Chapter 194
“What? This bastard…!” Baron Ashbal shouted a cliched villain’s line.
Ah!
There was an uproar as three knights were sent flying into the air by a pitch-black dark energy coming from deep within the reed field.
“That swordsmanship! Is it really…” Baron Ashbal had seen that kind of attack before, and it belonged to a certain individual. ”
Someone pushed off the ground with all his power and soared through the air like a bird, landing squarely in front of Baron Ashbal.
“...!” Baron Ashbal was surprised as he stared at the individual with wide eyes, but as expected of a seasoned veteran, he quickly recovered and tried to take on a stance.
Shwaaa!
“Ugh…!” Baron Ashbal’s heart turned cold when he felt the strong mana.?Immediately afterward, he was sent flying by the deluge of excessive mana coming from the man, and the turn of events caught everyone off guard.
“My apologies. It seemed like the most natural way to respond when you asked me who I am,” said the guest as he stood next to Charles. Of course, he didn’t forget to grin at
the stupefied Charles.
“Sir Cain, the knight of justice in shining armor, has arrived!”
“Sir Cain…!” Charles exclaimed after finally recovering from her stupor.
“Ah! Please, don’t cry. Your tears, lovely as they are, are totally unnecessary.” Cain reached out a hand to forestall her impending outburst. “Why don’t you take my hand, Lady Charles?”
“I—heuk!?I was wondering what I would say to you in the afterlife or what you would say to me when we meet there… heuk!”
“...” Cain revealed a wry smile at the sight of that. He wanted to shout ‘Wait, why were you treating a perfectly healthy person as if they were dead?’ However, such words didn’t seem appropriate at the moment. Anyway, he was happy that he was still alive.
After all, he still had things he wanted to do.
“You're a ‘wonderful’ knight, Sir Cain, but in situations like this, you're working to advance your own interests.”
“I must admit that you’re a wonderful knight, Sir Cain, but I really can’t believe that you’re trying to complete your bucket list at a time like this,” a husky voice chided.
“Oh?” Cain turned to look at the side and smiled cheerfully, “Icarus-nim. What do you mean by I’m trying to complete my bucket list?”
“I can still remember how you spoke about it with such yearning back then: I wish I could hold a woman’s hand, even just once. Didn’t you say that before? Correct me if I’m wrong,” said Icarus.
Flinch!
With a not-so-perfect poker face, Cain stammered, “That’s… uh—I didn’t say that…”
“Sure, you didn’t say it, I guess,” replied Icarus.
“Are you angry at me?”
“Me? Angry? How could I be anything but absolutely overjoyed that you survived?”
“I couldn’t tell you. I’m sorry, I had to be wary of spies once I knew there were traitors.”
“I know. It would have given the enemy the upper hand. You did well not telling me.”
“Really?”
“Of course.” Icarus smiled sweetly.
Cain saw that smile, and he immediately went silent at the sight. After a few moments of contemplation, he spoke once more, “You're mad at me.”
“Who’s mad? Me?”
“Were you crying because of me? The tear stains looked pretty obvious.”
At that, Icarus trembled. Of course, she quickly recovered and riposted. “Is that so? It seems like my brain’s instructions doesn’t match what my heart feels.”
“...” Cain didn’t know what to say. ‘Am I living a popular man’s life right now?’
Cain immediately shook his head at the thought.
“Have you been eating properly?”
“Yes, I was being pursued, but I knew I had to eat proper meals,” Cain answered. “There was plenty of food to be found as well, so I didn’t really have any problems in that department.”
“That’s good, then.”
“What, now you’re concerned about your fiancé?”
Icarus scoffed. “You are the last person I’d want to be my husband.”
“Hoh? So you admit that you’re a woman?”
“Hah! Give me a break. Seriously!” Icarus let out an exasperated gasp.
The rest of the group couldn’t help but smile at the endearing scene. It seemed like they had forgotten their dire predicament as they watched the pair bicker.
“T-This is bullshit…!” Someone cursed in a low voice.
Icarus and Cain turned to look at him. Baron Ashbal finally emerged from the reed field while furiously dusting the dust off of his clothes.
“You were alive?”
“What, you didn’t hear me earlier?” Cain laughed and hid Charles behind him. “I’m going to die of shame.”
“This won’t end like last time. We might both be B-Class Knights, but the swordsmanship I studied is nothing like yours. I’ll show you why people distinguish between Imperial and non-Imperial knights,” said Baron Ashbal as he took on a stance.
Cain’s eyes narrowed as he asked, “Who taught you the way of the sword?”
At the question, Baron Ashbal puffed his chest out and revealed a prideful smile before saying, “You’re young, but you should know my teacher. My teacher is my grandfather Ashba Deogrant, and I’m from the Deogrant family in the south. My grandfather was a leader of his generation and was one of Avalon’s great Masters.”
Of course, Cain recognized Ashba Deogrant.
He died twenty years ago, and he became a Master when he was already over seventy years old, which made him the oldest Master in the history of the Avalon Empire.
