Chapter 48: Martial Arts Practice

Chapter 48: Martial Arts Practice

After the Orcs completed their latest personnel adjustments, the troops assembled from the Nick Kingdom’s southern regions stepped into the northern areas.

They marched along the wide avenues, occasionally welcoming scattered soldiers joining their ever-growing ranks.

These soldiers were fresh out of their farming duties, summoned to the battlefield by the kingdom during this busy season.

In addition, many knight-nobles joined this troop.

For instance, Otem, the knight that Airael and Axi had encountered before.

After the autumn harvest, Otem also brought his knight attendants and a dozen soldiers, drafted from the farmers, into the ranks.

In human society, it didn’t take much to find out what the mission of this troop was.

They were tasked with eliminating those rampaging Orc Wolf Cavalry descending from the south.

Consequently, the northern tribes and nobles felt a strong sense of solidarity with this troop from the south.

Although they were foreigners, since they came to help fight against the enemy, they were naturally considered good friends.

Welcomed warmly by the northerners, any grievances the southern soldiers had about the deployment seemed to vanish significantly.

While the kingdom might offer them some benefits, this was still going to battle!

There was a high chance they might never return.

Plus, they knew that the Orc raids only targeted the north and wouldn’t specifically rampage through their southern lands.

Thus, many southerners weren’t too eager to assist the north.

However, they couldn’t defy the king’s orders.

After resting in the castle for a night, the next day Airael started to wander around after breakfast.

Having strolled around the small town, she returned to the castle.

While circling about the castle, she saw Axi and Baron Powell engaged in a martial arts duel.

They were surrounded by a crowd.

Knights, soldiers, and even maids were all intently focused on the two fighters, eagerly awaiting the outcome.

Although Axi had gained quite a reputation over the years, Powell was no slouch either.

A seasoned ninth-level warrior, he was just a step away from reaching the hero level.

While this might put him at a disadvantage in terms of raw power compared to Axi, his mastery of martial techniques—his soft power—far outweighed Axi’s.

Around forty years old, he was roughly double Axi’s age, and over half of those years had been spent in battle and military service.

Such hands-on experience could rarely be compensated purely by talent.

It required actual encounters to truly obtain it.

Thus, the clash between Axi and Powell was quite spectacular.

Anyone could see that Powell was on the defensive against Axi’s assaults.

In terms of speed and strength, he was outmatched.

But Powell managed to avert disaster time and again.

That was experience for you! Using his knowledge, he could make preemptive judgments and plan everything ahead of time.

Sadly, his current opponent was already a hero in his own right, Axi.

While Powell himself was just one step shy of achieving the hero tier, that single step created a significant power gap between them.

Consequently, Axi effortlessly maneuvered past Powell’s carefully laid traps and immediately counterattacked, putting Powell in precarious situations.

Yet, while fending off Axi’s assaults, Powell was simultaneously crafting new traps for Axi to fall into.

It felt like an endless loop.

Of course, both were intentionally pulling their punches.

They were merely sparring, not engaged in a life-or-death duel, so often just a light touch was sufficient.

After watching their duel, Airael stopped to enjoy the show.

Although she specialized as a mage, she wasn’t about to give up on mastering martial arts.

Observing the battle between the two, she found herself gaining a lot from it.

Not just her—any onlookers who weren’t merely there for amusement also benefited greatly.

The match eventually concluded with Powell admitting defeat, looking at the still-vibrant Axi as he sighed, “It seems I am indeed growing old; if I were younger, I could have certainly kept you busy for a while longer.”

At this point, Powell appeared a bit downcast.

He was clear about his own situation.

Though he claimed he was just a step away from reaching the hero tier, he was already over forty.

If he couldn’t make that leap in the following years, it was almost certain he would never reach the hero level.

At this age, his physical capabilities were beginning to decline.

Unless he reached the hero tier, he wouldn’t counteract the decline of his body’s abilities.

Yet despite all those years, he had been unable to cross that final step.

“Your martial skills are impressive, Baron; in this regard, I still have much to learn from you.”

“You don’t need to learn from me; you just need to walk your own path. You can only reference others’ paths at best,” Powell said, shaking his head with a wry smile at Axi’s polite words.

Though he knew Axi understood this point, and that his previous words were just out of courtesy, he still worried Axi might stray off course.

People like Axi were the hope of the Human Race’s future.

“Thank you for the reminder, Baron!” Axi expressed his gratitude.

Airael watched the “performance” between them and couldn’t help but chuckle and shake her head.

A bunch of wannabe actors!

At that moment, Axi noticed Airael’s presence.

“Baron, my companion has arrived; I’m going to greet her.”

“Hmm!”

Baron Powell nodded lightly as he watched Axi approach Airael.

Then he turned to the circle of knights and soldiers nearby to explain the duel that had just taken place between him and Axi.

To make the explanation more vivid, he even called two knights to demonstrate.

While there might be slight discrepancies, those were negligible details.

Powell never expected them to grasp every single aspect.

As long as they could learn a small part, it would significantly enhance their progress, thereby increasing their chances of survival on the battlefield.

Next battles were just around the corner, and they would also participate.

Those damned Orcs; if it weren’t for the myriad concerns, he would’ve long since marched out to trouble them.

“Ailia, where were you before?” Axi asked as he approached Airael.

“Just strolling around the small town, what’s up?”

“Nothing much, just a reminder that it’s best if you don’t leave the town; it’s rather dangerous outside, especially for you and me.”

He emphasized the latter part on purpose.