Chapter 43: Chapter 66 - Today’s youth (2)
A tree rooted on a hillside.
A woman with aquamarine hair bit her lip as she stood behind a window with a clear view of the tree.
"I see that... Count Gaidar has now prepared a strategic move northward."
"Or, to be more precise, he has taken an area where he can establish a strategic passage, as ultimately he will have to pass through us to reach the north."
Piles of papers on one side of her desk blocked the sunlight, casting shadows over her face.
"Do you think they’ll co to us?"
"...I can’t be sure, but you should be prepared."
Alicia Heinal.
Baroness of Heinal and Lady of Deirmar.
A map was now spread out before her, and on it were the markings of House Gaidar.
"I suppose it’s comforting to think they’ll co, though I don’t know when."
"That’s right."
House Gaidar was now right in front of Deirmar’s nose.
The new losers of the west expanded tirelessly, their influence now reaching into the north and center.
"One minute we were holding off the center... and the next the west was closing in."
Alicia observed the unpredictable course of events, striving to push away the anxiety that had been building up.
Noble blood must be blue.
The blood of a noble must be blue because they must be capable of making judgnts coolly at any mont.
Alicia was working hard to ensure she could do just that.
"We should write to Count Bayezid a letter," she said. Alicia looked at the map, biting her lip. Fortunately, she had insurance prepared for monts like this.
"They will help us. They have a duty and a reason to do so," she asserted.
"That’s right."
If it were Bayezid, they would help Deirmar.
Their location ans that if they are attacked, their next target will be Count Bayezid, one of the Pillars of the North.
The Duel of Honor, a war of powers between the Center and the North, was fought here for good reason.
"I’m glad I gave him the handkerchief."
"You’re right. Lately, I’ve heard rumors about that boy, and he’s growing up very well."
Alicia unnecessarily shrugged off the praise for Vlad coming from Duncan’s mouth.
"It seems he has this ti established a connection with San Rogino, and being near the church, that’s not bad at all."
Duncan heard Alicia’s comnt and looked at her with a subtle expression.
Everything was rumor in the north these days, that the researchers from Soara had found ominous signs in Baron Utman’s territory.
But most lords would be alert to signs of witches or subtle inclinations between Baron Utman and the Bayezid.
"Because... I invested in that boy."
"I understand."
But Alicia was more interested in Vlad’s behavior than that.
Since Vlad had left Deirmar, she had been watching his movents, to the point that her spy network in the north had been reinforced.
"I also think it was a good thing."
"Yes. The higher his na rises, the better for us."
Taking Lady Alicia’s handkerchief, Vlad had the decency to respond to her call.
And when the boy returns to Deirmar claiming the handkerchief, he won’t co alone.
He had promised Joseph he would.
"Mobilize a wider scouting radius, so we can quickly pick up any suspicious developnts. We don’t have many troops, and we need to gain ti."
"...Yes, Lady."
Duncan watched as Alicia quickly changed the subject and decided to remain silent.
It would be nice to have a breather, if only for a few monts.
"I hope you’re okay."
"I hope so too."
The world was changing rapidly.
More than the old ones who had always ruled it could have predicted.
The old knight felt sorry for the young ones who had to bear the heavy burdens of this changing world.
On the trees of the hillside, white flowers blood.
They had started to bloom shortly after the boy’s departure, and they were the only comfort that existed now in Deirmar.
***
kwang- kwang-
Vlad sat, frowning at the hamring sound.
"That darn old man. Part of
wanted to crush him right there."
"...Really?"
The old blacksmith made a subtle expression as he saw Vlad curse the old man in front of him, but he simply continued hamring in silence.
Youngsters had their own burdens to bear, but sotis one had to turn a blind eye to the old ones.
"What were you cutting this ti?"
"This one was a bit too much for ."
It had been a long ti since he tended to his sword, and he had good reasons to scold the boy for yet another chipping.
"...What more can you expect from a headless knight?"
The old blacksmith let out sothing akin to a sigh at the ntion of a being he had never heard of in his life.
The sword resting on the forge looked particularly sorry today.
"It seems like you’re fighting tougher guys wherever you go."
"Seems to be my fate. Whatever."
Watching the boy complain about not having a good deal to live comfortably, the old man quietly started hamring the sword.
Though he was a swordsman who had put all his effort into it, this sword was not created for such purposes.
"Don’t you think it’s ti to change your sword?"
"What?"
Vlad’s eyes widened in perplexity at the old man’s seemingly casual statent.
The old man’s seemingly nonchalant behavior was even more peculiar to Vlad.
