Ch.27EP.9 – The Knight Finds Fulfillment as an Instructor (1)

The moment Baltar Grace’s name was mentioned, everyone’s faces showed unmistakable excitement, all pretense of composure gone.

An opportunity to be taught by the pinnacle of the kingdom’s knights.

No, even if they couldn’t receive his instruction, just meeting him face-to-face would be of incalculable value.

That’s how immense Baltar’s presence was.

“…You’re not lying, are you?”

It was a question from one of the students, and it couldn’t help but be disrespectful.

The instructor had staked the honor of the knightly order he belonged to, and logically, he wouldn’t break such a promise.

“Of course not.”

And the instructor nodded without even 0.1 seconds of hesitation.

Affirming that he hadn’t told a lie.

At this, half of the swordsmanship department students swallowed dryly as their ambition awakened.

‘Can I defeat an active knight?’

‘Winning conventionally is impossible. But if I face them after they’re a bit tired, then maybe…!’

‘I need to be strategic, strategic.’

The students racked their brains to form strategies.

Honestly, they were barely worthy of being called strategies—thoughts that even children could come up with—but these novices who couldn’t even analyze their opponent’s tactics couldn’t possibly devise ingenious strategies to defeat active knights.

So they weren’t necessarily fools.

Just simple-minded.

And among them, the simplest one was…

“Kunta, will fight.”

A man with awkward pronunciation stepped forward.

A warrior from the jungle, plains, and desert who was still unfamiliar with the continental common language revealed himself.

He was a warrior reminiscent of a handsome black panther, none other than a brave warrior of the Barbarians, a race renowned for their mystical nature.

“Great warrior who serves the White-Feathered Serpent, Kunta, son of Urba.”

Woong.

“I, challenge you to a duel…!”

His single-edged S-shaped blade gleamed coldly as it reflected the sunlight.

Known as a sickle sword, it was a Kopesh, also called a sicel sword.

Difficult to use, but once mastered, it would be an exceptionally tricky blade to face.

But that sword created a resonance phenomenon.

It wasn’t a sword’s cry. But the trembling that occurs just before a sword cries.

It demonstrated how familiar he was with the sword, proving that he was quite skilled.

Seeing this, the students realized that this barbarian warrior was by no means beneath them.

No, he was infinitely above them.

Realizing this, the students smiled despite their frustration.

‘With that level of skill, even the instructor would find him difficult to handle.’

‘Perfect!’

The students, while envious of the barbarian warrior, hoped he would hold the instructor back as much as possible.

For the sake of their own goals…!

Fwooosh!!

Thud-!

…The next moment, Kunta’s body flipped over and slammed into the ground.

“???”

…Kunta blinked, not even realizing that he had lost.

“What? What just happened!?”

“…I, I didn’t see anything….”

Since everything happened in the blink of an eye, no one had properly witnessed the sequence of events.

A commotion broke out, and the instructor helped Kunta, who was still lying on the ground.

Hup!

…Could a person be lifted so lightly? Especially such a large frame?

“Your posture was good. Your swordsmanship too, but you lost without a chance to react because of your arrogant stance. What were you thinking, letting your guard down?”

“…Kunta, does not let guard down.”

“Yeah, right. It’s obvious you underestimated me because I’m smaller than you.”

“…I was taught not to bully those smaller and weaker than me.”

“That’s what letting your guard down means. Idiot.”

Flick!

The instructor’s finger lightly flicked Kunta’s forehead, and Kunta fell backward with a thud.

A simple flick had knocked down a 2-meter giant.

“Urgh!”

“Don’t let your guard down next time. If you keep doing that, you’ll definitely die someday.”

“…I will remember, instructor. But what was that technique you used on me? It’s a fighting style I’ve never seen before.”

“It’s a shoulder throw.”

“Hmm, I’ll remember that.”

Kunta accepted his defeat without protest and trudged back to his place.

It was a humiliating defeat, but he didn’t seem to take it to heart.

And then,

“Now, who’s next?”

-……

“Come out quickly. The sun’s going to set.”

…The students remained silent.

* * *

To be honest, Ihan hadn’t done anything special.

He simply dove into his opponent’s stance, and in that position, struck the wrist with the base of his palm.

The so-called palm strike.

