I Am the Monarch – Chapter 59: A new start (2)

 

 

Spat!

A sharp sound .

Tak! Tadak! Tadak! Tak!

Continued by that, sounds of heavy blows were heard .
The hard wooden sticks for practice split the air without stopping .

‘Is, is it even?’
‘Roan has equal skills with Viscount Reil Baker?’

The soldiers surrounding the practice field opened their eyes roundly .
They also knew that Roan’s spear skills were outstanding .
But his opponent was the best spearman in Rinse kingdom and the one called spear genius .

“Ey . Viscount Baker is going easy on him . ”

The mumblings of a soldier .
The soldiers around him nodded unconsciously .
Meanwhile, the battle was facing its conclusion .
Reil’s stick twisted like a snake and tried to stab Roan’s side .
It was a fast and strange attack .
However Roan wasn’t perplexed .
He stamped the floor with the stick and twisted his upper body to the side .

Spat!

Reil’s stick missed its target and stabbed the empty air .
Roan hit the stick that was on the ground with the back of his feet as if he was waiting for it .

Paat!

The stick drew a line along with sharp sound and surged up to attack Reil’s chin .

‘He’s good . ’

Reil smiled at Roan’s sharp attack and took one step back .

Spat!

Roan’s stick passed in front of his nose .
A movement just enough to barely dodge the stick .
It was the perfect distance .

‘Amazing . ’

Roan was astounded .
Reil was really relaxed even in the middle of this fierce battle .

‘Having looked at him from the side and facing him directly is certainly different . ’

In his past life, the confrontation between Reil and Pierce, where he watched from the sideline, was as beautiful as a dance .
The spear drew lines and the both of them repeated closing in and backing up .
The sound of the sticks hitting each other and cutting through the air was heard as music .

‘That was the day I saw Pierce’s real look, which I couldn’t see because I was too close . ’

In his past life, Roan and Pierce started together from the training camp and spent 2 years together .
At first, Roan took care of the shy and timid Pierce .
Although all the trainers and the seniors of the troop raised their thumbs saying that Pierce’s talent was the best, at that time Roan was full of confidence .

‘I also thought that there was nothing I couldn’t do . ’

However, everything changed after meeting Reil .
Pierce, who was shy and timid, became one of the most influential people that would be able to lead the kingdom’s future after the confrontation against Reil .
Pierce became Reil’s disciple just like that and left his side .
And .

‘When we met again he became a vice corps commander, and I was still a normal spearman . ’

Roan and Pierce .
The lives of the two people, who were almost equal, started to change after this confrontation .

‘That’s why I can’t forget it even if I want to . ’

He had a bitter smile .
Roan bit his lower lip .
He wasn’t in a situation to be reminiscing about things from the past .
The attacks continued without letting him rest .

‘My breath is getting heavy . ’

If there seemed to be a weak point, Reil’s stick closed in on it stubbornly .

Tak! Tadak! Tak!

A light sound .
It certainly was a difficult situation, but Roan didn’t get pushed back .
No, rather, he was even with Reil .
Although he couldn’t use the mana because of the gazes of other people, with Kalian’s tear and his strong body, the tip of the stick moved sharply and elegantly .

Spat!

Roan’s spear cut through the air and started to make big movements .
He was now executing Pierce’s spearmanship, which was now Roan’s spearmanship .

‘So this is Roan’s spearmanship . ’

Reil’s mouth slightly rose up .

‘It certainly is different than what Pierce executed . ’

Even if Pierce was a genius, it had only been two months since he started training in Roan’s spearmanship .
Compared to that, Roan already had more than 10 years .
His spear twisted and looked for Reil’s: arms, legs, stomach, private parts and joints .
Everything was deadly and vital .

‘Kugh . ’

Reil grinded his teeth for the first time .
It was because Roan’s attack was much sharper than what he had initially thought .

‘If I keep being relaxed, I might face an embarrassing situation?’

