Chapter 12: Silver Sabertooth Expedition (1)

A few days passed.

“Alright, let’s go!”

Grace, dressed in brilliant white armor that matched her snow-white hair, proudly declared from atop her horse.

As the Duke of the North announced the start of the expedition, the soldiers raised their weapons in unison and cheered, while citizens flooded the streets to wish for their victory.

The escort unit moved in sync with Grace, maintaining pace with her.

‘It’s always such a magnificent sight.’

Perhaps because of the harsh climate, which made instrument maintenance difficult, or because of the societal expectation that soldiers should wield weapons rather than instruments, the Northern Army notably lacked a military band. They only had bugles and drums for battle signals.

Yet, despite the lack of a background score, there was nothing quiet or solemn about the scene.

“Waahhh!!”

Even though the army didn’t play music, the citizens sang songs and played instruments voluntarily, blessing the soldiers.

There was no forced acting; the bright faces were filled with sincerity.

It was a sight that instantly conveyed the significance of Grace, the Guardian of the North, to the people.

The Northern Army, receiving this energy, marched in perfect order, silently, without any soldier waving or smiling at the citizens. In fact, the absence of such gestures only highlighted the Northern Army’s strength.

The Silver Sabertus expedition to the Crystal Lake had begun.

When soldiers step onto the battlefield, it’s not just about fighting well. There’s also a lot of other work to do—setting up camp, building fortifications, preparing sleeping arrangements, cooking meals, and so on.

There’s an enormous amount of work.

And if there’s extra time, they train, so they aren’t idly sitting around doing nothing.

In this respect, the escort unit had a massive advantage.

They were exempt from all other tasks.

The members assigned to protect the Duke of the North weren’t wasting their strength on building fences, cooking, or gathering firewood. Their power was solely focused on guarding the Duke of the North.

‘But we still need to train.’

Since it wasn’t working hours, I focused on personal training at the dedicated training area set up at the rear, designed specifically for the escort unit and knights.

‘The core of the Snow Swordsmanship is two things: Swing the sword quickly and target accurately.’

As expected of an escort captain’s swordsmanship.

With fast and precise attacks, the goal was to eliminate enemies swiftly, ensuring the safety of the Duke of the North without dragging the battle out.

To achieve that, there were essential prerequisites.

“Whew, I’m glad I took the time to run in my past life.”

All martial arts require it, but the Snow Swordsmanship especially emphasized footwork.

With the need for fast and precise sword strikes, quick foot movements were essential. If the feet tangled, the entire movement would collapse.

When I received private lessons from Elaine, the most common feedback I got was not about the sword strikes, but my footwork.

‘The key is to execute the sequence of movements quickly and accurately… That shouldn’t be a problem.’

I wasn’t a former athlete, nor was I the heir to a traditional martial arts school. I was just a regular office worker from a small-to-medium company.

But that wasn’t an issue.

Who are office workers, after all?

They are the people who develop lightning-fast, precise skills to meet deadlines amid overwhelming workloads.

I honed my eye-hand coordination by managing two monitors at once, developed reflexes to stop the manager from yelling when the phone rang more than twice, and got used to quickly correcting typos on documents to avoid delays in processing.

I was also extra careful about things that didn’t seem relevant, like avoiding the “freestyle rap battles” of certain colleagues.

All of these things helped me become more meticulous.

‘The techniques Elaine taught me were beginner-level, so they weren’t too hard.’

Since I had begged Elaine and the squad leaders to join, I had to pull my weight and do more than just tag along. If I didn’t, I’d end up embarrassing myself, tagging along on others’ missions but only having enthusiasm with no substance.

At the very least, I couldn’t afford to look foolish, so I had to master the Snow Swordsmanship as quickly as possible.

‘Alright, let’s do this.’

With my breathing under control, I planned to run five more laps before practicing my footwork.

“Looking diligent.”

Just as I was about to step away, a voice sounded from beside me.

Recognizing the voice, I immediately turned toward the source and saluted.

Because standing there was…

A knight in armor, always impressive, but even more so in the battlefield, a knight with blue hair… in front of her

stood a white-haired knight.

It was the Northern Duke, Grace.

“For the Winter Lion!”

“Your voice is so loud, it seems you still have some strength left.”

Grace had left the guards stationed at the entrance while only taking Elaine, who was closely guarding her, to approach me.

I stood still, breathing calmly until she got close.

