Chapter 15: Warning (Part 1)
The House of Marquis Lionbloom.
In the Apple Kingdom, renowned for its unparalleled swordsmanship, something unusual was unfolding.
Four young men stood with wooden swords in hand, nervously swallowing their dry throats. Their eyes were fixed on a middle-aged man standing before them.
He was solidly built, but that was about it. He wasn’t particularly large or exuding overwhelming strength.
“Have you all warmed up enough?”
Despite his unassuming appearance, the young men were on edge, watching his every move with bated breath.
“Then let’s get started.”
Yet, the young men hesitated, uncertainty etched on their faces.
The middle-aged man clicked his tongue in disappointment.
“I thought you were lion cubs, but it seems you’re just puppies.”
Such an insult was not something spirited young men could let slide.
Their eyes hardened, and one by one, they raised their wooden swords.
The man smiled, satisfied.
“Now that’s more like it.”
With a shout, the young men charged. The man met them with his own wooden sword.
In the blink of an eye, it was over.
The young men lay sprawled on the ground, each having taken a hit. The middle-aged man, however, remained unscathed.
“You’re all quite skilled. I can’t let my guard down anymore.”
One of the young men pouted, still nursing his bruised pride.
“Yet none of us could withstand even a single strike from you, my lord.”
In the Apple Kingdom, few could claim the title of marquis.
And among those few, only one possessed such skill.
Holland Lionbloom.
The middle-aged man was the master of the Lionbloom household.
“I have my reputation to uphold. I can’t let you surpass me just yet.”
Holland Lionbloom chuckled heartily.
“Keep improving, all of you.”
“Yes, sir!”
The young men scrambled to their feet, their voices ringing with determination.
Holland Lionbloom left the training ground, wooden sword in hand.
“Well done, my lord.”
An elderly gentleman offered a towel as soon as the marquis emerged.
Holland wiped his sweat and spoke.
“Vincent, the knights have improved significantly. I might actually lose if I’m not careful.”
Vincent, the old man, merely smiled in response.
The young men who had just been defeated by Holland were all full-fledged knights, considered formidable even among the lower ranks.
Even a squire could wield aura, making them a powerful force.
Yet, despite four lower-class knights banding together, none could lay a finger on Holland Lionbloom.
But there was no shame in that.
Holland Lionbloom was on the verge of becoming a Sword Master, a rare and formidable rank.
“Have you decided which knight to send for the duel?”
Vincent inquired, and Holland pondered for a moment.
“There are a few promising ones, but I need to observe them a bit more.”
Currently, the Lionbloom household was in a dispute with the Duke of Goldpixie.
A gold mine had been discovered on the border between the two families.
After much bickering, they agreed to settle the matter with a duel, with the winner claiming ownership of the mine.
“My eldest will participate, so we have one victory secured. It’s the other two I’m concerned about.”
Knights were classified into high, middle, and low classes based on their skills.
For this duel, each family would send three lower-class knights.
“While I’m confident in our victory, I want to demonstrate the clear difference in skill.”
Holland’s face was brimming with confidence, befitting the head of the kingdom’s premier knightly family.
“It would have been perfect if the second son could participate, but it’s a pity.”
“Indeed, I agree. It would have been a great opportunity to make a name for himself… but his skills aren’t there yet.”
The second son, Erwin Lionbloom, was still a squire and hadn’t made the list for the duel.
Though hailed as a prodigy, surpassing the barrier to becoming a full-fledged knight was no easy feat.
“By the way, what is Erwin up to these days? I haven’t seen him around.”
Holland’s question made Vincent’s expression turn awkward.
“Well… he’s at the House of Baron Haxen.”
“The House of Baron Haxen? Ah, because of their daughter.”
Holland was already aware of Erwin’s keen interest in the eldest daughter of the Haxen family.
“That boy is quite something. Just like me, he has a fondness for women.”
Despite his words, a smile played on Holland’s lips.
“Still, a man should have such desires, don’t you think? It’s a shame the eldest lacks in that department.”
Unlike Erwin, who was known for his interest in women, the eldest son showed no such inclinations.
“However, this dalliance seems to be dragging on longer than expected. He should have just enjoyed and moved on from a girl from such a rural family.”
Holland clicked his tongue in disapproval.
Just then, a servant came running from afar.
The servant whispered something into Vincent’s ear, causing his face to turn pale.
“Your Grace, the second son has returned.”
“Oh, really?”
Holland’s face lit up instantly.
“Speak of the devil, and he appears. I must go see Erwin… but why do you look so troubled?”
