Before dark, Willas managed to reach Dmitry.
He was allowed to meet with Baron Romero right away under the supervision of a guard after disclosing the reason and his identification at the checking point.
“I am Romero Dmitry. Are you from the temple of Valhalla?”
“Yes. My name is Willas. I am a priest of the Valhalla Temple’s Cairo branch. As I stated at the checking point near the gate, I heard about the rumors of Roman Dmitry defeating Homer, who was ranked 49 in the Rankings. I have no obligation from Valhalla to check an Unofficial Ranking Match, but since it was such an unusual case, I wanted to come and check with the involved person to see whether it can be reflected in the Ranking.”
“That’s such good news. Welcome to Dmitry.”
Baron Romero couldn’t hide his joy. It was because of the Ranking Verification for a member of the Dmitry family. A family with a Ranker, even if it was the lowest Ranker, was bound to get recognized by the whole world. And Dmitry had a short history compared to other noble families. As Baron Romero was the first of the family, they didn’t have anything like the element of fame and honor except the resources in their land.
But what if Roman Dmitry was accepted as a Ranker? If such a thing became a reality, then from then on, even the noble society around them would have no choice but to acknowledge the power of the Dmitry family. Moreover, it wasn’t just anyone. Wasn’t Roman the eldest son of the family?
While Baron Romero came out to serve the guests, he sent a servant to bring Roman.
However, the servant returned with a troubled expression on his face.
“…Lord. Hans, the servant in charge of Young Master Roman, said that the young master has cut off all outside communication and is busy working within the forge. What do you want me to do? If it is important enough for the work to be halted, Hans said he would bring Young Master Roman himself.”
“No. It is fine.”
When he heard Roman was working in the forge, a smile bloomed on Baron Romero’s face. After talking to Hendrick, he found out that Roman had the skills and interest to be a blacksmith. It was such a joy to him. It was good enough to prove that the family’s eldest son was entitled to inherit it. Thus, Baron Romero didn’t want to call Roman while he was in the middle of performing his duties, even if it was a visit from the Valhalla temple, which would significantly raise the status of the family.
Baron Romero said, “Priest. I am sorry, but it is late today, so how about taking some rest and meeting with Roman tomorrow? As soon as Roman finishes his work, I will let him know that the priest wants to meet him.”
“I understand.”
Today or tomorrow wasn’t much of a problem.
Baron Romero smiled at Willas, who nodded his head.
“Since things have turned out like this, why not take a look around Dmitry? I will give you a guide, so you can freely take a look around the mansion. It will be a good way to pass the time.”
Most don’t have much to do when they visit others, so Willas didn’t turn down the offer. He was then guided around by Hans. It was so that he could take him to Roman when the time came. And in the meantime, Hans explained about Dmitry.
“The Dmitry family has the largest iron mine in the Cairo Kingdom and even produces the highest quality iron. If you look around, you can see that the fortress is built of iron and is pretty sturdy. The same goes for the gates as well. Because of the fortified gates and walls, this land can even be called non-penetrable.”
Hans continued explaining the history and features of the Dmitry estate calmly. Walking down the street, he kept talking about Dmitry’s unique characteristics, as well, and Willas followed him as he listened.
Actually, Willas didn’t want to pay him even the slightest bit of his attention. He was hearing his words from one ear and throwing them out from the other. He was just too immersed in his own thoughts.
‘A formidable swordsman who was powerful enough to defeat Homer was born in such a frontier? I could understand if the Dmitry family was a family of knights with a long history, but it doesn’t make sense for a swordsman to come out of a land that only developed in mining. Moreover, as it’s the family’s eldest son who got such an achievement, there is a high chance that the nobles would have manipulated or exaggerated the rumors of defeating Homer.’
It was quite obvious. The Ranking was an honorable position. Many individuals attempted to take credit for fake deeds, and they all shared the trait of never participating in an actual Ranking battle. An Unofficial Ranking Match based on commoners present was their only source. There was a reason why Valhalla never embraced such information.
How far did he walk?
When he arrived at what seemed like a training ground, he heard the passionate voices of many people.
“One!”
“One!”
“Two.”
“Two!”
A group of people was training. It naturally made Willas’ eyes gleam. As he was born in Valhalla Empire, he was more interested in the current scene than the history of an old-fashioned family.
‘Ordinary soldiers?’
They didn’t look like knights. The reason was that the members who were training were of different ages, and among them, even a person who looked like a child was there. A knight was not a position a young child could have. As the characteristics were not similar, then it meant that they were most likely conscripted.
Willas asked, “Can I watch their training for a moment?”
“I will ask them.”
At Willas’ question, Hans ran to the man who looked like the captain.
The captain glanced at Willas and nodded as if it didn’t matter.
“It is fine to watch from a distance.”
“Thank you.”
He went to a shaded place and sat down. Still, even back then, Willas’ feelings for watching the training were just because of curiosity.