“I heard from the captain of the guard. You volunteered for this mission to gain experience, is that right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Hmm, that’s good enthusiasm. I’ll be rooting for you, as the promise between us is something I care about as well.”

Her encouraging words seemed to fill me with energy, but I couldn’t help feeling slightly confused.
Grace was in armor, not training clothes.

It didn’t seem like she was here to train, was she inspecting something?

But Grace wasn’t the type to interfere in others’ training just to offer encouragement.

Instead, she preferred to observe quietly, not wanting to disturb the focus of others.

The only time she had ever interfered in someone else’s training was in a novel, and that was for the protagonist.

“Thank you! I will do my best!”

Not sure why, but having been encouraged, I lowered my head and shouted my thanks.

Then, Grace’s next action was completely unexpected.

“It’s not enough to just encourage someone with words after putting pressure on them. I’ll give you what you asked for, experience.”

“???”

Confused, I lifted my head. Grace turned her back and walked a few steps before stopping at a certain point. Then—

whoosh.

“?!”

With a quick motion of her arm, a wooden sword that had been displayed on the training ground’s wall flew into her hand without her even touching it.

Grace’s technique, using magic to control the sword without touching it—Swordless Swordsmanship.

I had read about it in the novel, and had seen it once during a mission, but it was still amazing.

“You must know about the three subjects of the knight exam, right? You should know the method for the martial exam as well.”

The martial exam of the knight exam. The method for this was a duel.

This is the part that can be the most deadly.

“Pick up your sword. I’ll let you experience a knight’s duel.”

Before I knew it, a wooden sword was planted on the ground right in front of me.

It seemed that Grace had used her Swordless Swordsmanship to bring two swords.

I stared at the wooden sword.

“I’m ready for the match.”

A duel with the Northern Duke.

What luck is this?

It’s like the best chef in the industry offering to cook for me; I should be grateful and eat until I’m full.

With the sword in my hand, I was ready. Grace observed me closely.

“Hm.”

“1”

Suddenly, I felt as though my whole body was frozen by an overwhelming chill.

It was the eerie feeling you get when a game you’re playing freezes and no commands go through.

At the same time, fear rose.

If Grace attacked now, I would be helpless.

If this were a real battle… I would be dead!

‘Ughhh!’

I hadn’t even taken a bite yet, and the match could end before it began.

Even if I lose, I’ll at least try to take one blow from Grace.

Moreover, if Grace was disappointed and sent me to the rear…

‘Icy Strike! Ice Sword! Fantasy Life!’

More than anything, there was one more person here besides Grace and me.

I couldn’t show a pathetic side.

I clenched my body, and with all my strength, broke free from the icy grip.

In reality, Grace hadn’t frozen me with ice magic.

What had happened was that she had simply sent a murderous intent my way.

The intensity of it was so powerful that I felt like my body had frozen.

She must have toned it down to match my level, but this was truly the deadliest aura I had ever felt.

It was definitely different from the likes of Mountain Bear.

“Oh?”

Grace looked at me with interest, as if she found it amusing that I had withstood her murderous intent.
Her lips curled up slightly.

‘It’s understandable that I froze up, but it’s impressive how quickly I regained control.’

Grace was honestly surprised.

Though it was harsh, she had deliberately increased the intensity a bit to test me.

If I had boasted about passing the knight exam in two months, I should be able to endure something like this.

Even so, I had overcome the murderous intent faster than she had expected.

It wasn’t just Grace who was surprised.

‘He withstood it?’

Elaine, who had been standing as the referee for the duel, widened her eyes.

What she thought was an acceptable level of murderous intent for a knight was actually Grace’s standard, not the typical level for a knight.

The murderous intent that Grace, a natural-born genius and the biggest figure in the northern territories, had

unleashed was beyond what even a novice knight could bear.

Elaine, standing next to her, had felt a slight chill as well.

‘I did train him to resist killing intent.’

In fact, Elaine had already introduced me to the killing intent of a knight during personal training.

At that time, I had struggled to resist it without fainting.

‘Could it be that this experience helped him adapt to Grace’s killing intent?’

Elaine had also intentionally sent a bit stronger intent my way.

The idea was that experiencing difficulty beforehand would make it easier to handle the level of the knights we’d face in the exam.

Elaine, taking advantage of the moment when no one was looking, slightly shook her head to shake off her distractions.

Once again, her rationality became as cold as ice.

‘Seems like he’s tougher than I thought.’

