Joseph said it was okay to lose.
The boy, who always prepares for the worst, was already gearing up for the possibility that Vlad might be defeated.
The Bayezid knights, who willingly gave up the chance to train for the boy, didn't think Vlad had high chances of defeating Stephen.
No one would expect he could barely beat the Count's son, who had received the best education since childhood.
Jager, his master, and Alicia, who entrusted him with honor.
And even Godin, who smiled just as before outside the battlefield.
But still, at least once.
"Go for it."
I also want to receive expectations from people like me.
"Let's see how good you are."
Because now he's also someone who carries his own honor.
Because there was no shame in the struggle he went through to get to this point.
***
Clang!
Clang!
Flames bursting without fail every time the swords clashed.
The Bayezid knights witnessing the duel clenched their fists unconsciously.
"Good. You're doing great."
"Just keep going. Like that."
It was a great sword destruction method taught as if striking in a tough moment.
However, Vlad was handling Stephen's sword as he had been taught.
Though stumbled, he gritted his teeth.
Avoid thrusts using length and avoid blows using weight.
As it was an extreme stance that would be difficult to use in actual combat, the game-changing strategy Vlad had clearly launched was devouring Stephen.
"You coward!"
Therefore, the only way to reach Vlad was with a horizontal cut with the fierce reach exclusive to the greatsword, but even that was not feasible.
Clang!
'What is this bastard!'
Godin said the blond boy in front of him had only been holding a sword for a year.
However, compared to the experience he was using, the counterattack he was using now was an extremely advanced technique and tactic.
"How long are you going to run!"
Vlad approached the duel entirely on the defensive, as if he had given up on attacking.
Stephen knew Vlad wouldn't be able to dodge and block like this forever, but the problem was that by then he wouldn't be free from the physical strain either.
Because the weapon called a greatsword is harder and heavier than other weapons, it is a weapon that poses a much greater physical burden on its owner.
'Goddamn it!'
Stephen felt as if he were walking on mud.
The battlefield created by Bayezid, Vlad's attitude that seemed to have been prepared beforehand, and even the terrain that was becoming increasingly muddy, though I don't know if it was his mood.
Even the air he breathed was so heavy that it felt like everything in Deirmar was interfering with him.
"Is it because you came from a humble place? The way you do things is extremely dirty!"
For those reasons, Stephen was now impatient.
The boy may lose, but Stephen must not lose.
No, the fact that he was fighting like this against an unknown knight was already a disgrace.
"Even your mother who bore you would look away if she saw your pitiful appearance now!"
Vlad couldn't help but laugh as he looked at Stephen, who was now condescending and even provoking his parents.
Stephen was moving his lips as if he were going to endure this, but the provocation now was nothing more than a greeting in an alley.
"...That can't be possible."
And even if his mother were here, Vlad knew very well that she wouldn't point at him.
It was an unfavorable and precarious situation no matter who saw it, but Vlad was clearly moving step by step towards victory.
"...!"
In an instant, a flickering trace of silver light appeared.
From his abruptly forged stance, the blow extended like an arrow and flew towards Stephen's face.
It was an attack that couldn't be easily responded to because it was a move that had never been shown before.
"This bastard..."
"Do you want me to cut it?"
A single drop of blood flowing down the cheek.
The tip of the humble knight's sword that Stephen had ignored so much passed through Stephen's cheek.
"...!"
Godin, who was standing outside the duel arena as an observer, even shuddered for a moment when he saw the blow just now.
The attack was superficial as it aimed for speed, but it caught him by surprise.
'He's getting closer.'
Godin noticed that the gap between Stephen and Vlad was gradually narrowing.
It was evidence that Vlad also aspired to victory in his own way.
The achievements the boy had accumulated so far were made possible thanks to someone else's help and were honors that everyone should share.
But now, as a man carrying his own honor through the title of knight, Vlad only wanted to have his own victory.
"If Count Gaidar saw you now, he'd jump for joy, wouldn't he?"
"...!"
The provocation shouldn't end in a meaningless echo.
It has to be approached as an existential threat, and it would be perfect if he could humiliate the other person.
Just like Vlad is doing now.
"This, this bastard..."
As Stephen watched Vlad calmly take his stance again, as if this were a provocation, bright red bloodshot eyes began to form around his eyes.
"Darn."
As if he couldn't bear it anymore, an aura began to bloom from the tip of Stephen's sword.
Raising aura is the act of bringing the world out to the outside world.
It consumes a lot of mental power, and the mental power consumed devours your physical strength.
Godin clicked his tongue when he saw Stephen, who had been wonderfully trapped in the child's intentions.
"...I've come this far."
Feeling the changing atmosphere of the battlefield, Jager quickly placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"You'll have to hold on from now on."
Jager, who stood as an observer, watched the scene in front of him with great attention.
He was preparing for the worst and was ready to burst onto the battlefield at any moment.
"Die! Humble bastard!"
[Here it comes!]
