Chapter 138: Roman Dmitry's People (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 138: Roman Dmitry's People (2)
Six men represented Roman Dmitry.
Each possessed a reputation of their own.
Chris and Kevin were famous throughout the Northeast. Even before his exploits on the battlefield, Chris had been renowned as Dmitry's genius swordsman, and he had played a pivotal role alongside Kevin in the Great Warrior Battle against Barco. They were known as the Flash of Cairo and the Evil Ghost. Having witnessed their martial prowess firsthand, people hoped to avoid facing either of them at all costs.
Volkan and Puki.
They overwhelmed others with their sheer physical presence and gritty backgrounds. The fact that they had been war mercenaries meant they possessed no shortage of bloody experience, and standing a full head taller than the average man, they struck fear into onlookers. Although their reputations fell slightly short of the first two, anyone who encountered them in person couldn't help but instinctively avert their eyes.
In stark contrast to them, McBurney and Henderson cut a rather pitiful figure.
McBurney might have been a great warrior once, but his empty, fluttering sleeve was undeniable proof of his missing arm. A one-armed swordsman. No further explanation was needed. Whatever McBurney's story was, common sense dictated that a one-armed opponent would be a far easier target.
And Henderson was, without a doubt, the absolute weakest.
This judgment was based on a widespread rumor.
"Henderson is representing Roman Dmitry? That Henderson from Lawrence? No way! As far as I know, he's just a common peasant who's never even swung a sword properly. I heard rumors that he's been training hard since he started following Roman Dmitry, but how can a born peasant participate in a swordsmanship tournament?"
A commoner. And a peasant, at that.
All eyes turned toward Henderson. Even if he had made significant progress, his starting line was far behind the rest.
Kevin's background wasn't particularly impressive either, but thanks to his powerful impact during the Great Warrior Battle, no one doubted his skill. Henderson was different. Many had known him during his days as a peasant, and they unanimously agreed that he was nothing but a coward.
During his very first test, Henderson had nearly wet himself at the mere sight of a drawn bow.
Since that was the Henderson people knew, they were convinced he was the weakest link. Perhaps because of this, on the day of the tournament, those assigned to Henderson's group clenched their fists in quiet celebration.
"Yes!"
"This is it!"
"The heavens are helping me!"
They were absolutely certain. It was the weakest group. Every single one of them was convinced they would emerge as the victor.
And that thought was shared by the knight assigned as Henderson's first-round opponent.
* * *
"Group 5, Round 1. Henderson and Taylor, step forward."
Henderson and Taylor.
The crowd's attention zeroed in on them. Just by watching the two men walk onto the stage, the audience naturally assumed Taylor would win.
An Aura Swordsman right from the start.
It's over.
There's no way Henderson can beat Taylor.
Taylor was a wandering swordsman from Lawrence. Having once lived there himself, he recognized Henderson's face immediately.
"It's been a while."
"...Mr. Taylor?"
"The last time we met, I stayed with you for a bit while helping out during the busy farming season. Back then, you didn't even look at swords, yet here you are, standing before me as a swordsman. Life really is unpredictable. No matter how many things you experience while wandering the world, human life always manages to surprise you."
Taylor smiled. Their past relationship wasn't bad. Knowing that Henderson was a genuinely good person, Taylor lowered his voice so the others couldn't hear.
"Henderson. Out of respect for our past acquaintance, I'll give you a chance to forfeit. As you know, I've reached the 2-Star Realm after gaining a special realization. That means I'm not at a level you can handle. I plan to prove myself and gain fame through this tournament. To do that, I need to make a strong impression in every match. If you insist on fighting me, I won't be able to hold back. We're not strangers, so there's no reason for either of us to bleed in a pointless fight, right?"
This wasn't a hasty judgment on Taylor's part.
A year ago versus today. Time had its limits. No matter how fast Henderson might have improved, Taylor knew the man couldn't hold a candle to him.
Everyone present looked down on Henderson. He was the weakest prey in this dog-eat-dog world, and everyone wanted to step on him to climb higher.
"I understand what you mean."
Clack.
Henderson gripped his sword. Dropping his usual good-natured smile, his eyes sharpened as he looked at Taylor.
"I know very well how you remember me. So please, do your best. If you show me even a shred of mercy, I won't miss the opportunity to strike you down."
A piercing gaze. He was entirely different from before.
Taylor looked taken aback for a moment, then raised his sword with a look of resignation.
"I hope you don't regret this."
At that moment—
Flutter.
"Begin!"
The referee announced the start of the duel.
* * *
A clash between a commoner and an Aura Swordsman.
The crowd already had a picture in their minds. They expected the Aura Swordsman to unilaterally dominate, but what actually unfolded completely shattered their expectations.
Swoosh!
Tap.
The first strike came from Henderson.
Kicking off the ground swiftly, he launched an immediate attack at Taylor, who was still trying to gauge his opponent.
Clang!
Cl-cl-clang!
Steel clashed against steel.
Taylor's eyes widened at the sheer strength behind the blow—it was far heavier than he had anticipated. Henderson didn't give him a moment to breathe, seamlessly following up his opening strike with a relentless barrage. Like perfectly interlocking gears, Henderson's combination attacks flowed incredibly smoothly. No matter how Taylor blocked, Henderson immediately targeted the most awkward angles, unleashing a storm-like onslaught that left the Aura Swordsman gasping for breath.
What on earth?!
This was completely unexpected.
Henderson's swordsmanship possessed a flawless system. Taylor had assumed the former peasant would only be able to mimic a few half-baked moves, but there were absolutely no openings in Henderson's linked attacks.
I am not the same person I was a year ago.
