Chapter 144:
Isaac raised his sword.
Though it was a practice sword, it was heavy enough to not feel much different from a real blade. Rene naturally picked up a stone and threw it between them.
The moment the stone hit the ground, it served as the signal.
Both Isaac and Bashul moved at once.
Crack.
A momentary sonic boom that made the grass in the garden tremble swept past. Isaac and Bashul exchanged surprised looks.
The two crossed swords, perfectly aligned, waited for the next move.
Isaac quickly created distance as if bouncing back. Bashul did the same.
‘What is this?’
Isaac felt a strong sense of incongruity but couldn’t figure out its nature. However, Bashul seemed to have already recognized what it was, his expression hardened.
Isaac had no choice but to clash swords again to understand.
Isaac swung his sword from top to bottom.
Naturally, Bashul parried it aiming for Isaac’s wrist or head. However, Isaac, somehow anticipating this, struck down with such force that it could have broken a wrist or cracked a skull. But instead of blocking, Bashul slid closer, turning Isaac’s swing into a hindrance. Yet, Isaac, undisturbed by Bashul’s proximity, swung the pommel targeting his nose. Before he could fully exert his strength, Bashul’s left hand stopped him.
Click. Isaac’s hand was blocked by Bashul’s left, and as they brushed shoulders, Bashul pointed his sword at Isaac’s neck.
A suffocating silence followed. Isaac spoke,
“As expected of the chief knight of the Imperial Guard.”
Isaac candidly accepted his defeat, a slight smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
But Bashul looked at Isaac with a stoic expression and asked without moving the wooden sword away from Isaac’s neck.
“Who taught you how to use a sword?”
“I was blessed with a mentor at the monastery where I sought refuge.”
“You met a noble person.”
Bashul withdrew his sword from Isaac’s neck and stepped back. Rene, who had been holding her breath, clapped enthusiastically.
“You’re applauding a mediocre duel?”
“No. It was short but intense. You managed to respond to the chief gurad’s movements, something even difficult for me, a member of the Imperial Guard.”
Bashul chuckled dryly and said,
“Ha, Rene. The Paladin is concealing his skills. Did you think he fought angels with just that level of skill? He was holding back, fearing he might hurt me.”
“Eh, the same goes for the chief guard…”
Rene started to speak flippantly but then closed her mouth. Admitting that Bashul had been lenient would have dropped the Holy Grail Knight’s pride to the floor.
Isaac too knew Bashul hadn’t given his all.
‘It’s unfair because I did give it my all.’
Of course, he hadn’t used tentacles, miracles, advanced swordsmanship, his holy relics, or summoned beings, but it was a fact that he had been utterly defeated in a pure swordfight.
He hadn’t even thought of defeating the chief knight of the Imperial Guard, considered the strongest in the empire aside from the paladins.
However, the duel had yielded more than just an outcome.
Bashul’s eyes narrowed as he gazed at Isaac.
“What do you say, Holy Grail Knight? Shall we have a more serious duel this time?”
A tense atmosphere was palpable. Isaac thought the next fight might be a matter of life and death. Just as he was about to respond,
“Me, me, me too! I want to try!”
Rene excitedly grabbed Bashul’s practice sword and twirled it around, targeting Isaac.
“Let’s have a match, Holy Grail Knight! Show me how you defeated those angels!”
Bashul laughed helplessly but stepped back. Isaac had no choice but to accept.
That day, Isaac was brutally defeated by Rene’s hands. He hadn’t used advanced swordsmanship, but even if he had, it was questionable whether he could have won.
Yet, despite the bitter defeat, he had gained something. Not from Rene, but from Bashul.
The swordsmanship Bashul used was very familiar to Isaac.
Isaac had repeated the first move he used against Bashul thousands of times over many years.
Bashul was using the Avalanche swordsmanship.
***
‘I only taught you the basics, but there should be someone who can recognize the basics of Avalanche swordsmanship because they use the same techniques as me.’
In Ariet Monastery, when Isaac was still just an orphan there,
Gabel had taught Isaac swordsmanship with just one admonition.
‘Kill them as soon as you meet them.’
That was the price for teaching Isaac swordsmanship and a caution for his safety, for the other would surely do the same.
And today, Isaac had met another who used the Avalanche swordsmanship.
‘…The problem is, this person happens to be the strongest swordsman in the Gerthonia Empire.’
Gabel had instructed to kill on sight, but Isaac couldn’t. How could he possibly kill the chief Knight of the Imperial Guard on sight? Unless he used his tentacles, he didn’t want to become a monster in the garden of the mansion just beyond the wall where the Emperor was.
That would be sheer suicide.
Although he was grateful to Gabel, he wasn’t grateful enough to actively commit suicide.
Luckily, Bashul was in the same situation.
Gabel had said the opponent would try to kill Isaac if they knew he used Avalanche swordsmanship, but he hadn’t. Despite Bashul having the capability to do so.
He couldn’t possibly cut short the life of a rising Holy Grail Knight and prospective son-in-law of the Brant family in front of His Majesty the Emperor.
In the end, both were in an awkward position of being reluctant to kill.
Still, Bashul’s words had some truth.
The duel had cleared Isaac’s complex thoughts, leaving him with one sole focus.
‘How on earth do I kill the strongest knight in the empire?’
Certainly, there are many who are stronger than Bashul if only their powers are considered. Bashul is just a man, no matter how strong. Emperors favored by gods, Popes who commune with angels, leaders of Paladin orders wrapped in miracles… They are definitely stronger than Bashul.
But in terms of mere swordsmanship, it might be hard to find someone in the empire who surpasses Bashul.
Thus, Isaac would have to fight with all his might, as if facing an angel.