The true horror of greatsword handling lies in the continuous succession of blows rather than the powerful blows contained in each of them.
As it is a weapon that is not easy to switch between attack and defense, it is a weapon that must achieve results with a single blow.
Therefore, only continuous attacks can compensate for the weaknesses of the greatsword.
"Ugh!"
Boom! Clash! Boom!
The ground trembled in all directions, and a muddy rain began to fall everywhere.
The vibration felt like an earthquake had occurred, making it difficult for Vlad to maintain his balance.
"Try to avoid this too!"
The battlefield was exploding as Stephen's aura swayed with anger.
The poorly cut grass and soil rained down, blocking Vlad's view.
[Hold on, you have to see it!]
Stephen's furious sword was raised as if it had been waiting to follow Vlad's dizzying footwork.
'Goddamn it!'
It was a situation induced and the expected outcome, but the reality we faced was not easy.
Indeed, Stephen's world, which had been solidly built with the support of the Count's family, still had a power that Vlad would find difficult to access.
That is, if it were normal for me to keep calm.
'From here on!'
If you keep avoiding, you might be able to draw.
Even if you lose, there are still some achievements you can achieve.
However, Vlad now wanted to escape the situation of avoiding, fleeing, and promising next time.
'...'
There is a knight in front of me who destroyed his home.
That day he fled from Rose's smile and from Soara, but he no longer wanted to back down in front of that man.
"Ugh!"
Watch carefully.
Now I am proud and dignified.
I did my best to get here.
For some, it may have been a qualification given at birth, but for Vlad, it was the product of struggle.
The boy had never before stopped to extend his current sword.
'There!'
There was a small visible gap.
Even in the stormy flow of blows, there was a small gap that Vlad could reach Stephen through.
[Left!]
In an instant, a strong blow falls on his shoulder.
"Tsk!"
Following its owner's will, the armor imbued with the breath of the boy desperately twisted Stephen's trajectory.
It was an armor stolen from a Sacred Paladin who had more confidence than anyone else in following the will of God.
"How dare you!"
A characteristic of a great sword that is difficult to use at close range due to its great length and weight.
It was Vlad's burden that took away the sword with incredible speed and strange movements, but Stephen had already learned several ways to prepare for its weaknesses.
"Ugh!"
Strong and solid.
Stephen's robust constitution, inherent to his lineage, was in itself a formidable weapon.
Stephen's kick suddenly penetrates Vlad's abdomen.
Additionally, Stephen's free left hand was approaching Vlad's face.
"Is that enough?"
"Keuuk!"
However, Vlad only blocked Stephen's blow with his forehead as if showing off.
"This is madness!"
Ramund's shiny forehead was clearly imprinted in the boy's memory.
The old knight, now retired, spared no effort in teaching the knight of Bayezid who would be in charge next.
[Now is the time!]
A moment, just this present moment.
The boy did his best to take a single leap that seized the gap.
A noble person can rise even if they fall, and a wealthy person can recover even if they fail.
However, in alley life, where you only have to aspire to one opportunity, you have to risk everything in that single chance.
Just like the boy now.
"Die! Son of a bitch!"
There's no need to look further.
There's an opponent right in front of you.
Since I couldn't give up my vision, I had to approach and see the world that had been waiting for Vlad, who closed his left eye.
Noble world. A prepared world.
That's why Stephen's world looked down on him.
The tip of the boy's sword, dragged from the back alley, reached its mark.
With my own world bursting into white.
Here in front of everyone.
The white snake entwined in the tree let out a loud noise along with the boy's world.
***
"Am... am I right?"
Blood dripped from Stephen's nape.
If he had gone a little deeper, Stephen probably would have died.
"So... I can get fair compensation, right?"
The end of a duel where everyone falls silent.
The boy's sword reached the tip of the nobleman's neck, and someone had to prevent the boy from reaching the nobleman's neck.
"Answer me!"
"Yes..."
It has finally come to you.
Knight of the Blue Moonlight.
The sword under the moonlight that he had longed for was finally seeing him.
"So give it to me. You too."
That day I lost my home.
I begged for my life with a dirty piece of meat.
So now I also have to get something.
"A knight receives a fair price. Godin of Gaidar."
A just cause, a just qualification.
And only results.
The boy climbed so far to get this result.
Therefore, it would be natural to demand compensation for the victory.
"I demand Stephen's sword as payment for this duel."
A knight only receives fair compensation.
The person who first told him that was the Knight of the Blue Moonlight who was looking right in front of him.
A tearful child and a nobleman trembling from the cold touch at the tip of his neck.
A blue moonlight knight blocking the boy's sword and a one-eyed knight surrounding the boy.
On the battlefield where the swords of the parties and observers were chaotically intertwined, the priest upholding the will of God declared with a trembling voice.
"Victory, the winner is the knight of Bayezid. Vlad of Soara!"
The boy's blonde hair shone under the bright sun.
Like everyone present, you will be attentive to the boy's victory today.
This was the moment when the boy's sword finally reached the world above.