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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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Chapter 199: Duel (2)
***
‘I don’t know who will win.’
Liam Bluegreen thought to himself as he watched the two men standing on the dueling ground.
He didn’t doubt Damien’s skills, but his opponent was simply too strong.
Joshua Silva.
A prodigy who had inherited all the talent of his Master Class father.
In fact, Joshua was considered a dullard in his childhood. He was slower to learn than others.
However, his talent began to blossom after he passed his 10th birthday.
He rose through the classes at an amazing pace and reached the High-Class level at the young age of 20.
Considering that Liam Bluegreen became a High Class in his 40s, he was a tremendous genius.
‘A genius like that has been intensively trained by a Master Class… . ‘
A few years ago, a group of wyverns had taken up residence in the mountainous region of the Dophlin Kingdom.
Wyverns were dangerous monsters that could be called lesser dragons.
They had tough skin that could withstand auras, teeth and claws that could easily pierce steel, and the ability to fly through the air and breathe fire.
Even Middle Class knights had difficulty dealing with a single wyvern.
The wyverns that had taken up residence in the Dophlin Kingdom were not even ordinary ones.
They were a subspecies called Red Wing Wyverns that inhabited the wasteland of Alista, known as the Land of Hell.
Alista Wasteland was a barren and dangerous land. As a result, the monsters that inhabited it were bound to be much stronger than their original species.
Even Liam Bluegreen shook his head when he heard the story. Even for a High Class like him, a group of Red Wing Wyverns was very tough.
Joshua Silva had exterminated those Red Wing Wyverns in less than a day.
“Michael, bring me a branch.”
Liam Bluegreen, who had been worried for a long time, heard Damien’s voice.
Like the others, Liam Bluegreen looked at Damien with a bewildered expression.
After a while, Michael cut off a branch and brought it over. Damien, who took the branch and said.
“Come on. I’ll fight you with this.”
Liam Bluegreen almost fainted on the spot.
***
As soon as he heard that, Joshua’s face turned red.
“…Sir Damien?”
However, Joshua managed to hold back his anger. He tried to remain calm and said.
“Unnecessary provocation in a friendly duel is against etiquette. I will let it pass this time. Bring a proper sword… . ”
“Who’s provoking who?”
Damien said, shaking the branch lightly.
“You need to bring a chicken knife to catch a chicken. Don’t you?”
At that moment, sparks flew from Joshua’s eyes.
“Alright, do whatever you want! But don’t regret it later!”
Joshua spat out his anger and rushed forward. At the same time, he swung his sword down at Damien in a straight line.
To prove his High Class level, Joshua’s sword was imbued with a sharp aura.
Just then, Damien’s eyes quickly read Joshua’s movements.
Damien twisted his waist slightly. The blade that was drawing a straight line passed by the side of his head and face.
At the same time, Damien hit Joshua’s shoulder with the branch.
“One point.”
At those words, Joshua’s expression momentarily froze. Then, anger flared up again.
“What are you kidding me with!”
Joshua spat out his anger and swung his sword again.
Damien leaned back. The blade swung horizontally passed the tip of his nose.
At the same time, Damien hit Joshua’s forearm with the branch.
“Two points.”
Joshua’s expression became even more ferocious.
He swung his sword at Damien one after another. The trajectory of the sword instantly engulfed Damien.
But the result was the same. Damien dodged all the attacks with ease.
‘Still haven’t realized the gap?’
While dodging the attacks, Damien felt a sense of doubt.
Joshua was launching a fierce attack, but he couldn’t even touch the hem of Damien’s clothes.
Any decent knight would have realized the difference in level by now.
‘He’s a genius, but he has no sense of timing.’
Michael, although he hadn’t fought Damien, realized the gap and surrendered accordingly.
Compared to Michael, Joshua was like a blockhead.
‘Then I’ll crush him in a more understandable way.’
Damien moved the branch. For the first time, he blocked Joshua’s attack with the branch.
“You made a foolish judgment!”
Joshua shouted as if he found it ridiculous.
Joshua’s weapon was not only made of rare metal alloy but it was also imbued with an aura.
How could he block it with just a branch? It was nothing but laughable.
But reality betrayed Joshua’s expectations beautifully.
Damien twisted the branch slightly. Then, the trajectory of the sword changed.
The sword that was falling in a straight line turned sideways. It passed by Damien and slashed through the air.
“…What?”
Shock appeared on Joshua’s face.
He wasn’t the only one. All the knights around him reacted the same way. Even Javier was no exception.
“W-what the hell did you just do…!?”
Joshua was flustered, but he didn’t stop attacking. He swung his sword in a circle, aiming for Damien’s neck.
Damien swung the branch again to block the blade. The sword that was horizontally suddenly shot up into the sky.
Joshua’s torso was exposed due to the force. Damien stabbed Joshua’s chest with the end of the branch.
“Heart. You’re dead once.”
Joshua gritted his teeth and swung his sword again.
Damien easily deflected the trajectory of the sword again this time. And he hit Joshua’s neck with the branch.
“Neck. You’re dead twice.”
Joshua’s face turned pale. Even if he was oblivious, he could tell by now.
The fact that Damien was toying with him.
“…Joshua!”
Javier, who couldn’t stand it any longer, shouted out loud.
