Chapter 56: What’s Needed to Overturn the Foundation (1)

The case of Administrator Conrad Vivalous was concluded with the confiscation of his property. The amount of wealth Conrad had embezzled was beyond imagination.

However, since it had been accumulated without any clear purpose, there wasn’t a significant difference in the operational funds of the territory from which it was taken.

It seemed that the greed born from the wavering management of the territory had long been left unchecked.

As a result, Raion was granted both the management rights over those funds and command authority over the knights by Shtefan.

After that, he immediately summoned the entire knight order.

At present, the commander of the Kanas Knights and all the knights under him were standing in the training grounds.

Step. Step.

When Raion entered the training ground, everyone tensed up visibly.

Since the command authority had been transferred to Raion, even the knight commander Alkas Derion was, in principle, obliged to follow him.

“Is everyone assembled?”

“Yes, sir.”

At Alkas’s response, Raion looked around at the knights standing neatly in formation.

Including Commander Alkas, there were twenty-one in total.

“Do you know why I gathered you here?”

“I do not.”

Seeing Alkas’s attitude filled with dissatisfaction, Raion scratched his head and said,

“Well, let’s first check your actual skills. Jade.”

At Raion’s call, Jade, who had been standing slightly behind, stepped forward.

“Shall I face them one by one?”

“No, two at a time. Commander Alkas will be the last, and you’ll face him separately.”

Since there were twenty-one of them, that was the only way to proceed.

At that, Alkas and a few knights frowned. Raion was blatantly disregarding their knightly pride.

Of course, Raion could clearly see the expressions they were making.

“Dissatisfied? Well, I can understand. It’s natural to feel unpleasant when someone suddenly receives command authority from the lord and calls you out like this. Then let’s make it interesting—if anyone defeats Jade even once, I’ll withdraw completely from all matters of the territory.”

With those words, Raion sat down on a chair that had been prepared nearby.

At the same time, Patrick, who had prepared the chair, poured warm tea from a porcelain teapot.

“This is Pervand tea leaves, a specialty of Voluzan. The aroma is rich and smooth.”

“Mmm~! Excellent. Thank you. Let’s begin, then.”

As soon as Raion said that, Jade drew his sword and stepped forward.

When Alkas tried to move first, Vice Commander Pavilion stopped him.

“Commander, you may not have seen it personally, but Sir Jade’s skill surpasses yours. It’s best that we take turns first before you step in.”

“Are you telling me to let him tire himself out and then have me fight? Just what do you take me for, to spout such nonsense?”

At his sharp tone, Pavilion answered in a serious voice,

“If you truly care for the honor of the order, you shouldn’t take this lightly. Forget about the issue of command authority—think about how much you can actually stand against Sir Jade.”

“Are you saying Sir Jade’s skill is that high?”

“He might be close to a Sword Master. And besides his swordsmanship, he also uses peculiar striking techniques. So I believe it would be best for Baron and Cayman to go first.”

Before long, the knights had gathered their heads, appearing to hold a strategy meeting.

Pavilion was determined to defeat Jade with skill, for the sake of the Kanas Knights’ honor.

“Judging by your concern, he must indeed be formidable.”

“He’s exceptionally skilled. I’ve seen it myself, so I’ll draw out everything I can.”

While the knights continued their discussion, Raion shouted loudly,

“What difference will talking make! You’d be better off losing quickly and doing as I said!”

His words poured oil onto the burning pride of the knights.

They frowned deeply, locking eyes with one another—each of them resolved to defeat Jade somehow.

At that sight, Jade rested his sword on his shoulder and said,

“How long must I wait? Or do the knights here duel with their mouths instead of their blades?”

His tone genuinely provoked their pride.

Baron and Cayman each drew their swords and approached Jade.

The others stepped back, leaving the training ground clear for the duel.

Facing each other, Baron spoke first after seeing Jade’s light attire.

“Even if this is only a spar, wouldn’t it be better to wear armor? You could get seriously hurt.”

“There’s no need. I’ll be fine like this. So—aren’t we starting?”

“What do you mean, starting? Once we’re standing face to face, that’s the start!”

At Jade’s question, Raion replied in a mildly exasperated tone.

At that very moment, Jade swung his sword wide.

Whoosh—!

Baron and Cayman quickly leapt back.

The single-edged blade traced a swift arc, pressing hard upon them both.

The unorthodox movements of Raizen-Style Swordsmanship didn’t even allow them a moment to counterattack.

Baron, being slightly more skilled than Cayman, cautiously looked for an opening.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

But Jade blocked even the faintest chance for an opening with his sword’s trajectory and then drove his fist forward.

Thud—!

Both Baron and Cayman, who had been charging from opposite sides, took the blow to their stomachs and skidded backward, collapsing.

“Urgh…”

The two immediately got back up and charged again.

