SOTBW - 108

At that moment, a knight who had been sitting on the ground watching them raised his hand. The eyes of the resting knights turned toward him.

“Captain, isn’t Najane supposed to participate in the duel?”

Upon hearing this, the knights who had been wiping their sweat with their shirts paused. A flustered Jacob signaled with his hands to stop the knight from speaking further. However, the knight didn’t understand the signal and raised his hand even higher.

“You clearly ordered everyone to assemble in the training ground earlier…”

The knight’s question was innocent, without any malice. Belshua, who usually didn’t care much about the surroundings, glanced at Maximón. Maximón was glaring at the knight who had spoken, his eyes sour. It was likely that Maximón didn’t want to fight Najane one-on-one. After all, there had been more than one occasion when Najane, avoiding fighting a saint, would suddenly run to the rear when the sword energy flashed in the field.

Could Maximón truly fight Najane seriously? Curiosity filled Belshua’s eyes. Other knights, perhaps curious about how Maximón would react, slowly began to stand up, ready to watch more closely.

At that moment, Najane picked up a discarded wooden sword from the ground, adding fuel to the fire. She swung it a few times to see if it felt right in her hands before fixing her gaze on Maximón.

“Good observation. I was wondering if I should join in, but since everyone seemed so focused, I didn’t want to interrupt. However, as a knight of Romsoa, I can’t just skip out on such training.”

“Najane, wait…”

“Since it’s a one-on-one duel, it should be fine if I use sword energy, right?”

Upon hearing the term “sword energy,” Maximón frowned.

“No.”

However, Najane lightly ignored his words and began to step forward.

“Are you afraid I might beat you?”

Najane’s provocation caused Maximón to raise an eyebrow.

“You’re serious.”

“Did you just realize that?”

Najane mirrored Maximón’s earlier words.

“Hah.”

Maximón let out a short laugh, brushing his hair aside. Najane rolled up her sleeves firmly and prepared herself for the duel. There was a determination in her hands as she gripped the wooden sword tightly. With this level of resolve, Maximón could no longer avoid the duel. If Najane was serious, it was only right to respond in kind.

Maximón looked at a young soldier who was standing awkwardly. The young soldier quickly handed Maximón the wooden sword. After checking that it wasn’t rotting, Maximón looked at Najane with a cold, steady gaze.

“Hand-to-hand combat is not allowed. Only your right hand holding the wooden sword can be used. Do you have any objections?”

“Are you allowing me to use sword energy?”

Najane’s question caused Maximón to pause for a moment in thought. It wasn’t an issue of using sword energy in the duel, but the fact that the one using it was Najane bothered him. But would Najane really be able to withstand the duel without sword energy?

This wasn’t a group fight, but a one-on-one duel. Sword energy was an integral part of Najane Schnicks’ identity as a knight. If he restricted that, she would inevitably lose embarrassingly in this duel.

“Use no more than half of your usual power. You’re allowed to use it twice, but no wide swings or long-range attacks.”

“...That’s essentially saying I shouldn’t use sword energy at all.”

Najane replied bluntly, and Maximón gestured toward the side with his chin. The knights had gathered around like they were watching a circus, eagerly observing the two of them. If Najane swung her sword energy carelessly, they could be hurt. Although dissatisfied, Najane reluctantly nodded in agreement.

“Fine, let’s begin the duel.”

Maximón, standing some distance away from Najane, arrogantly lifted his chin as if daring her to come at him. Najane, holding the wooden sword with its tip slightly tilted forward, never took her eyes off Maximón. The surroundings fell silent as if no one else was present. The knights, holding their breath, alternated their gazes between Maximón and Najane.

The first to move was Maximón. The moment he swung his arm toward Najane’s wooden sword, a cracking sound echoed. Najane withstood the attack aimed at her head, holding firm. The force pushing down on her was so rough that her feet began to slide back on the ground. An unpleasant sound came from the clash of the two wooden swords. Maximón looked down at Najane, who was barely holding her ground, mocking her.

“Would you just hold out like this if Serith attacked?”

“...No, that wouldn’t happen!”

The wooden sword Najane was holding glowed white. It was sword energy. Just as she was about to release it, Maximón swiftly pulled back his wooden sword and dodged. The white sword energy around Najane’s wooden sword immediately dissipated. A look of doubt crossed Maximón’s face. But Najane didn’t allow him time to figure it out. As soon as he backed away from her sword energy, Najane aimed a sharp strike at his solar plexus.

Maximón expertly deflected the tip of her wooden sword. The two swords slid apart. Then, just as Maximón had anticipated, Najane thrust her sword in, closing the distance between them. The wooden sword, which he thought he had avoided, quickly reached near Maximón’s ear.

At that moment, Maximón could no longer apply force to the wooden sword. If he applied more pressure, his sword would rebound due to the force, causing it to go out of range. He could abandon the wooden sword, but he had declared earlier that hand-to-hand combat was not allowed.

