The Story Of The Second Son Of The Baron Family [EN]: Chapter 110

Clang-

Something shattered. Ephram was certain. The ear-splitting sound was the sound of a strange metal lump breaking against his sword. It was odd that it rang out so cleanly, not with a scraping sound, but he had deflected it before without using his full power. He figured he had put too much force into it, enough to shatter it rather than just cut it.

‘Right. I was just careless.’

The one he was facing, though not as skilled as himself, was still formidable. At least, not someone to be careless with, someone worth giving his all against.

‘Even so, I’ll be the one to win in the end.’

That last move must have been his best. Otherwise, the attacks throughout the battle would not have been so light.

If he could use it without any burden, there would have been no need to use it only when he thought it was an opportunity, only when he was sure. Now that his hidden card had been shattered head-on, the duel was as good as over. As he turned his head to see Renil’s dismayed face, he realized that extreme pain was rising from his grip, from within.

‘······?’

He realized it, but he couldn’t understand it. Why was pain surging? The metal lump must have been shattered to pieces, but not a single piece had pierced his body. Besides, why was the pain coming from inside, not from his flesh?

Puzzled, he shifted his gaze to the sword in his hand, wondering where the clang had come from, why the pain was rising from his core rather than his skin.

Of course. What was broken was not the bullet but his aura. The sword that should have been the center was trembling, and there were cracks here and there, so it was by no means in a normal state. He couldn’t understand what was happening for a moment.

‘Why?’

In the case of a mage, if they are interrupted while chanting and weaving signs to cast a spell, they can suffer irreparable damage. Is it any different for a knight? If the aura being maintained is forcibly broken, the feedback is inevitable.

‘The aura blade was invincible… or was it not?’

In this case, it was important to clean up the aftermath as quickly as possible. The faster he dealt with it, the shorter the recovery period would be. This wasn’t a battlefield where even a small mistake could cost him his life, so he had to stop the duel and get treatment quickly. But Ephram didn’t have the presence of mind to do so.

If this had been a battlefield where they were fighting for each other’s lives, if Renil had been sure of victory and hadn’t withdrawn his next move, he would have suffered even greater injuries without being able to do anything.

#

‘It’s over.’

The development of the special mass bullet wasn’t that long ago. It was an idea that suddenly came to me while thinking about ways to counter the Titans.

The Titan possessed both formidable defense and agile mobility that didn’t match its massive size. In particular, it also had almost invincible magic resistance against magic that lacked physical power through mithril [a mythical metal] coating. I led the development, but there was no greater nemesis for a mage.

But I couldn’t just sit back and take it. You never knew what might happen, when, or where. It would be foolish not to prepare for a problem that was so obvious.

That’s how the special mass bullet was born. Mithril had strong magic resistance, but its strength was relatively weak. That’s why alloys are the first thing you think of when you want something sturdy. In other words, the more crude, the better.

Besides, even if the bullet speed was relatively slow, it wasn’t so slow that it couldn’t outpace the Titan’s mobility, and since it was small, about the size of a finger, it was difficult for the Titan to react to. Unless it crouched down and only defended the location of the occupant.

From the start, it wasn’t a weapon meant to be used against humans. I brought it out this time because of who I was facing, and it didn’t let me down.

‘It’s much better than I thought.’

At the level of ordinary knights, they wouldn’t be able to block it a hundred times out of a hundred attempts. This was a fact revealed through experience, not just a simple guess. But I didn’t expect it to show this much power even against a Master.

‘Or is that person 2% short?’

People call us Sword Masters and 7-circle Masters, but this realm is too broad to be lumped together like that. Even if you add up all the paths you’ve walked before reaching the realm of the superhuman, the path you have to walk afterward is even longer.

As a result, even if they are said to be at the same level, the difference in skill can only become greater.

Beginning and middle, middle and end, beginning and end.

At least, Count Linchester was just a baby crawling in this realm. Whether it was swordsmanship or the skill of handling magic, apart from mere physical abilities. As such, the results may have been better than expected.

“The match seems to be decided, and I hope you’ll think with your head at least once before making such reckless remarks from tomorrow. Also, improve your skills a little more if you want a personal plane.”

“Wai, wait… The match is not yet…”

He wouldn’t want to admit it. But even at a glance, Count Linchester no longer had the strength to continue the battle. The external wounds were not very noticeable, but the inside must have been a mess. Once, I had experienced magic over-saturation with my own body, so I knew that fact better than anyone else.

