Chapter 74: Krono Swordsmanship School (7)
Tat!
With strong footing, the body moved ahead.
As the distance narrowed, Ian’s face came into view.
Smiling.
He looked so calm that it was hard to believe that it was a battle.
Of course, Irene wasn’t offended by that.
His opponent is the best on the continent. Perhaps, the strongest in the world.
It didn’t matter to him if Ian was smiling or standing still with bare hands.
‘With full strength!’
Irene’s eyes lit up. It wasn’t just his eyes.
The flames which ignited during the fight with Lance Peterson had now spread throughout his body, making him look like an active volcano.
The opponent didn’t care.
He chose the attack which best suited him then.
Having made a decision, he vigorously swung the greatsword.
Kwang!
Sword and sword collided. A considerable shock was transmitted to Irene’s hand. But it wasn’t painful.
Rather, it was enough to make him more excited.
Instead of going head-on, Irene swung his sword in the opposite direction.
And the 2nd and 3rd attacks followed.
Judith’s sword appeared again.
Kwang!
Kwang!
Kwanng!
Loud bursts kept pouring out left and right.
The mouths of the swordsmen watching were wide open.
At first glance, it looked like random attacks, but they were blows that could turn the tables.
And with Irene’s strength added to it, the roaring sound made the spectators’ bones tremble.
However, those with sharp eyes didn’t just look at Irene.
Rather, they were focusing on Ian, who was taking those attacks.
So was Lance Peterson.
He retreated to a corner of the hall and mumbled with a serious expression.
“He is predicting the sword in advance…”
It was exactly as Lance said.
Ian was anticipating Irene’s next attacks.
The opponent’s eyes, muscles, joints, the sword’s angles, and countless other things were being observed. It was close to foresight.
The faster he analyzed the information, the faster he was prepared. After thinking ahead, he would be more relaxed and secure.
That was what Ian was doing.
With a smile, he said.
“The attacks are too monotonous.”
Kwang!
“It’s nice that you are reversing the force during attacks. It’s good for adding speed and strength. But to be honest…”
Bang!
“It’s no different from gambling.”
Ian, who said that, lowered his sword.
The sword moved without warning, like a ghost, making Irene step back in surprise.
The speed at which the opponent’s sword was approaching was faster than his own.
However, the gaps in the forced transition from offense to defense were too large.
Ian, who came close, slashed the opponent’s sword and then closed the range.
His left hand hit Irene’s stomach.
Puck!
“Kuak…!”
“Very interesting. Is that Bratt’s swordsmanship? The degree of perfection is quite high too. Actually, I was going to hit your hand with my sword.”
“Huk, Hu…”
“But the flow got cut off. Your transition from offense to defense is too clumsy. Even if the swordsmanship is changed, it’s only meaningful when the transition is smooth. Actual battles aren’t tests.”
Ian’s teachings.
Irene didn’t answer.
His sword was stopped for a moment, but he was fine.
If the previous blow had been a fist instead of the palm, he would have collapsed on the spot.
It wasn’t upsetting.
Rather, it was enjoyable.
It was the first time he felt something while facing someone with a sword.
However, Irene wasn’t aware of those feelings.
He was just focusing on the opponent in front of him.
“… I’m coming again.”
Phat!
Irene, who was pushed back, rushed in again. The tip of his sword drew a new trajectory.
Judith’s sword?
Nope.
It wasn’t even Bratt Lloyd’s sword.
However, Lance Peterson, who was watching, felt a sense of déjà vu.
As soon as he realized it, he exclaimed.
“Crazy shit! Even the Sky Sword!”
As if Judith and Bratt’s swords weren’t enough, he even learned Ilya Lindsay’s sword!
He couldn’t believe it. His feelings intensified as he watched Irene use the Sky Sword. His fists were clenched, trying to calm his excitement.
This time, even Ian was surprised.
With his eyes wide in shock, he stretched out his sword towards the sword which was approaching him like a butterfly with wings made out of steel.
Kang!
Kang!
“Not bad.”
The swordsmen who heard Ian’s words gulped.
Words close to praise had just come out of the continent’s strongest man’s mouth.
However, Irene’s potential started from then on.
Shh!
The flight of the steel butterfly whose wings don’t break even in the face of the strongest gusts.
In the end, it would spread out into a great sword and turn into a typhoon that can swallow the gusts!
The swordsmanship which cut down the demon king 400 years ago was being reproduced.
Ah, it wasn’t the real thing.
The Sky Sword shown by the head of the Lindsay family in the past was more powerful and dominated the sky.
Compared to that, this reproduction was like a firefly.
However, even though the sword contained only fragments of the Sky Sword, it was enough to surprise the crowd.
Right,
Whoops!
“Obviously, it’s fine, but it's hard to say that it’s significantly better than the previous ones.”
It wasn’t at a level that could take down Ian.
The sword which Irene was swinging with all his might, Ian was blocking lightly with one hand.
Those who were watching this held their breath.
“Woah!”
“Indeed… the strongest sword!”
“To see the strongest person on the continent… he’s something else. I can’t even see what’s happening.”
“But, isn’t the young one better than the schoolmaster?”
