Episode 8

'But if I hadn't seen something wrong then.'

Melin's eyes sparkled deeply.

'Maybe it will show something unexpected again.'

She watched the duel with such expectations.

An unbelievable scene unfolded that far exceeded her expectations.

Pow!

A loud sound rang out.

'what?'

Melin opened her eyes wide.

She wasn't the only one. All of the horsemen at the training ground had the same reaction.

It had to be that way.

Someone had collapsed.

Not Chris, but Kanin.

A wooden sword hits her squarely in the face, causing her to bleed.

In just one shot.

Chris chuckled and looked around at the Black Swamp Knights.

"The Black Swamp Knights are nothing special. "Is there anyone else who can step forward?"

* ? ?* ? ?*

The hall became quiet.

The demons were embarrassed.

'What happened?'

'How did Kanin fall?'

No one could understand what had just happened.

As soon as the duel began, Canin roughly pushed Christian.

'Although he is a squire, Canin is a demon who has reached the level of 1 star. There's no way I can deal with that bastard.'

'How long will she last?'

'10 seconds?'

'5 seconds?'

It was at a time when everyone was predicting his defeat.

The game was decided in an instant.

Christian's wooden sword broke through Canin's attack and struck Canin's philtrum head-on.

And the result was this.

'why?'

'Did Canin let his guard down too?'

But it's the second time.

This is the second time, but can we say that this is simply the result of carelessness?

An arrogant voice echoes through the training ground when everyone is confused.

"Is there anyone else who can come forward? "From what I've seen so far, it seems like there are a lot of people who feel sorry for me."

Chris sighed and lifted the corner of her mouth sheepishly.

"Anyone can come out. I want to see the amazing skills of the Black Swamp Knights. "I can't quite believe that it's really as great as the rumors say."

"!!"

The demons' faces turned red.

The demons looked at each other and pointed at one person.

Mine, a '2-star' official member of the Knights, stepped forward.

"It's called Torn."

"Well, there's no need to tell me my name."

"… "You will regret insulting the Knights of the Black Swamp."

"You'll know that when you see it."

Chris flicked the tip of his sword.

"Come at me."

The face of Mine and Torn, who were the challengers, heated up with anger at the insulting remarks.

Cough!

The wooden sword collided with the wooden sword.

Chris's wrist rang.

'It's as I intended.'

Chris smiled inwardly.

He just deliberately provoked the Black Swamp Knights.

This is because it was expected that a 2-star mine would appear.

'Out of pride, I didn't think a higher level demon would step up to deal with a fool like me.'

In many ways, the guy who stepped forward was the perfect match for his situation.

First of all, I was barely able to match him up to 2 stars with his current abilities.

'Even though I lack the amount of demon energy, I can deal with this much.'

Pachang! widely! Squeak!

Wooden swords went back and forth between each other.

As time passed, the training ground became quieter.

Everyone started to feel strange.

"what are you doing?!"

"Finish it quickly!!"

On the surface, Thorn, a 2-star mine, was overwhelmingly pushing the situation.

But he never finished it.

No, he didn't finish it.

'what? 'It's impenetrable!'

The rhythm of the attack was interrupted by the opponent's rough counterattack.

If you try to push it with force, it either cleverly avoids it or the attack doesn't go as intended.

'The two people in front were not caught off guard.'

Thorn swallowed his sleep.

It was incomprehensible.

Clearly weaker than yourself.

But on the contrary, it felt like he was being pushed out.

To be precise, it felt like the other person had a lot of leisure, but I was struggling with all my might.

'Nonsense.'

Meanwhile, there was someone else other than Thorn, who was involved in the duel, who was shocked.

It was Vice-Captain Melin.

'… Nonsense.'

Vice-captain Melin couldn't even hide his surprise.

'I wasn't mistaken at that time.'

The movements Christian is showing right now.

Every single one of them gave me goosebumps.

Because he's outstanding?

No, quite the opposite.

It wasn't outstanding. That was the problem.

It would not be surprising if he overwhelmed his opponent with his mastery of swordsmanship.

However, Christian had the upper hand over his opponent even with his uneven movements.

He is doing the impossible.

'… Crazy, how did you do that?'

I couldn't understand.

If you have a truly, truly innate fighting sense, something like that might be possible.

But is it really possible for even a genius to do something like that?

I couldn't believe it, but it was happening right in front of my eyes.

Just like that, the intestines fell into a dead silence.

Everyone opened their eyes and looked at Christian.

Meanwhile, Christian thought to himself.

'Shall we finish it soon? 'I think I've seen everything there is to see.'

There were two reasons why he messed up today.

First of all, to be recognized among demons.

In a society of demons where self-respect for strength is paramount, being recognized for one's strength is the best.

If you defeat a 2-star demon who is an official member, the perception towards him will change significantly.

