Chapter 901: The Storm Sword and the Wind-Cutting Sword
“Hey, hey. We’re the ones putting up with that girl’s 『Training』, you know? I can’t stand it when you swing at me like that and get in the way, Berga”
Knight Chief Spike shrugged as if completely unfazed by the intimidating aura Berga and his men exuded, slinging his thick wooden spear over both shoulders and grinning provocatively. It was the rough-and-tumble Gauntlets surrounding them who were getting worked up; after all, he hadn’t actually done or said anything worthy of criticism, yet. For now. And the Holy Warriors in white armor, perhaps not wanting to be outdone, began protesting to Berga as if coming back to life.
“This is an exchange match and a training exercise recognized by the Queen herself! How dare you spoil the mood!”
“We, too, bear the prestige of our homeland on our shoulders! We cannot return home while being laughed at by such ruffians!”
……The white-armored lot are definitely the more troublesome bunch. And of course, Berga knows that with this lineup and with me here, this could easily turn into a 「Dragon-level」 situation. It’s a confusing situation, but I can’t just ignore it. I think for a moment, my face expressionless.
“……Since she’s Sharon’s guest, she’s my guest. If this is training, I’m the one who should be handling it. ……Spike. I’ll let you take over as instructor, but don’t try anything inappropriate”
“What’ll you do if I do?”
“I’m warning you: don’t go messing around just to provoke me. That girl has the protection of the blue dragon”
“……What did you say?”
Even Knight Chief Spike’s face turns serious. ……Berga, you’re good. Even though he’s just arrived and doesn’t know much about the situation, you managed to link her to a dragon simply because she’s a woman connected to me. And to Maia, who is known as the most level-headed person in this country. In reality, it was a complete shot in the dark; as a matter of fact, Maia hasn’t actually granted Fiona any kind of blessing. But humiliating her in front of me amounts to the same thing. If we’re talking 「In effect」, then Berga isn’t lying. A significant number of the Red Arms present here likely know nothing about the blue dragon that appeared here last fall, nor about the Kalwin Incident this spring. The Kalwin Incident, in particular, is still in the midst of being resolved and because it involves numerous dragons, it’s sensitive information, so only a limited number of high-ranking officials in each nation are aware of it. But as a Black Arm, Knight Chief Spike surely can’t be unaware of Maia. As for the Holy Warrior Faimand……let’s watch for a while.
“If you’re going to talk about pride, you might as well show off your skills a bit more. However, Spike and the girl are busy. ……Herman will be your opponent”
“Me?”
“Can’t you handle it?”
“I’d rather pass on being the sparring partner, it’s not exactly cool”
Herman snatched a wooden sword from a nearby Red Arm and strode out in front of Faimand. ……Inside the training ground, surrounded by stone walls, two pairs. Fiona and Knight Chief Spike. Holy Warrior Faimand and Herman. Standing a short distance apart, their sparring session is about to begin. I know Herman’s skills are on par with those of a Black Arm. I guess I don’t have to worry anymore.
“Hey, Anzeros. Can you do that thing Fiona did?”
“That thing?”
“The one where you dodged that three-hit combo earlier”
“Ah……well, if it’s a combo that obvious, I or Aurora could handle it easily. Almeida and probably Tetes could dodge it too. As for Naris……with a wooden sword, she’d probably get hit”
“With a wooden sword……?”
“With a real sword, she’d probably dodge it”
“……Ah, well, Naris is”
In training, she does it reluctantly and makes plenty of mistakes, but when her own life is on the line, Naris somehow manages to perform beyond her usual capabilities. That makes perfect sense.
“What about Beatrice……?”
“……She might be able to react to the first strike”
Is that all? Well, it’s strange that she can dodge it in the first place. After all, she’s a shockwave user with that kind of sword speed. ……It seems he overheard us talking about that.
“Did you say no problem?”
Faimand broke his stance and glared at Anzeros. Given the flow of things, I thought he’d be satisfied with facing Herman. Anzeros sighed.
“I did say that. What’s the matter? Already tired of fighting men?”
“This is a sword duel. Show me what you’ve got”
“That Herman is weaker than me, so I hope that satisfies you”
When the battle at the Kalwin Royal Palace was brought up, Herman made an indescribable face. It seemed that once his stern demeanor had cracked, it hadn’t quite snapped back into place. However, Faimand still pointed his wooden sword at Anzeros.
“I’m not going to put up with a woman’s childish jokes forever. Cut the crap”
“Don’t people often tell you that you’re too easily provoked?”
Anzeros leapt over to Herman’s side and took the wooden sword from his hand. Herman’s expression was truly indescribable. He’d reluctantly obeyed his superior’s orders and stepped forward, only to find himself completely out of position.
