‘Look at this bastard.’
The moment he first heard the word “duel,” Lucian felt disgust.
Not only because the intention behind it was blatantly obvious, but also because the situation itself was extremely unfavorable.
‘Even though he’s just a sixteen-year-old rookie, his proper training time is longer than mine. Plus, I can’t use my former techniques, and my body isn’t well-trained either, so if we really go head-to-head, I’ll be at a disadvantage.’
In a beginner’s fight where techniques can’t be used, to put it bluntly, it all comes down to strength.
The more strength you put into your swing, the faster and more powerful the blow, and the harder it becomes to block.
But Lucian not only had his techniques forcibly sealed, his body had also weakened after a life of inactivity.
In a contest of brute strength against Joshua, who had been training steadily, he had no chance of winning.
‘Tsk, if I had just two more months, I could crush him one-sidedly.’
Though his body was blessed, the true power of mana purity only manifested after enough training.
In a beginner’s match, where raw stamina and sword mastery were lacking, it wasn’t of much use.
Even if by coincidence, the timing was truly the worst.
But if he avoided the duel now, the reputation he’d worked so hard to build would obviously begin to crumble.
‘I’ve got no choice. I’ll lean entirely on experience and force a draw no matter what.’
Though his techniques were sealed and his body weakened, he had more than enough real combat experience.
In comparison, Joshua was just a novice who had never swung a sword on a battlefield.
By squeezing out every last bit of what he had, a draw should at least be possible.
Just as he was thinking that, an unexpected proposal reached his ears.
“Since we’ve been given this opportunity, why don’t we use real swords for the fight?”
Lucian’s eyes widened at Joshua’s words.
Real swords instead of wooden ones?
That changed everything!
“That’s a fantastic idea! Let’s do it right now!”
“…!?”
***
Both of them looked at Lucian in shock.
It was already concerning enough using wooden swords—now he was welcoming real ones?
Especially Eisen, who seemed to have interpreted things very differently, grabbed him by the shoulders and shouted.
“Third young master, you’ve never wielded a real sword before—how can you be so reckless?!”
“So what? Sword techniques exist in the first place to be used with real swords, don’t they? If we use a real sword instead of a wooden one, it’ll be even better for gaining real combat experience.”
“That only applies to experts! Do you know how many beginners injure themselves by swinging a sword improperly?”
“I’ve heard of such cases here and there.”
In truth, he hadn’t just heard of them—he had lived them.
If you misjudged the strength when swinging a sword, it was easy to cut your own shoulder or thigh with the blade.
Lucian had injured himself that way twice during his early solo training days.
But pretending he didn’t know, he spoke shamelessly.
“Still, it’s a duel. We’ll use as much restraint as possible so we don’t get hurt, so it won’t be any more dangerous than training with full-force strikes. Don’t worry.”
“No, that’s not the—”
“My older brother’s words are absolutely right. Master, there’s no need to worry so much. Do you really think I’d use this sword to hurt my own brother?”
Eisen shut his eyes tightly.
Since both parties said they agreed, he no longer had a pretext to stop it.
When Eisen finally nodded with a sigh, a cold smile curled on Joshua’s lips.
“Give my brother the sword.”
“Yes, young master.”
At his command, the servant respectfully lifted the sword with both hands.
Lucian took it without the slightest hesitation.
“Ah… this cold, heavy feeling…”
Seeing Lucian caress the real sword with admiration, Joshua stifled a mocking laugh.
What a fool. Did he still not understand the situation?
To feel drawn to a weapon was a natural instinct for a man, but that very weapon was about to be pointed at his neck—and yet he remained so carefree.
‘Well, that actually works in my favor. If he prepares himself beforehand, the fear when crossing swords is lessened a bit.’
From the beginning, Joshua’s goal was to instill fear in Lucian.
He planned to shatter the reputation Lucian had built by showing everyone how he trembled in terror.
The only witnesses were those present, but that didn’t matter.
As long as Swordmaster Eisen couldn’t deny it, that would be more than enough proof.
“If both of you are ready, draw your swords.”
Shiing.
Lucian and Joshua unsheathed their swords at the same time, not a moment out of sync.
With a clean, metallic sound, two blades as white as snow were revealed.
It was a sight of absolute beauty—but those who had clashed swords with opponents of equal or greater skill knew the truth.
They knew that the instant that cold blade touched your neck, your mind went completely blank.
That there was no room for any thought except one wanting to live.
‘Let’s see what kind of face you make now, dear brother.’
Joshua took his stance, savoring the image of what was about to unfold.
“Begin.”
Fwoong.
The moment the signal to start was given, a sharp sword flew straight at Joshua’s head.
***
Clang.
“Ugh!”
“Third young master!?”
“Young master!”
With the crash of clashing swords, the three voices echoed through the training ground.
Despite it being a duel with real swords, it had been a relentless diagonal slash.
Had Joshua not barely blocked it in time, he would have been cut from shoulder to belly.
But Lucian, paying no attention to the reactions around him, swung his sword again.
Clang, clang, clang.
“He’s insane…!”
With each clash of blades, sparks flew and Joshua’s back went cold.
Every strike was lethal enough that a single misblock would leave him seriously injured.
This wasn’t a wooden sword duel—it was a real sword fight, and those attacks were filled with palpable killing intent.
‘This bastard! Is he trying to kill me right here and now?’
Barely regaining his composure, Joshua clenched his teeth.
As he began to catch on to the trajectory of the strikes, anger replaced fear.
“That’s enough…!”
Clang.
Joshua deflected the slash aimed straight at him with all his strength.
The impact threw Lucian slightly off-balance, and his second strike aimed for Lucian’s legs.
