Chapter 111: Tournament (3)

Sparrow snorted mockingly.

“What? You want me to teach you Single Strike, the family’s secret technique? If you were trying to make me laugh, you did it.”

“Sparrow Apache. There’s something you don’t know.”

“I don’t really care…”

“I’m a disciple of Master Jackson Apache.”

At those words, Jared looked at Yuri.

He had already noticed, when his lord—the third prince—easily became Moyongchan’s disciple, that he had not a shred of loyalty when it came to master-disciple relationships.

If he needed something, he’d become anyone’s disciple, take what he wanted, and leave without a second thought.

“Wow…”

Yuri ignored Jared’s gaze and continued, with an even more confident expression.

“I read with my own eyes the secret manual Single Strike, handwritten by Master Jackson Apache.”

“What?”

Sparrow’s eyes opened wide.

“It’s been lost for so long they call it a mythical manual in the family. How did you…?”

“I have no idea why. What I do know is that I read it.”

“That’s hard to believe. Then let me ask you something.”

Sparrow rolled his eyes, clearly remembering something.

“How does that book end?”

“The ending? Hahahaha…”

Yuri burst out laughing. That abrupt ending, cutting off right when it was getting good, still made his blood boil.

He stared directly at Sparrow and, as if accusing him, replied firmly:

‘“I have perfected the Single Strike, but I won’t write it here due to lack of space.”’

“Ohhh…!”

The reaction was unexpected. Yuri had thought he wouldn’t believe him, but Sparrow grinned broadly and immediately took his hand.

“That’s it. That’s the book.”

“Didn’t you say you never read it?”

“That last line has been passed down from generation to generation in the family.”

“That line? Why?”

“Ancestor Jackson left a will saying… Ah, and when he died…”

Sparrow rolled up his sleeve again and pointed to a part of his belly.

“He had liver issues. That’s what killed him.”

“Was it necessary to show your belly?”

“It’s to explain where the organ is located…”

He grew serious again.

“He said he made a mistake in the past. And that if someone ever showed up having read Single Strike, we were to teach it to them…”

“No need to mimic his voice…”

Yuri tilted his head.

“But what does it mean to teach it to someone who read it?”

“Because that book is a scam.”

Yuri almost punched him on instinct.

“Come again?”

“The ancestor was broke back then. He wrote the book before finishing Single Strike. Then he sold it to some naïve noble. That line about not having enough space was a lie; he just hadn’t finished it.”

“I’m tempted to kill him…”

“But because he felt guilty, he left that will. That if anyone ever read it, we’d have to teach them the technique.”

“I see…”

At that point, Yuri was starting to think the Single Strike technique was a scam in itself, but Sparrow’s eyes gleamed with conviction.

“Very well. I’ll teach it to you.”

“Don’t act so magnanimous.”

“Yes, sir…”

Sparrow, still with his belly exposed, grinned confidently.

“Let’s get right to it. I want to see how much you understood about Single Strike.”

“No. Before that…”

Yuri put on a demanding expression, like a merchant insisting on seeing the goods before sealing the deal.

“Show me first what Single Strike looks like.”

“You don’t trust me?”

“No.”

“At least you’re honest. I like that.”

Sparrow calmly walked over and picked up a wooden sword from a corner of the training area.

The members of the swordsmanship guild immediately gave him space.

Judging by their coordination and respect, Sparrow seemed to be quite well-regarded there.

“A technique born from the unwavering will to pierce everything in a single blow.”

“Sounds promising.”

“What’s essential is willpower.”

Sparrow began channeling his mana method.

Yuri, meanwhile, activated the energy of Cut of the soul and the heart, entering a colorless world.

He decided to call that state the “soul domain.”

Forms began to vanish and the world became filled only with light and shadow.

From the silhouette that seemed to be Sparrow, he could see the flow of mana.

“Body and mana… everything must concentrate on a single point. Not a line. A point. The goal is to pierce that point.”

Sparrow’s sword began to blur.

Yuri observed it both in the outer world and within the soul domain. In both, the shape of the sword was barely visible.

Then, tap. A small sound.

Yuri’s eyes followed the direction Sparrow had looked. On the wall, there was a mark from the sword.

The distance between him and the wall was such that it would take several leaps to reach.

It wasn’t a sword wave. He hadn’t extended the blade either.

He had literally pierced space and struck a single point.

“This is…”

Yuri looked at Sparrow, astonished. It no longer seemed odd that his belly was exposed.

“An average swordsman wouldn’t understand what just happened, but you saw it, prince. You’ve got a good eye. Hahahahaha…”

Sparrow roared with laughter as he put his shirt back on. His bulky belly and impressive mustache disappeared beneath his clothes.

Yuri felt a strange sense of loss and brought his hand to his chest, surprised by the emotion.

“That impressed?”

“Yes. You’ve changed, Sparrow.”

“I hear that a lot. I’m the kind of man who grows on you.”

Sparrow straightened up proudly and asked:

“So? Want to learn it?”

***

Yuri went out with Jared beyond the imperial city, and in a clearing from which the wall could be seen in the distance, he practiced Single Strike, the technique he had learned from Sparrow.

Jared couldn’t understand it.

“Isn’t this a scam? What’s it supposed to do?”

He kept stabbing the air with his sword, but nothing happened.

“I don’t get this Single Strike stuff at all…”

But Yuri was different.

From his perspective—able to see the flow of mana—Single Strike was a completely mutant technique. It wasn’t that Sparrow had a particularly sophisticated mana method, nor that his understanding of the sword was especially deep.

But he had awakened the precise sense needed to execute Single Strike. It was a technique that brushed against secrets of the world not yet revealed.

