novelraw Chapter 87 : Duel
Chapter 87 : Duel
Chapter 87: Duel
Robin watched as one of the men sent out as envoys returned.
He approached Leonolf and discussed something with him, and Leonolf stepped forward with only a single knight in tow.
From the opposing side, someone who looked like a representative also came out.
The distance was too far to hear their conversation, but the atmosphere did not look good.
After some time of negotiations, one envoy returned.
“Uh, uh……?”
“He’s coming this way?”
“What the hell, bad luck.”
The mercenaries did not hide their displeasure as they looked at the approaching envoy.
The war was not over yet.
In a situation where battle could break out at any moment, it was hardly welcome.
The envoy did not stop walking and came to a halt in front of the mercenary band.
“Is Mercenary Band Captain Calimacos here?”
At the envoy’s question, all eyes turned to Calimacos.
As expected, Calimacos remained calm.
“I am Calimacos.”
“A duel has been proposed. Will you accept it.”
“I will accept.”
“So you really were confident he’d accept no matter what.”
At the sudden establishment of the duel, Robin widened his eyes, not understanding what was going on.
The envoy’s words did not end there.
“Negotiations have broken down. Regardless of how the duel ends, the war will resume. Everyone, prepare yourselves.”
An uproar spread in an instant.
Eyes demanding answers pressed in on Calimacos.
Ignoring those looks, Calimacos asked the envoy,
“We can bring spectators, right?”
“As you wish. For reference, the other side says he’ll come out alone.”
“That bastard’s all about empty bravado.”
“Is it really fine? The opponent is the Emperor’s Sword.”
“I’ve waited ten years. There’s no way it wouldn’t be fine.”
As if he had finished his business, the envoy returned to the command post.
To deliver the news to prepare for war.
“You heard him. Only those who want to watch a fight even at the risk of their lives, follow me.”
“After saying that, who would just sit still?”
“Just in case, I’m saying this— even if I lose the duel, don’t interfere.”
Before Robin could even ask what was going on, Calimacos started walking.
The entire mercenary band followed after him.
Watching them move away, there was only one thing Robin could do.
He had no choice but to witness it himself.
In the middle of a plain where hundreds—perhaps over a thousand—enemy troops and the forces of the Wilcock family were facing each other.
A knight clad head to toe in full plate armor stood proudly.
Robin could not help but feel a chill upon seeing him.
The owner of the overwhelming power he had seen while fleeing Regiville.
The knight who had cut down Baron Tefir.
It was Verman, Commander of the Third Imperial Knight Order.
“Robin, that person…….”
Imelda clenched both fists and trembled.
Seeing her father’s enemy sent all kinds of emotions swirling inside her.
She probably wanted to rush out immediately, but Imelda endured.
Robin let out a sigh of relief and lowered the hand he had placed on Imelda’s shoulder.
Imelda was not foolish enough to lose all sense of judgment.
Step. Step.
Unlike the mercenary band crowding behind Calimacos, there was no one around Verman.
Verman, who had been sitting on the ground, slowly stood up.
“You came quickly. I suppose you expected I’d propose a duel?”
“You know better than anyone that I’d grab your ankle. And besides, the way you bastards do things is always the same. The Emperor sent you to mediate the war, didn’t he?”
“Do not speak lightly of His Majesty the Emperor.”
“He’s your Emperor, someone you revere. Don’t you feel how petty it is to meddle even in a territorial war?”
Every word from Calimacos stabbed at the ears of those around them.
Insulting the Emperor in front of an Imperial Knight Commander was a grave crime worthy of immediate imprisonment.
Even so, Verman did not point it out.
“Let me ask you one thing. Why doesn’t Betterot withdraw? Even a blind man could see that Wilcock’s forces have the advantage. Does he believe the Imperial Knights will somehow take care of it?”
“Yes. It is Wilcock who grew greedy. His attempt to expand his territory is something His Majesty should rightly keep in check.”
“If you throw the first punch and lose, you should be prepared to be stripped bare. What a joke. Anyway, your lackeys have no intention of backing down, huh.”
The distance between the two gradually closed.
At twenty paces apart, Verman drew his sword.
It was a treasured blade engraved with the royal seal.
“You brought quite a few small fry with you.”
“They’re seeds to spread word of my victory.”
“I’ve heard plenty about your reputation. You ran off on your own whim, yet you seem to be living well.”
“After today, I’ll live even better. I’ve wandered battlefields just to bring you down.”
