408

Episode 408: The perfect training partner. (1)

'It's really the end.'

Tennant bowed his head.

Behind, the Fenris mercenaries are trampling the remaining Rodrik forces and pursuing them, while in front, Earl Fenris's army blocks the way.

There was no escape now.

After being chased and chased and chased, I finally reached a dead end.

'How on earth... ... .'

The Fenris Army knew where their opponents were moving and where their allies were going. Even though they were separated from each other, they moved organically and without any gaps.

'amazing.'

The word "great" is not enough, but there is no other way to describe him. He was a knight, not a man of letters.

They were completely defeated. Not only Earl Fenris, but also other commanders surpassed Rodrik's army command.

How is it that all these talented people are gathered in the North?

'perhaps....'

Perhaps by the time the Earl of Fenris had made his detour to the west, their defeat had already been decided.

"Tenant! Tenant! What should we do now?"

Marquis Rodrik spoke tremblingly. His face was dark and he looked ready to burst into tears at any moment.

"Your Majesty… … ."

"Come on, let's run! With your skills, can't you get through it? I'm sure you can."

"… … ."

He might be able to break through. Tennant was confident in his own skills and horsemanship. Even if the Earl of Fenris was a master, it would not be easy for him to catch him running away at full speed.

If only he runs away.

"Everyone get off your horses."

At Tennant's words, Rodrik's remaining knights and soldiers dismounted, now numbering only about a hundred men.

Marquis Rodrik asked again in an anxious voice.

"Why are you telling us to get off our horses? If all these people charge, we will be able to escape easily."

"Your Majesty, please dismount."

"No! Why should I get off! I'm leaving this place! Hurry up and lead! Hurry up and lead!"

Tennant spoke to the knights beside him.

"Help the Marquis."

"Let go! You guys!"

Marquis Rodrik struggled to stay on his horse, but was no match for the knights' strength.

"Eww! You guys! Are you trying to betray me now? Are you trying to hand me over and beg for my life? You are a bunch of scum who don't know anything about honor!"

Marquis Rodrik roared and writhed, but Tennant and the Marquis' knights said nothing.

The knights simply held Marquis Rodrik's arms tightly to prevent him from escaping.

"Let go! I said let go!"

As Marquis Rodrik was going crazy, Dominic, who had annihilated Rodrik's army in the canyon, came running with a fearsome expression on his face.

"Marquis Rodrique! I will kill you!"

Covered in blood, he had a terrifying light emanating from his eyes. I could sense his determination to kill Marquis Rodrik himself, no matter what.

No matter who went out there to stop him, Dominic would fight like crazy. It was impossible to stop that vengeful man.

Tennant said he didn't want to do that anymore.

"Everyone, put down your weapons."

Rumble, rumble.

The knights and soldiers immediately put down their weapons. They too did not want to fight any longer.

Dominic stopped running and said.

"Do you think I'll let this go? I may spare those who surrender, but I can't spare Marquis Rodrik."

Dagger, dagger, dagger.

Jisel also rode the Black King and approached leisurely, saying:

"Surrender now? It's more trivial than I thought."

At those words, Marquis Rodrik glared at Giselle.

"Earl Fenris… … . How dare you… … ."

Marquis Rodrik's face turned red with surging anger. It was only natural that he had been defeated despite overwhelming force.

I wanted to scream, swear, and curse. But I couldn't do whatever I wanted when even the knights had betrayed me. I didn't want to die right away, so I just let out a ragged breath.

Marquis Rodrik glared at the tenant standing before him.

"Tenant… … . I loved you so much… … . As expected, no matter how talented you are, there's nothing you can do about someone of humble origins. You're just like this lowly traitor."

"… … ."

As Marquis Rodrik said, Tennant was originally the son of a serf. However, Marquis Rodrik recognized his great talent and took Tennant in himself.

Thanks to this, he grew to the point where he gained the reputation of being the best swordsman in the West and became the captain of the knights of the Marquis. With the help of the Marquis, he even gained the title of Danseung and became a noble.