“An unexpected coincidence…” Yuri murmured.

Single Strike was even connected to the power of chaos he had used against Moyongchan.

Where that had involved collapsing fractals and breaking the world’s laws, Single Strike induced a phenomenon that pierced space from the most imperceptible microplane.

It used the chaos of a miniature world.

Maybe its discovery was pure luck—or the obsessive compulsion of that Jackson fellow. But somehow, it gave birth to the marvelous technique known as Single Strike.

“The second technique of the Yuri style is complete.”

“Oh, so now you’ve got another one besides the spinning sword? What is it?”

“Single Strike.”

“Huh?”

Jared made a weird face. It was the same one he had made when Yuri insisted he was Jackson’s disciple.

“Your face annoys me.”

“That technique is Sparrow’s… you can’t call it Yuri style…”

“Who’s more famous, him or me?”

“Well… you’re a prince…”

“Then it’s mine.”

“Ah…”

“Well, if anyone asks, just say Sparrow taught it to me.”

“Okay…”

“And besides, the Single Strike I use will be different.”

Sparrow wasn’t especially remarkable as a swordsman. He had only perfected that one technique.

Because of that, aside from the ability to pierce space, there were many inefficiencies. But Yuri was different.

He had a heightened perception of mana, mastered an excellent mana method like Cut of the soul and the heart, and his understanding of the sword was growing ever deeper.

The Single Strike completed by his hands would no longer be just Single Strike.

“Mmm…”

Yuri looked at Jared.

“Eh?”

“You’re not tired, right?”

“Of course not.”

“Think you could use Single Strike?”

“Well, actually I still don’t really get it…”

“Then that’s fine. Just fight.”

“What?”

“An opponent just arrived for you to practice on.”

Yuri looked around. It was then that Jared also noticed the anomaly, and his expression hardened. A clear killing intent could be felt.

An attack right after leaving the imperial city… they had undoubtedly been waiting for this moment.

Yuri smiled.

“The city was too crowded… I can finally cut loose.”

“I think there’s too many…”

“That just means more targets to practice on.”

The ones who appeared were a group of hooded figures dressed in black with masks.

“Aren’t those the same guys from last time?”

“Looks like it.”

They wore the same outfits as Hassan.

Hassan didn’t know that Yuri had been following him. Nor that he had uncovered the connection between the crown prince and the drug.

“Did they find out I’ve been snooping?”

“No. This simply…”

There weren’t many reasons someone would want to eliminate Yuri.

“I guess they’re pissed that I’ve been saving people.”

Yuri had become a symbol of the anti-drug fight in the imperial city. After locking Got up in a rehab clinic, he had started working with the temple to eradicate the drug.

Thanks to that, the city had become a healthier place. But that wasn’t what the crown prince wanted.

“Perfect. That makes it even clearer he’s the culprit.”

“That’s true.”

“Jared.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t embarrass yourself.”

“Who do you take me for, Your Highness?”

The two advanced toward the hooded figures. The group looked surprised at first, but then calmly spread out and surrounded them. There were about twenty of them.

“One against ten.”

“That’s quite a few…”

“Scared?”

“A little…”

Though they spoke casually, the hooded men said nothing. Yuri spoke.

“Hey, you—hoodies!”

Jared flinched.

“That sounds so old-fashioned…”

“Hoodies?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm… then…” Yuri tried to change how he addressed them.

“How about… children of darkness?”

“Mmm…”

“That’s old-fashioned too?”

“Yes…”

“Fine. Damn bastards, then.”

Yuri rested Guilty on his shoulder.

“Not going to talk?”

“…”

“Did you come to kill me? Me? The third prince of Briol?”

“…”

“Seriously? Wow, brave bunch.”

Yuri pointed Guilty at the one he sensed had the strongest energy.

“Even so, isn’t there a chance that all of you die here instead? So you should tell me why you’re attacking me, so I can think, ‘Ah, it was my fault. From now on I’ll be more careful around certain people in the city. Otherwise, they might come after me again.’ Don’t you think?”

The hooded men exchanged glances. He had gotten through to them. The one who seemed to be the leader spoke.

“Drugs.”

“Drugs? I don’t like those.”

“Don’t interfere.”

“Ah, so you’re the ones selling them?”

Yuri feigned ignorance.

“Where are you from? Foreign spies? A criminal organization?”

The hooded man didn’t reply again. With a nod, the others rushed in. Twenty assassins leapt from all directions, like a black wall descending on them.

Yuri extended his sword.

“Single Strike.”

But it didn’t work as expected.

“Tch!”

He only managed to nick one’s thigh. But that was enough.

The charging group fell apart when one dropped, the rest collapsing like dominoes.

One rolled badly and ended up right in front of Yuri. Guilty plunged into his head.

The skull cracked, and when he pulled the sword out, the contents spilled everywhere.

Yuri wiped the blood from his face with his gauntlet, smiling.

“So you didn’t come after the wrong guy, huh?”

The eyes of the hooded men, now preparing again, showed a new emotion.

Yuri stepped forward.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen blood… this is fun.”

The leader signaled again. This time, three came at Yuri. They surrounded him and stabbed from three directions.

Yuri blocked one, dodged another, and caught the last between his arm and side. He yanked the sword, throwing the attacker off balance, and slashed his neck with Guilty.

Blood sprayed from the wound. Yuri grabbed the corpse and flung it at another enemy, then brought his sword down on the last.

The hooded man tried to block, but Guilty broke his weapon and cut him in half. His body split open with a wet sound.

“Don’t run.”

Yuri stabbed the last one trying to flee in the back, grinning.

“Now this is getting interesting.”