Chapter 259 - Are we going to fight today? (2)

Donkard staggered back, clutching his nose in shock.

He had clearly seen Kaor approaching and timed his punch to intercept him, but suddenly, the man vanished from his sight.

The moment he turned his head in surprise, a blow landed, and blood burst from his nose.

'What the hell? Did he suddenly get stronger? Strong enough for me to lose track of his movements?'

It didn't make sense. It felt like he was haunted by a ghost.

Thinking it was just a fluke, he engaged again, but each time, Kaor dodged with uncanny precision and counterattacked.

When Donkard tried to dodge, Kaor immediately followed and struck, as if he could predict where Donkard would move next.

Before long, Donkard found himself focused entirely on avoiding and blocking Kaor's attacks.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Kaor was irritated but also felt a strange sense of exhilaration.

'Damn it, lord really is a monster.'

Following Ghislain's instructions made Donkard's attacks miss entirely. It felt as though he already knew where his opponent would retreat, allowing him to land every hit.

The precision and timing were nothing short of miraculous.

But it wasn't just awe—it was also clarity.

'This is all stuff I already learned! I trained for this but didn't even use it properly like an idiot!'

The movements during an opponent's attack, the choice to counter or not, and the proper responses—Kaor realized these were all things he already knew.

The more he fought, the more it felt like his body was growing familiar with the techniques he had learned.

Just as with the knights of Cabaldi, a small margin of control gave him the breathing room to utilize what he'd been taught.

Ghislain's instructions continued without pause.

― "He's starting to panic now. Guys who rely only on improvisation and instinct tend to lose their composure in situations like this. I've lowered his level for you—now fight as you've been taught. Normally, these moves should come naturally, but since they don't yet, focus consciously and act."

'Tch, I already know that.'

Kaor felt his irritation rise at Ghislain's condescending tone.

The real problem was his lack of training. He should have practiced tirelessly until the techniques became second nature.

Instead, Kaor had cut corners, stopped when he felt somewhat competent, and sought faster ways to grow stronger.

Otherwise, he'd waste time drinking and complaining about his shortcomings.

And yet, in actual combat, he couldn't properly use the skills he had acquired.

Thwack! Thwack!

Kaor grinned. His body felt light, as if he could fly.

His opponent's attacks failed to connect, while his own landed perfectly.

This kind of one-sided fight was precisely his style.

But Donkard wasn't someone to be underestimated. Regaining his composure, he began counter attacking with all his might.

Thwack! Thwack!

"Guhh!"

"Urgh!"

Both men landed blows on each other simultaneously, forcing them to step back. Kaor's unfamiliarity with the techniques still caused him to miss attack timings or stumble in his movements.

At some point, Ghislain stopped giving instructions.

Even so, with his confidence and composure restored, Kaor focused his mind and pressed his attack on Donkard.

As the two fought on even ground, the spectators looked on with expressions of curiosity.

"Whoa, he's suddenly fighting well!"

"What happened? Was he hiding his skills all along?"

"Maybe he was just testing the waters earlier?"

The onlookers became more intrigued as the fight went on.

Now, this was an exciting battle. A one-sided beatdown might be satisfying in some ways, but it lacked the thrill of a closely matched fight.

The crowd grew excited, cheering once more. After all, people who made a living hunting monsters weren't the type to dislike combat.

"Yeah! Redhead, keep it up!"

"Take down Donkard!"

"Or just kill each other already!"

There were plenty of people who resented Donkard. They had only tolerated him because of his strength, seeing him as a necessary evil.

As a result, some genuinely cheered for Kaor. Though in truth, the hunters didn't really care who won. They disliked both men anyway.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

The punches grew more violent. With Kaor's confidence surging, his attacks became fiercer. Donkard gritted his teeth as he parried Kaor's strikes.

'Damn it… Why is this guy suddenly so…'

Kaor's momentum kept growing stronger. Donkard knew that if he lost, he'd have to leave this place. It was hard to say how long it would take to rebuild his influence elsewhere—or if he could even leave safely.

If word spread that he had been defeated by newcomers, others wouldn't hesitate to come after him.

'There's no other choice… I'll have to make this bloody.'

Swish.

Staggering back as if to steady himself, Donkard subtly pulled a small blade from his waist.

Hiding the weapon between the fingers of his clenched fist, he smirked wickedly.

With this method, he had killed many opponents stronger than himself. Duels and fairness meant nothing to him—once the target was dead, cleaning up the aftermath was always manageable.

'I didn't expect to meet someone worthy of using this on in a while…'

He knew people would curse him for it, but his reputation was already filthy. People called him "the Beast of Ironcliff" behind his back.

Though they addressed him as king to his face, they whispered about him being a beast behind his back, mocking him relentlessly.

