97
My Villains Chapter 97
25. Rainy Season (2)
Clearing collapsed buildings and broken flagstones, draining accumulated rainwater into sewers, re-erecting tilted pillars......
South Harbor was still busy restoring the city. Although the thieves' siege lasted about two months, it seemed they had shaken off most of the aftereffects in just three weeks.
If we were to discuss the shares of this dramatic revival, the vitality brought by merchant ships and wagons coming and going would account for half.
South Harbor was the center of trade and commerce, as well as a major producer of salt and seafood. Numerous merchants gathered in this wealthy but hungry city. Vast quantities of necessities entered the city, and even more goods left it.
If the merchants' share was half, the other half belonged to Prince Ulkar. He opened the lord's treasury and released the money.
Providing combat allowances to drafted soldiers, hiring workers to restore the city, buying and distributing relief supplies from surrounding territories......
He was spending it just like his own money.
What did the lord do while the prince was doing this?
He died.
About a week after being imprisoned? They say he committed suicide by stabbing his neck with a hidden dagger......
I'm not sure. Whether it was suicide or was made to look like suicide.
I find it a bit suspicious, but no one else seems to doubt it. Am I being unnecessarily suspicious because I'm prejudiced against someone who might become the King of Slaughter?
Anyway. Ellen, Utequais, and I received massive combat allowances for achieving the greatest merit in battle.
We received about 1 kg mixed with gold and silver coins, which is roughly 200 times more than regular drafted soldiers.
The prince said he wanted to give us more, but claims there wasn't much money left. Well, this amount was plenty substantial, so I had no complaints.
Moreover, Prince Ulkar gave me an incredibly valuable gift. A precious gift that cannot be converted into money.
I hurried my steps toward the mansion that belonged to the Captain of the Royal Guard to receive that gift.
In the mansion's courtyard.
The prince's knights and personal soldiers were sweating under the rare sunshine.
"Alright, here I come!"
Lord Ankir charged forward with storm-like momentum, letting out a heavy shout. Even though he was wielding a wooden six-foot staff, his momentum was as fierce as a razor-sharp steel sword.
*Clack!*
I quickly raised my shield to deflect Lord Ankir's attack.
The staff maintained its deflected momentum and reversed like lightning. Then it quickly rotated above Lord Ankir's head before sweeping down to target my right wrist.
I calmly blocked the endless offensive with my wooden sword and shield.
I've already sparred with Lord Ankir hundreds of times. I wouldn't fall for simple feints or obvious combination techniques.
As I firmly maintained my defense, Lord Ankir suddenly lowered his staff. Then he pushed against both my shield and wooden sword at once.
"Ngh."
This isn't the first time I've faced this attack either. If I push back with force, he'll create distance and deliver a powerful downward strike.
I've fallen for it twice, but there won't be a third time!
As I pressed down on the staff with my wooden sword while stepping back,
"Huah-!"
With an energetic battle cry, Lord Ankir reached out his right hand and grabbed my waist.
"Ugh,"
As I staggered with my waist caught, I threw away my wooden sword and rushed at Lord Ankir.
I intended to instantly climb onto his back and choke him, but,
"Heh, too obvious!"
Since I had used this technique several times before, Lord Ankir skillfully twisted his upper body to deflect the attack.
Unlike his seemingly brutish appearance, Lord Ankir was someone who valued technique over strength.
Not only could he freely handle two-handed swords, but he would also entangle weapons to apply joint locks, and if necessary, execute wrestling techniques with tackles.
Plus, he's extremely good at feints. To express it like a martial arts novel, there was no distinction between true and false moves. If you think it's a feint and ignore it, it becomes a real attack, and if you think it's an attack and block it, it turns out to be a feint.
In short, he has an irritating style to deal with.
"Damn it,"
I ground my teeth while scraping the ground and simultaneously picked up the fallen wooden sword.
As I quickly got up and solidified my stance, Lord Ankir took a high position and strode forward aggressively.
Another series of attacks full of feints.
I heightened all my senses while defending and launched sharp counterattacks.
As Lord Ankir and I continued our evenly matched battle, the first round ended.
Without time to catch our breath, the sparring partner changes.
A height smaller than mine but much taller than regular people, broad shoulders, long arms covered in muscle, thighs that look ready to burst.
It was Lord Langbolt.
"Come at me first."
"Then *huff* I won't hold back."
Lord Langbolt held his hands behind his back with his left hand, while gripping a wooden sword with his right.
When I charged forward with my shield, he quickly took a side step and launched a lightning-fast thrust.
"Hup!"
I barely deflected the thrust with my wooden sword and swung the edge of my shield.
Lord Langbolt stepped back leisurely before bouncing like a rubber ball and thrusting toward my neck.
While Lord Ankir used unpredictable attacks, Lord Langbolt used obvious but powerful attacks.
He doesn't use extraordinary techniques, and you can guess where he's aiming... But it's too fast or powerful to block. In other words, it's a style where you get hit even when you know it's coming.
I ducked my head to avoid the thrust, and instinctively raised my sword to block the second thrust.
I deflected the following kick with the shield's edge, twisted my upper body to avoid the third thrust while simultaneously swinging my wooden sword back.
