Chapter 21

Episode 21

Barris's game was none other than a match against Baltian, the prince of the Voltiz kingdom. I thought of how funny it was to have this match right away, but it was better than not being able to have it at all. Barris was standing on the martial arts field with a determined face, showing no fear whatsoever. I felt the excitement in the entire stadium was heated up from the previous game.

Since most participants had outstanding skills, it must have been markedly different from the usual scuffles. Barris had a claymore, similar to his body size, but the sword's blade was quite blunt for a non-lethal battle. Wizards and priests with outstanding skills were on standby, but if you were hit with a sharp-edged weapon, you would still likely die before any treatment could occur.

"I am so worried if he gets injured while running like an angry foal."

"Barris has a lot of experience. He will be fine."

"I know, but..."

Winley was a rear assistant, but Barris used to take the lead when clearing up the many mountain thieves in the country, perhaps because of his personality. Because of that, I felt sorry for the knights who were busy trying to protect him.

Before long, Baltian slowly appeared with a long sword from the other side. I expected that he wouldn't look good because of the embarrassment he had at the banquet yesterday, but his face was scarily expressionless.

"Even though the blade of the sword is dull, killing is forbidden. Do not attack each other with direct qi."

A wizard in a robe quietly spoke and then installed a barrier in front of the battlefield. It was to prevent the fight from flying to the audience seats. He had a gaze filled with hostility, but Barris stared at Baltian without saying anything. On the contrary, Baltian simply pulled out his sword silently.

"Start!"

Before long, the two men collided as soon as the start signal went off. Barris, who learned deadly swordsmanship using power, and Baltian, who uses a variable sword technique to fool his opponent with a long sword. Barris was dominant when it came to proficiency and stability in swordsmanship. Besides, the atmosphere was turning toward him because of the misbehavior that Baltian showed before.

Those who saw him at the banquet didn't seem to have any expectations from Baltian. However...

"Huh?"

Unlike everyone's expectations, Baltian fought head-to-head against Barris's sword. Did his skill improve? Not really. It was like a strange flash of Déjà vu.

Clang! Clang!

They both had expert-level skills, reinforcing their bodies with mana. Even though the swords didn't have sharp blades, I could see sparks when they collided.

Clang!! Clang!!

The wild audience had now gone silent, surprised by the close encounter between the two. Without even screaming, they squeezed their hands tightly and swallowed their breath. Abandoning deadly swordsmanship of unknown origin to me, was far beyond the physical abilities that he showed yesterday. It was impossible that him improved his skill in that short time. As if he had changed completely, his swordsmanship was alien to me.

If I hadn't awakened Barris's mana yesterday, it would have been a big mess.

Clang!!

The two men, who were pushing each other in a strength competition, spread apart simultaneously.

"Wow...it's the first time I've seen Barris move that fast..."

Winley was right. Barris, who was catching his breath, seemed surprised that his physical ability increased sharply from yesterday and once again surprised that sword technique, struck him with the same sword technique as himself.

"His skill has significantly improved."

Barris, who used to say that he would become a knight, wielding a wooden sword at random, had indeed grown a lot. Baltian was acting weird, but I felt proud of Barris at the same time.

"I never thought he'd be so good at using the power sword like this."

Catching his breath, Barris quietly asked Baltian. However, Baltian remained quiet, just raising his longsword and pushing toward him. Once again, I felt a sense of Déjà vu.

"Davey, are you okay?"

"Yes."

While speaking calmly, I immediately focused the command mana on my eyes. The Silent magic trick was activated, and I started to see things slowly in the dark. This was Black magic that could read the opponent's mind. At the same time...

I frowned at Baltian when I saw the air current flowing through his body.

"What the heck?"

I jumped up, realizing something wasn't right. Then, the battle between the two was over at the same time. As if making a final decision, Baltian pushed himself toward Barris's sword. Reflexively turning the sword's trajectory and trying to attack again, Baltian didn't miss the short gap and swung his sword. And, momentarily, a red air current in his sword appeared, and he thrust his sword into the heart of Barris without hesitation.

Bhaha!!!!

Simultaneously, a blue veil around his body prevented Baltian's attack and disappeared as if crushed.

