1. The First Letter (28)
The use of force must always be prudent.
Power inherently has the property of privatizing force. In the eyes of power, uncontrollable power is evil, and it was just an object to be eliminated regardless of means and methods.
Because that is the only way to maintain order.
The order of the empire originates from the emperor, the order of the southern kingdoms originates from the leader of each kingdom, and the order of the holy kingdom originates from the heavenly god Arus. What they all had in common was that they were the apex of each state’s power.
Therefore, all ‘just violence’ belongs only to power. This was the same in the academy that nurtures talents who will carry the future of each country. Rather, it was good to say that the academy was a microcosm of power struggles.
In most cases, violence is not tolerated. However, everyone knew that violence was being committed in the academy secretly. Even so, the problem did not arise because such violence generally followed the rules of power.
Aristocrats are tolerated with a certain level of violence against commoners. I don’t know if it’s done in a public place, but otherwise, most commoners don’t have a problem with it.
The length of time a student can stay at the academy is only four years. After that, when you come out into the world, the gap between nobles and commoners becomes clear again. I had no choice but to be patient.
Instead, it was customary for the aristocrats to cover up and move on with all the dizzying events that happened at the academy. The more so, the more severe the punishment for those who cross the line.
It was a strategy to secure the upper hand within the academy in their own ways.
Like this, the academy seems to claim equality on the outside, but the deeper you look inside, the more you can’t deny the ranking by power.
So even when I hit the noble man in the face, or when I lifted the sword hanging from my waist with a scabbard, the Tean gang couldn’t properly respond.
It’s because their rationality couldn’t understand the reality they were facing. It was worth it.
I am also an aristocrat, but at most I was the second son of a country viscount.
On the other hand, even though they were from the Southern Ten Kingdoms, the Thean gang was a gang of high-ranking nobles. Even the first guy I hit looked like he was from the Empire.
However, I couldn’t have imagined that I would suddenly attack first, and that complacent judgment gave me a strong advantage.
I passed the tean in front of my eyes and slapped the face of one of the gang members who were trying to get up.
Pak, a man flew through the air with a wonderful sound. He probably wouldn’t have died because he was hit with the scabbard, but he was hit in the face with metal. At least he would have lost consciousness.
Then six more, my eyes sank bleakly in search of the next victim.
It was then that the Thean gang came to their senses.
A couple of white teeth flew into the sky from the mouth of the man I had just beaten. One of the gang who saw this burst into a cry that sounded like a scream.
“Mi, you crazy bastard! article… Kaheuk, what?!”
That became his last line. It was because the way he pointed at me without even drawing his sword properly drew my attention.
The action that followed was simple. Thean’s gang was concentrated in one place, so my next target was also standing at close range.
I twisted the foot I had stepped on and drove the handle of the sword into the man’s stomach. Then he let out a choking sound, and before he could let out that suppressed moan, my sword sheath slammed into his throat.
A thump, a thumping sound was heard. A dull echo of compressed air exploding.
The man’s eyes lose focus.
With a thump, the giant man collapsed. Now there were five people left, a number worth trying.
I took a deep breath and looked around. Every minute I heard the sound of my armament being pulled out. Apparently, the wizard was the only noble man he defeated in the first place.
Because the rest were holding swords. Then the story was simple.
Against the gang who hesitantly aimed their swords at me, I said with a grin.
“Come on, you bastards. Were you scared?”
As if he couldn’t withstand my provocation any longer, one of the gang members cried out with blood on his neck.
“Kill! That bastard is alone!”
However, in the eyes of the man who shouted that, there was a light of fear and tension that could not be hidden.
In an instant, three out of eight fell. It was the result of not deliberately attacking Tean, which could be said to be the strongest force.
In fact, it was highly likely that only I would have been in trouble if I had attacked Thean. It was because, unlike these idiots, Thean had top-notch skills in the swordsmanship department.
No matter how much surprise, it was not an opponent that could be defeated in one blow. Above all, he was surprisingly prudent and respected in his own way in the group.
Such a man should not be beaten by expedient methods. Only by sticking together and defeating them was it possible to obtain the gang’s surrender in a true sense.