Even though Baron and Cayman tried to coordinate their attacks as best they could, Jade slipped through with nimble, almost taunting movements, countering them at every turn.

Seeing that, Raion chuckled faintly and shouted,

“Stop playing around and finish it quickly!”

During this time, Raion had already checked the knights’ ability values through Specific Analysis.

Alkas was about equal to Calsios, whom Raion had fought before, and the rest of the knights were slightly below that—roughly on the same level as one another.

However, despite his swordsmanship being at level 8, Alkas seemed to lack real combat experience.

That alone proved how Raizen-Style Swordsmanship, though lower in level, was technically superior in Jade’s hands.

With swift swordsmanship and well-timed striking techniques, Jade swiftly defeated both Baron and Cayman.

“At this rate, I could handle three at once.”

He directed the comment toward Raion, who was leisurely sipping his tea.

“You’ll regret saying that.”

“I’m confident enough!”

“Don’t scream later about dying, then. Fine—three at a time!”

Raion’s order completely crushed the knights’ pride.

But since two of their stronger members, Baron and Cayman, had been defeated so easily, they couldn’t ignore Jade’s prowess and had no choice but to send three knights forward.

With a faint, sharp smile, Jade swung his sword in faster arcs that sliced through the air of the training ground.

Shwaaa! Shwaak!

Of course, since this was a sparring match, he couldn’t kill or seriously injure them, so his attacks were measured.

Even so, the back edge of his sword struck hard enough to dent their armor.

Clang! Clang!

The sound of clashing steel rang out violently—and the three knights were sent flying in an instant.

Now, only fifteen remained.

After such an easy defeat, the remaining knights’ faces twisted with tension and disbelief.

Meanwhile, Jade, still relaxed, playfully twirled his sword through the air.

“The gap’s too wide. Let’s make it cleaner—how about five at once? No need for the commander to bother fighting separately.”

Jade was taken aback by Raion’s sudden decision.

“…Excuse me? Five at once?”

“You handled three easily. Time to crank it up.”

Though unexpected, Jade couldn’t argue back.

At that moment, five knights—burning with fury—charged toward him.

Even though it was a spar, their swords swung with deadly intent.

Jade narrowly blocked or dodged their killing blows while searching for openings.

Unlike before, the five-man coordinated assault made it hard to find any gaps.

“Your Highness! Five at once might be a bit much!”

Jade shouted as he moved quickly to defend.

But Raion, still calm, replied while sipping his tea,

“You’ve got the energy to complain, so you’ll be fine. Knights! Now’s your chance—give it your all!”

He was openly cheering for the Kanas Knights.

Naturally, the knights didn’t miss that encouragement.

They struck harder, fiercely driving Jade back.

Jade managed to counter occasionally with his sword and strikes, but the coordinated teamwork of the knights either blocked or dampened the impact.

“Keep it up just like that—you can win this!”

Vice Commander Pavilion, waiting for his turn, shouted encouragement.

The knights heard his voice and pressed their attack even harder.

Fighting five trained knights at once—not monsters—was much trickier than expected.

“Five might’ve been too much after all… I might actually lose at this rate.”

Raion began to worry that he might lose the bet he had made earlier. After thinking for a moment, he made up his mind.

“I’ll allow you to release them, just for today.”

Shraaaa—!

Jade, who had been in the midst of dodging backward, was startled when he heard that.

“Really?”

“You’d better do it before they overwhelm you.”

The knights, not understanding the exchange, paused their attacks for a moment.

During that time, Jade rolled up his sleeves and pant legs, then unfastened the heavy shackles tightly bound to his wrists and ankles, throwing them out of the training ground.

Thud! Thunk! Thud!

The deafening sound of the four shackles hitting the ground made the knights’ faces turn pale.

Especially Pavilion, who muttered in shock,

“He… he was moving like that with those weights on?”

It was a training method Raion had imposed on Jade—something he had continued since their time at Taron’s Palace.

Because the shackles limited his movement considerably, Raion had given special permission to remove them for now.

“Phew~! I can finally move again!”

“You’ll be putting them back on afterward.”

“Ah… understood.”

Jade grumbled as he shook out his wrists and ankles. Then, facing the five knights before him, he smiled.

“Now, let’s really get started.”

Jade’s movements grew noticeably faster as he dove deep into the knights’ formation.

Whoosh! Swish! Shwaaa!

The reversed blade of his sword struck their stomachs and shoulders with heavy impact.

Reeling from the blows, the knights stumbled, clutching at their dented armor.

But Jade didn’t stop there—his assault only grew fiercer.

Thud! Thud-thud!

The knights, overwhelmed by the difference in strength and endurance, were once again thrown to the ground.

The next group of knights who followed suffered the same fate.

In the end, only five remained—Alkas, Pavilion, and three other knights.

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