In fact, even if it’s a joint front, I am alone while they have at least hundreds, or at most thousands on their side. Just looking at the numbers, the risks the Beastmen have to bear are overwhelmingly larger than mine.
So, the Beastmen have every right to demand proof of my worth in terms of several people.
However, even if Kanak isn’t exactly sure of the details, he must have a rough idea that I’m a meaningful force. In other words, the suggestion to have a showdown is more of an excuse than anything else.
Specifically, just how strong am I? If we were to become hostile, what kind of losses should I be prepared for?
Yeah, those are probably the thoughts going through their minds.
However, the reasoning behind it was good enough that I couldn’t refuse. Proposing to join forces and then not wanting to show my skills? That’s outright saying you don’t trust me.
In the end, we concluded to have a simple duel just outside the barrier a week later.
It’s a position chosen in case one side truly intends to kill the other. If one side shows any suspicious signs, we can immediately cross the boundary of the barrier to ensure safety, so truly, perfect mutual distrust is the essence of the most thorough fairness.
A week went by in an instant.
Since Eleonora was receiving treatment from the Beastmen, I basically borrowed a tent from them during the day to hide away, but on the night of the first day, I visited the Vampires for a short while.
As expected, it was a complete mess. The vested interests that had been oppressing them had vanished overnight, causing chaos about what would happen next.
There were no bold Vampires approaching me directly, but naturally, those left over were quite observant of me.
After all, I’m the one who killed Ludrik, and it became clear that I am the strongest Vampire here.
If necessary, I could inherit the privileges that the Security Maintenance Force had enjoyed, but I didn’t want to do that.
Why? Because it’s way faster for me to catch another one myself rather than threaten those lowlifes to bring me a human.
Furthermore, the prey that the weak ones could catch would be of a similar level. Instead, it’s much more nutritious to draw aggro like now and directly siphon off the soldiers.
Thus, I delegated the authority on stabilizing the Vampire society within the Mist Labyrinth to Lowell.
Delegation might be a fancy word for it, but it’s basically a way of passing the buck. After all, that was the resource I put there to think things through, so they should take care of such matters, right?
I’m literally feeding him; what can he do if he’s dissatisfied? He can just come at me if he’s upset.
Of course, Lowell didn’t express any dissatisfaction with the vague buck-passing I was doing, and he handled things well on his own.
If only Ludrik and his minions had known their place as well as Lowell does, it would have been great. If that were the case, they could have continued their pitiful lives without turning red in the face.
Meanwhile, Eleonora regained consciousness after two days.
As soon as she opened her eyes and saw my face, with tears welling up, she asked, “Did I help a little this time?” trying not to cry, which somehow felt heartwarming. I honestly didn’t expect to still have such emotions left in me.
Even now, I still can’t identify what that unfamiliar feeling was.
For me, it could have just been a passing feeling of possessiveness, pity akin to when a pet gets sick, or something more profound, but I had no way of knowing.
Still, I couldn’t let her wander around since she needed absolute stability, but apart from a little break I took the day before she woke to chat with Lowell, I stayed by her side the whole time.
While I couldn’t match the Vampire’s regenerative ability to restore even missing parts with mere touch, still, a Dragonkin is a Dragonkin, and once Eleonora had regained a bit of her strength, she started to recover rapidly.
On the seventh day, I stepped out of the forest with Kanak.
Eleonora seemed to want to follow me, worried about me, but saying that it was still a time for her to maintain stability, I reassured her several times before I could leave.
At the boundary of the Mist Labyrinth.
Kanak was standing at the very edge, a place where just one more step would mean losing the protection of the forest’s rules. He glanced my way, then silently crossed the boundary.
Once confirming that no one else was around, Kanak followed me across the barrier and asked while tapping the sword sheath at his waist.
“Is it more comfortable not to use a sword? Of course, I can stop before cutting you, but if you don’t trust me, I can do this barehanded.”
“I’d lose then. Can you even hit me in the first place?”
I responded challengingly to Kanak, who was subtly trying to assert he was above me, and his eyebrow twitched slightly.
He pretends to have pride.
It was amusing to see him react as he normally calculates only the resistance’s interests, but regrettably, I wasn’t here to spill blood today.
Having teased him just a bit, I added a reasonable explanation.
“Your sword isn’t made of silver, is it? A small miscut wouldn’t matter. Plus, if we’re checking our strengths, we need to be equipped, right?”
“That is true, I guess.”
In truth, it doesn’t matter if it’s silver or not. As long as my neck isn’t completely sliced or my heart doesn’t get destroyed, I can manage.
Of course, I haven’t experienced having my neck cut off yet, so I’m not sure how that would go, but it’d be better than having my heart punctured, so there’s a chance I could survive.
Fortunately, Kanak seemed to accept my excuses to some degree.
“However, even if it’s not silver, it should still be able to deal a significant blow.”
