Chapter 20 “A Knight’s Friendly Battle”
Nerva is going to fight him? I never heard about that! I thought it was about Sir Lange that wanted to have a match with someone from the militia. The only reason that came into my mind at that time was that some of the soldiers were feeling quite upset that they were beat up so easily and challenged him to another match or so. I’ve known them to be quite a prideful bunch since they have done to same when I’ve beat them in training. They even asked me for that twice. Of course I’ve beat them thoroughly so that they won’t ask about it again. That’s why the moment I heard that Sir Lange wanted to borrow the training field, I thought of that reason immediately.
My confusion aside, I felt quite happy that he asked me to become their referee. Although it is quite an honor to become the referee of such a strong knight’s fight, that is not what made me the happiest. The fact that Nerva said honestly that he will show his strength is the reason that made the happiest.
But it is still quite strange for him to suddenly want to fight him. And judging by Sir Lange’s response, he wasn’t aware of that fact either. He was so confused that it seemed that he has forgotten to close his mouth and left it opened like that. Really, if I don’t know Nerva, I will be like that too. To be able to cope with any sudden surprise is a must if you want to be near him. Well…sorry, I am still training myself to be able to do just that. It is quite challenge for me.
“W-W-What are you talking about?!” A sudden shout from near me snapped me from my own pondering. Of course, that came from the knight. “Are you telling me to fight you?” Nerva just nodded at him. “Are you taking me for a joke!?” Quite an expected reaction, I suppose.
“Hmm, so you think I was joking, Ingolf?” Huh? Is it all right for him to call him that? As I glanced toward the one being called, there’s no change in his expression. I guess he was too angry to even bother with that. “I see, I see.” Nerva nodded several times as he lowered his sword. Hmm? The scene looked somewhat familiar for me….Oh no…” Well, I could talk you to about accepting my challenge, but I have an even faster method for that.” As I realized what he was going to do, I steeled myself and let my fists tightened.
Then he tapped the sword onto the ground once. Just like that time, an invisible wave of power swept the area with him as the center of that great wave. The moment the wave hit me, I could feel a tremendous pressure slam into me. It was quite strong, but since I expected that, I wasn’t that surprised. Although I wasn’t that surprised, just to be able to stand straight is already an effort for me. At least I didn’t fall down like last time. That is still an accomplishment for me.
“…guh…” A slight groan reached my ear, making me turned my attention toward the source. There I could see Sir Lange struggled to maintain a composed expression. Even he was unable to endure it? Or was that probably because he didn’t expected Nerva to be able to do that? He put his hand onto his sword and then unsheathed it immediately. With a frustrated expression, he pointed his sword toward Nerva. “You! Who are you!?”
“Calm down now, Ingolf.” Nerva tapped the sword again. I let out a relieved breath as soon as another wave hit me. It lifted the pressure almost instantly. I moved around my body and felt very glad that I was able to withstand that, unlike last time. “I am still Nerva, the Chief Apothecary of the Fouge’s Militia. If you are not convinced and don’t believe me, you can ask Eryell there.” He gestured toward me with his head. Hearing that, Sir Lange looked at me while still brandishing his weapon toward Nerva.
“Is that true, Ms. Reystone?”
“It is.” I nodded. “He is as he says. Don’t worry, Sir Lange. You are not the only one being surprised by his ability.” I then looked toward Nerva. “Even until now, I still don’t know his real ability.”
“And that’s why I’m showing it to you right at this moment, Eryell.” He smiled at me and then turned his attention toward the sword wielding knight. “Hear me first, Ingolf. You just said to me that you want to protect your comrade, your friend, the royal family. Just as you, I also have something I want to protect. This town and the many people live in it. My friend.” He then turned toward me. “My precious person.” I couldn’t help but felt my face got hotter the moment he said that. “Just like you that have something to protect, I also have something that I want to protect. And if what you said is true, that something bad will happen in this town at the time of the royal family visitation, I will gladly lend you my help.” H-Huh? Something bad will happen? I know that everything is not fine and the situation is rather tense at the moment, but I never heard anything like that.
“Nerva! What do you mean by that?”
“Uhm, let’s just say that Ingolf has been seeing some kind of prophecy about some kind of danger that will fall onto the royal family and the whole knight corps.” He then let out a sigh. “I know that it might sound crazy, but I believe him since I also have a rather bad premonition of my own at the moment. I’ll tell you the detail later on.”
W-Wait a minute! This is getting stranger and stranger, not to mention confusing. I looked at Sir Lange and he still looked rather tense, making it impossible for me to confirm his words. I tried to rack my mind for something to say, but failed to find any argument to give. I let out a sigh, feeling rather frustrated at my own stupidity and lacked of any wisdom to use in this kind of situation. With nothing good to say, I then arrived at one question toward Nerva.
