Morbius shut his mouth. At the same time, the sneer on his face disappeared and his aura changed immediately.
In fact, any more conversation was useless after reaching this point.
As Morbius and I measured the distance between each other. This time, there was no signal to start. The sparring match commenced naturally.
Should I take the lead or wait for the time being?
It was Morbius who made the first move after thinking about it for a while.
I saw his first step and realized that this person wasn't going to be using swift swordsmanship. It was because I could feel the weight of his mana in his footsteps.
This means that his winning rate in spars might be higher than in actual combat.
I was still unsure as I faced Morbius, who got close to me. In an instant, his wooden sword stretched out and aimed straight for my forehead.
This was better than the Badnikers, who used real swords even in spars.
Once mana is infused, there isn't much difference in power between a wooden sword and a real one.
I reached out. I was going to use a capturing technique and snatch the sword with my bare hands. Of course, this wasn't the right way to use the capturing technique, but it shouldn't be difficult with my current skills in martial arts.
However, it seemed that this guy wasn't entirely thoughtless. His wooden sword, which had been heading straight at me, suddenly stopped in mid-air. At the same time, a slight chill passed by my left side.
The leg? No. Was it the knee?
This fellow was ruthless. A knee strike from a knight wearing reinforced knee pads could rupture internal organs and kill a person, even without being reinforced by mana.
Should I play along? I grinned and withdrew my outstretched arm, meeting him with my right knee.
Morbius flinched the moment our knees collided. Of course, my knee was bare while his boots were designed to protect him all the way up to the knee.
Normally, it should be my knee that got crushed, but it was this guy's metal protector that cracked.
"What is this...?"
"A metal guard can't be harder than a trained person's knee."
I swung at the dazed Morbius. Just before my Fire-Qi infused palm struck his abdomen.
Morbius defended by pulling his wooden sword close to him. The sound that came from the wooden sword wasn't normal. Even if it was a training sword built with durability in mind, it would break easily in the hands of someone lacking proper skills.
In duels like this, it was often considered an automatic loss if the wooden sword broke. I hadn't instilled any sense of manners, decorum, or even the basic concepts into him, so I gave him this valuable advice, "Focus. It is going to break."
Tragically, people like Morbius rarely accepted advice as advice. The young knight's face turned red even more. He seemed like he had regained his composure before the duel, but considering his age, he likely hadn't reached the level of perfect inner calm. This meant he wasn't completely immune to provocations. Perhaps he took my words as an insult, but Morbius infused mana into his sword.
The atmosphere changed again the moment the wooden sword turned a bluish color.
Pressure. My back felt heavy as if my own weight had tripled in an instant. Shortly after, Morbius' sword soared straight up before slowly falling toward me.
At that moment, I finally realized the form of the sword that Morbius was aiming for.
A heavy sword. Literally translated, it was a sword that was heavy. As I had expected earlier, it was a swordsmanship style that was difficult to demonstrate its worth in real combat. It was more suited for sparring or mock battles. It was even better when the space was confined.
Hector deserves to lose. The Afterimage Sword he usually used was a type of illusion swordsmanship. A sword technique with a lot of variations had a tendency to struggle against heavy swords that were surprisingly upright. It was not so clear if the skill levels were similar, but after competing with Morbius, I knew that he was two levels above Hector.
In general, it was crazy to try and take on a heavy sword head-on. Still, I somehow wanted to feel Morbius' sword technique with my own body.
The wooden sword fell toward the center point where my crossed arms met. It was like a steel bar had been slammed down. I immediately bent my knees and waist to absorb as much of the shock as possible.
The ground sank as the residual impact reached the soles of my feet. My body felt stiff, and I could see Morbius smiling. He looked as if he had already won the victory.
It is like this. The key to this sword technique lay in the success of the first attack. However, it was completely different from an assassin's blade where a single strike determined the outcome.
This style of swordsmanship didn't need to hit the vitals directly. It could impact through armor or shields. Once you made contact with the opponent, you could crush them with the weight and deliver heavy blows to the body. Even the most experienced masters would find it hard to shake off such pressure. Once the opponent was on the defensive, it was difficult to fight back.
Of course, I wasn't on the level of a master. I tried to use the First Fire Technique while strengthening my thighs.
Wait a minute.
Ah right, I have an audience with the emperor. Now that I thought about it, I didn't have time to train leisurely. I inwardly clicked my tongue. Then I struck Morbius' wrist as he was lowering his sword.
Shocked cries erupted from all directions.
"T-this is impossible..."
"How could he escape from Morbius' Heavy Sword so easily?"
"Did you feel the movement of mana? It seemed to explode like a volcano in an instant, pushing away the pressure that had seeped into every muscle of his body..."
"It is unbelievably dense mana along with control."
"It is said that Golden Fairy Luan is beyond the level of a hero disciple. This rumor seems to be true."
