Chapter 114: Omen (5)

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“…A sword?”

At Carl’s words, Lacis tilted her head and asked back.

Wasn’t she already learning the sword while sparring with him?

Thanks to that, her skills had been improving far faster than by attending the academy’s lectures or sparring with other cadets.

Carl, once he revealed his skills, never held back just because it was sparring.

He pressed harder than an enemy met in real combat, and sometimes she even felt that this time she might truly die.

‘It was a huge help.’

There were few people who could perfectly adjust their pace like this and spar without injuring their partner.

That alone was proof of how outstanding Carl’s skills were.

And now he asked if she had no thoughts of learning the sword?

“Yes, a sword. To be precise, swordsmanship.”

“Leipzig’s swordsmanship?”

“That is not it. The swordsmanship of my family can only be learned by direct blood relatives.”

Fiore Swordsmanship.

It was indeed a remarkable style.

But in Carl’s eyes, he could see misaligned parts within the trajectories of the sword.

‘Fiore Swordsmanship is meant to win with speed and the details of the blade’s path, rather than strength.’

But in modern times it was wielded as if it were a heavy sword technique.

Especially his father and Darius, who used Fiore Swordsmanship by pressing down with brute force and momentum.

In that sense, among the direct bloodline, the one who understood and handled Fiore Swordsmanship the best besides Carl was Carius.

True to his meticulous nature, he had grasped the essence of Fiore.

If his realm deepened further, he would surely surpass his father, Count Leipzig.

“Lady Lacis, have you learned the royal family’s swordsmanship?”

“No. The royal secret art was not permitted to me. I learned swordsmanship separately from a knight named Elodie.”

“A knight of the royal palace?”

“Yes, she had been my guard since I was young. Now we live like sisters.”

A faint smile lingered on Lacis’s lips.

Seeing that, Carl nodded as if satisfied.

‘That is better.’

A secret swordsmanship handed down from the royal family would at the very least exceed first-class martial arts.

Learning a new martial art while mastering such a swordsmanship would surely be difficult.

But swordsmanship taught by a knight left room for him to intervene.

‘Rather, it is impressive that she reached the top tier of Bayern with only that.’

That was proof of Lacis’s exceptional talent and relentless effort.

He thought he had done well to take notice of her.

Clang.

Carl drew a practice sword placed in the training ground and spoke to Lacis.

“This is only my personal interest, so I won’t force it. I hope you find it pleasing to watch.”

“I’ll watch with my eyes wide open.”

Lacis nodded with an eager expression.

It was the first time Carl had spoken this way, so she was curious what kind of sword he would show her.

“Ah, I should tell you beforehand.”

“…?”

“Every sword within this swordsmanship will not fall behind the one Instructor Frahan taught you.”

“To that extent?”

Lacis’s eyes widened slightly.

The sword taught by Instructor Frahan, Arachne, had brought great change to her.

As its name implied, it spread its force like a spiderweb by splitting the area around her, closer to an application than pure swordsmanship.

It was truly difficult to learn, but having built a foundation, she now understood more deeply how to handle momentum and aura.

Enough that she had confidence she would not be outmatched in swordsmanship at the cadet level.

Of course, Carl was the exception.

…And now he said this swordsmanship was no less?

‘Naturally.’

Carl let out a short breath and raised his sword.

The difference between the Central Plains and Artenia.

That was the depth of history.

He had no intention of dividing them into superior and inferior.

But comparing the martial arts wandering across each world, the depth of the Central Plains was overwhelmingly greater.

Of course, the Empire, the Kingdoms, or secret martial arts with long histories could match them.

But most could not.

In Artenia, it was historically confirmed that once every few centuries or in cycles, massive wars broke out that shook the continent.

Because of that, countless kingdoms and families vanished and reappeared, making it hard for history to persist.

‘In contrast, the Central Plains were different.’

Even in times of chaos, martial arts continued to be preserved.

Martial arts that had endured for hundreds of years without difficulty were scattered everywhere.

Shhhk.

Carl, prepared, slowly moved his sword.

Stepping the footwork etched in memory, he swept the air with the tip of his blade.

At times, it became a gentle breeze.

At times, it turned into a gale.

Trajectories of different flows mixed chaotically in the air, painting a single wind.

“……”

Watching Carl’s strange movements, Lacis gradually became absorbed in the sight.

She could not read all the swinging, pouring trajectories.

Even if her eyes saw them, her mind could not take them in.

Even while trying to remember one, a new one entered, making it an impossible task for her.

Countless impressions and thoughts arose and disappeared in her chest.

Only one remained.

‘Beautiful.’

It was beautiful.

The sword Carl wielded shattered her common sense.

A sword was merely a means to defeat an opponent.

But the elegant trajectories drawn at the end of that sword could rival the brushstrokes of a skilled painter.

“……”

Her fingertips and toes twitched.

She raised her arms, trying to follow clumsily, but movement was impossible.

