The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 47

They agreed. The Duel of the Great Warriors would happen.

Lawrence opened the heavy castle gates. His soldiers marched out, forming a line facing Barco’s men on the wide, dusty plain. The air was still and hot.

This duel was happening a week after they sent the message to Barco.

A man in perfect formal clothes stood on a raised platform. He was the judge, sent from the capital. He spoke in a serious, loud voice, and everyone looked at him.

“I am Count Ertais,” he announced. “From this moment forward, I will oversee the Duel of the Great Warriors between the Barco and Lawrence families. Both families must choose three swordsmen to represent them and give me their lists within thirty minutes. The Duel of the Great Warriors is a sacred event blessed by Valhalla, their god of honor. Whatever happens, both families must accept the result. If any family refuses, I swear on the honor of the Cairo Kingdom that they will be punished.”

Count Ertais was dressed in very clean, formal clothes that seemed out of place in the dusty plains. He was sent by the central government for this duel.

The authority of the person in charge of the Duel of the Great Warriors was very important.

So, as soon as both sides agreed, they told the central government, and Count Ertais came himself.

Count Ertais sat on the platform with a thump.

Servants gave him shade, and he calmly drank his wine, waiting for the moment.

Barco and Lawrence moved quickly.

They were getting the battle roster ready, and Roman, who was carefully watching Barco’s movements, suddenly spoke.

“I think we need to change the lineup,” Roman said.

“What do you mean?” Lawrence asked, confused.

A week earlier, after agreeing to the duel, Lawrence had already chosen his fighters.

The plan was for Roman to go first and win, followed by Lawrence’s knight in the second match, and finally Chris to finish the battle.

But Barco’s movements were worrying.

The capital was far from Lawrence. Even with magic to travel quickly, Count Ertais took a whole week to arrive.

This was odd. As time went by, Barco should have been worried about the debt. But they didn’t seem worried at all.

“It seems the Barco family deliberately waited. They needed time to invite an expert from outside. Their connections in the central government could make that happen. The fact that the duel is today, a week later, means they have finished all their preparations,” Roman explained.

“So, an outside expert might be their first fighter.”

“That’s not right.”

Roman looked towards the Barco camp.

Unlike Lawrence, who seemed nervous, Barco’s side seemed to have already decided.

“Barco doesn’t plan to use an outside expert as their first fighter. If they did, they would try to trick us into sending our strongest swordsman first. That would be their best plan. So, we need to prepare our lineup against their best fighter.”

“So, what’s the solution?” Lawrence asked.

“Chris will win the first match, and I will face the fighter Barco has prepared in the second match,” Roman said.

Everyone looked surprised.

The hidden weapon Barco had prepared would not be an easy opponent. Yet Roman calmly said he would take the risk.

It didn’t make sense.

Why would he do this?

Lawrence was just someone else.

Roman was risking his life for someone else’s cause. This highlighted that his motivation was not fully clear to everyone except Flora.

Those who didn’t know Roman’s true feelings were touched by his decision.

Lord Lawrence said, “I will never forget this favor. If the Lawrence family wins the Duel of the Great Warriors and avoids being destroyed, Roman Dmitry will always be treated as an honored guest, as Lawrence’s savior.”

Everyone respected Roman, except for Flora.

The time had come.

Barco didn’t waste time and quickly announced the swordsman who would be the first fighter.

“I am Yanson of Barco,” he announced.

Yanson’s name caused a stir among the people.

Yanson was a 3-star swordsman that Barco was proud of and was one of the best experts in the northeastern region.

In contrast, Lawrence’s fighter was modest.

“I am Chris of Lawrence,” he said.

Chris walked forward calmly.

The people there recognized Chris’s face.

Wasn’t he Jonathan’s student, known to be stronger than Yanson, and the greatest genius in the northeastern region as a handsome swordsman?

But the Duel of the Great Warriors was not a place to compete for future potential.

