Chapter 25: I Have Become Strong. (1)
Chapter 25: I Have Become Strong. (1)
The Schneider Estate in Patrick’s absence.
There, the soldiers were diligently practicing the training Patrick had assigned them.
“Damn it, how is this even supposed to help?”
“It’s not like we’re learning ballroom dancing or something….”
Well, they were certainly full of complaints.
Patrick had instructed the soldiers to consistently practice the Five Elements Step, a footwork technique, along with the Horse Stance—a fundamental training exercise—while he was away.
The soldiers did as they were told for the time being, but they couldn’t shake their doubts. What is the point of this?
Of course, that didn’t mean they skipped it.
Patrick had given the order, and senior soldiers like Sanson were supervising, so they moved according to the footwork patterns with effort.
However, the effectiveness of training varies greatly depending on one’s mindset.
As more and more soldiers grumbled and doubted the efficacy of the footwork, they began to rush through the steps just to fill the required count, eager to spend their remaining time swinging their swords instead.
They judged that to be more helpful.
“Alright. A hundred reps done.”
“Time to swing the sword a bit.”
“At least the Horse Stance feels like a workout. I don’t know why we’re doing this.”
“Tell me about it.”
The soldiers half-heartedly finished their footwork repetitions and then began swinging their swords however they pleased.
Watching this, Sanson furrowed his brow.
What should I do about this? If the Young Master saw this….
[Oho, so you’ve been half-assing your training?]
The mere thought was terrifying.
Sanson shuddered. He wanted to set the soldiers straight, but he couldn’t find the right words.
It can’t be helped. I’ll just have to work hard myself.
Sanson focused his mind, executing the footwork with the most precise posture possible, immersing himself in the training Patrick had ordered.
*
After the morning training ended.
The soldiers had to go back to patrolling the estate.
Brian, the youngest, was working hard patrolling and handling monsters on the outskirts.
It truly seemed that if a person didn’t want to die, they would find a way; looking at Brian’s recent actions, he appeared to be a loyal knight doing his absolute best to protect the estate. Of course, behind that facade…
[If even a single hair on a villager’s head is harmed, it’s on you, Brian. Got it?]
There was Patrick, who had calmly threatened him before leaving.
As a result, Brian was patrolling the estate so diligently that he even cut back on his sleep.
Thanks to that….
“Captain Sanson. Isn’t patrolling much easier these days?”
“It is. The frequency of monsters causing trouble has dropped significantly.”
At Sanson’s words, Oliver, who was patrolling with him, said with a smile.
“It’s all thanks to the Young Master. Honestly, I understand why the villagers are so grateful to him.”
“And you aren’t?”
“No, I am. I’m grateful, but….”
In truth, hadn’t Patrick done quite a lot?
He had uncovered the embezzlement by Brian, who was a knight, and normalized their wages; he had taught them the Aura Blessing; and while they were struggling with their training, he had scoured the area around the estate, wiping out monsters.
It was only natural to feel grateful toward such a man. And yet….
“It’s just hard to be purely grateful when we’re being ground to dust during training….”
“Ah, I understand that.”
“Honestly, tell the villagers to get ground down just like us. See if they can still be nothing but thankful.”
It sounded ungrateful, but it was the truth.
That was how much the training Patrick assigned pushed them to their limits.
“Still, if we keep up this training, won’t we become as strong as the Young Master? Then we should be grateful.”
“Actually, that’s why some of the guys have been complaining lately.”
“What do you mean?”
When Sanson spoke with a sharp glare, Oliver hurriedly waved his hands.
“No, I don’t mean me. I’m not saying I feel that way….”
“Just say it. What are they complaining about?”
“Even if it’s training taught by Young Master Patrick, isn’t it just the Horse Stance for lower body strength, the Aura Blessing, and those weird steps?”
“We do sparring, too.”
“Calling that ‘sparring’ is a bit dishonest, don’t you think?”
Indeed, calling it sparring was a stretch; it mostly consisted of getting beaten one-sidedly.