Holland asked, puzzled by Vincent’s expression.
“Well… it’s just that…”
Vincent hesitated before speaking cautiously.
“Don’t beat around the bush. Just tell me.”
“The second young master was gravely insulted at the House of Baron Haxen.”
At that moment, Holland’s face twisted with rage.
“Erwin!”
Holland burst into the infirmary, throwing the door open.
Startled by the noise, Erwin Lionbloom flinched on the bed.
“F-Father?”
Erwin peeked out from under the covers, his skin marred with bruises.
Not only that, but a cut from a blade still marked his neck.
“F-Father… th-they… they tried to k-kill me…! They put a k-knife… no, a f-fork to my throat…”
More concerning was Erwin’s mental state.
He was incoherent, unable to string his words together, clearly traumatized.
“Erwin! Calm down! Your father is here with you!”
Holland grasped Erwin’s hand tightly, but the young man’s trembling didn’t cease.
After a long while of comforting Erwin, Holland finally stepped out of the infirmary.
“Your Grace.”
Outside, Vincent and the squires who had accompanied Erwin stood waiting.
Holland glared at the squires with eyes full of menace.
“What happened at the House of Baron Haxen?”
The squires swallowed nervously and began to recount the events in detail.
As their explanation continued, Holland’s brow furrowed deeper.
”…He deflected an aura-infused sword with a fork?”
Even Holland, a high-class knight, couldn’t deflect aura with an ordinary weapon.
And yet, they claimed it was done with a mere fork?
“Are you fabricating this story out of fear of punishment?”
“N-No! It’s the truth!”
“Please, believe us!”
The squires pleaded desperately.
Holland scrutinized their faces closely before speaking.
“Very well, you may go.”
The squires bowed and quickly departed.
“Your Grace, what do you make of this?”
“They don’t seem to be lying.”
As a high-class knight, Holland could sense the rhythm of their breathing and pulse, allowing him to gauge the truth of their words to some extent.
“But the eldest son of the Haxen family is known as a scoundrel. How could he…?”
“Perhaps the House of Baron Haxen spiked their tea or food with hallucinogens.”
Vincent sighed, realizing he hadn’t considered that possibility.
Erwin and his escort had been served tea and food upon arriving at the Haxen estate.
If those had been laced with hallucinogens or poison…
Even a prodigy like Erwin wouldn’t have been able to wield his sword properly.
“Under the influence of hallucinogens and poison, Erwin’s clumsy swordplay was deflected by Damian Haxen, and the knights must have misunderstood.”
Gritting his teeth, Holland seethed with anger at the thought.
“If it weren’t for the upcoming duel with the Duke, I would have personally dealt with that scoundrel.”
With the duel against the Duke of Goldpixie looming, Holland couldn’t afford to leave his post.
“Send someone to the House of Baron Haxen immediately and bring Damian Haxen here.”
Holland was known for his fairness, but when it came to his children, he could be fiercely protective.
Having witnessed Erwin’s condition, he wouldn’t let this slide.
“Bind him and drag him here like a dog, for all to see.”
“Which knight should I send?”
“Send Garrick.”
Vincent’s eyebrows rose slightly at the mention of Garrick.
Garrick was a lower-class knight known for his exceptional loyalty to the marquis, to the point of causing trouble on several occasions.
Once, he had left a group of mercenaries crippled for insulting the marquis.
Holland was well aware of this.
Yet, choosing Garrick for such a sensitive task was a clear indication of his intentions.
“Understood.”
Vincent nodded quietly in acknowledgment.
The day after Damian Haxen had wiped out the Black Serpent, a visitor from the church arrived.
“Greetings, Baron. I am Agnes, a paladin of the church.”
In the city, a team of holy knights and investigators, led by Cheongyeom’s disciple Agnes, had been dispatched.
“Welcome, welcome to our humble abode,” stammered Viscount Haxen, his wife standing tensely beside him.
Faced with the holy knights, known for their ruthless dedication to divine will, their anxiety was understandable.
“I heard from Damian that you’ll be staying with us for a while…”
“It’s a decision made to investigate heretics. We appreciate your cooperation,” Agnes replied.
The mention of heretics made Viscount Haxen swallow nervously. “We’ve prepared accommodations across the way. You’re welcome to use them.”
“Thank you for your hospitality. Please accept this small token of our gratitude,” Agnes said, handing something to the viscount.
It was a piece of platinum, the size of a grown man’s fist. The viscount’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Oh, this is too much…”
“It’s a token of appreciation for allowing our investigation,” Agnes explained.