“…You believe him?” He firmly nodded at my question. “Then I’ll believe him too.”
“Ms. Reystone?”
“As weird as you might think, I believe Nerva’s decision.” I let out a small smile. “He is, after all, much more than just a blind man.” I almost blurted out ‘and the man I love’ to the open. Because of that, I felt once again my face getting slightly hotter. I then heard a small chuckle from Nerva….Ah…he knew.
“…I see…” Sir Lange looked at him and then retracted his sword and pointed them downward. “Forgive me, Nerva. I was…kind of…”
“Don’t worry.” He then let out a small laugh. “It is expected for someone to feel offended if a blind and weak looking man challenged them.” After he said that, I noticed a wry smile appeared on Sir Lange’s face. This guy really knows how to make someone feel guilty.
“And to think that the first thing they taught me is not to judge a person by their appearance.” Sir Lange then joined his laugh. “…Really…I still need a lot of training.”
“Well, isn’t that what we came here for?” Nerva then took a distance from him and then stood there while facing his direction. “Let’s not waste any time, shall we?”
“Understood.” He then walked toward the opposite side of him. After he reached his position, he looked at Nerva. “So what’s the rule? The usual one?”
The ‘usual one’ Sir Lange mentioned is the rule commonly used in a practice match in the militia between the soldiers. The combatant fights with their chosen weapon and then tries to land a solid attack until either side gives up. No killing blow is allowed. Usually to prevent that, the use of wooden sword is a must. In the event of no one surrendering, the referee has the right to stop the match and declare the one that landed the most hit as the winner.
“Let’s see…that might take some time.” He’s right. And if the combatants have a high stamina, then the match tends to strech for a long time. “What do you think, Eryell?”
“Hmm…How about the one that can disarm their opponent win?” I looked at the two of them, waiting for their reaction.
“Not bad. Let’s do that.” Sir Lange replied while looking at Nerva. “What do you think, Nerva?”
“That is certainly a good idea. But…” A small grin appeared on his face. I have a bad feeling about that. “Let’s spice it up a bit.”
“…What do you have in mind, Nerva?”
“Let’s start with a set of five blows. You can start first, and then I will go next. How’s that?”
“Interesting.” Sir Lange nodded his head several times as he touched his chin. “Okay, let’s do that. Am I to go first?”
“Yes, please.”
“Understood. Then, Ms. Reystone, if you please?” I nodded.
“Everyone’s take their position.” I said to them.
I could see Nerva taken his stance. It is a strange stance that seemingly too relaxed and at glance is full of holes. His sword hung low and pointed downward with the tip almost touching the ground while his other hand was left free. He stood straight with his feet positioned at the same position as his shoulders. That is a strange stance. Actually, can I even call that a stance?
Although I’m not quite sure whether I can call that a stance or not, I’m sure about something. His stance really displayed a powerful feeling. It’s strange, I know. But the way he carried out his stance is like a very seasoned warrior that has shown more than a human should have seen in the battlefield. His expression was as the same as ever. Calm and composed.
As I moved my attention toward the other party, I saw that Sir Lange had opted to use a very aggressive stance. He had his long sword pointed forward toward Nerva while holding it above his shoulder. His feet were planted firmly on the ground with the right on the front. I could really sense that he was very excited to fight. It is a very different feel compared to the one he always show whenever fighting the other soldier. I guess that is very understandable.
“Begin!”
Second after I shout the signal, Sir Lange launched himself toward Nerva with an overwhelming speed. His sword was aimed directly at him. Even from this distance, I could feel the pure battle lust from him. I quickly looked over to Nerva, but he didn’t move an inch. He still stood there with his sword positioned just like before. I know that I shouldn’t worry about him since I already saw a glimpse of his power, but I just couldn’t help but feel that he will immediately be slashed to half if he didn’t do anything. But…is that a smile on his face?
Just when I was still wondering the meaning behind his rather misplaced smile, a loud metallic sound rang in the air. Apparently the two swords collided with each other. The positioned of the blade was very precise, as expected of one chosen as a private knight. Combined with the momentum of his speed, it is supposed to be a sure kill technique. But Sir Lange’s sword was inches away from touching Nerva’s shoulder and he blocked it easily. In fact, if my eyes weren’t deceiving me, it was Sir Lange’s hand that trembled while the two swords locked against each other.
“Tch!” I could hear Sir Lange’s letting out a groan as he leaped backward from him. What followed after that is a short slash toward him. Another loud sound came as his sword was parried aside by Nerva, leaving him slightly opened.