Everyone nodded at those words.
That’s right.
Of course, the strongest was amazing, but this young man had clashed with Ian dozens of times.
Although he was pale and out of breath, that was no reason to undermine the young man’s abilities.
Rather, it was a situation where the young man deserves to be applauded even if he collapsed.
But Ian thought differently.
With eyes full of hope, he asked.
“Don’t tell me, is this all?”
“Huak… kuak... pant… I apologize, phew, this is how far my strength…”
“Is there something you haven’t shown me yet?”
“…”
The swordsmen around were shocked at Ian’s words.
What the young man showed until now was great, but he has something more?
It was hard to believe.
Some even thought that Ian had excessive expectations for Irene.
However,
‘He’s talking about that sword.’
Thought Lance Peterson.
Gulping as he recalled that.
That scene would keep coming back to him each time he closed his eyes.
The sword which made people angry, long for it, disappointed in themselves, and burn with passion.
Ian was right.
It had to be seen. If that sword wasn’t seen, he wouldn’t be able to say that he saw the full strength of Irene.
“Show us, Irene.”
Lance mumbled.
Lulu, who was watching the battle leisurely while eating jerky, stopped and looked serious.
There was some kind of anticipation on the faces of those who understood it.
Everyone looked at the blonde young man.
And Irene, who had attracted all of the attention.
“…”
Was hesitating.
He wouldn’t have been like this a month ago.
If it was the time when he just escaped from the world of sorcery, he would have proudly shown it to everyone.
Whose swordsmanship is being used doesn’t determine who the master of the sword is. It matters who did the swordsmanship better.
‘But now my heart… is unstable.’
He still remembers it.
The strange him, which took down the demon.
No, the uncomfortable feeling of being someone else and swinging his sword.
Perhaps, that ‘someone else’ was the man in his dreams. Cold anger.
That was why Irene was hesitating.
To use that man’s sword.
It was because he thought there could be no worse situation than that.
That was when Ian spoke softly.
“Trying to look good shouldn't be important, Irene Pareira.”
“…!”
“This is the place where my disciple has visited me after a long time to show his skills. That means I need to see you for what you are. So…”
Relax the shoulders.
Let go of the clutter inside your mind.
With those words from Ian, all the complicated feelings in Irene disappeared.
The anxiety is gone.
So was the obsession.
As the anxiety disappeared, his true self, which was crouching, revealed itself.
He got up and stood.
The current peace he found was temporary, all because of the advice from his teacher.
However, that was more than enough.
Irene got up and caught his breath.
And closed his eyes.
“What?”
“What is he doing?”
“What is he going to show? Is he concentrating?”
“Isn’t the distance too far…”
People mumbled as they saw the young blonde taking a stance from a distance.
Most couldn’t understand.
But not Lance Peterson.
He trembled, excited, and waited for Irene's sword to fall, and Ian looked at it with serious eyes.
And Irene didn't disappoint the pair.
“Phew.”
This time when Irene opened his eyes, they were glowing.
No delusions that shook him.
The man he is now wasn’t someone in cold anger.
He was an official trainee of the 27th batch of the Krono Swordsmanship School.
Aware of that, he lowered his sword.
Slash!
Irene’s sword came to the ground.
Of course, there was nothing to cut.
Just empty space.
The speed at which the sword lowered was amazing, but that was all.
Unlike five years ago, the ground didn’t crack.
It was a slash directed at Ian.
But the current sword didn’t surprise the others.
The energy which flew from the sword wasn’t colored and wasn’t visible to the naked eye.
But that wasn’t all.
“Hm!”
Ian, who was leisurely holding his sword, let out a sound.
It wasn’t a lesson. It wasn’t an exclamation because of his disciple’s growth.
It was surprise.
The sword was swung at a terrifying speed.
Pang!
Such a strange thing.
The sound of something being hit. However, it was the sound of hitting a sword.
No, it didn’t seem like Ian’s sword was touched by anything.
It was too fast to see, but at least for the others, they knew Ian and Irene had different swordsmanship.
After a while, a huge roar resounded from the two.
Kwakwakwang!
“…!”
“…!”
Everyone was shocked.
No, they were bewildered as if they heard something crazy, and some were drooling from their mouths, unable to close it.
Even Lance, who had high expectations, was speechless.
A sword scar from enormous strength stretched out in the direction the sword was swung and in the opposite direction.
There was no one here who was ignorant enough to not know what it meant.
‘Irene shot something, and it ricocheted back! And the result…’
Yes.
An unrealistic sight, something which happened in myths.
The myths were the evidence that explained the miracle Irene had shown.
However, there wasn’t any concrete evidence.
There was just one piece of evidence that showed how great the slash was.
Woong….
Ian’s sword was making a strange sound.
Its length was increased. But it wasn’t sorcery.
Ian was definitely a great person and an amazing swordsman, but he wasn’t fluent in other fields.
What bloomed from his sword… in a sense, was a mysterious crystal power that was closer to sorcery than sorcery.
A brilliant white light covered the blade.
Aura Sword.
Ian, who was the strongest, showed the technique that only a Sword Master can use.
“I had no intention of using this…”