Chapter 265 – 26. Only the Strong Survive (5)
9th line, beginning of war.
It was only for a while that all faces were reddened by the noisy progress. Rome’s face, which was full of humane emotions, eventually calmed down. He rummaged through the pockets of his military uniform and took out his leather gloves as usual, even in front of the mighty giant of the continent, like a giant tree.
‘There are no gaps.’
The duel has already begun. Even so, the baron, who was wearing gloves, pulled out his dagger in a carefree manner. And Kenneth, who had been watching every single one of the series of movements, repeated while clicking his tongue inwardly.
‘It’s great, only admiration comes out.’
The blade of the dagger Rom was holding was only a hand’s length. It wasn’t a sharp fighting weapon like the one Kenneth held in his left hand, but a household item that might be used for cutting beef jerky and shaving chaff. It was a differentiated look from those who had challenged the Somerset Swordsman’s Guild’s quick sword.
‘Are you planning to use a sword technique rather than an intangible sword?’
It wasn’t a bad strategy. It’s a fact that many people misunderstand, but even a swordsman handles power similar to magical power beyond a certain level. Even though each school has a slightly different name. In the concept of tying stamina and strength into one, the so-called source of energy was the secret to the so-called strong man’s magic-like mystery.
‘It will definitely flow into an endurance fight.’
In previous confrontations, it was obvious that one side had an advantage all the time. Perhaps the most competitive was the first battle between Guillaume and Max, who were on the first line. After that, the confrontation was a duel in which the winner was decided due to problems of compatibility or skill.
But Rome and Kenneth are different.
The factor that divided the game between the two, who deserved the expression of masters, was strategic management. Based on the set stamina, strength, and energy, the choice at every moment of the composition of the technique and the countermeasure divided life and death.
‘That’s difficult.’
Finally, Kenneth’s twin swords shimmered with a bright energy. Even those who could not see it could tell that it was filled with something eerie. It was a state that could not help admiring the tribe that handles energy, much less.
Flash! There was a flash.
It was a coincidence. With a distance of about 30 paces between them, the two hit the ground and faced each other in the air for a few seconds. After that, they swapped places where they thought of each other and landed.
“Bah, what just happened?”
“I couldn’t even see…”
The crowd was agitated. The Court Baek, who was in charge of refereeing, also rolled his eyes with a puzzled expression. Those who wanted to eat a little bit of knives managed to capture the clash between Rome and Kenneth, but even that was only once or twice.
“Sir Peltier, was it just the seventh time?”
“I think I bumped into it eight times. Maybe more.”
In the northern camp, Fabian tilted his head and asked. And Mathieu opened his dark eyes and answered in a single, uncertain tone.
“It’s just amazing. The reputation of the Britannia Somerset Swordsmen Guild seems to have been true.”
“Well, there is no doubt that they are stronger than us…”
“Is there anything that bothers you?”
It wasn’t clear enough to say yet. The cautious old knight silently shook his head and observed the eastern camp for a while. Standing there with his hands behind his back, Yongmaenggong was exchanging words with the maid next to him with his forehead slightly narrowed.
“Amazing, ten times?”
“It was eleven and a half.”
“Where did you miss?”
“You could have caught Kenneth taking the lead the moment he was hovering in the air. The Baron did a good job blocking for the most part, but the moment he set his foot on the ground, he seemed to lose his stance for a moment. Then Kenneth, who aimed at his ankle and swung his sword, threw another sword wind.”
It was a battle of one or two seconds at the longest. In such a short interval, Rome and Kenneth attacked and defended as many as 11 times.
“The other half?”
“After getting off, I tried to lower myself almost at the same time. Then, after realizing that they reacted the same way to each other, they quit. This is because the Baron was faster, and because of that, if Kenneth hadn’t stopped, he would have missed the opportunity to brake and had to fight until one side died.”
“If it had been, Kenneth would have lost. It looked like the baron’s attitude was off for a moment, but it was the target. It seems that he realized it belatedly and agreed to stop the workshop to avoid getting involved.”
Kenna nodded her head. Arnaud LeBlanc’s judgment is largely correct.
‘But…’
There was a part that bothered me.
‘The soil at the place where Baron Ardennes took off did not scatter in the slightest.’
Moreover, Kenneth’s armaments were two well-forged swords. The knight commander holding a long sword and a dagger in two hands had to show a more overwhelming appearance to the opponent who was holding a multi-purpose household item as a weapon.
