useful.

 

 

“Seeing a guy like you competing as a knight, it seems the Leizen territory will fall apart even without us.”

“What are you talking about? You can’t even beat Lloyd. By the way, Lloyd was one hit for me. You’re…0.1 hits? No, even Lloyd was a 0.0000001 hit guy, so you’re…”

“Let’s begin.”

 

Veronica interrupted Yu-eun and declared the start.

If she listened to him, there would be no end, and even if she continued to listen, his words were meaningless.

 

 

“Pay for the crime of harming the Baron with your death!!!”

 

 

Romel drew his sword with a flourish and charged forward.

 

“Oooooh.”

 

 

A faint cheer erupted from among the watching nobles.

Some of them seemed interested in swordsmanship, as they stood up and stretched their necks to watch him intently.

 

 

“He’s quite popular, isn’t he? The single troops must hate him. Of course, not me. I hate being a man even more than being single.”

 

 

Romel charged with fierce momentum.

But Yu-eun didn’t take any stance.

If he stayed like this, he would be pierced by that sharp momentum and explode.

 

 

That’s what everyone thought.

 

 

 

Swaeeeeek!!

 

 

“Die!!”

 

 

A thrust that seemed to pierce even space itself.

And it was coming straight for Yu-eun’s forehead.

 

If he stayed like this, he would die instantly.

Some of the nobles were already certain of Romel’s victory and were raising their wine glasses.

 

 

But in that instant.

 

 

Slap – !

 

 

 

Romel’s face turned sharply, and his body followed, flying away and crashing down.

Romel’s body, which had smashed the training ground with a loud noise.

Fortunately, he wasn’t dead. He had sustained moderate injuries.

 

 

“Oh, a mosquito…”

 

 

Yu-eun, the one who had created that scene, dusted off his palm with an indifferent expression.

 

 

“I was annoyed by mosquitoes even in modern times, but they’re rampant here too. Shoo~!”

 

He casually wiped his palm on his roughly dressed shorts and glanced at Romel, who was lying on the ground.

 

 

“Why are you lying there?”

“…You bastard!!”

 

 

He had been slapped.

Not stabbed by a sword, not cut, but slapped.

 

 

Could there be such humiliation?

 

 

Romel immediately got up and raised his sword again.

 

 

“Ah!”

 

 

Then suddenly, Yu-eun clapped his hands and looked as if he had realized something.

 

“I made a mistake…hey, Veronica?”

“…What is it.”

“Can I change the list now? I forgot something…haaa. How could I, of all people, make such a mistake.”

“Of course not.”

“Ugh….”

 

 

He was blatantly distracted while risking his life in the knighting ceremony.

Could there be any greater insult?

 

 

Just as Romel was about to explode, Yu-eun opened his mouth towards him.

 

 

“Well, now that I think about it, you guys are pretty successful, right?”

 

What on earth was he planning to say, laying such groundwork?

 

 

“Not to mention that fatty over there, and you guys are knights, so you must be doing pretty well. So, of course, your wives and girlfriends must be beautiful too. Right? Haa…I should have put them on the list…that way it would be easier to take them.”

“….”

 

 

Veronica looked at Yu-eun with eyes that said, ‘What kind of trash is this?’ and Romel was furious.

 

“You must have a wife too, right? Well, anyway, if you die here, she’ll be a widow, so even if she’s not on the list, I can take her, right?”

“You bastard!!!”

“Ah, is she here by any chance?”

 

Yu-eun openly scanned the Amar side.

 

At that sight, Romel’s fuse blew.

He was usually known for being taciturn, but he couldn’t help but be extremely angry now.

 

 

How dare he mention his family?

This piece of trash had to be killed.

 

 

“Aaaaaaaaaa!!!!”

 

 

He swung his sword, dragging his injured body.

With even fiercer momentum than before.

The surrounding air vibrated with his explosive spirit, and artificially created structures began to crumble.

Although it was only a slight level, if this continued for a long time, everything nearby would surely turn to ashes.

 

 

“Haaam…so weak. So, you’re offering me your wife? Thank you. I’ll enjoy her. Ah, do you have a daughter too?”

“Die!!!”

 

 

The sword strike, filled with a desperate will, was truly the essence of everything Romel had.

It felt as if all the energy in the world was concentrated, and even looking at it made one feel as if their entire body would be reduced to dust and scattered.

 

 

But that was only from the perspective of the weak.

It didn’t apply to Yu-eun at all.

 

 

“There are more matches to come, so I’ll just let you go this time.”

Yu-eun spread his arms to the left and right.

 

“I don’t know what your trick is!! But die while you’re off guard!! I will definitely throw your corpse to the dㅡ,”

 

 

Pak!!

 

 

 

 

“Oh, another mosquito.”

“….”

 

It exploded again.

Meaninglessly.

 

 

The fierce momentum that had shaken the entire training ground had vanished as if it had never been.

 

 

Thud.

 

 

Like Milled in the first knighting ceremony, the headless corpse knelt and fell to the side.

 

 

“Wow. He’s really weak. He seems a million times weaker than I thought. He’s supposed to be a strong knight, but is this okay? It’s so disappointing.”

 

Yu-eun shook the blood off his hands.

He had killed a knight who was nearly an Expert, but he didn’t seem to care at all.

As he said, he looked as if he had just caught a mosquito.

 

 

Those who saw this were involuntarily swept up in terror.

 

 

Although he hadn’t reached Expert, he was a Rising knight.

In the world of territorial warfare, having just one or two of them could deter war itself, and they were powerful enough to be used as the main force in wars between nations, capable of breaking strategies with tactics, a truly formidable force.

 

 

But to Yu-eun, he was just a mosquito.

 

He had met such a futile end.

 

 

 

 

The training ground once again fell into silence and astonishment.

Yuna was the only one who wasn’t surprised.

 

 

Even Siesta, who knew Yu-eun’s strength to some extent, was sweating and surprised, so how great must the surprise of others be?

 

 

Especially Veronica, who was nearby, was even more surprised.

 

 

She was also a national talent who had reached Expert based on her innate talent, and she was a person who was as proud of her skills as she was loyal to the royal family.

But she hadn’t seen Yu-eun’s movements.

 

 

She knew that Romel had moved into his arms, and that he had brought his arms together from left to right, but she couldn’t keep up with the speed.

In the blink of an eye, Yu-eun’s hands had already met, and Romel’s head had exploded.

 

 

“What the…!”