Chapter 55. Was a Knight.

The punk and Pol, as if competing to see who could say the word ‘Brother’ more.

While I was briefly contemplating how to shut those mouths.

“Ah-!! It's so damn loud!!”

The ‘Big Brother’ threw the liquor bottle he was holding.

The bottle flew without hesitation and struck the punk's head.

The bottle shattered, and the punk passed out and collapsed on the spot.

“……”

I would have understood if he had attacked Pol instead, but to attack his own ally first?

“Hey. Snake. You're that good at fighting? Follow me outside.”

Separate from his seemingly insane words and actions, even as he staggered from being drunk, his hand rested on the hilt of the sword at his waist, as if he would draw it at any moment.

He would try to attack the moment I showed an opening.

‘So an ex-knight is still a knight.’

I felt a definite difference from the guys I had faced until now.

I shouldn't underestimate him just because he was drunk.

“Fine. I'll play along.”

In any case, to stop the schemes targeting us, I needed to tie up loose ends.

I followed the man out of the tavern.

Outside, people who had gathered after hearing the commotion filled the narrow alley.

As we came out, the people scattered like a school of fish encountering a shark, creating a space.

“You bastard. I like that you’re brave. Mercenaries and thugs alike, most of them tuck their tails between their legs when they find out I was a knight.”

“Is that such a big deal? You're not an active knight, you said you were a knight in the past, didn't you?”

“What did you say?”

The man's eyes widened as if he had heard something he shouldn't have.

“Wow. The alcohol is wearing off fast. Were you brave, or were you stupid? Just because I'm no longer a knight doesn't mean the swordsmanship ingrained in my body has disappeared.”

“Then you should have worked as a mercenary or something, why are you acting as a leader in a back alley?”

I didn't understand.

If he was a knight, he would have naturally learned swordsmanship, and a mercenary who had learned swordsmanship was treated as at least a 2nd-class.

A 2nd-class mercenary was a top-tier force even at the city level.

Even if it wasn't as much as a knight, they could receive sufficient treatment.

At the very least, it would be a better life both morally and financially than leading thugs in a back alley.

“...You really are talking without knowing anything.”

What could be the reason he lost his knightly status?

‘Did he kill someone?’

No, this was a world where human life was trivial.

They wouldn't kick out a knight just for killing a few people.

“Regret your arrogance!”

The man drew his sword and charged.

Certainly, it seemed that the fact that he was a knight was not a lie.

Movements on a different level from the common back-alley thugs.

However—because of the level of humans I had seen until now, the movements of the ex-knight didn't feel all that great.

I deflected the straightforward thrust.

The path of the sword twisted, and the opponent's body swayed greatly.

“You said you were a knight, is it right to swing a sword without even revealing your name?”

“Shut up!!”

An angry shout struck my ears.

He swung his sword, turning his body as if he didn't care that his attack had been futilely blocked.

But there was no reason to face the sword, which was being swung with only strength in an agitated state, head-on.

Whoosh-

The sword cut through the air.

“Is this all a person who used to be a knight can do? You can do better, can't you.”

At the light provocation, the man gritted his teeth.

I stepped back from the continuous blows—or rather, the haphazardly swung attacks that followed immediately.

Even though his mind had sobered up to some extent, his drunken body seemed unable to control itself, a wavering trajectory.

His eyes were desperately on me, but his sword was not.

Kakakak-

The tip of the sword touched the ground several times, creating an unpleasant sound.

“Heek!”

“E-Everyone, back off!”

“Guards! Call the guards!”

The onlookers who had been watching and chuckling as if it were someone else's business also fell into a panic as the sword grazed past their noses.

The space widened in an instant.

“Haak- hek-”

The man who had gone all out panted hideously.

...Even considering that there was no thought given to stamina distribution, to be discharged in just a few seconds was serious.

It was probably the result of neglecting his training while acting as the king of the back alleys.

‘Isn’t this something that applies to me too?’

Although I had rolled around diligently to survive in my own way, if asked if I had trained hard, it was ambiguous.

Far from catching up to Luke, I might be getting farther and farther away.

I think I could now understand a little of the fear of muscle loss that gym rats talked about.

I had thought it was bizarre that the Sword Saint in prison was exercising by sticking to the ceiling, but now I saw that it was a necessary activity to avoid weakening while confined in a small space.

‘I need to be properly trained by the Sword Saint.’

I had to sharpen the one dagger that would pierce Luke's heart.

It was certain that I couldn't just stay in place at this level.

Realistically, my skills wouldn't improve by leaps and bounds just by receiving the Sword Saint's teachings—but still, it would be much better than just swinging a sword blindly on my own.

Of course, for that to happen, the new emperor's coronation would have to end without any problems.

“You! Kahak. Ptui! This bastard, heung, keuheuk. Hak!”

The man in front of me spewed out a grotesque noise.

“Calm your breathing and then speak. I can't understand you if you talk like that.”

“...In front of me, you're being so relaxed? Heuhak. A mercenary brat?”

He seemed even more heated than before.

He must have noticed that I was lost in other thoughts and lost his temper.

“You're being just as relaxed, aren't you? You're not even using the swordsmanship you were so proud of.”

From the moment I heard he was a knight, I had been expecting him to use swordsmanship.

Because until now, I hadn't had a chance to properly see other swordsmanship.

The swordsmanship of the Sword Saint and Simon had passed by in an instant like the wind, and when the knights were fighting the Arachne, it was hard to see properly because of the distance.