He didn’t intend to kill him, but he would strike his thigh with the spine of the sword.
However, before that could happen—Lucian’s leg moved first.
Thud.
“Ah!?”
“Hoh.”
A gasp of shock escaped Joshua’s lips, while an exclamation of admiration came from Eisen.
Lucian had stepped on the flat of the incoming sword, stopping it with his foot.
“What the hell?!”
Caught off guard by such an unexpected move, Joshua panicked.
He hadn’t deflected it—it had been stopped with a foot?
That wasn’t swordsmanship—it looked more like a barroom brawl!
On the other hand, Swordmaster Eisen, watching from the sidelines, was impressed by Lucian’s improvisation.
‘Incredible… That kind of reaction is usually only seen in veterans hardened by countless battles.’
Eisen knew very well how crucial improvisation—something written in no textbook—was in real combat.
The enemy doesn’t always fight when you’re in the perfect position to execute your techniques.
Having your sword taken, suffering debilitating injuries, or dealing with soft terrain that ruins your footing—those were everyday occurrences.
There were even times when the difference in skill was so great that sword technique alone couldn’t win a battle.
In those cases, using creative improvisation to catch your opponent off guard and create an opening was vital.
In fact, countless talented knights had lost their lives early because they couldn’t adapt in unexpected situations.
In Eisen’s eyes, Lucian seemed to possess something close to a wild instinct in that regard.
“Damn it!”
Seeing that the pinned sword wouldn’t budge, Joshua cursed and yanked backward with all his strength.
And just at that moment, Lucian lifted his foot off the blade.
“Eh!?”
With the sudden removal of the weight, Joshua lost his balance.
The weight of the sword pulling backward combined with the shift in momentum kept him from recovering quickly.
By the time he steadied himself, Lucian’s sword was already flying straight at his neck.
“W-wait a minu—”
Slash.
“Aaaagh!”
“Young master!”
The servant screamed in terror, rushing to his master, who was howling in agony.
He had really slashed him without hesitation!
Choking, Joshua clutched at his neck where the cold metal had grazed.
‘Am I… going to die this pathetically?’
A wave of extreme panic consumed him as his life flashed before his eyes.
He had lived so desperately—only to die here, at the hands of a lunatic like this?
The injustice of it all nearly brought him to tears.
Meanwhile, the servant hastily pulled out a cloth from his clothing and pressed it to Joshua’s neck.
“Y-young master! I’ll stop the bleeding first!”
“It’s no use… with a cut this deep… huh?”
As he lamented, Joshua noticed something strange.
His neck had supposedly been brutally cut, yet his voice sounded completely normal.
With a growing sense of doubt, he moved his hands away from his neck.
“…Young master there’s no blood?”
“What?!”
Startled, Joshua fumbled over his neck, but there really wasn’t a single drop of blood.
Not only that—there wasn’t even a wound; it was as smooth as ever.
Seeing the confusion, Lucian tilted his head with an innocent expression.
“What are you two doing? He collapsed in the middle of a duel for no reason.”
“No, it’s just… just now… my neck… the sword…”
“Yeah, I pressed the blade to your neck and slid it, but I made sure to use the blunt edge so it wouldn’t leave a wound.”
“…!”
He had clearly felt the thin edge graze his neck and thought he’d been slashed.
But in reality, Lucian had only lightly touched him with the dull side to deceive him?
‘So I was grabbing my neck all this time… without even being hurt?!’
A storm of shame and rage swirled in Joshua’s mind.
That bastard was making fun of him?
Duel or not, he was going to kill him right now!
Consumed by rage, Joshua began to rise—but—
“Stop.”
Eisen, who had now approached, firmly placed his hand on Joshua’s shoulder.
Feeling the weight of that hand, heavy as a boulder, Joshua’s reason snapped back into place.
But that didn’t mean the anger had vanished.
He had been utterly humiliated, and backing down like this was intolerable.
“Sir Eisen, I’m sorry, but the duel isn’t over ye—”
“It is over. I made it clear from the start that this would be a one-time duel, did I not?”
“That was—!”
“Don’t contradict yourself, Fourth Young Master. If you intend to carry the Valdeck name, your words must have weight.”
“……”
Under the overwhelming pressure radiating from the Swordmaster, Joshua shrank back like a mouse before a lion.
He had already pushed the boundaries of propriety by forcing this duel on them.
If he continued his selfish behavior, even as a young master, Eisen would intervene without hesitation.
Left with no choice, Joshua lowered his sword and took a step back.
“Though it ended too quickly, it wasn’t bad. You were scared, but your reaction wasn’t terrible.”
“…!”
“But letting your knees buckle just because a sword touched your neck? Not very dignified. You’re a candidate for head of the family, after all. Looks like you’ve still got a long way to go, little brother. Hahaha!”
At Lucian’s mocking words, Joshua clenched his teeth.
His face, which had calmed slightly, flushed bright red again, as if it might explode.
In the original plan, their roles were supposed to be completely reversed—how had it ended up like this?
Before the mockery could go any further, Joshua stood up abruptly.
“Since the duel is over, I’ll be taking my leave.”
“Of course, you used the sword well. Take it with you.”
“No need. I’m giving it to you—keep it.”
Yearning to escape as quickly as possible, Joshua turned away at once.
But even as he stormed off, Lucian’s voice didn’t stop.
“Don’t feel too down! A duel is just a duel—you win some, you lose some! You’ll win one someday! Just not today!”
“……”
“By the way, are you sure I can keep the sword? I’ll hang it up as a trophy of my victory! The sword I used to defeat my little brother!”
‘That damn bastard…!’
____
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