The tension in the viscount and his wife’s eyes visibly eased. Indeed, money had a powerful effect.
“Has Damian been well?” Agnes asked next, turning to Damian.
“I didn’t expect to see you again so soon,” Damian replied.
“The Yurans are heretics I’m personally pursuing. I’m here to assist with the investigation,” Agnes said, a fleeting glint of determination in her eyes that only Damian noticed.
“And I have a personal interest in you as well,” she added, causing Damian’s family to look at him in surprise. His mother covered her mouth with her hand.
“Oh my, oh my,” she murmured.
Damian shot his mother a look, clearly aware of her misunderstanding. “I have no intention of becoming a holy knight.”
“You never know,” Agnes replied.
“There’s no chance of that,” Damian said firmly, causing Agnes to look a bit crestfallen.
“That’s unfortunate. Here, take this,” Agnes said, handing Damian two old books.
“These are the mana cultivation techniques you requested. I’ve selected them carefully.”
“Why two?” Damian asked.
“One is a sword technique. I thought it would complement the cultivation techniques,” Agnes explained.
Though he didn’t particularly need sword techniques, Damian accepted them. He examined the covers.
The Sword of Dominance and the Art of Mana Accumulation.
He had never seen these techniques before, even during his time as a death knight when he had stormed the church’s headquarters. The church had destroyed all their relics and treasures to prevent them from falling into enemy hands, leaving Damian unaware of what they had contained.
“It was difficult to obtain these,” Agnes admitted, suggesting their value.
Damian tucked the books away, expressing his gratitude. “Thank you.”
“It truly was a challenge. There was significant opposition within the church,” Agnes continued.
“You’ve gone through a lot. Thank you,” Damian said again.
“I even had to invoke my master’s authority,” Agnes added, repeating herself, which made Damian frown slightly.
“No matter what you say, I have no intention of becoming a holy knight,” he reiterated.
Agnes’s shoulders slumped slightly.
“This is the place,” Damian said, leading Agnes and the investigation team to the cave where Agito had been hiding.
As they descended into the cave, the investigators couldn’t hide their astonishment.
“To achieve such destructive power with dark magic…”
“Truly the work of a Yuran leader,” one of them remarked.
The team spread out to begin their investigation, while a few stayed behind to question Damian.
“How did you deal with the dark mage?” one asked.
“I just dodged and then took him down,” Damian replied nonchalantly, leaving the investigators incredulous. Some seemed ready to argue.
“Impressive,” Agnes said, preventing any further questioning.
“I’ll be reviewing the cultivation and sword techniques. Let me know when you’re done,” Damian said, leaving the cave.
He had already returned the previous night to alter the scene, ensuring no trace of his own dark magic use would be discovered by the church.
“They won’t find anything suspicious,” he thought, confident that his manipulations would go unnoticed by the investigation team.
With his worries set aside, Damian opened the books Agnes had given him. The first page caught his eye.
“This sword technique contains the insights of the Galloway Counts throughout the ages.”
“No matter how talented, understanding all the insights of this sword technique is impossible. It requires a lifetime of dedication.”
The Galloway family. Damian had heard of them during his mercenary days. Fifty years ago, they had been wiped out by the church. Originally a knightly family of the empire, they had produced two sword masters but had declined over time, eventually allying with dark mages and meeting their end.
“She wasn’t exaggerating about the difficulty of obtaining this.”
Techniques created by master-class individuals held immense value, offering insights into reaching such a level.
“Quite useful,” Damian thought, though not particularly impressed. In his past life, he had been powerful enough to dismiss even sword masters. These techniques were merely a reference for creating something superior.
“The sword technique isn’t of much interest,” he decided, closing the book after a quick glance.
The Sword of Dominance was a powerful technique that compressed and released mana for destructive force, but it wasn’t particularly unique.
However, the Art of Mana Accumulation was intriguing.
“The Sword of Dominance consumes a lot of mana. To compensate, the Art of Mana Accumulation enhances the speed of mana gathering.”
This technique allowed for rapid mana accumulation by drawing in external mana, enabling the user to absorb and store large amounts at once.
“At the master level, it says you can directly use the surrounding mana…”
In essence, the Art of Mana Accumulation was about controlling the mana in the environment, a far more advanced technique than the sword technique.
“How far can this control extend? Can it dominate not just the environment but also an opponent’s mana?”
Damian pondered, dissecting the technique to extract what he needed.
In the quiet of the forest, something new was taking shape in Damian’s mind.