Chapter 48
hapter 48: A Duel in Broad Daylight
My thoughts were unbelievably clear .
The man, who I once thought wasn’t approachable, was standing right in front of me .
Cold air filled my lungs . A brief moment of silent covered the entire space .
I could hear the sound of the air being cut by my blades
The knives in my hands kept pulsated continuously . A familiar sound reached my ears intensely .
I pulled my right foot forward . Then, I elevated my elbows in order to create an offensive stance with both of my right and left handed knives . My targets were both the neck and wrists .
I already decided on the concept of my first strike . I dreamt of this moment in my head for many times . I decided that if I ever had a fight with this man, Helot Stanley, I’d be the one to make the first move of attack .
The chances of winning this fight were slim . However, I’d be giving my head to my opponent if I gave up here and now . I had to measure my time, and fight against the enemy with initiative and mental focus .
*metallic sound*
Of course, I knew how difficult it was to deal with this man . Yes, because this man was my nemesis, Helot Stanley . The famous hero .
The two shining lights pierced towards the frontline, which were supposed to strike with a surprise attack . Yet, both were blown away by the strike of a white light .
My strike was interrupted by Helot Stanley’s defense . He defended himself from one of my knives, and managed to prevent the attack from the other knife with his wrist bent down . Such a great dexterity with a double-edged sword, huh .
「…You don’t need to force yourself . We’ll take care of you first . 」
Helot ordered the guards, who took their own swords, to strike at my back .
I didn’t feel any chivalry spirit coming through my veins . On the other side, I felt an obscure feeling that almost swallowed me alive .
Sponsored Content
This situation was frustrating and my stomach was upset . My throat was freezing and my body was covered with cold sweat .
A rough breath leaked involuntarily from my throat . My eyes narrowed as well .
This duel was completely different in nature from the tavern duel against Caria . I could say that this was an extended version of that duel . In other words, this fight could threaten my life . It was a life-and-death situation without a doubt . But, it was so for both parties even though I was in a disadvantageous position . I could lose my life, but Helot could lose his neck as well .
Helot took an offensive stance towards me and pointed his double-edged sword to my chest . This stance showed me that he could attack me without any hesitation . Nonetheless, at the same time, I couldn’t grasp the meaning of his stance . I didn’t sense any killing intent nor a bit of hostility on his position . I wondered if something was preventing him from slicing me .
Ah, how annoying . Too frustrating indeed . The difference in fighting strength was obvious . With the first strikes, Helot probably found out about my abilities and weaknesses . Obviously .
Of course, it was just my guess . But, if my judgement was correct, then there was only one thing that I could do . On this precise moment, I took a deep breath…
*metallic sound*
I bent my knee and managed to kick the dust on the ground and raise it into the air . After creating a safe route, I rotated to the other side and tried to strike the enemy with my dull silver knives . Still, none of the strikes reached the enemy .
A bright silver light bounced back the attack of my dull silvery lights . Every time, both of our lights touched one another as if they were piercing through the glowing sky, a strong metal sound echoed tremendously on our earlobes .
But, I didn’t give up . I changed my posture continuously every time I tried to strike back . Each time I tried to attack, I rounded up on below, upward, and the sidelines of my nemesis . Angle, timing, speed . I used all kinds of means to let my knives break through his defense .
There was no time to take a deep breath . My lungs were mad trying to search for air . I was tired from moving extremely fast from one side to another . But, I fully understood . My head was clear about this . Yes, I was aware that my torso would be sliced in half if I tried to calm down in order to breath properly .
Helot had no murder intent . There wasn’t any evidence of hostility . Yet, sometimes I noticed his strong golden gaze towards me . From time to time, I could see a brutal gaze that seemed surreal . It was as if he wanted to finish me off already . The violent gaze of his eyes didn’t suit his gentle-looking face .
My heart understood this dangerous situation . If this man got serious about killing me, he would split my torso in half immediately, trampling on my skull and breaking my limbs apart . Yes, in one single breath .
All it took was one breath to take my life away . I couldn’t read his thought nor his intentions . It was a bit confusing . But, his expression was calm and no sweat dripped from his face . For now, I only tried not to get myself killed .
…After all, I had only one chance of winning this fight .
Sponsored Content
My brain quivered because of the lack of oxygen . My eyesight became slightly blurred .
The shining light of the blades kept wavering back and forth . The spirit of life wasn’t extinguished yet . But, Helot didn’t give up either . He took a different stance to change the position of his wrist and waist .
There was no giving up . This was annoying as hell . Yet, I felt thankful for this . Yes, I could fight against him even if I had no chance of victory .
I kicked the ground strongly to take a few steps back .
If his strike reached me on that previous spot, I’d certainly die . But, I knew it . He hesitated for a brief moment, as the gesture of his feet was static . He didn’t move forward at all .
