novelraw Chapter 110 : Chapter 110
Chapter 110 : Chapter 110
110
"For a student of that age, your sword is upright and draws the gazes of others. It is a sword that can rule others. To be in a third-rate vassal state like this is a waste of talent. If you come to our knight order, you can train from a squire and obtain a knight's position within five years."
Pan had a bewildered expression at the knight's sudden proposal.
So Rozalin spoke up instead.
"Don't fuck with me, hey. The exchange hasn't even started and you're already trying to snatch one of our academy's students in front of the instructors?"
Despite Rozalin's harsh curse, the knight didn't bat an eyelash.
He simply glanced at Rozalin once with his eyes and then looked at Pan again.
"I like it here."
Pan, who had been hesitating, answered.
The slight delay in his answer seemed to be because he was surprised by the sudden proposal rather than because he was considering the knight's offer.
However, the knight rejected Pan's answer.
"It is foolish to have talent and not know how to use it properly or fail to demonstrate it. Don't say such stupid things and come to the knight order after the exchange is over."
There was something this knight didn't know.
Pan was a simple and innocent-looking young man, but inside him was a considerable amount of strength.
"The most foolish choice for me would be to join the Royal Knights."
To the point of confronting him like this.
The knight's eyebrow, which hadn't twitched even when he heard Rozalin's curse, twitched.
"Playing small in a remote countryside has left you with no perspective on the world. Are you lacking experience?"
"Hey. That kid is the youngest member of our Firestorm Mercenary Guild. If you're going to talk nonsense, then either you guys and us have a go at it here."
"Firestorm? You mean the unit of the northern barbarians? The Royal Knights were the vanguard that pioneered the lands of the barbarians and spread civilization, not just Firestorm."
"Oh, so you want to have a go? What, you're not confident?"
"Look around you. It's overflowing with stupid seniors and juniors who only know how to curse and those who try to solve everything with brute force. The so-called instructor here is also a fugitive who ran away from our Royal Academy. Who among them will give you a future?"
So he didn't even acknowledge Sordian when he saw him.
I glanced to the side and saw that Sordian's face was flushed red.
Was it because of his pride that he didn't draw his sword, or was it because of a trauma from his youth?
Either way, it was harsh.
I slowly got up from my seat and approached the knight.
"I am this student's supervising instructor."
"I see."
"Thank you for proposing a good future for my student. I fully understand your intention to teach a talented student about a wider world."
"An instructor must take responsibility for a student's growth. Will you persuade him yourself?"
"I am also from the Empire. I was affiliated with the Royal Academy, and I entered and graduated at the top of my class."
At my words, the knight stared at me intently.
There was no way a person who had come all the way to escort us wouldn't know my personal details.
I hadn't said it thinking he wouldn't know.
It was closer to telling him straight, since he would know it well.
"What I felt in the Empire was that although the Empire certainly pursues skill and is future-oriented, it doesn't care about the lives and character of individuals."
Sordian was kicked out of the knight order without even getting a proper explanation.
Isadora turned her back on the army because of a vile custom.
Avril's educational policy was imperial to the core, endlessly driving students to their deaths.
"He is a student who has declared that he will pursue a righteous life and live a life that others can admire. I will not send a talented student to a place where he will obviously be ruined."
The knight's eyes stared at me intently.
I had seen those eyes before.
They were the eyes of someone who believed that their own world was entirely correct.
They were eyes I had seen countless times while in the Empire.
"You're arrogant. You seem to believe that you can make that student grow."
Belief.
Actually, I still don't trust myself very well.
"Yes."
Instead, I trust the other students who believe in me, watch over me, and understand my results.
Because they are more trustworthy than I am.
"...That pride of yours will be broken at this academic exchange."
The knight turned his body again and strode towards his horse.
At that moment, I felt the surrounding air become lighter and looser.
Looking around, it wasn't just us who had been exchanging words, but all the students who were moving with us were looking this way.
