Gabriel Halefire

'Fifteen knights, huh...', Victor thought with excitement, 'How long had it been since I was this excited? Damn...Did I ever feel excitement before?'

Victor Landragon.

He was a man who had been caught in a terrible inferiority complex. This complex had thoroughly messed him up, to the point that he thought of killing his own brother at some point just for the sake of inheriting the household

'Killing John? No matter how I see it, he is the only one fitting to sit on the Landragon Viscount Seat...Even when raiding the village, he earned the villagers' respect by treating them fairly, not killing anyone but abiding by the noble code...'

Victor once was a martial fanatic. He was very young, and very cunning at the time. He had seen his father destroy a boulder with his sword and the sight had been engraved in his mind. Just like that, his fighting spirit had awakened.

But then, John started to rub his talent in swordsmanship in front of him, proving that talent was more powerful than hard work.

'But...is it really true?', Victor thought

Victor could no longer be called a weak beginner rank knight.

His growth in the past months had been phenomenal. Physically, he could feel much stronger than before thanks to Arthur's food regime and training. However, the change lied in his swordsmanship. John was talented, called a genius among geniuses as he graduated as a rising star in the Porfield Royal Knight Academy.

Yet...The one who managed to kill an advanced-rank elven swordsman was not John, but him.

'Granted, elven swordsmen are far inferior to knights. Elves do not eat meat, and as a result, their strength is greatly lacking in comparison to human knights. But they are also very nimble, making them tough. Usually, intermediate rank knights are about the same power as advanced rank elven swordsmen, though it really depends on the elven tribe swordsman legacy and the knight household'

Victor grasped his sword tightly, and looked at his first target with deep interest: "Gabriel Halefire, I challenge you to a duel!"

Baron Halefire's cousin, a beginner rank knight on rest duty, was called out first. Victor did not choose him randomly.

'Since he has asked me to beat 15 knights, I'd better pick out the best ones to prove my strength to everyone', Victor smiled devilishly

The [Halefire] household was an ancient family of knight, similar to the Landragon Household. Both had been founded roughly three hundred years ago, by a Grand Knight. At the time, Grand Knights were more widespread, because there were countless wars between magic beasts and humans. Although hundreds of thousands died, those who survived the countless death trials grew stronger, resulting in more knights breaking through 'the wall'.

Although the Halefire had not improved much in the past few centuries, and kept its [Baron] title with no sign of upgrading their noble rank, the Halefire Household was far from weak. Every heir from the main family line was subject to constant training from the youngest age. Unlike the Landragon Household where freedom and trust in family members were proned, the Halefire household believed in very strict and overseen training.

Every Halefire knight could easily take two or even three knights who were at the same realm as they were. This also went for the young [Baron Halefire], who had risen to the title of Baron, only being a few years older than John himself. Although he had inherited the household because his father had fallen ill, if he hadn't been worthy, the old baron would have kept his title for a couple more years to give more time for the heir to prepare.

Although Gabriel Halefire was not the strongest Halefire there was, he could not be considered weak either.

"Victor...Landragon, right? I wondered why the commander's brother was looking for me...You know the rules, right? Your brother set them up after all", Gabriel spoke while standing up, giving his plate of porridge to his squire.

Victor nodded: "Any soldier can challenge another soldier as long as both do not have a duty to complete. Any disagreement must be solved by sword duels. In case of a tie, their superiors are to fight in their stead until there is a clear victor acknowledged by witnesses"

Gabriel smiled: "It seems like your brother is not the only bright one...You memorized everything by heart. Your brother is very intelligent. By keeping us sparring among us, he makes sure that our soldiers do not grow used to the apparent peace in the settlement. It relieves us of our boredom, and any issue is determined by strength. Since the more injust the issue is, the more duels would happen, it creates a deep circle where soldiers spar several times a week outside of the training routine he has set up"

Victor nodded: "Yes...Although John is the one who studied strategy at the Royal Knight Academy, it is Arthur who shines the most when it comes to smart. He is an acolyte walking the path of knowledge after all. You should see his tent...it is filled with books and scrolls"

Gabriel's eyes became cold: "Then...Since you memorized the rules, what disagreement do you have with me?"

Victor immediately felt instinctive fear. It was like being stared by a lion.