With a light wrist snap, he delivered a shock that weakened the grip, disarmed the sword, and simultaneously threw the opponent over his shoulder.

It was based on an extremely simple principle.

Of course, he had incorporated something similar to the internal force technique that Baltar had shown the day before into his palm strike, but it was such a rudimentary version that it could hardly be called a technique—something that could easily be blocked if one wanted to.

But the problem was that they were helplessly falling victim to this simple technique.

“Kuhak!?”

“What use is a swordsman with such weak strength?”

16 consecutive victories.

That was Ihan’s record, and that many people were now sprawled on the ground.

He had achieved victory not through striking techniques but solely through throwing techniques or joint locks.

Practicing against people like this gave him the sense that his skills were gradually improving.

‘But aren’t these guys too weak?’

Ihan looked at them with contemptuous eyes.

Except for Kunta, his first opponent, there hadn’t been anyone who sparked his interest.

Just practice partners slightly better than ugly rag dolls.

The level of the students was only that much, so Ihan was full of dissatisfaction.

‘I shouldn’t have such high expectations.’

After fighting that guy named Lac or whatever the day before, he had realized anew that there were many skilled knights besides Baltar, but looking at these academy students now, he felt underwhelmed.

It wasn’t that he was abnormally strong.

Rather…

‘These bastards, most of them have poor foundations.’

Somehow, not many of them had proper fundamentals.

Would you believe that out of the sixteen people he had faced so far, only two had solid foundations?

‘Hmm, it’s quite serious.’

I thought they were all supposed to be elites, but why are they like this?

He was in the middle of such thoughts.

“…Yes, this is it.”

His expression finally softened when two more people stood before him.

“I am Arno, Arno de Ophen.”

“I’m Garand, instructor.”

“…Two of you.”

“Is there a problem?”

“No, it doesn’t matter. Rather, I’m glad someone’s finally using their head.”

He had never said he preferred one-on-one.

He had told them all to come at him.

So these guys were smart.

Because they understood his intention.

Sring.

A combination of a boy with dual swords and a young man with a spear.

Both were quite skilled, at a level similar to Kunta whom he had faced first.

But unlike Kunta, they showed no signs of underestimation and seemed intent on giving their all from the start, so there was no worry about them being caught off guard like fools.

‘After clearing out the weak ones, the named ones finally appear.’

He knew both of them.

Even though he had little interest in the students, these two were so famous that he had heard rumors about them.

The eldest son of the renowned Ophen family, known for producing generations of military generals and countless master swordsmen, and

The disciple of the mercenary king, leader of the legendary mercenary group “Wolves of the Wilderness,” also known as the king of mercenaries.

To be honest, both of them, like Kunta, were beyond the level of academy enrollment.

They should be taking the knight order entrance exam right away.

“Why did you two enroll here? Did you come to play house?”

“I came because I wanted to duel with Young Lord Roen. Unexpectedly, I get to duel with someone like you, instructor, which is quite satisfying.”

“I just wanted to become a knight. Thought it might be better than being a mercenary. But I figured enjoying my youth a bit before becoming a knight right away wouldn’t be so bad, so I enrolled.”

“…You’re both oddballs.”

“Any more than you, instructor?”

“That’s not for you to say.”

Now that some satisfying opponents had finally appeared, Ihan smiled gladly and, for the first time, picked up a wooden sword.

Although he was using a wooden sword against opponents with real swords and spears, considering he had been slamming everyone to the ground with his bare hands until now, it was clear that he was showing some level of seriousness.

It was also a sign that he highly valued their skills.

“Thank you, instructor.”

“Won’t you use a real sword?”

“I’d like to, but I can’t kill students, can I?”

“……”

“…You’re as frightening as my old man.”

Whoosh!

There was no more conversation.

Instead, Arno swung his sword.

In his left hand was a short but wide military greatsword, and in his right, a longer greatsword than the one in his left.

Generally, wielding two swords is nothing but a futile endeavor, but he handled the dual swords freely with a level of proficiency that made one imagine how much bloody practice he must have undergone.

Whoosh! Whoong-!

While wielding swordsmanship with one hand, he was also looking for opportunities with the other hand like a scorpion’s poisonous sting.

And the other one, Garand’s spear that approached without hesitation, was no ordinary spear either.