After passing the private soldier exam, Henderson had spent every single day in a living hell of training. Many of those who passed Roman's test were highly skilled, possessing abilities that made it embarrassing to even compare Henderson to them. He had been especially shocked by Kevin. Seeing a boy a full head shorter than him drive back opponents with truly overwhelming martial prowess, Henderson could only watch in pure admiration.
Belatedly, he had faced reality.
To resolve everything with sheer willpower alone was impossible; he was simply too far behind the others.
After my conversation with Lord Chris, I resolved to become someone worthy of my lord, no matter what. It's true that I wasn't born with great talent. Unlike the others who manifested Aura in no time, I struggled immensely with everything from sensing mana to manifesting it. The one always trailing at the very back. That is who I am, but that doesn't change the fact that I am progressing.
Henderson was a tortoise. Slow, but steady.
Gradually carving out the right path, he steadily compounded his grueling efforts. Taylor might only remember the Henderson of a year ago, but the swordsmanship he displayed now was saturated with all the blood and sweat he had shed since then.
Tap.
Cl-cl-clang!
He pressed forward fiercely.
The Asura Sword Technique.
Faced with a martial art containing 108 forms designed to respond to every possible situation, Taylor could not break out of predictable patterns. His initial panic gradually morphed into sheer astonishment. It was impossible to dismiss Henderson's performance as merely riding the momentum of a lucky opening strike; the systematic nature of his swordsmanship was at a level that simply could not be ignored.
The onlookers watching from afar were equally bewildered.
This wasn't supposed to happen. At the very least, Henderson was supposed to show a pathetic level of skill they could easily mock.
Swoosh!
Taylor counterattacked.
Without retreating a single step, Henderson deflected the strike to the side, as if he had anticipated it all along.
Flutter.
The wind whipped past. Had the attack connected, the injury would have been severe, yet Henderson's gaze never wavered from Taylor.
I won't fall to something of this level.
His training up to this point had been forged against monsters. His sparring partners had been Kevin, Chris, and even Roman Dmitry himself. By constantly fighting opponents he had no hope of defeating, Henderson's reaction speed had long surpassed the limits of ordinary men. He still didn't deny that his talent was lacking compared to the others who followed Roman. However, through relentless, bone-grinding effort, he had proudly earned his place among the top six representing Roman Dmitry in this tournament.
Tap.
He spotted an opening.
In an instant, he slipped into the gap. Feinting to throw off Taylor's stance, he launched a vicious strike from an angle his opponent couldn't possibly block.
It's over.
There was no way to defend against it. With his stance broken and his face painted with panic, Taylor grit his teeth.
"Fucking hell."
Boom!
Rumble!
The manifestation of Aura.
Faced with a situation that was logically inescapable, Taylor unleashed a power that defied common sense.
* * *
It was a split-second decision.
After dodging the attack by exploding mana into both of his legs, Taylor's face flushed red with unbearable humiliation.
I didn't want to use mana.
His opponent was a commoner. Someone who had likely never even felt mana in his life. He had wanted to defeat Henderson using pure swordsmanship alone, but once they actually clashed, he realized that was impossible.
He had no choice. He couldn't afford to lose here.
Having escaped danger with a burst of Aura, he channeled that same power into his sword and lunged forward.
Flash!
Rumble!
"Sorry, but I'm ending this now!"
1-Star Aura.
The match was decided. Even if Henderson had made astronomical progress, there was no way a normal human could block Aura.
And yet.
Rumble!
Aura manifested from Henderson's blade as well.
The power wasn't overwhelming. It was still faint, but the man who had once been nothing but a lowly peasant had ultimately reached the stage of manifesting Aura.
It made absolutely no sense.
Taylor's wide-eyed, horrified reaction was enough to show just how far Henderson's growth defied common sense. However, the crowd gathered around the stage did not know the full truth. They didn't know that Henderson's growth was actually considered slow among his peers. Those who had begun absorbing mana through the Asura Mind Method had succeeded in manifesting Aura one by one, starting with those who already possessed solid foundations, like Volkan and Puki.
As of now, Henderson's Aura was weak.
Knowing this perfectly well, Henderson deliberately struck his opponent's Aura at an angle, parrying the heavy attack away.
Clack!
Taylor's arms were thrown back, leaving him completely defenseless.
As the duel took a turn no one could have anticipated, Henderson recalled the words Chris had spoken to him the night before the tournament.
"Henderson. When you first came to me saying you wanted to give up on everything, you were nothing but a weak human being. You were the type to give up without even trying properly. If you had laid everything down back then, your life would never have changed. Not just as a swordsman—no matter what trials you faced, you would have always remained a loser. But over the past month, you have shown a win rate worthy of the top six. Unlike the other overwhelmingly skilled fighters, you struggled in every single match. Yet, while others accepted defeat, you dreamed of grasping just one more victory. This is the result of that."
Chris had smiled, looking at Henderson with warm eyes.
"You are someone worthy of representing our lord. I guarantee it."
And now, Henderson believed in himself.
He still didn't think of himself as outstanding, but regardless of his flaws, he did not doubt his victory.
Through all the times he had struggled relentlessly, the commoner had gradually transformed. People still remembered him as a mere peasant, but Henderson had experienced a world far beyond their wildest imaginations.
Whether Taylor counterattacked, whether he dodged, or whether he blocked with his sword...
Every possible scenario was already within Henderson's experience.
Taylor desperately raised his sword to block, but Henderson slammed his body directly into him, completely shattering his opponent's balance.
And then—
Shlick.
He pressed his cold blade against Taylor's neck.
Signaling that the match was over, Taylor acknowledged reality with a deathly pale face.
"...I lost."
Group 5, Round 1.
It was a result that utterly defied everyone's expectations.
Henderson's victory.
The onlookers, who had been laughing and chatting just moments before, were left completely speechless by the shocking outcome.