However, no one could understand my intentions in this situation. In their eyes, I was a terrifying formidable foe who ignored the delectable prey called Thean and wiped out three of them in an instant.
Tension and fear result in stiffening of the body. And the more you do, the clearer the ‘feeling’ becomes.
The sound of my subdued breathing rang in my eardrums. Time passes gradually slowly. A dull, heavy flow seemed to press against pressure points on the skin.
After my last battle with the Witchbeast, my heightened senses have opened up a new dimension to the way I perceive the world. The sense of time that literally fights from moment to moment.
An imaginary trajectory was drawn in front of my eyes. Except for Tean, four people were running at once. The trajectory was complex, and it seemed difficult to avoid.
So I decided to take the next best thing.
The sword path of the man who rushed in first was drawn. An exemplary downward slash from the top right to the bottom left. I clenched my teeth and hit the blade the moment the blade drew a solid line.
With a thump, the sword was twisted by an unexpected blow. And the place that was thrown out like that was a place where another man would pick up a sword and attack.
At that moment, the sword paths of the two intertwined. The swords that received the power of two people were simultaneously driven into the ground. Two remaining swords.
Before I knew it, I twisted my body into the arms of another man who had raised his sword. The man’s eyes, stained with bewilderment, flashed at a glance.
As if it were natural, the sword strikes the pit of the stomach. The man’s body softened with a gagging sound. It was then that the other sword was swung.
My body spun around and moved behind the man who had been slapped in the stomach. Then, the body of the man with his upper body bent slightly was placed in the middle of the sword.
“Cheak!”
With a thump, the man who was hit on the back falls to the ground. The man who wielded the sword, who suddenly knocked out his colleague, had a clear look of bewilderment. It wasn’t me who would miss that time.
With the leap, my body rushed in front of the man who was standing blankly. The man who finally came to his senses hurriedly raised his sword and tried to strike it down, but my sword was faster.
With a blank, my sword struck the man’s scabbard. Unable to overcome the sudden shock, the man’s posture collapsed. I jumped over and sat down on him.
Textbook mounting position. But I had no intention of hitting it with my fist. Before he could come to his senses, my scabbard struck the man in the face several times.
Pak, Pak, Pak. It was only three times. With that alone, the man rolled his eyes as if he had passed out. But the price I had to pay to finish him was also high.
There was a thump, and a strong impact hit the back. I didn’t know it when I knocked, but when I actually hit it, the sound I heard from inside was different from the sound I heard from outside.
My intestines were crushed, and my breath was choked. My muscles naturally tensed and my movements stiffened.
The two men whose swords were entangled at first rushed at me. Anticipating this, I twisted my body to minimize the shock, but it still hurt.
He rolled on the ground as if tossing his bent body in pain. Then, a couple more sword strikes landed on the spot where I almost fell.
If I hadn’t avoided it in time, that would have been the last place I would stay. At least in this battle.
As I performed a series of vigorous movements, my breathing became a little short of breath. Hee-eok, hee-eok, and rough breathing rang in my ears. There were still two enemies left.
Thean didn’t move yet. However, it was not a strange situation when he participated in the war. So I had to sort those two out ASAP.
The two men were glaring at me with even more wary eyes. It seemed that he had realized which side would suffer if he rushed forward.
My heightened senses were mainly useful for counterattacks. Besides, my best skills were foot dexterity and horseback riding. In those two fields, I was able to take pride in being at the top of the academy.
It was a well-known fact that footwork was important in close combat. Even with my keen senses combined, no one of the same level could stop me. Assuming they do it first.
But now it was me who was in a hurry. The two men were waiting for Tean’s addition with sad eyes. It couldn’t be.
My sword shot out with a piercing sound. it was a throw The spinning scabbard flew at terrifying speed.
The two men’s eyes widened as if they hadn’t expected the weapon to be thrown. Confused, the two drew their swords at the same time.
Thanks to that, my sword, which flew at breakneck speed, was stuck on the ground. But that was enough.
He kicked the ground in a crouching position. Before they could fully come to their senses, my body had dug into them at close range. The two men looked a little startled, but quickly regained their composure.
