My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]: Chapter 220

220. Growth and Development (1)

The training grounds were located within Lord’s Castle Lv.4.

Cyan soared through the air, brandishing his sword.

Kendrick conjured a thick darkness, slowly raising his own sword.

Kendrick, a Death Knight of Upper Master level.

Cyan’s surging sword flew towards Kendrick.

Only then did Kendrick materialize his sword and swing it.

No sound was heard.

Just before the swords met, Cyan altered his trajectory, executing the Mahon Shadowless Step [a technique allowing for near-instantaneous movement].

Saaaah─!

With an eerie sound, Cyan’s body scattered into darkness.

Kendrick immediately dispersed his swung sword into darkness as well.

Ssshhh─!

Kendrick’s scattered darkness swirled around his other hand.

The darkness, once again united, took the form of a shield.

Kwaaaang!

A massive collision occurred. Cyan’s swung sword was blocked by Kendrick’s shield.

Kendrick staggered backward from the impact.

-······!!

Kendrick’s bluish-green eyes flickered intensely.

Cyan’s movements were faster and more unpredictable than before.

It was a movement that dazzled the eyes, but not to the point where it couldn’t be tracked by senses.

But what was visible now…

Patsutsu─!

Fine cracks were etched into the materialized shield.

Hairline white cracks spewed out thick darkness between them.

It had not completely blocked Cyan’s attack.

Therefore, rather than saying it was blocked, it would be more accurate to say he was struck along with the shield.

From beyond the shield, a black light flashed again.

Cyan’s body scattered into darkness once more, and a sharp blade was fired from within.

What was visible was a stab. But the trajectory of the sword changed in an instant.

A huge slash being swung. It was reminiscent of the claws of a hideous beast.

He couldn’t just keep blocking like this.

Kendrick dispersed the cracked shield.

The scattered darkness became a large axe, sweeping in all directions.

The consecutive strikes of the swung axe tore apart the beast’s claws.

Darkness ceaselessly erupted between Cyan and Kendrick.

Kwarururung···!

One side of the training ground, unable to withstand the impact, collapsed.

Kwaaang!

An illusion as if space was vibrating.

For a moment, Cyan’s vision was shaken.

‘Different.’

Kendrick, who was now facing his sword.

Cyan could glimpse a figure of Kendrick that was quite different from before.

In the duels with the previous Kendrick, a certain amount of余裕 [leeway or margin for error] was felt.

Kendrick had been fighting Cyan while adjusting his strength to some extent.

Allowing slight openings.

Intentionally exposing vulnerabilities as he continued the duel with Cyan.

It could be seen as more of a teaching exercise than a true duel.

The duels with Kendrick had been a kind of guided sparring.

But not now.

It was different now.

The advancement of Cyan’s growth by one stage.

The equipment enhanced to Transcendence grade [a very high level of enhancement].

Pabababak!

Kendrick no longer showed any 余裕.

Kendrick was trying not to allow even a shred of opening.

Kendrick was now giving his all against Cyan.

Kkwakwang!

With a fierce explosion, Kendrick took a step forward.

Along with that, he revealed a huge iron ball with barbs sticking out.

The swung axe had already become a huge mace, falling down on Cyan’s head.

Cyan hurriedly twisted his body, stepping onto the Mahon Shadowless Step.

Kwaaaang!

The floor of the training ground, struck down, caved in and burst out.

The ground collapsed entirely, creating a huge hole in the center of the training ground.

A scene as if the ground had exploded as it was.

From inside the huge hole, pitch-black darkness surged up.

Kendrick’s bluish-green eyes flickered within the encroaching darkness.

Cyan narrowed the distance with Kendrick without hesitation.

Between the narrowing distance, a huge greatsword covered his vision.

In that short moment, Kendrick switched his weapon back to the greatsword.

But he didn’t avoid it.

Cyan swung his sword towards the huge greatsword being swung.

Kwa──ang!

The space vibrated greatly from the collision of enormous forces.

The entire training ground trembled greatly, and the shattered debris scattered into dust.

The sword and greatsword met. Cyan swung his sword to the end. Kwadeudeuk! The pushed sword made Kendrick step back.

Kendrick’s eyes, flustered, blazed greatly.

