Chapter 172: The Competition (3)
Eboldt Magius was also well aware of the rumors surrounding Eugene.
Eugene Lionheart was known to be a genius and had even been called the second coming of the Great Vermouth, the founder of the Lionheart clan.
He was also a foster child who didn’t share any blood relations with the main family. In other words, this meant that all the achievements following Eugene Lionheart had been accumulated in the mere seven years since he had first been initiated into using his mana.
‘....Not only is he a natural wizard born with genius talent… but his martial arts skills are also exceptional, enough to even convince the inflexible Lionhearts to adopt him as one of their own.’
Eboldt halted in his steps. Then, while measuring the gap between himself and Eugene, he stared into Eugene’s face.
Twenty years old… how young. That was far too young an age for someone to already have made their name known throughout the continent.
“...You have stepped forward to participate in a match, right?” Eboldt checked.
“That’s right,” Eugene replied with a nod.
Eugene didn’t recognize who Eboldt was. However, judging from his looks, Eboldt didn’t seem younger than him, so Eugene took the initiative to bow his head first and introduce himself.
“My name is Eugene Lionheart.”
“My name is Eboldt Magius. I am the Captain of the Fourth Division of the White Dragon Knights.”
Eugene had already guessed it from the sense of vigor that Eboldt was giving off, but he really was a captain, after all. Eugene raised his head.
Eboldt had no intention of asking if Eugene was qualified to be here. This was because he knew full well that such a question would only provoke the spectators watching this scene with expectant eyes and land him on their bad side. As such, Eboldt deliberately took a few steps back and tapped on the hilt of his sword.
“...To think that I would be able to compete with the famous young master of the Lionheart clan. It seems that I also have quite the luck today,” Eboldt said in self-praise.
Well, now, what could he mean by that?
Eugene suppressed the desire to burst into laughter. Wasn’t the answer to that question obvious?
As a Captain of the White Dragon Knights, Eboldt was in a position that only someone confident in their own skills could reach. He was probably twice as old as Eugene, which meant that he would have accumulated twice as much experience and done twice as much training as Eugene.
As such, Eboldt had swiftly reached the mistaken conclusion of his own inevitable victory.
While it was true that Eugene had never made an appearance at one of Kiehl’s social events, enough information had already spread around the world to get a rough idea of his abilities.
‘He’s not wearing his cloak,’ Eboldt noted.
What accounted for a large part of the rumors surrounding Eugene Lionheart was his diverse range of abilities, which were so numerous that it was hard to believe that they could all belong to a young man who was only twenty years old. This was because the event that had initially made Eugene famous throughout the world was his duel in Aroth against Jeneric Osman, the Green Tower Master. During that duel, Eugene had shown a tactic where he stored several different types of weapons inside his cloak and changed them according to the situation.
‘...The Storm Sword Wynnyd. The Devouring Sword Azphel….’
According to the information gathered from the Imperial intelligence service, Eugene had used ‘lightning’ and ‘bombardments’ to break through the encirclement by the tribespeople of the Samar Rainforest. What this meant was clear. Eugene must also have the Thunderbolt Pernoa and the Dragon Spear Kharbos tucked away inside his cloak.
Even among the previous Patriarchs of the Lionheart clan, none had dared to monopolize four of the family’s treasures like Eugene had. That was in addition to the Wise Sienna’s staff, Akasha…. Each of those treasures was an artifact whose strategic importance was at the national level.
But the fact that Eugene had taken off his cloak meant that he wouldn’t be using any of those artifacts for their fight. Currently, Eugene’s only weapon was the sword hanging from his waist.
So, wasn’t it only natural that Eboldt would have already started dreaming of his inevitable victory?
Eboldt had no intention of underestimating this genius — Eugene Lionheart. However, he was sure that Eugene’s true ‘strength’ must have been artificially inflated by being able to freely use these amazing artifacts. For Eugene to have chosen to avoid using any of the powerful weapons in his possession and instead come onto the field bearing a single sword, Eboldt could only judge this as the recklessness of a teenager.
Shiiing.
Eboldt drew the sword at his waist. He had no intention of giving up on this first point. What His Majesty truly hoped for was the victory of the Withe Dragon Knights. If Eugene Lionheart were to be defeated at the start of the competition, then the morale of the Knights of the White Lion Knights would be sure to fall, and of course, Eboldt would also be able to leave a deep scar on the face of the Lionheart clan.
Mustering up his resolve, Eboldt cautiously stepped forward. Again, he had no intention of looking down on his opponent. From the moment he had drawn his sword, Eboldt had readied himself for a serious battle. The Core that he had been training for decades immediately sent mana flowing throughout his body. His keenly sharpened senses were sensitive enough to read the flow of the wind and even feel the weight of every thread that made up part of his uniform.
