409

Episode 409: The perfect training partner. (2)

A master is one who has completed his own world.

Even someone who has never fought in a real battle can become a master by practicing the sword and understanding its principles.

Anyone can become a master by swinging their sword hundreds of thousands of times and then achieving enlightenment, or by working like crazy to increase their mana.

As such, the form of enlightenment varies from person to person.

But Tennant had never achieved any enlightenment until now, because his outstanding talent was blocking his way.

Since he won easily against anyone, he never had a proper real fight except when he was young. Since he won easily against anyone, he never tried hard to overcome anyone.

I have never tried to understand the principles of the sword by myself.

So he was trapped by his own talent and arrogance.

'We were really lazy.'

Marquis Rodrik did so, and so did he. Resting on the title of the strongest in the West, he never even thought to look into how the world was changing.

Those at the top were like that, so those who followed them could not help but become lazy as well.

But the people of the North were not like that. They fought fiercely to survive and worked hard to become stronger.

It was a natural result that they lost the war.

Kwaaaaang!

Jiselle and Tennant's swords clashed once, and the distance between them widened.

Jiselle, her eyes glowing red and enveloped in black energy, asked.

"Finally, that outstanding talent has shed its arrogance and overcome the wall. Don't you intend to surrender?"

It is extremely rare for Giselle to persuade someone, especially if they are her enemies.

But Tennant shook his head.

"I am the one who killed my master and benefactor. Even if I win this match, I intend to commit suicide."

Tennant thrust his sword forward. A long blue aura blade extended from his sword.

"That is my pride as the best swordsman in the West."

"I admit it."

Paaang!

Jiselle swung her sword, shooting out like a ray of light.

Now, the opponent has reached the level of a master. There is no need to show any more mercy. And I feel sorry for the opponent, but… … .

"He's the perfect training partner."

Kwaaaaang!

Tennant, who had blocked Giselle's sword, smiled weakly and said.

"It won't be easy anymore."

Kwaaang!

Every time the two swords clashed, a shockwave of incomparable strength erupted.

People watching the showdown were shocked and ran further away.

Gooooooo!

The area around the two people became a vacuum where they couldn't even breathe due to the clash of mana. Not even air could enter.

Unable to withstand the pressure, the mana that escaped swirled around, creating a huge whirlwind.

People were astonished at the sight.

"Is this the Master's fight… … ."

"How can a human being have this kind of power… … ."

A giant tornado was created without using magic. It was not an artificial twist on the laws of the world, but a natural phenomenon caused by pure force.

Kwaaaaang!

Every time the swords clashed, there was a sound like thunder. If I had been nearby, my eardrums would have burst.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Indeed, Tennant displayed tremendous strength, unlike before.

The long, blue-tinged aura blade blocked Giselle's crimson aura blade admirably.

Pfft!

Sometimes, Tennant's sword would pierce through Giselle's crimson curtain. From Giselle's body, where she was hit by the sword, crimson smoke would pour out like crazy.

But unfortunately, that was the extent of Tennant's limitations.

Kwaaang!

"Ugh!"

Tennant's left arm was cut off from the shoulder by Giselle's lightning-quick sword swing.

Kwaaaaang!

Tennant fought back with difficulty, but Giselle was a beat faster and sliced open his chest.

Tennant, who had just become a master, was no match for Jiselle in both mana and swordsmanship.

Boom! Boom!

Before he knew it, Tennant's body had become a rag. The light from the Aura Blade, which had been shining brightly, was gradually flickering and fading away.

Still, Tennant laughed.

"It is a great honor for me as a knight to fight and die in such a fight!"

After reaching the level of Master that he had longed for, he duels his life with another Master. His opponent is Earl Fenris, the divine being of the North and known as the strongest.

There can be no more glorious opponent than this, and it is difficult for any knight to have such an experience.

"I have no regrets!"

Kwaaaaaaaah!

Tennant drew out all his strength and swung his sword at Giselle, not caring about defense anymore.

He just put everything he had into this one blow.

Tennant's massive auror blade flew towards Giselle with the momentum to crush her.

"Excellent."

Jiselle smiled and swung her sword.

The two men's swords clashed again.

Kwaaaaang!

A tremendous amount of light poured out, illuminating the darkened surroundings. The sight of the onlookers was instantly dyed pure white.

And when the light disappeared.

The whirlwind that had been tearing the surroundings apart disappeared and everything became quiet.

Tennant looked at his sword.

The shining aura blade disappeared, and only half of the blade remained.

In contrast, Jiselle's Aura Blade was still emitting a rough aura.

The Auror Blade, which was supposed to be able to cut through anything, disappeared after being cut by the opponent's Auror Blade.

Swish.

Blood flowed from Tennant's neck, drawing a red line.

It wasn't a deep cut that would take the person's neck off, but it was deep enough to take a person's life.

Tennant smiled. A trickle of blood ran down the corner of his mouth.

"Thank you… … cow."

Kuung!

With those last words, he collapsed on the floor.

"Phew… … ."

As Giselle sighed, the aura surrounding him disappeared.

He had wounds all over his body and was quite unkempt, but none of them were big enough to cause any problems.

Jiselle was also continuing her training and getting closer to the realm she had achieved in her previous life.

Jiselle, who had been looking at Tennant's body for a moment, slowly opened her mouth.

"Take care of the prisoners and contact Claude."

Jiselle snickered as she looked around the battlefield filled with silence.

"We won. The war is over."

"Wow!"

Only when victory was declared did the people raise their weapons and cheer.

The battle between the strongest in the North and the strongest in the West.

It ended in an overwhelming victory for the North.

