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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
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Chapter 59: The Infected City (4)
The first match of the tournament was between a knight under Rupert's command and a knight from another territory.
Clang! Clash!
Swords clashed with a sharp metallic sound.
After the two knights exchanged a few blows, Hamel could already see the outcome.
"He's quite skilled."
"Indeed. He must be at least a mid-level knight."
As they spoke, the knight from Glenvale effortlessly overwhelmed his opponent.
The difference in their fundamentals was evident.
Moreover, there was a gap in their overall skill, making the result obvious.
And as Hamel and Daniel had predicted, the match ended quickly.
"The winner is Sir Luwen from Glenvale!"
Cheers erupted from the crowd, and the victor, basking in his victory, bowed towards the audience.
Soon after, the announcer on the platform called out the next match.
"Next is the pride of our territory and a rising star, Sir Zart Demoir, the Oak Shield!"
Wooooooooooooh!
Was he a famous figure?
The excitement of the audience reached even where Hamel was seated.
The announcer then introduced his opponent.
"And his opponent is... Sir Daniel, from Heidern in the east!"
At the announcement, murmurs arose from the audience.
"Daniel? Do you know him?"
"No. I've never even heard of this place called Heidern."
"Well, this match will be boring."
Hamel, listening quietly, looked up at Daniel and asked,
"Did you hear that?"
"It's hard not to with all that noise."
Daniel shrugged and stood up.
Ono, who had been watching their conversation intently, said with concern,
"Conserve your strength. Don't waste your energy getting excited."
"Don't worry."
Daniel chuckled and walked towards the aLena.
He muttered under his breath,
"I'll finish it in the blink of an eye."
"..."
'He's getting excited.'
Hamel sighed and watched Daniel.
There was power in his stride as he entered the aLena.
Despite everything, Daniel was a knight after all.
Those who marched towards the battlefield, where death was certain, all for the sake of honor.
"Begin!”
Lord Edmuir's voice boomed.
As Daniel gripped his sword, someone from the audience shouted encouragement.
"Hey, Zart! Show that eastern weakling the might of the north!"
"..."
The knight called Zart nodded towards the audience and tightened his grip on his sword.
He seemed quite relaxed.
In response, Daniel...
Shing!
Sheathed his sword.
"...What are you doing?"
At his opponent's question, Daniel walked towards him and said,
"I don't think I can control my strength if I use this."
Daniel shrugged and drew his auxiliary dagger.
"...How arrogant."
Zart, seeing this, was enraged and swung his sword.
"...AYou’ll die regretting your arrogance!"
The sword, swung with great speed, flew towards the gap in Daniel's helmet.
But
Whoosh!
Daniel slipped past the sword and moved past his opponent.
"...?"
In the next moment, Zart's body faltered and collapsed.
Zart tried to get up, using his sword as support, but his stance crumbled once again.
"Wh-what happened?"
Even the referee blinked in confusion.
Then, blood trickled down from the gap in Zart's armor around his knee.
Daniel wiped the blood off his dagger and said to the referee,
"He won't be able to use his left leg for a while. Should I continue?"
"Ah... no. That..."
After a moment of hesitation, the referee raised his flag and shouted,
"The winner is Sir Daniel of Heidern!"
"..."
There was no roar of the crowd.
To the spectators, the match had been decided in the blink of an eye.
No one had expected such a swift conclusion.
However, the knights participating in the tournament saw it differently.
They had witnessed the overwhelming difference in skill between the two.
"...A monster has joined the competition."
"Daniel...you say? Have you heard of him?"
"No, but that red helmet decoration, I've seen it somewhere... Ah!"
One of the knights suddenly stood up and shouted,
"Red cloak, red helmet decoration. Could it be... the Red Helmet Knight?"
"What? That wandering knight, a high-ranking one?"
A commotion erupted among the knights.
This was the north, where the sword was revered.
Daniel's alias was even more widely known here than elsewhere.
"..."
As Daniel walked back to his seat, the murmurs died down.
Hamel nodded calmly and said,
"Well done."
"It was nothing."
When Daniel sat down, the knight's reactions were clearly divided in two.
Those who were burning with competitive spirit, and those who sighed in discouragement and left their seats.
Because of this, the matches were temporarily suspended.
After some time had passed, the announcer resumed the tournament.
"Next is Edith, the Black Axe, from Sturnhelm. And her opponent is... My, it seems I have the honor of introducing a very famous person."
The announcer continued the introduction in a surprised tone.
"The new saint, the talk of the town, and an exorcist priest of the Order. Sir Hamel Saint Gilmore!"
"...What?"
"That rumored priest?"
The entire arena was abuzz, as if even the knights, let alone the audience, hadn't known about this.
Daniel, listening quietly, said teasingly,
"As expected, the reaction is different for a celebrity who even has a song about him."
"I'll be back."
Hamel, seemingly unconcerned, stood up and headed towards the arena.
