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“Andras.”
“Yes, Sihyeon.”
“What’s happening?”
“I’m not really sure, Sihyeon. I’m not exactly an expert in swordsmanship…”
Andras kind of trailed off and looked a bit embarrassed. I glanced over at Alfred, who was vigorously swinging his sword.
Swish!
Clang! Clang!
“Ugh… Ugh…”
“What are you doing? Why are you having such a tough time breaking a twig?”
Bellion taunted, waving the unbroken branch around. Alfred got angry and raised his sword again.
“It’s not over yet!”
“Right. Keep moving. When you don’t know the answer, you have no choice but to keep going until you figure it out.”
Alfred’s sword swung fiercely, matching his heavy breathing.
At first, he intended to only break the twig, but now he was attacking it like he wanted to annihilate it.
Despite Alfred’s intense attacks, the stubborn branch wouldn’t break.
At first, I thought the branch was just really tough, but after a while, I began to see the trick.
Bellion’s branch never directly collided with the sword. It either grazed it slightly, with impressive precision, or barely brushed past it.
Alfred knew what was going on, and tried to find a way to trap Bellion and limit his movements. He also took desperate shots, using his one-sided offensive capability.
Every time, Bellion escaped the crisis in a very intriguing way.
Thump…
Then, out of nowhere, Bellion’s branch poked through the side of Alfred’s sword, and he groaned in pain like he’d been stabbed.
“Ugh!”
Alfred’s attack was cut off, so it was no surprise when his next attempts were also a bust. Bellion just kept using the same slick moves to shut him down.
I gotta admit, Bellion’s skills were like some kind of magic trick. He had Alfred completely at his mercy.
“He really is a master… He’s rendered Elaine completely helpless.”
“Considering the difference in their skill, it’s only natural. But I do wonder why Master Bellion is teaching Elaine like this?”
“Huh?”
“Elaine is training for an upcoming battle. But I’m not sure how this kind of training is gonna help him.”
“Yeah, I see what you mean.”
“Maybe Master Bellion has a plan or something, but we don’t know yet.”
Crossing swords with a swordsman of Bellion’s caliber might gain good experience, but I wasn’t sure if this approach was gonna be all that helpful for Alfred’s upcoming battle.
Clang!
While Andras and I were chatting, we heard a sword drop.
“Ugh… Ugh…”
Alfred, who had dropped his sword, fell to the ground and struggled to catch his breath. Bellion walked up with the unbroken branch on his shoulder.
“Tsk, tsk. Already down? You’re more disappointing than I thought.”
“……”
“So, did you figure something out while you were running around?”
“I realized that I’m no match for you,”
-Whack!
Bellion’s branch struck Alfred’s head precisely.
“Ouch!”
“Obviously! Even the little fairies could see that. Did you figure anything else out?”
“Um… well… the branch was tougher than I thought?”
-Whack!
“Ow!”
The merciless branch struck Alfred’s head once again.
Alfred, seemingly in pain, teared up with a wronged expression.
I couldn’t watch anymore, so I stepped in between them.
“Come on, master. You’re gonna hurt him if you keep hitting him like that.”
“I didn’t hit him that hard.”
“I could hear the loud smack from over here.”
“It’s just a loud noise. That’s practically a light tap!”
As Bellion made excuses for his light tap, he put the branch behind him.
“Can’t you at least give him a hint or something, since you’re not teaching him directly? We don’t have much time.”
“I could use some guidance too, Sir Bellion.”
Bellion sighed, seeming a bit unhappy, before turning to Alfred.
“Ugh… Hey, Verdi kid.”
“Yes? Yes!”
“Do you remember how the branch moved when you attacked earlier?”
Alfred was momentarily taken aback by the sudden question but quickly regained his composure and responded.
“Um, it’s a bit difficult to explain, but it felt suffocating and frustrating. As if the branch was wrapped around my sword.”
“Why do you think you felt that way?”
“Was it because I kept getting countered when I tried to attack?”
“Nope, that’s not it,”
“…?”
“It’s not because you were counterattacked; it’s because your flow was interrupted.”
“Flow?”
Bellion nodded and continued explaining.
“Every sword technique has a flow. Some call it rhythm or even breath. Once someone becomes proficient in swordsmanship, they develop their own unique flow.”
