The Bastard Swordsman Of The Imperial Guard [EN]: Chapter 43

Black Magician

“Self-taught?”

“…Yes.”

To calm Rain, who was hopping mad, Rael eventually confessed the truth.

He was worried Rain would try to kill him, but thankfully, Rain wasn’t that ignorant.

“So, you’ve never properly learned swordsmanship even once? Not even once until now?”

Rain asked Rael with wide eyes.

“That’s right. I was an orphan, so I didn’t have the money to learn swordsmanship.”

Of course, there were times when he earned money, but he usually poured it all into the orphanage as soon as he got it.

This was probably the only place in the entire imperial capital with beds in the orphanage.

“…”

Rain scanned Rael’s body, feeling confused.

Looking at Rael’s perfectly developed physique, the anger that had risen to the top of his head gradually subsided.

‘It’s surprising that he doesn’t have a teacher… but it’s a relief in a way.’

If he had learned some third-rate swordsmanship from the streets, it would take quite a while to fix it.

Even trashy swordsmanship has a ‘form’ to it.

It’s not easy to break down and rebuild a swordsmanship framework already ingrained in the body.

‘He might have familiar movements or habits… but the core concept hasn’t been established yet.’

It’s a completely different story to demolish a building with its entire framework erected versus demolishing a pile of bricks, even if it’s meant to be the same house.

Rain sighed in relief and asked again.

“Rael, then what was the swordsmanship you just showed me?”

“… I just swung it around like I usually do when I fight.”

Slashing, stabbing, chopping, and so on.

These were things Rael had roughly picked up while swinging his sword.

‘Everyone usually dies with just this much.’

To be honest, he knew he lacked fundamentals.

It was only natural since he had never learned swordsmanship.

“You’ve been fighting with such shoddy movements until now…?”

“…”

But Rael had been secretly confident in his talent.

He didn’t expect to be criticized this much.

“This is a situation I can’t understand at all.”

Rain couldn’t believe the swordsmanship he had seen from Rael.

He had crossed swords with Rael twice.

Rain, who had reached the realm of Sword Master [a master swordsman], could gauge the opponent’s level with just two exchanges.

What he felt from Rael was not this kind of shoddy swordplay.

“I guess this won’t work.”

Swish-

Rain picked up the sword he had thrown to the ground in anger.

This problem arises because a swordsman tries to teach with his head.

“I need to fight you directly to understand.”

“No, if you just give me some basics…”

“Draw your sword! Rael!”

“…”

Rael had no choice but to draw his sword.

Rain was, after all, a knight from a medieval fantasy.

Which meant he was a bit crazy.

“Rael! Take this!”

Clang–!

Rael lowered his body, parrying the approaching sword.

To get proper feedback from Rain, who was already out of his mind, he had to do his best.

Rael infused magic power into his body, took a step forward, and boldly thrust his sword.

Clang!

“Oh!”

Rain blocked Rael’s sword and stepped back.

He was involuntarily impressed by the sharp attack that pierced through the gap in his defense.

“I can’t lose either!”

As if to repay the high-level attack, Rain immediately twisted his body and swung his sword.

Bang-! Clang-!

Dozens of sharp strikes rained down on Rael, but the sword, swaying like a reed, blocked all of Rain’s attacks.

“Interesting! I’m going to get to know you properly from now on!”

Like heat haze, sword energy rose from Rain’s sword.

That crazy knight was now starting to use magic power.

“Take it easy! If the orphanage gets damaged, I won’t treat you like the commander anymore!”

Rael bit his lip and unleashed his magic power.

Boom-!

The sword energy collided, creating a deafening roar.

The mana [magical energy] of each other flowed backward, and a tingling sensation was felt in their hands.

“Ah, damn it. Seriously…!”

Rael sharpened all his senses.

He didn’t want to concentrate this much on a simple sparring match, but if he was going to do it, he had to do it properly to learn properly.

Tadat-!

Rael rushed at Rain with his sword held diagonally.

Clang-! Bang! Clang!

Each time the sword energy collided, the surrounding weeds and soil were dug up.

A battle of swords without any psychological warfare.

At first glance, it might seem like a barbaric battle, but Rain was impressed by the situation itself.

‘He’s gradually keeping up with my tempo.’

Rain was adjusting his speed to match Rael.

This was, after all, just a sparring match.

