Chapter 152 : Chapter 152

Chapter 152. Welcome, Double Dragon (4)

“My lord, are you really thinking of doing this?”

The one speaking to Marquis Raines with a worried expression was his disciple, a vassal who had been loyal to the marquis family for generations, and the commander of the knightly order.

He could simply be called his closest aide.

Usually, Marquis Raines trusted his words more than his own children’s.

But today was an exception.

“Is there anything so strange about it?”

“Nothing strange? It’s full of strange things.”

Seeing his subordinate protesting vehemently, Marquis Raines said with a calm smile.

“A young man on his knight’s training journey is merely sparring to ask for guidance from a senior. Isn’t it a common occurrence? What’s so strange about this?”

“It’s obviously strange for 7-star swordsmen of different nationalities to duel.”

“Hahaha. That’s a prejudice.”

The knight commander struck his chest as if he was going crazy with frustration and said.

“What do you think His Majesty the King will say when he finds out?”

“He won’t, if we don’t get caught.”

“My loooooord!”

“I’m not deaf.”

No matter what was said, Marquis Raines had no intention of backing down.

He had dedicated his life to the sword since his youth.

He devoted himself and devoted himself again.

He worked so hard that others would say he was crazy, and as a result, he reached the 7-star realm, called the ultimate state.

The world praised him for it, and he too was moved by the glory.

But….

‘I should have realized sooner that it was a poison.’

When did it start?

He realized he was stagnating.

He guided the knights and didn't neglect his own training, but at some point, there was no progress at all.

This was a terrible poison.

A deadly poison that made effort meaningless and turned even the meaning of life gray.

Unable to move forward….

No, a terrible sense of isolation, not even knowing where he should go.

In that state, Marquis Raines was rotting away.

He tried to do something, albeit belatedly.

He had attempted to go to the Empire to receive the teachings of the Imperial Sword Saint.

But that attempt failed.

The state did not allow him to go to the Empire.

It wasn't just the state.

His family, his vassals, and the people he had to protect….

He was already shouldering too much.

As the current head of the Marquis Raines family, he had to look after the family, and as the person in charge of Raines Fortress, which bordered the Great Forest of the east, he had to fulfill his duties.

It was impossible for him to abandon everything and move just to satisfy his desires as a swordsman.

And yet….

‘Double Dragon….’

Just thinking about it made him feel his body temperature rise.

The opportunity he had been desperately waiting for had come to him on its own.

He could set aside things like the nation's position or his dignity as a marquis.

There was only one thing he wanted.

‘I hope you do not disappoint my expectations. Double Dragon.’

He picked up his sword and shield, grinned, and said.

“Shall we go then?”

With a heart full of excitement, Marquis Raines headed to the training grounds.

The training grounds of the Marquis Raines family.

The vast space, normally large enough for over 300 soldiers to train as a group, was now empty.

It wasn’t completely empty.

It was bustling with people.

However, most of those people were waiting on the outskirts of the training grounds.

And their gazes were focused on Patrick, who stood tall in the center of the training grounds.

“Arrogant brat.”

“How dare a young pup?”

“Don’t think you’ll be leaving here alive.”

At their heated gazes, Patrick let out a long yawn and said.

“Ahaaaam. The atmosphere is nice. It’s been a while since I’ve had something like this.”

Patrick was not the least bit intimidated by the glares of the knights of the Marquis Raines family.

He was used to this kind of thing.

In the past, when he, a mere disciple of a third-rate sect, challenged the prestigious orthodox sects to a duel, he was never met with favorable looks.

However, that was from Patrick’s perspective….

“Damn it, what a mess to get into just by making the wrong friend.”

The companions with him were having a terrible time.

April was calm, but Isabella and Matthew’s clothes were soaked with the cold sweat running down their backs.

Being at the center of such palpable killing intent was not something one could do with an ordinary heart.

Finally, Matthew spoke to Patrick.

“Hey, are you really going to do it?”

“Of course, I have to. Are you going to back out now?”

“Can’t we back out?”

“Want to try? ‘Sorry, it was a joke.’ and walk out? How do you think they’ll react?”

“……”

Uh, that would be extremely terrible in its own way.

“Even you think that’s not quite right, don’t you?”