Andras and I listened closely, trying to absorb as much as we could from Bellion’s explanation.
“Okay, so with my level of skill, I can usually figure out someone’s flow after seeing them swing their sword a few times. Then, I can predict their next move and when they’ll attack,”
“Wow… That sounds more like mind reading than swordsmanship.”
“It’s not quite that all-powerful, my dear. A skilled opponent can intentionally mess with their flow to confuse you,”
Is this the world of masters that I only heard about in stories?
Bellion made it sound so simple, but we were all amazed.
“The reason you felt suffocated and frustrated was because of your flow being forcibly interrupted. If I had really counterattacked, you would have felt eeriness, not frustration.”
“So, should I learn the ‘flow interruption’ that you showed, Sir. Bellion?”
“You want to learn flow interruption? Hahaha!”
Bellion burst out laughing, so hard that his throat was visible. Alfred looked like he was about to faint from embarrassment.
“Ha! With your level of skill, it would take forever to even figure out your opponent’s flow, let alone interrupt it.”
“Ugh…”
“Besides, your opponent in the upcoming match is no pushover. Using a high-difficulty technique like ‘flow interruption’ against him would be nothing short of suicidal.”
Bellion stopped laughing and spoke with a serious expression.
“I’ve seen a lot of Verdi swordsmanship through your grandfather, Kael. So, I can easily identify the weaknesses in their swordsmanship and read their flow. The Verdi family’s swordsmanship hasn’t changed much over the years,”
Upon hearing that, Alfred raised his voice in indignation.
“Are you belittling the current Verdi family’s swordsmanship?”
Seeing his spirited stance, Bellion responded,
“Why are you glaring? Need more lessons!”
Bellion quickly lifted the branch over his head and scolded Alfred. Alfred cowered in fear and hid behind me.
“Just to be clear, I’m not belittling the Verdi family’s swordsmanship. I’m specifically belittling your weak skills,” Bellion clarified.
“In this world, there’s no such thing as perfect swordsmanship. It’s all about improving and complementing your skills through hard work and learning. Your grandfather, Kael, overcame his limitations using the same swordsmanship you’re learning,”
“Alright, that’s enough explanations for today. Hurry up and grab your sword,”
Alfred managed to gather some strength and stood up, picking up his sword while showing a mix of emotions on his face.
“If you still don’t realize something, just focus on the person in front of you. If you’re not smart enough, you’ll have to learn with your body.”
“Can I have one more try, please?”
“Alright! Come at me again.”
Alfred charged at Bellion again, but this time he was more cautious with his attacks. However, Bellion’s branch still proved to be a formidable opponent, tormenting Alfred relentlessly.
Observing the intense training session, I couldn’t help but sigh with frustration.
“I wish master Bellion would explain things more clearly. What exactly is he trying to teach Alfred?”
“Hmm…”
“Andras?”
“I think I understand Mr. Bellion’s intention, at least a little.”
“Really?”
I looked at Andras in surprise.
“Right now, it seems like Mr. Bellion is showing Elaine his weaknesses.”
“Weaknesses?”
“Yes. Mr. Bellion can clearly see the weaknesses in the Verdi family’s swordsmanship and is exploiting them with his branch. By doing so, he wants Elaine to overcome his weaknesses and improve his skills .”
“Ah…”
“I think Mr. Bellion wants Elaine to overcome his weaknesses through this training.”
Andras’ explanation made sense, but I still felt puzzled.
“In the end, isn’t this just compensating for weaknesses like what the boss is doing? What’s the difference?”
“It’s similar but different.”
“…?”
“What Mr. Bellion wants to convey to Elaine isn’t just that.”
Andras looked meaningfully.
“Perhaps, he’s teaching him the most important weapon to win an unfavorable battle…”
The challenging training continued.
The other members of the farm family supported Alfred as much as possible so that he could focus on his training.
As time went by, Alfred’s face occasionally showed a hint of worry.
Nevertheless, he didn’t outwardly show his anxiety and focused on training for the upcoming duel.
I also firmly believed Alfred could do it and devoted myself to the farm and other tasks.
And so,
The week passed by quickly.
The day of the promised duel with Claudion arrived.