Ch. 26
Chapter 26: If There’s One, Count One—All Trash!
Leo stood outside the great sword training room that belonged to Clarsen. He noticed that those Knight’s Squires had already arrived early and were practicing their swordsmanship.
Meanwhile, the small sword training room on Eve Sova’s side was completely empty.
It had to be said that Clarsen was quite strict with his students.
All this time, his students arrived half an hour before the scheduled time every day and immediately began practicing their swords.
Almost without exception.
In contrast, Leo, under Eve Sova’s guidance, appeared much more relaxed.
Aside from teaching him swordsmanship and the Breathing Technique, Eve Sova hardly imposed any discipline on him.
Leo observed through the crack in the door for a while.
Unlike himself, who had already grasped the Breathing Technique but had yet to master advanced swordsmanship, most of the Knight’s Squires under Clarsen had not even come into contact with the Breathing Technique.
Only a few, like Rog, had been exposed to it, though they had not yet mastered it.
However, their swordsmanship had already reached the advanced stage.
Once a Knight’s Squire mastered both the Breathing Technique and advanced swordsmanship, they would be conferred as a Quasi-Knight and proceed to the Knight Hall for the next stage of training.
At that time, they would gain access to additional elective subjects—
The remaining four of the Six Knightly Arts:
Poetry, Hunting, Strategy, and Medicine.
These four arts served as very important bonus evaluation criteria for knights.
As long as a knight knew how to ride and wield a sword, they could already fight on the battlefield.
However, beyond the battlefield, knights also needed other skills to enhance their overall capabilities and handle various situations in the wild.
At the end-of-year assessments, those who performed outstandingly would receive considerable resource rewards.
In addition, some Quasi-Knights with exceptional talent in certain areas were more likely to be selected by the five Formal Knights and become their Knight Attendants.
Furthermore, the Knight Hall also released tasks from time to time.
“Judging purely from swordsmanship, they’ve indeed learned more deeply than I have.”
Leo observed that the advanced swordsmanship taught by Clarsen began with rigid, methodical practice of techniques.
He had heard from Arthur that the swordsmanship they practiced was called the Mountain-Cleaving Cross Sword.
It consisted of six moves and twelve forms.
Unlike the Tide Cross Sword he practiced, which was rather abstract, the Mountain-Cleaving Cross Sword required complete mastery of every move to unleash its combat effectiveness.
From what it looked like now, the Mountain-Cleaving Cross Sword was indeed simpler and easier to grasp compared to the Tide Cross Sword taught by Eve Sova.
As for the swordsmanship Eve Sova taught him, it seemed to abandon fixed techniques entirely, relying solely on so-called sword momentum and methods of force exertion.
Naturally, it was much harder to master.
While he was observing, Leo overheard a conversation among three people in the corner.
“How is it?” Rog asked the person beside him.
“I’ve already checked. That Leo doesn’t seem to have any special background. Just the son of a minor lord from Blackwater City. Hah, a place with barely a hundred people, and they call it a city.”
Another person beside Rog spoke up, “That’s strange then. With no backing at all, how did he improve so quickly? From what I saw yesterday, that kid’s movements—his swordsmanship foundation is already extremely solid. Could he really be a genius?”
“Probably just lucky. Without family support and sufficient resources, he won’t get far.”
“Hmph. He fooled us yesterday.” Rog snorted coldly. “I thought he had some powerful background. Since he doesn’t, there’s no need to bother with him.”
“Someone like him will, at best, become a mere attendant. We, on the other hand, will return with knightly titles and inherit our territories.”
“If Eve Sova hadn’t suddenly stepped in to back him up yesterday, I would’ve beaten him already.” Rog clenched his fist as he spoke.
Just as the group was chatting animatedly, the large door on the other side suddenly opened, and a figure stood quietly at the entrance.
“Leo!?”
The moment the Knight’s Squires present saw Leo, they all stopped their practice.
“Good morning, everyone.” Leo greeted them with a sincere smile.
It was his first time visiting their training room, and he appeared very polite.
The group was momentarily stunned, all feeling that something was off.
One doesn’t visit without a reason.
Looking at Leo, who had made a big impression the day before, none of them knew what he intended to do.
Was he here for revenge?
Everyone waited for his next words.
Leo stepped inside, speaking calmly and unhurriedly, “Actually, after I went back yesterday, I thought about what you said. And it made sense.
Although that is Miss Eve Sova’s sword training room, we’re all brothers here in Blackstone City learning the ways of knighthood. There’s no need to draw such clear lines.”
Leo’s words left everyone momentarily unable to react.
The Knight’s Squires looked at one another, completely surprised that Leo suddenly seemed so enlightened.
Rog, acting as their informal leader, spoke up, “So what do you mean? You’re letting us use Eve Sova’s training room too?”
“That’s right, Brother Rog.”
Hearing this, some of the Knight’s Squires began exchanging knowing glances.
In their eyes, Leo was clearly lowering himself and trying to curry favor. They hadn’t expected him to be so sensible.
Leo continued, “Actually, I think that although we study under different instructors, precisely because of that, we should strengthen our exchanges.”
Rog’s eyes darted about, trying to figure out what Leo really meant. “So, what are you saying?”
“We can learn from each other. I practice the swordsmanship taught by Teacher Eve Sova, while you all practice what Teacher Clarsen teaches.
Teacher Eve Sova said that your Mountain-Cleaving Cross Sword is extremely profound. But just now, after watching you practice outside…” Leo trailed off.
“What?” Rog was intrigued.
“I think Teacher Eve Sova’s words were somewhat exaggerated.”
No one expected Leo to take such a roundabout turn, only to end up insulting them.
“Exaggerated?” Rog’s expression darkened. “What do you mean!”
“What I mean is, the swordsmanship taught by Teacher Clarsen is indeed powerful—but as for how you practice it…” Leo spread his hands.
“If there’s one, count one.
All trash.”
He was already a Quasi-Knight; these Knight’s Squires no longer posed any real threat to him.
Besides, this place was currently under Eve Sova’s authority.
“Damn it, what did you just say!”
“You brat, looking for death! Don’t think you can act so arrogantly just because Eve Sova is your teacher!”
Leo’s words were like a spark igniting dry tinder, instantly provoking public outrage.
However, although the Knight’s Squires shouted angrily, Rog raised a hand to stop them.
“Heh, Leo, what are you trying to do? You know that Knight Laforin set the rule against private fighting, so you came here to run your mouth and get revenge for yesterday.”
Rog had originally thought Leo was someone who could endure, given how much he had held back yesterday.
But now he realized that this guy was even more arrogant than Arthur—coming alone to provoke everyone.
“Run my mouth? No, no, no. Knight Laforin forbade private fighting, but he never said anything about sparring. We’re all here in the training room to practice swords—there’s no such thing as private fighting.”
As he spoke, Leo had already removed the practice sword from his waist.
At this moment, Rog and the others felt that Leo was completely different from the person they had seen yesterday.
“Practice swords, huh. What a ‘practice.’” Rog sneered viciously. “I, Rog, as the son of a count, won’t bully the few with numbers. I’ll be the first to test just how good your ‘not trash’ swordsmanship really is!”