After they completed the basic training, Chris, the one in charge of the training, said, “Today, we will conduct spars amongst ourselves. Match up with one another and start at the signal.”
“Yes!”
Everyone moved in unison.
Due to Lucas’ departure, the number of people had decreased by one, and now, there were 30 people, including Kevin. Thus, 30 soldiers meant 15 spars at the same time. It was a familiar training for the soldiers, so they competed against their assigned opponents in order.
Tak!
Tuk!
In the first spar, a group of people ran toward each other. The short man made the first attack, and the opponent countered it without even retreating; he then quickly aimed for vital points such as arms. In an instant, they countered several times. The two were looking at each other without even blinking their eyes. Even though the sound of wooden swords hitting was terrifying, they kept their eyes open.
Kang!
Kakang!
Their weapons clashed so much. The attacks got more threatening with each passing second. Rather than simply attacking the visible body part, they were calmly blocking the enemy’s attack and inducing the situation to attack the opponent’s vital points. And what if the opponent showed a gap? Even though it was a risk, they rushed forward. Obviously, it was a battle using wooden swords, but it was still so fierce that he couldn’t consider it even a bit easy.
It was no different with the other pairs. All the soldiers began to spar. They fought fiercely, not showing any signs of concession, as if they were in a gladiator fight.
“Everyone, focus! Look straight at your opponent!” Chris exclaimed.
When they were first recruited by Roman, they were at a higher level than normal soldiers, but by Chris’ standards, they were nothing more than clumsy people. But it was utterly different now. The physical growth they achieved due to the technique Chris taught them was enormous. And above everything else, the soldiers who learned the Asura technique began to turn aggressive.
The Asura Sword Technique was a technique that provided the answers to all situations, such as when attacked overhead, when attacked to the side and when attacked on the leg. They were taught to counter by blocking or avoiding, and the Asura technique allowed them to maximize their movements.
The current situation was the result of them dripping blood and sweat daily. Everyone’s faces that were bruised from being hit by the wooden sword were finally restored, and they watched the opponent’s movements until the end, recalling the technique they had learned. And then, they performed the right counter-attack once they saw the opportunity.
Even though winning or losing wasn’t important here, none of the soldiers were acting complacent as if it was okay to lose.
And, among them, there was one who fought most fiercely. He was the main character among the soldiers—Kevin. He was the small guy whom Willas considered a child soldier, but his fighting style was entirely different from his physique.
Swoosh!
With the most minute movements, he dodged all the attacks of his opponent. Kevin would first let his opponent’s attack reach close to his body with bold actions and would lean back, after which he would take a step ahead or hit his opponent’s vital points.
Nevertheless, the speed of the wooden sword was unbelievably fast. The attack time was always short with the unique way he held the sword in his hand, and he kept simultaneously attacking him.
Tak!
Tak Tak!
All of his attacks were blocked. Kevin’s opponent was also a formidable person; like Lucas, he was a mercenary. His name was Pooky, and he had a shaved head.
“Kevin, are you going to ignore your defense like that?” Pooky asked while smiling. His head glistened in the sun. The tattoo originating from the top of his head was terrifying, but Kevin wasn’t startled by it.
“I will see if you can say that once I win.”
Puak!
“Kuak!”
He struck the side of his opponent with a fist.
Pooky’s body looked like it could take many hits, but one hit from Kevin made his expression distorted. This is why everyone didn’t like when they heard they had to fight with Kevin. Roman told him to do his best, so even in just spars, Kevin performed too seriously—As if he could never allow himself to be defeated. Seeing Kevin fight as if the spar was a real battle, Pooki growled, “Right, let’s do it like this.”
From then onward, it turned into a serious battle rather than just a spar. Pooky daringly attacked the vital point that could even end Kevin’s life, and even when he was walking on thin ice, Kevin didn’t back down. He was always in a position to run toward his opponent. While maintaining the distance to attack Pooky to the end, he avoided his opponent’s fierce counter-attack with minimal movements.
Huk!
Kevin’s eyes gleamed red.
Ghost Illusion Demonic Martial Arts!
Cold sweat constantly dripped down Pooky’s forehead due to Kevin’s relentless and ruthless attacks.
‘This brat!’
The one who became Roman’s first soldier was Kevin. It was something that genuinely surprised people. He was a boy who didn’t look much on the outside. However, he was also the one who showed the most aggressive fighting style and battle forms.
Was it because they could never cross the wall known as Chirs? The soldiers, just like Pooky, wanted to defeat Kevin as fast as they could, and they then began to rapidly aim to develop themselves due to the sense of competition.
Just then,
Thuk!
Immediately after the strike, both sides showed loopholes. For a moment, they both looked at each other. Now, it didn’t matter who came first. The energy of mana arose from both of their wooden swords, and they both rushed toward each other instantly. It was clear. That energy was a 1-Star Aura.