“You foolish man. Are you still clinging to what happened in Brodnica?”
Shrrk.
As Calimacos drew his longsword, a thick killing intent spread out around him.
It was heavy enough that even Robin, standing far away, felt pressured.
The other mercenaries found it hard even to breathe under their captain’s killing intent and slowly stepped back.
Calimacos had no intention of hiding it.
“How could I ever forget it. Especially in front of the man who erased my hometown, my family.”
“If we had left it alone, the plague would have spread to the surrounding cities. You must know that.”
“Then you quarantine it. Is burning down an entire village something a human should do?”
“It was His Majesty’s order. A lord’s command is absolute.”
The density of the killing intent continued to thicken.
It was the first killing intent Robin had ever felt in his life.
By now, all members except the squad leaders had withdrawn.
Supporting Imelda, who was barely holding on, he moved her away.
“Serena, please take care of the young lady.”
“You’re going to watch from close up?”
“Yes. I have to see it.”
Robin set Imelda down and returned to his place.
With every step closer to Calimacos, it felt as if sharp blades were scraping across his entire body.
His steps grew heavy, and his throat tightened.
It felt as though he had fallen into a vast pool made of blood.
‘Is this the captain’s true intent.’
The murderous intent that dominated the surroundings made it hard even to watch with open eyes.
Just facing it felt like his entire body was being slashed apart.
The formless killing intent gradually gathered into a single point.
As if the gleaming killing intent had taken form, Calimacos’s longsword was dyed red.
“I’m sorry about your fiancée, but if this is all, it won’t be any different from before.”
“Don’t put Emma in your filthy mouth. It reeks of rot.”
“I showed mercy and stopped at one eye. Do you need the other eyeball torn out to come to your senses?”
A blue light flashed from Verman’s sword.
Centered on the brilliantly shining aura, the killing intent was swept away.
Phaaaaash.
The blue light clinging to Verman’s blade grew brighter and brighter.
The sky-blue hue, once like a shallow stream, deepened and darkened like the sea.
It was a power that pressed down on you just by being near it.
As Robin grit his teeth and endured, Paul placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Watch carefully. That’s the sword of a man counted among the top ten knights of the Empire. You don’t often get a chance to see swordsmanship like a knight’s textbook up close.”
Verman’s sword, raised high, fell toward Calimacos.
Calimacos answered in the same stance.
Kugugugugugu.
The blood-dyed blade roared savagely, as if thirsting for blood.
The moment the two swords collided.
With a thunderous sound, cracks formed in the ground around them.
The earth split apart like a mirror struck by a fist, and a deafening roar spread out.
Kwagwagwagwagwang!
Robin barely endured being pushed back by the surging pressure of wind.
Even after the collision, the swords of Calimacos and Verman did not fall away, still aimed at each other.
A simple, brutish contest of strength continued.
The evenly matched standoff did not end easily.
“You’ve grown incomparably stronger than before. Just what did you go around doing on the battlefield?”
“You, who strut around relying only on aura, wouldn’t know. Why? Surprised it didn’t go the way you thought?”
“Impudent bastard. Let’s see how long you can keep yapping like that.”
The one who withdrew first from the contest of strength was Calimacos.
He loosened his force and let it flow aside, widening the distance.
But as if he had expected it, Verman immediately closed in.
What followed was an exchange between the two.
Each time their swords collided, a metallic clang sharp enough to sting the ears rang out.
Watching through accelerated perception, Robin could not believe it.
Even in the slowed time, the two moved too fast to track.
‘Zornhut, Einhorn, Schiranghut, Ox…….’
Ttutututututung!
‘Baikonio, Vom Tag, Alber, Langort, Pflug, Ox, Baxel, Nabenhut…….’
Verman’s swordsmanship was orthodox, as if copied straight from a textbook.
There was no gap to slip into between transitions to the next move.
It was flawless even when judged by the ideal of someone aiming to become a knight.
Robin himself could assume the same stances.
However, Verman’s power and speed were not things he could imitate.
It was hard to believe that was even human.
‘Some of my doubts are cleared up.’
Though it was a duel, Verman had remained alone to face the mercenary band.
Robin had wondered why, but with that level of skill, it made sense.
Likewise, the reason Verman had proposed a duel against Calimacos was understandable.
On this battlefield, Calimacos was the only one capable of fighting Verman one-on-one.
Without Calimacos, Verman’s presence on the battlefield would loom large.
