The Strongest in Our Neighborhood - Chapter 84

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Strongest in Our Neighborhood (84)
Bruoli Kante glanced at Ilmaserck Alberto, who had his hand pressed to his chest, then swallowed dryly.
The two Sword Masters had been using artifacts to conceal their presence so they could launch a surprise attack when the dragon appeared.
But both the dragon and the Duke Jang Gain they faced seemed to know they were Sword Masters.
‘A dragon is a creature of magic, so the artifact might not work on it—but I never imagined it wouldn’t work on a Sword Master either.’
A bitter taste filled his mouth.
When he’d first heard that a young dragon was clumsy against Sword Masters, he’d felt invincible, but the dragon he now faced—despite being in human form, not its true shape—displayed tremendous power.
‘If I’m to save thirty thousand soldiers, I have to defeat this man? I need to steel myself and give everything I have, even if it costs my life.’
He resolved that he would win, even if he perished in the attempt.
He had promised to spare the soldiers regardless of the outcome, but he couldn’t trust that such mercy would be granted after a defeat.
Crack.
As he drew his Aura to its peak, the concealment artifact on his wrist shattered, scattering fragments across the ground.
“I am the third sword that protects the Kram Empire. Commander of the Naval Forces, Bruoli Kante.”
“I am Duke Jang Gain of the Smed Kingdom.”
“That the Smed Kingdom harbors one of such strength—I am astonished. Do your best, and I shall do the same.”
“Of course. I always do.”
Bruoli Kante had witnessed Ilmaserck Alberto launch a surprise attack moments before, only to be overwhelmed one-sidedly, so he lowered his stance cautiously and advanced step by step, gauging the distance.
‘Now!’
Once he reached his preferred distance, he thrust his sword at the man’s chest while probing for a reaction.
Clang!
Sparks erupted as his blade met the opponent’s sword, and it bent sideways.
‘I merely twisted my wrist, yet such power—!’
He had been completely focused on the man’s movements; his shoulders hadn’t moved, his elbow hadn’t budged, only his wrist had twisted to deflect the blade’s trajectory.
Yet his thrust had bent as if struck by a hammer swung with full force, wavering helplessly.
Gritting his teeth, he tightened his grip to keep from losing the blade, but the strain overloaded his wrist and forearm.
‘I swore I wouldn’t be overcome like Commander Alberto, but with power like this, I can’t guarantee victory!’
Clarity flooded through him, and his focus sharpened to several times its normal intensity.
The moment he sensed the opponent’s shoulder twitch, the blade’s tip was already rising toward his throat.
‘Terrifyingly fast!’
He twisted his waist to evade the blade’s arc while swinging his own sword at the man’s throat, but the opponent’s form blurred and suddenly he had retreated a step back.
His blade passed through empty air without drawing blood, and as he closed the gap and thrust forward again, a sudden explosive burst of Aura erupted from his opponent’s blade, and a flower the size of a fist bloomed forth.
A chill ran through him.
From crown to sole, goosebumps erupted as though icy water had been poured over him, and his instincts screamed an alarm.
‘A flower made of Aura! If I don’t block it, I’m dead!’
He reflexively raised the shield on his left wrist to cover his face and spun his body, pivoting on his right foot.
Boom—!
‘Damn it! I deflected it with the shield, and yet—!’
Bruoli Kante watched the shield inscribed with protective Magic Circles shatter into fragments and the gauntlet protecting his hand crumble to dust, a hollow despair washing over him.
But even through that despair, his body, still rotating toward the right to evade, instinctively sought the opponent’s blind spot and moved toward it, extending his sword into the darkness of his adversary’s vision.
Scrape.
The blade’s tip caught the man’s flank, and he felt the armor split and flesh tear beneath.
‘Shallow! Damn it! Another inch deeper and it would have been fatal!’
Through the sensation in his palm gripping the hilt, Bruoli Kante realized his blade had cut no deeper than the skin.
His left hand was soaked in blood from the destruction of the wrist shield and gauntlet, yet he’d only managed a superficial wound on the man’s flank.
‘He’s at least one level above me in skill!’
‘That flank nearly broke through!’
Jang Gain had been startled as he barely evaded the opponent’s blade.
Saamwanghwa consumed great quantities of Internal Energy, so an infinitesimal gap inevitably opened immediately after unleashing it.
Mastering the Strong Thread had closed much of that gap, but some remained, and the opponent had exploited it, surrendering his left arm in exchange for slashing at the flank.
‘He instinctively found the blind spot! This man is a formidable master of practical combat!’
He hurried his footwork, turning to the side, and the blade that had slashed his flank bent in an uncanny way.
Like a living serpent, the blade’s tip coiled and struck forward into his face.
‘Gasp! A Flexible Sword!’
Such movement should have been impossible with a thick blade, yet impossibly, the rigid sword was bending like a whip.
He recoiled, bending his waist back as the blade passed before his nose and sheared off a chunk of his hair.
As the blade passed, Jang Gain snapped his waist forward and rose again, blocking the curved blade as it came back at him, then swept a low kick at the man’s leg.
Clang, boom!
Steel met steel in a shower of sparks, and the armored thigh where Jang Gain’s kick had connected caved inward in the shape of his instep.
“Ugh!”
The opponent, who hadn’t so much as groaned even when his hand was torn open, cried out as the kick struck his thigh.
‘At this level of impact… wait!’
Jang Gain was startled as his opponent, thigh shattered and reeling, continued to wield the blade in that same bewildering motion—one that looked more like a Flexible Sword’s writhing movement than a normal sword stroke.
The blade was already driving toward his throat again.
‘Is it a magical sword? Either way, these are attacks that trade flesh for bone.’