Cyan’s body moved through the gap. Stepping on the Mahon Shadowless Step, he scattered his body into darkness. Instantly seizing Kendrick’s rear.

From left to right, Cyan’s sword was swung, lowering his stance as much as possible.

Kendrick hurriedly altered the trajectory of the greatsword.

Kwakwang!!

Kendrick’s figure flew far back.

Kendrick’s body collided with the wall of the training ground, and Kwang! It trembled greatly.

-How can this be···!

Kendrick’s eyes, walking out from the shattered debris, widened greatly.

He had hurriedly altered the trajectory, but even so, it was an attack with full force.

But he was pushed back.

It was something that happened due to the clear difference in power.

The power of Cyan that Kendrick felt for a moment was so strong and enormous that he could not gauge its limits.

Besides, that sword that Cyan was wielding.

An unknown fear was felt from that sword.

Perhaps because of that, Kendrick’s darkness was not able to muster strength in front of that sword.

Moreover, what about Cyan’s level, which had grown unbelievably.

Until recently, it was not to this extent.

But now it was completely different.

Not only was he giving his all, but the premonition that he might be defeated if he made a mistake could not be shaken off from his mind.

Kendrick’s widened eyes did not shrink easily.

In an instant, Cyan swung his sword, cutting out the scenery.

Pitch-black darkness leaked out from the cut-out scenery.

Soon, the entire space was dyed pitch-black, and a new landscape was created.

The outlines of the world collapsed, and everything turned into demons.

Thus, the hellscape unfolded.

Cyan swung his sword, creating a single hell.

The figure of Cyan reflected in between was a figure that could never be seen as human.

A darkness darker than darkness.

A demon more vicious than a demon.

Dangerous. And he can’t handle that.

He must stop it before it’s completed.

Ominous darkness rose from Kendrick.

The darkness that surged from his entire body permeated the hellscape and was encroached upon.

Cyan clenched his sword tightly.

Kendrick is different from Roswell and Nathan.

A Master Upper level and a Death Knight of a thousand years.

Moreover, Kendrick was giving all the power he had.

The darkness that bloomed from Kendrick encroached on the hellscape.

It presented an indescribable ominousness, but dealing with darkness was the same on this side.

A black light flashed, and Cyan’s body disappeared.

He entrusted his body to the darkness. The darkness swept through the entire space. Kwaang! The darkness exploded.

Kendrick’s figure was visible through the large hole. The darkness was filled in again in an instant, but that alone was enough.

The unfolded hellscape blazed at once.

The darkness that wrapped around the hellscape was laid down on the floor.

As if welcoming the true lord. As if worshiping the power being cast down.

The blooming darkness was laid down on the floor at once and scattered.

The energy of the demons filling his entire body burst out completely. Terrible darkness flowed through every blood vessel.

The encroaching darkness. A chilling omen.

And the following, silent something.

Pat!

A sound as if time had stopped was heard.

At the same time, Cyan and Kendrick’s movements were also stopped.

Cyan’s sword was stopped right in front of Kendrick’s side.

Kendrick’s sword was digging into Cyan’s shoulder and stopped.

Puhwak─!

Red blood gushed, splitting Cyan’s shoulder and soaring into the sky.

Along with that, terrible pain swept through his entire body.

“Keuhak···!”

Cyan slumped down in his seat.

-Lord, Lord! Are you alright!

Kendrick hurriedly withdrew his sword and supported Cyan.

As the sword that had dug into his shoulder disappeared, the bright red blood gushed out even more.

Looking at the endlessly flowing blood, it seemed as if it had been cut off.

But fortunately, it seemed that it had not been cut off as it was moving little by little.

Perhaps if Kendrick’s reaction had been a little late, his shoulder would have been cut off as it was.

-Cyan!! Are, are you okay?!

Leah flew to Cyan in a panic.

Leah, who had been watching the duel on one side of the training ground.

-Oh my god! Oh my god! What should I do! What should I do!

Leah circled around Cyan, not knowing what to do.

“I’m··· okay.”

Cyan suppressed the pain and calmed Leah down.

Of course, it wasn’t to the level of saying he was okay.

But it wasn’t to the level of worrying that much.

His shoulder was almost cut off, but it wasn’t cut off anyway.