The knight, who was already in the arena waiting, asked, shouldering a battle-axe as tall as herself,
"Pleased to meet you, My Lord. Rumor has it you caught a lion bigger than a castle. Is that true?"
"No. If you're talking about the Manticore, it wasn't that big."
Of course, it did fly and spit poison, but he didn't feel the need to explain that.
His opponent chuckled and tightened her grip on the axe.
"As expected, rumors tend to be exaggerated. I was curious about the unique ability that exorcist priests are said to use. Please, show me your skills."
Hamel calmly drew his sword and replied,
"I won't use my unique ability. This is a swordsmanship tournament."
"...You'll regret that. I won't go easy on you just because you're a lord."
"That's fine."
It was the moment Hamel took his stance.
"Begin!"
Lord Edmuir's voice boomed.
As soon as the match started, Edith swung her massive axe.
Hamel parried the attack effortlessly.
And then he quickly slashed at his opponent's shoulder.
It looked easy, but deflecting a weapon larger and heavier than himself with only technique and no aura required considerable skill.
Moreover, the speed of his counterattack was worthy of being called a swift sword.
"...You're quite skilled."
"Thank you."
Hamel calmly maintained his stance.
He had cut her shoulder, but his opponent's armor was sturdy.
It was only a minor wound, so Hamel continued to swing his sword.
Dodging the massive axe and slashing with his sword.
It was a simple counterattack, but it was effective once again.
He had struck the weakest point in his opponent's defenses, her armpit.
But again, the wound was shallow.
The opposing knight, hiding her wounded pride, forced a smile.
"You're very skilled. But my armor is a masterpiece made by the best blacksmith in Sturnhelm."
"I've heard the rumors..."
The armor was as solid as a castle.
He had heard rumors about the famous blacksmith in Sturnhelm.
It was said that the armor he crafted couldn't be pierced by any sword and could even cut through stone.
There was even a joke-like debate about what would happen if a sword made by him were to strike armor made by him.
Seeing it in person, it seemed the rumors weren't exaggerated.
Though he had aimed for the gaps and seams in the armor, only shallow cuts were inflicted.
Perhaps acknowledging Hamel's skill, his opponent no longer tried to win with technique alone.
"I acknowledge your swordsmanship, but isn't equipment also a virtue of a knight?"
She gripped her axe, blatantly disregarding defense.
It was as if she would willingly take one or two hits from Hamel's sword.
"..."
Hamel, watching this, simply held his sword calmly, as always.
Silence fell over the surroundings.
The audience could sense it too.
That the match would be decided with a single blow.
And they all anticipated Hamel's defeat.
Although Hamel was clearly the more skilled swordsman, it seemed he wouldn't be able to land a decisive blow.
Dash!
It was Edith, the Black Axe, who charged first.
She raised his massive axe and rushed forward like a raging bull, roaring,
Uwaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Hamel, watching her, also slowly took a step forward.
One step.
And another.
Gaining momentum, Hamel dashed forward like the wind.
As the two swordsmen crossed paths, everyone watching held their breath.
In the next moment,
Contrary to everyone's expectations, there was no deafening clash of steel.
They simply ran past each other.
Thud thud!
Edith took a few more steps past Hamel.
She then dropped her axe, which she hadn't even managed to swing, feebly to the ground.
At the same time, blood trickled down from the gauntlet of her axe-wielding hand.
"...I lost."
Edith bowed her head, admitting defeat.
The match was decided.
And again, there were no cheers from the audience.
At first, they blinked in confusion, unable to comprehend what had happened, but then they saw it.
The intangible blue mist-like energy clinging to Hamel's sword.
"...No way."
One of the knights slowly stood up and muttered.
He couldn't believe his eyes.
The blue energy emanating from the sword held by the supposed priest.
It meant only one thing.
Aura, the symbol of a high-ranking knight.
***
Waaaaaaaaaah!
A thunderous roar filled the arena.
The silence was short-lived, replaced by a storm of applause and cheers.
"Hamel! Hamel! Hamel! Hamel!"
Hamel returned to his seat amidst the cheers calling his name.
Daniel, who had been waiting for him, asked in a daze,
"...When did you learn to use Aura?"
"Not long ago."
Hamel slowly shook his head and sat down.
At Daniel's questioning gaze, Hamel continued,
"I became fully aware of it after the fight at the Magic Tower."
After completing the second stage of the talisman, Hamel could sense mana more clearly than before.
Later, while learning about incantations from Lena, he got a feel for how to utilize mana.
He realized he could use Aura after defeating the old woman in the cabin.
Hamel spoke calmly, as if it were nothing special.
"It's still imperfect. I can only manifest it in my sword for a very short time. It must be because I lack talent."
"...?"
Daniel and Ono, hearing this, looked at each other in disbelief.
It took them quite a while to realize that he wasn't joking or deceiving them.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
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