“…?!”

Clang-!

However, Rael’s sword gradually began to catch up with Rain.

His eyes did not miss Rain’s sword, and his feet kept up with Rain’s pace.

“I see now that we’ve properly crossed swords! Rael!”

The sparring of excellent knights is like a dance.

Like a dance that collapses if even a little is out of sync, sparring was about gradually encroaching on each other’s territory and suppressing the opponent.

However, Rael’s sword was like a wild horse.

There was no set framework for the sword, and sometimes he swung the sword in unconventional or inefficient ways.

To Rain, who had learned proper swordsmanship, it seemed like trash.

‘But he’s covering it with a monstrous physique and senses.’

Swordsmanship is a compilation of efficient methods for humans to wield a sword.

Rael had no framework of swordsmanship.

In other words, there were no limits.

‘Rael’s true value is revealed in actual combat.’

Only then could Rain properly understand Rael.

The sword he had judged as trash was digging into his collar.

Clang-!

Sharp senses like a beast.

And an excellent physique that carries out unbelievable commands.

He was the most interesting swordsman he had ever met, and it was truly overwhelming talent.

“Meeting you was an incredible stroke of luck after all!”

Rain felt great pleasure in this sparring match.

It was a proper battle he had felt in a long time.

“Rael…! Unleash your Sword Force! I can have some real fun for once!”

Originally, unleashing Sword Force in a sparring match is very dangerous.

Unlike Sword Energy, Sword Force can be life-threatening with even a slight mistake.

However, Rain had perfectly grasped Rael’s level.

He was certain that he would never get hurt in a sparring match with him.

‘A future Sword Master? What foolishness.’

Rael was equal to or greater than himself.

He was… already a Sword Master.

“Commander, I can’t unleash Sword Force.”

Rael took a step back, looking at Rain, who had unleashed Sword Force.

Rain, who had been madly immersed in the sparring match, stared at Rael with a dumbfounded expression.

“Huh? What did you say?”

Rain, who had been smiling, stopped abruptly in the same state as he was swinging his sword.

The excitement that had risen to the top of his head plummeted to the bottom in an instant.

Rain immediately continued.

“Rael, don’t lie and infuse your magic power.”

“It’s true.”

Whoosh-

Rael infused magic power into his sword.

Sword Force is created by overlapping thin Sword Energy several times and covering the weapon with magic power.

However, only a mist-like Sword Energy was created on Rael’s sword, and Sword Force was not created.

“This, this… this shouldn’t be happening?”

Rain blinked, looking at Rael’s Sword Energy.

The level of Sword Energy was also very high.

The mana was so clearly visible that he could believe it was a faint Sword Force.

But in the end, it was just Sword Energy.

“No way…”

It was certain that Rael’s power was superior to that of most knights.

He couldn’t use Sword Force, but his physical abilities had already reached the Sword Master level.

It was an incomprehensible dissonance.

‘Can something like this happen?’

To put it bluntly, Rael was like ‘a broken wooden cart pulled by the four best warhorses on the continent.’

Compared to his perfect physique, his inner substance was woefully lacking.

No, he was an impossible existence in the first place.

What crazy person would ride a broken wooden cart and only replace the horses with warhorses?

The cart would not be able to withstand the speed of the horses and would break apart.

That was the existence of Rael.

“… Rael. Are you perhaps deliberately destroying the magic power that makes up Sword Force?”

“Why would I do such a thing? If I were, I wouldn’t have come to learn from you, Commander.”

“Ugh, ugh, that’s right. You’re right.”

“So, how is it? Is there anything you can teach me? Mainly basics or swordsmanship.”

“Wait. Let me think for a moment.”

Rain thought, recalling the sparring match just now.

Rael was a genius at moving his body.

Monstrous senses and a body that perfectly digests those senses are the perfect talent as a swordsman.

However, his skill in handling magic power did not keep up with him.

“I don’t know how this happened. Rael, unleash your Sword Energy once more.”

Woong-

Rael unleashed his Sword Energy without complaint.

“Erase it and unleash it again.”

Woong-

“Again.”

Woong-

“Again.”

“… What are you doing?”

Woong-

Rael asked, unleashing his Sword Energy.

He wasn’t dissatisfied with the Sword Master’s method, but he wished he would explain it a little.

“The way you unleash Sword Energy is slightly different. You really haven’t learned mana cultivation, Rael.”