In the end, what Patrick said was right.

Matthew and Isabella looked at Patrick’s annoying face and said a word each.

“Rotten bastard.”

“Hahaha. You’ve become friends with a rotten bastard.”

“Troublemaker.”

“Hahaha. You’re engaged to a troublemaker.”

I hate it.

I just hate everything.

Matthew and Isabella simultaneously looked up at the sky with desolate expressions.

Just then.

“Oh, he’s here now.”

Marquis Raines, fully armed, came out to the training grounds.

A longsword and a kite shield.

He was not wearing armor.

It was probably for the sake of fairness with Patrick.

‘It wouldn’t have mattered if he wore it though.’

Marquis Raines seemed to have a rather straightforward personality.

Patrick smirked and said to his companions.

“Step back over there.”

At that, his companions retreated from the center of the training grounds, and now only Patrick and Marquis Raines stood facing each other in the center of the training grounds.

“Are you all ready?”

“I am.”

“Shall we begin then?”

“Fine. But before the duel, there is one thing I want to say.”

“What is it?”

“Thank you. Thanks to you coming to find me like this, I have been given a good opportunity.”

‘A good opportunity, he says….’

It seemed this man was also quite thirsty.

It was fully expected, though.

Patrick smirked and said.

“Then, learn well from this good opportunity.”

“Hahaha…. learn, you say.”

A young man not even half his age said he would teach him a lesson.

But Marquis Raines was not displeased at all.

The only emotion dominating him now was a heart-pounding anticipation.

It was as if he had returned to being a boy who had fallen in love for the first time.

“Then now….”

“Yes. Let’s really begin.”

The two took a few steps back.

And Marquis Raines held his shield in front of him, aimed his sword behind it as if to stab, and took his stance.

‘A typical heavy-armored knight’s stance.’

Patrick was now used to such opponents.

At first, the style of using a shield and a sword together was unfamiliar, but now he knew.

That form was the most standard form pursued by the knights of this world.

Sword and shield.

And iron armor.

That was the combat form that could make the best use of these three things.

Shield forward, body crouched as much as possible, and sword hidden behind the shield to conceal its intended target.

It was a good stance.

So good that it could be used as a textbook example, going beyond the standard for a heavy-armored knight.

But….

‘The standard and common sense. I’ll shatter both of them completely.’

Patrick also took a stance.

Though his stance was just holding a sword in each hand with all the strength drained from his body.

At that sight, the knights of the Marquis Raines family became enraged and furious.

“How dare he….”

“There’s a limit to arrogance.”

To them, it seemed as if Patrick was looking down on Marquis Raines and not even taking a proper stance.

But their anger quickly subsided.

The very next moment.

Patrick disappeared.

And….

KWAAAAAAANG!

A shockwave exploded with a deafening roar.

Patrick, who had disappeared without any warning, had clashed with Marquis Raines head-on.

“Ugh!”

“Keuk….”

A few of the lower-ranked knights were overwhelmed by the shockwave and took a step back.

An Aura Blade was clearly formed on Patrick’s sword, and the same was true for Marquis Raines' shield.

Thanks to that, he was able to block an attack that would have shattered a normal kite shield to pieces.

Marquis Raines was also a 7-star knight.

But even after blocking the attack, he couldn't completely offset the impact and was pushed back significantly.

Jijijik.

The marks he left as he was pushed back stretched out long.

As soon as the distance opened up, Patrick charged again.

He surged forward from the front again.

But this time, Marquis Raines did not just wait.

‘The same move won’t work.’

His shield, which had moved a step forward, opened up, and the long sword shot out through the space.

A sharp attack flying towards Patrick’s neck.

A clear Aura Blade was formed on the sword.

It was a deadly move that Marquis Raines had extended to stop his opponent’s charge.

But Patrick did not retreat at all in the face of Marquis Raines' attack.

He advanced forward as he was, and for a moment, Marquis Raines flinched.

It was a wavering that came from the opponent’s movement exceeding his expectations.

But his sword did not stop.

And the moment his sword pierced Patrick’s neck….

Shuuuuuk!

There was no sensation at all.

Marquis Raines was greatly flustered by the attack that had stabbed into empty air.

‘An afterimage?’

It felt as if Marquis Raines' heart had dropped.