“How long are you going to just watch? Get Count Linchester out of here!”

Then, several people hurriedly ran out, supported Count Linchester, bowed to me, and hurried out. If they had any sense, they would know what state Count Linchester was in, so they must be in a hurry.

“Just wasted time.”

I thought I would gain something, even if only a little, since he was someone who had reached the same level, but thanks to him, my mood improved a little, but it was literally a waste of money and time.

#

The aftermath of the duel was by no means small. There weren’t many people watching, but it wasn’t like they were keeping it a secret, so there was no shortage of news about the results spreading. Thanks to that, I had to suffer for a while.

“Let’s fight too!”

As soon as Ruin’s production was completed, Marquis Pongke, who had stopped visiting like a lie, came to me and made a fuss, saying that he wanted to fight me too.

I was sure that I would win against Count Linchester, and even if I struggled a little, I was sure that I wouldn’t get seriously hurt, so I readily agreed, but Marquis Pongke was a different level of skilled than Count Linchester. Besides, given his personality, I couldn’t easily guarantee what would happen during the sparring, so I couldn’t rashly agree in a position where I had to be careful about injuries.

But running away and turning him away could only be done once or twice, and eventually, when the Northern Expedition was successfully completed, I was able to get out of his grasp only after making a promise to respond to the sparring.

“Count Hughes. His Majesty the Emperor orders you to enter the Imperial Palace immediately.”

“His Majesty the Emperor?”

“Yes.”

“…I understand. Shall I lead the way?”

The Emperor’s call came several days after the duel. But the Emperor didn’t care about that incident, and he brought up something completely unrelated, but something I had been expecting.

“The spring of the year after next.”

At first, I didn’t know what he was talking about. The spring of the year after next out of the blue, but even though there was no other explanation, I could tell what time the Emperor was talking about and what it was for.

“Is that so.”

“It’s not something that will end in a day or two, so it’s only natural. At the same time, there must be no failure. So the preparation period will inevitably be longer.”

The spring of the year after next.

In terms of time, it’s about a year and a half.

That was when the Emperor was thinking of starting the conquest, and it was also when I had to get out of my relatively peaceful daily life in the capital.

‘It’s a good time.’

As the Emperor said, it’s not something that will end in a day or two. At least in years. Besides, according to the Emperor’s plan, it was necessary to show as much results as possible in a short period of time, so it was necessary to avoid winter as much as possible. It had been verified through repeated experiments that the Titan would operate without any problems even in the extreme cold of the North, but the forces deployed in the North were not just the Titan.

“So I hope the Count will prepare accordingly.”

That’s obvious. Whose wish brought this far, and for the sake of efficiency – even if I’m capable, it’s difficult for one person to cover ten hands, a hundred hands – I handed over the main role of the battlefield to the Titan, but I had no intention of stepping back and just watching like an old man in the back room. Even if it’s more efficient.

‘I was going to force my way even if they stopped me, so that’s a relief.’

In fact, it might have been better for me to stay in the capital in terms of efficiency. No matter how capable I am, I’m still an individual, although it’s not enough to express a superhuman in one word, individual, there are limits.

In order to facilitate the production of the Titan, which will be the center of the conquest, I was the only one who could make the core. In addition, to have a wider impact on the battle, it would be better to produce efficient weapons that can be used by many people, rather than participating directly, as it is now.

But the reason I didn’t do that was because I didn’t want to just watch the knot I had decided to untie being untied by someone else’s hand, I wanted to untie at least some of it myself.

“I understand.”

#

“The year after next?”

“Yes. I probably won’t be back for quite a while.”

That night, I had dinner with my wife and told her the news. I often told her about my future, so she reacted to my words more calmly than I thought.

“You can stay here or go back to the Zeke territory for a while.”

“I’ll stay here. I don’t want to make you wait when you come back, whenever that may be.”

After that trip, we got a little closer. It’s not that we had a bad relationship before, but I should say that we understood each other a little better.

“Ugh!”

“…What’s wrong?”

“S, sorry. Just for a moment…”

She suddenly covered her mouth with her hand and left the dining room. The maids who were serving her looked at her with pale faces. But there was nothing wrong with the food. I was eating the same food.

‘Could it be?’

Could it be that it’s always as expected? That famous saying, whoever said it, didn’t miss this time either.

“Congratulations.”