Chapter 67
Lakradiyon was witnessing an absurd situation.
The direct line of Balheim was hurling insults and provoking Pendal.
While it was a fact that Pendal had touched Balheim’s direct line first, she couldn’t believe that a noble would stoop so low.
And Pendal felt the same.
He wanted nothing more than to smack Kraush right in the face, but recalling that he was a Balheim, he gritted his teeth and held back tightly.
Watching the scene, Kraush let out a mocking laugh.
“You were so fearless when you were at the back, but now it seems like you’re scared.”
“…Do you think I won’t handle the aftermath? You said you’d take on the eighth floor, and here you are being antagonistic.”
Kraush scoffed.
“Pretending to be a king in the Demonic Bastion, huh? Seems like you can’t see past your nose.”
Pendal’s eyebrows twitched.
However, Kraush showed no concern and began to walk outside.
“Well, it’s simple. If I smash you to bits, the folks you’ve been crushing will come crawling out, right?”
Pendal’s eyes sharpened.
Those words were practically a declaration of war.
“Do you not realize the level difference between us, growing up in your cozy greenhouse called Balheim?”
“Then you must be such a fool that you don’t even know what a greenhouse is.”
Kraush’s relentless banter left Pendal’s gang speechless.
It was the first time anyone had dared provoke Pendal to such an extent in the Demonic Bastion.
And Pendal, too, felt a rare sense of disbelief at being provoked so boldly.
Clenching his fists tightly, his eyes shone with intensity.
“Just to clarify, if I obliterate you, it wouldn’t be a case of Balheim coming for revenge, would it?”
“Why would I do something so embarrassing?”
Kraush looked at Pendal incredulously.
“The premise itself is flawed. Why should I even entertain the impossible?”
With such flawless provocation, Pendal found himself barely keeping his cool.
He wanted to kill him.
“I will kill this brat with my own hands, no matter what it takes.”
He gestured for Kraush to lead the way, filled to the brim with the thought of crushing him.
As Kraush and Pendal stepped outside, the once mellow tavern instantly erupted into chaos.
Pendal, the king of the Demonic Bastion, was about to face off against Kraush, the direct descendant of the world’s strongest house, Balheim.
Naturally, this was going to get wild.
Pendal’s gang, along with the onlookers, rushed to follow them.
Nobody wanted to miss out on this thrilling spectacle.
As the crowd spilled out, Lakradiyon also slowly rose from her seat.
She herself couldn’t make sense of what Balheim’s direct line was thinking, and decided she wanted to see the outcome for herself.
—
Pendal.
He was a rumored powerhouse in the Demonic Bastion, proficient in wielding two hook-like swords with ease.
Though he might not have the formal training of knights from empires or kingdoms, his combat skills and lethality gained from rolling around in the Demonic Bastion were commendable.
However, he faced a setback on his way to Master, and stopped progressing, having realized his own limitations.
Nonetheless, that was more than enough for him to rule over the Demonic Bastion.
Most of the crowd were merely subpar fighters who had yet to even reach the top-tier level.
And now, standing before him was Kraush.
As a member of Balheim’s direct line, he appeared relaxed, as if just warming up with a light tap of his feet.
Pendal found it ridiculous.
No matter how he looked at it, Kraush barely seemed like he had stepped into the top-tier expert bracket.
Even if he was a top-tier expert, a significant gap existed between a novice and an experienced one.
Moreover, given his own vast experience in battle, how many fights could a mere fourteen-year-old from Balheim have possibly seen?
‘Is he relying on Balheim’s secret techniques?’
Undoubtedly, the strongest house would have a few hidden techniques, but…
“Even with techniques, the wall remains.”
Pendal’s final thoughts were interrupted as he shouted.
“Wouldn’t you regret this?”
“Why are you making it so long? Just throw yourself at me. Let’s wrap this up quickly.”
Having reached his limit, Pendal decided there was no point in further discussion.
This kid just needed to be obliterated.
With that, Pendal charged forward.