Kwajik!

It was visibly heavy, and it was a huge spear with not only a spearhead but also a blade attached.

A pole arm. As the peculiar spear, similar to an Eastern Bangcheonhwageuk, was swung, it exuded an aura that could bisect a person.

The exchange of attacks and defenses happened in an instant.

Every time there was a clang, sparks flew, and a fierce, explosive sound was heard.

With each flash of the two blades, trajectories were created, and Garand’s strike, easily wielding the massive spear, contained enough power to crush even rocks.

Paang!

In reality, even for an active knight, it wouldn’t be easy to withstand the attacks of these two.

Therefore…

“Huuuu…!”

It was also unbelievable that these two were the first to tire.

Drenched in sweat, they looked at Ihan as if he were not human but some other creature.

What is this weight?

Was breathing always this painful?

“…Instructor, it’s a rude question, but are you really human?”

“Ha, that’s absurd.”

Arno and Garand, the two students, were so dumbfounded that they even asked such a foolish question.

And for good reason, look at this.

These two proud individuals had swallowed their pride and were displaying teamwork.

A scion of a noble family and a mercenary’s disciple.

Two men who were practically opposites were trying their hardest to defeat him.

“I am human. I’m just a bit stronger than you.”

…He hadn’t taken a single step back.

Not only were all of their strikes blocked, but when they tried to push him back with force, they were the ones who nearly fell backward.

Also, although the opponent was clearly fighting with a wooden sword, somehow that wooden sword not only didn’t break but made their weapons scream as if they were about to shatter.

The screams emitted by their weapons made their wrists and arms tingle, and they looked at their instructor with a dizzying gaze.

Ihan…

“Your momentum is a bit weak. Maybe because you’re not fully matured yet, there’s a timid aspect. If you fix that, it would be good.”

“…Are you saying we’re timid?”

“I’m saying your momentum is weak.”

“I don’t think it’s particularly lacking.”

“No, it is. To say your momentum is strong-.”

It should be like this.

Whoosh!

As if to demonstrate rather than explain, he took a deep breath.

With all his might.

As if testing the limits of his lung capacity, he gathered his breath with full force and…

“HAAP━!”

He let out a powerful shout.

But no one properly heard that shout.

Tingle tingle!

It was just a kiai.

Not even that loud of a voice.

He just let out a powerful shout that anyone could do.

But those who heard that powerful shout, especially the weak-hearted, sat down.

“Urgh…!?”

“Kuhak!”

Their leg strength gave out in the face of the momentum he exuded.

Not only that, some almost wet themselves.

The roar of a beast.

That’s an appropriate expression for the powerful shout that froze Arno and Garand’s bodies.

They tried to move, but couldn’t.

“…Fear?”

Irene, who was somewhat of a magician, defined this phenomenon.

Large magical beasts can sometimes make people faint with just their presence.

It’s the principle of a rabbit forcibly panicking in front of a bear.

What Ihan was showing now was the same.

“It’s called a Lion’s Roar. Directly translated, it would be something like the roar of a lion.”

“……”

“You see? This is what momentum is. You need to be firmly resolved to bite, overwhelm, and defeat your opponent. And if you can easily overcome this level of momentum, you can make me back down too. But you lack this. Probably because you grew up in a greenhouse, but as you gain more practical experience, your momentum will mature someday. In conclusion, time will solve it.”

“…Are you really human?”

Even as they listened to Ihan’s teaching, they voiced their doubts again.

This momentum didn’t seem like something that could be achieved through effort and experience.

They sat down right there.

Thud!

Even if they tried to endure, it was too difficult.

Ihan smiled at them as they sat down, looking refreshed.

As if his body was finally warming up.

And then…

“Come out.”

“……”

“The others don’t seem to want to challenge me anymore, but you seem different. Well, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Who was he talking to?

His words were like a provocation, and fortunately, the target of his provocation responded as if they had been waiting.

Step.

“-That’s not true. I was probably the most eager among those here.”

A handsome young nobleman with black hair that suited him drew his sword and stood before him, and Ihan smiled, thinking that things might finally get interesting.

Roen.

Suspected to be a returner, his surveillance target number one, and secretly…

‘The big one has arrived.’

This was undoubtedly the big event he had been looking forward to the most today.