Chapter 9

Following his father's order, Greig went inside the dueling ground. The sword at his hip seemed to grow heavier, and his feet seemed to drag him down as he walked towards Zich.

"Ah, fuck! It hurts! That's enough!"

"Then get treated first!"

"I told you—I'm going to fight without getting treated!"

"Then shut your mouth for a moment! It's going to be over soon!"

The priest shouted at Zich as he began to wrap bandages on Zich's injuries. Despite Zich's annoyed expression and complaints, he moved his body to make it easier for the priest to bandage him.

"I'm all done."

"Is it finally over?"

"I only performed emergency care, so please remember that you are this close to suffering from extreme blood loss! Whether you win or lose, please quickly finish the duel and get proper treatment...!"

"Oooh, don't I look like an undead? I look like a mummy right now. If someone meets me in a dungeon, they will think I will attack them...!"

"Please listen to me!"

Zich had to forcefully push away the priest who looked as if he was about to cry. Without saying anything, Greig watched the situation unfold and stared at Zich. As Zich said, his whole body was covered in bandages like a mummy. Since he had only gotten minimum emergency care, blood quickly seeped through his bandages.

'How the hell is he still moving?!'

Greig thought he had good endurance, but seeing Zich's current state, he realized that he was nowhere near Zich's level.

Zich began to wave his sword around; it was to check if the bandages hampered his movements. As expected, his injuries widened again, and blood began to seep through the bandages at an even faster pace. However, Zich didn't seem bothered by this and looked pleased that the bandages did not hinder his body's movements.

Zich gave a signal that he was ready for battle, and Tiner, the host, cried, "Draw your swords!"

There was no other rhetoric this time. In consideration of Zich's injury, it seemed as if Tiner was trying to proceed with the duel as fast as possible.

Greig pulled out his sword and Zich lifted his sword up.

"Start!"

The second duel, which no one except Zich anticipated, began.

Greig looked a bit scared, but since he had been training for a long time, his stance was steady. In comparison, Zich held his sword around his shoulder in a sloppy manner.

"What's up with you? Are you not coming toward me? Are you seriously expecting your injured brother to make the first attack? I didn't know you were such an awful bastard."

Zich provoked Greig lightly, but Greig merely fixed his grip and did not rush to attack.

'Calm down. The situation is advantageous for me right now.'

It wouldn't have been strange if Zich fainted at this very moment. Compared to Zich, there wasn't a single injury on Greig, and he was in a good condition. Of course, Zich's skills were unexpected, but even considering that, the situation still favored Greig.

'I know this! How can I not know this!'

Unlike Zich, Greig had gone through many different types of training and education. But why was he...why was the hand on his sword shaking?

"Are you really not going to come at me? I guess you never had an ounce of cuteness in you. Okay, fine. Your dear brother will make the first move."

Swish!

Zich swung his body forward. His entire body, from the very tip of his foot, shook a bit as he moved. Indeed, his injuries impacted him, but the way he moved towards Greig was sharp and clean.

"Ugh!"

Greig raised his sword to block Zich's attack.

'It has less force than I expected.'

The numerous injuries on Zich's body seemed to have affected his fighting power. Paralyzed with fear and nerves, Greig began to feel hopeful again.

'I can win!'

But it was when Greig recovered his confidence and raised his sword to attack—

Clashhh!

"Urgh!"

Greig barely managed to block Zich. As if he was a leaf flying in the wind, Zich landed another swift attack on Greig.

Greig took a moment to steady himself. Right above him, Zich's attacks poured down like a rainstorm.

'H-his attacks are different from before!'

Each of his attacks was light, but they were all lightning fast. His current style was completely different from when he was fighting with Byner.

"His attacks are completely different from before!"

Trell could not help but express his shock. No matter what other people thought, he wanted the best person to succeed as the Count. Zich's unexpected talent was a fortunate miscalculation for him.

However, people like him were definitely in the minority.