"At best, you’ll be lucky if you can go out and slice monsters with it. The material is nothing but ordinary iron, and the man who made it is nothing more than a diocre blacksmith."
"But..."
"If you keep using it like this, soday it will break."
The boy will face more challenges as he grows, but the sword will forever remain as it is now.
The old blacksmith hoped that the sword he had made would never reach the boy’s ankle.
Surely the boy, who now lies wounded, doesn’t want that either.
"I’m not asking you to change it now, but think about it."
"Do you do customizations?"
The old blacksmith just laughed at the boy’s question.
He normally behaved like an adult, but at monts like this, he couldn’t help but feel young.
"This is my last piece. Look for another blacksmith, not ."
It’s the privilege of the young and the young at heart to mourn the parting.
For the old and the sympathetic, it was just another day in life.
"Are you taking it with you today?"
"I might have to use it later."
"Sure."
The sword glead again as he dipped it into the water bucket to cool off.
It still seed like it would stand by the boy.
"Be careful, it’s hot."
"Yes."
The old man gestured for the boy to take it out of the water, eyes stinging from the flas.
"..."
The boy stepped out confidently, unlike before.
Now, he could barely step on the mud in front of him.
"Of course."
The old blacksmith nodded, and with a hearty laugh, he closed the forge door and locked it.
The business of the day was done.
For he had just expended all his strength on the boy’s sword.
***
Vlad had been more sensitive than usual lately.
It wasn’t just because he had been disciplined by Joseph.
"..."
[Soone is following you from behind.]
Since yesterday, soone had been following Vlad, as the voice said.
Almost as if he knew whose gaze it was, Vlad quickly moved away from the familiar alley and began to follow a deliberate path.
He hurried past the skewer shop, filled with acrid smoke, to gain so distance, and then skirted the crowded sidewalks to conceal his presence.
The old man stopped abruptly when he saw the boy suddenly disappear in front of him into a dark alley.
’You’re quick on your feet.’
The old man shook his head, feeling like the boy was behind him as if he hadn’t noticed.
There was a reason he had been given Bayezid’s leather armor.
"Why are you following ?"
"I was on my own way, what do you an?"
Vlad couldn’t bear the nonchalant response from the old man any longer and started to growl.
"You’ve been playing with
since yesterday."
’...He has a strong impulse.’
The old man nodded as he saw the boy, despite being angry, not letting it get the better of him.
’He seems to be soone with a great ability to control himself.’
Then, his challenge from that mont was surely intentional.
He’s a good kid.
"Then you shouldn’t have done the stupid thing in the first place. What did I say was wrong?"
"..."
Vlad looked at the old man who was provoking him while frowning in front of him.
The old man was clearly looking for a reaction from him.
He must have a purpose, sothing he wants from him.
"If you don’t like sothing, why don’t you just say it, instead of beating around the bush?"
The old man smiled as the boy growled and slowly grabbed the hilt of his sword.
There was a rawness in the boy that he hadn’t felt in a long ti.
It was sothing he missed, but it was also sothing he appreciated.
"If you feel like fighting, then co and do it. Idiot."
Vlad prepared himself as he saw the old man reaching out his hand to him.
He didn’t know who the old man was, or why he was doing this, but the old man was soone Joseph vouched for.
If he did it now, it must be with intention.
"...You started it."
Vlad quickly unsheathed his sword, ready to shatter any intent, if there was any.
An old man who had survived countless battlefields must be stronger than him.
But the boy, who had lived in a world where disrespect ant death, was willing to take on anyone at any ti.
Clang!
Vlad unsheathed his sword at a speed that surpassed his expectations, using the technique of the deadly strike.
’You’ve got so tricks up your sleeve!’
The wrinkles of the old man widened as he saw the sword piercing through the narrow alley with no room to dodge.
He almost felt proud of the boy for being so young and putting so much of himself into a single sword.
Perhaps he should teach him sothing of his own.
"What are you doing here without taking her with you?"
"...!"
Vlad was panicking.
It wasn’t because his blow had been blocked in vain.
He had already anticipated it.
Move to the right, move to the right.
If you move to the left, to the left.
As the old man continued to follow him, strangely pressing the tip of his sword against his, Vlad realized that his movents had already been read.
"Damn it!"
Vlad quickly closed his left eye as the old man mocked him with his sword.
Even though he had expected it, he did not expect the difference to be so great.
"Why the hell are you doing this!"
The big worlds always oppressed the boy, constantly beating him down.
Now, tired of being treated this way, Vlad unleashed the anger he had been accumulating and lunged at the unnad old man.