'But you betrayed your benefactor like this?!'

Marquis Rodrik said, spitting.

"I really shouldn't have taken in a guy like you. You're the dog I raised, and you dare to betray your master? And you're going to surrender to that little brat from the north?"

Tennant, who had been silent for a long time, opened his mouth with difficulty.

"I will not surrender."

"But why are you doing this? Why don't you run away and instead hold on to me until the end?"

"I won't even run away."

"what?"

Tennant saluted with a fist to his chest and spoke with a solemn look in his eyes.

"Now there is only one thing left for me to do for you, Marquis."

"What is that?"

"To prevent my lord from suffering any more humiliation at the hands of his enemies."

"You… … What are you talking about… … ."

"That is the only way to preserve my lord's honor."

Phew!

Tennant's sword struck Marquis Rodrik's stomach with lightning speed. No one could stop it because it happened so suddenly.

"Ugh, ugh… … ."

Marquis Rodrik, whose arm was grabbed by the knights of the escort, was unable to fight back properly before his stomach was pierced.

Tennant shed tears of blood as he watched him die, bleeding profusely.

"It was an honor to serve you, Your Majesty."

Dominic also stopped in his tracks at Tennant's sudden actions. Marquis Rodrik had been trying to kill him and had even received permission from Giselle.

I didn't know Tennant would make the first move like that.

As Marquis Rodrik's breath died, Tennant drew his sword and said:

"All kneel and surrender to Fenris. There is no need for further sacrifices."

Rodrik's surviving soldiers knelt. But the knights were different.

Some knelt down, but others could not bring themselves to do so.

Knights who change their flags will suffer the stigma of their lives. They will have to go to a lesser lord or change their status.

Those who had lived proudly and received the best treatment in the West did not have the confidence to live such a life.

Scratch!

Those knights took out their daggers from their bosoms and fell down, committing suicide.

But Tennant paid them no attention.

He simply glared at Jiselle and threw his scabbard on the ground.

Then he shouted loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I! I am the Knight Commander of the Marquis Rodrik and the First Sword Tennant of the West!"

He extended his sword forward and pointed at Giselle.

"I challenge the Northern First Swordsman, Earl Fenris, to a duel."

Everyone remained silent.

Things took a strange turn. They could have just wiped him out, but Tennant ended up killing Marquis Rodrik himself, so they missed the timing.

chin.

Jisel dismounted from the Black King. He dropped his spear and drew his sword.

"I will give you high praise for your spirit."

"Thank you."

Tennant bowed his head sincerely.

Of course, Giselle has little interest in chivalry. To begin with, his identity was closer to that of a mercenary than a nobleman.

However, he is not so senseless as to ignore an opponent who upholds chivalry. Also, he has never once avoided a duel requested by a powerful person.

Tennant was a man of great ability, recognized by everyone.

"Come. Let's take a look at the skills of the Western Swordsman."

Tennant smiled. Who would dare say something like that to a powerhouse who has risen to the top of a region?

But the opponent deserved it. After all, the author was a master who was competing for the position of the Kingdom's First Swordsman.

Since Jiselle had accepted, the others had no choice. Everyone spread their distance to make room for her.

Paaang!

Tennant ran out and swung his sword. He was so fast that even most knights would have missed his appearance for a moment.

Kaaaaang!

"It's pretty good."

Jiselle blocked Tennant's sword with a smirk. Even though the West was known for its indolence, the reputation of the West's best swordsman was not without reason.

Kaang! Kaang! Kaang!

In an instant, dozens of attacks were exchanged. Jiselle deliberately did not explode with all her power.

Tennant is superior to anyone in Fenris in terms of pure swordsmanship.

His restrained prayers and his simple swordsmanship were enough to show that he was a man of great talent and that he had worked hard.

It was fun fighting these guys. It was a waste to only consider efficiency.

Jisel tried to suppress his mana and win the fight only with swordsmanship. This was because he also had pride in his own swordsmanship.

Kaka kaka kang!

The speed of the two people became faster and faster.