‘I can understand why he didn’t use the intangible sword. It is understandable if such an object was to be used as a handle to energize the famous sword held by Kenneth. But the baron is only fighting with his own physical abilities.’
That was a conclusion only a witch could reach. As if my man, a war hero of the past, recognized at once that his skills were not the same as before due to his long secluded life.
‘Arno’s sword is superior to Kenneth’s in almost every respect. It’s a natural result, as he studied under the Millennium Duke Alexandre. But there are two reasons why I recommend Kenneth as captain over Arno.’
One is that this is the execution trial of Henrietta LeBlanc. The duke, who has a unique personality, has the personality to do his duty as a husband to the end, even if he is the wife who tried to kill him. Even if he secretly took her life and kept her alive, he would not be able to fight a battle directly related to her execution with all his might.
This is because the skills of Yongmaenggong are gradually deteriorating in the current progressive form. Originally, he was steady enough to feel that the realm he had reached was far away. A confrontation with some strong players, including Kenneth, could have slowed it down, but the root cause could not be addressed.
‘Yes, I know. His condition is getting worse. He didn’t want to worry about me, so he didn’t show it, but his depression deepened to the point that he quietly harmed himself every night. But if he had comforted me with my body, he wouldn’t have suffered so much…’
That’s natural. There is no poison as deadly as pessimism about life.
‘I feel powerless. If I knew it would be like this, I would rather reject Arno’s love. I’d rather give my life and end this all. I don’t want to see someone else die to save me again…’
The witch’s whole body trembled. Rome and Kenneth, who had already started their second battle, were sharing the sum at a faster rate than before, as if their bodies were already heating up. I could also be sure of that.
“Game.”
“Yes, Kenna.”
“Kenneth loses.”
“Is that so too?”
Among the fallen Valorant’s skills, the most prominent is speed. In the old days, he would have been several numbers above Kenneth over there, but it is absurd that he clearly fell behind even in just one category. No matter how strong or soft it is, the skill of drawing and wielding the sword is slow to win.
“Are you ready?”
“Of course.”
“Please roll call.”
“Captain Kenneth, who is in a duel, and injured Max, Chester, and Oscar, and all ninety-six others are on standby.”
The woman who foresaw the future showed a final hesitation. Then the duke, realizing the feelings of his mistress, took the place of her words. It was an affectionate approval of an order that his virtuous nature would never tolerate.
“Give orders to the entire Eastern Army to surround the stadium. In case of emergency, after securing the courtier of Renoir as a hostage, we will kill the baron’s party and advance to the capital.”
Hesitantly, Kena, quite surprised, looked at Arno with a blank face.
“Why? Wasn’t that what you summoned?”
“How? No, since when… ?”
The duke, who had been thought to have fallen helplessly, sighed. He took the witch into his arms, as if he didn’t want to hide it anymore, even though there were so many eyes around him. Her scarlet hair dyed like the setting sun, her pale freckles, and her somewhat frail body seemed to be all lovely.
“If I had met you sooner, my life might not have been so miserable.”
“Arno, what is this…”
“I’m sorry I made you fall in love with a man like me. A psychopath who tore out her hair every night and cut her body with a knife made this precious woman suffer. That shouldn’t be the case.”
Hugged tightly
“Trust me on this. There is nothing more precious to me now than you.”
“Why are you not like this… !”
“Love is more important than belief. So if I had to throw away the honor this Arnaud LeBlanc had accumulated over a lifetime, I would gladly do so in order to protect you. I will live on even if I have to kill poor Henrietta and suffer for the crime.”
My life is fine. If survival requires the abandonment of noble virtues, a great man who is willing to commit suicide and stay behind is a brave man.
But a witch, a woman who was like a sliver of salvation from a terrible life.
If his fall was necessary to save his beloved, Arno would accept her fate without hesitation. So the man who had awakened himself to the glory days of the past nodded, recalling the wicked master’s admonition.
‘There are two types of people in the world.’
They say the more you hate it, the more you resemble it.
‘Become a monster, or become their prey.’
Is it true?
“Gail, as soon as Kenneth is defeated, I will file a second charge against Henrietta through the courtier. I’ll leave the details up to you, but if they don’t cooperate, arrest them immediately and notify all officials in the territory of the change of wartime system.”
It can’t end like this.
“What are the charges against?”
“… I am accused of instigating the assassination of Arnaud LeBlanc.”
The dueling trial must go on!
