Chapter 295: Interlude Pt. 3 [Another Perspective] Talga's Shock 2

[Talga]

“Begin!”

The moment Dee announced that, Lord Van’s figure vanished from before my eyes.

“…!?”

His agility was so great it made his previous movements seem like a lie. I intuitively predicted he must be closing in while keeping his body low, so I took a step back while holding my wooden sword diagonally downwards.

Immediately after, the violent sound of wooden swords clashing and the impact were transmitted to my arm.

“Eh, you blocked it!?”

A surprised voice came from my left side. Did he move while striking? And he moved to the side opposite the opponent’s dominant hand, faithful to the basics.

Careful not to panic, I quickly turned around and raised my sword.

However, no one was there.

Left or right, or did he circle around? Either way, I know one direction where no one is.

Without pausing for even a breath, I moved as if jumping one, two steps forward where no one was, and swung my sword backward. Using that momentum to turn around, the tip of a wooden sword appeared right before my eyes.

“Match over!”

Dee’s voice echoed loudly, and my field of vision finally widened. As I caught my breath and looked down, Lord Van’s face was right there, smiling happily.

“I did it! I won’t be able to win more and more later on, so I can’t miss the very first chance.”

Saying that while lightly swinging the wooden sword left and right, Lord Van spoke, and Dee laughed too.

“Sir Talga. You must not let your guard down. Lord Van uses unconventional tactics that impress me every time. Well, since he is constantly crossing swords with superior knights, perhaps it cannot be helped.”

“Right? Khamsin has reached a physique no different from an adult, so I want you to let me practice with the apprentices.”

To Lord Van’s complaining, not only Dee but the other knights responded with wry smiles.

That is only natural. Reflecting on the bout just now, Lord Van possesses a certain kind of talent. He turns his small stature to his advantage and uses various ingenuities to disappear from my field of vision. His stance felt like the tip of the sword was a bit too high; did he mean to draw my consciousness upward even a little? The same goes for his movement; simultaneously with the start, he lowered his posture and dived toward my sword hand. In other words, he tried to hide himself using even the slightest cover.

In fact, it was effective against me, who had a momentary lapse in concentration and let my guard down. My sword was almost deflected, and my consciousness unconsciously went to my right side. Aiming for that moment, Lord Van must have circled behind me. Thinking about it now, the voice I heard from the left side shouldn’t have been directly to the side.

“…Once more, please.”

This time, I am the challenger. Thinking that, I bowed deeply and requested the next mock battle. Dee nodded and raised his hand.

“Well then, once more.”

“Ehh, I want to rest~.”

Lord Van whined while glancing at Dee preparing to start the match, but his stance was firmly set with the wooden sword. Everything is a setup. Is every action and word meant to induce carelessness?

The moment I realized that, for some reason, I was smiling.

“Begin!”

Hearing Dee’s signal, this time I moved to widen my field of vision from the start. I took a step back while lowering my hips, making it so I could respond no matter which direction he moved. This should make it a contest of pure swordsmanship and physique.

However, seeing me in perfect condition, Lord Van was smiling happily.

From there, it became a series of combat contents rarely seen in mock battles between knights. I chased Lord Van’s back as he tried to run past to the deep right while parrying my sword, and swung my wooden sword. However, before the sword could reach him, Lord Van rolled as if diving into the ground.

I don’t know what is happening, but there is one thing I can say with certainty. If I don’t keep Lord Van in front of my body, I won’t know where the sword will come from.

Desperately chasing Lord Van’s movements, I readjusted my sword stance. However, as he stood up, Lord Van swung his wooden sword horizontally parallel to the ground, and by the time I hurriedly avoided it, it was too late. I lost sight of Lord Van again.

There is no doubt he moved to the right side again. With that recognition, I turned around while swinging my wooden sword in a horizontal sweep, but it was too late. My sword, swung recklessly without recognizing the opponent’s position, was knocked up from diagonally below, and Lord Van’s wooden sword struck my body diagonally just like that.

“Match over!”

“Ooh!”

At Lord Van’s second victory, the knights watching around us cheered. Conversely, I, who suffered an unexpected consecutive loss, was in great shock.

It is unbelievable. I belonged to the Royal Capital’s Chivalric Order, then was selected for the Royal Chivalric Order. During that time, I crossed swords with many people, and the number of opponents I lost consecutively to can be counted on one hand. Especially since being entrusted with the defense of the fort, I have never lost a one-on-one match even once.

As I marveled at Lord Van’s unfathomable talent, Dee walked over laughing, shaking his shoulders.

“In this Chivalric Order, there is practice for reading Lord Van’s actions.”

Receiving a statement that could be taken as either a joke or serious, I turned to him with a wry smile.

“…Sir Dee. This is amazing. No matter who the opponent is, it is almost non-existent to cross swords with the same person many times in actual combat. Indeed, if I continue to have matches with Lord Van in the future, I will eventually start winning more. However, if I had fought Lord Van in actual combat, I might not be alive anymore. Because there is no second time on the battlefield.”

Unknowingly excited, I couldn’t put what I wanted to say into words well. But Dee, without laughing at it, nodded deeply and answered.

“Indeed. There is no doubt that is Lord Van’s strength… Truthfully, I intended to teach him the heavy sword style to cut down all enemies head-on, but perhaps I made the training too strict.”

Dee said that and started laughing aloud. Dee said it as if it were nothing, but hearing those words, I couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Lord Van.

To possess that level of skill with the sword at ten years old, one has no choice but to train without rest for at least five years. And the teacher is that Dragon Slayer Dee. While being taught the heavy sword style, to win, he has no choice but to use unconventional tactics. How much must a young child of five or six have racked his brains and continued training?

“…I must not describe him as a person with natural talent with just a single word. While being a genius, it seems he has accumulated terrifying effort.”

Muttering that, Dee narrowed his eyes and smiled.