Reil put strength in his grip and charged forward .
His defensive attacks changed to become offensive ones .

Tang! Tadang!

Even the sound of the clashes became different .

‘Kugh . ’

Every time the spears clashed, his palm became numb .

‘He’s planning to end it now . ’

Roan grinded his teeth .
The number of blows had already reached 40 .

‘Whew!’

Roan let out a long sigh .
Actually for him, this battle had much meaning .

‘From the many futures, there’s one that always happens, no matter what I do . ’

Int’s forest battle was like that, and this battle was also the same .

‘In the battle of Int forest, the time and the troops participating were different than my past life…… . . ’

When the orc that came charging forward but fell because of a branch, it coincided perfectly with his past life .

Although it seems like I have the advantage because I know the future, the events are… .

Reality wasn’t like that at all .

‘What if there aren’t changes even in the results?’

What if the ones that should die, died, and the ones who should live, lived?
What if everything flowed like a preconceived result?
What if in the end, he ends up dying in the battlefield just like his past life?

‘The results of right now has no meaning at all . ’

But of course, it wasn’t that the future had to happen as he knew it .
The slightly different future just like the Prely river battle, and Slen battle that weren’t in the future at all .

‘If my guess is correct……… . ’

In the future he would face from now on, there would be many of these types of cases .
The cases he knew in the future, and the same cases .
Slightly different cases .
Completely different cases .
Cases he didn’t know about, etc .
Various different types of the future were mixed together causing uncertainty and were also approaching closer .

‘Because of that, I don’t know if the situations that I am aware of will happen exactly like in my past life . ’

That’s why he wanted to check it .
When Reil requested a battle after hitting his chest .

‘I really got my act together . ’

The battle against Reil and Pierce that he remembered .
The start of it was certainly the same .

‘Will I be able to change the results of this battle?’

If he could, there was no need to be afraid of the incoming future .

‘I can’t keep relying on the future I know . ’

On top of that, the thing called the future was really uncertain .
He was at a point where he could rely on it passively but had to actively take the initiative .
Because of that, this battle against Reil was really important .

‘I will crush all the different futures where the results are already pre-determined . ’

Then, a sharp sound was heard .

Spat!

The spear drew a line and flew towards him .
Roan took two steps back and twisted his wrist .

Tang!

The spears collided against each other .

“Amazing . I had quite the fun time, sparring . ”

This was Reil’s voice .
Roan gritted his teeth .

“Block this one too . ”

They were some lightly tossed words .
The battle was coming to an end .
In his past life, Pierce couldn’t block the last attack and lost .

‘I will block it . I will block it and change the future . ’

Roan opened his two eyes abruptly .

Paat!

In that instant, the surrounding scenery and spar became slow in Roan’s eyes .
Meanwhile, only Reil showed any fast movements .

Spaaaaaat!

The spear closed in while it cut through the air .
He could see that the tip of the spear vibrated in all directions .
At first glance it seemed like it was aiming for his stomach but actually it was a continuous attack followed by the two thighs, sides, and back .
Roan glared at the tip of his spear and turned his body .
Everything was really slow to the point where he yawned .
At the same time, Reil’s spear lowered and aimed for the thigh .

‘Hph!’

Roan took in a breath and charged forward .

Spaaaaaat!

Reil’s spear slightly grazed Roan’s thigh .
But the attack didn’t end there .

Tuk .

The spear stopped like it was all a lie, surged up, and then twisted .
It was a movement aimed at the sides .

‘Quicker!’

Roan felt trapped because of his slow movements .
He turned his body and closed in on Reil .
A perplexed look could be seen on Reil .

Taaaaat!

Roan passed by Reil’s body like that and made it to his back . At the same time, he tried to kick Reil’s ankle . The movement was executed perfectly and everything flowed together .

‘It’s done!’

A faint smile appeared on Roan’s face .
Then!
Reil’s two feet, that were solidly stuck to the ground, started to float in the air .

