Chapter 38: Northern Style Sports Day (2)

“Sir Elaine?”

“For some reason, I think that hammer was suggested by Luke.”

“Really?”

“It seems like he’s not used to it yet. The movements of the hammer have traces of the Winter Sword. I think he

recently switched weapons.”

“Hmm, that makes sense. He wouldn’t suddenly change weapons right before the evaluation. In such cases, there’s

usually advice from someone around him.”

Grace grinned as she watched Muller, who used the hammer with great strength to prevent any enemies from

approaching.

“If Luke’s suggestion is correct, that’s an excellent piece of advice. He seems to be confident in his strength, and

someone like him should be allowed to use his full power. A sword would be frustrating for him.”

As a northern duke’s renowned knight, Grace quickly understood Muller’s combat style just by watching his battle.

Elaine nodded in agreement with Grace’s words.

“It’s a well-balanced team. The soldier supporting his comrades may be of average skill, but he has a good sense of

his surroundings and fills in the gaps well.”

Hayden, seeing openings between Den’s thrusts and Muller’s hammer strikes, rushed in to buy time for his comrades.

Because of this, Alex struggled to take advantage of any opportunity and was frequently blocked.

“The soldier holding the towel in the middle is calm. In the midst of his teammates fighting fiercely, he could easily

be caught up in the excitement, but he’s keeping his composure. Luke wasn’t wrong in giving him the towel.”

“Judging by his deep breaths, it seems less like he’s good at making decisions and more like he has patience. He’s

missing good opportunities to intervene, but he’s avoided dangerous situations more times than not. He seems to

have a habit of thinking things through.”

Winch, in the center of the team, carefully observed the surroundings and refrained from rushing in. Instead, he only

attacked when needed, breaking through his comrades’ defenses to counter the enemies or stepping in only when his

teammates were truly in danger.

He was like a sharp spear hidden behind a shield.

If they had to break that shield, it would be difficult to fight effectively. But if they tried to destroy the shield first, the

spear would strike out.

“It’s strange,” Grace said.

“Hmm?”

“If there were soldiers with such good teamwork, I should have heard about them by now. But I have no idea who

they are.”

“I don’t know either.”

“Could it be that ordinary soldiers suddenly became stronger under Luke’s command in just one week? Quite

surprising. Did the commander have talent?”

Grace laughed lightly, then added, “Or perhaps their superior took credit for their accomplishments or interfered so

they couldn’t take any credit.”

Her expression turned cold in an instant.

Elaine, sitting beside her, also felt a chill and answered, “If you command, I’ll thoroughly investigate the military

discipline this time.”

“No, let’s observe for now.”

Grace waved Elaine off and turned her gaze back to the arena.

She had been watching since the evaluation started, and her keen senses allowed her to hear the loud sounds even

though she was wearing a helmet.

Grace continued to watch Alex with a serious look before turning to Elaine.

“By the way, there’s one flaw in Luke’s plan. You’re aware of it too, aren’t you?”

“Yes, while the team holds off, Luke needs to win one-on-one against Alex and grab the towel. His team is fighting

well, but they’re outnumbered, and the enemy isn’t weak, so they can’t afford to relax.”

“Alex is a soldier who’s attempted the knight’s exam, so his skills must be decent. What do you think?”

“No problem.”

“Oh, is that a biased opinion?”

“I’ve evaluated the abilities of my subordinates objectively as their leader.”

Grace looked at Elaine, then chuckled before returning her attention to the match.

Coincidentally, she also shared the same thoughts.

Suddenly, Alex stumbled backward from a gust of wind caused by Luke.

Huff, huff.

Alex gasped for air, but he seemed to get frustrated with his own heavy breathing and tried to force himself to stop.

“Why don’t you just breathe? It’ll make things worse if you try to hold it in.”

On the other hand, Luke, facing Alex, seemed relaxed as he tapped the ground with his wooden sword.

It wasn’t a mocking gesture, but Alex felt irritated and shouted.

“You bastard!”

Shouting, Alex charged forward and swung his sword down, but Luke easily blocked the attack.

Alex, now furious, wildly swung his sword from all directions, attempting to corner Luke, but Luke, with astonishing

stability and speed, countered every attack.

Swish!

With a speed that was almost impossible to follow with the eye, Luke retaliated and struck Alex in the chest.

A follow-up kick.

“Ugh!”

Alex’s body collapsed after being hit in the abdomen, and Luke, with his quick swordplay, struck Alex’s shoulder,

knocking him off balance.

Weak and almost on the verge of kneeling, Alex, whether out of perseverance or pride, gritted his teeth and glared at Luke.

Something felt off.

Even with his experience in the Royal Guard, there was a clear difference.