While considering the Count and Countess's feelings, Chris Nunn carefully answered Trell, "He probably changed his fighting style because of his injuries. Since his injuries would widen even by the force of their swords clashing, he is absorbing the force of the attack as much as he can. It seems like he's also reflecting some of the force back towards his opponent. Look at him right now. Can't you see that he is using the rebounds against his opponent?"

"Is this an easy thing to do?"

"Of course not."

Even while replying, Chris Nunn felt troubled.

'Sir Zich is even more talented than I thought.'

From what Zich had shown them so far, at least in regards to fighting prowess, his ability was close to being godlike. Even after just awakening his mana, he was able to use high-level skills right away, turn a duel into a deathmatch, and drive Byner into a corner. And right after that, he challenged Greig and maintained an upper hand.

'And it's not just his basic skills. He cleverly exploited Byner's lack of experience and shook him up psychologically to increase his chances of winning. He really understands the know-how to win.'

And this "know-how to win" was an absolute necessity for the Steelwall family that always needed to protect themselves from intruders.

'I thought Sir Greig was good enough to be the next Count, but...'

Chris Nunn stole a furtive glance at the Count and Countess.

'Their expressions seem strained.'

He could understand their feelings. Once again, Chris Nunn looked back towards the duel.

'With Sir Greig's skills, he would become a good Count. However, if Sir Zich becomes a Count...'

And if Zich's other abilities were even half of his fighting abilities...

'He would become an outstanding Count.'

His skill, bravery, and guts. For Chris Nunn who was a military man to the core, he couldn't help but admire Zich's many talents, especially his fighting prowess. Likewise, there were probably many who shared Chris Nunn's feelings right now.

Chris Nunn started to lean towards Zich's side and tried to harden his heart. And as the butler for this family, Trell had a deeper understanding of Zich's abilities than Chris Nunn who was purely a military man.

'His ability to plan is astounding.'

Trell keenly watched Zich push Greig back with a severely wounded body.

'With Sir Zich's skills, he will be able to slowly push back Sir Greig. However, this process will be very lengthy, and many unexpected situations can arise. I'm sure that the Count and Sir Greig will use many different tactics to prevent Sir Zich from succeeding. However, with this duel, Sir Zich is able to display his skills to everyone in Steelwall, and I'm also sure that this will shake up many people.'

Chris Nunn, who was standing next to him, was a clear example of this. Even though he tried to stay low in fear of the Count and Countess, Chris Nunn couldn't hide the sparkle in his eyes as he watched Zich's fight.

'Sir Zich probably expected the Count to blow up the situation like this.'

If he hadn't known this, Zich wouldn't have been able to make the situation so advantageous for him.

'No, even if he hadn't predicted this, it doesn't matter. It just means that he is extremely adaptable, and he can make any circumstance advantageous to him right now.'

Either way, Zich had the brains to perform such a feat, and it was even more outstanding that he was able to think all of this while being surrounded by enemies.

'Even if Sir Zich loses this battle, no one will think he actually lost. He was able to beat the genius knight Byner, and even with serious injuries, he fought a second duel right after. Even though they are dueling for the succession, it is informal after all.'

If Zich and Greig's reputations were the same as before, this informal promise would have made a tremendous impact on Zich's name. However, this duel had completely changed Zich's image.

'Moreover, if Sir Zich manages to beat Sir Greig in his current condition, there will be an enormous ripple in Steelwall.'

Zich's ability to fight consecutively despite his severe injuries was especially significant in Steelwall.

'He was able to sharply reduce his risks and increase his returns at the same time. When I heard that he raised a sword against a servant to kill him in front of the Count, I thought he had finally exploded in anger after suppressing his feelings for long, but he exploded in a totally different way.'

Even though there were still many things to consider for the future, Trell wanted to side with Zich at this moment. The knights and officials all had their own thoughts about this matter, but the Count was most taken back by Zich's performance.

"..."

His stubborn expression became even more strained.

"My Lord."

With a shaky voice, the Countess looked at the Count with wavering eyes.

"Our Greig won't lose, right?"