Thanks to that, the wound was gradually healing due to the blessing effect of the World Tree.

Leah seemed relieved by Cyan’s answer and took a deep breath.

Soon, she turned her head and glared at Kendrick.

-Kendrick!!! What are you doing now!!

A thick death wish that burst out in an instant.

It seemed that Leah was really angry.

-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to···.

Kendrick just bowed his head deeply.

-Cyan was seriously injured! You could have stopped in the middle, but what is this now!

-I knew that I had to stop in the middle. But··· I thought that I would be defeated instead if I did···.

At Kendrick’s words, Leah raised her grayish-white eyes.

But she didn’t blame Kendrick any more than that.

Leah had also watched the duel, so she knew what Kendrick’s words meant.

A fight with a narrow margin.

Kendrick was the one who won at the end.

But if he had been even a little late, it would have been Kendrick’s side, not Cyan’s shoulder, that would have been cut off.

Because of that, Kendrick’s eyes were flickering greatly.

Surprise, shock, embarrassment.

The eyes mixed with various emotions were burning inside the helmet.

-Lord, Lord··· how on earth···.

Kendrick was looking at Cyan with an incomprehensible expression.

Cyan wanted to say something.

“Keueuk···!”

He couldn’t open his mouth because of the rising pain.

The wound was gradually healing, but it was not a shallow one.

-Wa, wait, I’ll call Ellie right away!

Leah hurriedly ran out, piercing through the training ground.

#

“The treatment is all done. How are you feeling now?”

At Ellie’s words, Cyan lightly turned his shoulder.

The cut part was perfectly attached.

As expected, he didn’t feel any pain at all.

Rather, he felt more comfortable moving than before.

“Perfect.”

Cyan smiled and answered.

Ellie looked relieved at Cyan’s appearance.

But soon she made a worried expression and said.

“More than that, how did you duel to get hurt like this?”

“It was a bit··· intense, wasn’t it?”

-I’m sorry, Lord.

At Cyan’s awkward smile, Kendrick’s words were heard from one side.

Kendrick was bowing his head to Cyan as if he had committed a deadly sin.

Next to him, Leah was looking at Kendrick with her arms crossed.

“It’s okay. You did your best, what are you sorry for?”

-But···.

“It’s okay. Rather, I was able to accurately grasp the extent of my current level.”

Even at Cyan’s words, Kendrick was still flickering his eyes as if he had committed a deadly sin.

It seemed like it would be the same no matter how much more he talked.

Cyan waved his hand, dismissing any further discussion.

‘More than that… it’s definitely different.’

The realm of Master, coupled with a sword enhanced to Transcendence rank.

Currently, Cyan was at a level where Kendrick couldn’t handle him unless he gave it his all.

That’s why.

‘I can definitely face Durak.’

Cyan thought he could contend with Durak.

Durak, known as the best swordsman on the continent.

It was speculated that Durak was slightly superior to Kendrick.

He hadn’t crossed swords directly, so it wasn’t certain.

But it wouldn’t deviate much from expectations.

Of course, Cyan had lost to Kendrick by a narrow margin.

The match against Durak wouldn’t be much different.

But that was only a matter of time.

[Demon Soul Control Method Progress: 100%]

[Demon Soul Asura Sword Advanced Progress: 56.8%]

[Demon Soul Shadow Step Progress: 84.9%]

Cyan’s current progress.

The advanced Demon Soul Asura Sword was already over halfway done.

And the Demon Soul Shadow Step was already over 84%.

In particular, the Demon Soul Control Method had reached 100% and was completed.

As a result, the efficiency of handling mana had increased dramatically.

‘It seems like I’ll be able to absorb the elixir’s power soon, too.’

It seemed that he would soon be able to fully absorb the elixir’s power.

[Current Mileage: 1,123,220 M]

In addition, he currently had about 1.1 million mileage [in-game currency/points].

With this mileage, he could buy another 『Special Item』 like the elixir.

Furthermore, there was the Transcendence skill .

And the Arnaise special perk, .

If he used these two buffs, he could definitely contend with Durak.

Not only contend, but perhaps even overwhelm him.

Overwhelming the best swordsman on the continent.

He chuckled.

Cyan unknowingly smiled.