“Because I’m self-taught.”

“Then it’s easy. I’ll teach you the Rain Knights’ mana cultivation method. That will be the most helpful for you.”

Since he couldn’t teach Rael physical training methods, teaching him mana cultivation was the best prescription.

From now on, he had to focus on mana cultivation instead of physical training.

“I’d like to teach you the Rain Knights’ swordsmanship as well, but… I can’t imagine whether that would be a plus or a minus for you. I think it’s better to watch a little longer for now.”

Rael was a genius, and the best way to handle a genius is to just leave him alone.

If he could maximize his potential, he would take off at any time.

“Ah, you don’t have to teach me the mana cultivation method.”

Rael shook his head.

The Rain Knights’ cultivation method would be excellent, but he had already made a promise with the best swordsman on the continent.

‘Heavenly Killer Sword Lord.’

He had decided to learn the old man’s sword, so he would come when the time came.

“Rael. Then what are you going to learn from me?”

“I came to learn swordsmanship, but you said you wouldn’t teach me swordsmanship.”

“Ah…”

Rain nodded.

Come to think of it, Rael had asked him to teach him the sword from the beginning.

“Or do you have any tips that would be helpful in actual combat? You’ve been active for a long time, Commander. Good know-how that only knights know, or something.”

“Know-how that only knights know…”

Rain began to ponder.

With a concrete example, things to say came to mind.

“Rael. Do you know what a knight who joins the Knights learns first?”

“Dishwashing? Cleaning?”

“…No, they learn not to let go of their sword. For example, let’s say a sword is stuck in a solid rock. Rael, what would you do?”

“What would I do? I’d try to give it a try once, and if it doesn’t seem like it’s coming out, I’d run away.”

“That’s right. But most knights try to pull out the sword by giving it strength several times.”

“Why?”

Rael couldn’t understand that foolish judgment at all.

His head could be cut off at any moment, but instead of running away, he’s trying to pull out the sword?

“Because knights are taught that they must not let go of their sword. You may find it hard to understand, but chivalry is a very important thing for knights. It was quite difficult for me to overcome in actual combat as well. If you fight a knight, be sure to remember that.”

“Hmm…”

He had often seen nobles filling useless formalities, but he didn’t know that knights would do that too.

‘No. Most of those bastards are nobles anyway.’

Come to think of it, it was only natural.

It seemed that those from noble backgrounds couldn’t break their habits even after becoming knights.

Rael nodded as if he understood.

*

The next day.

Day 3 of the Ascension Festival.

Rael walked through District 2 of the Ascension Festival again.

Seeing people laughing and enjoying the festival, it seemed they had completely forgotten that demons had invaded the capital.

‘As expected, the higher-ups are smart.’

To win back the public sentiment that had been ruined with just one festival.

It was a very great ability.

“Rael, hyung [older brother]. Shall we go get some chicken skewers together?”

“Don’t talk about chicken skewers. It makes me dizzy.”

Rael shook his head, walking with Carlson.

In fact, he was annoyed when he heard about the thousand-year ginseng from Ghent in the Special Guard yesterday.

He didn’t want to know any more about the strange things in this world.

“Rael. What’s over here?”

“There’s an event hall for the Blue Magic Tower. It’s a place where commoners can participate in the event for free, so I was going to go with everyone.”

Rael answered kindly to Teacher Sarah, who had approached.

She perked up at the mention of the Blue Magic Tower.

“Oh, really? But is it okay for us to go?”

To Sarah, a commoner, the Blue Magic Tower was like an unreachable sky.

“Don’t worry. I’ve checked everything.”

Rael confidently walked towards the event hall of the Blue Magic Tower.

The Tower Lord Ferma might not be at the event hall, but his secretary would definitely be there.

‘Was his name Chiron?’

Even if it doesn’t work out, he can ask that person.

Rael was a friend of the Blue Magic Tower now.

“Rael, oppa [term of endearment for older brother]. It’s my first time seeing a magician. What if they bother us with a big fire?”

“Nia. If there’s anyone like that, oppa will punish them, so don’t worry.”

Rael smiled, looking at the children.

In fact, it wasn’t a good idea to bring them all together, but from tomorrow, the Ascension Festival itself would be ruined by the black magician’s rebellion, so it couldn’t be helped.

Today was the last time to play with the children.