'Remember, Victor...You are a Landragon'

Shaking off his fear, Victor smiled like a devil, overcoming his fear of being beaten up: "I have been challenged. I must beat fifteen knights, so I told myself, why not beat up the most famous ones? Of course, I would start by the weakest..."

Provoking Gabriel was quite easy. After all, Victor could recognize Gabriel's eyes.

'Eyes of someone with poor self-confidence', Victor thought, 'Someone who hates his genius-like cousin for being so successful while he pours in enormous amount of hard work without half of his cousin's results. He is the same as me before Arthur returned...'

"I will show you, Gabriel Halefire...", Victor shouted with all of his might, "WHY THE LANDRAGON HOUSEHOLD IS THE STRONGEST ONE IN THE SOUTHERN GATE"

It no longer was a simple duel. Victor's claim immediately caused hundreds of soldiers to gather. The claim was not simple. Victor calmly announced to the settlement where 80% belonged to other households that their territory was plainly inferior to the Landragon fief.

"Even if your brother is the commander...and an amazing acolyte, he is the only capable Landragon heir. In comparison to him or the lords of the Elderwood Alliance, you are but children with endless greed. I will put an end to your doubtful claims", Gabriel spoke with utmost rage, "Your brother can complain to me, and even punish me, for all I care. But you won't escape a few bruises"

Victor smiled: "This is exactly what I needed"

As soon as Victor grasped his sword...he could feel it...

[Intermediate Swordsmanship]

The realm he had reached upon hearing that his brother had suffered an assassination attempt. Although he told himself that he trained Arthur as a teenager in order to use him to make John threatened, he knew that it was just a lie he had made to give a meaning to his life. The truth is that...he cared about Arthur to some extent. Just like him, he had suffered a lot from John's nasty superior complex. The man probably never understood how much harm he had caused them in their childhood.

But now he could acknowledge it all...His pain, his mistakes...and more importantly, how weak he was.

His brother had been almost killed, and he could not even do anything to prevent it. It wasn't even Landragon Knights who protected him, but Falister Knights who had travelled the kingdom from a powerful connection he had made in the [Ivory Tower]

'If I can't become a lord, then I shall become my brother's sword at the very least...'

This accident had reignited Victor's will to improve. Arthur could teach him swordsmanship, but the [Will of a Warrior] was not something that could be taught. It was something that was felt.

Unsheathing the wooden sword, Victor smiled and took a defensive stance.

Seeing this, Gabriel jumped at the opportunity to take the initiative. In a duel, the one who struck first often ended up getting the initiative and could win just by using tempo. It was like playing chess, where the one playing white would advance in the way he wanted to.

*CRASH*

However, Gabriel went for thrust and to his greatest surprise, Victor's sword circled around his like a snake, moving with tremendous speed. The flow seemed natural and...magnificent. Before Gabriel knew it, the sword crashed onto his rib, sending him several feet back.

Before he could react, the blade thrusted forward.

Just like [Dragon Breath], a whistling sound reverberated in the camp, causing every soldier to gasp upon seeing the sight.

[Power Thrust]

It was the knight-killing technique that Arthur had transmitted to him.

Although it was not as powerful as the [Heavy Vertical Strike] which used gravity and strong footing, the [Power Thrust] was faster, more accurate, and prone to killing the opponent by targetting a vital spot or damaging him greatly by cutting an artery.

The blade, however, did not hit the target, as Victor stopped an inch before it hit Gabriel. Wooden sword or not, a powerful knight-killing technique in the throat could kill a man, even if he was a beginner rank knight.

"..."

Gabriel was too shocked to speak.

The crowd was too shocked to speak.

A few seconds of silence, a man clapped.

Cheers reverberated.

It seemed like the Landragon Household was full of monsters in the end...

There was John, who had raised an army by himself without using his family's funds. He trained an elite cavalry unit and wiped bandits in the Landragon fief in a matter of five years.

There was Arthur, who had graduated from the Ivory Tower, and possessed so much power that he made dozens of acolytes and hundreds of soldiers helpless and scared. Even intermediate-rank acolytes with decades worth of experience only fell despite having the effect of surprise.

And now...Victor had established himself as a true sword prodigy, displaying intermediate swordsmanship as a beginner rank knight, something that only a handful of individuals in the Porfield Kingdom had achieved.