Chapter 27 : Sword Against Sword in the Training Room
Chapter 27: Sword Against Sword in the Training Room!
In Rog’s eyes, this Leo hadn’t shown any real strength yesterday—just an opportunist with a bit of cunning and someone backing him.
Leo looked at Rog, who was clearly fired up.
These teenagers, full of vigor and blood, were the easiest for him to handle.
He needed opponents for his sword training, and Rog’s swordsmanship was obviously much stronger than Arthur’s.
Perfect to test himself against.
With that, the two assumed their stances.
After Eve Sova had taught them a lesson yesterday, the Knight’s Squires’ attitude toward Leo had undergone a complete one-eighty change.
Almost everyone greeted Leo with smiles and nods, especially those who had taken the lead in provoking him yesterday.
Now, upon seeing him, their attitudes were especially proper, afraid of being settled with later.
These noble youths, having grown up immersed in schemes and intrigue, were all extremely skilled at maintaining appearances.
But Leo knew these were all just surface-level gestures—they simply wanted to keep the peace.
In the end, what they feared was Eve Sova, not him.
The moment he lost that protection, they would undoubtedly kick him while he was down without any mercy.
He understood this clearly.
All backing and reliance were temporary.
Only one’s own strength was fundamental.
So he had no need for these hollow courtesies. What he needed was to make good use of these sandbags.
“Just fighting like this is boring.” Leo took out the only silver coin on him and held it up in front of him.
“What do you mean!”
“Let’s make a bet. I’ll stake one silver coin.”
“What did he say? One silver coin?”
“Haha, just as expected of a poor country bumpkin. One silver coin? That’s not even enough for me to casually have a cup of tea.”
Rog gritted his teeth and sneered coldly, “You’re not afraid to bet, are you? One silver coin? If we’re betting, make it bigger!”
Leo shook his head. “It’s not that I can’t afford it. It’s that you’re only worth one silver coin.”
“What did you say!” Rog’s face flushed red with anger, his fists cracking loudly.
He hadn’t expected that Leo, who had looked like a wilted eggplant yesterday and relied on Eve Sova to stand up for him, would now seem like a completely different person—arrogant to the extreme.
At this moment, however, Eddie, who had remained silent in the crowd, stepped forward.
He seemed to have thought things through carefully. “Since this is a sparring match, then this matter must not be spread, and our respective instructors must not be involved.
I think you should swear in the name of a knight.”
Eddie was convinced that Leo could not defeat Rog.
His words reminded Rog.
“Heh, Eddie’s right. You’re just relying on Miss Eve Sova to back you.”
Rog stared at Leo. If not for Eve Sova, yesterday’s matter wouldn’t have been resolved so easily.
But Leo immediately spoke decisively, “I swear in the name of a knight: Rog and I will spar with swords. Regardless of victory or defeat, we will not involve our instructors. Otherwise, after death, we shall become undead and fall into hell.”
Leo solemnly recited the oath, then looked at Rog.
Rog was slightly surprised, but he repeated it as well.
For a knight—or someone aspiring to become one—honesty was an essential quality. They would not risk their character and reputation by breaking an oath in public.
With Eve Sova currently in charge here, Eddie’s reminder had helped eliminate any future trouble.
At this moment, behind Leo, Arthur, who had just arrived at the training room, hurried over.
He hadn’t expected the conflict that had just settled yesterday to flare up again so quickly.
He was still somewhat worried about the duel between Leo and Rog.
After all, he had exchanged a move with Rog yesterday.
Having fought both of them, he felt Rog might have the upper hand.
He quickly came to Leo’s side and reminded him, “Be careful. I already sent Hogg to find Miss Eve Sova…”
Before he could finish, Rog shoved Arthur aside. “Don’t get in the way!”
Rog could no longer wait to teach this arrogant country bumpkin a lesson.
Without waiting for a response, he charged forward with his sword.
On the other side, Leo had already been prepared.
In an instant, he also drew the training iron sword from his back.
Both of them used the same ten-pound iron swords.
What differed were their techniques.
Rog relied on his well-practiced sword techniques. His gaze flickered, his right foot stepped forward, and he moved first to seize the initiative.
His iron sword feigned a diagonal slash, but suddenly twisted sharply mid-air, launching a surprise attack toward Leo’s waist.
This was one of the moves of the Mountain-Cleaving Cross Sword—feinting high while striking low.
Facing Rog’s refined technique,
Leo chose to strike later yet arrive first.
His swordsmanship had no flashy tricks.
He simply targeted the moment Rog changed his move and delivered a horizontal slash.
Leo’s moves were simple, but broad and forceful.
Thanks to his maxed-out Basic Sword Techniques, his strikes were faster and smoother, and his use of strength was fuller.
More importantly, his strength far surpassed his opponent’s.
Although Rog had undergone long-term sword training, he had not yet mastered the Breathing Technique.
If it came down purely to brute force without relying on technique, he might not even defeat Arthur.
Compared to Leo, who had already mastered the Breathing Technique and whose strength far exceeded Arthur’s, he was vastly inferior.
A loud bang rang out.
The two iron swords collided fiercely in mid-air, bursting into a spray of dazzling sparks.
Rog’s sword was knocked away, nearly flying out of his hand.
With just a single clash, Rog already felt something was wrong—his footing became unstable.
He hadn’t expected that Leo’s seemingly ordinary slash would carry such terrifying strength.
Fortunately, he had been gripping the sword with both hands, or it would have been sent flying.
Rog gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the longsword again. His palms were already tingling with numbness.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the surrounding Knight’s Squires. Everyone was watching him—no matter what, he could not lose face here.
Rog steadied himself.
But this time, he did not attack first.
He held his sword beside his face with both hands, his entire body like a poised tiger ready to strike.
Guarding Sword Stance.
This was an opening stance focused on defense and counterattack.
It required receiving the opponent’s attack while responding with a counter in the same motion.
After that initial clash, Rog had clearly become much more cautious.
This Leo was not a simple opponent.
He could not afford to underestimate him.
But at that moment, Leo suddenly took the initiative.
Without any hesitation.
From that first exchange, he had already roughly gauged Rog’s strength.
Decent swordsmanship, but his strength was far inferior.
A perfect sandbag to help him find the feeling of sword momentum.
In his mind, Leo recalled the demonstration Eve Sova had once shown of the power of Dark Tide.
In the next instant, he stepped forward twice and raised his longsword in a downward slash.
Clang!
Their swords collided once again.
Leo tried to feel the sword momentum within that strike.
Rog immediately shifted his move.
But just as he attempted to counterattack, Leo had already unleashed his second strike.
Leo’s transitions between moves were extremely smooth, and combined with his overwhelming strength, Rog had no chance to turn defense into offense.
He was forced to remain on the defensive.
Before he could react, Leo’s third and fourth strikes followed.
One strike after another, Leo gave Rog no chance to catch his breath.
As the saying goes, overwhelming strength can crush all techniques.
This was exactly that situation.
Rog could only continuously block Leo’s relentless assault.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sharp sounds of metal clashing echoed explosively throughout the small training room.