The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 40

38. Arena

Dusk had fallen.

A young boy walked into the locked arena.

Caryl McGovern, his face a mask of emotions, climbed onto the stage, looking around.

‘Come to think of it, should I have squeezed another sword out of Grandpa Calipsen?’ he mused.

Then, he picked up weapons discarded by slave soldiers, scattered across the floor, and swung them in the air.

Whoosh…!!

The sharp sound cut through the air. Caryl’s gaze lingered on the hardened bloodstains on the floor.

Many had fought and died in this place.

The unclaimed weapons were proof of that, and more were sure to follow.

“Hmm.”

Caryl slowly raised his head.

Above the arena, a man waited.

The man was a wall of solid muscle, iron gauntlets covering his arms, wrapped in bandages that gave off a sharp, dangerous aura.

Two sharp horns protruded from his face, and his skin was covered in blue scales, like those of a sea serpent.

The very image of a Sea Serpent.

His fierce eyes looked ready to strike, to bite his nape at any moment.

Looking at the Water King’s mask, it felt as if the absolute ruler of the Four Rivers had truly materialized in the arena.

“I told you to meet me at dawn, but I didn’t expect it to be in a place like this. It’s hardly a love letter. Leaving a note like this,” Caryl said in a low voice.

In his hand, he held a piece of paper with a short sentence written on it.

“Well, I guess this is your decision.”

There was no need to wonder who was wearing that mask.

“Suhan Hazar, or rather… Champion.”

With a slight lift of his lips, Caryl addressed him.

Instantly.

His eyes seemed to flicker behind the mask, but soon, a palpable fighting spirit emanated from his entire body.

‘This is the first time I’m fighting him properly, both in my past and present lives,’ Caryl thought.

Caryl’s body trembled slightly.

‘Even during my time as the master of the Lavat Guild, his martial arts were famous. It’s surprising that he was a slave king, but with that level of skill, it would be strange if he hadn’t become the champion of the arena.’

With his innate physical abilities, his martial arts were like an unshakeable mountain, and his body was a weapon even without other armaments.

Balbont, the Fist King.

A figure who had honed his martial arts outside the influence of either the Empire or the Duchy.

‘It was later revealed that Suhan Hazar had learned a few stances from Balbont, watching over his shoulder, when he was young.’

Perhaps.

It was just a coincidence that he found him during his training, but the Fist King must have recognized his potential.

However.

Perhaps because of his personality of not taking disciples, Balbont did not pass on everything to Suhan Hazar and left.

“Hoo…”

He took a stance.

A posture with his right arm covering his face, his left arm tucked at his waist, and his waist slightly bent forward.

It was unfamiliar yet very familiar to Caryl.

Balbont’s Eight Stances.

‘He only learned two of the eight stances that the Fist King completed. Nevertheless, he became the champion of the arena.’

Caryl couldn’t hide the slightly excited feeling at that thought.

‘If I could meet Balbont again and have him learn all the remaining six stances…’

Perhaps a new Fist King could be born, or even a Fist God surpassing the current Fist King.

‘That’s my job.’

Balbont didn’t take disciples, but he regretted not taking Suhan Hazar in his later years.

‘Balbont, I don’t know where you’re wandering, but this is for me and for you, Fist King.’

Swish-

But before that.

Whoosh-!!

Without a word, the two men’s bodies shot towards each other.

Bang…!! Whoosh!!

The air exploded in a circle beneath Caryl’s feet, and his body accelerated, spinning rapidly in the air.

Clang clang clang clang—!!

The blade of Agnel [Caryl’s dagger] struck Suhan’s gauntlet, and sparks flew with a sharp, ringing sound.

Suhan, unafraid of the risk of having his arm cut off, blocked Caryl’s attacks with his gauntlets in quick succession.

‘It seems like it’s not an ordinary gauntlet.’

Despite Agnel’s fierce attacks, the gauntlet’s defense remained intact, with only slight scratches.

Perhaps.

That was also one of the items from the black market.

“Is that perhaps an item from the Murga family?”

“You recognize it. That’s right. It’s an item I received for winning the arena.”

The Murga family, renowned for having the most outstanding craftsmanship among the dwarves.

They were famous for turning trash into treasure once it passed through their hands.

“The gnomes’ creations are beautiful, but the dwarves’ steel is even stronger.”

“But it’s also heavier.”

Suhan Hazar chuckled at Caryl’s words.

It didn’t matter to him.

Certainly, if it weren’t for Suhan Hazar’s strength, he wouldn’t have been able to use the gauntlets, and his shoulders would have dislocated from the weight.

“Good.”

Caryl nodded.

Crack—!!!

“Kugh!!”

Suhan Hazar’s body staggered.

He wasn’t taking damage.

Suhan Hazar’s face gradually hardened as he realized he could never win by just defending.

‘Damn it!’

He had seen him fight from the side until now, but experiencing it directly was a completely different beast.

“Hoo… Hoo…!!”

Caryl’s ever-changing sword, despite being just a dagger, sometimes resembled a sharp rapier and sometimes threatened him like a thick greatsword.

‘Excellent.’