Yet, even so, he wasn’t able to see what happened next.
The moment that Eboldt took a step forward, Eugene was already standing in front of Eboldt, having instantly closed the gap between them. With such speed, the distance between them had already been rendered meaningless.
However, Eugene didn’t draw his sword. He simply stood a few paces in front of Eboldt, just silently staring into Eboldt’s eyes.
Belatedly, Eboldt realized what had happened. Eboldt slowly registered that calm golden gaze, the wind that followed in his footsteps, the sparks crackling and leaping off of Eugene, the fluttering white embers, and the hand that continued to rest on his sword hilt.
“...Ah…!” Eboldt let out a yelp and skidded backward.
At the same time, the space between Eboldt and Eugene was suddenly filled with slashes. The flurry of sword blows was so fast that it made the spectators doubt their eyes.
However, it was Eboldt who found himself suspecting his own eyes the most. Hadn’t Eugene’s hand been resting on his sword hilt just now? When the hell had Eugene even drawn his sword? Eboldt just couldn’t figure it out. Eugene’s hand had just been seen gripping the hilt, then, in the next moment, the sword had already left its scabbard.
There wasn’t any flash of movement between those two images. At first glance, it looked like two freeze frames had just been cropped together.
…That was why Eboldt couldn’t help but doubt his own eyes. This scene told him that his eyes had been completely outsped by Eugene’s sword leading to the two frames being seemingly disconnected.
When Eboldt tried to turn away to get some distance, Eugene’s sword was already on the other side of him, and when Eboldt used his head to try and ‘out-maneuver’ Eugene’s sword, this time, the sword stabbed at him from a completely different location. Eboldt desperately tried to keep up with Eugene.
Although it looked like the frames were skipping between each motion, that wasn’t actually what had happened. The fact that the sword Eboldt was wielding was about to shatter proved that Eugene’s sword had actually met his own blade in a way that Eboldt just couldn’t comprehend, blocking the path of his sword each time Eboldt tried to slash or thrust, cutting his movements off faster than the eye could see.
‘...This… just what is this…,’ Eboldt thought desperately.
This wasn’t what Eboldt had been planning on facing. He hadn’t even been able to suspect that something like this might happen. Inevitably, ever so naturally, as if there was no other option but for this to occur, Eboldt’s feet began to slide backward.
Even though his eyes weren’t able to follow Eugene’s sword, the senses that Eboldt had sharpened over his lifetime managed to detect a threat from it. He would feel a slash coming, then the slash would arrive. This continued series of unseen threats made Eboldt unconsciously begin to retreat.
When he finally noticed what was happening, Eboldt had already taken ten steps backward. If Eugene hadn’t stopped swinging his sword at this moment, Eboldt probably wouldn’t have noticed until he had taken dozens or even hundreds of steps backward instead of just the ten.
“...Urgh…,” Eboldt choked out a groan.
‘What is going on? What happened to me just now? My head is spinning, and my hands are throbbing. It feels like I’ve just struck something hundreds of times, but I never even managed to push him back once. Instead, I was the one actually pushed back, and whenever I swung….’
Could this be… a spell? A type of mental attack that showed you illusions and disturbed your senses….
But Eboldt was well aware that this couldn’t be the case.
‘...He’s just fast. And skilled. Much more than I am….’
Eboldt finally admitted the truth to himself. His feet, which had only been able to retreat, bravely stepped forward once more.
Boom!
The ground shook from a strong impact. The mana spewing from his core covered Eboldt’s entire body, permeating the space around and adding its own density to the preexisting mana in the air. This ‘weight’ then put pressure on Eugene while also adding power to Eboldt's sword swing.
Eboldt’s slash seemed like it was going to split space itself into two pieces. But Eugene just calmly spun the sword in his grip.
Then he waved his sword.
Even under such pressure, Eugene’s sword was so unrestrained that it was impossible for the added weight to fully hold on to it.
His sword was still fast, but unlike before, it was now possible to grasp the true nature of Eugene’s slash. It was all because Eugene’s mana was flowing through his body at super high speeds. By training his body into a perfect state, he could use the whole force of his perfect body to drastically change the trajectory of his sword multiple times in mid-swing.
It was too dazzling for Eboldt. The slash had been created by Eugene swinging his sword just once, but Eboldt couldn’t grasp the myriad changes mixed into that single swing. There weren’t any pauses in his swing either. It was as if countless slashes had been connected together into one body from start to finish. Eugene’s sword had started off with a quick slash, but at some point, the flow of the movement had slowed down; and unlike the light feeling that Eugene’s sword gave off, the huge pressure that Eboldt had tried to burden Eugene with seemed to have been returned to Eboldt.
