That was Zich’s typical wordplay. Zich had fooled him on purpose, but since there was nothing wrong with what Zich actually said, Glen couldn’t come up with a proper retort. Surprisingly, Glen didn’t get angry. Zich’s companions obstructed him from defeating Zich, but everything was all still within his expectations.
‘It’s fine as long as the Demon Lord of Disaster and Demon Lord of Magic don’t intervene.” Glen had also brought along some ‘tools’ for a situation like this one, and he rushed at Zich as if none of Zich’s companions fazed him.
Bam! Zich and Glen’s swords collided once more. Hans went to help Zich when—whoosh! Byner swung his sword at Hans while Hans changed the direction of Estellade’s swing too.
Bam! As Estellade and Byner’s swords clashed, another loud sound rang out. Hans and Byner backed away a couple of steps; in that moment of opportunity, Lara aimed her sword at Byner. He struck away Lara’s sword and moved back a bit. Byner boiled with anger as new obstacles appeared, and his bloodshot eyes glared at Hans and Lara.
From far away, Pina activated her magic again. She formed a large pillar of ice this time—it was a pillar so big that those struck by it would end up disfigured and unrecognizable. Her target was Elena since she was chanting an incantation. Unlike its size, the ice pillar was quick and instantly towered over Elena’s head. Yet, what struck Elena’s body wasn’t the ice pillar.
Drrrr! The earth rose and covered Elena’s head like it was protecting her. It was Snoc’s doing. The barrier was mixed with dirt and hard metals and fully shielded Elena from the ice pillar; in the meantime, Elena finished her spell and shot down a pillar of fire at Pina.
Shaa! Like it was going to burn everything in its path, the fire pillar rushed forward. However, Elena’s attack also failed to land on Pina. Wing! A semi-transparent barrier appeared in front of Pina, blocked the pillar of fire, and melted into the air. After each member of both teams made their first attacks, the two teams officially engaged in battle. Sharp blades rushed for one another, magic spells devastated their surroundings, and authority over the earth clashed with holy magic. Soldiers distancing themselves to not get mixed in Zich and Glen’s fights moved even further away. It was evident what would happen if ordinary soldiers were swept up in the battle.
Although they fought as members of each team cooperated with one another, Zich and Glen began to drift farther apart from the rest of their groups as time passed. Glen looked at Zich suspiciously.
‘Is he really planning to fight me by himself?’ Glen wondered. He was purposefully trying to distance Zich from his group since he was confident that he would win if they fought one-to-one. After all, Glen had brought his ‘tools’ to occupy Zich’s companions temporarily while he got rid of Zich. If Zich brought the same companions from their last battle, his tools might not have been able to tie down Zich’s companions at all, but thanks to the Bellids’ ambush, Zich’s previous companions weren’t with him. With this, his tools could buy him a bit more time.
Yet, Zich had the same thought as Glen, and he followed Glen’s movements to easily separate himself from his group. No, it almost seemed as if Zich was the one who was leading Glen away.
‘How annoying.’ Glen recalled how Zich had confidently boasted that he planned to fight with him alone. Although this was favorable for Glen, it bruised his ego at the same time.
‘Damn bastard. I’m going to make him regret everything he said!’
The two continued moving while clashing swords. The soldiers within their vicinity quickly escaped, but those who were too slow or obstructed in some way died under the impact of their collisions. Of course, the two didn’t care about this. Since they were outside the wall right now, all the ones dying in their surroundings were soldiers from the allied forces, so Zich didn’t hesitate, and Glen didn’t care for such menial matters. Like that, the two separated from their companions and focused deeply on their own battle.
* * *
No one from the two teams cared as Zich and Glen separated from them. All members had been told by their leaders to keep the other team’s members occupied and nothing else.
“Haaaa!” Byner swung his sword widely, and Hans blocked the attack with Estellade.
“Kuh!” Byner groaned. He attacked a couple of more times, but Hans calmly swung Estellade and deflected all his attacks.
‘Even though he’s just a servant!’ Byner thought. The only thing that had been special about Hans was that he was the grandson of the Countess’ nanny; he was just a servant who did various chores inside the residence—unlike him who was one of the shining, promising talents among the Steelwall knights. The difference between them should have been as wide as the distance between the sky and the ground. Yet, this mere servant was blocking all his attacks. No—although Byner wasn’t admitting it because of his pride, his body was feeling first-hand that Hans was much superior to him in skills.
The fact that Hans was Zich’s disciple deepened Byner’s loathing for Hans. His anger was flowing more toward Hans now after realizing that Zich’s skills weren’t something he couldn’t dare to reach. In other words, Byner abhorred Zich the most, but because it seemed like he wouldn’t ever be able to beat Zich, Byner was taking his anger out on Hans. Of course, Byner also didn’t admit this. Whatever the reason, Byner wanted to brutally slaughter Hans. Thus, he continued to swing his sword but couldn’t pierce through Hans’ defenses.
