Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Proving the Strongest Silver Knight
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"Here, I'll defeat you... and prove that I'm the strongest Silver Knight."
With those words from Janiel, he pressed the sword he held against his body and powerfully stomped the ground.
Boom!
As he shot forward with that powerful foot stomp, Shark swung his sword right away as well.
Clang!
The two swords clashed, sparking intensely. At that moment,
"Hah-!"
With Janiel's shout, his sword vibrated faintly.
The instant his sword was reinforced by his mana,
Creeeang-!
Janiel pushed Shark back and sent him flying.
At that sight, the eyes of the 3rd Legion instructors sparkled.
"His mana usage is incredibly skilled."
"He used mana in his match against me too. For some reason lately, he's been training extra hard."
"He's worthy of being one of the top contenders."
They all praised his proficient mana control without reserve.
After all, there weren't many at just over twenty years old who could wield mana as naturally as Janiel.
But at this moment, it was a pity that his opponent was Shark.
Woooong-!
Shark, who had been repelled, regained his balance and looked at the charging Janiel.
By now, a faint reddish aura had begun faintly flickering along the blade of his sword.
"Ooh!"
"Is that Aura?"
It might fall a bit short of true Aura. But what was certain was that it was a step beyond Janiel's mana reinforcement of his weapon.
"Not bad."
Shark's eyes gleamed.
Creeeang-!
"Urk!"
The moment their swords met, Janiel's brow furrowed slightly.
His wrist had nearly given out from the sudden pain, almost making him drop his sword. But then, spin!
The instant he blocked Shark's sword, Janiel's body spun a full turn on the spot, swinging his blade toward Shark's shin.
It was a movement unlike Janiel's usual swordsmanship.
For a split second, Shark's eyes wavered.
Kakang-!
He hurriedly pulled his leg back, but Janiel's sword struck the greave on Shark's leg.
Had it been just a bit deeper, it could have easily shattered bone.
Shark winced at the sudden pain in his leg but quickly regained his usual cold expression and swung at Janiel.
'This guy...?'
The Roximak family of Janiel was renowned even in the kingdom for its traditional swordsmanship.
The hallmark of Roximak swordsmanship was its straightforward power—each strike carried immense force to overwhelm the opponent, without any flashiness.
Of course, that very honesty often meant it didn't shine early on.
Unlike other families' techniques that relied on skill, it only revealed its true value after long, dedicated training.
That was why Shark acknowledged Janiel's potential.
Though he had shortcomings now, Shark believed he could become incredibly strong once he fully matured.
But that technique just now.
It was completely opposite to the swordsmanship Janiel had used until now.
Almost as if it reminded him of someone.
"Is all you can do imitating someone else?"
"Imitating?"
Snicker.
Janiel's lip curled at Shark's words. But his gaze on Shark remained cold and sharp.
"I'm saying I learned it, you idiot."
Yes, if it was imitating, then sure, he had imitated.
When he was about to be flung back by Shark's attack, that guy's movements had flashed in his mind, and he'd reacted instinctively.
But that's why it had connected.
For the first time.
"It won't be easy."
"The result won't change no matter what."
Shwick-!
Janiel twisted his waist sideways to dodge the sharply curving sword strike.
It had looked like a straight thrust, but in an instant, Shark had twisted it to aim for his side.
Scratch!
A straight sword mark was carved into the leather armor Janiel wore from the attack.
A moment later, and the armor would have been sliced open, inflicting a serious wound.
Drip.
Strong.
And technically speaking, the guy had the edge. However,
'I can see it.'
Was it because he saw movements faster than this guy's every day?
He could faintly make out Shark's swiftly moving sword path—enough to react.
Confident, Janiel closed the distance and swung his sword.
"Huah-!"
With a short shout, Janiel stepped in close and slashed.
Creeeang-!
And from there,
Clang-! Cha-clang! Creeeang!
The atmosphere heated up further as their swords clashed fiercely.
"Janiel, hang in there! Show him what you've got!"
"Shark! Don't yield the title of unit's strongest! Crush him!"
Before long, amid the boiling atmosphere, the unit members began cheering their names.
And in the midst of it all, Isaac quietly watched the two fight.
'Strong.'
There was definitely a difference from the others he'd seen in Silver Knight.
Even among the top ranks, there were levels within levels, so to speak.
That Fux guy he'd fought before had been considered pretty strong in Silver Knight.
But these two fighting now were on a whole other level compared to him.
Boom!
"Urk!"
"Grk!"
The two clashed swords and pressed close.
Their sword-gripping hands trembled, and up close, their ragged breaths were all too clear.
'This guy's getting tired too...!'
'It'll end soon.'