Although Chris might be better in terms of youth and talent, comparing their current levels, it was a fight between a 3-star and a 2-star swordsman.

The difference in aura could not be overcome by swordsmanship alone.

Those who were realistic thought it would be hard for Chris to win this duel.

“Why did they send Chris?” someone muttered.

“They’re wasting him,” another voice replied.

“Dmitry’s too good for this,” a third person sighed. “He’s throwing away his talent for Lawrence.”

Chris heard the comments.

He knew he was at a disadvantage, but he quickly made a decision.

The reason was simple.

‘My lord told me I can win.’

Roman’s words were the reason for his decision.

Among the Rankers, some experts ignored the difference in aura and achieved higher rankings, but that was rare.

It was beyond common sense.

Roman said that Chris could go beyond common sense and defeat the 3-star swordsman. So Chris accepted the situation without hesitation.

The day he fought Kevin, Chris gained blind trust in Roman’s teachings, which turned a worthless kid into a fighter.

He believed that Roman was absolute.

Even if he died there, Chris would not regret his choice.

‘To become stronger, you have to take risks. That’s why I’m leaving and following my lord.’

He faced Yanson, Barco’s expert, whom he had heard many rumors about.

He looked strong.

So, Chris smiled.

If he defeated Yanson, it would mean his choice was right.

Soon, the signal was given.

“Begin!”

Yanson and Chris rushed towards each other.

Yanson was fast.

A wave of bright aura burst from Yanson’s sword, and he swung his sword powerfully, trying to kill Chris in one blow.

Chris barely dodged the attack.

He tried to use Yanson’s weakness by taking a quick side step, but Yanson didn’t pull back his sword and kept attacking in the same position.

His vision blurred.

The fiercely burning aura made his mouth dry, and he knew he would die if he was hit.

Chris quickly retreated.

Instead of fighting directly, he focused on dodging the enemy’s attacks.

“You rat-like bastard! How long are you going to keep running away!” Yanson shouted, his face twisted in a snarl, his voice rough with anger.

He tried to make Chris angry and fight him head-on, but Chris remained calm.

With the aura of a 3-star swordsman against a 2-star swordsman, a direct fight would be suicide.

He didn’t care about his pride.

Even if running away looked bad, he dodged the attacks as best he could.

‘When I first fought my lord, he defeated me without using aura. The day I was badly defeated in front of everyone, I learned one thing: No matter how strong aura is, attacks must hit to matter. That’s still true now.’

He dodged, and dodged, and dodged again.

Like a rat, as Yanson said, Chris dodged the attacks and thrust his sword whenever he saw a chance.

Swish!

A sudden, white flash blinded Chris for a moment.

Hot blood sprayed across Yanson’s face, stinging his eyes. Yanson blinked, surprised, and touched his cheek, looking at the red on his fingers.

It was only a small cut, but Yanson was furious because Chris had attacked first. His face became ugly with rage.

“You little bastard!” Yanson roared, his voice shaking with anger.

Rumble!

A wave of golden aura burst out from Yanson, like a visible shockwave.

The aura of a 3-star Knight surged powerfully.

From that moment on, dodging wouldn’t be enough.

The sword was full of aura. It cut through the air, and the power of the aura pushed everything around it away, even more than the sword itself.

A 3-star aura.

The difference in class was significant.

Chris gasped as the attack swept through the space. He felt the wind of the attack rush past him, even though he dodged. ‘Too strong!’ he thought.

Wham!

“Ugh.”

He spat out blood.

Even though he had defended and slightly changed the direction of the attack, he felt as if his insides had been completely twisted.

This made sense.

People knew the difference between stars was important because you could lose in a single moment, even if you did well 99 times before.

Chris staggered slightly.

Yanson grinned cruelly, thinking he had won. He pushed forward, his eyes full of hate.

Because of the internal shock, Chris couldn’t move quickly. It was only a matter of time before Yanson’s sword sliced his neck.