“What are those things? Where did they bring a bunch of kids from?”

“Looking at their clothes, they’re commoners… how unrefined. That’s why we need to divide the areas of the Ascension Festival… Tsk.”

At that time, two fat nobles in front of them were talking loudly so that everyone could hear.

They were openly picking on the children’s clothes.

At their words, the people around them snickered.

‘Stupid bastards.’

Rael raised the corners of his lips, looking at the nobles.

If Rael was alone, he would have to drag those guys to a place where they couldn’t be seen and do the troublesome work of wearing a Gaksital mask [a Korean superhero mask] and beating them up, but not now.

“You villains! Are you insulting the Rain Knights!”

Five Rain Knights were following behind the orphanage children.

Their mission was to protect the ‘orphanage,’ so they had no obligation to follow the Ascension Festival, but when he asked Commander Rain, he readily agreed.

‘The knights’ faces weren’t happy, but… it’s none of my business.’

Swish-

When a Rain Knight slightly drew his sword, the surprised nobles turned around.

“Ahem. Hmm. You’ve mistaken someone.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

The nobles disappeared like cockroaches into the crowd of the festival.

Seeing the people who had laughed at their words lower their heads, it seemed that the world was finally turning properly.

“Commander. Thank you.”

Rael approached Rain with a satisfied face.

“Haha. It’s nothing. … If you ever want to join the Rain Knights, feel free to tell me.”

“I understand. But you know, where are the royals in District 2? I thought they were going to have a parade.”

Rael looked around.

They said that the royals would be walking around to show the unwavering imperial family even in the face of the demon’s invasion, but he couldn’t find even a trace of them.

“The parade is only one hour a day. And it’s just a carriage passing by with its face covered so you can’t see it… The royals are probably having a party with the nobles by now.”

“…What kind of bastards are they? They’re supposed to be showing the strength of the imperial family, but they’re doing the parade like that?”

“Ahem. Rael, hyung. This is the middle of District 2.”

Carlson next to him was surprised by Rael’s harsh words and looked around.

Fortunately, no one was paying attention to this side after the Rain Knights’ threat.

“Then are they just playing at the party venue for the rest of the time?”

“That’s right. The location of the party venue is strictly secret, and the imperial Carmen Knights are guarding it. It’s the safest place in the empire.”

The Carmen Knights are the strongest knights in the empire.

They are willing to die for their mission.

“Ah. Is that so?”

Rael nodded without much thought, and suddenly remembered the first day of the festival.

It was when he was walking with Reina and encountered Yuri.

[Clear the way! The Second Princess is passing by!]

Clearly, the Carmen Knights had openly shown Yuri passing by.

They didn’t cover her face, and they even shouted loudly that the princess was passing by.

‘Is that a strict secret in medieval fantasy?’

Rael felt puzzled and headed to the event hall of the Blue Magic Tower.

*

The imperial capital was filled with the excitement and joy of the Ascension Festival.

The sounds of people laughing could be heard everywhere, and the loud voices of the merchants were full of energy.

However, even amidst such a splendid festival, darkness existed.

The shadows that darkened the festival began to gather one by one in the south of District 2, at the Academy.

“I have confirmed all the security of the Academy. We will begin the attack at the same time as the Academy participates in the Ascension Festival tomorrow.”

On the fourth day, when the Ascension Festival is at its loudest.

At that time when the Academy students participate in the festival, the black magicians were also planning to move.

“I heard that there will be no resistance in the south. Don’t worry and enjoy it.”

The black magician who was leading the plan wore a bitter smile.

It was information he had received from a reliable source, so he could focus on the plan with peace of mind.

“I heard that the Blue Magic Tower’s event hall in the south was not in the plan… is it okay?”

There were cautious guys among the black magicians, but his words were immediately denied.

“The Tower Lord has only shown his face once on the first day and has not been seen since. We can just trample the small fries and turn them into undead.”

The black magicians did not imagine the failure of the plan.

The reason they knew the festival inside and out was because of the empire’s help.

The empire wanted success, so there was no way they could fail.

“We will advance straight to the center. The moment we throw the festival into chaos is our victory.”

Create great chaos at the festival.

And eliminate the ‘target’.

The black magicians were promised the right to be provided with death row inmates just for that.

They were prepared to use any method.

The stench of rotting corpses rose from behind the black magicians.