Roman had recruited 30 private soldiers due to the enlistment notice. Still, there was not a single Aura Swordsman among them.
Pooky was only a C-Class mercenary, one level lower than Lucas, and he heard something incomprehensible the first day Roman taught him.
“You are born boneless.”
Even back then, he didn’t realize what Roman meant by that. And after the war, Roman’s enlisted men learned the Asura technique, and Pooky, who stepped into the new world, developed quickly. His speed of learning was different from others. If a soldier beside him was someone who felt difficulty in accepting mana, Pooky was someone who naturally accepted it.
Manifestation of mana—While most people took years to learn and couldn’t succeed at it even then, Pooky could do it in less than a month. It was such a huge thing. In the beginning, people like Lucas doubted the technique they were being taught. No matter how wealthy Dmitry was, they didn’t think that Roman would give such a huge technique to ordinary soldiers. That was common sense.
However, after experiencing the technique firsthand and seeing Pooky succeed, they all changed their mind.
‘The Asura Technique our liege has given us is truly incredible.’
Roman’s gift was a treasure that they wouldn’t be able to buy even if they had billions of coins.
Yes, it could be that Pooky had extraordinary talent, being the reason he succeeded in manifesting Aura. Still, as they were those who had experienced the Asura Cultivation Technique, they understood it wasn’t simply because of Pooky’s talent. It didn’t make sense the technique didn’t help him even in the slightest. Soon enough, they themselves started feeling the mana around their bodies. Thus, they were able to solve something that normal people had the most difficulty in while understanding the process of learning about Aura.
Accordingly, things had changed. They all understood that if one put in the effort just like Pooky, they could become Aura Swordsman as well.
Also, there was another one who had succeeded and proved himself—Kevin. That improved the attitude and morale of Roman’s soldiers even further.
Everyone risked their lives to become strong and get over the wall blocking their growth.
Naturally, that vicious atmosphere created a sense of competition, and the extreme clash between Kevin and Pooky was the result of such things.
Kang!
Rumble!
When two people’s Aura clashed, the sound was so different. When the air sucked in and exploded at one, those fighting around them turned their eyes in astonishment.
“Try to stop this!”
Kwang!
Pooky moved with magnificent force.
Kevin was the one who had manifested Aura earlier, but Pooky still had the upper hand due to his physical build. He had a huge physique and muscles as strong as armor. His explosive attacks created a synergy with the power of Aura, and Kevin had no choice but to be pushed back due to those attacks.
Nevertheless, Kevin’s expression didn’t change. Even the slightest mistake could lead to death, but Kevin didn’t run away.
“Look at him.”
Among the soldiers, Kevin was known as ‘Ghost.’ There were various reasons for that. He had extraordinary growth, an unpredictable fighting style, a unique sword technique whose movements reminded them of a ghost, but the biggest reason was the boldness he showed while attacking his enemy, as if he had several lives left even if he died. It made their mouths dry.
Although many battles had been held in the past, not once had Roman’s enlisted soldiers seen Kevin take a step behind in fear.
Kevin was someone who had cut off his own arm. As he clenched his teeth and endured the pain back then, the feeling of fear utterly vanished from his mind.
‘I need to win.’
A defeat was not allowed. Even if it was, Kevin was still jealous of the fact that Chris was more important to Roman than Kevin himself.
And if, instead of surpassing Chris, he got defeated by Pooky, it would be a huge shame for him to live with.
Kevin had met his savior in a situation where his life was being trampled on, and to repay the kindness, he always lashed out at himself that he had to be stronger than he was now.
Tak!
Kevin countered the opponent’s attack. Seeing Kevin rushing in, Pooky quickly retrieved his sword and attacked after he anticipated his opponent’s actions. Pooky’s counterattack was fast.
If that attack hit him like this, Kevin’s head would split instantly. It was literally a situation where one hit would end the battle. Still, even though his own life was at risk, Kevin didn’t think of avoiding that attack and moved ahead.
Swish!
The sword extended from Kevin’s hand and aimed right below Pooky’s chin. Pooky’s eyes fluttered wide, seeing the attack aimed at such a vital spot.
He had to decide—Will he attack Kevin and defeat him first? Or will he give up on attacking and defend Kevin’s attack?
If this was a real battle, Pooky would undoubtedly choose the former to win, but he didn’t want to risk his life recklessly in a spar.
“Damn it.”
Kang!
So he blocked the attack.
The unstable form shook his balance, and Kevin slammed Pooky down, knocking him down. The fight ended with that.
As Pooky came to his senses and lifted his head, a cool sensation could be felt on his neck.
“…Do you have to do this?”
“You try risking your life too. Then you will know that I wasn’t wrong.”
Pooky looked at Kevin with tired eyes. Seeing that, Kevin retrieved his sword and stood up. The fight was finished.
Naturally, all of it was seen by Willas, who was utterly stunned now. At first, he had just decided to watch the soldiers on the outskirts fighting purely because of his mild curiosity. He wanted to check out how they trained and what level they were at. And so he watched it. The training was shocking right from the start.
‘What am I looking at?!’
The soldiers who were sparring had unusual movements. Ordinary soldiers would only wield and block, but the ones he was seeing right now were quite different. As if they were veteran and seasoned swordsmen, they aimed for the vital points of their opponent with every single attack. Their movements of dodging and attacking were incredibly efficient and quick as well.
Willas unknowingly clenched his fist as he continued to watch them. Admiration rose from within him. They were showing perfect sword techniques. Seeing the sword technique that systematically pushed the opponent, he doubted whether these people were truly ordinary soldiers.