Like a wolf—his nickname wasn’t given in vain—he darted straight into Kraush.
And the moment he did, his low stance gave an illusion of extending even further, allowing him to assault Kraush with surprising speed.
Clang!
The sound of their swords clashing echoed.
Kraush’s blade had somehow parried Pendal’s.
His swift response was blindingly fast.
Amidst it all, Pendal noticed something peculiar about Kraush’s sword.
The blade was not only pitch black; it seemed immensely strong.
‘Is that Shadow Iron?’
A robust yet challenging metal to forge, Shadow Iron would shatter under pressure, yet if handled correctly, it would withstand a lot.
Indeed, typical of Balheim, they used high-quality equipment.
But Pendal’s hooks held their own as well.
He entwined Kraush’s blade with one of his hooks and pulled it toward himself.
Strength and aura were clearly on his side.
Naturally, Kraush was dragged along in the flow.
At that moment, Pendal’s other sword surged toward Kraush, aiming to ensnare his neck with a hook.
He aimed to carve at least a sizable scar into Kraush’s neck.
Clang!
But once again, the sound of their blades meeting resounded.
Pendal’s eyes widened slightly.
The blade that had just been ensnared by his hook had suddenly shifted to block his other sword.
‘This brat…’
The sword he had been dragging had been pushed off by a sudden burst of force, barely avoiding his attack.
Remarkably calculated and executed, Kraush had made a brilliant defensive move.
But Pendal’s eyebrows twitched for another reason.
This wasn’t Kraush’s instinctive reflex; he had realized it was born from experience and tactical calculation.
What did that imply?
It meant Pendal had just lost in experience during their exchange.
‘Has this brat cut down thousands of people or something?’
Feeling utterly flabbergasted, Pendal couldn’t shake the absurdity off.
At that moment, Kraush changed tactics.
He stepped forward and deeply planted himself on the ground.
In that instant, flames erupted from his sword.
Startled by the sudden blaze, Pendal retracted his sword to defend himself.
“… A skill?”
Pendal squinted.
Indeed, as a member of Balheim’s direct line, he lived a blessed life with even skills to show.
But too bad.
After that last ambush failed…
Judging that he had seen enough of Kraush’s capabilities, Pendal spread his hook swords apart.
“Want me to explain why I ruled like a king?”
He grinned mockingly at Kraush, who was silent.
Crack!
In that moment, a green spark ignited from Pendal’s hook swords.
As onlookers witnessed the vividly crackling sparks, gasps of awe escaped their lips.
It was undoubtedly a skill.
Pendal was the only one in the Demonic Bastion wielding a skill.
Whereas even nobles couldn’t reap the rewards of a skill, Pendal was favored by the gods to command such power.
This was a significant reason he stood on a different level than the other conquest members, bolstering his pride.
One side flamed with blazes, the other crackled with lightning.
And then Pendal made his move.
Crack!
With a streak of lightning behind him, he dashed toward Kraush, even quicker than before.
As the sparks ejected from his sword sliced toward Kraush, the younger boy swung his blade in response.
Clang, clang, clang!
The ensuing clash resonated as sparks and flames erupted in every direction.
Pendal’s furious assault was dizzyingly rapid.
Each burst of energy from those sparks threatened the surrounding onlookers.
But Kraush wasn’t about to be outdone either.
His blade moved almost as if it were predicting Pendal’s every strike.
Thanks to the wondrous synchronicity of his instincts and forged blade, he kept blocking everything.
At this sight, Pendal’s foes from the Demonic Bastion, including the radiant Lakradiyon, widened their emerald eyes.
‘That’s a technique?’
The technique of the forewarnings was not something one could master overnight.
Particularly, even seasoned swordsmen would find it difficult to wield, as it required a wealth of experience to hone.
Kraush looked like he hadn’t even reached adulthood.
Yet here he was, executing such advanced techniques.
Lakradiyon found it hard to believe her own eyes.
What in the world was that boy?
And Pendal felt similarly.
To think this kid could predict all of his strikes, leaving him frustrated in a sparring match.