Conversely, without Verman, Calimacos would boost allied morale while breaking the enemy’s momentum.
Each was a tremendous variable to the other.
If you could eliminate the other, it was only logical to do so.
‘But little by little, the captain is being pushed back.’
They exchanged dozens of blows per second, but perhaps because he had withdrawn first in the initial contest of strength.
The pressure bearing down on Calimacos slowly crept right up to him.
He had speed and technique rivaling Verman’s, but Calimacos’s physical strength did not measure up.
‘Why isn’t he going all out……!’
Kaang!
At Verman’s horizontal slash, Calimacos’s guard momentarily broke.
Robin’s concentration peaked.
He could faintly see Verman’s next attack.
What followed was a diagonal slashing cut.
Chwaaaak!
It was not deep, but a wound was carved into Calimacos’s upper body, and blood sprayed.
In a battle between masters, the outcome could be decided in an instant.
Like the seasoned knight he was, Verman seized the flow.
Kang! Kagang!
Calimacos responded belatedly, but reclaiming the tempo he had lost by a beat was no easy task against such an opponent.
Verman relentlessly clung to Calimacos.
When Calimacos retreated one step, Verman dug in two.
If Calimacos forced strength into a counterblow, Verman answered by squeezing out twice the power.
Verman was both a knight and the Emperor’s loyal hunting dog.
An excellent hound that never let go once it bit down.
To Verman, Calimacos, marked as prey, was nothing more than a target to be torn apart.
Chwak! Chwaaaak!
Wounds accumulated on Calimacos’s body.
Not only his upper body, but his arms, chest, and abdomen were mercilessly slashed.
As the injuries piled up, the clothes covering his upper body were reduced to rags.
“Unlike your confidence, this is my victory.”
“…….”
Blood dripped steadily down the tattered garments.
As if it were the end, Verman poured strength into both hands.
“With your skill, you could have become His Majesty’s keen blade. Rest in peace in the afterlife.”
Sssshk.
The sword wrapped in radiant aura shot forward in a straight line, as if it would split even the air.
Robin’s mind, focused to the point that blood vessels burst in his eyes, screamed a warning.
Danger.
In the next instant, he envisioned a future where Calimacos’s head fell.
Puhwaak.
Blood burst forth.
Feeling a sense of dissonance at the tip of his blade, Verman stepped back.
It had not been clean.
Tuk. Tuduk.
“…You deflected my sword with your bare hand?”
A red energy flickered around Calimacos’s left hand.
Though his entire body was drenched in blood, the aura resting on his hand sent a chill through those who saw it.
Just before Verman’s blade reached his neck, Calimacos struck the flat of the sword, altering its trajectory.
As a result, his upper body was slashed, but it did not matter.
He had already been cut and cut again countless times; it meant nothing to him.
Only the clothes covering his body were completely torn away.
The eyes of everyone watching widened, mouths falling open.
It might have been better if his entire body had simply been stained red with blood.
“That… how can that be……?”
“What is the captain’s true identity……?”
Even Torgen and Mirian stared, unable to close their mouths, as if seeing it for the first time.
Robin’s pupils trembled.
Calimacos spat out blood-mixed saliva.
“I’ve shown an ugly sight.”
“You… what is that body of yours.”
“Ah, this? No need to be that curious. You’ll find out yourself in time.”
Calimacos chuckled as he looked down at his own chest.
The place where a heart should have been was hollowed inward.
An indescribable black scar had taken root there, with tree-trunk-like blood vessels spreading outward around it.
The area that ribs should have protected was gouged out, as if torn away by someone’s hand.
There was no way to understand how he could still be alive and moving.
It was where the heart, one of the human body’s vital organs, should reside…….
“More importantly, we should finish what we were doing, right?”
“Fool. After being carved up like that, you still don’t realize it? That there’s no meaning beyond this.”
“What are you talking about. Just now, I matched your swordsmanship with knightly swordsmanship to humor you.”
Calimacos drew another sword from the opposite side of his waist.
The moment Calimacos gripped two swords, his presence changed completely.
“I trained killing intent as a means to oppose aura, but I found something even better.”
“Aura or killing intent, your swordsmanship will not reach me.”
“That’s only because your body is conveniently suited to knightly swordsmanship. I’ll show you the swordsmanship of a headsman hero.”
Calimacos spun both hands in circles.
From the swords that had been uniformly red, a dark, dull energy began to seep out.