“Ahem, regardless, it’s a fact that the Young Master is far stronger than us. You know how precious the teachings of a master are, don’t you?”
“I know. Actually, the other guys know it too. Even the Aura Blessing alone is incredible. But… the Young Master’s teachings are just so strange, aren’t they?”
“……”
“I understand the Horse Stance. But those weird steps he taught us before he left. Not many people think they’ll actually be helpful. Some guys think that if they fought like that in a real battle, they’d trip over their own feet and fall… I mean, the other guys think that, not me.”
Oliver hurriedly corrected himself because Sanson’s expression had hardened to a serious degree.
“They’ve all grown quite bold.”
“No, from their perspective….”
“Do you feel like you’ve become someone important just because you learned the Aura Blessing and there are no knights left in the estate? Do you think you’ll be able to manifest Aura from your sword within the year?”
“……”
“The Young Master said he would make us knights. And yet, those who wish to become knights speak of complaints instead of having loyalty toward their lord?”
“……”
“Who is it? Who are these ungrateful pieces of trash!”
Seeing Sanson truly enraged, Oliver spoke cautiously.
“Captain. Please calm down. For now, once the Young Master returns….”
It was then.
Suddenly, the bell signaling an emergency rang from the outskirts of the estate.
“Is this…?”
“An emergency?”
Sanson and Oliver quickly ran toward the scene.
For the past few weeks, the Schneider Estate had been peaceful.
Patrick had wiped out most of the large monsters, and Brian was handling the smaller ones as soon as he saw them.
But that state of affairs couldn’t last forever.
Wiping out all the large monsters meant that a temporary vacuum had been created at the top of the local ecosystem.
Naturally, there would be monsters from other regions looking to claim that spot.
Such monsters had now set foot in the Schneider Estate.
“Damn it, it’s a Troll.”
Arriving at the scene, Sanson ground his teeth at the sight of a Troll pounding on the outer wooden fence.
Seeing as it was acting alone rather than in a group, it was likely an outcast that had been driven away from its pack.
Trolls usually move in groups of two or three, but old or weak individuals are kicked out.
That meant this was likely a weaker specimen among Trolls, but….
“Kwoooooh!”
“Aaaah!”
“Hold it! The fence mustn’t fall!”
Watching the fence shake as if it were about to collapse every time the Troll struck it with both arms….
“Damn it, a weak Troll is still a Troll.”
In the end, it was a large-type monster.
To ordinary people, there wasn’t much of a difference.
Sanson spoke to Oliver beside him.
“Oliver.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Lead the soldiers immediately and bring the Troll-hunting equipment.”
Long spears, iron nets, crossbows capable of piercing Troll hide, oil, fire arrows, and so on.
Even before Patrick had stepped to the forefront, such equipment was essential for the soldiers of the Schneider Estate to face a Troll.
“Understood. What about you, Captain?”
“I will….”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Aaaah!”
“Hold on! I said hold on!”
“If this collapses, we’re all dead!”
Sanson looked at the men barely propping up the fence that seemed ready to fall at any moment, made up his mind, and said,
“I’ll buy some time.”
“What? What do you… Huh? Captain! Captain Sanson!”
Before Oliver could stop him, Sanson opened a small side gate and dashed outside the fence.
Then, drawing his sword, he shouted at the top of his lungs at the Troll.
“Over here, you ugly monster!”
—Grrr….
The Troll glanced at Sanson shouting at it, then ignored him and went back to pounding the fence in front of it.
Boom! Boom! BOOM!
Crack! Snap!
Though it was a sturdy fence made of solid logs driven deep into the ground, it was still difficult to keep holding out against a Troll.
The sound of wood splintering and crushing echoed, and the men desperately supporting the fence from the inside screamed.
“I said over here, you bastard!”
Sanson lunged at the Troll and swiftly swung his longsword.
Slash!
—Kwoooooh!
Sanson’s strike sliced through the Troll’s hide and even wounded the muscle beneath to some extent.
The Troll howled in pain, and Sanson….
“Huh?”
He was bewildered.
