How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 134

Living as the Third Son of a Trash Novel – Episode 135

With the impromptu sparring match agreed upon, I first asked Ruth about his intentions.

“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”

“No, I’ve been curious about the swordsmanship of the East. However, I have a question for Baron Basarak.”

Redran tilted his head at Ruth’s words.

“A question?”

“What are the rules?”

“Do it without imbuing Aura into your weapons. Using internal mana is fine. Without that, it’s not a knight’s fight.”

“There’s a chance of injury.”

“As long as unnecessary force isn’t used when victory is clear, it’s fine.”

“Is that so?”

Ruth nodded and added,

“Lastly, I’m not doing this to entertain the eyes and ears of others. Is that alright?”

It was a declaration of war.

That he would mercilessly crush his knight.

Redran grinned at those words.

“Of course. I’d be disappointed if you fought like girls playing house.”

“Then that’s good.”

Having received Redran’s confirmation, Ruth downed his wine in one gulp and stood up.

At that sight, a nearby servant brought him a sword.

Ruth accepted it and lightly swung it around, stepping into the center of the banquet hall.

“Ooh….”

“Is that the Wind Knight?”

At Ruth’s appearance, the audience, anticipating the upcoming sparring match, focused their attention.

Soon, Ruth, standing in the middle of the banquet hall, lightly surveyed the crowd.

At that sight, the audience held their breath and began to tense up.

Ruth wasn’t wearing the Wind Knights’ uniform or fancy armor, but the gray hawk emblem on his chest explained everything.

Wind Knights.

The immense sense of intimidation that name carried was common throughout the continent, at least.

“I am Ruth Meyer of the Wind Knights.”

At his introduction, Redran gestured.

Then, two female knights standing on the Red Knights’ side stepped back, and a new knight stepped forward.

It was a young man.

His handsome face and smooth skin were striking, making him seem unlike a swordsman. If not for this occasion, one would never have thought of him as a warrior.

“I am Rohen Baska of the Red Knights.”

Ruth frowned at Rohen’s smiling self-introduction and handsome face.

He probably thought that someone of the commander level should have come out to face him, and he was dissatisfied that it wasn’t the case.

And that dissatisfaction was the same for me.

“Did you plan to lose from the start?”

Redran laughed at my question.

“Does it look that way?”

“It does for now.”

“Then, unfortunately, I have no intention of losing. Of course, I don’t think I’ll win for sure either. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s fifty-fifty.”

I wasn’t asking about the probability of winning in the first place.

Unless it was a commander-level opponent, there was almost zero chance of Ruth losing.

But now, Redran was ruling out the possibility of losing. Furthermore, he was even saying that Ruth might lose.

Where does that confidence come from?

At that ironic situation, an uncomfortable feeling began to creep up.

Clang!

The duel began.

It was Ruth who started. He began to relentlessly attack as if he had no time to deal with small fries.

Once downwards, then upwards, and finally downwards twice again.

It was Ruth’s combo that I had suffered terribly from when I first started learning to wield a sword. Without sufficient experience, most would have their ankles cut by that bizarre sword path.

“Hmm.”

But the knight who identified himself as Rohen easily blocked that combo.

It was such a clean defense that I couldn’t help but let out a small exclamation. Not only that, but Rohen immediately launched a counterattack.

At that sight, Ruth seemed to realize that his opponent was not to be trifled with, and he quickly adjusted his stance.

After that, a fierce sword fight began in the middle of the banquet hall.

“Ooh.”

Redran, looking as if he couldn’t be happier, smiled broadly at the sight.

It felt like the roles had been reversed.

Normally, Ruth would have easily subdued his opponent, and I would have comforted Redran, saying he fought well even though he lost.

But now, Redran was speaking as if Ruth was putting up an unexpected fight.

It was absurd, but I couldn’t really argue. In fact, Ruth and Rohen were evenly matched right now.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Rohen’s momentum, once he gained it, was unusual. The way he repeatedly swung his sword to pressure Ruth looked like a foaming hunting dog.

On the other hand, Ruth was calmly defending, but he was gradually being pushed back. Even a layman in swordsmanship could feel that Ruth’s momentum had waned.

“Well done, well done.”

Redran smiled and sipped his wine, as if satisfied with the sight.

The quiet audience also felt Rohen’s powerful momentum and slowly began to cheer.

“Isn’t he just blocking too much? Contrary to the Wind Knights’ reputation, he’s being too passive. Or is that knight particularly effeminate?”

At Redran’s half-teasing question, I clicked my tongue.

“Who knows.”

“Who knows?”

Certainly, the initial momentum was good. And even now, Rohen’s relentless attacks had the destructive power of a tank at first glance.

But if that’s all there is, then this match is as good as over.

‘Are you thinking the same thing, Ruth?’

I glanced at Ruth’s face.

As expected. The initial bewilderment had disappeared from Ruth’s face as he blocked the continuous, aggressive sword strikes.

Tap!

Before I knew it, Ruth’s feet were driven to the edge of the circular tile that served as the unspoken dueling ground. At that sight, Redran, and the watching audience, all held their breath and focused.

And at that moment, Ruth’s expression changed.

Clang!

Ruth, wielding his sword strongly, pushed back Rohen’s sword, momentarily breaking the flow. If he were to launch a counterattack immediately, it would be a chance for Ruth to seize the momentum.