‘I thought I might recall something if I saw other swordsmanship.’

The swordsmanship of people at a far-off high place like the Sword Saint or Simon was not in the realm of understanding just by seeing it.

It was my calculation that a lower level would be easier to recognize.

But for some reason, the man in front of me was not using swordsmanship.

“It's not that I'm not using it, it's that I can't. Because the people around could get caught up in it.”

The ex-knight, who had finally recovered his breath, made an excuse.

Oh, is that so?

“You should have settled this when there were people around.”

The man re-gripped his sword.

Hwaak-!

And then, in an instant, the atmosphere changed.

* * *

“Everyone, get back! The Big Brother is using his swordsmanship!”

“Everyone, back away if you don't want to die!”

His subordinates pushed the people back from the surroundings.

Even the people who didn't know the situation well did not stand their ground.

They had already seen him swing his sword like a madman, and in any case, everyone knew that their lives were precious.

In any case, that guy was not a crazy murderer who would kill people indiscriminately either.

If I turned my back and ran away through the crowd, there was a high possibility that he would give up on using his swordsmanship.

But, was there a need for that?

“Consider it an honor! It's a technique too good for the likes of you!”

I fixed my eyes on the opponent's movements.

The way he planted his feet on the ground was peculiar.

Feet firmly fixed to the ground as if he had no intention of moving.

The legs, waist, and shoulders that followed from them.

I could feel that all of them were tensed up, as if trying to lift something heavy.

In his hand was a sword.

Even if it was a lump of iron, it would be at most about 2kg.

‘It really looks like he's finding it heavy.’

The veins popping on his arm.

His clenched mouth.

It was too vivid to be an act.

Hwiiik-

He swung the sword with difficulty.

The time it took from taking the stance to the attack was about 3 seconds.

Was this also the effect of the stamina he had lost due to his dissolute life?

It seemed to have a rather large opening to be used in a tense battle.

However, I had to change my thoughts right away.

“...Heat?”

A hot wind blew.

The sword the man was holding was burning.

I could feel the mana flowing from his body to the sword.

The flames that wrapped around the sword were the burning of mana.

‘Isn't this more like magic than swordsmanship?’

It was only for a moment that I felt bewildered by the attack that was more magic-like than the magic used by the magician I had seen before.

If it was swordsmanship, I would just counter it with swordsmanship.

By meeting the Sword Saint and Simon, the conditions for using swordsmanship with confidence were perfectly met.

And—

‘It’s sloppy.’

As soon as I recognized it as swordsmanship, the 'flaws' in the swordsmanship displayed by the opponent in front of me came into view.

Even though it was a technique I was seeing for the first time, for some reason, I felt like I knew the 'correct answer'.

Hwaruru-

As the man swung his sword, the flames stretched out towards me.

The distance between the two of us no longer had any meaning.

Flames that filled my vision.

The flames, which showed no sign of diminishing in force, surged as if they had a life of their own.

‘If I do it like this, it would be a bit more-’

I let the heavy mana flow into my sword.

I let the sword, which was gaining weight, hang down.

There was no need to force it up.

My sword burned.

I could feel the heat of the flames naturally supporting the sword.

There was no need to struggle for a long time like the man.

‘It would be better to relax my strength a bit.’

That guy was clumsy, but it was a destructive swordsmanship.

If I swung it like this, it wouldn't end with just blocking.

It would swallow up and burn everything around it.

Therefore, a light swing was sufficient.

Paaaaa-!!

* * *

The flames that had rushed from opposite directions collided with each other.

The flames, which had seemed like they would cover the street, shattered in mid-air and scattered.

It was thanks to matching the firepower accurately.

After even the remaining heat was swept away by the wind, not even a single trace was left.

“What...? How...?”

The man, with his eyes wide open in surprise at the fact that his swordsmanship had been nullified.

Well, if I had been an ordinary person, I would have been done for without even being able to lift a finger.

I finally completely understood why everyone reacted so sensitively to swordsmanship.

Being able to use swordsmanship meant living in a completely different world.

Because there was a gap that could not be overcome simply by moving a little faster or having more strength.

“What was that just now?!”

“That guy, how did he counter the Big Brother’s swordsmanship-!!”

“It was the same, wasn't it?!”

The ex-knight's subordinates made a fuss.

Were these guys' eyes just for decoration?

The same, he said.

My side was much more 'correct'.

“That just now—it was the Hot Wind Sword……. No, there are many other swordsmanship styles that handle flames……”

The ex-knight, who had confidently displayed his swordsmanship, had his gaze waver, as if he had received quite a shock.

“Move! Move! It’s the guards!”

“Who caused the problem! Surrender immediately!”

The guards, pushing their way in at a good timing.

As long as there was no damage to the surroundings, a fight between mercenaries or thugs was not particularly a punishable offense.

However, depending on the situation, one could be subject to an investigation.

‘There’s no reason to take such a risk.’

I immediately sheathed my sword and approached the man, putting my arm around his shoulder.

The man, who was still out of it, flinched.

In the meantime, the guards had come right up to us.

Faces that didn't hide their annoyance.

It was an expression that clearly showed they were looking for an excuse to brush it over and move on rather than a reason to arrest us.

In that case, we could talk.

“I apologize for the commotion. It seems this friend got excited after drinking.”

I appealed our friendship to the guards.

Smile, you punk.

If you don't want to get arrested.

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