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97. Beggar Siblings – Duke Tertan

Bart rushed out wielding his sword.

There was nothing holding us back now. Everyone in Duke Tertan’s household was awake, and since we had entered the Duke’s residence, all that was left was a fight.

Midian Tertan recognized Bart at a glance. The bastard who killed my son!

“You little punk! You came to find me on your own!”

“Ah! Lord Baron!”

He charged forward with his shield thrust out. The knights behind him gasped in surprise, trying to stop him, but their voices didn’t reach him.

– Kaaang!

Bart’s sword clashed against Midian’s red shield. A deafening sound echoed as if something might break.

The immense pressure from the sword caused the shield to tremble, but Midian did not lose his momentum.

“Die!”

In the midst of the clash between sword and shield, he lunged forward with his thick sword.

If he succeeded in defense, the shield almost always boasted consistent performance compared to a two-handed sword. It could stabilize blocks and create openings to stab. If the opponent tried to dodge, he could shove forward with the shield and maintain the initiative. But then,

“Hm?”

He stopped his thrusting sword midway. Even if he was angry, he hadn’t lost his reason.

That guy’s stance is peculiar.

I had thought it was strange that he swung his sword with one hand, but the movement of his left hand was even more unusual.

Unlike the swinging right hand, the left was raised as if protecting his chest… suspicious.

Midian Tertan noticed something even Tadian Lofero, the captain of the guard, had missed. It wasn’t an issue of skill as a swordsman; it was just the habit of a suspicious noble.

Midian, not hastily stabbing, waved his sword as if wielding a dagger.

Just enough to slice the left hand off.

“Tsk.”

Bart clicked his tongue. He had planned to finish quickly, but this guy was too perceptive.

Reluctantly, he stepped back to avoid the guy’s sword and met two more knights that chased after Midian.

“Protect the Baron!”

“Wipe out the Tertan family that’s causing turmoil in the kingdom!”

As the Duke’s knights rushed in, the knights of the Second Knight Order, led by Hazen, charged against them as well.

Amid the chaos of clanging armor, Bart began to make his move.

Swinging his sword with his right hand, clang! They clashed, then he performed a somersault, letting go of his sword midair, spun around, and with his left hand seized the sword to strike down the guy lurking behind him.

Simultaneously, he executed a spinning back kick with his right foot and jerked the sword in his left hand to grip it with both hands.

The apex of balance.

Changing his grip and concentrating on maintaining balance, Bart realized one day that the balance he had pursued all along was futile.

Perfect balance. Perfect cuts.

These might not matter if one wielded a sword alone, but when two people clashed swords, it was inevitably going to break.

With this realization, Bart had to acknowledge that he had been pursuing perfection without considering the opponent from the start.

It wasn’t an easy admission.

It was a path he had trained his entire life. He had already achieved swordsmanship that would not lose to anyone.

But was it because he had lost honor alongside his lord and had nothing left to lose? He easily shed his lingering feelings. While reflecting on his swordsmanship, Bart gained a major realization last summer.

‘If you don’t consider the opponent, swordsmanship doesn’t exist.’

All knights were supposed to read their opponent’s movements and either block, evade, or find openings, but Bart’s realization didn’t end merely with capturing movements.

– If there’s no opponent, there’s no me. My swordsmanship is perfected through the intertwining of others’ swordsmanship.

With this revelation, Bart completely departed from the realm of solely honing his own technique.

Wielding the sword with one hand while alternating grips, he redefined his swordsmanship to flow with the opponent.

If assessed with a low-level perspective, it would seem like a greedy sword technique trying to maintain the initiative without leaving a single opening.

However, this wasn’t a completely wrong assessment… The newly redefined swordsmanship demanded overwhelming physical capabilities. He had to alternate his attacks like flowing water left and right to minimize the variable of the opponent’s swordsmanship.

Even while considering others, his swordsmanship was still selfish. Was this why he couldn’t become a Swordmaster and remained at the threshold before it?

“Guh!”

As two knights lost their lives in an instant, Midian Tertan was horrified. But he didn’t back down.

“You bastard!”

He’s the one who killed my son. That bastard who mercilessly murdered my beloved child, who was growing so strong!

I will never forgive you!

He advanced firmly with the red shield, which symbolized the Tertan family, in front of him.

As a massive shield capable of completely covering an adult man approached, Bart corrected his stance and thrust his sword in a very obvious trajectory.

– Clang!

And, of course, it was blocked by the shield.