Using that momentum, Sir Lange turned his body and delivered a side kick toward his head. If I wasn’t trained as a warrior, I doubt I can pick out his movement since it was done in such a short moment as if his body moved by instinct alone. A loud impact sound was made and I looked at Sir Lange that somehow showed a satisfied expression.
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But his expression soon turned into one of shocked. I moved my sight slightly and found that his boot stopped in mid-air, unable to land on its destination, which was Nerva’s head. The reason for that is because of the existence of Nerva’s left hand that made it stopped in mid-air.
“Three strikes, Ingolf. Two more to go.” A small chuckle came from him, as if mocking the knight that had failed to delivered his strikes thrice.
“Guh! Damn you!” He then pulled back his sword and then performed a slash from above his head. Usually one would not be able to pulled a sword that heavy in such a short time and then continued with a downward slash so fast. But he managed to execute that feat magnificently.
“Too slow, Ingolf.” After I heard Nerva’s voice, I noticed that he has deflected the sword out of its trajectory, making it fall slightly away from him.
But the sword didn’t touch the ground as Sir Lange turned it sideways and then made a side slash with his sword, targeting Nerva’s side. But that was also blocked by him.
“Ah, that was the last strike, Ingolf?” A mischievous grin spread on Nerva’s face as he kept his sword blocking Sir Lange’s. Once again, I could see that Sir Lange’s grip has been trembling for quite some time as he kept pushing forward. Is Nerva’s block really that heavy that he was unable to make it budge even a bit? This is getting crazy!
“Why you!?” With bloodshot eyes and also rugged breath, Sir Lange released his sword from the lock. I could see him letting out a breath as he was preparing for something. “Take this!!”
What followed after that was a flurry of attack that I was unable to follow. What I could see was only the silvery white flash it made and also the loud clank each time it moved. He kept moving his sword each time the attack was finished, making the attack flowed endlessly. Metallic rings resounded in the whole field as the sight of Sir Lange kept delivering blow after blow, slash after slash.
At first glance, it seemed that Sir Lange has the upper hand since he kept his attack and it was only a matter of time until Nerva is defeated. But reality was far from that. If I was unable to follow its movement by my eyes, Nerva seemed to be able to do that just fine without the need of any kind of sight. With splendid accuracy and speed, he deflected each blows, making a small spark as the cold blade clashed against each other. Just like Sir Lange, he kept moving his sword too. Each time an attack came toward him, he raised his sword and let it meet his opponent’s sword, creating the loud metallic rings.
I know that he is strong, but never this strong. When he was fighting with grandfather, the fight was concluded with one strike. He managed to overpowered grandfather’s blow and made his sword flew out his hand in a second. I remember both I and my sister looked at him with shocked expression. Grandfather is considered to be the best swordsman in our family. His blow was powerful and fast. But he managed to deflect his blow with ease, even to the point that he managed to disarm him completely. At that time, I only thought that Nerva had managed to get lucky at that time. I was truly wrong.
Then a sudden change in the air could be felt. It was not the invisible wave like before, but it was enough for me to notice that the turn of the battle in front of me has changed. Just as I noticed that, Sir Lange jumped away from him. From his expression, I’m sure that he felt that too. He kept his sword at the ready. But instead of an offensive stance like before, he opted for a defense stance with his sword ready to block incoming attack.
“Really now, Ingolf.” A calm and slightly amused voice came from the other side of the field. “Didn’t we agree to a limit of five attacks each?”
“Hahaha, sorry, Nerva.” Although he let out a laugh, not a trace of amusement is in his voice. He still put up his best guard. “You know that when I fight, I tend to lose myself. Especially against unexpected opponent.”
“Why thank you for that Ingolf. For our friendship, let’s consider that attacks of yours nullified, shall we? You don’t mind that, do you?”
“I would be very grateful for that, Nerva.”
“Well, Eryell, please don’t consider that as a breach of rule, okay?”
“E-Eh?” I didn’t expect him to ask me all of a sudden. I was too busy assessing the battle in front of me. “O-Okay.” Ugh, I stuttered my reply. Just great.
“I really appreciate it, Ms. Reystone.” Sir Lange gave me a slight bow. “Now, let’s continue, Nerva.”
“Agreed. Oh, one more thing. Eryell.”
“Huh?”
“Do try your best to follow my move, okay?” He smiled after saying that, making me slightly confused.
“Yes, I’ll try.” Is there any other way I can answer him? Guess not.
“Good.” He then turned his head toward Ingolf. “Ingolf, ready yourself, my friend.”
“Got it, my friend.”