Maximón tried to strike Najane’s shoulder with the back of his wooden sword. He wasn’t sure how she would react, and creating some distance would be advantageous for him. However, he couldn’t bring himself to strike her shoulder. Their eyes met. The instant their gazes intertwined, Najane gritted her teeth and shouted.

“Watch out!”

“What?”

As soon as Najane’s shout rang out, a flash of light appeared right in front of Maximón. He muttered an insult under his breath and quickly pulled away from her. This time, it wasn’t some trick, but actual sword energy. A crescent-shaped blade, much smaller than usual, grazed Maximón’s cheek dangerously. The sword energy dissipated just before it reached the end of the training ground.

Regaining his balance, Maximón looked down at the faint mark left by the sword energy. While the impact wasn’t enough to claim much power, if it had struck him directly... His eyes narrowed coldly as he stared forward.

“It wasn’t a joke. You were serious.”

Maximón smiled, but the atmosphere had changed dramatically. Najane, panting slightly, locked eyes with him. As soon as she regained her posture, Maximón charged.

In the blink of an eye, Maximón closed the distance of more than ten steps. Surprised by his sudden speed, Najane bit her lower lip. Maximón’s wooden sword moved so fast that it was almost invisible. Najane barely managed to block it as it aimed for her throat.

The sound of splintering wood echoed from within Najane’s wooden sword. She had to push Maximón back, no matter what. Releasing one hand from the hilt, she quickly gripped the blade of the wooden sword. With a sharp shout, Najane used all her strength to flick Maximón’s sword away. The wooden sword was momentarily pushed aside, but Maximón didn’t give her any respite.

Maximón’s sword swung toward her side. Startled, Daniel jumped to his feet. A cracking sound came from Najane’s ribs. Panting, Najane glared at the sword she had barely blocked. Her hand holding the wooden sword was trembling. The force behind the strike had been so strong that her wrist ached. Had she failed to block it, the sword would have flown straight toward the other knights.

She couldn’t let this continue. She had to use sword energy somehow. That was the only way. But using it the same way as before would only buy her meaningless time. She had to prevent Maximón from seeing the sword energy or take another approach to confuse its trajectory...

“I can hear you thinking.”

A low, deep voice resonated from above Najane’s head. Startled, Najane looked up to see Maximón’s eyes gleaming with the intensity of a predator. Without giving her any time to react, Maximón quickly swung his wooden sword several times. Every time their swords collided, the sound of bones breaking could be heard. Najane clenched her teeth, trying to figure out a way to gain the upper hand in the duel.

Controlling the trajectory of sword energy was impossible. The Powley-style sword energy, once released, would travel in a straight line like a long whip. However, if the force wasn’t properly controlled, it could veer off in an unintended direction. The twisted sword energy would be unpredictable, and its power would decrease drastically, rendering it useless.

Najane had thrown hundreds of twisted sword energies while trying to master the Powley style. Whenever the energy went astray, even Mikael, who had always been kind, would sigh. Mikael had told her that a misdirected sword energy was worthless, but...

‘If you had truly wasted your time, you wouldn’t have been able to become a knight. From the way you wield your sword so steadily, it’s clear how long you’ve been training. Your sword is incomparable to the soldiers who’ve fought on the field for years.’

Why did she suddenly recall what Belshua had said?

Najane tightened her abdomen and shouted. Swinging her wooden sword from the bottom up, sword energy followed its path. The power was comparable to what she often used on the field. But Maximón wasn’t flustered. The sword energy, though, didn’t even get close to him and veered off in an unexpected direction.

“Are you already tired?”

Maximón asked, his voice laced with curiosity. Instead of answering, Najane swung her wooden sword again. This time, her attack was faster than before. Maximón paused his attacks for a moment, noticing the beads of sweat forming on Najane’s face. Najane wasn’t fighting like the knights who faced Serith. She wasn’t just pressing forward with their swords locked and waiting for an opening to strike at the vital points—this tactic only worked when fighting other humans.

That method might not work against Serith, but it was effective enough to momentarily bind Maximón’s wooden sword in place. Maximón wanted to see inside Najane’s mind. What was the point of this kind of fight in a sparring match? Was she willing to break the rules of the duel and use all her strength in sword energy just to win?

At that moment, a frantic shout came from where the knights were gathered.

“Captain! Look behind you, from the rear...!”

In an instant, a chill ran through him. Maximón, even knowing that Najane was swinging her wooden sword, turned to look behind him. The sword energy, which he had thought had dissipated after flying far away, returned to the center of the training ground. Though it wasn’t as powerful as when Najane first unleashed it, it was still sword energy.

“Najane!”

Belshua, who had been watching the situation, shouted urgently.

The stray sword energy swept over both Maximón and Najane.