But Ruth didn’t rush in.

Standing straight, Ruth simply cracked his neck from side to side as if loosening stiff muscles.

“What, is he smiling?”

Redran’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Ruth.

As Redran said, Ruth, standing still, was smiling, revealing his white teeth without reservation.

I also smiled slightly at that sight.

Because I could clearly understand what Ruth was thinking.

“Two-handed sword?”

Following that, Ruth, lightly shaking his left hand, gripped the longsword with both hands.

“Redran.”

At my call, Redran turned his head.

“Even the most insignificant flea can surprise someone and make them step back if it suddenly jumps.”

“What? A flea?”

“But what happens to the flea after that?”

“…….”

Redran narrowed his brow, unable to answer for a moment.

‘Well, what happens.’

You’d stomp on it and crush it.

After answering inwardly, I looked at Ruth.

Ruth, leaping forward, brought down his sword with both hands as if chopping firewood.

Rohen, pushed back by that force, retreated and dodged.

But as if he had expected that much, Ruth immediately kicked off the ground and drew a wide semicircle with his sword.

With no space to dodge, Rohen raised his sword to block.

Clang!

A sound that was hard to believe came from swords colliding echoed.

“Ugh…….”

Rohen, barely managing to hold on to his sword from the intense impact, staggered.

What followed was the same as the initial phase of the duel. Except that the one blocking was Rohen.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

As if he were an irreconcilable enemy, Ruth began to mercilessly strike Rohen’s sword.

It was as if he was determined to break it. At that violence, Rohen’s expression, which had been so good at first, slowly began to distort.

Each time he blocked, the impact caused Rohen’s hands to tremble and cramp, and his firmly planted feet gradually slipped.

‘That’s Ruth.’

Yes, that’s the true Ruth.

His true nature had been suppressed by the leash called the Wind Knights, but originally, Ruth was not a knight suited for noble duels.

From birth, he had tasted blood when others were learning letters and etiquette, and he began his life as a knight by tearing apart three orcs with crude farming tools.

A born warrior.

That was Ruth.

The current appearance proved everything. He didn’t use any of the swordsmanship he had honed as a knight. He was simply returning the sword path of Rohen, who had been pushing him, in reverse.

He instinctively knew how to break his opponent in the most miserable way.

Crack!

Eventually, Rohen’s sword, unable to withstand Ruth’s relentless attacks, cracked. It was a natural result since he had been madly targeting and hammering only the opponent’s sword.

Kaaang!

Finally, with a blow that Ruth swung greatly as if this was the end, Rohen’s sword shattered.

“Kuaaaa!”

As if that broken sword was his pride, Rohen, enraged, threw away the handle and rushed at Ruth.

“Isn’t it over?”

At that sight, I asked, and Redran shook his head.

“Let it be.”

“What?”

“Isn’t it alright? It seems to have become more interesting.”

What confidence is that?

On the other hand, Ruth, seeing the order to continue, shrugged his shoulders for a moment and threw the sword he was holding to the side.

Soon, a fistfight ensued after the sword fight.

But even so, the result would not change.

Because it was Ruth and I who had been mercilessly beaten in swordsmanship and even martial arts by the monster himself, Lordain.

The aftermath was as expected.

Rohen’s punches missed futilely, while Ruth’s counterattack that followed was accurately planted like an awl in Rohen’s face.

Puddeuk!

With a chilling sound, Rohen, who had fallen backward, collided strongly with the banquet hall wall.

“Kyaaak-!”

“Get out of the way!”

Among the audience who hurriedly moved to avoid him, Rohen, who was embedded in the wall, vomited blood.

But as if this wasn’t the end, Rohen, getting up abruptly, rushed at Ruth again.

Of course, as I said, the result did not change.

“Kueeik…….”

Rohen, who had been struck in the chest by Ruth, rolled on the floor for a while and trembled on his knees.

“Oops, his ribs must be all broken.”

Redran frowned at the sight.

Seeing the sight that was now closer to a simple beating than a duel, I stepped forward first.

“Let’s end it soon? It seems like the result is out.”

“No. Not yet.”

“Not yet? Are you going to kill your knight?”

“It’s okay. As long as he’s alive. Besides, I don’t think that guy wants to end it now either?”

Doesn’t want to?

Ruth’s hand was merciless, and Rohen’s body was slowly becoming a rag in that situation.

I couldn’t understand what he wanted to see more in that situation. But Redran was just sipping his red wine and watching with interest.

“Kueueu…….”

Rohen, whose handsome face had disappeared, no longer able to move his body, knelt down and turned his head to look at Redran.

“Use it.”

Toward such Rohen, Redran nodded lightly as if he was agreeing to something.

‘Use it?’

Use what?

As Redran’s unknown permission fell, Rohen smiled.

“Uaaaaaak!”

Soon, Rohen let out an unknown scream with his blood-covered face.

Saaa!

Then, a mirage-like energy began to rise from Rohen’s body.

That wasn’t particularly special. If you squeeze out the mana you have, it naturally tends to be expressed outwardly.

But if the color of that energy is red.

And if Rohen’s eyes, which were emitting that energy, turned red.

Clearly, the story changes.

‘Is this what you wanted to show me?’

Redran’s two eyes, glanced sideways, were full of interest in what was to come.