Chapter 45 – Chapter 5

Holding a sword made by injecting internal energy into mechanical gloves, Kaicent created a small clearing by cutting out the grass and tree trunks protruding from the ground.

“Whoa-“

Taking a deep breath, Kaicent tightened his stomach and swung the blade at the imaginary enemy.

As he learned Kenneth’s swordsmanship, Kaicent, whose physical ability became stronger than before, stabbed or cut his sword sharply, causing afterimages.

‘Uh… I’ve thought about it before, but this swordsmanship… There are quite a few gaps.’

Kenneth’s swordsmanship is a method of attacking gaps while dazzling the eye by mixing thrusting and cutting.

The problem is that the ‘dazzling’ part feels disorganized.

For example, Yeon Hwan-jo, who learned from Dang Seol-young, pretends to attack a vital point with murderous intent and attacks the gap created while defending the vital point.

If you look at it like this, you can think of Kenneth’s swordsmanship and Yeonhwangjo as the same skill, but Yeonhwanjo is mixed with subtle tricks so that the enemy has no choice but to defend the vital points, while Kenneth’s swordsmanship just randomly threatens several vital points.

If you’re dealing with sewage, Kenneth’s method would be superior, but if you’re dealing with a master, there’s a high chance that Yeonhwanjo will work.

In other words, if the enemy is not deceived and focuses on counterattacking, it will have the opposite effect.

In fact, this is also why Lillian pushed Kenneth unilaterally before taking the medicine while wielding a heavy sword.

It is a swordsmanship that has developed into a practical swordsmanship by adding his own tricks to the basic swordsmanship, but the depth is too shallow because it is a swordsmanship that is added as much as an individual’s talent and knowledge.

A prestigious martial art seems to be stuck in a routine, but it has been constantly improved by various people over many years and boasts an inexhaustible depth.

It’s just that it’s been improved so that many people can learn it, so it’s just stuck in a routine and looks old-fashioned.

‘I have to change my swordsmanship.’

Kaicent’s talent overflows, but it is no exaggeration to say that he has little knowledge of swordsmanship.

If he had learned martial arts from his father or even heard theories about it, he would have been able to develop it into a powerful swordsmanship in an instant, but unfortunately, the only knowledge related to martial arts was accumulated in this world.

‘Let’s go in the direction of eliminating gaps for now.’

Since he himself was aware of the problem, he decided to focus on minimizing gaps in swordsmanship.

Kaicent boldly gave up the part where gaps were created by threatening the opponent, and changed it to a swordsmanship specialized in stabbing and cutting.

To be precise, it was only to reduce the number of threats to the opponent.

‘This makes the right side empty. But I’d better leave this part alone.’

In addition, Kaicent made the right upper body vulnerable to attacks.

Creating flawless swordsmanship is impossible even for those who have practiced swordsmanship their entire lives.

That’s why he boldly gave his right side a gap to enhance the perfection of other parts.

“Why are you increasing the gap on the right side?”
“!!”

While repeating the practice of swordsmanship and editing, Kaicent’s spine shuddered at the harsh male voice he heard from behind.

He didn’t even notice that someone came right behind him.

“Quit!”

Kai Sent moved his spirit in an instant, cast a spell that created a black mist under his feet and jumped out in front of the line.

Naturally, the person behind tried to grab Kaicent by the scruff of the neck, but

Caang!

“Hoo?”

It was blocked by the energy wall, which is the core of the glove’s function.

I knew he wasn’t an ordinary swordsman because I felt a strange power, but I never thought he would succeed in escaping against me.

The person in the fog followed Kaicent’s back as he ran away into the forest with curious eyes.

‘Who is it? When behind me No, let’s get out of here for now!’

Kai Sent spurred his body through a tree to escape at high speed without leaving any footprints.

He climbed up the tree at the timing when he wanted to spread some distance, and he breathed slowly and hid his presence.

Chunk-Chunk-Chunk-

Moments later, the sound of massive armor moving was heard from below.

Kai Sent’s first impression as he held his breath and looked down was,

‘Big… !’

190? No, a huge height of exactly 198 cm.
And even the helmet that covers the entire face and the armor that shows the physique even bigger.
Overall, it gave off the impression of being big and strong.

‘Even though I was wearing that kind of armor, I couldn’t feel what was right behind me.’

There was no doubt that the sound of the armor he was making now was being made on purpose.

‘I don’t feel like living, but… It shouldn’t be known that I was in this forest.’

Remembering the warnings of the knight who brought the contract, Kaicent was immersed in the idea that he had to somehow get out of here and remain ignorant.

‘Huh? Where did you go?’

While I was thinking about something else for a while, I opened my eyes and the knight in huge armor disappeared.

It should be easy to find because it is a knight of that size and armed with huge armor, but it is invisible.

“You’re doing pretty well.”
“Whoah!”

A voice came from behind again.
Kaicent screamed and instinctively tried to run away, but the knight did not make the same mistake twice.

“Kek!”

Caught by the scruff of his neck while trying to run under the tree, Kai Sent coughed up his throat with the jolt of his neck.