“Ha!”

Midian’s thrust missed.

– Clang!

Bart’s thrust was blocked.

“Hah!”

Midian’s slash went off course.

– Clang!

Bart slightly sidestepped toward Midian’s side with the shield. Repeatedly dodging the incoming shield trajectory, he focused on stabbing only at the exposed head above the shield.

The shield was undoubtedly an efficient weapon. Just by vaguely sensing the attack trajectory, easy defense was possible, and depending on proficiency, it could also be operated aggressively.

But it came with the downside of being forced to fight passively. Due to the weight of the shield, rapid attacks were difficult, and when a one-handed sword clashed with a two-handed sword, it was always pushed back, so blocking first and looking for openings was the basic approach.

– Clang!

Thus, the strategy against a shield-wielding opponent was to force them to hide behind their shield.

To obscure their field of vision.

Bart made another stabbing motion. The moment the shield raised slightly, he jumped up.

Turning his body over as if to lie down, he pressed against the shield and stabbed through to the other side with the sword held in reverse.

Aiming for the bastard’s collarbone.

Midian sensed something was wrong the instant the shield was weightily pressed down. As soon as he felt it, he charged forward, pushing the shield with his whole body.

“Uwaah!”

The sword barely grazed his earlobe and passed by. His reaction was incredibly sharp.

However, as Bart landed from the somersault he did in the air, he dashed forward.

Just when the bastard was hurriedly turning the shield around,

– Bam!

Without mercy, Bart swung the sword and struck the ‘side’ of the shield. As Midian’s body lurched, he slammed the elbow upward.

– Crunch.

“Gahk!”

The elbow that had been bearing the weight of the shield bent backward, detached.

Midian Tertan hurriedly steadied himself with a one-handed sword, but now it was over.

Bart swung down on the guy’s upright sword. A broadsword flew, cutting into his forehead, and he grinned like a devil.

“Lord Baron! Lord Baron is in danger!”

A knight yelled, realizing Midian was in trouble, but it was too late.

Bart pierced Midian Tertan’s neck. From below and to the right, piercing through the vertebrae. Since it was the same person doing it, it was natural, and if peculiar, it was strange too; nonetheless, his son had died in the same manner.

“Hahaha!”

Bart laughed loudly. With this, the offspring of the Duke’s lineage was entirely severed. Someone might come in as an adopted son and continue the Duke’s legacy, but the blood of ‘Tertan’ ended here.

Of course, he had no intention of being satisfied with this.

Duke Rupert Tertan!

That bastard remained.

Bart turned his neck and looked around. The garden was quickly turning into a battlefield.

Blood splattered on the majestic trees, and flesh was splattered on the lush bushes and blooming wildflowers. The ground was littered with the corpses of soldiers, and on top of them, knights fought for each other’s throats.

Floating orbs illuminated the horrific scene.

‘The tide of battle… we’re slightly losing.’

The Duke’s knights were quite capable, but the skills of the collateral relatives of the Tertan family were substantial.

They faced one knight alone or teamed up with as many as three, gaining an advantage in numbers.

But their success soon came to an end.

As Bart jumped in and swooped down on a knight who seemed pretty skilled, and as thirty knights who had retreated to the back door rushed across the mansion, the tides of battle flipped.

As the sounds of clashing armor thrummed gradually subsided, Bart couldn’t contain his anxious heart and shouted.

“Let’s go! Let’s catch that Duke!”

“Ah! Sir Bart! Wait a moment…!”

He rushed into the mansion before the situation had even stabilized. Hazen called out from behind, but he didn’t stop.

As blood-soaked knights rushed in, the handmaidens screamed, and several noblewomen approached with venom spitting out curses.

Of course, none of that reached Bart’s ears. He pushed some away and cut down others.

The unspoken rule of not harming noble ladies didn’t concern him since he bore the name Tertan.

Duke. Duke. Duke.

Bart and four companions dashed through the sprawling mansion. They kicked open doors and looked inside repeatedly.

And in the study at the end of the third floor… they found him.

– Clatter.

Duke Rupert Tertan, clad in a red robe, leaned comfortably back in his chair, twirling the ice water in his crystal glass. Even in the cold winter, he drank it greedily as if a fire was raging inside.

Bart felt a surge of boiling rage and intense joy at the same time.

“Rupert Tertan!”

The old, wrinkled eyes turned toward Bart.

“A guest has arrived. So, does killing my grandson and son give you solace?”