It felt like only yesterday that he was considered the world’s dullest person.

Now, he was contemplating whether he could face Durak.

Of course, to use , the Mobile Lord had to not faint.

But well, that wasn’t a concern right now.

Cyan took out his smartphone from his pocket.

《Really… This is too much…!》

Then, the Mobile Lord’s notification window popped up, filling the screen.

More precisely, it felt more like a mumbling than a notification.

《I was enduring so hard. All alone, I was enduring that karma…!》

《But why did you faint? Why couldn’t you endure it? That’s all you say.》

《Hmph! Then the system should come and endure it!》

《I really don’t know where you’re gathering all that karma from…》

《Does he even know how hard it is to deal with that crazy human?》

《No, probably not. That’s why he gave me such a reward!》

《That’s why he said something weird like VVIP treatment!》

《The system is stupid! The system is a big dummy!》

《I hate the system!》

The Mobile Lord’s notification window kept popping up and disappearing without rest.

“…What is it?”

Cyan wondered for a moment.

Ding!

《Don’t talk to me!!》

The Mobile Lord shouted and sent a notification window.

Cyan flinched for a moment.

《What! What is it!》

《Have you ever seen an angry Mobile Lord before?!》

It seemed like it was sulking pretty badly.

It didn’t seem like it would listen to anything he said in that state.

And well…

He could understand why the Mobile Lord was acting like that.

The best thing to do in these situations was to leave it alone until it calmed down.

More than anything, Cyan wasn’t in a very relaxed situation either.

He had managed to get an instant completion ticket through customer service, but that was it.

[Current Gold: 122,000 G]

The 118 million gold spent on enhancement wasn’t coming back.

The estimated gold needed to enhance the armor to Transcendence rank was about 100 to 200 million.

But he only had about 120,000 gold left.

“Where am I going to get this money again…”

Relaxed? He couldn’t help but sigh.

《Eh? What is this feeling…?》

The Mobile Lord’s notification window popped up at that moment.

Ding!

《If you want to enhance, then pay cash—.》

Click.

Cyan pressed the power button on his smartphone.

Even so, he heard the ding! sound, but he didn’t read it and put it back in his pocket.

Then, he looked up at his surroundings.

Ellie was organizing the treatment supplies.

Leah was glaring at Kendrick and nagging him.

Kendrick was silently taking the scolding from Leah.

And at the end of that view.

“Lord… Cyan?”

Hans was staring at him with a blank expression.

More precisely, he was looking at the scene of the training ground that contained Cyan.

The training ground was completely destroyed by the duel with Kendrick.

It was so wrecked that there wasn’t even a trace of a training ground left.

Originally, restoration work should have been done.

[Current Gold: 122,000 G]

As expected, he didn’t have enough gold to restore it, so he was just leaving it as it was.

Cyan and Kendrick had to give it their all to each other.

And as a result, the surroundings were destroyed.

‘I should refrain from dueling with Kendrick a little bit from now on.’

Cyan thought to himself and called out to Hans.

“Hans, what brings you here?”

“Ah. That is…”

At Cyan’s words, Hans finally snapped out of it.

Then, he squeezed through the broken debris, approached Cyan, and handed him two pieces of paper from his pocket.

“These are letters that came for you, Lord.”

It was a letter addressed to Cyan.

“Letters?”

Cyan tilted his head and accepted the letters that Hans handed him.

Then, he checked the sender.

One was a letter from the Imperial Family.

“The Imperial Family…? Ah. That’s right.”

Cyan could then recall the letter he had sent to Conrad.

It was about Charlotte’s swordsmanship.

More precisely, it was about Charlotte’s swordsmanship and 150 million gold.

Just in time, he was short of the enhancement cost for the Transcendence armor.

And he had already built in advance.

Cyan immediately tore open the letter and checked its contents.

And the content he confirmed was.

“They’re going to hold an investiture ceremony?”

It was a slightly different content than expected.

It was about the investiture ceremony for the Count title.

The letter stated that they would proceed with the investiture ceremony, so he should finish his preparations and come to the Imperial Palace.

Of course, the content wasn’t just about the investiture ceremony.

[Let’s talk in detail about Charlotte the Great’s swordsmanship when we meet at the Imperial Palace.]

