Chapter 242
“He’s particularly intense today.”
“That means his opponent is strong. It is the first time I’ve seen anyone who can push Piaro like this.”
“But who is that person? This is the first time I’ve seen him.”
“I think he’s Duke Grid’s new subordinate?”
The wheat field was becoming more destroyed due to Piaro and the black-haired swordsman’s duel. It was already a 50m radius of destruction. It had returned to the time when it was still a wasteland.
But there was no sense of confusion or frustration in the expressions of the farmers watching the confrontation. They were used to this. Piaro often sparred with the Overgeared members, so it wasn’t just once or twice that the fields turned into a mess. Rabbit admonished him to shift places when fighting, but Piaro stood firm.
If he destroyed the field, then he would have more work to do. It was a bizarre logic, but the fields had officially been turned into a sparring ground. Piaro was a real labor addict.
“Bland, isn’t that Piaro’s share?”
There was also a noble among the farmers. Bland was caught eating Piaro’s snack and cried out.
“Why is this Piaro’s share? Piaro said he wouldn’t eat!”
“I don’t know…”
“Uhuh! Piaro said it! Then the person who eats it first is the owner!”
“…”
Bland had completely adapted to the farmer’s life. It was hard to believe that he was a noble. He was covered in dirt and chewing on a potato. The farmers knew the circumstances of being taken hostage and felt compassion for him.
However, Bland was happy. He found these days 100 times more free and enjoyable than the time when he needed to be conscious of other people.
Caw~!
A roc flew in the sky. It had a large body and liked eating wheat. A couple of days ago, the monster had tried to loot the wheat field. But before it could reach the wheat field, it was hit in the sky. It was magic that Bland had strengthened through continuous duels with Piaro. Blood spilled out and the body of the monster fell to one side of Reidan’s wheat field.
This place was peaceful today. There were few places safer on the continent than this.
***
The power of Advanced Sword Mastery Level 7, his passive skill ‘Sword Reinforcement and the effect of various titles, including Sword Saint Candidate, overlapped with the power of Storm Sword and allowed him to cope with the Supreme Swordsmanship.
Piaro laughed as the Storm Sword neutralized his strike.
‘Huhu, it was offset.’
There were few people who survived against Supreme Swordsmanship 1st style. But Kraugel defended against it. Piaro thought that Kraugel would at least get a serious injury.
‘My condition isn’t very good right now.’
As a great swordsman, he didn’t cling to weapons or armor. He didn’t feel the need to rely on tools. But at this moment, he felt regret about his tools. If he had been armed with a better sword, would the Supreme Swordsmanship 1st style be able to be blocked?
Shake shake.
Piaro shook off his thoughts.
‘Muller wouldn’t blame his tools.’
It was laughable that a person aiming to be a sword saint would blame his tools. The purpose of this duel wasn’t a one-sided victory. It was something that would assist his growth. He should be happy if his opponent held on for a long time.
‘This technique is relentless.’
The remnants of the Storm Sword persistently clung to Piaro. Piaro had to waste time to defeat these persistent fragments and Kraugel didn’t miss this gap. He used Mole Ascension.
Pahat!
White Fang moved through the earth. Piaro also didn’t stay still. He responded with Supreme Swordsmanship, 5th style.
Pachichik!
Colorless energy unfolded around him like a spider web. It destroyed the remnants of the Storm Sword, while at the same time, neutralizing Mole Ascension and covering Kraugel.
‘Nine.’
Kraugel grasped the number of invisible energy. It was because of the power of Keen Senses.
‘I can’t block all of them.’
Kraugel’s brain rotation speed was unmatched. He determined his actions quickly and protected his vital spots.
[You have suffered 8,830 damage.]
[You have suffered 9,200 damage.]
[You have suffered 9,050 damage.]
‘The damage is more than expected.’
The legendary armor and artifacts that he gathered while raiding a lot of boss monsters weren’t much help. Piaro had a power that made defense useless. Kraugel endured the pain and didn’t delay his next attack. It was his turn to take off some flesh and bones.
“Moonrise Sword.”
It was a skill that exerted its full power under the light of the full moon. But he was currently in a predicament and couldn’t afford to not use it. The moon moved behind the sun.
Susuk. Sususuk.
Kraugel accelerated and activated the stealth function in the blazing sunlight. It was the effect of the white light, which utilized the refraction of light. Kraugel had amazing control skills, so this technique was perfect in his hands.
‘Hah.’
Piaro had to concentrate in order to not miss the disappearing Kraugel. However, Kraugel wasn’t emitting any energy. As soon as he disappeared from view, Piaro couldn’t detect him. It was the moment when the man who reached the peak of two billion users met the strongest swordsman on the continent.
Piaro was tense. This was the first time he sweated in a long time. White Fang penetrated through his qi defense.
[You have dealt 12,400 damage to the target.]
The attack hit, but Kraugel’s expression wasn’t good.
‘I can only deal this much damage, despite attacking a person wearing no armor… I could only exert 30% of my power.’
Kraugel was regretful about his attack. But he believed that he could change the flow with this. He went on the offensive against Piaro. However, the power of Supreme Swordsmanship was scary.
Piaro’s sword started to intentionally harmonize with Kraugel’s blade. Kraugel was forced back by the sword and forced to feel like he was caught in a large spider web. He couldn’t even unfold his swordsmanship.
‘Calm down. It doesn’t matter if his swordsmanship style is stronger than mine.’
Kwaduduk!