I looked at Morbius. As a member of the Royal Knights, he possessed skills far beyond an ordinary knight. They just hadn't fully blossomed yet.
At most, he is at the level of a Youngblood.
Youngblood was a word that referred to those who had distinguished themselves among the youth of the empire. At least at this moment, there didn't seem to be anyone among the Youngbloods who could be my opponent. Of course, the empire was large. It wouldn't be strange if there were one or two.
"If you use a heavy sword, the wooden sword won't break easily."
I narrowed the distance with Morbius. We were originally quite close, but I narrowed the distance even further, crossing from the area of his sword to the area of my fist.
The startled Morbius belatedly backed away.
The heavy sword had a big weakness. Once the flow was lost to the opponent, it was difficult to regain it. This was a common weakness of those who used heavy weapons like a heavy sword or blunt weapon, where each move carried significant weight.
Compared to other martial arts, the biggest advantage of hand-to-hand combat was the quick transition between offense and defense. Even the most agile weapon, the dagger, wasn't faster than bare hands. In short, the match-up between us was the worst for him.
In a single instant, I struck eight vital areas simultaneously. It was just that my hands moved so fast that only four distinct sounds were heard.
Morbius staggered and was about to collapse backward, so I kindly grabbed his head.
This fellow was so big that I was forced to leap forward. As I was airborne, I pulled Morbius' face toward me and drove my knee straight into it.
I was surprised that he was sturdier than expected. I was aiming to shatter his nose, but it ended with just a slight fracture. It seemed that he had wrapped mana around it like a barrier. It wasn't hard enough to be called concentrated mana, but it felt stronger than most helmets.
Of course, it might block one hit but two, three or four?
The mana barrier started cracking. It was like hitting a hammer with a nail.
"W-wait..." Morbius's face gradually turned pale, and there was a cracking sound. I had accomplished my goal.
He clutched his face while coughing, and I told him, "If I say Concept, you should say Loaded. Do you understand?"
"What?"
"Concept." I hit him in the face, but he didn't answer.
The dazed Morbius was bleeding.
My kind suggestion was ignored, but I didn't feel bad. Honestly, in situations like this, there were cases where people couldn't understand words, regardless of their intelligence level.
Fortunately, I knew how to solve it. I just had to beat him up. After a few hits, he would listen better to what I was saying. There was no point in hiding. I was living proof of this.
"Concept."
Morbius coughed in pain.
"Concept."
Morbius groaned.
"Concept."
Morbius gasped for breath.
"Concept."
He rolled his eyes frantically and hurriedly said, "L-loaded!"
"Oh." I was a man who wasn't stingy with compliments. I immediately smiled and patted him on the head. "Well done."
Morbius continued gasping for breath frantically.
Was it difficult to breathe due to his crushed nasal bone? Morbius breathed heavily through his mouth as he bit his lip and said, "This sparring match, I lo—"
"Oh my." I immediately plunged my fist into Morbius' mouth. I didn't want to break his teeth, so I adjusted my strength.
Morbius looked at me with bewildered eyes as he was punched in the mouth.
I said while still smiling, "Not yet."
Morbius looked at me in astonishment.
"Concepts aren't so easily loaded. If you are a man, you should be bold and neat..." I pulled out my fist and wiped the saliva on my hands onto Morbius' clothes. "Just accept ten hits."
"Huh?"
My knee once again struck Morbius' face.
***
Violence was bad. As a person with normal thinking, I was naturally aware of this. However, there were people in the world who often didn't follow common sense. It was like the me in the past, and Morbius in front of me.
"Shouldn't we stop it?"
"Umm... I'm not feeling well today."
"I feel like I'm still under the weather. My head is aching..."
Still, it was fine. I had changed, so I was sure that this ugly fellow could change too.
"Concept?"
"L-loaded..."
"Okay. Then... It is just one more hit, right?"
Mobius urgently shook his head.
"What?"
"I-it ish dun..."
"Are you asking if it is done?" I asked.
This time, he quickly nodded.
"I don't think so... Isn't there still one left?"
"I-I apologize..."
"Really? I understand." I nodded, and Morbius sighed with relief. "Still, since you've been hit ten times, I'll throw in one more as a bonus."
"U-uhhhh?
"This is all for your own good, so come on. Relax. You will break a bone at this rate."
Morbius looked terrified.
Suddenly, a soft voice echoed, "Stop!"
Right after, the group of knights surrounding us split in half. Through the gap, a black-haired woman in red armor walked toward us.
"C-Captain..." Morbius muttered in a strained voice.
This woman? I glanced at the captain of the Royal Knights. She certainly had an unusual appearance and a transcendent air around her. She was a monster at least on par with Sky-Destroying Sword Maxim that I saw last time.