In truth, Sanson had attacked the Troll just to draw its attention; he hadn’t even imagined his attack would actually work on it.
A Troll’s hide is tough and sturdy.
For an ordinary person like him to pierce a Troll’s hide, he would have had to use a thrust rather than a slash. And it would have had to be a desperate, all-or-nothing thrust with his full body weight behind it.
But now, a mere slash he had swung lightly as a distraction had left a fairly deep wound on the Troll’s body.
“This actually works?”
To the astonished Sanson, the Troll….
—Kwoooooh!
It roared, expressing its rage without reservation.
“Ugh….”
For a moment, Sanson reflexively took a step back. This wasn’t his first time facing a Troll.
It was a monster he had faced several times with his comrades.
But when he faced a Troll, his comrades were always with him.
There were comrades beside him to keep it at bay with long spears, and there was support from behind to restrict the Troll’s movements by throwing iron nets.
Amidst such support, they fought by stabbing the Troll, pouring oil on it, and setting it on fire.
But now was different.
All Sanson had in his hand right now was a single longsword.
He had to face the Troll with only this.
Like a protagonist in a story.
“Ha…. Haha.”
The only thought in his head was, This is insane.
The Troll charged at Sanson without hesitation.
“Kwoooooh.”
It held no weapon in its hands, but the Troll’s massive fists possessed enough power to turn Sanson into minced meat.
That fist fell toward Sanson like a hammer.
THOOM!
“Brother!”
Oliver, who had hurriedly followed outside the fence, saw the sight and shouted in desperation.
To Oliver’s eyes, it looked as though Sanson had been crushed flat by the Troll’s strike. However….
“Haap!”
Sanson’s vigorous shout rang out from within the thick dust.
And the subsequent scream from the Troll was proof that Sanson had cut it somewhere.
“Brother Sanson?”
And then Oliver saw it.
Sanson, having dodged the Troll’s fist, had instead powerfully sliced the Troll’s knee.
And that wasn’t all.
—Kwoooong!
As the Troll’s arm swung wide horizontally, Sanson retreated to dodge it, then immediately lunged forward again and plunged his longsword into the Troll’s leg.
—Kuhaaaaang!
The Troll’s painful groan echoed once more.
Then came the counterattack.
Sanson dodged it, and his longsword swung again.
Before Oliver’s eyes, Sanson was now engaged in an equal fight with the Troll.
“No…. No way.”
Oliver’s jaw dropped as he watched the scene.
It’s working. It’s actually working.
Sanson was intoxicated by a strange sensation—a mix of bewilderment and a pounding heart.
When the Troll’s first attack fell toward his head.
Without even realizing it, he had performed the footwork he had been practicing so hard.
He had intended to just throw himself to the side to dodge, but his body had executed the footwork he had been diligently memorizing first, allowing him to evade the Troll’s attack.
And immediately after dodging like that, he realized something.
Wait. This is….
The Troll’s balance was broken right after its attack, while he had maintained his center and only changed his position. Which meant this was….
An opening?
Simultaneously with that thought, Sanson’s body stabbed into the Troll’s flank, which was left defenselessly exposed.
“Haap!”
Along with the sensation of the blade sinking in with a thwack, he heard the savage Troll howl in agony.
Hearing that sound, Sanson became even more certain.
“It works. This is actually working.”
The Aura Blessing he had consistently practiced was spreading vitality throughout his entire body.
his lower body, strengthened by the Horse Stance, allowed him to put more natural power into his sword.
The Five Elements Step footwork he had practiced so hard was protecting his body from the Troll’s crude and violent attacks.
“Ha…. Hahaha.”
Sanson laughed.
He was fighting a Troll alone—a monster he wouldn’t have dared to handle by himself in the past.
What did this mean?
I have become strong.
The sweat and effort he had poured in were showing clear results.
The sense of achievement from being rewarded for his hard work, and the feeling of victory from pushing back a powerful foe he previously couldn’t have even dreamed of facing.
These emotions pulled up an indescribable feeling from deep within his chest.
So much so that the corners of his mouth turned up and stayed there.