No one noticed Donkard pulling out the blade. In fact, most only realized he'd used a knife after his opponent was already dead. His movements were that discreet.

Of course, Ghislain, observing with an amused expression, noticed everything.

Once Donkard was ready, he made a few subtle hand gestures toward his subordinates.

'Prepare yourselves.'

The signal meant that if he killed his opponent, they should immediately attack the rest. Though he had proposed a one-on-one duel to avoid heavy casualties, he decided it was better to wipe them out here than to risk losing his position.

'This guy seems to be the strongest. The rest should be easier to deal with.'

Thud!

Donkard deliberately moved closer, allowing Kaor's punch to land. Closing the distance to minimize the impact, he gritted his teeth and endured the blow.

Then, with all his strength, he drove his fist into Kaor's stomach.

Thwack!

"Huh?"

Kaor's face showed a moment of confusion. Something had pierced his stomach. The sound wasn't quite right.

As he flinched, Donkard aimed another punch at Kaor's throat.

Slash!

"Urgh!"

Kaor barely dodged, but the blade nicked his neck, drawing blood.

The searing pain hit him as he staggered back, clutching both his neck and stomach. When he removed his hands, they were stained with blood. The blade had struck him.

"This bastard… hid a knife?"

Kaor looked at Ghislain with an incredulous expression. There was no way the monstrous lord had failed to notice this.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Life is real. Get cocky just because your punches land, and this is what happens. I didn't tell you because I figured you wouldn't die from it—just a little wake-up call. Honestly, you're terrible at fighting."

"…"

As annoying as Ghislain's words were, they were right. If the blade had been poisoned or slightly larger, Kaor might have been dead already.

The spectators, too, stood quietly, as if nothing unusual had happened.

Donkard's weapon was still hidden in his fist. As far as they were concerned, if the blade wasn't visible, it didn't count.

"You son of a—damn it! You're lower than Alpoi and Koko the chicken!"

Kaor didn't bother calling Donkard cowardly or dirty. He, too, believed there was no such thing as fairness in a fight.

Trying to stick to rules in a lawless zone like this was laughable. Hadn't he already been beaten by Ghislain for suggesting as much in the past?

If his opponent wanted to fight dirty, that suited Kaor just fine. He was no stranger to chaotic brawls.

Whoosh!

When Kaor swung his fist, Donkard dodged with a grin. As Donkard moved in to strike with his knife, Kaor smirked.

"Take this!"

Fwoosh!

"Ugh!"

A sudden burst of red powder filled the air, making Donkard shut his eyes and retreat.

"You bastard! What the hell did you throw at me?!"

Terrified it might be poison, Donkard hesitated, but it wasn't toxic. However, the powder was so spicy that tears streamed down his face, and he couldn't open his eyes.

Frantically channeling mana to protect his eyes, he managed to dull the pain slightly, but it still burned like hell.

Kaor, still grinning, spoke smugly.

"Oh no, my delicious spice pouch must've burst by accident. Oops, my bad."

What he had used was the "Spicy Attack Seasoning Powder" that Belinda had packed for him.

― "You get angry a lot, so you need something spicy to release stress."

― "What's this?"

― "'Spicy Attack Seasoning Powder.' If you're losing a fight, just toss it in their eyes—it works wonders. You're bad at fighting, after all."

― "I'm good at fighting! I don't need this."

Though he'd said that, Kaor had tucked it away just in case he wanted something spicy. He'd discreetly pulled it from his belt pack and thrown it.

Donkard swung wildly, unable to open his eyes. In his flailing, the blade in his fist became visible to everyone.

"Huh? This bastard pulled out a knife? Everyone saw that, right? He's the one who drew first."

Grinning slyly, Kaor pulled a dagger from his belt and hurled it.

Thud!

"Guhh!"

The dagger struck Donkard squarely in the chest. Despite the injury, Donkard kept wildly slashing with his knife as he stumbled backward.

In a quieter setting, Donkard might have been able to sense the danger and dodge, but the raucous mix of jeers and cheers from the crowd made it nearly impossible.

As Donkard reached for the dagger embedded in his chest, Kaor moved faster.

Thwack!

"Guhh!"

Kaor swiftly drew a spike he had hidden in his boot and stabbed Donkard in the stomach. If Donkard was dirty, Kaor was just as shameless.

Thwack! Thwack!

Kaor stabbed Donkard's stomach repeatedly.

Donkard flailed wildly with his blade-wielding fist, but Kaor dodged effortlessly and continued his assault.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

"Gah! Guhh!"

Before long, Kaor's strikes targeted indiscriminately—his neck, chest, stomach, arms, legs. Donkard's body was soon drenched in blood, punctured all over.

"P-please… stop…"

Donkard's voice trembled. If this continued, he would surely die. Tears streamed down his face as he forced his burning eyes open.

