Chapter 86

86.

The Imperial Sword technique is a fighting style that focuses primarily on defense.

Predicated on the opponent striking first, it mainly consists of deflecting or sidestepping incoming attacks.

The fundamental strategy was to prolong the fight to wear down the adversary and then exploit openings.

Since it was designed for drawn-out battles, it’s said that when an Imperial Sword-trained knight fully commits to defense, it feels like striking an immovable rock.

According to my master, this technique was devised to hold the enemy in place and tire them out as much as possible.

The Imperial Sword is taught to the Royal Knight Order, the Imperial Army, the palace guards, and the Iron Legion that defends the inner walls.

They are the organizations responsible for the protection of the palace and the capital during peacetime.

If these forces are drawn into close quarters combat, it indicates that the capital has already descended into chaos.

Thus, the primary goal is to hold out until the key figures of the palace have evacuated safely.

A major feature of this technique is the stance—maintaining a diagonal leg position while readying the sword for the next move.

“The first and most important element of the Imperial Sword technique is maintaining the stance. Receiving and deflecting enemy strikes, all while ensuring balance and stability to exert strength accordingly. Maintaining the correct posture is crucial.”

Swish.

Taking a step with the left foot and slightly bending the back knee, I gripped the sword’s handle with both hands, directing the blade forward.

“…”

Milene’s body tensed, her expression hardening, and then slowly, she drew her sharp sword.

She, like me, took the basic stance and spoke.

“I’m ready.”

“I’ll demonstrate the basics of the Imperial Sword technique first. Deputy Commander, feel free to attack.”

“Then, let’s begin.”

Boom!

With a heavy footfall, Milene’s figure rushed toward me in an instant.

Her focus was on my thigh, wrist, and heart.

Her heart targeted for a stab, her thigh and wrist for slashes. Out of these options, her chosen move was—

“Slash. Targeting the thigh, perhaps?”

A change appeared in her swift approach.

Instead of charging directly, she shifted toward my left side.

Simultaneously, her gaze briefly lingered on my right thigh before moving to my left shoulder.

It seemed she intended to capitalize on the recoil for a secondary attack.

After making that judgment, I immediately reacted.

The distance closed rapidly.

The gap between us was now two and a half steps.

‘Now.’

Clang!

The clear sound of metal rang as sparks flew.

Through the drifting sparkles, I observed Milene.

She continued her charge, swiftly spinning in place. Her sword, augmented by the rotation, emitted a menacing sound as it headed toward my right thigh.

Just before her sharp blade could reach me—

Maintaining my posture and retreating half a step, I swiftly brought my sword down.

Ting!

“Umph!”

The attack aimed at my thigh was pressed down with force, sending her blade toward the ground.

Milene managed to maintain her grip because she was tightly clutching the hilt, but she couldn’t disperse the force I had applied.

Even the slightest moment of disruption can be fatal at such proximity.

Frowning in concentration, she tried to regain her stance, but—

“…”

The movement froze as she noticed the sharp edge of the blade aimed at her neck.

“Not bad. Let’s do it again.”

I retracted the blade from her neck and retreated to reopen the distance.

At first, I demonstrated basic defensive movements using simple techniques.

Next, was the concept of range.

Assess the optimal range between yourself and your opponent, then utilize it to prepare your counters.

Positioning yourself either behind or ahead of your weapon’s range can reduce its effectiveness.

“The second point is maintaining the range. While holding your basic stance and gauging the length of your arm and sword, you must preserve the optimal distance.”

With this brief explanation, the members nodded in understanding.

The members watched our sparring session with deep concentration.

Their focused eyes inspired me to smile.

“Alright, this time, I’ll focus entirely on defense while you attack as you please.”

“Understood. Then…”

As she took a step forward, her form began to blur.

“Eh?”

“Ah?”

Her speed this time was markedly different from before.

The members watching the sparring gasped, having momentarily lost sight of her movements.

‘Ah, this is…’

I had been countering based on the speed of her first attack, but in that fleeting instant, I failed to keep track of Milene’s movements.

Too fast for a regular person, but too slow to be considered superhuman.

When I viewed her crossing the training grounds again from the perspective of a superhuman, I could faintly perceive a flicker of a flame within her.

‘She hasn’t yet reached mana manifestation, but she might be starting to awaken.’

Milene was the closest among the Royal Knights to the realm of mana manifestation. If the right moment ignited her spirit, she would surely awaken.

‘I should send her out after this short-term training ends.’

A change in environment is necessary for growth. Staying only in the safe confines of the palace will only delay her journey to becoming a mana-manifested warrior.

‘Well, then…’

While I was briefly contemplating that, she had already reached right in front of me.

The distance between Milene and me was three steps.

Compared to earlier, there’s been an additional half-step, likely due to the enhancement in her physical abilities.

Her sword then streaked forward like a flash of lightning at a range of three steps.

Squeak!

The sharp sound rang so clearly it echoed across the arena.

Fast.

But I could see it.

Focusing on the blade’s tip hurtling toward my abdomen, I gently retreated half a step.

“!”

Milene’s green pupils slightly widened.

Due to the unexpected change in distance, her sword tip wavered slightly as she adjusted her strength for the attack.

Despite the reduced momentum, her blade continued its course toward my abdomen, but the range allowed me to adequately defend. I swiftly lifted my guard against her swift attack.

Clang!

Expecting my defense, Milene calmly widened the distance and charged again.

Her blond hair flowed wildly like the wind.

The brilliant strands shimmered under the sunlight, gently swaying at the back of her neck.

At the same time, her sharp sword swiped at me with a lethal aim.

The instep. The shoulder. The thigh. The heart. The neck.