‘Bloody hell.’

Chris was different from Roman.

Roman was incredibly skilled and could beat his opponents even when they were equal. But Chris was still just a normal person.

He felt sick.

He thought maybe he was trying to do something too difficult and would fail badly, but he didn’t want to die here.

He gritted his teeth.

Not yet.

He hadn’t learned everything from Roman yet.

The Dmitry Knights made fun of him for following Roman.

He ignored his comrades who said it was a foolish choice and followed Roman. He couldn’t die for nothing.

That would be pathetic.

If he died like this, Chris would be ashamed to face his comrades, even in death.

‘I need to think differently.’

Roman had said.

Why use aura like that?

His common sense had been questioned because it was inefficient, but he still couldn’t escape that way of thinking.

It couldn’t be helped.

Even his teacher, Jonathan, and Emperor Alessandro, who was known as the first aura swordsman, had trained the same way.

Breaking away from common sense took courage.

And now.

Chris, facing Yanson’s aura, remembered Roman’s words.

‘Using mana without focus doesn’t make aura strong. Like Roman showed when he destroyed Flare with just a little mana, I need to focus my aura on one spot.’

Gulp.

He swallowed hard.

This was life or death.

He could see Yanson rushing toward him.

“Die!”

He swung his sword.

The movement was big.

Yanson was sure that Chris wouldn’t try to block the attack, blindly trusting in his own strength.

Chris took a deep breath. He remembered Roman’s words. He focused, trying to gather his mana in a new way.

Not releasing it explosively like others.

He concentrated his mana to a single point as much as possible, making the aura smaller and denser, just like he learned from Roman.

Whoosh.

The aura appeared.

The aura was small.

Yanson sneered, confident that he would win.

However.

Clang!

“…?!”

The swords crashed together.

Chris’s aura didn’t break.

It barely withstood the attack while flickering, which Yanson didn’t expect.

In that moment.

Flash.

Swoosh!

The mana exploded.

Chris used his quick attack, and the sword flashed, blowing Yanson’s head off.

Splatter.

Blood scattered in the sky.

Yanson’s head floated into the air, and everyone watching was shocked.

The first match.

The winner was Chris.

Thud.

Roll roll roll.

Yanson’s head rolled across the ground.

Those who watched couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

‘This is insane.’

‘A 3-star swordsman lost to a 2-star swordsman?’

‘No way!’

It was beyond common sense.

It was a shocking result.

Chris shook the blood off his sword with a pale face. Only then did Lawrence’s soldiers cheer.

“Waaah!”

“Crazy!”

“Chris! Chris!”

“Chris! Chris!”

It was utter chaos.

It was an upset.

In the vanguard battle that Barco was expected to win, Chris confidently secured one victory.

Now.

He only needed to win one more time.

Lawrence’s soldiers were already excited, thinking they had cornered Barco and were about to win.

In that situation.

Barco was embarrassed.

‘Yanson lost. This ruins my plan to win for sure. If Yanson had won, I was going to end the match in the second battle, but now the third battle is important.’

Ironically.

He wasn’t worried about the second battle.

Of course.

If he didn’t completely trust his trump card to win, he wouldn’t have spent so much money to bring him here.

It was then.

One person stepped forward.

He didn’t seem to care about Yanson’s defeat.

The man who appeared put his hand on the sword at his waist and stepped forward, a confident smile on his face. His hand rested on his sword.

“I am Homerus. I fight for Barco.”

Homerus.

At that name.

Lawrence’s soldiers, who had been celebrating their victory, were shocked and scared.

“Ho, Homerus?”

“Gasp.”

“Why is Homerus here?!”

The Temple of Valhalla ranks people based on their fighting skills. They use reliable information and update the rankings every year for everyone on the continent.

Homerus was a 4-star swordsman.

He was ranked as the 49th strongest in the kingdom.