What kind of spice could be this harsh? It was unbearable.

Through his blurry vision, he caught sight of Kaor's face. For the first time in his life, Donkard felt the chilling grip of death.

'That bastard… he's smiling…'

Kaor's eyes were glazed over, and his face twisted into a grin so wide it exposed his teeth. He looked like a rabid dog.

"I-I surrender…"

"Who said you could surrender? Our lord doesn't show mercy. I figured I'd follow his example."

Thwack! Thwack!

Ignoring Donkard's words, Kaor grabbed him by the collar and continued stabbing him relentlessly.

It felt cathartic. The stress he'd been bottling up was finally being released.

Belinda was right: the "spicy seasoning" really was perfect for stress relief.

Thud.

Kaor finally let go of Donkard's collar, and the man collapsed onto the ground.

"Urgh… Ugh…"

Donkard, now a bloodied mess, crawled on the ground and shouted weakly.

"K-kill them… kill them all now!"

But his subordinates didn't move. They simply stared down at him coldly.

This place was ruled by the law of power. The words of Donkard—now defeated and on the brink of death—were as meaningless as the ramblings of a fool.

Especially since he had used a weapon first and still lost.

"H-hurry! Before they kill you too…"

Grab.

Kaor climbed onto Donkard's back, gripping his neck and head tightly.

"Just die already, you bastard. Stop embarrassing yourself."

Crack!

With a sharp twist of the neck, Donkard's tongue lolled out as his life came to an abrupt end.

"Hah…"

Letting out a deep breath, Kaor stood and roared to the crowd.

"You saw that, didn't you?! You bastards! If you fight me, I'll beat you all! I'm the strongest! Anyone who insulted me earlier, step up now!"

It was an embarrassingly childish victory declaration, but the crowd cheered wildly.

"Whoa! The red-haired guy won!"

"He actually beat Donkard. That's impressive!"

"He really is good at killing monsters! He's not an ordinary guy!"

Fueled by the crowd's cheers, Kaor kept boasting, despite blood streaming from his wounds.

A short while later, the crowd parted as knights and soldiers of Turian approached.

The knight from Turian clicked his tongue as he looked at Donkard's twisted neck.

Resting his hand on the hilt of his sword, he spoke with a bored expression.

"In this place, killing is prohibited, and yet you've committed murder as soon as you arrive? This is a bit problematic…"

His words suggested concern, but his face remained indifferent. It was clear he didn't really care whether someone lived or died. Still, with so many witnesses present, it was difficult to just ignore the incident.

"Tsk tsk, if you were going to kill him, you should've done it in secret. Or found some corner to settle your disputes. Hey, arrest him."

As the knight gestured to the soldiers behind him, Kaor growled in protest.

"Hey, damn it! Can't you see I'm bleeding? That bastard pulled a weapon on me first!"

The nearby hunters quickly jumped to defend him.

"Hey, it's true—Donkard drew his weapon first. You know how these fights go, don't you?"

"Since when did you start caring about stuff like this? Just go file your paperwork or something."

"Messing with self-defense is a bit much, isn't it? This place is supposed to be free of interference."

The knight remained unfazed. After spending enough time in this place, such taunts barely registered.

At that moment, Ghislain casually draped an arm over the knight's shoulder and whispered.

"If something like this stirs up resentment among the hunters, it'll only cause more trouble. Isn't the whole point of these laws to prevent hunters from being dragged off by nobles or executed, which would reduce their numbers? Arresting the guy who beat Donkard would be a big loss, wouldn't it?"

The knight smacked his lips a few times before nodding. Ghislain had a point. If the hunters accepted this outcome, there was no need to push the matter.

"I'll consider this an accident that occurred during a duel. But be careful in the future. With Donkard gone, you'd better keep the fighting in check. Unless you all want to get wiped out by monsters."

With that, the knight and the soldiers of Turian departed.

As the cheers of the spectators faded behind him, Kaor staggered into the inn.

To be honest, he was so exhausted that he just wanted to collapse and sleep.

Ghislain patted Kaor's shoulder and offered a compliment.

"Well, today you actually fought decently. You struggled at first, though."

"…I always fight well," Kaor grumbled.

"Anyway, good job. That guy seemed to be the boss around here. Now that he's gone, things should be much easier for us. Let's take it easy for the rest of the day."

"Ha, that's great. Then we'll start hunting tomorrow. I just need one day to rest."

"No, we're not going out tomorrow either. The hunting ends today."

"Why?"

Kaor and the knights looked at Ghislain in confusion.

They had been hunting and training tirelessly without a single day off, so it was strange for Ghislain to suddenly stop. It wasn't like Ghislain to care about Kaor's injuries.

Their suspicions turned out to be accurate. Ghislain grinned slyly and explained.

"Because the monster wave is about to begin."

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