In particular, the first-year students from the Empire had peculiar expressions on their faces.
"An offer to join the Lionheart Knights, that's crazy... It's a place that nobles below the rank of baron can't even enter."
"I heard Instructor Sordian is from there."
"So is Instructor Sordian weak? And they say he has the talent to become a full knight in 10 years."
The students whispered, mulling over the knight's words.
Only Pan looked at me with an upright expression.
"Teacher."
"You don't regret it?"
"Of course not."
Pan smiled sweetly and then returned to his carriage.
As he left, the other students also moved to their own carriages.
The knights also seemed to be preparing to leave.
As I also got on the carriage, Sordian quickly followed and sat next to me.
"Be careful."
"He seemed to know you, Instructor Sordian."
"He was my senior by one class. Falkain. A genius who became a full knight in seven years, and then a senior knight in another five. His swordsmanship is outstanding."
Outstanding.
The senior knight's swordsmanship certainly looked very good.
"He uses that lance like a sword."
"Damn it, you've already seen that far. That's right."
His muscles were not just those of a person who wielded a sword.
His arms, wrists, and fingers were all large and long, and the development of his shoulder muscles, the area around his shoulder blades, and the muscles extending from his armpits to his waist were different from those of ordinary knights.
Above all, his stance.
It was a musculature that allowed for a stable balance when standing with a slightly wider stance than those who used swords.
A knight specialized in using heavy and long weapons.
That means the lance that was slantingly stuck next to the saddle was not just a decoration.
"Not only is his skill outstanding, but he is also a knight with the most imperial mindset. That's why he was promoted so quickly."
"You mean he might approach Pan separately during the exchange."
"I don't think Pan's mind will change, but he's the type to forcibly drag him away if he has the skill."
"Is that so. Then I will prepare a response."
"A response?"
Sordian asked, but I didn't answer.
Instead, I closed my eyes and quietly entered meditation.
As he said, Falkain's martial arts looked extremely skilled.
Then is it inevitable that Pan will lose if he fights Falkain?
No.
I just need to create a way.
For example, what if I could create an opportunity to escape while blocking the opponent's attack?
'Creating that much of an opening isn't difficult.'
It was a tactic I had used on Sordian once.
On the day of the first ranking evaluation, I had taught the students how to block Sordian's swordsmanship.
'Hmm... a spear.'
The problem was that I lacked experience with spearmanship.
Freutche helped me then, so Sordian can help me this time.
But the best thing would be to see him wield a spear or sword myself.
But there probably won't be such an opportunity.
'A shame.'
I had thought that.
But the opportunity arose sooner than expected.
A day later.
With two days left until we reached the imperial capital, bandits appeared.
"They're the resistance."
"Resistance?"
"They are the remnants of a nation that was destroyed by the Empire's invasion, and they are carrying out guerrilla tactics. They sometimes attack merchant guilds entering the Empire, or sometimes they attack the Imperial Army."
Indeed, they were rather well-equipped for a group of bandits.
The way the group of about thirty people moved in an orderly fashion showed traces of formal training.
In particular, the person standing at the very front seemed to be at least a former knight.
"There's a difference between monsters and people. They will try their best to avoid the knight order and attack our students."
"They plan to make the Empire's mission fail and create a diplomatic problem."
"Their reputation will also fall. In particular, many of the academy's students are children of nobles. There's no choice but for discontent within the Empire to grow."
According to Isadora's analysis, the safety of the students was the problem.
Among the opponents, there seemed to be some who had bows, and in the distance, there was also someone who looked like a magician.
"Gather the students to the center. Form a tight group. Instructors, position yourselves at the center of each group of students..."
"There's no need for that. It'll be fine just watching."
As I was about to give the order, Sordian shook his head.
Was it because he was the one who best understood the power of the Imperial Royal Knights?
His eyes seemed to say that this was rather fortunate.
"It's a good opportunity for a monster like you, teacher. See for yourself what kind of monsters those knights are."