"Magnificent!"
The old man raised the corner of his lips as he felt the boy’s montum trembling under his sword.
Even in his ti, he had rarely seen soone of his age handle aura as clearly as this boy.
"I’m not that good!"
Clash!
The boy’s and the old man’s swords clashed in the narrow alley.
For once, the boy’s montum, which could not be suppressed with finesse alone, clung to the old man with wild sparks.
"You have a good montum!"
It wasn’t just montum.
As he struggled to keep the boy from using his tricks, the boy was clearly thinking about his next move.
Although he might not be able to match his skill or experience, he could surely overwhelm him with his youthful strength.
The boy’s movents, as he analyzed his opponent’s weaknesses and clung to him, were clearly eager for victory.
Clash!
With a tallic sound, the old man was pushed to the end of the alley.
The relentless flow of ti could not stop the young man pushing him.
’Looks promising.’
"Let’s see how long you’ll keep laughing."
Vlad, annoyed by the old man’s smile, pushed his sword forward with all his might, aiming at the old man’s throat.
"That was a good move, but you’ve chosen the wrong opponent."
"...?"
However, at that mont, Vlad felt a chilling premonition as he saw the old man’s calm smile.
"What?"
The old man’s sword... or rather, his arm, was glowing.
Seeing the old man infusing Aura into his arm instead of the sword, Vlad was left speechless and horrified.
He had never seen a knight use his body instead of a weapon to manifest Aura, but this was the first ti.
"It’s quite useful, isn’t it? It’s for strengthening the body."
The old man smiled as if presenting a toy, and then, as if it were his turn, he began to push Vlad’s sword away with all his strength.
"Ugh, ugh..."
Vlad felt a completely different force this ti, and his sword began to retreat more and more.
The old man was pushing the young man back with his strength.
"If you apply it correctly, this is also possible."
"...!"
He didn’t have ti to be surprised by the strange situation unfolding.
This ti, the old man’s hand glowed, and then he grabbed the boy’s sword without hesitation.
Although it should have been sharp after being recently repaired, the sword in the old man’s hands had not a drop of blood on it.
The old man’s palm, harder than steel, made it possible.
’What is this!’
Vlad let out a choked scream inside.
It was a scream that shattered any ounce of common sense he had.
[...]
Without the voice advising him whether he was doing it on purpose or not, Vlad’s instinct told him to let go of the sword.
Then, he quickly drew Jorge’s dagger and lunged at the old man.
"...Ha!"
The old man, admiring Vlad’s quick judgnt, let out a sigh of admiration.
The boy, without caring about pride or dignity, abandoned his sword and ran towards him as if he didn’t care.
It was a bold move that only a boy with the heart of a beast could make.
Although he had felt it before, this boy truly had exceptional talent.
"Damn you!"
Surprised by the unconventional move that a well-trained knight shouldn’t make, the old man unknowingly threw a punch imbued with Aura towards the boy.
"Crack!"
It was just a punch.
Although it was a fierce fight, with just one punch from the old man, Vlad staggered backwards with a dull noise.
The blow was so strong that it broke a piece of armor from the boy’s shoulder.
The snake’s protection, which had been broken during the last battle, could no longer protect the boy.
"...Ouch!"
But even if it was just a blow, Vlad’s resilience to sincerely provoke the old man was clearly comndable.
Probably, if Joseph or Jager were watching the current situation, they would be surprised to the point of disbelief.
"Are you okay?"
Although he was regretting not controlling his strength, the old man who blad himself headed towards the boy, but the real target he had to respond to was lying far away, apparently unconscious.
Perhaps it was a blow so strong that he lost consciousness.
"...He’s weakened a bit."
Finally finding a flaw, the old man was truly satisfied as he approached the fallen boy.
Sohow, there was a reason for Jager’s smile.
"...!"
But when the old man took a step forward to help the boy up, he was stunned to see a pair of flashing blue eyes rushing towards him rapidly.
Gregory had said it.
No matter what happens, the fla must not be extinguished.
And the boy has not given up yet.
"Damn you!"
"This is..."
Vlad punched the old man, grabbing him with his whole body as he tried to get up.
Immobilized and with no space to dodge, the old man had no choice but to accept the attack.
Crunch!
The sound of sothing breaking echoed in the silent alley.
It was clear that Vlad’s intentions had succeeded.
"Curse you...!"
Amidst his confused mind, Vlad muttered a curse with a choked voice.
The last scene Vlad saw before passing out was the old man’s wrinkled forehead glowing with Aura.
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