Kraugel was aware of it. The world was wide and there were many monsters. He might be the strongest among users, but he knew that there were stronger monsters and NPCs that could trample on him. He was prepared to taste the bitter sense of defeat at any time. But he never dreamt that one day he would be defeated by a farmer.
‘No, it hasn’t been decided yet.’
Kraugel tried to suppress his sense of defeat. Piaro used the Supreme Swordsmanship, 3rd style. It wasn’t a speed that could be followed with the eyes. A normal person wouldn’t have been able to cope and would’ve been pierced through the heart.
But Kraugel was successful in responding. He instantly twisted White Fang.
Jjejeong!
The moment he defended against the attack, Kraugel realized that he had made a mistake.
‘Force palm?’
Peeng!
Qi was delivered through White Fang. Blood poured out from Kraugel’s mouth.
[You have suffered 18,900 damage.]
He lost half of his life. Fortunately, Piaro had discarded his sword. If it had been a sword then it wouldn’t have ended well.
‘I have half my mana left.’
He needed to arrange his power. Kraugel had many powerful sword skills such as Meteor Sword, Storm Sword and Moonrise.
Flash!
One of the ultimate skills of a White Swordsman, White Light Sword, generated a brilliant light. Piaro was disappointed as he lost sight of him. A white light covered him. Piaro felt a sense of crisis and shouted.
“Supreme Swordsmanship 4th Style!”
Something terrific happened. White Fang, which should’ve pierced Piaro, was sucked towards something like a magnet. The momentum of White Light Sword naturally collapsed.
Kudududuk!
Piaro’s discarded sword attracted White Fang using a magnetic force.
‘I can’t resist this force…!’
The magnetic force was too strong, and control was useless. There were few options left for Kraugel. He couldn’t lose this weapon, so he was forced to use ‘Tearing the Sky.’ Tearing the Sky was another one of the White Swordsman’s ultimate moves. It consumed a lot of mana, so it was a skill he was reluctant to use.
Kwajajak! Kwajajajajak!
White Fang was surrounded by the claws of a beast and started to resist the magnetic force, tearing it up. The skill proved why it was called Tearing the Sky.
[The durability of the White Fang has decreased by 213.]
‘This is nonsense.’
His weapon’s durability had decreased by two-thirds at once. This was dangerous. He hadn’t been able to repair it for 10 days, so the low durability caused it to shine red. It might break if he kept on fighting.
‘Even my mana is at the bottom. Meanwhile, my opponent is fine.’
Piaro only lost one-fifth of his health from the attack. Moreover, he seemed to have a lot of cards left.
‘Should I just stick with it?’
If he bought the Sweet Candy from the Reputation Store, all his stats would increase by 30% for 10 minutes. It might be a 30% increase, but his overall combat strength would become approximately twice as high. If he opened up the ‘Super Sensitivity’ effect, he might be able equal Piaro.
‘No, maybe I can win.’
But there was no need to take it that far.
‘There is no reason to take a loss in a fight where I have nothing to gain.’
The Sweet Candy was something he used in the Drasion raid.
Muller defeated Drasion, Hell Gao, Lepir, and Kurson, so there were 29 great demons left. He didn’t want to waste the candy that he reserved for use against dragon raids or the 29 great demons.
In the end, Kraugel made a reasonable choice. He admitted defeat.
“It’s my defeat.”
It was an absurd development. He never imagined that he would be defeated in a city he stopped at to dispose of his loot.
Piaro shook hands with Kraugel and said. “It was a good fight.”
“Why aren’t you killing me?”
Kraugel questioned, making Piaro click his tongue.
“I’m not crazy. Why would I kill a person for no reason? You would’ve died if I wanted to kill you.”
He had the skill Fated to Perish. Kraugel couldn’t believe his ears.
“You seemed to be filled with killing intent.”
Piaro picked up the sword he threw to one side of the wheat field and apologized.
“I wanted it to be a sincere fight. I’m sorry.”
Kraugel asked a question. “What type of person is Duke Grid? Why is a strong person like you acting as a farmer in Reidan?”
It was okay if Piaro was stronger than him. He knew that was reality. However, he couldn’t accept this strong person being someone else’s subordinate. Aside from the problem of pride, it was too dangerous.
Piaro frankly explained to Kraugel, who had a serious expression. “I’m not Duke Grid’s subordinate. I am doing field work as part of training, and I receive a reward for finding water.”
“Field work as training?”
Piaro made a proposal to the confused Kraugel. “Why don’t you do it with me? Together, we will be able to quickly grow stronger.”
“Together…”
What were they going to do?
‘It can’t be.’
Kraugel made an uneasy expression. Piaro pointed to Reidan’s fields. “Work in the morning, spar in the afternoon.”
“…”
“You will really become stronger. Do you want to try it for a month?”
‘It is different.’
A notification window popped up in front of Kraugel, who was going to dismiss it as nonsense.
[A hidden quest has been created.]
‘This…’
The quest was amazing. If he practiced together with Piaro, he would be closer to becoming a sword saint.
‘A month isn’t a short amount of time, but…’
This was an opportunity to go beyond the wall. It was a different concept from simply raising his level, so it was worth investing time into. No, he couldn’t miss this. It was a once in a lifetime chance at a jackpot.
“I understand. I will stay with you for the moment.”
[The quest has been accepted.]
On this day.
A good farmer was added to Reidan. But this was a minor thing, so it wasn’t reported to the higher ups. Grid was currently in the empire, while the Overgeared members weren’t present due to the mine development mission or raids.
Grid and the Overgeared members didn’t know that the first ranked user was growing the food they were going to eat.