With the fierce exchange dragging on, their stamina was plummeting.
Now, victory would come down to pure focus or experience.
Whoever had more experience in such grueling situations, whoever could swing their sword with focus even when exhausted.
"It's... about to end."
Isaac muttered softly.
They had both pushed each other to the limit.
"Huaaaaa!"
"Haaaaaaaap!"
Meanwhile, Janiel and Shark were charging toward the finish.
Sweat poured from inside their helmets, soaking their chins, and their sword hands trembled faintly.
Flick-! Swoosh!
Even against Shark's technical strikes, Janiel swiftly retreated to evade, then shook his body side to side to create an opening and counterattack.
Movements the old Janiel couldn't have done.
It had been less than a month, but Janiel had changed significantly.
"It's over!"
Janiel suddenly darted to the side, slashing upward from below.
Shark would surely parry this sword and defend.
'The decisive moment is then...!'
The instant Shark parried, he'd spin to the other side and target his leg.
If that landed properly, it was victory. And then, creeeang!
Just as Janiel predicted, Shark twisted his body and deflected the sword.
In that moment, Shark's balance faltered, and Janiel's lip curled up.
One spin attack, and it was done. But—
Paaang-!
An unexpected variable.
Janiel had reinforced his sword with mana, but it couldn't withstand Shark's attack, which had formed Aura, however immature.
As Janiel spun, only the hilt remained in his hand.
Whoosh-!
He swung, but the broken sword hit nothing.
"Good fight, Janiel."
With Shark's murmur-like words, his sword fell toward Janiel's head.
"Stop-!"
The referee shouted loudly and intervened.
Shark's sword halted right above Janiel's helmet, and Janiel bowed his head silently.
"...I lost."
Janiel's admission of defeat.
He tried to hide his quivering voice, but his hand holding the broken sword trembled visibly.
Frustration and regret.
A tangle of emotions weighed heavily on his chest. And then,
"Chin up. You were the strongest opponent I've ever fought."
Shark extended his hand to Janiel.
Honestly, he hadn't expected Janiel to push him this hard.
But the guy was strong.
Stubbornly faithful to his family's swordsmanship, Janiel had walked his path in silence.
Who could have known he'd change so much in that short time.
Shark, who never praised anyone,
Janiel knew that too.
"...Next time, I'll win."
"Looking forward to it."
Janiel took Shark's hand and stood.
Shark gave a faint smile and replied, and the two gripped hands firmly in a handshake.
"Awesome!"
"Woooah! To see such an epic match in the promotion exam!"
"As expected of Silver Knight's representatives!"
The match had been intense and of extraordinarily high level.
Who could call these two mere knight aspirants?
Judging by skill alone, you'd believe they were mid-tier knights in any decent order.
The instructors watching nodded in satisfaction at the cadets' cheers.
"As expected of Shark."
"Janiel was impressive too. When did he get that strong?"
"What a high-level clash. It's been ages since I felt this thrill."
"Hmm... So the winner's basically decided?"
The other instructors nodded in agreement at one instructor's words. Then,
"Not to jinx it, but... I think we should watch a bit more."
The one who spoke was Arcon, who had sparred with Isaac in the promotion exam qualifiers.
The other instructors turned to look at him.
"Watch more?"
"You're saying there's another cadet who can match Shark?"
"Not from Silver Knight, but... there's one currently in the promotion exam, right?"
"Ah, that commoner?"
"The sergeant from the 6th Legion? You think a bottom-riser like that can beat Shark, who's trained in proper swordsmanship? They seem about the same age too."
"Well... rumors say he beat Fux. But comparing him to Shark..."
Arcon understood the other instructors' reactions fully.
He hadn't known much about Isaac until their qualifier spar either.
With over five hundred cadets in Silver Knight to manage, no instructor had time for some random commoner who dropped in briefly.
But Arcon shook his head as he looked at them.
"Well, we'll have to see... but..."
Arcon trailed off, hesitating.
This could stir up controversy.
'Still...'
It might just ring the alarm for these stagnant Silver Knight instructors.
"Shark could lose."
At those words, the instructors' faces stiffened. One of them, Instructor Axel, said to Arcon,
"That's absurd. I've been an instructor in Silver Knight for over ten years, and I've never seen a cadet better than Shark."
"Exactly. Shark's a genius with both talent and effort. Him losing? Hah..."
A low sigh spread.
Arcon simply stood up. No words would get through to them now anyway.
Besides, Arcon didn't want Shark to lose either. Just...
"I hope it's just my hunch."
Why did that look in Isaac's eyes from their fight keep coming back to him?
Arcon left his seat, leaving the sighing instructors behind.