He realized it only after his sword had pierced the afterimage.

That Patrick was not in front of him right now.

And the moment he realized that fact, a small voice from above his head….

“Here I come.”

“Keuk….”

Marquis Raines hurriedly raised his shield upwards and poured in as much aura as he could.

An Aura Blade on his shield.

No, what was created could rightly be called an Aura Shield.

Immediately after that.

A single streak of light fell vertically from above Marquis Raines' head.

[ Twin Dragons Eight Sword Forms: Third Form: Flashing Dragon Strike ]

KWAAAAAAAAANG!

* * *

“…Uh… uh uh….”

“Ububuh….”

“……”

They couldn’t close their mouths.

There would be no more accurate expression to describe the feelings of the knights of the Marquis Raines family right now.

Their lord was a superhuman who had pioneered the 7-star realm, known as the ultimate state.

And they had thought that they had seen the skills of Marquis Raines, whom they served as their lord, up close and more than anyone else until now.

He had single-handedly subdued a Twin-Headed Ogre with ease.

He had dealt with dozens of trolls lightly, without even panting for breath.

He had stood firm against the legendary great monster, the Manticore, without backing down an inch.

And then, he had managed to sever the Manticore’s neck.

Truly a superhuman.

To the knights of the marquis family, Marquis Raines was a symbol of strength that would never crumble.

The reason they could live a safe life despite being adjacent to the Great Forest, one of humanity’s worst danger zones, was because they lived their lives under the shadow of that superhuman.

And against such a Marquis Raines, that Patrick Schneider was engaged in an equal exchange.

No, even the word ‘equal’ was not quite right.

This was….

‘The Marquis was pushed back.’

Although they couldn't grasp the detailed exchange, they too had seen the sight of a flash of light falling from above Marquis Raines' head.

A terrifying destructive power.

It was an attack as if a lightning bolt had fallen from the sky.

Only then did it dawn on them.

The Double Dragon was also a 7-star swordsman.

That he was by no means a superhuman below Marquis Raines.

* * *

The thick smoke that had spread out began to settle down slowly.

And the result of the clash revealed itself.

There….

“Oh… ooooh!”

“As expected!”

The figures of Patrick and Marquis Raines, still standing on two feet and facing each other, could be seen.

“The Marquis will not lose.”

“Marquis Raines is invincible.”

“The guardian deity of Decator will not fall!”

The knights clenched their fists and let out cheers.

Their cheers were also a testament to how anxious they had been.

The guardian deity of Decator.

It was a title Marquis Raines had earned by steadfastly defending against the Great Forest of the east.

The fact that he had earned the title of a nation's guardian deity was a testament to how many crises he had protected the country from.

For such a Marquis Raines to fall to a knight from another country.

No, to be precise, to a brat who wasn't even a knight yet, would be a national disgrace.

But right now, the cheers of the knights did not reach the ears of Marquis Raines, who was confronting Patrick.

All his mind was replaying the clash that had just occurred.

And the conclusion he reached was….

‘I have already lost.’

This was it.

He could deceive others, but he could not deceive himself.

In the previous exchange, Marquis Raines had completely failed to grasp Patrick’s movements.

When he was fooled by the afterimage, he couldn't tell where Patrick had moved his body.

The attack that fell from above his head afterward.

He was able to block it only because Patrick had warned him with words beforehand.

If not for that….

‘I would have died before even talking about a match.’

A clear image of himself being split in half from the crown of his head was drawn in his mind.

“Huuuuuuuu….”

A sigh escaped him involuntarily.

Normally, he should call it quits here.

The exchange had only continued thanks to the opponent’s consideration.

If he had any honor, he should concede defeat here and step back.

But….

“……”

He didn’t want to.

He wanted to fight more, even if just for a little while.

Just how long had it been since he had felt this sensation?

It was a thrill he could never feel from the powerful demonic beasts that came out of the Great Forest.

It was a sensation that could only be felt in a situation where one was crossing swords with another human being.

Just then, Patrick spoke.

“Well, don’t worry too much.”

“What did you say?”

“I was planning on letting you off three times from the start.”

“……”

“There are still two more times left. So….”

Patrick held out one hand in front of him, beckoned with his finger, and said.

“Bring it on.”

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