Chapter 75. The Spar (2)

A commander has several virtues.

An iron will, eloquence that inspires morale, empathy to observe the state of subordinates, instantaneous judgment to respond to crises, memory, analytical skills, vocalization, and so on.

Personally, if asked what was most important, I would answer all of them.

Because what I aimed for was a perfect commander.

Nevertheless, if I had to choose just one, I would say objective analytical ability.

A commander must be able to see even himself as a piece on a chessboard.

‘The Emperor’s specialty.’

I prided myself on not being too lacking in analytical skills either.

Looking at myself from that perspective, I was a so-called ‘jack-of-all-trades hero’.

An all-rounder who covers various fields rather than excelling in a specific one.

Clang! Kagak!

[[Imperial Infantry Doctrine] is activated.]

There was a problem.

This all-rounder type was difficult to control.

[[Shield] is activated.]

“Ugh!”

The shield shattered in a single blow.

A sword rushing up to my chin.

I dramatically bent my back to let it pass.

Immediately after, I received a heavy impact on my chest.

“Keok…!”

“As I've said repeatedly, you have too many stray thoughts.”

“Cough! Cough!”

Kicked, I rolled on the ground.

By the way, he kept saying I had too many stray thoughts.

I didn't know.

How can you not think when you fight?

Rather, I was sparring to think more efficiently and quickly.

“Each and every technique is truly perfect. To the point of putting prodigies who have devoted themselves to training for over 10 years to shame. However, why do you keep using other techniques, and with such an awkward transition….”

Olif closed his mouth.

He seemed conscious of the onlookers around him.

Did he notice?

He might have.

It wouldn't be strange if Olif, who had been with me almost from the beginning, noticed how I had been learning skills.

“…So that was your intention.”

He must have noticed.

At least the fact that I was trying to create skill combinations, not individual skill proficiency.

“It will not be an easy task.”

Olif said with a serious expression.

He wasn't wrong.

In fact, the more experienced players tended not to use all-rounder type heroes.

Because of the control.

* * *

‘Warlord Conquest’ was not an RPG game where you control only one character.

In the beginning, hundreds to thousands.

Later on, you had to simultaneously control a large army of hundreds of thousands and hundreds of heroes.

Therefore, the more experienced players usually nurtured specialized heroes.

Priest heroes as healers.

Mage heroes as damage dealers.

Knight heroes as tankers.

On the battlefield, even an all-rounder type could not stray far from these roles.

As long as you had one body, you couldn't be tanking at the forefront and spamming magic from the rear at the same time.

However, I was different.

The all-rounder type hero I saw was a firefighter.

A firefighter who could be deployed wherever a problem arose on the front lines.

The battlefield was full of variables.

Unexpected problems would erupt anytime, anywhere.

Therefore, in each playthrough, I deliberately nurtured one or two.

I pushed through, even if it meant dealing with the difficulty of control.

After long research, I came to the conclusion that even an all-rounder hero was surprisingly manageable if you just had a variety of well-designed skill combos.

In this playthrough, I intended to make myself such a reserve force.

The problem was that creating skill combos was not easy.

Unlike a game where it ended with a click of a skill icon, this was reality where you had to move your own limbs.

“Ptooey.”

I spat out the dirt and dust that had entered my mouth along with saliva.

The color was red.

I stood up and picked up my sword.

Olif had a thoughtful expression.

“Again.”

[[Imperial Knight Swordsmanship] is activated.]

I had learned four types of swordsmanship.

More than that if you included the comprehensive martial arts set, [Imperial Infantry Doctrine].

Among them, excluding [Imperial Green Flowing Sword] which was awkward to use in a public place, the best for a basic stance was [Imperial Knight Swordsmanship].

“You have many stray thoughts.”

I returned Olif’s words to him.

The old knight, who had been lost in thought, gave a hollow laugh.

“To achieve what you desire, Commander, it would be better for you to experience real combat.”

Olif nodded.

He corrected his stance.

A blue energy covered the blunted sword.

Aura.

For a moment, I felt a tingling sensation around my heart.