“Oops. Are you okay?”
“Cough! Cough! Oops, sorry… Cough!”
“No need to be sorry. I just want to talk.”

The knight grabbed Kaicent by the scruff of the neck and released it after he landed on the ground.

“That…Colloc! Coheum! Won’t you scold me…?”
“Scold me? Me? Why?”
“That, that… This forest is used as a hunting ground exclusively for the Marquis Army…”
“Exclusive hunting ground? This forest?”

The knight tilted his head as if he had heard it for the first time.

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell you that you came here.”
“Thank you!”
“Let’s talk instead.”
“What story…?”
“I was watching you practice your swordsmanship. At first, it was a typical practical swordsmanship that dazzled the opponent’s eyes before attacking, but it gradually changed to a stable and fast swordsmanship. It looks like you learned that swordsmanship from someone else, right?”
“Yes…”

Kai Sent nodded his head at the knight’s question.

“But then, the attack from the right side wasn’t intentionally left alone, but rather they opened it on their own. Why is that?”

First of all, I don’t feel the will to harm myself in the other person’s voice.

However, can he be so calm even after seeing the treasure he has?

‘I can’t run away. Even though he tried to spot me from behind earlier and this time, I didn’t notice until he said it. Overwhelmingly stronger than me.’

After thinking about it for a while, Kai Sent showed the reason why he had enlarged the gap on his right side by making his own shield.

“I was thinking of counterattacking with this if they attack from the right side.”
“Oh, it’s amazing. A magic item? No, I can’t feel the power of magic. If I didn’t know, I would have had no choice but to suffer.”

The knight tapped the energy shield, which had converted his internal energy, without feeling the power of magic.

Fortunately, the article, who was not greedy even after seeing the object, seemed satisfied with the solution to the question, perhaps because he approached it out of simple curiosity.

“Since you showed me something good, I should repay you.”

The knight thought about what would be the best reward for Kaicent, who looked young and lacked confidence.

“Looks like there’s no one to fight against. That’s why they must have come all the way to this forest.”
“…Yes.”

His fellow mercenaries regard him as a wizard who is good at shooting a bow, so they don’t know that he also practices swordsmanship.

It’s because he desperately hides his talent with Dang Xue-Ying’s advice.

“There’s a huge difference between training alone and having an opponent. I’ll be your opponent. I’ll only defend and counterattack, so don’t worry.”

Kaicent, of course, was suspicious of the knight’s favor.

The knights I saw while I was with Lillian were all unlucky, loud, and often insulted, saying that they were uncivilized and ignorant.

The only kind knight was, of course, Kenneth.
As it turned out that he had pretended to do even that, the prejudice against the knight was further accumulated.

By the way, would a ‘such’ article help?

“It’s nice to work hard alone at a young age, so I’m showing favor. I have no other intentions, so don’t worry.”

I can feel the energy that reassures me beyond the voice.
A master at the level of stabilizing the emotions of others with his voice.

Kaicent, who is sensitive to energy, couldn’t be completely relieved, but since he couldn’t imagine that a master of this level would do anything to him, he decided to trust him.

“To reach a new level of martial arts, you have to use all your strength. Use all your skills to attack. If you succeed in attacking me, I will give you a reward.”
“Yes!”
“But the gap between you and me is huge, so let’s take a penalty. I won’t go out of this circle. Of course, I’ll give you a reward if you let me out of here.”

Sympathizing with the knight’s words that one must use full power to reach a new level, Kaicent spread a thick black mist.

‘I can’t see in front of my eyes. But it’s just a trick.’

The knight closed his eyes, focused on his senses, and read Kaicent’s movements.

Kaicent, who rushed forward to attack, created an energy wall in front of him, kicked it off, stepped on a tree, and swung his sword while moving behind the knight.

‘It’s quick. Most knights respond one beat late.’

All the while, the laid-back knight tried to parry Kaicent’s attacks with his gauntlet.

Shhh—!

“!?”

At that time, an arrow flew from the front, aiming for the knight’s torso.
When he kicked off and moved, he fired an arrow with a chuhonbijeop.

Cacan!

‘Magic? No, it’s martial arts.’

Sensing intuition that this was the skill of aliens from the world of Murim, the knight struck the blade and arrow simultaneously with both hands.

Deude Deuk!

Just as he tried to counterattack lightly, gigantic roots grew and protruded, entangling the knight’s legs and climbing up like a snake.

“Khaaah!”

The knight stretched out his leg with strength and pulled out the root, but Kaicent, aiming for the gap, burrowed into the knight’s abdomen.

As he dug in low with his small body, he counterattacked by raising his knees, but Kai Cent also knew how to break this counterattack through Kenneth.

Summoning his sword in reverse, slashing his knee with the palm of his hand and using it as a stepping axis, Kai Cent flowed into the side and attempted to attack the knight’s abdomen with a baesan shove.

Cooong!

“Whoa!”

However, the wind pressure created by the knight stomping his foot in place sent Kai Sent’s body flying.

‘The wind pressure alone blew me away… This knight… Than Kenneth… Much stronger than Lillian… !’