* * *

"Ahem, ahem."

Claude walked with a thumping gait. Every time he encountered someone, the people around him bowed their heads.

In this war, he defended not only Silverlight but also other castles with his amazing tactics.

In fact, no matter how well you do administrative work, it doesn't really show that you did well. No matter how well Claude managed his household, he didn't receive much recognition because of his characteristically picky personality.

Even people who actually felt their lives improving only praised Giselle, saying it was all thanks to Yeongju.

But in war, just one action was enough to change people's perceptions.

All the people of Yeongji saw Claude again.

"It wasn't for nothing that he became the commander-in-chief."

"Come to think of it, isn't it true that our territory is doing well because the general is doing well?"

"It would have been better if I hadn't taken bribes."

Claude felt very happy as his fame suddenly increased greatly. Perhaps, in time, the rumor would spread throughout the kingdom.

"Ha, I didn't know I was this good. What should I do with this crazy talent?"

"… … ."

Wendy said nothing in response.

At first, I complimented her, which was unusual for her, and took better care of her than usual. But after hearing her constantly brag, my ears were bleeding. I thought I was going crazy.

Belinda avoided Claude whenever she saw him, because it was becoming difficult to resist him now.

Claude wasn't the only one who did this.

"Ahem, ahem."

Alpoy also walked around with his chin held high in an extremely arrogant manner, as he had finally made his mark in this war.

In fact, it was Vanessa who sealed off the opposing wizards. Without her, Fenris would have been in quite a difficult situation.

But in people's memories, Alfoy's wild use of magic left a more vivid impression.

It's true that they did everything from shooting fire to spraying fog.

The people of Yeongji also reevaluated Alpoy.

"I thought you were just a guy who gambled and drank all day."

"It's 50 circles, 50 circles."

"Wow, isn't that a dragon? Was Alpoy that strong?"

Thanks to that, his reputation rose significantly, and now even if Hubert, the lord of the Red Flame Tower, came, he would not be able to treat Alpoy carelessly.

Alpoy, who was in a good mood, was busy going around the territory, giving lectures and showing off.

Vanessa, who always kept him company and kept him from studying, allowed Alfoy some free time this time.

And the day when Jiselle and the Fenris Mobile Force returned to the territory.

"Waaaaaaaaaah!"

"We are the best!"

"Congratulations on your victory!"

All the people of Yeongji ran out into the streets and cheered.

This war was a little different from the last one. In the absence of Jiselle, all the people of the territory joined forces to prepare traps.

Even without a lord, they all joined forces to block tens of thousands of troops.

The people of Yeongji did not forget that it was all thanks to Jiselle that they were able to do so.

Thanks to the lord, I was able to eat well, get a job, and have the strength to defend myself.

And now I have gained the confidence and assurance that I will not lose no matter where I fight.

"Long live Fenris!"

Jiselle entered the castle amidst cheers from everyone.

He raised his fist at Claude. Claude grinned and bumped their fists together.

Giselle did what Claude and Alfoy always did.

"Hey, I told you to hold them off until I got here, and you wiped them out? That's amazing."

In his previous life, Claude was a great operations officer and strategist. I trusted him with that and left him in charge of Mercury, but I really didn't know he would do this well.

Originally, they planned to hold out for a while, then surround them with the Ferdium army and mercenaries and wipe them out.

But thanks to Claude, Giselle ended up chasing down the defeated soldiers.

Claude said, still with an arrogant expression and coughing.

"Ahem, well, your lord has done well since he has conquered the West. It wasn't that difficult of a task, though… … ."

That was a more difficult task, but Claude tried hard to belittle Giselle's achievements. He did so out of fear that his own achievements would be overshadowed. He was such a petty guy.

Fortunately for Claude, Giselle wasn't the type to worry about such small(?) things.

"Yeah, yeah. Good. So now you know what to do?"

"… … Victory celebration?"

"No, I have to get to work. The West needs to stabilize quickly. And I need to increase the production capacity of my territory. I need to build more Galvanium catapults."

"… … ."

Claude's face turned dark in an instant. It seemed that he would have to die to rest. He should have died in this war.

Still, there was nothing wrong with what Giselle said. The West was now in a state of extreme chaos. I had heard that Count Selverk had been entrusted with the management, but he would not be able to stabilize the vast West on his own.

"Okay, I'll send the managers over quickly. There must be a lot of work to do."

We can't make the entire West like Fenris right away. Unfortunately, once the West stabilizes to some extent, it will play a role in filling in Fenris' shortcomings.

However, since it is an area with a lot of resources and population, it will be of great help if it stabilizes quickly.

"For now, let's get help from the pro-Prince faction."

Claude nodded at Giselle's words.

Count Selverk cannot deal with the Western Rift, for he is too busy trying to appease and control the remaining lords and bandits.

But now the pro-Prince forces can enter the West under the pretext of dealing with the rift.

Marquis Rodrik was in trouble because he didn't listen to others and acted as he pleased, but now that the master of the West had changed to Giselle, there was no problem.

Jisel immediately gathered his followers and held meetings every day to discuss how to utilize the West and quickly stabilize it.

Just as the direction of operations was being decided and managers to be sent west were being selected, bad news arrived.

"The Salvation Church has begun to move openly!"

Jiselle wiggled her eyebrows as she heard the messenger's words as he ran towards her in a hurry.

The Salvation Church guys started moving much earlier than in my previous life.

The reason was obvious. It was because he had revealed the true identity of the Salvation Church early on.

Jiselle muttered softly.

"… …Is this the beginning?"

He knew all too well what the cornered Salvation Church would do.