[[Warrior’s Insight] is activated.]

[You have acquired a skill.]

[Olif's Straight Knightly Sword (Level 5)]

…Killing intent?

I knew that great warriors could feel such things.

Seeing that [Warrior’s Insight], which was only effective in real combat, was activated, it was probably killing intent.

Karen was startled and about to step forward, but.

“Commande—!”

“Stay still.”

I stopped her with a raised hand.

“Olif is right. I need real combat.”

I had forgotten for a moment.

That this world was reality.

Trying to achieve my goal by sitting in front of a monitor and writing down skill combos in a notepad was a misjudgment in itself.

[[Holy Aura] is activated.]

In a reality where numerous variables intervened, how could one create an optimal damage rotation?

In the end, it was a matter closer to response than planning.

As Olif said, what I needed was real combat.

Now was the chance.

Unlike the battlefield, here I had plenty of potions and even priests to provide first aid.

The onlookers must have felt the change in the atmosphere, as the surrounding murmurs grew louder.

Sparring was usually done in a private place to guard against the risk of leaking techniques, but neither Olif nor I paid much mind, so there were quite a few onlookers.

[[Miracle: Blessing] is activated.]

[[Miracle: Steps of Faith] is activated.]

[[Miracle: Surging Strength] is activated.]

[[Miracle: Dawn’s Vitality] is activated.]

I erased the murmurs from my head.

The battlefield was full of even more noise.

Cleansing my body with divine power and blessings.

I lowered the tip of my sword, coated in a pure white aura, and aimed at the enemy.

“I say this out of concern, but please refrain from using dangerous spells.”

“I know.”

A single misfired fireball could burn down the entire camp, after all.

With those words, Olif’s body disappeared.

Goosebumps ran down the back of my neck.

My vision expanded.

Where?

Right? Left?

I saw a whitish afterimage.

Below.

The white-haired knight was rushing towards me with the force of a snake snatching its prey, his body almost attached to the ground.

A blue, glowing fang aimed for my ankle.

I threw my body.

Kwang!

The moment I threw my body back, the earth where my two feet had been was overturned.

A single sword strike had overturned the ground as if it had been repeatedly dug with a shovel.

The power of aura.

“Aura…!”

“I-it was real aura!”

I let the shouts of the onlookers pass and regained my focus.

As long as it was coated in aura, the presence of an edge was irrelevant.

If it hit, I would die just the same.

The white-bearded knight disappeared again.

[Momentary Acceleration] trait.

This time, I barely followed him.

Left.

Kaaaang-!

White aura and blue aura collided.

Kagak!

The swords became entangled in a sword lock, then pushed each other away.

[[Barrier] is activated.]

The moment Olif charged again, a translucent blue barrier blocked the space between us.

The aura shattered the barrier in one blow.

That was the intention.

The process of breaking it slowed the sword, if only for a moment.

[[Tuivat High Priest's Swift Sword] is activated.]

The surrounding scenery passed by my vision in a blur.

A white afterimage left by the holy aura aimed for my waist.

Jjeoeong!

With a sound that shouldn't have been made by swords clashing, my body was sent flying.

A spinning view.

I saw the knight holding his sword firmly with both hands.

Not only was my attack blocked, but I had been overpowered.

Thud!

I barely managed to twist my body in mid-air and land, then looked up.

A blue light filled my vision.

The sword strike had already reached right in front of my eyes.

I parried it.

Kwang!

He aimed for my neck again.

I deflected it.

Tugagak!

Heart.

Right lung.

Left waist.

Wrist.

A feast of a blue sword path, choosing fatal trajectories to stab, slash, and chop.

I desperately blocked and deflected, and some I dodged, leaving slight scratches.

[[Imperial Infantry Doctrine] is activated.]

[[Imperial Knight Swordsmanship] is activated.]

[[Miracle: Lesser Healing] is activated.]

The steps of the doctrine and swordsmanship intertwined.

Divine power I had unconsciously manifested covered and healed the wounds.