Caryl inwardly exclaimed as he watched Suhan Hazar block his attacks.

‘I can try practicing it.’

He regripped his sword as if satisfied.

Perhaps he read Caryl’s expression.

Gritting-

Suhan Hazar gritted his teeth without realizing it.

‘He’s looking down on me.’

He didn’t want to admit it, but he was already feeling it in his bones.

‘How is this possible? Even if he’s been holding a sword since he could walk, it’s only been 10 years. Is he a genius?’

An absurd strength.

That was the only explanation.

Of course.

Leaving aside the memories of his past life, it was true that Caryl was a genius when it came to swords.

Caryl’s lips curled up.

It was an opportunity to use the power he hadn’t used because he hadn’t met a proper opponent until now.

“Hoo…”

Instantly.

Suhan Hazar widened his eyes as if he couldn’t believe it.

A sharp aura emanating from Caryl’s blade.

A strong magic power was felt.

“Mana Blade… ?”

But soon, Suhan Hazar shook his head at the color of the magic power surrounding the dagger.

‘No, something’s different. That’s…’

At that moment.

His face hardened.

‘…What should I call it?’

Crackle…!!

Clang! Crackle—!!!

It was then.

Caryl’s attack was completely different from before.

The sound of a sword strike overwhelmed by sheer force, without any technique or sharpness.

“Ugh, ugh!!!”

Suhan Hazar instinctively raised both arms to block his sword.

Kwaaaaaaaang—!!

With a loud roar, Suhan Hazar’s body was thrown back.

He couldn’t overcome the force even as he rolled several times on the floor, and his massive body crashed into the arena wall before finally stopping.

“Huk… Huk… Huk…”

He stared at Caryl with a dazed expression.

Crack….

Crack….

A sound of something breaking was heard.

Sniff….

Cuddeuk….

At the same time, a sound of something falling to the floor was heard.

It was none other than the sound of the gauntlets that had been covering Suhan’s arms shattering into pieces.

Despite the situation of his armament being destroyed, his eyes were still on Caryl.

Because Caryl’s strike a moment ago was even more surprising than the gauntlets being shattered.

“W-What was that just now?”

Even at his question, Caryl smiled bitterly as if he was not satisfied with something.

‘It was dangerous. I still can’t control the details when I concentrate my magic power. I was only trying to cut Suhan’s gauntlets… If I had made a mistake, his arm could have been cut off.’

Caryl slowly walked towards Suhan, who was sitting down.

“…You’re strong.”

“Is it a convincing result?”

At his question, Suhan nodded to him with a strangely relieved expression.

He collided with all his might and was completely shattered.

He couldn’t have made that expression otherwise.

“You can become stronger. No, you have to become stronger. You have to do more than you think.”

“…”

Caryl sat on the arena stage and said.

“You must have thought about it a lot because of what I said. It would have been better if you were in full condition.”

“…”

Suhan Hazar smiled bitterly at Caryl’s words.

“The most necessary thing to gain power is a stronghold. And to solidify that stronghold, you must win the hearts of the people above all else.”

Caryl picked up the Water King’s mask that had fallen on the floor and said, covering his face.

“A justification to appease the angry people.”

As his eyes shone from within the mask, Suhan Hazar unknowingly felt a chill run down his spine.

“The life of one manager would have been difficult to gain the understanding of others living in Tatur [a lawless city].”

The remaining managers, Dushala and Kamma, will not show their faces in the front.

‘Especially, Dushala. Even if she helps me, it will be difficult because of her external image.’

And Suhan Hazar realized that.

“But it’s different if it’s two. Moreover, the Golden Lion of the lawless port, which symbolizes martial arts in the free city, and the champion of the arena have both lost to one person. That rumor will spread quickly by Dushala and Kamma.”

Caryl lightly patted Suhan Hazar’s shoulder, who was kneeling.

“They will naturally welcome a new owner.”

Suhan Hazar challenged Caryl on purpose to create such a stage.

No.

Formally, Caryl challenged the champion.

But the result was expected anyway.

“I don’t want loyal people like that here. It just needs to have the power that no one on the continent can touch, like it is now.”

Then he slowly put it on.

“The concern that they can run wild at any time. That alone is enough to keep the Empire in check.”

Caryl took off the mask and said to Suhan.

“You are the one who must hold the reins.”

His two eyes of different colors were visible.

“You, who have the blood of the Empire and the blood of the immigrants flowing together, are the right person.”

“…”

Suhan Hazar looked at Caryl, speechless.

Thump… Thump….

A trembling heartbeat.

It was the first time.

He had never thought that his cursed blood would be useful.

Just a birth he wanted to erase.

And conversely, the struggle against the mixed imperial bloodline had caused the immigrants to flee to Tatur.

‘A country that transcends birth.’

He wondered if the story he had only thought of as absurd could really become a reality.

“Hmm.”

After a fierce battle, Caryl looked at the twilight rising beyond the wall.

“It’s just time.”

Then he said to Suhan Hazar, who was sitting down.

“I said I’d tell you the secret of Tatur, right?”

“…Yes?”

“You’ll like it when you see it.”

Caryl said with a meaningful look.