He felt his opponent’s resolve viscerally.
The instant he swung his blade to bat the enemy’s sword aside, the left hand of the blood-drenched figure—whom he’d thought would lie motionless—came flying at his face.
He stumbled backward, but that left hand pursued him, slashing through empty air again and again.
Jang Gain raised his own left arm, meeting the attack on his forearm.
Thud.
In that moment, blood sprayed from the attacker’s fist, and he felt it crumple against the impact.
‘That hand had at least several broken bones, yet he’s still throwing punches. Savage.’
But savagery and persistence bred openings—there was no escaping it.
Jang Gain did not let that opening pass.
He sidestepped the next bizarre, curving assault and drove a hard, vicious kick into the same thigh he’d struck before.
Crack.
His opponent’s body lurched, and in the next instant, balance failed him—he staggered.
Slice.
Jang Gain opened the staggering man from chest to ribs in a diagonal slash.
“Khuahhhhh!”
Even with his legs shattered, Bruoli Kante’s scream tore from his throat as he wielded the blade—then he lost his footing entirely and collapsed forward.
* * *
The moment Bruoli Kante—called the third blade of the Kram Empire—fell, the Emperor’s eyes snapped wide open.
True, he held the title of third, but that was merely the order in which they’d attained the rank of Sword Master; the consensus was that his battlefield experience actually exceeded that of Ilmaserck Alberto.
Yet such a warrior had been dominated utterly—and by a Sword Master from a minor kingdom like Smed.
The defeat was one-sided, and all it had left was a small scrape on the ribs—which vanished the moment the watching dragon cast Heal Magic, as if it had never been there at all.
“Lord Alberto.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Can you fight that man?”
“I drank a Potion and received Heal Magic; my wounds are nearly closed. I can fight as long as necessary.”
“For someone claiming they can fight, you don’t look well.”
“In truth, my chest throbs with a stabbing pain each time I breathe—like needles pricking me constantly. But I can endure this level of pain.”
“In combat between Sword Masters where life hangs on a moment’s gap, wouldn’t such pain prove fatal?”
“It would be fatal, but there is a way, is there not?”
“That is true. Do your best.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I will stake my life on this.”
Noxkasarsis cast Heal Magic on Jang Gain the moment the duel between him and Bruoli Kante ended.
Once all his wounds vanished in an instant, Jang Gain asked Noxkasarsis to heal both Bruoli Kante and Ilmaserck Alberto—a request that left the dragon tilting his head in confusion.
“What? Heal those two? Why?”
“I fought to see how strong other Sword Masters are.”
“You won that fight, though. Isn’t it over? Why would you ask me to heal them? I don’t understand at all.”
“The one I’m fighting next, Lord Alberto, is already wounded from the blade. Can he fight properly in that condition?”
“He looks almost recovered.”
“Almost is not the same as fully. I want to face him at his best.”
“Sigh. I can’t fathom what goes on in that head of yours. Fine. Heal!”
The moment Noxkasarsis extended his hand, Ilmaserck Alberto’s eyes went wide—his mind had been fixed on the chest pain.
The stabbing in his chest that hadn’t disappeared even after drinking a High-Grade Potion and receiving treatment from a Mage vanished in an instant, and breathing itself became easy.
“A great being heals me! I am grateful beyond measure.”
“Well, I only healed you because it’s no fun for Jang Gain to fight unless you’re in top form, so don’t thank me so much.”
“Your Majesty, I am now ready to face Lord Jang Gain without reservation.”
“Thank you, exalted one.”
“Really, stop thanking me so profusely.”
Just then, Bruoli Kante—who had been receiving treatment from the Mages nearby—got to his feet and thanked the dragon for healing him.
The Emperor and everyone present turned at the sound of his voice and gasped in shock.
Moments before, his legs had been shattered and his chest laid open; even with treatment from the Mages, his survival had been uncertain.
Yet here he stood, brushing himself off and bowing respectfully to the dragon.
‘So… this is a dragon’s Heal Magic. It’s remarkable.’
Compared to the Heal Magic of ordinary Mages or healers, it seemed almost trivial.
“You should thank Jang Gain—I healed you because he asked.”
“Lord Marquis Jang Gain, I am grateful.”
“Of everyone I’ve fought so far, you were the strongest, Bruoli.”
“What? Oh, yes. Well, you flatter me, but I’ve only scratched my ribs a bit.”
It was then that Ilmaserck Alberto stepped forward.
“Lord Bruoli is our kingdom’s third sword. You should face me—the second sword—before speaking so lightly.”
“Of course I must test myself against Lord Ilmaserck as well. If my wound has fully healed, shall we begin at once?”
“If your ribs are sound, I see no reason we cannot start immediately, Lord Gain.”
A slight laugh tugged at the corner of his mouth.
The playful provocation hung between them, and almost simultaneously, both men’s bodies erupted with a Killing Intent so sharp it seemed to flay flesh from bone.
“Then let us begin.”
“When I ambushed you before, I could not wield my Aura properly. This time will be different.”
“I look forward to it.”
A small space opened at Ilmaserck’s waist, and in the next instant, a sword materialized in each of his hands.
“Twin blades!”
The moment Jang Gain registered this, Ilmaserck’s body burst forward, and he swung both swords—one thrusting, one slashing.
One to pierce, one to cut.
A blade flashed from Jang Gain’s Sub-space.
It appeared in his left hand instantly, meeting his opponent’s steel with practiced ease.
Clang, clang, clang—
Between them, sword and blade moved faster than the eye could follow, throwing sparks in all directions.
Jang Gain fought with fierce concentration, but inwardly he marveled.
‘The world may differ, but masters wield their weapons with the same grace.’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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