'And there is an even more important reason.'

Chris sunken his eyes deeply.

He could see the demon swinging his wooden sword at him.

There was more to Chris.

First, the posture of the wrist holding the sword.

The angle of the grip.

How the muscles in his arms were condensed.

How his feet came out in front.

So, how does Magi spread out and strengthen its power?

So, I got to see how the Black Swamp Knights' basic swordsmanship, 'Mud Swordsmanship', was actually performed.

'It was roughly like this.'

While I was cantering, I watched the training of the Black Swamp Knights from time to time.

Although I could vaguely understand the movement, there was a limit to what I could spy on from a distance.

So he deliberately prepared this situation.

'I guess that's enough.'

With that thought in mind, she swung her wooden sword one last time.

Faaah!

Demonic energy spread throughout the body.

A very weak demonic energy that has only just reached level 1.

But it doesn't matter.

What's important is 'how' rather than 'how much.'

Even if it was the same Magi, there was a world of difference depending on how it was used.

Unlike his duel opponent, Thorn, who could not even reach the hem of his clothes even though he wielded strong magic energy, Chris's sword pierced Thorn's defense very easily.

Pow!

Chris' sword struck Thorn's temple, and Thorn, hit in the vital spot, rolled over his eyes and fainted.

"… … ."

A maddening silence oppressed the demons.

Everyone couldn't accept what had just happened.

It was so shocking that my mind instantly refused to accept it.

But even for a moment.

Shock spread throughout the training hall.

"crazy… "That damned master was that strong?"

"It's not strong. Demonic energy achievements, sword fighting movements, etc. are poor."

"That's even greater. damn. How on earth is something like that possible? "I'm wondering if Magi has just reached 1 star or not."

"No, but didn't you learn demonic energy? "When did you reach 1 star?"

Admiration, it wasn't at that level.

An incomprehensible astonishment and shock swept through the demons.

In an instant, the same word appeared on the faces of all the demons.

'… genius?'

Everyone swallowed their saliva.

This was absolutely impossible unless you were a genius.

He was no ordinary genius either.

'What level of talent does it take to do something like that?'

They are elite mines.

This is not the first time I have seen people called geniuses.

There were many people in this position who were evaluated as having outstanding talents in their own way.

But I have never seen a talent capable of doing something like that.

'That idiot was hiding such talent.'

The eyes of the demons began to change.

The mindset of the demons is simple.

Thorough self-respect!

They bow their heads to the strong and despise the weak.

The reason Christian has been despised until now is not only because he acted like a fool, but also because he was fundamentally weak.

A pathetic fool with a weak topic.

If he had been strong, many people would have been tolerant of a bit of indulgence that did not cross the line.

Of course, even if one is strong, mistakes that cross the line are strictly sanctioned, but the demons of the Magic Empire are tolerant of the strong.

'Good. The reaction was as expected.'

Chris cried out in joy.

I did this today aiming for that kind of reaction.

Still, he didn't show any signs of liking it on the outside, and continued to keep a cold expression on his face.

I thought it would be better to win the hearts of more demons.

Chris's intention was spot on and the people were amazed once again.

'You're not flattered at all. 'Is this normal?'

'It seems like you've become much more personable than before.'

Originally, the face of the body containing Chris looked ill-tempered.

He had completely transformed himself and had the elegance of a noble nobleman, but with his cold face set, it felt like he was extremely arrogant.

And the arrogance of the strong was a virtue that the demons cheered.

The demons consider honest arrogance to be a virtue rather than clumsy humility.

'I'll have to wait and see.'

As the eyes of the demons towards Chris were changing, Chris did the unthinkable again.

'Because I didn't start this just to end it like this.'

"I'm disappointed. "I think I had too high expectations for the Black Swamp Knights."

"!!"

When the knights were insulted again, the demons' faces heated up again.

Aside from respecting the strong, it is natural to get angry if you insult the knight order you belong to.

The moment the Mines got angry and were about to step forward, Chris made an even more crazy statement.

"Vice-captain, what do you think of my story?"

"!!"

Chris twisted his lips.

No matter who sees it, it's unlucky.

"I think the vice-captain is responsible for the lack of skill of the knights."

Everyone held their breath.

That crazy guy is provoking Vice-Captain Melin!

'Crazy guy.'

'It's a mess to change. It was just crazier.'

'Shouldn't I stop you?'

Vice-captain Melin laughed.

"Master, I understand that you are happy for your unexpected victory, but aren't you being too presumptuous?"

"Well, you'll find out when you watch more."

Chris flicked his wooden sword.

"Please, Vice-Captain, let me know the capabilities of the Black Swamp Knights."

"!!"

I challenged Melin to a duel with her.

Her face became cold.

"You idiot, if I go all out, you'll die within a second."

I also put away her honorifics.