Sordian pointed his finger at the senior knight.
He was drawing a lance from his horse.
'The weight...?'
The lance, which I had thought was a simple spear, looked heavier than I had expected.
When Falkain lifted it, his breathing and muscle movements were heavy.
'At least 30 to 40 kg...'
Basically, a horse weighs 600-700kg.
Trained horses could withstand a weight of 120-150kg.
If the horse's armor weighs 20kg, and the knight in armor weighs about 110kg... then the weight of that spear is probably about 20-30kg.
To lift that heavy weight with one hand so casually.
'What kind of strength...'
Falkain pulled his arm back and held his breath.
And from his arm, the spear flew forward in a straight trajectory like a siege weapon.
Pang!
The moment he threw it, I felt as if the air around his arm was distorted.
They were people so far away that it was difficult to see with the naked eye, but the spear flew straight to the person who looked like a magician, right in their center.
"...!"
The magician fell, his heart pierced, without even having a chance to chant a spell.
It was a terrifying aim.
"...!"
The bandits seemed to be about to scatter in all directions in surprise.
But by then, two knights were already charging in from the left and right on their horses.
The two knights, holding lances, swung them at everyone within their range.
'It's practical.'
That huge lance was clearly a weapon specialized for stabbing, but at that weight, just swinging it from horseback would also serve as a powerful blunt weapon.
Above all, that slanted and curved line.
Even if the opponent swung their weapon, if they brought their lance to meet it, the weapon would lose its trajectory and be deflected.
Taking that moment, the knights moved their lances to efficiently strike the opponent.
There were also cases where they would wedge the spear between the opponent's armpits to make them lose their balance and then throw them between enemies.
People weighing almost 60-80kg were sent flying through the air with a single gesture from the knight's hand.
"Hah."
It was a mounted spearmanship that elicited admiration.
It was a practical spearmanship based on fundamentally brute strength with delicate adjustments.
"If you look at the trajectory of the movements broadly, it's like swordsmanship."
As Isadora said, I traced their trajectory.
The horses seemed to be running wildly, but they were moving in a thoroughly calculated direction.
Because the two horses intersected and restricted their movement, the opponent's escape route was limited to a specific direction.
From the center, the knight-commander shouted and gave orders, but it didn't seem to be getting through to the people properly.
'Even the direction and trajectory of the spear throws are trained.'
They wear down the strengths and tighten in on the weaknesses.
And at that final position, a reaper who had slowly approached was standing there.
It was Falkain.
He drew his sword from its sheath.
A faint, cold, steel-colored Aura, just like their armor, swirled around it.
"Walker."
An Aura at the level of an Aura Walker was swirling around his sword.
He made a couple of slashes, and with those strikes, he cut down five.
Efficient, clean, and therefore, terrifying swordsmanship.
"So the Empire really... with their own strength, Aura..."
The students clicked their tongues as if they were disgusted by the swordsmanship.
However, we instructors were a little different.
"I saw that right, didn't I?"
"Wow, it works like that too? Wow. Wow."
Rozalin burst out laughing as if she couldn't believe it.
It was a positive smile.
"That's not the sword intent of that senior knight named Falkain, is it? It's the sword intent of the knight order, isn't it?"
"Yes. To be precise, it's the sword intent of Lionheart."
The swordsmanship he showed was not a sword intent that the knight named Falkain had realized on his own.
It was higher than that.
The most superior being who ruled over them.
Perdius de Lionheart.
If he first realizes Aura, the subordinate knights below him will match their bodies and wills to his teachings.
Rapidly mass-produced Aura users.
"You were right, Sordian."
Seeing it in person, I could tell for sure.
If our students were to fight those knights right now, it would be difficult to guarantee victory even with numerical superiority.
But if five, no, just three years were to pass in this situation.
We would be able to win sufficiently.
And there was also a student who didn't need that three years of time.
"I don't need to go."
Pan smiled as if he had expected it.