“How long are you going to play around? Can’t you do it properly!”
A look of embarrassment appeared on Joshua’s face.
Do it properly? What more could he do here?
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Damien said that with a smirk.
“Do it properly. Stop messing around like this.”
Those words made Joshua lose his mind.
“Damn it! This bastard! Let’s see if you can block this too!”
Joshua poured his mana into his sword. The aura imbued in the sword began to shake violently.
It was as if something was about to burst through the aura.
“What is that…?”
Liam Bluegreen immediately realized what Joshua was preparing.
“S-Sir Damien! Dodge! You have to dodge!”
Liam Bluegreen shouted urgently. In that moment, Joshua swung his sword into the air.
At that moment, something flew towards Damien. Damien pushed off the ground with both feet and stepped back.
Dozens of holes were drilled in succession in the ground where Damien had been standing.
“Oh my God!”
Liam Bluegreen raised his voice without realizing it.
What Joshua had just used was a hidden sword.
A hidden sword was a swordsmanship technique that fought by firing auras. It was powerful and unorthodox, but it required a lot of mana and concentration.
Liam Bluegreen was also a knight who used a hidden sword, so he could tell.
Just how powerful and complete was the technique Joshua had just shown.
He compressed the aura and turned it into a spike, and then fired it.
The speed was so fast that ordinary knights wouldn’t even have been able to see the spike flying.
“That’s strange.”
Damien tilted his head and asked.
“Is it okay to use such a dangerous technique in a friendly duel?”
“Don’t worry about that. If it really gets dangerous, my father will stop me.”
At those words, Damien burst into laughter.
“That’s a very convenient rule.”
Joshua didn’t answer. Instead, he swung his sword at Damien again.
Aura spikes rained down on Damien, aiming for him. Just before the spikes pierced his body, Damien swung the branch.
The spikes were erased whenever the branch moved. It was as if he was painting the air with a brush.
In a blink of an eye, all the spikes were gone. Joshua found himself opening his mouth without realizing it.
“You made it look like you were going to show me something great, but it was nothing. If you have nothing more to show, let’s end this now.”
At that moment, Damien’s atmosphere changed.
A sharp aura poured towards Joshua. The moment he was exposed to the aura, Joshua felt a chill.
I’ll be done if I stay here.
An ominous premonition dominated his mind. Instinct moved Joshua.
He kicked off the ground and soared high into the air. As he passed over Damien’s head, he fired an aura downward.
The released aura turned into spikes and rained down on Damien.
Damien swung the branch again this time and erased all the spikes.
As soon as he landed on the ground, Joshua moved again. He ran around Damien, releasing auras. Aura spikes rained down from all directions.
Damien moved the branch. A sword curtain unfolded around him, erasing all the spikes.
That’s when it happened.
He felt an overwhelming amount of mana coming from the front. Damien turned his gaze in the direction of the mana.
He saw Joshua condensing aura on his sword.
“Oh ho.”
Damien saw that and twisted the corner of his mouth.
“That looks pretty useful.”
Useful?
Joshua cursed inwardly.
The technique Joshua was preparing now was a secret technique. It was a secret technique that he only used when he had to kill his enemy.
His father had modified the technique that had been passed down through his family. It was made more powerful and more destructive.
In other words, the technique Joshua was preparing now was a Master Class secret technique.
Joshua swung the tip of his sword. At that moment, the compressed aura was released.
Secret Technique – Amber Beam
A beam of light pierced towards Damien.
Just then, Damien raised the branch. A blue aura burst out from the branch.
Damien swung the branch with all his might. At that moment, a huge aura slash was emitted.
The aura slash and the beam collided with a roar. Then, the beam split in two.
“…What?”
A look of bewilderment appeared on Joshua’s face.
It shouldn’t be so easy to split like that, even if it’s just a water jet…
While Joshua was confused, the aura slash reached his nose.
With no time to escape, the aura slash engulfed Joshua’s body.
***
Just before that, Javier jumped in front of Joshua.
Javier swung his hand and repelled the aura slash. The huge slash was shattered.
“Have you satisfied your curiosity now?”
“…Yes, I have.”
To Damien’s mocking question, Javier spoke with a face as if he had ate dogshit.
Damien threw the branch to the ground. And he looked down at Joshua, who was lying on his back behind Javier.
Joshua was unconscious. It seemed that he had lost consciousness due to extreme fear just before he was hit by the slash.
‘Strange guy.’
Judging by his skill in handling aura, he was a very skilled person.
However, he was not able to fully utilize his abilities. He almost thought he was a blockhead.
‘And what’s that black thing?’
The reason Damien accepted the duel was to find out the true identity of the sword Joshua was using.
During the duel, the strange aura that the sword possessed repeatedly grew stronger and weaker.
However, no matter how hard Damien tried, he couldn’t figure out the true nature of the aura.
“Sir Damien.”
At Javier’s voice, Damien turned his gaze.
“You are truly a man of great talent. The rumors were true.”
“You flatter me.”
“It’s not flattery. It’s really… really amazing. It’s so amazing that I’m tempted.”
At that moment, Damien saw it.
He saw Javier’s eyes filled with greed.
But something was strange.
It wasn’t the look of someone coveting a talented person. It was a much more materialistic look.
It was like looking at a thief who coveted someone else’s wealth.
***
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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