Splurt!
“Ugh!” Instead, Lara used the openings to pierce his side. However, Byner didn’t stop.
Grab! Byner grabbed Lara’s sword, which was pierced into his side, with his bare hands. Even though blood dripped down his hand from the sharp blade, Byner paid no attention to the pain. He swung his sword at Lara in that state.
“Ack!” Lara was taken aback. She couldn’t immediately decide whether to give up on her sword and withdraw or use a different method. And such a delay was fatal in a life-threatening battle.
Smack! Hans quickly kicked Byner, and Byner struggled to stand upright while being pushed back. At the same time, Byner’s sword narrowly missed Lara’s neck.
“Thank you!” Lara wiped the sweat on her forehead and expressed her gratitude.
Swoosh! Ice magic rushed toward Hans and Lara again as Byner was pushed back. Flame arrows appeared at the same time and crashed against the ice.
Pssshhhhhh! Hot steam bloomed in the middle of the battlefield. Then rocks burst through the steam and fell towards Pina and Chelsea. Byner intervened in the middle and swung at the rocks with a lot of mana in his sword.
Baaam! The rocks were shattered and turned into crumbles and sand and scattered in all directions. He successfully blocked Snoc’s attack, but Byner’s wound grew bigger. Since his wound was severe, Byner would soon be incapacitated to fight if he continued fighting. However, when Chelsea’s staff lit up with light and moved toward Byner, his wound began to heal quickly.
Hans stared at this sight and said, “You ignore your wounds and continue attacking your opponent. That’s a method I’ve seen many times. It seems as if you’ve learned something from your fight with Sir Zich.”
“Shut up!”
Hans sighed. “Why don’t you stop? To be frank, your grudge against Sir Zich is ridiculous. It’s true that you and I were in the wrong, and it was a mistake that was severe enough to get my neck cut off and for you to be dismissed as a knight.”
Hans had been disrespectful to the Count’s successor, and Byner even tried to hit Zich.
Hans continued, “Sir, return to Steelwall after getting rid of your ridiculous grudge and ask for forgiveness from Sir Zich and Count Steelwall.”
“Forgiveness?” Hans’ words irked Byner, and he furiously gnashed his teeth. “Forgiveness? Me? To whom? For what? The whole household was against him during that time! He was crushed by the pressure and kept quiet too! You should know how it was!”
The emotions Byner had accumulated so far flowed out like a waterfall.
However, Hans calmly replied, “You should apologize for trying to hit Sir Zich and for betraying the Count. Regardless of the situation, what we did was clearly wrong, and the whole household wronged Sir Zich. Moreover, from what I heard, the Count didn’t hold you responsible after you lost to Sir Zich. However, you betrayed him at such an important time. There are numerous reasons why you should apologize.”
“Don’t make me laugh! I was supposed to obtain honor and glory incomparable to a mere servant like you! Also, he’s the bastard who put my dreams and future into the mud! And this is the estate of that bastard’s family! All of which are subject to my revenge!” Byner’s voice was dripping with deep hatred. He continued, “All I did was act like how everyone did around me like usual! Why do I have to experience such a pathetic defeat and have my future thrown in the mud!”
“Is that so.” Hans looked up at the sky for a moment as if he realized something and met Byner’s eyes. Then he said, “You were just unlucky.”
“…What?” Byner had been venting about his grudge as if he was vomiting blood, but he suddenly became speechless. He looked completely bewildered, yet anger soon consumed him. “Unlucky. I was unlucky? You’re saying that my life turned into shit just because I was unlucky!”
“But isn’t that true?” Hans calmly replied as if Byner’s anger was none of his business. “If there were another knight instead of you, they would have probably done the same as you. Sir Zich’s attitude and reaction toward them would have been the same. Thus, the same situation would have unfolded regardless of who it was. You were just there by chance.”
Then Hans softly repeated himself as if he were catering to a crying child, “You were unlucky.”
Byner realized that being told off so directly like this made one feel futile before getting angry. Lara glanced at Hans. Byner was clearly their enemy, and judging by his attitude and words, his morality was definitely on the bad side, but she hadn’t expected Hans to tell a person burning up with rage and hatred that all their struggles were a result of just bad luck.
‘I thought this before, but Mr. Hans is surprisingly good at crushing people with his words.’ It also went without saying who Hans adapted this ability from. ‘Should I consult with Ms. Lyla?’
Lara stored this idea in her head and said, “Mr. Hans, you’re surprisingly cruel in a way.”
“Huh? But he didn’t say anything wrong?”
Koo.
“…”
One beast and one more person had been deeply influenced by Zich.