***
Swoooooosh…
The sound of waves crashing on the beach was loud.
The beach was deserted late at night. The sound of the waves and the small pebbles on the sand hid even the smallest footsteps. Therefore, Isaac was on high alert, waiting for Bashul to arrive.
However, without any indication of his approach, Bashul slowly walked towards him from the direction of Rougeberg. Because he was spotted from a distance and walked leisurely without any rush, by the time he arrived, Isaac was slightly weary.
Bashul stopped about twenty steps away—a distance awkward for conversation but sufficient to keep them from feeling tense.
Isaac was the first to speak.
“You came even though I didn’t call for you?”
“If I had been alone, you would have come to me. Isn’t this an invitation?”
Swoosh.
Bashul casually half-drew his sword, ready to strike at any moment.
“By the way, if you thought of seeking help from the daughter of the Goullmar family, I’ve already sent her away.”
A man without any loose ends.
Isaac sighed, sensing Hesabel’s presence from afar.
“Let’s make one thing clear. You are using the Avalanche Knight Order’s sword techniques, aren’t you?”
“Test me. I’ll check as well.”
Drawing his sword and thrusting happened in a single breath. It was done so quietly and suddenly that not even the sound of the sword being drawn was heard.
The twenty-step distance meant nothing to Bashul. Isaac gritted his teeth and dodged.
Sparks flew, and the surface of the armor split.
It was an attack meant to kill Isaac without hesitation.
Bashul was slightly surprised that Isaac had dodged it. And he was even more shocked by the ferocity of Isaac’s counterattack aimed at his face.
Fluttering! Despite being in a precarious stance, Isaac managed to clip a few strands of Bashul’s gray hair.
Isaac immediately used the Isaac Swordsmanship: Eight Branches. The dry sand on the beach stirred violently as it surged towards Bashul.
Bashul, startled by the ferocious power and the sticky sensation of the attack, managed to fend off one trajectory.
But at that moment, a sonic boom erupted, and Isaac staggered back from the overwhelming shock.
He couldn’t hear anything. Given his complete lack of balance, it seemed his semicircular canals were damaged.
Bashul had countered the Eight Branches with the preliminary moves of Avalanche swordsmanship. Noticing Isaac’s loss of balance, Bashul immediately charged forward. However, by then, Isaac had already regenerated his eardrums with monstrous regenerative abilities.
The fierce exchange resumed.
“You’re holding back! How did you ever defeat angels with just this level of skill? Did you use your pretty face as a weapon?”
“Do I look like I need to seduce someone like you to win?”
Stung by Isaac’s sarcasm, Bashul clenched his teeth.
“I can defeat you with just one sword!”
Sand flew and the air was torn apart. In the silent moonlight, the footsteps and sword marks of the two men scattered chaotically across the beach.
Bashul was not fighting at full strength. After all, he was facing a Holy Grail Knight who had contended with angels. Until he understood how Isaac had defeated an angel, he had to assume Isaac had a hidden ace. Showing his hand prematurely was not an option.
Yet, the momentum was overwhelmingly in Bashul’s favor. Only Isaac seemed to be getting hurt and gasping for breath.
But Bashul felt an odd sense of unease.
‘Is he getting faster?’
Bashul executed a diagonal stabbing motion. Earlier, Isaac had barely managed to deflect it, nearly breaking his wrist. But this time, he naturally twisted the blade and dodged it.
Bashul could finally be sure.
‘Is he learning my sword technique right now?’
It was absurd, but Isaac’s skills were improving in real-time. The Isaac who spared during the day and the Isaac now fighting for his life were on completely different levels. With every new cut and every gasping breath, his skills improved.
But he was only improving enough to keep himself alive, no more and no less.
Yet, Isaac wasn’t pulling out any secret techniques.
Bashul suddenly felt a wave of fear at the terrifying rate of Isaac’s improvement.
Bang! Bashul’s attacks became brutally aggressive.
Isaac staggered back several steps in an instant. Suddenly, he heard the sound of splashing water. The waves had quietly risen and soaked his ankles.
There was no more room to retreat.
Bashul’s sword glinted ominously.
Crack!
Their swords collided once again. Isaac nearly fell to his knees. An unbelievable pressure was transmitted through the sword—not just through the sword, but across his shoulders, head, spine, his entire body. It was a crushing force.
“Your master didn’t teach you this move, did he?”
Isaac realized this was one of the advanced sword techniques.
Avalanche, true to its name, it was a violent technique befitting the term. Isaac knew if he didn’t kneel, his bones would shatter from the pressure.
Whoosh. Just then, another wave soaked Isaac’s ankles.
And Isaac realized his opportunity had arrived.
He gritted his teeth and performed a move.
Isaac Swordsmanship: Blade Tear.
Crash! Without any preliminary movement, the clashing blades began to vibrate violently. Suddenly, an explosive force surged from there.
Isaac’s sword aggressively tore through Bashul’s, biting into it.
“What…?!”
Bashul tried to react quickly, but his body tilted, losing balance. Despite being on a flat beach, Isaac seemed to be standing above him.
Isaac was rising on the water, surfing the wave.
‘Doctrine of the Wave?’
Bashul belatedly recalled one of the lesser miracles of the Salt Council. He wanted to complain that he hadn’t agreed to fight using just a sword.
But the momentum had already shifted to his opponent.
The shattered sword scattered like sea foam.
Bashul, who had intended to crush Isaac with his next move, found himself in the position to be crushed, and as his sword broke, Isaac’s attack left him defenseless.
Isaac drove his sword down towards Bashul’s head.
The Avalanches-like pressure crushed Bashul.
Crack.
A chilling sound echoed.
–TL Notes–
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