It was as if a massive wave of fog was rolling in on Eboldt. There was no way to avoid it. Could he somehow break through? But was there even any meaning in trying to pierce through the fog? Even if he did manage to create a way through the fog, Eboldt’s body would have already been enveloped by the fog.
Fwoosh!
Eboldt couldn’t advance any further as his body just stopped in place. Nothing… appeared to have been sliced off. His sword was fine as well. His sword-force hadn’t been destroyed either. But for some reason, he just couldn’t go any further.
The ‘sword’ that seemed like a wave of fog had come to a halt right in front of Eboldt. If he… if he had even dared to put up the slightest resistance to it, the entirety of the fog would have wrapped around his body and turned into blades that would mince Eboldt’s body. He would have been broken up into dozens or even hundreds of pieces and scattered across the floor.
“...Uwaaargh!”
Eboldt finally couldn’t stand it any longer and bent over to vomit a mouthful of blood. His body… hadn’t suffered any cuts. However, his heart had been thoroughly mutilated. Eugene’s sword had left Eboldt with a feeling of overwhelming despair that he didn’t think he would ever be able to overcome.
Eboldt gritted out the words, “...I’ve… lost….”
“Thank you for your hard work,” Eugene said with a smile as he stretched a hand out to Eboldt.
Although he had only reached his hand out to offer a handshake, Eboldt’s shoulders trembled unconsciously. It was because of the deep-seated fear that Eugene had just embedded into his heart.
“...He really is crazy,” Carmen commented with a click of her tongue as she shook her head.
Since they had fought together against the Rakshasa Princess just a month ago, she thought she had a good grasp of Eugene’s skills.
…But had it really only been a month since then? Eugene’s growth rate was absurd. Carmen had already had a hard time believing that he could have such incredible skills at his age, but now he had even taken a few steps further.
“...Haha…!” Gilead laughed, feeling the same sense of astonishment.
Unlike Eboldt, he could keep up with Eugene’s sword. However, that was just because he was watching it from the sidelines.
If… if he was standing in place of Eugene’s opponent and Eugene’s sword was coming right at him… would he have been able to see everything without losing track of the blade like he had just now?
“...How amazing,” Alchester muttered to himself unconsciously.
Setting aside the fact that this was a competition and a peaceful confrontation between their two knightly orders, the skill that Eugene had just shown fired up Alchester’s warrior spirit. Alchester deliberately let go of the reins he had been holding onto so tightly.
Eboldt, the Captain of the Fourth Division, wasn’t some underdog. No matter which opponent had come out to meet him from the Knights of the White Lion, Eboldt was a master swordsman who should have required great skills to overcome.
However, Eboldt had been forced to admit defeat without even being able to swing his sword to his heart’s content.
…If he had had his own way, Alchester would immediately get down from his horse and step forwards to meet swords with that young man. However, Alchester knew full well why that couldn’t be the case.”
“...Captain.”
“I know.”
Alchester let out a short sigh.
He had planted a few decoys amongst the spectators to convince them that it wasn’t important who won or lost today. However, the moment that Alchester, the leader of the White Dragon Knights, stepped forward, the impact of this confrontation would change drastically.
Especially when it came to a contest like this, where the ranks of the opponents needed to be kept relatively equal.
If Alchester were to step forward, a knight with a corresponding level of authority needed to come out from the other side as well. The leader of the White Lion Knights was a man called Grius Miles. He was a loyal knight who had served the Lionheart clan for decades, but he fell slightly short when compared to Alchester, who was said to be the finest knight in the Empire.
Even so, it wasn’t like the Patriarch could step forward to meet him personally. So if Alchester were to emerge onto the field, then Carmen would step forward from the Lionhearts' side to meet with him, but if that happened… Alchester wouldn’t be able to guarantee his own victory.
‘...Even if it’s just so that Lady Carmen doesn’t step forward… this isn’t a place where I, as the commander, can go out and fight,’ Alchester reminded himself.
In the first place, he at least needed to get permission from the Emperor to participate. Alchester forcefully shook off his feelings of regret and picked up the reins once more.
After that, Eugene didn’t step down. He proceeded to defeat three more members of the White Dragon Knights.
The visual aspect of their duels wasn’t much different from Eugene’s first match with Eboldt. Among the three defeated knights, there was also a knight who used a spear, but he was overwhelmed by Eugene’s sword without ever being able to take advantage of his spear’s reach.
All three knights suffered similar defeats, where they were overwhelmed to such an extent that they were left with no choice but to surrender and without even being able to put up any resistance to their defeats.
“Phew, this is hard work.”
After obtaining four victories, Eugene finally stepped down from the center while pretending to wipe his forehead, despite the fact that not a single drop of sweat was flowing from it. While Eugene could still fight in this condition, if he really did that, someone among the White Dragon Knights might just have a heart attack.
In fact, there were already signs of that occurring even now.