If my strength and agility hadn't increased by 2 points each when my level went up, I wouldn't have even been able to react to these consecutive attacks.
"Hmm. You're particularly composed today?"
"Huff, huff. Is that so?"
"Yes. Until yesterday, I thought your momentum was too fierce."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"Rather, it dulls the blade's edge. Today, your momentum feels well-organized."
Lord Langbolt let out a small sigh as if he had a headache, or perhaps found it interesting.
After a moment, he circled around at incredible speed while unleashing thrusts.
I blocked calmly before suddenly throwing my body. The lightning-fast thrust barely grazed under my armpit.
Hell yeah, I've won!
I briefly contemplated while internally rejoicing.
I could launch a slash immediately, but considering Lord Langbolt's monster-like physical abilities, he might dodge even at this distance.
Choosing the certain and safe path, I entangled Lord Langbolt's arm with my wooden sword.
Then, I pushed forward mercilessly with my body weight.
"Ugh, this is..."
As Lord Langbolt twisted his body with a grunt, I quickly dropped my shield and grabbed the back of his knee.
With his knee caught, Lord Langbolt stretched both legs and resisted by hooking his elbow under my armpit.
But I had an overwhelming advantage in both build and strength.
"Huff, hup!"
I swallowed my breath and forcefully pulled at his knee to disturb his balance.
Although Lord Langbolt managed not to fall, he surrendered when I twisted his arm and pressed the sword tip against his Adam's apple.
"Kek, kek! Kuhh, I lost."
"Huu, hu"
Whew, that's thrilling.
I defeated one of the kingdom's best knights using only technique and physical ability, without the help of Blood Technique.
Well, it's thanks to a gambling move that worked out lucky... But a win is still a win, right?
However, the sparring continued without giving me time to bask in satisfaction.
Clang, clang.
"Let's start right away."
The one stepping forward while hitting his shield was Lord Liam.
Unlike his gentle appearance, Lord Liam has a style of charging in like a mad dog. Despite that, his defense is solid, making him extremely difficult to deal with.
...Hah, it's only round 3, but I'm already tired.
***
Ippotranslation
***
The lord lamented his miserable situation and committed suicide, and the remaining heir was only seven years old.
The woman who acted as the lord's wife turned out to be not a noble from Ailant but a witch of the fish people, and I beheaded her.
The lord's relatives, including the Captain of the Royal Guard, were imprisoned on charges of causing internal strife.
In this situation, it was natural for the prince, the city's savior, to take control.
Governing South Harbor, a massive port city, was no ordinary task. Prince Ulkar and all his commanders, soldiers, priests, mages, servants, and everyone else were busy without a moment's rest.
However, there are always exceptions. Some, including the knights, did nothing at all.
Occasionally they would sweep away remnants of the mounted bandit group when they appeared around the city, but that was truly just occasional.
Their daily life consisted only of training. Whether it rained, or the wind blew, or the sun blazed, it was only training, training, training.
The knights and their followers, and the cavalry, would wake up in the morning, have a hearty meal, then run along the beach. They would swim with rocks tied to their waists, lift the rear axle of wagons loaded with wheat sacks, and ride horses without stirrups.
Then they would have endless sparring sessions, and after a hearty lunch, they would refine the essential virtues of knighthood - sword, spear, bow, and horsemanship.
After dinner, they would train by beating boulders with six-foot staves while wearing armor, or building and demolishing ramparts.
In short, they spent all day eating and training.
Lord Langbolt, Lord Ankir, and Lord Liam all say they've been living this crazy life since they were seven years old. The only time they didn't train was during one occasion - when there was battle.
Knights, in other words, superhuman beings without magic power, were born through this process.
And Prince Ulkar allowed me to join in these training sessions.
Even though I'm unfamiliar with the ways of this world, I could easily tell this was an extraordinary privilege.
Allowing some wandering mercenary to mix with his elite warriors - how does that make any sense? Honestly, I considered declining because it felt burdensome... But I couldn't.
Training with renowned knights - this was an opportunity to dramatically increase my combat ability, in other words, my future survival probability, right?
In the end, I couldn't resist the temptation to become stronger.
I accepted the prince's offer and trained with the knights for the past 3 weeks. It was brutally difficult, but I achieved results beyond my expectations.
I refined my crude combat techniques and learned the basics of various weapon skills. I also got a sense of mounted combat and learned several practical know-how.
Thanks to that, if I were to fight against myself from 3 weeks ago, I'm confident I wouldn't lose once in ten matches. I received an excessive gift from the prince.
So...
"The prince is looking for me?"
"That's right."
My heart would race unnecessarily when such a summons came.
Prince Ulkar showed excessive favor particularly to me. I'm getting worried that he might start demanding unreasonable compensation.
I carefully asked Lord Ariad, who came to deliver the message.
"Um, do you know what it's about..."
"Haha, I don't know either."
"Ugh, I need to go pick up my companion in the evening..."
Lord Ariad was the only knight who didn't participate in training, but he looked several times more gaunt than the other knights. Probably because he handles many tasks by the prince's side.
"It shouldn't take too long, so don't worry too much and follow me. It's not like our lord is going to eat you alive, right?"
...The King of Slaughter did eat people though.
I nodded while dispersing these stray thoughts.