“I’ll say this up front. ……I won’t accept a rematch. If the other Holy Warriors want to defend their pride, they’ll have to do it against Herman”
And then, she assumes her stance. The atmosphere shifts. An aura of strength, completely absent until now, radiates from her like a gust of wind.
“!!”
“Alright, here we go, 「Gale Sword」”
Thud. Anzeros deliberately steps forward in a straight line, just like Fiona. Faimand reflexively tries to swing a counterattack, but Anzeros pins the tip of Faimand’s sword with her own before it can reach her. Not deflecting it, but pressing it firmly against the base of her opponent’s guard, preventing him from swinging.
“Your swordplay is beautiful. But you’re too faithful to the basics, I don’t even need to guess where your next strike will come from”
“Nuuu……!”
“You’ve probably been relying on brute force to make up for your shortcomings, but that won’t work on me”
Anzeros is faster. Overwhelmingly faster. Every time the Holy Warrior Faimand tries to land a strike, Anzeros’s sword tip arrives at the very starting point. Just as she said, Anzeros is reading his moves perfectly. And she stops him before he can fully commit his strength. No matter how confident Faimand may be, with such a gap in speed and skill, there isn’t even a chance to forcefully rely on brute strength. ……Of course, Anzeros is strong, but the matchup is just too unfavorable.
“Orthodox fighters are weak against even stronger orthodox fighters. ……It’s a bit pitiful, but this is his own mistake for dragging Anzeros into this. He chose the absolute worst possible opponent”
Dianne gives a wry smile. ……What really catches the eye is, as expected, the refinement of Anzeros’s movements. When she raced against Almeida a while back, she keenly realized how wasteful her own movements were……and that realization has already been put into practice. Her movements are, simply put, fast. She was already quite fast to begin with, but now every wasted fraction of a second has been eliminated from the finer details, putting her on the verge of reaching that realm where, as Dianne and 100-man Commander Becker put it, 「You can’t even tell what she’s doing from a distance」. Furthermore, since she can anticipate her opponent’s moves this time, there is no hesitation or confusion in her actions. She blocked attack after attack, and Faimand’s disadvantage……no, his defeat was clear. If he’d landed even a single blow in between, it would have been over. But he refuses to admit that.
“If only I could use……the Gale Sword……!!”
“This isn’t a situation where you should be relying on something like that”
Anzeros says this with an air of exasperation, then steps back slightly to create some distance. Faimand grits his teeth at the obvious mercy shown, but swings his sword with full force, unleashing a shockwave. ……But.
“Haa……!!”
Anzeros countered it with a shockwave generated by thrusting out one hand. Since the wave was invisible, Faimand couldn’t see what had happened. He stood there dumbfounded for several seconds as Anzeros remained completely motionless. ……You’ve really gotten the hang of handling shockwaves with your bare hands, Anzeros. You’re just like that Bonaparte guy back then.
“Well then, are you satisfied now? ……I’ll leave the rest to Herman, though”
“Wait!!”
“……You’d better know when to quit. Injuries don’t heal easily, you know, usually”
Anzeros slung her wooden sword over her shoulder and issued a warning, but Faimand wouldn’t back down.
“I haven’t been defeated yet!”
“Because I haven’t defeated you”
“……I haven’t lost!!”
“I haven’t defeated you. That’s not my job”
With a toss, she throws her sword to Herman behind her and leaves the field.
“Don’t run away!”
“That’s enough, Faimand. ……That’s enough. Don’t take it any further”
Held back by the other Holy Warriors, Faimand shouts with a face on the verge of tears.
“I……I haven’t lost!!”
……Ah, yeah. That’s true, though. Right now, the fact that he 「Lost to a mysterious girl」 doesn’t have to be set in stone. It’s that kind of timing. So if Anzeros backs down here, it’s definitely better for Faimand to let the match stand. For his body, and for his honor. But whether that’s satisfying or not……well, I guess he’d want to howl.
“You’re ruthless, aren’t you……”
“I’ve always had a hard time with people like that. Maybe I wasn’t very mature about it”
“I get that, but still……”
Anzeros smiled mischievously. Since she’s always fought against that kind of prejudice, she probably couldn’t stand letting him get away with it without saying something. ……I hope she doesn’t back down now.
Incidentally, Herman, who took over after that, calmly kept parrying the other White Armors’ attacks until they were satisfied, remaining completely composed. He really is just plain strong.
And as for Fiona……naturally, she couldn’t keep toying with a battle-hardened Black Arm for very long.
“……Uh……”
Sure enough, after a few minutes, her moves were read, she was tripped up repeatedly, and she ended up crawling on the ground time and again. It seemed even Knight Chief Spike, realizing this was a dragon matter, refrained from any vulgar antics. ……I guess I was saved?