And of the knights by Alchester’s side, only two seemed to be worth noting, and it appeared that they were both Captains like Eboldt.
“Whoaaaah!”
As Eugene stepped down, the spectators ignored their own status and dignity to let out a primitive roar of approval. Gerhard shed streams of tears at the outpouring of applause, and Laman handed Gerhard a handkerchief while feeling a deep sense of pride in his heart.
Eugene responded to his father’s ardent gaze by just waving him off, then he turned to the White Lion Knights and asked their commander, Grius, “Who are they?”
“That’s Karian De’Arc, Captain of the First Division of the White Dragon Knights, and Derry De’Arc, Captain of the Second Division,” Grius replied.
They had the same surname, so while they didn’t look similar, it appeared that they were brothers.
Eugene just smiled brightly at the two men who were still glaring at him so fiercely that it was as if they wanted to kill him.
* * *
“My son!”
On their way back to the mansion, Gerhard cried out to Eugene several times and tried to hug him. Eugene, of course, hadn’t wanted to touch Gerhard’s damp beard, which was drenched in his tears, so he summoned some wind every time to push away his father, who kept trying to get closer with his arms outstretched.
This made Gerhard feel a complex sense of distress. Before Eugene had become an adult, Gerhard seemed to have been able to embrace his son quite often….
In fact, Eugene had never once allowed himself to be hugged willingly, but like all parents, Gerhard was excessively embellishing his memories of Eugene’s childhood.
‘Now, he doesn’t even use his hands and just pushes me away with a breeze…!’ Gerhard sobbed to himself.
Fortunately, the wind was at just the right refreshing temperature.
“I was hoping for a complete victory,” Carmen grumbled around her cigar as she clicked her tongue.
The final result of the competition was seven to three, which meant that the White Lion Knights had won overall, but since Eugene had won four times, the outcome of the actual contest between the knightly orders was more like three to three.
“Please don’t feel too upset,” Gilead assured her. “Our opponents were the White Dragon Knights, after all.”
“Patriarch, don’t say something so half-hearted. Apart from Eboldt at the start of the competition, none of the other Captains even made an appearance,” Carmen complained.
“But that goes for the White Lion Knights as well. No Captains participated except Sir Hazard, and Sir Hazard won his match,” Gilead reminded her.
“Even so, we shouldn't just lightly accept the defeat of our regular knights,” Carmen lectured him. “No matter what, we need to increase their training. Grius, you’re old, so you can sit out the training.”
Pom.
As he heard these words that were punctuated by the sound of Carmen’s Dupont lighter flicking open, Grius couldn’t help but seriously consider how he should respond to this. It was true that after serving the Lionheart clan for decades, he was now a white-haired old man.
However, he was actually a little younger than Carmen.
Grius eventually decided to say, “...Not at all. I’ll take part in the training as well.”
“That’s an impressive decision. Starting tomorrow, breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be eaten in hell,” Carmen replied with a smile.
The truth was that Carmen wasn’t in too bad a mood. As her behavior thus far had revealed, Carmen was a person who enjoyed the reactions and attention of the people around her. The applause that had poured forth all throughout the competition, the affirmation of the Lionheart clan’s glory, and the restoration of their honor — all of these were things that Carmen had enjoyed.
Cyan slowly drove his horse over to Eugene’s side and asked him with a grumpy expression, “...Hey, how did you do that earlier?”
“It was in the book I gave you,” Eugene informed Cyan. “You just need to follow the instructions and work hard.”
Cyan’s face crumpled into an agonized expression at this reply. The training method that was in the book he had received from Eugene… Cyan was still keeping up with the training plan.
But all the methods recorded in the book were hellish ways to torture the core. Thanks to his constant practice, and since Cyan’s innate talents were also quite excellent, these methods were slowly starting to have an effect.
The ultimate goal of his training was to have the Core act like the heart and mana like his blood. To some extent, this was already possible. However, it was still extremely difficult for Cyan to move his body with only the power of mana instead of his muscle strength, and he hadn’t even gotten close to the state where mana would follow his movements without even receiving instructions from the Core.
In the first place, the organ meant to draw on one’s mana was the core, so wasn’t it ridiculous to suppress the usage of one’s Core and try to draw on your mana anyway?
“You’ve also been learning this and that from Lord Genos and the other Captains, haven’t you?” Eugene reminded him.
“I have been learning from them, but… ugh…. You… you son of a bitch,” Cyan cursed.
Eugene raised his eyebrow, “What’s with the swearing all of a sudden?”
“Even though it feels like I’m working hard, it doesn’t look like I’m doing much when compared to you, so I can’t help but feel angry…,” Cyan admitted sulkily.
“Mm, well then, you just need to keep working harder,” Eugene encouraged him with a chuckle as he slapped Cyan on the back.
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