It was an instinctive reaction to the fact that an accumulation of small wounds would lead to death from blood loss and the sluggishness caused by pain.

My vision was dizzying.

I could only see white and blue trajectories.

Through the fragments of mana scattering as the two auras collided, I saw Olif’s wide-open eyes.

His eyes were smiling.

Those eyes said.

‘That’s it.’

Ah.

That's right.

Come to think of it, I had never used two or more martial arts at the same time.

Even though both were made in the Empire, they were completely separate systems of unarmed and armed martial arts, and since I had perfectly mastered each, there was nothing to add or subtract from them.

[[Tuivat High Priest's Swift Sword] is activated.]

[[Imperial Knight Swordsmanship] is activated.]

I had vaguely just tried to make skill combos.

I thought it would be enough to activate a few skills in a row according to the situation.

But come to think of it, there was no need to do that.

It was inefficient.

They were martial arts with different breathing, stances, and footwork in the first place.

I had been trying to change all of that every few seconds.

What an unnatural attempt.

[[Tuivat High Priest's Swift Sword] is activated.]

[[Imperial Infantry Doctrine] is activated.]

They could be mixed in the first place.

The footwork from this one.

The wrist movement from that one.

Perhaps those who had trained for a long time learned this naturally.

To compensate for problems at an imperfect stage, they would have tried various expedients to supplement with other techniques they had picked up.

Unlike me, who had learned them perfectly from the beginning and thus never had the chance.

Kaang!

Once more.

A powerful impact hit my arm as the swords clashed.

I used the recoil to step back.

Olif also took a few steps back.

“…….”

What should I say?

It felt like my vision had widened a bit now.

Until a moment ago, I could only see the white and blue auras, but now I began to see the stance, the position of the arm, the angle of the sword, the direction of the sword tip, and so on.

Did Olif know that too?

“This is the last help I can give you.”

The old knight said with slightly ragged breaths.

And.

Tat-

As if by promise, we stepped forward together.

[[Imperial Infantry Doctrine] is activated.]

[[Imperial Knight Swordsmanship] is activated.]

[[Tuivat High Priest's Swift Sword] is activated.]

[[Swordsmanship of the Red Bud] is activated.]

Getting closer.

The knight rushing like a beast.

It felt as if the scene in front of me was flowing in slow motion.

I used the techniques that had naturally become ingrained in my body.

The breathing from [Imperial Infantry Doctrine].

The stance and core strength from [Imperial Knight Swordsmanship].

The steps following [Tuivat High Priest's Swift Sword].

The sword strikes and aura from [Swordsmanship of the Red Bud].

The scenery flowing on both sides of my vision was no longer blurry.

I swung my sword while looking clearly at the knight who had come within reach.

The moment his blue sword and my red sword met-

Wajangchang-!

-the two auras shattered into pieces and scattered as if two glass cups had been smashed against each other.

Jaenggeureong!

The broken half of a sword blade fell to the ground.

Two of them.

Both swords had been broken.

Olif slowly straightened his back.

He lowered his sword.

“It was a good match.”

“…Yes.”

“Woooooooooah!”

“Did you see that? The auras shattered like glass?”

“…That aura. The color was familiar.”

“This can’t be right. Does this make sense?”

“Ash! Ash!”

“What’s that white-haired knight’s name?”

Cheers. Admiration. Analysis and disbelief.

The boisterous shouts of the many onlookers.

As I was wiping away the sweat that flowed like rain, someone approached.

A clanking sound echoed in my highly sensitized ears.

A knight.

“Commander Ash, I am Lamin Patama.”

A middle-aged man in plate armor held out his hand.

His ornate epaulets caught my eye, so I checked them.

It was a crest I knew.

The Patama Knightly Order.

One of the five great knightly orders of the Empire, and one of only two that could train Pegasus knights.

“I will be frank. It was truly, truly a perfect match.”

“Thank you.”

“No, I thank you. I do not know when in my 30 years of holding a sword I have ever felt such a thrill. I was moved. Look at the tears flowing from my eyes.”

I was a little flustered.

Because he was actually crying.