‘Impossible!’

Roan looked at himself kicking the empty air and frowned .
He thought that it was the perfect attack .

‘What kind of reaction is this fast!’

Then, he felt a pain as if someone was poking his eyes with a needle .
It was because he had used Kalian’s tear over-excessively .
However, Roan endured it and swung his spear .

Paaaat!

The spear moved through the air very slowly .
After a while .

Puuuuuk!

The tip of the spear hit Reil’s back .

‘Kugh!’

Only then did Roan blink once .

Pat!

At that moment, the scenery that was slow until now returned to its original speed .

Tat!

Reil, who jumped to the air, turned his body with the spear .
He made some distance with Roan in an instant .

“Kugh . ”

Pain was felt in his back .

‘What the **** just happened?’

Reil frowned .
He executed one of his own spearmanship techniques that he had saved to finish the spar .
He thought that with Roan’s skills he would be able to either dodge or block the attack that was aimed for the thigh .

‘But I thought that he would fall by the following attack . ’

His guess was wrong in a way that was good to see .
But it wasn’t to the point it completely slipped away from him .
Roan showed quick movements to the point that it was surprising and then closed in on Reil .
At the same time, he turned his body . After that he was at his back he tried to kick him .
Reil kicked the ground and jumped away instinctively .
However, he couldn’t block the attack that followed .

‘If this was a real battle, my back would have deep cut into it . ’

Reil glanced at Roan .

‘I can’t measure his skills . ’

He thought that he had measured Roan’s skills to a certain point during the spar .
But the moment he thought of the last attack, Roan showed skills beyond his estimation .
He was truly amazed .

“Are you also able to blo…… . ”

The moment that he was planning to compliment him .

Pat!

Roan charged through and faced him with a fierce intent .

‘Kugh!’

Reil gulped some air and raised his spear .
Offense and defense happened again .
From now on, it was something Roan also faced for the first time .
It was a battle that didn’t happen in his past life .

‘I’m changing the results!’

Just because the situation changed a bit, he couldn’t be relieved .
This was because the future was still uncertain .

‘A blitz warfare!’

From now on, he couldn’t use Kalian’s tear for a while .

Tak! Tadak! Tak!

The clashing sounds filled the training room .
The fierce attacks continued .

“Amazing . ”

Io mumbled with a surprised expression .
The people around him nodded in agreement .
They were surprised at two things .
The first, obviously was Reil’s spear skills .

‘The skills of Viscount Baker is really famous… . . ’

But what was even more surprising was Roan’s spear skills .

‘For the skills of an 18 year old spearman to be this high . ’

Io was amazed .
A faint expectation appeared in his face .

‘The one who will continue the legacy of Viscount Baker, no, he may become a commander that surpasses him . ’

Io’s mouth slightly rose up .

‘If he teaches him well from now on, he will certainly…… . ’

The deeper his thoughts grew, the closer the battle approached the climax .
Roan put strength into his grip .

‘Let’s end it with this . ’

He was planning on executing the 7th stance of Roan’s spearmanship .
This was the strong technique that stabbed the spear on Violin’s side .

‘Hph!’

He took in a deep breath .
The muscles on both of his arms swelled .

Spat!

The spear split the wind .
At the same time, the entire spear moved to the sides .

‘Is this also Roan’s spearmanship?’

Reil looked at the gorgeously moving spear, to the point that it made him dizzy, and smiled .
He wasn’t certain if he was aiming for the left or the right because of the big movements .

‘Is it the left or the right?’

Reil glared at the tip of the spear and then twisted his wrist .
The place he tried to block was his left side .
Then .

Tung!

The spear hit the air as if it was flicking along a heavy sound .
The tip of the spear suddenly changed trajectory and came carving into Reil’s right side .

‘Amazing!’

It was an extraordinary change .
Reil hurriedly pulled back his spear and twisted his body .
Then .

