How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 209

How to Live as the Third Son of a Wasted Novel – 210

The new recruits to the Azure Sky Knights numbered twenty in total. All were from the East and had a history of serving as heavy cavalry.

Selecting them was entirely based on my judgment.

However, given the circumstances at the time, I could only make superficial assessments.

The real test of separating the wheat from the chaff would begin now.

They were sufficiently equipped with basic skills. After all, they had spent a long time as trainee knights before becoming heavy cavalry due to their inability to handle mana.

This meant there was no need to teach them from scratch. Therefore, my task from now on was clear.

“Step forward one at a time.”

At my command, issued from the training grounds, one of the twenty candidates lined up stepped forward.

“What’s your name?”

“It’s Yulker.”

“Good, Yulker. Take up your sword.”

I could see Yulker’s hand trembling slightly as he held his sword, likely due to nervousness.

It wasn’t just because I was the lord. It was probably the pressure of having to spar against a Sword Expert [a highly skilled swordsman], a knight among knights.

However, Yulker tilted his head when I gestured with my hand, unarmed.

“Lord?”

“What are you doing? I told you to come at me.”

“You’re unarmed.”

“Do you think I’ll lose because I’m unarmed?”

“……I cannot wield a sword against an unarmed opponent.”

I scoffed at Yulker’s words.

“Yes, if you were a knight, I would respect that honor and take up a sword. But you are not knights. Drawing a sword against mere commoners is excessive.”

Mere commoners.

Anger flared in Yulker’s eyes at those words. It was a good reaction. I looked at all the candidates who were watching me and opened my mouth.

“I promise. If any candidate so much as touches me, I will immediately recognize them as a formal knight.”

The repercussions of my words were significant. Yulker immediately kicked off the ground and charged at me.

But I had already anticipated that much. No, even if I hadn’t, it wouldn’t be too late to dodge such a slow movement after seeing it.

I lightly dodged the sword and tripped Yulker. As he lost his balance and fell, my knee struck his chin.

Thwack-!

With a dull sound, Yulker’s pupils dilated, and he sprawled on the training ground.

“Clean it up.”

At my words, several soldiers who were waiting to assist dragged the unconscious Yulker out of the training ground.

Confirming their actions, I gestured to the remaining nineteen candidates.

“Continue to come forward in order.”

At my command, the candidates, as if to show they were different from Yulker, began to step forward one after another.

However, the result was not much different. My feet moved only nineteen more times, and my knees struck their chins nineteen more times as well.

Having adjusted the strength, the candidates who had fainted regained consciousness before their turn came around again, and the sparring continued infinitely, like a Möbius strip [a loop with only one side and one edge].

How much time had passed? I glanced up at the sun. It seemed like about three or four hours had passed.

The fine sand that had been laid on the training ground was now stained red with blood. The owners of that blood were, of course, the candidates.

Without exception, they were all bleeding from their mouths and noses, sprawled on the ground, vomiting up their insides.

“Cough…….”

“Ugh, cough…….”

Looking at them, who had become wrecks, I asked Loven, who was standing next to me.

“How many rounds have we done?”

“Exactly ten rounds.”

Loven replied to my question with a reluctant expression.

Ten rounds. That meant each candidate had fainted and woken up ten times.

Seeing that they had no more stamina left, I gestured, and the medics who had been waiting on one side began to treat the candidates with potions.

Seeing this, Loven began to click his tongue.

“I’m not sure what this means, though.”

“Didn’t you entrust all the formal training to Commander Loven? This is not training but a process in preparation for future events.”

“Not training?”

“It can’t be seen as typical military training.”

“Then what is it for?”

“To instill fear.”

“Fear?”

“Yes.”

Loven wore a puzzled expression at my answer. Indeed, Loven, who didn’t know the details, wouldn’t be able to understand my words.

But this was a necessary process.

I was planning to use the same method on these men that I had used on Ilia in the past to make her feel mana.

But that technique is dangerous. Not just dangerous, but it could potentially turn a person into a cripple.

If an unprepared body forcibly accepts mana, it will become poison and lead to irreversible consequences.

It’s similar to what is called ‘Qi Deviation’ [a dangerous imbalance of internal energy] in martial arts novels. They can’t control the mana they’ve accepted, and the unleashed mana destroys all internal organs.

In the past, Ilia had the talent to naturally breathe in mana. She had such sensitivity that she achieved good results without any special preparation.

But these men are different. If I were to open a mana tunnel for them in their current state…….

‘They would all become defective products.’

To prevent such a situation, I had to prepare them.

First of all, their desire for mana was sufficient. Since they had become heavy cavalry because they couldn’t obtain mana in the first place, it was absurd to say that they lacked desire.

But that also meant they lacked self-control.

The moment they tasted the mana they had longed for so much, they would accept it without any restraint.

If that were to happen, the result was obvious. They would all be ruined, just like I thought earlier.

That’s why I’m doing this training.

To make them desire mana and fear it at the same time.

To accept only the amount they can digest gradually through thorough self-control and restraint.

“Is the treatment finished?”

“Yes, it is.”

Seeing that the medics had finished treating the candidates, I gestured again.

“We will restart the training. It will be a little different this time.”

Whoosh…….

As I finished speaking, a blue aura began to rise around me. And the faces of the candidates who saw it also turned blue.

* * *

Broken, shattered, rolling.