I realized that I have no weapons. There was a limit to subduing a trained swordsman with bare hands. It was the difference between armed and not armed.
A look of relief, knowing that he could at least withstand the blow. However, the moment my hands groped around their waists, their eyes were filled with amazement.
Because I had one more armament left.
There was a clack, and the sound of an ax jamming into a tree. According to his impression, it was the sound of a hatchet hitting someone’s neck.
It’s just that the area where the nape was taken wasn’t where the blade stood. The hatchet held backwards did not penetrate the skin, but it was also a good weapon as a blunt weapon.
another one falls The remaining man swung his sword like mad. I pulled the ax I had lifted in the opposite direction outward and locked the sword in the corner between the handle and the ax blade.
The feeling of two hard objects engaging together with the sound of kakak rang through the arm muscles. I almost missed the handle in an instant due to the strength of the opponent’s slash, but I gritted my teeth and gave strength to cut the sword.
And he hit the last man’s chin with his head, who still had bewildered eyes. My body, which had been slightly bent, straightened out, and a strong elasticity arose.
There was a thump and a pain in the head. However, it was nothing compared to the man who took a direct hit in the jaw.
The man who had been struck in the jaw stumbled and then collapsed. There were now seven groaning men on the ground.
Of course, I wasn’t safe either. The back muscles that allowed the blow continued to complain of pain. It was not normal for her head to be dizzy when she hit her chin.
Stumbling like that, I stumbled and picked up the thrown sword again. And then I stepped on the ground again and stood upright.
Because there was still one enemy left.
Thean Eitri. Bronzed skin, golden hair, and a muscular body like the symbol of a hardened warrior.
He watched, frowning, as he and I fought sheep. His mouth opened slowly.
“… … I thought you were a little bit smarter.”
“Then why are you making a fuss by touching a quiet person?”
With a sigh, he pulled out the greatsword strapped to his back. At this point, the fight could not be avoided. It was a fact I was well aware of.
Even so, Tean clicked his tongue and seemed unwilling. His eyes sank deeply.
“Ian, your quickness has improved a lot. And the foot law… In the meantime, how did you get so good at it? Did Yurdina’s bastard give you an elixir?”
Hearing that, I glared at him, saying ha ha ha, catching my rough breath. A smirk came out of my mouth.
“This shady bastard… I heard that students in the Faculty of Swords have all the information regardless of grades.”
“Since you’re my competitor, isn’t it natural?”
“You still touched Seria’s mother?”
Thean only snorted at my growling voice. A cruel light flashed in his eyes.
“I think you are misunderstanding something… … .”
and the next moment.
Hook, and a frenzy hit me in front of me. Thean kicked the ground and rushed. The body of the giant was shot like a bullet.
It was an unbelievable speed. In his field of vision, everything but me seemed to have disappeared. Without that, such a straight-line charge would have been impossible.
Reckless, not even considering other variables. So it felt even more powerful.
His heightened senses had already warned him that Thean was preparing for an ambush. So my response was not too late.
The sword blocks Te An’s sword path. But that’s all.
A thump, along with the shockwave, felt a twisting sensation in the intestines. A suppressed moan escaped from his mouth. I feel like I want to vomit blood.
Thean’s arm muscles twitched. Footprints dented in my seat.
“Big, ah… … !”
“The reason I collect information is to know the opponent’s weakness. yes? You too, Ian.”
And once again, with a thump, the greatsword came down. A blow with more power than before, my body, which blocked the sword, was pushed backwards.
My arms were already shaking. I’ve only encountered it twice.
My bloody eyes turned to Thean, but Thean just grinned at me.
“The magic power has increased, but it is still below average. So it doesn’t work for me.”
Thean Eitri, the eldest son of Count Eitri, a noble family in the Southern Ten Kingdoms.
His talent as a swordsman could be cited as a number of advantages. Innate savagery and cruelty, a prudent attitude to observe the situation for a while, and a strong body unique to Count Eitri.
But if asked to pick just one of them, nine out of ten would give the same answer.
horse power.
His magical power was innate. So much so that I can’t even compare.