"..."

The Count did not reply. He continued to watch the duel in silence.

'If Zich wins right now...'

As the head of Steelwall, he would have to welcome Zich's change with open arms, but the Count didn't feel this way at all. The Count's head began to ache from thinking about the future.

* * *

Clashhh!

Once again, Greig blocked Zich's attacks, and Zich used the force of the rebound to land another attack.

'Wow, it hurts like crazy!'

Even though Zich acted like he was alright, his whole body was a mess. Even for a warrior who had gone through all sorts of challenges and trials, he could not help but let out a sigh.

'It's starting to get really serious.'

Pretty soon, Zich would be unable to move from dizziness caused by intense blood loss.

'Since Greig seems scared enough, should I begin my deathmatch?'

Greig flinched at Zich's sly smile.

Strike!

Zich tried to restrict his force as much as he could and struck the ground with tremendous strength. Blood spurted out of his wounds.

Surprised, Greig dropped his sword. Greig quickly shifted his weight to his right foot and leaned back to avoid Zich's attack. However, he couldn't fully escape, and Zich's attack scraped Greig's arm.

But Zich did not stop his movements.

'Wait, this is!'

Greig's heart sank to the bottom. It was easy to see what Zich was planning.

'A deathmatch!'

As Greig expected, Zich began to swing at Greig without paying any attention to his injuries.

Slice!

"Urgh!"

Greig took a few steps back. A long, red cut appeared on his chest. It was not a deep cut; only his skin was slightly injured, but Greig's heart began to beat fiercely against his chest.

"My dear brother! Why don't we begin showing our brotherly camaraderie for real now!"

Without a single consideration for Greig's feelings, Zich continued to smile while wielding his sword around. Psychologically driven into a corner, Greig began to lose control of his sword. To Greig, the sight of Zich swiveling around his sword with blood dripping down on his smiling face was the perfect image of a demon.

Clash!

As their swords collided, their faces came even closer. However, their complexions were completely different.

"Brother, my brother, my darling brother, why are you making a face like that?"

"Why does my expression matter!"

Greig managed to reply with some cheekiness. However, sensing Greig's fear, it only felt like a scared dog barking to Zich.

"Are you afraid? What are you afraid of? Does your great brother suddenly look scary to you? Or are you more afraid of what'll happen after you lose?"

"..."

Greig did not reply, and Zich did not care.

"Hahahahah! You don't have to worry! Do you really think your own brother would plan this show for the sake of destroying you? This is all for you. All the emotions that you are experiencing right now—anger, fear, jealousy—they all exist merely for the sake of pushing you one step further!"

Surprisingly, Zich was not saying empty words to Greig. However, who was Zich if he did not have malicious intentions?

"But I guess if you are unable to pass this hurdle, you will just collapse from the stress of it all."

Zich's beast-like eyes pierced into Greig's eyes.

"Personally, I desperately wish that you will meet the latter with all my heart and soul!"

Zich's sharp words, which were even worse than the sharpness of Zich's sword, severely cut Greig's heart. The duel began to grow more and more dangerous and rough. The bandages on Zich's body fell apart, and the number of injuries on Greig's body began to increase.

Even though Greig had trained for a long time, he still lacked real experience in battle, and the pressure he felt from Zich suffocated him to the point that he had difficulty breathing. The bravery he was so determined to possess could not be found. Moreover, the brother he had always looked down on and mocked looked absolutely terrifying to him.

"Sur....!"

At last, he gave in to the pressure.

"I surrender! I surrender this duel!"

Halt!

Zich's frantic sword movements stopped at once.

Thud!

The strength in Greig's legs left him, and he collapsed onto the floor. In front him, Zich's bloody sword swung in front of him. Zich withdrew his sword and then lifted his head to look at Tiner.

At last, Tiner firmly lifted his hand and shouted, "Victory! Victory for the Honorable Sir Zich Steelwall!"

Tiner's announcement was a gunshot that rang through the Steelwall family that signaled the beginning of an enormous change to come.