「…Let’s put our blades down, Lugis . There’s no point in doing this . 」
He uttered those words to me . Actually, the tone felt a bit different from his previous talk .
My whole body was covered with sweat . The burning emotions spread throughout my chest . My exhaled breath transformed into scorching flames that burnt my mouth .
Helot warned me . It felt as if he implied to me, “you can’t hurt me with your skills” . That’s why it didn’t make any sense to continue with this fight .
I hated it . Yes, I truly hated the sound of his words . But, he was somewhat right . Even though he was a young man, he had no shame nor doubts about his swordsmanship skills .
Caria’s sword skills were still mixed with delicate gestures as opposed to her future skills that didn’t have any sort of lingering emotions . Filaret’s witchcraft had not been sharpened yet as she was still a little bit inexperienced on this timeline .
However, I was wary of Helot’s sword skills even on this era .
He had outstanding skills for a young lad . Moreover, the guards were silently watching this scene behind his back . I couldn’t see the Lizard among them because my eyesight was blurry, but he was probably right there ready to give aid to my nemesis . My heart beat even faster .
I heard that special people were destined to be heroes . It meant that a hero was someone who received the blessing of God . Many people believed that heroes were, in fact, direct messengers from God . Therefore, their existence was sacred .
「The great words of a hero, huh . Well, I won’t deny that it will be hard to beat you with my skills . I recognize that I’m not in a favorable position, but…」
I twisted my tongue, while I wiped the sweat that fell from my forehead .
Sponsored Content
In order to avoid getting unnecessary emotions on my head, I locked them away and let the anger feed my heart . I tried to speak clear words without showing my unstable emotions .
I felt that the wind increased in this area . Dust came flying over and my eyes blank slightly .
「Lugis . You know…I don’t hate you . I’m just curious about you . I don’t think you’d steal so recklessly like that . I want to know your motives behind this entire act . That’s why I don’t want to fight you here . Just back down . I swear to God that I won’t harm you . 」
My cheeks quivered upon hearing his words . My eyes hardened and my skin constricted .
Why was Helot curious about me?
I felt conflicted in my heart . His interest in me was quite concerning . Something went baldy wrong . So wrong that my Destiny was messed up on this era .
However, the opponent that I once thought that was my nemesis was suddenly curious about me .
Pitiful . This was too pathetic . It would be too shameful to agree with this man’s words . There was no way that I was going to fall for this man’s illusion .
Not yet . This fight was not over yet .
「What are you talking about? I haven’t received a single wound on my body yet . If you want to back down, then put your sword away first, Helot Stanley . 」
I was getting tired of this facade . Therefore, I threw cheap words at him .
Still, he wouldn’t bind that easily . But, he would waver between doing it or not . I knew the nature of this man named Helot Stanley . He was a man that regarded the word trust with conviction .
He shook his golden hair and narrowed his eyes . I noticed that Helot’s knees moved for a brief moment .
…No sound was heard .
I could only hear small breaths .
Then, his eyes became wide open and glittered . It was as if a predator was looking at its prey .
The dust opened its way on his direction as if it didn’t want to disturb him . It was as if nature was responding to him .
At this moment, my mouth slightly opened and felt irritated . My white teeth were showing as if they were fangs .
Then, Helot elevated his double-edged sword from his waist-area to above his head . He drew a “circle” with it .
His arm muscles tightened up as he held his sword with a strong grip . There was no way that I could defend myself against an attack that powerful with just mere knives . It was really the realm of madness if I were to think otherwise . He had the strength and agility to put me down on the ground and break my bones .
Of course, that was only my prediction . Besides, the light was too strong and I could barely see my opponent . I only noticed the bright light of his blade as it approached me .
It was intense . This was far beyond the scope of human understanding . Yet, this imminent danger didn’t surprise me .
…Yes, this wasn’t that unexpected though .
I knew it… I knew it too well that I had only one chance of victory .
Before his movements were in motion, I had to keep my hands low while my two dull silvery knives were pointed directly at my opponent . Only one . There was only one chance .
The golden movement could be imminent now .
I raised the knife into the air so that the strike could be created with more speed and accuracy . I wanted to hit the opponent’s only unprotected area, the lower part of his stomach . But, I couldn’t see much of his figure because of the daylight .
My impending attack was completely based on prediction and past experiences that I had seen so far . Even if I were at a disadvantage, and even if my eyes couldn’t see that well, I had to use the sunny sky to my benefit . This was the best option I could choose right now .
While the white light of his blade didn’t come near me, I grabbed this opportunity to devote myself on the attack to his stomach . I raised my arm to the sky and tried my hardest to hit my enemy .
I could hear the sound of the wind on my earlobes .
And, what I felt was…an excruciating pain as if my flesh was torn apart .