“Hmm…”

There was no clear statement that they would give it to him.

Well, 150 million gold wasn’t money that could be spent so easily.

But since there was no statement that they wouldn’t give it to him, it seemed that Conrad was also quite troubled.

“I had to hold an investiture ceremony anyway.”

More than anything, to strike first against Elandur…

No, to apply for the Territory War, he had to go to the Imperial Palace in person.

It was something he had to do anyway.

If he could take care of the investiture ceremony and get the money at the same time, it wouldn’t be bad to handle things at once.

“Let’s see… the investiture ceremony is… in two weeks.”

The time it takes to go from Ruben to the Imperial Palace.

And it wasn’t a lot of time to prepare this and that.

“I have to move right away.”

Cyan nodded and folded the letter.

Then, Cyan checked the sender of the other letter.

And it was a letter from a rather unexpected place.

It was none other than the Holy Empire.

“Aria?”

It was a letter from the Saintess, Aria.

#

The Holy Empire Lutea, a nation built by those who worship God.

The Papal State, which can be said to be the core of such Lutea.

“Laura, how about this dress?”

A splendid dress with a prominent ruby color.

Aria twirled around once.

Aria’s pure platinum blonde hair fluttered, and the dress also spread out loosely.

Aria’s platinum blonde hair and the ruby color of the dress harmonized, creating a rather strange atmosphere.

In addition, there was Aria’s transcendent beauty, which made one wonder if she was even human.

As expected, the designer belonging to the Papal State was staring at Aria with a dazed look.

Laura, the female priest who assisted Aria, shook her head slightly and said.

“You’re beautiful, Saintess. The ruby color suits you better than I thought.”

“Really?”

Then Aria smiled brightly.

“Then how about this dress with a ruby color as the base?”

Then, she unfolded another dress and asked Laura.

Laura let out a small sigh.

She wondered how many hours it had been.

Of course, Laura also really liked choosing and trying on various clothes.

Which clothes would be pretty, which colors would suit her well.

Choosing the most favorite clothes among them.

The process of 고민 [worrying/agonizing] was a pleasure as a woman.

It wasn’t a joke, she could do it all day long.

But she was a little tired now.

“Or… would a slightly darker red dress be okay?”

Aria could wear anything.

Which clothes would be pretty, which colors would suit her better.

Aria didn’t need to worry about that at all.

As the saying goes, the completion of design is the face [beauty completes everything].

Aria shone as she was, even if she wore rags.

In the first place, there were no clothes in the world that could make Aria’s beauty stand out.

Even if she wore a dress embroidered stitch by stitch by a craftsman, it would just become an ordinary dress when Aria wore it.

Aria didn’t need any process of dressing up at all.

At first, it was fun just to look at that beauty.

She enjoyed just thinking about how she could make that beauty stand out more.

But no matter what she did, all that remained was Aria’s beauty.

Even after going through that process several times, the result didn’t change.

Only the accessories that Cyan gave as a gift.

Only those accessories made Aria’s beauty stand out.

“That color seems to be okay too.”

So she couldn’t help but be bored.

“Really? Then wait a moment, I’ll try it on right away.”

But Aria just showed a very excited face.

Usually, she wouldn’t even listen when she told her to pick out some clothes and dress up a little.

“Are you that happy?”

“Huh? About what?”

Aria stopped walking at Laura’s sudden question.

“I’m talking about going to Cyan’s investiture ceremony. That’s why you’re picking out clothes like this, right?”

“N-No, who said I was happy? It’s just… it’s an outing after a long time…”

Then Aria avoided her gaze in embarrassment.

“You don’t even wash when you go out usually, right?”

“That’s because it’s annoying…”

“Do you know that you’ve been doing something more annoying than that for hours now?”

“……”

Aria seemed speechless and didn’t say anything.

She was slowly looking around, as if she was thinking of some excuse.

“I-I’m going to another country! The image of the Holy Empire might be tarnished if I look shabby! Y-Yeah! I have to suffer a little even if it’s annoying.”

Then Aria strode towards the dressing room.

She seemed to think it was a good excuse even after she said it.

Laughter leaked out.

“I’m sure you will.”

She was really an easy-to-understand Saintess.