Chapter 19. Is this my full strength?
Kalstein and his top disciple, Palace.
Facing these two, Sirius launched his attack coldly.
“I’ve seen many like you before.”
This isn’t about this world.
It’s a story from the days when I lived as Baekmulang in the martial world.
“When a formidable enemy appears, it’s most rational for the strongest leader to step forward and eliminate them. That way, damage can be minimized.”
“….”
“However, there are those who sometimes deploy weaker underlings first. They stay behind, bearing the weight. What could be the reason for that?”
Gazing at Kalstein, Sirius spoke.
“They may give all sorts of reasons, but the essence is simple. It’s because the leader is a despicable coward.”
“You….”
Kalstein’s gaze turned stern.
But Sirius paid no attention.
“You don’t know how I fight. At best, you only know that I use a sword. You don’t know if it’s a fast sword or a heavy one, or what my skill with a magical sword is.”
“….”
“That’s why you send your top disciple first. You need to watch how I bring down your disciple to plan your strategy.”
Kalstein had already realized that Sirius was no ordinary man.
Having defeated 5th Seat Yurka, 4th Seat Valgart, and 3rd Seat Yullein without a scratch, he had reached this point.
Hence, by presenting his top disciple Palace, Sirius intended to observe how he fights.
“You fear facing me one on one without any information.”
“….”
“If you were a true master who cared for your disciples, you would step forward yourself to avenge them. Instead, to send your top disciple to fight first….”
A smile crept up on Sirius’ lips.
It was a contemptuous smile directed at the old fox before him.
“It means you’re not worthy of being called a master, just a despicable coward.”
“You….”
Right at that moment.
A fierce shout echoed.
“Silence…!” It wasn’t Kalstein who raised his voice.
Palace was a disciple of Karlstein.
“Master only wants to help me gain experience! A novice like you can’t understand the deep intentions of the master!”
“…….”
After shouting like that, Palace turned his gaze towards Karlstein.
“Do not worry, Master! Palace will not fall for such sophistry! I will definitely overcome the trials you have bestowed upon me and inherit your teachings!”
Watching Palace speak confidently, Sirius let out a sigh.
“I thought there was only a fox here, but there’s a pig too.”
Pig.
That blunt expression made Palace widen his eyes.
“You…!”
“Fine, let’s do this then.”
Sirius plopped down on the floor.
“Karlstein, I will sit here and wait. In the meantime, you can teach your disciple the teachings.”
“What…?”
Karlstein frowned, and Palace’s eyes widened.
“What are you talking about?”
“Palace, think carefully.”
Sirius spoke with a relaxed expression.
“What is your current goal? Isn’t it to defeat me and learn the teachings?”
“That’s…?”
“Well, then it shouldn’t matter if we switch the order, right? Whether you defeat me and learn the teachings, or learn the teachings and then defeat me, it should amount to the same thing.”
“…?”
Continuing to puzzle Palace, Sirius went on.
“If you are not worthy of mastering the teachings anyway, learning them would be useless if you’re going to die at my hands.”
“That’s…?”
“In the end, your destiny is either to defeat me and learn the teachings or to lose to me and die. So wouldn’t it be better to learn the teachings to slightly improve your chances?”
“Umm…?”
As Palace rolled his eyes in confusion, Sirius kept talking.
“While you’re struggling to understand my words, Karlstein raised his voice.
“Palace, do not be swayed by his sophistry!”
“M-Master…”
“He’s just playing mind games! Do not be swayed in this psychological battle!”
“I-I see.”
Watching Palace urgently nod his head, Sirius chuckled softly.
“Poor Palace.”
“What?”
“Seems like your master doesn’t care whether you live or die. If his disciple dies, he could just teach that insignificant teaching.”
“….”
Palace’s pupils shook for a moment.
However, he immediately widened his eyes and shouted.
“Do not play tricks anymore, coward!”
“Hmm, then let’s settle this.”
Sirius stood up from his seat once again.
He drew his sword and took a stance.
“Come on, Palace.”
“Arrogant…!”
Palace also raised his sword.
It was a massive greatsword befitting his large frame.
“Make me regret it, kid!”
Whoosh!
A bluish magic energy unfolded on the blade of the greatsword.
Among all the opponents Sirius had faced so far, Palace wielded the most intimidating magic sword.
“Haahp!”
Palace charged, pounding the ground.
A straightforward but precise strike from top to bottom.
It was evident that Palace was not one to neglect his training.
Sirius couldn’t withstand that strike with his physical abilities alone.
While defending, his sword would break, his arm would shatter, and then his whole body would be overpowered.
However, Sirius had skill and the force of his martial spirit.
“…!?”
Thud!
Palace’s greatsword was knocked away.
With his slender arm, Sirius deflected Palace’s greatsword infused with magic.
Sirius’s whole body was strengthened by the force of his martial spirit.
His blade emitted a flicker of the martial spirit’s power.
“You…!”
Boom!
Blade clashed with blade once again.
This time, Palace’s sword didn’t get knocked away.
Palace gritted his teeth, ready to wrestle with Sirius.
But soon, Palace noticed a change.
His magic sword was being pushed aside.
“No…!”
A common energy swirling around Sirius’s blade.
The force of his martial spirit was engulfing the magic of Palace’s sword.
Before Palace could fully grasp this fact, Sirius’s blade moved skillfully.
