Chapter 160: History (3)

Yuri and his group returned to Briol.

From the guerrilla training camp near the royal palace, the hoots of owls could be heard constantly.

“Uaaaah!”

“Gyaaaaah!”

“Iyaaaah!”

They said that, given the danger Joachim faced, some young people who weren’t knights were volunteering there.

Yuri reunited with the instructors after a long time.

“How’s everything going?”

“Going well.”

“Isn’t it time to start training people from Briol too, not just those from Joachim?”

“Yes. We’re actually recruiting a new class.”

Yuri thought Briol also needed a specialized unit like this one.

After all, Briol also had forests, and when war began, battles would have to be fought in many different ways.

They already had a lot of gathered information, so it would be possible to train Briol’s soldiers more systematically and efficiently.

“I trust you.”

“Yes, sir!”

Yuri smiled as he saw the new recruits crawling in the distance. It wouldn’t be long before they were reborn as true owls, strengthening Joachim’s military power.

Yuri left the guerrilla training camp and headed to the palace interior.
His destination today was the combat training field.

He had a prearranged duel.

“Huff…”

Yuri, who arrived first, climbed alone onto the field and spun his sword between his fingers, thinking about the duel he was about to have.

It wouldn’t be easy.

Then his opponent appeared.

“You’re early.”

“Yeah.”

It was Bernard.

Bernard, upon seeing the level Yuri had reached after returning to the palace, had asked to cross swords with him.

Before, he had been his teacher, but now there wasn’t such a big difference between them.

Yuri thought that if he used the power of chaos he had gained by defeating Yalta, he might even win.

“Your Highness.”

“Bernard.”

“It’s been a long time since I trained you. You’ve always surprised me. You advance with unexpected ideas and have grown quickly.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Bernard swung his sword through the air. His movements were polished and sharp.

“Today, too, you’ll have to show me something surprising.”

“And if I don’t?”

“You’ll get hurt.”

“Then, I’ll return the warning.”

Bernard smiled.

“Are you sure about that?”

“Of course.”

Though he said it with confidence, it wouldn’t be easy. Bernard was as strong as Jose, but of a different style.

To Yuri, Bernard was even more complicated.

“Well, shall we begin?”

“Yes.”

Both raised their swords and stared at each other.

Yuri gripped Guilty tightly, smiling. He never imagined he’d one day be at a level similar to Bernard’s.

In his past life, Bernard had been an unattainable master, on a level Yuri could never reach.

But that wasn’t the case anymore. Feeling the energy of the Cut of the soul and the heart flowing from his chest, Yuri stepped toward Bernard.

Though they were still quite far apart for their swords to touch, Yuri felt his skin bristle. The distance was still wide, but he was already within Bernard’s domain.

Yuri expanded his own domain by channeling sword energy through the Cut the soul and the heart.

Both domains overlapped.

Yuri began to move around Bernard, looking for an opening. But there wasn’t any.

He truly was an incredible swordsman.

And if someone like that had been defeated and made to work for years by his father—just how strong must his father be?

Would he ever be able to cross swords with him? Yuri smiled grimly.

“Here I come.”

And he moved first.

Guilty sliced through the air, aiming for Bernard’s chest. Bernard blocked it easily and counterattacked.

In just a few seconds, the sound of clashing swords rang out several times.

“You’re good.”

“You too.”

Bernard’s sword lit up with energy. That meant he was going all in.

Yuri responded by raising his Cut the soul and the heart.

Both energies clashed.

Yuri attacked low. Bernard moved peculiarly to dodge and struck his shoulder with the hand holding the sword.

“Ugh!”

Had it been with the sword, he would’ve dodged it, but the hand strike was too fast to react to. Bernard shifted posture, ready to corner Yuri completely. His sword moved even faster.

Yuri also increased his speed.

His shoulder hurt, but he could still swing his sword.

While exchanging blows with Bernard, Yuri felt a thrill rising from his chest.

Bernard wasn’t much different from him in terms of sword comprehension. That’s why the exchange of techniques and strategies was exhilarating for Yuri.

And that meant they were on a similar level.

It doesn’t feel like this if the opponent is clearly stronger or weaker.

Yuri smiled.

Bernard had always seemed unattainable. But now they could fight as equals.

It was fulfilling and fun. And it seemed he wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

Bernard, who always wore a serious expression, let a slight smile show.

“Your Highness.”

“Yes?”

“You’ve improved a lot.”

“Right?”

“I was getting tired of training with Sir Jose every day. I’m glad to have a new opponent.”

A response worthy of a knight.

Instead of replying, Yuri created a whirlwind with sword energy—his Spinning Whirlwind technique.

Now he could perform it quite smoothly. Bernard, not moving closer, adopted a defensive stance from the rear.

The gears of the whirlwind that formed over Yuri’s sword merged and turned into a gust of energy that headed for Bernard.

Just as it approached, Bernard intercepted it like lightning.

As if a chunk too big to swallow had gotten stuck, the gears stopped spinning and collapsed on their own.

Bernard’s sword energy completely neutralized the Spinning Whirlwind.

“Ah…”

Yuri widened his eyes. What Bernard had just done was an incredible technique.

It looked like he had simply swung his sword, but that wasn’t it. He found the small gap between the gears, inserted his sword there, and synchronized the movement of his blade with the whirlwind in a fraction of a second.

Yuri was dumbfounded.

“That was amazing.”

“Did you think I’d let myself lose so easily?”

“Yeah.”

Bernard gave a slight smile.