Kaicent marveled at the strength of the knight who blew himself away only with wind pressure.
The admiration was the same for the article.

‘He is proficient in using magic and martial arts. Who is it? Has there ever been a fallen nobleman with such talent?’

The knight thought that Kaicent, who was too clean to be considered a commoner and gave off an atmosphere like a son of a noble family, was a descendant of a fallen aristocrat.

In addition, I was proud to see a young boy who did not even look like an adult working hard to become strong, so I tried to help him a little, but I never imagined he would be this strong.

‘I didn’t learn it by force. They showed a smooth connection as if they were one body.’
‘How should I attack? Tree trunk again? No, I tore off the tree trunk so easily that even Lillian couldn’t.’
‘If I raise it well, I’ll be a good partner for my daughters.’
‘Push by force? No, you sent me flying only with the wind pressure created by the power of leg power. I won’t be pushed by any force.’

Kaicent was about to lose his fighting spirit at the strength of a knight with overwhelming skills.

However, as Dang Xueying’s face and the face of “That man” Came to mind, it flared up once again.

‘This may be the last time I’m lucky to be able to fight against such a strong person. You’re not even dying! I have to become stronger!’

“Haaaaagh!”

Kaicent grabbed several arrows from the quiver and threw them at the knight.

There, he made a surprise attack while controlling two arrows with a chuhonbijeop, but the knight smashed all the arrows before he even started the surprise attack with a series of fist blows that caused afterimages.

Feeling the strength of the master, who was overwhelmingly stronger than himself, he began to use all kinds of means and methods that he had never thought of before in order to somehow attack the strong man.

This couple itself was like a big chance for him.

This is because he has experienced with his whole body the level of mastery he must someday reach, and his skill level has increased by using his existing skills in all kinds of ways.

*                           *

“Haha! Haha! Haha!”

By the time a few hours have passed.

Completely exhausted, Kaicent leaned against a wooden pole and breathed heavily.

For the first time, he could feel a strange sense of relief as he squeezed all his strength until his stamina ran out.

‘In the end, I’ve never succeeded, but I’m satisfied.’

In particular, there was only minimal counterattack and defense, but the greatest thing was that I was able to see the skill of a master.

In addition, as he continues to use martial arts and magic, his proficiency level increases and he seems to be able to use them stronger and more efficiently than before.

“…You are quite talented.”

The knight came out of the circle praising Kaicent’s talent.

“It’s time to go back soon. I’ll let you go back now.”
“Ha, hoo, go, thank you.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yes?”
“Then.”
“Sleep…”

Kaicent tried to ask what the meaning of seeing you tomorrow was, but the knight kicked off the ground and disappeared in an instant.

When Kaicent was so devastated, the knight came out of the forest and headed for the Marquis’ camp.

“Who…Oh, you’re here…!”
“Quiet. Don’t you know I hate loud things?”
“Sin, sin, sin…!”
“Good job.”

The gatekeeper of Sukyeongji reacted as if he was suffocating at any moment to the light questioning of the knight.

The strange thing is that when talking to Kaicent, it was a rough male voice, but when talking to the gatekeeper, it was a powerful female voice.

Upon entering the camp, all soldiers, knights, and wizards all bowed their heads toward the knight.

Several knights followed after him, and when he entered the largest and most splendid barracks in the camp, the knight took off his helmet that covered his entire face.

Sarak-

Her cold white silver hair flowed down like silk, revealing a beauty with noble golden eyes.

The golden eyes imbued with strong power possessed a dignity that made everyone lower their heads.

On top of that, her gigantic height of 198 cm increased her dignity even more as she looked down on her stalwart male knights.

Like a frosty ice flower, she was the first to find a man.

“Zigistan.”
“Yes, Lord.”
“The nearby forest, since when did it become a hunting ground exclusively for my army?”
“…I’m sorry. I’ve been thinking about not interfering with the lord’s meditation…”

In the worst case, if you let her know that she is there, the assassins from other countries can play tricks.

That’s why I thought of a way to prevent mercenaries from going to the forest, so I used a method called a dedicated hunting ground.

Invading the exclusive hunting grounds of nobles could result in severe punishment for that alone.

“If you withdraw even now…”
“Okay. What materials did Prince 1 and 2 send?”
“Both sides continue to arrive.”
“The army.”
“It can arrive in three days.”
“Hmm.”

Seeing her being informed of various other situations, a knight named Zigistan opened her mouth.

“I… Count.”
“What?”
“That… You seem to be in a good mood…”
“Huh.”

At Zigistan’s question, the woman gave a pleasant smile.

“I found a treasure that no one knows about.”
“Yes? Was there a treasure in that forest?”
“Yes, it’s a very precious treasure. If you try to get drunk, you’ll get sick, so I’ll have to appease you slowly.”
“?”

Her knights looked at each other, not understanding what she was talking about.

A strong man who has reached the origin level with only a dozen people on the entire continent.

The guardian deity of Harlot Kingdom, who prevented the attack from the Kingdom of the Dead, which destroyed the Kingdom of Lucy Arkenel.

Count Akina Karaiden smiled with satisfaction at finding a wild genius no one knew.