“…!?”
Redirecting Palace’s greatsword, Sirius exploited Palace’s opening.
In that moment, Palace’s pupils wavered.
In truth, Palace had been wavering since earlier.
As Sirius said, Kalstein might be considering himself as a sacrificial lamb.
Unable to shake off that thought, the gap in Palice’s defense widened even more.
“Ugh…!”
Dealing a fatal blow in one strike, he sheathed his sword.
Watching Palice fall to the ground, Sirius spoke with a calm voice.
“In your next life, serve a more worthy master.”
“…”
Palice couldn’t muster any response.
He just fell with a thud.
Leaving the silent Palice behind, Sirius turned his gaze to Kalstein.
Even though his disciple had died, Kalstein was smiling.
Sirius found that smile repulsive.
“So, you’ve set up a psychological battle.”
Kalstein’s voice was more relaxed than before.
“Sirius, I told you that I fear you… but… you fear me just the same.”
“Just the same?”
“You didn’t want to expose your skills to me either.”
Pointing at Sirius, Kalstein spoke.
“To achieve that, you needed to take out Palice as quickly as possible. So, you provoked Palice with the same words earlier, right?”
“…”
“Thanks to piercing that gap, you could preserve your stamina. Your craftiness from the start has led you to rock bottom…”
To prevent the rambling, Sirius cut off Kalstein.
“You’re mistaken, Kalstein.”
“What?”
“The various things I said to you guys were meant to be heard by that person over there.”
Saying so, Sirius turned his head.
And then… Alreion, who had been eavesdropping outside, revealed himself.
“How did you…?”
“Master…”
Alreion was the sacrifice thrown to Sirius before Palice.
He had been watching everything unfold while still alive.
“Alreion, there’s no need to call that wretch ‘master.'”
“…”
At Sirius’ words, Alreion grimaced.
Then, nodding his head, he said, “Yes, it seems so.”
“You traitor! How dare you betray…!”
“Shut it, Kalstein!”
Alreion glared at Kalstein and shouted.
“Sacrificing not just me but even Palice to death! Are our students to you nothing more than mere tools!?”
“6th Seat…!”
“What matters to you is growing stronger in this region and advancing towards the center, isn’t it! Our disciples were nothing but tools for that purpose!”
Karlstein sharpened his teeth as he looked at the disciple blaming himself.
As much as he wanted to kill Alayon on the spot, there was a more pressing target at the moment.
“Those who dare to mock me will pay for it soon enough.”
With those words, Karlstein glared at Sirius.
“It seems like you’re better at mocking than your swordsmanship, Karlson. When did you become the 6th Seat all of a sudden?”
“I just slapped him a few times and taunted him.”
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“Hmph…”
Karlstein rose with a snort.
Then, he grabbed the sword hanging on the wall.
“Fine. Let me deal with you.”
Karlstein’s stance was significantly different from the disciples Sirius had faced before.
It was a position that could unleash varied movements and unpredictable attacks.
Just by looking at it, one could tell that Karlstein was on a much higher level than the other disciples.
And at the same time… he monopolized the essence of swordsmanship on his own.
“Sirius, I’ve already seen through your abilities.”
“…”
“When your magical sword clashed with Palace’s Magic Sword, your sword absorbed Palace’s magic power. That’s why you’ve been thriving with that common magical sword until now.”
A smile crept onto Karlstein’s lips.
“I don’t know where you learned that common magical sword from… but it doesn’t work on me.”
Karlstein moved forward.
His azure magical sword thrust towards Sirius head-on.
Sirius also met it with a sword infused with the power of the North Star.
Thunk!
At the moment the blades clashed, a loud noise erupted.
Karlstein, a frail old man compared to Palace, had a much lighter sword.
Yet, he didn’t fall behind Sirius at all.
Furthermore…
“How about that, Sirius!”
As Palace’s Magic Sword touched the common sword, it quickly shattered.
But Karlstein’s magical sword remained intact.
“My magical sword is not as fragile as your sword that gets devoured by it!”
Karlstein roared and unleashed a series of attacks.
Sirius blocked every attack, but the power of the North Star couldn’t disorient Karlstein’s magical sword.
This was the limit of the North Star.
While the North Star could swallow everything like a common black hole, it was only effective when overpowering the opponent with one’s own skill.
Moreover, if the magic sword was firmly fixed with magic like Karlstein’s, it became even more challenging.
Sirius’s skill level was slightly beyond 1st Dan.
It was insufficient to devour Karlstein’s magical sword.
“Kalstein.”
However, Sirius didn’t flinch.
Instead, he was closely observing Kalstein’s magic sword.
It was an opportunity to gauge the level of a 7-circle magic sword.
“Is this your full power?”
“What?”
“I asked if this is your all-powerful magic sword.”
“Don’t boast…!”
Kalstein’s magic sword became even more intense.
With intricate and dazzling movements, it aimed at Sirius’s neck.
“So, that’s the limit.”
Muttering, Sirius decided to conclude the exploration.
The color of the sword aura unfolding on the blade began to change.
From a black as dark as the northern sea… to a white as snow-covered plains.
“…!”
At the moment the blades clashed again, Kalstein was astonished.
The second stage of Cheonrang Shin Gong.
The power of the White Wolf froze Kalstein’s magic sword.