These are the words that summarize what the candidates had experienced over the past week, from waking up in the morning to closing their eyes at night.

I showed no mercy. There were plenty of potions to heal them. I had stocked up on a massive amount of them at great expense, keeping this in mind from the start.

And today, after a week, the first dropout appeared.

“I, I can’t do it anymore.”

The candidate, who had been punched by me and was now sitting down and vomiting, dropped his head and declared his surrender.

At that sight, I tilted my head.

“You can’t do it anymore?”

“Yes, I can’t do it anymore. I don’t even know what this training means…….”

“What’s your name?”

“It’s Hans.”

“Okay, Hans. I fully understand your feelings. Go back to the accommodation and rest. Your disposition will be communicated to you later.”

As I nodded, Hans staggered to his feet and began to leave the training ground.

At that sight, I let out a faint smile. Then I looked at the remaining nineteen candidates.

“Yulker, step forward.”

“……Yes?”

At my call, Yulker, who was also a wreck, stepped forward.

“From now on, you will also be responsible for Hans’ turn.”

“…….”

“One cycle is twenty times. And that number will not decrease no matter what. If there is a gap, someone will have to fill it. So, Yulker, you will now face me twice.”

“…….”

Yulker’s face began to turn pale as he realized that he would have to suffer twice as much as the others.

Joint responsibility, like hell. It’s a very absurd and oppressive method. But as such, its effectiveness is certainly guaranteed.

“…….”

As evidence, Hans, who was about to leave, had stopped in his tracks.

It was only natural.

The twenty candidates had been expelled from the Knights for failing to master mana and had to throw themselves into the most dangerous battlefields as heavy cavalry, prepared to die.

They had gone through many twists and turns to gather at the Sky Fortress. With the high hopes of becoming knights.

I could tell without seeing what kind of bond they had formed. It was a fact I had already asked and confirmed with Loven.

“Hans.”

Yulker’s mouth opened. Unlike when he had heard that he would face me twice a moment ago, his expression was now quite calm.

“Don’t worry about us here and go rest.”

“…….”

However, Hans turned back. Staggering, he stubbornly returned to the training ground and knelt before me, bowing his head.

“Lord, if you allow it, I would like to retract my statement of giving up. I will gladly accept any punishment in return.”

I nodded at Hans’ words.

It was a tearful display of camaraderie. But unfortunately, I wasn’t doing this to foster camaraderie among them.

My goal was for everyone to drop out.

The heavy joint responsibility I mentioned earlier was just a device to drive them to their physical and mental limits.

If they gave up without being driven to the extreme, it would be contrary to my intentions.

But I couldn’t show that now, so I nodded to Hans.

“I accept the retraction. But what I said just now will be kept. So, Yulker will face me twice from now on. Now one cycle will be at least twenty-one times.”

“…….”

Looking at the candidates who were turning blue at my words, I shrugged.

“I only said the number wouldn’t decrease, not the opposite.”

After admiring the faces of the candidates who were half out of their minds, I nodded and gestured.

“Time has been delayed. Everyone prepare. We’ll start again.”

At my icy words, Yulker, who had been hesitating, carefully raised his hand.

“Um, Lord.”

“What is it?”

“If you allow it, there is something I would like to ask.”

“I told you time has been delayed.”

“…….”

“Well, I guess one question is okay. What do you want to ask?”

After looking at the faces of his comrades lined up to the left and right, Yulker swallowed hard.

“I’m curious as to what this training means.”

It was about time that question came up.

It was called training, but it was just a merciless beating disguised as sparring. They deserved praise for enduring this far.

But I wouldn’t do that. It would negate the meaning of what I’ve done so far.

Nodding, I looked back at the candidates with a bitter expression.

“Meaning? There’s nothing grand like that. I’m just trying to make you realize reality.”

“……What kind of reality are you referring to?”

“I think I said it three days ago. You’re nothing more than loaches [a type of freshwater fish, implying they are insignificant].”

“If that’s what you mean, we all fully realize it.”

I shook my head at Yulker’s words.

“No. It doesn’t seem that way to me at all. Even now, you’re still trying to become knights without knowing your place, aren’t you?”

“……That’s not true.”

At Yulker’s gritted teeth, I slowly raised my arm and flicked my fingers.

“That’s for me to judge, so shut up and come at me.”

Yulker’s eyes were filled with anger towards me.

I smiled inwardly as I watched Yulker charge at me with his sword.

‘Yes, come at me more fiercely.’

The deeper the fear will be engraved.

I didn’t dodge the sword coming down vertically. I concentrated all the mana in my arm. Then I grabbed Yulker’s sharply descending blade.

“……!”

No matter how skilled a knight is, it’s dangerous to grab a sharp weapon with bare hands. But the mana I unleashed in an instant and the sturdy gauntlet made it possible.

Yulker’s expression stiffened as his sword was caught by me. He probably didn’t expect his attack to be blocked by bare hands.

I twisted the corners of my mouth as if to mock Yulker’s thoughts.

“No matter how strong your will and how determined you are.”

I paused for a moment and put strength into the hand that grabbed the sword.

Crack…….

Then, spiderweb-like cracks gradually appeared, and soon the blade shattered into pieces.

“What can’t be done, can’t be done.”

Dozens, hundreds of pieces of sword, tinged with the red glow of the setting sun, began to scatter.

In Yulker’s eyes, visible between those fragments, the anger had already disappeared, and a new sense of fear had taken its place.