Grace, who had regained her composure, surveyed Luke with a cold gaze once more.

The threat of death had been just a test.

The real challenge hadn’t even started yet.

“That’s the reward for withstanding that. I’ll let you have the first move.”

“Yes, I’m going now.”

Luke didn’t refuse Grace’s offer of a head start.

Thanks.

He started moving.

‘His basics are solid.’

Luke’s stance was that of the Winter Sword, a style well-known to Grace.

The distance, speed, and power of his horizontal strike aimed at the middle were all clean and precise.

Swish!

But the fact that Grace could see all of this meant that she had already read his attack.

“A knight should be just, but there’s no need for your attacks to be so honest. To win, you need to introduce variables.”

Since the purpose of the spar was to train Luke, not defeat him, Grace blocked his attack while offering some advice.

Luke didn’t respond, but it wasn’t because he was ignoring Grace—it was because he had no time to respond while

focusing on the duel.

He maintained his focus and launched another strike.

This time, it was an upward cut that transitioned into a downward slash.

Despite Grace’s advice to add variables, Luke’s strike was once again straightforward.

‘His swordsmanship still lacks something.’

Grace couldn’t reveal the sword techniques exclusive to the Northrain family, so she couldn’t teach him those.

Based on what she had seen today, however, she knew she would need to teach him a sword style that suited him.

Luke continued to unleash relentless attacks with the Winter Sword, and Grace blocked each one, pointing out areas

for improvement as she went.

‘Am I being too lenient?’

This spar was for gaining experience for the Great Knight Tournament.

If she were to be too defensive, it would only have a counterproductive effect on his training.

After pushing Luke back with force, Grace said,

“Try this.”

The swordsmanship that had kept the Northrain family in control of the northern territories—the Lion’s Sword.
One of its moves.

‘Hah, originally, I was going to face him with the Winter Sword.’

But after surviving the killing intent earlier, and after seeing the completeness of his Winter Sword, Grace found herself intrigued.

If she showed him a higher level of swordsmanship, she felt something interesting might unfold.
The Lion’s Sword—Small Claw.

She hadn’t infused any magic into it, nor had she applied full strength, so if Luke was proficient with the Winter Sword, he could likely block it.

But just as she was preparing to strike,

“7”
Grace’s eyes flickered.

Luke’s posture had changed.

Luke had released the Winter Sword stance, lowered his body, and extended his legs, moving them with precision.

“1”
The Winter Sword was meant to give weight to the lower body to stabilize the stance, with the arms focused on

delivering powerful, decisive blows.

It was heavy, simple, and powerful.

However, Luke’s current movements were different.

They were fast and light.

Swish!

Grace’s attack missed Luke as he swiftly dodged.

Luke, successfully evading, quickly turned and aimed a sharp thrust at Grace’s side.

Grace tilted her head and easily dodged the thrust.

However, Luke didn’t appear flustered or disappointed by the miss.

Instead, he immediately withdrew his sword and, when he expanded the Winter Sword stance again, delivered an

even faster strike.

Swish!

Although Grace blocked the strike, the one who was shocked was Grace herself.

‘Fast.’

As Grace parried, she fully grasped the speed of Luke’s strike.

It wasn’t slow, but it wasn’t particularly fast either—it was average.

Yet the strike Luke had just unleashed was unexpected.

The weight had been reduced, but the lightness of the strike had been fully converted into speed, making it razor-sharp.

If Grace had underestimated his speed, the blow would have gone deeper.

‘Underestimate?’

Ah, I see.

So that was his intention.

How audacious.

To try to hide his strength and use deception against the Duke of the North?

Did he really think he could win?

Grace chuckled softly.

It wasn’t a mocking laugh.

It was a smile of genuine interest.

The purpose of this spar was to let Luke experience a battle with a knight.

From the beginning, Luke hadn’t simply given up on winning, despite the difference in their levels.

Instead, he had been doing his best to strategize and attack the knight before him.

‘Alright. I’ll let you win.’

Grace dodged and blocked all of Luke’s consecutive attacks, waiting for the right moment.

When she saw an opening, she said,

“Dodge this. If you block now, you’ll die.”

The Lion’s Sword—Big Claw.

This time, she infused power into the strike.

“1”

Luke’s face showed both surprise and a touch of fear as he quickly shifted his position.

Grace swung her sword in a wide arc, drawing a massive circle.

Crash!

The force of her strike shook the training ground.