Anyone would be surprised if a dark-skinned man who looked to be in his late thirties held their hand tightly while tears streamed down his face.

“…Thank you for looking upon it favorably.”

I couldn't ignore his sobbing, so I gave a suitable greeting and glanced at Olif.

The white-haired knight was picking up the fragments of the broken practice sword as if nothing had happened.

In fact, I knew.

That at the moment of the final clash, Olif had withdrawn the power from his sword.

“…….”

He had reached the 6th rank already.

I had thought he hadn't reached that level yet.

He might even be looking beyond that.

The white-haired knight, noticing my gaze, smiled softly and nodded.

I looked at the knight named Lamin again.

He was still holding my hand tightly.

“I formally request it. Could you spar with me as well? I will compensate you handsomely. I beg of you.”

Uh.

I didn't expect this.

* * *

The clanging sounds.

Cheers, shouts, and screams.

The boisterous laughter that one would hear at a festival flowed in, mixed, from beyond the barracks.

It had been like this for several days.

The Emperor of the Empire, Louis Karlos, raised an eyebrow.

“Gabir.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Did I ever order training?”

“You have not.”

“The sound of weapons clashing has become quite frequent lately.”

He knew it was sparring.

At first, he had thought it stemmed from the mercenaries' light competitive spirit.

But looking at it yesterday and today, the Imperial army and even some knights were holding sparring matches.

Archduke Gabir nodded and answered.

“Sparring and personal training have been spreading like a trend recently.”

“A strange thing. Hasn't the war ended? Isn't it normal to drink and play?”

There was such a thing as a reward mentality.

On the battlefield where swords and spears flew, and bullets and arrows rained down, secondary desires were suppressed.

Things like comfortable sleep, sexual desire, alcohol, or gambling.

It was partly by order, and partly to survive.

When the war ended and the tension was released, the pent-up desires were bound to pour out like a dam breaking.

It wasn't limited to rough mercenaries.

It was the same for regular army soldiers and knights, though to a different degree.

They were all human, after all.

That was why he had purposely relaxed the rules on drinking to a moderate degree.

It was a way of saying, rather than drinking secretly and getting into trouble, he would allow it, so drink in moderation.

But suddenly, sparring?

Doing something they didn't normally do?

“That is so, but since some point, it has become a trend to spar with those from other affiliations and learn from each other. I hear that Commander Ash started it….”

The summary of events from the Archduke was this.

Mercenary Commander Ash had sparred with his subordinate knight and baron, Olif Kalbang, for several days.

The result of the true match on the last day, where they even used aura, was a draw.

And it had ended spectacularly with both swords breaking.

After that, sparring gradually spread like a trend, centering on the Ash Mercenary Band, and before long, it had spread throughout the entire Imperial army.

It was the instinct of men to readily imitate things that looked cool.

“That makes sense. The Ash Mercenary Band is no different from the protagonist of this civil war.”

“If you wish to prohibit it to preserve our forces, I will give the order.”

“Come on, what are you saying? What force would attack us in the middle of the Empire? If that were the case, I wouldn't have relaxed the drinking rules in the first place.”

The Emperor waved his hand.

There was nothing bad about it.

How many years had it been since the knightly orders kept the secrets of their swordsmanship to themselves?

If this incident could eliminate even a little of that stubborn culture, it would be a good thing.

“Let us return to the main topic.”

The Emperor shifted his gaze.

Towards the man in black, Barum, who had been reporting until a moment ago.

“So, a Ratman corpse was discovered?”

* * *

Dung! Dung! Dung! Dung!

The magnificent sound of drums.

Ppuuuuuu-

The echoing sound of trumpets.

“Waaaaaaaaah!”

“Luark is with us!”

“Long live His Majesty the Emperor! Long live His Majesty the Emperor!”

“For the Empire!”

And the cheers of the people filling the streets.

Amidst the cheers of thousands of citizens, the Imperial army, which had successfully suppressed the civil war and brought peace to the country, marched through the streets of the Imperial Capital.

It had been a month since they departed from Berenburg.