‘All the soldiers are using the same sword technique, and the perfection of sword technique is literally excellent. Moreover, the atmosphere of just sparring in training is so intense, as if they are fighting in a real battle. Is this the level a Baron’s family on the outskirts of the Valhalla Empire could show? No… It is as if I am looking at a miniature version of Valhalla Empire itself.’
Valhalla was like this. There were war-like people who risked their lives in countless battles. Like those who fought while giving it their all, Roman’s soldiers also exchanged blows without retreating even a single bit.
Just then, Kevin and Pooky’s fight escalated. Finally, Aura emerged from both of their swords. That was a truly shocking scene. The fact that someone who looked like a child could use Aura caught Willas’ attention.
‘No way!’
The two Auras were different from his common sense. They were literally insane. Usually, Aura was like an explosive force that unleashed power in an instant, but Kevin and Pooky’s Aura was so weak that Willas, at first, doubted if that really was Aura. He even thought it was a joke of an Aura. He wanted to check the Auras with some magic artifact, but the moment the two Auras collided, his mouth was opened so wide as if he was inviting birds to come and build a nest there.
Kang!
Rumble!
The wind blew intensely. Even though he was at quite a distance, he could feel how strong the clash of the two soldiers was, and he understood that the power of Aura was much stronger than it was supposed to be.
This was beyond his common sense. His head began to spin. The Aura of these soldiers was too puzzling.
‘These are definitely not just ordinary soldiers. Perhaps they are the Knights Templar which the Dmitry family has put a lot of effort into nurturing. But since when did the Dmitry family gain such power? While I researched Roman Dmitry all this time, I confirmed that Dmitry was the dominant force in the North-East region, but still, this isn’t a power they should have. Even the Central Government of Cairo doesn’t have such power. I heard that Dmitry is famous for its mining, so how the hell am I witnessing such things here?’
“Priest… Is Dmitry really a mining town?”
He heard the voice of the apostle. He, too, was no different from Willas. He had also researched the Dmitry family, but what he had witnessed just now was utterly different from what he had expected.
Willas answered, “I am also doubting what I am seeing. What is certain is that they are not ordinary soldiers. I heard there is a knighthood in Dmitry, so these must be the Dmitry Knights that belong to the family.”
That was an inference that was within his common sense. He couldn’t think of them as just soldiers now.
However, Hans, who was listening to them, said, “They are not from the Dmitry Knights. The Dmitry Knights exist separately, and the people you see now are the soldiers who follow Young Master Roman Dmitry only. They do not belong to the family, and they have sworn allegiance only to Young Master Roman.”
Hearing those words, Willas fell into shock once again.
Valhalla was known as the Empire of Warriors. Even the place that was known to have the most powerful soldiers in the entire world didn’t have soldiers who were as strong as those he had just witnessed.
‘These are ordinary soldiers?’
Even passing dogs would laugh at that. Soldiers? They were pieces to be abandoned on a battlefield. Contrary to Roman’s soldiers, ordinary soldiers weren’t treated excellently, and nor did they possess skills strong enough to exchange blows fiercely with others. They were just people who fell down screaming after one or two hits. Even Valhalla had such soldiers. The soldiers of Valhalla had superior combat power, but they didn’t show qualities like the soldiers of Roman.
It turned Willas speechless.
Dmitry was a fairly new state. Far from being a prestigious family in the Empire, Dmitry should barely have had any skills to nurture soldiers. However, Willas’ common sense was utterly shattered by what he had just seen.
After the training finished, Willas asked questions to Hans, who was guiding him back to his room.
“Where did you recruit these soldiers from? Not everyone can be this talented. Was a lot of money paid to get them? Or did they become apprentices while preparing to become knights? Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense for regular soldiers to use Aura.”
The level of soldiers was quite high. Truthfully, Kevin and Pooky weren’t weak enough to be called just soldiers. They knew how to openly manifest Aura and what kind of crazy person would use such talented people as just soldiers? If they were truly in a soldier’s position, they should have quit right away while thinking they were being treated unfairly. He thought that any man with common sense would realize it. Nevertheless, Hans’ next words shattered Willas’ common sense, once again.
“I don’t know why you are asking such a question, but if you are referring to Kevin and Pooky, they weren’t Aura users until a while ago. Kevin came from the slums, and Young Master Roman personally picked him up. Also, Pooky was a C-Class mercenary. After seeing the announcement of Young Master Roman enlisting soldiers, he decided to swear his allegiance and become a soldier of Young Master Roman. They only got stronger after being taught by Young Master Roman. Isn’t that amazing? The next successor of Dmitry has the eye to recognize the true talents in people. It’s such a blessing for Dmitry.”
Hans’ voice was raised to the max. It was as if Roman Dmitry was someone he was immensely proud of.
Nevertheless, Willas stopped walking at the praise. The landscape around was dim. It was truly a unique atmosphere.
Before he had arrived in Dmitry, he had decided that there could be no human who could have defeated Homer in the City of Mining.
However, that thought had changed utterly now.
‘Roman Dmitry, just who the hell are you?’
The meeting was postponed to tomorrow. He told Baron Romero that one day’s time wasn’t much, but if he was being honest, he wanted to meet Roman as soon as possible.
The protagonist of this story—Roman Dmitry. Just who was he?
The only way to confirm the truth about the things that had utterly shattered his common sense was to talk to Roman Dmitry.