Nerva then moved his leg. W-Wait! Moved his leg? So all these times while defending against Sir Lange’s attack, he didn’t move an inch? He was able to counter those attacks without moving from his previous position even a bit? That’s crazy! Is he that strong or is Sir Lange the one that is weak? No…Sir Lange has defeated many soldiers with ease. He is also a private knight. It is not a position that someone weak can get into. So that means that Nerva really is that strong. I have no idea. It seems that I really have to train myself better.
As Nerva get into his position, I could see Sir Lange tightened his defense stance. Then a small smile appeared on Nerva’s face. The next second after that he dashed toward his opponent with the same speed as...Eh? No, he is faster! I almost missed him just then.
While I was still astounded by his speed, a very loud metallic ring boomed in the training field. Did that come from their sword? Is that even possible? That is the loudest sound I have ever heard from a sword fight. I followed the sound and found that instead of sword locking with each other, Sir Lange’s sword was hit aside. It seemed that the blow from Nerva’s sword was enough to break his stance completely, making him opened for any incoming attack.
Realizing that, he immediately pulled back his sword. But it seemed that he just barely made it, evident from the way he blocked the next attack in which was performed rather badly. Thankfully it was just a kick. It is a good kick since it landed right on the middle of Sir Lange’s sword. But…did he manage to push Sir Lange just from a single kick?
Sir Lange then jumped backward to regain his footing. But it seems Nerva has no plan letting him do that. He used the pommel of his sword to hit him on his side. It hit him just before he could dodge it.
“G-GUH!!!” Judging from the voice he let out, it seemed that last attack contained more force than he expected. I saw Sir Lange stumbled side way. But he instantly stood up with his sword ready in front of his chest.
I looked at the two combatants and felt that the match is really on Nerva’s side. Sir Lange, although started with strong offensive moves, it was not enough to break Nerva’s parries and block. Not a single one of them has managed to land on him. Even after Sir Lange broke the rule and launched a flurry of slash and thrust, all of them were perfectly countered by Nerva who kept his footing perfectly still.
When it is Nerva’s turn to attack, Sir Lange managed to block two out of three attacks. The first one was due to the distance between them, but even that was enough to knock his sword away from his previous stance. The next one he barely managed to block it. The third one was the one that landed perfectly on him, even to the extent of him tumbling sideway from the force. Just by his voice alone was enough to tell me the damage from Nerva’s attack.
At the moment, the two combatants’ condition really is a great contrast. While Nerva stood with a relaxed stance without any sign of fatigue, Sir Lange seemed to have difficulty to stand straight. While he winching slightly probably due to the pain, I could also see his breathing was very rugged, a clear sign of fatigue. Really, this match has become very strange.
Once again, I expected Nerva to be strong, but not that strong. Even now I still find it unbelievable that he said that he never shown his real strength. But at least I felt relieved seeing his expression at the moment. Unlike the cold and ruthless expression he showed when dealing with those thugs at the shady district, the Nerva in front of me right now showed the same expression he usually showed me. Calm and composed with a bit of seriousness. Really, I am very relieved to see that.
“Hey, Ingolf.” Nerva suddenly called him. “Tell me, do you want to make this a long match?”
“Huh?” I also showed the same confused expression as Sir Lange. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that you were holding back, didn’t you?” H-Holding back? Sir Lange? That was holding back? “I mean, is that the full force you use when you protect the royal family? It’s not, right?”
“….How did you…No matter.” I could barely hear the first part of his word since he shook his head away before completing the sentence. “I guess you’re right.” A loud sigh came from him. “I actually just want to fight you with only my swordsmanship.” A loud laugh then came from Nerva, surprising both Sir Lange and I. “What’s so funny?” I noticed a tinge of irritation in his voice.
“Forgive me, Ingolf. I didn’t mean to offend you or anything but, do you think that is enough against someone like me?” A fearless smile appeared on his face. I immediately glanced toward the private knight, expecting him to be angry. But I was surprised to see that he only let out a small sigh. Then a small smile crept onto his face.
“I guess you’re right. Forgive me, Nerva, for underestimating you.” Not a trace of anger or irritation could be felt from his voice. He even apologized to him. This private knight is very different from what I first expected. Just as he said, I shouldn’t judge an opponent by their looks.
“Don’t worry.” Nerva then took a stance similar to the one Sir Lange used when it was his turn to attack. “I’ll wait for you to use that skill of yours, my friend.”
“Very well.” Sir Lange then resumed a position with his sword held close toward his chest while letting it pointed upward. He let out a breath and then looked at Nerva. “The next round will be the last, Nerva.”
“Oh, I’m sure it will.” Once again, a fearless grin appeared on his face. “I’m sure. Don’t worry. After all, you will go all out, right?”
“I will. Count on it.”
“Good, good! Now let me see. The combined power of swordsmanship and magic a knight could display!”
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Author Note:
Next we will see the knight's magic.
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