He crushed anyone and everyone who dared to disparage him for his age while he was still in the middle of his short ten years of service as a Master of Avalon.
“He has been teaching me the sword since I was a child. I was already practicing my sword strokes before your lord, Joshua Sanders, was born!”
“That's great!” Cain exclaimed before hoisting a gigantic sword to match Baron Ashbal’s sword.
“Our family’s mana technique is designed for the sake of a solid foundation. Each and every practitioner of our mana technique would always progress slower than other people…”
“But our progression speed dramatically increases the moment we surpass a certain threshold. The distance between B-Class and A-Class is as great as that between a beginner swordsman and B-Class…”
”However, our foundations will be more solid than any other A-Class out there once we’ve reached that point. As such, I can confidently say that our family’s techniques are truly exceptional compared to the techniques from other families.” Baron Ashbal proudly showcased the superiority of his family’s mana technique with a sleazy smile.
“Aside from Lady Charles and His Grace Pontier, everyone here shall face my wrath. Of course, you have no one else to blame aside from yourselves for making a poor choice,” said Baron Ashbal before turning to look at Icarus. Baron Ashbal’s gaze made Icarus tremble as goosebumps broke out all over her. “Look forward to it. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a woman or not; I’ll make sure that my soldiers will get to enjoy your company.”
Icarus shivered.
“Your teacher is not always your choice, but you can always choose a Master to serve. Sadly, you made a poor choice, and you will have to pay for your mistake by dying,” said Baron Ashbal with a chuckle.
Baron Ashbal seemed awfully confident, even though he had already lost to Cain before.
Cain calmly scanned his surroundings. The enemy’s encirclement was especially watertight. It seemed that the knights were showing off their skills by making such an elaborate formation just to surround them.
Cain judged that it would be impossible to shatter their encirclement with their meager power alone. After a few moments, Cain revealed a determined look and made a decision.
‘There’s no other choice, then. All we can do is persevere until the signal is received.’
Cain stepped forward and revealed a smile filled with derision before speaking, “Since you’re so confident about your skills, how about we give it another go?”
“What?”
“You weren’t just bluffing, am I right? In that case, I want you to show me. Show me the great Deogrant Family’s might.”
“Are you trying to provoke me? What a joke!” Baron Ashbal scoffed.
“There’s enough people here to serve as witnesses. You don’t even need to worry about us trying to escape. Well, what about you? Can you even stomach losing in front of so many people?” asked Cain.
“...” Baron Ashbal remained silent. However, he had actually been waiting for Cain to challenge him. It was the reason why he boasted about his family’s mana technique. It was bait to lure Cain into challenging him.
‘I’ve been longing for this day ever since I lost that damn spar.’
The way his subordinates looked at him stung more than the defeat itself. His confidence had been driven to its lowest point, so he put a lot of thought into why he had lost, and his efforts were finally rewarded.
“Okay, I'll start by cutting off your head and then send your bitch to be with you,” said Baron Ashbal with a smile. He smiled so wide that he actually started to look creepy.
“As expected of the Deogrant’s scion!”
“Wipe that smile off of his face!”
The surrounding knights started kicking up a fuss, but Cain decided to directly ignore them before asking, “Wait. You told us the story of your teacher, so shouldn’t it be my turn to tell you my story?”
Stop.
“Unnecessary,” Ashval smirked after a brief pause. “I don’t want to hear it, and I don’t want to hear any more words from you.”
“Oh, really?”
“Do you really think that your family has any notable technique to speak of?” Baron Ashbal started.
”I know where you’re from! You’re from Viscount Harry’s family, but unfortunately, His Majesty abandoned has basically abandoned Viscount Harry by assigning him up in the desolate north, and you know what’s funny?” asked Baron Ashbal.
“Your family doesn’t really have anything to be proud of aside from your family’s passable swordsmanship, but they’re actually acting like a bunch of bastards who have something to brag about! Isn’t that funny?”
“...” Cain didn’t say anything in response to Baron Ashbal’s clear provocation.
A few moments later, Baron Ashbal smiled in satisfaction before taking on a stance while contracting his muscles. “Enough talk!”
“No, I’m telling you to listen to me talk about my teacher,” said Cain.
“...?” Baron Ashbal was astonished by such a quick rebuttal.
Cain smiled when he saw the confused look on Baron Ashbal’s face.
Cain’s teacher was a Master of several decades by now, and he was arguably the strongest person in present-day Igrant.
“You had the luxury of looking into my family, so why did you not dig a bit deeper about me?”
“What?”
“Knowing you, I think you’ll be shocked,” Cain remarked before abruptly slamming his gigantic sword into the ground and launching himself upward at gravity-defying speeds.
“...!” Baron Ashbal’s jaw dropped at the sight as he inwardly grumbled.?‘For fuck’s sake, that sword is bigger than him!’
Steel soon met steel, and the violent collision created a vicious shower of sparks.
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