‘Kugh!’

He felt a pain in his back .

‘Damn………’

He was surprised with Roan’s attack .
Because of this moment’s discomfort, his movements were slow .

‘My ribs will be smashed . ’

Reil bit his lower lip .
At this state, he wouldn’t be able to block the spear, nor dodge it .

‘Roan . I’m sorry but I can’t do anything about it . ’

He bitterly smiled and took in a deep breath .
In that instant, a soft feeling surged up from his stomach .

Paaaat!

At the same time, the spear split the air at an amazing speed .
Reil’s spear hit Roan’s spear .

Pagak!

A sharp sound .
Roan’s spear broke in a way that was easy to see .

“Kugh!”

Roan grinded his teeth at the amazing shock that was felt and quickly spread out from his palms .
But even so, he didn’t let go of his spear .

‘Is it mana……?’

He guessed the identity of the strength that surged up from his body in an instant .

“Kugh . ”

His body trembled .
Viscount Baker showed his amazing strength, worthy of being a man of his reputation .

‘So this is Viscount Reil Baker’s real strength . ’

The difference in having mana and not having mana was certainly big .

‘What would have happened if I also used the Flamdor mana technique?’

He would have succeeded in that last attack .
Regret was left .

‘But even so, I have to hide my mana . ’

He had just started training in it .
If he made a mistake and rumours spread, he would have his mana technique taken away from him even before he reached the peak .

“Whew . ”

Roan let out a long sigh .

‘Does it end like this……?’

Roan looked at his broken spear and shook his head .
Then, Reil’s voice was heard .

“I’m sorry . ”

He bitterly smiled and slowly walked up .
And surprisingly enough, he slightly bowed .

“It’s my defeat . ”

This was a sudden declaration of defeat .
The soldiers who were around the training ground had surprised expressions on their faces .

“He lost?”
“Viscount Reil Baker lost?”
“Impossible!”

They couldn’t understand .
The one with the broken spear was Roan and not Reil .
On the other side Io, Aaron, the knights, and etc . nodded at Reil’s declaration of defeat .

‘He even used mana while facing a normal soldier, so it’s right that it’s his defeat . ’

Io had a faint smile and nodded his head .
Everyone was thinking the same thing .
They didn’t know the truth; Roan was currently learning a mana technique .

‘Even so, he’s the real thing . ’

Io’s sight moved to Roan .
He had the skills to evenly fight against the spear genius Reil, and the outstanding strategies and tactics he showed in the battles .

‘He said he was only 18 . Then…… . . ’

Many plans were being set up in his head .
On the other side, Roan was a bit perplexed at Reil’s sudden defeat declaration .

“No . The one that lost is m……… . ”

Roan, who was raising his broken spear, staggered .
It seemed like the mana Reil put in his body still remained inside him .
Reil hurriedly grabbed Roan’s hand and supported him .

“The internal shock would have been greater . ”

Reil awkwardly smiled and grabbed Roan’s wrist .
He was planning to calm his interior when it was a mess .

“I’m, i’m fin………”
Roan hurriedly tried to pull away his wrist, but he couldn’t beat Reil’s strength .
Then .

“Huh?!”

Reil, who was inserting mana through the tip of his finger, had a surprised expression and looked at Roan .
And then, he shook his head as if it was astonishing .

“You were more of an amazing guy than what I initially thought . ”

He whispered in a really low voice in Roan’s ear .

“I will keep it a secret for now . ”

Roan bitterly smiled .
Because he knew what Reil was talking about .

“Instead, you will have to speak with me . ”

Roan just nodded instead of replying back .
Reil was still holding onto his wrist .
And then, he was astounded .

‘A normal soldier is accumulating mana inside his body?’

Reil fixedly looked into Roan’s eyes .

‘He gets funnier the more I know about him . ’

He had a thought that the things that would happen from now on, they were going to even more fun .
And that feeling got it exactly right .

< A new start (2) > End