“You said you’d stop beforehand, right? We’ve known each other long enough; I believe you to this extent.”
Of course, that was a lie. How could I trust that guy?
But anyway, I had to cross that wall once. Over the past few months, I’ve focused more on gathering blood without risking life than on life-and-death battles, but I mustn’t forget the objective.
I am gaining power to swing it. I’ve endured with everything to stomp on those who threaten my life.
And someday, the opponent I have to face with this strength will be much stronger than Kanak.
Right now, Kanak, besides Martini, is the strongest opponent I’ve fought directly, but to the three major countries, that’s just the level of a rebel at the edge of a foreign land. Even if I’m an exceptional frog in a well, I can’t compare to real elites like Knights.
Since I have been coiled up for so long, I need to inject some tension into this.
Before grappling with the annoying spear-wielder, Kanak and I having a duel would serve as a decent warm-up.
Plus, when else would I get to gain combat experience against a strong one? Experience is always insufficient, no matter how much I accumulate.
Having only strength without knowing how to wield it would lead to a fate like Ludrik’s. I will never die that pathetically.
“Then I won’t hold back.”
KWAAM!!
There was no grand declaration to announce the start of the duel.
The moment Kanak drew his sword, the ground shook as if it exploded and he closed the distance in an instant.
With a low center of gravity and both hands gripping the blade’s handle, he angled his downward cut diagonally upward from the right.
A deadly trajectory capable of cleaving from my left lower abdomen to my right shoulder threatened the air.
Is this guy really trying to kill me, or does he think I can dodge?
It’s honest enough if we call it honest, but if I couldn’t react at all, that path would have inevitably pierced my heart.
But in the end, by taking two steps back, I managed to evade Kanak’s sword, leaving me clueless about his intentions.
All I could do was return what I received. As Kanak’s sword grazed just in front of me, I stepped forward unstintingly, closing back the two steps I had just taken.
Moving quickly, Kanak was trying to maintain distance. I cast a light illusion magic to create an opening.
For just a moment, Kanak’s focus wavered, but that was it. He must really possess mental strength befitting his tough physique; although it was blatant magic, I managed to gain only a few seconds.
‘That’s enough.’
It wasn’t magic to stab an unarmed opponent in the back. If I could steal the initiative, that would already be a meaningful gain.
In an instant, the tide turned, and Kanak found himself on the defensive. However, he still maintained a calm demeanor, enduring my attacks while waiting for me to reveal an opening.
But I wasn’t about to easily let go of the initiative I had just taken. Can you take this as well?
Gradually shifting gears, I increased my speed.
My body, which had not been able to exert itself fully for quite some time and had been in a state of incomplete combustion, began to heat up and my blood boiled.
I effortlessly surpassed the limits I could barely reach back in the past. Yet, even now, I wasn’t going to stop there.
Faster.
Even faster.
Kanak’s calm face slowly turned to one of shock.
His ego-strong defense, which had held fast like an impregnable fortress, began to show signs of strain, and soon beads of sweat started to form on his forehead.
‘My body feels light.’
In contrast, I remained remarkably calm. While my body boiled, my mind stayed collected, analyzing the situation.
The loud heartbeat that pulsed with each breath.
The blood rushing swiftly through my veins.
The contracting thigh muscles.
And the keenly narrowed eyebrows.
At this point, he seems to be aiming for a counterattack. Interestingly enough, I could instinctively follow the numerous signs of his potential counter.
Reading Kanak’s intentions, I deliberately created a small opening between attacks. The seasoned Beastman warrior certainly didn’t miss that tiny gap.
BAANG!!
An explosive clash. Kanak’s sharp strike, transferring strength from his legs through his waist and shoulders, targeted my left shoulder.
It was a speed I could have known previously, but wouldn’t have been able to respond to.
Judging by the targeting of my shoulder, I understood he wasn’t trying to kill me, but I could unmistakably feel the sheer force behind this strike, which he had not held back.
The terrifying blade approached me at astonishing speed. But at that moment, I saw a world frozen in place.
No, it wasn’t that the world had stopped. Upon closer inspection, Kanak’s sword was still inching closer to me. However—
‘Everything is visible.’
This was a moment inspired by overwhelming focus and eye coordination.
In reality, it might even be shorter than the time it takes to blink. Yet, even before Kanak made his decisive move, my right hand, already moving, effortlessly brushed against the side of Kanak’s sword.
Unlike when I fought Ludrik, I wasn’t feeling that sense of frustration due to my heart being struck, where I thought I was stronger but my body couldn’t keep up.
Completely recovered, no element could restrain my exertion now.
Part of my right palm turned pitch black. Thin darkness gathered nearby, finally clashing with the sword Kanak thrust.
KIIING! By adding a little force, I pushed the blade to the side, causing a sharp metallic sound to resonate.
Time, which had momentarily stalled, began to flow again.
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