I deflected and dodged each of the relentless attacks, one by one.

“Urgh.”

“Deputy Commander Milene. You must sweep every motion of mine while maintaining your momentum. Absorb everything. Keep your posture steady and check the distance.”

The impact of strong sword swings can be diminished by quickly advancing. The momentum of swift slashes can be countered by calmly stepping back.

Dozens of exchanges later…

Mesmerized as if under a spell, Milene’s green eyes appeared hazy.

Her gaze was charged with a strange intensity.

She continuously swung her sword, and the more she attacked, the more refined her movement and force application became for judging the distance.

‘Could she have realized something?’

For a while, the training grounds were filled only with the sharp clanging sounds of swords. Then—

clang!

With a powerful strike to her unbalanced sword face as she had lost her composure, I ended the sparring match.

“Huff… Huff… Thank… thank you…!”

“There’s no need for words. Go back to your formation and recover your breath. You’re exhausted due to this sudden advancement in skill.”

As she awkwardly returned a salute and retreated, a shocked voice rose from the members.

“Did you guys see that? Deputy Commander’s swordsmanship—”

“I could barely make it out through the blur…”

“No way, was she always this powerful?”

“That can’t be. We all know each other’s capabilities well. Wait… hey! Look at the Commander’s feet!”

The commotion among the members grew.

Caught off guard by the unexpected noise, I turned after shaking off the dust from my sword, and saw the wide-eyed faces of the members staring in astonishment.

“Is that… Am I seeing it right?”

“You’re kidding, right? They didn’t move from their original position while receiving that attack!”

Stunned exclamation.

Looking down, I saw the prints on the ground — only one step forward from where I had originally been. It was somewhat staged.

Due to Milene falling into a state of total immersion, I unintentionally focused on her growth.

Fortunately, it seemed I’d subconsciously maintained my position.

Addressing the members with shining eyes, I opened my mouth.

“The Imperial Sword technique is commonly taught once you enter the capital and is indeed a defensive fighting style, but once mastered, as you’ve just witnessed, it allows for prolonged combat. It is by no means a weak technique.”

After all, this was a technique personally developed by the Ascended Lord.

At my muttering, the members nodded fervently.

“Even though I focused on defense, I could have found opportunities to counterattack numerous times. Had I adopted the Imperial Sword technique in an actual battle to fortify and maintain my stance, what do you think would have happened to the opponent?”

“They would have revealed an opening, exhausted.”

“An opening that could have ended in my opponent’s head rolling.”

Listening with interest, the responses from Luniya and Hekson.

Affirming both their answers, I continued.

“Balanced posture is not merely a skill exclusive to the Imperial Sword technique but a foundational element crucial for all forms of martial arts. The reason for the Novice Knights training their basic stamina and lower-body control lies in this exact principle. You understand, Novice Knights?”

“Yes! Understood!”

The thunderous reply from the Novice Knights brought a smile to my lips.

“The art of spacing is a technique that needs refining for effective offense and defense. If one can calmly judge the opponent amidst a torrent of variables, their perspective of the world will change.”

In fact, things like weapon length and individual physique differences.

Judging spacing precisely isn’t easy.

In the meantime, physical fitness must be developed, sword technique polished, and the acquired techniques executed with finesse by accumulating experience.

When such experience builds up over time, only then does one become a true master whose name resounds through the heavens.

For mana manifesters, their superhuman physical capabilities endowed by mana allow them to bridge this span of time. But for normal people, it requires consistent and arduous effort.

‘Once again, I feel the ridiculous advantage of mana manifesters.’

Due to an unknown physical ability—perhaps a perk of reincarnation—I am overpowering mana manifesters,

But supposing I had been born as an ordinary noble’s son,

Would I truly have been able to accumulate that grueling amount of time slowly?

‘Had I met my teacher, I might have been fine.’

The countless sword techniques and various skills drilled into my body by my teacher were not acquired effortlessly. They were ingrained by enduring direct hits.

‘Nonetheless, can mana manifestation only be achieved by innate talent?’

Talent determined at birth does seem too shallow, doesn’t it?

While the domain of transcenders is one thing,

Isn’t there perhaps a way to acquire it myself, considering the freely floating mana in the world?

‘Hmm.’

An obscure, elusive sensation.

It felt like navigating the fog toward an indistinct landmark.

It was the strange sensation that occasionally came over me when trying to deduce conclusions based on my experiences so far.

‘…Let me put this aside for now.’

Now was the time to focus on the training of the members.

We have Swordmaster, my teacher, and Nia, who explored the secrets of mana over an extended period. With their aid, we should be able to unravel the clue.

Shaking my head to clear my musings, I turned my gaze back to the members just as Kruehl opened his mouth for the first time, having maintained silence until now.

“Commander. Though other aspects may require time, is there no way to quickly master the art of spacing?”

At Kruehl’s question, everyone subtly looked over.

While they tried not to show it, they were clearly curious too.

Meeting the eyes of the members filled with subtle expectations, I smiled a little.

“There’s no perfect method, but yes. I had the intention to teach you anyway.”

“Ohh!”

The senior knights looked at each other excitedly, nodding their heads.

‘Too early to celebrate.’

I’m no theorist like my teacher, who mastered numerous sword techniques,

Most of the methods I learned were obtained through sheer physical encounters, and explaining intricate theories and providing examples would be difficult.

Therefore, the method I have in mind is suitably physical.

Enter: Eremwald’s style of gem polishing.

“Alright, if everyone’s had enough rest, let’s stand up and pick up your swords.”

I told the members, who had been waiting joyfully.

“As we’ve done before, we’ll keep striking until our bodies remember.”

—