Chapter 389: Lord of the Sword and Lord of the Spear

Our celestial excursion on horseback on Linda came to an end when we finally arrived at the port city of Graysir.

There was a large shi p in the harbor, and there was a noticeable lively action around it.

"Looks like the Beast King has already arrived at port," I said.

- Yeah.

The air was simply saturated with the sense of his presence. One could understand this without even seeing him personally. Continuing further into Graysir, we saw the Beast King talking to his subordinates in the harbor.

Suddenly we noticed someone approaching us.

- Hey! So you and Fran-chan, you stupid daughter!

"We haven't seen you for a long time, Father. Or should I say "Your foolishness."

- Ha ha ha ha! That Mea got stronger while I was gone?

- Haha. I am growing by leaps and bounds.

Between the King of Beasts and Mea, there was no particular atmosphere of father and daughter, but they seem to get along. Since His Majesty was heartily happy about Mea's successes, his rude words did not particularly affect her.

- Hmm ...

After a short conversation with Mea, the King turned his attention to Fran. He slowly examined her from head to toe, as if assessing.

Nobody expected his next action. Taking the spear from his back, he made a downward blow at lightning speed.

At the moment when I thought that the spear would cut Fran's head in two, she barely had time to dodge the blow. In fact, we can say that she was in the balance of death. From the pressure of the air, her bangs flew up, and her clothes fluttered like in the wind.

But Fran didn't end there. Dodging the blow, Fran grabbed me and counterattacked. The king barely had time to place the spear so as to block her slashing blow.

There was a loud sound of metal hitting metal.

My blade stopped a few millimeters from the Beast King's neck.

They were perfectly honed attacks, I even felt their desire to fight to the last. Although neither Fran nor the King used the arts of sword or spear, there was something in their movements, gaze, and maneuvers that made them feel serious. Probably, if such an attack were directed at Mea, then she would definitely lose her balance. So strongly in this attack a certain bloodlust was felt.

A powerful blow from one weapon to another responded with a shrill sound.

In the next moment, both opponents bounced off each other, and at the same time removed the weapon in place.

- This time I dodged, then.

- And you too.

Neither Fran nor the King showed any anger or confusion. Now it became clear that this exchange of blows was nothing more than a test.

Yes, an ordinary person would not have survived this, these were first-class blows. It would be impossible to defend against such attacks without possessing the weapon art of the "Lord" (King) level. That is, they made sure that both are at the same level of weapon proficiency.

- What are you doing ?!

Mea, not understanding the situation, looked at the two of them with a shocked expression on her face. Yes, Mea, apparently, did not understand the essence of this exchange of blows. Even for her, with the sacred art of the sword, good intuition, and powerful skills, from the outside it must have seemed as if her father and Fran wanted to kill each other. This, in general, serves as a confirmation that Mea has not yet reached such heights of skill.

- Ha ha ha ha! What are you, we just said hello! Right?

- Yeah.

- Say hello? Just? But ... What would you have done if she hadn't had time?

- Yes, everything is all right! As a last resort, I would just stop.

- M?

- Hey, hey, I'm completely serious.

- Since he owns the royal art of the spear, then you can be completely calm.

- So this is how it is...

It looks like he was planning on stopping the spear at the last moment if Fran hadn't had time to dodge. Maybe he would have stopped, but he certainly would have inflicted serious injury.

"In any case, does it mean you really acquired the Art of the Lord of the Sword? Moreover ... Transformation into the Lord of the sword.

- How do you know?

- Haha. Maybe you, young lady, are good at hiding your presence, but you are completely incapable of hiding your strength.

- Hide your power?

- Yes. Along with the ability to sense the presence of someone, there is also the power to read the level of power. In your case, I was convinced of this very accurately.

- Yeah.

- For example, when I first met you, face to face, you seemed to me very defenseless. After all, a warrior like you, even trusting me, would weaken your defense? Of course not. And it's easy to answer why. Even in this state, you would like to feel at least partially safe. Before I gave in to you. You should already know what I'm really capable of. And all this, together with how you keep your distance, means only one thing. That you still received the power with which you can avoid my spear. That is, nothing more than the Art of the Lord of the Sword. And for sure I was convinced of this after the greeting. So she became the Master of the Sword?

Wow, he sees right through us. As expected of the Beast King.

- Well, whether you are the Master of the Sword or not, you probably haven't met a person of a similar level yet ... You do not understand what an important role information plays in battle?

- Yeah. I see.

- So what is the conversation between two owners of professions of the royal rank ...

Mea, looking at her father and Fran, was now in awe. She apparently could not even fully understand the meaning of their words.

- And what should you do to seem weak?

- Everything is easy. You have to be more vigilant about the environment. But strength can only be hidden to a certain extent.

Here it is. The strong always looks relaxed, because he has nothing to fear. This means that someone who wants to appear weak should show concern and alertness.

"So the one who looks down on others and hopes for an easy victory is stupid. A cautious adversary may be stronger than it seems. I hope I put it right.

- Yeah.

- However, there are still many nuances. This is just the quickest and easiest way to appear weak. Only on weaklings will it work. But never on me! Maybe only if Fran-chan dresses even prettier.

I'm sorry, but no. But it's good that we now understand that there are many different ways to hide your true strength.

- Thank you.

- So, and I never returned the debt to you!

- Debt?

- What, you really don't understand? I'm not someone there, but the king of the country you saved. In general, you have to kneel in front of me.

- So, old fool, here you are already true ...

- I realized.

No matter how sincere, democratic, or close the king may seem, of course, he deserves the appropriate treatment. And I understand that too.

- But now let's do this ...

With these words, the King of Beasts took Fran by the hand and bowed deeply. This bow meant the maximum degree of his gratitude. Leaving his head completely unprotected for Fran, he also showed the highest degree of his respect for her.

"This time, I have to thank you for your support. You saved all of us.

And there was no doubt that the Beast King's words of gratitude sounded extremely sincere.