“Do you acknowledge your sins! The crime of being blinded by trivial ambition and driving out the rightful heir, Prince Leo de Yeriel!”

Bart shouted, pointing his finger.

But the Duke didn’t even blink.

“Rightful? The King has never named an heir. Prince Eric would be more worthy of the throne…”

He gulped down the ice water again, chewing not on the ice, but swallowing it whole down his throat.

Water dribbled along the wrinkles of his mouth.

“You old man! Were you not the one trying to place your grandson on the throne? Truly despicable!”

“Grandson? Khek, khek…”

Duke Rupert Tertan laughed harshly. Ultimately, he coughed and expelled dry, aged breaths.

“Indeed. He is my grandson. But he is not only my grandson…”

“Sir Bart! Sir Bart!”

At that moment, they heard Hazen’s voice coming from afar. He hurried up the stairs, thudding.

“You must not kill the Duke! Even if it means executing him later, keep him alive…”

Ah, was that why he insisted on volunteering to catch the Duke? To prevent us from killing the Duke?

‘No way.’

Bart aimed his sword at the Duke.

I have lived to kill this bastard.

The Prince had also permitted me to kill the Duke, and if any issues arose with the nobles over killing the Duke… I will take responsibility for it.

I will protect the Prince.

“Friends, may I kill him?”

He sought his companions’ permission and approached the Duke.

The Duke, once one of the kingdom’s finest knights, was still in good condition but didn’t move. Instead, he sank deeply into his chair and closed his eyes.

“Go to hell. Go and realize your sins and suffer!”

– Thud!

Bart’s sword pierced the old man’s chest.

Was it because he was old? Even after Bart pulled the sword out, little blood flowed from his chest.

“Sir Bart! Ah… no…”

Hazen, who had rushed into the study, sighed deeply upon seeing the fallen Duke’s head.

Knowing that words would be pointless, he had come directly to stop it… he had underestimated the thirst for revenge. He never thought Bart would rush in before the fight had even ended.

“Well, now that this has happened, I have no choice. I should take care of his body…”

But before he could let out a sigh that fully passed through his throat, he was horrified and shouted.

“No! Wait! What are you doing!”

Bart roughly grabbed the Duke’s light brown hair.

He rudely exposed the old man’s wrinkled neck and held the sword to it.

It wasn’t over yet.

“Wait! Is this guy really insane!”

Hazen rushed in to intervene, but four knights stopped him.

“He is a noble! How can you… No, as a knight, how can you defile a dead body like this! Sir Bart! You must stop this at once!”

“…I am no knight.”

The moment I lost the Prince, I lost my knightly honor.

Consumed by the single-minded desire for revenge against Duke Tertan, I indiscriminately killed everyone related to him… I was not someone deserving to be called a knight.

Though I hadn’t dreamed of a glorious future upon the Prince’s return, it was something that couldn’t happen. The innocent blood on my hands was too dark.

So when Prince Leo had informally formed a knight order, I had absolutely refused to join.

I, and we, were not worthy.

Bart’s blunt sword crudely sliced through the Duke’s neck. The flesh pushed aside by the blade formed chaotic cuts from the pressure.

I will offer this head to the spirits of my comrades who went before me…

The eyes of the five knights shone with madness.

“Sir Bart! Stop right now…!!”

Hazen’s voice, which had been yelling, abruptly cut off. Bart’s companions were taken aback and shouted.

“Bart! Be careful…!”

“?”

As Bart looked up with a questioning expression,

The Duke’s arm moved.

“Ugh!”

An oddly shaped mass, resembling the head of a newborn calf, or more like something unidentifiable, pierced through Bart’s abdomen. Something detached that had been a perfectly well-formed hand seconds ago was now grotesquely attached.

“What, what is this!”

Bart hastily released his grip on the Duke’s hair and stepped back. Blood poured from his belly, but he didn’t have the time to feel pain.

– Kill.

That eerie sensation returned.

When I saw the gem hanging from Hirie Gaidan’s neck, I felt the same chilling dread enveloping me.

That blood-red gem remained unbroken. I felt an ominousness and tried to shatter it, but no matter what I did, it wouldn’t break. I showed it to my companions, but they replied they felt nothing at all.

Only Bart felt that hair-raising dread.

Ultimately, Bart threw the gem into the sea. And he never thought of it again. Just thinking of it sent shivers down his spine.

The Duke, half his head severed and hanging upside down. He, no, it rose from its seat. Dark red mist flowed down from the severed neck…