The Continental Swordsmanship Competition was a competition in which outstanding people competed. Functionally, it was a sports game with the principle of not killing your opponents. However, he relentlessly violated two of the biggest rules: not to use murderous techniques and not to apply qi to his weapon. The inside of the stadium, full of surprise, began to sway.

Blue air veil.

Anyone who knew swordsmanship wouldn't miss it. This was of expert-intermediate level or higher. Because of this, it was a self-barrier that more advanced professionals used. When he inflicted a dangerous attack, the mana would then wake up to protect the owner. It was of an advanced expert level or higher...

Most swordsmen were often frustrated because they couldn't break through this situation, but Barris pioneered the technique at the age of fourteen. All I did was to slightly stimulate his mana, which had been hardened to his body, but even with that, his condition had already taken a big step forward. Of course, Baltian's sword qi wasn't ordinary; it was an ominous dark red qi.

Since he entered the upper ranks, Barris couldn't mitigate all the shock.

(Cough)

As a small amount of blood flowed out of Barris's mouth, Barris slowly raised himself with a pale face.

"Duel is stopped! Prince Baltian! You have violated two rules, so I declare your disqualification!"

With the wizard's furious shout, the knights quickly climbed up the battlefield, surrounded, and suppressed him. However, Baltian only turned his head to a bizarre angle with an expressionless face despite this situation. Then, he puffed his lips as he opened his mouth for the first time.

"Kkkkrr!"

However, the voice that flowed out of his mouth was so strange that he didn't sound like a human at all.

"Prince Baltian de Voltiz! At a convention held for the Confederation of Nations' unity, this rude behavior can only be regarded as the intention of the Voltiz nation." Officials of the host country, the Duchy of Felicity, shouted angrily.

If Barris were killed here, it wouldn't be a normal problem. That wasn't only true for Barris, but for everyone who participated. Those who came here were representatives of each country. Among them were the royal family and the sons of famous military nobility. Any country that valued ​​them would certainly not be happy and make a claim.

If so, of course, unity, which was the national coalition's purpose, would be over. They all knew that once two small nations declared war, all the neighboring countries would jump in since they've waited for this very reason to do so. However, even at the words of the official of the Principality of Felicity, he just tilted his head and didn't say anything.

"From our perspective, the prince's action was malicious and deliberate actions to revenge! If you do not give any clarification, I will formally report a claim against the Voltiz Kingdom as the current host of the Continental Swordsmanship Contest organized by the Confederation of Nations!"

As if throwing an injunction, the official shouted.

"Wait!"

"Please wait! The prince's action wasn't intended to cause discord!"

A formal claim would never be what the Voltiz Kingdom would hope for. The Voltiz Kingdom's nobles who jumped up over the battlefield were sweating to ease the situation.

"Prince! Please, say something..!"

It was then.

Baltian, who was still silent, turned his head to a bizarre angle and grabbed the head of a nobleman who approached him.

(Gnarl)

(Crackling)

In an instant, the head of the nobleman burst like a watermelon hit by a baseball bat. At the same time, the blood disappeared from the faces of everyone watching the situation at the stadium.

* * *

With his mouth wide open, Baltian began to shed a bizarre sound and a red air veil, not only from his sword, but also from his empty hand formed. As if a sticky liquid was flowing over, the appearance of the red air veil that enclosed his entire body gave the viewers goosebumps.

"Ahhhhhh!!!"

"Ahhhhhh!!"

Then, after a brief silence, screams began to erupt from all over the stadium.

Again, the game was supposed to be a friendly match with a strong sports concept. If an athlete grabbed a person's head and burst it during the Earth's Olympic Games, it would surely cause chaos like this. Baltian's eyes, which looked as if they were smiling, were moving quickly, and the white part of his eyes began to turn red.

Simultaneously, unidentified veins sprouted all over the skin, and the fangs visible in his open mouth began to lengthen, much like a vampire from a ghost story.

'Infection.'

It wasn't a normal vampire that could create an infectious agent that could shed Dark qi. Instinctively realizing it, I narrowed my eyes. I noticed that he wasn't the same as I knew just by looking at the flow of mana from a little while ago. The flow of mana that creatures should have wasn't there, and only a bizarre flow remained.

As I approached, Barris, ignoring Baltian, who was standing overwhelmed by the knights, looked up at me with a half-pale expression.