“That won’t happen.”

This time Bernard charged. Yuri blocked it. There was a crash.

Bernard attacked his legs. Yuri jumped to dodge and countered, aiming at his throat to stop him from continuing.

Bernard dodged it. Upon landing, Yuri attacked his opponent’s lower body.

Bernard jumped too. Yuri waited for him to come down to stab him in the abdomen.

But Bernard spun in the air, deflected Yuri’s sword, and countered with a spinning kick.

Yuri barely ducked to avoid it. His hair flew. Jumping and spinning looked impressive, but both movements were wide, leaving Bernard exposed.

To cover the gap after the jump, he had launched the kick, but with that, he was again vulnerable to Yuri’s sword.

Yuri thrust his sword with precision.

However, Bernard responded once more in a completely unexpected way.

“Eh?”

Instead of retreating, he leaned directly into the sword. Because of that, the angle of the blow wasn’t right, and it only caused a superficial wound.

Bernard took advantage to channel mana into his gauntlet, deflected the body of Guilty’s blade, and after landing, stepped forward and launched a thrust.

Yuri had missed two opportunities. That allowed Bernard to take the initiative.

Yuri let out a laugh. He had faced many powerful opponents before, but hardly anyone reacted with such unpredictable methods.

Before, when there was a large gap in level, he didn’t notice. But now, he could feel how incredible Bernard was as a swordsman.

Bernard also let out a slight smile. Thus, both their swords continued to clash countless times.

Yuri felt himself sinking deeper and deeper into the duel.

When he fought with Jose or other swordsmen, the difference usually lay in strength or speed, but with Bernard, the duel was decided by the control both had over their swords.

Yuri spoke.

“Bernard. You’ll have to try harder from now on.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m going to become even stronger. And if you don’t hurry to keep up, we won’t be able to have such fun duels like this.”

“Hahaha…”

Bernard laughed.

“I can’t allow that.”

Saying that, Bernard intensified his movements even more. His speed increased, and the rhythm accelerated.

Yuri widened his eyes. If he didn’t focus, he would fall behind. And then, he would get hit.

To keep up with Bernard’s flow, Yuri raised his Cut the soul and the heart intensely.

“Your Highness. Show me more. I know this isn’t all.”

“Is that so?”

Yuri smiled confidently. Then, he charged his sword with the power of chaos he had gained by defeating Yalta.

Back then, he had entered a momentary awakened state, surpassing even his own limits.

Now, it wasn’t as intense as it was then, but it was still an astonishing technique.

“This is…”

Bernard faltered. He clearly sensed it immediately.

“It’s a new technique.”

“Not entirely new.”

Yuri was already half-immersed in the domain of the soul. The scenery of the world changed, and his senses mingled out of control.

Within that chaos, Yuri found a power that could take any form.

Yuri’s sword, charged with immense strength, descended upon Bernard.

A colossal roar echoed in the air.

***

Someone was watching the duel between Yuri and Bernard.

Moyongchan, arms crossed, observed them from afar.

His disciple was undoubtedly a genius.

Even in that short time, he had grown astonishingly, to the point of matching Bernard.

He had never seen such rapid growth.

[With talent granted by the heavens and constant effort, this is how it’s done.]

No matter how exceptional one’s talent, without effort it’s useless.

Moyongchan’s eyes turned serious.

The scene of the two fighting resembled a dance. Both, with deep understanding of the sword, executed techniques that looked like acrobatics, and their movements were even beautiful.

Even someone at his level enjoyed watching them. They were an admirable pair.

[Excellent.]

But suddenly, he noticed Yuri’s energy had changed. An unfamiliar presence emerged from his body.

Moyongchan’s eyes widened.

[That is…]

The power of his sword increased dramatically, and his speed surpassed limits.

The random changes in form and flow, regardless of the domain, resembled chaos without order.

A murmur, almost like a groan, escaped Moyongchan’s lips.

[The martial arts of the Heavenly Demon…]

Bernard began to lose ground.

It was natural. Who could remain composed before a sword that moved so unpredictably?

No matter how strong Bernard was, he couldn’t handle that chaos if it was his first time facing it.

With a tense expression, Moyongchan watched Yuri’s weapon.

It seemed that Yuri hadn’t yet mastered that power, as its intensity gradually began to decrease.

Bernard, who had been on the verge of defeat, managed to recover and rebalance the fight.

Finally, both lowered their swords without a winner being decided. It had been a magnificent duel.

But Moyongchan didn’t feel at ease.

The martial arts of the Heavenly Demon were rejected by the Murim as heretical for a reason.

Chaos can become anything. If one so wishes… even the absolute evil.

Moyongchan closed his eyes.

Perhaps it was something inevitable. History always repeats itself.

The realms reached by one genius are eventually reached again by another. No matter how much one tries to prevent it, they never disappear forever.

Moyongchan had never met the Heavenly Demon, but he had faced the cultists who pursued his legacy.

The martial arts of the Heavenly Demon they sought were crude and twisted.

But the power of chaos his disciple wielded was different.

[It must be the destiny given to humanity.]

In his time, the Heavenly Demon reigned as an absolute terror. But the Sky-Cleaving Swordsman appeared and stopped him.

If his disciple were to take the wrong path, someone would rise to stop him.

Perhaps, the very Yuri who now wields chaos has been summoned by the world to stop an even greater evil.

That is how humanity’s history has repeated, again and again, its thesis, antithesis, and synthesis.

Moyongchan simply nodded slowly.

[The unending tide of history keeps flowing.]