He wasn’t weak by any means.

He had attacked multiple times, but never once succeeded.

No, when he tested their strength earlier, their physical strength was similar.

What was the difference? Was it the swordsmanship? Or stamina? Or age? Or something else?

‘Right, that guy’s from the Royal Guard. He must have had access to potions or items that ordinary soldiers wouldn’t

be able to get. He probably trained under a good martial arts instructor too.’

Thinking that way made Alex even more frustrated.

They were both soldiers, yet some got lucky and made it into the Royal Guard, while others had to work hard because

luck wasn’t on their side.

Suddenly, he began questioning the fairness of the knight’s exam.

Was the Duke using ordinary soldiers as pawns to make his inner circle knights?

Hmm, maybe that’s going too far.

He suppressed the thought, not wanting to provoke the Duke.

“Damn it, why are they trying so hard?”

Once the frustration started, it quickly spread to the teammates of Luke who were struggling.

When Alex faced Luke’s team, he inwardly cheered.

His loyal subordinates, who usually followed him, would certainly play along and hand over the towel in due time.

Especially Hayden, that guy, who was quick-witted, would know exactly whose side to take. And Winch, who had

once complained about Luke with him, was probably full of rebellion now.

“Of course, it’s a bit sorry to make it seem intentional, so I’ll just buy you a drink later.

Anyway, the outcome of this evaluation doesn’t matter much for the team members.

But for some reason, those guys are fighting more fiercely than when they were with me, and it’s making my insides boil.

I wish I could shout at those idiots, asking what they’re doing right now, but since the examiner is watching, I can’t.

Useless ones. Once this exam is over, I’m going to get rid of all of them.

“Damn it!”

In the end, all I could do was curse.

Ignoring the pain in his body, Alex forced his stance.

Luke, watching Alex, couldn’t help but admire him.

“One thing I’ll admit. You’re still a Northerner, even if you’re rotten.” The determination.

“Shut up.”

“Isn’t it strange? We’re taking the same exam, but there’s such a big difference in our levels.”

“……!”

When Luke hit the nail on the head about what Alex had been contemplating, Alex flinched.

His teeth clenched.

Was he mocking him for being superior?

“Then why do you always roam around with others and bully the kids while pretending to train? You should have

trained harder.”

Training? Of course, he had.

The training in the Northern Army was no joke, unlike the easygoing ones who slacked off under weak instructors.

It’s just that he trained under an average instructor, not a superior one like the Guard, which made the efficiency

lower than those of the Guard.

Ah, was he mocking that?

Sure enough, the intent to mock was clear.

“You arrogant little bastard. Do you want to die that badly?”

Originally, this was supposed to be his trump card for the third trial.

Filled with anger, Alex gripped his wooden sword tightly with both hands.

Whoooosh.

His wooden sword began to glow with a blue light.

Magic.

Alex had talent.

His family was wealthy, so he had support like potions and tutoring. But even so, the fact that he was able to awaken

and learn magic was thanks to his innate talent.

That’s why he was confident. No matter how superior Luke’s training environment was in the Guard, he couldn’t use

the magical power that Alex, who was blessed with talent, could wield.

“Heh, don’t worry. I won’t really kill you. But I will break one of your arms.”

Luke stared at Alex as he proudly raised his glowing wooden sword, but didn’t look surprised.

“Oh, a magic battle? Good. I was wondering when I could use it.”

“What?”

Luke also gripped his wooden sword with both hands.

Fwoosh.

“???”

For some reason, Luke’s wooden sword began to glow red, with flames igniting on its surface.

What’s going on? Why is it on fire? Was it some item pretending to be a wooden sword? The examiner must have

checked it, but did Luke sneak it in using his connections with the Guard?

“Damn it, I told you wood burns easily. I guess there’s no such thing as hot wood, though.”

Luke muttered as he looked at his sword and then spoke to Alex.

“Hey, hey, no time. Let’s hurry up.”

Alex was bewildered, not understanding what was going on, but when Luke charged to end the battle, Alex took his

stance.

‘No matter what, I’ve got magic on my side!’

He glared and swung his sword down at Luke with all his strength, but Luke simply took his stance.

Screech!

The wooden sword wrapped in Alex’s magic shattered with a heavy cracking sound.

“Huh?”

“Well, do your best.”

What use is magic when your basics, like swordsmanship, are terrible?

No, forget it. There’s no need for me to give advice to this arrogant junior.

With that, he snatched the towel and spoke in a tone implying he didn’t care.

Alex stared blankly at his broken wooden sword, now reduced to a dagger, blinking in disbelief.

“That’s it!”

With Gunther’s shout, the match ended.