Before I knew it, it was night, and in the darkened space, red and blue lines danced endlessly, intertwining.

The people of Fenris gasped in admiration at the sight.

"You can fight the lord to that degree."

"There were strong people in the West too."

"What a waste of skill."

They all know what the outcome will be. There will be few in the kingdom who can defeat their lord in a one-on-one duel.

Even if the opponent is the best in the West.

However, they couldn't help but be impressed by Tennant's efforts to the end without kneeling, even though he knew he would lose.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The duel between the two men grew more intense as time went on. Each time the two men swung their swords and clashed, shockwaves spread in all directions and the ground tore apart.

'Tenant, perhaps you reached the level of Master in your past life?'

In his previous life, when he was burning the West as a mercenary king, the tenant who blocked his way was at the level of a beginner master.

At that time, there was no need to exchange sword skills like this. Jiselle's sword, filled with rage, tore apart her enemies without mercy.

In any case, Tennant is someone who has the talent to definitely become a master in the future.

'It's a shame to kill you here, but… … .'

If we can take down someone like this, it will be of great help in the future fight. Jiselle also did not have a deep enough grudge to kill this person.

But Tennant would never bend. He was a knight as proud as he was arrogant.

'Go ahead and give your talents your all.'

Jiselle's swordsmanship began to change. Up until now, she had been using standard swordsmanship to get along with Tennant, but now she was displaying a rough swordsmanship that was so violent that it could tear everything apart.

Kakakakakak!

Tennant's eyes widened. His opponent's sword moved as if it were alive. Each and every one of those countless sword strikes raining down on him seemed to have a will.

"Crunch!"

Tennant was now desperate to stop it. His face was colored with horror.

'Is it really like this?'

I knew a long time ago that my opponent wasn't using all his strength. The more I mixed my swords, the more I realized it.

Earl Fenris had suppressed his mana and was trying to decide the outcome through a pure swordsmanship duel. The fact that the rumored black demon did not appear was proof of this.

'I thought I wouldn't fall behind in swordsmanship… … .'

I thought that if I could at least show my superiority in swordsmanship, I could save the pride of the West.

But that anticipation had completely subsided. There was no time to even think about whose swordsmanship was better.

Kaang! Kaang! Kaang!

'I'm dying!'

Tennant tried to avoid the sword attacks coming from all sides.

I was already prepared for death. But when 'real' death came right before my eyes, all my nerves went on edge.

Count Fenris not only had a great amount of mana, but his swordsmanship was also at an incredibly high level.

I couldn't believe it. How could a human's swordsmanship be this good?

'So you're saying my talent wasn't that great… … .'

Tennant showed great skill in swordsmanship from a young age. He instinctively knew how to swing his sword and how his opponents moved.

He knew that he was born with a talent different from others. He thought that becoming the strongest in the West was also his destiny.

But at some point, I was blocked by a wall. I clearly caught a glimpse of the world beyond, but I couldn't get over the wall.

Even though I spent my time like that without any worries.

'Ahh… … . Now I know what was missing… … .'

The path that had been invisible no matter how hard I tried began to appear more and more as I faced death.

When he saw the sword flying towards him, trying to kill him, his whole body felt tingling. Every nerve on his body was on edge, trying to somehow escape this situation.

Mana flowed into each and every muscle, strand by strand.

As life was at stake, concepts that had previously been abstract began to take hold.

Your body has evolved one step further to fill what it lacks in order to survive now.

Hwaaaaak!

A new world appears. The extreme enlightenment gained in the midst of extreme fear changed the way I see the world.

It's slow.

The flow of time had changed. It seemed as if everyone around me had stopped.

All my senses were vividly receiving information from my surroundings.

This is… … .

'Is this the world beyond the wall!'

Goosebumps ran through my entire body with joy. Everything I had worked so hard to cultivate became one will and was spread out into the world.

Paaaaah!

Suddenly, a tremendous light emanated from Tennant's sword.

At the same time, Jiselle's body was surrounded by black energy.