He couldn’t digest that fact.
Despite being faster and stronger, he couldn’t even touch Kraush.
Even overwhelming skills would take a backseat to the fact that he was kept in check.
This kid’s ability to keep up was infuriating him.
Was it possible his time spent building a gang had dulled his skills?
To be unable to dominate over a mere kid burned him inside.
And so Pendal mentally restructured his thoughts.
Right now, he wasn’t just squashing a fledgling.
This was a moment he needed to unleash his full power, going head to head with a real contender.
Crack!
A jolt of lightning coursed down his arm.
With the aura coursing through him, he felt even faster.
If he insisted on blocking with that technique…
“I’ll smash the sword along with you!”
Like a wolf clamping down on its prey’s throat, Pendal unleashed a devastating blow toward Kraush, sparks bursting forth.
The sight of that overwhelming might had Lakradiyon reeling.
That crazy bastard was truly swinging to kill the direct line of Balheim.
As she prepared to intervene, Lakradiyon noticed Kraush quietly inhaling.
And in that very moment…
Kraush’s sword erupted in a plume of black flames, colliding with Pendal’s blade at a speed that felt completely different from before.
That was undoubtedly a swing that transcended Kraush’s limits.
BOOM!
Lightning and fire clashed, unleashing a fierce storm.
“Whoa?!”
“Gah?!”
As spectators were swept away in the storm, Lakradiyon remained unfazed, intently watching the scene unfold.
Through the smoke, Kraush moved at a speed that far surpassed Pendal’s perception.
Though Pendal scrambled to stop him, it was already too late.
Pendal’s arms couldn’t even contain the force and spread wide, as Kraush struck without hesitation, landing a decisive hit to his jaw.
Thud!
With the force of the strike shaking his brain, as Pendal dropped his sword, Kraush stomped down hard on his chest.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
Then, right there, in front of the downed Pendal, Kraush pointed his sword at him.
As the smoke began to clear, spectators slowly took in the scene.
“P-Pendal lost?”
Everyone exchanged looks of disbelief.
The former king ruling the Demonic Bastion had been bested by a boy who hadn’t even reached adulthood.
Those who knew Pendal’s strength gasped in shock.
“Truly, a Balheim legacy.”
“Guess Pendal was out of luck this time.”
“Tsk tsk, while he puffed himself up, I expected a little more since he was a conquest member, but look at this.”
In unison, they began to belittle Pendal.
This was partly because many had not thought fondly of Pendal’s reign in the Demonic Bastion.
No matter how hard he struggled, he could never match up to Balheim.
As they shook their heads, Lakradiyon stood there, slightly gaping.
Having witnessed everything with her own eyes, she understood the battle between Kraush and Pendal couldn’t merely be chalked up to bloodline.
The black flames emanating from Kraush’s sword…
She herself had crossed paths with those who sought global domination.
That flame was akin to a dangerous curse.
‘That boy…’
He wasn’t walking the same path as ordinary knights or nobles.
Those flames, laden with self-imposed curses that were suppressed only to explode violently, were something dreadful to behold.
‘What in the world…’
She stared at Kraush, still dumbfounded.
Kraush had showcased a fighting style based on experience through his use of that forewarning technique, alongside the cursed flames.
Each displayed attribute was a testament to effort that was required to hone one’s own body.
She had presumed that being a Balheim boy, he’d have some natural gifts and perhaps learned secret techniques to grow stronger.
But what he displayed now was far from pure innate talent or easy technique.
Reflecting on her own training, Lakradiyon wondered.
Had she made similar sacrifices and efforts at that age?
Or was she still doing so, even now?
Lakradiyon’s fist clenched tightly.
Was the effort from her past truly enough to breach the wall locked at entry-level Master?
With that reflected upon, she realized she and Pendal were merely different sides of the same coin.
It was shameful.
Yet simultaneously, she yearned to swing her sword.
At this very moment, it was specifically for the sword that would take her one step further.
In front of her a boy had just displayed a duel that reignited a knight’s dreams once more.
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