That was how high the level of this swordsmanship was.

It was similar to when she learned Arachne.

The overall form was not that difficult, but once she dug into the details, there was no end.

The position of the fingers gripping the sword, the angle of the elbows, the placement of the stepping foot, the distribution of the waist…

Only after being corrected in detail for three days did she barely reach the starting line where she could display the basic form.

‘It was real.’

Each sword was no less than Arachne.

Even if it was Carl’s words, such a claim could not be believed without doubt.

But now it was clear.

The sword Carl displayed was far superior to Arachne.

‘I want to learn it.’

It would surely be a difficult path.

Several times, dozens of times harder than when she learned Arachne.

But in Lacis’s heart, the desire to learn that sword surged like a flood.

Shhhk.

With the final trajectory, Carl ended the sword dance and lightly spun his sword downwards.

“Hoo.”

A short breath escaped.

Performing a full sword technique while suppressing his internal energy so that Lacis could see was something that consumed considerable mental strength.

Still, he seemed to have succeeded in capturing her interest, as her eyes glimmered with a bluish light while looking at him.

“How was it?”

“…What is the name of the swordsmanship?”

“The name is…”

Carl paused.

For a moment his lips twitched, but then he spoke with a faint smile.

“It is the Boundless Azure Sword Technique.”

He could not think of a suitable name to adapt it into Artenia’s style.

And a name carried the essence of a martial art.

To properly master it, one needed to know it as the Boundless Azure Sword Technique.

As expected, Lacis answered with a puzzled expression.

“Boundless… The name is difficult. Is it an ancient script?”

“Something similar. It is an old martial art that is well over a thousand years old, so it probably is not officially recorded anywhere.”

“How does Carl know about it?”

“That is…”

Carl answered with a faint smile.

“It is a trade secret.”

Rather than making up an awkward lie, it was better to cut off the question completely by saying he could not tell.

Lacis nodded in understanding without suspicion.

“So then. What did you think?”

“It was… beautiful. Even a secret swordsmanship of the royal palace could not draw such graceful trajectories, I think. To be honest.”

Lacis let out a short sigh.

“It feels like my common sense has been denied.”

It was only natural.

This was a martial art from an entirely different world.

It was not strange that Lacis felt such impressions.

Rather, it was because her talent was outstanding that she could see and feel even more.

“Was it like this, like this?”

Lacis frowned deeply as she swung her sword, groping through her memory.

Of course, it was nothing but a clumsy trajectory, not a trace of the Boundless Azure Sword Technique.

“Then, shall we spar with this for now?”

“All right.”

Lacis answered immediately.

Swordsmanship was ultimately a means to harm the opponent.

It could not be merely beautiful.

So she wanted to experience it directly.

Tap, tap.

Lacis lightly bounced up from her spot.

She had already thoroughly warmed up before Carl came.

Watching the Boundless Azure Sword Technique just now had even raised her fighting spirit.

She was in the best condition for a spar.

Shhhk!

So she pushed off the ground with a sudden burst and rushed toward Carl.

Their spars often began like this.

‘If it is Carl, surely…’

Having gone through countless spars with him, Lacis could more or less predict his response.

By the standard pattern, he would block here and immediately counter.

Especially since he had shown a new swordsmanship called Boundless Azure, the chances were high he would respond aggressively.

So she prepared for that.

“Ah?!”

Carl’s sword swung gently, yet an unknown force pulled her sword strongly toward it.

The intended trajectory collapsed, and her balance was violently shaken.

Expecting him to respond head-on, Lacis was left helplessly about to fall.

Thud.

But thanks to her accumulated experience, even as she was about to topple forward, she kicked the ground and bounced back up.

Performing a flip in midair to offset the force, she barely landed while panting heavily.

“What was that?”

Whoosh.

As if to answer her question, Carl’s sword drew a strange trajectory and aimed at her again.

“The meaning of Boundless Azure has many interpretations. I, too, offered one interpretation.”

Infinity.

That was why it revered the sky.

But if one became fixated only on that, one could not truly grasp the essence of Boundless Azure.

“The one who wields the sword becomes the wind.”

That was why it could roam freely, using the sky as a boundless canvas.

This was Carl’s—Mu-ak’s—interpretation of the mystery of Boundless Azure.

Ssshhhhh—

The energy of Bright Heaven Divine Art rose, moving along the formula of the Boundless Azure Sword Technique, exuding a sharp blue aura.

In the extraordinary pressure swirling around Carl, Lacis’s face stiffened.

“If you can cut through this wind, Lady Lacis, then it will be your victory. In that case, I will teach you the Boundless Azure Sword Technique.”

Carl changed the condition.

Seeing Lacis’s eyes sharpen at the provocation, it seemed it had worked.

Tssskk.

Arachne’s spiderweb spread around Lacis, binding the area in every direction.

She raised her sword and spoke in a low voice.

“No taking that back.”

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