Somehow, it felt like I had been running into a lot of high-level masters lately. Unexpectedly, I also felt a strange sense of familiarity from this captain. This woman had elongated ears.
"Idiot." The captain glared at Morbius with cold eyes. "Go to the infirmary and get treatment first. In addition, you will be in disciplinary confinement for a month."
"Huh?"
"Why? Shall I extend it to two months?"
"I-I apologize..." Morbius nodded and walked away.
The captain clicked her tongue once more, looked around, and shouted, "Are you sightseeing? Lunch break is over. What are you still doing here? Hurry up and go back!"
"Y-yes!" the knights shouted loudly and left in a hurry.
Now the only people left at the training ground were me and the captain.
Her cold gaze shifted to me. "I apologize for the late introduction, Luan Badniker. I am Lena Danverin. I am the leader of the Royal Knights."
"I see."
It felt like I should introduce myself, but Lena already knew my name. I didn't have anything else to say, so I kept quiet.
Lena just looked at me with a serious expression. She had black hair but her skin was white. She didn't seem to be a Dark Fairy.
Maybe she was a mixed-race?
Lena met my gaze and said bluntly, "I apologize on behalf of my subordinate. I also heard about Hector Badniker. This matter occurred because I wasn't good enough as the captain. I just apologized to him before coming here."
"I appreciate your words, but in this case, it would be more meaningful if the apology comes from the person directly involved," I pointed out.
"I will give an order to Morbius."
"Yes." I didn't thank her since I thought such a thing was only natural.
Lena looked at me for a moment before saying, "By the way, I didn't expect there to be someone like you in the Badnikers. Where are you affiliated with now?"
Suddenly asking for my affiliation?
I felt nervous, but I replied, "I don't really belong anywhere..."
"Really? So are you interested in the Royal Knights?"
I gave her a puzzled look. Did she usually make such a proposal to someone who just beat up her subordinate like a dog?
She told me, "We are always in need of talent. Right now, you can start as an apprentice without needing to build up experience in the Royal Knights... How about it?"
"I'm grateful for the offer, but I'm not looking to align myself with anyone just yet," I declined.
"I see. It is too bad. Come and visit whenever you have a chance."
"I will remember it."
Lena nodded curtly and quickly left the training ground.
"What the hell was that?" I mumbled.
It felt like a storm had passed. I stood in the center of the training ground for a moment. Then I realized I couldn't afford to waste time. Now it was time to go and see the emperor.
***
Time was tight, so I couldn't afford to spend a lot of time on dressing.
For the first time in age, I was treated like a young master from a noble family. Six maids simultaneously assisted in dressing me.
It was definitely the imperial palace, so the maids weren't ordinary. They were beautiful, elegant and well-mannered. If there was one drawback, it was that they talked a lot. Six maids were chattering while surrounding me from all directions, torturing me.
"Young Master Luan, what color do you prefer?"
"Bright colors."
"How about this outfit? It is a new style this year."
"It looks a bit stuffy."
"What about preferred jewelry or accessories?"
"I like anything that is shiny."
" Ahaha. Gems are always shiny."
"Do you always talk so much?" I asked flatly.
"Your jokes are really something!"
It wasn't a joke.
"Excuse me, when will this end? I'm feeling dizzy," I whined.
"Don't worry! Time is running out, but on my honor as an imperial maid, I'll make you look as good as possible!"
"It is better to slick back your hair a bit."
"What about perfume? I think woody notes will suit you."
"Your eyes are really beautiful."
"Wow. Can I touch your muscles?"
"You don't take care of your hair, do you?"
"Uh, why are there blood stains on your hands?"
It was an exhausting twenty minutes. It was a good thing I came a bit late. If I had come earlier, I would've been tortured for an hour.
In any case, I finished getting dressed up and met Charles, as well as Seren for the first time in a while.
"You're late...! Uh, you...?"
They looked at me with slightly surprised eyes.
I grinned and purposefully brushed back my hair. "Why? Can't you recognize me?"
An eerie silence followed.
If I did something wrong, say something, dammit. I looked away awkwardly.
After that, we silently followed the knight's guidance to meet the emperor.
Finally, we arrived at the audience chamber. A carpet with gold thread was laid over red flooring. Dozens of knights dressed in splendid armor were lined up on the left and right. At the far end of the room stood the emperor's sole throne, which was empty for now. It made sense that someone so noble wouldn't be waiting first.
The three of us knelt on the carpet and waited in this state for the emperor to come.
By the way... I looked at Seren next to me. For some reason, this person that I hadn't seen in a while had a slightly different aura. Her expression was softer than usual, and she seemed a bit dazed.
The moment our eyes met slightly, she hurriedly lowered her head. There was the fleeting sense of deja vu that I felt once before.
Don't tell me, she—
"His Majesty the Emperor has arrived!" Before I could finish thinking about it, the emperor of the empire finally made his appearance.